Wednesday, January 20, 2010

A Wow Moment

So many times already in our short ministry God has done very specific things where it was as though He was telling us, "Yep that's what I want." It usually comes after something that breaks our stride and we think, "What?... That wasn't supposed to happen."

Jimmy got a phone call from Newspring yesterday and found out that someone had anonymously given the rest of the money for our ministry micro bus! They wanted us to know before we left. Now in February we will be able to purchase one and start having CHURCH services at our house.

If you know from previous posts, CHURCH is not a word we are allowed to use in New Horizon. We have been very restricted and the threat of being kicked out has always been held over our heads to keep us and everybody coming to our Bible Studies in fear of saying something wrong. It wasn't unbearable, but it affected every conversation and activity. For over two years we tried to show respect for the community's laws, always getting permission from the town council and never crossing any of the boundaries they set up. That is why we were so shocked when we were falsely accused by one of our 'friends' and kicked out last September without a chance to speak or defend ourselves.

It was discouraging to think that we had invested the time, energy and resources into something, only for everything to abruptly come to an end. We tried to look at the positive aspects in our personal lives of no longer having to minister in such a dark, oppressive place, but with that our hearts broke to think of the victories God had given us and the many people there that are so close to making a decision for Christ.

We believed God had given us the vision to invest in a Micro and we understood all the benefits of meeting at our house, but $15,000 is a lot of money. Very quickly NewSpring responded, providing half of the money. Even though God had provided half in only two days, we still had thoughts that it might take us all year to get the rest to actually be able to minister again.

So we weren't expecting the phone call yesterday. It was one of those moments where you get chills realizing God's perfect timing. It was assurance that we are on the right track and that God will provide for everything He has called us to. We also received the peace that God wasn't done with New Horizon just yet. He hadn't closed the door to work there; He was expanding our ministry and squashing opposition at the same time.

We will start with a core group of those who have accepted Christ. We will study again the fundamental doctrines of the Bible and conclude this study with a Baptismal service to form the church. Then we will open it up to visitors. If we start by inviting everybody who wants to come, we will have a Micro full of people who want a free ride to our town to go shopping and a free ride home, but nobody who will attend our services. With the core group we can be specific and without too many distractions.

So now we go MicroBus shopping. Pray for wisdom. We have a close friend who knows a lot about them and evaluating their working condition. We've never had a diesel and we both have rusty manual transmission skills. In addition to serving as a CHURCH (love that word!) bus on Sundays, the Micro will be a safe family vehicle with room for car seats and friends for ministry in Santa Rita, a team vehicle for our 7 teams this year, and save us $1.50/gallon in fuel costs.

We hope that the Anonymous Blesser along with everyone else who has given reads our Blog. We are so thankful for your gifts of love and investment in our ministry. Every victory from the CHURCH in New Horizon will be because of your sacrifices.

3 comments:

  1. Sweeet... Next time we come down there (Harv, Wyatt and I) I'll have Harvey make a huge vinyl decal for ya with the name of your ministry (or even just a huge "CHURCH BUS" graphic) and we'll deck it all out! ;) Congrats! How exciting!

    -Les

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  2. THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT I'VE BEEN PRAYING FOR!!!!! YAY! I'm so excited for you guys! Now I'm praying that you get the coolest microbus in Guatemala! ~Amy

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  3. I'm so thankful for that person(s) who gave plus all the people at NewSpring who give sacrificially each week to make the first $7,500.00 a reality. God's timing is always flawless!

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