Supreme Offering
Our ministry area lawn and playing field have never looked better, it is thick, lush green and beautiful,,,,,,also lonely and sad. Weekly maintenance includes hours of trimming, mowing and watering when no kids have come for over a year to run, play and roll on it seems a waste. We keep it up as a poured out ‘drink offering’ to the Lord. Numbers 15:5.Likewise, one Saturday evening Inez came to the gate with a big bouquet of flowers as an offering for the Lord’s Sunday table. It was odd since we were still not meeting for worship due to pandemic but I put them on the table in the empty tempel. JUST FOR JESUS she said. Once again ‘as a poured out drink offering’ just as Paul taught in Philippians 2:17-18. May each of us continue to honor God and rejoice together in sacrificial service,,,,JUST FOR JESUS!
“Aquí, no más”
This is a phrase we have heard all over Ecuador since day 1. It always puzzled and frustrated me since it was the answer when I asked ‘how are you?’ “Aquí, no más” means “just here” which is not the answer to the common greeting of ‘how are you? not ‘where are you?’. I never understood UNTIL last year which has spilled into this year. I now understand and feel ‘aquí, no más’,,,,,,,,I wish I never understood as I am sure many of you also know this strange new form of being. Let us share a few photos from this place God has gifted us with comparing ‘how we feel’ with ‘what we believe’ during this challenging time of life and ministry. Thank you for all the support to hold us up and stand with us, we love you.
Out of Our Sight
Difficult, challenging, hard, heart-breaking, unbelievable, limiting, sad, loss and lonely are just a few ways to describe this season we are presently wading through in a country which has gone back to third world status. It’s gonna be okay, WE are gonna be okay. “For if God is for us, who can stand against us.” We also see great opportunity for the gospel and find ourselves in more serious intercession for the world, near and far. One constant prayer(and hope) is that our kids and youth, all who have set foot at Door of Hope will grow as Jesus did in Lk 2:40 ” continued to grow and to become strong, increasing in wisdom; and the favor of God was upon Him“..also as in Eph. 4:15 “..let us grow in every way into Him who is the head – Christ“. , 2P 3:18 “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”. Thank you all for joining us to hold them up in prayer as they grow up out of our sight and arms but never out of God’s reach.
We are still here
| Ministry has taken on a new look here at the Door of Hope since our return in September. We have struggled trying to do what we want to do and what we can do. So what we have been able to do is get caught up on a lot of things that had been on the ‘some day we would like to do list’. We had started in person worship services in October but that was suspended when we needed to return to the US for a family emergency. We restarted the in person worship in January but just before Easter the goverment here declared another health emergency for an increase in COVID-19 cases. So we are back to virtual worship services again. We built a irrigation reservoir that holds enough water to keep everything green. Also dug a new well that keeps the reservoir full with an abundance of water. New block walls around the property for increased security, safety and dust control. Maintenance on the playground. In the process to replace rotted posts and repainting the wood structure. Trimming trees that have gotten so tall that we cannot reach the avocados to harvest, several that needed to be pruned for their health and removal of a few old almost dead trees. We will soon tile the patio ministry area. The main reason for this is to be ready when we can meet again with tile that can be cleaned and sanitized better than concrete. Installed security cameras for safety and security. We have continued the weekly maintenance of the grounds as well as weeding and maintaining the flower and vegetable gardens. We have even had time to build and install the upper kitchen cabinets in our house. It has only taken ten years since we moved in. In some ways all of this seems to be work in vain as we cannot have folks here to enjoy it. But we have looked at it as this is for God and His glory. Someday in the near future we will be back to receiving folks and they will be able to experience this place and feel the presence of God through His creation. |
