7.08.2017

DIVINE APPOINTMENTS By Brooke


I wish I had the space and you had the time so I could share all the divine appointments God has brought about in just the past few weeks. Honestly, I have seen God move many times and in many ways, but usually at a pace that I find too slow and I have to reign myself in, or my husband does! However, this time He is moving at a pace where we find ourselves running to keep up. It seems that every day there is a divine moment, a conversation, an unexpected meeting, an event that can only be of God.


For example, two days ago a "chance" meeting brought us into contact with a family here. I heard they home-schooled and wondered if they were Christians. My friend and I went for a visit yesterday which turned into another God event. This Christian family from Colorado has been living in Puerto half the year for the past 10 years. They currently travel to Cancun for fellowship and have been praying for years for the Lord to bring someone to Puerto to shape a Christian community. They are as excited that we are here as we are that they are here. They have a wealth of knowledge about the community and the culture of Mexico which will be a great blessing for us as we set down roots. Plus, I will have a friend with a kindred Spirit in Christ!

The best part of the pace with which God has chosen to build is that we don’t even have the chance to get our hands on it. What I mean is, so often, because God does move slowly, we think we need to help Him out. Kind of like Sarah did with her maidservant, trying to force or make things happen! When Wayne and I moved here to Puerto, we made a covenant with God and each other that we were going to let God do all the building. We simply wake up each day, pray, avail ourselves for His use and see what happens. So far everyday something happens. Life happens, people happen and God’s Love happens!

Look around the fields are white for harvest, so many searching for answers and we can provide those answers. Thanks for being a part of this divine journey!

When Change Happens



The main event this past month (May) has been Brooke’s accident. She fell from her bicycle and damaged some discs in her back. We had enough frequent flier miles to send her back to Iowa so our chiropractor could help “put her back together”. Please take a moment to read her thoughts posted here in her new blog, "Fun And Faith"



The building for the Coffee House Ministry did not materialize, but we know the Lord will open up another opportunity in His time. We are in no hurry to “make something happen”. Until that time, we realize that our home is in a great location to use it for ministry. We are already meeting here for home church on Sundays and when we return in July, we want to open up our home a couple of days a week for people to receive prayer and have conversations. We will "hang a shingle" outside, post our intentions on FB and see what the Lord does. Please pray for many divine opportunities.




We are heading back to Iowa for the month of June to deal with our remaining worldly possessions. We will also be speaking at several churches so please come see us if you are in the area! One of the best things about this trip, however, is that our two oldest grand-daughters, Naomi and Tabitha, will be with us. We have many fun things planned and we are all (them & us) very excited about our time together. Marillyn is travelling with them into Chicago so we will also be with her and Mathias, the newest Beard addition, for a few days!

When Change Happens by Wayne
I read a good article the other day “The 7 Ways we Secretly Rank Each Other”. It talks about how we judge a ministry and its effectiveness; Is it on the front lines? Does it add up to our paradigm of what ministry should look like. Etc. So take a moment to click on the title above which is linked to this article.

Following are some ideas I posted on Facebook regarding our journey and the subsequent changes as a result of the accident I had in Honduras in December 2014 as it relates to this article. Please take a moment to read and hopefully this will reveal more of our heart and philosophy of ministry.


For several years, we were traveling 9-10 months a year. Now the Lord has settled us for a season in Puerto Morelos, Mexico. We used to minister to hundreds of people every year. Now we have the beginnings of a church plant and there are less than a dozen people that we minister to on a semi-regular basis. We used to see a lot of really cool places. Now we are in a very little fishing community. So it is easy to wonder at times if we are "being effective". But we know the Lord is using us and will use us because he has always used us for His kingdom. We have pioneered several ministries, this one just looks different!


This is a very different but exciting season for us because we are in a community where people are seeking truth, peace and joy but not truly finding it. They are looking in the wrong places; Buddha, meditation, self-actualization, mysticism ... you name it, total New Age but seeking after all of the old lies.

I believe Jesus told us that if we want to be somebody in the kingdom, we need to be willing to be nobody! We are told not to neglect the days of the small things. We are also told not to grow weary when we are doing what the Lord has called us to because in His time there will be a harvest.

So press on my friends! Let us keep our eyes on the prize of the upward calling in Christ Jesus! ¡Dios les bendiga!