Little Things

Rainbow among clouds

If you’ve been following our blog at all these past few weeks you’ll know that we’ve had a rough time of it.  When things are hard, it’s not always easy to see the light at the end of the tunnel, to feel joy or to be thankful, but this past week there have been a number of little things that helped to restore the soul. Little things that remind us to be thankful.

The first is a simple thing, but one that I often take for granted.  We live on a tropical island!  Every morning I can climb to our roof balcony and look out over the morning light glistening upon the vast ocean waters.  I can turn and see the sharp green jungle peaks of our  small volcanic island.  Sometimes the sky is a clean, clear blue.  Other days it is filled with puffy clouds.  And many a cloudy day, early in the morning, we will see a rainbow.  I am thankful for rainbows, and mountains and blue oceans.

For our anniversary, our teammates agreed to watch the kids over the weekend.  Megan and I were able to go hiking.  We followed a trail that led us along a mostly secluded beach and then turned inland and climbed one of the mountain peaks.  Later that night we went to a nice restaurant.  It was relaxing and rejuvenating and I am so thankful for a wonderful spouse and for wonderful teammates who would allow us to have this time together.

Every week I meet with some guys and we talk about the important books and the two kingdoms.  At times it feels like we are talking in circles and not getting anywhere.  This week as I was waiting for my friends to show up, two other people were hanging around who seemed interested in talking.  So I ended up telling them about the two kingdoms.  I’m thankful to be able to share the important things of life with the people of the islands.

Anniversary hike

I’ve been teaching a teachers’ training class in a village outside of the capital city.  It’s an hour taxi ride to get there.  But the teachers are eager to learn and a fun group and they live in one of the prettiest villages on the island. Twice a week I step out of the taxi and find myself feeling thankful for a good class and a chance to come to this beautiful village.

A bunch of our island friends have given birth.  We’ve had the privilege to hold four different newborns in the past two weeks.  As we look at these tiny lives, hope grows in our hearts.  I’m thankful for new life.

It has been a hard time lately, and I’m not trying to say that we can “just look on the bright side of life” and that the hard things will all be better.  But amidst the darkness there is always life and truth to be found, and that is an encouraging thought.

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PRAYERS ANSWERED
We have heard news that Ma Imani’s surgery went well in Madagascar. They were able to remove the problem and don’t believe it is serious. They are just waiting test results to confirm that the cyst was benign. We are thankful for all the things mentioned above. It feels like we (and our teammates) have turned a corner and are in healthier places after some hard few months. We’re thankful that we serve one who is faithful and walks with us and give us the above reminders. We were thankful to our teammates for watching the kids— the kids had a great time and we had a nice break together too.

PRAYERS REQUESTED
We are making some plans for the coming years and writing up documents that will hopefully prepare the way for us to welcome new workers to our team. Pray for good direction and guidance as we look to the future that they would be His plans, not ours. No news about what is going to happen politically on the islands, but schools are getting ready to reopen and some teachers are already planning on striking since they haven’t been paid for past work. Continue to pray for the group Tom is meeting with and for more opportunities with new people. We’ve heard that Megan’s grandfather’s health is declining— please pray for him and Megan’s grandmother and other family as they process this news and prepare themselves.