Be Strong and Courageous

One of the first verses that we memorized as a family was “…For the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Our oldest was only 4 years old at the time and had been given the verse to take home and memorize at a Sunday morning kids gathering.

When we first memorized verse (2012)

The verse became a go-to phrase whenever we were traveling (which was often)— having our kids say it before going to bed in a new or strange place.  It was a comforting reminder that some things don’t change no matter where we are. 

But the phrase that we memorized all those years ago is not the whole verse. The whole verse is “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go!” Just recently we returned to the verse to memorize the whole thing. As we returned back to Africa this past week, its words have been sticking in our minds and has been coming from our lips each night before bed.

It’s a good thing. Because, on Friday, we said goodbye to our oldest (now 14!) at boarding school. At the moment of saying goodbye, we weren’t feel particularly strong or courageous. Our eyes were tear-filled and we didn’t want to say goodbye. We didn’t want to leave. But we knew we had to. So we gave a final hug, saw our daughter to the group that was awaiting her and walked away.

Our daughter now (2022) in new dorm room

Our family has needed these words— be strong, be courageous, do not be afraid, do not be discouraged. We’re not just in a new place, we’re embarking on a new chapter and we are feeling the weight of its new challenges.

But thankfully the end of the verse, that is so familiar after over 10 years of saying it as a family, brings us comfort. We are not being commanded to be brave and strong on our own strength. The reason that we don’t have to fear or be dismayed is because we are not alone. He is with our daughter. He is with us. It is through Him that we can let go of the fear and worry and face this new future with courage and trust.

It won’t always come easy. We’ll need reminders. So we will continue to repeat these words to ourselves. “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go!”

Preparing to say goodbye

PRAYERS ANSWERED
We made it safely to the big island! All of our flights left on time and were uneventful and all our bags made it! Our boys initially had tummy bugs our first morning in Africa, but we are thankful that they quickly recovered and no one else was sick. Our daughter got her negative COVID test for entering school and the orientation went well. We got to reunite with some old friends, including four different families that we went to language school in France with 10 years ago!, who were also dropping kids off at boarding school. It was hard to say goodbye, but we are very thankful for the school and wonderful community found there.

PRAYERS REQUESTED
Our daughter finished her first day of high school today— pray for her to not be too overwhelmed and to make some good friends quickly. Pray for our boys who have been surprised by how sad they have been and how much they have missed their sister. On Wednesday we travel back to Clove Island— pray for a safe and uneventful flight and a smooth transition back to life there.  We have too much luggage for the interisland plane, so we will have to send some of our bags by boat on Thursday— pray they make it safely and that we don’t have any hassles sending and reclaiming them. One of our island sisters and friend is having a very difficult time with two of her teenage children. Pray for wisdom, love and grace for her as she navigates this situation and for restoration and redemption in that family. One of our island brothers’ wife got very sick and he had to travel with her off the islands to seek medical help— pray for her healing and that it would be a testimony to her. One of the workers on the big island just tested positive for COVID and is not feeling well— pray for a quick recovery and that others would not get sick. The islands are suffering under several shortages and continuing inflation— right now the islands have run out of rice (a main staple of the diet). Pray that a shipment of rice and other needed goods would come soon!