Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Day Three: Continued Wall Beasting, Tree Planting and the Heart of Paul for the Thesselonians



Sadly friends we have reached and passed the halfway point of our trip south. It has been so wonderful, but we have all been rather worn down today. From planting numerous 500 odd pound gigantor trees, to continued wall beastage to power washing and crack filling in the sun, everyone is tired. One particularly encouraging thing is that many of these tasks allow us to actually see how we are assisting the Gospel going forward. Even if demolishing a wall is fun, we're also helping to build a building that will be essential to assisting Bible translators around the world. Even powerwashing and crack sealing are essential to keeping up the physical campus that keeps the Stateside part of Gospel translation at work going too! So despite our tiredness, sunburns and soreness God has been so good!



Our continued study through 1 Thesselonians has also allowed us to continue to learn about Paul's care for his church. We were able to learn about how we can impact our relationships here and back home with placing our number one priority on those around us knowing Christ and also going out of our way to encourage and build up one another. Paul went to great lengths to encourage and build up his friends after Christ, which sets the standard for us to follow as we are able by His grace.

So please be praying for tomorrow's last full day of work for us. Please be praying in our last day that we'd finish our projects and have been able to serve the Wycliffe Associates down here. Please also be praying for us as we interact with one another and point one another to Christ.

A final prayer request would be for Bob Oakes' wife (Sue I believe), who has recently this undergone a number of surgeries. The Oakes' have been volunteers here in Orlando for many years and are dear members of the family down here, and it is hard to hear of these difficult surgeries that she's had to undergo. Please also pray for Bob and all of the other volunteers down here that they would know Christ better as they trust in the Lord watching these surgeries and that the Lord would give healing to Bob's wife.

Thank you again for all of your prayers and we eagerly await being able to share with you even more stories, besides these little snapshots when we get home!

1 comment:

Anna J Brown said...

Matt et al, I have been so grateful to hear how y'all have been growing and serving in Orlando.

I'm praying for you as you finish up day 3, and get rested to start day [final]4!