Q Tips Anyone

 We are so very often surprised at the donations that we receive, but I never could imagine that we would receive 132,00 Q-tips!!! 4 huge boxes of 33,000+ bulk Q-tips in each box. I bagged enough for our Friday distribution and the people were so excited to receive them. Yesterday and today I packaged the remaining two boxes. It was a mundane project but went fast as I watched TV and packaged about a quart size bag full for everyone. No, I did not count them - just filled the bag and continued on. As I was filling bags, I got a call from a member of the RC club (remote control cars, trucks, boats, etc.) that there was a  large amount of cooked chicken left over from a dinner they served - did we want it? Of course we did. This afternoon was spent packaging chicken which Fred will take tomorrow. We have opened up distribution in another colonia last Tuesday, so this will be just right for them. We also received 9 nice tables that we are going to be using for distribution. They will be set up tomorrow, and Brother Sandoval will take the chicken around the area to folks that he knows can use it. When it rains, it really pours. God keeps heaping blessings on the ministry!  The reason for opening up a different colonia is for the opportunity to serve a different different group of people in a different area. We were afraid that because of the freeze we had that the supply of produce would slow down, but this last Friday we had the largest supply of produce that we have ever had. Nothing goes to waste - even the 50# bags that the beans come in are used - either as toe sacks (tote bags) or even as insulation or used on the dirt floors as sort of a rug. We also had a small amount of non perishable items as well as those wonderful chili pepper suckers. Honestly they are very good - a mixture of sweet and spicy. We also received 8 adjustable tables that will be just what we need for distribution in both colonias.  

                                             packages of chicken - we received two large containers like this one full!

                                             not a great picture, but these are the great tables we received

a huge load of food - notice the trailer house to the right - a family lives there - there is no front door. 

                                                                    bags of Q-tips I packaged

                                                        this is how they came to us - in a big box

I will try to get pictures of the orchards that were frozen with all of the fruit laying on the ground. It was so sad to see this as we passed orchard after orchard. The growers are most likely insured, but if the trees themselves froze, all is lost. This is the way most of the palms trees look - brown and droopy. The small one in our front yard looks worse. We will wait and see if it comes back. Even the larger, taller ones were frozen. 

                                           

                      perhaps these bordering a driveway will come back - this is the scene everywhere

Azubah #1whose name meant desolation. She was the first wife of Caleb, not Joshua's friend, but one of his descendants. She became the mother of Caleb's sons Jesher, Shobab ,and Ardon. 

Azubah #2 was the daughter of Shilhi, and the wife of King Asa, the third king of Judah. She became the mother of Jehoshaphat, another admirable king despite of the alliances he formed. She was one of the God-fearing women of her times, and a strong religious force in the life of her son. 

Fill in the blank- I am ______ ( happy, sad, a wife, mother, blessed, etc.) This is meant to reveal the truth about yourself. John Chapter 6 reveals who the son of God was - God's son but equal to Him. In Scripture, John seemed to be Jesus' best friend. John's gospel helps us to see Jesus more clearly. We get in trouble today when we say the only way to God is through Jesus. We need to understand what Jesus means when He says He is the bread of Life. He fed 5000 men with 5 barley loaves and 2 fishes. Remember, barley was the flour of the lowly ones - there is a significance there. Because He gave the people free food, they wanted to make Him king - that way He could continue giving them free food. Jesus left the crowd and went to the other side of the sea - while on the way He calmed the stormy water. The crowd found out when He went and followed Him, wanting to be fed again. But Jesus told them not to look for them eternal things of life but for food that endures eternal life. They wanted to know what to do to get more. Jesus told them to do the work of God and to believe and trust in Him. Jesus told them that He was the bread of life after they asked Him to give them the bread from God. They began to grumble as they knew Jesus from his parents and wondered how He could say that He came down from heaven. We can know about Jesus but not really know Him. The people began to argue about having flesh to eat. Jesus meant we were to digest who Jesus really was and make Him a part of our lives. Jesus used the bread as a metaphor of Himself. He must be central, our everything to bring us life in Him. Don't run after things that will spoil or control your life. Everything other than Jesus is spoiled bread. Only Jesus can give you a true life - you need to die for yourself in order to live. Follow Jesus' way - a sacrificial life. Many people quit following Him after He told them this. It was lonely for Jesus and it may be lonely for you to follow Him. If we leave His teaching, where do we go?   Be in the Word every day, be in worship with others.