Make Hummus While the Sun Shines

I am privileged to have a guest writer on my blog: my Dad, Tom Moore.  I asked him to write this month’s post in a joking tone of voice, but with a serious note.  You know, the way he always asks me for favors.  It was delivered to me on two pieces of notebook paper, in very nice cursive writing, and I am happy to share it here with you.  –Katie

Make Hummus While the Sun Shines

Having grown up in a farming community, I am very familiar with the phrase and concept of making hay while the sun shines.  However, it was not until my wife and I visited our daughter, Katie, in the mountains of western Mexico, that we were introduced to the hummus aspect.  Actually, we soon found out that if one is almost entirely dependent on solar power, there are a good many things that need to be done while the sun shines: using the internet, reading and writing emails, using kitchen appliances, charging power tools, phones, computers, Kindles, MP3 players, speakers…and not just your own, but those from several others in the village.

And, in rainy season, which it was, sunshine can be a very fickle thing.  What starts out as a beautiful sunny morning can change in a moment as the clouds move in and block those precious rays.  So, the amount of sunshine determines the charge of the batteries, which in turn determines what gets used and for how long.

On the flip side, rainy season (despite the clouds) is a blessing to the people who are chiefly dependent on the rainfall for not only daily living, but also for the growth of their staple corn crop.

But the purpose of our trip to Las Moras was not to do a study of the effects of sunshine and rainfall.  We went to do what we could to be a help and blessing to Katie and Rachel as they labor among the Nahuatl people.

And what a privilege it was.  What a blessing to meet—and meet with—new believers as they gathered to worship God and study his Word.  What a blessing to know that the behind-the-scenes jobs we accomplished were a small part of the tremendous work being done by Rachel as she translates Bible passages in preparation for teaching and by Katie as she teaches adult believers to read and write in their own language.