I am excited to tell you that three women decided to put our Lord on in baptism today! One is the sister of Maria Auxiliadora, who has only been a member of the church herself for a few months.

We had a record attendance today of 124 people! How exciting!! There were 60 kids and 64 adults, and this includes 10 visitors. In addition to the baptisms, we had two restorations today. It was good to see that some of our visitors were the spouses of members.

Petrolina

Margarita

Maria Auxiliadora

Our ladies class went well yesterday. We had over 65 in attandance, and I talked about overcoming temptation. Rather than trying to discuss every type of temptation and try to give advice for each, I talked generally about understanding God, Satan, and temptation to help us see temptation for what it is. In understanding God, we talked about how God created us, and is good and perfect, so he knows what is best for us. God also limits Satans power to tempt us so that it does not go beyond what we can bear (using Job as an example). And God promises us to give us a way out, an escape. We closed this section with the question: Who do we trust the most: a stranger on the street, or our best friend? Obviously our best friend. Why? Because we know them. Therefore, in order to really trust God, we have to know him - study his word and spend time with him in prayer and praise. In understanding Satan, we learned that his purpose is to destroy the work of God through any means possible. He uses 3 methods - lust of the eyes, flesh and pride of life, and some of his tools are our friends, money, personal desires, and false teachers. Finally, we discussed temptation, and through various scriptures learned that we cannot reach heaven or salvation without enduring temptation. That temptation perfects us, produces patience, and helps us to kill the worldly man and make room for Christ to live in us. Therefore, if we have studied and prepared, we should overcome temptation with joy, knowing that without it, there would be no maturing as Christians.

I always wish I could just put the study outlines on here, but they are in Spanish, so that probably would only help a few people!!

PS - The electricity was off yesterday until 2:30, and we were leaving for the womens class at 3:00, and I had yet to print off my lesson. So, during the day I prayed about the electricity coming back on. Then I couldn’t decide if I should go ahead and start writing out my lesson notes, because was that me not trusting God, or just being prepared! Decisions, decisions. Well, the electricity did come back on, and I didn’t doubt!

I killed a poor innocent lizard yesterday. I was mopping, and I don’t mop to just move the dirt around, I put some elbow greese into it. Well, I noticed the mop pick something up, and thought it was a dust bunny, which I thought was odd because I just swept. After a few more strokes I notice something wiggling around on the ground - the lizard’s tail. The lizard was hanging onto the mop (not the brightest thing to do - hug the thing that knocked you out), so I got it off and it was moving, so I left it there, hoping for the best. Nope, it’s dead now. Awww. Let that be a lesson to anyone who tries to get in the way of me and my cleaning!

The ladies from the church in Masatepe joined us for women’s class this Tuesday. They directed the service, and it was very nice. We learned about being sincere and how important that is in our Christian walk. Saturday we are going there for ladies class, and we’re in charge of services. Somehow it happened that I was scheduled to teach. This will be my first outside teaching, so wish me luck!

Ladies class with Masatepe

We are planning a special service on Sunday the 6th of August. That will mark the 2 year anniversary of the congregation, so in the afternoon we are going to have a service where an elder of each of the three congregations that helped this congregation get started will do a short talk (I say short, but I know they’ll talk forever!). Then we are going to have a fellowship meal. It will be so nice because it will also be the first services in the new building once it is totally complete (painted and everything). Way to kill two birds with one stone!

I’ve finally gotten some pictures up in the gallery - so be sure and check it out!

I have been cleaning and organizing, and right now I’m blogging to avoid cleaning and organizing! I organized before the mission group came at the first of June, but with the stuff they brought, I have to reorganize to find some hole to put all of the school supplies and such. So far it’s going pretty well. I am always amazed how much more you can fit in a space with a little thought and rearranging. We should soon have a storage space in the church building, so then I can get some of this stuff outta here.

The church building is still being finished up. We have the floor in, and are planning a work day Saturday to clean and wax it. They are putting the concrete on the outside walls, and then we just have to paint. The skylights turned out great! We can have services without a single light turned on - what a money saver!! I’m pretty convinced that we’ll have skylights in our house too. Why pay for light when God gave it to us free?!

Our next project is to fix up the house where we have our kid’s Bible class. That poor little house just hasn’t gotten the attention it deserves! It has walls up to a point, but the area where the roof peaks is empty (does someone want to give me the word for the peak in the roof?), so rain gets in. Plus the bathroom plumbing has never worked. (A side note - I really wish Blog had spell check - I keep having to put words into Word to see if I spelled the correctly!). So, as soon as the building is done, we are going to start working on the classes - fixing up the building and buying some whiteboards and tables for the kids.

Speaking of kids, our organization of the kids classes is going well. We’re having breakfast first thing, so the kids have a good reason to get there on time, and then I divided class into time sections so it doesn’t go over and the kids don’t come marching into services late (which was happening before). When the house is fixed, we’ll have breakfast and a singing time all together and then split for lessons and activities.

We had a fun youth activity Wednesday. It’s a holiday here, so the kids came to the farm and we played futbol and ate lunch and just had fun! Between that and our new bikes, my legs have been sore! We each got bikes a few weeks ago, and we are saving a ton on gas from going back and forth to the farm. It’s amazing that a 30 sec. drive can use so much gas when you have to do it multiple times a day. The kids are getting more use out of my bike than I am though! Everytime I want to ride it, one of those guys has it! It’s so cute to see Chepe, who’s tiny, riding my big bike. I thought they wouldn’t want to ride it since it’s purple. Nice try!

When I Preach…

When I preach, there are some who say
They could listen to me all day.
Others think I preach too long.
And some think I go about it wrong.
Some say my sermon is much too deep.
To others, it’s shallow and they go to sleep.
Some report I hold them spell bound,
While others squirm and look around.
Some speak of me as an orator,
But others feel I’m a perfect bore.
Some believe I have no light,
And others think I preach just right.
Some affirm that I’m too bold,
Others wink and say I’m cold.
Some used to say I was much too young.
But others declare my spring has sprung!
Some folks tell I have met success.
Others think my work is a mess.
Some have said my pay is too low,
When they discover the pace I go.
Still others say it is above the peak,
“Why he only works three hours a week.”
From all this, ’tis plain to see.
That as a preacher, I’m up a tree.
Condemned if I do, condemned if I don’t;
Criticized if I will, criticized if I won’t.
I can’t please men of such discord,
So I’ll just keep trying to please the Lord.

Author Unknown

“Well, how would you like to have someone come along and pick something off of you.” From The Wizard of Oz

Though this poem is only talking about preaching, the principle really applies to all things in life. How many times are we criticized for doing what we think, or know, is right?
Its right to lovingly address sin in other Christian’s lives to encourage them to repent, but don’t we get a lot of criticism for it when we do it?
Living in a male-dominated society, I get a lot of criticism for doing what God commanded me to do…helping. When you look at Scripture, the woman’s job is to help the husband, in anything that the husband needs help with. Look at the “excellent woman” of Proverbs 31:10-31. She did everything from take care of the kids and the home to make real estate purchases; whatever was needed, she did it. Criticism here comes when David asks me to help him by being in charge of the finances, when David asks for my opinion and (dare it say it…) changes his mind about something if my reasoning is sound and godly.
Its right to be active and take on leadership roles in the church, but many times that opens us up to “You should have done it this way…” type remarks.

I’m thinking of all of this because David gave a great lesson about the attitudes we should have in the church. He discussed how we shouldn’t unjustly criticize active members (you should have preached this way, lead this song, prayed about this), because this could discourage them. But on the other side of the coin, those receiving the criticism could have the temptation to stop doing what is right and good because others are telling them its wrong or not good enough. Whenever I feel this way, or see someone who might be discouraged from a work because of criticism, I think of a great saying Carolina told me…

How do you know a tree has fruit? Because people are throwing things at it (to get the fruit to drop).

So, if you’re feeling down for a reason like this, just remember, we have to do what we know is right, and evaluate criticism to see if it’s just, or only the devil trying to get your fruit to fall.

We got a neat little book at a marriage seminar a while back. I like it because it’s 30 days of study on six types of love. The first is forgiving love.

Jesus said, “Father, forgive these people, because they don’t know what they are doing.” - Luke 23:34
Jesus forgave the people who were killing him, who I’m sure would claim they DID know what they were doing, before they asked, and before they were even repentant - in the act of offense he forgave. Do we forgive like that? Or do we use excuses like, “They have asked for forgiveness yet or said they were sorry.”

You must make allowance for each other’s faults and forgive the person who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. - Colossians 3:13
Do we try to understand or “make allowance” for how someone could offend us the way they did, and then forgive them for it. It doesn’t mean you’re saying it’s okay, or making your hurt something small, it just means you forgive it and have compassion.

Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life. - Psalm 139:23-24
Do we ask God to give us a check up and let us know where we are wrong? When someone approaches us with a sin in our lives, do we see it as God pointing out something that offends him? Are we quick to apologize and ask for the forgiveness like we are tempted to demand that others do?

Be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you. - Ephesians 4:32
Remember in the first verse how Christ forgave us? Are we imitating his loving and forgiving attitude? Are we kind and tenderhearted, or do we tend to hide hate and bitterness in our hearts because of our lack to forgive? God is eager and waiting for us to see our wrong and ask forgiveness. Do we treat others the same, looking for the first opportunity to forgive?

If you are standing before the altar in the temple, offering a sacrifice to God, and you suddenly remember that someone has something against you, leave your sacrifice there beside the altar. Go and be reconciled to that person. Then come and offer your sacrifice to God. - Matthew 5:23-24
Do we seek out ways to reconcile, or hide behind “I didn’t do anything wrong - if they have a problem they should come to me.” When are we often “suddenly” reminded of an offense we’ve committed, or something someone has against us? When we are close to God - offering our sacrifice to him. Also notice, God isn’t interested in your worship until you make right the wrong - Luke 6:46 (don’t call Jesus “Lord” if you aren’t going to obey him)

Other reading: Psalms 103:12, Jeremiah 31:34,

This book suggests 4 sentences to asking for forgiveness:
1 - I was wrong (note: not “if you think I did something wrong…)
2 - I’m sorry
3 - I don’t ever want to hurt you this badly again (repentance)
4 - Will you forgive me?

Have another favorite verse that always helps you to forgive others (and yourself)? Share it with us in the comment section and help make our days a little brighter.

If you made it to the end, you deserve to know: the book is “Renewing Your Love” by Rosberg.

So I’ve been very impressed with the mail recently. We’ve gotten mail from the states in about 5-8 days! Pretty impressive. It just takes an 84 cent stamp. Now that you don’t have an excuse, you better start sending me something!

This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one: the being thoroughly worn out before you are thrown on the scrap heap, and being a force of nature instead of a feverish selfish little clod of ailments and grievances, complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy.

George Bernard Shaw quoted in: Jon Johnston, Courage - You Can Stand Strong in the Face of Fear, SP Publications, 1990, p. 171.

Things are really coming along as we prepare to make our next shipment of coffee. We got a really good deal from Continental for shipping the coffee, so that was exciting! Isn’t it nice when things come out under budget! David got to go and do taste testing again yesterday, and you’re in luck, all the coffee turned out good!

I didn’t get to go because of the women’s class. We had a good lesson on overcoming our fears. We learned that a lot of our fears are just a ploy by the devil to keep us from serving God like we should. Since we are working hard on getting all the women involved in class, this lesson was really good at encouraging them to overcome fears to lead singing or say prayers. Once a month we are going to have a “Finding your talents” class where everyone participates by singing, reading & explaining scripture, or praying. We had a big group yesterday, so please pray that all these women continue to attend and participate!

David is having fun with the new youth class. We’ve had this planned for a while, so it’s been nice to see all the work produce such a great class. This week was the first week we had classes for the youth on Sunday during regular class time instead of Saturday evening. The result was only three adults in class when it started! We’ve been blessed with an odd situation - the youth are more punctual than the adults! But we had a great adult class (that filled up eventually) as we continued our study on baptism. The youth have some good activities planned too. On the 19th they have a soccer match with the youth of the congregation where Giovanni used to preach. I’ve lost David to futbol as he claims he has to do lots of practicing so they can win! =)

Ibet is in the blue top

The building is really coming along. They are putting in all the tile, and already have the windows installed and the bars put up. We found out that we all have to learn not to talk in services. You can hear everything that is said, even a whisper! Probably a good thing!

Ibet became a Christian on Friday. She has been visiting for a few weeks, so it was good to see her make such an important decision.

I’ve been working really hard on the kid’s classes. I bought a cirriculum from the states, but until it comes we’re working on being more organized in our schedule to teach the kids discipline: starting on time, ending on time, and having more control during class. The materials that the Edmond group brought have helped out a lot. There are a ton of class visuals for felt boards, so at the end of the month we’re going to have a seminar to teach them how to use them. Hopefully we can buy a storage cabinet soon to keep everything in the church building instead of where I can fit it around the house!

Man, I feel like I have not gotten a break lately. But that’s a good thing, because it means the work is going well! We had a baptism this Sunday, Carolina (not the preacher’s wife). She had done various studies with different members of the church, but things finally clicked, and aren’t we glad!

I’ve been working really hard on getting things ready for our new Heavenly Harvest Coffee website. Things are going so well with the coffee sales, that we need the website to get information about the work out and give a place to purchase online. Should be up in August.

I’m taking over the coordination of the children’s classes. Since we’ve been here a year and things are settling in (I know, it took that long!), we are working on really organizing the church. Before, we all just worked together on everything. We’ll continue to do that, but with each of us in charge of specific areas. Carolina is going to do the women’s services organization. David will take over Wed. and Thurs. adult classes and will be leading the youth. Giovanni will teach the Sun. and Fri. adult classes. We usually have different preachers each Sunday. David preaches once, as does Giovanni, then once we have a preacher from another congregation visit and then one of the members preaches; this is the norm for Nicaragua.

I almost forgot about our recent purchases. David and I are now the proud owners of a bed and a washer and dryer! Oooo.