Powerless: The reason we will return to the United States

Do you have power in your Christian walk? Do you have power over your sin? Are you able to do things beyond yourself for the sake of Christ? The Christian life should be defined by power. The greek word power in the bible is "dunamis", which comes from the derivative "dunamai" and is where we get the word dynamite. The former means ability, excellence of soul, strength, performing of miracles, moral power and the latter refers to capable, strong, ability. Without power the christian will find themselves continually working out of their own strength, which will lead to uneccesary worry, burden, and sorrow. The Bible would describe this as death, spiritual separation from the life and joy found in Jesus and His Spirit.

"For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, and those who are in the flesh cannot please God." Romans 8:6-8

In light of wanting to write a devotion on our power as it is revealed in scripture, I have come to understand that this is the exact reason that Tiffany is unable to continue in Belize. We have talked and she is ok with me relating this study to her experience here in Belize as it pertains to being powerless and operating out of the flesh. There are four main things that I find in the Bible that are revealed to us regarding the power that is necessary to live a life in accordance with the Spirit and not the flesh. We as christians will find our power in the filling of the Holy Spirit, in the sole worship of Jesus, in our faith and obedience, and in our weakness.

“He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority;  but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” Acts 1:7-8

I don’t think there is a hierarchy of where we receive our power from, but if there is one that encompasses the four of them it would be derived from the filling of the Holy Spirit. As true born again believers we are all regenerated by the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit actually indwells our being and we receive a new nature. This new nature gives us the ability and power to live a life beyond ourselves and our sin, and it comes from the filling of the Holy Spirit. The reality of this new birth is that we are born behind enemy lines and our new nature in the Holy Spirit begins to wage war against old nature in the flesh (Gal 5:17). The bible describes that as Christians we should be life giving and preserving beings through the filling of the Holy Spirit, “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’ But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.” John 7:38-39. And Jesus taught that we must be persistent to seek and ask for the Holy Spirit, “So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. "For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it will be opened. "Now suppose one of you fathers is asked by his son for a fish; he will not give him a snake instead of a fish, will he? "Or if he is asked for an egg, he will not give him a scorpion, will he? "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?” Luke 11:9-13. So we need to be a people who are continually being filled with the Holy Spirit, “And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit” Eph 5:18, and we will begin to find that we receive the ability, or power, to do things for the sake of Jesus.

“If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. "Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.” Luke 14: 26-27

Without getting into a long study of being a disciple of Christ, we learn in the word of God that salvation is unconditional, but discipleship is conditional. Every disciple is a believer, but not every believer is a disciple. The word “cannot” in these verses is the word dunamai, which refers to power and ability. So in order to be Christs’ true follower you must have power, and you cannot have true power without true worship. Jesus must become the greatest affection in your life, before family, comfort, and possessions. The context of this whole section of scripture is the idea of a person counting the cost and paying the price to follow Jesus, before you sacrificially give your whole being for the sake of Jesus, that way you won’t diminish the name, power, and wisdom of Jesus. So its not that we aren’t allowed to follow Jesus, it is that we are without the necessary power to follow Jesus, and that power comes from true worship, putting Jesus’ business before anything else. Jesus teaches that a person is not fit for His Kingdom or to follow Him if they aren’t willing to give up comfort, riches/possessions, and friends/family for His sake (Luke 9:58-62). Worship is more that singing in a group, it is living a life completely for the sole purpose of identifying with the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus (Php 3:10). “For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.” 2 Cor 5:14-15

“By faith even Sarah herself received ability to conceive, even beyond the proper time of life, since she considered Him faithful who had promised.” Heb 11:11

To seek, pray, and worship are all things that come from faith and obedience, but as we see here Sarah received the ability, or power, to conceive through her faith. Faith “is the assurance of things hoped for, and the evidence of things not seen.” Heb 11:1 So our faith is based on more than just a confidence; it is based on proof, but our faith is dead without obedience. “What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and be filled," and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself. But someone may well say, "You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works." James 2:14-18. So faith has no power without the declaration of works through our obedience to the word of God, the law of liberty. Jesus is faithfully working things into us through His Spirit and we derive power and ability through working those things out in our lives.

“And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.” 2 Cor 12:9

Paul found that God’s power was perfected in his weakness. This verse is best understood when you look at the definitions of the words power, perfected, and weakness. The word power is dunamis, which we have determined to mean ability, excellence of soul, strength, performing of miracles, moral power. The word perfected is teleo, which means perform, execute, complete, to carry out or do the contents of a command. The word weakness is astheneia, which means a want of strength, want of capacity requisite, want to understand, want to do great things, want to restrain corrupt desires, or a want to bear trials and troubles. So in other words Paul discovered that the power of God was completed in Him when he had a desire for the will of God even though within himself it was not possible to carry it out.

In conclusion we find power through the Holy Spirit, worship, faith and obedience, and weakness. Without God’s power we find ourselves working things out in the flesh and not having true victory in the Lord. And when the house is not built in the Lord, the house is built in vain.

Which comes to the question, Why have we decided to come home? The answer is power. We believe that Tiffany does not have the power of the Lord working in her to persevere, be steadfast, immovable, and abound in the work of the Lord. This has resulted in a state of bitterness, anxiety, depression, hatred, and doubt, which in turn has lead to huge emotional struggles, panic attacks, and sleeplessness. As Paul discovered that the Lord’s power was truly completed in his desire to fulfill the Lord’s will; we have discovered that Tiffany is void of any desire to continue through the trials and pursue the ministry here in Belize. Without complete clarity on the Lords full purpose of our move here we have come to agree on some initial things, and it all surrounds the Lords desire for us to be sanctified. First, in regard to Tiffany we would compare it to the example of Paul and his call to Asia. During his second missionary journey scripture reveals to us that they were “…forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia;” Acts 16:6, and Paul further reveals that in Asia they “…were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life; indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead” 2 Cor 1:8-9. Just as Pauls ministry in Asia stopped we have agreed that our ministry in Belize has been stopped short for the purpose to reveal in Tiffany that her worship needs to mature in a continued trust in her God and Savior, Jesus Christ, and not in her own self will. The Bible teaches that pride comes before the fall, and Tiffany has realized that her identity to be “radical” for Christ was adopted more from her own self reliance and pride, rather than a reliance on Jesus and a boastfulness in his name. For me this situation has provided me the opportunity to ask and evaluate, how am I loving my wife? Do I love my wife as Christ loves the church? Am I pastoring my own family? Am I willing to die to desires that God has given to me for ministry, for the sake of love for my wife and our family? This situation gives me the opportunity to love my wife and do what is right for peace and joy within my family. I also know that next to my relationship with Jesus, my ability to love and pastor my wife and family is of great importance. One of the qualifications of a leader in the church is to manage his own family, and a family unmanaged would disqualify me from the ministry anyway, and to continue my work in Belize would simply be in the flesh and done in vain. Please pray for us, for our family, for our travels back to the United States, and our transition. Thanks again to everyone who has supported us physically, financially, and spiritually. 

“But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth. It was for this He called you through our gospel, that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught, whether by word of mouth or by letter from us. Now may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself and God our Father, who has loved us and given us eternal comfort and good hope by grace, comfort and strengthen your hearts in every good work and word.” 2 Thes 2:13-17

What is your not so mentioned sin?

"Your word I have treasured in my heart, that I may not sin against You." Psalm 119:11.

Sin is anything that does not express or conform to the goodness of God. It can be a thought, Matthew 5:27-28 ... a deed committed, John 8:34 ... or a deed omitted, James 4:17. The words for sin in the Bible mean missing the mark, transgressing the Law, rebelling, defiance, disobedience, wickedness, evil, and unrighteousness. Sin can be against others or against ourselves, 1 Corinthians 6:18. Ultimately all sins are against God, Genesis 39:9, Psalm 41:4 and 51:4, and Romans 8:7. Three categories of sin are described in the Bible. The first category is imputed sin described in Romans 5:12-21. It is guilt by association with the human race ... in Adam all sinned. The second is our inherited sin nature referred to in Ephesians 2:3 and Psalm 51:5. This is our natural tendency to sin. That natural tendency brings us unavoidably to the third category, personal sin. Personal sins are those that we commit in thought or deed ... in attitude or action.

I see to commonly the church accepting and viewing the same ideals and sins as the world. We don't look to the word as our final guide to be the lamp and light of life, we just assume what our oldselves and the world viewed as right and wrong is probably what is truly right and wrong, so it must be so for the church. We look at smoking, drinking, gambling, adultery, cursing, sexual immorality etc... and we begin to create a list of things in our mind of what we shouldn't do. This kind of thinking and adoption hinders the church from truly being set apart, it really begins to make the church to be kind of white washed tombs, because in turn we still accept and stay quiet on things like pride/self-esteem, covetousness, love of self, love of the world, knowing and teaching the bible, making disciples, witnessing, indulgence, etc... We begin to strain out gnats and swollow camels. 

I have decided to put together a study of the not so mentioned sins, and sometimes even accepted sins within the american church mentality, that we don't draw much attention too, to awaken the shortsidedness of the fleshy mind. So below are some sins of thought, deed commited, and deed ommitted, their greek definitions and some extra explaination. Proceed with caution.

Sins of thought

Adultery - Looking at a person with lust

Murder - Anger towards your brother

Set your mind on things above, not things on the earth - To direct ones mind toward a thing, to strive towards, to seek, to seek ones interest or advantage. Do you set your mind and devotion to the eternal things or temporal things?

Do not be anxious - To be troubled by cares

Do not worry about food, drink, clothes - to seek to promote ones interest, caring or providing for.


Deeds Commited

Do not store up treasure - reserve, amass, lay up, heap up, accumulate riches. God commanded Isreal not to multiply horses, wives, silver, and gold (Duet 17:16-17), because he knew their hearts would become proud and they would trust in them and not in him (Duet 8:11-14), and Solomon was punished because he didn't obey God (1 Kings 11:11).

Eagerly seek food, drink, clothes - to enquire, search, seek diligently, to wish for, crave. Do you seek God as eagerly as online shopping, fantasy football, or video games?

Conform to this world - to fashion oneself alike. Do you look more like the world and the american dream or Jesus and His promised Kingdom?

Friendship with the world - fondness

Immorality - pornea, a word to encompass anything sexually immoral

Impurity - uncleanness phyiscal and lustful, luxurious, profligate living

Sensuality - unbridled lust, excess, outrageousness, shamelessness

Idolatry -  the worship of false gods. Worship is realted to our image or identity in God. Is your identity in Jesus, or occupation, family, things, entertainment, etc...?

Sorcery - the use of drugs, poisoning, deceptions and seductions of Idolatry

Emnity - hostility, hatred

Strife - quarrel, wrangling, contention,

Jealousy - zeal, excitement of mind, zeal for a person or thing, eagerness. Is your jealousy for knowing God or wanting more of what the world has to offer?

Anger - wrath, indignation, fierceness

Disputes - strife, contention toward electioneering or intriguing for office

Dissensions - division, sedition, disunion

Envy - for envy, prompted by envy

Drunkeness - Intoxication

Carousing - drinking parties, indulgence, revel

Coveteousness - greedy desire to have more, avarice

Wickedness - evil purposes and desires

Lasciviousness - wastefullness, excess, sudden change of mind, a desire to indulge one's physical self, not interested in spirtual things. Does your heart and mind continually change from one thing to the next to provide satisfaction, hope, and joy?

Pride/Self Esteem - arrogance, huaghtiness. Do you think rightly of yourself as one humbly and honorable created, or as the world promotes to you, trying to build up the power of the human spirit, the idea that you are special and a unique?

Foolishness - senselessness, thoughtlessness, egotism

Lovers of Self - fond, selfish, too intent on one's interests

Lovers of Money - immoderate desire for wealth, fondness of mammon

Boastful - empty pretender, braggar. one who lies about himself, brags about his achievements, or brings wrong-doing upon others

Arrogant - proud, showing one's self above others, attracting attention above others

Reviler - speaking evil, slanderous, abusive

Ungrateful - ungracious, unthankful, unpleasing

Unloving - without natural affection

Without self control - powerless, unrestrained, not moderate, excessive

Brutal - savage, fierce, not tame

Haters of Good - opposed to good, hostile to virtue

Treacherous - surrender, traitor, betrayer. Is your obligation towards Christ, or do you surrender to the enticements of the enemies, satan, the flesh, and the world?

Reckless - rash, acting quickly w/o thought

Conceited - puffed up with pride or haughtiness, high minded

Lovers of Pleasure, rather than lovers of God - to love to please one's self rather than love God. To love God is to keep his commandmants (obedience)

Do not love the world nor the things of the world
      -lust of the flesh and the eyes - desire, craving, longing
      -boastful pride of life - an empty assurance, trusting in own power and sources, trusting in earthly things

Do not put your hope in wealth - to expect or confide, impede the hope and joy of salvation

Do not entagle yourself in affairs of the life - enweave in the business of this life/world


 Deeds Ommitted

Being content with what you have - to be strong, suffice, to be enough, to be satisfied with what you already have. Desire what you need, not what the world says you should want or have.

Do not be suprised if the world hates you - marvel at the worlds detest and pursuit against you. Sanctification will bring about anger and hatred towards you, does the world love or hate you, Jesus said the world loves its own.

To make disciples - to teach, instruct the commandments of jesus

To be generous and share - inclined to share and impart, free in giving, liberal

To be his witness - spectator, martyr, of uncertain affinity

To abide in and know his word - to continue, remain. to learn, percieve, feel, understand

To study his word apporved - a pleasing workman

To bear much fruit - to bring forth a work, act, deed. i.e fruit of the spirit, financial, new believer, disciple. 

To be devoted - to adhere, to be steadfast attention, to unremitting care to, to continue, to persevere, to show courageous, to wait for, to be in constant readiness

To abound in his work - to be over, excel, abundance, exceed

Double tongued - saying two things, decietful, hypocritical. i.e white lies

Dressing modestly - shame, honor, modestly, reverence, regard for others, respect, sober, self-control


There is probably many more commandments and instructions that I could have listed, but these are what my study and thoughts came across in the word of God. If you want verse references to these commandments I encourage you to get a bible program, a dictionary, a commentary, or something to help your study of the word. Please don't leave it up to me or your pastor on Sunday, be like the nobel bereans and study the word for yourself.

When everything is examined there are three things that stand out: to be moderate-not excessive, make sure your life doesn't conform to what the rest of the world is doing, thinking and pursuing, and be about the Fathers business. There are three things that the Bible teaches are eternal, God, His word, and people. If you spend more of your mind, heart, time, treasure, affections and talents on any one thing other than these three eternal things you are in sin. When it comes to those gray area things it boils down to three things that Paul taught, does it break your conscience, is it profitable, and is it edifying? As americans we have so many resources to be able to pursue and devote ourselves to God, His Word, and people, but yet I believe if we truly examine things we spend most of our time worshipping as the world does, at resturants, at malls, online, infront of the TV, at sporting events, at etertainment places, at our banks, at our jobs, with our family etc... and the only thing that sets us apart is that we have perfect attendence on Sunday. I don't think God will judge us on attendence, I think he will judge us on what we did with our mind, heart, time, treasure, affection, and talents towards worship of Him. Is your savior Jesus? Is he your only hope, life, joy, truth, security, affection, devotion, etc...? Or do you find that you set up functional saviors in your life to fufill these things, like marriage, family, kids, work, money, house, cars, toys, 401K, insurances, etc...? Is your final hope eternal or temporal? God lovingly cursed work, marriage, and family so we would not find live and wisdom in them but that we would find it solely in Him. That He would be our God and the rest of life would be our responsibility and labor in Him.     

"But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil." 1 Thes 5:21-22

My Grace is Sufficient

"And He has said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong." 2 Corinthians 12:9-10
Paul is one of our greatest examples as to what the christian life stands for, so much that he begs us to imitate him as he imitates Christ. For the sake of the gospel and Jesus, Paul dealt with "weakness, insults, distress, persecution, and difficulties." He explains further in 2 Cor 6 that he also dealt with "afflictions, hardships, beatings, imprisonments, tulmults, labors, sleeplessness, and hunger." Do we suffer like this for the name, ministry, and kingdom of Christ, or do our sufferings come because of disobedience to the principles, oracles, and commandments of Christ? Because of self achievement or ambition? Because of the things and lusts of this world? Are we willing to truly die to ourselves and live for Christ? Is Christ truly the cornerstone of our life and our works, or simply a block in the wall of our life and our works? Paul was willing to live a sacrificed life for Christ because of grace. He was willing to go beyond his familiar world, freinds, and comforts and step out into the new world of christian, or "little Christ." In the world we do things to receive more of the world, more freinds, more recognition, more comfort, more glory, more money, etc.. but Paul understood that his works, efforts, and sufferings were only justified by the surpassing riches of Christ through His grace, and what the world and flesh pursue for their efforts were worthless and empty in comparison.

Grace was the power of Paul's ministry, but unfortunately I believe that this verse is so grossly misused in the typical christian circles. I would play fun at its misuse saying that this verse is one of those typical self help, false hope, KLove verses, "positive and encouraging." Most christians would use this verse in the context of a covering for sin, or as justification for their sins. And all though this verse should provide strength and encouragement to the christian it is not written in the context of the grace shown towards our sins, it is in context of the reward of grace and its sufficiency for our righteous suffering for "Christ sake" not our own personal bad choices. We are called out of our old life of bondage to sin into a life of bondage to righteousness and God, but too much we go back to the bondage of sin, our Egypt, and then to justify our sin we quote, "that God's grace is sufficient for me." But as Paul taught, God is not a minister of sin, and "Are we to continue to in sin so that grace may increase? May it never be!" Romans 6:1-2. Our loving God desires so much for our affection and attention, so much that He is jealous for it (Ex 34:13-14). So much that He understands that to know Him best is to suffer as Christ suffered (1 Peter 4:12-16, 2 Timothy 3:12), and even so much that He "should will it so, that you suffer for doing what is right rather than for doing what is wrong" (1 Peter 3:17). So it is His will for our lives for us to suffer, and this is the context of Pauls verse to the Corinthians, one towards righteous suffering and not sinful suffering.

Most of us have become short-sighted on the whole context of the gospel. We look at its freedom and misuse it. We are not free to sin, we are free from the bondage of sin. We look at its grace and abuse it. Grace came to teach us to deny ungodliness. We look to the cross, not as a point of regeneration, but as a point to save is from the fiery punishment of hell. Remember the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Christ has appeared for us to believe (trust in God's understanding not ours), to confess (acknowledge our sin, depravity, and need for God), and repent (change our mind, heart, and emotions towards the Kingdom and not this world). Do you treat the bible as a means for self-help, self-righteousness, self-recovery, self-justification, or is it a place where you go for regeneration and change, knowing your true condition (depraved and utterly sinful), knowing your earthly father (rebellious adam), knowing your spiritual father (satan), knowing the condition of your home (a fallen world), and knowing the condition of your education (full of lies and worldly wisdom). Is God's grace worthy in your life of true change or does your life look like that of the world and your oldself? Is God's grace worthy of Christly suffering and shame or is it still easier to hide and suffer as the world does in their sins? Does your suffering truly reflect the sacrifices you have made for Christ's sake or are they truly impart to your choices apart from the word of God and counsel?

"Make sure that none of you suffers as a murderer, or thief, or evildoer, or a troublesome meddler; but if anyone suffers as a Christian, he is not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God in this name. For it is time for judgment to begin with the household of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the outcome for those who do not obey the gospel of God?" 1 Peter 4:16-18

   

If they are not against us, they are for us

"Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ even from envy and strife, but some also from good will, 16 the latter do it out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel; 17 the former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition rather than from pure motives, thinking to cause me distress in my imprisonment. 18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice" Phillipians 1:15-18

It shouldn't suprise me that there is a large number of churches and demoninations present in the country of Belize, but I guess there is more than my research led me to believe. It all makes sense though because this is the "uttermost parts of the earth" and we were called to these places, and on top of that for probably the same reasons we chose Belize it is the geographical "cornerstone" to central america, and also a peaceful country, that is multicultural and english speaking. I think statistically catholism is the largest demonination, but we have seen influences from the menonite, seventh day adventist, LDS, baptist, nazarene, methodist, and some bible churches as well. But as Paul rejoiced so should we and despite Christ being preached we should press on and fulfill our calling and rejoice.

Our aim when we arrived to Belize was to seek two things: a peaceful and hospitable place that would receive us and a larger city that was multicultural, where God could raise up leaders and send them back to the countries and villages that tthey originated from to mulitply the ministry. We also aimed to check out five of Belize's bigger cities (pop. 9000-15000), and those were Corozal, Orange Walk, Belmopan, Dangriga, and Punta Gorda. Corozal is the town we are living in now, it is in the northern part along the ocean bay and has a strong mexican influence. The people we have met are friendly, but also quiet and reserved to their own things and business. Orange Walk is the second largest town in Belize and located in the northern district along a river. It is close to one of the most popular mayan ruins and offers more of a city feel. The city is busy, some what cramped, but offers better shopping and resources. Belmopan is the capital of Belize and located in the center of the country. It became the capital back in 1982 when Belize received its independence from Britain. Although it has been established for thirty years, developement is slow and it felted kind of broken, distant, and almost in a stage of rebuilding. Dangriga is towards the southern part of Belize and is an ocean city along the Gulf of Mexico. Unfortunately ocean life is non existant in Belize until you venture out to the adjacent islands, so Dangriga didn't offer much when it came to the ocean. It was a town similiar to Corozal, but wasn't as multicultural and was definitely dirtier and streets were cluttered. All these things said we did realize that we were moving to a third world country and the wealth and abundance of America was not going to be found, but I guess given the short time we visited these places our first impressions were as described. We chose not to visit Punta Gorda because it was just to much driving, and althogh many said it was beautiful, they said it was more of a sleepy town without much life and culture.

Enter God's providence. Our three day tour of Belize started in the north, then to the central, then to the south, and back again. In all of this we needed a place to stay. Our camping book only had two locations both outside of the city of San Ignacio, one to the east and one to the west. These sites were centrally located and offered the perfect location to venture out from. When we entered the San Ignacio area from the east it was our plan to stay at the first place on our map, but by God's providence it had been sold and the new owners changed the business plan and they no longer accepted RV's. So being this close San Ignacio we could either turn back to a sign we saw advertising RV parking or pass through town and try the other site on our map. We chose to go into town check it out and stay on the west side. Our trip into town was a little missed guided into some one way streets, but when we finally got our bearings we drove through to our destination to get settled in. Our campsite, although empty, was inviting, open, and perfect for the dogs and family. With only a few hours of daylight available we decided to walk into town to check out real estate, schools, and businesses. It was amazing. The town was located in the mountains/hills of Belize along side a major river. The downtown area, actually felt like a downtown, and it had life and culture, and tourism. Everyone was greeting us and had a willing hospitality to talk and guide us around. The hilly nature of it reminded Tiff of the town of manitou springs in Colorado. The real estate agent showed us rentals for $200-$1500 USD, business was growing, and the school system was similiar to that of Corozal. For what I think was the first time, we really felt like we were home, praise Jesus. This was our third town and we kind of didn't even want to check out the other towns or for that matter even leave, but we did anyway the next day. The town was awesome, it offered mountain adventures, river swims, waterfalls, a golf course, mayan ruins, the temperature was much more moderate and nights were even cool, and it is 30 minutes from Guatemala and the Capitol Belmopan, and it is also 15 minutes from Spanish Lookout which is the mennonite town, which offers better shopping and work.  Although we had a few more cities to visit, we knew God has spoken and revealed His place for us.

So anyway it is our goal and desire to finish out our month lease in Corozal and then move to San Ignacio, Belize, probably for what will be the long term. Thank you for all your prayers and God's guidance. Please be praying for us, mo, work, a place to live, and most importantly that God would be preparing peoples' hearts to come into a saving knowledge of an eternal relationship with His Son, Jesus.

Tropical Depressions and more Faithfulness

"Therefore, those also who suffer according to the will of God shall entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right." 1 Peter 4:19

Our plan for the first week in Belize was to camp at the Carribean Village for a week while we searched around Corozal and other towns to find a place to live. But driving in under a tropical depression, with a rain soaked van, some weary people and dogs, and a credit card that wouldn't be accepted caused us to reevalute our situation. Parked under a huge palm tree at the empty campground, to protect us from the strong winds and rain, I left to the park office to begin my research to try and find a place to live. They had some brochures inside, there was some information on the internet, but all without promise or within reason. Most places were being marketed to wealthy travelers and not those who just wanted to assimilate into the culture. But in God's faithfulness the owner of the campground pointed us to a property around the corner that had apartments and availability. So in the rain we put together the bikes and the bike trailer and headed off into town to find a place to live.

The first place we arrived seemed ideal, but had a painted sign that said "No Pets." This was a problem although we began to speak with a lady and her daughter, who translated, about the apartments. They had two available apartments. An upstairs house for $400/mnth and a downstairs apartment that was coming available on friday for $300/mnth. We asked about the dogs and said we would be willing to put down a bigger deposit for them. They told us there husband/father would be home in 30 minutes and they would talk to him. So we took the tour and as we were leaving the father pulled up and we agreed to rent the upstairs house with a bigger deposit. The apartment downstairs was probably more ideal but it wasn't available for four days which after the campground at $20/day would put us about the same price as the house. So we agreed to the house with the option to move into the apartment the next month. What a blessing, a fully furnished home with 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, a full kitchen, and even a washing machine, a earthly blessing for sure. That morning I had called our bank and increased our debit card to $500/day, so we told the family we would ride into town and get part of the money and deposit today and the rest tomorrow, which was sufficient for them, and they were gracious enough to clean and prepare the house for us while we were away. So anyway we rode into town in the rain to look around, get money, and get familiar. We arrived back to the house, I rode my bike to get the van, and we began to move in. It was amazing, in one day to find a place and get settled into our new country, Praise Jesus. As we unpacked it was astonishing how much we had actually brought in that little van. Three bikes, a bike trailer, bike accesories, household goods, bath goods, sporting goods, food, pots and pans, electronics, lots of clothes, dog food and accessories, it was almost never ending.

                                    

So anyway we have a master bedroom with a bath, Mo has his bedroom next to us, and the third bedroom is the dogs room/garage. Then we have an additional bath, living room, dining room/office, and kitchen/laundry. So beautiful and much more than we could ask for.

We will be visiting other towns over the next week, Orange Walk, Belmopan, San Ignacio, and Dangriga, to see where God would have us live. Corozal is a great place and might be the eventual place we settle, but please pray for God's guidance, will, and a place of peace and hospitality.

Day 6: Crossing the Border and Faithfulness

"If we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself." 2 Timothy 2:13

"But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one." 2 Thessalonians 3:3

Sunday was a great day of rest and rememberance in Christ in His creation with our new family, just across the border from our "promised" land. But sunday night brought in a tropical depression, which brought in strong winds and constant rain with some breaks in between. When I woke up Sunday morning there was a clear break in the weather so I took the dogs to the ocean, pulled out some water drenched blankets and pillows, and pulled out the computer to blog about day 5. It was so perfect and calm, but what i didn't know was it was the calm before the storm. As I sat on the coast to write I began to notice a black line moving across the bay towards us, and as it approached I hurried to grab up the computer and cables to run to the van as quick as possible. I was able to make it to the van but I was wet and the dogs were soaked and I didn't have time to grab the blankets and pillows that were drying. So anyway an hour later there was another break, and during this break we hurried to pack everything away, including the even more drenched blankets and pillows, so that we could make it to the border to cross into Belize.

It was looking to be another long day of adversity. Rain was strong, roads were flooded, and it wasn't stopping for two days explained some of the locals. So these things made our border responsibilities that much more difficult. At the border we needed to get our passports stamped, get the dogs through animal customs, get our car fumigated, pay duty on our van and any other items they deemed necessary, and also sign up for insurance. This process in mexico only took one hour or so but what we would find out is that is was going to take six hours this day. That meant allot of walking inside and outside to the different buildings in the rain, and it ment Tiffany, the dogs, and mo waiting in the car (a rain drenched, wet dog smelling van with all the windows rolled up) while I worked out all the formalities.

Basically after getting our passports stamp, we were hooked up with a broker who was to be payed a fee as he walked us from building to building to finalize everything else. The processes were very slow and there was allot of hurry up and wait. I basically was taken from car evaluation, to immigration, to animal control, to broker offices, to cashiers, and back and forth and back in forth till everything was stamped paid and put in place. Thankfully there was some breaks in the weather which allowed the dogs and the family to get out and walk around. We also were very thankful for Gods faithfulness in the whole process as well. The biggest miracle came about with our duty on the van. First the government official was very fair on the evaluation, because he valued it at $1200 american where he easily could have $5000 based on NADA values, which at a 60% duty would have been $3000 instead of $800. And regading the $800 to this day I still don't know how the payment went through, other than the grace of God. Before our leaving Tiff and I lowered the balance availability on a card in the event we were robbed, so when I found out the duty on our car I asked to check the internet for our credit availability and we only had $550 available. So we had $250 cash, $150 debit, and $550 credit but the problem was they would only recieve one form of payment, and we also had pet passport fees, immigration fees, and insurance fees to pay. So in my faithlessness I didn't know how this was going to work, which meant our car stayed at the border and we would have to ride in the rain into town and find a place that received dogs and us. And then to make matters worse, we could only withdrawal $150 a day and it would take three days before a credit payment was posted, so this ment no van for three days, it was not looking promising. But by grace our credit card went through and it received the $800 payment and we were on our way into Belize. We were also blessed with a duty officer that chose not to tax us on any of the other goods in the van or have us throw away any of the food we had left. 

Six hours later, rain soaked, stinky van, whiny kid, wet dogs, and broke we moved onto our campground in Corozal.

Thank God for his Faithfulness

PS Sunday night brouht a smile to our face because the owner of the campground and resturant we were staying at asked us how we found his place, so we showed him the book we had been using on camping in mexico and belize. Well anyway he was so excited that he was in an american book, I think it made him feel like a rockstar. He brought all of his employees around to see it and they made copies. He was so "pleased in his heart" that he was buying us margaritas but we had to cut him off at on the second because we didn't know how far he would go. Pretty cool stuff.

Day 5: Happy Fathers Day - Our Father is Good all the time

"Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen." Ephesians 3:20-21

A relationship with God is not about getting Him to do what we want it is more about Him getting us to do what He wants. We pray to the Father not to change His mind and heart, but we pray to change our mind and heart. We ask not for our will but for His will in our lives. He speaks to us through His Spirit, His Word, and His people, and we speak to Him through prayer. So I am not one who believes that God is a God who makes us rich and healthy, actually on the contrary most of his followers and even His son were poor, homeless, and died an early death. Our purpose in life is not to know and love the things of this world, but to know and love the God who created this world (1 John 2:15). James actually rebukes the twelve tribes and tells them that their prayers were empty and hindered because they were asking from evil hearts with selfish intentions (James 4:2-3). However when you are pursuing the heart, mind, and will of God I do believe that this verse in Ephesians applies, God does really give far more abundantly than we could ask or think.

I believe this verse sums up so much of our trip. I say this based off of our time in the campground in Chetumal, but there are so many more details that God has given to us that just keep adding up, so many to discuss or even remember, from the ideal size and functionality of the van, to acquiring mo and his passport, to finances, to people we meet, to informaion given at the right time, to missing the devastating weather that hit mexico, to all the gifts, to all the resources, and on this day we were able to talk to two families of menonites, who grew up in belize and were able to share so much valuable information regarding religion, roads, weather, culture, pricing, work, etc... about Belize. And all of these things are such true blessings and bring so much joy to a childs heart of our Heavenly Father. I can't explain how God has cultivated such a heart of gratitude and thankfulness towards His salvation, adoption, kingdom, friendship, and fatherhood.

This would be my first fathersday as an official father, but I don't think it has fully set in yet. With our travels to Belize taking so much of my thoughts and time, I haven't really had time to settle down and realize that God has brought an adopted son into my life, just as He adopted and brought me into His life and His family. Our friend Brian Suave said that it is amazing that God chooses to share the name father with us, and this statement is so true. Please pray for me and my little man Mo that I may raise him up in the compassion and fear of the Lord and that my parenting would draw Him closer to our creator and not push Him away.

Happy Fathers Day with much Gratitude and Thanksgiving.

Day 4: The best day before the Best Day

"On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul began talking to them, intending to leave the next day, and he prolonged his message until midnight. There were many lamps in the upper room where we were gathered together." Acts 20:7-8

We have been traveling in our van for almost three or of the last four weeks. First it was to Utah and back to Colorado for Mo, then from Colorado to broken down in Kansas, from Kansas to Missouri, Missouri to Arkansas, Arkansas to Texas, Texas to Matehuala, Matehuala to Puebla, Puebla to Villahermosa, and finally Villahermosa to Chetemal. During all of this we have experienced so many things, joy, stress, anxious dogs, crying kid, car failures, friends, Gods hand, packing, unpacking, walmarts, mehcanics, family, lakes, foreign countries, pools, good food, promise, hope, instruction, adoption, arguments, smiles, sore bodies etc... just life, life in Christ in a fallen world.

But in all these things, I think one of the best days came before the Lords day. The last day was one of our shortest days without too many hiccups. We got out on time, we didn't run into traffic, good roads, nice temperature, dogs slept, kid slept, not much fighting, just a gift from God. Every other day we arrived later than we thought we would, but this day we arrived on time and did not have to rush to feed the dogs, appease our child, set up the camper, go to the bathroom, make dinner, and prepare for bed, aside from some stress of all the three weeks of driving and achy bodies it was one of our best days.

As Christians we gather together on Sundays because this is the day the Jesus rose from the dead and conquered sin, satan, death, hell, and demons on our behalf. We gather as a community, as a family to worship, to remember, to celebrate, to learn, to pick each other up, to love, to fellowship, to gather. And in God's great timing what a great day we had before the His great day of rest and rememberance. We arrived in time to get a true full day of rest, first in Him, but second in His creation. To wake up to His rising of the sun, a day of true worship and praise and honor to a heavenly Father, a heavenly Dad who cares and loves his children.

O what a glorious day.
Thanks Dad for finding us safely and for this day you have created.

Day 3: Why fear man, when you can fear God?

"And He said to them, "You are those who justify yourselves in the sight of men, but God knows your hearts; for that which is highly esteemed among men is detestable in the sight of God." Luke 16:15

"Therefore, having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God." 1 Corinthians 7:1

Mankind was freely given and identity through creation, in Adam and Eve, in the Image of God. But becaue of the lie of Satan mankind chose to achieve their own identity to become like God and to find life and wisdom apart from Him. So in our first physical parents Adam and Eve and our second spritual father Satan we were all born into this world with the desire to achieve our own identity and find life and wisdom apart form God. This is where the choice to fear man or fear God enters time and space. Do we trust in what God says, who cannot lie, or do we trust in what man says, who is born of the the father of lies. If you can measure sin, I belive that the fear of man is one of the greatest sins of our time. We choose to be directed by what people say and think and not what God has to already said. We believe in the Big Bang, apes that turned into humans, positive thinking, plurality of Gods, spirituality, self esteem (pride), the power of knowledge, etc... All of these things build up self and diminish God, they cause us to trust in ourselves and not in our Creator. They have a false sense of hope and reality but always end in despair, the need for more, and death. Knowledge and wisdom of this world has entitled men to believe somehow that we have all the answers and we can overcome what Christians know to be the curse of sin. But history shows that man, government, power, wisdom, education, military power cannot reverse the evil that exists in the heart of man and in the world as a whole. So in turn we listen to man and not to God. We trust in man and not in God, and we are all guilty of this.

Most people in America would say they are free, that they are not slaves, that they do not serve a pharoah or a ceasar, but I would say differently, I would say that they are slaves to fear, the fear of man. Jesus teaches that the one who sins is a slave to sin. They rely, trust, and believe in the wisdom of man and neglect the wisdom of God. We revolve our lives, our finances, our families, our labor, our goals, our philosophies, our fears around mankind and not the word of God.

"For it is written, "I WILL DESTROY THE WISDOM OF THE WISE, AND THE CLEVERNESS OF THE CLEVER I WILL SET ASIDE." Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God. But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, so that, just as it is written, "LET HIM WHO BOASTS, BOAST IN THE LORD." 1 Corithians 1:19-31

And this is not to say that we should neglect the things of man, but they should have no authority against the things of God and the thoughts and plans he has towards us. Gods thoughts and plans for us was to preach the Gospel in Belize and if we would have put our trust and fear in the things of man we would have missed out on the things God has established for us. After all the warnings and attempts of persuasion, and the lies of the enemy we chose to trust in God and not in man, and in the end we came to understand that it was all hype, all sensationalism, and lies trying to thwart the plans of God in the lives of those He has created and chosen. To the demise of many, most will regard the things of man and miss out on the salvation of God. They will trust in the idea that there is no God, or that everyone will go to heaven, and listen to the lies of man, and not the truths of God. They will end up neglected so great a salvation, so great a love, and will chose to pursue and achieve their own identity, instead of freely receiving a new identity, life, and creation through the grace and gift of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Day three was a pretty straight forward of driving, peace, and safety, and got me thinking about how I in someways and at some times began to listen to man and doubt God, which was evil and faithless. But even when I am faithless God is still faithful, and I praise him for that. We drove through some beautiful country, next to a volcano and down the side of an awesome mountain. We did run into some adversity regarding are camping location in Villahermosa. Both sites were no longer available so we stopped at a Holiday Inn Express and enjoyed the amenities. Tiff and Mo slept in the room and I slept in the parking lot with the Dogs. Our first two stays were at higher altitude and were somewhat cold, but this night was at sea level and much hotter and humid. I fell asleep to the sound of two panting dogs, traffic, and people enjoying the resturant near by, but actually had the best night sleep of the trip so far. We enjoyed nice showers and a nice breakfast of beans and eggs in the morning. We also filled up on water, and we thank our friends Kate and Charlie for the water filtration pump, it has come in handy, although we still have texas water in the tank of our vanagon. And I almost forgot, at one of our gas station stop we ran into a family on their way to cancun who were originally from whereelse, Boulder, Colorado, who now live in mexico. And we also had another American come up to us from Arizona who saw the plate and he too was originally from boulder colorado. This was our second encouter with americans, but this time three groups all originally from Colorado.

Please in your life do not waste your life achieving some false identity, repent and freely recieve the identity that God has given through His Son, one of righteousness, hope and peace.

Day 2: Two missed exits and a confused GPS

"In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ; and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls. As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful searches and inquiries, seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow." 1 Peter 1:6-11

I thank God that we do not have a King, a Savior, a Friend, a Brother, a God who is not far off. We do not serve a distant God who sits on a throne and just watches, but we have a God who chose to enter into our folly and our rebellion that he may sympathize and endure the same burdens and trials that we go through.

"Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need." Hebrews 4:14-16

When Jesus is the most weighty and precious possession in our lives, then all other things begin to seem meaningless and empty. So when you face trial or adversity you are able to suffer well, because you have a King that can sympathize with you, that will walk with you through the suffering, will teach you in the suffering, and in turn you begin to know your King more and you become more like Him, growing to sympathize with others who are going through trials in their lives. Thank Jesus that he chose to come into human history, to become like us, to become the least of us, and to live the perfect life on our behalf, take upon his body and soul the wrath of God that we deserve, to die the death that we are condemned to, to bury sin in the grave seperating its consequences as far as the east is from the west, and to rise again conquering sin, satan, death, hell, and demons on our behalf. What great news, what a great salvation, what a great God and Savior.

So on day two of our journey when we were side tracked twice off exits and lost in the forth largest city in Mexico, we did not have fear admist our trial, we had the comfort of the Spirit of a conquering savior admist our trial sympathizing with our distress and helping us to find answers and the way back to our toll roads and destinations. And through the distress not once did we ever fear for our situation or our lives. The exits in mexico can be very tricky because they lack good signs and are very abrupt sometimes, so because of this we accidently missed/took two wrong exists which put us off our intended highways and searching for a place to turn around, and turning around in mexico is not just getting of the next exit and getting back on, their infrastructure isn't always like that. We had a GPS but it wasn't always accurate and some times landed us a little off the mark, so we had to do it by sight and in cooperation with GPS program. The first exit took us into the outer edges of a major city and the second missed exit forced me to do a U-Turn in the middle of the highway, which later caused me some distress because it also caused me to miss the toll booth, but we worked it out in the end at the other end of the toll road. But the two missed exits didn't compare to the getting lost in rush hour in the forth largest town in Mexico. Our travels took us around the largest city, Mexico city, and into a city called Puebla. Our GPS wouldn't take addresses so I put in coordinates to our destination and in all the crazy traffic (they don't have lanes on the city streets, its basically drive as you can find room and a place to fit into) neglected to look at the map in our camping book that gave more specific direction. So inspite of the written map we followed the GPS, but it landed us in the wrong spot in some back neighborhood where the locals did not know of the place we were looking for. So we headed back to the main roads where traffic was now even worse and forced us into another neighborhood because we could not turn around. Anyway 45 minutes later after asking for directions, going down one way streets, and watching the sun begin to set we found out street and three men who flagged us down to guide us in to our location. The three men lived in the resort we were going to, and one spoke great english and was a huge fan of volkswagon westfalia's. Anyway the place had so much character. I don't have a picture but it was a mix between RV park, apartments, housing, and resort. So we parked began to set up camp and prepare our bodies and minds for the next day. I will say this was one of the longest days of my life I was ready to call it a night.

Thank God that He is not one to keep us from suffering, or take away our suffering, but He is one who suffered for the whole world and walks with us through our sufferings showing us how to suffer well and rejoice always in the praise of His name, His salvation, and His victory over our rebellion ad folly.

Day 1: Jonah I know how you felt, you ran and I laid out a fleece.

"But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD." Jonah 1:3

To compare Jonah's situation to my situation is an understatement but in some ways I believe I know how he felt when God asked him to go and preach to the whole city of Nineveh. Jonah was asked to go to a city that hated his people, sought to kill his people, and he was told to bring a message of bad news:

"And Jonah began to enter into the city a day’s journey, and he cried, and said, Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown." Jonah 3:4

There wasn't even the promise of hope, just a message of judgement and perishing and for me and my family we were just traveling into a country of the unknown to blend in and pursue our journey to Belize (and these people weren't even against me), but when the flesh is weak and grieved it is very easy to come to the end of yourself and even so much so that I laid out a fleece before God. In the book of Judges God asks Gideon to rescue his people, and in Gideons distress he comes to God for a sign, twice.

"And Gideon said unto God, If thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said, Behold, I will put a fleece of wool in the floor; and if the dew be on the fleece only, and it be dry upon all the earth beside, then shall I know that thou wilt save Israel by mine hand, as thou hast said. And it was so: for he rose up early on the morrow, and thrust the fleece together, and wringed the dew out of the fleece, a bowl full of water. And Gideon said unto God, Let not thine anger be hot against me, and I will speak but this once: let me prove, I pray thee, but this once with the fleece; let it now be dry only upon the fleece, and upon all the ground let there be dew. And God did so that night: for it was dry upon the fleece only, and there was dew on all the ground." Judges 6:36-40

Laying out a fleece and asking for a sign from God is very infrequently seen in the Bible and therefore should be something that is very infrequently done in the christians life (this was the first time during our calling and the first time in my christian walk that I had ever been to a point to ask for a clear cut sign). You can see Gideons fear in verse 39 regarding God's anger towards his request, and recall that Jesus even rebuked the jews for there need for a sign:

"But He answered and said to them, "An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign; and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet; for just as JONAH WAS THREE DAYS AND THREE NIGHTS IN THE BELLY OF THE SEA MONSTER, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. "The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment, and will condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here." Matthew 12:39-41
Early in the morning on the day we were to cross into Mexico, while my soul was feeling like a "grasshopper", and as I looked at my family I asked Jesus, if this is your will for me please show me a sign, a sign of reservation at the border, whether it be our side of theirs. I knew God has the power to control a mans heart (we even witnessed this first hand in the court room at Mo's custody hearing), so I asked for a sign of reservation from someone regarding our travels into Meixco.

God answered very clearly. Our time at the border was about as smooth as it could have possibly been and all the people were helpful and hospitable. We paid the toll on the US side, drove right through customs on the Mexico side with no vehicle check. Then we needed to get our tourist cards and register our vehicle for travel. I thought this process would be confusing and time consuming, but our crossing had small lines and all the resources we needed all in one place. There was a bank, a copy place, immigration, and vehicle registration all in a well kept building that looked like a airport check in lobby. God had answered and we were on our way to his calling.

Our first day was about 560Km and in our car that was about 7hrs. The first town we entered into was on the border and was called Reynosa, and our first experience coming out of immigration was a guy running a stop sign and almost hitting us, but after that it was a clean vibrant city with, color and life. People were not in fear they were just living normal lives as they walked the streets and went about their busniess. There was even real horse power, horse drawn truck beds, it was awesome. Our travels took us on toll (cuota) roads the entire way to our destination. In between we saw a large precense from the federal police and military, which is the governments way to create authority and fear against the rising crime. Most of their questions were conversations about our car, our dogs, and Mo. Nice people just doing their job to make Mexico an even more beautiful country. We learned about the roads, turn offs, gas stations, towns, and the culture as we passed each Km throughout the day. Their are villages, people, children, goats, cows, bus stops, bicycles, horses, and donkeys all along the side of the highway. The things we saw would make american moms gasp at the potential danger. All of these things plus huge speedbumps are why they don't recommend you to drive at night through Mexico.

Anyway we made it safely and timely to our first destination in Matehuala, which was a nice resort called Las Palmas with an rv park, villas, putt putt golf, and a pool for Mo.

Praise Jesus for our first day. 

Like Grasshoppers

Thus they told him, and said, "We went in to the land where you sent us; and it certainly does flow with milk and honey, and this is its fruit."Nevertheless, the people who live in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large; and moreover, we saw the descendants of Anak there. "Amalek is living in the land of the Negev and the Hittites and the Jebusites and the Amorites are living in the hill country, and the Canaanites are living by the sea and by the side of the Jordan." Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, "We should by all means go up and take possession of it, for we will surely overcome it." But the men who had gone up with him said, "We are not able to go up against the people, for they are too strong for us." So they gave out to the sons of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, "The land through which we have gone, in spying it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants; and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great size."There also we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak are part of the Nephilim); and we became like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight." Numbers 13:27-33
Sitting on the other side of the border it is easy to look towards Mexico, and unknown country, with unknown cities, unknown peoples, unknown dangers, and to feel like grasshoppers in the eyes of these things. It is easy to hear the unfaithful spies and their discouragement and their unbelief in the promises of God. But in the midst of the doubt there is always a Joshua and a Caleb (today that came in the form of a little lady from conneticut named Naomi and Mary at the insurance agency. Naomi has a daughter who lives in central mexico and travels to the United States three times a year, and mary confirmed the safest route through the interior of Mexico). The jewish nation were comissioned to enter in Canaan, the promised land, but because of the fear of man and not the fear of God, they received death instead of life and the promise. As sons and daughters of God we trust and have faith in God, but our faith is not blind our faith is based on assurances and evidence,

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen." Hebrews 11:1

God had shown himself true to the nation of Israel, but they had no faith they were filled with unbelief in His promises, His evidences, and the substance of things hoped for, so in turn they perished in the desert, they never received life or saw the promised land. God has shown Himself so true in our journey to Belize, and our faith is so full of evidences along the way. As christians our faith is full of evidences such as: archeological, linguistical, historical, genetic, and genealogical. The bible is the most supported ancient manuscript, and most of all the testimony and evidence of justification and forgiveness of sins to all men who repent and believe in the Son, Jesus.

Pray that God has favor on us and show us Himself strong, the true promise land, and gives us encouragement, strength, and a humble will to persevere. So that he will be lifted up.

From the Apostle Paul,

"Some, to be sure, are preaching Christ even from envy and strife, but some also from good will; the latter do it out of love, knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel; the former proclaim Christ out of selfish ambition rather than from pure motives, thinking to cause me distress in my imprisonment. What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed; and in this I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice, for I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayers and the provision of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, according to my earnest expectation and hope, that I will not be put to shame in anything, but that with all boldness, Christ will even now, as always, be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. But if I am to live on in the flesh, this will mean fruitful labor for me; and I do not know which to choose. But I am hard-pressed from both directions, having the desire to depart and be with Christ, for that is very much better; yet to remain on in the flesh is more necessary for your sake. Convinced of this, I know that I will remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy in the faith, so that your proud confidence in me may abound in Christ Jesus through my coming to you again." Philipians 1:15-26