Change

Change can come in many areas of a person’s life. Perhaps a change in health, social status, marital status, religious affiliation, etc. I personally do not really like change. I like things to settle into a pattern and remain there, as if protected by a plastic bubble. But the Lord has certainly different things in mind for us. We never would have believed that we would be serving the Lord on the S Texas border when we first married (the furthest thing on our minds at that time) – no – we planned on perhaps staying in the general area where we were raised, enjoying the clam, smooth life we lived (well, most of the time anyway). Instead the Lord sent us to Arkansas, where we met folks who then lead us to S Texas and the following of the Lord. We have been blessed these many years in listening to His leading and trying to do what we understand His plans for us. For the last 1/2 year or so, He seems to be leading us in now an entirely different direction – that direction being back to Arkansas to serve Him through our home church. We were more convinced of that as we returned from our vacation there – the calling back “home” was so very strong. We listened to His voice, though we do not at this time understand why. Many obstacles that seemed to be in our path have been removed, changes have taken place that seem to be opening new doors for us. We have listed our place here in S Texas for sale, leaving it all in God’s hands to take care of His plan for us. We will be sad to leave the Valley – our deep relationships that we have made with our people in the colonias, but will hopefully transition others to take our place. Our work here is done but will continue as we make the move. Another change taking place is that our dear friend, Miss Opal, who has been a staunch supporter of Caring Hearts Ministry. Her health has deteriorated to the point that she probably will not be able to return to her home to live. (She is in rehab right now as a result of a having to have pacemaker). She is 81 years old and always dreamed of being a missionary. Her dreams became real when she joined our ministry to help those less privileged than we are. And so, the end of an era in all of our lives – as well as the lives of others as they have lost loved ones, lost their good health, even those who seem lost to the Lord. Keep each and every one of them in your thoughts and prayers as they too, try to transition to another step in their lives. God changed directions for so many people in the Bible - Abraham, Jonah, Saul (Paul), even Adam and Eve!!!!

The weather is still very hot and humid here with the temps being in the high 90’s. I suppose it is better than the 12+ inches of snow in Montana, but a bit of a cooling spell would help a lot. We did have a short rain about an hour ago – but not what was predicted.

I had an interesting experience last Friday as we were relaxing in the evening. The doorbell rang and a neighbor Dennis (although he has changed his name to Daniel to be more Scriptural) asked if could do him a favor. He found a ladies billfold in a buggy at Wal-Mart – actually he was waiting for parking space and the lady was flustered because she had 2 small children she was trying to get into her car, as well as her groceries, while noticing he was waiting for her spot. Daniel drove into her spot right after she left, and took her buggy when he noticed the billfold. The lady had already left so he came to our house to see if we could find an address or something so that he could return it, as his eyesight is not too good. Being an Israelite, he needed to try to get this to her before dusk (before sundown) as his Sabbath started then, Although he did say that he could drive after dusk if he was doing a good deed. After much searching we found her driver’s license, put the info into the phone for him. He seemed a bit unsure if he could find it, although it was only a couple of miles away, so I convinced him to let me go with him to find her home. It took a while, as she lived in a restricted area (gated community) and the roads were not well marked. As we turned onto her street, we noticed there were no numbers on the homes there, so we began ringing doorbells asking where this particular home was – no one seemed to know nor did they recognize the name! We finally saw young gentleman standing in his front yard (he perhaps had been watching us and wondering what we were doing), who pointed us in the correct direction, just 3 doors down from his home. I rang the doorbell and the young lady answered and was so surprised to see her billfold as she had no idea that she had lost it, which in a way was a good sign as she had not cancelled or stopped her credit cards, etc. Now for the rest of this amazing story – I explained what had happened and motioned for Daniel to come to the door as the lady wanted to thank him, when I noticed the young man we had previously spoken to was there with Daniel, along with the young man’s small daughter (about 7 years old or so). The women thanked us profusely, and as we returned to the car, Daniel told me this wonderful story – the man had brought his daughter down the street to watch the proceedings in order to teach her what she should do if she found something that belonged to someone else!!! What a great way to teach a lesson in Christianity!!!! Such a blessing because Daniel believed in doing something the right way!

It is now pouring rain – what a blessed relief from the heat for now. I love to hear the sound of rain on the roof and remember God’s promise to Noah never again will he destroy the earth by flood. Our world today is in such disarray that a person cannot hardly believe any news reports. Please pray that our country returns to Jesus – that it remembers the structure of our country as a Christin nation, a nation that many have lost their lives defending. Return God to the halls of our government, our schools, and even our communities so that we can again proclaim we are a nation of God.