I woke up this morning struggling with my thoughts, (what my husband and I call – our “stinkin’- thinkin’).  How can we do the work we’re called to do, without having our monthly needs met?  Here again, this problem looms the greatest in our minds.  I was really questioning the Lord – what is going on these days?  And then I thought about how we recently met a pastor – ( a friend of our friends here in Costa Rica), – who introduced us to him as missionaries.  He then asked us some very pointed questions . . “Please tell me, as a missionary, what is your greatest frustration?”  I answered quickly – “our lack of support – we struggle constantly trying to find committed supporters“.  Then he said, “And when you visit the states, what do you see?”  Without even pausing, I said, “I see people living with excess – with televisions in every room, with “boy-toys” stuffing garages – – I see people hoarding for themselves, but also many who criticize us for having to ask for help”.  This man then told me about a “mega-church” he had attended where the pastor has his own jet to get around the country in.  Then he said, this pastor was telling someone that his wife had to arrange to get somewhere, and someone asked this pastor, “so are you sending your jet to go get her?”  And this pastor answered, “No, she has a jet of her own.”  This to me is unheard of.  What is going on with the churches of today?  Who are these people that they have to have jets for themselves, (more than one, mind you)?  Or how many houses does a person need, or cars for that matter?  There are people questioning our presidents and politicians for the very same thing – “why are they spending so much when our country is suffering financially?”  When is enough, enough?  God is going to hold Christians accountable for this lavish spending on themselves.  God has blessed Christian people to BE A BLESSING TO OTHERS!  Do you see God blessing someone?  If so, does it end in their hands, closed fists hanging on to all that they can accumulate in this world?  Are these people needing to build a bigger garage to house their various automobiles, motorcycles, boats, travel trailers, – and God knows what else?  What are they giving to missions, anything?  Can I venture to say? –  I’ll bet those with all these things don’t even give a tenth of what they make.  We’ve seen that those who seem to have so little, are the greatest givers – why does Jesus say?:  “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” – Mark 10:25

We have another friend who tells people who have wealth that they should begin to convert their assets from earthly treasures into heavenly treasures.  After all, no matter who they think they are, or how much they have accumulated, not one of us can take anything with us when we’re gone. Yes, they may be able to pass some of their wealth to their children, but what about the excess?  What about all the duplicate items in a large empty house?  Many times the things left behind by parents to their children are for the most part – not valued the same way.  What item really has true value?

I find that the greatest item we can have is our relationships!  That is something we can take with us, because it’s what we hold in our hearts.  We may not be near those who we love, but it doesn’t change how we feel about them.  We still love them.  This is especially true with our relationship with God.  This is the greatest thing we can possess!  This is what we must hold on with all our strength, our hearts our minds!

Please read some of the following scriptures and study done below concerning our tithing.

There are four things Christians must do in giving: they must give willingly from the heart, they must not give grudgingly; they must not give of compulsion; they must give cheerfully  (2 Cor 8:12;  9:5, 7).  Christians who give what they can to those in need will find that the grace of God furnishes a sufficiency for their own needs, and even more, in order that they may abound in good works for others  (Psa 41:1-2;  Prov. 11:24-25;  19:17;  22:9;  Eccl. 11:1;  Luke 6:38;  2 Cor 9:6,  8-15). 

At the heart of all Christian giving is the acknowledgement that God is the creator, the owner, and the giver of all things, and what we give back to God is only a part of what He has given to us in the first place (Gen 1:1;  Exod 19:5;  Deut. 8:7-20;  1 Chron 29:10-16;  Psa 24:1;  50:10-12;  Hag 2:8; John  1:1-3;  James 1:17;  2 Pet 1:3).  Everything Christians have belongs to the Lord.  No one has anything that they had not first received from God.

Scriptures are very clear on the subject of giving – only those who sow into the Kingdom will reap the Kingdom benefits (Gal 6:6-10). Paul is defining God’s law of sowing and reaping here.  It applies to every aspect of the Christian walk:  Christians giving of themselves, their finances and their time to others; their financial support of the ministry, their moral behavior, and their Christian service.  Gal 6:9-10 teaches that whenever Christians keep doing good, in spite of the opposition they may encounter, in due course they will reap the fruit of the harvest.  And notwithstanding that they are to do good unto all men, they are to be particularly concerned with the well – being of other Christians  (Mt 25:31-46).  All Christian giving has to be as to God, the Christians’ source, for whatever Christians do they are doing it as unto Jesus.  Jesus equates Christians’ treatment of those in need with their treatment of Himself:  what Christians do for them, they do for Him.  The Christian walk is not only a spiritual walk, it must also serve the material needs of others, especially other Christians  (James 2:13-17).

Here Christians are presented with the real test of their faith. Christians are not justified by works, but because they are justified by faith, they do the works.  This proves their consecration to God’s service and confirms their love for God and for each other (1 John 3:16-19).  The only faith that saves is that demonstrated by works out of Christians’ love for God.  This scripture is the exact counterpart of John 3:16: “Whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life”. 1 John 3:16-19  is the acid test of Christianity by which Christians know whether they are following the example of God’s love to others.  If Christians are not willing to give of material things to others in need, they certainly would not lay down their lives for them.  It is not enough that wealth and material possessions are acquired for self-gratification.  They must always be made available for the work of God  (Matt 6:19-24; Luke 12:13-21; 2 Cor 9:5-6).  Although God’s law of sowing and reaping dictates that blessings will always be returned for generosity, Christians must never give in order to receive.  Giving must always be motivated by love.

 Partial Studies by Br Val Boyle

We want to thank those of you who responded to my recent “desperate” email sharing our needs. We have been without full support for more than a year now and it has been stressful to say the least. The money that came in from many of you helped to catch us up on all our late bills from previous months and pay for other necessities. You were definitely a part of God’s hand in answering our prayers.

We still need to know if some of you would make monthly commitments to give on a regular basis, and what that would look like. We aren’t looking for large amounts here, but various individuals who can commit to give smaller donations on a monthly basis over a couple of years. We cannot continue without knowing what our budget would be. Please contact us by email, in a private message to let us know if you would be part of our support team!

Again, thanks so much for your gifts!

terrylkeith@gmail.com or donnajkeith@gmail.com

2 Corinthians 9:11-12 – “You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God!”

Our saddles were stolen April 17th, on Tuesday night around 11:00 pm, they were taken from a locked shed. The thieves were able to slip the lock by prying it sideways, (allowing extra space with the latch), and after taking what they wanted, they put the door back on to look as though nothing happened. It worked until we fed our horses on Wednesday afternoon.  

This was such a frustrating experience .. because Terry and I had decided it was one thing we really enjoyed doing together – riding the horses, giving us a chance to take time for ourselves, and enjoy God’s creation.  During our previous years of working on ranches we had to have horses and tack so we had held onto much of it, thinking one day we would enjoy that again.  God has allowed us to have horses again, one being given to me several years ago, and the other was a rescue – a mare close to starving to death.  So .. it just seemed that here again .. Satan was targeting his attack on us, on any attempt we made to build our relationship and find personal time.

Terry’s saddle was a very expensive saddle to replace.  It was specially made for him by a man named Eddy Collins in Amarillo Texas in 1986.  It was unique and nowadays would cost possibly $2500 or more to replace.  Mine was a simple Aussie saddle that in recent years I had purchased for around $500.  Other tack was stolen as well, including bits/bridles, ropes, blankets, so we’re talking several thousands of dollars of tack in total.  

Interesting enough, it was heartbreaking news, but not overwhelming to discover.  I remember at one point saying, “What an adventure .. living this life in Costa Rica!” Maybe it had to do with having our car stolen over recent years, and many other items taken from the YWAM base.  It seems such a part of life here in this country.  So many here live behind bars on a daily basis .. just to hang on to what is theirs.  If thieves are caught and prosecuted to any degree .. it’s not for long, they could be out in a matter of weeks or months.  It’s a losing battle the police investigator told us ..  After a few days, I decided .. it’s out of my hands, God is ultimately in control – whether I like the present circumstance or not, God can handle it and as for me, “I will rejoice in God my Savior!”

Well, we also thought back to the last time we rode together in a horse parade in our area.  There was a man following us, harassing us, quite a bothersome character.  Another woman who rode with us thought the same thing.  As we began questioning others about him, it led to a friendship he had with our neighbor.  Hmmmm .. then I remembered .. over a year ago this same person was working with our neighbor (at the YWAM base), cleaning up the debris left by trees that were harvested between the two properties.  I had been riding my horse that day and went to unsaddle her.  This guy followed me to where I put the saddle telling me we should hire him to train our horses.  I had told him we didn’t need anyone, we did our own training.  But, he then knew where we had kept our saddles.  It seemed God was giving us the clues we needed…

So, Terry went to speak to our neighbor.  We realized this had to be the best hidden entry into the base property where the shed and saddles were.  Our neighbor had to know something.  Terry told him that others thought he was involved in the theft and that we would give a reward for the return of our saddles.  Our neighbor initially only wanted to know “who” was naming him as a suspect, – but then said he would find out to clear his name.  The following day, he said he knew where they were.  Isn’t that interesting?  So, by the end of that first week, we had our saddles returned to us – although we had to pay a few hundred dollars, it was nothing like replacing the whole thing.  Meanwhile, we’ve never heard back from the police or investigator.  We’ve been told this is so common, but also others are amazed at “the miracle” that our property was returned!  It’s a rare occurance.

Greetings to you from gorgeous Costa Rica!  It seems that dry season is on it’s way out as the rains are becoming more consistent as the days go by.  It’s beautiful to see how the landscape changes, soaking up the new moisture causing things to grow and bloom.

We are always going through changes as well on the YWAM base.  In January we began our 5th EARs (Environment and Resource Stewardship) School with a great bunch of students from US, Costa Rica, El Salvador and Holland.  During this school we built a solar clothes dryer, (which is not just a clothesline in the sun), and also a solar water heater for the base.  These students graduated April 6th and are now off to make a difference in the world.

In May, we will be headed to Nicaragua for a week to attend a staff & leadership conference.  We are looking forward to connecting with our YWAM family in the area and having time to fellowship and plan for the future growth of the ministry.  When we get back from Nicaragua, we will only have a week to get ready for our first summer team.  I, (Terry) will also be teaching on Spiritual Warfare in San Jose, so it will be a busy month.

Since our dad’s both passed away two years ago, we have only had two weeks off.  We have been wanting to take a longer leave for quite some time to rest, raise our support and get some counciling.  These last few years have been really hard on us with the loss of our car, our house in Colorado, and the loss of our main supporter in December of 2010.  So in June, we are coming back to the US for almost 3 months.  We are still working on the details of our trip, but it looks like we will be in the Colorado, Texas area in June.  In July we have been invited to staff a Sustainable Agriculture Seminar in Hawaii, so we are praying about that as well.   Also we have been invited to Alberta, Canada and Montana to rest and visit supporters so we will be there the rest of July.  From there we are not sure what is going to happen, and pray for God’s continued guidance.

We are hoping to buy a pickup to take back with us since we are always hauling or moving things at the base.  If the Lord provides us with one, we plan to drive it to Florida where Terry’s mom and brothers live and then have it shipped to Costa Rica from there.  This would be a wonderful answer to prayer as we still do not have a personal vehicle.

We would love to see all of you, but time and money to travel will limit our being able to do so.  We will try to see as many of you as we can.  We are looking for opportunities to share in churches or home groups, so if you have any ideas that would help .. please contact us.

Your servants in Christ,

Terry & Donna