Everything takes longer than you expect. In the last two weeks, we have had consistent rain, everyday. The hurricane season brings in a lot of much needed rain. But with that there is a constant humidity. Your clothes never get completely dry from this humidity. We have a gas dryer that we rarely use. For one it cost to much to run all the time for a family of 6 and two when it is 95 degrees out your clothes dry really fast in the sun. The last time we used our dryer may have been over a year ago. The regulator on the top of the tank (the part that keeps fire from going in to the tank) was leaking. So this morning Jessie asked me how long would it take to get the dryer connected? I said "Not long, I just have to get another regulator and connect it. Maybe 30 minutes at most." So I ran to the hardware store and got what I needed. Then started connected up everything. It was all connected. I turned the dryer on and no heat. "What is the problem?" After disconnecting the gas line on both ended I found that it was filled with dirt. So I had to cut the end off and put a new end on the copper tubing. Not a big deal. I have done it before. After the 3 tries of cutting it and getting all connected again with no leaks, it was finally ready to go. A useful tip which is something I didn't know before I came to Mexico, is checking for leaks you use soapy water. Put the bubbles on various connections and you can see if it is leaking by the bubbles expanding. So I got the dryer all connected with no leaks, turned it on and started working great. It only took three hours to accomplish one simple task of hooking up the gas line to the dryer. It started to rain when I first started to work on it but thank the Lord it stopped. It would have been salt on the wound. I should have known that it was not going to be that easy. You think that after 9 years of leaving in Mexico, I would realize by now that I should plan for it to take longer than I think it is going to take.
Prayer
I have been sensing God leading me to pray more. The kind of prayer you pray for others. In the last couple of weeks, Nestor, a teenager who has been coming to church for the past year, has been bringing his cousins to church and bible studies. I am amazed at how young people convince the cousins or friends to come to church. So the past two Sundays, he has brought 3 different cousins to church. They don't say much about what they think of church but they have come back two weeks in a row. This is not common. On the contrary it takes a long time for family members to come to church. Some people of the church will invite the family members to church for years with no results. Not that church is the answer but it is a start. The fact that we actually talk about the bible during our services and we spend time praying for one another is so influential to people because they have never heard prayer outside the context of repeated or recited prayer. I myself have felt the need to pray for the spiritual life of the church and for individual believers. I need to grow in my prayer life as I am sure many of us all feel the same way. Who doesn't want a greater prayer life?
One of the books I read while on sabbatical was the autobiography of George Mueller. It was clear to me, he was a man of prayer. So much of the book revolves around him spending time in prayer for the needs of the ministry of orphans and how he said if it is the Lord's work HE will provide. This is what I want to be, a man of prayer. A man who is dependent on Jesus for everything.
Prayer
I have been sensing God leading me to pray more. The kind of prayer you pray for others. In the last couple of weeks, Nestor, a teenager who has been coming to church for the past year, has been bringing his cousins to church and bible studies. I am amazed at how young people convince the cousins or friends to come to church. So the past two Sundays, he has brought 3 different cousins to church. They don't say much about what they think of church but they have come back two weeks in a row. This is not common. On the contrary it takes a long time for family members to come to church. Some people of the church will invite the family members to church for years with no results. Not that church is the answer but it is a start. The fact that we actually talk about the bible during our services and we spend time praying for one another is so influential to people because they have never heard prayer outside the context of repeated or recited prayer. I myself have felt the need to pray for the spiritual life of the church and for individual believers. I need to grow in my prayer life as I am sure many of us all feel the same way. Who doesn't want a greater prayer life?
One of the books I read while on sabbatical was the autobiography of George Mueller. It was clear to me, he was a man of prayer. So much of the book revolves around him spending time in prayer for the needs of the ministry of orphans and how he said if it is the Lord's work HE will provide. This is what I want to be, a man of prayer. A man who is dependent on Jesus for everything.
