The following is from Ingrid Giles web site and her current prayer letter. The photo was taken in the trailer where they stayed in Texas.
The subject of the Sunday School lessons that I have been translating and teaching lately has been the Fourth Petition of the Lord's Prayer: "Give us this day our daily bread." At the same time, God has been teaching me to walk by faith, knowing that if I am doing His will, He will provide my needs.
Two weeks ago I knew that I had to leave the country to renew my visa. Since I couldn't afford to do that, I went to the immigration office in Zacatecas, and I called my lawyer; I did everything I could to avoid having to leave. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn't get out of it. I was faced with two choices: stay here illegally until I had the money to leave; or simply leave, knowing that God wanted me to obey the law and He would provide the means. I chose to honor and trust God.
My brother (who was in the same situation) and I bought our bus tickets to the border and left on a Saturday evening. We arrived at the border on Sunday morning and turned in our old visas.
Dave and Sharon Sachs, the managers of Melody Lane Christian Renewal Center at Texas Rose, picked us up at the bus station and brought us to the trailer where we would be staying. They graciously gave us a painting job to pay for our lodging while we stayed there. That first evening they took us out to eat, and on the way home they stopped at the grocery store and bought us fresh food that we wouldn't be able to get from the food shelf, such as fresh fruit, milk and eggs. On Monday morning they took us to the food shelf and we got plenty of cans of food for the week, including various fruit juices.
Sometime during the next week, we came back to our trailer after painting for the day, and we found more bags of groceries on our front step. The next day a man walked in to the clubhouse where we were relaxing, and said that he had some groceries for us. It turned out that they were the same people who had given us groceries the day before, but this time they had things that needed to be refrigerated, so they couldn't just leave them on our doorstep. They were a missionary couple who were staying at the same place for medical reasons. (Their names are Jim and Kathy; please pray for them.) They also invited us to eat with them a couple of times.
God provided our literal bread, as well as our place to stay for the ten days that we were there.
On Monday evening a week later, the groundskeepers finished our painting job for us. We wondered what we would do next. On Tuesday morning we got up and got ready to work, not knowing what job we would do. Just as we were ready, there was a knock on the door. A woman I had never seen before was standing there. They were missionaries who were staying in the same place, and had heard that we had no money to go back home. They offered us a ride as far as Monterrey (several hours down the road) and a place to stay for the night. "How soon are you leaving?" I asked her. "We are getting ready to go right now," was the reply. Danny and I prayed and talked it over. We had needed to stay at the border for ten days, and this "happened" to be the tenth day (by Mexican reckoning, although it was the ninth day by American reckoning). Daniel needed to stop at a store for one errand, and it "happened" that they intended to stop at Walmart on their way. And we had just finished the work that we had been given to do. It all seemed to be the timing of God. We thankfully accepted the offer. We said goodbye to people, and then it took us about half an hour to pack our bags, stuff as much of the food as we could into our already full bags, strip the beds, wash the dishes, take out the garbage, return the library books... move out. Before we left, the managers gave us money.
The people who gave us the ride are Mark and Vickee Bennett, who live in a small town in the mountains near Monterrey. We had good conversation with them. We got to their home in the late afternoon, and in the evening they took us to the place where they are building a new house. It is in a most picturesque village, where all the houses are built into the side of the mountain and one person's front door might be higher than the next-door neighbor's roof. The view from the porch is so beautiful that I gasped when I saw it. I just stood there for a few minutes, and my soul felt refreshed. That was like another gift from God. He was supplying more than our physical needs on this trip that we took by faith.
The next morning they took us to the bus station in Monterrey and they also gave us "a little money for the road." We are thankful for their generosity and hospitality, and for taking the time to go all the way into the city of Monterrey to leave us at the bus station. We got home that night at about 9:30. I was surprised when we unloaded the canned food that we had brought back with us. How did so much fit in our bags if they had been full to begin with? It reminded me of the scene in Mary Poppins where she is unpacking and draws large items out of her handbag, such as lamps and things that could not possibly have fit in it. I think that was another miracle.
God truly provides our daily bread.
On Sunday he provided even more, through a woman at church who gave us a bag of groceries.
God is so good! Just think what blessings we would have missed out on if we had thought we couldn't travel until we had the money! At the very least, we would have missed out on meeting some new friends. When we honor Him and walk in His will, He truly does provide our every need "according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus." Praise the Lord!
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Prayer
Please (requests):- Pray for my mom and dad as they help my grandparents and adjust to their new life.
- Pray for a safe trip for my parents in the last week of this month, and for blessings on their visit here.
- Pray for my continued health.
- Pray that women would come to the Thursday Bible Study.
- Ask God to continue to provide Daniel and Marcela's financial needs.
- Please continue to pray for Claudia Gamboa and her kids, and Nena and her kids.
- Pray for God's guidance for me and the World Missions Committee as I continue the process of applying to be a full-term missionary.
- Pray that God would give me the words and phrases necessary to do the best possible job of translating this Sunday School material so that it will be clear to children from all over the Spanish-speaking world. Also pray that God would use these lessons to speak to the children and teachers who use them.
- Pray that I'd do a good job as Sunday School teacher and superintendent.
- Ask God to help me be diligent and spend my time wisely. Also ask Him to help me live and do all that I do in a way that honors and glorifies Him.
Thank you (praise):
- I have been healthy.
- Claudia Arcos is continuing to seek God and follow Him.
- Nena is trying to follow God.
- God has been miraculously providing my every need, and has been teaching me to follow Him closely.
- I get to live with Daniel, Marcela, Ari and Andi, and see them every day!
- God truly blessed our trip to the border, giving us food, shelter, fellowship, emotional refreshment and a ride for part of the way back.
- My parents will visit soon! I'm looking forward to it!
Sincerely,
Ingrid Giles
