Deja Vu

 Memories of Cheezits! Earlier we had many pounds of bulk cheezits to bag - the orangey, cheesy, messy ones. This past week we again had many more pounds of them - but - they are the white cheddar, not so messy kind. Fred and the amazing man who supplies us with these wonderful items bagged over 500# of them, as well as 500# of the ever present sweetened cereal. We also received boxes of rice krispie treats ( the small, white chocolate ones), and cases of sour Twizzler packages. I am always amazed at the variety and quantity of items we receive. We even had a few crates of some kind of bean pod which the people seem to love. This coming week, Fred and a very helpful lady are going to bag 1000# of beans, as I volunteer at Children's Haven Thrift Store. I would stay and help, But Linda loves to help bag beans and I always seem to be in the way as those two seem to have a system of their own. We have a new sealing machine - it just seals the bag with a bit of red tape and works quite well. I used  it this last week as I bagged and sealed 240# of frozen, breaded chicken breasts. 

The weather was frightful this past couple of days. Friday it was 90 degrees, with a nice breeze. Saturday, it was cold, rainy, and 60 degrees. We spent the afternoon with the wife of one of our chaplains who passed away unexpectedly two months. She seems to be doing well, coping with all that needs to be done. The most difficult area was the legal part of it all - the state where they are from is a community state, while Texas is not. Therefore, all of their vehicles, as well as their new trailer home here in the Valley, had to have title changes, otherwise all their assets would have to be divided up between all of the living blood relatives. It was a long and trying process, but she seemed to have managed it well. Right now she is taking each day as it comes, until she knows for sure the path the Lord had laid out for her. We had a long and wonderful lunch and then relaxed in her new home and reminisced. She is a remarkable woman, with a trust in the Lord.

Bilhah, another one of the Bible's "bad girls" was a slave girl, the handmaiden of Rachel, Jacob's beloved wife, whom Laban gave to his daughter when she married Jacob. Because Rachel had no children for many years, she gave Bilhah to Jacob as a "secondary" wife in order that there would be children of Jacob. This was in accordance to the traditions of the time, totally allowed by law. Bilhah ranked above a mere concubine but did not have the station of a free born mistress. She bore Jacob two son, Dan and Naphtali. Rueben, Jacob's first son with Rachel's sister, was guilty of incest with Bilhah, and Israel heard of it. Therefore, Rueben was deprived of his birthright which was then given to the sons of Joseph. 

We just finished reading through the Book of Deuteronomy, which lists the laws the Jewish people must follow. It made my head swim just to try to understand all of them - no wonder the Jewish people had so much trouble following the laws - over 600 hundred of them, some of them so complicated that it would be difficult for anyone to understand and follow. 

Vance continued with the series on marriage today. I believe he has broken this down into a 3 part series, helping us all to  understand the intricacies of a relationship.  We live and act in freedom in Christ in every aspect of our lives. We are free to say we love God. "For freedom in Christ has set us free, stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to the yoke of slavery". Galatians 5:1. Religion is I obey and therefore I am accepted. Gospel is I am accepted therefore I obey. We are empowered by Christ because we have the freedom in Christ. Make a covenant in your marriage. Love and faithfulness is what you need to do. Use your freedom in your marriage to make a missional task to accomplish God's purpose. What can you do to serve God and support each other?  Be resilient in the face of adversity. Resilience means to bounce back - we can do that especially in the events of this  past year. We can get discouraged. We have a cultural pressure moving against our families. Men need to step up and fight for the family. Freedom is Christ is to be able to die a little to live for Him. Take up a cross for Him. There is power in dying to live. Die a little to live a lot. God will reward you. Using the power of your freedom in Christ is to resolve resentments quickly before they destroy your intimacy. Satan uses a Trojan horse to slowly destroy your marriage. Growing resentment forms a wedge in marriage. A drop of resentment is a poison that grows and ruins marriages. Unresolved bitterness can destroy a marriage. "Be angry and do not sin: do not let the sun go down on your anger and give no opportunity to the devil". Ephesians 4:26-27. Unresolved anger builds in a marriage and opens the door for the Devil to get a foothold. Wrong behavior will not bring right results. The Devil is an accuser. If you have gone to bed angry, you have consulted with the Devil. There are better ways to get a hold on resentment. We are free to take responsibility because of our freedom in Christ. Your spouse is not the enemy - Satan is. Satan is a snake that slithers into a marriage. "Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you." Ephesians 4:32.     

 

Yards of Blossoms

 After the freezing cold of a few weeks ago, most of the trees seem to be coming back and greening out. The fruit trees for the most part look good, but I am sure there will be no grapefruit or orange crop this year. We still buy grapefruit from a few street vendors and it is very good. Perhaps it comes out of Mexico. As we were loading produce last Friday, I noticed the yard beside the warehouse - full of those beautiful little pink blossoms that abound everywhere. The grass was covered with them reminding us of a new beginning after the storm.

                                                              carpets of beauty

The Rio Grande Bible Institute is here in the Valley, and is a college for those going into ministry who come from Central America and Mexico or those wanting to learn Spanish language. Study here involve a person to be totally immersed in learning. They have just built a beautiful new administration building where a truly remarkable work of art hangs. Artist Chris DeJong painted this huge mural (27 x 7) in 6 panels, originally intended for a museum in Washington, D.C. For some reason, it never was destined for there. Chris packed it away for awhile, never imagining that it would end up in the Rio Grande Valley at the Bible College. Through a series of God planned circumstances, Chris found out about Rio Grande Bible Institute and realized that was where her mural was destined to be. Her amazing work of art, "The Promise",  takes you on a journey with Abraham and God from Creation to Revelation, and shows a connection between Abraham, Angels, and Airplanes. I have seen it twice already and still stare at it's awesomeness and see something new each time. It is truly breathtaking. You can go online to www.thePromiseStory.com and read more about it and see the mural for yourself. I think you could probably purchase a gorgeous full color book explaining each panel and showing in detail the amazing work of this self taught artist. It will truly take your breath away.  

                                      

                                              Perhaps you can enlarge this to really appreciate the beauty of it

We are still keeping very busy with large amounts of produce and other items for the colonias. The number of families we serve continues to grow, but the Lord always seems to provide enough for everyone. Along with our regular items, we also had Rice Krispies Treats. We were also donated Wal-Mart bags full of "goodies" - chips, drinks, energy bars, etc. to be handed out. We used to just unload and stay a bit and then leave to reload, but we have been staying through the whole distribution as we have so much to hand out. God is good.

Back to the women of the Bible, we see a woman guilt of incestuous conduct, Bernice. She was the eldest daughter of Herod Agrippa I (ad 38-4) and is described as the one who "vexed the church". She was forst married to Marcs, then she married her Uncle Herod, king of Chalcis. After he died, she had evil relations with her brother, Agrippa. She left him, and married Poleman, king of Cilicia. She then left him to go back to her relationship with her brother. She became the mistress of Vespasian and then his son, Titus. When Titus became emperor, he cast her aside. Bernice and her sister, Drusilla, were the most corrupt and shameless women of their times. 

Pastor Vance started a 3 weeks sermon series concerning marriage, called Love and Respect. The attitudes towards marriage in these times are changing. Ideas that marriage is not such a great idea - it is God's idea. When we become Christians, God has a goal for our lives and relationships. "Therefore, be imitators of God, as beloved children." Ephesians 5:1. This verse was a challenge form Paul to use the power of the Holy Spirit in you to live your life for Christ. We have to settle our relationships with Christ. "Submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ." Ephesians5:21. Because we are follower of Christ we become imitators of Him. We have to submit to others by putting the other one first. Selfishness is the root of all relationships. You have to  live your life for your spouse and not for yourself. Put each other first. The first step in a good marriage is to act like Jesus - don't try to work on the other person but work on yourself. Are you living as a Christian? Are you doing things the right way (God's way)? God put rules in place for men and women  complementary and not competitive. He designed these roles to promote fulfillment of these roles. Let God transform your attitude in God's designed role. He is the Creator and Designer. Quit competing and start complementing each other. We have to recognize the difference in men and women to avoid conflict. Let the response that you give in a relationship empower them and not tear them down. "However, let each one of you love your wife as himself and let the wife see that she respects her husband". Ephesians 5:33. A women has a basic need to beloved and respected. In order to feel good about each other, a wife feels to beloved and a husband needs to feel respected. women need to have security in their husbands. When she does not feel that, she feels resentment and then the husband feels disrespect. What is most important in a marriage is how we treat one another. Men and women are different but still become one in marriage. When you get into a confrontation slow it down. You are both on the same team. Your response is your responsibility. Be imitators of Christ. Focus on being a better person.  

He is Risen

                                                             He Is Risen

There are no other words to describe Easter Sunday. Because God sent His Son to  die for us, we are wiped as clean as snow, forgiven of our sins, and guaranteed life with Him in eternity if we confess that He is indeed our Savior and take Him into our hearts forever. We rejoice because He is alive. 

Surprising, this mornings sermon by Pastor Vance Eubanks was not about the resurrection of Jesus, but of another person - Lazarus. Jesus says, "I am" as a statement of His deity.  John 11 is the the story of an encounter with Jesus just as we should have an encounter with Him. At this pint in the story, the disciples have not yet figured out where Jesus was going - they still thought He was going to be an earthly king. This is a story of a family - Lazarus who is the strong, silent one, his sister Martha, who pays strict attention to details and organization, is the perfect hostess, and always concerned about order, and his other sister, Mary, who was the fun one who was busy living life, walking through and feeling everything. They all lived together in Bethany. Jesus and hid disciples stayed with them often in their travels and were good friends. Lazarus was sick and the sisters sent for Jesus who was nearby to come and heal their brother. Mary and Martha expected Him to respond immediately. Jesus loved the family and stayed  two more days where He was. God loved them but waited so that they would learn something. It was a slow and grow situation so that they and we too, could grow in Him. Jesus had the final word about death. We need to have this active waiting on the Lord. We need to let God grow us in that in-between time. God had a perfecting plan for us - one to allow us to grow. What have we learned from this in-between COVID year? We have to let go and let God. We need to die in self in order to live. When Jesus finally showed up in Bethany, Lazarus was already dead and buried. Martha confronted Jesus and said that if He been there her brother would not have died. Jesus then told her that Lazarus would live again. He knew Martha needed someone to speak the truth to her - "I am the resurrection and the life". Jesus meets us where we are to calm us down and tell us the truth. Jesus then sent for Mary who cam to Him immediately and feel at Hs feet. She too, told Jesus that if He had been there, Lazarus would not have died. Jesus comforted her . He then went to the tomb of Lazarus and asked for the stone to be moved away. He called for Lazarus to come out. Jesus proved that He is indeed the resurrection and the life. He can exceed your expectations. Remember, Jesus may seem slow to answer your prayers, but He will never be late. He knows you and will meet you where you are. If you trust Him, He will exceed your expectations. 

I do not express my political views which I try to keep to myself or sometimes share with my family. This is not a political statement,  but whatever reports you hear on the news regarding the border crisis, it is worse. This picture is of the bus depot nearby, where tent cities have been setup (right in downtown) to house either refugees or the children. There is indeed a huge influx of people that must be addressed. I can understand the need for folks to want to come to the land where they feel they can be free and have a chance at a good life, but I beg of them to do it legally. America is indeed the melting pot - my relatives came from Europe - my grandfather was born in Rome and migrated, as well as the other relatives from Italy and even Germany. All have the right to want a better way of life, but doing so illegally is really not a good beginning of that life.  

We had an amazing week for Caring Hearts Ministry - not only being blessed with an abundance of food and other items, but with the company of two wonderful missionaries - Dennis and Paula Key. We met them at the last chaplains meeting as they attended to "check out" CRM and possibly joining our organization. They are great servants of the Lord and serve in many different areas of missionary work. Friday was not a "normal" distribution day (as if there is such a thing) as  it was Good Friday. We had to load produce on Thursday as our distribution point was closed on Friday (luckily the weather was cooler). As a result, we packaged donuts here at home for a change so that job was already done. We did not have to leave as early as usual, so the Keys joined us. It was a great day with lots of boxes filled, lots of folks picking them up, and many people blessed. The Keys were troopers and pitched right in, doing whatever was necessary, including packaging those prickly cacti! After all was almost done we had lunch together (thank you again Dennis and Paula) and spent time fellowshipping together. I sincerely hope they do join CRM and we get to see them again.

We hope your Easter was blessed and that you remember to wait on the Lord - your time, too will come. 

 

End of a Season

 An end to another busy week, another one full of surprises for the ministry. As we prepared to deliver on Friday and arrived at the distribution point, there was a  picnic table full of cases of bottled flavored water and orange drink. Another ministry had extras and had delivered them for use for our people. What a wonderful surprise. Along with the overflowing supply of produce we also received bottles of hand sanitizer which made for overflowing boxes to hand out. The previous Tuesday we handed out to 80+ families and Friday was over 200 families. We are so very thankful for our helpers and the suppliers that we too are awed by what we receive. Fred spent one day with a supplier bagging up 500# of sugar coated cereal (not very healthy but the kids love it). I know I should not be amazed, but I am every week with God's provision.

One of our chaplains purchased a mobile home in his park for use of chaplains and preachers who need a place to stay for a few days- either as a much needed break and a time to relax, or as a stopping point in a change in appointment, during training, or any reason. He is naming the home "Simon's place" in reference to Luke 7:36 when Simon the Pharisee invited Jesus to come to his house to rest. How very appropriate. 

We took a few hours one afternoon and browsed through a huge flea market close by when if you can dream it, it probably could be found there. The merchants cater tot he Winter Texans, so there is a multitude of things there from fake nails, to boxes of cards. silver jewelry sales, Amish canned items, all sorts of fresh fruits, leather belts and purses, diabetic socks, fabric, etc. A nice place to visit to relax. Along with those tempting items, the smell of donuts and restaurant food abound - the best being the freshly made kettle corn. As we were making our way through the stands, Fred stopped to ask the vender a question when I noticed something different about him. He was of Hispanic descent, but had blue eyes!! We have a grandson whose father is from Honduras and he too has the Hispanic look but his eyes are sort of a blue gray. I told the vendor that the blue eyes were not common to his culture and he explained that his grandparents were from Spain, (Castilian). He seemed very proud to share this information with me.  This is also true of our grandson. It is truly a striking combination.

                                                              

                                    

                                     our youngest grandson as well as our youngest grandchild, Calton

The end of the Winter Texan season has arrived and a lot of the residents have left for their Northern homes. We will miss them throughout the summer, but will the enjoy the quietness of the summer months. The stores and roads will not be so busy either. We have year round folks here, so we will have a bit of company though.

Now we come to the one of the most famous women of the Bible, Bathsheba, whose name means daughter, the seventh daughter,  or daughter of opulence. She was a woman whose beauty resulted in adultery and murder. She came from a God-fearing family, the daughter of Eliam, one of King David's gallant officers. She then became the wife of Uriah, the most loyal of David's men. I think you know how David saw Bathsheba bathing on a roof, coveted her, and finally had her husband killed in order to  marry her. You can find the full story in 2 Samuel 11. God was displeased with David, and allowed his son with Bathsheba to die within a week of His birth. this incident with Bathsheba was the only blemish upon David's life. God forgave both of them, blessed them with another son, Solomon, and Bathsheba brought him up with godly diligence.  After that, the Bible is fairly quiet about her. A lesson that we can learn from Bathsheba is that we can be assured of God's forgiveness. She used her mistake as a guide to better conduct. 

Jesus identified Himself to claim His deity. "Jesus told them, "I am the Way and the truth and the Life", no one comes to the Father except through Me," John 14:6. Don't let your hearts be troubled. (John Hannity ends his nightly news broadcast with these words). Jesus told us that in this world we would have troubles.  Jesus himself had a troubled heart. He had the sorrow of losing a loved one, Lazarus. He was troubled when He told Phillip and Andres that His hour had come. He was troubled when He revealed that His disciples would betray Him. It is ok to have a troubled heart. Even in trouble, take heart, for Jesus will overcome the world. We have to trust Jesus as the Son of God. We can be assured of this because He has prepared place for us (John 14:2)/. This world is the land of the dying that we are going to leave for the land of the living. There is a story of a lady with a terminal illness who was giving the undertaker instructions for her funeral. She asked to be buried with a fork in her hand. When asked why, she explained that after a church dinner and before the dessert, she was told to hang on to her fork, as the best is yet to come. She wanted to hang on to her fork and be ready for the best to come. God has promised to come for us. God has provided a way for us to get to Him - through His Son.  Place your trust in Jesus as a way to the Father. Tell others about this. Live your life for Jesus.

This is Palm Sunday when Jesus was praised and welcomed as He rode into Jerusalem. Less than a week later, they demanded His crucifixion. Use this week to focus on the greatest event of all - the resurrection of our Lord and Savior.     

 

                               

Bicycles, Doors and Couches

 What  week this has been! We received two bicycles, 10 wooden doors, and a davenport (couch to those not from the North). These will be so loved and well received by our colonia family. We were pleasantly surprised by a group of missionary kids from Kansas City Christian School who, on their mission trip, gave up their spring break to come to serve in the Valley.  As we made our delivery in the new colonia, we noticed a van in the yard. All of a sudden, the doors opened and the kids piled out. I was totally surprised. Apparently, besides planting gardens for the colonia people, their mission was to help distribute food and other supplies. What a blessing they were as we had a huge load that day. In addition to the normal produce, we received gallons of milk, toilet paper, boxes of Farm to Family boxes containing yoghurt, chicken patties, oranges, potatoes just name a bit of what was in the box. and boxes and crates of canned food. Those kids made short work of unloading and packing boxes. Two girls were assigned to packing donuts with me - one asked if it was ok if she just tied the bags as she did not want to get sticky!

                                                

                                            

                                                               the unloading almost done

                                               

                                                         they had a perfect system going

                                       

                                                          boxes packed and ready to go           

                                            

                                                              

                                                     at least I did not have to pack these on Tuesday 

                                                  

                                                              Ida and Brother Sandoval loading vehicles

After we finished there, we drove to one of our suppliers to pick up individual packets of oatmeal, as well as more canned goods. Well, this was a first for me, as the big tote of oatmeal was almost empty and someone had to climb into the tote to pack the oatmeal in boxes to deliver on Friday. Guess who was the one doing the climbing - yep me .Now that was really a video worth watching!!

                                                                

                                                   picture of the oatmeal packets while standing in the tote

                 

                                                     finally crawled into the tote - getting out was another story                                   

Then on Friday the kids showed up again to help - I forgot to take a picture of the raised garden they planted at this home.                              

                                            Many more boxes packed - you can see the resident dog who was blessed                                                                  with a flea collar. 

                                                            The kids busy at work. 

Before we left, we prayed for these kids, who are learning how to serve the Lord, and the blessings that they themselves receive from it.. 

Almost next door to where we were distributing, this house has burned the night before - a family of 8 made it out safely, but as you can see it was a total loss. Someone was there, so a box of food and supplies were delivered to them, also. 

There were 3 ladies in the Bible whose name was similar - Bashemath, Basemath, and Bashemath, who names meant fragrant or perfumes 9 balsam). Bashmath was one of the wives of Esau, who was also called the daughter of Elon the Hittite. Esau married her out of spite because his father was not pleased with his other wives who were among the daughters of Canaan. Basemath was the daughter of Ishmael, and the last of Esau's wives according to Edomite genealogy. They had a son named Renel, from whom 4 Edomite tribes were descended. Bashemath was the daughter of Solomon who became the wife of Ahimaaz, one of the king's tax collectors at Naphtali. 

Matt Tibbet, the youth minister at our home church in Arkansas delivered the message this morning continuing in the book of John. Matt gave us a background of verse 10 by explaining the shepherds. They were one of the three most common professions in Israel. It was the lowest of professions as they could ont observe the Sabbath as they had to continuously tend to the sheep. They were considered unreligious and unclean. A shepherd knew the names of his sheep and they knew the sound of his voice. Therefore, he could lead his his sheep and they would follow him. He led them to a pen at night (usually a high stone fence of some sort) and actually slept in the gate opening to keep out predators and keep the sheep in. There were  usually more than one flock of sheep in these pens and more than one shepherd. In the morning, because the sheep knew the sound of their master's voice, they would all follow their own shepherd. Jesus had healed a blind man near the temple,  and everyone was talking about it. The Pharisees were mad, because they seemed to be losing their power, and claimed Jesus was wrong because He healed Him on a Sabbath day. That seems to be the world today - those in power do not like to face the truth and try to lure us into the ways of the world. Thieves and robbers (the Pharisee type folks) do not come i by the gate - they sneak in at night - just as those who tried to steal the sheep. That is why the shepherd slept in the gate opening. The sheep would not follow a stranger, only their master and someone who would come through the gate. The person you can trust comes through the gate. Jesus said that He was the gate - if you want peace and rest come through the gate. He said He is the good shepherd who laid down His life for His sheep. He tells His people not to listen to the world but to trust Him. We have a good shepherd whose way is good for us even of the world tries to lure us astray, but that way is the road to destruction. We have to know our shepherd's voice. We can only do so by not spending so much time listening to the world through news and media and spending more time in church and in the Word. Do not listen to any voice in the world that does not come through the gate. the voice of the world promises false happiness. Stop dancing with the wolves. If you have been listening to the voice of the world get back to the Lord. We as believers need to listen to the Shepherd's voice and come running to Him and to follow Him because we trust Him. 

Peeps Update

I am sure you all are getting tired of my Peeps addiction. Guess if that is my worst vice, you can forgive me. The latest Peeps news - there is a Peeps cereal! No, I have not tried it and do not intend to. I assume it is probably like Lucky Charms. If any of you try it let me know what you think. 

                                                        here it is - available at Wal-Mart

     We again had an awesome week n the colonias - full loads of food and other items on both days. On top of that, we received many donations all week long - we even received 4 cases of hand sanitizer as well as over 50 Farm to Family boxes containing yoghurt, potatoes, apples, precooked chicken patties and more. Along with that we also received several cases of gallons of milk. The usual variety of veggies were plentiful along with sliced lunch meat, Jack fruit and cactus. The people just love the cactus - one of our ladies took the left overs and promised to bring me something on Tuesday - either cactus fried with eggs or made into a delicious salad. I bagged two large bags of donuts as well as two bag of kolaches. Then the worst job of all was delegated to me - putting cactus pads into boxes for the people. Oh dear, I had no heavy gloves so I carefully and daintily  picked up the cactus pads, only pricking my fingers a few times. The people just go crazy over this stuff!!!

                                   

                                       I had 4 crates to pack - the  people were so happy

Baara was a Moabite whom Shahariam, a Benjamite, married when he went to the land of Moab. Husbaim was his other wife, Braara's name has an interesting connection and is derived from Beera, meaning to burn. This was an allusion to the  kindling of fires as beacons to announce the appearance of a new moon. She is referenced in I Chronicles 8:8. 

We had our last CRM Chaplains meeting this last Saturday - I cannot believe the season is almost over here in S Texas. A lot of folks have already left and I am sure many more will leave before Easter. Our organization has really been hit with medical problems this year - Satan is not happy with the progress we have made in spreading the Word. One new chaplain had to return to Michigan to receive a liver and kidney transplant, one had a bad reaction to the covid shot, one had 2 knee replacements, while his wife had to return home for medical treatment. Another chaplain's wife is in early stages of dementia. But in spite of all of this, they continue to serve each Sunday with a message from the Lord - some in person and the rest online. It has been trying year for all of them,  but they continue to press on. We said goodbye to those who are not returning and welcomed a few who want to become part of us. If you are interested in serving on the Rio Grande Valley as a chaplain in an RV resort for the winter go to crmintl.org and check it out - an application is available online.

Florence Chadwick was the first woman to swim the English Channel and attempted to swim from Catalina Island to the Coast of California - a distance of about 21 miles. Because of the fog, she quit, not realizing that she was only 1 mile from shore. She lost perspective because she could not see the land. This can happen to us. We have been in a fog for over a year now with nothing but uncertainty in our lives. What do you do when the fog rolls in? We tend to take on a victim mentality - blaming and criticizing, which turns into anxiety.  We feel powerless about the world around us. As Christians, we don't have to tune into this uncertainty. Zoe, the Greek word for life, is what Jesus says He is. " Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life". John 8:12. The Jewish leaders accused Jesus of blasphemy. They would not accept His deity so they lived in darkness. Jesus loves us so much that He does not want us to live in darkness - He wants to being us into the light. The Jewish people celebrated the Feast of the Tabernacle by living in tents for a week to remind them of their wandering in the desert. The people would parade to the temple and the priests would get water and pour it on the altar. Jesus told them He was the living water. Then they lit 4 huge candelabras to remind them that God was the pillar of light to lead them. It represented the presence of God who was always with them. Jesus again spoke the words that He was the light of the world. This was a radical claim of His deity. Jesus claimed to be God. Light is a metaphor for God. He reveals the truth about God to us. He exposes the truth about us to ourselves. He reveals the sin in us. He reveals the darkness in us. He reveals the truth about God Himself. . He issues a radical command to follow Him. How do we do that? We trust Him as our Savior and recognize Him as the Lord. We have the promise of His presence, protection, and guidance. We have to decide to follow Jesus as our light. We have the promise of His perspective. Florence made another attempt to swim from Catalina to the California coast despite the intense fog. She pressed forward, focusing on the shore because she knew what was on the other side. We keep moving forward because we too know what is on the other side. 

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.