Summer Showers

Some of you, especially those who have had the opportunity to spend some time out here with me in the summer, might think I'm crazy to say that this might be my favourite time of year.  To put this statement into perspective you have to realize that we are at the peak of the summer season out here.  The heat index is pretty much stuck at 40 degrees for the most part (low to mid 30's with high humidity), and the Mexican sun beating down on us mercilessly.  Top that off with the fact that we have to endure almost 4 months of this intense heat.  It's a lot like winter in Manitoba, where you hit February and you wonder if the winter is every going to come to an end...only it's obviously on the opposite end of the spectrum!

So how could I possible enjoy this time of year?  Well, its the time when we potentially have the most rainfall, and over the past number of weeks, we've had several good rainfalls.  Living in the desert, surrounded by rocky mountains covered with cactus and some pretty sad looking dry, brown bushes, rain is something of a treat.  A treasure in fact!  Psalm 63 begins like this:

You, God, are my God,
    earnestly I seek you;
I thirst for you,
    my whole being longs for you,
in a dry and parched land
    where there is no water. (Psalm 63:1)

For me this verse has taken on new meaning as we endure the hot days of summer, often consuming a gallon of water without even thinking about it!  And it truly is amazing what happens when a little rain falls.  What is normally dry and barren, suddenly turns green and luscious!  (NOT words usually used to describe the desert!)  But you can see for yourself in the picture below.  It was taken about a week ago overlooking a valley just outside of San Carlos.

Enough about the weather though!  I wanted to share with you two specific prayer items.  The first one is somewhat of a tag on to the previous post, about a past student named Benny.  I shared a little bit about his testimony, how God got a hold of his life and how Benny's dream is to open a rehabilitation centre for drug and alcohol addicts.  I also shared a little bit about how the two of us had gone up to a small pueblito, a little town named Arizpe, up in the mountains a number of hours from San Carlos, where the mission that I'm working with has a church plant.  We went to do some maintenance in the mission facilities as the previous pastor couple recently moved on to another ministry.  The facilities include a house and a large gymnasium complete with a number of door rooms, smaller bedrooms, a kitchen and bathroom facilities.  In the past short terms missions teams have gone up and made use of this facility but over the past couple of years the gym has been largely unused and it was showing signs of it.

Well, combining those two things together, Benny's passion for opening a rehab centre, and this large facility that is seeing very little use, and you might see where this is going!  Benny saw the facilities there and it didn't take long for him to see the potential for his vision to enfold right there in the town of Arizpe.  Over the past couple of weeks we've been thinking, praying, and talking to different people including the leadership of this ministry as well as some of the leaders involved in the church out there and everything has been positive so far.  Pray for this opportunity as it comes to mind!  Everything can look good in our eyes but if this is not what the Lord has in mind, then we don't want to have anything to do with it!  Pray not just for this potential opportunity but pray for Benny's ministry in general and that God would make a way for the passions that I believe He has put on his heart to be worked out.

That leads me to the second prayer request:  I'm preaching once again this Sunday in the San Carlos Community Church.  Please pray for me as I prepare!  It's always a humbling experience preparing to preach.  Pray that God would clearing put the message that He wants me to share on my heart.  God bless!