Tomorrow is Thanksgiving Day and we want you to know how much we are thinking of you as you celebrate with your family and friends. This is probably one of the harder holidays for us to be so far away. Thanksgiving is one of our favorite holidays, because each year we are reminded to take time and remember each of the things we are thankful for.
Last week at our team meeting we had a time of proclaiming God’s faithfulness in each of our individual lives and corporately as well. Many people know the biblical account of Moses and the children of Israel crossing the Red Sea and how God parted the waters. What may not be as well known is God parted the waters a second time when they crossed the River Jordan. You can read up on this in Joshua chapters 3 and 4. One act of significance is they were encouraged to pick up a stone of remembrance from the lake bed, so they and their children would remember exactly what God had done for them. So I started thinking about how good it would be to pick up a stone of remembrance for our family to commemorate the year God has just brought our family through.
Just a short year ago, we had arrived back in Lancaster from training with ITEAMS. To be honest we were a little discouraged, we truly felt God’s call on our lives and yet we were waiting for our full support to come in, so we could leave for Ecuador. Now, looking back I can see God’s faithfulness over and over again. From finding a rental for only three months to a job for Howard that also only lasted three months. Just enough time for us to raise the additional support we needed and fly out on the 26th of February. We arrived in Calacali at a far better time than we could have arranged. There was a team at the camp however the “busy season” had not yet come so we had time to get settled into our home. We saw God’s faithfulness, as He provided for our home to be furnished, completely. Two families were heading home from the field and we were the lucky beneficiaries. On and on I could tell you of how we saw God’s amazing faithfulness to our family.
We also witnessed God’s faithfulness as He put together our support team. We are so thankful for each of you who financially support our family each month. You may or may not realize that each month we receive a statement from ITEAMS which itemizes contributions for that month. Every month without fail, God uses that list with your individual names to encourage and bolster our confidence in the ministry we are a part of here at El Refugio. We have come to think of you, our supporters, as “our great cloud of witnesses”.
On this Thanksgiving Day, we proclaim God’s faithfulness and continue to be thankful for each of you and pray God’s blessing to return to you in abundance.
As God is our Refuge, Mary for the Scholl family
