Waves

 Most of the island beaches don’t get big waves.

Storm brings big waves

We have a colleague who likes to surf but he’s only found a couple beaches on the islands where it is even possible and then only on the right day. But every once and awhile a storm system will make the ocean violent and then the waves come. Big ones will come crashing up on the roads. The spray will wet cars and the undertow can carry pieces of pavement and stones with them.

A new COVID wave is coming upon the island. It is already crashing hard on the big island. One of our colleagues there said that basically everyone is sick.

But on our island, people still don’t seem to believe it. Some think COVID has already come and gone or they believe the government made it up from the beginning. The previous waves weren’t as violent as the dire predictions given about COVID, thus convincing some islanders that it was all made up and the previous ‘COVID waves’ were only the normal seasonal illnesses that people get every year.

Not many masks at wedding event!

One of our medical teammates tested positive last week. Tom was at a meeting when he found out and quickly put a mask on and started to distance himself from the group, but all his maskless friends laughed and told him that those precautions were unnecessary. He kept his mask on all the same.

Just as the signs of the global wave getting ready to hit the islands, the president announced a 5-day break from schools and work for a vaccination push! A solid response, but the announcement continued to say that after the 5-day push, all the public and indoor wedding venues would reopen for big group gatherings. Meanwhile, the 5-day break from work and school has been packed filled with wedding events. Yesterday there were 4 different weddings happening at the same time within short walks of our house.

At one event they were handing out masks and giving hand gel at the entrance, but out of the 100+ people attending, less than 5 actually wore masks. Most islanders have stopped even carrying masks with them and it is only the threatened fines by the government that would get them to start wearing them again.

A plane of islanders arrived in France over the weekend and 50% of the passengers tested positive on arrival at the airport! The wave is here!

The thing with waves— you can see them coming, you can prepare yourself for their impact, but you can’t really stop them for coming. So we pray, we brace ourselves, we do our best to respond responsibly and we’ll see how it plays out.

Hope you all had a Merry Christmas!

PRAYERS ANSWERED
Only one of Dunga’s family ended up wanting to meet with her, but he wanted to bring a local teacher with him. Dunga has refused and told him to talk to her alone. Continue to pray. Our annual Christmas party with our English Club went well— it wasn’t a big group as we competed against a lot of other events, but our neighbors’ wedding event (with its loud music) had ended in time for us to have a good evening. Our teammate made it back home with her luggage in time for Christmas with her family. Our time as a team and family for the holiday went well, though we were sad that one of our teammates had to be isolated because of COVID.

PRAYERS REQUESTED
Please pray for the islands in the midst of this COVID wave. We just received a message that four island sisters that were together on the 24th have tested positive. May cases be mild and herd immunity reached quickly.Pray for our teammate with COVID— this is her third time getting it and she has continued to struggle with long COVID symptoms. Pray for relief from all the aches and pains. Another teammate is meant to travel on Wednesday to meet up with family for vacation over the New Year— it is a difficult time to travel. Pray for negative COVID tests and wise decision making for all those traveling at this time. Pray that all of us on the islands could be bright lights for love and truth at this time.

Joy & Love

The 4 themes of advent are Hope, Peace, Joy and Love. 

Advent colorings from years past

Every year we remember these words and use them to enliven our thoughts and prayers of the Christmas season.  It’s become a bit of a tradition to find coloring pages with each of these words on them and for the kids to color them each weekend of advent.  Then we hang them around the house, to remind us of these wonderful realities that have come into the world and into our hearts.  

But this year we’ve been reflecting on them in a new way.  A bit of divine inspiration caused us to use these words as the themes for our English clubs the last two weeks. The insights have been meaningful.

The first week we organized a simple game in which we passed a ball to someone and said one of the 4 Advent words.  That person was then required to share a small anecdote about experiencing this word from their life.  (We gave them a few minutes to try to think of a story for each word, so nothing would take them by surprise.)  Thus, we threw the ball to one person and said, “Peace”  The one who caught the ball came up with the story of when his mother was very sick and went to the hospital.  When she was better, they all felt peace.  And so the game went on to the next couple people, each telling a small anecdote, until someone threw the ball and said, “Love!”  The one who caught the ball had no story.  He couldn’t think of anything.  We gave him a different word and continued to play, but then the ball was passed to another and the word “Love” was repeated.  And again the person had no story.  We were very careful to explain that we were not talking about romantic love, but loving your mother or father, a friend, etc.  Still they couldn’t come up with anything.  “That one is very difficult,” one of them said, and then all the others nodded their head in agreement—it was difficult for them to think of a story about experiencing love.  

“and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all…”

Newly colored JOY

The next week we decided to approach the words from a different angle.  We asked the questions like:

“How would a hopeful person respond if they didn’t have any money or job?”
“How would a peaceful person respond if a thief robbed their house?”
“How would a joyful person respond if they see a beautiful sunset?”
“How would a loving person respond if a beggar asks them for money?”

We asked the opposite as well: “How would a hopeless person respond,” etc.

And at first this was difficult for them to answer.  They were confused. “If you didn’t have any money, then you will not be hopeful,” they explained.  They understood these words as emotional reactions to situations we encounter, not as steady realities of the heart.  Thus you are joyful when you pass your exam and crushed when you don’t.  You are peaceful when everything is okay and anxious when things are wrong.  But we challenged them to think about a person whose heart is always hopeful—no matter what the circumstances.  Then they started to think of examples, “The hopeful person who has no job and no money doesn’t give up. They keep searching, because they have hope that they fill find something.”  Or “The peaceful person can say ‘Praise God’ even when his house is robbed.”  There were many smiles as they thought about what a person with these qualities would be like in difficult situations.  It felt like a breakthrough in their understanding.

Is joy a reaction to circumstances or from within?

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”

At Christmas, we remember where these heart realities come from.  How the Light that brings Hope, Joy, Love and Peace came into the world to give them to all who call on his name.  As Christmas approaches we hope you will be able to reflect on how much each of us needs these things—Love, Joy, Peace, and Hope—to not just react to our circumstances but to have our heart filled and so to rise above our circumstances. How different could our lives, the world be? May it be!

PRAYERS ANSWERED
We were able to get our computer back up and running with our latest backup— we are very thankful! The sick teammate for whom we asked prayer is feeling much better, but now another has gotten sick. Please continue to pray for health. Our traveling teammate got a negative COVID test and made it off the islands, but got held up in mainland Africa as airlines/countries keep changing their COVID policies, so she has had a rebook/reroute twice. Please pray that she can make it all the way home for the holidays without any further difficulties. Our small-island colleagues’ travels back to Clove Island were much smoother than their first boat ride and they made it back home to the small island safely. Tom had a good talk with an island brother that just reaffirmed their trust in each other and their willingness to work together to reach out to others.  

PRAYERS REQUESTED
Please pray for Dunga. Her father’s side of the family have scheduled a family meeting to confront her about her beliefs on Dec 26th (previously it was her mother’s side). Pray for peace for her, for soft hearts among her family and for her to have the right words to respond to their concerns. We are having our annual Christmas party with our English Club on Wednesday, but we haven’t been getting big groups lately and that night we will be competing with a wedding event next door. Pray that we would still get a good group of people and that all that come would hear and understand good news. Pray for our teammates as they share both in group or individual settings about the holiday (one is having a party, others are showing a film, all will be visiting friends). Pray for our team’s celebration of Christmas— it is a time of year where homesickness can be hard— pray for a sweet time as a team-family. Pray also since our neighbors in our same building are having a wedding on Christmas day— pray that the music wouldn’t be so loud that we couldn’t enjoy the holiday in our home (sometimes wedding music can be deafening).

For Every Advance, A Double Assault

We were talking together before prayer about all the different things that seemed to plague the family of light here—sickness, unemployment, accidents, jealousy, persecution, complications with outside-money, infighting, betrayers, liars, and con-men.

Tom and two friends

Our one island brother looked at us and said, “Every time something good happens, it’s like we are doubly hit—like for every advance, there is a double assault.  We should expect it!   We can’t back down.  When we run and hide or get scared we lose ground.  We must stand firm.  This is the way things will move forward.”

Who would have thought we would have evidence of it the very week he spoke of it?

First of all there was the advance—nothing seemingly great—a small gathering of friends.  Men who didn’t know each other but were all searchers and readers and seekers of truth.  It is not easy to arrange such a gathering, as simple as it may sound.  There were risks and logistical difficulties to consider.  After weeks of talking about it, we only had it scheduled a few days ahead of time, but in the end, it happened.  The gathering was a success and connections were made—doors were opened to new possibilities for relationship and study.  We were thankful and joyful.

Thankful and joyful despite the fact that our house had been burgled the previous day.

Door being secured after break-in

Even though our house was full with guests and we rise early in the morning, a bold thief forced open our latched back door and went through our house as we slept.  He got money out of wallets and purses and then turned to steal the electronics.  He apparently didn’t get far before he was spooked and ran off with our son’s backpack, a couple solar lights and some speakers. The first assault.

We were mostly thankful that the thief was not more successful. He had moved some of our electronics and computers, but hadn’t taken them. We were also very thankful that no one was hurt.  (Violent crime is not common on the islands, but a cornered man is potentially dangerous.) So despite the loss of money and some handy things, we rejoiced in God’s protection.  

But there was still discouragement to come.  Tuesday was the break-in.  Wednesday was the gathering.  Thursday we woke to find our computer stuck in a login loop.  A routine update had crashed our computer.  We don’t live near a mac store.  There is no genius bar.  Computer problems are serious business—and since our computers hold most of our information and work, a computer crash is very discouraging.  But even in this, there was hope.

We are usually not good about backing up our computers.  We remember about once every 3 to 6 months.  But we had just happened to do it last week—Sunday, in fact.  So though a thief meant to steal our computers on Tuesday and one of them crashed on Thursday, all our hard drives were recently backed up—a miracle.  And even though the computer was “stuck” it did not seem “dead” and that too gave us hope.  It has taken many google searches, on-line chats, and downloads, but it looks like our computer is close to being back to normal.  (Another miracle.)

In the meantime, we had plenty of soul searching.  Would any of these things cause us to despair?  No!  Would we walk away or distract us from our greater purposes?  No!  We will not be discouraged.  Our treasure is not in computers or stuff.  If one gathering leads to more gatherings, new life and households of peace, then a loss of a computer— would be more than worth it.  

“Every time something good happens, it’s like we are doubly hit—like for every advance there is a double assault.  We should expect it!   We can’t back down.  When we run and hide or get scared we lose ground.  We must stand firm.  This is the way things will move forward.”  Amen, brother!

Fun with neighbors

PRAYERS ANSWERED
We are thankful that the celebration meeting with seekers happened and good connections seemed to happen— please pray that there would be follow-up and lasting connections made. We are thankful that our backdoor was made more secure after the robbery and that the suspected thief was apprehended. Our vision-tripper made it back safely all the way home to the US. Her trip went well and we await her thoughts on longterm plans after more prayer and reflection. We’ve heard that Dunga seems more confident and courageous in the midst of the pressures from her family. Praise God. Our medical teammate is feeling better after being sick last week.

PRAYERS REQUESTED
Please pray for health on the islands. This is the time of year when different illnesses go around  and one of our teammates is sick with a nasty sinus infection (the third time this year). Pray for quick healing for her and protection from further disease for our team (especially those planning on traveling). One teammate is scheduled to travel home for the holidays at the end of this week— pray that she gets her negative COVID test and that all her flights go smoothly. Please pray that we can get our main computer completely up and running again with the latest backup. That would be a nice gift to us. Pray also for our small-island colleagues as they pass back through Clove Island later this week— their boat trip to the French Island was rough. Pray for smooth seas, strong stomachs and no complications on their return trip and for the different errands they hope to complete before returning to the small island on the weekend. Pray for our plans to share the light of holidays with others… through giving of our annual proverb calendars, sharing storybooks and our annual Christmas party— may our team and islanders be sharing good news boldly at this time of year.

Hope & Peace

Baby friend liked our decorations

We love Advent. 

We like the tradition of lighting candles each night (we do it at mealtime) and keeping track of the approach of Christmas with different advent calendars.  We also love the 4 theme words of Advent: Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love.  We don’t know who came up with these traditions, but they are good ones.  We enjoy the opportunity it brings to reflect on these different words—words that are so much a part of the good news.  If you think about it, it is possible to tell the entire story of the good news 4 times using each of these words as the central theme each time.  Don’t believe us?  Try it out with your family or friends.  You may be surprised by the blessing it will be.  Or reflect for just a moment on each theme.  

The good news takes us out of despair and brings us into eternal, steadfast hope.  

The good news transforms our anxious, rebelling, war-weary hearts in a broken war-weary world and brings us into everlasting peace that can remains even in the face of suffering.  

The good news takes our weeping, our heaviness, our shame, our hard and jaded lives and gives us an unexplainable joy that shines out to others and brings life in the midst of darkness.  

The good news takes our anger, our bitterness, our judgmentalism, or hatred, our stone hearts and gives us a new heart, that overflows with love that is not our own and that is vaster than the oceans.

How wonderful is the good news!  It changes everything!

This past week we have had both moments of hope and peace that have encouraged us and we hope will encourage you too:

Special pancake

Hope
Hope usually means having a long-term view. A long-term view requires patience.  Last week we were talking about those who had come before us.  Some of them had worked here for years without seeing any fruit.  Some of them saw plants sprout up but only to see it wither in the sun or be choked by the cares of this world.  Recently a visitor who had worked on the islands many years before came to visit.  He reflected on how few people passed things onto their children.  Yet today we can think of at least 4 families who are doing just that and whose children know a different way of life.  He also reflected on how they had never had any of the written word in the island language.  Today islanders are reading and studying in their own language and the work goes forward!  There is still a long way to go, but we have great hope!  Great things are possible!  Like Abraham, we may not see it is, but we trust in the promise and our hope is sure.

Peace
If you’ve been reading the blog carefully, you may have noticed we’ve been asking for prayer for Tom’s friend Fakhadi.  (Check out this blog from January to refresh your memory about him.)  In the past month he has not had peace.  His family was greatly worried about him.  He stopped going out, going to work, going to pray.  He was not leaving his room.  He was not returning calls.  Tom’s friend, the Pharisee, was having some sort of crisis.  After multiple calls and visits I (Tom) was able to go and meet him, speak with him, offer him the opportunity to find peace.  He appeared to be interested.  Unfortunately this week, Fakhadi is feeling better and seems like he has returned to his “old self”.  He tells me he has peace and that the peace I offer him is false, but at the same time his family can see that he does not have peace.  

Conversely, our sister ‘Dunga’ is weathering a storm.  Her family is making life difficult for her.  She does not know what will happen.  The future is uncertain.  She may even be kicked out of her home.  And yet, she is finding peace in the midst of the storm.

At recent event

Hope, Peace, Joy and Love.  May you know each in turn this Advent season and celebrate many good-news moments in your lives too.

PRAYERS ANSWERED
Megan is feeling much better. Thank you for praying! Our vision tripper made it safely to Clove Island and has been learning a lot about our team and island culture— pray that it would make the way forward for her clear. We have colleagues from the small island visiting right now as they head to the French Island for vacation— it is encouraging to see how God is at work in their family.

PRAYERS REQUESTED
Continue to pray for Dunga. She’s heard that her father’s side of the family want to confront her as well. Pray for hope, peace, joy and love to abound in her heart. It is really hot and humid! Pray for our energy levels in the hot season. Pray for our vision tripper as she travels back home to the US this coming week— it is a complicated time to travel internationally. On Wednesday, Tom is hoping to celebrate with some men he has been studying with and hopefully connect them to other islanders who have gone through the same process of seeking and study. Pray for blessed interactions and for continuing interest. One of our medical teammates has been very sick— she tested negative for COVID and dengue, pray for quick and full healing for her. Pray for that the light of good news would shine brightly on Clove Island in this Advent season!

Weathering the Storm

 One of our island sisters that we’ll call ‘Dunga’ is in the middle of a storm.

Pressure to follow the crowd is strong

Many people ask us what happens here on the islands when people make decisions to follow, when they let go of the commonly held beliefs of the islands and live a life that is different. It is hard to respond to that question because part of it depends on the person and whether they were open during their journey of seeking, questioning and finding answers. People whose families walked through the process with them are much more likely to accept where they ended up. Mostly it is from their own families where trouble and pressure to conform usually comes. If the greater community gets involved it is usually indirectly, to pressure the family to clamp down on their errant family member. If police or other authorities get involved it is often only at the request of the family.

Dunga is not very close to her family. Hurts and conflicts in her younger years means that they have not had a front row seat to her journey. She changed her path several years ago, but it is only now that strict followers of island traditions within her extended family have felt the need to call her out. There was an organized confrontation with her mother’s side of the family (and she’s heard one for her father’s side is being planned). They brought up various accusations (some false, some misunderstandings, some true). She was able to say her piece, but ultimately they left her with the threat that they would give her time to conform or she would have to leave the family home.

One of our brothers knows about the storm. Years ago he went through it and it was hard. He was attacked with words and fists. He was put in prison for a time. But he made it through to the other side and his advice to others is to hold tight, don’t run away, it will get better. Now he is very open with what he believes and how he chooses to live his life differently. He is not keeping any secrets. Everyone in his town knows and leaves him be. He speaks words of encouragement and words of hope to those facing pressure and suffering at the hands of their family and neighbors— they can get through it. The storm will pass.

Pressure to conform starts young

What gets you through a tough storm? The first week of advent (which just started on Sunday) is about hope— not a flimsy hope—but a secure one of trusting and waiting. This is a hope backed with promises, power and assurance. Hope like that is what gets you through the storm. Hope like that allows you to imagine yourself on the other side of the difficulties. Hope like that helps you know that you are not alone even if you sometimes feel like you are. Hope like that sees that there is power working for your good.

May Dunga be filled with hope and peace! The storm won’t necessarily be short or easy and we don’t minimize the suffering that might be ahead of her, but we pray for strength, wisdom and love to flow through her throughout these difficult days.

Thanksgiving feast!

PRAYERS ANSWERED
Our short-termer made it over to the French island where she will be for the next six months.  We had a very good time with her and think she had a good experience too.  We hope it will inspire her towards long-term work.  Though COVID still seems to impede travel, our vision tripper is on her way.  We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with our team and visitors—we even had imported cranberry sauce this year!  The food was delicious and the fellowship was sweet.  It’s been raining the last few days—which is a blessing we are very thankful for as it breaks the heat.  

PRAYERS REQUESTED
Please keep Dunga in prayer.  Especially as she may have to endure another confrontation.  May she be strong, firm and yet loving, humble and patient.  May this time of testing be used to bring many more to the light…who knows, maybe there are many among her family who have been searching.  Keep our medical team in prayer as they are still waiting for the green light to start work at the hospital.  Thankfully they are making the most of this time in the village now to build relationships before medical work begins.  Pray for our vision tripper—she’s on her way, but travel is complicated.  Pray for her good health.  We haven’t had any cases of Omicron here that we know of, but it could easily be coming this way and that could certainly make things more difficult.   We had been hoping to visit our friends and colleagues on the French Island after Christmas but when we went to get boat tickets we learned that all our possible dates were already sold out (a surprise for us), so now we are having to reconsider those plans. Pray for wisdom about how/when to reschedule that visit. Also since Wednesday, Megan has been suffering with vertigo, dizziness and nausea. Evaluation by our medical teammates indicate that her inner ear is to blame. The worst of the symptoms have passed, but please pray that any lingering dizziness and nausea would leave soon too. 

Reading with Friends

Ananas comes by every weekend.  He’s from a village about 20 minutes away by car.  Ananas is probably in his 50’s or 60’s.  His skin is weather-beaten from his work as a farmer. 

Reading with a friend

I’m never quite sure what to do with him.  

He sells us eggs and bananas at a terrible price and the quality of the products are often sub-par.  It feels like charity really.  But Ananas is faithful to come each week and before he leaves we always pray together.  Where is his heart?  I don’t know.  Sometimes he seems genuine, other times he seems caught up in the things of this world.  I hear stories about him, but I don’t know whether or not to believe them.  For a long time I’ve wondered and pondered and thought, “Should I challenge him?”  Should I stop giving this charity?  Is there something I could do to find out more about his life?  Or should I just let it be?  Mostly I’ve been led to the conclusion to just let it be.  But recently we received some kids books.  

These books are wonderfully illustrated and in the local languages.  They tell the stories that are most dear to us.  We love to share these stories with islanders and this is a wonderful new way of doing it.  There are 25 of these little books, each a couple dozen pages long, with simple language and simple storytelling.  A few weeks ago I took one out and gave it to Ananas.  He loved it.  He read it without too much trouble and repeated the story back to me and then shared with me all the things he liked about the story—the truth he saw in it.  I was delighted.  Not only that he liked the story, but that it gives me something to do with him for the next 25 weeks—something that could be life giving, even if it does come in a small square book with simple stories.

Playing games with friends

Muki comes by at random times.  Mostly he comes by to get some frying oil.  He often brings a little plastic water bottle for us to fill.  Muki might be in his 60’s or older.  He is small and wiry, but strong.  Most times he’s got an impish grin on his face, spitting out bits of tobacco from between his teeth..  He still gets by as a day-laborer or doing odd jobs for people around town.  This has gotten harder as he’s gotten older—his body just doesn’t hold up the way it once did.  I’ve prayed for his knees and his back.  The knee pain was healed of after prayers.  We often have meandering conversations and he is another example of someone I‘m often not sure what to do with.  He takes pride in being able to read the island language passably well, so a few weeks ago I thought I would show him a book—just for him to take a look at.  But he enjoyed it so much he was determined to take it home.  I told him if he came back another day we could read another book.  Sure enough, he came back asking about it, so now I have something to do with Muki when he visits!

I used to see a lot of Mnyawe.  We had a regular weekly meeting with him and Bwe.  We would study and talk and pursue the truth.  But those times came to an end, and Mnyawe got busy when he found work as a fisherman.  I thought perhaps that was the last I’d see of him.  

I’m not quite sure what to do with Mnyawe.  He’s like a puzzle piece that doesn’t fit.  There is evidence of change in his life and a desire for it, and yet life goes on the same as ever.  Could I challenge him, or should I just let him be?  The other day he came over to help me out with something.  We had some time before we had to go off to the job, so I took out one of the little books.  He read it beautifully, told the story back to me and shared with me the light he found revealed in it.  I was pleased.  So I told him, if he came back I’d give him another one.  He’s been back once already.

These little story books have been a blessing—originally we thought of them as just for families with children. But even with these adult men, it’s something to talk about, something to make our time together valuable and give it purpose.  As I write this I find myself wondering, who else might like reading a story?

Do you ever get stuck with people?  Like you’re in a rut—you don’t have much to say to them or vice-versa but you just keep on visiting because—that’s what you do?  I don’t like being there.  It bothers me.  How do you get unstuck?  I’m not sure what this might look like in your context.  I doubt a children’s story book would work for most.  In many countries a children’s book in your own language isn’t anything special and would probably be seen as patronizing.  But here, children’s books are a novelty, and one in the local language is almost unique.  So, what could be a novel and unique conversation starter in your context?  

Yay! First lychees of the season!

PRAYERS ANSWERED
Our short-termer has been doing well. She has jumped into language learning and has been living with an island family. Tom got to see Fakhadi who has barely been leaving his room for weeks. Tom found him more open than he has ever been. He shared some stories with him and was able to pray for him. The next day he came to our English Club for the first time in a couple months. There is definitely things going on in his mind and heart— please continue to pray for him. Our prospective team member has decided to come on a vision trip. She comes next week! We are thankful for this progress and the movement towards a decision about where she might be longterm. Also on a lighter note— lychee season has begun. It’s short and it’s sweet and we eat lots of lychees which makes us happy. Also, Thanksgiving is coming.  Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

PRAYERS REQUESTED
The medical team were surprised to learn that the head guy at the health ministry that they had talked to in the past was moved to another job on another island. So they ended up meeting with a completely new person who doesn’t know anything about them. Please pray for them as they wait to hear back from this new health guy and that everything would be cleared for them to start working at the hospital on the south side of the island in December as planned. Pray that they would find favor with all the health administrators on the island. One island sister wants to encourage more corporate prayer and fasting— please pray that God would show a clear way forward in the midst of security concerns and difficulties hosting big groups. Please be praying for our island sister ‘Dunga’— her extended family had a gathering to confront her about her beliefs. She was able to speak and clear up some misunderstandings, but the meeting was left with them saying that they would give her time to change or that she would have to leave the family house. Pray for her whole family— pray that she would have peace and a love in her heart for her family members and that she would be able to show it in a way that breaks down barriers.

Pure Joy

A well-known verse tells us that we should consider it a joy (pure joy!) when we face trials and different kinds of difficulties. Another book, which we are reading, has been talking to us about the dangers of responding to difficulties with frustration, anxiety or discontentment. Yet another book we are reading is an old biography about a man that sought out some hardships in his early life because he was confident that he was being called to even greater hardship and he wanted to be prepared.

Finding joy in learning to wear the local wrap?

All of these sources have been challenging us to rethink how we look at, consider, react to and pray about difficulties. So here came a test (more for our short-termer than for us, but the difficulties hit us too)…

First, our short-termer tested positive for COVID right before she was supposed to come. This meant a scrambling with both her international plane tickets and interisland plane tickets, as well as letting various people know and rearranging our schedules. Good thing was that she had already had symptoms for 10 days. We rescheduled her arrival for a week (safely past the two-week post first symptoms marker). A week later she still tested positive and though her symptoms had faded and she wasn’t contagious, we were told that in some cases one can still test positive for weeks if not months. We pushed her arrival off for another week (less confident this time that the new plan would work).

Finding joy in a long hot-season ceremony?

But the next week, she tested negative! We were full of thanksgiving and awaited her new travel itinerary. Unfortunately website problems and bad customer service meant that she spent two days on her phone before she was able to reinstate her international plane ticket— only to learn that the flight times changed making the idea of making a same-day connection to our island not possible.

But we adapted. We organized transport and a place to stay on the big island. We changed her interisland flight. When she finally arrived on the big island on Wednesday all those things were in place…but then her bag didn’t come!

Fast forward a few more days and she was reunited with her bag, but not after more delays, hassle and expense. Not to mention that during the two-week delay, the circumstances of her host family had changed and our teammate was forced to renegotiate where our short-termer would be staying.

Now we have been impressed with our short-termer’s attitude through all this, but it’s safe to say that almost nothing about her coming has seemed easy. So how do we look at all these difficulties? Do we think of them as ‘pure joy’?

Finding joy in a difficult class?

We will readily admit that it has been stressful and we have shook our heads a few times when yet another complication appeared with an incredulous ‘again?!’ ringing in our thoughts. But it has also made us wonder…perhaps we can expect great things from this short-termer. Perhaps all these small difficulties are preparing her for bigger challenges in the future.

Maybe you don’t find that thought comforting, but for us it adds excitement. All these annoyances could be building a resilience in her that God will use to great purpose in the future! While I am not to the point where I react to all the difficulties as ‘pure joy’, a new outlook on them does push me towards accepting them as possibly good things and towards having a heart that can rejoice and be thankful in all circumstances. God is good, we await what He will do next!

PRAYERS ANSWERED
We are thankful that our short-termer has finally made it here and has settled into her homestay, and we are thankful that all of us have been able to maintain a mostly positive attitude throughout!  We are thankful that our medical teammates down on the south-side of the island are making good inroads and good connections.  Their meeting to establish what their medical work will look like with the government health administrators appears to have gone well.  Tom’s first week of online training went well and he’s thankful for the internet holding up well.   We are thankful that we have a new long-term worker/colleague on the big island and that our island brothers and sisters returned safely from their training trip to mainland Africa much encouraged.

PRAYERS REQUESTED
Pray for our short-termer to have a blessed two weeks full of language, relationship and opportunities to be a light.  Pray that our south-side medical team could figure out the final details for their medical (hoping to start in December) and find the final items they need for settling into their new home.  Pray that Tom would have another good week of online training and that the internet connection would continue to work well.  Keep praying for “Fakhadi”,  Tom still hasn’t seen him, but at least Fakhadi has started responding to messages.  Pray that they would be able to meet this week and that Tom could be an encouragement to his friend.  Pray for discernment to understand what is really going on with Fakhadi and how to help him.  Pray for opportunities for each of our teammates to share good news this week.

What Are You Going to Apply to Your Life? Nothing.

There is always an application question, right?  A good teacher will ask, “What have you learned today?”  No small group study is complete without the question “What things in this study apply to your life?”  Every seminar, training, conference, lecture or training begs the question “What changes are you going to implement after having learned these things?”  Imagine if everyone in the lecture hall turned to the teacher and said, “Nothing.”

Tom & friends at a meal

For the last few months I’ve been studying with some men I know.  Each week we have a good discussion.  We probe the passage, we think about the meaning.  We think about humanity, good and bad, lies and truths, and at some point we get to the application question and for four straight weeks, in answer to the question, “What can you apply to your life?”, one man has told me, “Nothing.”  

Why does he say, “Nothing”?  You can probably figure it out.  He doesn’t agree with the things we are discussing.  He sees things differently.  So he is happy to talk about the subject and share some deep thoughts, but when it comes to applying things to his life, he is a stone.  He wants none of it.  I can’t help but look at myself and be challenged by that.

It is easy to write him off and say that he is foolish and stubborn.  But am I any different?  Are we?  If I were listening to something I didn’t agree with, isn’t it my temptation to say the same.  “This is rubbish.  I don’t agree with it.  There is nothing for me to learn from this.  I certainly don’t want to apply it to my life.”  Don’t we all do the same thing most of the time?  It is a foolish and stubborn thing to do.  Yet, so often we all respond this way.  Shut down. Shut off.  Conversation ends here.  

Friends studying at English Club

But aren’t we called to something more?  
What if we believed there was always something to learn—always something to apply to our lives?  How would that change our conversations?  How would it look to respect another opinion enough to continue to engage with it?  How much more might we learn?

It strikes me that, even if we say that the things to apply to our lives are the opposite of what is being presented we can still draw applications.  For example, if I make a forceful argument on why you should hate others, you might be repulsed by my teaching.  You might find it deplorable.  But you can still find something to apply—perhaps it is “I will do the opposite. I will love instead of hate.”  But if you shut down, turn off and take nothing away, then maybe you have missed an opportunity.  You may have been able to grow in your appreciation of love, by the contrast.

So why can my friend study diligently for an hour and then say in terms of application, “Nothing”?  Why do we do the same?  I think it is fear.  We fear other ideas. We fear what it might demand of us—especially in terms of application because application is about change.  And we fear change—especially in our own hearts.  Change means there is something that needs to be corrected, and we hate being corrected.  We hate admitting we are wrong.  In fact, I think generally we hate application questions.  Don’t we usually look for the most vague and abstract application possible.  “We should love more.”  “We should be kind to people.”  Nice and vague and easy enough to not really do nor bring about real change.  No we don’t like clear application, correction or change.  So we shut down, shut off, end the conversation and conclude there’s nothing that applies.

I recently came across a verse in Proverbs that gets to the heart of this quite bluntly,

“Whoever loves correction loves knowledge.  Whoever hates correction is stupid.” (Proverbs 12:1)
Don’t we all tend to be stupid?  

 Maybe the next time I’m tempted to be stupid, I’ll think of my friend and how sad it has made me every time he has said, “Nothing.” Maybe it will help my heart to be a little softer, a little less stupid.  Maybe you can think of him too.

Our boys back to school

PRAYERS ANSWERED
Our short-termer has finally tested negative for COVID! Her time with us will now only be two weeks but we are hopeful that we can give her a good taste of island culture and some principles for language learning that will hopefully help her as she goes to work on the French Island in December. Our boys have started school! The back-to-school day was a lot more organized this year and not as much of an ordeal as it has been in the past. The first couple days have gone smoothly. Our medical teammates have had a good first week in their new house/town and are already making some good connections with people there. Megan was able to go to visit them today and her back seems to have tolerated the bumpy roads okay. Our teammate has made it back safely to the islands. Unfortunately she was unable to fly to Clove Island today as planned because her baggage didn’t arrive with her! But thankfully today she got word that her bags have arrived and she will be able to make it back to us tomorrow!  Over the weekend, we explored higher up a river we have been to numerous times and discovered some amazing waterfalls and pools— we are thankful that even after several years, Clove Island still has beautiful surprises for us.

PRAYERS REQUESTED
Pray for the man mentioned in today’s blog and others who have closed their hearts to change. Pray for our good friend “Fakhadi”. Tom usually meets with him each week and he usually attends our English Club each week, but we haven’t seen him in many weeks. We’re not sure what is going on with him, but we are concerned. Pray that Tom would be able to make contact with him and that he isn’t getting into things that he shouldn’t. Pray for our short-termer as she is having trouble redeeming the ticket she had to cancel for a flight this week. Pray that she would make it to us without any more difficulties and that her short time with us would prepare her well for her work on the French Island. One of our colleagues on the islands has been planning to travel back to her home country for months, only to test positive for COVID. Pray for her physical health (that she would have a mild case), but also for her spirits as this is a discouraging blow to what had already been stressful planning. As part of our organization’s leadership training, Tom is taking an online seminar this week and next (6 days, 3.5 hours each day). This is being added into an already busy schedule. Pray that Tom would see the applications to the training and that he would have the energy throughout to appreciate it. Several island brothers and sisters have been sent to mainland Africa for some meetings— pray for the learning and discussions had there and for fruitful reflections on what God is doing on the islands.

A New Chapter

 There is always something exciting about a new beginning. There is so much potential. There are so many first experiences to be had. So many new people to meet and new places to explore. It’s exciting!

Being helpful packing cars for the move!

At least we think it’s exciting. At the moment we are living vicariously through our two colleagues who just today left our team in the capital to move to the far side of the island to start a new team. They have a new house, a new neighborhood, a new climate (everyone likes to tell us how cold that side of the island is) and a new team dynamic.

There’s a lot about which to be excited. But new chapters aren’t always met with excitement. Sometimes instead of excitement, fear and uncertainty are the predominant emotions. New chapters mean untested challenges, unforeseen obstacles. All those new places, people and responsibilities can be intimidating.  So really, these new beginnings create a big mixed bag of emotions.

Being slightly less helpful

And in that emotion bag around this new chapter is a lot of thankfulness and relief. This new beginning has been a long time coming. As soon as we came to Clove Island in 2013, there was talk about starting a medical team on the far side of the island. I think it had been a dream for awhile before that. The need for better medical care was obvious.  Moreover, our organization has a history of bringing medical workers to the islands and a legacy of solid teams. A medical team made a lot of sense and for years people have been excited about it. There were vision trips and scouting trips. Lots of interested people. Lots of prayers said for it. In 2017, there were leaders chosen and possible team members being vetted and a start date for 2018 was set. Everyone was excited. But within a few months it all unraveled.  The prospective leaders went in a different direction, no members were able to join a leaderless team, and the start date was canned.

Jump forward to 2021 and there have been several more false starts for this medical team as health issues and then COVID got in the way. Lots of anticipation and disappointment at different delays. But that’s all in the past now. It’s here! It’s a new chapter! God has provided a leader with a heart and vision for this medical team and the first team member is on site and ready to serve. It has begun!

So what should be our response to all this? We should pray! First we should pray in excitement and rejoicing, in thankfulness and praise. Then we should lift them up with in petitions and requests, that they would be guided, equipped and used powerfully. There is so much potential in a new chapter— may we have a vision for what God will do through it! 

See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? Isaiah 43:19

Tom screening windows on new house

PRAYERS ANSWERED
There is so much to be thankful for— that the house was ready for our teammates, that people came to help with loading and unloading of the moving van, that the move went smoothly.  Tom has come to the end of a multi-week study with two island men, and they want to celebrate the completion of it.  Although there has been no clear fruit, we are thankful for good listening, thoughtful reflection, and exposure to life-giving truth.  Tom was able to reconnect with his friend, Mnyawe (someone he’s spent a lot of time studying with).  Mnyawe is working as a fisherman now, and he still shows a love for God’s word that is encouraging.

 

PRAYERS REQUESTED
Our short-termer didn’t arrive last week because she tested positive for COVID. She tested again today and was still positive (though almost all her symptoms have past). So we are still not sure when she will be able to arrive. Pray that she would fully recover and make it to our island. Pray for us as we have tried to keep our schedules clear so we can do an orientation with her when she arrives, but it is difficult to keep that time open with an uncertain arrival. Pray that we’d all stay flexible and adapt well to the changing circumstances. Please pray for our medical teammates that they would transition well to their new house and that they would develop good patterns and habits in this new chapter!  Our boys go back to school this week.  Pray for an easy transition and for our family to quickly form new school routines.

Immortality??

 A lot of islanders aren’t great at telling light-skinned foreigners apart. They just aren’t used to seeing many of us and so often get us confused for each other. Sometimes it is completely understandable— people of similar heights and hair color. Sometimes one is tall, the other is short, one is blond, the other brunette and you wonder where the confusion comes from. We usually just correct them (at least the first time) or just politely wave at the wrong greeting in hopes of representing the other person well.

Our sons- know which is which?

 I’m convinced that only a small group of islanders can tell our two boys apart (though to be fair, even other foreigners get them confused).

Then there is Megan and our daughter. Since she was little, people have always commented on how much she looks like Megan. One old teammate persisted in calling her “little Megan” instead of by her given name. Generally our daughter is very good natured about it. It annoys her a little and every once in awhile she’ll give an eye-roll in response to a comment. But other  times she’ll laugh and even talk about it as an anecdote.

Megan & our daughter

When our daughter got glasses, she chose ones that were shaped like Megan’s, increasing the comments. Then she hit her growth spurt. She’s now as tall as an adult. She wears the traditional outer-wrap of a woman.

“I saw your daughter yesterday. She’s grown! It’s like it’s you walking around. I think that is so great when a child looks just like you! Because then it’s like you never die! Because your likeness is still walking around and whenever people see them it is like they are seeing you!”

The shopkeeper who went on this little rant kept it up for quite some time, repeating the idea again several times. She talked about different scenarios, like at a wedding or other event after you had died. If your look-alike is there it is like you are there because everyone will see them and think of you and remember you. She was sincerely happy for Megan, happy that she had this blessing, this slice of immortality, all in a look-alike daughter. “It’s like you’ll never die!”

Megan just smiled and paid for her flour, slightly puzzled and amused by this perspective. Later as we talked about it, we were struck by the emphasis she had placed on being seen and remembered, like that was what being alive was about, being a visible part of community. It also struck us as a little sad for the look-alike— can they ever be their own person in such a small community or will their lives always be tied to their predecessor?

Makes you hope that your look-alike (whether older or younger than you) is a good person, since they will undoubtedly be representing you whether you like it or not. (A reason why we are always on our best behavior when someone we don’t know greets us warmly— who knows who we are representing in that moment?)

Makes you think about God making us in his own image. Was He as excited as this woman is, by the idea that with His image-bearers walking around that there was no way that He could be forgotten?

Tom the birthday boy

PRAYERS ANSWERED
All of our teammates (except one) have returned safely from various travels. Our two medical teammates had good homestays with local families on the far-side of the island, making connections that will hopefully help them to build relationships when they move there. Tom had his birthday today! We were happy to celebrate with him and are very thankful for his 43 years! Elewa and her husband have made it back and have a new diagnosis that will hopefully help them get his health under control, easing her mind and giving him a better standard of living than he has had lately.

PRAYERS REQUESTED
Our short-termer arrives on Wednesday. Pray that she’d make her same-day connection to our island and that her days of orientation living with us would go well. Pray also for the island family that she will be living with during her time here that she could have a positive impact in that household and learn a lot. Pray for our final teammate that is still off island as her return flights have been changed. Pray that her final days with family would not be stressed by her return travel plans. Pray for our medical teammates as they use this final week to buy what they need and pack up for their move. Pray that their new house would be ready for them! Pray for us as we continue to talk with others this week about what our future role in leadership could look like— pray for unity and clarity for all involved in these discussions. Pray for one of the men that Tom was studying with as Tom has learned that he traveled to the little island. Tom has no idea when or if he would return and no way to contact him—pray that he would continue seeking and be drawn to the Light.

Determination

 “What are your dreams?” is a question we ask our upper-level English students.  

Most of our students are in their twenties and they have high hopes of doing something great with their lives.  Yet the answers we get to this question are regrettably mundane and repetitious.  In fact, most of the time we hear one of three answers:

El-Azima and some fellow students

“I want to become a doctor.”  While this is certainly an honorable profession and excellent dream.  Unfortunately, I think most students just desire the money and prestige that comes with such a position rather than the less selfish reason of serving and healing others.  

“I want to be rich and have a big house.” This is also an understandable dream in a poor country where most people live on less than $5 a day.

“I want to go to America and finish my studies.” This one is said with a grin as if not in their wildest dream could this ever really happen.  But that’s what dreams are for, right, dreaming big?

It is a wild dream—studying in America.  Most students only barely pass high school.  Even our best English students would struggle to write a college level paper.  And, at the root of even the best student’s dreams is the money issue.

Over the years we’ve had many, many students ask what it would take to study at an American university, and for most we try to discourage them.  It is too hard, too expensive and not a real possibility.  Often just a discussion of the amounts of money required and the tests and hoops one would need to jump through are enough to scare people off.  If they still push, we send them to a few web sites, articles that explain what is involved in applying to American universities.  Usually we don’t hear from them again. So in short, we’ve never seriously helped anyone apply to schools in the US.  But for the past two weeks I’ve been helping a young man do just that.  

El-Azima is determined.  He is bright—perhaps not the brightest student I’ve ever taught, but certainly up there.  He has done quite a lot with very little and that is commendable.  But what really sets him apart is his determination and his faith that studying in the US is a real possibility.

Tom with emerging teachers in El-Azima's village

It’s been more than 20 years since I applied to college, but the process certainly hasn’t gotten much easier, except for the fact that you can do it all online—a boon for international students.  So together we’ve waded through the piles of questions and forms necessary to apply.  El-Azima’s intent is unwavering.  He writes essays, answers obscure questions, calls people on the phone, and finds a way forward.

One of the roadblocks has been the school guidance counselor.  It is the guidance counselor’s job to send school transcripts and a recommendation.  El-Azima’s counselor is behind him, willing to help him in any way he can—but the older man doesn’t even have an email address and doesn’t speak English.  So El-Azima has to do all the work—create an email account for the counselor (with his permission), and send all the transcripts and recommendations in his name.  Does this sound a little sketchy to you?  Me too.  But then again, what choice does he have—and the counselor is happy to vouch for him.

Then there are financial aid forms to fill out.  For about 2 hours last week we worked together to fill out financial aid forms.  It felt like a nonsensical exercise—How many ways can a person say they are poor?  His father is a farmer, his mother sells the produce in the market.  They have no income.  Again and again we answered ‘no’ or ‘zero’ to questions about possible assets, savings or funds.  We told them the details of his 9 siblings—El-Azima calling family members on the phone to get their correct birth dates—who are in various levels of school or unemployment.  It was ridiculous, but finally we reached the end of the questions and hit the submit button.  It was at that point we were told to pay a $9 application fee and $16 per school.  I felt my heart sink.  He barely has money to get a taxi into town, let alone pay 100 times that in application fees—and this is for financial aid!  You have to pay for the application for financial aid???

But El-Azima is undaunted.  “I’ll find the money somehow,” he tells me.  And maybe he will.  I remind him again, that this is what it will be like.  There will be lots of fees—the airline ticket alone is thousands of dollars.  Then there will books, clothes, housing—all of it really expensive in the US.  How will he afford it?  It’s going to be really hard.  But El-Azima is undeterred.  With a smile he says, “Yes, but it will be worth it.”  

While we don’t carry his confidence that it will, we do what we can to be both realistic and supportive. Who knows? Maybe his dreams will come true.

Our youngest & oldest on river hike

PRAYERS ANSWERED
Some of our teammates are back, the others are still (hopefully) enjoying their vacation.  We’ve taken the lessening of team responsibilities as an opportunity to go on some hikes as a family.  It’s been nice.  The October rains have been helping the weather stay a bit cooler, but we can feel the heat and humidity rising. But hot season means fruit—mangos are back!  One of the men’s groups continues to go very well.  The other group will hopefully meet again this week.  Tom had an encouraging conversation with a neighbor and sent him home with a copy of the story of Zaccheus and the plan to send him home with other stories in the future. 


PRAYERS REQUESTED
The study for one of the men’s groups is drawing to an end.  Pray for wisdom as to what to do next.  Our medical team is getting really close to launching.  They will be spending some time with local village families this week as an opportunity to experience village life first hand and to make some connections in the village before moving there at the end of the month.  Pray for good health, good bonding, and good experiences.  We have a short-termer coming very soon.  Pray for her preparations and ours.  Keep praying for the divisions among brothers and sisters on the small island.  As far as we know things have yet to be resolved.

It’s All Who You Know

 The truck was piled high with 50lbs sacks of rice.  They were stacked about a dozen high, well above the sides of the truck bed and cinched down with ratchet straps.  Three guys were unloading the bags—one up in the truck bed pulling them down and two runners bringing the sacks to the storage room nearby.

Truck loaded with sacks of rice

We had been waiting for rice for a few weeks. We finished our sack, but everyone was out. So we’ve been keeping an eye out for the return of rice.

“So there’s rice now?”  Tom said. The man looked at Tom and smiled, “Nope.  It’s all gone.  There’s none at all.”  Tom walked home empty handed.

One of the results of the COVID pandemic has been regular shortages on the islands.  The pandemic reduced the merchant marine workforce.  This in turn, reduced the number of cargo ships and raised the cost of shipping worldwide.  On islands where most of the goods are imported, this has had a toll.  Prices of goods have gone up and regular shortages have resulted.  These shortages seem to only last a few months or so.  No one is starving. But it is disruptive to normal life.  For example, rice—islanders eat a lot of rice.  They can get by without it, but they like their rice—and it’s cheap.  A 50lbs bag costs about $17.  

Tom with our friend who gave us the rice connection!

Flour is another thing that’s run short.  We had a complete shortage a bit ago and then a small shipment came in, but now it’s low again.  The other day Megan went out looking for flour.  All the local shops were out, but then a neighbor called her over and said in a whisper, “Ma Nganu has flour.”  So Megan went over to Ma Nganu’s and asked,  “Do you have any flour?”  Ma Nganu’s eyes got shifty as she looked around the street and quickly ushered Megan into the shop and shut the door behind them.  Then went over to the corner where, hidden under a tarp she had her sack of flour.  She measured some out for Megan and telling her all the random people from far-off neighborhoods who had come asking for flour. “This flour is only for neighborhood people, for my people,” she said,  “I don’t want strangers coming and taking it all away.”

Success! We have rice!

Back to the rice—why did the guy say there was no rice while bag after bag was hefted into the store room?  It was all claimed.  He had his people to whom he would sell, and Tom was not one of his people.

A few days later, Tom was in a car with two of his friends and noticed a motorcycle with a bag of rice on the back.  He shared with his friends his story about the truck full of rice and the man saying there was none.  “How many sacks do you need?” his friend asked.  Tom let him know that one sack was all he was looking for—for our family, one sack lasts months.  His friend said, “I’ll ask my brother-in-law.”  

A few days later Tom’s friend calls him on the phone.  “I’ve got a sack of rice for you.  Can you come right now?”  Tom headed right out the door, met his friend on the street and walked over to the very same store room and the very same man who had denied him rice the week before.  Quietly, Tom was ushered into the store room.  About twenty sacks of rice still remained.  Tom paid for one and brought it home.  On his walk home with the rice sack, his neighbors smiled mischievous grins, “Congratulations! You found some rice!”  

PRAYERS ANSWERED
We got a sack of rice! Our teammates who have traveled made it safely to their destinations and we hope are having restful breaks. The women’s gathering happened though a much smaller group than normal— praying that next month will be a big group again. Elewa’s daughter was feeling better by the time Elewa and her husband traveled. The translation project had some very good checking sessions this past week and made encouraging progress!  Tom’s 2 men’s groups continue to meet and have encouraging developments as they interact with the word.  Our colleague’s son who had emergency brain surgery is out of the hospital and recovering well so far.

PRAYERS REQUESTED
We have had some disruptions to our future plans— pray for us as we coordinate with teammates and others to make new plans. We are trying to be open to new models for the future, pray for guidance as we think about possibilities and look to find unity with all those involved or effected. Pray that our teammates would have restful vacations this week.  Pray for the 2 men’s groups—that they would come every time, that they would invite others to join, that they would allow the words to touch their hearts and be transformed.  One of the men from these groups is interested in meeting faithful island followers.  Pray for wisdom how to do this well, and that it could happen soon.  Pray fro divisions among the fellowship on the smallest island—that problems could be resolved, forgiveness given and harmony restored.