Happy Easter! He is risen indeed! What a wonder that the God of the universe came to die for sinners like me and you so that we could be in his family. He is worthy of all our praise!
Life has been busy and full for us these last couple of months. We had to say goodbye to a precious couple who has been serving as missionaries at the Swiss Mission for as long as we have lived here. We even had the honor of hosting their goodbye party! They are dear friends and have helped us countless times as house sitters when we’ve needed to travel, been the best caretakers for our animals, our main help keeping the pool clean and cheerfully helped fix electrical issues out on the road when power went out - always at the most inconvenient times of course. It feels like a leg has been knocked out from under us, but we trust that God will bless and keep them in their new chapter as well as ourselves as we learn to live here without them.
One of our loving supporting churches has been walking alongside us and praying through some of the big questions about the future of this mission base. They sent us to Lima for a week away from all the busy to rest, pray together, and write down the beginnings of a plan. We’re no longer the young’uns that so naively came down to carve a home and base out of the jungle all by ourselves. Even though we have no plans for leaving, we will not live forever, and we do at least need to begin forming a plan for the eventual handoff of the mission so that it can continue beyond us. There is so much that we don’t know, but we trust that God will guide us and give us wisdom to steward this mission well.
We have found one more way to serve our tribal working missionaries, and that is to host their teams and visitors for them while they’re out in their prospective villages. We were able to pick up a small team that had flown in from the States, feed them and house them here, and then sent them out on their flight with SAMAir (the aviation mission base that neighbors ours) to meet their missionaries. Then after a few days, we did that whole process in reverse. Meeting new people and serving our missionaries in this way was just wonderful! It saves them time and money to not have to come all the way back out just to pick up their visitors, not to mention the cost of the extra flights and hotels as well! We love this so much!
Construction is still trucking along, thank God! The Round Robin is ready for electrical to be run, and the flooring has been delivered – LVT/SPC should be durable and pretty! The little house has it’s floor joists and sub-flooring installed, and exterior siding has begun! There is a missionary family going on a prolonged furlough soon that has need of one the storage containers that Vann has built, but the container needed some fixing up first, so he has been replacing its flooring, welding up holes, running electrical wires to run an air conditioner to preserve their household goods, and will install more shelving. The lifestyle of missionaries is intrinsically transient, so storage is a huge need. We are delighted that we can serve in this way!
In our last newsletter I mentioned our need for a new refrigerator since ours had bit the dust two weeks prior. You guys! The Very. Next. Day. God provided the funds for a brand-new fridge! We are so very thankful for God’s provision, for a new refrigerator that works better than any that we’ve had yet, and for all of you who take your time to read our updates, pray for us, step up to send help, support, and notes of encouragement - you help us feel like we’re not so alone down here! We ask God’s hand of blessing over each of you!
Prayer Requests –
· Praise for returned health after the flu came through our family.
· Travel mercies and strength for our upcoming trip for Corynn’s graduation.
· Our friends here that are mourning the loss of their family members – one family lost a brother, and the other a young husband and father.
· The base needs a 60kw generator that will power the whole base (all of the houses and the camp) during our frequent power outages. Vann has found a used one here in country for $8,000
· We will soon need another mower. Vann has been welding and repairing the current one, and it is limping along, however it will need to be replaced soon. Ten years ago, God miraculously provided our current John Deere 72” zero-turn and it has been a huge blessing. We are anxious to see how and what he will provide next.
"On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross, the emblem of suffering and shame; and I love that old cross where the dearest and best for a world of lost sinners was slain." - George Bennard