Rule Family News Letter 2019
Dear beloved Friends and Family,
I know it seems like the Rule Family has fallen off the face of the earth, but I promise we have not. This last year has been the hardest of our life. When your wife is in bed, sick to the point she cannot even sit up and there is nothing you can do about it, it’s a helplessness that threatens to overwhelm you. I truly have no idea how people without faith survive day to day. Thank God for His son Jesus Christ and the sacrifice He made on the cross for us!
Proverbs 18-21 says, "Death and life are in the power of the tongue." (NIV)
When Tanya and I started speaking life to her, no matter the physical situation, Jesus lifted her from this bed of sickness. It did not happen immediately, but the progress was steady. There were times when we did not understand why it was taking so long, and we were afraid. Whenever this happened we would lean on the Word of our Lord which says in 2 Timothy 1:7, "For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and a sound mind." (NIV)
When I look back at pictures of Tanya during the early days of her sickness I just shake my head. I just thank Jesus every day that he willingly sacrificed his life so that His people would be able to overcome sickness and disease.
1 Peter 2:24 says, “‘He himself bore our sins’ in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; ‘by his wounds you have been healed’.” (NIV)
I am thankful that His blood is still running from that Old rugged cross at Calvary, and that His word will never return void.
Isaiah 55:10-11 says, “As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.” (NIV)
The power of the spoken word, especially when it is used to speak the healing power of God's Word, is amazing. It is truly a miracle gift that we all have, but seldom use. Jesus put it this way, “‘Have faith in God,’ Jesus answered, ‘Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours. And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.’” (Mark 11:22-25 NIV)
Tanya is still recovering and is relying completely on the Lord for her healing. One day soon, she will speak about her experience when she is ready and the Lord says it is time. Even though I was with her every step of the way, there is no way for me to know how it felt to be her. It is easy for someone to say trust in God's healing when they are not the one sick. My wife's faith is so strong that even when I was discouraged she was fighting! She stood and is still standing on the promises of God that are Yes and Amen! Tanya continues to heal and get stronger every day.
2 Corinthians 1:20 says, “For no matter how many promises God has made, they are ‘Yes’ in Christ. And so through him the ‘Amen’ is spoken by us to the glory of God.” (NIV)
During all of this we had two choices: trust God and fight the good fight of faith, this means to remain steadfast in our mission here in Guatemala taking care of abandoned children, or quit and return back to the U.S. We chose to stay in Guatemala and believe God! The children joined us in prayer and we believed together. As believers we are called just to believe. We would see more of God's promises come to pass if we "Just believe" and not quit.
“Hearing this, Jesus said to Jairus, ‘Don't be afraid; just believe, and she will be healed.’” Today our family's faith is stronger than ever! (Luke 8:50 NIV)
The Children:
Currently, the government of Guatemala is going through the paperwork of all the kids that are in orphanages. They are investigating their backgrounds and trying to find biological family for them to return to. If thi
s investigation does not find biological family, then they are declaring these children adoptable. Most of the kids in our family have biological family to return to. God has made it clear from day one that our mission here is to train up these children for when they return to their families.
Proverbs 22:6 says, “Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.” (NIV)
This is why we feel it is so important for them to hear the Word of God and understand their identity in Christ prior to returning to their families. In the last 5 years, 10 children have returned to their family from our house. We pray every day that what we taught them continues to guide them.
As you can imagine, returning home to a family you never met can be very scary for a child. The emotional roller coaster for all of us involved is very real and hard to cope with. Our role is to support the children and make this transition as smooth as possible. That is another reason we need to train them up quickly. We do not know how much time they have with us. Only through the grace of God can one remain hopeful that everything is going to be alright. Please join our family and pray for the children in our house and all over the country of Guatemala that are going through this difficult change.
Needs:
With everything going on, we are still fighting to get our Guatemalan permanent residency. The paperwork, time, and money needed are intense. We need this residency for many reasons. One, we have more rights in Guatemala and can help the children better. Two, we do not have to return to the states every 6 months which will save us time and money. Our family has finally been approved, but since they decided to raise the price from $500.00 a person to $740.00 a person we can only finalize one a month. We have six months to finish it up. I just thank God that he is our provider and we want for nothing!
How you can help:
If you would like to help with this need please go to our "support us" page menu and click on the donate button. You can make a onetime donation or monthly donation for our home. If you would like to donate toward our residency please write that in the comments section at the time of donation.
The need for prayer is great! Please keep our family in your prayers as we deal with the changes the government of Guatemala are doing.
Jeremiah 29:11 says, “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord. ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’” (NIV)
Our family thanks you from the bottom of our hearts for faithfully blessing us throughout the past five years of our journey here in Guatemala. God Bless you all!
With much love,
Rule Family