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.