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Arensman Updates
November 17, 2008
After the Rain...
Dear Friends-
We are finally enjoying a real break from the brutal heat and humidity of August and September and the torrential flooding rains of October. The last three weeks have been much cooler and we have seen only one rain shower so far in November. Today as I write it is a cool 68° with only 77% humidity! Many people have written asking if we have settled into a real daily routine yet. That question makes me laugh because it seems like the only predictable thing each day is that it will certainly be unpredictable! But, in an attempt to answer that question I have posted a description of a real day in our life on my blog site at: Scott is finishing up his semester of substitute teaching at Cornerstone High School. The semester ends on December 12th. Please continue to pray for his students and for the transition back to the full-time teacher who has been on long leave. God has used Scott’s time at the school to sharpen his desire to see the lost come to Christ and to see the church firmly established here. Our team is headed to Playa Del Carman, Mexico for a three-day retreat this weekend. Our family is looking forward to a change of scenery and a much needed time to regroup and connect. We have been surprised at how much more difficult it has been here to stay connected as a family and to nurture our relationships with one another. Be in prayer also for our team. We are at a real crossroads for making big decisions that affect the future of our team and of Belize as a field for MTW. Many things are in flux here and there are several opinions about the direction we should take. We need God to lead and direct us in the weeks ahead. Please pray for wisdom in our decisions and unity for the team. We are making plans to start an evangelistic Bible study out of our home within the very near future. This is a strong desire that He has placed in our hearts. Please pray for us to know the leading of the Holy Spirit in who to invite for help in leading and who to invite as attendees. The children are all doing well. They are making friends, even the older ones who were struggling the most in this area. But along with new friends come the issues that cross-cultural living brings. Our kids are learning that it is easy for Belizean children to be attracted to our “things”. They are having to figure out how to make friends based on who they are themselves and not what they have. This is a delicate path! As adults, we often do not have easy solutions to this very issue. Rather than with toys and video games, our relationships can be clouded by resources, lifestyle and perceived social status. Pray for us as we try to lead our kids through these issues and deal with them ourselves as well. Many of you have asked about Rebekah: she has healed very well from the dog attack. Her arm looks better than I ever imagined it would and she is emotionally doing well. She is apprehensive of the dog that attacked her, but she does not have a fear of other dogs. Thank you all for your prayers and messages for her! Just when it seemed like the waves of opposition were subsiding – last night our car was broken into on the street in front of our house. About 4:30 am we woke up suddenly to the sound of our car alarm. The alarm has been acting up for the last few weeks and not always working properly. But, last night it went off when someone got into the sliding side door. As far as we can tell, nothing was taken. But we find it interesting that after many weeks of quiet, this happened. We spent an extended time of prayer yesterday evening for some very specific situations here and were planning to join with some others early this morning for another time of collectively seeking the Lord. After the break-in, Scott and I had a difficult time getting back to sleep and woke up late and tired. Instead of being defeated, we called our brothers and sisters who were meeting 30 minutes away and told them about what happened and jotted down some very specific things that we could pray for. So, even though we were not able to be together physically, we went up to the roof and spent about half an hour in prayer, so spiritually, we were together before the Lord. How wonderful it is to know that God can hear us no matter where we are and that we can agree with our fellow believers in prayer, knowing that God is with us even if we are not in the same room with one another! As we approach the year’s end, we want to take a second and thank so many of you for your faithful financial support. You all support us in so many ways: ongoing monthly contributions, quarterly or annual giving and even spontaneous gifts of support. If you have contributed to our support in the past, would you please consider renewing your gift of support in whatever way you are able? We believe that God is working here and that He is graciously allowing all of us to be involved, through various means, in His plan to build and establish His church. We are continually amazed at how He chooses to work and humbled that He would include us in such a grand design! If you have not been able to contribute to our financial support before, please know that we treasure your prayers and your messages of encouragement. We cannot possibly communicate how much it helps to strengthen us in our resolve to be here when we know that so many of you are standing with us in so many different ways. We need you all – we are all different parts of one body and we know that each part is vital to the work here. Many blessings to all of you! We pray that you will all enjoy the upcoming holiday of Thanksgiving. We miss you all and wish we could celebrate with you in person.
In His Grace- Check out some new pictures:
After the Rain
People - November 29, 2008 |
