A New Face

We can sometimes be wary of new faces, especially of islanders who tell us stories that we can’t verify or tales of the kinds of things that we want to hear. We have been burned before. Just this past week, some like-minded workers on our island were bitterly disappointed by a good island friend when they found out that he had been lying to them. He had been telling them some very encouraging stories lately, but the bulk of it has proved false. They aren’t sure how far back the lies go or what his exact motivation in lying was— to please people, in hopes of getting money or just trying to impress.

The island sunrise on Sunday morning- He is risen!

This kind of lying is common enough that islanders are usually even more wary of each other than we are. They are used to seeing their fellow islanders lie (especially to foreigners).

A couple days ago I called an island friend because one of her relatives was at my house asking for a loan. He talked about a sick child that he had but also how he’d be able to pay us back at the end of the month.  I wanted advice. She was quick to tell me that he was lying, that he had no work and would never pay anything back.  She told me not to give him anything. We ended up giving him a token, but nothing close to what he was hoping for.

This past weekend we gathered as a large group for a meal. Among the over 60 people there was a new face to us. When it came time for some open sharing, this island man introduced himself. We were surprised to hear that he is a doctor! He looks so young. He told us that he had studied abroad and been transformed by the good news there and had recently come back to the islands and had met one of the expats who had invited him to the gathering.  

Helped prepare salad for 60+

After the doctor sat down, an older island brother stood up. He pointed at the young doctor and said that he knew this man, he’d met him before. He told the story from a few months ago of taking his ailing father to the hospital in the early hours of the morning. It was this young doctor that first met them at the emergency room. Our friend talked about how impressed he was by the younger man’s attentiveness and kindness. He had wondered about this young doctor, finally explaining this unique goodness with the idea that the young doctor was new and so trying to make a good impression with people. But he said that now having heard his story, he knew that the real reason this doctor was different was because he was a brother in the truth. So as this older known man stood up in that crowd of people, he affirmed for the group that this new face among us was a good man, a true brother.

We are reading a book as a team that talks about about how people can seem to have everything together but underneath they can be a mess. It talks about how easy it can be to ignore the warning signs or assume the best. The chapter I’m reading now says that our work is not shaped only by our skills or knowledge or experience or gifts, but by the condition of our hearts. It urged us to to continually remind ourselves of God’s truth, of the good news and let it transform us and shape our hearts.  

We can’t see into people’s hearts. Whether a new face or someone we have known for a while, we can be fooled, but there are moments when their hearts shine through, either as a warning that something isn’t right or as a confirmation that they are the real deal. It wasn’t necessarily this young doctor’s skills in medicine that impressed our friend, it was the glimpse of his heart, a heart transformed and shaped by the good news.  

Our family on Sunday

PRAYERS ANSWERED
We had a wonderful meal last week with over 60 of our brothers and sisters here and their children—lots of food, lots of singing and praise, sharing, prayers, a film- it was a wonderful evening and everything seemed to go pretty smoothly.  Going back to school seemed to go smoothly too—including our new teammates son, who seems to be enjoying his new school and not fearful!  We had a wonderful Holy Week with a number of gathering times for prayer, fellowship, worship, singing, and feasting!  We continue to get lots of opportunities to share good news during this month of fasting.  We continue to enjoy having all our children at home.

PRAYERS REQUESTED
Pray for the situation with our like-minded friends and the bitter disappointment they have experienced to discover their good friend was lying to them.  Pray for healing, repentance, forgiveness and hope to abound.  Pray for this new brother and his integration into the larger community.  May there be many more like him.  May he be a light in his own community.  Pray for a big feast being planned on the big island this coming week—may it be a great encouragement to them all.  Pray for our colleagues on the French island whose family was dealing with a case of chicken pox and now the father has badly injured his knee.  Pray he recovers well without needing surgery.  Pray for continued opportunities for studying and good conversations to happen this month and that we could respond with wisdom, gentleness and joy.