Don't spend your time worrying.....

First things first everyone.......  Luke is fine.  He got up this morning with a little discomfort, soreness, but he is fine.  Fine enough to climb the ladder and scrape sheetrock mud.  Reid is doing much better too.  The bruises on his arm are amazingly NOT purple and blue, and the swelling has gone down significantly.  Thank you all for your many prayers... they have certainly been felt.

Today's devotion was given by Damien Whitley, and it comes from Matthew 6:25-34.  Probably the most important part of this scripture, at least for me, is this: ³¹ So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³ But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

We look around us, and we know that the folks in this community must have things to worry about, right?  I'm sure they have plenty to worry about......I'm sure they are concerned about theft, disease, medical care, transportation, the economy, safety, work, .....but I would bet that the people have a strong enough faith to know that God will provide for all of their needs.  I'm not talking about that great pair of heels in that fancy store up the road... or that brand new shiney car... I'm talking about the things that honestly matter, the things we physically need to survive, such as clothing, food and shelter.  Not necessarily the best clothes from the finest stores.... but clothing.   Not necessarily dinner in the finest restaurant, but enough food and water to survive.  Not that 10,000 square foot house on 5 acres of land, but shelter.

How often do you find yourself worrying about things you cannot control?  For instance, we know that the farmer worries about the approaching storm, and it keeps them up all night thinking about their crops.  Or the business person will worry that their flight will not arrive in time for that all important meeting in another city.  Or the person seeking that promotion will worry whether or not they are the top candidate for the job.  Or, the parents of a sick child will worry that the child will heal, who is already receiving the best care possible.  All of these things are  legitimate and real concerns, no doubt about that.  I'm not saying that we, as humans, should not be concerned about things in our lives, but we really need to allow God to handle them for us.  Don't you agree?  Think about it, pray about it, and leave your worries in His hands.   He has promised that He will provide.... and He will.  He may not fix everything to our specifications, but He will provide for us.  You can count on Him!!

Speaking of faith and leaving your worries to God.  Our friend Carlos Manesses, the youth pastor here, shared his story with one of our team.  I'll be fairly brief, but it's hard to give you the whole story with this medium.   Here goes......  Basically, Carlos had a very good job, away from the church.  The pastor here, Pastor Carlos Gonzalez, told him he needed to be working for God, using his gifts.  Carlos M. didn't really answer right away, but prayed to God that if he was supposed to be working for Him full time, give him a sign.... make him lose his job.   One day, the boss called the crew in and told them he had to let a couple of people go.  The names were called, and Carlos M. was not one of them.   A while later, the boss went out of town and returned with the same news.  He told his crew that he could not make that decision, so he put names in a hat and pulled two.  He told Carlos that one of the names was his, so he had put it back in the hat and pulled again.   The second time he pulled Carlos's name again. At that point Carlos accepted his fate and went home to tell his wife.  His wife told him to call Pastor Carlos G. and Carlos M. felt shame and put it off.  He said he dreamed he was told to call Pastor C., the next day he received a call from a family memeber who had a dream that he was to call Pastor Carlos, so he did.  He has been here working since then.  He is not paid very well (he needs $1200 per month, and is only paid $600 per month), he and his family struggle, and 4 months ago his baby was born with a heart condition.   BUT, and I say this very strongly and with a tender heart,  this man has been with us all week, he smiles, he shares his faith, he works very hard, and he believes that God is going to provide for him.  His plan is to enter seminary so he can become a Pastor of his own church one day.   It is amazing how one person's story can humble you, and I am truely, totally, and greatly humbled.

                                            This is Pastor Carlos C (left). and Carlos M(right)

Today is our last real day of work and we've made great progress.  Because we were diverted earlier in the week we won't completely finish all of the sheetrock work, but we will have all of the framework done for the exterior walls and most of the sheetrock done. 

We attended our last church service tonight, and the entire group offered thanks and their testimonies.regarding their experience here.  The pastor and his family have been extreemly hospitable (including the trips to the hospital to get a couple of us checked out - and pulling some strings so the wait was not quit as long as it could have been ), some of the ladies of the church have arrived at 6:30am to cook all day for us, another of the ladies has cleaned our rooms and allowed her son to hang out with us.  The men around here have pitched in to work, and have translated for us.  It has been an amazing experience, not just because of the fact that we've been so pampered.  We have been able to share our faith and our love.  We have been able to give, but we have received much more.  We miss and love our families, but we all feel like we have another family here,  thousands of miles away.  The people here will remain in our hearts and will go with us when we leave here.  It's very hard to describe, but I hope that you have received some of the blessings through our words and photos.

Tomorrow is a fun and relaxing day at Rincon, which is the smaller of the volcanos close to this area.  It had some activity a few months ago, so some of the trails will be blocked off, but no problems,  There will be lots to do.  We will spend the day on the volcano then we plan to come back to the church to do a prayer walk around the compound. 

Final words for the night -  Trust in the Lord with all your heart, all your strength, and all your mind..... if you hand your worries over to Him....you will free yourself to serve Him.

If you feel led to do any type of mission work, near or far, in Costa Rica or Russia or right here at home..... pray and allow God to show you where and when to go.  Trust Him to do His job.   Will you stop God when he tries to show you what to do.... will you limit Him in His intentions for you?  It's your choice...what are you going to do?

God Bless you and keep you.....  always.   Amen and Amen.