Count your blessings!

Warning!!!  This is a long post!!  HAHAH, Sorry, but I had to share!

There is an old song that I grew up hearing and singing that says:  “Count your many blessings name them one by one.  Count your many blessings see what God has done.”  I was reminded of this song this week in several ways.  Honestly, I was feeling very blue.  The Christmas season is upon us, and it used to be a very joyous time for me.  While our family was very poor growing up, God ALWAYS provided.  I remember the excitement that I used to have in putting up the tree and decorating, and the gifts.  I have to admit that between my twin sisters and I, I was a mastermind!  HAHAH, yes I admit it!!!  I would devise ways to find the gifts that our parents were hiding, and if they were wrapped, I perfected the art of unwrapping without leaving a trace!   HAHAHA   We would take turns watching the door while our parents were away, as we looked at what we were getting for Christmas.  I think the excitement came in trying to find the gifts and the sneakiness of finding out what we got.  Horrible, I know, but it’s the truth.  We all knew the sacrifices our parents made to give those gifts, and when they could not, we watched time and time again as God provided.  I remember one Christmas; we did not have a tree, food, or even gifts.  I was a little sad, but mom kept saying that God knew and he would give us what we needed.  We prayed and trusted.  Really, all we really needed we already had, a loving family.  Several days before Christmas, someone arrives with food, gifts, and a tree!  I will never forget that day.  There was so much joy in my heart.  While I was very thankful for those who brought the Christmas blessing, I was overjoyed with how God provided.  Again I say, time and time again, God always provided, yet somehow through living, those memories, those milestones, were forgotten and replaced with worry and strife and having  to multitask.  The Joy was lost.  I found myself this past week sitting thinking how I just wished the holidays would just move on quickly so that I could go on with my normal. 

So how was it that God reminded me?  Well he used my kids.  As we are homeschooling, I have lots of time with the kids, and we get to talk and I get to listen.  As I was stressing and busy, and just really wishing it was January, we stopped at McDonalds to eat.  I let the kids play for a little, then I called them to sit down and eat.  My kids are normal kids, they are loud, rambunctious, yet very loving and sensitive.  As we ate, Ruthy, our oldest, asked me a question:  “Dad, how do you hear God?”  Now it did take me a second to process what she was asking, but it was not a total surprise, as she has always asked these kinds of questions.  It was just that my mind was so full of all the things that I had to get done, that it took me a sec to get out of my own little world and enter back into hers.  I thought for a minute and explained to her how Rhesa and I heard God and how biblically God has spoken to others.  Dreams, appearing directly to them, and the sense of peace that you get when you know He is asking something of you.  I proceeded to give her examples of my own life, especially when I was in college.  Now I do not share the following so that you can say, “oh look at him!”, rather I share so that you can see what God has done.  I shared one story in particular, something that I had not honestly thought of in a long time.  While in college, I had taken out loans and had gotten a refund that was for books or whatever I needed.  Well, I really needed a car.  I did not have a whole lot, but enough to buy an old car that could get me most places.  I still lived at home with my parents and we only had two cars, one that my dad used to go to work, and one my mom used to cart the four of us still living at home, around.  It truly was a need, one that I was not sure how I would fill, until I got this refund.  Then something strange happened, I sensed God saying that that money was not mine.  WHAT?  I had the opportunity to buy my car, yet God was saying no?  The more I prayed about it, the more it was confirmed.  What do I do with it then?  Then God gave me the answer.  Give it away.  WHAT????  Give it away?  To who?  It was then that the answer came, “To Africa”.  HUH???  AFRICA?  I didn’t know anyone there!  But it was clear.  It just so happened that one of my professors had been a missionary there and still had connections.  I approached him and told him what was going on.  He told me that if I was sure, he would make sure that the money would be sent to Africa and put into a fund where it could accumulate more money, then be used to make sure many others could be trained as pastors.  To this day, I have no clue where exactly it was sent or how many it helped, that’s not important.  The important part was that I was obedient to the Lord’s leading.  Ok, so the rest of the story, the part that has to do with counting my blessings.  Weeks later, maybe months, I am not exactly sure, but right before Christmas, I received a title in the mail.  Strange.  Then several days later, as we came home from dinner, parked in our driveway was a little blue chevy sprint, that had a red bow and a letter that read, “Robert, this is for you to use in the ministry God has called you to.”  SERIOUSLY??!!!  I could not believe it.  To this day I have no clue who gave me that car, but God, once again provided for my needs. 

You see, as I told the kids this story, something in me stirred.  Joy returned. Memories of God’s faithfulness in my life began flooding my mind and tears began to come.  The sadness that I was feeling was because I had forgotten.  I had forgotten about all the times that God was faithful.  I had forgotten to count my blessings. 

Years ago a dear friend of ours told us about a journal that she had made in Italy.  It was made of fine leather and by all means was a nice journal, but it’s significance was greater than just a journal.  She called it her “But God” book.  It was to journal all the times that God stepped in the midst of circumstances.  It was to write and chronicle the difficult times, the times of great need, the times where we could not see a way, But God stepped in.  It was a way to remember, and be reminded, and remind your kids and family, of God’s faithfulness. 

In my studies of the old testament, I loved reading how God would remind His people who he was.  He was the God of Jacob, of Abraham, and Isaac.  He would remind them of what he had done for them, lest they forget.  Even now, many Jews remind themselves of who God is and what he has done for them, yet here I was, allowing myself to forget, being overcome with strife and stress. 

It was a very sweet reminder, and one that I will not quickly forget.  God is good and I will always count my blessings from now on, and I will tell my children about those blessings as I count them.  I want them to see and remember God’s faithfulness.  I want to remind them and to know that God is alive and that he continues to speak to those who will listen.  I want them to experience His faithfulness in their own lives. 

Now I head into this hectic Christmas season with Joy, remembering what it’s truly about.  I count my blessings for my Savior who was born to set me and you free from our sin.  The greatest blessing ever! 

What about you?  Are you overwhelmed, stressed, sad, or discouraged this Christmas?  If so, think back and count your blessings and see what God has done, and is doing!!

 

A time for change

WOW!! 

So sorry for the lack of blogging.  So many things have changed since our last blog post.  Our friends the Fothergills, who were the office managers for the Border Initiative, among many things they did, were reassigned to the DRC, Africa.  It was a life long dream and calling from the Lord!  Praise God for fulfilling His call on their lives.  Our kids have missed their two kids, Connor and Macy, but understand that when God asks you to go, you have to be obedient.  The other couple we served with, the Hardyman's also moved.  They went to KC so that Tim could attend seminary.  This left us in El Paso.  The Lord then sent us another young couple, the Robinsons.  They have a wonderful heart and are serving also as children's pastors of El Paso First Church.  It has been a blessing to get to know them and minister along side them. 

Soooo, so many things have changed.  My responsibilities (Robert) turned into being the office manager for the Naz. Border Initiative.  This is something I am comfortable with due to my wonderful Administrative Assistant training at NPH!  Besides managing the office, this year we also decided that Homeschooling was going to be the best option for our kids and our travel schedules.  We like to travel as a family whenever possible.  The kids are loving every minute of it, and so am I.  Josiah keeps saying he loves homeschooling because he gets to spend more time with his family.  We are so blessed!
Ok, now along with these other responsibilities, I am also responsible for helping with all the arrangements for SNU's annual New Year's trip, Commission Unto Mexico.  That means that we have been very active in traveling to Monclova Mexico and making all arrangements of work sites, hotel, transportation, food,etc.  We have been very busy, but God is good and we have made some wonderful new friends in Monclova.  CRAZY!!!

Ok, now for Rhesa.  She is not writing this, so just FYI.  God is GOOD.  Since the last blog post, Rhesa has a new job.  When we moved to El Paso, Rhesa came to work at El Paso Children's in their PICU, which is what she had done for about 12 yrs now.  Her dream job had always been to work as a transport nurse, but the opportunity never presented itself.  Well, God blessed her!!!!  She is now a part of the Transport Team as an RN!!!!  She gets to ride in the ambulance and in jet planes, transporting patients from one hospital to another.  PTL!!!  She has loved every moment.  We are blessed beyond measure.  Not only is it her dream job, but because of her work requirements, she actually has more time to be able to devote to our ministry!   We have been able to do all of the traveling and meetings and such without her having to take vacation or use personal days.  GOD is GOOD!!!  So many blessings.

We have seen first hand that when you are obedient, God takes care of the details in ways that we could never imagine.  When we answered the call to serve, we were not sure how he would take care of all the details, or rather I was not sure, but God amazes me over and over again.  We are able to support ourselves, teach our kids, and fulfill our call to missions, only because of HIM!!!

We will try to do a better job of keeping you, all who care to know what is going on in our lives, updated.

Prayer requests:
Please help us pray for our trip back to Mexico at the end of this month.  Pray for the 120 participants plus the nationals that will be joining us.  Pray that amidst all the physical and relationship building that will be going on, that most importantly, Kingdom building happens.  Pray for the safety of all involved.  Pray for our safety as we travel.  Pray for my parents and sisters as they will care for our kids while on this week long endeavor. 

Thank you for reading and praying for us. 

Robert

Do you believe?

There are so many thoughts going through my head right now,
and honestly, I am not sure how to even start this post. Do I use humor, do I use song? Honestly, nothing seems adequate enough, so
all I can say is
PRAISE BE TO GOD!

This post is about miracles! You read it right, miracles! Rhesa and I have always said that God
specializes in the impossible, or what we think is impossible. This was one of those times. One thing we learned in Central Asia, was
that God was still alive and well, and still doing miracles today. Now, they might not be raise the dead kind of
miracles, but miracles none the less. We
Americans seem to specialize in explaining everything away, rather than seeing
things for what they are, God’s hand moving in our daily lives!
Okay, now to the miracle.
When we moved and Rhesa started her job at the children’s hospital, we
assumed that it was going to be a normal 30 day waiting period for insurance to
kick in. WRONG! Rhesa was informed that
it would be 90 days before any of us was covered by insurance. We began to pray and ask the Lord for
protection for the kids and us, as to avoid getting sick or needing to be
hospitalized. It would have been an out
of pocket expense that we could not have afforded. Everything was going okay, until the school
nurse called about Josiah’s Epi Pen. See
Josiah has an anaphylaxis reaction to fire ants. Being in Texas again, they are everywhere,
and as the doctor informed us in TN, he has 15 seconds to administer the
Epi. This of coarse meant that Josiah
had to carry his Epi on him, especially if he would be outside. Now we had Dr’s permission in TN, but TX
requires a TX practitioner to sign off on it.
See the problem? No insurance
meant a huge bill. We prayed and prayed,
and one Tuesday during one of our team meetings, we asked them to pray for the
situation, and they did. We trusted that
God would supply our needs somehow. Well,
that Friday, I got something interesting in the mail. There were five large envelopes, one for each
of us in our family. We were not
expecting anything, and honestly I was confused. As I opened the first, I realized that what I
was holding in my hands, were in fact medical insurance cards. I thought it strange that they would send the
cards so far in advance of the effective date, and decided to check the date on
the card. The card read, Effective date:
4/1/12! What, was this an April fools
joke? I immediately texted Rhesa who was
at work and let her know. She asked me
to check the date again, cause it must have been a mistake! No mistake, the date was the same on all the
cards! I sat outside on the ledge of our
wall in the drive way, as the kids played, and was overwhelmed by God’s hand in
our lives! PRAISE THE LORD!
Well, we were able to make appointments for the kids to see
a DR on good Friday, and he signed off on not only Josiah’s epi, but his
inhaler too! While we were there, Ruthy
needed to see the DR for a refill on her reflux meds. He asked about her history and what tests the
previous Dr’s had done. He scheduled her
for a stat endoscopy, and to our surprise, it was the very next Monday, the day
after easter. This in itself is a
miracle! Having a procedure like this
scheduled so quickly, is almost unheard of, but God was in charge here! We got
Ruthy in yesterday, and they in fact have shown she has severe reflux, but
nothing else, no ulcers or tumors, just the reflux. Now we know exactly what we are dealing
with!
So you can choose to read this post and think we are crazy
and a little off our rockers, or you can choose to give God the glory for the
miracles that he did! As for us, we will
not diminish what God has done, and we choose to call them what they are,
MIRACLES!

OKC W&W team

W&W team from New Braunfels TX

Our Nazarene Border Initiative El PasoTeam

So it has been almost 2 months now since we moved to El Paso Texas. What have we been doing? Well I'm glad you asked.
Month 1 was filled with adjusting to a new place, new climate (desert), new culture for our kids, new school for our kids, and finding our way around our community. We are currently living in the main house. We have two bedrooms and a bathroom that are private. We share the kitchen and living room whenever we are hosting work and witness teams. It has been somewhat of a challenge, especially with the whole gluten intolerance issue, but for the most part, things have gone very well. Once the new house is finished ( it will be done whenever we get more work and witness teams who can do construction and who will finish the house), we will have a seperate three bedroom house with kitchen, living room, 2 1/2 baths, and a balcony on the 2nd floor.

Month 2 was a little more exciting. We hosted our first two work and witness teams back to back! Craziness ensued! Our first team was from New Braunfels Texas. They worked on our house, and with a local spanish church. They were a great group, and brought some much needed encouragement to the pastor, his family, and their small congregation. A side note here, one of the team members had Celiac Disease or was also gluten intolerant, and I got to cook and share food with her. Those of you who do not have dietary restrictions may not fully understand how exciting this was. She said that she had planned just to eat protein bars all week,but when she found out that Josiah and I were also gluten intolerant, she was excited. She said she went to her sunday school class and shared the news as a praise! The class was a little confused on why she would praise God that these two people where gluten intolerant? It was beacasue she knew that whe would be okay, and that God had provided for her meals too! Seems like such a minor and insignificant detail, but another example of God taking care of the details. I was blessed to be used of God in this manner. I had made breakfast all week, along with the help of a ROAM volunteer ( Rv's On A Mission), and the last day, sat. I was sick with food poisoning. Luckily, Rhesa was not working and was able to fill in. I lay in bed as they ate then left. I got up and tried to help with clean up and preparing for the next group that literally would arrive in a few hours!
The second group arrived and they were from OKC, a group of about 23 college and carreer young adults, they were great too! They worked with the First Naz Church. They conducted an afterschool program where they provided a snack, homework help, lots of singing, games, and most important, the gospel message. Our kids really enjoyed reading to, playing with, and listening to these young adults. The exciting news was that the sunday after their program, first church had 10 new kids who had attended the program! God moved! Thanks to that group for being faithful to God's calling on their lives. It is not everyday that you encounter young adults who have such a strong desire to not only live passionately for Christ, but who also serve passionately. As they left, our kids commented that they would be very sad to see they go and that they would miss them. Thanks to that group for loving on our kids! They will never really know the impact they have had not only on the lives of the kids who are now attending church, but also on the lives of our own kids.
Okay, So enough writing! I will attach some pictures later so that you can see something!

Jehova Jireh

God is our provider. Since moving to El Paso, we knew that we would not have insurance for 30 days, the customary waiting period for new insurance to start at a new job. Well, since being here, Ruthy has had strep throat. In looking through all of our meds, we found some that a Dr prescribed before we left the country to go to Central Asia, almost 3 yrs ago. The funny part was that it expired next month. Interesting????!!! Ruthy was covered and we were good. Then last night, Mikayla woke up with a fever and was complaining about her throat. We were sure that it was strep throat also, but we had not meds, and no insurance. Well, Rhesa went to her ribbon cutting ceremony at the new hospital today, and mentioned that Mikayla was sick, to someone, and they found us a Dr. that saw us for free and sent us to walmart for $4 meds. We honestly did not know what we were going to do, but HE provided for our needs. We know we are in His will, and He has directed us to El Paso, but sometimes, satan tries hard to bring us down. It is in those moments that God reminds us that He is incharge! We trust that He has and will provide!
We just had to share!!

Ribbon cutting day El Paso Children's

Josiah learning to ride his bike