Okay, God brought us here but…

Why are we here? What are we doing to further the kingdom of God? Are we truly missionaries? During our first year we are to study language and culture. But that doesn't feel like enough to us most days. In our learning we come in contact with many people in the community. We see and talk with them in the shops, on the streets, in the plaza and in their homes. We try to build relationships, little by little.

A lady I've known the whole time we've been here, Maria, is a prime example of building a relationship over time. I see her a few times a week, we chat. I've met two of her children and her husband. She has five grandchildren and another on the way. She's the president of her daughter's school this year and I know that she works part time at a taco stand near the plaza. She worked in the states for a few years and knows a little English. Her husband also worked in the states for a short time and while he likes to hear English spoken, he doesn't know too much of it.

After several weeks of casual chat, she invited me to her home at a specific day and time. I walked over there and learned from the neighbors that she had gone to work and wouldn't be home until much later in the evening. Oh well, I thought. No problem. But it was a big problem for her. She was very embarrassed that she had gotten the opportunity to work and had completely forgotten about her invitation to me. A very big deal to her indeed. I saw less of her for a while by her choice. But each time I saw her I was careful to treat her as before, and let her know that I was still her friend. Slowly but surely we've been seeing more of each other and this past week she invited me to the end of the year party at her daughter's school! I was very excited that she asked and was happy to go, particularly because her youngest daughter would be dancing at the celebration. Even though she had official duties as president of the school, she introduced me to a few people and made sure I had a prime seat in the shade with her husband and daughters before she took her spot on the dais. After so many months I think our relationship is back on track.

Ralph and Juan Manuel hit it off soon after we moved here. He's a cop, and a guys guy. He likes sports of all kinds including US baseball and football. We see him all the time and he lives half a block down from us with his family. The guys talk a bit every time they see one another, just normal everyday chatting about stuff and life. Guy stuff. He knows a little English and would like to learn more to help in his job, to deal with tourists and such. In recent weeks he's been by the house for Bible study and invited us to his birthday party. We gave him a bilingual Bible so he could study in English and Spanish. Then, we didn't see him much for nearly a month. We thought perhaps we had offended in some way, that the gift might have been too much or something, but we couldn't really tell. He was around town and the neighborhood, but we just didn't have the opportunity to speak with one another much. On Friday he had the duty at the municipal building downtown and he stopped us and talked! Seemed like old times. Today he showed up at church for the first time since we've been here, plunking himself down right behind us. He stayed for the whole service and at the end he allowed that he plays the guitar "some". The church has a guitar but no one to play. Pastor loaned him the guitar to practice on this week, we are hoping that means he'll be back next week and will play the guitar while Mimi leads the worship music. Pray that he doesn't have to work on Sunday!

Norma runs the little store where Ralph gets his Cokes. It is the tiniest mom and pop operation you could imagine. One cooler smaller than most refrigerators with soda, milk and chocolate bars, and a small stand with chips and snacks and two video games. One or the other of us is down there a few times a week restocking the six Cokes Ralph considers the minimum to have on hand. She has a large extended family and we've met a few of those folks. She knows we are missionaries and that we are from the US. She and her family go out of their way to be kind to us and will chat and joke with us every time we visit and if they see us in town, or if they are passing the house on the way to somewhere. The other day, she didn't have change for the Cokes Ralph was buying but she sent him home with them anyway, telling him that he should just pay her later when he got change somewhere. Where did she get the idea she could trust us? From months of small talk, jokes and chat? Does that kind of stuff reflect Christ who lives in us?

Can you tell we are in a phase of not knowing whether to be encouraged or bummed out?

There are a lot of ways that the enemy tries to get us down, or gone. For Ralph its sickness and problems adjusting to the heat. It's been pretty miserable for him most of the time we've been here. He keeps hanging in, but this stuff does take it's toll.

Everyone tells us that it is unseasonably warm, that it should not be this hot now. Not until later in July or early August. This 98 degree weather with 50-70% humidity isn't normal. So why is it happening now? Why all the big thunderstorms with very little of the desperately needed rain. Only God knows. But the weather has definitely begun to disrupt our sleep, never a good thing.

Even property laws seem to have conspired against us. We only had one spot to put the air conditioner and the small spot dictated the size of the air conditioning unit. Therefore it did pretty well cooling both the living room and the bedroom until it really began to heat up in earnest, now it will only cool the living room decently leaving the bedroom too hot to sleep. Our solution? Move the couch to the bedroom and the bed to the living room for July and August! Since 99% of our entertaining and visiting is done on the patio it shouldn't be an issue. The last two nights we've slept in the blissful coolness of the living room and had two great nights of rest! Praise the Lord for the clarity of thought to make this small change.

The enemy can use anything to bug you. For me, it's unreliable water for the house. We have no water at night, never had, and probably never will. It goes off at about 10 ish and comes back on at about 5 ish. Japame just tells us that someday the whole system will work perfectly. But not now. Okay, so we've adapted. We just make sure we are totally washed, brushed and flushed by 10 pm! No problem.

But when we have no water during the day too it just makes me nuts. This week has been one of those weeks when we've only had water all day for two days out of the last eight. It just goes off without warning for hours on end. The Japame guys show up in their pickup, they dig up the street and a few hours later there's water again. Often really muddy water for a while, but water just the same. The other morning I got my shower, but by the time I was done and Ralph was ready for his the water was off and didn't come back on until 3:30. One day I fixed lunch using water in the course of the preparation, but by the time we finished the meal and wanted to wash the dishes...no water. It came back on at 7:30 p.m. Call me spoiled, I like to wash and flush when I want. I hate not being able to do that. The enemy knows it. I'm trying very hard to chill and further adapt.

The enemy is odd about what he chooses to nick us with. Smoke filled bedroom in the middle of the night because the neighbors are up late burning trash and debris. Loud farm equipment (John Deere 9500) and large farm trucks without mufflers that travel our street regularly, often stopping and idling right in front of the house making so much noise that we can't talk with one another. Sort of akin to living near a big airport during takeoffs and landings! The noise can be flat deafening!!

Financial stuff. WMPL is a totally faith-based mission. They pay what God provides, and what God provides is enough. Has been so far anyway. We are fine. But we are also on our third month of short allowances, 80%, 65% and 68% of normal, not just for us, but for the majority of WMPL missionaries serving around the world. What is God trying to say with that? What is he trying to teach?

Our visas!! The enemy has certainly been at work on that one. What a journey that has turned into. Last time I blogged we'd been told that our letters got returned to Pastor Lupe for some technical reason, further delaying our applications. This week we learned that the technical reason was that Lupe's computer was broken and he asked Darwin for the address and Darwin gave them the old address, long expired, so the mail was returned. This Thursday and Friday we go to Mazatlan in our attempt to get our FM3 visas. While we still don't have the required letter from Religious Affairs, they advise us to begin the process anyway. We have gathered the ream of paperwork, photos and the little pile of cash required to get the process going. We need to get it taken care of now as our visas expire on July 16th, Tom's expires on the 24th. We need at least the preliminary FM3 in order to keep our vehicles legal here. Once we are through with immigration, we must take a letter to customs and change the status of our vehicles! Hence, two days in Mazatlan! Pray that everything goes smoothly and that the enemy be bound!!

Bottom line, whatever little bit we are doing here has moved the enemy's eye toward us. Even the small things make a difference for God's kingdom. Please keep praying...thanks.