Resourcefulness and Creativity

We made a wreath from vines we found in a vacant lot when we couldn't find one in the store premade.

Rebekah made this patchwork bag, using a pattern from the internet. Her older sister Hannah taught her to use the sewing machine.

Leanna likes to paint.

One of the things I enjoy with my daughters is making crafts and cooking special treats for the various seasons. Many times we can't find the ingredients or materials though that we take for granted in the United States, so we have to learn to make substitutions, or create things from scratch. We don't have a Walmart, JoAnn Fabrics or any craft store for that matter, so I am continually scrounging for ideas and materials.

I am thankful to my mother, who at an early age allowed me to use the resources we had available in our flower shop. I had access to all types of ribbons, paints, glue guns, spray paint, flowers, etc. and she graciously let us make things--some might have thought it wasteful or too messy--but my mother knew better than to squelch our creativity. Now I can see that the resourcefulness she encouraged prepared me for the mission field.

Around the age of ten I developed an interest in cooking, and while my mom was working in our flower shop, I would call her on the telephone (even though our floral business was on the same property) and ask her how she made certain dishes. She wasn't afraid to let us try new recipes or afraid we would mess up dinner. She was very patient with me as I called her for advice and instructions. She didn't follow a recipe but everything she made had a delicious taste--she knew all the secrets to "doctor things up" and make things flavorful.

When I look at my dining room table, covered in "projects" that my daughters are in the middle of completing, I am tempted to complain about the mess......but remind myself and rejoice that we are making memories and preparing them for their future, whether it be homemaking skills, or perhaps just inspiring their creative juices so they will have the confidence to try improvising when the need arises.

Statistics about Spain and Gospel Preaching Churches

Marvin Robertson has been a Baptist missionary in Spain for over 35 years, and in his latest prayer letter he gave the following statistics which I found interesting. I am not sure the source of his statistics, but from our personal observation about the spiritual condition of the country it seems to be accurate.

"The total number of independent Baptist missionaries in Spain continues to grow, but the country is far from being evangelized. Out of the total population of 47 million, only 200,000 are members of some kind of protestant/evangelical church. There are thousands of towns and villages with no Gospel witness at all as there is only one church for every 18,000 people!

When we talk about Gospel preaching churches (correct doctrine of salvation), there may be 300 in the whole country which means that there is one Gospel preaching church for every 150,000 people! And when you talk about fundamental, independent Baptist churches, the ratio goes down to one church for every 800,000 people!

For the last fifty years we missionaries have been doing pioneer work in Spain; that is, working the soil to remove rocks and thorns and thistles in order to plant the seed of the Word in the hearts of the people. Therefore, we have hope to see a harvest as God's people are faithfully giving witness of their personal relationship with Christ through faith in Him.

Keep praying for Spain that the Holy Spirit would do a mighty work among the Spanish people! "With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible." Amen!" (Marvin Robertson)

With this in mind, I try to encourage myself that Spain is not an "easy" field--I don't believe there is such a thing anyway, but sometimes the lack of visible fruit can be discouraging. We must remind ourselves that our labor is not in vain in the Lord.

What's New in Tenerife

I apologize for my lack of updates on what is going on in our ministry. When we returned in October, we had a lot of work to do getting our homefront set up again, so to speak......after being away for nearly six months we are now back in full swing. We lost some families, unfortunately, during our absence so we have to work even harder now to bring in new people to disciple.

January was a great month, with many visitors. First we enjoyed a visit from two young men who are stationed in Germany with the US military, followed by a group from Wings Bearing Precious Seed ministry under the direction of Allen Johnson. We passed out 15,000 John and Romans, along with gospel tracts and invitations to our church services. Three of the eight in the group spoke Spanish, which was a tremendous blessing.

Here is a link to the webpage of Wings Bearing Precious Seed if you would like to view the slideshow of pictures.

http://www.wingsbearingpreciousseed.org/mission-trips/

Back in Tenerife

Hard to believe it is already Novemeber, especially when you wake up everyday to sunshine and seventy degree weather! We were blessed to be able to experience a little bit of fall weather while in the states, yet we managed to escape the snow storm that came to the Northeast at the end of October!

Transitions are always difficult, and after being in the US for almost six months it was hard to say goodbye to our family and friends. While we enjoy living in the Canary Islands, it takes some time to readjust to the culture. We weren't expecting the culture shock upon returning for our second term of missionary service, but it hit us pretty hard. We have felt pretty discouraged at times during the past few weeks, but it seems things are starting to calm down a bit.

We are pretty much back to our daily routine--the girls doing their schooling, and Doug busy with attending the needs of the church and ministry. There will be a time of rebuilding, and some changes as well. We are always being challenged and learning new things in our Christian life and ministry; praise the Lord for His mercy, patience, and comfort as we face the trials of life!

September Update

I apologize for not updating my blog more frequently. Our family has been traveling the past few months to visit our supporting churches. It has been such a blessing to meet new pastors and their families, and to reunite with old friends from the past. We have been treated really well and appreciate the hospitality shown by all.

We have also enjoyed seeing family in Ohio-- we even got to see the newlyweds for a day, Hannah and David in Michigan, and Jenny and Michael in Indiana. Although our visit was too short, it is encouraging to see them all so happy as they start their new lives together.

Our visit to the states is winding down, and before we know it we will be on the island of Tenerife once again. We received news that our dog Billy escaped from the farm where he was staying, and the woman caring for him has searched everywhere with no success. Billy was Doug's favorite.....hopefully he will find his way home. We are also eager to see all our friends and church people upon our return, and get back to our work in Santa Cruz and San Isidro.

We have meetings lined up in September, and the first two weeks of October. We will be traveling in the south, to Georgia, South Carolina, Alabama, and Florida. Looking forward to what the Lord has in store for us. Then we will return to Rochester and have two days to pack up and head to Raleigh, North Carolina where we will be flying out for our return to the Canary Islands.

Wedding Pictures

Graduation Pictures

Here are some pictures from the girls' graduation at Fairhaven Baptist College.