Updates
Contrasts.
This month hasn’t gone like we anticipated, but it has been full of God’s blessings!
Ethan graduated the eighth grade with the flu. The poor boy actually fainted out at the dinner table the night before, and could hardly walk down the isle to receive his diploma, but he did! We packed up and left the next morning for a family vacation and some time in the capitol city for passport renewals and furniture shopping. The living room of this mission house was in dire need of some seating, (we’d been using our plastic porch chairs) and the Lord provided some money specifically for furniture through some dear supporters! We knew the normal cost of sofas in Lima, and started praying for a miracle. In the last store that we visited, we found two floor model couches on final sale for the exact amount of money that was given. Praise God! We should always pray expecting a miracle, and knowing that no detail of our lives is too small for God to care about!
During those few, very cold days in Lima, we all passed the flu around, (so much fun while shopping) but Vann took it up a notch. He developed pneumonia. By the time we got to the northern coast for some time of rest, he was extraordinarily sick. He was coughing up blood, and trembling with fevers. This particular town doesn’t have a hospital, or clinic, or anywhere to go for help within a hundred miles, but they do have a pharmacy which had all of the medication he needed. By God’s grace, that helped him turn the corner. Pneumonia is no joke. What a delightful place to rest and recover with the salty air and the sound of the surf, even though we would have preferred to have our Vann healthy to enjoy our time away, we are grateful. This sickness has knocked him for a loop. We’ve been home for a week and a half, and he is almost as sick as when we got home. The massive cough and the extreme fatigue have clung to him, and from what I’ve learned, that may last for quite some time. After a couple of hours of work in the mornings, it takes little encouragement to get him to lie down. I have never seen him like this. Please pray for a quick and complete recovery!
Even with all of the sickness during our travels, we had several opportunities to share the good news of Jesus with several people along the way. The sweetness of His love touched the lives of friends and strangers alike. We are so very grateful that He uses us in His kingdom work.
One of the more difficult realities of our lives as long-term missionaries is having to say goodbye to so many of our fellow missionaries. Our dear friends and neighbors of fourteen years moved away recently. Their girls were ours to keep for the last couple of months, and were some of the closest friends our girls had here on our dirt road so far removed from the city. To say that they are dear friends is truly an understatement – they are family. This is the kind of suffering that is easy to be grateful for because it is an indication of much love given and received.
On a happier note, Vann’s mom is here! She is always such a joy and an encouragement for us to have here, and we are so very thankful for the time that we get to spend together. She has gifted us not only with her presence, but also with beautiful, skillfully crafted quilts that she made for each of us! There is one for each child, (matching their rooms of course) and the most beautiful quilt I’ve ever seen for our master bedroom. It is difficult to describe the joy that we feel to be able to have heirloom gifts here in the jungle, where most things like that are part of the sacrifice of leaving our birth country. God cares so much about every detail of our lives.
A brand new filly was born to the farm yesterday! She is so lovely, and we can’t wait to see what her personality is like! They are each so unique. We also had a small litter of three puppies born to our German shepherd this week. Needless to say, we are loving all of the babies!
This summer we are taking the time in the evenings to listen to the audio version of Frank Peretti’s “This Present Darkness” as a family. We listen while we each have a craft or something busy to do with our hands. This is not only a teaching opportunity for our children to learn the importance of prayer in our spiritual battles, but also a good reminder for ourselves. We’ve noticed a growing trend in our culture of trivializing the spiritual realm, and forgetting to be cautious of things that may be a threat to our families. As the saying goes, "The finest trick of the devil is to convince you that he does not exist”. We want to train our children to be sensitive and aware that our fight is not with the people around us, but with the powers and principalities of the enemy. Sure, it's a little more blatant here with witches and shamans in every village, but it exists everywhere. We must remain vigilant. Thank you all for your prayers for us. Please keep lifting us up to the throne of Grace.
· Please pray for Vann’s health, for healing and strength so that he can get back to all of the base projects and work that is weighing so heavily on him.
· Please pray for our house helper Milka’s health, and for her husband’s salvation.
· Pray with us for the salvation of some of our dearest friends and some newer ones.
· Please pray for Aurora’s family – their motorcar was stolen this week.
· Please continue to pray for Felipe’s hand – of which he still has very limited use.
· Praise God for healing and strengthening me more and more!
· Praise God for His provision in furnishing this mission house!
This month seems like it’s been full of contrasts. Sickness and health, loss and new life, rest and battles, jungle and desert, family and strangers that feel like family. There is so much beauty and depth in contrasts, and our great God is in control of it all! All for the glory of His great name!
"The destined end of man is not happiness, nor health, but holiness." – Oswald Chambers