Deep Waters

Playa Chahue

     There is a very beautiful beach here named Playa Chahue (cha-way). It is not safe for swimming because there is a strong undertow. It is advisable to not even enter the water or you could quickly find yourself over your head. As we move into the water of ministry, we are finding ourselves being carried into deeper and deeper water way beyond our comfort zone. To say that we are over our heads would be a gross understatement. Our Spanish is still barely functional, yet we are inviting people to our place and being invited to theirs. We are spending a great deal of time cultivating relationships. God is being so faithful that we find ourselves looking for new ways to be stretched.
     Yesterday we attended two different churches for a total of about 5-1/2 hours. The norm for worship time is 1 hour or more and the typical sermon is about 1 hour 30 minutes. Add to that an altar call with lots of prayer time mixed throughout and you have the makings of a church service. Our poor Spanish ability makes it an even more interesting experience. We are attending regularly at 3 different churches. Although we aren't getting much personally out of it, it is important for relationship building. Today we attended the local pastors' association meeting. Again a stretch, but we are getting involved with their activities.           We are ministering to 3 different families through teaching English plus two additional men in need of discipleship. We are also teaching the English class which has grown to about 8 students. Needless to say, we are keeping very busy. We had to make a calendar so as not to double book our time. We did reserve a full day per week for a Sabbath rest, but we are enjoying what we are doing so very much, that we'll have to discipline ourselves to keep it.