Still Standing!!

One of my early attempts at playing football almost ended in disaster.  I took the ball and ran with all my might.  I ran and ran without meeting any resistance and then I realized (with the help of a hostile crowd) that I was running the wrong direction. 

 From this I learned that running into the enemy only means you are going the right direction.  A lot has happened since our last update, but very little of it was on the schedule.  Given the choice we would have passed on these events, but somewhere deep inside they have given us new resolve in the task for which we have come.  The first event that turned our world upside down was a water leak.  

For the first time in our lives we have discovered what a privilege running water is.  Our home only receives water during certain hours of the day and stores it in a big tank on the roof. 

 One morning we awoke to an empty tank 

and it has taken three weeks to find the broken pipe and to have it repaired.  During the process of repair, water was left standing around the tanks and pump system where we were working.  The standing fresh water was a breeding ground for mosquitos that carry the Dengue (usually pronounced DINGY) Virus.  Long story short, C and I both ended up with the Dengue Fever and have spent the last ten days in discomfort (unable to do much of anything).  

To be honest, in the middle of this time I felt as distant from our creator as I can remember.  Then I 

remembered 

2nd Cor Chapter 4 and how our treasure 

is in a clay pot, that it is in our weakness that the truth will show itself!!  Our friends, we can't thank you enough for remembering us.  Your request have real results here and we bear witness of His faithfulness.  Oh, in case you were wondering, today we had water and both C and I are 100%.  We took a couple of hard licks, but we are still standing and hopefully what's left shines brighter than before.

We also added a new member to our family.  Let me introduce you to 

Choco Master ShiFu!!  I won't tell you how much this imported hamster cost, but let's just say we are expecting gold pellets to appear any day!!  Regardless, it has been worth it to watch the boys enjoy their new pet.  

Wherever you are, be there!

The boys got some Thai boxing shorts, which fits their daily activity!

Our little engineer has us building cars, rockets (with his "Uncle" Brett), and everything else imaginable!

This is the backside of our new place. Construction is going on, look how they use Bamboo!

They use bamboo a lot. Like this guy who is cleaning out our septic tank with a bunch of pieces tied together. That TV show called "Dirty Jobs" has nothing on this!

And here is the front side of our new place!

Here is a pic of the neighborhood from the roof!

This is the main road close to our house where we catch auto ricks (The green three wheelers).

This is in the middle of the neighborhood park which is full of young families in the afternoons.

This is a nearby market where our focus group hangs out and where we get our food and things.

I got the title for this post from a recent discovery we have made. We all are (I am) bad about living in the past or the future and missing the now. Our Master taught us differently, but most of us forget this life giving truth. John Lennon once sang, "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans.", and how right that is. Anyhow, our family is learning to live out this truth and to embrace each moment of this amazing journey! We want to challenge you to do the same!

We are now fairly settled into our new home. It is quite a bit different being in a city of 15 million! Our new place has extra room for us to house the people who we are training before they launch to their locations all over the country. We just finished our first training and it was amazing. One of the young men was from Arkansas and is going to a country that NOBODY has ever gone to before!!! This part of our responsibilities has us mentoring guys and gals who are working in many cities and areas which have previously been untouched. We are so excited that we get to be a part of developing these folks, not to mention the joy of seeing the Story get to people who have never heard it!!

As motivated as we are in this work, the more primary part is getting to do what we are asking those we lead to do!! Our focus group is young educated families, a community which our new home is right in the middle of! Although attempts have been made, there has never been any significant movement among this group. We hope to befriend families in our neighborhood and tell them the story that has so radically changed our lives. Please ask that we would have wisdom and strength as we carry out our responsibilities and that we would embrace this beautiful opportunity to live for eternity, TODAY!