I believe when we are walking with the Lord, Satan will try alter us from that path and tear us down in a range of ways. And to tell the truth, sometimes I think we give Satan a pretty easy job. Sometimes it's not all that difficult to get us distracted from the path we are walking. We can get sidetracked and our energy and focus can get consumed by details, but we're told in Ephesians 6:13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.
These challenges have been a good thing. Originally we had every intention of getting on a consistent schedule with devotions with the family, but life just got ahead of us. Yes, the kids were doing scripture in the day with homeschooling and we of course went to church on Sundays, but we were struggling to find the balance with all the details of getting settled. I was often at the guest house with teams one week and then Ron was at the guest house with teams alternating weeks. In the evenings when we were actually all together, frankly sometimes we were just tired and wanted to send everyone to bed and go to bed ourselves. Thankfully though, we then had this amazing group of teens stay with us. So, even before these challenges really came on strong, we had begun consistently doing devotions every evening as a family. That has been HUGE in keeping our faith and keeping us strong.
Some of the challenges have been minor: fire was coming out of our electrical sockets. We almost lost David's keyboard that amazingly made it here in our checked bags. Which reminds me, please keep a piano in prayer for our family. Maybe we can come across a missionary family that is moving out of the country and has a used piano for sale. :)
There is something wrong with a range of details in this amazing house that we live in. It is a HUGE house (well, I guess not incredibly huge for the size of our family), but not in our wildest imagination did we think we would ever live in a house this size or type in Haiti. We LOVE the home, but the unbelievably expensive inverter system works only certain things and there are all these limitations we are simply not accustomed to in the States. We do have electricity through much of the house on that battery system, but not when fire starts shooting out of the sockets. Ron has disconnected that particular socket, so we'll see what else can be done. We also discovered (through Naomi being zapped onto the floor) that we do not have grounded electricity.
I was touching something metal and had my arms in water actually and Naomi was touching something and then grabbed onto my leg and proceeded to cry saying, "It got me, it got me"....I thought she was talking about a bug (which she can tend to over react about), so I was looking around on the ground for the cockroach, ant, centipede, lizard, or whatever else may be "getting her". Since I didn't find anything, I went back to what I was doing after assuring her that everything is just fine, but I was wrong. She proceeded to run up to me again and that time it got both of us and knocked her right onto the ground.
So, since we do not have regular electricity, but do have this battery system, we have learned to function for the most part with what we have. We also do not have running water in the home, but when/if the city power turns on, then our pump works and we actually have water for a short period of time. So, in the evening, if we hear the pump turn on, we know the city power has kicked in. That evening, I proceeded to hear the pump, jump up, put on my head lamp on, and head out to the back where we have an amazing appliance that we have used all of maybe 5 times. It is hard to believe, but we have an actual Washing Machine!!
It really is the most amazing thing, but it mostly is amazing for it's washing ability (because honestly it doesn't do a very good job), but because of how it can spin the clothes really dry. That way when we hang them on the line, they do not take 2 or 3 days to dry. So, many times we actually hand wash the clothes in the day down by the water source and then put them in the washing machine just to spin them in the evening if the power kicks on. Then the next day we hang them on the line and do that whole process all over again.
That evening though, I actually attempted to do a load of wash with water in the washing machine, but something was amiss (something was banging against the wall of the washer), so I stopped the machine and was digging around in the washer trying to find out who may have left a screwdriver in the pocket or whatever it was that was hitting the wall of the washer. We have an extension cord that goes out back to plug the washer in and I had my hands in the water when we were zapped good.
But...I think I am sidetracked. The electrical issues are really not major challenges on the mission field. They just are details that can occupy our time. There are so many details that really consume a TON of time. The logistics of getting anything done is unbelievable. I literally spent over 3 hours watching ants crawl in a line at the doctors office on the 2nd day that we went to try to get our medical certificate to obtain residency in Haiti. On the second day (first day the doctor never came), we were told to come at 9 and the doctor may show up at 10 or 11, but put our name on the list. By 1:30, we were still sitting there. My phone had gone dead, so I could no longer respond to emails. I sat there in that office waiting area and it really felt like I was in a movie or something. We're sitting in this waiting area that has metal bars on all the windows (which is common everywhere in Haiti- even in our own home) and then outside the windows there is a concrete wall with razor wire around the top and a guard with a machine gun walking around outside. I began to look at their batteries and noticed they have 16 batteries running their system just like we do. That must be the standard I suppose. I wondered without a guard if someone would steel those batteries because I know they cost thousands of dollars.
Then I wondered about the people that came and went (a different doctor was actually there seeing children), so I talked to different children as they were waiting or crying or peeing on the floor. But...the last 3 hours I probably just watched millions of ants in a line going back and forth and wondered where are they going and how come they aren't carrying any food and why does every once in a while one turn around and go back the other direction. They all march in a line and they pass each other, but one must say to another something because once every hour or so one will turn and go back the other way. It's the oddest thing. And I realized though that maybe this is what it means to be a missionary: we are actually forced to slow down and just BE. This is challenging for someone from the states that runs 100 miles an hour in 10 (or more) different directions, but it is where the Lord has most definitely called us.
There have been other challenges from details of working with other believers to having to find another chair for my dissertation. Praise the Lord, I have a new chair now and can finally move forward once again. We have had a range of illnesses in the home and even currently I am sick and Christelle is sick, but thankfully all the others that have been sick are just fine. I guess with so many of us, we are bound to have someone sick most all the time. There have been financial challenges that have come with stepping out in faith, but not fully knowing how exactly it will all work out, but we feel blessed on that end as well. Even though we do not know how exactly it will work every month, God is good and we greatly appreciate those back home that are supporting us! We have certainly experienced some trials and struggles, but we stand in the knowledge that God is good all the time. We cannot let these details distract us from the work the Lord has called us to do. A verse in one of my favorite books of the bible reminds us: Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good, and acceptable, and perfect. Romans 12:2 (ESV)
We pray daily to know God's will and follow His path instead of our own. Thank you for all your prayers and support. I will try to keep everyone updated on a more regular basis. We cannot call at this time because some of the logistical challenges seems to have caused some issues with our phone's ability to operate through our internet.
No comments:
Post a Comment