Reaching with Compassion

Hello Friends,

We hope and pray you are all doing well. Tharsis and I are doing well and our time of sabbatical is coming to a close. Though we have been greatly enjoying the cool air, we can hardly wait until we're back in the mission field soaking up the warmth of the Zacapa sun as we serve the Guatemalan people once again.

Our time on sabbatical was a time to draw nearer to each other as a couple, draw nearer to God, and pray about the direction of the mission. After much consideration and in following the direction of our pastors and church board, an administrative change was made with the mission.

Effective May 2, 2011, the mission name will be Reaching With Compassion (RWC Missions) and operate under its own 501c3. Along with the change in name, there is also a change in Post Office box.    Please contact Robert at 011-502-5888-7824 for more information.

We greatly appreciate your prayers and donations and pray that you will continue to support the work of this mission as the Lord leads you. We pray God continues to bless you as we continue to serve Him together.   We are always happy to hear from you, please feel free to Email or call us if you have any questions regarding the administrative changes with the mission.

With warmest regards, your servants,

Robert and Tharsis

News from Robert and Tharsis

So Robert and Tharsis are doing well! :-) I (Doug) spoke to Robert this week. He and Tharsis will be in the States for a bit longer - taking a break from Guatemala until the Fall. Apparently, they have scheduled a team to come down in October and one in January. All the other months are "open" for now....in case WE are interested in going down!!! Any takers?

Robert is doing a few odd jobs to help make ends meet while they are here in the US on sabbatical. It is my understanding that 'seasoned' missionaries - are required to take a decent sized "break" every few years - to 'recalibrate' themselves. I am not sure really what that means....but think it may have something to do with re-establishing their financial barometer, getting reacquainted with their church membership base, and probably doing some fundraising. However....that is just a guess....

Regardless - it is great to hear directly from Robert that their church is thriving, their marriage is becoming stronger, and they are totally relying on God to direct their 'business' and their lives. What a great man of God!

Trust in God

My name is Marci Crawford, and just in case we are in the same boat... I wanted to share my story with you. Maybe it will help give you some encouragement...

A part of my heart will always remain in Guatemala. Some may say that going to a country twice is not spreading the Gospel, but I disagree... you see... once you have been captured by the extreme poverty and literal trash that encompasses little Julio's and Patty's lives... your heart will weep with desire to help in any way you can. That is where my story begins...

I was coming up on what I hoped was my second trip to Guatemala. I remembered the previous year and could recall all of the sweet faces so clearly. The work we had done while we were there was still fresh in my mind. Work that was SO challenging (probably the hardest work I had ever done) and yet by far... the most gratifying! I just HAD to go back. I knew in the depths of my heart that I was supposed to go back!

But... unfortunately as the trip approached, I didn't have the money and my life at home had suffered some changes and turmoil that left me wondering if I really should even try and go. So... I prayed about it and after a few day, I decided to send out two Support Letters to two people that I felt definitely had the means to assist me financially. To simplify the story - I will just say that in the end - I received very little monies from these people. It came to the deadline where the tickets were being purchased and I still hadn't met the financial goal that I needed. What else could I do? I prayed... and prayed. I couldn't understand why I felt deep in my heart that I was intended to go, yet my financial needs hadn't been met.The day came when the tickets were purchased and I was not a ticket holder. I was so thrown off by this. WHY?? I prayed that God would let me be ok with this... that He would give me peace about it. "I will go next year" I told myself. But as I prayed - no peace came. And then... when I prayed I still found myself questioning why I was in such turmoil over this. I remember going to one of the last meetings ( about 2 or 3 weeks prior to leaving) and I asked the team leader if I could go to the airport to see the team off. Was I crazy? I was trying to hold on with ever ounce of energy! I really need to STOP! ... accept things and move on! I needed to pray harder... and I did. I prayed and prayed.

Within a few days I got a phone call from the team leader. He explained to me that one of the team members had something come up and they couldn't make the trip. He said there was an open spot on the team and he proceeded to ask if I would fill the spot. You can't imagine how I felt at that very moment! Tears spilled out of my eyes as I listened to him explain everything to me. As I felt the awful pang of hearing that one of the team members was out and not able to make it, I couldn't help but feel as though everything in my world started making sense.

God knew I was going all along. He had plenty of opportunities to let me know a lot earlier that I was going, but as I looked back over the preparation for the trip - I believe that He was teaching me something very important... IN HIS TIME.

If we feel something deep inside us telling us to do something, or nudging us to "go"... I can tell you that it very well could be The Holy Spirit (God). I know it was for me! Don't ignore it or try and manipulate it to suit your logic or needs, just trust in it. Trust in God.

We all want to hear from God and if we listen closely enough... we will. :)

Serving Him...