Sadie Elizabeth Maddox

Short Update

So much has happened since the last post! There i so much to talk about but not alot of time because we are at the internet cafe.
We moved into our house-we love it, it is beautiful and more than we deserve!
We have had a few more groups-all of which have been great! God has really blessed each group. please continue to pray for the people that the groups ministered to, that they will desire to have a true relationship with God and grow in that relationship.
Our daughter was born-Sadie is here!!! Praise the Lord she is healthy and everything went smoothly! Thank you to all who prayed for us. God has blessed us greatly! (If you have Facebook there are pictures of her in the photo album that Kylie put on my page)
We are trying to work something out with the whole internet thing. We miss not being in touch with everyone but at our house the internet does not work. Hopefully we will figure out something soon.
We love you guys very much!!

Fun Times

This past Saturday, Norma and I had a chance to go to a women’s meeting at our church. This meeting included women from at least seven different churches. A lot of the women walked over an hour in the rain to be at this meeting. The idea of these gatherings is for the women of the churches to know that we are one body in Christ. That we serve together for the furthering of the Gospel and that we are to encourage one another. I was the only gringa there and I had a great time. It was very encouraging to see that these women were taking the initiative to live out what the Word says. We played a few “get to know each other” games and we laughed all the way through them! When I say this you have to be able to know the women from here. Usually they are shy and quiet (especially the women from the villages). One game that we played was we got into groups of about 10 and we each stated our names and the church we attended. Then in front of the whole group your specific group would act out an animal while the others guessed your animal. One group was chickens, one was monkey, mine was cow (yes cow, me being eight months pregnant I played it perfectly J ) To see the smiling and laughing was awesome! Some of the older ladies with their aprons on and do-rags in the hair laughing at themselves and each other was great! Then one of the men leaders from our church gave a devotion. He shared from Phil. 2:1-4, 1 John 3:17-18. We had a great time and the best thing about it is we are going to have these meetings monthly! Each time at a different church. I ask that you would be praying for these gatherings. There were a few women from the Catholic church-pray that they will see the truth of the Gospel. Pray for the women-they leave responsibilities at home-pray that their husbands will encourage them to come. And pray for unity within the women that we will work together as the Body of Christ to share the Gospel to those around us. The focus Scripture for this month was Psalm 133:1 “Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity!”

Catching Up

We had a great week with the New Oak Grove/Sardis/Raiford Road Men’s group last week. It was great to get to meet some of these guys and also to see some familiar faces. There were a few snags in the road for these guys but they persevered and completed the church. I also heard that they had a great time witnessing to the community around where they built the church. Please continue to pray for this church-that the people will grow in the Word and glorify God. I also wanted to say thank you to the men because a lot of them left clothes and goodies for the people around the Property-a huge blessing.

We also want to thank the people of Raiford Road who gave us a great gift offering for our house. We were able to go to Tegucigalpa to do a little shopping!

Also while we were in Teguc we had to go to the immigration office to renew our visas. We were in the immigration office for 4 hours for what should have only taken about 10 minutes!! (welcome to Honduras!!) Please continue to pray for our residency. They told us this time that it should be ready by next month-but the way things go over here, you never know! Overall we had a great time in Tegucigalpa where we stayed with another missionary family. They are so much fun to hang out with and God has blessed us with another great friendship!

Our house is coming along great (we apologize for not having pictures but our internet just isn’t strong enough to allow us to upload any) We are really looking forward to moving in and settling down.

We went to the doctor yesterday for the baby’s monthly check-up. The doctor said everything looks great! Praise the Lord! She is measuring right on schedule and growing beautifully! I would like to take this chance to thank all of the MOPS girls from Raiford Road who have sent me lots of diapers and wipes, cute onesies and pacifiers! You guys are such a huge blessing!

Today is George’s birthday! 28 years old! We are celebrating with dinner with Evis, Norma, and the boys! I thank God for George and the man that God is making him.

Thank you for all your prayers, thoughts and love! We love you guys very much!

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!

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

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