Three Steak Dinners
During the last month, the men on our team have put hours and hours of back-breaking work in on Rachel’s and my house. They hauled more than 20 truckloads of dirt, filled and leveled our floor, and stacked 116 bags of cement, to name only a few things. I think we owe them steak dinners. Check out the pictures and you will notice that we didn’t have a dozer to level out our building site. One side of the foundation is 3 feet high and the other end is only a few inches tall. And the guys filled it in by hand! (Phew!) I am so grateful to be part of a team with that kind of servant attitude. The men are home for 4 short days and then will be back in the tribe for two more weeks of work. Our house has lumber waiting, adobes climbing higher and higher, windows ordered, and is, in general, moving right along. Keep praying that there are no delays so we can be in by summer.
5 Ladies, 5 Kids
While the men from the team were gone, we women and children kept very busy. Again, the all-for-one spirit was evident as Rachel and Teresa cooked many nice meals for the moms (and teacher). Rachel and Sarah pitched in with homework help and acted as teacher’s aides. The weekends were full of canning, menu planning, grocery trips, and other preparations for the guys’ next trip. During one afternoon session of class, I received a phone call telling me that Rachel, Sarah, and Tasha had been in a fender bender on their way home. Teresa came over and helped me get homework taken care of and kids fed as we waited for the ladies’ return. We turned on cartoons after a bit and no one even asked me why their moms weren’t back. We thank God that no one was injured and the van is still in working order.
God in the Dark Ages
We are doing a unit of study on the Middle Ages in school right now and I am always surprised at which conversations get us into discussions about God. A lesson on Joan of Arc turned into kids’ questions about how God speaks to his people. A biography on Gutenberg got us talking about how blessed we are to have the word of God in our own language and available to us whenever we need it. A novel about a very scared young man lead us to the idea of our security and identity in Christ. Who knew there were so many spiritual lessons in the Dark Ages. I am grateful for curious, energetic, and believing students who eagerly explore how God is alive and at work in the world.
Until They Know
The recent news of the death of one of the Nahuatl men hit our team hard. We were not prepared for the stark reality that our friend went to a Christ-less eternity before ever hearing the Gospel. There is much to be done. Language and culture must be learned before we can begin to tell the Nahuatl about their Heavenly Father and how he longs to have relationship with them. Pray that God keeps these dear people safe until they know.