La Boda...

This was a great day. I always knew that this garden would be great location to see a wedding. Abner and Katie made it happen. We look forward to their return in the new year as they are planning to work with IDC.

Now that we are moving...

The past couple of weeks...

We have had several days of just working against the clock to finish the honey-do list. But there have been several developments for the future of the church.

Since March, there has been an ongoing question of the future of our church location. God has blessed us this past year - new building, growth in ministries, average Sunday attendance to date is 169 each week - with an average of 254 people involved in all of the ministries of the IDC. Be that as it may, apparently the individual that was our landlord had not been paying the rent to the homeowner. Yes that was a problem. We have been working to resolve our occupancy in the house. This past week, we received a direct answer from God for whether or not we will be staying in our present location. No - is the short version.

We are looking for God's direction for where He will move us to. Pray for that.

San Francisco...

His name is Pedro. He is known by Hermano Pedro. In the 1600 he came to Antigua and began many good social and religious reforms. Because of these he is held in high esteem 'round these parts. He is buried in the Cathedral San Francisco as he was a Franchescan Priest.

I had the opportunity this last week along with Calvary of Winter Haven to tour the ruins of San Francisco - one of the few cathedrals once ruined and rebuilt this last century. For more details go to this link.

www.antiguaguatemala.info/portal/content/view/23/40/

Enjoy

Team Visit - Ridge...

Once again, a team from the Southern Baptist Ridge Association in Florida came to visit. And what a week it was. The plan was for Children's Outreaches, time in the Malnutrition Center, and building a home for a family in Pastores. All of this was so nice that they did it twice - including a second house.

In addition, they experienced what looked like a space ship over the volcanoes. I believe this was a natural phenomenon, but it still looks cool.

Of other noteworthy activities for the week, this team did a remodel in the Disetur Police station chapel. They have completed work that began 2 years ago with the help of Valley Grove Baptist and Roberts United Methodist. All of this with a team representing 7 different churches. Thank you team. Yea God!

A Fun Place to Visit...

Of the many requests I receive from the teams that come to visit, this week was very unique. One of the team members from Florida has an affinity for Harleys. She was looking for a Harley Davidson t-shirt from GUA. As we discovered there is just such a store.

Wanting to provide as much as possible for the teams experiences... It was hard, but I forged a visit. Nancy was with me, we found the shirts, and a pretty sweet ride. For those that may be interested, it is a 2008 - Street Bike with only 400 miles and significant customization, that fits me well - for only $16,500. Very fun, if only vicarious.

Dog Wash...

I have always been fascinated with big dogs. They are always so intimidating. But not so much when they are wet..... Koko wasn't happy. This is just after he was busted for digging in the garden.

Of course now that his hair is all clean, he is shedding like snow.

A House Warming...

There are many factors of our lives that we take for granted. Last August I posted a blog of the Family Villalobo. Two months later it came to IDC's attention that while they had received a new house to live in, this family of 5 was still sleeping on the floor. After reviewing the need it was determined that we had at least 4 beds to help the cause.

When we arrived, you'd think it was Christmas early for the year, we were received with open arms. We entered the home and prepared the assembly of the beds. This is when I saw all of the families possessions piled into the corner of the home. The moisture in this part of Pastores was high because the rainy season. As they moved their clothes to make ready the space, the aroma of moistness grew to an almost overwhelming state. As each layer was removed more evidence of the families situation became evident with the increased bug content. As I am not a biologists, I only know this particular bug as a "Roly Poly" - hundreds of them.

I hear and read in the news of how desperate the world economy is. I also have several friends describing how hard they have it and how difficult things are becoming in this economy. As we encounter life style situations as this, there is always the debate of why don't they work and earn some money, why don't they just find better living conditions. Regardless of which side of this debate we take, we need only to continue to love and demonstrate, teach and hope.

As a good friend once told me "familiarity rules our lives". Many of our perspectives are relative to where we are in life. This was a moment in time to recognize the blessings that God provides all of us. For this family they are ecstatic to not sleep on the floor regardless of the fact that their house in many parts of the world would be housing tools and lawn mowers. Possibly it is best for us to evaluate just what we consider as familiar and celebrate what we have - at whatever level that may be.