Awake to the Monkeys!

Hello All,
As promised, the EMI team arrived in full force on Saturday afternoon.  They have been everywhere for the last week gathering information and changing that into workable designs and plans.  They have had me running every second just to keep up with them!  But, I wouldn't have it any other way.  They are extending the Master Planning for the hospital in just one week in ways that we couldn't accomplish in a year.  They have been working on:  Mortuary, front end parking and landscaping including sidewalks, new Theater (surgical wing) expansion, physiotherapy space, New Outpatient Department, New TB clinic, New Emergency Department, Remodel of the clinic space, Storm water design, and Oxygen plant design (in a new space) with a program to change over.  Its a good thing there are 15 of them!  They have their final presentation on Tues morning and after that they will be gone (and I can breathe)!  I will gather them all together (that will be a feat in itself) sometime before they leave and get a picture.  It has been a real blessing having them here and seeing the work that they are doing.  This will enable us to build more buildings for the next 10 years! (Don't worry Mom, we are still coming home July of 2014)!

How did you wake up this morning?  By the dog wanting to go out?  That was me, but she was wanting to go out to chase the monkeys that were running across the roof!  It is a tile roof and they sure make some noise.  Here are a few pictures of them.  They are the little Sykes monkeys.

 

 

This is  a picture I pulled from the Internet so that you can see what they really look like

This week there was the first annual World Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus Day.  Here is one link to information:
http://www.worldspinabifidahydrocephalusday.com/#!world-sb/h-day
Spina Bifida is a genital defect where the spine is not fully formed.  Sometimes these patients have hydrocephalus also which is where fluid is trapped in the brain cavity making it expand.  One of the causes is lack of folic acid in the mother at the very beginning of conception.  The Dr that gave a presentation on Wed. said that by day 26 of pregnancy if the defect is there, it can not be restored.   These kids can have the defects closed but they will always live with a disability.  Some can walk with crutches or help, some are in a wheelchair.  The neurosurgeon that is a missionary here says that in the west he may do 5 cases a year, but here they do 20 a month!  The kids come to get surgery but that is not the end of the story.  The mothers and the babies (or children) must be trained to live with the problem in their home towns.  I met another lady who, with the help of IF (International Federation of Hydrocephalus and Spina Bifida), wants to build a guest house near the hospital to support the parents in their journey.  We are actively looking for a piece of land and then get a design and costing, etc, etc.  So that one day when the parents are released from the hospital, they can stay there for a time to be trained and gain knowledge from the other parents that have lived with it for a long time.  They are networking!  So, I can see another project on our event horizon!

We did a devotional this week on 1 Cor 12:12-27:

12 The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body — whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free — and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. 14 Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. 15 If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19 If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body. 21 The eye cannot say to the hand, "I don't need you!" And the head cannot say to the feet, "I don't need you!" 22 On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, 23 and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, 24 while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has combined the members of the body and has given greater honor to the parts that lacked it, 25 so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. 26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. 27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.
NIV
This is something we see all the time.  We work as engineers here surrounded by some amazing doctors.  But, we still have a role to play.  Not all of us have the same gifts, rather we are all made to serve Him in one way or another, but definitely not in the same capacity.  This passage give us encouragement that who you are is who God made you to be.  All you have to do is follow His plan for you!
We had a coo on Monday night too.  We have a weekly meet and greet on Monday nights for short termers who come here for 2 weeks to 6 months.  Usually, we are surrounded by doctors and nurses, but this past week we engineers outnumbered the doctors!  It was a good feeling not to be the square peg in that round hole!

Here are a few pictures I took this week of the crazy cat that lives outside:

 

The kids had an event last Saturday called Carnival.  They got dressed up with their big brother or big sister (they are paired with a High School kid) and played games in the gym.  Timothy went as Flame and his big brothers were the firemen and Sallie went as an Olympic bike rider.  I was just able to get pictures of them at the end so did not get them with their high school counterparts - Sorry:

Jim has been kind of elusive this week as he has been tied up with Bethany Kids issues.  He is running like crazy to deal with all the issues that come up in a project.  One of these was the fact that the water pipes that are buried are joined together by rubber.  As they are uncovered, the rubber is failing (it was being held together by the pressure of the ground around it)!  This causes water to be spayed everywhere and now we need to buy new pipe in order to complete the connections.  This is just one of about a million issues.

As I said before, the team leaves on Tuesday.  I will be glad (so that I can breathe) but will be sad because there will be a whole lot of work for us that are "left behind" to do.  Please keep them in your prayers as they work all weekend to finish up the plans and get the presentation together and they travel home.

In His Hands,
Jullie T.

 

 

 

EMI Team has Arrived!

Hello All,
Well the EMI (engineering ministries International) team has arrived (partially) and the rest are due in about 2 hours.  That is why this will be brief today!
We spent all day (literally) yesterday going over programming issues (the needs of each of the departments that are listed on the scope of works for this EMI trip).  It was grueling but we gathered some essential information. 

Here is some of the team actually working!

 

We are meeting the rest of the 16 people today, getting them settled, and walking around the hospital to orient them.  Some have been on trips like this before, some have not.  We have a fire hose worth of information to share in a very short time.  They will work all week and then do a presentation of the final products a week from Monday or Tues.  Busy week ahead!

 

Here are some more aerial photos of the hospital and our house taken by a professional:

 

This is our house with the vegetable garden towards the top right.

 

The hospital - you can see the septic trenches heading down and to the right.

 

 

Jim has been crazy busy with the new wing getting started.  There are so many issues that come up, but we are hopeful that when they get settled in and in the groove, things will smoothen out. 

 

Timothy and I are heading out in a few minutes to try and catch our guitar lesson.  The man that is teaching will be leaving soon for 6 months and we want to get as much in as we can!  Here is a picture of Timothy that I took last week on the way there:

 

Hope you have a great week!  Just found out that my Mother is coming to visit in Dec - Yea!  The kids are looking forward to that (especially because we are going to get her to bring some chocolate chips and maybe a few Christmas presents)!

In His Hands,
Jullie T.



 



Never tire of Giraffes!

Hello All,
This has been another crazy week!  I think I say that every time.  We went to Naivasha for a short break last Saturday with Timothy and Sallie.  There is a nice Indian restaurant there that everyone likes and then we went to one of the resorts to use the pool.  The kids had a blast and we got to relax with some friends while they swam.  It actually hailed on us as we were driving over the high country to get there!  Did not expect that!

This was the view driving into the resort area!  There were 7 of them.
I never tire of seeing the Giraffes.

Sallie and Becca

 

Sallie making a splash

 

A Beautiful place!

 

This week has been challenging in the sense that Jim and I are working hard to:  Get the contractor set up for starting Bethany Kids Peds Wing, organize for the coming EMI team, (including Jim going flying to take some aerial photos), help Trevor's class with Banquet Planning (to happen in Feb), help the procurement department reorganize their receiving and storage areas, lead some Bible Studies and feed kids at some point!  Makes me tired just to say it.  The AIM (Africa Inland Mission) pilot came up here last Wed to help us get some aerial shots for the coming EMI team.  Here are some photos from the air of Kijabe:

 

The Hospital Complex

 

Our house (large red roof).  Its a duplex and we are on the right.

 

Wow!

 

I have been hit 3 times this week with thoughts about how we should pray for those who persecute us.  That makes me nervous!  These all came in the form of bibles studies or devotions.  Jeremiah 29 talks about how the exciles were to pray for the people who took them as slaves.  That would be difficult to say the least.  But as they did this, God promised to help the Babylonians prosper as well as the exciles.  Mathew 5:44 says the "...Love our enemy and pray for those who persecute you."  Basically, it goes on to say that it is easy to love those who love you, but difficult to love those that you are not fond of.  How true is that!  But, that is what God wants us to do.   I think this goes to our leadership (local and federal) too.  We need to pray that the people chosen will be faithful and understand God's will for them.

 

 

Timothy and I are learning to play the guitar a bit.  There is a man here who is giving lessons on Saturdays, so we are headed off to his house soon.  It is fun to see Timothy getting better and loving it!

 

This Thursday is when the EMI team starts to arrive.  Please pray for their safe journey and for us as we coordinate all the work that they are going to accomplish here!

 

Have a Great week!

In His Hands,

Jullie T.

 

 



 

 

Chalk it up to Life in Kenya!

Hello All,
We have had another busy week and things don't seem to be slowing the pace, just accelerating!  The kids are out of school for a few days for Mid Term break.  They go back on Wed. and then have 6 weeks till the end of the term.  That is amazing. 

We went to a Tea Farm in Limuru with the ladies last Sunday.  It was a fun ladies outing.  Fiona, the lady that owns it, gave a great talk about tea and how her grandfather came to Kenya in 1903 and started growing in in about 1906.  It was a beautiful place.  The gardens were spectacular and the lunch was amazing.  Here are some pictures (Mom if you come, we will go here!):

Tea Fields

 

Tea Plants

 

Different types of tea

 

They say this vine wraps around the tree in a different direction in the southern hemisphere as in the northern hemisphere!

 

The big tree is an avocado tree.  They were dropping on our heads!

 

The grounds of the tea farm.

 

 

I mentioned last week that we had the opening of the Mother Child Health building.  Here are some pictures of the inside:

 

 

The chairs all set up and people waiting!

 

Shy girl.

 

 

Jim has been working with the contractor all this week in getting the site prepared for the Peds wing.  They have been pulling down the Quonset Hut, an on call building and fencing and trees.  It is a mess right now!  They have damaged some of the panels on the Quonset Hut as they were bringing it down (you can see from the pictures):

 

The QH whole

 

Inside the QH during destruction

 

 

 

Clearing the site for the new QH location

 

Moving the fence line in the new QH location

 

 

They are also pulling down some of the on call rooms to make room for the new building.  Here is a picture:

 

 

 

 

Last Tues was a day that will forever be known as a bad day!  We had to go to Nairobi to get our alien IDs renewed.  What a process!  My friend Tracy and I decided we just needed one month and we could have the whole process of paper work for immigration running more efficiently!  We waited 2 hours and then got a friend of Tracy's who works there involved and things started moving.  We were finally done in about 2 1/2 hours.  Another bad thing happened this day:  Jim's brand new smart phone that he purchased in the states was shut off by the government of Kenya!  They started a crack down on fake phones here and just picked a date (Oct 1) and turned off all the phones that did not have valid IMEI numbers.  That is the identification number of your phone.  So, all the people who had purchased phones that were fake (most did not know this), have to go out and buy another phone.  They are punishing the people and not the companies that are selling these items!  Don't get me started!  Jim's was not even fake but was a beta test phone and therefore the IMEI was not on the approved list!  Bottom line is that he just purchased a new one in the states and is having a friend bring it out in a few weeks.  What a bummer! 

The other thing that went wrong this day was that we had a meeting set up with Tracy and Craig's builder that didn't happen.  This was the main reason for going to town with them this day and when we called him, he said he was on the other side of town!  So, we just ate lunch (Indian food - Yum) and got our shopping done and came home.  We didn't get back till just before dark (about 6:00) and I was smart enough to have Rose make us some supper!  She had a wonderful stew waiting and fresh bread.  She is so nice to have around.  Chalk things up to living in Kenya!

 

Here are a few more pictures that I took around here this week:

 

My View from the house

 

Trevor with our obnoxious cat!

 

Longonot in the distance

 

The worship team that I work with (my power point in the background!)

 

A pretty butterfly

 

 

Hope you have a good week.  We are busy this week with preps for the peds wing and for the coming EMI team.  There are 15 architects and engineers coming to do more planning and designing.  It will be great, but it is keeping us busy!

 

 

In His Hands,

Jullie T.

 

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 



 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Grace = Ice Cream??

Hello All,

Another busy (over the top!) week.  We are glad to be at the week end and can breath just a bit. 

Jim started an on line class this week working towards a masters in IT.  Hopefully, he will be able to put in the hours that he needs for that, but I think those will be pretty late hours. 

We got a new set of drawings for the Bethany Kids Children's Center and he has been pouring over those.  Lots of details to sort out and understand so that the contractor is kept on his toes!  Jim is good at that.

We had the official turn over of the MCH (Mother Child Health) building this past week.  Many people gathered and said a few words and "wallah" it was done!  It was a year and a half ago that Jim and I asked that the building be put where it is now located (instead of at a temporary place) so that it would be in line with the Master Plan that was drawn up by EMI.  When we first suggested that, we thought it would only take 4-5 months to get the building operational, Well, here we are at 18 months later, but it sure is pretty!  They moved furniture in this week but I have not had a chance to go up there and see it furnished.  Maybe next week I will have some pictures.

Below is a picture of a bird that Jim saw in the yard.  Not sure what it is.  Anybody know?  He said it had a pretty plumage on its head.  Sometimes the wildlife around here makes life interesting.  The other day I can home and there was a whole troop of Sykes monkeys in the Loquat tree.  The loquat fruit is fully ripe now and between the kids and the monkeys, they will all be gone soon!

 

 

 

The local AIC church that we attend is a very large building, but not large enough to hold both the boy's and girl's local high schools.  So, they alternate as to when they attend.  Here is a picture of the boys coming up the hill towards the church.  If you don't get out of the building in time when they are coming in, you get swarmed and can't go anywhere!  Timing is everything!

 

 

We had our first "critique" here at the hospital!  All of you Navy people will know what that is.  It is a meeting that takes place after a problem has occurred to help find out the root causes and come up with solutions and lessons learned.  Jim conducted it and was praying all the night before about how to do it.  In the Navy, it is a pretty bad thing to be the prime object of a critique.  It really means you have messed up and it will be made public to all.  African culture is not one where you point out faults directly.  If someone has done something wrong, you usually tell a friend or third party and they "suggest" to the person that maybe the way they did it was not in line with what the person wanted, etc.  It is never a direct thing.  We westerners don't know how to Not be direct!  But, when the critique was over, it was all good.  We found out some critical details that were previously unknown and we came up with some solutions, but more importantly, the guys involved did not feel like they were being berated.  They all had something to say and some suggestions as to how to make things better, so all was good.  Prayer Answered!

 

We are still waiting to see if the Bethany Kids Wing construction will receive the VAT tax exemption.  This is a 16% tax and represents about $300,000 to the BK organization.  Please pray that it will be granted and we will get word of it soon.

 

We did a bible study this past week with a John Piper video that talked about Grace and Sanctification.  It is a dificult subject!  I always come back to thinking that grace is getting something you don't deserve.  There was a great example someone told on a radio program one day about a kid getting into a lot of trouble (I think is was built on a lie).  She knew her Dad was going to get very angry and punish her and did not want to face him.  Anyway, long story short, he did have a face to face with her and asked if she wanted to go for ice cream!  She was shocked, but it was her favorite thing to do with her Dad.  He explained later that what he did was giving her grace.  He and she both knew that she had done wrong, but the grace is what is given in spite of that.  I don't know if I could do that knowing that the kid had done something wrong! 

 

Hope you all have a great week.  We are going to try and get to Nairobi this week to get our alien IDs renewed.  That will be an all day affair!

 

In His Hands,

Jullie T.

Good bye to Horton

Hello All,
We have had a great week.  Can not believe it is almost October.  The weather is getting really nice here, but the rains may have started.  We had an unexpected evening shower the other night and it has looked threatening in the past few afternoons.  This means it will rain in the pm for the next month or so.  But, all the gardens will grow and people will have food to eat.  We just pray that it doesn't rain too much and damage the roads or piping systems!

Sallie and Timothy had a field day last week up at Titchie.  Field day is kind of a carnival like thing where they have different games set up and the kids go in groups to play each one.  Last week's theme was "Cowboy/Girl."  Here are a few pictures:

 

 

 

 

Well, we finally handed over the site to the contractor this week!  A very exciting time!  We had a short ceremony and then got down to business.  The meeting was shorter then expected (only 1.5 hours) to answer all the questions between the hospital, the contractor, and the architect.  We now have a site representative from Itabuild living here in Kijabe.  Next week, we will continue getting the Quonset hut ready to move and getting the site cleared.  Itabuild will be here in full force in about 2 weeks putting up fencing and clearing trees, etc.  The Bethany Kids organization is very excited to be at the starting point of their new facility (starting point of physical activity, that is).  We are happy for them and look forward to seeing the building actually raise up in the coming year.

 

The sewer system is coming along.  The guys finally got the compactor they needed and are laying pipe.  Here are a few pictures:

 

 

 

 

 

They had to jack hammer through a large section of rock that was discovered during the digging.  It is amazing how things like that can just show up where you don't expect them.  After the piping gets laid, the next step will be to hire a contractor to make the grit tanks and the oxidation pits.  The area of the pits has grown to about 100m x 200m (333ft x 666ft).  That is a large space!  They have had to cut down some trees that were in the way of the piping, one of which was one of my favorite - the Horton Hears a Who Tree.  Here is a picture of it back in June of 2010:

 

 

 



I miss that tree!

 

We toured the Mother Child Health building this past week looking for final issues.  They are just about ready to turn it over to the department.  The ladies that run it picked some very bright colors for the inside!  Here are a few pictures:

 

 

 

 

The exam rooms are all different colors like pink, turquoise, and yellow.  As we were touring, the men were attaching a white board to the wall in the waiting area for the kids to draw on.  We will turn over the building this week and then the department will start to furnish it and it will open.  They are moving from a space that is 1/4 of the size of this one, so they are very excited. 

 

This past week a man that we are sponsoring through electrical training school started at a school near here.  He was so excited!  This all started when that family invited us to their home for tea.  We got to know them a bit and found out that Patrick, who is out of High School and just working when he can get a job, was very electrically minded.  Another friend of mine found a school for her son that was reasonably priced.  I started looking into it and one thing led to another and he is now there.  I am going to give him my allowance for the next year to make it happen.  I can not feel good about spending my money on shoes or other sundries when I know that that little bit of money will educate this man and change his life.  We are blessed to be here and be able to help a little where we can.  I will get a picture of him later and post it.  We are praying that he will do well and be able to support himself and his family in the near future.

 

Have a great week and I would say to Lean on Him in everything that you do!

 

In His Hands,

Jullie T.

 



A year and a half = Contract Signing - Check!

Hello All,
Well, we had the big contract signing this past week with a company called Itabuild.  They are going to build the Bethany Kids Children's Center for us.  It went well and all were happy by the end of the day.  Jim and the executive director of Kijabe Hospital and the director if BK went into Nairobi to get it done.  I have mentioned before, that when you go into town (Nairobi) it is usually an all day thing.  It was this time too.  They left at 8:00 and got home about 7:00pm.  They got stopped by the president's caravan again too!  It seems when President Kibaki drives through town, he does not want to wait in the traffic, so he has his people stop traffic for him.  It usually messes things up for hours!  They got stuck for a little while, but Jim said he got a nap, so all was well.  Here are some pictures of them at the signing:

 

 

We are so grateful to all and are very happy to be at this point.  The contractor will be here this coming Friday to do the site turnover.  We had a small meeting yesterday with the hospital to check on the preps for that.  Things still aren't done and there is a mountain of work to do, but they are geared up to do it and we are sure that they will meet the deadline.  We are cheering them on!

 

Yesterday was open house at RVA.  So, parents were allowed to come and sit in on the classes.  I went up and found Trevor in his AP English class and Chemistry class.  They were doing equations to calculate energy released from atoms as the electrons fall from one layer to another.  Sounds like Nuclear Power School to me!  Here are some pictures of them outside melting gummy bears:

 

Trevor is the one in the tan about in the middle

 

Melting Gummy Bears!  (Poor Gummy)

 

I also found Sallie practicing for this weeks church service.  It is Titchie Sunday so all the Titchies (elementary kids) sing and perform during the service.  Timothy was in the middle of taking a math test and, since I looked over his shoulder, I could tell he was doing well.  He is also a math wiz like his brother!

 

They started laying pipes on the sanitation system this week.  Jim went out and gave them a lesson on using a string line.   He said the men were very receptive and as he checked later, they were doing all the right things and asking the right questions.  Way to go guys!  Our next big step after getting all the pipe laid will be to hire a contractor to dig the oxidation pits and make the grit tanks that we need.  At least it keeps us employed!

 

Hope you have a great week.  Ours will be busy with site turnover, laying more pipes, the turnover of the Mother Child Health building too the MCH people and some visitors from BK. 

 

I did a devotional last week about Truth and what the Bible has to say.  I am going to paste my note to myself here and if you would like to read it you can.  They are a bit cryptic because they were just notes to myself, but you can get the point.  I got the ideas from a man named Dave Hunt on an mp3 sermon.  Here is a link to the page where I found it:  http://calvarypo.org/BOOKS/Topicalmp3.html  It is The Truth of God's Word sermon by Dave Hunt on 4/18/2004.  You can download it and listen on your mp3 if you are interested.

 



Bible Study Sept 11

Truth

John 8:36 – 37

There are 2 types of truth:  1. Speaking facts as in a court room. Science – Universe had a beginning (sun has not burned out yet.  But some people say no).  2. Jesus has spoken – he claims to be God.  If we think that he is not what he claims to be, then he is a liar or a crazy man.

“Everyone that Heareth my voice hears the truth”  “I am the truth”  “Thy word is the truth”  “The living Word of God” = Bible

Some people say that the can believe whatever they want.  Example of a nurse not following procedures.  Example of a pilot just doing what he wants.  We have procedures in life and for taking care of the body (Nurse and Dr), but what about procedures for taking care of the soul?

We know we have a soul.  Some things cannot be seen but are true.  Look at Justice.  Justice is something but we can’t see it.  Does that mean it doesn’t exist?  The judge follows the law (procedures) but was justice served?  Ideas and thoughts are not physical things, but do they exist?  You are the thinker.  The 2^nd law of thermodynamics governs the physical world – body decays over time and when you die.  But what happens to those thoughts, ideas?  The choices you make in life – you are the choice maker and thinker (comes from the soul).  Where is the thinker when the body dies?

Is truth Absolute or Relative?  In a philosophy class 80% say relative and 20% say absolute at the beginning.  Relative means do what you want because my truth is relative to me!  But, what about procedures?  What about that pilot?  Tolerance – Can police tolerate crime?  Can a doctor tolerate disease? 

Math 23:24  “You strain at a gnat yet swallow a camel.”  Book DaVinci code is example.

People make up their own truths – Mass cards:  can donate and have the priest lay the card on the alter so that a dead relative can get out of purgatory.  Scapular – Whoever wears this will not burn in the everlasting fire.  This was a promise from an apparition of Mary given St Simon Stock.   This promise was based on the Carmelite tradition that the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to St. Simon Stock at Cambridge, England in 1251 in answer to his appeal for help for his oppressed order and recommended the Brown Scapular of the Our Lady of Mount Carmel to him and promised salvation for the faithful who wore it piously.  ^[Does it make sense that one would be with God forever just because he/she wore something?  Sounds like another way to sell lots of things!  John 8:31 -32

John 8:45-47               John 8:24 and 58 – claims to be the “I Am”  But all were angry with him and they threw stones at him. John 8:59 – he hid himself and went out from there.

What does Jesus say about the truth:  John 14:16 – 17  John 16:13            Jesus is not talking about facts of science.  You receive Christ and then you have the spirit of the truth = it grips your heart and changes your life!  John 14:6 “I am the way………..”

Some people say that the Bible can be interpreted anyway you want.  Not true.  Some Islamic’s claim that their religion is Peace = Not true.  They have the words of Mohammad that say otherwise.  So, you if want to make up a religion you can, but don’t call it Islam.  Also true of some “Christian” religions.  Some claim to be Christians, but make up their own rules.

What does God say about us?  Need to go to the Book.

Jesus has spoken and says he is the truth.  We all need an authority to lead us to the truth.

The Bible offers its own truth.  Prophecy – about Israel (bible says they will be persecuted, etc) and about Messiah   There are hundreds of prophecies about Jesus, but none about Confucius, or Mohammad, or Buddha.

The Bible says the penalty has to be paid.  The ticket is written out.  Jesus paid that penalty.  No other religion has this.  Islam says that the judgment is about weighing the good deeds against the bad.  What?!  Can I say that yes I murdered someone yesterday, but I saved 2 people from drowning last week?  Following the law is what you are supposed to do.  You don’t get extra credit for doing what you are supposed to do.  But breaking the law requires a penalty be paid.  Story of Billy Graham and the ticket (if time).

“The wages of sin is Death, but the gift of God is eternal life”  Romans 6:23  It is a Gift!!  You can’t pay anything for it (good deeds, church membership, and missionary work)!  If you do, you reject the gift and insult the giver!   We come as unworthy sinners, worthy only to be separated from God for eternity, but he has paid the penalty and saved us.

Here is a picture of a cool ant type thing that Jim took:

 
Hope you have a great week.  We are moving along here with life and enjoying it.  We are very grateful to all who have supported us.  We are currently 1/3 of the way there with finances to stay till the summer of 2014.  Thank you all so much!

 

In His Hands,

Jullie T