Birthday Thoughts

I was thinking today about how I will be celebrating my 36th birthday, in Jamaica. Pretty cool. Most of my 36 birthdays have been spent in Oklahoma. I did celebrate my 12th birthday in Branson, Missouri, and my 16th birthday in Guadalajara, Mexico, but other than that, all have been celebrated in OK.
(Not that any of you may really even care... I just thought I would share.)

Anyway, I will be celebrating tomorrow by driving 3 hours to the airport in MoBay to pick up 20 people from the Dover Christian Church (my home church)... my parents being 2 of those. Of all the birthday gifts I have gotten over the years, having my mom and dad here on the mission field, having the chance to show them the things and introduce them to the people that they have only heard about, and to have them be a part of the ministry that I have been called to is probably my best gift in 36 years.

When It Rains...

Late last week part of the roof was taken off of the mission house so the addition can continue. Floor joists have gone in, steel was set in place for concrete block, a footing was poured yesterday, and blue tarps were put in place just in case it rained. Well, it DID rain... hard! The tarps happened to have a few holes, or there were gaps or openings between and around them, which allowed the rain water to make its way inside the mission house. Not just IN the house, but through the ceiling, the light fixtures, the dining hall, the bathroom, and the front bedroom. Some plaster fell, the globe on the ceiling fan is full, a ton of towels were used as dams and to soak up the water... Let me just say that it was a mess. At the same time the electrician was trying to get the power back on in the laundry room and dining hall... another mess all its own.

Today, things started out hot and sunny. Cement block started going up, I was painting on the balcony, Sharon and Brad were painting the grills on the front doors, busy people were all around doing work... Then... RAIN!!!!! Light at first... then a brief downpour! Out came the tarps once again... and once again it rained inside the house. Not quite as bad as yesterday, but wet it was all the same. What a deal.

We wish for rain for a month... No sign of it. Then, when we don't need it we get it. Kinda like God's answers and blessings. We will pray for God to answer us or bless us, and when He does, it happens at an inconvenient time for us. If only we could put God on OUR time schedule. Well, we can't "control" God and when He blesses or answers us any more than we can control when it rains. All we can do is just dry out and thank Him for the rain.

Have you received a blessing lately that was at an inconvenient time? Well, dry up and give Him thanks because His timing is always perfect.

Down In The Dump

Oney, Eli and I went to the dump this afternoon. Its a beautiful drive to get there, but like another world when you arrive. Blue waters along the coast, green mountains inland, jerk stands, fish stands, and cook shops beside the road... and flies and stink at the destination. We had the joy of parking next to a garbage truck as it unloaded... Yummy! There were dogs looking for scraps, flies trying to fly up the ol' nose, and about 8 people digging around in various piles of rubbish looking for some sort of "treasure" that they can use or sell for just a little bit of cash. As Oney and Eli began unloading our truck it took no time at all for a few treasure hunters to come our way. There were a few pieces of aluminum siding that they latched onto quickly. I thought one lady was going to come to blows with a man who tried to take her "treasure".

What an existance. How spoiled are we as Americans? I have been to a number of landfills in Oklahoma and have seen some pretty good stuff... children's toys, kitchen utensils, plates, bowls, cups, bags of clothing, that people have just tossed out because they no longer wanted it or it did not sell at the garage sale. I even saw a guy one time unloading a trailer of living room and bedroom furniture. Somebody asked him what was wrong with it. He said nothing was wrong. His wife had just redecorated and painted the house and wanted new furniture that matched, so he was making room by getting rid of the old furniture. Seriously? Today I saw nothing of value as I looked around the dump. No toys. Nothing for the kitchen. Nothing for the bedroom. All I saw was rubbish. But in all those acres of trash, a small handful of people found something more than trash. They saw potential.

Isn't that what Christ does with us? When we are at a point that we have no value to the world. When we are no better than a big pile of garbage, when we waste what He has given us, when everything in life seems hopeless, Christ comes too us. We may not be a treasure when He picks us up, but He dusts us off, polishes us up, makes us shine like a city on a hill. He turns us into a treasure. Do you ever look at others and place a lesser value on them because of the way they look or act, how they dress, where they live, what they drive, where they work? Remember that the Lord sees the potential in them that we can't see. Christ is just waiting to turn them into a treasure.

Are you down in the dump? Let Jesus make you shine!

Building Projects

As of today, July 15, there have been 22 houses built, a 40X25 school room built, and a set of school restrooms begun by teams since the first of the year. There is also a VBS going on right now, a VBS and house to build the week of July 27, a VBS and house the week of Aug. 10, and a house the week of Oct. 12. There are also a number of things in the works right now that could possibly (hopefully) expand the ministry of CSI in Jamaica. God has opened some doors and we are in the process of walking through them. Pray that we as a staff continue to seek after His perfect will.

Better Than A Webpage??

I was going to start a webpage. Then I thought, "Would a blog be a better way to go?" So, I am starting this blog to see how it goes. I hope it goes well and that people will be able to keep up on the happenings of CSI Jamaica and myself. So I will be posting things here from time to time. (AS long as the internet stays up and running... geesh.)

(Pic I took Sunday in church.)