Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. His name be praised forever.
God has always been faithful, He has never failed us.
In this past year I think God has been teaching me as much as anyone here. It is such a blessing to have a deeper personal relationship with Christ and experience the great love that grows deeper every day.
Here in Krinkrin it is the beginning of the dry season,where it only rains a few times a week. The river has gone down a lot and the pathways back to the jungle are drying out, to where you can use sneakers instead of boots in shin deep mud. In the dry season, all the landscape changes; the grass turns brown and dry, the skies are bright blue with white fluffy clouds, people clear little places off to plant a few vegetables along the riverbank and the air is hot and dry.
We have been working on the new medical clinic. With the help of some friends who came for short mission’s trips, we got the doors and windows set, the walls painted and the floors tiled. We were also able to distribute 162 gift boxes to families in four different villages with the help of another mission’s team. I was really encouraged and blessed to be able to spend time with my friends. The Lord has been pouring out his love on me. It is such a blessing to see the work that He is doing on the river.
There have been a lot of trials and the devil is also trying to stop God’s word from reaching any more ears then it already has. Yet in Mark 13:10 it says “The gospel must first be preached to all nations.” No matter how hard tried, God’s word can’t be stopped. I know that no matter what will come our way, God will be glorified in the end. God has brought us here to do His work and He will make a way for us to teach all.
In this upcoming year we are wanting to go to more villages up and down the river, teaching the good news to all. Some will listen with open ears and some will turn away but the ones who believe will not be quiet with what they have learned; the spreading of the gospel cannot be stopped.
God has blessed us with a lot of fruit tree saplings. In the back yard we have 15 little coconut trees, several orange, lemon, mango, pear, etc. trees, but the biggest blessing of all is His love and protection. In these three and half years that we have been here I have learned so much about God’s love and grace, what He wants for me and who I am in Christ. I have seen many miracles that God did; He has healed the sick, made the lame to walk, softened hard hearts and much more.
There are many trials that strengthened my faith in God, and I know many more are yet to come, but my God has not failed me in any way. He has carried me through the hardest times in my life, times when I was not able to go on.
Marcos and Karen, our ministry partners, are a big blessing to us. Seeing the way that they have grown in the Lord is amazing. God has used them to encourage us when times were tough. Right now they are going through some hard times themselves, because they are not backing down from what God’s words says. Their friends and family are rejecting them, because of their faith in the Lord.
Mary and Camille have started giving Spanish classes to both our family and a few friends from the village. Since the language is Miskitu where we live on the river, learning Spanish has been put on the back burner, but we now also want to learn Spanish (and spread the gospel further to the Spanish speaking people as well). Katrina has also been a big blessing to me since she has been here. She has taught me how beautiful it is to serve God with all you have in many different ways.
There are a few things I would like to ask you to pray for:
Our family as we struggle to stay united in the midst of this work.
Our ministry partners Marcos and Karen as they are raising their family and are doing ministry.
Camille and Katrina as they are away from their families and are serving with us down here.
For open hearts and minds as we teach along the river.
Continual strength as we serve the Lord in many different ways and that we would never lose our joy in the Lord.
Thank you for your prayers for they are very needed and appreciated. May the name of the Lord Jesus Christ be glorified forever.
Katie
Psalm 71:14-16
As for me, I will always have hope; I will praise You more and more.
My mouth will tell of your righteous deeds, of Your saving acts all day long
though I know not how to relate them all.
I will come and proclaim Your mighty acts, Sovereign Lord; I will proclaim Your righteous deeds, Yours alone.
Very Nice Katie, I like our update. I believe God is well pleased with you and your family, Marco and his family. Yes we have trials and I think yours there are at times more intense. When you stir up a hornet nest there is usually a flurry of resistence. So to speak. You all are in my prayers. I see that you got the top of the doors done nicely makes it look reall nice. Don’t give up! Trying times are quite trying but it is not the time to quit trying. God’s Blessing on and over you all. The enemy will not prevail!