Week 12

I hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas!

We had a nice day, of course it wasn't the same, and it didn't feel Christmasy, but I think that is really ok. In the couple weeks before I had had times when I was feeling sad about missing family and all the traditions. But on the actual day I was so struck by how great it felt to really live the way we believe. Although all the hype around Christmas is fun (and often stressful), it always took my focus off of what we were really celebrating. And this year with nothing else in the way we could really focus on Jesus.

Sage was super excited to open gifts in the morning, when we got up she said 'I was excited for presents and I got out of my net then I saw it was dark out so I went back to sleep.' My mom and Grandma sent us gifts and Joel made Sage a barn for her animals :)  Around noon some friends of ours who live on a lagoon arrived by boat. They brought Sage 2 baby chicks as a gift which of course she loved.  We had a nice meal and they stayed until almost dark. It was a wonderful day, even if completely different :)

We had a nice relaxing week. Sage and I made a bunch of food for Christmas Day and made cookies for Christmas Eve.  Joel made a buoy out on the sandbar for Bill (and whoever else needs) to tie off the boat. He mowed the whole lawn and cleaned up the beach which was a mess after like 5 days of wind. The wind was actually amazing because we had that many days without bugs also!

Obviously I haven't been able to figure out how to put pictures from our tablet on to the computer, so I've just been uploading some to facebook.  We did have hope to get our stuff back last week but it's been another week and still nothing so we're starting to consider ordering a new computer and camera since it will take awhile to get here. It's hard to know how long to wait.

We did have an incident this week, Joel Sage and I went down the beach on the small boat and the dogs followed us. Joel had found this huge rope he wanted to get out of the sand.  On the way back 3 of the dogs took off after something in the woods. One came back right away, and the 2nd that night and we noticed the next morning he had big punctures in his head.  The 3rd finally came back the next night and he had punctures in his head as well. We're guessing they got in a fight with a wild boar. They looked kinda rough for a couple days but they look much better this morning and seem to be back to their normal selves. It was just a strange thing to happen!

This week we will be going to town one day and our next big project will be painting the lodge (!!!) We'll get paint this week and Joel will start the prep work.  He's also working on the shower upstairs that leaks really bad for when the team is here in February.

Hope you all have a great week!

Weeks 9-11

Happy first day of winter!

Well a lot has been going on. We are so sorry we were unable to update the blog for the last 3 weeks, we tried to keep everyone up to date through our facebook ministry page.

Well first of all I'd like to share about the showing of the property. It went really great. There were 4 men that came, 3 from a large ministry organization, and one from a smaller ministry already in Belize. We had a wonderful visit with them, they were so encouraging it was a blessing just to spend time with them.  They seemed to enjoy their stay here and when they left they went to explore other areas of the country, just trying to figure out where their ministry would fit in best. They have let us know that they are more than likely going to purchase some land and build housing etc from the ground up, closer to a city. We were a little disappointed but we are sure the Lord has the exact right person/people lined up for this place :)

They left on Friday and we spent the day relaxing with some friends who came out to stay for the night. Sunday we went to church in the village as usual and when we got back we saw the window on the lodge was broken. We went in to find someone had stolen our computer and camera. We also discovered they had broken into the directors house and had taken another old computer and a cd player.  I have to admit I was really sad, mostly about all the pictures I have on our computer, and the one's still on the camera. BUT they are just things. They can be replaced. We were safe, no one was hurt, and as my mom told me when I had something stolen in high school, they must have needed it more than us. We have peace about this whether they are returned or not. Please join us in praying for the men who are in jail, that they come to know the Lord through this.

'Don't store up your treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store up your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do no break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.' Matt 6:19-21

So this was the reason we were not online much. After a couple days Joel remembered we had a little tablet and we got that working so we were able to be online and even skype, so that was a blessing. However it was a challenge typing on that thing! Now some friends of ours have let us borrow a laptop, another blessing!

Another thing this changes is that we cannot leave the base unattended. The break in was a planned event, they knew we would be at church. We can hire someone to come out here however everyone we know goes to church also so we can't really ask someone to do that.  We tried to get house church to come out here but with such unreliable vehicles in the village and just having it be a bigger deal we struggled to make it work. We decided that Joel would go in on Tuesdays and I'll stay here.  It's not ideal but we know this is temporary and it's more important that house church keeps on.

So after all the work we did getting ready for the showing we took it easy for a week. Joel worked on a present for Sage, Sage and I made Christmas decorations, we all decorated the tree we found in the lodge.  Joel is always doing something of course, he can't just sit around lol.  He replaced and added a bunch of lights all around the lodge, got the boat ready for inspection to register it, made us a water heater for our shower (yay!!!), fixing a toilet, along with regular things like keeping the beach clean etc.

Last Sunday we had Cindy Kidder, a missionary who lives in the village, bring out her group of teenage girls for a 2 night retreat. It was really fun, the girls were super nice, and Cindy did a great job planning activities for them, especially since it rained the whole time.  I sure appreciate her and what she does for the girls. They made it so easy to have them here, they did all the cooking and cleaning, some of the girls even played dolls with Sage which just made her so happy :)

On the way to house church (finally!) this last Tuesday Joel was driving the truck and it literally broke in half in the middle of our (looooong) driveway, about half way to the village. As in the frame completely broke and the bed was sitting up on the back window. After asking what the Lord would have him do he found a ratchet strap and strapped the frame back together. He decided since Satan was obviously trying to keep him from going on that he would try and make it to the village and figure out how to get home later. He made it! The amazing thing is our pastor had a truck he was going to sell but thought of us and our almost broken truck and decided to keep it in case we needed it. So he gave him the truck, someone else gave a gallon of gas, and he was good to go!  And it was worth it because house church was amazing that night I hear :)

Last Thursday Joel and Threnton went to Belize City to register the boat and go to the post office. They did some fishing on the way there and back and caught plenty for Threnton to take home and one nice jack for us for Christmas dinner :)

Today Joel is out there mowing, he worked on the truck we're using to get it running better this morning and worked on the boat to make it easier to get up the ramp. I'm trying to catch up with everything while Sage is sleeping but my time's about up and all I did was the blog lol. We'll both continue trying to catch up with emails and messages as well as working on replacing documents we've lost.  I want to get out receipts for donations this last year but of course everything was stored on our computer. So I appreciate your patience as I have to go through bank records and online donations to figure it all out again.  We can take pictures with our tablet so I've been uploading some to facebook and will try and get some in the blog next week.

Week 8

Winter hit Belize! Here's proof, our coconut oil solidified!

We've had a whole week of 'cold' weather, most of which was 60's at night and 70's during the day. It was sooooo nice to have a break from the heat, especially with all the work we've been trying to get done. It was cold enough at night for blankets and it made for super cold showers, I even skipped a couple days because I just couldn't bring myself to get in that cold water. 

Last week was all about cleaning. That's pretty much what we did the whole week. Joel spent 8 hours cleaning downstairs of the lodge. Check out what he found under a bed down there:

And we had been wondering where that smell was coming from...... Anyways it looks usable down there now, we were all too creeped out to be down there before.  

 

We took the day off for Thanksgiving and drove to our new friends Bill and Stacy's house. They and another couple own land on the lagoon north of here. They have a beautiful place!

We really enjoyed our dinner of grilled and stewed armadillo, turkey, apple pineapple salad, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes and gravy, broccoli salad, cookies, lemon bars and pumkin bars. Yeah we were stuffed. It was a really fun day of fellowship with them and the other couple (who are from CO), a couple from Vancouver, and a man who lives nearby from England. It was very interesting conversation!

Then it was back to work. Joel got a tool shop set up in the container, it looks great:

Sage and I worked on cleaning the lodge and directors house most of the week, along with all the regular things like laundry and cooking.  

So why all the cleaning? Well Belize Mission and Retreat is for sale. As you can tell there haven't been any teams lately and there are only 3 scheduled for this next year. There used to be teams almost every week throughout the whole year!  Once the economy slowed down the teams tapered off and now there's hardly any. We had the opportunity to skype with the owners a couple nights ago and they shared with us what it was like when they first came 13 years ago and all the ministries they started and were involved in. It is seriously amazing. I know they are so sad that this chapter is coming to an end. We did know this coming here and decided to come anyway because we felt God was telling us this was the place for us. So there are a group of people coming to look at the mission tomorrow. We've known for several weeks so we've been working really hard to make it look as good as it can.  This is another ministry looking at it and I think we would all like to see a ministry purchase it and keep it going.  So please be in prayer for the whole situation and that the right people find it.  It is so beautiful and amazing here I don't know who wouldn't want to buy it!  So where does that leave us? Exactly where God wants us, completely relying on Him and not always knowing what's coming next. We are concentrating on where He has us right now and that's it. 

We'd also like to share that we were involved with starting a house church in the village. This is super exciting for us because as many of you know we went to house church back home and absolutely loved it. We found out there were some people in the village who wanted to start a bible study so Joel talked to them about doing house church like we had and they loved the idea. We've been meeting on Tuesdays for over a month now and we are loving it so much. We've been enjoying getting together with other believers and just sharing what God's doing in our lives, studying and praying together.....it's really really great!  So also keep this in prayer if you would :)  

So that's why the blog was late this week, between using all our download allowance skyping with the owners, being home late from house church last night, and all the work we've been doing there hasn't been time! Thank you so much for keeping us in prayer, hope you all have a great week :)

What is a missionary anyway?

WHAT IS A MISSIONARY ANYWAY

I have found myself thinking about this a lot as I observe and work with other missionaries. At times I feel a little discouraged by what I’ve seen and experienced. Of course this is only my opinion. But let’s think about it for a minute. What is a missionary? The first thing I’m thinking is, are we gift users or servants, let me explain. A gift user might think their only task in the mission field or at home in their church is using the gift God gave them. If an opportunity or task is available to them that is a gift God gave them, they are willing and ready to serve. But if an opportunity or task is set before them that is not their gift they tend to steer around it or even just say that’s not my gift and avoid anything that doesn’t require the gift God gave them. I’ve heard it many times [that’s not my gift so I’m not going to; or, I will not do it.] When God puts something in front of us and we turn it down are we missing out on something He wants us to learn, or on an opportunity for God to use us in a big way?

Then there is a servant maybe someone  that  uses the gift God gave them in the mission field or at home in their church, but if any need arises they are willing to help whatever the need whatever the crisis whether it’s their gift or not. Are they doing or acting in a place where they have no business or are they just acting the way Jesus wants them to? I mean if we never did anything we are not comfortable and good with would we ever learn or grow in our walk with Christ? Or think about this; if the Holy Spirit is in control of our lives couldn’t He empower us to do things above and beyond our gifts? So if we turn down things other than our gifts are we missing a chance to let the Holy Spirit do the work in our life that He wants done. I have talked to many people who say God always seems to put them where they least expect or are the least comfortable. It seems to me that would mean God placed them doing something above or beyond their gifts. I think we would all agree we are more comfortable doing something we are good at.  And what about the people who turn them down when they say you should not do this it’s not your gift.  Sometimes there may be a time for that, but I feel we need to be sensitive to what the Holy Spirit might be doing in that person’s life and approach that subject with more caution than we originally think necessary.

Next I have thought of this, are they disciples or Pharisees? I know the answer to this seems easy but let me define each one as I have felt myself being convicted when I thought about who they are. A disciple is someone who is a student learning from Gods word daily. Diligently seeking Gods truths and never finishing his or her education from Jesus. They love the Lord for who He is and what He has done, good or maybe even bad in some circumstances to the human eye. They trust His plan and have a strong foundation of faith with roots firmly planted. They are ready to share the good news at any moment and don’t get distracted by what God may be doing do tomorrow.  They understand a relationship with Jesus Christ and devote their lives and love to Him. And most of all they are servants.

Then the Pharisee, the upholder of the law we all know them from the New Testament. But let’s take a closer look: they know Gods word very well and are always first to display their knowledge of it. They teach from it as if it’s a lesson in school but don’t act on the words they are teaching. The relationship with Christ has lost its value and they might be more focused on decoding and uncovering the things that may have been lost in translation. That’s interesting, but what’s the big secret? When I read the word especially the New Testament Jesus lays it out so a dummy like me can understand it. Are we going to understand it all I don’t think so.

Isaiah 55:8-9

“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord.
    “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.
⁹ For just as the heavens are higher than the earth,
    so my ways are higher than your ways
    and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.

I feel like God is pretty much telling us we won’t understand everything in this verse so we should be careful with our theories.  If God says we are not going to understand Him completely that’s ok. Isn’t that where faith comes in? Don’t misunderstand me I’m not saying don’t study diligently I’m just pointing out that the Pharisees seem to have all the answers and might even add some of their own laws that are not spelled out plainly or just plain unknown in God’s word. Being upholders of the law they may be judgmental OUCH!  All I can say is if you’re a little judgmental read Romans and try not to feel like a Pharisee. Also showy, but I don’t have to go into detail on that. They might also feel as though they have in some way finished learning or graduated with all their knowledge.

Hebrews 4:12

“For the word of God is alive and powerful.

It is sharper than the sharpest two edged sword,

cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow.

 It exposes our inner most thoughts and desires.”

This seems to say to me that the Word isn’t just a history lesson but it is something that will change us in a huge way. Not something we graduate from, but something we are grafted into and is continually changing us for better until our short time on this earth is over.

Next there is near or far the great commission talks about making disciples of all nations, but does that mean if we’re at home we are inactive? I have read books that say we are not missionaries until we go, almost making me feel inadequate or disobedient if I don’t. But who do we send to go? All of us? Or is it possible God was smart enough to keep people at home to raise up the people God has given the ability to go. If so; what or who are these people that bring up our idea of a missionary back home? Is it possible God has different plans for all of us, and for some of us it might be to go and some of us it might be to stay. Do we need to focus on world hunger, orphans, widows, the poor? Or should we worry about the lost and help these others along the way. The great commission isn't for orphans, widows, the poor and hungry it’s for the lost. I believe this is the priority. Of course we will help the needy if we are the loving people Jesus made us.  But think about this; what’s more important, physical needs or spiritual needs? I believe spiritual needs can go much further than any dollar amount. So does helping people make you a missionary? Another thought there are movie stars that believe in religions that defile our God, but they have done more physical good with their seemingly limitless finances than you or I could ever imagine.  Does this make them missionaries?

 After a lot of thought I have concluded that a missionary is not just someone who helps people but someone who is a servant. Someone who might not be gifted in the areas he ends up but if the need arises he or she will get dirty sweaty and even bloody, or stand up for the Lord maybe in front of thousands and even if he doesn’t feel adequate will have faith that the Holy Spirit will step in and not through self but through the Power of the Holy Spirit standing in for them, be used for Gods glory. A missionary is someone who is a disciple of Christ always ready to learn and humble enough to continue to learn no matter where they are in their walk with the Lord. They realize that what they have is a relationship that needs daily work and they strive to love the Lord the way He loves them. They are ready to share the good news at any moment and aren’t distracted by what God might do tomorrow. They display love always because Jesus loves them. They display the fruits of the Spirit and hold themselves to a higher standard not because they are missionaries but because that’s what Jesus wants. They realize the necessity for spiritual healing in their life and all the people around them whether close to home or not.

This is the person I want to become in my walk with the Lord. If you would agree maybe you’re a missionary.