Uncertainty

This week I was teaching our new teammates about the future tense in the local language. Whenever you teach the future tense, you also have to include a little culture lesson, because islanders use and perceive the future different, with more uncertainty, than we do. Islanders are very conscious that one can’t really know what the future will hold. So when islanders use the future tense, often it doesn’t come with a commitment or with a sure expectation that it will come to pass.

Uncertain of the weather

That uncertainty is sealed by the oft-repeated phrase that follows almost any island declaration in the future tense. “God willing!” Sometimes it is the person that says the future comment who will add, “If God wills,” but if they don’t then the listener will almost always add it themselves, “God willing,” and upon hearing it the other person always repeats it back, as a group recognition of the uncertainty of the future.

So Friday, I had a short conversation with an island friend. I said, “Our daughter will come this weekend.” She said, “God willing.” I said, “We heard that the garbage truck will start coming three days a week.” She says, “God willing.” I say, “It looks like it might rain.” She says, “God willing.” As she leaves I say, “See you later.” She responds with a smile, “God willing.”

It is such a habit that it just comes out of our mouths too. Even when we are speaking English, we feel the urge to tag any talk about the future with ‘God willing.” We don’t really have a problem with it because it is true that we don’t know the future and we like recognizing God’s sovereignty. But we’re not always sure what is going on in islanders’ minds when they say it. Some islanders say it almost like it is a superstition. It can feel like they think declaring a desired future could jinx it or bring about bad luck, so to be safe, you add a “God willing” in the hopes that it will actually happen. If it might help, it’s better to do it, being the wisdom.

Uncertain when trash will be collected

There is a lot in island mentalities that is uncertain. Even as they say, “God willing”, they would affirm that they have no idea what God wills. Their view of God makes for a inconstant actor in their lives, they can’t be sure what He will do or won’t. So sometimes the ‘God willing’ seems like an attempt to pacify a powerful being by acknowledging His power and hoping He will use His power to help rather than hurt your plans.

It was funny this past week, because people were pretty confidently saying that the new moon would be seen on Wednesday evening and that thus the month of fasting would begin on Thursday. Meanwhile I had looked at the new moon charts and they showed that the new moon would only be seen from the islands on Wednesday if the sky conditions were perfect (that is to say that it was going to be very dim and hard-to-see the new moon from the islands). Still most islanders fully expected to fast on Thursday.

Wednesday night was completely overcast. No stars peaked through, let alone a dim and very slight new moon. So the religious leader of the islands declared that the fasting month would not begin until Friday. Now I don’t know if it is because of a distrust of their island religious leaders, but many islanders were not comfortable. It seems that they weren’t sure if this is what “God willed”. Other countries had seen the moon and started fasting on Thursday.  This uncertainty led many islanders to fast on Thursday, just to be safe, because, “Who knows what God actually wants,” maybe he required them to fast on Thursday?  If only they knew what God required…

Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”
[He] answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”

Certain of God's goodness & future family fun

PRAYERS ANSWERED
Our daughter made it safely back to us! We are so thankful for all the answered prayers, including smooth flight connections, no delays and especially the last flight that the rainy weather broke for the morning so our daughter could fly with clear skies. We are also thankful for our colleagues on the big island that welcomed her there and helped her get to us.  Our teammate was also able to travel and though she had to be rerouted because of canceled flights, she made it safely to her destination. The new family has recovered from their illnesses. Fasting has begun! We were able to have some good conversations in the days leading up to fasting and Tom was able to share the whole good news with someone who hadn’t heard before.  We’ve had some good rains which has brought some wonderful relief from the heat and helped those with heat rash. 


PRAYERS REQUESTED
The month of fasting has begun. Please pray for all of us on the islands (island body and workers) to shine brightly in a month that can bring about times of pressure, confrontation, and also openness and good conversations. Pray for us as a family— our daughter is home for 4 weeks, but all within the month of fasting. Pray that we could find creative ways to have fun as a family during this month and that we would help her debrief her term at school and give her the rest she needs. Pray for the new family as they navigate the month of fasting for the first time, and also try to have good times of language study (something that can be more difficult this month). Trash continues to be a problem (they didn’t come at all last week), pray that the rumors of regular pick-ups restarting would be true. Pray for our teammate whose flight back to Clove was just canceled because of the rain today.
(If you are committed to praying regularly for the islands through the month of fasting, then send us an email and we can send you information to help you pray for specific topics and people.)

Joy in Discouragement

We’ve been thinking about discouragement this week.  What are the things that get us down, make us want to give up, and drain the joy from our hearts?  Sometimes it seems like the greatest source of discouragement is not from one big thing, but rather the accumulation of lots of little things.  

Joy in fixing broken furniture

For example—sickness.  We’re not talking about cancer or something life-threatening— just a normal virus or cold.  It’s not the end of the world, but it drains you of energy, it messes up your routines, it may mean you need to cancel appointments, it may mean you don’t get to see your friends.  It’s not dramatically bad, but it’s discouraging.

Another example—things breaking down.  It’s natural enough.  In this world, things break down and stop working at times.  It might be a car, computer, phone or stapler.  It might be a light bulb or clothes, a piece of furniture or a bucket.  It’s not such a big deal, and yet—if you needed that bucket today, it can be a real frustration.

Another example—family.  When something goes wrong with a family member it can be very discouraging.  It may be sickness or money problems.  It may be a heart issue or an accident.  It could be a strain in the relationship or miscommunication.  But when someone in our family has a problem, we tend to feel it more and it can get us down.

Sometimes, these problems happen at regular intervals and we can take them in stride.  But sometimes, as the saying goes, “When it rains, it pours.”  Now there are those who might say this old adage is nothing more than feelings—It feels like it’s pouring, but it’s no more than the usual problems life throws at you.  Others might say, that’s just how life is.  Sometimes troubles come all at the same time—a coincidence.  You are welcome to your opinion, but we have come to see that sometimes it seems like there is something more sinister at work.  Like some power is actively working to discourage us and keep us from joy, contentment and peace.

It felt that way when a brother of mine had to deal with a car, refrigerator and plumbing problems at his house—all breaking down at once.  It felt that way when a sister who just wanted to get some rest, suddenly had a guest she just couldn’t say no to visit and stay for a long time.  And it especially felt that way yesterday when we went to worship with our teammates.

Joy in new plants

Our teammates have been sick—a virus that took the whole family down and wiped them out and left them tired, out of routine and a little bit isolated.  So the plan was to go over to them to spend some time worshiping this Sunday.  That was the plan, but as we walked up the street toward their front door, we noticed a great big speaker sitting outside their house.  It seemed like a bad sign.  Sure enough, as soon as we started strumming the first chords on the guitar, someone started speaking on the microphone.  Then, as we started to sing the loud island music started up.

Now, do I believe that the neighbors were out to destroy our worship time, and discourage us?  Not by any means.  But do I believe there was some force at work trying to discourage us? Absolutely.  We were undaunted—determined to praise.  And so we did.  Tom sawed away at the guitar strumming as loud as he could and we sang from the heart, trying to drown out the conflicting melody and beat of the music blaring over the loud speaker.  It just so happened that when we stopped playing, the music outside would also stop, and when we began to play and sing, the music would start again.  This happened multiple times.

Joy in karate (despite the heat)

We believe that there is more to the world than what we see.  We don’t see coincidences in these things.  We see a power at work actively looking for any means possible to steal our joy.  It happens, and sometimes it works.  Sometimes we start to lose sight of our joy.  But not yesterday.  Yesterday we sang.  We sang over the blaring music.  We sang into the face of discouragement.  We sang a song about victory and remembered that we have it.  We held onto our joy.  And then when we finished our worship time and the music outside kept going, we danced with the kids and fellowshipped with one another in loud voices.  Then we went out and greeted the neighbors with joy.  

PRAYERS ANSWERED
The new family is feeling better. Pray that any lingering symptoms would go away and that they can dive back into island life this week. Our son’s exams finished and he is enjoying his first day of a two week break from local school. Tom prayed for an island brother this week and he has found healing! The trash truck came a couple times this week— we never know when it will come and have to have our bags ready to go, but we are thankful that it has come when we’ve needed it. 


PRAYERS REQUESTED
We continue to pray for unity among island brothers and sisters, and especially that old grudges and divisions wouldn’t be passed on to new people. Pray for an island sister whose college-aged son who is studying abroad has gotten himself into a messy situation. Pray that God would clear a way forward. Pray for our daughter as she finishes her term at school this week and travels back to the islands. She will be traveling back to the islands with other students but without an adult accompanying them (a first for her), pray that all her travels go smoothly and that she makes it back to us safely on Sunday. We have heard that airport workers might be striking this week and we have a teammate traveling— pray for fair resolution, for good health for our teammate and that all flights would go as normal. We still haven’t seen the boy that stole from us a couple weeks ago (he normally is a close to daily visitor). We had a tense interaction with a longtime friend who always wants to insist that we believe the same things— pray that she might see clearly how we differ. Fasting begins later this week— may God guide us all as we dedicate the coming weeks to prayer and praise.

Calling In Backup

On my way to the office on Thursday I often stop and say hi to Ba Himu (the father of my former student Himu).  Himu was a great student - smart, funny, helpful and eager to learn.  He became an English teacher and did a great job teaching others.  Himu has been studying abroad for a few years now.  He has even taken our English curriculum and started teaching it to students in the country where he’s studying.  Every so often he sends me pictures of students getting certificates.

Tom invests in lots of young men

About the same time Himu left to study abroad, his younger brother, Himumbili, became my student.  Himumbili is cut from the same mold as Himu.  Bright, funny, an even bigger smile than his brother—he has learned a lot of English, become an English teacher and has been working hard in school so that he can follow in the footsteps of his older brother.  At least, that’s what I thought.

As I greeted Ba Himu (Himumbili’s father) he pulled me aside and told me very gravely that Himumbili is not doing well.  It turns out he’s been hanging out with the wrong kind of friends, getting into trouble and not taking his studies seriously.  Well, I commiserated with his father that this was not good.  I told him I would pray for Himumbili, that he would choose what is right and be careful about his friendships.  He nodded his head and said, “You need to talk to him too.”  “Okay,” I said, “I’ll make sure to say something next time I see him.”

Local Singing Competition

That evening Himumbili showed up at my door. “My dad says you wanted to talk to me,” he said.  I asked him if his dad had told him what it was about and he said no.  Thus began our awkward conversation.

At least, I thought it would be awkward but it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.  I don’t know if it was the guidance of the Holy Spirit, the fact that I’m a lot older than him, or that these kinds of talks feel more natural in island culture, or a combination of all of these together, but I sat down and started talking.  I explained that his dad wanted me to talk to him, that his dad was worried about him, that he was getting into trouble.  I asked if it was true.  We talked about influencing your friends vs being influenced by your friends and doing what is right.  I told him that his dad must love him very much to care so much about him and tell me to talk to him.  Himumbili listened and nodded and promised to change.  I prayed for him and he left all smiles.

Our boys!

Island culture likes using mediators.  When there is a problem, is it normal to have someone step in and take a role in bringing resolution to the two parties.  I think in America, many people would find this strange or wrong.  “How dare you bring someone else into our personal business!”  They might say.  But on the islands, it is seen as the right and proper thing to do.  It also highlights the sort of influence and responsibility that we wield, something that as an American I tend to downplay.  Yes, I’m Himumbili’s teacher and I try to be a good example and a good influence in his life.  But perhaps he sees me as much more than that.  What does it mean for his English teacher to give him counsel and advice and to pray with him?  His father certainly seems to think it’s important.  Perhaps he’s just trying anything he can to get his son back on a good path.  Then again, perhaps my opinion really does matter to Himumbili.  I hope it does.  I told Himumbili and his father that I’m praying for him and I am—not just that he have the right friends, but for real heart change.  

PRAYERS ANSWERED
Praise God that we are trusted enough by island parents to be advisers to their children. Our neighbors decided to take trash disposal into their own hands, but then the very next day the trash truck came (‘I prayed!” Tom declared). We’re still not sure how frequently to expect the trash truck, so please keep praying, but it was nice to see that provision when things were looking desperate and others had given up hope. We are excited that island brothers and sisters are meeting more regularly and that there are plans coming together for a big gathering for the upcoming holiday next month. May maturity and unity abound. 


PRAYERS REQUESTED
Our team’s new family is struggling with illness— first the husband and now all three kids and wife are sick. Pray for healing and protection, that no one else would get sick. Pray for them as they try to establish good rhythms of language learning and being in their community. We have heard word of an island brother who has walked away and may even be badmouthing the island body. Pray for repentance and restoration. We had confirmation that the same boy stole from us again— he has been avoiding our house, but pray that we would have wisdom and grace to know how to proceed with him. Our son is finishing his exams for the 2nd term of local island school— pray that they continue well without being too stressful. Pray also for our daughter as she has a bunch of tests in the next couple weeks before she comes home for a month-long break.  The month of fasting will be here in less than two weeks— pray that a great prayer movement for the islands would happen and that all of us on the islands would be ready to shine brightly.

Trash Woes

 We have written before about the trash woes on Clove Island. It has been a big problem for years. When we first got here the problem was that everyone threw their trash in the ocean or the rivers, making our hearts break at the environmental impact and sad to see the island’s natural beauty marred by garbage.

Trash thrown on the beach

Then, the island government cracked down on putting trash in ocean or rivers.  They forbid it and charged large fines if you got caught.  But the problem was that they didn’t provide a trash solution, so people would just do it at night under the cover of darkness.

Skip ahead and the government designated certain areas for trash. In some places they set up small dumpsters and told people to throw their trash there. A truck would come periodically and pick up the trash and take it away.  This seemed to work well for a time, But then the problem became that the truck didn’t come often enough. The government wasn’t paying the trash truck drivers, so they stopped coming.  The piles of trash went beyond the confines of the bins and dumpsters and piled and stank and spread into the streets.

A trash dump corner

During this time period, we sent our older son (12 years old) to dump a smelly dead rat that we found in the back courtyard of our house to the trash pile on the street corner. It should have been a task that took a few minutes, but our son didn’t come back. We checked the house and down at the neighbors to make sure that our son hadn’t slipped back home without our noticing, but he wasn’t there. Someone came to say that someone had been bothering our son about throwing out trash away during the day. Tom went to look for him and found out that our son had been taken into custody (without us being informed) and was at the mayor’s office waiting for his parents to come and pay a big fine. Apparently they had decided the unsightly accumulating trash that had been collecting for many, many days would be solved by telling people to only throw their trash away in the evening. Unfortunately for our son, they had decided to start enforcing this rule that very day. Tom went to the Mayor’s office and then called some friends and got the fine reduced significantly and our son came home excited that he could now say he had been arrested!

The limited hours for throwing out trash did nothing to relieve the problem. So eventually they got rid of the roadside trash areas all together. Instead they hired a truck to drive around the capital, blowing a horn (one of those plastic trumpets outlawed at international sporting events), and people would throw their trash in the back as it passed. For a month, this worked well. It came every couple days and we had our trash bags ready to throw in the back.

The elusive trash truck

But the trash truck stopped coming. The government said people needed to start paying to be able to throw their trash in the back. We’ve paid. The truck came last weekend, over a week ago now, but it hasn’t returned. Trash is accumulating in people’s houses. We had it all bagged on our porch because we had been told the trash truck was going to come, but then it didn’t come and the next morning we found that cats had gotten into our trash bags and tore them open strewing garbage and food waste around our entrance-way.

We’re not sure what to do. We’ve heard that some people have snuck out at night and thrown it back in the ocean (like old times). We don’t plan to do this.  Instead, we pray. May there be good governance and management of money.  May the trash collectors be paid and come regularly.  May the trash truck run well and not break down.  May we make less trash and may it not be too smelly.

PRAYERS ANSWERED
Our new family had a good homestay experience.  It was not easy for them, but the family that they stayed with were very kind and took good care of them.  They enjoyed the cooler weather up on the plateau.  After the homestay they moved into their new home.  They are really excited to have a place of their own after months of transition.  We are feeling more settled now that they are in their new home and had our first team day as a team this past week.  Our visitor on a vision trip arrived today and seems in good spirits.  One of our teammates had an attempted break-in at their house.  We are thankful that the thief was not successful and that the landlord helped to increase security on the door.


PRAYERS REQUESTED
Pray for the trash truck to start coming around again!  Pray for the rains to come.  It is still very hot, making everything from walking to working to sleeping harder to do.  Pray for a change to what seems to be a rising problem of crime.  Keep praying for our new family as they now get into regular routines of language learning and life.  Pray for our visitor to have an encouraging time with us and for us to be encouraged by her visit as well. Several on our team have been hit by a tummy bug that seems to linger for several days— pray for all those still have symptoms that they would make full and quick recoveries! Pray for our island sister and her husband as they face new demands from their community that aren’t consistent with their current beliefs. Pray that they would have wisdom in how they respond.