Precious

We all occasionally have a day that causes us before it is finished to think perhaps we should have stayed in bed so as to avoid all the day’s mishaps. Yesterday was my turn. 

I didn’t expect everything to take longer than usual and to feel rushed. I didn’t expect to have a headache all day, or to have an invasion of ants akin to an Alfred Hitchcok movie. Less than an hour after my floors were swept and mopped, ants were all over the floors AND walls of one end of the house. I did not expect that as I was spraying insecticide and sweeping ants off the walls and floors, my son would accidentally spill an entire box of Hershey’s Special Dark Cocoa Powder on yet another portion of the freshly mopped floor. It was the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back. 

Cocoa can be hard to find here and very expensive when it is available. Good cocoa is even more rare and Hershey’s Special Dark cocoa does not exist here at all, ever.  I had brought back a couple of boxes from furlough and they were going to have to last until the next furlough two years later.  It was an accident, and I knew it, but for just a second I wanted to turn into something like Gollum yelling about his Precious. I thank God that as I knelt there sweeping up the mess I looked up and saw my son’s face just before I was about to let my frustration fly out of my mouth like an arrow and hit him right in the heart. It gave me enough pause to be able to stop myself.  I still had to explain that my frustration was with the way our day was going and not with him, but at least I did not have to apologize for hurtful words. 

It is in those "unexpecteds" that our true character shows, and I saw that I had plenty of room for improvement. I also saw that God is even now still working on me. I saw Him give grace in a moment when I needed it. He gently reminded me that cocoa and clean floors are very nice things to have, but they are not precious. We are here in Congo because people are what is precious - so precious that Christ gave his life for them. 



Please be in prayer for us, that we might always be mindful of what is truly precious and that our words and deeds will reflect that. Pray for the precious people of Congo, that they will place their faith in Christ and find their strength in Him.

Two Transformers

Three phase pole mounted transformer in Syria. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Our week went something like this:

- Our daughter needed oral surgery. We carry very high deductibles, and this year she actually met hers. That's not a good thing but it meant if we could get her surgery done this year, it would save a ton of money. The problem was that she is going back to school in a week and has no transportation once she gets there.

- Honey, the toilet is leaking again."

- Honey, the bedroom air-conditioner is not working."

- Honey, the a/c in the car (that just got repaired) is not working."

Everyday it was a new problem and no time to deal with figuring out what is wrong, shopping for tools and parts, and repairing it all. The really fun news came yesterday, when we called the electric company after our power was off for 24 hours:

- The transformer is burnt up. It will be a long time before you have electricity again.

Without a transformer, there is no power. Period.

The very word transformer brings up some unpleasant memories of our first year here. The transformer burned and it was over five weeks before we had electricity. Then just weeks after we finally got one, election season began and a candidate commandeered our transformer and hauled it away to use for a neighborhood that housed some of his constituents. 

I won't lie. That was hard. It would be challenging enough for anyone raised with the convenience of 24/7 electricity. It was our first year, so we were still not accustomed to the different life and the climate. It was hard to sleep at night in the heat, and being exhausted just made things harder to deal with. At the time I was dealing with painful bone spurs in both feet that eventually required surgery. AND, we were all dealing with the emotions that go along with the first child graduating and getting ready to go to live across the ocean. 

But one thing we learned through all of that is that we were not all alone. God never left us, and He showed his love and presence in very tangible ways. We had friends and team members who let us use their washing machines and take showers at their houses. He provided extra funds so we could buy fuel to run the generator to charge batteries and cool down the fridge. He used others to counsel me to make plans to get my feet taken care of instead of trying to stick it out until furlough (another two years away). He gave us people who prayed for us and encouraged us. The fact that without a transformer we had no power source for our home reminded us that God is the source of our strength.

God is no less present or loving this time around either. As challenging as it can be to schedule a medical procedure on short notice, He provided someone with a great reputation who not only fit Emily in right away but also worked with our insurance and handled everything with professionalism and kindness. Emily had her surgery yesterday and is recuperating in the very capable care of my parents. 

Once again we have friends who have already offered to let us come over and use their washing machine.

The toilet still leaks. The a/c in the bedroom and the car are still broken. The power is still off. But I am confident that God knows what we need and will provide it. It will be fun to see how He choose to do it. Do I hope we get it sooner rather than later? Sure, I do. I also know that if we have to wait, good will come of it. The lessons I learned last time have hopefully made my faith stronger and made me more perseverant and more grateful for this go-round. I am hoping and praying that God uses our transformer issue to transform me. 

God and the Cockroach

#102340244 / gettyimages.com

(Our new prayer letter just went out. If you didn't receive one you can read it HERE. If you go to our MAF web site you can subscribe to our prayer letter.)

We started school this week. This year, instead of using a full-blown Bible curriculum from a major publisher, we are changing things up a bit. I opted for a devotion book centered around something my son loves and will be interested in - animals. I wanted more of our Bible time to be spent discussing and praying together and culturing a love of scripture. I felt that all the hours of workbook exercises were accomplishing the opposite. My son was dreading Bible class every day. Yes, he was learning the content, but if he could grow up loving God's Word then he would eventually learn that anyway because he wanted to and not because I forced him to. 


Today our devotion was about roaches. Is that not a disgusting photo? It gives me the creeps. Roaches are not on many people's list of top ten favorite living creatures, but the point the author made in the devotional is that they are everywhere (polar ice caps excepted). Wherever people are, there are roaches. In that sense, God is like cockroaches. No matter where we are, He is there (Psalm 139:7-10). Not only can we not escape from God, we can't be hidden from Him by others either.

We talked about how comforting it is is to know that God is always present with us, thanked Him, and asked Him to remind us all day long that He is with us. Daniel said he would never see a cockroach now without remembering that God is everywhere. Hmmm.

That led to a discussion of the ebola epidemic and the persecuted Christians in Iraq and elsewhere and how we didn't have to ask God to be with them because He already is. We asked Him to remind them that He is with them, to guide them with his hand, and to support them with HIS strength as He did for King David.

I am glad my kids know a lot about the Bible, but I wish I had done a better job of planting and nurturing in them a love of God's Word. 

Opportunities

Yesterday we had a team meeting, and during the discussion our director read from Luke 3:12-14. In the passage, government officials inquired of John the Baptist what they ought to do. 

His reply to the tax collectors was: "Don't collect any more than you are required to."

To the soldiers: "Don't extort money and don't accuse people falsely --be content with your pay." 

We either witness or experience first-hand all of these scenarios on a regular basis here, both as individuals and as an organization. Congo is a place where if someone doesn't like you or doesn't want your business competing with theirs, they simply pay someone to "take care of it." Police and soldiers are often not paid, or paid inadequately. Falsely accusing others who have no choice but to submit to their authority is a tempting way to make up the shortfall. Inflated fees that enable civil authorities to line their pockets is not uncommon.

It is frustrating and naturally we sometimes get angry and struggle to respond in a way that honors God and protects our testimonies. It hinders our work, taking time and money that could be used in ministry. It makes life more difficult, adding to financial and emotional stress. And it makes us grieve for the people of Congo. Whatever burden it may be for us is magnified for them.

Obstacles like these are often opportunities. We are given the opportunity to do what is right, set an example and be witnesses for Christ. We are given the opportunity to pray, often very specifically. And we are given the opportunity to surrender things to God because we know we can't fix them in our own power. Finally, we sometimes have the wonderful opportunity to see God work in ways that only He can! This country, like any other, cannot reform itself but it CAN be transformed by God. There are people here who want to do their jobs with integrity. God is using righteous men and women to teach and influence community leaders here and it is having an impact, one righteous act at a time, like with my friend Jill and her recent court victory (STORY HERE).

Please join me in praying Luke 3:12-14 for the Democratic Republic of Congo and those who have positions of authority here.

Tax collectors also came to be baptized.

 "Teacher," they asked, "what should we do?" 

"Don't collect any more than you are required to," he told them.

Then some soldiers asked him, "And what should we do?"

He replied, "Don't extort money and don't accuse people falsely - be content with your pay."  

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

How do you feel about poo?

Every culture has its sayings and proverbs. Sometimes they are wry or silly, which makes them easier to remember, but they often convey a deeper truth. My newest post, "Just a Little Poo," is a reflection on a Congolese proverb and just went up on the MAF blog. Check it out!