ok. that was the WORST road i have ever traveled on. twelve hours of bumps and stops and all of us crammed in that little old SUV. that included a one hour delay while we waited on a mountainside for a landslide to be cleared away. one truck had even rolled off the road and almost down the hill when part of the road gave way. so when we finally made it to city #2 on island #3, we just headed straight for KFC... :)
i was reminded how a pioneering worker was asked one time by a potential worker about whether or not there was a good road where he was, to which the veteran replied, "we're not looking for people who will come if there is a good road. we're looking for those who will come if there is no road at all."
for our team it was a great picture of what our friends and their local partners are willing to do on a consistent basis in order to bring good news to these ones living in darkness. 12 hours. pretty much the remaining peoples who are still unreached are that way because they are the harder groups to reach.
i'm hardly able to take 12 minutes and go reach out to my neighbor. how am i doing?
as we drove into the city last night, we were driving around a large bay. it was pitch black - the darkness of the water stretched out as far as we could see. except for a few scattered lights that were actually out in the water. turns out it was people fishing. and it struck me that this was a perfect metaphor for these people. the darkness is everywhere. everyone we met today made a point of telling us that all people in this group are of the same religion. 100 percent. they are quite adamant and proud about this. and a handful of people - at great personal risk and effort - are faithfully fishing for souls.
once again - such a privilege to see what our friends have been a part of in this area for some 20 years. and again, we are grateful for your prayers. this area we are in now in particular has been very resistant and hard on workers. one more day here - we meet with some of those who are actually engaged in this area tomorrow - and then we head back to island #1 the next day to fly back.
just one or two tummy issues in our group, but other than that things are good. we found magnums - excellent. ask me to tell you about that sometime... :)
now4then...
Wow... that was a powerful post. As someone who is getting ready to teach on how the gospel is the light of the glory of Christ, it was especially moving. I get glimpses of darkness to be sure, but the thought of a completely dark place is overwhelming. I am so thankful that the darkness will never extinguish the light. I am also thankful you are doing well and are coming alongside the workers who minister there daily. I can't wait to hear all your stories in person.
ReplyDeleteOh... and the Mavs are up 2-0 over the Lakers. =) I know Meri and Marla want to know this.
ReplyDeleteah, wow. so good to hear from you. so amazing to hear what you are experiencing. I wish I could experience it with you! We are praying for you. So glad you are there. But we'll be glad when you're home, too. =) We're having a really good week, thankfully. I feel the prayers of those who are praying for us. I found out tonight that Joshko's first baseball game is Saturday morning. I will try to video some of it for you. He got to learn some jump kicks tonight in karate. Very cool. Michaela and Sean are doing well too, but Sean is definitely missing you. I love you, sweetie!
ReplyDeleteoh, and Magnums! nice! that will get you through anything. =) guess what!! Magnums have made it to The States!!! true story. can't wait to have one.
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