Romans 8

This amazing chapter was included in today's Bible reading on my M'Cheyne One Year Reading Plan.  There is so much in this chapter; it is more than enough for multiple days of meditating, praying and reading.  In fact, it is one of several chapters from Romans that forms the basis for one of my favorite books, "The Normal Christian Life," by Watchman Nee.  If you want to be overwhelmed by the richness of Paul's letter to the Romans, I suggest you read this book.  It's not an easy read by any means; and, if you are the type of reader who highlights or underlines while reading, you'll need a dozen sharpened pencils and/or a box of highlighters in various colors.  It's that profound!  I have a copy here in El Salvador and might just have to find the time to re-read it.

As you may know from previous posts this year, along with the M'Cheyne plan, I am reading the accompanying devotionals from "For the Love of God," by D. A. Carson. 

 That today's devotional was about Romans 8 came as no surprise, but the depth of his insights never fails to move my spirit.  Here's a synopsis:

What does it mean for Christians to be "more than conquerors" (Romans 8:37)?  First, the "us" to whom the apostle refers includes all Christians. . . . Second, the actual evidence that they are "more than conquerors" is that they persevere regardless of all opposition.  That opposition may take the form of horrible persecution, . . . It may be some other hardship . . . . Neither human powers nor anything else in all creation, not even all the powers of hell unleashed can "separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (8:39).  Third, as the last sentence already makes clear, that from which Christians cannot be finally separated is the "love of Christ" (8:35) or the love of God in Christ .  At one level, of course, that is simply saying that no power can stop Christians from being Christians.  That is why we are "more than conquerors."  But  that point could have been made a lot of different ways.  To make it this way, with an emphasis on the love of Christ as that from which we cannot be separated, reminds us of the sheer glory and pleasure that is ours, both now and in eternity, to be in such a relationship.  We are not simply acquitted; we are loved.  We are loved not simply by a peer, but by God himself.  Nor is this a reference to the general love that God has for his entire creation.  What is at stake here is that special love that attaches to "all who have been called according to his purpose" (8:28).  Fourth, the guarantee that we shall prevail and persevere, and prove to be "more than conquerors" in this sense, is nothing other than the sovereign purposes of God (8:29-30), manifest in the death of his Son on our behalf (8:31-35).  "If God is for us, who can be against us?" No greater security is imaginable.

He's so right . . . . we have perfect security in our Heavenly Father . . . . thank you, Lord, for loving me more than I deserve.  Help me lay everything down at your feet and live each day to glorify you and build your kingdom.  

Hilo, Aguja y Biblia

We've been busy with campaigns and traveling this summer so I have missed several Saturdays with the ladies of Hilo, Aguja y Biblia.  But today, I was able to catch up with them and see the progress they've made on the drawstring backpacks.  

We have been working on this project for most of the summer and, as of today, have completed 45 backpacks.  We have another 45 pieces of fabric cut.  Our goal is to complete them by the end of September.

  
Today we read and discussed Proverbs 3.  Our prayer was that we live what it teaches.   

My son, do not forget my law,

But let your heart keep my commands;

For length of days and long life 

And peace they will add to you.

Let not mercy and truth forsake you;

Bind them around your neck,

Write them on the tablet of your heart,

And so find favor and high esteem

In the sight of God and man.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart,

And lean not on your own understanding;

In all your ways acknowledge Him,

And He shall direct your paths.

Do not be wise in your own eyes;

Fear the Lord and depart from evil.

Day After Grocery Shopping

Yesterday, like normal, it took all morning to do our grocery shopping with stops at Super Selectos (grocery) and PriceSmart (our Costco.)   However, the day after grocery shopping is almost as big of a day as the shopping day.  Why you ask?  Because you have to wash, disinfect and dry all of the vegetables and fruit that you bought the day before.  In case you've forgotten, here in El Salvador the water is not safe to consume and, therefore, the safest way to be sure the fresh vegetables and fruit to eat are safe is to disinfect them.  

While it has always been a chore, now that I am doing my best to eat healthy, I'm buying so much produce that the process takes the whole morning.  The vegetables/fruits have to soak in the disinfectant water for 15-20 minutes so you can see how multiple batches would eat up some time.  When they're done soaking, they need to dry before going in the refrigerator.  If they are still wet when you repack them, they spoil more quickly.  I learned that lesson the hard way with many bags of soggy, ruined lettuce, spinach and more.

Yesterday's produce purchases included:  spinach, romaine lettuce, radishes, cucumbers, English cucumbers, green peppers, avocados, onions, red onions, limes, tomatoes, jalepeños, asparagus, zucchini, carrots, broccoli, blackberries, strawberries, bananas and apples.  Just look at this spread.

You ask, "where are the strawberries and bananas?"  Good question.  I had to do the strawberries yesterday because I made strawberry shortcake to take to our small group last night.  Bananas with their thick skins can be peeled and safely eaten without disinfecting.  Some people extend that same reasoning to any vegetable/fruit which is peeled before eating. However, since Stephen and I experienced first hand the pain, suffering and weight loss which comes from having a parasite, I always err on the side of disinfecting everything.  

Yep, that was my morning.  Coming this afternoon, packing individual portions and freezing all of the fresh meat and fish I bought.  

Everything takes longer here

As I have mentioned before, everything takes longer here in El Salvador.  There's no such thing as a quick trip to anywhere.  Today was a perfect example.

The last two times we flew into the airport here and went through the immigration line, the agents have pointed out that our 3-month temporary residency cards were about to expire (8/19/14.)  Going to the immigration office to pick up our new cards was tricky this summer.  They tell you that you can start checking to see if the new cards are available within a month of their expiration.  Unfortunately, we were in the states from July 18-31 and then were only home one day (August 1 and the offices were closed for vacation) before leaving for Costa Rica.  

So, we decided that today was the day to see if they were ready.  If they weren't ready, we would still have a week for them to get them ready before our other ones expired.  We left after the morning rush hour and were sure to take our passports and other documentation; we drove directly to the location and . . . . . it had moved.  The building was repainted and the parking lot was empty--no sign on the door telling us where the new office was.  

Where it used to be: 

It took more than an hour and various phone calls to pin down the new location.  Turned out that it was within walking distance of the former location, but, of course, we didn't know that at the time.  

Where it was today:

By now, it was noon--thankfully, they stay open during lunch, albeit there are fewer employees available to help.  Even though there was only one person ahead of us, it still took over an hour.  My guess is that they printed up our cards and paperwork while we were waiting.

Good news is that we walked out of the office about 1:15 p.m. with our 9-month "permanent" cards that are good until June 26, 2015.    

Costa Rica Wrap Up

We had a great week with the teams from First Baptist Gulf Shores, Alabama, Passage Church, St. Louis, Missouri, and Faith Baptist, Youngsville, North Carolina.   All 35 team members were faithful to share in the neighborhoods, along the pedestrian walkway downtown, in the market and everywhere else went.  They presented the Respect value lesson in 27 classrooms in three different schools.  There were nearly 700 professions of faith this week and we are excited to hear how many people went to the reception at the hotel this afternoon.

What is even more exciting is that the trip to Costa Rica was just one of the three trips going on this week.  We heard a report at church this morning that there were more than 1000 decisions in Managua and almost 400 in Guatemala.  It was a great week for the kingdom!

Here are a few more pictures of the week:

 The gringos wanted the Salvadorans to experience the fancy bus so they traded.

 Praying before going into the classroom

Beautiful Day for a Campaign

After fighting the weather the last three nights, it was beautiful all day!  The morning at the school was excellent--we visited 13 classrooms.

We were able to visit the neighborhood and lots of kids/adults showed up at the family festival.  Lot's of decisions made the perfect end to a beautiful day.

Costa Rica--Sunday

We had a great day of worship yesterday with the church here in San Jose, Costa Rica.  

Rained Sunday night, but we managed to have the campaign in between the showers.  

Costa Rica--Day One

Even though the flight to Costa Rica is less than an hour, the trip overall still takes 5 or 6 hours by the time you drive to the airport, arrive two hours early, fly, go through immigration, pick up luggage, go through customs and drive to the hotel.  However, let me say that I'm not complaining.  So thankful that God has provided the resources for us to make this short trip in place of the 26+ hour school bus ride that the Salvadorans endured to get here.

We walked right in to orientation with the Gulf Shores group when we arrived at the hotel.  Introductions, discussions, questions and more followed for the next hour.  Unfortunately, the group from Faith Baptist had missed a connection and we weren't sure they would arrive in time for the evening event.  But, God had other plans--their flight came in at 2:30 and they were just barely able to get checked in before we headed out.

We had planned to go to Cartago and pass out tracts at the site of the annual pilgrimage, but since we wouldn't have arrived until after 5:00 p.m., Pastor Rodolfo indicated that most of the festivities would be over.  Instead we spent time sharing one-on-one on the pedestrian walkway in downtown San Jose.  

After the event, we went to Pollo Campero with the Faith Baptist group and Stephen did their orientation over chicken!  

Looking forward to joint worship this morning with Iglesia Bautista Vida Nueva, San Jose!

Goodbye KC, Hello Home, Goodbye Home, Hello Costa Rica

For some reason I couldn't bring myself to shorten the overly long title because it really tells the story.  We said goodbye to Kansas City and the family/friends we'd been visiting for the last two weeks and about 7:45 p.m. last night we landed in El Salvador.  The flights (KC to Houston and Houston to San Salvador) were smooth and on-time.  Unfortunately, the delays started once we landed.

Although the immigration line wasn't as long as I've seen it, it still takes time to get through it.  Normally, by the time you finish that process your luggage has been circling the belt for a bit.  Last night wasn't the norm--it took forever for it to come.  We had four checked pieces--two suitcases and two boxes.  Two of our pieces came out in less than stellar shape.  Two of the four wheels on our big suitcase were pushed inward and it was impossible to roll.  Stephen was finally able to push the sides back out (like the dented bumper on a car) and it seemed usable, if not fine.  We also noted with some dismay that the larger of the two boxes was somewhat crushed.  Of course, this is after we signed a "limited damage waiver."  Who knew, the airlines didn't cover "boxes."  Eventually, everything showed up (a definite blessing) and we worked our way to the customs line.  As we feared, the boxes drew the attention of the agents--nothing magic about boxes, just didn't take our extra suitcases so it was our best option for bringing the Peruvian drum and pressure cooker!  They didn't make us open the boxes, but did make us run them through the x-ray machine again.  

One of the challenges of getting out of the airport is that the carts that hold your luggage are limited to the short-term parking lot.  Of course, we were in the long-term parking lot.  Stephen went to get the truck and he was gone so long I actually had a passing thought that he forgot me and the luggage and was on his way home.  But no, the news was, "the truck wouldn't start--dead battery."  Just what you don't want to hear at that hour.  Eventually, a parking lot worker took pity on me and maneuvered the cart around the pylons and over to the other lot.  We loaded the suitcases in the back seat and the boxes in the bed of the dead truck.  He and Stephen pushed it out of it's parking spot and I was able to get it started by popping the clutch--thank goodness for manual transmissions.  We were finally on our way when about 10 minutes out it started to rain, albeit lightly.  Yep--two cardboard boxes in the back and it's raining.  I decided the best solution was to pray!  Thank the Lord, it never rained harder than a light sprinkle even though the roads toward the city were soaked.  We pulled in to our townhouse about 10:00 p.m., backed the truck in to guard against it not starting and unloaded.  I left everything to be unpacked in the morning, but Stephen unpacked his suitcase and found that one of the liquids had completely leaked out and soaked some of his clothes.  Enough for one day!

Today has been quite busy with the cable/phone bill to pay at Plaza Merliot and the rent and water bill to pay at Banco Agricola.  Washed the dirty clothes and unpacked the food we brought back.  Tonight we are packing for Costa Rica and after less than 36 hours in the house, we will head to the airport in the morning at 6:00 a.m.  

Tomorrow night we will start the campaign by visiting Cartago--the site of annual pilgrimage called the "Romeria" to the Basilica de Nuestra Senora de Los Angeles.  You can read the story of the apparition of the "La Negrita" and the tradition of the pilgrimage here. We will be sharing the gospel with the people who are there to see the spectacle of the pilgrimage.  

 

The rest of the week will progress like a normal campaign, school visits in the mornings and family festivals in the evenings.  Please pray for the teams coming from the states and our team from El Salvador who started their 26+ hour drive at 3:00 a.m. this morning.  We are taking the easy way with a flight that's just over an hour.