The Adventure

Shhh....the house is quiet at this very moment....don't let the tea kettle whistle - you might wake someone up....creep through the hall and very carefully open the bedroom door - and don't let your pantuflas (slippers made from alpaca) scuff on the floor!!!  Better yet....sit very still and quiet at the computer with your cup of coffee and try to get caught up on your blog (which is exactly what I am doing at the moment!)
I am on vacation - woo hoo!!!!  Yes, for the next two weeks, I am on vacation from school - okay, okay - I will probably still have school with Martha, but all my other students and I are on vacation!  This past week I was talking with the school children about how we were going to spend our vacations.  I told them (as solemnly as I could) that I was going to spend my vacation hiding under my bed - after I clean under it first, of course!  The twinkle in my eye must have given me away, for not one of them believed me!
So....why "The Adventure"?  Because that's what life is - an Adventure - even more so on the Mission Field!  Let us consider the area of transportation...I don't have a picture of a combi or the train (more about the train soon!), but living about two hours from our church certainly has its challenges!  We are Americans - never doubt that - but we have become Peruvians in our mode of travel!  We take public transit, and for the most part...we love it...the only exception being hubby turning green from motion sickness - poor fellow!  The kids think it's great - especially when we see "our" gold robot (street performer that our children have claimed as their own personal possession)!  Are you starting to see "The Adventure"?
I got to thinking about "The Adventure" last Sunday while our combi was careening down the street at a break-neck speed of about 30-45 mph!  I have no idea how Interstate travel will horrify me in the future when we are on furlough!  Then again, I will expect everyone to drive like the Peruvians - He who arrives at the intersection first, goes first - unless the light is red and the traffic police are present!  I found myself laughing as the combi dodged in and out of traffic, performed abrupt starts and stops, and the cobrador (the guy/gal who collects the fare) hustled people on and off the combi just as fast as he could!  Woe to the person who takes too long getting on or off!
Never in my life could I have ever imagined living in a huge (doesn't quite describe it...) city - much less becoming accustomed to it!  My idea of bliss is quiet days in the middle of nowhere in the country - 20 miles from the nearest town!  Now my idea of bliss is a coveted seat on the train or the combi with my hubby and my children next to me, and not across the aisle!
Included in that idea of bliss is being able to take a little nap while riding from point A to point B.  When the kids and I first started going to Callao with Matt, I marveled at all the people I saw sleeping on the train and on the combis!  How could they sleep through something so exciting?!?!?  I have since learned why....it takes a long time to get from point A to point B - especially if traffic is bad.  You might as well spend your time doing something profitable - like sleeping!  I have started bringing my crochet projects with me - there are times when I can't sleep, and I can't bear to just sit still!  I finished a scarf for Martha in about 4 trips to Callao and back....now I am working on a "carf" for Ian - he forgets the "s"!
Another aspect of "The Adventure" is seeing people saved and lives changed!  How I love to see the Deaf in Callao growing in the Lord!  How I love to see my children have a part in the lives of others.  Do you remember me telling you about Martha praying for her friends Mateo and Benjamin to be saved?  Mateo asked Jesus to live in his heart this past Wednesday, July 24, 2013!
What an "Adventure" the Lord has entrusted to us!  I am so incredibly glad to be part of "The Adventure" God has given to me and my precious family!  What is "The Adventure" God has given you?

Faith Rewarded

"But without faith it is impossible to please him:  for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and

that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him."  Hebrews 11:6

I want to tell you about Celeste, Ian and Martha's friend from Callao.  Ian has been praying for Celeste's salvation for quite some time.  About a week or so ago, Martha started praying for Celeste as well.  Saturday night, she told me she would like to use her "Witnessing Book" and talk to Celeste about how to be saved!  Can you imagine what that does to a Mommy's heart?  I still marvel at how God is working in the life of my little girl, and how He uses her!
We talked to Celeste on Sunday.  Martha started out, but got stuck (it was her first time to witness to anyone after all!).  I had the joy and blessing of finishing witnessing to Celeste.  Today Celeste is a member of God's family, because on Sunday, she prayed and asked Jesus to save her!  What a special joy it was to see this 6-year-old girl ask Jesus to live in her heart!  The added joy is that now her whole family is saved - Grandparents (her Dad's parents), Dad, Mom, and now Celeste!  I look forward to the day her baby sister (who is due any time now!) gets saved as well!  My heart was certainly full, as God rewarded the faith of both my children, and Martha in particular had a part in sharing the Gospel with her friend!

Daniel on the left holding the small boy

Ian is still praying for Daniel to be saved.  Daniel is a Deaf man in Kenya, Africa.  I copied this picture from my friend Jessica's blog!  What a blessing to see my son praying for the salvation of others - even though he's not yet saved himself!
Martha has been faithfully praying for Mr. Nishio (or as she says, "Mr. Nishi-OH!") to be saved.  I laugh sometimes - not at her prayers, but at the way my children think!  You know, we work with the Deaf, and so Martha's natural question to me was, "Mommy, can 'Mr. Nishi-OH!' talk?"

My Two Little Missionaries

How I praise the Lord for the tender heart He has given her.  She has added her classmates from school, Mateo and Benjamin, to her salvation prayer list.  She was praying for a couple of the girls recently also, and one day very boldly asked them if they were saved!  I think they were a little shocked at the question, but they both said they were saved, and I rejoiced at the boldness of my daughter!
I count it a joy to teach my children the blessing of praying for others!

The Faith of a Child

Last night we took turns praying as a family before bedtime.  Do you ever stop to think how precious the prayers of children must be to our Saviour?  All prayers are precious to Him, but I think the prayers of children must be extra-special.  And oh, the faith that children show!
Martha has been praying for Mr. Nishio to be saved.  Mr. Nishio lives in Japan.  Last night when I reminded Martha to pray for him, she asked incredulously, "He's not saved YET?!?!?" It was so sweet to see the attitude of expectation, the attitude of the whole matter is already settled, the deed is done.  Wow!  What faith!  To be convinced that our prayers are already answered!  We should be convinced! But so many times our "grown-up reasoning" overrides "child-like faith"!
Last night, Ian prayed for Daniel (a Deaf man in Kenya, Africa) to be saved.  Today when I thanked him from Aunt Jessi for praying for Daniel, Ian immediately prayed for him again.  As soon as he had finished praying (he always gets right to the point in his prayers), he informed me, "He's (Daniel) saved now."
How convicting it is at times to see and hear my children pray!  How precious it is to see their faith and know how pleasing it is unto the Lord!  Oh, that I would always come to my Heavenly Father with such simple, child-like faith!