Thank you for the Water…

We are just over 4 weeks out from leaving the country to head to Quito, Ecuador. Can’t believe it is almost here.

There is something about giving a drink of water to someone who is thirsty. We have all seen it or have been the receiver of it. You know what I mean, I could paint endless pictures, such as: the marathon runner grabbing water along the way, the football player during two-a-days, baseball players in the hot sun, tennis matches that go forever in the heat, mountain climbers, cyclists, farmers working the fields, road workers, yard work when the heat is beating down on you, and the list could go on and on. Literally, there is nothing better than that drink of cool water during and/or at the end of those tasks. Notice I said tasks. Because all these people represented motion. They were spending energy. They didn’t just go to dinner and decide to have a glass of water with their meal, or choose to drink water instead of coffee or coke for diet or health reasons. They were thirsty because they had a need to be replenished from the energy exerted due to their work.

Our missionaries go on the field with a task to be accomplished… the sharing of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. This requires lots of sacrifice, including leaving family and friends, relocating to another country, learning another language, learning to live in a new culture, etc., etc. Our missionaries are in constant motion, spending physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual energy. They need to be replenished. Thank you, to all of you who are part of giving them a glass of water through the ministry of Pure Joy International.

Matthew 10:24
And whoever gives one of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is a disciple, truly, I say to you, he will by no means lose his reward.”

We had another missionary sponsored last week, so we are down to only 9 more missionary women to be sponsored. Please continue in prayer for those sponsorships these next couple of weeks.

Blessings to each of you this week, and may God bring someone into your path to hand you a glass of water because you need to be replenished.

His,
Vickie

JUST AROUND THE CORNER….

We are just six weeks out from leaving the country for Quito, Ecuador. If you got the news earlier in the month, you will have heard there was a 7.5 earthquake in Palora, Monrona-Santiago, Ecuador. While that was many miles away from Quito, Ecuador, some of our missionary women were close enough in surrounding areas to experience the tremors. It reminded me of a time when we were in Quito, Ecuador when a volcano erupted. The ashes from the volcano left an inch or more of soot on everything outside of our hotel. It was something to see. However, I am not wishing for volcanic eruptions or earthquakes. Ha,ha,ha

As of this time, many of you are in the process of praying for the missionary women, their families, and their ministries. Many of you are helping in other ways as we continue to prepare. The Pure Joy ministry staff met this week to make sure we are on time with the areas of preparation. Again, we are thankful to Him to say we are on time. (smile) Our biggest focus now, along with prayer, is sponsoring the remaining missionary women. We already have 37 sponsored with only 13 more to sponsor at $600 per woman. If you believe God is leading you to sponsor a woman or just give towards sponsorships, then click here.

Well, Spring Break is in the air from Texas to Arkansas. This past week I was able to spend time with all my nieces under one roof along with those great-nephews and great-niece that were present. Not all family members were able to make it home. I have laughed out loud, played games, watched 3-4 games going on at one time in the same general location (yikes), watched parents thinking someone else was watching their kids… but everyone else was thinking that, too. Praise God we did not lose anyone! Ha,ha,ha Watched adults play games and compete. Listened to some fun trash talk by a family member who played Wii bowling (but wouldn’t want to mention her name since she is my only sister-in-law). Ha,ha,ha

The weather has been gorgeous over the weekend here. No rain! We took all the family to the daffodil fields yesterday so the kids could run and play and pick flowers. You could hear the voice of littles all around you saying, “I don’t want to take a picture.” This includes the children that didn’t belong to our pack. Ha,ha,ha,ha But, those moms insisted. I tried to explain to the car load of littles that I carried home, the pictures are so we can be reminded of the memories. Then one of them asked, “what do you do with all those pictures?” “Well, we store them in the Cloud.” “Which Cloud?” “Where are our pictures when the clouds are gone?” What was I thinking! Ha,ha,ha I don’t even understand the Cloud!

Truth is, I just love my family from the littles to the biggies.

Enjoy your Spring Break with your littles and biggies!

His,

Vickie

Chicken Foot….

For those of you who don’t know this game, it is a domino game. You play with double 12’s or double 9’s. The holes on the dominoes are color-coded, so really all you must be able to do is match the colors of dominoes and follow a few simple rules.

All that to say Sunday a week ago, we broke my 6-year-old great nephew into the family circle of “Chicken Foot.” It is like a Sunday afternoon rite of passage. All was going perfectly well until he ended up with a large number count of dominoes at the end of a particular hand. He promptly got up and pouted his way from the kitchen table to the time out room for pouters and attitude bearers. Ha,ha

Of course, the adults continued playing out the numerous hands until the final round, and the winner was announced. Eventually, my great nephew made his way back to the family, but the game was over. A little bit later I had to run an errand. He decided to go with me. On the way back he said, “I wished we could play ‘Chicken Foot’ again, but I know Granny and Nana probably won’t want to.” I immediately found that teaching moment! “Honey,” I said, “You know what God’s word says?” “What?” he asked. “It says we have not, because we ask not.” “What?” he replied. I said, “God’s word says you have not, because you ask not. How do you know if Granny and Nana will play with us unless you ask them? All they can do is say, ‘no,’ but they might say, ‘yes.’ If they say, ‘no,’ at least you asked. That is what God wants us to learn to do as His children. To ask.” Well, he processed that as much as a 6-year-old can. (Yes, I’m taking some liberty with the principle of “you have not, because you ask not.” But, lighten up and enjoy this.)

When we got back to Granny’s I had to laugh as I watched him work himself up to asking if Granny and Nana wanted to play “Chicken Foot” again. It was fun to watch because only I knew what was going on. Eventually he asked and to his surprise, and mine too (oh me of little faith), they agreed to play a couple of rounds. When we were done I asked him, “What did you learn today?” He replied, “You have not, because you ask not. And if they say yes… good, but if they don’t that is ok too, because I asked.”
 
Have you asked lately? Asked God for help, asked Him to meet a need, asked Him to forgive you, to restore you, to heal you, etc. Or have you avoided asking Him because you have done something that makes you believe He won’t be interested in answering you? And/or you have decided for Him it is supposed to be this way, and/or you secretly don’t believe He can answer it. Stop believing those lies!!  

Matthew 19:26 (ESV)
But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

But what if he doesn’t do the impossible? What if He says no to what we want? We must remember that He is a good God with a good plan and a purpose for everything. He wants the best for each of us and is looking at it from an eternal perspective… not temporal. No matter how hard that is for us. No matter how we feel about it, God is a good Father and will do what is in everyone’s ultimate best interest; even though as His children we do not understand that many times. Just like our children don’t understand our decision making as a parent to them. However, we see from the perspective of life and experience. We know things they don’t understand and have knowledge of yet. In the same manner, He knows things we don’t have understanding about or knowledge of and acts in our best interest. When we know the truth of God’s word and His promise and His love for us, we can always trust that He acts according to His will for our best and His Glory no matter how we feel.

Quito Update...
We are just over 7 weeks out from our departure to Quito, Ecuador. Things are coming together as we prepare. You are making those special touches so many of you do through praying, gifting, giving, and going. I love that we have so many fingerprints (touches) from so many of you before we ever leave the country, and while we are there, as you continue to go with us through prayers. We have had more missionaries sponsored since our last update. So, now we only have 13 more missionary women to go. Please continue to pray and give as He leads you.  

Asking,

Love you Guys,

His,
Vickie

Strange Fire…

About 5 years into my walk with the LORD, while serving on a church staff, the words “strange fire” came up in my spirit as I sought the LORD on an issue I was dealing with at our church. Immediately, I thought of the two sons of Aaron that God consumed with fire for their use of “strange fire.” If you don’t know the story, here is a little snippet from gotquestions.org….

In order to understand the phrase “strange fire,” we must review the story in Leviticus in which it appears. The first tabernacle had been erected, and Aaron was doing a lot of sacrificing per God’s instructions (Leviticus 8—9). One day, two of Aaron’s sons, Nadab and Abihu, came along and offered incense with “strange fire.” The Hebrew word translated “strange” means “unauthorized, foreign, or profane.” God not only rejected their sacrifice; He found it so offensive that He consumed the two men with fire.

After Nadab and Abihu were killed, Moses explained to Aaron why God had done such a harsh thing: “This is what the LORD spoke of when he said: ‘Among those who approach me I will show myself holy; in the sight of all the people I will be honored’” (Leviticus 10:3). The exact nature of the profane fire isn’t known, but, since it was the fire that was unauthorized, it could be that Nadab and Abihu were burning the incense with fire of their own making rather than taking fire from the altar, as specified in Leviticus 19:12. Or it could have been that the two men came into the tabernacle drunk and therefore could not remember what was a violation and what was not (Leviticus 10:8–9). Whatever it was the men did to render the offering profane, it was a sign of their disregard for the utter holiness of God and the need to honor and obey Him in solemn and holy fear. Their carelessness and irreverence were their downfall.

Did you catch that last verse?  Whatever it was the men did to render the offering profane, it was a sign of their disregard for the utter holiness of God and the need to honor and obey Him in solemn and holy fear. Their carelessness and irreverence were their downfall.

Are you approaching God with “strange fire?” Have you developed a disregard for His Holiness and lost sight of a need to honor and obey Him in solemn and holy fear?

Father, I pray for us as Your children, the church, and our nation. Break our hearts over our own disregard for the truth of Your Holiness and Awesome Power. Restore us to right regard for You, our God. Amen.

Keep praying for all things Quito, Ecuador. We still have 15 missionaries left to sponsor. The team is excited, and I can sense it rising in me the closer we get! I try to pace my excitement, since we are still a little over two months from leaving the country. Ha,ha,ha,ha,ha,ha I think of it as packing the fire-cracker. Pack it slowly and tight. When we get to Quito and it is set off… What Glory it will bring Him!

Love you all,

His,
Vickie

Praise……

I am so excited to share with you that we have 35 of our 50 missionary women that will be attending the Quito, Ecuador Retreat sponsored. Thank you so very much for getting on board with this early. We now only have 15 more to go. Please keep praying and seeking God for His leading to give.

So, I haven’t written a blog this past week because I have been so ticked off about the stupidity of American Politics and  I didn’t want to get on a soap box. That is all I’m going to say. Ok, maybe one more thing I will say. We, as a Nation, should be on our face before God as never before. Folks, the spiritual war is on!! God wins but the battles will still have to be fought!! There isn’t any area left un-attacked; individuals, marriages, families, children, human life, churches, ministries, businesses, schools, etc., the list is endless. It’s time to hit our knees before a Holy God!

Love you all,

His,
Vickie

Ecuador Retreat Update…

The Ecuador Retreat is full, and we have already gone to a waiting list. You still can get on the waiting list by going to purejoyinternational.org. Many times, we have missionary women that must drop out because of circumstances, illness, family things back home, etc. So, we have had ladies that get to move up the waiting list by the time we get to the actual retreat dates. If God is putting it on your heart to register, then be obedient and get your name on the list as soon as possible. You never know how God might move on your behalf.

To all our Pure Joy Supporters on all levels, please begin praying for this Retreat. It is so exciting to see the Retreat fill up in just one week’s time. We also have 25 of the missionary women sponsored with only 25 more to go. So fun to watch God move on their behalf! As always, please start seeking God now to see how He would have you be involved in this trip through prayer, gifting, and giving.  You can donate by clicking on the button at the right of this page, and/or send checks to Pure Joy International and write “missionary sponsorship” in bottom left corner of check.
 
Well, today I took the day off literally (for real!) and spent it with my great nephew and his cousin. Respectively ages 6 and 8. We went bowling. It was fun until 1 hour into it we figured out that everyone around us decided to take their kids bowling too, because of the holiday celebrating Martin Luther King. However, we ran into another family and ended up bowling together. I’m pretty sure my lower back is going to be screaming at me in the morning. I don’t think people with lower back issues are supposed to be bowling. I actually was tempted to use the boys’ 6lb bowling ball, but I couldn’t get my fingers in the 3 holes. Ha,ha,ha,ha,ha
     
What I really enjoyed most was that I intentionally took the day off and took the boys because I wanted to spend time with them… not because I needed to watch them for anyone. However, I suspect both moms appreciated our outing too. Ha,ha,ha,ha,ha

Wanted to share something before closing. If you didn’t catch this reading from Oswald on January 11th it was a very powerful one.

What My Obedience to God Costs Other People, by Oswald Chambers
https://utmost.org/what-my-obedience-to-god-costs-other-people/?share=email&nb=1

His,
Vickie

It’s A New Year and We Are Off to Quito, Ecuador.

I hope this blog finds each of you having begun a New Year with a renewed hope in your heart and a desire to know Him more.

We are so excited to be heading to Quito, Ecuador in April of this spring, 2019. Quito holds a very special place in my journey because it was there in 1999 that God placed the vision for ministering to missionary women in my heart. Here it is 20 years later, and the vision continues to accomplish His good and pleasing will.

The theme God has placed on my heart for this 20th Anniversary Retreat is, “He is Faithful.” Our verse is 1 Thessalonians 5:24, “He who calls you is faithful, He will surely do it.” Oh, how those that serve cross-culturally on foreign soils need to be encouraged to remember this truth. It is a truth for all of us!

Please help us get the word out to the missionary women serving in this part of the world. Whether you are serving as a single missionary or alongside your husband and family, please pray and see if God would have you attend. If your daughter, mother, sisters, friend, etc., is serving in this part of the world… get the word out to them! More information will be given when you go to Register at our web site. purejoyinternational.org

Registration opens January 7, 2019. Please know that we cap out at 50 missionary women, so first come, first served. Then we go to a waiting list. If you have questions you can contact me at vickie@purejoyinternational.org 

Pray that this retreat will be everything God wants it to be from this email going out till the time the team steps off the plane coming home. The key to that will be our preparation time and all that takes place here before we leave. So, join us as you always do in praying, giving, gifting and going.

Love you all and can’t wait to see what He does with all of us this year.

His,
Vickie