Sunday, July 24, 2005

Argentina

Mattsson-Boze
On Friday, Phillip and I go to Buenos Aires. We have a teaching in Jose C. Paz on Saturday evening, and two meetings (Flores and Insuperable) on Sunday.
We are tourists on Monday, and go to Salta on Tuesday. From there we will be in Libertador and later in Cachi. We will be in Salta itself on the weekend.

Rahab

Mattsson-Boze
Last Sunday I preached on the Faith of Rahab at Anoka Covenant. I was surprised at the laugh I got when I said, "I wish she had been a schoolteacher or a nurse." The point is that Rahab acted on what she believed (that history was flowing with the Israelites, and they were going to conquer). Rahab turned from her prostitution, married, and was integrated literally into the history of Israel and the body of Christ. She welcomed the spies instead of rejecting them.
So Faith welcomes and protects God's messengers. Faith sees the future and acts in accordance with it. Faith leaves the life of sin behind. Faith takes hold of the "scarlet thread"--that is, it trusts in the blood of Christ. Faith integrates itself with the people of God.

Wednesday, July 06, 2005

Back from Honduras

Hot and hotter.
But I got a lot done in Honduras. It was gratifying when a woman (with blue hair!) talked to me about the advice I had given her about her daughter on a previous trip. The girl had been ensnared by a cultic group, and the mother had been pestering her. I told her to lay off and pray instead. The daughter was back within two weeks, and has resisted the efforts of the other group to re-enlist her. I had forgotten about the situation. It was nice to hear that God helped them.
The correspondence school has over 300 students, and they seem real serious about their theology. Several have gotten bachelor's certificates through an American school, and I reviewed the books they use. They are serious, and require good thinking. I spoke in their annual convocation, giving 3 one hour sessions.
We reviewed the social projects, and have decided to pull back on our nurse and our gardens coordinators. These projects have run for a long time, and we think they have produced change. But now people need to take responsibility themselves. The government has also increased their health presence in the communities. We will continue to provide medicines in the village medicine cabinets and also seeds for gardens. The sewing project will continue. We see more spiritual results from the sewing schools.
I'm planning to return in February. I expect to work with at least 4 different groups over a period covering 3 Sundays.
We had an especially effective meeting in Corozal, in the Garifuna church. The electricity had gone out, so we were in candlelight and couldn't "preach". But God helped me to tell some missionary stories and then present a challenge to respond to God's call. The church was quiet. Usually I have to struggle with children's noise. But evidently the darkness and the softness of the situation had a calming and receptive effect that can only be described as precious.