This has been a pretty strange and wildly surprising week. Our ministry was donated two truck and trailer loads of fabric - what a treasure. We shared this fabric with 4 other ministries who were so grateful. Our sewing group here at the park had first choice as we parked by the Annex and the quilters began to stream out -like a bunch of kids in a candy store. They were awed at the amount of fabric - not what the usually use for making quilts, but a lot if usable fabric. They were thankful as I told them to even take anything they could use for their personal use. We than went to Children's Haven, where some of the larger bolts were taken by Director Betsy Chicon to use as background for events at the refuge in Reynosa, Mexico. Betsy then called another ministry that we use at times to come and chose what they wanted. They then donated what was left to a minister who ministered in Mexico. So many people were blessed by someone else's leftovers! The next day one of our suppliers called with 6 skids of donations to share with us. We have closed the distribution in the colonias as there is Covid there right now - we plan to resume distribution the first of February if all is clear. We did take few of the items that we could store until then - two boxes of quilted blankets, a large box of containers of salt, dried beans which Fred packaged into 180 family size bags, and least but not least, many boxes of Cadberry candy eggs! We also received a donation of 4 large spirial hams. Even though we did not distribute in the colonias, God certainly kept us busy.
All of the activities on our park are closed down right now because of 6 cases of Covid in the park. We usually do not take part in games, cards, programs, etc. as we seem to be busy with the Lord's work, so we will continue to be extra cautious - only going to the hall for the mail and not congregating.
As I was on facebook one day, I noticed that someone we knew was going to be in the Valley. A next door neighbor of 40+ years ago was nearby, so I messaged he rand asked if we could meet. She babysat for our girls and her parents were good friends. We meet on Friday at an outdoor Mexican cafe and visited for about 2 hours - what fun that was. I recognized her immediately although she had changed, as I am sure we have too. It was a fun time, remembering all the silly things that happened in the unique neighborhood we lived in at the time, as well as sadness as we noticed all of those who had gone on before us. We both we amazed that we were there, in that particular place, at that time. God wasn't though.
Saturday we had our monthly chaplains meeting, at a park on a channel form a busy river. As we were there, a huge barge came by, entertaining us all. One of the chaplains signaled the captain to blow his horn, which he did to accommodate us! It was a truly awesome meeting, with lots of prayer, praise, and song. One of our chaplains recently had several strokes and is living his last days here on earth before entering eternity with the Lord. We spent time in prayer for him and his family. A great meeting with a deep feeling. of fellowship.
one of the new chaplains leading us in song and praise
Another lady of Scripture that is quite obscure is Adah #2 - I talked about Adah #1 in a earlier blog. She was the daughter f Elon, the Hittite and one of the wives of Esau. She became a "grief of mind" to his parents, Isaac and Rebekah. I wonder how any mother-in-laws today think of their daughter-in-law in the same manner?? She became the mother of Esau's first born and along with his other wives, became an ancestress of the Edomites who were treated like brothers of the Israelites. I enjoy learning about these ladies of Scripture and hope I am not boring you with all these stories.
Our music minister Keith Bostain, gave the sermon this morning. Keith is very instrumental in arranging the mission trips ( and going on), usually building homes in areas that have been devastated by storms, etc. These trips include a lot of the youth and very qualified folks who feel the need to do so. It seems very apropos for him to give the message from Nehemiah about rebuilding. Keith gave us 4 points to think about and ponder. Nehemiah was the king's cupbearer, so he had a pretty scary job. He was to test king's food and drink to make sure it was not poisoned. He herd of his peoples troubles in Jerusalem although he himself had never been there. He was perhaps born in Babylon. He was a servant of the Lord, just as we are. As so, we need to reject passitivity. Make yourself available and get out of your comfort zone. Become refreshed because you serve and are refreshed by others. Make a plan to serve. Become available to suggestions and lay out a plan to serve. Accept responsibility for the project. Lead courageously. Get out of your comfort zone again and be prepared to face adversity. Ridicule is the weapon folks use when they do not understand your mission. We need to show others who Jesus is by mission work. And lastly, expect God's reward. Don't be surprised if the results are beyond your expectations. Do you have a burden your heart for mission work? Get out of your comfort zone, work well with others, and be available to God.
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