Trusting

 “Don’t worry, Teacher.  Everything is arranged.”

That was the confirmation I had been waiting for.  It meant I was going to the English ceremony on the other side of the island on Sunday afternoon.  Going to English ceremonies is one of the duties of being an English teacher on Clove Island.  Sometimes it feels a bit like being royalty—we may have had very little to do with the teaching of English in that particular village, but we bring prestige and honor to the program by our presence at their certificate ceremonies, so whenever we can, we go.  But we can’t always go.

Tom at English ceremony

In the ten years that we have lived here on Clove Island we have never owned a car.  We’ve never really wanted to.  Cars are expensive, the roads break them quickly, they are hard to repair here, and it’s just a headache and a hassle that we’d rather not deal with.  The public transportation system, though not very comfortable is quite reliable—to an extent.  But that’s where Sunday afternoons become a problem.

Everyone pretty much knows that there are no taxis or buses on Sunday afternoon.  That is why I told the English program directors that I could only come to their ceremony if they could guarantee me a trip home.  So when they promised transportation, I agreed to go.  I caught a bus midday, and made it to the ceremony right on time.  The ceremony went well, and (as often happens in villages) they fed us all a big meal afterwards.  But by the end of the meal, it was late afternoon.  No worries, I thought.  They’ve assured me they have something for me.

From the ceremony stage

What they had was a motorcycle.  Not a problem.  I had brought my helmet in case of such an eventuality.  But, as I was getting ready to head out, they let me know—the motorcycle driver will only take you over the pass.  From there you’ll be able to catch a bus.  As we made our way down the street I thought.  “Do they know something I don’t?  There are no buses on Sunday evenings.”  As the sun began to set I could feel my concern rising.  This was not a great situation.  But what could I do about it?  I could either become very anxious, or I could trust that my Father would take care of me.  So I did my best to keep calm and enjoy the fantastic views of sunset as we drove over the mountain pass.  When I started to feel nervous I would remind myself of some verses I had read that very week:

“Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?  And if worry can’t accomplish a little thing like that, what’s the use of worrying over bigger things?…He will certainly care for you.”

The motorcycle dropped me off in the town on the other side of the pass just as it was getting dark.  There were no cars or buses in sight.  I sent a quick message to Megan asking her to pray, not knowing what I would do, reminding myself to trust.  After not too many minutes, a nice car pulls up—not a taxi, not a bus.  The driver greets me with a friendly smile.  I greet him back and with a hint of desperation in my voice, ask him if he can take me to the big intersection with the main road, 3 towns over.  He readily agrees.  The Lord provides! 

Looking out on the village crowd

We had a nice conversation on the way there.  He lived in the next town over, but was taking me to the big intersection out of the goodness of his heart.  When we arrived at the intersection I hopped out of the car, thinking he’d turn right around.  But instead he got out of the car too and leaned on the hood.  I asked him what he was waiting for.  He said for me.  He wanted to see me off safe.  So we stood there by his car, at a dark intersection.  No taxis, no buses, no cars coming by.  I left another quick message for Megan.  Telling her about my progress and taking a moment to remind myself to trust.  At this point I’m still a long way from home (maybe about an hour drive).  We wait in the dark.  Another man joins us.  He too is hoping for a ride back to the city.  Nothing comes but a few cars going the wrong direction.  But finally a big flatbed truck drives up and makes the turn toward home.  We yell out for him to stop.  Graciously he does, and yelling my thanks to the kind man with the car, I jumped onto the back of the truck to sit among stocks of green bananas.  The Lord provides!  It was not comfortable, but I was on my way home.  After a bumpy ride, with some wonderful views of the stars, the truck dropped me off not far from my door.  

But that’s not the end of this story.  Because islanders love a good story.  This is one I have already gotten to tell to island friends, just as I’m telling you now.  As I was going over the mountain pass, reminding myself not to worry, the thought occurred to me—no matter what happens, I can trust it will be for my good.  In the ensuing days as I got to share with others about my little journey, I could see that it wasn’t meant only for my good, but to encourage others as well.  It gave me an opportunity to share with them a bit of good news. The Lord provides!

PRAYERS ANSWERED
Today has been a rainy day— bringing nice relief to the heat. Unfortunately today was also moving day for our teammates, but thankfully they got everything in the truck and covered by a tarp before the real downpours started, and arriving at their destination the rain had stopped. Megan was able to study with Ma Imani and make a plan to start studying regularly with some of the other sisters as well. We were able to have a nice visit with our friend and former worker here. He shared things he has been learning on Sunday and it paired beautifully with what we were scheduled to be studying together. The planning meeting last week went really well. Tom was able to talk with the man from the restaurant. Tom was very encouraged and feels like he’s found a brother. The man may be returning soon to the big island but we hope that we can connect him with others. Tom and a teammate also went to talk and pray with a man that has been sick for a long time— there may be spiritual factors involved. We are thankful that Tom was able to share very openly and fully the good news before praying for his healing.

PRAYERS REQUESTED
Pray for our teammates as they settle into their new home on the plateau— for a smooth transition, good friends for all, a positive school experience for their oldest, and for positive routines and relationships in their new community. Pray for the three of us (Tom, Megan and our youngest) as we travel to the small island for this coming weekend to checkin with our group’s workers there. Pray that we would be an encouragement to them all. Pray for Megan’s studies with the island sisters— Ma Imani is sick so it isn’t clear if we will start this week, but pray that we would be studying the things that will help these sisters grow in understanding and wisdom. The large group gathering is roughly planned for December but some money decisions haven’t been made— pray that finances would not impede unity or become a stumbling block to these types of gatherings. Our older two kids have just two more weeks of their term before coming home for the month of December— pray that their final weeks of classes and exams would not be stressful.