Scorching

This past week has really been extremely hot here in S Texas - extreme heat warnings on TV all the time. Yesterday afternoon it was 107 degrees and it is not even the hottest part of the summer here. Luckily, we will be in Arkansas during the hottest months (we hope). We don't go outside very often - usually only when we have to. I do walk up to the mailboxes almost every day which is about as far as I walk in the heat. The A.C does a good job of keeping us cool - so we just veggie out and get things done here in the house where it is cool (like cleaning under the bathroom sink )- a job I do not like as one of my daughters and I have a fear of pipes - yep - there really is such a thing - google it.  I put it off as long as I can, then grit my teeth, think good thoughts, pray for strength, and get at the "under the sink" projects.

Fred was out in the heat for 2 days though. He no longer mows grass in the park, so spent the week in the coloinas, building a floor in the distribution area along with the help of Brother Jose Sandoval. They worked hard to have it ready for Friday for the ladies and completed their task. The ladies love it - the ground is so hard, uneven, and dusty unless it rains, then it is is muddy and slippery. Hopefully this will solve the problem and be easier on them

the new floor - does not look like much, but it was a lot of work putting down the pallets, plywood, measuring, cutting, pounding, etc. in the 100 degree plus weather. A layer of ground rocks called caliche was put down under the pallets.

looks good - Fred also made some of the tables

look - we got corn flakes, cans of diced tomatoes ans bagged donuts (I did not have to bag them in the heat!)

fixing lemonade to keep us cool - we were only there about 2 hours and we were all wiping our faces with our shirts

the amazing ladies who  live in the colonias and faithfully help every Friday to fill the baskets with food, etc.Ida is in the back in blue - the far left is Brenda, whose property all this takes place on, right in the middle is Esther, who lives next door, and is a Jehovah Witness who prays faithfully with us all

colorful

sure looks good - key  limes in the back

now for a Spanish lesson - these are the bulbs of the flowers on cactus plants - after the cactus blooms, usually only one day, these form, sometimes turning red. They are sweet but full of seeds - they are called tuna. Yep - not the fish but tuna. Imagine my confusion when Ida asked if there were any tuna, and I thought she meant tuna fish in a can. The Spanish word for tuna is 'atun ( pronounced ah tune)

favorite part of the day - praying before the distribution starts

Our neighbor, Miss Opal,is over 80 years old. Her mother embroidered the squares with pictures form Bible Stories (Moses, the birth of Jesus, etc. ) and Miss Opal fashioned it onto a quilt many years ago. Miss Opal donated it to the church. The church then made a frame and hung it in the nursery for all to enjoy. We took a picture this morning- you can see how proud Miss Opal is of it. She said her mother used to take a square or two along when she went visiting and work on it - better than watching the boob tube or playing on the Internet!

 a work of art to be treasured

Miss Opal and the beautiful quilt

                                                        a closer picture of the intricate needlework

 It was a relief this morning to enter the sanctuary  with it's coolness. Usually I take a shawl along as it is really cold, but with the outside heat it felt comfortable. It is Pentecost Sunday which is actually the birth of the church. Churches are abundant is almost every part of the world - each person worshipping according their beliefs. Why are there so many churches in so many different languages? Go back to Genesis 11 and the story of the Tower of Babel. The people wanted to build a big beautiful city and a tower that would reach to the heavens so they would be revered all around the known world at that time. God was not happy with them!!! At that time everyone spoke the same language so God mixed up their language and dispersed them all over the earth.  Misunderstanding can be destructive. It is true that things become turned around in the translation. Even in their native language most people are likely to hear what they want to hear. The Word of Christ may mean different things to different folks. Is is the literal words of the Lord, an onterpertation, or even a story of what really was said. 

Today spiritual hunger is at an all time high in the world today. The task of the church today is to make the Word of God come alive (as in Miss Opal's quilt). We are the church - it is our job to keep the Word of God alive through our actions and words.