Enriching the Soul

It's been a few days since I have blogged. Not too many extra minutes to spare.  It rained hard this week.  I left to take the kids to school in a sprinkle of rain, and by the time I reached the school I would have sworn I was in a monsoon.  In less than an hour, the streets had almost flooded and a few were questionable on whether or not I should attempt to pass.  Lots of people in a small space and limited drainage systems made driving difficult.  I got home to the plunking of water dripping in several rooms.  Water was running down the wall of one room and dripping in two places in the kitchen.  However....amidst all the inconvenience, all I could think of was...I am not sweating!!!  It is not unbearably hot!!  Yahoo, yahoo!!  Funny how your appreciation for the small things in life can be resurrected by a bit of inconvenience.

We have duplicated the Intentional Church Planing Training twice here already and are working on a third training.  It is so exciting to see people reaching out to share their story and His story with those who have not heard. We could have a huge movement right here out of Piedras Negras.  God has big things planned!!

Pastors Francisco and Alma have sold enough tamales to build onto their Church.  I visited them yesterday and immediately was invited that afternoon to a ladies Bible Study.  I was humbled by the 30 or so ladies who came dressed in their Sunday best toting their Bible, notes, and a cloth to constantly wipe the sweat from their brow.  (This was a day or so after the rain, so the heat was back accompanied by humidity).  They each walked gingerly into the church which has a muddy, uneven floor, no roof yet, and only a blue FEMA tarp with holes providing a bit of shade.  The ladies settled into their chairs, moving them slightly to find level ground so they could sit without tipping.  There were generations of women together, cousins, aunts, and sisters, sharing their knowledge, giving thanks to the Lord for all he had given them this week.  One elderly lady gave thanks for food this week for the 14 people who lived in her home.  Another gave thanks for her childrens' birthdays and to have had enough money to purchase propane to cook with.  I thought about how different this was from the ladies who come to our small groups back home.  We are praying for guidance on what car to buy, maybe an issue going on with our child at school, or how to find time to study the Word each day.  In the States, I probably would not have attended the study if it was too inconvenient.  Here I see women honoring the Lord in their dress - even when it is hot, in their thanks - even when it is for so little, and their faithfulness - even when it seems they should feel abandoned.  I am humbled that we all pray to the same God who knows our every need - whether it is food and shelter or cars and things.  That God has given some more and some less and it does not matter what you have...it only matters what you do with it.  Thank you God for this lesson for my soul today.  I am enriched by the beautiful poor women I am surrounded by!