Hi guys! It’s me again.
I felt in a way the distance this week when I heard about uncle Rod. Called Ma and could hear it in her voice. She wanted her family around her and that just wasn’t possible. Often I find myself annoyed with her state of mind, but really felt for her and wanted for a moment to be at home.
We kinda had a slow week with a lot of running around and really not accomplishing much. Monday and Tuesday were trips to the airport, and believe it of not by the time your done the day is pretty much shot. Lori’s folks, Steph and Hedi are all gone, we still have Lindsey.Wed and Thurs was spent with the shipping company finding out the needed documents to release the container. Thurs a young girl from the company actually went with us to the government building to help us get the info needed, and get the documents notarized as required by law. Before they will release the goods we have to prove that we have applied for a permanent visa. I guess a number is issued once you have applied and the port will accept that number as evidence that your staying.
Thurs morning we got up at 5 A.M. and headed out to the city streets again to feed the homeless. What we found out this time is that these folks live close to their jobs. At many of the main intersection where the traffic lights are long, there will be a group of men, woman, and children either begging or offering some kind of service for your pocket change. Somewhere close to that light is where they make there home. They protect that information and won’t offer it when you ask. We went to one of those intersections and began to look for what might constitute a shelter, and un-knowingly drove by it more than once. Than I saw this little girl running across the street to one of the vender’s and could tell by her looks that she would be our contact. Lori got out and went over to talk to her and soon convinced her that we were there only to help. She looked over and gave me the follow me sigh and we were all brought to this vacant lot. We yelled out that we had come with breakfast, food and milk, and out they all came. They emerged out of what they called home, a make shift shelter that you wouldn’t allow your dog to sleep in. One of the young men recognised Lori from a earlier encounter when he washed her windows and received a new testament. He said in his language, wow this is so cool! On a side note, we are able to get these paper back bibles for about 80 cents each, so have bought them in bulk, and have been giving those out instead of tracts. There must have been about fifteen people living in this lot, from the old matriarch mother to three or four year old kids. We fed then all, sandwiches and milk, gave them anything we had left over, promised them we would be back, and then had to leave when the skies opened up and dumped on us. Friday I went back to the orphanage with Lindsey and William. I built them a big cabinet full of cubbys to hold tons of their shoes that were presently piled in a closet. After going through them all we found close to half of them were for the one legged children that I guess don’t live there any more. I also built some shelf’s in the kitchen to accommodate the pile of pots and pans. These events speak for the week, sorry I don’t have more to report, but I’ll end with my thought for the day. I was reading that passage in gen where God called Abraham to act in obedience and follow with out a clear explanation, or with out more than instruction needed for the moment. I have no doubt that God saw that he get mentioned in the great chapter of hero’s in Hebrews because of that moment when without question he leaves his home and family and follows God. In that same chapter Abraham finds himself facing a famine and instead of trusting the God who called him, he takes matters into his own hands, and goes down to Egypt for food. Looks at his beautiful wife and says your to good looking to be my wife, from now on your my sister. It’s very clear that he knew exactly what he was doing. He was putting his wife on the block because his stomach was more important than his relationship. Pharaoh takes her as his wife, which is what Abraham expected would happen, and I’m assuming she became his wife as any wife would become with all the wifefy implications. Abraham benefited greatly from this and as a result became a very wealthy man. He actually seemed to like this arrangement and wasn’t in any real hurry to change things. If It wasn’t for God stepping in and making everybody in the palace sick, it probably would have gone on. I thought of that verse that promises us that our sins and iniquity he will remember no more. We are linked with a God who immediately latches on tightly to those moments in our life when we put him first, when we are willing to step out in faith, when we are willing to entrust the need of our well being to him. God documents and commits these moments to memory and is so fast to give us undeserved credit. The sin part he is also fast to respond to, and that response is forgiveness [if you confess he is obligated to forgive]. His only request is that we own up to our wrong doing so it can be done away with. He deliberately chooses to not remember, which is so much more than being willing to forget. He’s not keeping track of our failure, these acts are not tarnishing in any way the Little deed that was sincerely done for him. We are not in anyway less effective in his eyes, and can now only be used as the dull chisel saved to open up the paint can. The good deed is documented and rewarded, the sin is gone and will never come up again. No need to come to him embarrassed and timid just cause you remember, he doesn’t know what your even talking about. Funny, isn’t it, how we read that chapter of hero’s and immediately our minds go to events in their lives’s that in our estimation disqualifies them from Honorable mention. And then there is God who only remembers that act of faithfulness and says by all means they deserve that place in my book. I can’t speak for you all, but that thought fires up my jets, and when I get the tap on my shoulder, no matter how big or small the job might be, I know in my Gods eyes I’m as qualified as the next person and I’m ready to go. Sorry if my thought was more than my up date, just enjoyed thinking about it today. Bet you all thought you had finely escaped my preaching, sorry just don’t want to get to rusty. Feel free to pass over my little sermons if you like.
Well thats all I have to say for now. Once again I love you all very much and pray for you and your family’s. God bless you all good night.
Love Markie!
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