Friday, April 30, 2010

Lake Butler/Raiford Road Trip

We had a great time with the Lake Butler/Raiford Road group. We only got to spend a few days with them here on the Property but they are a great group! We really enjoyed worshipping with them at night. Elias loved entertaining and hanging out with all of them! We were very blessed to have them here!

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Thursday

Hey everybody! I just wanted to share a little about this week and some of the things that God is doing here. A week ago we had our first meeting concerning the new ministry I mentioned in my previous blog. It went great! We discussed our mission statement, our responsibilities, and chose positions for the five of us. Jorge Lagos is president, Samuel Aguilera is vice president, Randy Booth is fiscal, Keith Daniels is secretary, and I am treasurer. The most encouraging thing is that we all seem to have a similar vision for the ministry as well as our own personal responsibilities. I think of Acts where the early church met often and the Bible says, “they had all things in common”. We prayed that night that this ministry and ourselves would be used to further God’s kingdom. Also that if it is of man it will fail, but if this ministry is of God His plans will succeed. Please keep praying for us as we begin that we will be sensitive to God’s timing and will for the ministry.

Also I wanted to share with you about our day last Thursday. The Nissan had been acting funny when you tried to crank it. Well, Kara and Norma went to town in it and called me an hour later explaining that it wouldn’t crank. I hopped in the ministry truck and headed to town. There was a woman and her small daughter standing by the road hitching a ride. This is a very common accurance to see someone looking for a ride. Everyone here has somewhere to go but no way to get there. So now it is me, with these two passengers. We get halfway to La Esperanza when Kara called me explaining that the truck now started that I could just head back to the property. As I look in the rearview mirror to see if I can do a quick u-turn I see the lady and girl whom I have obligated myself to take to town. I met up with Kara and everything was fine. This whole time I am thinking that it is the alternator. That afternoon I had my first opportunity to go to a village alone (alone meaning without Keith or Sam). I asked Kara if she wanted to go so we took Elias and headed out. I went by and picked up Keith’s son, Tanner. He is a great translator and I am not confident enough yet to teach a Bible study on my own. We drove to the village that is about 40 minutes from the property. We left the truck and walked the last five or ten minutes because there is no road all the way there. When we got back the truck cranked right up without any problems. Later that night, as Evis and I were working, a man rode up to Evis’ house on his horse. Evis went and checked to see what he wanted. He explained that he had some friends who were picking potatoes and were, themselves, having engine trouble. He said it was just down the road. Well he wasn’t lying about that, as it was right down the road where we turned off the road. We drove for literally twenty minutes through the woods, over boulders, and through creeks until we finally came to the broke down vehicle. I turned the truck off and Evis and I got out to see what was wrong. They asked me to turn around so that they could jump it off. I got in the truck and nothing. Not a peep. I could still hear the crickets chirping. I prayed that God would allow the truck to start. It was a really short prayer. I turned the ignition and it started. God has been teaching me to be more aware of His blessings and provisions. Also, that He wants me to trust Him and know that I can trust Him. It is little things like that that we can either look to God and give Him the glory or miss the opportunity to strengthen our faith in Him. I love you guys. We appreciate your prayers and support.

Behind the Cross,

George Maddox, III

Monday, April 19, 2010

Scripture

"To whom then will you compare Me, that I should be like him?
says the Holy One.
Lift up your eyes on high and see:who created these?
He who brings out their host by number,
calling them all by name,
by the greatness of His might,
and because He is strong in power not one is missing.
Have you not known? Have you not heard?
THE LORD IS THE EVERLASTING GOD,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He does not faint or grow weary;
His understanding is unsearchable."
Isaiah 40:25,26,28

Friday, April 9, 2010

Baby Update

We have found a great clinic that we really like here in La Esperanza. The Doctor is great and they have a Ultrasound machine so that we can see the baby each time we go.
The first time we visited, the doctor thought that we were having a boy-but he said he was not sure because I was still a bit too early to tell. The second time that we went the baby had its legs crossed and we were not able to see if it was a boy or girl. I went to the doctor again yesterday and he said that we are having a GIRL!! We are very excited-this will be the first granddaughter on both George's and my sides of the family. Her name will be Sadie Elizabeth (Sadie after my daddy's mother and and Elizabeth after me and Mary)
God has blessed us greatly! The baby is totally healthy and growing right on schedule. Please continue to pray for Elias and our little girl!
We love yall!

Sunday, April 4, 2010

4/4/2010

Hey folks! I just wanted to write an update and let you know some of the things that have been going on recently. We continue to work daily on the house and hope to be moving in around the beginning of May. We are excited about the progress and look forward to being able to settle into our home.

There is another missionary couple that lives about twenty minutes from the property. Their names are Keith and Joanna Daniels. They are from Valdosta, Georgia. They have been, without a doubt to Kara and I, a definite God send. They have encouraged us, had us over to their house, are actually taking us to the capital next week to take care of some business at Immigration and the Embassy. Their ministries include running a children’s home, a twenty-four hour radio station, and Keith teaches the Bible in homes and villages throughout the week. He has invited me to go with him on several occasions; which have been very exciting.

About two weeks ago Keith told me about a new ministry that he and three other men want to start. He asked me if I would be interested in joining them in this ministry. In a nut shell it is a church planting and discipleship vision. Each of the five of us would be coordinators over a particular phase in the process. For example, Keith would coordinate the initial phase, which is evangelism. Then Jorge, a Honduran pastor, would coordinate the next phase, discipleship. The other two guys, Sam (a Honduran who works with Keith) and Randy (Keith’s pastor and mentor from the States) would coordinate the next two phases: teaching the pastor about worship and teaching him to play an instrument, as well as pastor training. Then the final phase would be mine to coordinate. It would involve the building of the church facility. This is great because it allows Kara and I to begin our own type of ministry, while remaining connected with IMB through coordinating building trips to these villages. We will all work together throughout the entire process, but we will have certain responsibilities when it is our particular phase. I tell you all this to ask that you will be praying for Kara and I as we begin this new and exciting opportunity. This will also provide a great opportunity for the interns who will be coming down to stay with us. They also will have opportunities to teach, disciple, and encourage these new believers.

I also wanted to share about the opportunity I had to teach in a village last Thursday. As Kara mentioned this week is called Holy Week throughout all Latin America. While it is mostly a tradition of the Catholic Church, the Protestants use it as a time of evangelism and witnessing. I am particularly grateful because it is literally all you hear about. The Lord has kept thoughts of the incarnation, the cross, and His salvation fresh in my mind for the entire week. I am guilty of, in the past, thinking of God’s great love and Christ’s sacrifice only on Easter Sunday. As I mentioned, I was able to teach on Thursday and just shared some of the things God has put on my heart concerning Easter. I would like to share with you some of those things.

It is impossible to think of Easter and not think of the abundance of God’s love (John 3:16). God is the Alpha and Omega. He has no beginning and no end; He is those things. When we read in Genesis 1:1 and John 1:1 the words, “In the beginning” it does not refer to God’s beginning but to the beginning of creation. God is eternal and uncaused. Because He is eternal and uncaused He is completely self-sufficient within Himself. God did not need anything from creation and He does not need anything we could give Him today (Isaiah 64:6). He enjoyed creating the creation and He enjoys receiving the glory from it, yet He does not change in His self-sufficiency. This is where it gets good to me. Out of the abundance of God’s love, and as John 1:16 says, “And from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.” God, the uncaused and self-sufficient One, created man in his image to enjoy His creation and perfect fellowship with Him. We the creation forsook the great privilege of fellowship with our Creator for vanity, destruction, and death. We chose sin and have fallen short of God’s glory. However, it does not end there for us. Out of the abundance of His love, God, before creation, made the way for our redemption. A. W. Tozer says, “God is the triune God, and back in that pre-creation time, the Holy Trinity was busy with eternal mercies. God’s mind was stirring with merciful thoughts and redemptive plans for humanity, so we read in Ephesians 1:4, ‘According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love.’” Out of the abundance of His love, God made the way for our redemption even before He created His creation. This is God’s great Love toward us. This is what should stir our hearts, not only during Easter season, but everyday of our lives. This is what should compel us to share the Gospel with those around us and those who have never heard.