Tamales and Jesus!
I wanted to shoot you all a brief update of what God is doing as we continue on the journey towards Peru. As I start this letter, I want to reiterate that God is SOOO good, and that HIS timing is best. As we rolled through January and then February, it became painfully clear that my initial goal of being in Peru by early 2021 was simply not going to happen. Between covid, some financial commitments not coming in, and a multitude of other things, my timing and God’s timing didn’t line up. That is NOT a complaint! Just a fact.
God has, as a family, brought us closer together and caused us to walk through some deep spiritual waters, not only as we continue to gear up but prepare to sell our home and handle a multitude of life changes. We have been forced to address sin and selfishness in our own hearts and be reminded freshly that God has a plan for all of the process that it will take just to be in Peru.
We have been encouraged by other missionaries who have told us and encouraged us that this process is simply God, preparing us to serve Him. It has been painful and hard but great and sanctifying. And God is faithful to supply us what we need. Meetings to share our ministry with others as well as work to meet our physical needs in the present. I will say, being a realtor is a great pre-field job that has lots of flexibility which we have enjoyed immensely. God continues to provide for our daily needs so we are able to bank most of our incoming support towards the initial move and language school needs.
So why is this process taking so long? And why are we, after 3 months, still hovering around 60%? Certainly there is a reason.
Last week I received a sign call on a commercial property I have listed in South Des Moines for Lease. I met with a new potential client who is looking to move from a food trailer to a more permanent location. Tomales is their bread and butter business and man, do I love good tomales! As we looked through the property, Anna and Angie began telling me of their life and backgrounds and I realized that it has not always been easy for these two friends. As children, they had been introduced to all sorts of religious backgrounds and never had anyone take time to open the Bible with them and share about God having a wonderful and joyful plan for their life. Anna exclaimed “If someone would share with me I would make time every week to study!” And with that, Angie followed up and said how great it would be for her kids too. On Saturday, I had the privilege of opening God’s word and seeing Angie and her 3 teenage kids consider God, from His word, for the very first time. I left super encouraged and with an arm load of tomales! Our next study is tomorrow night and Anna is working on her schedule as well. We intend on catching her up and continuing through God’s word. You can tell that the Holy Spirit is already at work in Angie and her family and Anna and her family. I have the privilege of studying with 7 people who have had a lot of life experiences but have never considered God for who He is. Pray with me, that they all trust Jesus for their salvation.
Perhaps God’s timing has very little to do with the Albright’s and very much to do with His own plans, to seek and save that which is lost.
Continue to pray with us:
That God would grant us opportunities to share the gospel with lost people (and that He would save those people)
That God would continue to raise up a team of people, churches and organizations who would be financially vested in lost people in Peru.
That we continue to Grow in Christ-likeness ourselves