Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Wiebe Quotes Mother Teresa

 
"It is one thing to say I am a sinner, but let someone
else say that about me and then I feel it. I am up in arms. If I am falsely
accused I may suffer, whereas if correction be founded on even a small
reality, something in me having deserved it, then often it hurts more. We
must be happy that our faults are known as they are."
 
Mother Teresa

Moving Back to California

Four years ago we moved to Alabama. Presently we are planning to move back to CA-- so I can teach school there. Pray for us that it will go well with us, that we can remain faithful, and that I  will fulfill my duties as a dedicated teacher. Thank-You.

Wiebe Quotes on Time for Family

 
 
 
Very Thought Provoking:
 
If you don’t have enough time for your family, you can be 100% certain you are not following God’s will for your life.
 
Patrick M. Morley
 
 
Source: The Business Bulletin . July 2013

Good News Update July 2013

Dear friends; since our last update the crew has returned from Haiti and the dam is completed as we planned. Thanks so much for all your support in whatever way you have given! This has been an extremely dry year in Haiti! The normal spring rainy season only gave a few showers, not nearly enough to water the crops and produce food for the many families all over the country! The hunger is beyond what has been seen for many years! The floor of the basin behind the dam is seeping water like it did after the initial construction, this water is collecting in the river bed downstream from the dam, more on this later.
 
We need silt from rain runoff to seal the basin, after the initial construction only one rain has “came down” as they call it, or flash flooded. It brought down some silt, but not enough to do the job. With the extremely dry conditions we are still waiting for enough to seal off and then fill the basin.

We need to return soon to complete some downstream erosion control to prevent a reoccurrence the wash out that happened last hurricane season. An estimated 8ft wall of water came over the dam during Hurricanes Isaac & Sandy last fall. This tremendous force needs to be broken up and diverted to successfully maintain what we have. Our plan is to install some Gabion below the dam to take this brunt force. Gabion are large wire baskets which we will fill with rocks and tie together, a very common erosion control technique used in Haiti as well in North American. We have been consulting some US engineers and we think we have a workable solution. We anticipate this taking about 2 weeks for a small crew; our estimated budget is about $35,000. Of this we have a good 40% and we still need about $20,000, we would appreciate those of you who would feel to help with this to do so. Thanks again for your help and support of dear hungry folks, including Church brethren in Haiti.
 
Currently the water that leaks through the dam is continuing to run down the streambed. We are currently diverting that stream into a clean out on the pipeline about ¾ of a mile downstream from the dam. This is not a new idea; it has been done many times since the pipeline was installed. The downside to this maneuver is that a flash flood can fill the cleanout with rocks, and plug the pipe (this has also happened several times over the years). To prevent this, the Water Committee has hired a full time watchman to close the lid if a flood seems imminent.
 
Since the country is so dry, the irrigation system is a real bright spot, since those farmers can keep growing a crop. We are happy with the Water Committee’s performance, and it seems they are taking their job very serious. When we appointed the Committee, some in the community thought it was a power grab by those folks on the Committee, and did not want to recognize them. As they have gone about their work in a conscientious manner and with a visible presence from us on a frequent basis working with them and supporting them, it seems that the community is also taking them serious. They have also used their authority to deny water to those who have not paid their water fees, and to have some vandals arrested recently, which establishes the pecking order, so to speak. This seems to have further heightened the respect the community has for the Committee.
 
On the Mexico front, The cool of winter is over - and the heat of summer is on, recently reported as 120°F! Our involvement at Agua de Vida continues. This past winter we donated a van for Mario & Veronica's personal use and a 15 passenger van for the children. Now they can go on field trip as a family! Or just have reliable transportation again.
 
A new beginning at Agua de Vida is Babies! They have recently accepted 4 babies and with it a new commitment. This also includes higher cost of operations! We are putting out a plea for monthly commitments for the next five months. If the Lord speaks to your heart you can give your monthly donation to GNFI. This will be a blessing to all involved with the children at Agua de Vida enjoying the benefit of faithful givers. May we join God in his passion of loving the children of the world.

Wiebe Quotes Allen on Missionary Methods

“From what has already been said it is manifest that St. Paul did not go about as a missionary preacher merely to convert individuals: he went to establish churches from which the light might radiate throughout the whole country round. The secret of success in this work lies in beginning at the very beginning. It is the training of the first converts which sets the type for the future. If the first converts are taught to depend on the missionary, if all work, evangelistic, educational, social is concentrated in his hands, the infant community learns to rest passively upon the man from whom they receive their first insight into the gospel. Their faith having no sphere for its growth and development lies dormant. A tradition very rapidly grows up that nothing can be done without the authority and guidance of the missionary, the people wait for him to move, and, the longer they do so, the more incapable they become of any independent action. Thus the leader is confirmed in the habit of gathering all authority into his own hands, and of despising the powers of his people, until he makes their inactivity an excuse for denying their capacity. The fatal mistake has been made of teaching the converts to rely upon the wrong source of strength. Instead of seeking it in the working of the Holy Spirit in themselves, they seek it in the missionary. They put him in the place of Christ, they depend upon him.”
(Missionary Methods: St. Paul’s or Ours?  page 81.  Roland Allen © 1962.)
Source:  Bob Goodnough - flatlanderfaith.wordpress.com