Hello everyone! I don’t have a lot of time to compose in words, but here’s a photo/video recap of Harvest for our three schools. Make sure to click through to see all the pictures and other glimpses into our past week.
This past Sunday we enjoyed three fantastic services, with the Upper Division at 8:00, the Middle Division at 10:30, and the Lower Division at 2:00. Not only were we able to capture some awesome pictures, but we were able to capture videos of the children carrying in their gifts and singing songs of praise. Additionally we have pictures of Deacon Lizbeth Tulloch reading the Gospel for the service, and several videos of me. Here is an excerpt of my first sermon, this time to the Upper Division:
You can also check out snippets of my sermons to the Middle Division and to the Lower Division. Over the course of the day, over 500 people came to church, and we thank God not only for the gifts that they brought, but that he brought them into his courts to praise his name!
Then last Thursday, an extremely rainy day, we celebrated our Harvest festival at St. Hilda’s. Though we didn’t manage to get any video of the service, we took copious photos of our students, teachers, and families, and also of our preacher and postulant Jody Bevan. It was a fantastic day, and we left incredibly blessed, if slightly wet!
Thank you for your prayers, and we ask for your continued prayers for us this week, as Mary Beth continues to recover from an injured knee, as Belize City struggles with intense flooding after heavy rains, as we out West prepare for the archidiaconal visit to our communities, and as I continue to wrestle with immigration issues. We are so grateful for your support!
Did you ever write an essay about what you did on vacation? “I went to DisneyWorld/on a cruise/to Europe/skiing…” Last week was a national holiday week. Yesterday I had coffee with Gloria, our housekeeper. I asked her that same question. I have written about Gloria before. She is kind of the unsung hero of Casa LAMB. The teams, sadly, don’t get much exposure to her. She arrives in the morning as they are eating breakfast and leaves before they get back in the afternoon. The few that get sick and stay home for the day are the beneficiaries of her tender care and delicious chicken soup. Gloria is many things besides a great housekeeper. She is a prayer warrior, the likes of which I have never seen. She is an inspiring preacher over a cup of coffee or casual encounter. She is very humble and she is very poor.
What did Gloria do on vacation? She and her husband, Nelson, took a long bus ride to Choluteca to minister to the extremely poor. They gathered whatever they could and spent the week in one of the hottest and poorest parts of Honduras. They have very little to give in terms of material goods but share enormous spiritual gifts with their brothers and sisters in Christ. Nelson had worked in Choluteca for about a year awhile ago and has never forgotten the people there. They spent the week in fellowship, evangelizing, and fasting and praying for the people. She brought a plastic soccer ball to the children, the only one they had. (Real soccer balls are very expensive here.) A teenager asked Gloria if she would bring him “tacos” or soccer cleats. It may seem like a frivolous request but soccer here is everything for a teenaged boy. His prospects are bleak. He has scaled his dreams down to a pair of tacos. Gloria promised she would bring him some next time, “Por fe,” she said. “Through faith” she knows God will provide the cleats. She recounted an amazing story about an elderly man who had been desperately ill for a long time. He couldn’t move, had difficulty eating and was near death. Gloria and Nelson fasted and prayed. Nelson annointed him with oil as they fasted and prayed some more. Miraculously, he sat up! He started eating and drinking. He can move his arms and talk. It is reminiscent of when Peter healed the crippled beggar: Peter said, “I have no silver or gold, but what I have I give you; in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth,stand up and walk.” (Acts 3:6) Gloria has no silver or gold but abundantly gives what she has.
Gloria is the embodiment of the Beatitudes. Being with her gives me a glimpse of the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
“Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.
“Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy
“Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God…” Matthew 5:3-7
Happy Columbus Pan-American Day! It’s a national holiday in Belize so I’m taking a few moments to send out an update before things get crazy again tomorrow.
We have been slammed with work around here. Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve been working hard to set up rhythms for the rest of the semester: both with the schools, and with our congregations. In particular, as we approach the next dates for baptisms (November 1st) and confirmations (November 29th), not only have I been teaching classes but I’ve also been visiting these families, forging connections with the Church that will last longer than the end of this year. I enjoy it all, but for us it’s one of the busiest times of year.
Making things even crazier, this week we are celebrating Harvest: a traditional service of giving, thanksgiving, and greengrocery. Wednesday St. Barnabas’ (Central Farm) is celebrating Harvest, Thursday St. Hilda’s (Georgeville) will do the same, and Sunday St. Andrew’s (San Ignacio) will be holding three huge services spanning 8am to 3pm. When it comes to evangelism, this is by far our biggest occasion of the year … let me see if I can put it in perspective. Ordinarily at St. Andrew’s Church our maximum Sunday attendence is around 120 people (we can’t fit many more in the building). However, last year our attendance was over 400: more than Christmas and Easter combined. For this reason, I really ask you to pray for us this week, that God would capture our hearts, bring revival, and make himself known as our churches fill up with visitors!
On top of this, there are a lot of diocesan activities this month. This coming Saturday I will be traveling to Belize City to represent our churches at the Mid-Synod Meeting, a convocation reporting and evaluating the progress we are making nation-wide as a church. Last week at the Bishop’s request, I submitted my Personal Ministry Analysis to the Diocese, giving them a window on everything that I do, and how my service here in general is going. Please keep our deliberations on the 17th in your prayers. Additionally, here in the next few weeks we have visits from VIPs of all sorts: the Governor-General (Queen Elizabeth’s representative in Belize) will be visiting St. Andrew’s School, and an archidiaconal delegation from the Diocese of St. Albans (in England) will be visiting our churches, along with many others, and making a report to the Bishop on the state of our churches here in Belize. Here’s a little map of the many communities in our area that this delegation will probably end up covering:
Other activities are going well. The systematic theology course I am teaching with our postulant is going well, and youth group has started up against strong, in part due to the increased participation with young people from our Hispanic missions. This past Sunday I once again travelled with Rev. Vasquez to our mission in Frank’s Eddy, where the church is growing in numbers and strength. This past Saturday, I interviewed one of our Spanish-speaking priests, Rev. Juan Peralta García, and if you have a moment, definitely watch this short video:
I would also ask you to pray for Mary Beth. In addition to some other health problems that she has been having, Sunday she had an accident and ended up badly spraining her knee. She is wearing a leg brace which helps with the pain, but on the other hand it is incredibly restrictive for someone who has to play the piano, attend classes, and get up stairs. The doctor has said that she will probably be fully recovered within about six weeks. Please pray that God restores her to complete health very quickly!
Also, please keep my visa situation in your prayers. Not only have I applied for permament residency (and have been waiting 18 months for it to be processed … no success so far), but this past month I applied to extend my year-long work permit for another year. The work permit application has not been processed yet either, so tomorrow I will be traveling to immigration to get my passport stamped (as a tourist!) for a month, while we wait for the work permit paperwork to go through, while we wait for the residency paperwork to go through. If it sounds complicated it is.
And finally, please pray that God would raise up financial supporters for our ministry. To return to Belize not only does our current giving need to triple, but in order to have at least one salary (mine) while we are raising support this coming winter and spring, giving needs to go up by at least 50% from where it is now. Please pray that God would provide for our needs, and also pray about giving to our ministry. Thank you all for your prayers and support: we love you and couldn’t do it without you! Take care!
We’ve just celebrated Independence Day here, September 15. Every school child in Honduras participates in the parades. San Lorenzo’s was filmed for TV. The rural parades have a flavor that the city parades can’t match! Read more about it in Jeannie’s latest newsletter!
