Perfect Love Casts Out Fear

My little tae kwon do boys in action...

In the past few weeks we have had a lot of crazy things happening very close to where we live. A couple was murdered in their condo in the middle of the day a few weeks ago and the guys have never been caught. The condos are located within walking distance of our house. Then last week a friend who attends church with us was shot in the head while working. He is the director of a drug rehab facility and he was on the phone when 5 guys approached him with guns wanting to rob the facility. They shot him in the head but the bullet was not strong enough to penetrate his skull so it entered his head on one side and left a few inches away. He came to church the morning after still in shock as to what had happened and I think all of us still are in shock as to how close he came to death. We have heard of an increase in gang activity in the area and I assume it is happening all over the world. The crazy thing here is that we don't have a good police system working on our side to catch and prosecute these guys so they get braver and braver by the incidence.

The other night Daniel went out for a while and I found myself somewhat fearful for the first time in a long time. It was early evening and nothing had happened but the thoughts of these incidences played in my mind and I became fearful and even felt defenseless. The Lord spoke to my heart immediately as I began to pray and said to me "I did not give you a spirit of fear, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline." 2 Timothy 1:7 He also reminded me that "perfect love casts out fear." I felt such peace knowing that the Lord heard me and was with me in that very moment, not wanting me to fear anything. His power and His love are given to me in abundance and I need to rely on it. Along those same lines, He has also given us wisdom to make wise choices. We try to be cautious and use wisdom in all the decisions we make without living in fear or letting fear control us or our decisions. The enemy would love for us to remain in the bondage of fear, but we refuse to do so, knowing that the Lord has called us here and the safest place we can be is in the center of His will for us.

I thank you so much for praying for us on a regular basis and even ask that you would continue to pray for our safety. Crime tends to increase as December approaches so we want to be on guard at all times. Thanks for praying!!!!

Visit From My Girls...Part 2

The entire week with the girls was full of fun!! Because the eye glasses/exams were such a hit and so needed in our first two ministry locations we ended up not having enough to do this outreach in the riverbed. We did, however, go down there and pass out toothbrushes, toothpaste, and Gospels of John door to door. We offered to pray with people as we visited each home and every person we saw asked for prayer. It was such a blessed time for us to get to pray with these people in such need. One lady's mother had died 15 days before and felt like we were sent to her from God. She wept as we prayed over her. Many others had sick relatives and they, too, were brought to tears as the Holy Spirit was present during our times of prayer. It really blessed us to spend some time with the least of these.

The girls blessed Daniel and I in a HUGE way by sending us off to a hotel for a night while they kept the boys (and spoiled them!). It was so refreshing for us and we were so humbled by their generosity!!! The following are a few more pictures from our wonderful week with them...

bathing in the pool one morning because we had no water!!

A Visit from My Girls...Part One

Last week we had a WONDERFUL treat!!! Four special girls, Mary Zanca, Annalee Jewell, Ellen Lloyd and Cindy Thompson from our home in Lexington, came to work alongside us and serve with us for the week. It was the most amazing week and the way they served us selflessly all week long was more than humbling! They loved on Daniel, the boys and me minute by minute and we feel so loved, refreshed and encouraged after their visit! Besides serving us, they were trained to do eye exams by a ministry in The States and they brought over 150 pairs of eye glasses to bless the people of Jaco. We were able to minister in 2 different barrios where we are already serving and the results were AMAZING!! To witness people who had not seen clearly for years and could not afford glasses now be able to see again--WOW--it was beautiful! To watch their faces light up as they could see clearly through lenses--many were celebrating, laughing, rejoicing...it was beautiful! We were able to pray with a few of them and we passed out The Gospel of John to each patient. We also shared over and over why we were there---to show the love of Christ--to be His hands and feet not only to meet physical needs but also to meet spiritual needs as well.

Our theme verse for the week was Acts 26:17-18 "I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me." We pray that God continues to do this to those with whom we spent time. That He will open their spiritual eyes to His truth, love and grace.

Here are a few pictures from the eye exams...Part Two of this post to follow...