Our Adventures Continue!
- Ryan Van Deusen
- 2 days ago
- 6 min read
Hi family in Christ!
Praying over what to share with you, I can testify that God has been so faithful as we get back into the swing of life here in Guasave. It's amazing how we never know what a day will hold, but choosing to trust the Lord as we pray about everything, He does give us a peace that guards and holds us in moments where overwhelment starts calling our name.
A few days after our last update, we woke up to no running water. The plumber didn't arrive until evening, so we just had to make do. The next day our daughter Jubilee was begging to go next door to buy some sweet chili sauce. A few minutes later an employee from the store comes up to our front door to tell us she (Jubilee) had walked into the glass door and shattered it, cutting her knee in the process. I go check and sure enough, the door is cracked open and Jubilee is sitting on a stool teary-eyed and terrified with the owner's wife holding a pad of napkins on her knee. Tere, our neighbor was very sweet and offered to take Jubilee to the Red Cross, but Jubilee was adamant that we don't take her. She still remembered the multiple shots she got there (at the Red Cross) in her foot when she stepped onto a broken trampoline spring and was more terrified of the pain it would take to stitch her up than getting her medical attention. So I drove her to the cafe where Ryan was and as he inspected it, he decided it was possible to clean and disinfect and treat her at home. By God's grace, after two weeks of Jubi hobbling around to keep her knee from bending and giving it time to heal, the skin on her knee finally developed a healthy scab and she recovered! No infections- only a scar to remember.
As for our church, we are joyful to see new families and people joining. God's timing and how he causes growth are so much better than ours. As we continue to host services every Sunday morning and Wednesday evening, we continue to develop relationships with the newcomers and regular congregants. The one area that we often get sought for during the week is marriage counseling. I know that marriage is often what the enemy attacks, but it is very sobering and the conversations tend to be heavy-hearted with a great need to rely on biblical guidance and sound doctrine; not human psychology wrapped around humanism. (Honestly, the things we endure would never be worth it for the mere betterment of the people here...doing the will of our Heavenly Father and glorifying Christ is worth everything!! It's not like 70% seeking to do God's will and 30% trying to help the people have a better understanding on life... it really has to be 100% of living for the Lord and the results naturally and spiritually bless people because God eases their burdens and sets the captives free as they fully surrender to Him.) We do covet your prayers for our congregation and their marriages! Especially for divine wisdom and ability to help spouses and individuals grow in the Word. That is the key and safeplace for every home; it's where each person can hear God guiding them in their conflict and journey, it's how we purify our minds and hearts (especially the emotions that often seem to take a chokehold in times of struggle). Oh, the Word of God is the answer. It's "living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." (Hebrews 4:12) It's also the substance that we need as much as daily food (Matthew 4:4), and it's the light to our feet and path (Psalm 119:105). It's what we depend on and feed on to keep us going. Otherwise the "substandard" conditions that become more evident at times would be no match, and our deceitful hearts would call us to chase the "American dream," even though like Abraham and Sarah, we know we have no city on this present earth that truly is our home. We are waiting. We spend our days for the days yet to come. And what an honor that we can encourage one another to spend our days, our strength, and our lives this way. We share these things because we know that even though America offers better living conditions than many places worldwide, full gratification often seems out of reach and there's always the "cares of life" that try to choke the Word and make us unfruitful (or as spiritually barren as possible.) But we only have one life that will soon be past. And that day when we have spent every breath our lungs will ever exhale will come; guaranteed. So, let's continue to invest our time in reading, listening, knowing the Word and letting it shape our daily living and decisions. We'll have all eternity to marvel at the eternal home and life that God prepared for us to enjoy in the fullness of His presence.
In Christ,
The Van Deusens
Prayer Points
For congregants and church comers to grow in the knowledge of God's Word. For a true desire to learn the Word and gain insight as they personally read and/or listen to It.
For the preaching of sound doctrine; for Ryan as he preaches and teaches at church and for those who come to our bible studies and go out to evangelize in the city and nearby villages.
For the marriages at church. That our marriage would continue to be strong and biblically sound in every aspect so that we can be the example needed for our church. That the families coming would find healing for their marriages and raise godly offspring as mentioned in Malachi 2:15.
For the children and youth of our church. That God would continue to use Esther as she often takes everyone from the older teenagers (who just want to sit in the cafe and would rather read through the current Scripture with her instead of sit inside the sanctuary and listen) to the toddlers who often run into the Sanctuary back to their parents due to lack of a proper doorway. The need for other laborers and better space would be wonderful, but may the Lord cause these children and youth to grow in the knowledge of Him and His Word. May God equip Esther and those He has called to teach the children and youth at Calvary.
For the Lord to continue to pour out His Spirit in the ministry aspect of the cafe and give Ryan daily divine appointments to evangelize and make disciples through those who come in for a coffee or grub to eat. May there be abundant fruit that remains from the time and resources commited.
For God to continue to direct our relationship and ministry with the police. We want this to be a work of His Spirit and not just keen and good ol' human intentions.
For God to continue to have His hand upon our kiddos. Virtue is physically doing well, but going into 9th grade here still feels foreign in a lot of ways and she struggles with peer pressure. Jasper just got expanders in her mouth and has a bit of a lisp she's now dealing with (and not happy that it's creating a bigger gap between her front teeth and told she'll need to wait an actual year before they put braces on to close the gap....orthodontics are done differently here and it comes with pros and cons). Jubilee and Cyrus are liking their school start so far but only God knows how much they all need His hand of protection and favor upon them!
For God's continued provision in every way; financially often seems the most evident, but wisdom, understanding, direction, and strength is direly needed as well. I.e., we are currently on day 1 of no running water from the city. We have one more day to go before they once again turn the water on. But the owner informed us to be patient and wait a 3rd day to avoid more debris plugging up our plumbing as when they turn off the water and turn it back on it seems to flow in quite dirty and full of sediment. (Our kitchen faucet is partially damaged from the sediment and we already had to call a plumber <again> to come and get the line cleared so it would work again last week....and soon after the line to our washer plugged up and we had to fill it manually with a garden hose!)
To be a godly example to all those around. That we would continue to grow in our discipline of daily life, wise in every decision, and humble in a practical way that others can observe and find us worth copying in manner of life so that Christ would be magnified and not human philosophy. Jesus Christ is the only One who should be getting the glory.
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