|
|
|
|
The elderly Quechua man came toward us...
... very slowly on his tall, old bicycle. Was he waiting for the girls to navigate a small puddle on their bicycles as they passed? Or was his slow speed due to something else? His eyes, bright and shining, grabbed my full attention for a moment. A toothy smile lit up his deeply creased face. As we passed on the one-lane road he greeted us with extra cordial, “Buen dia Senor, buen dia Senora!” I glanced over my shoulder to confirm what I had suspected – he was pedaling uphill with one leg, the other rigid and useless.
|
|
|
I’ve thought about this man many times over the last few weeks. Despite his circumstances, contentment and good-will radiated from his face. The six weeks or so that we’ve been back in Bolivia has been a rollercoaster. The busy-ness of team meetings, praying fervently for a handful of team members that had left/were leaving and trying to clear up situations that had gone awry while we were away; returning to a house, the electricity having been shut off several times and a chest freezer of rotten food to deal with among other things; feeling stretched coordinating between the airplane project still in the States, the urgent needs of the lifestyle center team/Bible workers in the mountains, and the medical team progress in the jungle; and DJ’s sister being diagnosed with a very aggressive, malignant brain tumor.
|
|
|
The temptation to be discouraged is easy to indulge. It is often easier to focus on problems than to pray, trust, and look for creative solutions to those things that we can change. But when we do just that, God is there, ever-present and wanting to help us, give us peace, and fill us with joy. Truly, that fountain of living water never stops flowing! When we drink that life-giving water, Christ, in turn, shines out of us, just like He did through that lame man on the bicycle. Difficult circumstances, yet a deep, brilliant joy. I pray that you and I can be channels for God’s radiant love.
|
|
|
|
So grateful for the B3 team this year!
|
|
Please keep praying for several things:
1.- Permission to build a couple cabins on the land that is being lent to us for the lifestyle center (housing for team members).
2.- Land to build airbase in jungle.
3.- Spiritual depth for the B3 team members.
4.- Wisdom to know how and when to ship the airplane.
5.- DJ’s sister & family while navigating this cancer and asking for God’s healing power at every step of the way (Emily, Jacob, Eva & baby).
Thanks!
Jodi & family
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
