Cartegena is cool

Yesterday we got here just fine. We went to the old city for dinner. This part of the city was built in the 1500s during the time of Spanish rule. Around the old city is a large wall they built to keep out the pirates and other invaders trying to steal all the gold they had.

Dinner was good, I ordered fish which was the whole fish, just fried. It was served with coconut rice and plantain patty. I also had a salad which I was afraid to eat.

Bishop Cardona liked the cup and plate made at Hollman Pottery and he{s planning to use it today during worship, I think. >He does not know any English so it is hard to make out everything. They asked me to preach today and I think I am going to do it. The service is later in the day, around 3 thirty. Sorry for the wierd punctuation but this keyboard is really different from ours back home. I{m staying at the Costa del Sol hotel which is about 10 to 11 stories tall. It costs about 70 dollars a day, including breakfast and lunch. We stay here until tomorrow morning. It is kind of hot and humid, just off the Carribean coast. More later!

Colombia

Tomorrow morning I leave for Cartegena, Colombia. My family thinks I'm nuts! I'll be joining Tina and Robert Rabb at the DFW Airport. Our flight goes to Houston, then Panama, then finally Cartegena. Bishop Cardona will meet us at some point to escort us around.

I'm all packed and the only thing I can't find is the magazines I bought from the library for 25 cents each. Oh well. Remember us in your prayers!

Cameroon Update

In February 2008 Christ UMC in Plano took a Cameroon VIM team to Eseka to do a vision clinic. Here is some feedback from the pastor of the church where we held the clinic.

"Some of the people from the vision clinic have come back to the church. It is the mission of the church to give. We have already benefitted from the seeds that were planted. It opened the door for us to be known in the community. The authorities of the town didn't know our church or me personally, but now they are returning. We have many new friends. The people are testifying what the United Methodist Church has done for the town. News has spread wide and far. Just now, I have received a text message on my phone saying I should plant a United Methodist Church in a neighboring village. This is a direct result of our work together. We pray the Lord will keep blessing your church. Your efforts were not vain." - Pastor Seraphin Oum

Praise God for using us as God's hands to continue mission in Cameroon.

Do What?

While on vacation last week, my family was walking to the Alamo in downtown San Antonio. We passed a building with the sign "Christian Services Center". We were all wondering about what kind of services you'd find in there, and my seventeen year old commented "I think I'll walk in there and ask them to wash my feet."

Kudos

This clergy process has been tough for me. A lot of criticism has been thrown my way in the past. So here are two comments from yesterday for me to save here and remember the next time my a** gets chewed on by some committee.

I ran into a D.S. yesterday at jurisdictional conference talking to someone I didn't know. I introduced myself to him, and the D. S. added on "She has exceptional gifts for someone in her position. Exceptional." Wow.

Then a few hours later one of the senior clergy met my husband and told him that she admired me so much (or something to that effect). Wow again.

I also need to remember these gifts were given to me by God for God's glory. So I'm going to do my best to do that.

Annual Conference is Over

Yea, it's over and it all went smoothly this year. My sincerest thanks to all the churches and individuals that donated to Methodism's Breadbasket! Royce City completely filled up the trailer with over 100 baskets for senior citizens. I think there were quite a few people who were sorry that they had not paid attention to the collection or project after the Breadbasket folks gave their speech. I hope that we've planted some seeds that will really help them to serve the population around that part of town. There is something about hearing the plight of the elderly and their delimma over choosing between medication and food that really breaks the heart. We know that God is unhappy over that.

Librarians Can Be Missionaries Too

In May I met with Becky Harrell, a GBGM missionary to Chile, South America. She used to be a librarian.

One day she decided that she would like to volunteer her services for a few years and live off of her savings. After contacting the GBGM Mission Volunteers program, she was asked to go to Chile. She said no at first, but then she changed her mind after "coincidentally" meeting someone from Chile that very SAME day! He had even lived in the town she where she was asked to serve. So she had to say yes, knowing that God was calling her to serve there.

After several years there, they made her an official GBGM missionary. She is the Coordinator of EMANA (Extension Metodista al Niño Andino) in the north of Chile. Becky says every time they have a hardship in the ministry, they pray about it. Every time, God's providence appears and makes the ministry continue.