We just got the word that our third daughter was admitted into the hospital this morning and is facing surgery in a few minutes. There is question as to what it actually is, and so they will be exploring a bit - could be appendicitis or something ovarian. She has been admitted to the same hospital that Ann trained at years ago and that is both good and bad. She knows it a good hospital but she also knows that students learn to do surgery there so that is the other side!
So here we are - helpless. And to top it off, the Internet isn't working well so we're making phone calls instead of skype calls - running up costs quickly. And that isn't working well as our local cell phone carrier only works about half the time. And our text messages aren't going through - which has been an inexpensive way to get basic information relayed. All of our normal venues of communication are failing. And we've been feeling low for a while now for a variety of different reasons and this is like one more hot knife in the gut. Lord, help us understand. Protect our precious one.
And if just the event isn't enough, she has no health insurance because she is no longer on ours and has no job that pays insurance. So, here we sit. Do we stick Ann on the plane or not?
It's all so daunting on so many levels. Our hearts are so heavy.
To end on a little better note, this morning we attended one of our churches where the National leaders had to come and explain to the congregation why they were removing their pastor from responsibilities for the church. I don't want to go into details on the problem but it is one we've faced with others in leadership this year and it just pains us deep in our hearts. The leaders handled it so graciously and then rapidly shifted the emphasis to the two precious men who have been leading the church as lay leaders for some time now and the baton was passed to them through pray as they were given a vote of confidence by leadership of the denomination in front of the congregation. The entire process was handled so graciously and made us so proud of our denominational leaders. One of them was exhausted emotionally afterwards and we (Dave) just sat together and talked about the difficulties of leadership and some of the challenges before us as a mission and a young fledging denomination. It was a precious time of heart-felt sharing and prayer.
I feel like we have been under some sort of attack for so long now and the attacks come from every possible place. Heartbreak, unwarranted criticism, and betrayal have had taken a heavy toll on us. This day continues as one of immense battle, heartbreak, and questioning. In many ways, our time here since returning last August has been one of heartbreak followed by heartbreak, followed by heartbreak. And yet, we know that He remains faithful; we know He called us here. My advice to anyone considering missionary service would be to be confident in the Call - as without it, the work is truly impossible, the emotional cost immense. But there is great peace being under the shadow of His wings and moments of amazing awe when we see His hand move for we can truly do nothing absent of Him.
In this morning's devotional time, I was studying King Hezekiah and trying to understand better why God looked upon him with such favor, describing him in 2 Kings 18 as "Hezekiah trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all th kings of Judah, either before him or after him. He held fast to the LORD and did not cease to follow him....he was successful in whatever he undertook." In the account in 2 Chronicles, 29-31, we see a pattern: he took action to restore the nation before God, there was a time of consecration where the leaders and the people repented and returned to the Lord, and THEN, the Bible says that the "hand of God was on the people to give them unity of mind to carry out what the king and his officials had ordered, following the word of the Lord." That was followed by worship and a time of great blessing. And his life is summarized in 2 Chronicles 31: 20 and 21 as follows: He did what "was good and right and faithful before the Lord his God" and in everything that he undertook, "he sought his God and worked wholeheartedly - and so he prospered." Tremendous lesson in all of this.
He was resisted, maligned, and not everyone followed. But, there was great blessing that started with seeking God and working wholeheartedly - the same words God used to describe King David, who God loved.
May we be so faithful to trust God. Truly trust God.
Show your hand dear Lord, in our lives, on our precious daughter, in the fragile work that we do for we love you and seek to be obedient before you. We have laid our lives before you - please show your hand of mercy.
Dave & Ann
"In You, O LORD, I put my trust; Let me never be ashamed; Deliver me in Your righteousness." Ps 31:1
So here we are - helpless. And to top it off, the Internet isn't working well so we're making phone calls instead of skype calls - running up costs quickly. And that isn't working well as our local cell phone carrier only works about half the time. And our text messages aren't going through - which has been an inexpensive way to get basic information relayed. All of our normal venues of communication are failing. And we've been feeling low for a while now for a variety of different reasons and this is like one more hot knife in the gut. Lord, help us understand. Protect our precious one.
And if just the event isn't enough, she has no health insurance because she is no longer on ours and has no job that pays insurance. So, here we sit. Do we stick Ann on the plane or not?
It's all so daunting on so many levels. Our hearts are so heavy.
To end on a little better note, this morning we attended one of our churches where the National leaders had to come and explain to the congregation why they were removing their pastor from responsibilities for the church. I don't want to go into details on the problem but it is one we've faced with others in leadership this year and it just pains us deep in our hearts. The leaders handled it so graciously and then rapidly shifted the emphasis to the two precious men who have been leading the church as lay leaders for some time now and the baton was passed to them through pray as they were given a vote of confidence by leadership of the denomination in front of the congregation. The entire process was handled so graciously and made us so proud of our denominational leaders. One of them was exhausted emotionally afterwards and we (Dave) just sat together and talked about the difficulties of leadership and some of the challenges before us as a mission and a young fledging denomination. It was a precious time of heart-felt sharing and prayer.I feel like we have been under some sort of attack for so long now and the attacks come from every possible place. Heartbreak, unwarranted criticism, and betrayal have had taken a heavy toll on us. This day continues as one of immense battle, heartbreak, and questioning. In many ways, our time here since returning last August has been one of heartbreak followed by heartbreak, followed by heartbreak. And yet, we know that He remains faithful; we know He called us here. My advice to anyone considering missionary service would be to be confident in the Call - as without it, the work is truly impossible, the emotional cost immense. But there is great peace being under the shadow of His wings and moments of amazing awe when we see His hand move for we can truly do nothing absent of Him.
In this morning's devotional time, I was studying King Hezekiah and trying to understand better why God looked upon him with such favor, describing him in 2 Kings 18 as "Hezekiah trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all th kings of Judah, either before him or after him. He held fast to the LORD and did not cease to follow him....he was successful in whatever he undertook." In the account in 2 Chronicles, 29-31, we see a pattern: he took action to restore the nation before God, there was a time of consecration where the leaders and the people repented and returned to the Lord, and THEN, the Bible says that the "hand of God was on the people to give them unity of mind to carry out what the king and his officials had ordered, following the word of the Lord." That was followed by worship and a time of great blessing. And his life is summarized in 2 Chronicles 31: 20 and 21 as follows: He did what "was good and right and faithful before the Lord his God" and in everything that he undertook, "he sought his God and worked wholeheartedly - and so he prospered." Tremendous lesson in all of this.
He was resisted, maligned, and not everyone followed. But, there was great blessing that started with seeking God and working wholeheartedly - the same words God used to describe King David, who God loved.
May we be so faithful to trust God. Truly trust God.
Show your hand dear Lord, in our lives, on our precious daughter, in the fragile work that we do for we love you and seek to be obedient before you. We have laid our lives before you - please show your hand of mercy.
Dave & Ann
"In You, O LORD, I put my trust; Let me never be ashamed; Deliver me in Your righteousness." Ps 31:1
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