Fifth Week

"Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them." Mathew 6:26

Wild parrots

Life continues to go on at the beach. John has been able to golf a few times. Yesterday he played for the last time here. He saw these wild parrots while golfing. 

We continue to do have different couples over for dinner. So far we have had everybody over at least once. Our purpose is to let each couple know personally that we have the condo for sale, and that we are not planning to come back until next year anyway, whether it sells or not. We have been trying to get rid of a lot of "stuff" that we have here for ministry. Everybody leaves our home with a box with something. Eduardo and Arelis came over with their son, Evans. They are the only couple who is not married. I brought a wedding dress from the US for her about two years ago, but I had kept it here because she did not want Eduardo to see it. Well, they have been together 18 years, and they are still praying about getting married. What is there to pray about? They are afraid of divorce. It does not make any sense. We give up. We have talked to them, as well as Carlos, our friend Luis from Bolivia and other people. Even under the local law, they are considered common law marriage. If they separate, the same laws apply as a married couple. Anyway, I kept the dress on a hanger and put a trash bag over, tied it at the bottom so that Eduardo would not see it, and gave it to her.

Eduardo's father passed away recently. He is sadden because his father never accepted the Lord. Arelis has been talking to Eduardo's mother and to his brother's girlfriend. She even got them to bring out and burn all the images of the virgin that they had at home. She said they brought stuff out by the armfuls. There is a strain with the rest of the family, especially his father's brother because they would not allow a novena to be prayed for the soul of the departed. It is nine evenings of rosary praying in a row. Eduardo and Arelis attend church on Sundays, but they are not baptized, nor can they take communion until they get married under the church's rules.

Irene came to see me the other morning. We talked for three hours. We used to have the couples' meetings at her house for years. She and Luis Carlos were living together and have a boy together. Luis Carlos left her three years ago. She has struggled a lot during these years. Her behavior has not been stellar, and the tongues in town are wagging. She is now living together with somebody else. They got engaged on Valentine's Day and plan to marry soon. They have to pay a lawyer for the civil ceremony, and they are planning to do that as soon as they get the money together. She plans to have a religious ceremony, probably with Pastor Alejandro much later. By the way, Luis Carlos just got married Saturday. Pastor Alejandro did the ceremony.  😃 Luis Carlos and his new wife went to his native Colombia for their honeymoon, but they took Luis Carlos' son with them! If this were a Hollywood movie, people would not believe it possible.

The Moras are doing well. They got their IDs and work permits. My neighbor next door approached me the other day asking for a phone number of a lady who used to clean her house. I gave her the phone number, but told her that if that lady could not do it, I knew of somebody else, thinking of Glennis, of course. Well, that other person already had a job, so she called back about Glennis. She started working Monday. She will work three days a week. Our neighbors are a young couple who live here permanently. He is an American, but she is a local girl. They have three-year-old twin boys. She works part-time. They also have a side business of renting baby equipment to tourists. She told us that she is overwhelmed, desperate for help so that she can spend more time with the twins. I am praying that Glennis can bring the light of Jesus to this couple. They are very nice neighbors. So, Glennis has a job, Yunior is still looking. While they were in the capital, they receive the motorcycle donation. It is from a Christian organization that does this kind of thing to help pastors and missionaries. They donated a total of four motorcycles. Carlos will bring the motorcycle next week, the day we leave.

No offers for the condo yet. We are concerned now because of the stock markets diving world wide, not just in the US. People do not buy property in times like this. We also hear that the Houston airport is very tight about the coronavirus. Please pray that we will not have delays. I am already praying for protection as we travel back. We are leaving on Thursday next week.

Prayer requests:

• Good health and protection for both of us.
• Safety for Yunior as he learns to drive the motorcycle.
• That Glennis could be a light for my neighbors.
• That Yunior finds a job soon.
• That the Holy Spirit continues to work in this town.
• Pray for the couples that the seed planted will grow.
• That the condo sells soon.

Until next time...from the beach...