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Greetings!
The month of February was so
chock full of activity that we ran late getting this newsletter
prepared for you. Once again, however, He was faithful to provide
our every need and surprise us with wonderful things that far
exceeded our ability to ask or imagine!
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First, we want to show
you the crowning achievement of the month! The picture here
is of the cement floor that was successfully laid in one
day on Friday, February 18, by eighteen committed
men, all residents of the village where the building is
going in. They worked 13˝ straight hours with only a quick
stop for breakfast and an hour for lunch, pouring 45
cubic yards from three mixers, including one that we
had managed to purchase on the mainland. And that is only
where the story begins… |
I had estimated that we would
be laying about 37 cubic yards, so when it became evident that we
were going to be short, we had to make arrangements to get more
cement. The only problem was that we didn’t have enough money to
buy the additional cement and pay the men in the fashion that
I had decided upon. I had decided that I was going to pay the men
for two days’ work despite the fact that they were putting in one
very long day – because of the great work ethic that they
displayed that day. But the cement shortage created a painful
quandary for us: How do we handle all of the financial commitments
that we had made and still do the floor in one continuous pour? We
assembled all the men. Pancho, our supervisor, explained that we
wouldn’t be able to pay them immediately if we purchased the cement
that was needed to complete the project, and asked if they would be
willing to accept one day’s pay the next morning and the second
day’s pay on Monday after I was able to go to the bank and retrieve
the needed additional funds. To the last man, they agreed heartily
and with no murmuring to the plan to defer their pay in favor
of completing the project! The attitude they displayed blessed us
to the very depths of our beings. But the story is still not
over: The next morning, while reviewing the receipts that she had
prepared for the men (for one day’s work) and counting the
money, Janie suddenly exclaimed that we had enough money to pay what
we owed everyone after all! The previous afternoon, Pancho and I
had counted the money at least three times and come up short,
yet now we had enough to pay everyone his full wage with
money left over! So we not only had the opportunity to bless
the workers with their complete pay, but (even better)
we got to explain that our God is a milagro
(miracle)-working God! All praise to Him Who shows His power and
love when we least expect them! There was a lot of rejoicing on the
island that day!
We had several visitors to the
island in February. Tommy Fromenthal, a pastor from Louisiana,
joined us for a few days on the island. He immediately caught the
vision, and upon seeing the peninsula that surrounds the island,
asked about the possibility of expanding the scope of the ministry
to include the surrounding areas. In fact, he got so excited at the
prospect that he has since promised us that he’ll be returning with
a boat for us to use to do just that! In addition, he
promised that he would raise all the money that we would need to
purchase 2,000 concrete blocks at fifty cents per block, then
promptly returned to Louisiana, held one meeting, and raised
the entire $1,000 in one evening!
After Tommy left, we had
another guest from upstate New York named Stan Tatara. Stan came
down to look over the project and see if there was any possibility
of involvement that would work for him. He sat down with me and
applied his considerable analytical powers to our plans, concluding
that our plans were essentially sound. In addition, he committed to
making and installing all the trusses needed for the roof of
our building! He also had a vision for potentially putting three
grades of schooling in the building for the people on the island.
It is so great when committed people of God pool their
resources and their prayers to accomplish His will!
Finally, Bret McMinn brought
his wife Lynn and his pastor Buck Proffer and wife Jenice down later
in the month to minister to the people and see the progress of the
ministry. I was able to take them on a whirlwind trip around the
island before a serious stomach illness that had been besetting
Janie for two days forced us to cut their visit short. We had to
make a nonstop eleven-hour drive to San Antonio to get her to her
surgeon so that he could examine her and figure out what was
happening. Fortunately, the adhesion released and the pain and
stomach problems went away before the time scheduled for her
operation! The Father is ALWAYS on time!
We pray His most abundant
blessings on you, and invite you to come join us if you would like
to see what God is doing on Juana Ramirez Island first-hand.
R.L and Janie Montgomery
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