Pastor's Blog

Good Morning, Dear Family.

KJV Psalm 118:1 O give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good: because his mercy endureth for ever.
KJV Psalm 118:22 The stone which the builders refused is become the head stone of the corner.
KJV Psalm 118:24 This is the day which the LORD hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.

Greetings from Zacapa, Guatemala, where we have been now for a couple of days. I had a smooth trip down here and was able to spend quite some time reading and meditating over the Word of God in relation to some of the current situations which I am involved in our local area. Also, it was a time to be before the Lord and follow Solomon's example which is found in 1 Kings 3:5-14. (This was the Confirmation Sunday Text) There certainly would be a tendency to pray for natural resources with which one could attempt to help a lot of people with their physical needs, as they are overwhelming in an area such as this. Rather, we are instructed in this way:

NLT James 1:5 If you need wisdom-- if you want to know what God wants you to do-- ask him, and he will gladly tell you. He will not resent your asking.

Since I arrived two days later than the rest of the group, the projects are almost done now and the rest of the time here will be spent visiting villages and ministering in various ways. For example, today we will visit a village close by to the place we are staying, will have a service in the church which was just painted where I will also baptize some children, and then later in the day we will spend some time in Juan Ponce, a village in which the Foreign Mission and The Master's Mission are working jointly to build a church. In that place, I have been asked to present a seminar on church organization as well as outline from the bible of the relationship between the pastor and the congregation along with the specific instructions for both. We certainly ask your prayers and for wisdom from the Lord to do that which they have asked for. During the day Sven Johansson and I will also present some lessons to the children which will be along the line of VBS type presentations.

In closing I want to share an incident which happened yesterday and which is beginning to have an impact on me. As I sat in the church visiting with a couple of young women (18-20) (through a translator) who have been instrumental in trying to revitalize the congregation in Pedras Azules (the church that was painted by our group) they shared the story of their life briefly. They told of how they could not attend church on Saturday because they work six long days a week in a field planting some kind of seeds and they only have Sunday off. What amazed me is that the entire time they were telling of their life they were smiling and laughing like any young person would do in America. We were asking them if they wear a hat in the hot sun and they said that they wear a baseball cap and that even though a larger hat would be better, but is too expensive. And they seemed to greatly concerned about "how they would look!" Typical, hey!!

I asked them what is their dream for their life and they both smiled broadly and said, "to get married some day." When I shared with them from Psalm 37, they listened very attentively as the words:

NAS Psalm 37:4 Delight yourself in the LORD; And He will give you the desires of your heart.
NAS Psalm 37:5 Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, and He will do it.

May the examples of these young ladies spur me/us on to greater joy in the simple blessings of life and cause me/us to look for those around us with whom we could share the living waters of spiritual as well as natural blessings!

In closing, I must say that I am very thankful for the blessing that Ryan, Lynn and Jay are bringing into the lives of these dear people in this area. They are loved and they love the people with a type of love that come from the heart of God through Jesus Christ. Lord, thank you that you have blessed these three young people so greatly that they can do no other than love you and your people in return!

In Christ,

Pastor Orval

Dear Family,



May the beauty of the day be surpassed by the beauty of the grace of God as revealed through his Son Jesus Christ, for in that knowledge we live in peace and have great expectations for this day as well as the future.



Well, today is a different day. Instead of riding in the van which is going to the airport for the trip to Guatemala, I am sitting in my chair drinking coffee feeling somewhat, no, feeling really left behind. My wife, my dearest and closest person on this beautiful creation of God had to go on without me due the the fact that I do not have a passport to go with!! Somehow in the hustle and bustle of life it got lost in the shuffle and when we begin to look for it yesterday morning, it was nowhere to be found. I had money, I had tickets, I had a destination, I had a ride to the airport, and what really hurts, is that there are dear people waiting for me down there, but I did not have the necessary document which is needed to leave America and to enter into the country of Guatemala, a passport. I am left behind for now, but thankfully, prayerfully and hopefully only temporarily. As this is a day of new beginnings and expectations, I am appealing to one of our legislators to see is the process of replacing my lost passport can be expedited and that I will be able to get one in 2 or 3 days. There is hope as long as there is life, hey. Life sure can have some unexpected twists and turns, for what reason it is difficult to determine. But we remember the verse we quoted from Romans 8:28:



And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.




KJV Proverbs 16:33 The lot is cast into the lap; but the whole disposing thereof is of the LORD. We plan, but He decides.





Other than the very and almost panicky empty feeling of being left behind, it is kind of exciting to wait to see if the Lord has something in mind by the disappearing of the passport, whether it was by me just being unorganized or through his arranging for it to be "lost." I can already see a powerful sermon illustration coming of this, can't you!!





Til next time, I leave you in His care and keeping, and we will pick up our study of Ephesians tomorrow, Lord-willing.





In Christ's love,





Pastor Orval