Last week a couple of the teachers was looking at the calendars that Joyce Kaufman and her students at Cheney High School made for me. When they came to the month of October, they were shocked to see pictures of the jack-o-lanterns. They were like, "Oh,no". Christians in Honduras, they said, do not keep Halloween. I told them I don't keep it and haven't for over 40 years. But they couldn't believe that Christians in the U.S. keep it. Very interesting. And even more interesting was the sermon this morning, because it started out with the knowledge that today is El Dia de Brujas, the day of the witches. It is a day of rejoicing for Satan's followers. Wow, it's the first time that I have heard a Christian pastor speak out against it. People may say that the people here are just ignorant and unlearned. Well, they know Jesus and if they are ignorant and unlearned, I guess He must have been, too, because He definitely knew of Satan's power and ability to deceive.
This last week was the last full week for students. Monday and Tuesday this week are for "recuperacion" tests for the kids that didn't past their tests last week. How times have changed. When I was in school, eons ago, you were expected to learn the first time around, and when tests were given, you either passed or you didn't. And maybe there were 1 or 2 kids that didn't pass in a grade or two, but it sure wasn't more than that, and we didn't get to take the test over. How our expectations have changed.
The Lord is definitely a very present help in the time of need. Yesterday, I was going to town to get my hair cut and do some shopping. And when I closed the door behind me I knew I was in trouble. I didn't have my keys! Oh, boy, what a pickle I was in. I couldn't leave the yard because I didn't have the key to unlock the gate. I couldn't climb over the fence because it's a little high and has barb wire on top. And even if I tried, somebody would have seen me and then the policia would have come, and they wouldn't know if I was trying to get out or in. I could see myself being taken to the police station and trying to explain what was going on. What a mess. All the windows have bars on them, so even though a couple of them were open, I couldn't squeeze through. I thought if I could jiggle the sliding door, maybe it would open. If I could get it open, I could get a broom handle and reach my keys that were on the table. Nope, that didn't work. Oh, boy, I'm here till 8 or 9 tonight when Will comes. The cell phone was in the house,too. Yeah, I hear ya!! So I've been praying all this time, of course, and when I decided I'd just sit on the bench and talk to God the rest of the day, my deliverance came. Will came strolling around the corner of the house. I was never so happy to see anyone in my life as I was him. Hallelujah! But he didn't have keys to the house. So we looked in the windows, thinking, etc. and Will says, ah ha! And away he went. Well, needless to say he got into the house, got my keys, and opened the door. And I praised God for sending Will when he did. Probably no more than 10 or 15 minutes had passed between the time I locked myself out and Will came. I continue to thank God for that even today. What God uses to build faith in his people. I'm sure He will bring this episode to my mind further down the road.
In about 4 weeks it will be time to head for the states until January when I come back. I'm ready to see my family again. I'm not anxious to see cold weather, ice, and snow. Snow is beautiful, but...
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Saturday, October 10, 2009
How precious also are thy thoughts unto me...Ps.139:17
God continues to amaze me. He is so awesome and truly does meet all our needs. But He goes beyond our needs. God has blessed me with some really good friends here and at home in the U.S. I have been privileged to meet and become friends with some of God's other children here, those that I don't work with or attend their church. I was invited to go to the school that Johnny's daughter has started in Tegucigalpa. I was also able to meet her partner, Esther, who is a psychologist, and we were able to discuss those children with special needs. I met some of the parents and their children, too. Her pastor came to bless the school and those involved in the whole project. What an anointing. And then he called me up to pray for me. Wow! The words he said over me were confirmations of things that God had already revealed to me. However, there were a couple of new things. So we will see the things that God has spoken. His word never returns void unto Him.
The last couple of weeks have been very busy. I was able to go with Ruth, PIEDAD office secretary, and Becky to San Pedro Sula and El Progreso to pass out the Christmas gifts. That was on Monday and Tuesday. And there I was able to see two of my working buddies, Raul and Jose. I had a chance to ask about Raul's family and to talk to Jose who is getting married to Veronica in December. And of course Raul talked about me sweating like a horse which is an expression in English that I taught him. And in those two places, I am always wet. It is so hot there. Of course they're only an hour or so from the coast. Then on Thursday, Ruth and Becky came to the school where I work and passed out gifts. It's really early this year due to schools ending at the end of October which is due to all the political stuff that has been happening.
On the second of the month, the teachers at school threw a surprise birthday party for me. And it truly was a surprise. Since we have a teacher devotional on Fridays, I was sitting there listening to Patricia and looking up the scripture that I was suppose to read. Half way through the meeting I looked up and there on the whiteboard in huge letters was Happy Birthday Beverly. Talk about being blind!! The teachers were cooking food before and when I went into the kitchen they said it was a special day and just smiled. OK. They do things all the time that I don't know about until it is happening. So... But I was blessed. And they fixed enchiladas which is one of my favorites without the Parmesan cheese which really turns my stomach upside down and I mean that literally. They gave me green earrings and bracelets. Very pretty especially since that's one of my favorite colors. I did see Becky's car there when I went down to the kindergarten building and when she came out to meet me I didn't say, " Hi, how are you?" I said, "What are you doin' here?" Talk about bad manners!! I immediately apologized, of course. Her response was that they had called and asked her to come. Still didn't register. Talk about being blind in one eye and can't see out of the other!!! But they truly blessed me.
Eva had asked me the week before if I wanted to go with her and some friends mountain climbing near Santa Lucia. I said sure because I know my friend Eva and we were not going to climb a mountain like the one in Amapala. So the day of I asked her to call Denia, my Spanish teacher, because we wouldn't have time for a lesson. I could have called, but I wanted to make sure there were no mistakes in the message. Just being on the safe side. She said of course, so later when she was on the phone with Denia she told me that Denia had called her to say that she wasn't able to teach that day. Well, I praised the Lord because I didn't want to be the one that was not able to keep our class time, again. So at 3:00 we were on the bus heading for Santa Lucia. It had started to rain and when Eva got out her umbrella from her bag I saw a deck of cards and asked about them. She said we might play with them. Now I'm really wondering about this mountain climbing thing especially when she said I would know a couple of people there. So we were to meet the group at one of the restaurants. So who popped out from behind the wall when we found a table? You guessed it. Jessica and her daughter, AND my Spanish teacher and her son. Happy Birthday Beverly! That's two surprise birthdays in less than a week. We had great food, another birthday cake, and lots of laughs. This restaurant has three huge concrete slides. I remember asking Eva before if you could slide very fast down those things. Oh, yes, was her reply. Well, it's Eva saying come on Beverly. Are you kidding? Those things were huge. I don't know how tall they were, but we had to walk up about thirty steps from the bottom and that wasn't to the top. So away we went. Talk about fast. It was. And of course I had to go on all three. And they all weren't straight down. Some had curves. I told Denia to come on. Oh, that girl. I finally took her hand off the edge and held it, and away we went with her yelling all the way down. It was fun. That's one thing we will have to do when Doug comes back down with his family.
So now I'm 65. Everybody here says I'm joven, which means young. And I'm saying are you kidding. Especially when 35 is old here. Isn't that just the craziest thing you ever heard of? I refuse to get OLD. Older, yes, old, NO. Why should I? Because our cultures say that when we reach a certain age we should have all these diseases, retire, sit in a chair and do nothing, etc., etc. Do you know how many people retire and die within the first 3 or 5 years? Where is that written in God's word? Where is it written that when you are a certain age that God will not heal you anymore? I don't refuse to die if it's my time, but I sure refuse to have all these things that the world says I have to have. So God and life is good. I praise and thank Him everyday for my life and my health. I am so thankful to Jesus Christ for taking those stripes and going through the agony that I can't even imagine just so I could be healed. What a loving Savior we have. Paul said to renew our minds, and that we have the mind of Christ. And as a man thinketh, so is he. We are in this world, but we are not of it. We are citizens of a different country, and that's the culture we need to be listening to.
The last couple of weeks have been very busy. I was able to go with Ruth, PIEDAD office secretary, and Becky to San Pedro Sula and El Progreso to pass out the Christmas gifts. That was on Monday and Tuesday. And there I was able to see two of my working buddies, Raul and Jose. I had a chance to ask about Raul's family and to talk to Jose who is getting married to Veronica in December. And of course Raul talked about me sweating like a horse which is an expression in English that I taught him. And in those two places, I am always wet. It is so hot there. Of course they're only an hour or so from the coast. Then on Thursday, Ruth and Becky came to the school where I work and passed out gifts. It's really early this year due to schools ending at the end of October which is due to all the political stuff that has been happening.
On the second of the month, the teachers at school threw a surprise birthday party for me. And it truly was a surprise. Since we have a teacher devotional on Fridays, I was sitting there listening to Patricia and looking up the scripture that I was suppose to read. Half way through the meeting I looked up and there on the whiteboard in huge letters was Happy Birthday Beverly. Talk about being blind!! The teachers were cooking food before and when I went into the kitchen they said it was a special day and just smiled. OK. They do things all the time that I don't know about until it is happening. So... But I was blessed. And they fixed enchiladas which is one of my favorites without the Parmesan cheese which really turns my stomach upside down and I mean that literally. They gave me green earrings and bracelets. Very pretty especially since that's one of my favorite colors. I did see Becky's car there when I went down to the kindergarten building and when she came out to meet me I didn't say, " Hi, how are you?" I said, "What are you doin' here?" Talk about bad manners!! I immediately apologized, of course. Her response was that they had called and asked her to come. Still didn't register. Talk about being blind in one eye and can't see out of the other!!! But they truly blessed me.
Eva had asked me the week before if I wanted to go with her and some friends mountain climbing near Santa Lucia. I said sure because I know my friend Eva and we were not going to climb a mountain like the one in Amapala. So the day of I asked her to call Denia, my Spanish teacher, because we wouldn't have time for a lesson. I could have called, but I wanted to make sure there were no mistakes in the message. Just being on the safe side. She said of course, so later when she was on the phone with Denia she told me that Denia had called her to say that she wasn't able to teach that day. Well, I praised the Lord because I didn't want to be the one that was not able to keep our class time, again. So at 3:00 we were on the bus heading for Santa Lucia. It had started to rain and when Eva got out her umbrella from her bag I saw a deck of cards and asked about them. She said we might play with them. Now I'm really wondering about this mountain climbing thing especially when she said I would know a couple of people there. So we were to meet the group at one of the restaurants. So who popped out from behind the wall when we found a table? You guessed it. Jessica and her daughter, AND my Spanish teacher and her son. Happy Birthday Beverly! That's two surprise birthdays in less than a week. We had great food, another birthday cake, and lots of laughs. This restaurant has three huge concrete slides. I remember asking Eva before if you could slide very fast down those things. Oh, yes, was her reply. Well, it's Eva saying come on Beverly. Are you kidding? Those things were huge. I don't know how tall they were, but we had to walk up about thirty steps from the bottom and that wasn't to the top. So away we went. Talk about fast. It was. And of course I had to go on all three. And they all weren't straight down. Some had curves. I told Denia to come on. Oh, that girl. I finally took her hand off the edge and held it, and away we went with her yelling all the way down. It was fun. That's one thing we will have to do when Doug comes back down with his family.
So now I'm 65. Everybody here says I'm joven, which means young. And I'm saying are you kidding. Especially when 35 is old here. Isn't that just the craziest thing you ever heard of? I refuse to get OLD. Older, yes, old, NO. Why should I? Because our cultures say that when we reach a certain age we should have all these diseases, retire, sit in a chair and do nothing, etc., etc. Do you know how many people retire and die within the first 3 or 5 years? Where is that written in God's word? Where is it written that when you are a certain age that God will not heal you anymore? I don't refuse to die if it's my time, but I sure refuse to have all these things that the world says I have to have. So God and life is good. I praise and thank Him everyday for my life and my health. I am so thankful to Jesus Christ for taking those stripes and going through the agony that I can't even imagine just so I could be healed. What a loving Savior we have. Paul said to renew our minds, and that we have the mind of Christ. And as a man thinketh, so is he. We are in this world, but we are not of it. We are citizens of a different country, and that's the culture we need to be listening to.
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