Horses are flight animals. They are not going to wait around to investigate what makes them fearful, horses just spin and run. That is how they have survived. Today while riding Meg came to the edge of the pasture and froze. Her eyes got big, ears were raised and I could feel her tensing. Within a split second she spun and raced off the other direction. I did not spin as quickly and her unexpected turn caused me to have a slow motion moment. My body was out of control and as she spun I pulled back on the reins and prayed out loud, “Lord help me.” I slipped from the saddle and hit the ground. Landing on my padded backside I was so thankful to not be hurt. Meg stopped running and looked back at me. After dusting my self off I went to retrieve her. We went back to investigate what had caused her fear. A stick was in the path so I assumed maybe she thought it was a snake. I picked it up and threw it across the fence. We walked around for a few minutes and then I heard it. It was a four-wheeler. Horses have hearing that is eight times stronger than humans. She had heard the motor from the four-wheeler and that was what had caused her fear. Before Meg came to us her former owners used to chase her with four-wheelers until she was tired and that is how they disciplined her to get her to do what they wanted. She had a true fear of something that most of us just take for granted.
As I have pondered Meg’s actions it has reminded me of the many people we come across each day that have been wounded by things that I take for granted. Their immediate response to hearing, smelling or seeing their fear is to spin and run. Their irrational response to something that seems benign seems irrational to us, but their experience tells them to run from that which has hurt them. My response to Meg was to calm her down and to give her another chance. This is great advice for those of us deal with wounded souls. Try to understand what is behind their fears, and if this person is someone in your daily life, take the time to hear their story.

When I was a child my mom would be in a hurry and then something would go wrong. Her next words would be, “haste makes waste.” Then she would take time to go back and clean up the mess and take her time completing the task. Now that I am a mom I find myself doing the same thing. When my hands and my mind are so busy I can lose sight of the details then allow something to slip.
There are many ways to apply “haste makes waste” not just in keeping a home or doing a manual task, but also in business or life in general. In business when we cut corners or are impatient and try to get ahead or get rich quick we can make not just waste, but also break laws and create havoc. Many are impatient with relationships and get involved physically before they are married or even break their marriage vow looking for more than what their marriage offers.
Few of us like the word “wait”. We want what we want now but God is very clear when he says to wait. Psalm 27:14 says, “Wait for the Lord, be courageous and let your heart be strong. Wait for the Lord.” When we get ahead of God’s timing we make waste, but in His timing all is right. Sometimes God still wants to prepare us for what is come. That is why the verse says be courageous and let your heart be strong. Our spiritual muscles as we wait. Sometimes the situation or circumstance is not ready yet to bring about God’s ultimate plan. John 11 tells the story of Lazarus and how Jesus waited until the right time to raise Lazarus so that God would receive the ultimate glory.
When you find yourself hurrying and realizing that you are about to have a mess on your hands, step back, grab a deep breath and ask God to help you to not get ahead of Him. Haste does make waste whether big or small.

One truth we have learned this week is that no matter where you live families are being attacked by the enemy. Doug has invested the last 3 weeks teaching on marriage. All this week we have met with various groups discussing marriage. Today we met with the Spanish speaking ladies bible study. As we discussed marriage we talked about how God desires husbands to love their wives and wives to respect their husband. These are 2 entirely different commands but if we don’t respect and love each other we will experience conflict. We talked about how marriage is a divine dance where when we serve each other and listen to each other we will have a dynamic marriage. That is great wisdom no matter what country we live in.

We spent time resting and preparing for our return home this afternoon. We will meet again with a small group. We have thoroughly enjoyed our time here. Please pray for our safe return tomorrow and that we will not have problem with travel or customs. Your prayers have been appreciated.

Once again God revealed to us how much we take for granted. Mike and Lynn were able to go to the Mayan village today. Their assignment was to tell Bible stories. They began at the home of Rudolpho. He speaks both Spanish and Mayan. The boys asked if he had ever heard the story of David and Goliath. He said no. The guys could not believe he had never heard the story. After listening to the story Rudolpho went to the next home with the guys and this time he told the story. In this village where many adults do not read, story telling is how the biblical message gets passed along.
The ladies attended the English bible study of Jonah. Then tonight we helped throw a block party. Mike showed ultimate servant hood by dressing up as a chicken to bring in the crowd. It did not have the desired effect. One child went crying and running to her mom. Even though we had a rough start we eventually drew a good crowd. The children had lots of fun. They took home many beany babies and lots of prizes. We shared with parents about the church. It was a great success.

Thanks for the many prayers.

Wow what a day we had at Chan Chen. We started the morning with the van breaking down. The men went with Doug to try to get it fixed. The parts had to be ordered so the men stayed in Playa and painted the nursery at the church.

The women loaded up the truck and headed to Chan Chen a Mayan village. We did a women’s event with 30 of the ladies there. The ladies laughed, talked, listened to yet Bible stories and testimonies. While the ladies had their meeting we also had a portion of our team do a children’s event. Cindy said there were at least 60 children there. I think the true number was about 45 or 50 but they were everywhere. For all of the girls they felt like the children multiplied by the minute.

Santiago is one of the young people who helped our team today. He is 16 but looks like he is 12. He speaks some Spanish and is studying English at the training center. He was not in school because he could not afford the fees. He was super helpful as he instructed the children how to do each game. Our team communicated with him with hand motions and a few words. As he corralled the children our appreciation for him grew! At the end of our time the girls expressed their appreciation for our young friend and we gave the missionaries money for his return to the classroom. He shows great potential to be a great leader in the community. We were also thrilled to find out he would be receiving one of the computers we brought.

Thank you all so much for your prayers. Please pray that the van will be fixed quickly. It limits what can be done without transportation. We will be participating in bible study tomorrow and are supposed to do a block party tomorrow night. Blessings to you all for your part of this journey.

Arturo is one gentleman we met at church today. He is originally from Guatemala. Arturo asked a couple of our team members what we were doing in Playa. We told him we were part of a mission team. He asked, you are missionaries? We said yes but short term missionaries. We will return to our country next week. His eyes lit up as he said, “I accepted Christ because some missionaries came to my country. He proceeded to tell us how some American missionaries told the story of Jesus and a lady who lived across the street from his friend came to know Christ. She was so changed that she gave the missionaries her house to have church in. Arturo asked his friend what was happening at the house and his friend told him about Jesus. His friends family member helped lead Arturo to Christ because the missionaries had led him. With great admiration Arturo said he had a special place in his heart for missionaries. We know we will not be here long this week but we hope our influence on this community will result in changed lives.

We had a great time worshipping with our brothers and sisters in Christ. Mike and Lynn shared testimonies today about how God has made their marriages stronger. Many were touched by their words.

Please pray for us tomorrow as we do another women’s event in the Mayan Zone. We have no idea how this will go or even if anyone will come. Please pray God will send who should be there. Please pray for our team as we continue to serve.

Praise the Lord He showed up big today at the women’s conference. Let me begin by thanking Lynn, Mike, Doug and Christian for keeping the children. Lynn was up to his elbows in baby poop but everything came out well. I forgot to ask for prayer for that but you may want to pray for Lynn because it was definitely traumatic.
The actual conference was a blessing. The ladies began by sharing fun facts about themselves as they played a fun game. Then Cindy shared a wonderful testimony of how God is faithful even when difficult times come our way. Then we thrilled to see the ladies fully engaged as we heard the story of Esther. The ladies were honest in admitting many were struggling. The focus of the day was that God loves and cares for you and He has a plan and purpose for your life. He also wants us to understand it is in His timing. The ladies then used their creative abilities to make an angel and key chains. We ate and enjoyed warm conversations. It was a great day!

Thank you for your many prayers. We knew His presence today in a great way. Tomorrow we will worship with the church families as we attend church in Paamul and Playa del Carmen. We will attend both English and Spanish services. Thanks again for your prayers.