Life in the country

     Well, week before last we had no Internet. That finally got fixed and so I doubled up on the devotionals for the deaf. It takes several hours a day by the time I fix the visuals, video it and then send it through the channels to be ready for them. As you well know also, things which took minutes now take a long time. So after a good week with classes there has been a few developments. The mother of one of our faithfuls was diagnosed with cancer, so we are praying especially for them. One of our deaf men said he was really strained at only getting half pay. I shared with him that he should be praising God for that half pay since most in the world are not even getting that. He changed his attitude,

     This week I started so wiped out that I was late getting started on our devotional. Several dominoes started to fall and suddenly we were without a good connection again. We got that back yesterday only to have it start sputtering again before it closed down completely. About an hour later we were back up and running. When I opened the door to our house for Cheyenne yesterday morning, I was nearly knocked down with the smell of grass and wood burning. Several hours later Cheyenne went to the village to get a few necessities and discovered that the large gas pipeline that passes in front of our house was on fire. It had been all day, fortunately up the hill by a couple of hundred yards. The highway was covered with fire engines, civil protection, gas people and a fleet of others. About nine we sneaked out again with our masks (first time for me since the first part of March) and walked up across the street to see what was happening. They were covering the pipe back up and were waiting to reopen the line. This morning we learned that it all happened again about Midnight. Fire, dig, fix, cover and then open valve. Lord willing it is fixed!

     About eleven this morning all the power went out. Apparently they had to repair the electric lines over the burned area because they had been damaged. Almost four this afternoon we finally got our power back on. It was only above 90 degrees today and no fans. So, we never know what a day brings - just like you.

     Hopefully our deaf are really understanding the lessons that are visualized and then taught in sign language. Psalm 119 is a wonderful treatise on the Word of God so I really hope they take every word to heart. We are trying to read, see and then explain one verse a day (IF we have Internet and/or power). We are sending the links to several Christians who do not attend regularly, our pastor to the deaf in Monterrey and several other deaf contacts. They in turn send the videos along to a handful of others. Again we pray that the Lord takes our weak abilities and uses them for His glory. The deaf often comment that one verse or the other was special to them.

     Nothing has been said here about opening up yet. I do believe that we are behind your schedule in the whole process. Our numbers are way lower than what we see for the USA, but then again, numbers often get "treated" here before being made public. We are in the strictest rules of protection. If caught outside without a mask you can be fined heftily. At the stores, the traffic police, public buses, etc. there are people checking that if you have no mask, you get no service. Our stores are likewise marked with tape and measures for social distancing. We sincerely pray that they are right about the virus not liking the heat.

     All here are well and doing fine except for the corona stretch around the waist (or is that waste?). Continue to keep us in your prayers and we will do so with you. May God bless you today.

Gary and Ann