THOUGHT FOR TODAY: I think that to a great extent we have immunized ourselves against perceiving the need to pray. We have the resources to meet most of our material needs; we've been taught to formulate our own plans; and therefore most of our prayers are without expectation.
When church started at three o'clock yesterday afternoon, besides us, no one was there except Luis's daughter and son-in-law. But they weren't discouraged. He said, "If they don't come to us will go to them; next week we will go to Sies de Mayo and I'll preach in the streets. I'm wondering if maybe he's God's choice to pastor the church… This morning I met with a representative of the Clothing Manufacturers Association in San Pedro Sula. We are to make a written presentation and then I think they are going to help us… today we continued working on the supply list for the First United Methodist team that's going to install electricity in the manufacturing building. We're almost there.
THOUGHT FOR TODAY: I think that to a great extent we have immunized ourselves against perceiving the need to pray. We have the resources to meet most of our material needs; we've been taught to formulate our own plans; and therefore most of our prayers are without expectation. On Thursday Lourdes told us in tears she was being evicted. She had looked for housing but anything she could afford was unacceptable; one didn’t even have an outhouse—just a weeded field for a bathroom. Friday she came to say she had found a house. I asked how much and she said 500 lemps ($26.50) a month; we were skeptical so I went to see. I was shocked! It's considerably better than she's had over the past 12 years; indoor toilet with shower, small kitchen, a room large enough to sleep her family. It's also in a nicer area; closer to their school yet close to the Mission Center.. She acknowledged that Thursday she prayed and Friday God answered… The two engineers came for lunch and then inspected the production sewing building. They were very encouraged by what they saw and heard, and had many good ideas which they intend to follow up on. They are looking at it from a developers’ perspective, ambitious and expensive, but we can benefit from that perspective, and certainly from the contacts they offered.
THOUGHT FOR TODAY: I am more comfortable keeping these challenges at a manageable size, and casting them, at least slightly, into the future. However the more I pray the more I feel God urging me to take another step forward-- today. Small and slow don't seem to be His nature. On Tuesday while Nicholas and I were in the electrical supply store, two men came in that he knows from the past. He told them about Gathering Hearts, and they were so encouraged they immediately got their boss on the phone. This lady is second-in-command to a very large industrial park developer. We talked briefly and she invited Cheryl and me to a meeting in her office the next day. There we told her about the new factory project and she immediately called in one of her engineers whose expertise is in the area of designing these kinds of projects. She asked him to come out and inspect our facility and draw up the design of the electrical layout we will need. He and the man who laid out the Gilden clothing factory will be here for lunch tomorrow. This is just in time for the electrical team from First United Methodist Church who will begin arriving next Friday…. This is a good example of how prayer can accomplish in one hour what would have taken weeks, maybe months to accomplish in our own efforts... It is interesting that just before the two men came into the supply store Nicholas and I had debated whether we should run other errands or wait for our supplies to be gathered up and loaded. After it was all over he said, “If we had decided to leave and come back we would have missed them.” He's starting to sound like George Meuller.
THOUGHT FOR TODAY: We tend to focus on solving problems in order to protect what we have and move forward. That's part of it. But I think even more important is to wait upon the Lord for his solutions and in the process come to know him more intimately. If that is so, the fruit of Gathering Hearts is important; but coming to know more of Him is the greater end. Each year, Beacon Hill Baptist Church, our sending church in Owasso, Oklahoma,sends Christmas boxes to the needy children in the impoverished villages near Seis de Mayo, Honduras. Many of these children have never received a Christmas gift and it is the event of the year for them. Each box not only has gifts, but personal hygiene items, school supplies and a child's coloring book presenting the Gospel. This has proved to be a successful evangelistic tool as well as enabling the Kuneys to win the trust of the people. The day the gifts are distributed long lines form and often there is a need for crowd control. Nevertheless, this has been a rewarding experience and it has helped to reach people of not only Seis de Mayo, near the mission center, but in what we call the "jungle area" as well where there is severe poverty. We are indebted to Candy Matheny who heads up the gifts and to Tom Hagen who heads up getting the cargo boxed and shipped. You, your Sunday school class or organization can donate items or financially help to purchase items. Each box contains hygiene items (soap, tooth paste, tooth brush, wash cloth), packaged snack, crayons, notebook, Gospel coloring book, two toys (ball, doll, car, jump rope, etc.) If you would like to participate in this incredible ministry opportunity, contact [email protected] . The following are extensive lists of the various items needed for the different age groups of children.
Victor Artega preaching in the church with Amanda Lewis translating Dr Tom Pickard led a double quartet for praise and worship in the church Sitting around the table in Cheryl's kitchen counting pills for the pharmacy Marcy Ellis, Linda Bullard and Penny Buehrer set up a pharmacy in the “campo”. Randy Ellis enjoyed the children when he was not working on painting the manufacturing plant. Dr. and Mrs. Green with Linda Bullard and (back) Dinaya Pickard and Kallie Clark watch the soccer game from the sidelines. Nicolas (our guard) with Mark Bullard Jonathan Weaver with Joel Mejia on the soccer field. Jonathan was a formidable player. Dr. Tom Pickard and Dr. Scott Clark see patients in the "campo".
It looks like the rainy season has come early this year. We've had torrential rains everyday for a week…. We went to the English-speaking church in San Pedro today then had lunch with the Hoffs, Jr. and Sr.; and Frank and Phoebe Harrison. It was great just being together again. Afterward we came back to the village for the 3:30 service. When we got here we learned that the Paz family had forgotten their key; and Mirna had inadvertently taken ours home with her after she cleaned the church on Thursday. There was a lot of scurrying around, but we had service in spite of it all. Erika Paz generally helps with music, but she left for New York City on Friday and won't be coming back. She's to be married there on October 30.
THOUGHT FOR TODAY: Reading in the Book of Acts you get the impression that in the modern-day church, the standard of holiness and faith has fallen so low that even those who seem to excel may very well be missing it. They may seem closer to the truth than others, but if they miss it, they’ve missed it. |