Friday, June 20, 2014

A Beautiful Exchange

This week we hosted a group from Xenia, Ohio.   They were a small group and chose to bless a family, rather than focus on a large project somewhere.  German, the brick layer that works with M2G, has been working on building a home for his family for the past year and a half.  As he had money, he would purchase a few materials and little by little his house was being built.  The entire family contributed to the project.  His wife and daughters were getting up every morning at 4:30 am to make tortillas to sell.  Every day they made about 450 tortillas – all before the kids left for school in the morning. 

When Cindy was talking with the group from Xenia, and they expressed the desire to work with a family, German’s family immediately came to mind.  All they were missing to complete their humble block home was the concrete floor and the bathroom.  The team leader agreed that this would be a perfect project for them and plans were made. 
The amazing thing that transpired, although, was not simply a gift from the Americans for the family; it was an exchange.  The family received the financial help and physical encouragement of the group, and the group walked away richer for the experience.  How beautiful is that! 
This economy of exchange is so like our heavenly Father.   When we are willing to say yes and invest our time and resources we don’t walk away empty and broke; no, we walk away fulfilled and blessed.  The team from Xenia experienced this truth as they extended their hand of blessing to another. 

If you are feeling drained and tired, like you are simply going through the motions, I challenge you to reach out and bless someone else without expecting a return.  I promise you, you cannot out give God.  As you give, He will pour into you, refresh you, and energize you.    

Thursday, June 5, 2014

Too Quick a Visit!

Well our time in Canada has come to a close...all too quickly!  It has been a crazy busy time but also a very fruitful time.   
We were able to do some much needed work around our home in Kamloops.  We emptied out our storage in the basement suite so that the tenants could have access to the third bathroom.  We sorted out all of our "stuff" and have a garage sale to get rid of all of the non-essentials.  The things we wanted to keep/save were all packed up and stored in our shed.  Then, for four days, Rocky re-roofed our house.  Marshal was able to help for three days and the newly added son-in-law, Josh, helped for a day, too.  This all happened before the wedding. 
Then, of course we were immersed in "wedding planning" for Friday and the big day was Saturday.  We are so thankful that the wedding went well and we have added our third son-in-law to the family.  Our girls have all chosen well and we are so blessed to watch our family grow.
On Sunday, we packed up and left for Kelowna to visit Alex and Alan in their new home. 
Tuesday we arrived in Chilliwack and now, Thursday, we have finally made it back to Vancouver. 
And...tomorrow we fly out.
We knew before we left that a 2 week visit would be crazy, but we are so thankful for all that we were able to accomplish.