Lately we've been pondering about this very fact...the Lord provides. And that's not only a provision of goods or finances but help, encouragement, friendship and so much more. A few weeks ago we had a movie night with our Brazilian kids and we showed one on Abraham and Isaac. I had tears streaming down my face as I saw Abraham boldly obey God with his sacrifice, I'm sure he had tears streaming down his face himself when he loved God through giving his most beloved son and trusted him completely. Such a picture of our heavenly Father's sacrifice, giving Jesus out of love.
From Bible Gateway it says about Genesis 22:13-14, where this passage takes place, "The name “Yahweh Yireh” (or “Jehovah Jireh”) is from the verb “to see”, and means “The
So many ways the last two months we have seen the Lord "seeing to it" as we have faced struggles and crises. But always the Lord has provided. Here are just some of them:
- Protection: The last time I sent an update we were on our way to Fortaleza at a busy time of protests and construction chaos. God protected us completely. Our air conditioner burnt up (read: smoke billowing) but Todd was alone in the car but the fire went out before it damaged much else.
- Todd's Visa, Lily's Brazilian Passport--The next day, Todd, Lily and I were running around doing our in-town errands waiting for our two o'clock appointment with the federal police for applying for Lily's passport application. (The two olders were with their best friends for the day.) We were in the area of that office and didn't feel like staying in the heat any longer so decided to go to our appointment a little early. Well, we praise the Lord we did that. It was the day of a big Brazil game and, even though I had confirmed our appointment the day before, the federal police was unexpectedly closing at 2:00 so their employees could make it home in time for the game. We got there early, were able to apply for Lily's passport, and received Todd's permanent visa in less than 15 minutes! This is after 5 years of going to the offices many times at 6 in the morning with the whole family, waiting for hours, like all missionaries do. It was almost anti-climatic to be in and out, accomplishing two very important tasks, in less than 15 minutes. Isn't God amazing! It was a reminder of God's hand in our lives here in Brazil, a confirmation and encouragement.
- English Classes--Todd's classes are continuing with the faithful 4-5 students. We were surprised at the high amount of excitement there was for us to teach English and the few who actually are committed to coming. But Todd is very thankful for the group that the Lord provided and the opportunity to witness at this level and develop relationships with them. Just this weekend one of the students asked Todd if they could talk more after class.
- School Books--I started ordering this years' school books in March and saw them in July. The Lord provided not only the money to buy books for our children's educations, but also missionary friends that allowed us to use up a precious suitcase space to bring down our books.
- Michaela's broken leg--on the 4th of July, we were setting up for a weekly movie night we were planning to hold during vacation month, and Michaela slipped on wet tile, landing on the corner of a step on the top of her right leg. This is a story of God's provision from start to finish. God provided an x-ray technician at our barely-equipped and ill-staffed hospital to be there from Ipu (a city an hour away) who was about to leave. He stayed to take care of her. They immobilized her leg and Todd took her to Fortaleza where they did a catscan that revealed a more complex break that required surgery and the placement of two screws in her ankle. God provided a wonderful doctor, a specialist of ankles and feet, that has been very helpful in many ways for us. God provided the money Todd needed (all told, Todd spent R$12,000 up front in two days) through so many of you who generously gave. It's amazing but we just received our medical insurance reimbursements and, along with your generosity, we broke even. THANK YOU! There's so much more that God provided during this difficult time and we thank Him for His loving care. Michaela is doing very well now and will be doing physical therapy and have her "robo-boot" off beginning of next month.
- VBS--Even though we don't have an official partnership with Ebenezer church in Fortaleza, we had a deep bond of friendship with them and they have helped us here in Croata before. Once again they came this year and not only put on a wonderful VBS for our kids but also prepared a drama performance with preaching that they did at three different public squares. It was a wonderful time with them and we truly enjoyed having them here. There were several new contacts made that we are following up on and five boys recommitted their lives to Christ. Please pray that the thorns will not grow up around these precious seeds and cause them to wither and die. (Matthew 13)
- Michaela's Passport Renewal--We took our third trip to Fortaleza in 6 weeks (something we try to avoid traveling so much with a baby and no air conditioning) at the beginning of August for Michaela's return to the doctor about her leg. He said it is healing well. The day before we left we received an e-mail saying that the American Consulate would be having office hours on the 8th, one of the days we were in Fortaleza. We had only one document left in order to be ready to come on furlough next year, Michaela's passport needed to be renewed. The consulate stopped having regular weekly hours last year, so we were up in the air not knowing when we'd be able to get this done. Well, we found out in time, they had one more slot available which we took, and again we were in and out with in 15 minutes. So much better than other trips!
- Air-Conditioner--Todd was able to find a part for the air conditioner of our Toyota pickup there in the States and it is in the mail as we speak. Please pray that it makes it here okay, we've had quite some trouble with the post-office charging very high fees for packages. But this should be a much cheaper fix than with the imported parts at the mechanics.
- Julie's Pneumonia--Just this last week our whole family came down with a cold, but mine developed into something more serious. The doctor believes it was pneumonia or on it's way, though he couldn't determine it for certain with out an x-ray which was not available. So I've been doing the treatment for pneumonia, which included an inhaled steroid through a nebulizer. It was so long ago that some kind soul thought about us needing a nebulizer in Brazil and gave it to us to bring down. We apologize that we don't remember the details and can't thank you personally. Your reward is already waiting for you in heaven. But, just when we needed it, the Lord had already provided it long before.
- Our house--We cannot forgot how the Lord has provided us a nice place to call home. It's our haven of rest even when it's ransacked by the baby and busy-ness of homeschool and ministry. The Lord provided through savings, personal gifts and a good tax return for us to build an upstairs addition on the house. It's turned into a longer project than we anticipated (doesn't it always :)), but we are looking forward to having an office for Todd, a meeting area and a guest room.
- Our Support--And we cannot forget the faithfulness of our prayer and financial supporters. We know we are being upheld in prayer at several churches on a weekly basis and through our prayer partners, and you have no idea how many times that has comforted us. We thank you for not forgetting us even though we are far away. We have also been pretty steadily supported in the four and a half years we have been on the field, never dipping below 88% and now we are at about 95%. We are so grateful to each of you who give selflessly, who are generous and faithful. We are humbled by your trust and motivated by your service. We are truly not alone though Satan tempts us to feel that way. You are with us and for that we will always be grateful.
Serving together with you,
Todd and Julie Hendry
