Ending and beginning

We are rapidly approaching ending another year.  I say rapidly, because I am aware mostly in what we have yet to do as a mission, and it is a bit yet, and how I am losing touch with the holidays that are involved.  

Going in to 2022, we have a lot of irons in the fire.  What I love about ministry is also what makes planning and predicting the future difficult...people.  ​Plans are great...but they all depend on people.  

Seen here is Bible institute graduate Luis, who we are praying will be the next pastor for His Eyes, continuing a burgeoning work that Jonathan has started in a village Jonathan spells "Guayavillas."  I say he spells it that way, since I can't find it on a map, because it could be spelled about five different ways.  

He will be moving there (we bought him a bed) and working on that...we pray God's favor over him and the work there how that might develop. 

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We met with an architect a while back, and had a follow up meeting this week.  We are not ready to share publicly yet how this is all going to look (and cost) but since this is just between you and I, this will take our existing clinic building, more than double it, and add a full third floor.  This to make room for more areas of attention in the clinic (more optometry, dentistry, new services) and everything needed to do surgery.  

This hospital expansion could end up being bigger in scope/cost/involvement than every other construction project combined we have done in the last 20 years. 

Already for Janaury 2022, the clinic will go from working 8-4 Monday to Friday, to 7-5 Monday to Saturday.  That will tax the existing staff, and require adding more staff...a big leap on both fronts, and praying/planning some of the extra cost will be offset by seeing more patients.  We should be hiring another pediatrician soon, and interviewing another medical doctor to train in optometry, not to mention nurses that will be trained to float in different areas.  

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Another new staff member will be coming on board in January, as we go back to cooking in The Milk Project.  Our director resigned during the early periods of COVID, and our cook Consuelo stepped in and stepped up to take her place.  Now...we need a new cook!  So meet Sulma Karina, who upon interviewing, not only can cook...but would also be a good teacher, and that will be key since she will end up pulling duty doing both, especially with the kids struggling there as well as here with not having in person classes for now two years

On the farms, we have people...people that are working on trying to finish the housing for those other people who will be coming from afar to work on the harvest for the next several months.  Once this is done...then we can hopefully have the vehicles in place (an ongoing struggle...still have two down) to start moving more materials to do many weeks of concrete work on the road.  I will be one people who will be very happy when that happens.  

I promise, the plans that seem to come up and grow year after year are not born of personal ambition or desire for more work, more people, more ministry.  Some days, we already seem to have more than enough going on.  But...this is not my ministry, and not using my vision.  Some things are seasons, some things may not work, but we keep pushing forward trying to keep in step with the boss.  

I think of Paul in Philippians 3 "...forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus."  

May we finish this year, this day, this hour...straining forward to what God has ahead for us.