To God Be The Glory

Hi Everybody,

Life is so interesting here. In Valle, you see mules, horses, cars, trucks, bicycles, motorcycles, city buses, SUV's, taxis, and moto-taxis all at the same time going to and fro on the streets. And of course all the people that are walking. I love it! My mother always said that I should have been born 100 years before I actually was, but then she would have had to, too, and I don't think she would have liked that. And where else do you carry a dozen eggs home in a little plastic bag that just fits. I think I held my breath most of the way home. They were not in a container, oh no, just the plastic bag that was not very thick. And yes, we made it home just fine. Thank you Lord.

It has finally gotten hot here. I am so glad. I have heard of the snow and ice storm that you are having in KS. I'm not a bit envious!!

I attend the little church next to the school. It would probably remind you of the old fashioned country church of years gone by. Nothing fancy. But the people have the joy of the Lord and does it ever show. The praise service was probably an hour long last Sunday. One of the young men leading the songs sang till his voice was almost gone. He didn't care. He was too busy worshiping. It's good to see men raising their hands, crying, and unable to stand still. There was nothing out of order, and no, no one was swinging from the light bulbs. (We don't have chandeliers)! And the drums was being played by a 10-12(?) year old boy. I found out later that Christian is in the third grade. He did very well. Once in a while, he would get off beat, and his dad would get him back on track. But that didn't stop the worshipping that was taking place. It took me back to Calvary Temple when Doug played the drums, a little older than this young man. And now he plays at Asbury Methodist. Truly God's gifts and calling are without repentance.

I ran into my first, and I hope my last, coral snake. He was only a baby, about 4 inches long, but he sure had that little head up ready to strike. I hate killing things, but I didn't want him going into the school yard where he was headed. So between me and one of the mothers, the little guy met his end beneath some big rocks.

The men from San Pedro have been working on the tech building. They also finished the floors on the two rooms of the upper level of the high school. People ask, all the time what do we need here. Well, the $15,000 for the transformer, money for textbooks, and sponsors for those children that don't have any. I would love to have some kind of window coverings for the high school. We have openings with bars, but no coverings. So the wind blows the posters off the walls and they have to be re-taped to the wall just about every morning. Windows are expensive and they get broken by people throwing rocks. So I'm not for sure what the answer is for this situation. The walls are made of concrete blocks and then cemented over, but not to a real smooth finish. Life is a little rugged here!

The English classes are going well. I finally said that only English would be spoken because I was learning more Spanish than they were learning English! Amazing how the English was beginning to be used. Thank you for all the prayers for my learning the language here. I am getting better.

Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday are very long days. I'm usually up by 4:30 every morning, but those 3 days don't end until about 7 in the evening. After school, I am learning Spanish and then teaching English. And when 7 comes, I'm ready for bed, almost.

Becky and I met a group of college kids from Wheaton College in Illinois that was here to put a water system in one of the small areas south of here. The young man said he had never seen the Holy Spirit move as he did when the system started operating. Everybody was crying and giving praises to God for what he was doing for them through these kids. They had raised $65,000 to come and do this. What a loving God we serve!

I was waiting for the bus when a group of North Americans went by. They are volunteers at the orphanage here in Valle. One fellow was going to be here for a week and the two married couples are here until the Lord says it's time to leave. Sometimes I'm amazed at all the people that leave their homes and families to go to strange places in order to fulfill the calling God has placed on their lives. He is so totally awesome, and He can sure add some adventure to our lives.

I can't believe that I have been here almost three months! At this point in time, the plans are to be in Costa Rica next weekend in order to renew my visa. After 3 months, you have to leave the country for 3 days and then re-enter. Becky will go with me. We can't go to the countries right next door due to some agreement between these countries. It would be nice if we could, because Becky could drive there. But God has his plan, yes? This is good timing since we are out of school this next week and the following Monday for Semana Santa-Holy Week for Pascua, Easter.

The devotional went well yesterday. The lesson was basically about God having a plan for our lives and giving us a free will to be able to choose who we would follow, and the rewards that would be received for the choice we make. It was "excellente" according to Johnny and a couple of the students. So again I give thanks and credit to the Lord for that.

So I guess this is it for now. Thank you so much for all your prayers and giving to the Lord. He will truly bless you.