Rice and Beans of Life: Tiempo de Comunicacion

Here at the Vida220 base the students get 2 hours a week of "Tiempo de Comunicacion" ... Communication time. Yesterday, the boys invited 'the boys' in to sit on our couch where the wifi is good for their two hours of communication with family and friends. During this precious 2 hour time frame when the box of phones, laptops and electronic devices are unpacked nothing else matters. Last week we were in the middle of a game and at precisely 3:00 they all jumped up, apologized and headed towards the wifi end of the base!

Today I'm thankful for the 24 x 7 communication time we have with God! Regardless of our human limitations and at times pleading, God chooses to move in amazing ways. As we suspected, He continues to be our faithful Father. Daryl and I both have found ourselves multiple times this week crying out to God in earnest ... "Father, help us!" Help us adapt to this change in culture, language, routine, pace of life ... We've both had times of wanting to curl up inside ourselves, to hide away from all the change and find something that makes us feel normal. However, tiempo de comunicacion with God has been our life line and strength this week. When we choose to face our circumstances and commune with God faithfully through prayer, we have the privilege of seeing miracles happen before we even ask!

Be Still and Know ... Matthew 6:25-27 "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."

Uno ... One

Life at the Base ... Our days are full of God moments! What a privilege we have of raising our boys in this environment! We pray for people and they are healed. We live and converse with young people whose hopes, dreams and desires are to build God's Kingdom in mighty ways. We worship bilingually and feel the Holy Spirit uniting our hearts. We take afternoon naps and hear the sound of soft rain on a tin roof. We were blessed to celebrate a Christmas party with the families of El Nido ... sometimes serving God means holding a screaming child or having balls thrown all around you for 3 hours. I was pushed out of my comfort zone having dinner out with the volunteers of El Nido ... God is my constant companion. We know angels all around us as Daryl drove the van safely to church through the windy roads where traffic signals are not usually followed. We learned the bus route and figured out how to get our phones recharged (minutes added). We cleaned at the Dream Base .., trusting in a God of miracles to make this dream a reality. We have a huge soccer field down the road for the boys to play in. We have a sweet cook, Margot, who loves to share life with us ... we decided we like rice and beans better than beans and rice! We are blessed with Samuel to fix things for us and make us feel comfortably at home ... just like plumber Hoover.

Pray with us
Finances and favor to purchase a permanent property for VidaNet
Micah's birthday is this Wednesday
Finding a special way to celebrate Jesus' birthday
Byron's heart ... he's one of our students, pray for physical healing
For Daryl and I to remain sensitive to each other's needs
A house in town for us to call home
Getting our phone plans figured out

Praises
Health
God's constant provision, we are lacking nothing!
New friends to celebrate Jesus' birthday with
Neighbors that lend me their oven space
Daryl is understanding more Spanish each day
Friends to show us the bus route
Line dried clothing before it rained
Sound nights of sleep
Bus rides
Trees to climb