In the End, God Wins!

Tomorrow morning we will be finishing our study on Esther in the Ladies Sunday School class.  What an incredible study it has been.  I don't know why it continues to amaze me, that no matter how familiar a story or Bible passage is, there is always something new to learn!  That is what it means when it says in Hebrews 4:12, 

For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.  

The Word of God is living and active. That is just the neatest thing!  Every week, when I prepare the lesson, it has just been such an incredible thing to see how God has used it in my own life.   

As we finish up the story of Esther, we are reminded that in the end God really does win!  It doesn't really matter what is happening at this very moment.  God will turn our sorrow into joy and mourning into laughter!  The other thing that really stuck out to me in the end of the book, was just how very important it is for us to make monuments of remembrance.  This month, has been the 10th anniversary of 9/11.  All of us I'm sure can remember exactly where we were, and when we heard the news.   Because of that, it is almost inconceivable to us, that anyone could ever forget or not know what happened on that fateful day.  Yet, the truth is, there are children that have been born during this last 10 years, that have no idea what 9/11 is.  And without monuments of remembrance they will grow up and have no idea.  So just as it is important for us to have memorials and monuments in our country, it is also important to have them in our lives too.  I'm not talking about shrines here.  We are talking about monuments that teach our children and those after us, from our failings.  We aren't enshrining our failures, we are praising God for the victories that he brought about.   In Esther, after the enemies of the Jews were vanquished there was a celebration!  Before Esther walked off the scene and let Mordecai and King Ahasuerus, get back to business, she made sure that the days of Purim would be observed at their appointed seasons.   Esther 9:29-32  Why was this important?  Because, each year at the feast of Purim from the time of Esther to this present day, the Jews recounted the story of how Haman tried to destroy them, but how Almighty God saved them.  Every child grew up knowing what happened.   

That has made me stop to think...am I living at a shrine to my past failures and shortcomings?  Do I spend time thinking about what might have been or should have been or could have been if only?  Or have I made a monument of remembrance for the incredible victories God has brought about in my life?  Do I celebrate the joy of my salvation and the freedom I have been given in Christ?   Keeping my eyes on Him?  

What an incredible blessing to know that in the end, God wins!  2 Timothy 4:7-8,

I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:
Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.

Sometimes God is silent...

Sometimes God is silent.  That doesn't mean he isn't there.  I may not always see or hear God working, but I can always trust that he is there.  He has promised to never leave me!  In the Ladies Sunday School class we are continuing our study on the book of Esther.  The last two weeks we have looked at the Sovereignty of God. As I was preparing for the lesson last week, I was thinking about Job.  We read the book of Job, and see the whole story from God's perspective.  But if you stop and think about it.  Job didn't know any of the things that we know.  He went from one day being on top of the world, to having his whole world come crashing in on top of him.  While he was dealing with the grief and pain of his losses, and then the physical pain of his illness, he couldn't see the end.  He didn't know about the conversation God and Satan were having.  He didn't know that God was going to bless him more than he could ever imagine in the not too distant future.   

It is so easy for me to get stuck in the present.  About 10 days ago, Tony and Teddy took our daughter, Lexi, and her family to Guayaquil to catch their plane back to the US.  We had talked about all of us going, but there is no way that we could all fit in our car, and we decided that the expense of all going in a rented van, and then the hotel and meals out, were just going to be more than we felt we could spend.  So Carla, Matthew and I stayed home.  I have to admit that I was a little resentful...wondering why God would do this to me!  (I know I sound like one of my kids! ;-)  Well, Tuesday morning, we got up and I fixed breakfast for the kids and me. After breakfast, I read a passage from the Bible, and was talking to Carla and Matthew about it.  In the course of the conversation, I asked each of them if they had asked Jesus to forgive them of their sins and be their Savior.  We've asked this many times, and the answer was always the same.  Carla always told us, "no", and when we ask if she would like to, she always responded, "no".  So imagine my surprise when on this morning, I asked her, and she said, "Yes, Mommy, I want to ask Jesus to be my Savior!"  What joy filled my heart, as I was able to tenderly lead her to Christ!  Later, while I was washing the dishes and cleaning up the kitchen, God spoke to my heart.  "If you had gone to Guayaquil, Carla would not have accepted me as her Savior, this morning!"   For me this was the Lord, gently showing me that although, I may not always understand what is happening, or not always enjoy what I'm going though, He has a plan!  He is my loving Heavenly Father, and he is always working things for my good.  I may not enjoy the process, (I never did enjoy getting a shot when I was a kid, but my parents always took me to the doctor anyway! :-) but he is at work, making me into the image of his son. 

This morning we had 119 in the Worship service.  2 precious adults accepted Christ as their Savior.  Then on the way home in the car, Matthew pops up and says, Mommy today in my class, I asked Jesus to forgive me of my sins.  We aren't sure if he understands, but we are so thankful for his tender heart, and are trusting God to continue to draw him to himself.

Thank you for your prayers for our family and for the ministry here in Manta.  God continues to work in the lives and hearts of people.  Please continue to pray for my friend, Marti.  I had the opportunity of leading her to Christ about 3 weeks ago.  She made it to church once, but the last couple weeks Satan has been working overtime to keep her out of God's house! Please pray that she would be able to grow and learn to trust God. Please pray for Lexi's friend, Gaby.  She was able to see her a couple times while they were here, and even got Gaby to visit the church.  Pray that she would come to know Christ as her Savior.   Continue to pray for young families in our church.  Many are facing family problems.  

I pray that you have a week full of blessings from the Lord as you serve him, where he has placed you!

Joy 

Pain and Life...

We have been studying Esther in the Ladies Sunday School class.  This morning the lesson was "An Interlude with Evil".   Not very encouraging! :-)  You know pain is part of life.  There's no getting around it.   Bad things happen...be it natural disasters or horrible accidents or children born with birth defects or disease or just plain wickedness.   Often times, when there has been a terrible event...accident that takes the lives of children, or a natural disaster, people often ask, How could God let this happen?  Well, I think it is important, to remember that all of this is a result of the fact that we live in a fallen world.  I mean sin entered and with it all the consequences we see today. 

As a child of God, I know that God is working in my life to mold me into the image of His Son.   That means everything that he allows to come into my life, he is using to do that work.  I also know that He will never leave me and that his grace is always sufficient.  Wow!  That means that no matter what comes my way, my loving Heavenly Father, knows all about it.  He is using it to form me into the image of Jesus.   It will all bring Glory to Him.   He also is right there with me, and filling me with his grace and strength.   He has promised to always give me what I need for today.  I've not been promised grace for tomorrow.  That will come tomorrow.

God is working in the hearts and lives of people here in Manta!  This week Tony was able to lead two precious souls to Christ.  Two new young couples are now on the road to building Christian homes that will honor Christ.   There are many road blocks and obstacles for each of them to overcome, but with God's help and grace, they can be victorious!

It has been so exciting to see people getting involved and taking ownership of the new puppet ministry.  All 4 teams, have been working really hard.  The first month, they all worked on skits and programs that had been provided for them.  This month, they have each one had to come up with their own.  It has been such an encouragement to me to see them excited and really creative.   God is blessing their efforts.  Today we had 47 in the Children's Church.

This morning, Cristian and Monica dedicated their precious baby girl, Abbey.   This is a young couple who a year ago, we weren't sure were going to make it, and this morning, they were able to stand in front of the church and promise that they were going to do everything in their power to make sure that their precious daughter would grow up in a home that honored the Lord!   Please keep this precious family in your prayers.  God is doing a work in their lives.

Please pray with us for continued growth in the lives of the baby Christians in our church.  Pray for the Lord to supply the funds needed to finish the church building.  Pray for the Sunday School teachers, and those working in our Children's ministry. 

Also please pray for safety as our son-in-law and daughter, Jonathan and Lexi travel to Ecuador this coming Tuesday, with our precious grand baby, Adrienne.   We are looking forward to our visit with them.  They are excited not only to be coming to visit with us, but to get a vision about what God might have in store for them in the ministry here in Ecuador.  

I want to thank each one of you for your support and prayers for our family and the ministry here in Manta, Ecuador.  I pray that God would bless each one of you as  you serve him this week.

Life has been quite exciting for the Anzalone Family.  Teddy and I enjoyed spending 3 weeks in the US during the month of May.  It was a wonderful blessing to be present for the birth of our 5th grandchild.   We were also able to be there to see Jonathan and Lexi recognized as BBFI Team missionaries to Ecuador.   

We arrived back in Ecuador and hit the ground running.   That first week-end we were back, we had a special workshop to introduce those involved in our Sunday School to the puppet ministry.   We had 30 people sign up and attend the Friday evening and Saturday workshops.   We are very thankful to Jenny Carpenter for coming down and spending the week-end with us and doing such a great job with the workshops.   We were able to form 4 groups, and each one has taken a turn during our Children's Church.  This Sunday, we started the rotation again.  It has been great to see how excited and involved the groups have been.   

Last week, our family went to visit Joe and Sylvia Wells in Santo Domingo.  We had a great time with them.  Our children love to visit with Uncle Joe and Aunt Sylvia.   On Saturday we traveled on up to Quito and spent time with Glenn and Sherri McGhee.  It was really good to be in the services of the Iglesia Biblica Bautista, La Victoria, last Sunday.  While in Quito we were able to get Carla and Matthew's national ID cards.  We were also able to take Carla to see a pediatric cardiologist. She was also able to have have a few tests done, which gave us a better picture of what we are facing.  We would appreciate your prayers as we seek God's plan in all of this.  At this time it looks like Carla is going to need to have a procedure done to repair a defect in her heart.   We are trusting God to open the doors he has for us, and show us exactly When, Where and How this is to be done. 

We returned back to Manta on Wednesday.   Wednesday evening at prayer meeting and then Thurday at Institute class we were greeted with a torn up street around the church, and a horrible smell...they were putting in sewer lines!  It was a great blessing to get to the church this morning, and although the streets are still a mess there was no horrible smell!  

This week the kids and I will finish up our school year.  It has been extra long, because we didn't start until the middle of September last year, after Carla and Matthew joined our family.   We are all looking forward to our "summer vacation!"  Tony will be making the trip back to Santo Domingo on Thursday to preach at a Pastor's Retreat.  

Thank you for your prayers for our family and for the ministry here in Manta!  God is working and lives are being changed.