Submitted by Jason;
Sometimes life presents moments or situations in which we, as individuals, are surprised by our own emotional responses to them. Sometimes they are landmarks in life that are obviously monumental, such as a birth, a death, a marriage, etc... Contrarily, sometimes they are unexpected moments that move us in ways that we could never anticipate.
A few of the more obvious moments, for me, have been; my wedding day, the day my Father passed away, the day(s) that I learned that Francie was pregnant, the moment that I was saying goodbye to my coworkers, the day that Francie miscarried, the day that we boarded the cruise ship in Galveston, Tx, the day(s) that I found out that I was going to be a grandfather, the days of my childrens' weddings, etc...
Yesterday, I had one of these moments that, in itself, may seem rather ordinary to most. However, to me, judging by my emotional response to it, was no less significant than the aforementioned.
Proverbs 25:25 says, "As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is good news from a far country."
As I mentioned in our previous post, my daughter and son-in-law, Kayla and Darrell were scheduled to move from Belize to Canada for "a season". Well, they did exactly that.
Yesterday, I read a message that was posted on the computer by Kayla referencing a scripture that she came across that moved her enough to share. My emotional response to this actually surprised me at first. As I thought about it later, I realized that we can learn a lot about ourselves by the moments that move us in these ways.
This "good news from a far country" certainly was like "cold waters to a thirsty soul". It wasn't necessarily the particular scripture reference that impacted me. It was the moment that I, as a parent, realized that my children are moving into adulthood with continued commitments to Jesus Christ.
My point is not that I doubted in any way that this would take place. My point is that my surprisingly, emotional response to this realization confirmed in my heart what desires I have for my children.
Several weeks ago, our Buena Vista ministry was brought to a, hopefully, temporary halt. My partner in ministry there was approached by the village chairmen to notify us that we were illegally operating a church without a license. So, we agreed to postpone any further meetings until we have legal documentation.
I question the motives of a man who comes against a ministry designed to reach and disciple the very youth of the village that they have complained are smoking marijuana on our property. We'll let the Lord deal with this man. In the meantime, I have a few more nights per week to enjoy with my family.
We're still expecting an answer from the Immigration Department on the approval of our permanent residency application. We're hopeful that this approval answer will come any day now. this will be a major step towards a sustained presence in this country for our family. In the meantime, we're visitors on tourist visas, even though we've been here for two years now.
Also, since our last post, we have been notified that our rental "agreement" is scheduled to end at the end of November. Because of this, we're currently exploring all options as we seek the Lord on where he wants us move to. This will be our fourth move in two years.
Please join with us in prayer during this important time in our lives here in Belize. We appreciate you who will commit to praying for us as often as you remember. I believe that the purposes for which we have been called here are revealing themselves now as well as in the near future.
Thanks for taking the time to read a little bit about our lives here in Belize. Feel free to message or email us. We welcome interaction, especially from missionaries in other countries.
