$5.30 a gallon for gas and the need to eat jurel

Yes you read that title correctly. I was not too pleased when I pulled up to the pump and saw that my gas would cost me about 700 pesos a liter and that would equal out to about $5.30 a gallon. But we need to roll with the punches or just go out and buy some horses. We have noticed that the prices of a lot of things have gone up over this past year. Milk is about twice the price as it was a year ago, as are many of the fruits and vegetables. The price of bread is about 35% higher and the big thing with this is that bread is one of the staples down here. (Chile is said to be the country with the 2nd greatest amount of bread consumption, trailing behind France alone) Added to that the devaluation of the dollar it makes the foreign missionary seek to cut corners wherever possible. Seeings that we can't afford to eat canned tuna we have turned to one of its uglier sisters, jurel. Just today I was telling Ruth that it was a luxury being able to eat a can of tuna. With canned tuna you just open the can, drain the water (or oil) and eat. Not so easy with jurel. The canned jurel comes complete with the bones, the skin and the blood. The only things we don't find in the can are the internal organs and the head. So the process with the canned jurel is a little more complicated than with the canned tuna. I need to open the can, drain the water/blood/slime mixture, scrape off the dried blood and then take the bones out. Then I rinse it again and it is ready to eat. Not nearly as easy as the canned tuna and not nearly as flavorful, but still a good source of protein and Omega-3's and hopefully not too much mercury. But at least there is food to eat and just as the Lord Jesus said in Matthew 6 in His "do not worry" passage (verses 25 thru 34), He will take care of our needs and we see Him doing that most clearly as we recognize that He is the greatest need that we have. (Matthew 4:4)
So please take note that we are very thankful for being able to eat jurel in Curaco de Velez. The Lord has opened up many doors for ministry and I like the Apostle Paul ask that you pray for us that we would be faithful no matter what may arise against us. (1st Corinthians 16:9) There are those who seem very open and anxious to hear more about the gospel. Just last night we had the wonderful opportunity to share with a woman named Juanita. She is the employer of two ladies that attend Grace Baptist. They have been praying for her and just recently she expressed to them that she was glad that Ruth and I were back in town and that she wanted us to counsel her. Well last night was our opportunity to visit her and we had the wonderful opportunity to share with her the glorious gospel of Jesus Christ. Oh that the truth of the gospel would resonate in her heart and that the blessed Holy Spirit would convince her of her sin and of her need for the Savior. Please pray for Juanita and many others like her. Religious people in need of a restored relationship with their Creator. May we never cease to thank God for the one way that He has established for man to be reconciled: by grace (God's gift) through faith (again God's gift) through God's Son Jesus Christ (and one more time, God's gift). To close I encourage you to meditate upon the words of the Apostle Paul in 2nd Corinthians 9:15 "Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!"
At the end of the day it doesn't matter how much gas costs. It doesn't matter how much a can of tuna costs. It doesn't matter how clean or dirty jurel is. It doesn't matter how high or low the dollar goes. What matters is the gospel. May we never forget that!