The Steadfast Love...

This past Monday I had a meeting at the high school.  It was the first time i’ve been there since things shut down back in March.  My temperature was checked at the door, seats were marked with an X for social distance seating, and of course everyone had their face masks on.  The teacher talked about how the students are doing working remotely, possible plans for when the school might reopen and then passed out the first quarter report cards.  We are REALLY proud of Carolina who is in 11th grade.  She is excelling in school and had an overall score of 9.4 out of 10.  Even though school has been either from her room or the office, she is doing a fantastic job.

At the end of the meeting, the teacher said something really interesting.  He was talking about the challenges that some of the students and families are facing doing remote schooling.  One of those being the amount of cellphone data that is needed for assignments and communication.  For the high school, all communication and homework assignments are done virtually via an app called WhatsApp. He went on to say that normally when the students would come to class, he would collect their cellphones in a box so they wouldn’t be a distraction during class.  Now, students are having to rely on their phones because that IS their class time.  He finished by saying “isn’t it interesting how things in our world have flipped around due to this pandemic.”

Some might call it “the new norm” or “unprecedented times.” 2020 will definitely be a year that will always be remembered and really changed the course of things.  It was so difficult having to cancel missions trips, golf tournaments, speaking engagements, basically everything this year. Especially because those things are such a vital part in what we do down here in Mexico.

Thankfully, even in the midst of a global pandemic and things being completely turned upside down and cancelled, we have a God who forever remains faithful.  He has continued to show His faithfulness every single day.

Take our annual House of Blessing Golf Tournament for instance.  Having had to cancel our two physical tournaments in WA and FL, someone suggested having a “virtual” event.  I really had no idea how this would turn out or if it would even work.  I was absolutely amazed to see over 45 people who participated, playing golf, mini-golf and disc golf from 3 different states, and raised over $2100.  Amazing!

What about our Back To School Drive?  Normally, we do a big drive every year to raise money for school supplies, fees, uniforms, etc for all our kiddos.  Since school is remote and via television, I wasn’t sure there would be an interest to raise funds.  Once again, I was amazed.  A church in Oregon raised over $2600 to help with school needs.  Incredible!

As we head into the weekend may we be forever reminded of the goodness of the Lord and these wonderful words…

Lamentations 3:22-23…The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; His mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; GREAT is Your faithfulness.