Chepo

Here is the latest.
We had our LST Information meeting in Chepo on Sunday, Jan. 4. Although many people attended, only a small handful actually have enough English to do the program. So, I am attempting to provided beginning English classes for all the others. One for older children and two for teens and adults. This has been scary for me since I am not a teacher and have never taught English. But the Lord is so good and works through our weaknesses and He is providing help and inspiration. One of his greatest provisions in Chepo is the sister-in-law of the local preacher. She has been studying English for 3 months and she has come to stay with them during our visit (she lives in another city) so that she can help us communicate a little. Of course, after only 3 months of study, her English is pretty limited but considering that without her we would have no one who spoke any English, we think her English is great!!! She is also helping me with the beginners classes and I can't imagine how I would have done it without her.

Now, although all that sounds well and good, we have had a big snag in our work this week. Last Thursday night Greg came down with a high fever. On Friday we headed into the city so that we could take him to a doctor in an environment where we could communicate with the medical staff (either through people who speak fluent English and could interpret for us or, as it turned out, with a doctor that speaks fluent English). Greg kept having fever for 2 or 3 days and has had some digestive problems since then. On Monday night, I started getting fevers and digestive problems. We are still waiting for word from the doctor about what we might have had, and chances are, he may not be able to identify it for sure. But we are happy to report to we are both recovering. Although we aren't back to normal yet, we're very weak and tired, we are getting out of bed and eating solid foods. We have been staying in Panama City at the house of one of the local preachers and they have taken great care of us! We haven't decided yet when we will go back to continue our work in Chepo, but hopefully we will head back this weekend. We are sad to have missed a week of time with our contacts there but are trusting that the Lord is working through all of this. Originally we were suppose to work in Chepo only 2 weeks and we had decided to do 3. I guess we were only suppose to do 2, just not 2 consecutively.

One positive about our unexpected time in the city, we are very close to having an apartment. We have found one that is in the area we need to live and is affordable and it is suppose to be ready when we return to the city on the 24th or 25th. Only the formalities remain. I am very hopeful and excited about this. It was starting to look like we were not going to find a place and would have to crowd in with some local family or stay in a hotel. We are praying for the Lord to work out the details so that we can move into our own apartment when our work in Chepo is done.

But he said to me (Jesus to Paul), "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
~2 Corinthians 12:9&10