A fabulous birthday gift

Most Americans do not realize that South America is not Mexico. They assume that you can get delicious Mexican food all over the place. Unfortunately, this is not the case at all. So, we must make all our Mexican, or Tex Mex, from scratch. Being Californian, we cannot live without our Mexican food!

I celebrated my 37th birthday last week. My Mom gave me this wonderful tortilla press/cooker.

It presses and cooks at the same time. And the best part is, its 220 v, so I don't have to use a huge transformer like when I use my waffle maker!

I've already made tortilllas, and they turned out great! Happy Birthday to Me!

Putting it all together

I truly believe that the chapter and verse separations in the Bible are very helpful. Only, sometimes we separate things that were meant to go together.
We were studying John 14 recently and it just dawned on me that the famous words "Let not your heart be troubled..." does not stand alone, but as part of the conversation between Jesus and his disciples at the last supper. Peter has just been told that he will deny Christ three times. Even so, Jesus tells him not to let his heart be troubled.
Now, some will take this as an excuse to be mediocre and sinful, after all, God is going to love us anyway. But I think that even though Jesus knows just how bad we can be, I am encouraged not to be as bad as I can be.
Just a thought.

From Inspiration to Application

The Vinegar Solution

My dishwasher is OK. They don't sell the really good ones here, so mine is top of the line.....for Chile. It doesn't rinse very well, so I always must use the special rinse liquid, which is expensive.

I had read on several blogs that you can substitute vinegar for the pricey liquid, but I am often skeptical of amazing claims. But, I figured, what could be lost if I tried it? Nothing! So I squirted the vinegar in. You may not believe this, but it works better than the pricey stuff!

Not very "wow!", but the long-term savings means that I can actually use my dishwasher more often. Now I can hear a hearty "Amen!" from chief dishwasher, Eileen.

Do Hard Things

This past week, I noticed a book brought by one of the team. Do Hard Things. I had read about this book, but never had access to it. I quickly borrowed it and read it before they left. What a treasure!
I talks about the extremely low expectations everyone has for teenagers these days, and how that its crippling us. It challenges the reader to do hard things that make us strong and helps us to excel for the glory of God.
I know that I am way past being a teenager, but this was an exciting challenge to me! If you can, read it! Share it with your child.

Our Guests

We had a team of 13 come down from California. They came to work on the church building, the camp, and do a VBS, couple's event, ladies meeting and leadership training. In 7 days. We all worked from sun-up to way past nightfall. The VBS went great, we averaged 130 for the three days. We had 6 children saved. This team brough all sorts of stuff to set up a a carnival with games and activities. It was amazing!

They had wanted to do some drama, but due to the obvious language barrier, it was decided that they would do mime skits. Excellent! Mimes go over great here.

We also had a great couple's meeting. The team included a chef. She made stuffed steak and stuffed tomatoes, rice pilaf, and sinfully delicious tarts. We had several visitors for this event, and one lady was saved.

On the last day, we had a big ladies' meeting. We brough over the ladies from Mafil and along with the ladies on the team, we had 46. Wonderful! One of the ladies form the US shared her testimony. She had been through so much during her life. Most of our ladies was able to relate to the story of abuse and sin that had made this woman's life one of great misery. They were also able to relate to the great Savior that has freed her from sin, guilt and shame, and given her the ability to forgive. Our ladies were just blown away.

God moved greatly in our midst and I thank Him for that.

I'm back again!

And so much to share! But I'd like to start with a small tribute to my husband, the Preacher. A week before all our guests arrived, my dryer died. I was alarmed because getting my washer or drier fixed can take over a month. First you have to take the appliance into the city an hour away, let it sit at the repair shop until they get good and ready to take a look at it. Then order the parts from the US. (The don't sell full sized dryers here) Then, as time allows, they fix it. ARRGGHHHH!!!
Enter Preacher Knight in Shining Armour. He opens the dryer, noting that its just a broken belt, removes said belt. He knowingly scavenges repair shops in Temuco and finds a belt that had been salvaged from someone else's dead drier. He then takes an entire morning and FIXES THE DRYER! My Hero!

Now I can prepare for all my guests. Praise the Lord!

A break

We will be receiving a group of 14 from California next week, for 8 days. I will be hosting the pastor, his son, and an old family friend. In fact, this man's daughter was my first "best friend" when I was about 3. Mom will have the 6 ladies and the other 5 men will sleep at the Church.

We are going to be insanely busy, so I thought I'd just log off for a while. I will post pictures of all the special activities that we will be having. Please pray that souls will be saved this week!

We still have so much to do before they come! Please pray that I will not lose my: sanity, temper, children, or head!

Missionary Joys....Dealing with paperwork

I told you that we had to go to the US embassy. Thats in Santiago, 500 miles from here. We got Ronnie and Eileen's passports renewed easily. Then we had to file a consular report of birth abroad. Sounds easy,right? Wrong! My children aren't automatically US citizens unless I can prove I resided in the US for 5 years, 2 of which were after the age of 14. That was 20 years ago. Can you remember events from 20 years ago? I gave them all the evidence I could come up with at the time and it wasn't enough. By the way, passports stamps are not considered valid as evidence. Sounds crazy? YES! So, since we've been home, I have been going through junk I would have tossed years ago. I've found a few pay stubbs from 1994. Church bulletins with our names in them. A few medical tests from when I had a seizure in 2001.
I am uncertain as to what more to do. Everytime I talk to the guy in charge, he says, "Unfortunately..........." I feel like bopping him in the nose.

Please pray that all will go well. I'll have to make a quick trip to Santiago in a few weeks.

In praise of yo-yo dieting and Starting Over

I know that the "experts" say that yo-yo dieting is bad for you. But I ask, where would I be now if I didnt' diet occasionaly? I would weigh 300 pounds! So much for the "experts"

So, after not losing the baby and furlough fat, I had decided to start Weigh Down again. I have the home video series, and it helped me lose 50 pounds several years ago. I always feel good doing weigh down, and its always a spiritual time for me. The only awful thing about it is that I am reluctant to share it with anybody in view of the cultish turn Gwen Shamblin has taken. I looked her up on the internet after years of not doing so, and I was appalled at what I saw. She looks anorexic, and she took "big hair" to new and scary heights. But what is worse is her anti-trinitarian views. To me Jesus Christ is everything, and as it says in Colossians, "In Him dwelleth the fullness of the Godhead bodily" Jesus is the physical incarnation of the living God, and to call Him anything less is blasphemous.

That reminds me of something Bro. Jim Preston says. He told us that if Satan cannot get you to deny a truth, he'll get you to go overboard on another. Its really dangerous to take one doctrine so far that it contradicts other biblical doctrines. Or, some people go over the edge on one issue, and it clouds the other issues that they proclaim. For example, Kent Hovind's views on taxes caused him to lose his ability to speak freely about Creation. I like the Pearls, but I feel that his somewhat-odd statements about salvation and the gap theory take away from their sound, practical advice about child training. Please, Lord, give me balance!


Anyway, Eileen and I will be weighing down regardless of skinny Gwen and her "Church"
After all, another sound piece of advice is "eat the meat, spit out the bones"!

Our experiment, a recap

We experimented with Extreme Frugality for 6 days. We called it our Great Depression Week. We timed our showers and baked our own bread in the cookstove oven. I did all my cooking on the cookstove. We seriously monitored lights. We unplugged everything. We watched no TV. We seriously limited computer time. I dried my clothes on the line, something that I really don't like to do because I don't like to iron and I don't like the feel of line dried clothes. Neil went into the city twice on the bus.

Our motives were these:
Saving money
Appreciating what we have
Recognizing just where the money was going


What I learned.
cooking on a wood cookstove is a lot of work. Maintaining the fire is of chief concern.
Not using my drier is a lot of work.
Making your own bread is a lot of work.
Eileen and I thought that we would have a lot of time to do Spring cleaning, but it took all day just to get the regular housework done. We were exhausted!

Every night became Family Night. We read together, we played Rook together. We went to bed early!

We will continue to do this experiment one week out of every month, fine tuning the details as we live them out.

Do I want to live that way the rest of my life? No. Could I if I had to? Yes. I am thankful for all my blessings? You Betcha!

Praise the Lord!

Carlita survived the first of two surgeries! We were on pins and needles there for a while, but she is fine for now. They still have a long way to go, but this is wonderful. Thanks for your prayers.

Urgent Prayer request

Our trip to Santiago was not only to get the kid's passports, but to accompany Carlos and Josselin and their baby Carlita at the children's hospital there. Carlita's heart has only one chamber and she was taken to Santiago for surgery. We waited with them as long as we could, but we had to come home. They waited, as the surgeries are not scheduled. Today, Carlos called and said that they are taking Carlita in today. But before the operation, the Drs are going to have a serious talk with the parents, as this operation has a greater chance of failing than succeeding. If she doesn't have the operation, she'll die anyway.

Please pray for Carlita, who is 4 months old. Please pray for Carlos and Josselin, and their son, Michael.


Thanks!

a Break

We are headed to Santiago to get the kid's passports.
I have been so busy today, I didn't get to post like I wanted.
Please pray that we will be able to get the paperwork done!

Wonderful blessings to you all!

Our experiment, days 4 and 5

My alloted 10 minutes on the computer are way to short!

I can totally understand why people were so happy to get rid of their cookstoves and cook with gas! Both of my grandmothers cooked and still cook with electricity! i'll go into this more, but when this is over and I can type more.

Ronnie has adjusted to diminshed computer play time. For him, that has been the only real change. For Eileen and me, well, all our work has been multiplied. Neil had to go into the city twice.....on the bus. Going on the bus isn't bad at all, its just that once you get there, you're on foot for the rest of the day. Makes me appreciate our car, and the fact the we have the money for gas and tolls.

Today, Saturday is our last day. Amen! I want to use my stove again. Sunday I'll try to write a few closing thoughts.

Days 2, 3

I missed posting yesterday. I had no time.

We are becoming accustomed to shorter showers and less electricity. We have brought our electrical use from 9.5 kwh to 5.5 kwhs, which is less than we hoped for, but less all the same.


We finished off the lentils, and I made chicken and dumplings with whole wheat flour. They turned out pretty good. I am hoping that the kids will get used to whole wheat and multigrain as opposed to pure white.

We also discovered that its easier to have one light on than to use candles. Also less mess.

We'll be glad when this is over, but I know that we'll never be the same.

Day 1

Yesterday we all had computer withdrawal symptoms! We worked hard at keeping lights off and not buying anything. We have been reading the electricity meter. we figure that we use about 9.5 Kilowatt hours per day. We were hòping to get that down to 5 but we only got down about 3.5. We were dissapointed. Interestingly, our gas tanks have no gauges, so we don't know how much we are saving there. I have beem cooking on the cookstove, no gas and no microwave. Showers are timed at 3 minutes. We had lentil stew for dinner and will have leftover lentils tomorrow. The good thing is that we like lentils! I made 3 loaves of multigrain bread yesterday. They are delish.

We will do this until Saturday. I hope that we will make some good habits that will hold over for good. We'll see.

Got to go, times uo again!

An experiment

This week we are doing a family experiment. We are honoring those who went through the great Depression, and learning to appreciate what we have by going through an extremely frugal week. My internet time is limited to 10 minutes, so I won't be able to blod much about it until later.
We are limiting electricity, water, gas and food. I mean, we have plenty of food, but there will be no extras. All my cooking will be on the wood stove, and most of the clothes drying will be on a rack in front of the fire.

It will be interesting to see just how low we can go. We take so much for granted. I am hoping that will change.

Time's up!

Getting fit update

Well, its been 4 weeks now of working out, 2-3 times a week. I am loving exercise TV because there is so much free content. Yesterday we did a cardio-slimdown, which is just challenging enough to keep me from getting bored. Today we did Leslie Sansone's 2 mile walk. Great! Easy moves, yet plenty challenging. So far, we switch between the cardio slimdown, the 2 mile walk, and a ballet workout. I like doing the ballet one because Eileen and I aren't particularly graceful, and I am hoping this will help. Soon we will start WeighDown again. I want to get the exercise thing down before I start the eating thing.

I have been thinking about the spiritual aspect of exercising. I know that the Bible says that bodily exercise profiteth little, but the truth is that bringing the flesh under control is always a good thing. It really depends on your outlook and reason for exercising.

One more thing. I cannot exercise in the evening. Two nights ago we did, and I was awake for hours. Precious sleep hours lost!

Tracts do work

Michele wrote this post about sharing the Gospel. She talked about how that tracts do work.
This last week we saw the truth about this as well. Four weeks ago, a family began visiting our church. The have a 4 month old baby girl with severe heart defects. This family are neighbors to Pati and Fabian, members of our church who had invited Carlos and Josselin. But when Carlos and Josselin walked into the door, Pati was surprised to see them. Apparently, they had not accepted their invitation. This past Sunday, Carlos invited Neil over. He told him about their little baby's problems. Neil asked them how they decided to come to our church. He said that Fabian had invited them, but they had ignored the invitation. Then later, they wanted to go to church, any church. One of them had one of our tracts with our address and services hours. They thought "Why not this one?" And so they came. I think that they were just as surprised to see Pati and Fabian, as they had been to see Carlos and Josselin.

Carlos says that he is saved, but Josselin recieved Christ Sunday night. We are so pleased. Please pray for their sweet baby, Carla.

She's nine months old!

The camera loves you, Baby!




I have had no end of things to blog about, but not one peaceful minute. Even now, there's work to be done and Vanessa is fussing. But if I wait, I won't blog at all! Poor Vanessa's gums are bothering her greatly. She is still waking every two-to-three hours every night. My Goodness! I hate it. I've tried to try everything, but can't get Dh on the cry-it-out bandwagon, and I'm afraid anything less will not work. Obviously....she's nine months old and wakes like a newborn.

DH turned 40 this year in July. We celebrate Apollo 11 every year, since that's where they got DH's name. This year was a biggie. We followed a recreated lunar landing for about three days.
Of course, in Spanish, they call it a "mooning" since they say you can't "land" on the moon. I don't even try to explain why we don't call it a "mooning"!

We celebrated our 16th wedding anniversary last week. It was a bit subdued due to the fact that Neil was busy at a fellowship meeting during the three days prior, and due to the fact that Vanessa is too small to be left behind for any decent kind of anniversary celebration.

Got to go, Vanessa's fussing has turned to full-scale crying!

Do you read Boomama?

I do. When I need a really good laugh, I head over to Boomama archives.
Here is the post about her mama's stunt pillows.
Here's the one about Bojangle's Boberry biscuits
And finally, the one about the green salsa

Her devotion to Diet Coke is a subject near and dear to my heart.

Peace and quiet

Due to unusual circumstances, I am home alone with Vanessa, who is asleep. Now I can blog! Wait a minute......my minds a blank. I have absolutely nothing to blog about.

I do have an idea for a series. Sometimes I feel guilty if I spend too much time on the computer. I tell myself that it is helpful, and it inspires me to do better at many things. So.....I want to do a series about going from inspiration to application. Not just about that but actually telling and showing things that I normally would put off or not do at all, that I have done, thanks to my blogging.

Now, the first thing that I am inspired to do is to get off my franny and get the morning work done! Chao!

OK, so even missionaries need exercise!

But I haven't done any in a while. There are no Curves here, nor any ladies-only gyms. In fact there are very few gyms at all. I don't like walking here in town, because I always run into several friends and aquaintances, and its rude not to stop and talk. But if you stop, what's the point?

I have a few old videos, namely Richard Simmons (gross) and Stormie Omartian, who I love. But that video is almost 20 years old. Things have changed alot.

I bought a DVD by The Firm, but I couldn-t figure out all the moves and it was way too fast.

So finally I found what I was looking for. Free videos, for beginners. exercisetv.tv

Eileen and I have done 3 different workouts over two weeks. so far so good.

I don-t have any grand ideas about getting skinny, but fit is always good.

What I really want is a workout that exercises both the body and spirit, with uplifting music, and Scripture memory. I am this close to making my own videos. Don-t laugh. It could happen.

My budding Photographer

Eileen offered to take some photos to remember Sandra's pregnancy. They were very happy and best of all, they are going to pay her! This was her first photography job, and hopefully not her last.

Nanny.....or Mommy

I was looking for exercise videos, but I found this.

Baby Shower, part 2

Just a few shot of all the ladies there.

Baby Shower, part 1

We had a blast at the shower last night. Here is the gift table. She recieved a bunch of nice things. We also played a few shower games. Here we were given a pregnant lady to dress. My team won, but no thanks to me, I just glued the stockings and shoes on!

To eat, we had a salad bar. But, for fun, we had a salad contest. The winning salad waqs the "Bib" salad, below, to the left. My favorite was this one, the "bottle" salad.

Here was another finalist. Don't you jsut love the sculpted red pepper?

The big winner!

After the salad, we had corn chowder that I had made, and rolls. It was dee-lish!

A cake and a wedding

We are having Sandra's baby shower tonight. I, the non-crafty type decided to spread my wings outside my comfort zone with a diaper cake! I hadn't done one before, but it was easy!

Last week, we headed down to the Civil Registry to witness the marriage of Eduardo and Nancy, a new couple in our church. They have been together for over five years, but wanted to make things right before God and country. Here am I, along with Mom and Pati, who dubbed us "Charlie's Angels"

And here's the happy couple!

Weddings and babies, it just doesn't get any better than that! How are we doing Bro. Voddie?

Truth is truth...

whether you believe it or not.

I was recently reminded that not all Americans believe in my God. That is quite true. But here's what I believe. God is God whether you believe in Him or not. He is not just my God, He is THE God. He is not just a deity figure that we have chosen, out of our primitve need to "worship" something. He is the Creator, the Almighty. He has made a beautiful that we still have not managed to mess up completely. He keeps us alive. He keeps meteors from smashing into us. He even steps in sometimes and rescues us from ourselves.


No one can see gravity, but you'd be foolish to walk aff the edge of a cliff. And, what's that you are breathing? And how did it get here? And what keeps it here?

This is not to open a discussion, its just my affirmation of some of what I believe about God.
If you choose to not believe in God, that is your choice. But don't say that you weren't warned!

Looking Back, Money Managing

Michele posted some vintage videos that are quite interesting. I had seen this one a while back, and although it seems corny now, the advice is sound. To top it off, its fun to watch! It is incredible seeing how much things have changed in the past 60 years.

You think I'd be used to this by now

I know that most of you are enjoying a long, warm summer. Lucky you. Its winter here. Cold, dark, damp winter. And because we are so far south, winter is long. You think that I would be used to this by now, but I obviously am not, or it wouldn't phase me at all.

Note to self.
Wardrobe planning: Buy winter clothes.
I have a pretty evenly distributed wardrobe, but the truth is that the weather here is most definitely not evenly distributed. Its cold most of the time. Even in the dead of summer, I have to wear a sweater over my summery dresses.

Note to future missionaries. Check Accuweather before you confirm your calling!

The seasons of life

It is so important to recognize your season,and I'm not talking about your colors! (although I am a Winter)
I am thinking about the newlywed season, the new mama season, the older mama season, etc. Having a baby in the house after 10 years brings you back to the new mama season really fast. Its been over a year since I slept through the night, and I don't see that changing anytime soon. But, this second time around, I realize that it is indeed just a season, and soon will be over. Vanessa turned 8 months old yesterday. She will be a toddler before I am ready for it!
The sad thing is that I see some of the first time mommies at church discouraged and tired. They don't even want to think about another baby because they are so ready to be done with this season.
It really helps to understand that seasons do end, for better or for worse. I'll be glad if I live this season to the fullest. Both the baby season and the teenager season. I am cautious but not afraid. And when its all over, there will be new seasons, the granny season and the "empty nest"season. All these seasons are beautiful in their own way. Do you know that I would hate to live in a tropical area with discernable seasons? I love the Fall. I see the stark beauty of Winter. I see the new life of Spring. I try to tolerate Summer's heat. But the truth is that you can't have one without another. They, like the seasons of our lives were given to us by a wise and loving God.

I had to post this for posterity!

Vanessa's court Jester from Rhonda Arias on Vimeo.

We're done!

All's over but the shouting (and decorating) Here's how it looked before. Here's a shot of my former dining area and front door.

Here's the new area along with the new paint and window

we switched the living and dining areas. I also got new "carpet" (not to be confused with American carpet) but very nice for us. We also replaced the ceiling. It looks great. The color on the walls is Red Tomato by Sherwin Williams.

On the other wall is Honey Blush, also by SW. I want to paint a Scripture as a border, but we haven't decided on a verse.

For Kristina, the bride

The day of your wedding is coming up soon, and I know that you and your family must be terribly excited and working feverishly to get it all done it time. Godly weddings are beautiful to witness, and I am sure that yours will be very special to behold. However, soon you will find that you married a human being with faults and "issues" that you might not have seen before. Also, you may become aware of faults and issues in yourself that you didn't realize you had. So, as a wedding gift, allow me to share 15 years worth of experience. I won't be writing of my (our) strengths, but of my weakness that I am (we are) overcoming.








1 Allow you husband to be human, to make mistakes.


I often tried to "protect" and "help" my husband by telling him about his mistakes. This is not my job, unless he specifically asks for it. This is the job of the Holy Spirit. Yes, you may suffer the consequences of his mistakes, but you must trust God to protect you. You will find yourself in a heap of trouble if you try to "help" the Holy Spirit do His work. Of course, you are probably reading this, thinking, "What on earth is she talking about? Josh is a great guy, and his faults are miniscule" If that is so, Praise the Lord!





2. Focus on your position as Help Meet. He is not there to help you in your ministry, you are there to help him to fulfill his vision. Serve God by serving Josh graciously.


3. Be pleasant. During a Christian courtship, a couple rarely spends a great deal of time together. So, you can be pleasant the whole time. When you start to live with someone, 24 hours a day, its hard to maintain a pleasant demeanor all the time. However, its extremely important to be pleasant and smiley.



4. Spend the time you have before the babies come making yourself into an expert homemaker. This means housekeeping, cooking and home economy. Also, prepare yourself spiritually and practically for motherhood. Read good books and websites, but learn to not waste your time. Also remember that being a good wife and mother is a life-long process, start soon and never quit learning and improving.


These are just a few things I am working on.




May your journey be a fabulous one! It is my prayer that people will look at you two and rejoice at seeing a marriage the way God intended. Blessings!

Dangerous Jobs!

I'll have to say that I think that the music industry might just be one of the most dangerous out there. So many "musicians" and "singers" have died young, the latest being of course, pop music's "king". Elvis died young, and so many others. If I was in the music industry, I'd watch out!
Of course music itself is not the problem. Look at all the older folks on the Gaither reunion videos. There's quite a bit of gray and toupee! Hmmm....must be the kind of music. Yeah, that must be it! Rick Warren and others would have us believe that all music is amoral, neither good or bad. But it seems that its only the "bad" music industry that is deadly. And the "badder" the music, the more dangerous. Fr'instance, there seem to be a lot of rappers in trouble all the time.

Christian parents wanted to please their teenagers and let them listen to whatever their flesh wants to. Now grown up, these people are mourning a profane, godless man. I shudder to think about where he is today.

Don't get angry when your pastor preaches against wordly music! He's raising a much-needed warning flag.

All or nothing

That's what the Christian life is all about to me. Of course, we must be balanced, but not when it comes to love for the Lord. Then its all-out, nothing held back devotion. When we are sold-out for the Lord, He gives us the wisdom we need to find the balance we need.

The sad thing is when I see people I love trying to love God half-heartedly. They want to please God at Church and then live with a worldly world-view at home. This leads to all sorts of conflicts. I have a dear friend at church who is going through a terrible time. When she is honestly looking to please the Lord, she comes to me for counsel and advice. When she's not interested in what God has to say, she is friendly and nice, but doesn't seek counsel from me or anyone else who's able to guide her. The horrible thing is that she is suffering. I can see it in her face and I know she feels defeated. Please pray for my friend, that she would give in to God and let her suffering count for something good!

Have you ever seen anything so cute?

I didn't think so

New Vanessa pix

Please bear with this proud mama and shutterbug sister!

Why I read the Bible the way I do

I have a One year Bible. It is divided into an Old Testament reading, a New Testament reading, a Psalm or a portion of a Psalm and one or two Proverbs, per day. I have used this Bible several years for my personal reading, and it has always been a blessing. I was raised in a Christian home, and I have been in Church all my life, but there are a few gaps in my Bible knowledge, mostly concerning chronology and order. Reading the Bible systematically, year after year has greatly improved my understanding of order. I have had several "lightbulb moments" over the years. Yesterday, I had another one.
Yesterday, I read the story of Elijah, Ahab, and Naboth. I had always wondered why Ahab was so upset about a simple piece of land. Well, come to find out, in the preceding chapter, Ahab defeats Ben-hadad, spares his life, and then gets a dressing down from God for not destroying Ben-hadad. So, going into the chapter about the vinyard, Ahab was already in a bad mood. And when Naboth refuses to sell him his vinyard, he completely over-reacts, with deadly consequences. Now I get it! Hurrah for my One Year Bible!

This and That

Its been another wacky week in the Arias household. The remodeling project is still underway, hopefully soon to be done. I am ready to get my living and dining room back. I am so pleased to have more space. We have lots of people over for this and that, so we need a place to put them!

We had a great weekend, inspite of rain and cold. We had a dinner to celebrate the church's 13th anniversary. We had about 90 in attendance. We were going to have meat and potato salad. One of my ladies put BEETS in with the potatoes. YUCK! It turned the salad pink. Obviously, we had tons of salad left over. We had a great time of food and fellowship. Sunday went well too. We had a few visitors. We have a new couple, Eduardo and Nancy. They were both saved two weeks ago. They are going to get married, and then get baptized. We are happy for them.

We had a good ladies meeting today, with 22 in attendance. We even had a visitor, a young woman named Andrea.

Between the housework, baby, homeschooling and churchwork, I am a bit overwhelmed. Add to that, I have been battling a nasty cough. Its not bad during the day, but nighttime is a different story.

We finally received the last letter need to present our paperwork to Customs to have our stuff released. Neil mailed the paperwork this morning. Please pray that things will go quickly now.

Blessings and peace!

Remodeling update

Here's another picture of Vanessa in case you needed a Venessa fix! Here they are removing the wall.

Here are the two windows. I am so happy because now I have another window to paint at Christmas!

Another look at the new space.

You might be asking yourself, where is all of Rhonda's furniture? How nice of you to notice! Its all over the house! The couch is in Eileen's room, the dining room table is in Ronnie's and the recliner is in Vanessa's.

And Chile won again! We are now in 2nd place, after beating Bolivia 4-0. They are so excited here! I just wish that I liked soccer! Anyway, JulieMom, are you up for some visitors from Chile next year?

Chile won!

I am by no means a soccer fan, but, Chile beat Paraguay, in Asuncion! That is absolutely incredible. Paraguay had been undefeated. Everyone will be happy tomorrow. Am I sorry that I did not watch the game? Nope. But for my husbands sake, I am glad they won.

What I do when I cannot blog, Part 2

And if that weren't enough, its Kids Club day!!! Yay! We had to hurry our guests because, unlike most latin Amercan endeavors, we are punctual. We had to make a few adjustments, but all went well. We had 44 children and 10 workers. Here Sandra is telling the story of the life of Hudson Taylor

Here, the younger kids have their game time.

Here are the big kids playing Hot Potato. That's Eileen in green in the back and Ronnie here in the front in red.

Here's more of the story-verse-singing-Gospel time.I am so tired my eyes are crossing. I can't go to bed until Neil gets here. They all went to watch the big Chile vs. Paraguay soccer game. We are sooooo going to lose! Paraguay is in first place and they are playing in Asuncion. What a bummer!

What do you think of our lovely orange chairs? There's a 30 year old story behind them!

Have a wonderful Lord's day! Rest if you can. Thank God that you can still worship freely.

Do you know what my favorite piece of advice is? Go to church expecting God to speak to you! Expect a blessing and you'll get one!

Peace from Above

Things I do when I cannot blog! Part 1

Well, here's some photos of the construction going on at my house. Look at the left side of the photo. That whole area is going to be knocked out and pushed out about another meter.

Here's what it looks like from the outside.

So, then, another workman came from a church in another city to build us a inside door for the church. He is staying with us also. Here's what he is building.

Then, to top it all off, we're having a group from another church in another city come a do a soul winning seminar. We thought that it was a small group, but their pastor thought more was better and came with 22 people! In the interest of decorum, I will say no more!

Here we have set up tables in our dining room to feed them all. We got most of our women to come and cook and clean. I am so grateful for my ladies, they are all hard workers and rarely shirk their duty.

Encouragement

Don't you just love to be around encouraging people? I find that the blogs I like best to visit are the most encouraging ones. I must say, however, that I would probably have to admit that my blog isn't exactly an encouraging one.

So, how can I encourage you today? Let me start by encouraging you to spend some time in the Scripture. Today I read 2 Samuel. We are now at the end of King David's life. Even with all of his sins and shortcomings, he loved God and His word. I also read Acts 2. WOW! Its so wonderful to read how that God made Jesus Lord and Christ. Amen, glory hallelujah!

We live in uncertain times. If you are a believer, this is just another sign of the times, and I for one, am thrilled at the thought of sudden Rapture! All this hullabaloo about the economy and flu is all just another sign. May I encourage you to witness to and pray for your lost loved ones? Don't be weary in praying for them! God is faithful!!!!!

If you are in ministry, be encouraged! You are privileged! Be faithful, as this is the requirement for servants. If you are faithful, then you have succeeded! And know that you are not alone in your efforts. God loves having you in his service!

Blessings and peace to you all!

Heeeeere's Vanessa at 6 months!

I have never ever seen such a pink-and-white baby!

Be careful what you wish for!

Our living/dining area is oddly shaped. As you come into the front door, there is a small area, I assume intended for living room, then the room expands, again assuming for dining area, as it si closer to the kitchen. But that did not makes sense to cram all the living room furniture in the small area and let my dining room table float in the larger area. So we switched them. It freaks people out to come in and see the table first. Anyway, we always wanted to remodel so as to make the smaller area bigger.
We received a "supernatural financial blessing" so we decided to move ahead with the project. So now I have two workmen here every day, and one of them is staying with us........for four weeks! ARRRGHHH!
I also decided that the new living area was going to be different. Its going to be painted RED! Yep, I am going to live on the wild side! No more beiges and creams for me. All kidding aside, I just felt that for once in my life, I would take a risk. You know what? I looked on the Sherwin-Williams web site, found the right red, and guess what? The colors that the remaining walls are, are exactly the complementary colors that they would choose!

The new camera will be here tomorrow, so I'll take some "before" photos.

BTW, since the new camera will be here, I will be posting a gajillion photos. Please bear with me!

Sacrifice on the altar of "Convenience"

I have been reading "Coffee Tea Books and Me " posts about frugality, and they have been a blessing. We are not hurting finacially, but we are not rolling in the dough either. I think it would seem that we had more if we were more frugal. Economy used to be one of the traits of a successful homemaker.

Anyway, there isn't much more to say that hasn't already been said by others. However, as an American living abroad, I can see more clearly a few things about our society. One of the things is the American love a convenience. We worship convenience. We would rather spend money than time and/or effort.

One of the areas where is this more noticeable is the area of food. Most women do not cook anymore, or consider making Hamburger Helper "cooking". (note, I love hamburgur Helper...i have very unsophisticated tastes!) We buy many things pre-made. Even if they do not taste as good as the real thing, we prize the convenience. Even if we know that it is not nutritious, we prize the convenience.
The price that has been paid for our convenience has been great. For one thing, overweight, as most over-processed foods are high in fat and sugar. Overweight has lead to other horrible consequences like diabetes. We sacrifice our health on the altar of Convenience.

Another consequence is not as noticeable, and maybe most people don't even care. But it is that fact that since we don't make things without mixes and such, we don't know how. We are trapped. Even cookbooks today start their recipes with "open a can of........." I love church cookbooks, but they are largely useless to me. Most of the recipes for cakes start with a boxed cake mix. Most of the savory recipes call for cans of cream of mushroom soup and velveeta cheese. Now, don't get me wrong, I love velveeta cheese! But, we sacrifice our skills on the altar of Convenience.
I have become empowered as I learn to cook great food from scratch. I spend time, money and effort, but it has been worth it! As I get more skillful, I will spend less money!

Does this make any sense to anyone? Hope so!

Cheesy lightbulb moment!

I have noticed that Americans cook with a lot of cheese. I love cheese, but its so expensive.
Anyway, I was watching Tammys tutorial about making pizza, and she put a ton of cheese on that pizza. I would have used half. I know Tammy is frugal as well, so I figured she must be paying a lot less than I do. Then I actually did the math. We pay over 4.5 dollars a pound for cheese. Can you believe that? Cheese is, pound for pound, more expensive than most meats here.

Anyway, I guess its just as well. Cheese is one of my weakness.

Do, you mind my asking, how much do you pay for cheese?

Crying it out, part 2

Last night was a lot better. We woke Dear Baby at 12 for her last feeding. Then, as 3 am, like clockwork, she woke up. But last night, she only cried for 10 minutes. Praise the Lord! Then she woke again around 6 am, which is just fine.

I am curious to see how it goes tonight. I don't want to get overly optimistic. We'll see!

Are we headed into another weekend already?

I remember a time when my blog posts were about something, not just about how busy I am!

I know that having a baby is a good thing, but one must come to terms with the fact that things must change. Time must be structured differently. However, "structure" and "baby" don't go together very well at this house.



Update on the Baby.

Last night was the first night of the "crying it out" phase. No, we did not leave her alone, but we did not pick her up and I did not feed her. I don't think she got the memo about the changes, because she expressed her extreme dislike for the new regimen.....for 1.5 hours. Not too bad. According to Dr. Jessie and Tracy Hogg, this should take up to 3 or 4 days, if we are consistent.




Update on my Mother's day gifts. In lieu of the Wii, I asked if I could order a DVD. I wanted "The shop around the Corner" with Jimmy Stewart. This was graciously OK'd. So yesterday I got online to order the DVD. 14.99 dollars. OK....Shipping 16.oo dollars, total...about 30 dollars. For one lightweight DVD? I don't think so!!!!



Neil was in Valdivia yesterday and bought me the most beautiful cup and saucer. So fine! And do you know what? I broke it today! I feel so bad. It was a clean break and I can fix it with some crazy glue. Wasn't planning on using for actually drinking, thank goodness

I have been mulling over some ideas about motherhood. Maybe I'll have time soon to blog about them.......

Oh, the missionary life!

Its been a while since I sat down at the computer to write. We had a wild week, last week. Neil was gone on the 1st and 2nd of May, and the 4th and 5th. It changes everything. We had our super Puppet event on Saturday after several rehearsals. I only went to the last one. There were over 110 in attendance and 11 children were saved. We had about 25 first time visitors.

I had spent all of Saturday morning cooking. You see, we have no decent restaurant here. So, do you want to have a nice meal for your mama on Mother's day? Then you have to cook it yourself! But when? On Saturday morning, of course! I made our favorite, meat loaf. Nobody likes meatloaf but Mom and me. Too bad, its our day! I also made 7 layer salad, which must be refrigerated overnight. Hallellujah! We love, love, love 7 layer salad. For after the puppet event, I also made Mimi's Cafe's corn soup and corn bread. Mmmm! We actually had that for lunch and supper. It was just that good!

Its a good thing, too, because Saturday was wild. And after the event, we had to clean the Church! Yea! It wasn't too bad since there were several of us. Sunday dawned cold and rainy. We usually have a low attendance among the children on these days, but it wasn't too bad. My family wanted to buy me a Wii, with Wiifit for Mother's Day. Do you know how much a wii costs here? 500.00 dollars. !!!!!!! I graciously declined. Do you know what I could do with 500 dollars? Then Monday Eileen and I worked ALL DAY, making up for what we hadn't been able to do all weekend. And Today, we had ladies Bible Study. I am tired. The house is so-so.

But its all good.

Well, its almost all good. Neil went to get money out of our local ATM. And the machine didn't give him the money! We called our bank, the ATM's bank, opened a claim. This isn't going to be easy or fun. I hope we don't lose the money. Please pray for us.

I've still got tons to do, and Eileen's got a bad cold. But I don't think I'll do one more useful thing tonight. Enough is enough. I think I'll go watch some Star Trek!

Too busy again

This week has been unbelievebly busy, and the end is nowhere in sight. Neil was gone for 2 days, so that makes things a little more difficult.

We switched the Mafil ladies Bible study to Wednesday, so that we could have more time for the study in Lanco. As I said in another post, we've restructured the group into four different tables with leader at each table. We are now having a 3 o'clock meeting for the four leaders at my house. That way we can encourage and instruct them, so that they can lead and occasionly teach their groups. They are really excited at getting some leadership training. But the truth is, its servanthood training.
The meeting went good. We had 19 ladies, so we were thrilled. In Mafil we had 3 besides Mom and me. I taught about Cain and Able. They had heard about Cain and Able, but knew nothing about them. I used a flash card lesson. Only one of the ladies can read and write. Please pray for one lady named Claudia. She has so many problems with no visible solution, and she has become so discouraged.

We are having a big puppet event this Saturday. Please pray. I have to bake some cakes and work at the sign-up table. OK by me! Mom has to do puppets. Eileen wanted to do the puppets, but she's at the sign-up table instead.- Oh well, next time, BabyDoll!

Tomorrow we have to go into the city for Vanessa's six-month check up. That means we get to start her on real food. I am hoping that it will help her sleep more during the night. A mother can hope, can't she? Sleep deprivation is getting to me!

We are waiting for two more documents to arrive from the US to move forward with the container paperwork. Please pray.

We will be getting a new camera to replace the broken one, but in one month. I can't wait! If you all could see our Vanessa, it would brighten your day!

Blessings to you all, pray for your missionaries!

Repentance and salvation

My mom was preparing her ladies Bible study, and pulled out a book she's had for years. I've never seen her read it, but its always been there. Its called "Genesis to Deuteronomy" (catchy title, don't you think?) by C.H.Mackintosh, first published in the 1880's.
I found this quite-long quote to be fascinating.

Our divine Master called upon sinners to repent and believe the Gospel. Some would have us to believe that it is a mistake to call upon persons dead in trespasses and sins to do anything. "How", it is argued, "can those who are dead repent? They are incapable of any spiritual movement. They must first get the power ere they can either repent or believe."
What is our reply to this? A very simple one indeed-our Lord knows better than all theologians in the world what ought to be preached. He know all about man's condition-- his guilt, his misery, his spirtual death, his utter helplessness, his total inability to think a single right thought, to utter a single right word, to do a single right act; and yet, He calls upon men to repent. This is quite enough for us. It is no part of our business to seek to reconcile seeming differences. It may seem to us difficult to reconcile man's utter powerlessness with his responsability; but"God is his own Interpreter, and He will make it plain". It is our happy privilege, and our bounden duty, to believe what He says, and do what he tells us. This is true wisdom, and it yields solid peace. Our Lord preached repentance, and he commanded his apostles to preach it; and they did so constantly.

Ladies Bible Study update

WOW! Things are going so good, I can't believe it. We had 29 today. Never had 29 before. We had to move out into the gym, and set up another table. Mom taught on Eve and the serpent. It was real good. She made the point that Satan offered Eve what he himself had wanted, to be like God.
I pray that God will work in the lives of all the ladies who were there today, that the Word that was taught might take root in their lives. We had 4 unsaved ladies there, we pray that they might understand their need for salvation.
Please pray for Georgina, Pati Veloso, Pati Huenchulaf and Sandra. These are my group leaders. We've already had a few problems, but that is to be expected when you are in the Lord's service. Pray for Eileen as she cares for the little ones.
The Lord always blesses us, but not always as visibly. We are thankful, but aware that there is still much to be done. And much more to be.

Please pray

I know that I have brought this up before, but its still unresolved. We brought a container full of stuff last year from the US. We got permission to store it at our own house until Customs had cleared it. Its been a year, and Customs still has not cleared it, due to problems on our end, and problems on their end. Due to a clerical error, they called us this afternoon telling us that they were going to arrive tomorrow with a truck to seize our stuff and auction it all off. We spent several tense hours calling different people and trying to get the right paper work to the right people. All is well, now. for the moment.

Please pray with us that we would be able to end this!

Great Weekend!

For most people, a great weekend is about getting away from work and having a relaxing time with friends and family. For most Christians, its about relaxing with friends and family and worship with the body of Christ. For us, its Game Time! Here is where the rubber meets the road. Here is 48 hours of work. For starters, we had kids Bible club. We had 51 kids and 14 leaders and helpers. This was amazing as it was not really anything special, just the results of prayer and work. The meeting was great and we all had a good time. Club was followed by church cleaning. There were 2 other ladies that came and did the bulk of the church cleaning. This was fabulous, as we now have a fairly large church. Auditorium, gym, 3 bathrooms, kitchen, dining room, and 5 classrooms.

After cleaning, they had rehearsals for the big puppet event in two weeks. Mom and Neil stayed for that, and I went home to fix supper.

At 6 on Sunday morning, we got a call from a pastor in a nearby town. He ahd taken the bus from Santiago, and the bus attendant didn't wake him up in his town, but dropped in in our town. He tried to get a bus home, but there was nothing at that time,. So, he called Neil to come a get him. I got up and made pancakes. We had a nice visit before he got a ride home. It was still so early that I had time to shower and do my hair before Sunday School!
Our preschool teacher quit last week, so I had to take the class. No big deal. But I was glad that, during the break, a lady came and offered to take the class. She had taught years ago, and wanted to start again. I said Great!

We had 102 in Sunday School yesterday which is our goal. We want to average 100 in Sunday school before the year is out.

After Church, I rushed home to put the crockpot dinner on the table. We had great roast beef. Then off to a 50 minute nap. At 3 we head of to the mission Church in Mafil. There were 20 from Mafil, besides the 10 that we take from Lanco. We had a nice service, and one young man got saved.


Then, we rush back to Lanco for the evening service. Now, for most US churches, Sunday evening is for the church family. Its a little more relaxed than Sunday Morning. Not so for us. Its our prime evangelistic service. We had several visitors. We had a total of 118 people yesterday. Don't get me wrong though, its not about the numbers. Its about the souls those numbers represent. And its about seeing fruit from years of labor. So all in all, it was a great weekend!

To Spanish-speaking missionaries

Have any of you see the "El Principio del Tesoro" DVD by Randy Alcorn? We have the book, and I think that it is great. Our Pastor reccomended "Money, possessions and Eternity",which I have not read. Anyway, while looking up this book, I found the DVD in Spanish. WooHoo! But, is it any good? 25 dollars plus shipping good?

If you've seen it, let me know!

BTW, did you know that you can order Dutch Blitz for 6 bucks at CBD? We paid 12 the the US at a store.

Ladies meeting confession

We've been doing Ladies Bible study for years. For the past 2 years or so, we have kind of "peaked" at an average of 17. Good but not really growing. I also was getting weary of the ladies arriving late. We start our meeting with prayer requests and prayer, but it got to the point that we would strech it our to wait for stragglers, often half the group. Being an American, that was unacceptable. But not just as an American, but as a Christian who does not like using prayertime as a time-killer while latecomers arrive. So Mom and I had an inspiration. We divided the group into three, at three different tables. We chose leaders for each table. These ladies would be responsable for visiting their group, advising us to any particular need of one of their ladies and most important, have prayer requests and prayer in their group. The somewhat unexpected outcome what a friendly rivalry between groups. We had 19 the first week and 21 the next week. Visitation was done by the group leaders. Yay! We have delegated successfully! And I told the leaders that they were to start prayer time at 4 and end at 4:15 on the dot. We had fewer latecomers on week two! Yay! There is more than one way to skin a cat!

Ladies Bible Study

Well, my insanely busy life just got busier. Yes, I need to cut back. But, where? Which one of my kids should I give up? I cannot give up the ladies ministry, as they need it so badly. And to add to all the fun, we started a
2 o'clock study in Mafil, followed by a 4 o'clock study in Lanco.
The Mafil study is unique in that the ladies have 2nd grade reading level, well, those who read have a 2nd grade reading level. The others just listen.
Today, we learned the names of the first 5 books of the Bible. They got stuck on "Deuteronomio". That's OK. A lot of people do! I gave a flash-card lesson about Adam and Eve and the fall.

In Lanco, we had a great meeting. We had 21, which is great. I taught about hearts, my heart, my husband's heart and my kids' hearts. I am trying to get them to understand that they must reach out emotionally and spiritually to their kids. Only time will tell if any of them got it. I have to trust that the Holy Spirit will lead them to the truth. A lady visited on Sunday, and got saved. She came today, and she was so excited!

But now, its all over and I am tired! So is Eileen, since she cared for the children during the class. She really needs a good helper. She is a real trooper.

I have really wanted to spend some blogging time, but some days, I hardly have time to read your blogs. I get such a blessing from reading!
God bless and keep you.

Hope you are basking in the Son!

My "Multitud of Counsellors"

Okay, so maybe not a multitud, but I do seek counsel. Not always with a real, live, talking human, but through books. I would like to share them with you.
But first, I cannot write about my counselors without first writing about my mom. She is my greatest counselor. I learn by her words and example.
She also is a big lover of great books, mostly biographies, some study books and some fiction.


My "Counsellors" on Child training and discipline are: Michael and Debi Pearl and Voddie Baucham. Books: To Train up a Child and Family Driven Faith. I read and reread these books and I give them as gifts.
I also like to listen to Voddie online, and I read NGJ's newsletter.
**
My "counsellor" in Wifehood (is that a real word?) and motherhood: Debi Pearl, "Created to be his Helpmeet"
I know that this book is controversial to some, but I find it very helpful for me and for those that I counsel.
Another "Counsellor" in this area is Stormie Omartian and her Power of a praying wife. If you have not read this book, I heartily suggest that you do!
***
My"Counsellor" in Housekeeping is Flylady!
Added to this are the writings and sayings of Booker T Washington, who knew the value of hard work and dilligence.

****
My "Counsellors" in finance are Mary Hunt and Dave Ramsey
..
..
I find that it helps to read different authors in order to get a greater vision. And it goes without saying that of course, you absolutely must compare everything to Scripture. I read the One Year Bible for my daily reading. If you don't read all the Scripture, you'll depend on books and teachers and never really learn to rely on the Lord.

I thank God for allowing me to learn and grow.

Lyrics that convict

From Steve Green's "We Believe"

-------

"A chasing of the wind"

Every heart is filled with longing

To be free from all life's pain

Yet the search through earthly pleasures

Always ends in vain

Only God who made the heavens

Can satisfy our souls

Apart from Him and all His meaning

All things fail as they begin

And hearts deceived

Can only know

A chasing of the wind

---

----

-----

All achievements, all possessions

All with time return to dust

Only God can be our reason

For deep and quiet trust

He will guard us from the dangers

That gladly make men fools

Apart from Him and all His meaning

All things fail as they begin

And hearts deceived

Can only know

A chasing of the wind

A chasing of the wind

Why do we live without Jesus?

Why do we waste another day?

He is the life that sustains us

The only hope for us today

So tell me, why do we live

Why do we live without Him?

Sitting at the feet of Jesus

I gave a short devotion at our ladies meeting. As it was the first meeting of the year, we had a dinner and just a short teaching. I talked about Phoebe in Romans 16 and Mary, the sister of Martha.
Paul praised Phoebe highly for the work that she did. Jesus also praised Mary for just sitting there, listening to him.
Who was better?
To me, its all a matter of timing. There is a time to be busy about the Lord's work. To roll up your sleeves and do what has to be done. There are children to care for and a house and a church to be cleaned. There are meals to be made and a hundred other chores to be done....for the glory of the Lord.
Then there is a time to sit at Jesus' feet and listen, drink in all that He has to say. Commune with the Master. This takes quiet and stillness.

Lately I have not had a great deal of quiet time. Sometimes I feel that I am running on spiritual autopilot. But the truth is that for now, I must be busy. Its busy time and there is no time to dawdle. This is not a time for introspection, its a get-up-and-get-it-done time.

Oh Lord, give me the wisdom to know when to be a Phoebe and when to be a Mary

What is our Prime Directive?

What is our primary purpose. I am sorry, I didn't read Rick Warren's book, so I'll have to figure it out on my own! Some say soulwinning is our prime directive and I can see why, given Matthew 28. However, I think that there is more to it.
I believe that our goal, our Prime Directive is to be conformed to the image of Christ, per Romans 8:29. When we make that our goal, everything else fit into place, all our service is done in the right spirit. All our relationships run more smoothly.
So often we make a particular "thing" the basis for measuring our spirituality. But, since we are human, we can't really measure spirituality by deeds alone, since good deeds can be done by christians and non-christians alike. Even atheists can do good.

Year ago, we were give a Steve Green tape. On it was an awful song called "Let the walls come down" I didn't listen to that tape for years because of it. However, I began listening to the other songs, and what a treasure! Thanks to CDs I can easily skip that ecumenical mess and get to some really wonderful songs. One of them is called "I am the Vine". It has a line that has stuck with me for ages. It says "Service is never the root of devotion, It must grow as the fruit of a life that remains on the Vine"
This is in no way knocking service. In fact, it is encouraging service. However, it makes it clear about our motivation.
So, I guess I could say that our Prime Directive will depend on our Prime Motivation.

Soulwinning and the Disney Store

When we were newly married, I worked for nine months at the Disney Store. I was having the time of my life. I got to work at a new store, and I was the first person that they hired. We had two days of training and it was a blast. We learned the Disney guest service cycle. Five steps to ensuring that we were exceeding guest expectation. Every month, we would receive two secret shoppers who would grade us on the guest service cycle. If we passed, we would get a 101 grade, and a Dalmation pin to prove it. Now, at that time, there were at least 2, maybe 3 cast members to wait on the guest. That meant that we had to use teamwork. One person alone could not follow through with all five steps. If the three cast members successfully achieved all five steps, the whole cast, all 44 of us, got pins.

During the first three months, we didn't make the grade. But one day, as I arrived, Stacey, one of our managers, approached me and told me that we had made the grade! And, that my name was on the report! Yay! We started thinking back, trying to determine who it had been. I remembered that lady. Why did I remember? Because she had actually allowed me to go through the process. Most people just responded to my inquiries with a polite "just looking" I knew not to push. We didn't want to alienate someone who could become a regular guest.

What does that have to do with soulwinning? Well, we don't have a guest service cycle, but we do have a Roman's Road. But often, as we get started, we receive a polite, "No thank you, just looking" response. In my opinion, this is the time to politely back off. Apparently, the Holy Spirit is not at work in this person at this time. I will leave a door open for next time, and I'll make sure that there is a "next time"

The good thing about this is that with us, we also must work in teams. One person greets and makes friends, another witnesses and invites, and yet another draws in the net when the person is ready. I just have to be ready and able to do my part for the team. If I've done my part, I must trust the next person to do theirs. There can be no manifestations of ego. We work together for the lost.


And when 1 soul is saved, its a victory for the whole Church.

Some thoughts on Soul Winning

Here in Lanco we love to win souls. We do some door-to-door, but find that generally unfruitful, except for making first contact. We have big events at the Church, but also find that relatively unfruitful in the long term. Why are those two tried-and-true methods not entirely useful here? Simple. It takes time for a seed to grow. Faith cometh by hearing. When we go door to door, the people we meet usually have no real idea about the truth of God. Well, you say, tell them! Yes, of course, and we do. But it takes time for truth to sink in. And even if they agree intellectually, spiritually it is close to impossible on a first try. So we take our time and let the Holy Spirit work. We don't get a lot of instant soul-winning gratification, but it has proven very effective in the long run.

We have been criticized recently by one of Neil's preacher boys for not being more agressive going door-to-door. He thinks thats the only biblically obedient way. But thats not true. We bring people, grown ups and children, to church, where we share the Gospel. We encourage everyone to share the truth with their friends and family. We find that the best, long-term results are from our people bringing their friends and loved ones who get saved (after a few visits) and stay.

I hate being criticized. This one is kind of hard to just shake off because our friend is insinuating that we aren't obedient to God and that we don't care for souls. Its insulting. If I didn't care for souls, I wouldn't be here!

Of course this young man is just that, young. And just a little bit full of himself. I will try to calm down, and not be hurt. I wish I could just shrug it off. And it is a reminder not to be judgemental. Just because I disagree with someone on the finer points of soul-winning, that doesn't mean that they are disinterested in souls or are disobedient. That is up for God to decide.

Winding down

For the moment.
Our guest is gone. We had a great visit and he is planning on returning to Chile with his family as soon as they can get the money together. That is exciting. The thought of haveing new missionaries is wonderful. I hope it works out.

We are expecting Julio, his wife and son this next Sat. Who is Julio? Well, he is a convert from El Bolson, Argentina, where we go on vacation. What do missionaries do on vacation? They witness, of course! We met Julio several years ago at the bowling alley. Neil left him a tract. The next year, we didn't see him at the bowling alley, but we did run into him at the supermarket. Then, the next year, Neil took several guys on a missions trip to El Bolson, found Julio, and were able to lead him to the Lord. We met up with Julio last month, visited with his family. Now they are coming here for a visit. I am no looking forward to more company, but this is important. Julio will be instrumental in starting a church in El Bolson.

Vanessa turned 5 months old, and I couldn't even take a picture. Our camera is broken. Boohoo! She changes so much, almost daily and we're missing it! She is charming and mostly sweet, but then her sin nature kicks in and we get to see her evil twin! Childrearing is not for the fainthearted, my friends!

My other children are neck deep in schoolwork, and none too happy about it.

Ladies' Bible study starts tomorrow. We are going to have a dinner for the opening. I am looking forward to ladies meeting, because I see the need for some instruction. I am seeing some miserable women who desperately need some hope for their family life. Without instruction, they will continue to do what they have always done, which hasn't worked out too good so far. As Dave Ramsey says "If you keep doing what you've been doing, then you are going to keep getting what you've been getting"
I want them to know that there is a better way, God's way. God's way is simple, of course. Hard, but simple. Please pray for my ladies.

So, that's what's going on here!


By the way, Hi JulieMom!!!!!