ENCUENTROS: more divine appointments

 Our twelve-day mission trip to Guatemala this last December 17-29 is nearly worthy of a book of its own. Unfortunately, I don’t have the time to write all the stories, but I am sure there is a much more interesting, beautiful and detailed account recorded in heaven. Maybe we can all read it together during the Millennium! That said, I had to share a few extra stories with you that didn’t make it into the December newsletter.  

On the afternoon of December 18, we arrived in the mountains of Los Encuentros along with a cold front of wind and rain.  The original word had been that we would be camping, but some kind soul had made arrangements with the town council at the last minute, and they conceded us the school building which was conveniently available as Guatemala’s school cycle ends in October and begins in January. Boy, were we glad for that roof over our heads as the rain continued for several days! The rain turned out to be a godsend, however, because the village water was turned off when we arrived! So we collected runoff from the tin roof for cooking, bathing and flushing the toilets. After installing our tents in one of the classrooms, and cooking dinner over an open fire in the shed next to school, we went to the Suchite residence to do a small-group worship service. 

            The next day we started door-to-door visitation. Besides the Cawich and Chavez family, Lyli and myself, we had three MOVE graduates with us: Melinda and Yuvini from Belize, and Israel from Nicaragua. Israel brought his friend José Jiminez along too. José is an exuberant Pathfinder Master Guide leader, who used his vacation time from his job with an American company to come on the mission trip.

“Isra even paid for my trip up here!” José told us later. “But he didn’t tell me until we got here that there is no money for the return trip!” 

More than once during our twelve days together he praised God for the experience he was having, which turned out to be like a big shot of spiritual vitamins! José went home with renewed faith and focus.

“I am definitely going to get more involved in mission work at my home church again!” He promised. “As soon as I get a little money saved I am going to come take the training program at MOVE, and do my six months of service. After that I want to study theology and be a missionary pastor!”  Please pray for José, that he will follow through by the grace of God! 

Left to right: Noelito, Israel, and José,
enjoying the Mountain View over Los Encuentros

José, Yuvini, Israel and Miguel were out visiting one morning when they saw a little old man struggling to drag a large wooden post down the road. Immediately they went to his aid. He wanted to help them carry the load, but was so short he could only hang from the beam, so the boys told him to just lead the way! Their small act of kindness did not go unnoticed by the neighbors. 

“You guys are different than other Christians!” A man named Manuel told the boys later that day. “Other people here who go to church will pass you on the road and not even look at you, but you guys actually care about others!” Manuel received us into his home, began Bible studies, and attended several nights of the evangelistic meetings! Manuel is next-door neighbor to the only baptized Adventist in the village, (see December newsletter, linked in my previous post) and Mr. Valeriano has promised to continue the studies.

 

“There’s going to be a big shindig at the corral and the ball field starting Sunday” the villagers warned us. Bull riding, music, dancing, drinking and carousing were all on the docket. 

Oh dear, maybe it’s not such a good idea to try to hold our meetings those nights, at least not here at the school! I thought. But then I realized, this could be a way for even more people to find out about our meetings. As it turned out, the party music cut off right before we started our first meeting and didn’t come on again until we were finished! The brothers from the church at Machaquila loaned us their sound system, and the Word of God was heard by all passers by, many of whom stopped to listen for awhile. Others told us later that they had heard the preaching clearly from the comfort of their own homes!

Adult meetings held in the government school breezeway. Interest was high!

My precious wife leads the children meetings in one of the classrooms.
Some nights there were up to 70 in attendance!

Yuvini (far left) poses with villagers who attended the meetings and received Bibles

         

Israel had a powerful experience giving Bible studies to the most influential man in town, a well-to-do rancher and president of the town council named Mr. Cecilio. During their last study, God put it on Israel’s heart to go through the parables of the prodigal son and the lost coin. By the end of the study both the tough old rancher and his wife were in tears. Both are Christians who had fallen away from God. Their son is now a drug addict, a shame and a menace to the family. God gave Israel powerful words of comfort and courage as he prayed with the family, and when we packed up to leave, Mr. Cecilio, his treasurer and secretary all came out to thank the team, say goodbye, and invite us to return whenever we wish! 

 

ANOTHER DIVINE ENCOUNTER

 

When I arrived back at the school where we were staying after morning visitation, I saw a man standing outside the crowded classroom where Lyli was doing crafts with the kids. I approached and greeted him. His name was Rolando. Turns out he works in Belize three month periods at certain times during the year,  trying to "get ahead" in life. “I opened a clothing store here for my wife to operate while I am away. We live just up the road. My daughter was begging to come to this… I was busy, but when I got done I brought her down, but it looks like the activities are about over.” he remarked. 

I explained what we do and asked if I could visit him at home.

           “We have meetings in the evenings too, and there are videos for the kids! Y'all should come!”

           Christmas day I went to visit Rolando, but he wasn’t home. Only his pregnant wife, eight months with child. Two girls arrived on horseback with firewood. “They are going to bake bread today” she motioned to the big clay oven behind the kitchen. 

            Two days later I was walking by with Lyli on a quick trip to the store and I saw Rolando on his front porch. 

“I have to visit him while he’s home,” I told Lyli. But I had a Bible study scheduled with another family. It was nearly 4:00 pm before I got to his house.  

            “Y’all don't celebrate Christmas do you?” Rolando asked after several minutes of small talk.  

            “Well, not in the same way that most people do, but we do enjoy having special family time. Also, Christmas is a great opportunity to talk about Jesus and what He did for us in coming as a man and what that means for us today.” 

            “You’re different than the JW’s then." He observed. "You’re Sabbath keepers aren’t you?” 

            “Yes on both accounts!” I smiled and shared a couple verses with him. 

            “But your Bible says sábado. Mine just says the day of rest!” Rolando protested. 

            “Yes, some Bibles translate it that way” I agreed. “I have a Bible that says that as well, but there is a little asterisk by the phrase dia de reposo, and in the margin it says that it is equivalent to sábado. Also, the fourth commandment clarifies that God’s day of rest is the seventh day.” I turned to Exodus 20. 

 

WHICH DAY IS THE SEVENTH DAY?

 

The devil has different lies for different guys, and sometimes he has to adapt them to the language. In English people tend to think that Sunday is the Sabbath. In Spanish, people don’t really have that problem because Saturday in Spanish is sabado, or “Sabbath”!  So folks here aren't fooled about which day is Sabbath! It's a no brainer! We have learned, however, that one of the false narratives at these latitudes is that Sunday is the seventh day! The people in Los Encuentros are so ingrained in this tradition that when Lyli taught the children the days of creation and told them that God rested on the 7^th day and made it holy, and then asked “which day is the seventh day?” she was shocked by the unanimous chorus of enthusiastic voices shouting “Domingo!” Also, on this same trip, Brother Daniel Cawich and his wife Mirta studied the Bible with Verónica, an earnest seeker full of questions, one of which was: “Which day is the seventh day?” 

Now, I have seen some newer calendars, and even a Spanish Encyclopedia from 2009 that actually have the audacity to list Sunday as the seventh day of the week, but all the calendars that I saw in Los Encuentros were still of the traditional sort. Still, Rolando insisted that Sunday is the seventh day, and went to get his calendar. 

“See, Sunday is in red” he showed me, as if to prove his point. This was the first time I had ever heard of a cultural identification of the color red with the number seven, but I made no comment! I just counted the days of the week out loud for him from left to right, and what do you know, they were still in order, and sábado is the 7^th day! 

“But domingo is in red ink! Besides, people here get paid on Sabbath to end the work week and everyone keeps Sunday! Only you Adventists keep Sabbath!” Rolando insisted. 

            “Jesus and the apostles also kept the Sabbath!” I offered. “Also, remember that biblically speaking, the majority has never been the safe option! Jesus said the wide road is not the safe road!”

“If the Sabbath is so important, I will do a fast and the Lord will show me the truth!” Rolando concluded. 

             “I’m glad to hear you say that, and I know that as you pray and fast and read God’s Word with an open and sincere heart, He will give you all the right answers!” I encouraged. “It’s like it says in John 7:17: ‘If any man will do His will, He will know of the doctrine whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.’ So the most important thing is that you be willing to do God’s will whatever it may be, and then seek to know His will.” 

            “I believe in God,” Rolando said. “No one can convince me that He’s not real because He healed me!”

“That’s wonderful! Tell me about it!”

 

ROLANDO'S SPECTACULAR EXPERIENCE

 

“I was raised an evangelical, my Dad is a pastor, but as a young man I drifted away, seeking pleasure, and became addicted to drugs and alcohol.” Rolando began. “In order not to disgrace my father’s ministry, I moved away. One day I received an injury over an altercation about a girl. I was in critical condition, and was alone in my hut, near death, when some evangelical Christians came to visit me. They asked me if I was a believer. I said yes, and they began to pray. I lost consciousness and seemed to drift up and above myself. I saw two great pillars and an open door from which poured out a cloud of white smoke. Inside I could hear the voice of singing. I lifted my foot to enter, when I remembered I had never said good-bye to my father. Suddenly I awoke, back in my bed!

‘He’s revived!’ shouted the older visitor, the pastor. 

"Oh Lord, I realized. I died but now I’m back!  At that moment I felt a warm tingling that began at my toes and rose to the top of my head and I knew that I was healed! Suddenly I saw a shining being over 12 feet tall standing in the corner of the room. 

            ‘Look, look!’ I grabbed the pastor’s arm and pointed. There’s someone here!’

            ‘There’s nobody there!’ replied the pastor emphatically, but I could see him plainly. Solemnly he lifted is arm and pointing at me said       ‘You have been healed! You now have the gift of healing and you are commissioned to take that healing to others.’” 

Rolando finished his testimony. While I don’t doubt that God in mercy saved his life, I was struck by the sudden thought it would be just like the devil to make a fellow sick to death, and then "heal" him to leave him doubly deceived! The Lord kept me silent on that point however, and I just kept listening.

            “I know I have failed to obey that call.” Rolando confessed. “For a while I was active in church, but you know the devil never sleeps and I soon became discouraged. The brethren would be so kind and pious at church, but then during the week some would gossip and backstab while others lived in sin, and I thought man, if Christ were to come at this moment they would be lost! Eventually I stopped going to church and fell back into my vices. Then one day while drunk in Poptún I was nearly killed. I knew I was failing God and I was very afraid to die. So I tried to change my life again. I no longer drink. I just work, and then home to the family and the kids. But I know I am not fulfilling God’s commission. This,” He gestured at the house and yard “is just a wimb of mine, just doing my own thing…”

            The man is under conviction. I realized. I need to say something! Lord, give me the right words! 

THE CALL

            “The fact that you feel that way is evidence that God is still calling you.” I encouraged. “He is speaking to you again today! He has plans for your life! Don’t put Him off any longer!” I urged. “Just make sure that you are willing to do all his will. His will is in His word! Study what He asks you to do in His Word! Many passages in Scripture tell us what God’s will is for our lives.” I shared 1 Thess 4:3, Matt 12:50, and Lk 8:21.  “And so, as powerful as miracles and supernatural experiences can be, by themselves they are no guarantee that we doing God's will!” I turned to Matthew 7. “This is the same passage that we talked about earlier, where Jesus warns us not to follow the crowd because the path to eternal life is narrow and only a few find it! Just a few verses later Jesus explains that not even all those who claim to be Christians and work miracles will be saved, but only the wise who build on the rock!” I read verses 21-24. “So we see that what makes the saving difference is when we listen to God’s Word and do what it says!”

            “Hey, you guys really do use the same Bible we do” Rolando tried to shift the conversation. “I remember reading these same texts you just shared.” 

            “Do you have a Bible here at home?” I asked.

            “Just a New Testament. I had a complete Bible, but it is at my sister’s house in Poptún.” 

            “I have an extra Bible here with me, I’d love for you to have it!” I offered.

            “Oh yes, absolutely.” Rolando took it gratefully. 

We said goodbye, but not before I invited him to the evening meetings again along with his wife and daughter. I was really excited when the whole family showed up that night! After the program I spoke to them for a few minutes, and gave them a Steps to Christ and a booklet of study guides called “The Faith of Jesus.” They had already left when I felt strongly that I should have given them a copy of the book “When God said Remember” by Mark Finley as well. 

            “Why don't you take it by their house tomorrow morning” Lyli suggested. The next morning when I arrived at Rolando’s house, he was already gone, but his wife sat at the counter in their clothing store with the new Bible open in front of her. Pencil in hand, she was looking up texts and answering the questions from the first Bible study in “The Faith of Jesus” booklet! Her daughter sat on the floor looking at the pictures in Steps to Christ. A customer entered right behind me, so I wasn’t able to chat, but I greeted her with a smile, handed her the Sabbath book, and left praising God! Lord, may You bring forth a rich harvest from the seeds we scattered! 

Links to Monthly Reports

 October 2019 Newsletter

November 2019 Newsletter

December 2019 Newsletter

LESSONS FROM A LOST DOG

    “Have you seen Zuki?” Lyli asked me during our evening rounds to turn on the campus porch lights. Almost everyone is gone for the week on this session’s student-led mission trip, but Lyli and I are holding down the fort here at MOVE along with the Shaw family and the three dogs, Zuki, Snoopy and Chipotle.  

    “I haven’t seen him since this afternoon” Lyli continued. 

    “That is strange. He’s usually with the other dogs.” I replied. We whistled and called to no avail. 

    “Maybe he’s out in the brush chasing some animal.” Lyli suggested. 

    “Yeah, could be. I’m sure we’ll see him in the morning at feeding time!”

    But the next morning, Zuki was still missing, and all our calls brought not even a bark in response. 

    “Snoopy, Chipotle, where is your friend Zuki?” I asked the other dogs, but they only wagged their tails and looked at us with clueless eyes. We began to fear the worst. The dogs like to chase critters in the woods, and sometimes they come out second best. Snoopy once returned with a nasty gash in his side compliments of a Coatimundi, locally called a Quash, a creature that looks like a cross between a lemur and a raccoon with badger claws.

    “There are Jaguars around here too, and they will kill and eat a dog.” Shaw contributed to our worries. Zuki wouldn't be the first MOVE pooch to disappear in these woods. 

    After breakfast I rode my bike down the back road toward the sugarcane fields, stopping periodically to call for Zuki and listen for a whine or bark. Nothing. Lyli called Keila to give her the news, and she passed the word on to Phoebe, Zuki’s owner. I was sad about Zuki’s disappearance, but resigned myself to what seemed to be a reality I could do nothing about. For some reason I didn’t even think to pray about it, and went about my work, never dreaming that the whole charade could be all my fault. 

    I was mowing by the library when Shaw approached and asked if I had the key to the print shop and storage unit. 

    “I think I heard a dog howling from that direction!” he explained. 

    “Could Zuki be inside?”

    “That is possible!” it suddenly dawned on me.

    “We had to open both places yesterday afternoon and we went inside to close the window louvers. We never saw Zuki though!” While I went to fetch the key, Shaw waited by the print shop. 

    “Did you hear anything else?” I asked as I arrived. 

    “Nope” he replied. 

    “Maybe he’s not here after all. Zuki! Zuki!” I called. Not a sound. 

    “I doubt he’s in here” I said as I turned the key. The door was hardly open a crack however when the squirming, wagging Zuki pressed his way out with great glee.

    “Zuki, you were in here!” I exclaimed. “Why didn’t you say so, you poor animal!” We praised God that the lost was found and I called Phoebe to give her the good news while Zuki rehydrated and scarfed down his breakfast.  

Zuki

    It wasn’t until later as I continued my mowing that the Holy Spirit began to hit me with some spiritual applications: How important it is to learn to distrust self! When there’s a problem, the search should always start with me. How often do I fail to even consider the possibility that I have sinned because I trust in my own good intentions and overlook my faults? How many people have been injured or even eternally lost because I was careless, unobservant, or failed to pray when I should have? How many more souls could be rescued if we would only humbly retrace our steps with the realization that if they are lost it is likely our fault? Like Zuki, they may never say so. They may not even realize it themselves. But if they die that won’t make us any less guilty! Lord give me the grace to see my own mistakes! May I never think that feelings of compassion and good will and even participation in the mission of seeking the lost are adequate replacements for earnest prayer and soul searching! As I search my soul, it just may be the means of finding others who have gone missing. 

 

All the news you may have missed

So I started a new routine with my updates this year. Instead of just copying and pasting text into an email and attaching an occasional picture, I've started making newsletters. Problem is, I haven't posted those here, so in the slim chance there are any faithful reader here who don't get my emails, you've been missing out. Well, here is the first link so you can start to catch up on things.

March Newsletter

April Newsletter

May and June Newsletter

July Newsletter

August Newsletter

September Newsletter

Cease from Man

The mission trip caravan of four vehicles had been on the road for almost eight hours when we finally turned off the paved road onto our final leg of the journey. I was driving the Chinese made Wingle pick-up, in which every bump transfers through the suspension to your backside as nicely as voltage through copper. For a jolting hour we Wingled our way up and down through the hill-country steeps of southern Belize’s Toledo district past patchwork fields of corn and Cacao plantations.

“Hey! Where’s Jeff?” a villager called out to me from his front porch as we at last bounced painfully over the rock-cobbled road into San Jose, a Mayan farming village of about 1500 inhabitants and our final destination. 

“He couldn’t make it this time!” I shouted back

“Oh, you left him behind?” The man replied in disappointment, but I wasn’t able to respond as our conversation reached the outer limit of our 10 mph passage.

“I’m afraid that will be the theme of the week,” I told my wife with a grimace. “Everyone is going to be crying for Jeff, including me. Especially me!” 

“Hey, stop complaining ahead of time” she rebuked. “You need to trust God!”

Jeff is our mechanics teacher, and when he is not with us our ability to fix machines plummets dismally as our last mechanic’s clinic in Carmelita attested. 

After traversing a couple more hills, we reached the Community Center where we unloaded under the gaze of a squad of uniformed soldiers with their semiautomatic rifles, resting briefly in the shade before continuing to field exercises along the Guatemala border.

            Oren and his wife Ana, the only active Adventists in the village, were also there to receive us along with some other friends from previous visits. They were also sad that Jeff couldn’t make it this time, but “you are here in the same Spirit,” Oren encouraged me. I’m going to need more than a double portion, I thought like Elijah’s apprentice. 

            I had hardly finished installing my tent when a red pickup truck pulled up and an exuberant young man jumped out. The first words out of his mouth were, that’s right, you guessed it:

            “Hey! I’m looking for Jeff!”

            “He’s home trying to recover from a herniated back,” I answered. 

            “Oh. Who in charge of mechanics then?”

            I glanced around for Mikel, our student leader, but didn’t see him.

            “What do you need?” I replied. 

            “Can you weld me something? Right here!” He showed me his truck bed near the tailgate split like an overripe watermelon and held together with a ratchet strap.

“I had a big load and it crack wit dat one,” he explained.

We looked it over and decided it was patchable if he would bring some scrap metal pieces, which he promised to do. 

The next morning before sunrise I awoke to the gurgling of a sick generator on the next hill. It started, blubbered along for about 30 seconds, and then fell silent. The cycle repeated five of six times until whoever was trying to power their hut gave up. I wondered if that would be one of the motors I would have to try to diagnose and repair during the week. I was tempted to repeat the previous day’s lament of “Where is Jeff?” when the words of Isaiah 2:22 suddenly sprang to mind: “Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils; for wherein is he to be accounted of?” 

            Okay Lord, I get it. I choose to trust you today! 

            I was tested on that pledge immediately, as I spent almost the entire day on one stubborn Shindaiwa weedeater. As I worked I made conversation with David, the 21 year-old who brought it. I found out that he loves mechanics. He had already stripped his machine down to the cylinder at home, trying to discover why it wasn’t running well. Now it wouldn’t even start, so I decided to check the head gasket. Sure enough, it leaked on one corner.  

David asked me where I learned mechanics, and when he heard that MOVE has a class, he was ready to sign up right away. When I explained that the school is  for young people who want to be missionaries, he asked what church we belong to and if baptism is a prerequisite. 

I discovered that he and his siblings attend the Nazarene church, which is the next building down the hill, and his sister is leader of the youth group. I asked him if he likes to read the Bible. He said he does, and I asked him what he’s been reading recently. He hasn’t, so I shared from my study.  

“I love learning new things in the Bible! You know, we’re having meetings here every night this week on the prophecies of Daniel, you should come!” I invited. 

David hung around almost all day, to see what he could learn, I presume. No pressure or anything! Praise God, the weed eater started at the end of the day, but it bogged down when cutting anything more than the thinnest grass, and seemed to run excessively hot, so he decided to leave the machine with us for another day. 

To God be the glory, we had excellent attendance at the Daniel and Revelation evangelistic meetings, including David and his younger brother! Last time we were in San Jose two years ago, we were lucky to have three or four adults show up, and only 15-20 kids. This year the adult attendance was between 20 and 30, and the children as many as 60 or 70, which was a real challenge for the girls in charge of the children’s meetings! 

Adult meetings on the basketball court behind the community center

Me preaching on Daniel chapter 7

Children's song service inside the community center

The Drunkard’s Compression Test

            The next day things seemed to click better in the mechanics brigade. We were able to get a few more machines running and I welded a couple of coconut hand-crank shredders and the handle on the school bus door. I was working on an electric drill and another man was waiting on me to check his generator, when one of the many village drunks stumbled up to us, bottle in hand, demanding that we check his blood pressure. He tripped and nearly fell, sloshing booze on Welvis where he sat working on a weed eater. We helped the poor man sit down on a bench, but soon he was up again, pressing for the door into the community center where the education class was having activities with students from the Roman Catholic school across the road. Abel stopped him, which he didn’t like much, and for a moment I thought he was going to fight as he cut loose a stream of profanity. 

            “Please sit down” Abel pointed him back to the bench. “You can’t go inside, there are women and children in there.” That revelation seemed to calm him some, and for a few minutes he kept to the bench, but continued to mutter and curse under his breath. Soon he raised his voice, complaining that no one was attending to his needs. Again he got up and made for the door, but tripped on a weed eater and fell onto the sidewalk, somehow still managing to save his bottle. I rushed to help him up and back to his seat. 

That’s when I remembered our sign posted out by the road: “Free Mechanics Clinic.” Of course! This poor drinking machine thought we were offering free health care! That’s when I had a crazy idea. I went looking for the compression tester, a tool with a pressure gauge attached to a couple of hoses. 

            What if he thinks I’m mocking him? Then he’ll really be angry! I hesitated for a moment. But Mr. Drunk as a Skunk was trying to get up again, and I had to do something about this terribly uncomfortable situation. 

            “Here!” I said, “Let me help you. Sit back down here and we’ll check your pressure. Here, take hold of this end!” I handed him the end of one of the hoses. He was drunk enough to misunderstand the sign, hopefully he won’t realize this is not a blood pressure cuff! I thought. 

            “Noo! I don’t need that!” he pushed it away. “I have pain back here” he indicated the region of his kidneys. 

            “Of course you do. This stuff you are drinking will give you pains all over the place. It will destroy your kidneys and liver!” I chided, waving my hand at his bottle. 

            “That’s not it, I’ve been to see the doctor and he gave me pain pills, I need more medicine!” he demanded. 

This is not working. I breathed a prayer for help. Suddenly I recalled something I read recently in the book Temperance pg 128: 

“In dealing with the victims of intemperance we must remember that we are not dealing with sane men, but with those who for the time being are under the power of a demon. Be patient and forbearing. Think not of the repulsive, forbidding appearance, but of the precious life that Christ died to redeem.”

            

            I felt overwhelmed by a sudden urge to rebuke the foul spirit that held this poor man pressed down in bondage.

            “I don’t have any pills for your pain, but there is a better medicine I want to share with you.” I smiled. “My precious Redeemer, Jesus Christ is the Great Doctor who is always on call, and He wants to make you free, not just from your pain, but from everything that causes it! Free from every vice and sin! Let’s pray to Him right now! What’s your name?” I asked. He muttered something that sounded more like a badly pronounced insult, but I decided to go with it. I put my hand on his shoulder, and he fell silent for the first time since his arrival. I could feel the stares of the onlooking village men, and decided I had better pray loud enough for all to hear. 

            “Dear Lord, we praise your name because you are mighty to save! I present before your throne of grace Mr. Earnast, Lord, you know his need, you know everything about him, and yet you love him and long to restore him. Lord, if there is any desire deep in his heart to be free, I pray that you would cast out the demon of intemperance that plagues him! In the name of Jesus I rebuke the foul spirit of alcohol that binds him. Lord, may he reach out his hand in faith to you and take hold of your strength, may he choose to believe your word and renounce his sin and find pardon in you today, while he is hearing the sound of my voice, right now Lord. We don’t know how much longer we will have this life that you give us, we don’t own our lives, we have not bought and paid for this life we live, but You have Lord, you have bought us with your own precious blood. Lord, I plead that blood on Mr. Earnast’s behalf, Lord, heal him, save him, restore him I pray, in the name of our powerful and merciful Savior, who will one day be our Judge, Jesus Christ, amen.”

            There was a hush on all of us, and I could sense the power of God striving with hearts. Mr. Earnast continued to sit quietly for a minute. 

            “You’re just trying to scare me,” he finally murmured. 

            “There is no need to be afraid if you go to Jesus now! He turns no one away.” I smiled. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to attend to these other gentlemen.” I stood up and returned to my work.

The drill needed a fresh set of bearings, just like all of us every time we get off track.  

 The generator was next, and it didn’t want to start for anything. 

“We often find it impossible to fix even a man-made machine, so how can we ever hope to fix ourselves? It is impossible!” I commented to the owner, a thin Mayan man with a Mennonite style beard. “We need God’s transforming grace every day.”

I verified the spark, and was about to open up the carburetor when I remembered I should try priming with a squirt of starting fluid. Praise God, the engine fired right up. I let it run for a while, shut it off, and tried again, this time without the starting fluid and it worked like a charm while Mr. Myan Mennonite stood by in awe. 

“When’s the last time you changed the oil?” I asked. He never had. I recommended an oil change and gave him a few more tips on maintenance and helped him load the machine back on his truck.

“How much do I owe you?” 

“Nothing.”

“Thank you so much!” He grinned. 

“Thank God!” I replied
If these guys only knew, there's not a mechanical bone in my body, nor a spiritual one for that matter. Every success in either realm is a miracle of grace as I choose to work by faith. 

One Busy Sabbath

After a typically full church service we made five visits in the afternoon including two neat contacts with Evangical folks in Chan Pine Ridge. One lady named Angela is the wife of an evangelical pastor in another village and she hitchhikes every weekend to come take care of her 90 year old mother. Last week the student who was with me gave her a tract on the Sabbath. Today she told us that she read it but started to give her reasons for keeping Sunday. God helped me keep the conversation from degenerating into an argument, and yet he gave me words to say with joy and conviction, including a selection of pertinent Bible verses. She seemed touched and open to hearing more. After visiting we had singing bands at the hospital and prayed and sang to the nurses on duty as well as 7 or 8 different patients. Two of the latter were adolescents recovering from gunshot wounds from a shootout with police when they tried to rob the money changers at the Belizean side of the Mexican border. An officer stood guard as we sang and prayed with them.  After the hospital we stopped to see a church member who’s son has a bad case of food poisoning. He has not eaten for five days and is very weak. We were able to help them so they can get the proper medicine since the charcoal he was taking, though helping was not cutting it. On our way home from there we came across a grisly hit and run accident. An elderly cyclist left dead like common roadkill. It was a grisly sight. The next day we found out that the victim was Marvin's father. Marvin is one of several backslidden Adventists who live in CPR. We will visit him and his family tomorrow Lord willing. 

Anyway, this time is spare on the description, but it’s late and I’m ready for bed. Thanks for your prayers! We need them ever so much. You are in ours as well.

Calling Prayer Warriors: Turn the battle to the gates!

I have more things to say then there are minutes in a day, but though I find myself writing this message at the 11^thhour of the night, I will try to keep this report to the most essential for now. I will say that there are exciting things happening in this 11^thMOVE class session. This group has dubbed themselves the “11^thhour workers.” These are golden moments to work while it is day. God knows our sitting down and our rising up. May it be a lot less sitting and a lot more rising up! God is calling us, He is calling you! He still has something for you to do, even at this late hour. It’s time to be more intentional, more sacrificial, more bold, more faithful, more ingenious and more tenacious for the everlasting gospel of Present Truth. God cries out:

“Who will rise up for me against the evil doers? Or who will stand up for me against the workers of iniquity?” (Psalms 94:16) Remember, God does not call those who believe themselves qualified, but he qualifies those who believe on Him and answer His call! I love the promise of Isaiah 28:5-6:

“In that day shall the Lord of hosts be for a crown of glory and for a diadem of beauty, unto the residue of his people, And for a spirit of judgment to him that sitteth in judgment, and for strength to them that turn the battle to the gate.” 

            This last week a simple question to my local pastor about global youth day turned into an unexpected opportunity for me to share a plan for involving all the Adventist youth in Belize in continual, ongoing evangelism during the next year. (See attached document if you desire). Please pray for the awakening of our church here and all around the world, that to finish the Father’s work may become even more important to us than our daily food, just as it was for Jesus! (John 4:34). 

We have a family of travelers staying with us since last Sunday when they met one of our missionary volunteers in a divine appointment in Carmelita village. Igor is from Latvia and his wife Tamar is from Argentina but they are both of Jewish decent and grew up speaking Hebrew. They live in Israel where they met while studying in the university. Now they are driving an RV from the U.S. to Argentina with their four adorable children ages 4-10. I sense that they are seekers for truth. They are full of questions, but they are skeptical of God and religion in general. They have been participating in many of our activities though, and tomorrow I will invite them to join us for church and singing bands at the hospital in the afternoon. Please pray for our witness. 

I also solicit your prayers and support for three missionary families that have been struck by tragedy during the last two weeks:

Alla and her daughters Elizabeth and Eva lost their husband and father Christopher when he fell down a one-hundred-foot precipice in the mountains of Guayana about two weeks ago. Captain Lincoln Gomez, a friend and fellow missionary of ours from our time in Bolivia now working in his native Guayana was flying out Christopher’s body when his plane ran out of fuel just before reaching Georgetown and he was forced to make an emergency landing in the jungle. God was merciful, and he and the police officer flying with him both survived the crash, but Lincoln is facing a long and painful recovery and staggering medical bills. Right now he is being monitored for numbness. The airplane motor and perhaps some instruments will be recoverable as I understand, but the plane won’t fly again. If you wish to help Lincoln and his family at this time you may do so through GMI, making your donation to “Guayana Indigenous Aviation.” You can also send money through Paypal. 

Captain Lincoln Gomez in recovery. 

Finally, please pray for another missionary friend of ours who is very shook up over the sudden loss of his brother to suicide. 

Pray for us too, and don’t stop! We sure need it!

Maranatha!

The Smoke of our Torment

We arrived from evangelism and visitation late Sunday night, and as we cut across the grass toward home I caught a whiff of something raunchy.

“Something stinks! What is that?” I wondered out loud.

“Maybe it is the sugar factory” Lyli ventured.

As we passed the tool shed near the entrance of our driveway, the stench worsened.

“It smells like something burnt!” I exclaimed.

“Ooh!” Lyli inhaled sharply. “The lentils!”

Sure enough, during our rush of activities before getting out the door we had forgotten to turn off the burner.  The pot on the stovetop was black as tar, and even the trim on the neighboring countertop matched and was too hot to touch.  Inside the kettle was a smoldering mass of roasted lentil crisp, as black and porous as volcanic rock. I carried the whole molten lump out and away to the garbage pit. 

If only the smell were so easy to take away! Caustic smoke seemed to saturate every molecule of matter in every article in every nook and cranny of our abode. All things fabric had wicked up enough odor to out-stink an apartment of chain-smokers. Worst of all, not even a puff of a breeze did blow, and the smoke hung over and around the house like a pall.

We opened all the windows and doors, turned on the fans, boiled vinegar, set out backing soda and slices of onion, took down the curtains, and started scrubbing doors, walls and windows, but it was already late, and we finally fell into bed exhausted, only to have our noses sting and our scratchy throats gel over with mucous, and good sleep flee as from a burning. “The smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever, and they have no rest day or night” Revelation 14:11 thundered through my head.  If nothing else, this experience definitely reaffirmsmy decision to never worship the beast or his image!I thought wryly. I’d rather keep the commandments and have the faith of Jesus by God’s grace! 

In which case, you had better not complain, had you,another internal voice seemed to chime. For the faith of Jesus would joyfully trust that this trial has been allowed for your growth and benefit. Besides, this trial is merely smoky. You’ve seen nothing yet of the fiery trial that is to try you!  I had to concede on that one, and praised the Lord that our house hadn’t burned down. Otherwise our pot of lentils would have been almost as costly as Esau’s!

In the morning we went back to cleaning. In between classes and other responsibilities, we washed clothes, scrubbed walls, and put the mattress and furniture out to air, but the house still reeked like scalded lentils all week long! We pitched our tent in our front yard for two nights. Sleeping on the ground was still much more restful than breathing smoke all night.

So, whatever you do, don’t boil things when you’re in a rush to leave the house! Also, when you smell something terrible, be careful what you say: you just might be the culprit! You might be trying to do great things for God, but don’t neglect the little things. The damage of one moment’s forgetfulness and negligence may take many days of hard work to undo!

MOVE in the LIGHT

“If we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another. And the blood of Jesus Christ His son cleanses us from all sin” 1 John 1:7

Lyli and I are back in Belize after a month stateside where we saw God’s hand over us again in powerful and personal ways. Lyli endured a series of trials in which she faced three of her greatest fears: flying, public speaking, and oral exams. God gave her grace to overcome in every occasion. She survived multiple flights in bumpy winter weather, shared her testimony in two different churches, and passed her civics and language exam and is now a U.S. citizen! After almost two years of processing we are thrilled to have that taken care of! Thank you all who lifted her up in prayer. God also provided for our needs above and beyond what we expected through a number of kind family friends who shared everything from their car to medical exams and lab work.   

This week has been a busy round of staff, and starting today, student orientation activities. We have also taken time to pray together and have been inspired to monitor our spiritual orientation and constantly reset tracking to True North. We cannot afford to be guided by our own multi-polar thoughts. That is not a good way to live (Isaiah 65:2). We need to stop listening to ourselves so much and start back-talking that tyrant called Self with the Word of God. Did you know that talking Scripture to yourself is a sign of the Spirit-filled life? The apostle says “…be filled with the Spirit; speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your hearts to the Lord” (Eph 5:18-19).  So when self takes the helm of our minds, we must commit auto-mutiny. God has given us the power to decide what we will think! Let us surrender those selfish thoughts of anger, bitterness, pride, fear, lust, complacency or whatever it is that is rotting out our soul, and let the abundant life of Jesus flow through us in ever-richer currents!

Most of MOVE’s 11^thgroup of missionaries in training has arrived now, this time, from Mexico, the U.S., Colombia, Venezuela, Spain, Costa Rica, and right here in Belize. For worship the last couple days they have been telling how God has worked in their lives and how He brought them here. Amazing stories. I’m recording them this time, and Lord willing I will get some of them sent to you soon. 

Our theme this year is “Move in the Light,” which has been food for deep study and thought. (Enough, in fact, for several sermons, but I summarized some of the highlights for you in a poem which you can find below.) We feel a deep urgency both personally and as a school to make every moment count for eternity. As the moral darkness of the world around us deepens daily, we need serious upgrades in current wattage, both intensity and volume. For that, the cables of our faith need to thicken. Everything about moving in the light speaks growth. I like how Proverbs puts it: “But the path of the just is as the shining light that shines more and more unto the perfect day” (4:18).

We don't know how much longer we will have to work with the ease and freedom we enjoy right now. Pray for us, that we will be more intentional, more efficient, more courageous, more Spirit Filled, and that we will in His strength be strong.

“Light is sown for the righteous,”[i]

So what must the seed of light look like?[ii]

How fast might it germinate? 

Does it spring forth a luminous sprout, 

Will it twine the world seven times in one second?[iii]

Or must it first in human wombs take root 

to grow slowly, the hope of glory?[iv]

What glorious, golden fruit it must produce![v]

What phosphorescent, never-tenuous luz![vi]

It must incandesce, and at what brilliance,

glowing like a coal! The humble shrub[vii]ablaze 

but left unburned,[viii] inhabited by All Consuming Fire[ix],

it yet standeth unconsumed,[x]never to expire!

Oh to be as that flaming bush that leaves no trace of ashes[xi]

Oh to have a face sublime that ever shines as Moses’![xii]

To don that living garment white and wield the heavenly saber,

to have a mind refined, complete, and sharpened by our Savior,[xiii]

covered with His panoply of bright and shining armor![xiv]

Oh, God Almighty mine, please sow such seed in me forever! 

---

[i]Psalms 97:11

[ii]Genesis 3:15, Galatians 3:16, Luke 8:11, John 1:1-3,14

[iii]Revelation 14:6-12, 18:1-10. At 186,00 miles per second, light 

[iv]Colossians 1:7

[v]Matthew 5:14-16, Proverbs 25:11

[vi]light in Spanish

[vii]Isaiah 53:2

[viii]“It will baffle the keenest intellect to interpret the divine manifestation of the burning bush. It was not a dream; it was not a vision; it was a living reality,--something that Moses saw with his eyes. He heard the voice of God calling to him out of the bush, and he covered his face, realizing that he stood in the immediate presence of God. God was conversing with humanity.” {YI, December 20, 1900 par. 1} 

[ix]Hebrews 12:29

[x]Isaiah 33:14-15 

[xi]Exodus 3:2

[xii]Exodus 34:35, Ecclesiastes 8:1, Daniel 12:3, 

[xiii]Psalms 119:105,Eph 6:17, Hebrews 4:12, 10:16, Prov 27:17

[xiv]Romans 13:12-14