It's been a challenging couple of weeks. Don, Savanah and I came down with... guess it's the flu and a horrid cold. Put baby on antibiotics and she started improving, so now Don and I are on them too. We should be well on the way to feeling a whole lot better.
Even with feeling sort of rotten, life goes on, so we have to keep on keeping on. And we are so thankful for some really great friends here, too. Our friend, Pastor Cebien, has started coming on Wednesday evenings and praying with us. That is such a great uplift for us. A couple of times he has brought along a few other pastors to pray too. It's been such a treat for us to be involved in his ministry this way. He prays for us, but we get to pray for him and for those who come along. We have another missionary couple who will be joining us in this, too. And Pastor Cebien also shares scripture that God lays on his heart with us. And we've been able to do the same. God is so faithful to put those we need in our lives when we need them.
We have had some awesome teaching at English church lately. This last Sunday we had a guest speaker, Rob (from the US). He shared on Job, and what he went through. Afterwards I asked him if someone had shared with him that one of the missionaries have said we are living in Job's house. He said nope, but the Lord knows what's going on. He was great!!
He shared mainly on chapters one and two of Job. While everyone remembers the trials Job had, no one remembers some of the interaction not only between Job and God, but the interaction between satan and God. After presenting the main theme of Job, Rob went on to concentrate on what God said to satan ABOUT Job. And He said it twice to him. He said, "There is no one on earth like him; he is blameless and upright, a man who fears God and shuns evil." (Chapter one verse 8). Rob said, no Job was not perfect, and was not sinless. But he was striving to be the kind of man God wanted him to be. Then Rob asked us.... "Are you someone God can claim that about?" Wow... that was a jolt. Yes, Job suffered more than any of us probably will. But, he continued to praise and honor God through all of it. When you read Chapter one, verses 20 through 22... you see how we should be. "At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship and said; 'Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; May the name of the Lord be praised.' In all this, Job did not sin by charging God with wrongdoing." (NIV). No, we don't need to tear our clothing, or shave our heads, but we do need to praise God IN all situations. (I Thess. 5: 18). When we were saved, God didn't promise we could not go through trials. He promised He would be WITH us IN those trials. Rob's message contained much more than this, but in our situation lately, this was brought home BIG TIME! It's a lesson we needed to hear, for sure.
We have been blessed the last week, too. One of the missions here is housing their teams in the dorm. Why is this a blessing??? Well, in the evenings, when we have no power and have to use our small generator, we have no water. But with the team here, each evening they use the bigger generator for the dorm, and the pump house is on that, and WE HAVE WATER in the evenings. Not a huge big deal, but evenings is when I like to shower, so I've REALLY enjoyed it. And giving Savanah a bath at night helps her sleep better, so it's a double blessing.
Carnival (Mardi Gras) is upon us now. The city has been shut down for motorized traffic. Not sure just how they are handling that, but it's what was put into effect. They have decorations and booths all over. I haven't seen it, but Don and some of the other missionaries were in before they shut down the roads. This weekend is the culmination of the celebrations. And Tuesday is the official DAY of Mardi Gras. So, we are at home not planning on leaving the compound until at least Wednesday. Don did make a delivery this morning, but not far from here. This weekend is a "catch-up" time for work that needs to get done here. We can hear the celebrations at night, but are not a part of this.
Have gotten a couple of really good movies via Net Flix this last week. The one that stood out was "Last flight out", about a missionary in South America. Great movie. We are so thankful we can get and watch some good movies. We have our own copies of the Sherwood films (Facing the Giants, Courageous, etc...) and have shared them with others. There really still are good movies out there if you just look a bit.
I guess my time on here is up... I hear the baby calling. She really is good when she wakes up... she'll sit and play and talk in her crib for a while. But then she thinks we don't know she is up and she starts calling. Please pray for her situation with the adoption. I have a had a couple more leads into things that may help, but don't know if it will work or not. Only the Lord knows, but we'll keep moving until He shows us differently. Please pray that we will have the wisdom to LISTEN to what the Lord is saying and act on His guidance.
Until next time, please remember to keep Jesus in mind in all you do. Strive to respond like Job did.... Praising God and lifting Him up, no matter what happens. Blessings to you all, and we are praying God will guide you, along with us, in all we do!!
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