Saturday, August 10, 2013

Ecc.3:1 To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

Wow! Here it is, the third of August already. Time just seems to pass so quickly. The kids at school have started practicing for the big parade on September 15th, which is Independence Day here in Central America.  Our only musical instruments are the drums ( bass, snare, quads) and four lyres.  But what a great sound they make!  We have our baton twirlers, and pom pom squad, flag carriers, etc.  So everybody is excited, not to mention the fact that we get out of class for two hours each on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday to practice.  But practice they do.  It isn't time to mess around and play.  They work hard for each of those two hours, and in the hot sun for a lot of that time.  But they always do well on parade day.

This has been a busy year with teams!  But they all have been a blessing to me, Becky, the students, and the churches where they have ministered.  Kansas has been here four times!  Yee ha, Kansas!  And now there is a lady here from Montana with two friends.  What a small world we live in. She is originally from IL, my home state, and what a conversation we had about the towns that we both are so familiar with.  She has written a book about Noah, and has had it translated into Spanish. Cissy Padgett is her name, and she gifted me with one of her CD's called "Wonder." No, I haven't listened to all of it yet, but am in the process now, and it sounds pretty good.

The few days in El Salvador were good, but very, very hot. The legacy of John Bueno and his wife Lois, listening and following the vision that God gave him, gave birth to LACC (Latin America Child Care). It is a glorious testimony of what God will do when a person  obeys him. LACC has served more than a million students.  So many Christians do not understand the call of God on their lives, especially if it means going to a foreign country or going against the so-called norm.  I am so thankful that these two followed the call.  If they hadn't, many children would not have an education, and I wouldn't be in Honduras.

So I had to go to some "classes" of course!  One was on integrating scriptures into our classes naturally.   I recognized this pastor from five years ago when we went to El Salvador.  I couldn't keep up with him when he was talking.  He asked each one of us what we did. I replied in Spanish that I taught English.  When he finished his discourse, he put everyone in groups except me. Then he began telling me in English what he had said.  I don't remember how the conversation came about when I told him about my conversation about trash and the Holy Spirit.  Someone had thrown down trash instead of putting it in the trash can.  I asked my class if they threw trash in their houses.  They said no.  I asked if Jesus were here (in the room) if they would throw trash on the floor.  They almost looked horrified and  said no.  Then I told them that he was there.  By his Holy Spirit. He was there and with us all the time.  The pastor said, "That's what I'm talking about. You're doing it."  And because I want these kids to learn how to think for themselves, I told them that one day they would be standing before Jesus by themselves, and they would have to answer for themselves. Their friends would not be there to speak for them.  They were so quiet when I said that that I wondered if they had stopped breathing!! The pastor said, "Now you're teaching me".  Wow! This class made my whole trip worthwhile. It´s good to know that you're doing something correct without truly knowing it.  Thank you, Lord.

Well, I started this a week ago! Sometimes it's just difficult to sit and write all that is going on, and what the Lord is doing, because He is always doing in the lives of his children. We just don´t see it at times. At this time in the school, we are practicing for the Independence Day parade on September 15.  So very little teaching of academics  is being done. When they practice for 2 or more hours on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, there is little time for much else, especially when you take out 30-40 minutes for merienda (snack time) which is really more like a meal.  But it's truly a blessing to watch these kids march and play drums and lyres when they have never had a music lesson in their lives.  And then to have them march in step with each other is another action short of a miracle.  These children are not very disciplined, but they learn to be.

I'm reading a biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer.  I heard a remark that was supposed to have been said by him a few years ago that really caught my attention.  It was that Jesus called us to die.  I remember the song by Jimmy Swaggart called "Come and Dine". Well, I believe he, Jesus, did both.  Ecclesiastes 3 tells us there is a time and purpose for everything.  I think I forget that sometimes.  Many times we just want to get through something and not think that God has a purpose for it, but nothing is wasted with the Lord, even the bad things.  Many things in this book causes me to think more seriously about my own walk with the Lord. The only thing that I truly want is to one day hear the words well done thou good and faithful servant.

So on Thursday, I found a little scorpion in the pila (the cement like sink that holds our water) that we use to flush the toilets, etc. He was dead. I put him on the end of a toilet brush and showed him to Javier,  the teacher. You should have seen his eyes!  So funny! He kept saying to kill it by stepping on it. I told him it was already dead.  Nope, I should step on it.  I told him to step on it because I didn´t want the guts on the bottom of my shoe.  Wow!  He ground it to powder!  It makes me laugh.  Of course, I might have felt different if the little guy had been alive.  I definitely wouldn´t have put him on the end of the toilet brush, but I would have called Javier.  This makes me think that I need to be more observant when I go to the bathroom. On the way home, the teachers were talking how they find them in their houses especially when the weather begins to warm up. Oh, horrors! I have not had any of these creatures in my house and pray that I don't.

Hopefully, my youngest daughter and her hubby will be here in September!  What a blessing for all of us. So now I must be back into the book. God bless all.