Our Home with our friends from Matamoros.
Our Christmas outreach didn't seem that unusual or outstanding, although we were inspired with the tools that were getting out, the souls saved, and also the beginnings of a singing team, which did well with their restaurant busking. We also participated in a few CTPs, and it seemed we needed to be content with the main difference between our Christmas push and our rest-of-the-year witnessing being that we did more of it. We thanked the Lord for the large amount of tools distributed, souls saved, and increase in the other stats, and we knew in our hearts that we had done our best to use this time of year to reach as many as possible with His Love. We had been praying for any leadings or openings He may want to interject along the way, but it didn't seem that the something “new and different” was coming.
However on the day after Christmas, we were invited to meet a man who came from another city, a Christian who we had worked with on a project earlier in the year. He was coming to distribute toys and other materials at a village we have been working together on witnessing to, gradually working to bring about changes both spiritually and physically in the lives of the poor people there.
This man said he had brought toys for the children in our Home too, and wanted us to pick them up. However when we arrived, he had about 10 large bags full of toys, which he was giving us to distribute as we wished! This was a real answer to prayer, as we had scheduled the days between Christmas & January 6th for more CTPs, however we didn't have toys to distribute, and now we had over 250 of them! This would enable us to distribute at an orphanage, as well as hold a special event at the poor area near us where we regularly bring food.
A few more miracles followed this one, as the next day this man and his family and team members visited our Home for an afternoon of fellowship. We shared testimonies with them, and our singing team sang them some Christmas songs which brought tears to a few eyes. Amazingly, they had brought presents for everyone in the Home, including a beautiful trampoline for our kids, something on our “wish list” for a while but unreachable because of other financial priorities. (During the month of November he and his brother also bought us a pickup truck, GBT! —This is something we’ve been praying for as it’s a real need for market pickups, CTPs, etc.)
But the real miracle is the Lord's working in this man and his family’s hearts, as although we’ve only met and worked with them once before, he looks to us as his family, and wants to learn real missionary work and methods from us. He said that during the remaining days of their stay here, before they return to their own city and jobs, they want to be with us as much as possible, accompany us on our projects, team up and learn from us. (Separately, two of his children confided in us that spending time learning and working with us to help others was the best vacation they could ever have.)
So besides joining us for the witnessing and distribution event the afternoon of the 31st, they will also join us for a candlelight evening afterwards. They were very excited to hear how we turn the page of the new year by thanking the Lord for the victories of the past year, committing our new year’s goals and prayers to the Lord, and claiming His promises. We’ll be working to prepare appropriate songs and Word, and desperately pray that it will draw them closer to the spirit of David and the Family, as they partake of this special time with us.
We hadn’t envisioned other Christians as being those who the Lord would want to use to increase our workforce and collaborate with, nor who He would want us to pour our unique training into, as we had been thinking mainly along the lines of the new disciples and Active members He’s helping us to win. But the Lord has the master plan, and it makes us desperate as we realize the responsibility it is to help teach and train these He’s brought to us, to help them to reach their own people.
It’s also causing us to face the reality of how the Offensive – once it really gets rolling in our Homes – is going to change things – our schedule, our lifestyle, and the things we’re used to. New Years eve will now be spent helping to draw our new friends and co-laborers into a time of thanks and prayer as we commit our work and lives to Him for the new year – rather than the inner-Family partying which has been our custom in the previous years. (Although we may still hold a party a few days later, as we are seeking the Lord for how to meet both needs, even if on a little different timetable!)
We know we’ve got lots to learn, and we’re praying for the Lord's daily instruction, claiming His keys of change and adaptation, as He works to mold us into the individuals and Home He wants us to be, and that He can use to the max to reach His Offensive goals for us in the year ahead!
