April Update From Faith and Sharon
Dear Friends and Family,
Can’t believe that April is gone… But we do have good news to share! Mike and Keila arrived back in the jungle! They made it here to Cosh on Tuesday the 25th . It is so good to have them home again! And already they are helping with the load! Poor Mike has been so swamped with everyone coming and wanting to welcome him back in again, that he said he already needs another break!
Just before they arrived back in the village, the church did a seminar here with 3 upriver villages. We were a little concerned with them having it at this time, as everyone is so hungry! With all their gardens getting destroyed when the river flooded its banks, it has been lean times here. When the plants get up so high, the people in desperation, pull up the young yucca to put food in their families’ bellies, and then they replant. I think you get the picture. Because we were the only ones here, carrying everyone, and trying to help out with those that were really hurting, it caused us to run out of provision too. So, now, we’re really hurting as well and living off the land. Looking to the Lord for our every mouth full.
But I got way off the subject here! Even though we had misgivings about the timing, the conference went really well! Faith and I spent the time before the week arrived with everyone, getting together throughout each day, praying over the seminar, praying for the Pastor and the other church leaders, and just praying for a revival! And God answered! We were so impressed with the church leaders and how they kept everything so well organized. Meetings all morning, then they would feed the visitors, then the men folk would sit around the big tables and teach Bible Lessons to the visiting men. Then night time would be a time for special singing, testimonies and then the Pastor would bring a short message. This lasted for a week! Lives were changed, people gave their hearts to the Lord, and those that had wandered away from Him, falling into sin, asked for forgiveness and got their lives and hearts right with Him again. [I told Pastor Timoteo that I never thought of taking any pictures to send to you all! He said that he never thought about it either….Maybe next time!]
Anyway, though at first, we felt that maybe having a seminar at this time, wasn’t a good thing, the Lord brought in a huge harvest! Continue to pray for these new babes in Christ, and also for our church leaders here. The Pastor was telling us that people from other villages now are wanting to be brought in and taught as well. And not just the Yanomamö, but also another tribe that lives up the river, about 2 and a half hours away from here, These people are known as the Yekuana, So, once again, preparations are being made out to bring this tribe down in June. Please wrap this approaching seminar in prayer!
Baby Stevie is doing well and growing like a weed! She is everybody’s baby and all the other children love her! Her twin brother, whom the mother kept, isn’t faring as well as we ran out of formula, and we had been giving him a bottle twice a day too. We ordered more and hopefully it will arrive here tomorrow. We found out that our nephew was making a trip up and he asked us if we needed anything. We told him we really needed baby formula, but didn’t have the funds to buy any… but we were praying! Well, the Lord did provide us with enough to get in a few cans! So, we asked him to purchase it for us, and to bring it up with him. And praise the Lord, he sent me a message last night, saying he’ll be here tomorrow! Like I said before, not only do we have Stevie on the formula, but also her twin brother, and then there are 3 more little babies that we have on formula. This is something we need to keep on hand all the time, so, please continue to make this a matter of prayer that God will enable us to keep this ministry going. The sad thing is, that it isn’t just this village that has unwanted babies… and if no one takes them, they are killed. But then those that do take them, have no way of supplying them with the needed formula… Our hearts are deeply burdened for these little unwanted souls, So, we figured if we can keep providing them with formula, the babies can be saved, the women that want them, can raise them. And everybody is happy!
Please continue to keep us in prayer. We are facing many struggles here! The main one right now is the struggle of being in want and in need. Yet, we know that our Heavenly Father, knows it all. So, we keep placing it in His capable hands! We have, on a daily basis, not just the people who come for some need or another, all day long, we also have 17 kids, underfoot, all day long! The oldest is 15 and the youngest is Stevie, 3 months old. We never have a dull moment for sure! It has been quite the challenge though, keeping them fed these past few months. We do have a lot of palm trees in our yard, and they bear a stalk of a type of big seed, with a thin layer of pulp on it. I think they taste like soap, to be honest, but if you do boil them, or roast them, it does take away the soapy taste. The kids love them! And then when the seeds fall to the ground, after a few weeks, they will get a grub inside of them, and the kids crack them open and get them out. They will come in with bowls of them! Well, we draw the line here! Not going there, no way! But we’re sure they are full of protein so thinking it must be good for them….🤔We just praise the Lord the kids are enjoying them!
Out of the mouths of babes: A guy and his wife were out fishing, and came across a mother duck with her ducklings. Well, momma duck flew away and left her babies behind. So, the man and his wife, got them and brought them to us. We did tell them that they should have left them there, as the momma would have come back for them….. But now, we had 5 little ducks. Well, we have tried raising wild ducks before and it is not easy. The death rate is high! So, we were not surprised when the next morning, one was laying there dead. 9-year-old, Logan was sad that the little duck didn’t make it, so picked it up and headed out to the back yard. A number of the kids followed behind him sad expressions on their faces. They were gone for a while and when they came back, Faith asked what they had done with the duck. 5-year-old Juliet, looked at her and said, “We buried it and sent it back to God, Mom.”
We smiled. It’s moments like these that make all the hard times, doable. And like Mary did so long ago, we hid the memory in our hearts.
Thank you all so much for your continual love, prayers and support. We appreciate all you do! And thank you for partnering with us!
Because He lives!
Sharon and Faith