No Cost Too Great

Submitted by Jason;

     After 16 months of being in Belize, I can honestly say that I feel a strong move of The Spirit gaining momentum. Like any heavy thing, having the laws of physics applied to it, it's been moving and increasing in speed and force. I can feel it in my spirit. I can see it in our church. I can feel it when my wife and I discuss and pray about things pertaining to The Spirit. Without it, we're powerless as we go about the Father's business. Powerless Christianity leaves people wondering if change is really occurring, if healing has actually taken place and if restoration is even possible. However, when a believer, filled with The Holy Spirit, connects with Truth and a body of believers unifies and rallies around Him, there's little doubt left in even the most skeptical of hearts regarding whether true change is in the air.
     While much of our existence here, in Belize, is still very much unsettled, we're secure in knowing that the Lord has our lives in His timing. Yes, we, from time to time, allow ourselves to get our eyes off of Him and onto the mountains that are before us, but His promises are unchanging. No matter what we see in the natural, our hope is in Him. He doesn't make mistakes. He doesn't miscommunicate with His children. He's not worried and He never gets distracted from what He's doing in our lives. These truths allow me to concentrate more effort towards building momentum for His kingdom.
     Building momentum in His kingdom revolves around hearing and doing. It's more about listening for instruction before we step out in any work than it is actually working in the name of just doing work. Doing work that He's not instructed you to take part in will bear fruit for a season, but it's not sustainable. I'm learning in my own personal prayer time to become a better listener to what He's communicating to me. For far too long, I've prayed with much too many words and, in many cases, without even listening for His response to these words. If He doesn't go before me, I don't want to go. I want to be led by Him rather than having Him tag along behind me to remind me when I make a wrong turn.
     This is just a little glimpse into where I'm at in my walk with Him. Francie and I are becoming more and more determined to see Him work in our lives with power. People have heard of Him. They've heard of His works and power. We believe that the Holy Spirit was the missing element in the lives of the twelve disciples. Before "the comforter" came, they were powerless, but as soon as Christ went to the Father and the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the disciples, their lives, as they knew them, were wrecked and they spent the remainder of their days being led by The Spirit as they proclaimed the good news of the gospel from city to city regardless of the cost. They found a place in their lives where there was no cost too great to keep them from obedience.
     So can we.

     As I mentioned previously, we have been privileged to take part in an outreach in Buena Vista. When we began this outreach in Oct on Saturday nights, we had hoped to reach the teens of the village. Instead, we started drawing kids from the ages of 14 and down. Our Saturday night meetings have peaked around 70 and average somewhere around 50 in an average meeting.
     We noticed that there were some teens that were coming out, but were a bit reluctant to join in on the meetings that we've structured to reach the younger kids. So, we started meeting out there on Wednesday nights for those that are 13 and up. We set up a volleyball net as the draw and last Wednesday, on our first teen night, we had over 30 teens come out. We were encouraged by the number of teens drawn out on the first night. We played volleyball for about an hour and then shared a short message with them afterwards as they enjoyed a light snack and refreshments.
     Please join us in prayer for these young people. It's our heart to disciple those that are hungry and in need, not just an increase in numbers of kids in attendance. I've yet to have anyone disagree with the fact that Buena Vista is the poorest, most violent, most needy village in our area. These kids are desperate for hope and peace in their lives. We believe that long term discipleship is the only hope for a village like this. So, I ask for you to join us in prayer for the laborers, the direction, the ears to hear what The Spirit is saying and the obedience to walk without fear into the places that Christ says to go.

     I'm also working with a ministry to 10-17 year old "men" called Men Of Honor. This is a ministry from Texas that has partnered with Fountain Of Life Church in Spanish Lookout, Belize to transform the lives of the young men in Belize. I have heard a recent statistic that 80% of Belize's population is 25 years of age or younger. There's a real struggle here for young people to find their identity in Christ. Like many youth across the world, they look to the wrong influences for their identity if not discipled. Men Of Honor commits to show young men what it means to be a godly man. This is a pivotal time for this ministry. Your prayers for this ministry would be greatly appreciated as well.

     In January, I had the joy of hosting my sister, mother, and father-in-law, who had visited to attend the wedding of my oldest daughter, Kayla. I was able to share with them the magnificence of Belize. We visited the Mayan ruins of Cahal Pech, went horseback riding at Banana Bank, visited the Belize Zoo and spent a few days in the beautiful, coastal Caribbean town of Maya Beach (Placencia) where Kayla's wedding took place on the beach.

     Thanks you in advance to all of you who commit to support us in prayer and finances. Thank you to those who encourage us in time of need and a special "thank you" to my mother, Sue for all that you've done for us.