Stand up and Stand Strong.......

Let's pray.....
Lord, ask for the strength to stand up for You no matter what barriers or forces come against us.  We pray for the words to say when we are challenged on our faith.  We pray that everyone around us will see You in us and will come to know You as well.  God, we love you and we are so happy to call you Father.  Thank You for all You do for us...  Amen.

Patrick had morning devotion.  Matthew 5:14-16 says ¹⁴ “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵ Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. ¹⁶ In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.
According to God's word, we are not to hide our faith, but be strong in it.  We are to allow our faith to shine and always give glory to God.  No matter what barriers you come up against, nor how many nay-sayers you encounter, don't hide your faith, let it shine for all to see.  Be the light on top of the hill, illuminate the way for others. 

In the evening, Ashley M. followed up on Patrick's devotion with one on following where God tells you to go. 
Luke 9:57-62 says, "⁵⁷ As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” ⁵⁸ Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.” ⁵⁹ He said to another man, “Follow me.”
But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” ⁶⁰ Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” ⁶¹ Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.” ⁶² Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”

When God tells us to do something, we must listen and obey.  When God calls us to missions, we must listen... and go in His time.. not ours.  We cannot put conditions on His call because His timing and His way is perfect. 
What happens when God speaks to you?  Do you say, "Sure, I'll do that.. I'll go there.."  Or, do you say, okay...... I'll do that.. but..."?   Listen folks, we don't have that option.  When God calls we don't get to say, "okay, but.....".    Hey..... there are no 'buts' in God's plan.  We don't get to choose when and where.... we just gotta go and do.  When God called me to go on my first mission trip..... He layed it down so strongly for me that I had no choice.  I HAD to find a way to make it happen.  I worried about the money and the people and so many other things.  Guess what..... God made it happen.  Fund raisers were successful and the people He chose to go with me made it as well.  It's amazing what He will do when He calls.   Listen when your phone rings and it's God calling, pay attention.  Turn your worries over and see what He will do to make things happen.  FAITH.......  that's what it's all about people..... Faith. 

We worked really hard this morning and got quite a bit of work done.  We finished painting the inside of the large room and one of the smaller rooms.  We also finished the ceiling in both rooms.  

    

 

 

 

 

 

After all the work this morning, we were blessed by an invitation to the property of a very sweet lady who used to help out here at the church when building teams were here.  Her son also came out, two years in a row, and helped us work.  She and her family are building a home on a river and she asked us to come out for a swim. 

A table made from a very large tree..... and that is a tree in the center of the house to her left.....

House on the hill.....

From the house, down the hill.....

To an amazing swimming hole in the river........

 

We have truely been blessed and had a wonderful day.  Praise God. 

 

We hope to have all of the ceiling tiles completed and all of the painting finished tomorrow.  We hope that the work we have been able to accomplish will pave the way for a completed project in the near future.  The vision for the addition was from God and Pastor Carlos gives all of the glory to Him.  We are only servants who answered a call to come build something great.  We are not only called to build a structure... but we've also been able to build relationships. 

 

We want to lift a few people up in prayer tonight.  First, we praise God for little Brody's progress.  We have been told that he has been moved to a private room and may go home tomorrow.  He has undergone a pretty serious surgery, and praise God is doing very well.

 

We want to lift Debbie up as she seems to have come down with the same stomach bug that George had earlier in the week.  We pray for God's healing hands on her so that she will be able to join us tomorrow.

 

Lord, we also pray for Carlito and his family.  They will be traveling to San Jose tomorrow morning so that his son, Ismael, can see his doctors again.  Ismael is, for the most part, now off of his oxegyn, but still needs to be observed for a while.  He has to see two doctors tomorrow and will have a series of appointments next week.  While Carlito is away from the church, he is without pay, so we pray for God to provide for him and his family while they focus all of their energy and resources on getting their son well.  Praise God for all He has done so far.

 

Tonight, we leave you with this

Luke 17:5  -  ⁵ The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”

and

Acts 14:9-10  -  ⁹ He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed ¹⁰ and called out, “Stand up on your feet!” At that, the man jumped up and began to walk.

Good night and God bless!!!