Just what you would do, right? Tie a banana to the gasoline tank?!? Well…let me explain how this was God’s answer to our prayer!
Perhaps I should back up just a bit….
A week or so ago, Ángel, our builder, said he would be ready Thursday to
pour the floor for the church kitchen we are constructing in Palmira.
Knowing that we’d need several guys to help mix and pour the cement, we
planned a “minga” (community workday) with the Awa at church on Sunday. I
ordered 30 sacks of cement and arranged to rent a cement mixer, to be
delivered Wednesday afternoon.
Wednesday evening Kathy and I were preparing all that we needed for the
next day. As we packed up tools, extra gloves, and food for the lunch,
we reminded ourselves that starting the day with prayer would be a great
way to get going the next morning.
Early Thursday morning, the volunteers from Rio Verde joined us as we
piled in the truck and headed to Palmira. Amidst the chaos of arriving
and unloading, many things seem to need my attention. Soon we fired up
the cement mixer, which ran for a few minutes, sputtered and quit.
Thinking we had flooded the motor, several young fellows pulled and
pulled on the starter rope, but to no avail. Then I remembered what I
had forgotten…
Okay….so time to start anew. 😊 I called the guys over and we gathered
around that obstinate cement mixer and prayed together. We prayed for
God’s help and wisdom to get the mixer going, for strength for working,
for God to hold back the rain so the cement could harden properly. After
praying, we were checking the spark plug when David noticed that the
motor wasn’t getting gasoline. Fiddling around with the valve, he got
the gas flowing again and we were off and running, and then it started
to falter again. That is when David realized that the vibration of the
motor made the gas valve close on itself. His brilliant idea was to tie a
banana over it to hold it in place! (Thank You, Lord, for the ideas You
send!) And so the banana did its job, and we could do ours!
After the banana fix, the mixer ran without stopping until we were done.
The Lord was also gracious and sent us a dry afternoon so that the
surface of the cement had time to harden.
I am thankful that the Lord is gracious to remind me to depend on Him.
Trying to pull-start a motor repeatedly without succeeding is a great
way to jar my memory!
Please praise the Lord with us for:
- Progress in the construction of the church kitchen
- For Ángel and Carlos, our builders, both Godly men and hard workers, and the many Awa who have helped out working and cooking
- For God’s patience with us when we get busy and forget to depend on Him
If you would like to see more pictures of the workday, please check out our online album here: Kitchen Floor Minga
Thank you as well for partnering with us by your prayers and support! The last few months have been challenging with our coworkers still in the USA, taking care of sick family members. Often we seem to be pulled in many directions with many needs calling out for our attention. And yep, in those chaotic moments we do need those reminders to rely on Him for strength and even to arrange our daily schedule.
You are in our prayers,
Kevin & Kathy
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