An update on us, and a spiritual truth I hope you will read.

Eliana and I are doing well. We are now in the spring season. The seasons are pretty much the opposite of the United States. In the winter it is about 60 degrees during the day, and in the summer will sometimes get up to probably 85 or 90. I think the baby will be born at a good time, because it will be warmer.
Eliana and I have decided on a name for our son. His name is Andrew Lee. Andrew in Spanish is Andres, so some people in Peru may call him that sometimes. In Peru, they keep the last name of both parents, so his name here is Andrew Lee Stinemetz Huamani (paternal name comes first).
Andrew likes music. We have a music box that my parents bought us, and he does a lot of moving when we play that music. Eliana is about 8 months pregnant, so Andrew could be born in a month of less. Elianas sister has given us their old crib and stroller, so we are very glad about that. Another sister bought us a diaper bag, a little tub to bath Andrew in, and some clothes for Andrew. The clothing is tiny, and it is incredible that Andrew will be so little. God is providing for us.
Soon Elianas sisters are throwing a baby shower for us. Really is very special, and we are very blessed.
Eliana says she has not forgot about posting a photo of her, and will probably post one of her from the baby shower. I need to remember to take lots of pictures.
Here in Peru God has provided for us. God is teaching us to trust in Him. We don´t have a lot, but God has taken care of us. It is amazing to look back, and see all that God has done for us. He helped us with our civil marriage, our church wedding and reception, my resident visa stuff, and then getting my identification (which was also not easy). That all took quite a bit of money, and all I can tell you now is that God provided for us. He has given us actually more than we need. God will also continue to provide for us, and help us.
I want to write about the situation in the United States. It really makes me sad when thinking about what all is happening in the U.S., and the problems. I am like most Americans, and grew up with the mentality of ¨I can trust the economy, and the power and money of the United States¨. But that is such a lie, and is so deceiving. Because money and all that stuff is here one minute, and gone the next. It can´t be trusted. It is all just temporary. The situation in the United States is not good. That has caused me to have fear because I have put some trust in the superpower nation that the United States has been. To think that the money and power of the United States could be lost is a scary thing. But there is a reason for that fear. It is because my trust, and so many other Americans have put their trust in the economy, and wall street, and just money in generation. But when our trust is put in those things, then really we are serving other gods. We can´t serve both God and money. We can´t look for security in both God and money. There is only one God. He had the power to speak the universe into existence. He loves us so much that he even died to save us. We should look to him for our security. If we find ourselves worrying about money, worrying about savings accounts, and retirement plans, then that is because our confidence is not in God, but it is in other things. When we look to those things instead of God, then we are doing the same thing that the Israelites did when they made a gold calf and worshipped it. We are worshipping money, because whatever we put our trust in, we are actually worshipping it. I am as guilty as the next person of doing that.
Our hearts yearn for peace and joy. We yearn to feel secure. But nothing in this world will give us that security. All these things distract us from what is really important.
My Dad mentioned to me about Jesus´s parable about the seed that was planted, but then choked by the surrounding weeds, and was unable to grow. Those weeds are the worries of this world. When we worry about money, and worldly things, then we are choked, and are unable to grow spiritually. We will never find true security outside of God. When we put our trust in others, or in money, or even ourselves, then we are just fooling ourselves. Nobody knows what is best for us except for God. We think that we know what is best for ourselves, but we really don´t. Only God knows. That is why we have to put our trust in God. The world can fall apart around us, our money can be gone, but if our trust is in God, then we are truly blessed. I have seen God provide. I have seen him do what I thought was impossible. I have trusted God when I had no idea what was going to happen, or how God would provide. The future was just a haze, and I was full of fear at what could happen. But I continued to hope that God would come and help somehow, and he did. He did it in a way that I never imagined. I could have taken things into my own hands, instead of trusting in God, but I am so glad that I didn´t. Because I have seen God help me time and again, and that causes my trust in Him to grow. But even after all that, I still doubt, and I will still go back to trusting in worldly things. But I become miserable, and I weaken spiritually, and I can no longer encourage and help others like I did before, and it is all because my eyes are not on God. How blessed is the person that has their trust in God.
God is in control. He will do what is best for those that trust in Him. Worrying will not add a single hour to our lives. God has a set time for us to die, and nothing can cause us to die before that time. God is in control. We may not understand why God allows things to happen that he does, but nevertheless, God is still in control, and has reasons for all that he does, and all that he allows to happen. To be able to trust God even in circumstances that we don´t understand, that is such a powerful faith. That faith is a gift from God.
A little off the subject, but I asked my wife ¨what would you do if Jesus were to return tomorrow?¨. She said ¨I would be so excited and glad to see him that I would cry¨. When she said that I was shocked, because so few people can say that. I am so happy that she has that kind of love and longing for Christ. Not many Christians have that. I want that. I want my eyes on Jesus so that I will rejoice if he were to return tomorrow.
To all those that are in Christ, there is a hope. There is a future beyond this world. Death is not an end, it is more like a door leading to a much better place. There was a time in my life that by the grace of God, I hated my sin enough that I wanted help, and asked God to have mercy on me, and save me. We are saved not by trusting in ourselves or our good deeds to save us, and we are not saved by justifying and finding excuses for our sin. We are saved when we accept the fact that we are sinners, and go to Jesus Christ for mercy and forgiveness. And I hope that you are also looking for a changed heart and life, because that is in the package too. Like author Max Lucado says, ¨God accepts us as we are, but refuses to leave us that way.¨ God has the power to save, and the power to change us.