Though I’ve been back from vacation for a couple of weeks now, I was surprised to realize that September is half over. Yesterday was Mexican Independence Day! ¡Viva México! I've been having trouble for a few days sending this prayer letter; I hope it works this time.
God knew I needed a vacation. I am so thankful to Him for planning it. I’d been saving up all year to take a linguistics course in July. It wasn’t easy to do -- some months I had to take from my savings to supplement my income -- but overall I was able to put away a bit here and there. I wore out my shoes walking to the cheap grocery store on the edge of town, but I enjoyed the exercise and fresh air. (And guess what God gave me just when I needed it? A knew pair of shoes!) I was really looking forward to the class.
Imagine my disappointment when the University called me to say that the class was cancelled! But that was all part of God’s timing... Later that same day, my cousin invited me to spend two weeks in Europe with her! At first I automatically thought, “I can’t.” I mean, going to Europe is something that rich people do. Then I realized that I already had the time and a significant part of the money set aside... and it turns out, it doesn’t have to be outrageously expensive. My disappointment was replaced with excitement!
I know people were praying for me on this trip, and I thank you. I saw God’s provision in many ways. We began and ended our trip in a hostel where all the staff are Christian, and we could feel the presence of God there. It was nice to talk to some fellow missionaries in a totally different sort of field. God also blessed me with remarkable health -- I felt better than usual every single day! (Even when I was tired and footsore.)
I’ll share a story of God’s specific guidance/protection. After staying with a friend of hers for a few days, my cousin and I arrived in Paris in the late evening. It was already dusk, and we didn’t have a place to stay. (We had searched online, but not seen anything in my price range.) So my cousin waited at the train station guarding the luggage while I set out to find somewhere. I had absolutely no idea what I was doing! I speak only a few words of French, and it was dark, and I didn’t even know what part of the city I was in. I simply walked out onto the street with the vague idea of “finding us a place.” (That’s my kind of adventure!) I figured that God had made this vacation possible in the first place, so He must have a place in mind. I asked Him to guide my steps, and I started walking.
Before long, I felt sort of an impediment that kept me from going further, so I turned left. (On another day, we walked through the area where I would have gone, and it turned out to be sort of a mini red-light district.) I came to a hotel and asked about the prices. The receptionist -- who spoke perfect English -- did drop his price by quite a lot for me, but laughed and said that I would never find the price that I wanted. I bargained in five or six hotels with similar luck. Then I turned onto a quiet residential street and saw a sign that said “hotel.” There, the receptionist spoke absolutely no English at all -- but he dropped his price to a surprisingly affordable amount. It seemed too good to be true, so he lent me a key to go check out the room before closing the deal. I approved! It was on the fifth story, had a window with wooden shutters overlooking a street where real people lived, and we even had our own bathroom -- and towels! For us, the fact that no one spoke English added to the experience.
I was so thankful that God led me away from a “less desirable” neighborhood to a clean, safe, affordable hotel where we seemed to be the only foreigners, and yet within walking distance of all the tourist attractions. It was perfect!
Now for an update on previous prayer requests: My friend Joanie, who had the infection from the hip replacement, is doing much better. She walks around with a cane and looks like her old self again. I love my office; it’s so nice to be able to come into a space that has no dirty dishes to be washed or unorganized spice shelf to put in order, and just sit down to work! Please continue to pray for us all and the security situation. Along those lines, I could share another story of God’s protection, but that would make this long letter even longer. Suffice it to say that He has been keeping the promises that we’ve claimed from Psalm 91.
Here is my prayer list:
Please (requests):
- Pray for my health and that of my brother and his family. (I brought an awful flu with me when I came back, and we’ve all been struggling with it. The doctor confirmed yesterday that it is not swine flu.)
- Ask God to continue to provide Dan and Marcela’s financial needs and also mine.
- Please continue to pray for Claudia Gamboa and her kids, for Abril and Cesar and their baby David, and for Oscar.
- Pray for Nena and Fernando and their family, especially for full forgiveness and restoration.
- Pray for Omar’s family. They haven’t come to church for a while.
- 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.
- Ask God to guide me in small and large decisions, and to help me spend my time wisely.
Thank you (praise):
- I got to go on a wonderful vacation, and I came back refreshed, with a renewed love for my work and for Mexico (even though when it was over, I didn’t want to come home)! God blessed every single part of the vacation in many ways.
- I didn’t have to have oral surgery, and may not ever have to for this particular problem. (Basically two different doctors said that the best thing is just to live with it -- and it’s not at all intolerable.)
- I have wonderful loving friends and family and I get to spend time with my nieces every day!
- God is continuing to provide our needs.
- I got new glasses in time for vacation, and I have new walking shoes!
- God has continued to protect Lois and all the rest of us from the “bad guys.”
- Joanie’s hip infection is gone and she seems like herself again.
Sincerely,
Ingrid Giles
