Teaching them to OBSERVE ALL things

     Mark and I have been teaching our children the importance of a daily prayer life. We wish that when we were younger we would have put more time and thought into our own prayers. However, you can not dwell in the past but we can teach our children from our mistakes and down falls. We have our daily family devotion time and prayer time after dinner. This is such a wonderful time where we reflect upon God's word and then hear our children as they recall those who have special needs or the names of our friends, family, supporters and supporting churches.

The other night while we were listing our prayer request and praises it was such a huge blessing to hear all 3 of our children praying. Yes, even Josiah was lifting the names of the people that he remembered up to the Lord. He folds his hands and closes his eyes and ask Jesus to be with those people. WOW! Then, the other two continued in prayer. Taylor said her prayers with such detail and meaning. As she was praying I thought of the verse in Matthew 28:20 where it says: "Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen." What a command that the Lord has given us. To not only teach others about HIS love and grace but to teach them to observe all things that he has commanded you. He has commanded us to talk to him in prayer. Have you ever stopped to think about your prayer life? Have you ever stopped to think if you were teaching your children to have a healthy and bountiful prayer life? I have some friends back home that have some of the most wonderful and heart wrenching prayers and then I think to myself....Lord I stumble over my words and things do not come out smoothly like others. But, then I think.....you know the Lord knows my heart and he knows my thoughts...even if they do not come out as poetic as others. I am thankful that Mark and I are trying to "teach our children to oberserve all things" and prayer being one of those things. While we had prayer time at home in the States it is so important for us to keep our prayer lives in check especially for us to stay focused on the task that the Lord has for us here on the field. We also want to uplift all of those who pray for us all around the world as well as those that give so that we can be here. We can honestly say that we pray for our fellow missionaries, family, friends, supporters as well as the churches that support us and their Pastors. We are so thankful for all of those who help us through support and prayer it just may be your prayer that helps get us through a trial that we may be having that day. We love you all and THANK the LORD for YOU and we PRAY that he will bless you for your prayers and support.

A THANKFUL HEART IS NOT ONLY THE GREATEST VIRTUE, BUT THE PARENT OF ALL OTHER VIRTUES.

Living Your Life to Create a Legacy

Last night right before I went to bed I was looking at a picture of Mark's grandpa and grandma. I then proceeded to get ready for bed and do my nightly preparations and then drifted off to sleep. I started to dream and think about the life that they led. What a legacy that they have left behind and now are still reaping the rewards in Heaven today.  You see John and Eunice Hinsley were very faithful servants of the Lord. They attended Fellowship Baptist Church in Durham, North Carolina. Papa as they called him drove a church bus from their little community of New Hill, N.C. to Durham every Sunday. It was about a 45 minute to an hour trip one way each Sunday. They would pick up many boys and girls as well as adults and drive them to a Bible believing church that would teach them about the Lord. I know that there are many that now have eternal security in Heaven because of them. Then, because of their service Mark's dad began to help with the bus route as well. Mark was also saved on that bus after a Sunday morning service when he did not go to the alter as a young boy.

As Mark grew he began to drive the bus at the age of 16 helping get those children, teens and others to hear the gospel. I think about the Legacy that they left behind for their families. Not only to their own flesh and blood but to the others they were able to reach through their ministry. The Hinsley Family has been brought up in the church and as far as we know all their children have become Christians. I know for sure of two people that rode their bus that are serving the Lord in full time ministry because of their dedication to the Lord. Jeff Jones is serving as a Pastor and missionary in Panama. While Greg Locklear is working on fulfilling his Pastoral degree while serving his country in the military. You know, I know with all of my heart that his grandparents would be so happy to know that all of those years of driving were worth those two serving in full time service.  Then, there are the rest of us. How are we living our life? Are we living our life so that we will create a Legacy worth remembering and one that will continue to give back to us once we are gone. I am thankful for the grandparents that John and Eunice Hinsley were because of that I have a wonderful Godly husband who loves the Lord. If we are saved we are leaving a Legacy no matter what...but what kind will you be leaving behind? Whether we want the spot light on us or not if we are Christians then we are responsible for sharing the light with others. All of our words, actions and reactions are out in the open for all to see. Help others to only see the good and leave them with a Legacy of rewards. I know that is what I want for my family.

Psalms 143:10

Teach me to do thy will;for thou art my God:thy spirit is good;lead me into the land of uprightness.

Psalms25:8-9

Good and upright is the Lord:therefore will he teach sinners in the way. The meek will he guide in judgement:and the meek will he teach his way.

1 Timothy 5:18 ".......The labourer is worthy of his reward."

Happy 4th of July

While the 4th of July is such a wonderful thing to celebrate this is a sad time for us. We are in a country that does not celebrate July 4th....because it holds no meaning for them. It is also our first holiday outside of the U.S.  However, we know that we are right where God would have us to be and this is just the first of many holidays that will not be spent with family. There are many families and individual missionaries all around the world that share the same feelings. We know that while everyone else is celebrating we too can have our own celebration. We have such a wonderful time here as a family. It is such an awesome blessing to see our children serving right along side of us. Tomorrow as we remember just why we celebrate the 4th of July we will share the history with our children. We will sing songs and eat a good ole American hotdog with a Costa Rican twist...(that means we will be eating fried plantains).....lol...one of our favorite new treats. We will also think about how lucky we are to have been born into a country that gives us such freedoms. We are so thankful for all the men and women who have and will sacrifice all to continue giving us those freedoms. There are many family members and friends that have served and we would like to "THANK YOU" from our heart....and then there are those that serve that we have never met....but are just as Thankful for.  May God continue to Bless our nation and this world. It is also such a wonderful blessing for us to be able to share our faith with those around us. While the devil tries to drive a wedge...we fight hard..and continue to try to speak in Spanish. It is comforting to hear Josiah ask to sing in Spanish. His favorite is "Dios estan bueno." ...God is so Good. We thank you all for your prayers of support and wish you all a HAPPY and SAFE 4th of JULY!!!!

Happy 4th of July!!!!!

What do you Do on the weekends....

Well, here in Costa Rica it is the only time Mark and I are not in class. When we were back home in North Carolina we were able to be very  involved in church and the activities that went along with church. We loved being involved and sometimes we had our hand in a little of all the areas of church. We loved to work with the children. I worked in the nursery and in the 2 year old class some and on Wednesday nights we worked with the AWANA's program. We both were in a wonderful Sunday school class and sang in the choir. We also went on visitation each week and when we had special door knocking Saturdays.

When we started on deputation in August and moved to Tampa we started to attend another wonderful church. We went to Sunday School but because we were always on the road trying to raise support we could not get involved as much as we would have liked. Now, that we are on a foreign field and without the proper tools to help it is still very hard to get involved.  That is until we found "EL FARO". It is so amazing at how God puts you right where he wants you. Just to say this the name of the church in Honduras is in fact Iglesia Bautista Misionara "El Faro". The only thing that is different is that this church has Missionary in the title. We love it. We love the people and the fact that there are so many youth. Here like in other countries it is hard to find Latin American men in church. In fact today for Father's Day the only men in there were the 3 "Gringo" Daddies and the Pastor. Now we are able to serve the Lord in a new ministry. Hopefully we can now spend our Saturdays serving in the The Mountains of Los Guidos. They have a heavy population of young people and are on the poorer side of San Jose. We will be serving along side of Pastor Gabriel and his family and some of the best teens around. They give up their Saturdays to help serve the children and then they are faithful to return back at 6 for Teen Activities.

 But with their smiles you would never know. We spent almost 4 hours playing games and singing with the children. There were about 65-70 kids there. The Pastor had a Bible lessons and then we passed out a snack. We brought sugar wafer cookies and lollipops. The KIDS went CRAZY!!!! At the end when we were almost ready to pack up an elderly lady from the community...probably an "Abuela" or grandma came to thank us for helping the community. We had not really done anything but use our time to serve the Lord. It felt so good to be back serving like we once had. We look forward to many more Saturdays serving in the hills of Los Guidos.

Since today was Father's Day....one of the little girls from the church named Alexandria made Mark a card. Feliz dia del Papa....it was so sweet. She was also at the Bible Club as well and has grown to love Josiah and our family.

Who knows.....she may not have a papa at home to look up. Please pray for the church and the people here. The need is great but their hearts are willing.

Well.....what happened...where did the time go?

              I know that we can all say that once upon a time...ok at least once a day we look down at our watch and say..."Where did the time go?" I think back on my teen years and young adult years and think about the same thing. I was saved at a young age but I must confess that I did not do all that I could have during those early years of my life.  Now, I think about all that I could have done for the Lord, but we can not dwell on or live in the past. So, that is why  you need to do all that you can today.  We all have had good intentions but we can all look around and see where we failed to reach the goal that we had set. Maybe there are books that we purchased that sit neatly stacked on a shelf that we never took the time to read. It could be a nice pack of greeting cards that you meant to mail out to those sick in your church or the ones that just needed an encouraging word. God has given us 24 hours, 1,440 minutes and 86,400 seconds in everyday that will be spent in some way or fashion. The time that God gives us is ours to spend and we must determine how we spend it. We can fill it with life building life experiences or let it slip right through our finger-tips.

I know that being here in language school Mark and I spend alot of time studying. Sometimes we come home straight from school and study in some fashion until almost time to start dinner. Then there are times where we are so tired that we have lunch and put Josiah down for a nap and crash ourselves. However, it is very important that we always use the time that we have to spend with our children and also to share the gospel with those in this world. We are very excited that we are learning words and phrases in Spanish. We are in great anticipation of the day that we can share the Romans Road in Spanish to those that we meet here on the streets in San Jose. Please pray that we will use our time wisely and learn quickly what the Lord would allow us to absorb in the year that we have here. As for my readers just remember that God gave you this day and it is up to you on how you spend it.

 "I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work. "

John 9:4

Don't Miss the BIG PICTURE.........

During World War II parachutes were being constructed by the thousands in factories all over the United States. For the workers they saw this as a tedious job of stitching together large pieces of fabric for 8-10 hours at a time. From their point of view it was a hard job that left their fingers, backs and eyes sore from strain. 

  However, their point of view changed when the manager of the factory explained to them that each successfully made parachute would help aid in saving the life of a soldier. It was even more motivating when he explained that they may even be used by some of their family; brother, husband, father and friend. The big picture was that their job of stitching hour after hour each yard of fabric now held more meaning for them.

My blog for today has two parts. The first part is to pay tribute to all the men and women who have served our wonderful country. It is also a tribute to thank all of those who serve at the present moment. I have friends who have loved ones that are currently serving some have even just been brought back to the states. It is because of people like you who see your job as the "BIG PICTURE" and help protect our freedoms and home-front.  So, for that our family says, "THANK YOU".

The second part of this is as much for myself as it it for my readers. I sit and think how tedious it is to learn verbs, adjectives, nouns, pronouns and so on in Spanish. You see, learning all those things are not the big picture. The big picture is that when we are finished here we will be able to minister to the people of Honduras. The great thing is that knowing Spanish we will be able to speak to a whole new group of people. I want to conclude with these thoughts. Don't let the tedious everyday things that you do wear you down. We need to focus on what we do, why we do it and how it can benefit God. We might not know what God has called us to do and why.....but HE DOES.  

(2)In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go and prepare a place for you. (3) And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.   John 14:2-3

Fruit may be Invisible but God is always Working

As we finish up our third week here in Costa Rica we had a lovely test today in grammer. I felt like I was in school all over again. The anticipation of the test itself....(which is for a grade)......was still nail biting and it is not like we are needing the credits to move on in life to get a college degree. (lol) Then, tonight while reading my devotions I came across some verses that really made me stop and think.

It says in Hebrews 11:1-3 NOW FAITH is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (2) For by it the elders obtained a good report. (3) Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.

WOW! That slapped me right in the face. Well, I do believe and have faith but it hit me that it must be in everything....EVERYTHING...that includes being here in Costa Rica taking a Spanish Class. For you it might be the news you get from the doctor or the bill that just came in the mail. I know that there are many people here in San Jose right now who feel like we are never going to get the language under our belts. But then I stop and think about the trees that the Lord has made and how they go through a time where they do not bear fruit. It does not mean that the tree is dead or the Lord does not have his hand upon it. The tree like us sometimes are just taking in and taking in until the Lord says that we are ready to be used.

I know that for Mark and I and the others here who have been called by HIM to do HIS WILL.....will prevail and learn the language of Spanish. God would not call us to do a work for Him if he was not confident that we could preform the task that he has called us to do. I myself get things a little easier...and I fully believe that it is becasue of my previous teaching skills which again the Lord led there and I was able to teach for six years. I do still get frustrated with myself because it feels like a ton goes in and a dribble comes out. That is where I have to humble myself and say....I know that I can not do this alone but through the help of the Lord around me and the poeple that he has put in my path. I know that I am not the only one in the world who feels this way and I am sure that many who are reading this now can put their name and circumstance in the blanks above. We have to be willing to let God move or else he will not be able to mold us the way he needs us to be.

But the truth is that Gods word is clear and that is if we have faith and believe in the things we can not see but know that he is working......he will use us for what he has called us to do. We will bear the fruit.

It is in vain to gather virtues without humility: for the spirit of God delights

to dwell in the hearts of the humble