WAW Wednesday: "Beyond Expectations"
Dear Friends,
With the full heat of summer on in Belize, a breeze can be the most welcome thing ever. Our team from Pennsylvania (made up of folks from Paoli Presbyterian and Ardmore Presbyterian Church) is working hard and grateful for any breeze that God provides! This morning I received this report from Amy, one of the team members:
"Teams from both churches have gone on various vision trips; worked pouring concrete floors in Valley of Peace; and, worked on and completed raised garden beds at Marla's House of Hope. The reports the teams share each night are invigorating."
Amy continues, "From the perspective of one person from PPC, the experience has been very much out of my element, but up-lifting. While I expected some hard work, I did not expect the grueling lifting, shoveling, digging, and MORE shoveling. I also didn't expect the delicious food prepared in outdoor kitchens over open fires.
I didn't expect the appreciation from a family that just had their lives changed because we replaced a dirt floor with a concrete one.
I didn't expect a teenager (whose life has been pretty rough) to come up to me on a picnic bench, sit down, and serenade me with praise songs that moved something in me so powerful that I had tears in my eyes.
As I enjoyed a breeze and exclaimed how good it felt, I didn't expect a seventeen-year-old mother to share with me that her mother used to say, 'A breeze is God whispering to us.' I didn't expect to share love and be loved back so openly and freely.
So, while I have experienced some hardships so far this week, the gifts I have received have been much more powerful. God is definitely present through each action. I haven't always been so aware of His presence. Maybe it took a fifteen-year-old girl singing to me in the light breeze, 'Holy Spirit, you are welcome here . . .'"
 |
| WAW Photos |
We didn't expect to see 3 of our friends together in New York City last week; but, lo and behold, Sheelagh, Dave & Matt (who met on one of our Christmas trips in Belize - hailing from Pennsylvania and Florida by way of New Mexico) reconnected and shared this photo. Another beautiful way that God reveals himself in our work is through friendships in the U.S. that began in Belize!
We've set the dates for our 2017 Christmas Project - December 9-16 - is God calling you to join us?
We can see the word at work in all of our partners in Belize and our teams. It's a humbling thing, and we pray it all brings God glory! Please continue to pray for these groups and those preparing to make the trip soon.
Thanks, friends,
Mollie Swafford
#wearethewordatwork
P.S. Just as I was about to hit the send button for this missive, I received a message from our Mt. Calvary Baptist team. On Friday, the VBS they are sponsoring in partnership with Luz del Evangelio in Orange Walk was WAY beyond their expectations with 439 children in attendance...just imagine! This week, they are conducting medical clinics and this morning they saw 69 patients in San Jose! Isn't God good?
EDITOR'S NOTE: Speaking from my own first-hand experience - working side-by-side with Tim, Kenny and our brothers and sisters in Belize - won't you give thoughtful, prayerful consideration to supporting the efforts of Tim, the Word At Work staff and their partners? Please please fill out this Commitment Card and return it to their office!
Also, remember that you can follow The Word At Work on their Facebook page!
No comments:
Post a Comment