April 2021 Conchshell Chronicles

We Are Repairing Roofs

Hurricane Eta & Iota Relief Efforts

Funded by many of you!

This past month March, Danilo, with help from his brother Rodolio and sister Myga, transported 250 aluminum roofing panels from Waspam to our villages downriver.

We are now repairing the damaged roofs from Hurricanes Eta and Iota (November 2020), and have completed two of our nine school buildings. Danilo told me today that the parents of our students are working hard to do the repairs, and have the building repaired for their children. 

He said: “They value the  education that Seek The Lamb provides their children, and I have had many ask me to tell all of our friends in ‘Tets’ (The United States) ‘Tanki Pali (Thank your very much) for all the help they have sent.”

Our buildings need fresh paint and doors and windows replaced. Getting the roofs fixed as we approach the rainy season is very important!

Danilo also asked us to pray for   Augusto Vicente, who has been in the hospital over two weeks, with issues with his blood pressure and diabetes.

The photo is of Augusto last month with his wife Yunila, and his daughter.

 Augusto is the teacher who asked us in 1985, at the height of the Sandinista war, to help him start a school. We purchased a case of notebooks and pencils, and Augusto and Sofia Borst began teaching the First Grade in Sawa that year.

In 1986 we added four more schools, and by 1987 we had 12 primary schools grades 1 to 3, with Augusto as our school superintendent.

Here is Augusto, Truman and I at our school in Sih in 1987.

Augusto was also part of the team we took to Israel in 1997. Here he is getting baptized n the Jordan River, along with Onofre Zamora. For these two and Truman Cunningham, it was a "commissioning" ceremony for all three who lead our project from the 80's.

Pray for a full recovery please.

Lamb Bleatings

MIRACLE : any beneficial event that is physically         impossible or impossible to confirm by nature…a less    common kind of God’s activity in which he arouses people’s awe and wonder and bears witness to himself.

We have neighbors on our street that have three children.  The two sisters were riding their bikes and racing down another neighbor’s empty driveway into a very safe dead end street. 

Their father, Chris, happened to be coming down our quiet little street when suddenly one of his daughter’s appeared out of nowhere right in front of his vehicle.  The timing was disastrously perfect and the impact hit Olivia and she flew off her bike about 10 feet damaging her head  to such severity that the prognosis was inevitable death, brain damage or no activity in the brain; A vegetable for a  daughter.  It was a very sobering devastating blow to all– a dad’s worst nightmare! 

There are many details that followed that I would do a great injustice to try and repeat.  A great deal of talking to God and begging for Him to show up.  The answers came in many forms from speaking  through the sister who said everything would be okay, to the helicopter being able to air lift Olivia to the proper  hospital, to the step by step detailed impossibilities that came with the final  prognosis where the doctors said “If you pray, just keep praying” (they had little to no hope for what was to come).

Things began to happen, as Olivia’s health began to improve. Many on our street were joining together in prayer, as well as many others. The doctors continued with their procedures to repair the damages, and Olivia responded in a manner greater than their expectations. Finally they admitted to  the parents, Chris and Natalie: 

”You know this is a miracle ….a bonafide, documented. we don’t understand and can’t explain miracles.”          

Natalie and Chris knew start to finish that God had taken over the battle and won it.  Their prayers went without ceasing for the entire     marathon of events and the love of the body of Christ became very real and present.  Much power and love being released on many levels.  The unification of a group of Believers in Jesus Christ who came together as one heart in prayer for our neighbors.

Today I spoke to the parents who were sitting in our Cafe and found my heart filling up with faith and excitement as I listened to the details of their story “With God…nothing shall be impossible”.  Speaking out with bold clarity the facts of faith in God that causes a soul to soar and believe in the manifest presence of a divine Author of Life who breathes creative energy into His creation for His pleasure and His glory.  The Ultimate Life Creator and Giver.  We being designed by Him, called into existence for him and living out our purposes with Him.

We have been constant in our chats with our Creator for His divine intervention in our lives amongst the chaos and unrest of the day.  We have been intentionally focused upon the God that we serve in order to know how He wants us to serve and live our little part that we play in the scheme of all that is happening in our world today.  I believe we all have a part in the plans and purposes of each day that is given as a gift from above.  I take no moment for granted.  I understand Life is a vapor and I have many who have gone on from this life to the next.  Most being still vibrant and young (according to my definition).

For me to live is Christ and to die is gain.  Either way, with God I will be content and hopeful. 

Currently, I am nursing a hairline fracture that I acquired on a ski trip….

No, I did not do a spinning round house kick to someone’s hard head, but if you know me well, I do play these “movies” in my sinful little brain of mine…

And I have goals for my physical fitness to be able to execute many moves which keep me prepped and ready for the fight.  I was thankfully ready for this fight and prolonging of my “quiet time” that has been a little over a year since the “plandemic” occurred.  I give my thoughts, time, actions, comings and goings to my Master that knows me intimately and cares for me deeply.  I have heard the repetitive sound of His gentle quiet voice which has spoken to me over and again.

“Pray without ceasing.  Love unconditionally.  Care with abandoned even if it hurts.  Live your life fully with your limitation…and I will show you how to live beyond and free of your limitations because I am Limitless and Supreme over all.”

The chant has sounded a little like, “Love, pray, pray, Love, repent, humble yourself, apply my grace for to you then you will be able to apply to others, we are all made of dust, but for the sake of Christ there go I…Love God, love others…the rest will come naturally.”

And so it miraculously has….              Laura

 

 

Old Friends

When Laura and I married in 1988, we began spending some of our time in Vero Beach, where we met a young couple at our church. Kathy was a math teacher at St Edwards school, and Bob was a flight instructor at Flight Safety     Academy. They both were graduates of Wheaton College and very focused on the building of the Kingdom. We began spending lots of time with these like-minded friends.

When we acquired the Seneca, Bob helped me with “refresher training”. We would go flying, practice instrument approaches, and sometimes he would pay for the gas. One year we had to fly through Texas and Mexico to get to Honduras, and Bob came along as our co-pilot.

A few years later, they joined us on a trip to Honduras, where with some friends from Hawaii, they worked with our Miskito kids for a few weeks. Eventually Bob got a job with United Airlines, and they moved to Northern Virginia. By this time we began having kids, and eventually they won the competition with five to our four.

Photo: Lunch with Kathy, Bob, and their son Caleb, in our dining room that has many photos of us sharing meals with “old friends”.

We love to eat with our friends!

One year we visited Bob & Kathy and they invited us to their church. We met the mission director and got invited to their mission conference. In a few years their church sent us a team, led by Eric and Barbara Johnson, who later joined Seek The Lamb as our missionaries to Utila, and now owners of our sister coffee store- the Radford Coffee Company. Nice connection!!!

Probably because of their trip to Honduras with us, Bob & Kathy took their children every summer for nine years to work with Miskito kids at an orphanage in  Puerto Cabeza Nicaragua, which has had a profound impact on their family.

All this to say that these guys are some of our oldest friends, who have partnered with us and encouraged us in the work that God has assigned us to. They are friends that you want to be with, especially in these times that we find ourselves.

As I look over the mailing list each month, I realize that there are plenty of you “Old Friends” who are still participating with us in the work of the Kingdom. If I began to make a list, I would quickly run out of room. You know who you are, and over these years we could not accomplish much without friends like you. We love spending time with you when we see you, or when we hear from you. These are times when you want to stay close to your friends.

            Thank You! Thank You! Thank You!

Arielle, Laura, Michael, Mikaela, Lukas, Arielle, & Moselle

             A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.

                                                               Proverbs 17:17

 

Rio Coco Beans Coffee.

 We have a new Pacific coffee that we are roasting!

Welcome Flores Dragon!

 

 Seek The Lamb Giving

We thank many of you who have contributed toward the relief effort. Much has been accomplished, but we still have buildings needing repair, school fruniture purchased, and homes in our communities which need help.

Please consider a gift this month to help us get things back in order on the Rio Coco.

Hurricane Relief

Many of you have been faithful supporters of our missionaries. We thank you! Here is a link to our missionary page:

Mission Support

 

Thanks for spending time with us this month!