Merry Christmas

DSC_0019Greetings

I just wanted to write and say I pray you all have a blessed Christmas this year and to encourage you to come and receive from the Spirit of Grace tomorrow at our service tomorrow here at Harvest. I have a word to share and we will be sharing the Lords table celebrating His Gift to the World Jesus. Slow down from the pressure of the world and enjoy. We all enjoy the great stuff about this season ,food and family and gifts. but it can be an incredibly stressful time of demands being placed on us financially and emotionally.That’s the worlds pressure placed upon you that the Father never intended the celebration of His Son to be. The Law places demands but Grace supplies the answer to these demands. Don’t let Christmas be a time of grudging obligation to fill the list of what is expected by the world to be right. Receive the abundant grace supplied by the Messiah to experience the Kingdom of righteousness ,peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. It is His pleasure to give you the Kingdom.
For those who are out of town or far away that I don’t get to see have a Merry Christmas. to yo all that are near I hope to see you tomorrow.
Shalom

Richard

Happy Thanksgiving

Hey.
How are ya’ll doing? All is well here, its been a long day and I am glad to be home. I had my little guests today. I wasn’t 100% sure they’d be back, but I prepared just in case. I had dug out what little person clothes I posess (very little), some toys and sippy cups and some good smelling shampoo. (It may sound crazy that I have to bathe little kids if they are going to be in the HOUSE, but you must understand that their method of cooking is over open wood fires, that they dont wear shoes or diapers and that they only bathe once a week at “home.” I have found that if i try to bring them in the house “as is” they really really don’t feel comfortable and nor do I as the wood smoke smell , dirt and other “natural” layers of smells rub off really fast on the furniture and rugs and blankets…………….and since we wash by hand it isn’t feasible to just willy nilly dirty up the few blankets and towels we have.)
So anyway, by 7am I was anxiously awaiting them and by 7:30 had given up with a slight sigh of relief! Then at 8 they came ambling up the hill like turtles. (Imagine a 14 month old can only walk so fast anyway.) the baby is yet unnamed, I just call him Buddy and the girl is Seska and she is 5. She would get imp[atient walking up the hill and would occasionally attempt to carry Buddy.
So I went out when they got here and asked them if they were staying today. Seska said yes and pushed Buddy at me. I trundled him in to bathe and the girl set to swinging. We had breakfast at the table and immediately the little girl was at the door wanting out. she stayed out most of the day just popping in every half hour or so to see if ‘Buddy” was okay. Buddy seemed to warm right up, eating and playing and napping at will.
By noon I was WORN OUT. This babysitting is no joke. Seriously. By 1, Buddy was napping and I figured I’d work on uphostering an old bench i’ve been putting off when a sorely used Explorer showed up honking like mad. When I went to check on who it could be I found an elderly american gal from Punta Banda that I met years ago thru the Theatre. She told me she had a crisis and needed help. She usually watches her elderly neighbor (age 71) but had an appointment in san Diego and needed help, someone told her to ask me etc etc.
The woman was so upset that I said okay okay I’ll go and sit with the woman until 4pm when the maid arrives. She waited while I bundled up the two charges I already had and we followed her back to this huge house on the beach, where she introduced me to Greta the lady she watches who “oh by the way has Alzheimer’s”…………….I was taken aback but already there and Seska was enthralled with a giant plasma screen tv and the oceans rolling almost to the front window so I said okay okay I’ll watch her……………….with the quotation about widows and children rolling about in my head also mind you.
A few minutes later and I was alone with two children and Greta.
The baby slept and Seska watched a video of the Little Mermaid. I set to feeding Greta. It wa sa bizarre situation. I have never had contact with anyone with Alzhiemer’s .
Greta seemed perfectly at home with me and in fact thought I was Suzanne , her sister. She was talking about what a great day we had had yesterday and how excited she was to go to New York tomorrow. This statement impacted me so heavily as I realized this woman who looked wholly healthy had no idea who I really was or where she was. She told me , “Oh Suzanne you are so beautiful!” over and over. To break the rote I finally asked the lady, “How old are you anyway , Greta?”
Without hesitation, she answered, “Well, twenty!” and her s,mile was infectious. I thought, wow, that’s cool, I mean if I had to be any age 20 would be fine. And maybe that’s what we’d all like to return to.
Greta and I proceeded to talk about her dreams and she so enjoyed “Buddy.” Really the afternoon passed quickly. When Greta napped , I took the kids down to the waves and let them play around, the sun had come out and I taught Seska to hunt for shells. Before I knew it was 4pm and the maid/caregiver of Greta arrived to take over.
I got the kids ready to go and went to say goodbye to the lady. I kissed her cheek an dtold her I would return when I could. As I turned to go she grabbed my wrist, and startled me a little.
“What? I said before I could think.
“tell them,” she said.
“Tell them, who what?”, I was tired and off guard.
“Tell the people ,” she said, “tell them I love them.”
I answered that I would and kissed her on the head, but her eyes haunted me all the way home as what she said kept resounding in my ears. Her one big desire today and maybe everyday now, is that people know she loves them…………….and for some reason I identified that with our Lord and how that really is His one desire. That people know how much He loves them.Maybe He spoke through her today. I know I feel like He did because it wont go away…….an dHe can flow through anyone any situation.
Lord bless her and people like her, the helpless and the orphans…………….
In Jesus’ Name,
happy Thanksgiving.

Giving Thanks For the Pioneers

Giving Thanks

I give thanks for all the pioneers that have come before me that broke the ground that I sow in. Everyone must not forget those that pushed ahead into the time that we now stand in to reap the benefits of their perseverance and sufferings and joys of grace that the Lord enabled them with in order for us to stand where we are today. They may not have been aware that they were pioneers at the time. Only struggling to survive in a hostile and new world that others feared to enter in. alone and despite the fear of the unknown along with the voices of those who warned them of what might happen if they entered into the land inhabited by giants. But giants must be conquered in order for others to follow into easier settling in. that there my be expansion of the kingdom the Lord has envisioned. Not all are pioneers. Other must follow to do the work of perfecting the vision and establishing the safe place we dwell in today. But don’t forget the pioneers. They are not remembered often nor is their sacrifice honored save in small reference by some . But remember these things you enjoy and sometime take for granted as normal today were once strange and forbidden by the Status Quo. They were warned against and tales rehear-st of the doom that lay be before those who strayed outside the boundaries of what is established. So go the pioneers led only by vision and a grace of courage to endure . Always the temptation to turn back they somehow pushed forward knowing there was more out there. Always dissatisfied with the way things are . Thank god for the grace of the pioneer that leads on to conquer the mountain that lays before. . Only in the future will they be recognized as they stand before the Lord on that day when all the deeds of men are judged. Will they hear and they themselves realized what was accomplished by what the world saw as foolish and but their hearts knew was more. So if you are a pioneer of today rejoice in your reward. Knowing every step you take forward into the unknown by the grace of the Lord led only be His still small voice bidding you to come on for there is more. Knowing that in the end of your pioneering lays ahead. Your conquest to be enjoyed by those who followed in your steadfast pushing forward into the land of more. Await the voice that surely you shall hear from the master builder when He pronounces, “Well done good and faith servant My Pioneer. Nov 8.2013 Richard Chambliss Southaven Ms

A Little History of the Baja Mission

What I NOW see……………

When I arrived in Maneadero, from Los Angeles California with my
second husband and three children , I had a very narrow view of the
world, although I saw it as so very WIDE.
We immediately heard the Lord’s Voice telling us to offer shelter to
all who came especially those whom no one else wanted to work
with……………

We eagerly and with much faith in our “Christian family ” found
ourselves joyfully and fruitfully living with as many heroin addicts
and prostitutes who were being healed by Jesus’ Power as the place we
rented could accommodate.

It was san awesome time of signs , wonders an dmiracles that brought
people from literally all over the world to see……………

As we outgrew the houses we had cumulatively rented, the Lord spoke
that we should purchase a piece of land and so we eagerly set out to
do so…………….

after about b6 months of prayer we were presented with two lots in
very different areas of the Ensenada municipality…………..the
first wa san immediate “NO” from Yahweh, the 2nd, which involved a
three mile hike in the mud up the side of a mountain was an immediate
“YES.”

It was a lovely but very very unlikely place for my husband and I ,
who were heavily committed to street ministry. We had thought the Lord
would place us in a location AMONGST the PEOPLE, and this land was far
from everything. no light, no phone, no water and NO NEIGHBORS???

What was the Lord doing?? I continued to have dreams of ministering
to, preaching the Gospel to INDIANS. This new place , nor our current
locale offered neither. I was frustrated. When would I be tHRUST into
to the JUNGLES???? When would I reach my destiny???

Our home church, who had adopted us much as God’s people adopted
David after his anointing, paid the payments on the new land withing
6 months. A miracle. A series of miracles then led to the building of
a huge lower floor, 2200 feet square, then a rather more miraculous
finishing of that building plus a second story in only three days
total!

It was evident the Lord wa sat work, but still I struggled to see why
He had chosen this spot. Then , the addicts and prostitutes stopped
coming in and we wondered MORE………….had we heard the Lord,
really? Were we located in the right spot all alone on a mountainside
with nothing to do but work with what we had and literally spend time
praying??

Two long years later, thousands of hours of praying in tongues and
wondering if we had missed it, we began to hear a sound in the night.
All night long and then all 24 hours long giant bulldozers went to
work. For weeks they worked then builders came in and to our amazement
the local “terra-teniente” (very similar to a southern american
plantation owner) was building a “Cuarteria” or a very spre labor
living camp, less than a half mile away from
us………………………it was an ugly cinderblock building with
8 by 8 block wall cement floor rooms, 16 of them, with no
electricity or running water. Just square bare cold rooms with one
window per each two rooms that contained no glass even. No restroom
or bathing or cooking or washing facilities included, this gigantic
“tenement” was thrown up and immediately, literally within 1 day of
completion it was filled……………….with migrant field workers
and their families from Oaxaca, Guerrerro, and Chiapas.

We literally went overnight from having NO neighbors or people to
“share the agape ” with to having 25 families consisting of two wives
per husband and about an average of 6-8 children per wife living
right next door!

I was THRILLED and AMAZED as I saw them bath in the open air and the
baies tromp about with nary a stitch of clothing all speaking
different dialects of Spanish which sounded more like chinese to me.

Finally I GOT it! I wasn’t going to the people of the selva but they
were coming to me!

And so they did. We were the only neighbors! And neighbors we were.
As the parents worked long hard 16 hour days in the fields the
children approached us and we immediately rose to the challenge of
feeding them while mama and daddy were away! We doctored their wounds,
told them bible stories taught them Spanish and how to “worship” and
what God’s Name was!
For me and Pas Frank it was such a blessing, but we didn’t understand
as the people who had become integral part of our church family here
began to run , yes, run -not walk away. They hated the indigenous and
although they had seemed full of Christ’s love a centuries old
prejudice took over and they found reason leave to move on and
even though apparently well rooted in churches in their old
neighborhoods they really obviously wanted nada to do with ministering
the Resurrection message to these people.

It broke my heart, but we kept on. Now I’ve learned more about the
deep rooted prejudice against the Indian peoples………………

You see people groups in Mexico are defined culturally into two
groups: mestizo and indigenous
or Indian. Groups are defined culturally so that the term mestizo
means someone who is
culturally Mexican in language, dress, and perspective. Someone who
does not speak
Spanish but speaks an Indian dialect and dresses in traditional Indian
garb would be
considered Indian, even if that individual were Caucasian, like me.
Accordingly, during the course of one’s life, it is possible for
someone to change their ethnic grouping by simply
adopting the language and habits of another ethnic group.”
” Indeed, in Mexico an increasing number of Indians are becoming
mestizos by adopting the Spanish language
and de-emphasizing their Indian customs. This is what we are seeing as
the internet is available by cell phone and other easily obtained
means. The peoples eyes are being opened and they try as quickly as
possible to escape their origins and to assimilate to an MTV
society.”

We have now been here for 10 years , living as their neighbors,
sharing water, goods and meals and are beginning to understand the
tremendous battles these people face when only confronted with a
traditional view of the Church of our Lord and His Kingdom.
I will now try and explain some of these challenges as I hav elearned
them in hope that this information will draw unto us more information
and encourage others living on the mission field to share their
knowledge………………………”

But here ,in Baja California, Mexico the Lord has heard the cries of
the field workers. Some of the cries come because of seemingly
insurmountable challenges to return home that involve poverty, native
beliefs that detract from the Gospel, fear of rejection, but most
hurtfully, there also seems to be a general lack of support from the
middle class evangelical church
of Mexico and abroad to accept these people AS THEY ARE. Their lack of
support seems to be due to prejudice, comfort in thei churches,
viewing missions as the work of outsiders, and a vanishing vision for
the lost.
The Apostle Peter through the exhortation of the Holy Spirit made it
clear that God had a
plan for Gentiles, “I see very clearly that God doesn’t show
partiality. In every nation he
accepts
These indigenous brothers in Christ have a great desire to share the
Gospel with their own groups
no matter what the challenges or sacrifices that they might eventually
confront. Although there are many difficulties facing them, they are
the best people to reach their own with the Gospel.

Although I have lived literally among these people for years I have
JUST RECENTLY been made aware of what these people actually face when
they try to return home which is ALL of their dreams, as “Christians”
as known by traditional viewpoints of western and by proxy Mexican
brothers and sisters. This knowledge has been a shock to me and a call
to change at least on our behalf.”

Baja News

I don’t know if you recall that some of Mario’s sisters and younger
siblings, including Flo, went back to Oxa. months back, leaving here
the eldest son Domingo and the parents and grandmother and assorted
uncles and extended family. You know how they travel back and forth
…………
Well, three weeks ago, on a Saturday afternoon, we saw Domingo the
eldest awaiting the blue microbus in Maneadero and stopped to give
him a ride home. We talked with him, and I had a worship cd playing in
the truck. When we dropped him off he asked me if I could burn the cd
for him. I took it out of the stereo and gave it to him, he was so
happy. You’d of thought I gave him a new car or something quite big.
We said goodbye and hadn’t seen him since…………………….
Today, our neighbor Juanita who actually lives closer to them down
there arrived at 6am with the news that Domingo is dead. He dies at
2am this morning the same time of night that Mario passed in the same
bed…………
His father awoke to him having convulsions and he never regained
consciousness. He was 19 years old.
Frank is currently doing what he can to get things prepared for the
release of the body, most likely his “velorio” (the 3 day period
where everyone stays with the body will be at the building. We are not
sure yet.)
In this case the State Police were called in and an all out
investigation is underway into the cause of death. Two young people
dying in the same basic manner in the same home have stirred up the
authorities.
It is pretty shocking. So young and we have seen so many people taken
out this past 2 years.
He was water baptized and confessed Christ as King, but through all
that the parents have seen the Lord do, the mother has never confessed
Christ as Lord. Their is such a stronghold of witchcraft about her and
now I am learning of some challenges these people face when offered
ONLY a traditional religious approach to the Kingdom. There is no
way Domingo would have EVER come into a Traditional Church setting. He
heard the Gsopel when he visited us on Saturday evenings and on the
days we took him and others to the beach last year.
It is a sad thing, but on the other hand this could be turned for
good if it brings people to the Lord.
I don’t know what else to say but that it is just shocking to see how
fragile our time here can be. And to feel really , really grateful
that I don’t have any problem believing. Like the Kate Miner song,
“Blessed are we, for we believe.”
So many people have trouble because they “rationalize” so much.
Blessed am I because I’ve never had a doubt that He is for real.

Also, almost all of Mexico is under water. It is horrible to see what
is happening all over with the storms and they are saying that it
could even reach Baja Norte. We are taking authority over it, in
Jesus Name.

I am still working on my writing. It is like fire in my bones to get
it out. So if I am out of contact for a day or two it’ll be one of the
above things (not the water , in Jesus Name) that have us occupied

Thought you’d want to know and pray that the Lord draws His People in
thru what could be seen as tragedy…………….

Love and blessings ,
sd.

Look at the Word

The following was a word the Lord spoke to me in my prayer and waiting time. It certainly encouraged me and I hope you can be encouraged and instructed by it. Blessings in Him

Look at the Word
You look around and see and lose hope and become discouraged. Then faith slips and you put a stop to My work, says the Lord.
Look to the word. Keep it before your eyes and meditate on it. Hope will form again and courage to declare , releasing your faith instead of despair.
Be bold, be courageous to declare what I have said about this affair. and your declarations shall become proclamations in the Heavenly Kingdom. Angels shall harken and go to work. Demons shall hear and despair that their work has failed and they will turn tall and be no more.
for there shall arise from these words of Mine that you echo , a vibration that shall become a roar at the door of provision that shall open and pour forth on you the very things I have promised to do.
August 30 2013 given Richard Chambliss

At the Mission

Greetings Everybody
here are some recent pictures………

They show the children coming up for water on a hot day and you can
see their little water bottles — these children are really blessed
to be able to come get this free drinking water that is healthy and
clean. Also, almost always when I get a group of 5 or more at the same
time, I’ll go out and sit on the steps with them and tell them a
little story while they rest up for the trip home which for the ones
in these pics about 1.5 miles. I told you about the wild phenomenon
in the sky, well,

EVERYBODY in the Work Camp down below was outside watching and lots were crying and scared! We saw these 3 huge lights like chasing each other in the sky. They would go round and round in a kind of fog, then one would catch up to the other and then they would all become one. It
was crazy! I have never believed in “sightings” but this was so wild.

And the reason I am bringing it up again is that in the pic of the kids that came for water is Micaela. She asked me where those lights from the other night came from. So I said , well, who does heaven
and earth belong to? She said, Well, Yahweh and Jesus! So then she asked me about rainbows……..and gave me the chance to tell the Noah
story to her and her brothers and sisters, The point is tho, if they
didn’t come here for water I would have no chance to tell them these
things about the Lord and His World and His Word. So as we see it each
“work” we do, is like an outrech to bring people in so we can build
bridges to them and by living with them by example- show Christ’s
Love.

Also re: pic of Gregoria and her baby boy. She is 16 or 17 and came
in for the Literacy Classes. She doesn’t come for water bacause she
lives about 3 miles away……………but thru the classes I have
come to know her. About 3 weeks ago, she seemed really down and I
asked her what was wrong. She speaks so very little Spanish but i
understood that her husband had no work and they were about to get
thrown out of their room in the Camp. I prayed with her about it and
she was very broken. The next week, she jumped in the truck so happy
to tell me that her husbnd had gotten his job back the VERY NEXT day.
It was super easy to ask her if she wanted to ask Jesus to be the King of her Life! Thru the Literacy class she was saved.
Also a pic of Baby Chente and his mama Miriam. She is 17. Never would
come to Church before and she lives right there in the pueblo by the Building. She is finishing her Secondary School with us and brings Chente for his well baby exams. She was sharing with me one day last week how sad she was that the father of her child wants nothing to do with him or her…………..it gave Frank and I the opportunity to explain how the Lord is hers and Chente’s Father and how nothing is impossible. She broke down and accepted Christ on the spot on last
Clinic Day.
Yes, it is the Holy Spirit who draws the people in, but the Lord
flows thru all kinds of ways to see that ALL are given the opportunity to know Him…………………

Thanks to everyone who makes it possible for us to do these things…….

Love, Detra
Clinic 9-613

gregoria

looking at camera

resting before going home

the last drop

Hey Everyone at Harvest of Faith,

Hey Everyone at Harvest of Faith,
Well, blessings to everyone back home……..in the USA anyway. We are praying for the political situation there and for all of the young men and women who may be called to serve in a different way than us but even more needing Our Lord’s protection.
Things here have tightened up again with regards to police control and the “war” against the drug lords…….Frank won’t allow us (he, me anyone with us , after dark once again. ) With reason because with the change in governorship there is a new wave in police corruption and a hatred against Christianity. Governors of States who have proclaimed their Christianity are being actively persecuted……but those coming against these brave men do not realize who our God is and that the battle truly is His. Sometimes in the flesh tho it gets scary and we wish He would show up just a bit ahead of time. Ever working on our patience and faith.
The Lord is working in so many different ways right now.
Our last Free Medical Clinic was a good one. Two more of our young pregnant women have given birth both to boys. I’ve been blessed to attend two births and take one little mother in for a c-section (that one was a girl) in the past 4 weeks. So it has been exciting. I get to lay hands upon mothers and babies fresh into this new world!
All of the babies whose moms have received prenatal care at least over 2 months worth, most much more, were above average weight and the mothers recovered very quickly…………….even the c-section. I think I mentioned we were able to supply all of the moms, but especially the c-section (here they do the old North to South cut, ouch) with supplies provided through Wings by Hands of Hope. I have actually now made up 5 C-section/Birth kits, containing, sanitary pads, betadine, peroxide , clean drapes, gauze (c-sections,- tape, gloves, BANDAGES!!,thermometer strips, ) all things the moms would need to purchase to stay clean and sterile after birth.but cannot afford to……………….
Please relay to Hands of Hope our gratitude once again. It is great to be able to walk into a humble home in a labor camp and be able to make the women more comfortable. Since being invited to more home births I am able to assess the needs more accurately I think, praise Yahweh!
As I am sure ya’ll know it’s back to school time again and we ‘ve been busy getting vaccinations taken care of and records submitted. we had no funds for uniforms this year but praise the Lord, we have still been able to supply 7 children in primaria and 1 girl in secundaria with full or partial unis! At the end of last school cycle, I snatched up a lot of pants and white shirts that were on clearance and have been holding them for a time such as now………plus I had four little 6x size sweat outfits for PE from In His Service ministry given back at Christmas , set back……… praise the Lord, miracle uniforms! It was even exciting for me!
So we enrolled 6 new kinder students and 15 new primary school children in appropriate grades we hope…………………the Lord is Great.
Aquilino has passed from Elementary/primary School to 7th grade! Pastor Richrd can tell ya’ll about our dear Aquilino! He is a miracle and a faithful little guy who knows who Yahweh and Yeshua are and isn’t scared to tell anybody!
Due to all of this I have pulled back from teaching the literacy classes and am just doing stand-in for Norma, Barbara and Guillermo………….our students test results from their first official STATE test came in and we had 4, with 9.5t of 10 overall scores, 6 with 8.5, and the remainder at the top of the curve for their prior experience. Most of which was ZERO EXPERIENCE. The students (all women, some 14 some 57) with no prior education just literally absorb each “teachers” presence and knowledge to a point that we leave just drained………but rejoicing. Every week , against federal rules, we teach one scripture to be memorized , written and red aloud then explained in the way it impacts their lives…………….people who NEVER would have come into “CHURCH” are getting saved. We are getting 2 new students a week at present and they are in for learning to read by learning the Word first…..
Sadly, I recieved an email from a former “supporter” who said he could “no longer support these secular efforts.” I did respond that I was sad that he didn’t understand the worth of a woman being able to READ the WORD OF GOD for her self, for her children, for her parents, for her neighbors…………” Because that is what we are after and what is happening. People must understand that the MEDICAL CLINICS and CLASSES and LITERACY training and homework support and meals are ALL secondary to our preaching the Gospel , but the TRUE GOSPEL of CHRIST. If they don’t get it, oh well, I cannot cry over spilt milk, I can only pray they see that the KINGDOM OF CHRIST must PUSH INTO the “secular world” instead of awaiting the arrival of that secular world in their christians lounges, with plush carpets and comfy chairs.
I dont want to offend anyone but we MUST wake up and not use a new way to reach the world as an excuse not to give………………….
Preaching the Gospel is NUMERO UNO right here and always will be. But as Pas Frank says “You cannot eat a fish that you haven’t caught.”
In other words all of these classes and programs are OUTREACHES or as I call them- OUTPUSHES- into the world of the unsaved.

And brethren, it is going well. Even tho we have bills we can’t pay right now and bald tires on the ministry truck which is our truck., (in other words w egotta get the money to fix it, some just think “THE CHURCH” an amorphous THANG out there supplies missionaries, but no, Yahweh flows thru people like you and me…….oh and Lis…..our little 21 year old who makes it HER BUSINESS to tithe into this ministry faithfully EVERY MONTH from the BLOG on the internet the Lord gave her, this lil gal living an hour away makes sure her tithe is here every month no matter what! anyway………we have faith that our God shall supply according to His Riches in Glory…………..please please stand with us ion faith for finances, if you cannot give of money, give of time in prayer……….for we believe Our Lord hears those prayers today as He did when Moses cried out…….

ALSO WANT TO THANK MY PASTOR RICHARD AND COUSIN ABBY FOR THE COMPUTER THEY SENT DOWN! AND THANK MARTHA H. WHO DROVE TWO HOURS NORTH TO GET IT AND TWO HOURS SOUTH TO BRING IT HERE!
Every little thing is appreciated and cried over and loved and thank you to everyone who helps us to do whatever Holy Spirit says for us to do…………….

WE thank Harvest of Faith Family that ya’ll are a huge fountain, that Yahweh flows thru and it even matches the recent Word relayed thru Pastor Richard, that those who seemed small or overlooked would come to recognition, well Harvest may not be HUGE in NUMBERS but we know you are HUGE in the SPIRIT and about to get a reward like nothing we can even imagine! Thank you all, to those i know and have met and to those I have not……………..thank you.
Please join us in prayer that Pastors Richard and Pamela can come see us soon for we long to be with them.

As ya’ll stand with us so we do with you in the Name of Precious Jesus,

Pastors Frank and Detra
Baja Norte
Mexico
The World

PS- Sunday is Church at the Beach, where we take all of the Church to have Meeting and break bread once every year at the water’s edge. So Sunday as ya’ll open up your meeting we’ll be arriving on the beach with a pile of mom’s and children. Sometimes we have unexpected water baptisms as Frank teaches before we eat…………. so please pray in that area if you feel led…………..

Memories of Church As a Child

Today’s thoughts due to last weeks meeting-

 

When I was a small girl about 8 years old, actually in the beginning of my father’s perpetual LAST slide into alcohol and the delights of cocaine, my mother had a very large mole removed. At the time in my eyes it was a dire situation and my mother relished treating it as such.

Neighbor women arrived to sit watch, whatever that was.  From my perspective it was all about a period of time  when the neighbor/school ladies who you gossiped fiercely about at all other times were welcomed into your home with graciousness. Casseroles seemed to have a great deal to do with the whole ritual. Looking back on it, it was the closet thing to  a family reunion that I ever experienced. In general Cali’s don’t  sit watch and in all due cases rarely  give a rip about a mole removal or a death in the family, so it was actually a big deal.

So, for 3 days after the Great Mole Removal, our house was  a wonderland of gossip and casseroles.  I recall with trepidation- the Great Tinfoil Shortage……several large women I didn’t know  in a panic about how to cover and thus preserve arriving casseroles once Reynolds aluminum was wiped out. That was about as deep as it got, but there was one  wonderful thing that happened……

For the 3 days that women arrived to sit and guard food, it seemed to me, anyway, my father was  even more scarce than normal. See. Some of the neighbors, were what he called “church ladies” and he found it difficult to sneak round and drink incessantly while under  such a watch.  Mostly he was a beer man then , but was just acquiring  his scotch taste. He viewed the women as deacon harlots (hi s term) and remained in a constant fit of paranoia while they were in house. In fact fter the 1st 24 hours he spent most of his time after work in front of the TV tightly gripping a spiked Coca-Cola and shooting the evil eye at the helpful women.

As for me, I have awfully fond memories of it, truth be told! Our home never had such warmth and so damned much hot food. By that age  was accustomed to heated up a bagel for myself if I desired any breakfast. And packing the Barbie lunch box was always a solitary affair. To have these people doting on me and feeding me, well it made me feel all warm and fuzzy. They were the aunts, uncles, and grandparents I had left behind. For three days I was part of a family.

The local Methodist preacher,  Pastor Lester, even came and visited. I fondly remembered him as the guy who gave a rousing sermon at Easter, the one time my parents took me to a church. He was funny.

After the successful cosmetic procedure my mother was invited to that Church an dwe actually went  at least 3 times in a row. I had my name  on acute cutout at Sunday School and was learning some neato for the next few Sunday  when bamo-! Someone offended my mother.  Then Bro. Lester got run off for an indiscretion,which I never fully understood and the church split wide open.  My dad DELIGHTED in this and harped on it 24/7 until I suppose Mom just gave it up. The Bubble Bus still picked me up the next few Sundays but I found myself feeling unnerved at facing my inebriated father and I gave up too.

 

Still , those few Sundays when I was scrubbed and dressed and hauled off to “church” were probably the fondest memories I have of my folks marriage.

In the past couple of weeks I hve seen parents action s in the Church, their response to an offense real or imagined deeply hurt their children and their children’s friends. I am not judging but feel I should share the reminder to be careful about accepting “offenses” and jerking your fmily up to change churches-I beg you to be aware of how it might affect your child or family members…..It is harder to stay nd work things out where the Lord has set you that it is to up and leave in THE SHORT RUN. But I gurantee you that  cutting and running in a time of conflict in your church in the long run can destroy lives!

 

Love,

sd