Blessings in Bunches

Have you ever noticed how good things and bad things seem to come in bunches? I am sure that they really don’t, but that is how we perceive them.

I want to share some good things that have come our way in a bunch. First, in case you have not already heard, our grandchild was born on January 17. Sammy is a very much anticipated and loved addition to the family. While I haven’t had the chance to meet him yet, he has already made his own special place in my heart.

Not too many weeks after Sammy’s birth, I got a phone call from a young man named Jeremy. I had met Jeremy before and was expecting this call (but maybe not quite so soon). He was calling to ask permission to marry our daughter Heather, and now our family is looking forward to a wedding.  While Jeremy may not yet have the same spot in my heart as Sammy, I am very excited to have him join our family. He is a very nice young man who deeply loves the Lord and Heather.

Our co-worker Molly Canny gave birth to a beautiful baby girl on our son Mark’s 16^th birthday. 

We are extremely grateful to have Mark as a part of our family and are excited to welcome little Cecilia to our mission family and hearts. She should give me some opportunity to hone my grampa skills before meeting Sammy.

And then there are the more mundane issues of life. We have a car available for our use during our upcoming deputation ministries. That is a big praise to God. Mario (see earlier posts on him if you don’t know who he is) earned 50 bolivianos yesterday and is now  only short another 50 in order to cover his rent. He has a promise of a job and the possibility of getting his foot healed once and for all. The weather has been cooler. We are getting excited about the change of location from Bolivia to the States for a while.

In thinking about all the good that is coming our way, I am reminded again about what is so obvious: God is good and loving. I suspect that if we would look we would find evidence of that every day and not just when everything’s going our way.

PS: A quick followup on the last Post. Here is a picture of me giving the Bible Institute files over to the Santa Cruz district leaders. It was an important moment in the life of the district.