January 13th Update
“For everyone who asks, receives; he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.” - Luke 11:10
How often do we think that God has not answered our prayers if he has not answered them the way we wanted? Have you ever done that? I have. This past week was a true testimony to God’s faithfulness in answering two specific prayers. One of those answers was one I was hoping for and the other answer did not turn out the way I had anticipated. I am confident that in both circumstances, one encouraging and the other disappointing, that God was faithful. He very clearly answered our prayers.
The Exciting News
It only took about two weeks for our brothers and sisters in Christ to provide enough support for us to travel to and from Mexico this February. Our goal of $2100 was met last week. We praise God for this, knowing that, “every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Heavenly Father.” Besides the trip to San Andres to plan for a church building project, we will plan to visit around ten families in the Puebla area. These range from brothers and sisters at Cristo Victorioso, to contacts from Los Heroes, to missionaries serving in Puebla. I am very excited about returning and seeing what God has in store for CEFC this summer. Thank you all for continuing to be such an integral part of this ministry, through your prayers and sacrificial gifts… thank you.
These are a few of the people we will see and homes will visit when we are not in San Andres
The Disappointing News
We received word this past week from the Department of Labor (DOL), a government agency that was processing our visa applications for the four Mexican men. My employer, Stoltzfus Enterprises Ltd. (SEL), was informed that the cap of available visas (66,000) for the 2008 year was officially met on January 2nd and that we were not included. This is sad news. It was a desire I had in my heart to work with Mexicans and SEL when I returned from Mexico and my decision to return to the construction trade was heavily influenced by my hope that I would be working with these Mexican men in April. Our company did everything we needed to do. We submitted all the paperwork and payments ahead of schedule and pursued this seasonal worker program in a professional and law abiding manner. However, after four months of pursuing this program and believing this to be the direction I wanted to take, the door has closed.
“The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD; he directs it like a watercourse wherever he pleases.” - Proverbs 21:1
My employer, Dave Stoltzfus, shared this Proverb when I spoke to him regarding our denial of the visas this past week. We don’t know why this has happened, but know that it is no surprise to God. Even though something may seem right, and the way to go, God may direct us in that path and keep the door open for some time until it is finally closed.
As you can imagine, I feel a bit disoriented right now. I chose this path with the seasonal workers, believing in it and pursuing it wholeheartedly. I would greatly appreciate your prayers regarding any decisions I make for the future. This may be a career path in engineering (what I studied in college), some sort of work with Hispanics, or even a return to full time missions work… or perhaps something I have not yet thought of. Please pray for clear direction and that God would develop a firm conviction and peace in my heart for whatever path he may have planned.
Thank you all so much for praying, giving, encouraging and participating in the Mexico ministry and even more importantly, in my life.
Blessings in Christ,
Jon