iWitness
PureHeartChildren'sFund
The following is a weekly blog of my missions experience and my take away from what I feel God has shown me this week.
Watch our new promotional youtube video of PureHeart... maybe it will encourage you to come down and be an iWitness! clic here https://youtu.be/Y7WKFRkDgHc
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iWitness
1 John 1:3 “That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.”
Witness = To see with your own eyes. Proof that a statement is true, not a lie.
Lie = to make an untrue statement. Another expression for 'lie' is 'to bear false witness'.
In the Army I learned to live by the 3 foot rule. If it′s not in your personal area (wheelhouse as they say in the business world), don′t worry about it. Worrying about things that are out of your control can be fatal. Plus it removes you from the here and now. Stick to what you know, what affects you and what you can affect. Our sister ministry in Pakistan with Asma and the child laborers is in our ′wheelhouse′ because God placed it on our hearts.. Now we can donate and pray for her. We know her. The Holy Spirit might lead me to pray in the Spirit for some unkown man in Lagos Nigeria, which I will do, but only through the Spirit, because I know and trust God′s Holy Spirit. But if it isn′t on that level, and you can′t do anything about it, don′t let it affect you.
I have witnessed so much in my life, from when I was an infant until now, 65 years later. I can't even remember the first thing I witnessed. Witnessing is natural. Lying is not! I clearly remember my first and second lie. The first lie wasn't sin. The second time I believe was.
1rst lie. My big brother broke a window with a hammer in a white shed when we lived in Orwell Ohio. I was 3. He calmly gave me the hammer and told me to take the hammer and tell my mom that I broke the window. I did, and felt the wrath of my dad's hand made 'pussy willow switch' for the first time in my life.
2nd lie. Now living in Burton Ohio, three weeks into kindergarten, I ran out of actual new events to report. Mom and dad wanted to hear something (obviously to me, not to them). I had to think of something quick, because Mrs Van punished me that day. Didn't want to talk about that. So I said, there's a bad boy in school. He got spanked today. Mom and dad asked 'who?' And I said with pure outrage 'Billy Bamm!' (who knows how I came up with that name, but it stuck) So, from then on, every night I came home with a new Billy Bamm scandal. That is until mom went with me to a parent/teacher meeting with Mrs. Van. Mom said to Mrs. Van, 'I would love to meet little Billy Bamm'. I cringed. Mrs Van said, 'I don't know anyone by that name, but we have to talk about little Deannie'. My first sin found me out when I was five years old!
Numbers 32:23,“Be sure your sin will find you out”
Witnesses clarify things. I know Nicaragua and Jesus exist because I have personally witnessed them. I know some countries exist because people I know and trust have told me so. Good and faithful witnesses establish facts, even though you have never seen them with your own eyes.
Because of lies, and false witnesses, there is is a lot of confusion in Nicaragua, as in the rest of the world. Good and honest witnesses help people to understand. Bad and dishonest witnesses (with an agenda) keep people from ever understanding.
To be honest, I have not seen anyone personally with COVID. Except for the news, people I trust, and FaceBook, I wouldn't have known it existed. Same thing with the attempted 'Coup' in 2019. I never witnessed anything, and we live supposedly in the middle of it. People sent me videos and newspaper clippings, but I was not an eye-witness of any of it. The people that pushed it on me seemed to have a motive. I don't. As Winnie and I go around, doing our Christian duties of joyfully serving the ‘least of these’ in Managua Nicaragua, we see a lot of things. Nothing related to the two mentioned events, however.
I am not saying that my FB, youtube, contacts and email friends are lying. I have just learned to not repeat any of it. I may believe somethings, but that doesn't make it the truth. FaceBook fact checkers are good in theory, because there is a lot of makebelieve on FB. Problem is that the FactCheckers have an agenda, which usually is also untrue. They have called me out on repeating false facts (most of the time for what I think are true facts). Most of the time the news itself proves itself a few weeks later to have given false information, only after I told people. Although I might have believed them, I repeated a lie, because I wasn't an iWitness.
speaking of youtube, watch our new promotional youtube video of PureHeart... maybe it will encourage you to come down and be an iWitness! clic here https://youtu.be/Y7WKFRkDgHc
I have learned my lesson. Unless I am an iWitness, I I choose to bow out of talking about anything that I can not verify for myself. 'EyeWitness' news is not something I can trust, and as I have said many times over the years, 'to repeat a lie is to lie'. One of the Ten Commandments is "thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour"; for this reason, lying is a sin.
Our fellowship and relationships depend on truth. Talk only about things you know to be true. Those are only things that you have experienced yourself. Many missionaries have fled the the mission fields because they believed half-truths (in other words, total lies), or because their donators have.
I am an iWitness to many things, ('I' being the integral part of the word 'iWitness'.) An eye witness means that 'I' personally have seen this with my own eyes, not by a you tube video, not on the news, not in a newspaper, not on Facebook, not by a politician, not by a statistician, not by a scientist, not by a friend of a friend's 2nd cousin, not on google. All of the sources of information above have proven to be callously dishonest, and are no longer worthy of being believed. They all have forfeited or sold that right. What I have seen with my own eyes, and the Word of God I believe. The earth is a round ball, for example. I believe, because I parachuted. I saw the curvature of the earth, I am an iWitness! Everything that I haven′t seen or experienced for myself takes a lot more to believe in. I do eventually believe in a lot of stuff, but have stopped getting into discussions about it. The only thing really worth talking about is Jesus.
As a Christian we are to talk about what we have seen and experienced ourselves. Also things that we have read in God's Word because God's Holy Spirit abides within us, and He is an iWitness Himself. Commentaries and teachings are not the Word of God. Great help in understanding some things, and for applications, but only the Bible is the Word of God.
1 John 1:1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life;
It is critical to believe in Jesus, born of a virgin, dying for our sins, being risen from the dead. We believe the Bible (the infallible Word of God) because Jesus is The Word of God, and is His own iWitness. The Bible is real. What I see is real. What the Holy Spirit has done in my life, is doing in my life, and what He is showing me in my life, I believe. I believe Jesus is real because His Holy Sprit lives within me. I am a first hand iWitness.
Missionaries tell me what another missionary is doing in Africa. Maybe I believe it, maybe I don't. I shy away from talking about it though because it may be a lie. News, statistics, stuff I saw in fb or yahoo news, usually are skewered one way or another, so I try not to talk about it with any seriousness. If it's funny I might repeat it for humor's sake, but other than that, no.
History, if I wasn't there, I try not to comment on. People love to talk bad or good about Vietnam. I wasn't there, so I am not qualified to talk about it. Politics? I stay out of them because I don't trust the news, so I don't pay attention to it, except for funny stuff. What the pilgrims did to the indians after thanksgiving? I don't know, I wasn't there. Thanksgiving is great though. I believe every day for a Christian should be a thanksgiving day. We are thankful for every day, for our finances, for this entire ministry being Covid free, for our health. How did God create everything? In a flash or bang? I don't know, I didn't personally withness it. I just believe Jesus' iWitness account as written in His Holy Word, Genesis 1:1, In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Was Genesis originally written in Egyptian or Hebrew? I don't know, I wasn't there, but I am loving the English and Spanish version. Was Jesus born on December 25th, 0000? I don't know I wasn't there. Experts will argue that it was in the early fall, but they don't know either. They don't have a date because they weren't there either, so they are just guessing. Might as well celebrate it on the 25th, as good a day as any. Ozone and global warmin'? I don't know anything about it because no one is capable of being trustworthy. I do believe in Global Melting though, I guess you can call it global warmin', right? I believe in Global Melting because God talks about it in His Word and He is completely trustworthy.
Point being, the church, as well as the world is divided right now because of silly arguments over pure conjecture. Stuff that no one has actually seen with their own eyes, and things that no one can know for sure because all reporting and statistics are jaded. Just hearsay, gossip, false reporting and rumors. People are becoming stingy, suicidal and mentally ill over pure hypothesises. Focus only on what you know to be true. Report only on those things. Rumors and gossip stop when they reach the ears of a real believer.
1 Peter 3:11, NLT If you want to enjoy life and see many happy days, keep your tongue from speaking evil and your lips from telling lies. Turn away from evil and do good. Search for peace, and work to maintain it.
I close with a my favorite 2 verses in the Bible, the 'peace verses' that Paul write from a Roman prison in the time of Nero Caesar.
Phillipians 4:8-9
8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
9 Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.
Love you guys! Spread the GOOD Word!
Dean and Winnie
2 X the IMPACT! It's matched tax deductible donations, now til 2022! Praise God!
PS ....Matched donations are back this year!!!
All donations, up to 5,000 dollars are matched from now until 2022! 100% of your donations go straight to the kids! For example if you give $1,000 dollars, $2,000 dollars goes straight to the kids. Pray about making a 100% tax deductible donation now. Good for you. Good for the kids. And good for your taxes.
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Praise Reports
Our new promotional youtube video of PureHeart is done... maybe it will encourage you to come down and be an iWitness! clic here https://youtu.be/Y7WKFRkDgHc
CHRISTMAS PRESENTS THIS YEAR! SINCE WE ARE ON OUR OWN FOR CHRISTMAS PRESENTS, GOD HAS AGAIN PROVIDED FOR 1,150 CHRISTMAS PRESENTS THROUGH RAIN AND NICA SOURCE (NICARAGUAN NEAR SHORE IT COMPANIES). THANK YOU JESUS! WHAT KIND OF CHRISTIAN CHILDREN MISSION DOESN'T GIVE CHRISTMAS PRESENTS AT CHRISTMAS TIME? MERRY CHRISTMAS!
1. Our new room, and warehouse expnasion is almost completed, God is good! Needing to install the AC and we are finished. We had some issues but we should be done in two weeks.
2. The home back up power plant is a few days from arriving. Thank you, we desperately need it! They say it should be installed next week.
3. Our summer break-change of school year is here. We have a lot of broken stuff, painting that needs to be done, light construction repairs. We spent the rainy season fixing other homes, but ours has fallen in dissarry. Praise God that we have the time to get to it without a bunch of school kids running around. Thank you for your help.
4. English class, Daily Bible studies, school and feeding centers are all going well. Graduation ceremonies for the school are this week.
Pureheart Update - All is well, finishing up the new room and warehouse. We are painting, repairing the school′s classrooms, bathrooms, (lots of plumbling and electrical stuff going on) and we are improving our school's computer abilities.
PRAYER REQUESTS
1. For Souls and Fruit.
2. FOR HEALING OF LOVED ONES WITH EVERYTHING FROM CANCER TO MENTAL ILLNESS.
3. FOR HOME VISITATIONS TO PRODUCE RESULTS, FOR VISITORS TO OUR HOME TO GET SAVED. FOR THE FAMILIES AND PARENTS OF ALL THE PUREHEART WORKERS TO GET SAVED.
4. FOR OUR 2 FEEDING CENTERS AND THE TWO OTHER FEEDING CENTERS THAT WE HELP. FOR OUR SISTER FEEDING CENTER IN ISLAMBAD PAKISTAN.
5. AS WE ARE HELPING OTHERS WITH EMERGENCY CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS *THIS CONTINUOUS RAINY SEASON DESTROYS THE SHACKS THAT MANY OF OUR PEOPLE LIVE IN*. THAT WE BE THE LIGHT AND PEACE OF JESUS IN THE MIDDLE OF THE STORM.
7. GOVERNMENTAL PAPERWORK, I CALL IT ′DEATH BY 1000 PAPERCUTS'. IT IS EXTREMELY DIFFICULT, FRUSTRATING, AND EXPENSIVE. AMONG OF WHICH IS FOR PERMISSION TO HAVE AN ORPHANAGE-OLDFOLKS HOME ON A SUSTAINABLE GREEN FARM IN THE MANAGUA CITY LIMITS. THIS IS THE 4TH TIME IN TEN YEARS THAT WE HAVE HAD TO START AGAIN FROM SCRATCH EVERYTHING FROM ALL THE ACCOUNTING, BOOKS, AND PERMISSIONS FOR THE ORPHANAGE. EVEN FORECED INTO REINCORPORATING DOWN HERE. IT GETS TOUGHER EVERY TIME, BUT WE AREN′T GOING ANYWHERE. THE LEGAL AND CPA PAPERWORK AND ACCOUNTABILITY IS ESPECICALLY TOUGH.
8. THE DELAY IS OK, BECAUSE WE ARE STILL WAITING ON THE LORD TO PROVIDE THE MONEY AND THE PERFECT RESOURCES FOR ALL THE FULL TIME STAFF, DOCTOR, NURSE, AIDES ETC THAT COME WITH A FARM THAT HAS ROOM FOR AN ORPHANAGE AND AN OLD FOLKS HOME ON IT, AS WELL AS THE PROPERTY ITSELF. EVEN WITH JUST AN ORPHANAGE HERE, OUR STAFF WILL ALMOST HAVE TO DOUBLE IN SIZE PER NICARAGUAN REGULATIONS
9. FOR OUR OWN CHILDREN`S SPIRITUAL GROWTH AND SAFETY WHILE STUDYING IN THE STATES.
10. AGAIN, THE GOVERNMENTAL PAPERWORK IS HORRENDOUS, AND GETTING MORE DIFFICULT AND EXPENSIVE EVERY DAY.
11. Looking to buy (or get donated) a large tract of land to put the orphanage and old folks home on.
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Here's how you can help PureHeart without spending a penny
Please Keep PureHeart in you mind at your job and ask about your company's matched donations, or corporate donations. Help me to get ahold of them please. We are a stand alone 501c3 and are happy to share proof to any company wishing to add us to their 'matched donations' or corporate donations. We are extremely careful with every penny donated, meticulous in our accounting. That is why we are highly rated.
A TALL ORDER, BUT NOTHING IS TOO BIG FOR GOD, NOT EVEN DIFFICULT.
Please continue what you are doing to keep us going.. WHATEVER YOU'RE DOING, IT'S WORKING!!. pray, donate, and spread the word!
LOVE
DEAN AND WINNIE PETERS
OUR BEST EMAIL IS [email protected]
Dean and Winnie Peters
Joyfully serving the ‘least of these’ in Managua Nicaragua
Please continue what you are doing to keep us going.. WHATEVER YOU'RE DOING, IT'S WORKING!!. pray, donate, and spread the word!
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