Long-awaited Children

 It was a surprise to see Uhaju at our door. He hadn’t visited in a long time, but a bigger surprise was that he had brought his wife. That was a first, but we knew the reason. We had heard the news, but now we could see for ourselves that his wife was pregnant— seven months along.

Now it isn’t normal to go around and announce a pregnancy on the islands, but this was different. Uhaju and his wife had been trying for years to get pregnant.  It wasn’t clear if their marriage would even survive their struggles, but we had prayed.  He had asked us to and he knew that we had been praying for them.  For years we had been praying. That is why he had come, to thank us for our prayers, to celebrate the answer and to pray in thanksgiving to God together. We took the opportunity to remind them of why and how we pray. 

 A long-awaited son

Islanders see prayers as valuable and are truly thankful when we pray for them.

Later that same week, we were making a visit to see a new baby. He was already 4 months old, but he had been born in India (where they were receiving fertility treatments) and had come to the islands while we were gone, so he was new to us.  Another baby born after years of prayers. As we sat with his mother, we reminded her of all the prayers we had said and again we lifted our prayers of thanksgiving for answered prayers.

Like many places, having children is important on the islands. Fertility issues is often a reason for divorce. A man will find another wife because his current one isn’t getting pregnant. Even if he doesn’t want to divorce, he may have lots of pressure from his family to do so.

Having children changes your identity. If new parents give birth to a little baby named Sam— from that day forward they will be known as Ma Sam and Ba Sam. For some, this will be the only name they go by.  

Also, having children is seen as a religious obligation on the islands. It is accepted and preached as a command from God that everyone should marry and have children. So, it is understood that you need to make every effort to have kids. This isn’t a choice.

So at any given point in time, there is always a handful of couples whom we are praying with, asking that they’d be able to have children. Currently, there are two that stand out in my mind. One is a woman who was been a friend of our group since we first arrived. She married late (especially by island standards) and hasn’t gotten pregnant yet.  She is constantly watching the babies and toddlers of her extended family, but has none of her own yet. People in our group have prayed with her on many occasions.

Our new roof starting to leak.

The second is Ma Imani’s youngest sister. Another woman married for years, but without a child. Ma Imani has prayed very boldly and publicly for her sister, but I wonder if God is waiting for her sister to come to Him personally, to accept the good news and change how she prays.

Because as much as we love children and even as we do pray fervently with these women and couples, we also know that their needs run deeper. So we pray for their hearts before God, knowing that it may be that it is answered prayers that will draw them closer.

PRAYERS ANSWERED
We are very thankful for these two couples who have had their prayers for children answered and acknowledge that it is from answered prayers. The translation workshop for all the islands went well. We’re thankful that we got some time with the medical team this week and were encouraged by how they are all doing and all the opportunities they have to share and study with people. Muki brought two of his sons to study with Tom this week and wants to share audio recordings with others. Mtsa studied again and had clearly been reading and studying on his own. We are thankful that more of the cheapest kind of rice has come in and some of our poorer friends have been able to buy bags.

PRAYERS REQUESTED
Pray for travels this week— we have regional meetings in South Africa at the end of the week. Pray for safe and smooth travels. The family on the medical team is traveling by plane for the first time since the plane accident some months ago, pray for especially smooth travels for them. Our daughter will be going on a follow-up appointment this week to check on the current treatment plan (meanwhile she has gotten a cold which means she has to temporarily stop treatment of the immunosuppressants so she can recover). Pray for a quick recovery from her cold and for a clear way forward with her treatment. Megan is traveling ahead of Tom and our son to take our daughter to the doctor, pray for the boys on their own and for Megan traveling alone. There has been some rain and one of the brand new sections of roof is leaking— the landlord has already contacted the builder— pray for an easy solution. The young daughter of one of our colleagues has come down with a serious medical condition— they have sought out better medical care and have been undergoing lots of tests. Pray for healing and clarity for future treatment for that family. Ma Imani is committed to studying with her sisters and their kids (even though they live in different villages now). They have agreed but have struggled to find times where everyone is available and healthy— pray they find a consistent time to study.

Heart Check

 “Karibu” I said, “Welcome,” as my friend Muki and his son came to my house and sat down for a chat on my porch.  Muki, is my good friend.  I’ve known him for years.  But his son, Mtsa, I had only met a few times and I wasn’t sure about him.  He had a glint in his eye that I didn’t like.  The sort of guy you look at and think, “He’s up to no good.”  I served them some cold water as is my habit with guests.  Mtsa quickly let me know that he preferred hot water not cold.  I think it was a not so subtle hint that he wanted coffee.  When Muki comes to visit me in the morning I serve him coffee, but not in the afternoon.  No, this was confirming something I already suspected—Mtsa was here for what he could get.  It wasn’t long before he was asking for something.  Could I bring him some boots from America—and not just any boots—heavy duty, steel-toed, military grade boots.  It was a pretty big thing to ask for and for the sake of my friendship with Muki I made it happen, but I didn’t like it—and I didn’t like Mtsa for asking me while having no relationship with me.

Seeing people after travels often means giving gifts

When we got back from America Muki and Mtsa were soon at my door, that same glint in his eye, eager for his boots.  I gave them to him with as much positivity as I could muster.  He seemed happy with them.  Then he asked me if I had a phone for him too.  I told him I didn’t, and my dislike of Mtsa went a little deeper.

Last week Muki and Mtsa came over in the morning.  It was morning so I gave them both some coffee—Mtsa seemed very pleased.  Then, as is our habit, Muki and I began to study together.  Mtsa sat with us a sort of half-willing participant.  I thought to myself, “I bet he sees this as paying his dues for the boots.”  But he sat and listened and made at least one small comment.  When we were finished he showed me his phone which had a broken screen and asked if I could get it fixed for him next time I travel.  I said “We’ll see.” And felt my dislike for Mtsa grow a little deeper—I don’t trust this guy farther than I can throw him.  He just sees me and sees an ATM.  The less I see of Mtsa the better.

I was telling my team about Mtsa—looking for sympathy I suppose.  When I was suddenly aware of what I was doing.  My heart had become hard towards him.  

Suddenly it struck me—had I forgotten whose son he was?  While we were in the States, I told a lot of people about his father Muki.  I start the story by telling them about how I had this neighbor who I didn’t trust at all. I knew he just wanted to be my friend for the things he could get out of me.  But, he kept coming by and eventually we became friends and eventually we started to study together.  Should I expect Muki’s son to be any different???
Then a second thing struck me—hadn’t I been hoping, pleading that my meetings with Muki would grow beyond the two of us?  Wasn’t I hoping that others would come and join us?  Wasn’t I hoping that Muki could be a light to his family?  And here’s Mtsa sitting and studying with us—what am I grumbling about?

As if to show me just how stupid I was being, that same morning Mtsa and Muki came by and Mtsa asked me if I could put the app on his phone that would allow him to listen to and read the things we were studying!

Now I’m not suggesting that Mtsa has had a change of heart.  I don’t know if he wanted the app because he is actually interested, or because Muki wants him to be interested, or because he feels he has to appease me in order to get free coffee.  I don’t know.  But that really doesn’t matter so much now.  As much as I want his heart to change, mine was the one that needed to change first.  Am I still suspicious of him?  Yes.  But am I willing to love him anyway?  Now, yes.  Mtsa may only be in it for what he can get, but now my heart is softer toward him.  How thankful I am for the One who opens my eyes, shows me the hardness of my heart, and softens it in ways that only He can.  Mtsa, I don’t trust you farther than I can throw you, but you are welcome to my home, my love, my friendship.  Karibu!

PRAYERS ANSWERED
We’re thankful that Muki keeps coming by to study and for Mtsa to join the group.  We’re thankful that our teammate was able to get her visa for another year.  We’re thankful for the visits and time spent reconnecting with friends here, especially as one friend recently lost her husband.  So glad that Megan and our teammate were able to sit and visit with her and encourage her.

 

PRAYERS REQUESTED

Keep praying for the situations of rice (still too expensive for most), politics (still volatile though the president is recovering from the attack on his life), the medical team leader’s house electrical woes (it was working and then it wasn’t again), for our teammate’s hospital work authorization (these things go slowly) and our new people still adjusting to island life and learning language (it’s a marathon, not a sprint).  Keep praying for our sister from the little island who was taken to court by her step father who is trying to kick her out of the house.  The judge has given her 6 months to either change her ways or move out.  We are thankful for the six month reprieve, but pray that she would be able to find a new and affordable place to live. There is a workshop happening for the translation project across all three islands— pray that it would go well and all the participants would gain a lot from it.

Sights and Sounds of the Island

 When you first arrive in a new place, everything feels different.  The sights, the smells, the sounds—your senses are bombarded with new.  But over time, new becomes old and different becomes routine.  It can be difficult to remember the things that once affected you so vividly, but it is not impossible.  Sometimes it just takes some time.  If we sit and we look and we really observe, those things can come back to us.  Or sometimes it takes someone else seeing and pointing out to us the things that we have stopped seeing.

Our son on the roof

Our youngest son had a homeschool assignment this week.  He was meant to sit and observe his surroundings, to take notes and then write a short essay.  The result is below.  We think it is a good reminder of the atmosphere of our island home and we wanted to share it with you:

The humming of a generator comes to me one evening, as the calm wind blows and birds are chirping.  In the sky, the sun is blazing, the clouds are moving, the birds are flying and crows are cawing.  

Above the street where I am sitting, junk is lying around, leaves are swaying back and forth and curtains are fluttering in the wind.  Rebar wire sticks out and wires hang from here to there.  A spider is skittering.  Pebbles are everywhere.  A door is opening.  

Out of nowhere the call to prayer bellows.  Flies tickle my skin.  My clothes are heating up.  Shadows drift and my notebook papers flip.  

Down on the road, people walk, engines rev, pots clang, cars honk and people shout.  Then I get up and leave the roof.

View from our roof

Many times when we travel to the US people ask if it’s good to be home.  Really we have two homes.  We love and appreciate both our homes.  (We dislike things about both of them too.)  The funny thing about home—you even learn to appreciate the not so pretty parts.  We think he captured the mix of noises, heat, beauty and movement we so associate and love about our island life.

PRAYERS ANSWERED
Rice has arrived!  Praise the Lord, but see more about it below.  We had our first week of home school (as seen above) and it went well!  We are thankful for a week that had us feeling more settled and enjoying the reconnection with friends and routines.  The medical team leader now has electricity in her home (after over a month of living there without)! Pray that remaining issues be resolved soon.

PRAYERS REQUESTED
Rice has arrived, but difficulties continue.  The government has opened the doors to sell unsubsidized rice from other countries.  This means there is now enough rice, but many don’t have the money to buy it, and it will probably take some time for prices to stabilize.  In the meantime, many poor people continue to suffer.  The politics of the islands continues to simmer with rage under the surface resulting in a recent attack on the president.  He is recovering.  The attacker was killed in prison.  Pray for peaceful avenues for change on the islands. Keep praying for the new family adjusting to island life.  They are only a few weeks in and the first months can be the hardest!  Pray for an island sister undergoing threats from her father on the little island.  She is standing firm, and her neighbors have even come to her defense!  It is still unclear what her father will do— pray that she would remain encouraged and that he would soften. Pray that our teammate can get authorization from the hospital to continue her OT work there.

100 Years

 Islanders don’t keep track of birthdays much. I have often asked a mother how old one of her kids is and had her struggle to come up with an age or had her giving me an age that does not seem accurate. Celebrating birthdays is just starting to become more common, so this may change, but most islanders and especially older islanders don’t have a good sense of how old they are.

If you want to say someone is really, really old, you say that they are 100! At first, I thought this was their literal age, but then someone in their 30’s told me that their mother was 100. After I clarified that they were talking about the woman who actually gave birth to them (since ‘mother’ can be used for a variety of maternal figures) and heard other people exclaim about their 100 year old relatives, I realized that this was more an island way of saying that someone was near the end of a long and full life.

100th birthday photo tribute done by Megan's dad

Well, in December, my (Megan’s) grandmother turned 100 years old (literally). An entire century of loving, serving and ministering to others (including 75 years of marriage and 40 years of prison ministry). Just over a week ago, she passed away.  Grammie was a godly, kind woman. She leaves behind 3 kids, 8 grandkids, and 16 great-grandkids who can rejoice in a life well-lived and in her making heaven that much sweeter.

This morning, I went downstairs to greet our local island grandmother, the matriarch of the family whose house we rent. She is old enough that it is not insensitive to say that she is old. She has grandchildren who are grown and married. She can’t see well. She is very thin. She can’t get out of the chair on her own anymore and mostly stays sitting either in her living room or the open corridor in the back of the house where they have put a bunch of pillows on the tile bench for her benefit. I wouldn’t be surprised if some of her grandkids say, “She’s 100!”

As I sat with her, I told her about Grammie and how she had been ready to go and be with God. I told her about how Grammie had the hope of heaven and so there was nothing to fear about death— in fact there was joy at the idea of being with God and being reunited with those who had gone before. Islanders talk about the judgment that comes with death and it is accompanied by lots of uncertainty and fear. There is none of that in Grammie’s passing and I wanted our island grandmother to hear that— that you can come to the end of however many years and welcome the presence of God with peace and readiness. Grammie was a friend of God and she has the pleasure of resting in His presence forever.

Welcomed at airport on Clove Island

We’ll see her there one day. Until then, rest well, Grammie!

PRAYERS ANSWERED
We thank God for Grammie’s life and ministry on earth and that Megan’s mom was able to be in town with her in her last week.  We made it back to Clove Island— all our flights went smoothly and all of our luggage made it (something we don’t take for granted). We were welcomed warmly and found our house ready to go with new roof over the bedrooms and all rubble/debris cleaned out. We are thankful for a good time connecting with all the workers on the big island as we passed through. Our daughter did fine with the first week of injections, no significant side effects so far. The one island wedding of a local brother went well and was almost followed by another impromptu wedding of an island brother and sister. Thankfully (from our perspective) this was called off so that the potential bride and groom could think and pray about it more and not rush into marriage without proper preparation. The new family of African workers have all arrived on the big island after months of delay and are starting orientation. We have already gotten to see many of our island friends and neighbors, and also moved back into our house enough to start into normal routines this week. 



PRAYERS REQUESTED
Islanders are really suffering. The continuing lack of rice and the rising prices of other options means that people look skinnier to us and we are hearing stories of desperation. A neighborhood in our town saw a conflict burst into violence and destruction, and many think people were so angry because they are hungry. Pray that corruption and mismanagement would stop and that this rice shortage would end. Pray that inflation woes would stop, that the poor might find relief. Pray for the new family undergoing orientation on the big island— may both parents and kids start learning local language well and adjust well to island life. Pray for the medical team leader’s house— she has continued to have problems with electricity and now some plumbing issues. Pray that things would be fixed and function properly. Pray for us as we start homeschool with our youngest son this week and get back into life— that we would establish good routines and healthy patterns. Pray for our kids in boarding kids to have good dorm communities and to adjust back into school rhythms quickly.

Persevering

 Today we leave mainland Africa for our onward flights to the islands.  We had a wonderful time in the US, but the time was short and we didn’t get to see everyone we would have liked.  At the risk of sounding a bit repetitive, we thought we would dedicate this blog to sharing the things we were sharing with all those we did get to see, so you might be up to speed on where we find ourselves, our hearts and our work.

Final family breakfast in the US

In trying to give an update on the past two years, the word that came up again and again—becoming a theme of our sharing—was the word “perseverance.”  Perseverance defined by google is “persistence in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success.”  The definition draws out two paths of perseverance that we see.  There is perseverance through difficulty—like the Olympic marathon runners using their last ounces of strength for a final kick to the end and then collapsing over the finish line .  And then there is the perseverance through long delay—like the years and years of practice, day after day, month after month, year after year, it took those same Olympians to get to the games.

We have known both kinds of perseverance in our years on the islands, but in thinking over the past two years, we are thankful for the fruit of perseverance through long delay.. It is not a plodding perseverance we wanted to share, but rather a hopeful one.  We are seeing and sharing the answers to many prayers, many of which have been long in coming.

Traveling through Doha

We are thankful for fruit of perseverance among the island family.  In the past two years we have seen them take steps to identify themselves as a community and commit to regular meetings, offerings, and prayer.  What a wonderful thing to have happen.  Moreover in the past year we have seen the fruit of the long hard road of translation, resulting in actual physical books to read!  Neither of these things came about quickly, but required many years of patience endurance.  But neither is this work finished.  One small group, one small book, is not the goal.  Our hearts yearn for much more and so we know that the call is to continue to persevere.

Another area we see the fruit of perseverance is through our personnel.  In the past two years we have seen many of our long-serving colleagues called away to new fields, but we have trusted in God to provide new workers to come and join us.  He has done so abundantly and we hope to welcome this year as many as 9 new workers including from three different African nations.  So we persevere through these changes and remember that God will provide.  But it will not be easy with all this change and the multiple cultures to integrate, respect and love.  This too calls for perseverance going forward.

In his new dorm room

Parenting is another area that takes perseverance.  In the past two years, we have watched, rejoiced, prayed and grieved as our two older children have gone off to boarding school, far from our island home.  It is not easy having our kids so far from home, but we see both the fruit of our years together and the fruit of allowing them to be guided and mentored by others.  We are so thankful to see them thriving at school and growing into a man and a woman of God.  But there are many years of school ahead going through adolescence and now battling illness. This calls for continued perseverance.

Lastly, there is our island home and community.  Here we experience both types of perseverance.  We are thankful for the ways our long presence there has meant many deep relationships— relationships that continue to deepen and hearts that continue to open.  But we also see the need to hang in there.  The islands have suffered greatly from global inflation, seeing their hard lives made that much harder as the little they have does not go as far as it used to.  We hear far more stories of people not being able to feed their families than we used to.  The political and economic situation continues to decay through poor governance, corruption and laws and practices that hurt growth and industry.  There are more shortages of everything from rice to electricity.  The ecological toll of over-farming, tree removal and pollution have seen a vast loss in yearly rainfall resulting in water shortages.  In short, the islands can be a difficult place to live.  But in this too, we persevere, knowing that good news is not just hope for the soul, but for the community and that these big problems can turn around when people join together in unity.  So we persevere and ask you to continue to persevere with us.  Change comes slowly, but it is coming!

PRAYERS ANSWERED
Our final days in the US went well and we felt like we got the needed things done. We made it back to mainland Africa with all our bags (with God seeing us through a short connection). Our daughter and Megan didn’t have significant pain during the travels. We saw our daughter’s rheumatologist and have an updated treatment plan to hopefully get rid of the remaining disease activity in her joints. We had a nice afternoon at our kids’ boarding school, settling them into their new dorm rooms and meeting their dorm parents. The school has lots of great people serving there and we are very thankful for them all.

PRAYERS REQUESTED
Pray for our remaining travels back to Clove Island, still 3 more flights to go! Pray that we could reconnect well with colleagues on the big island as we pass through and ultimately for our readjustment into life and work on Clove. Pray that our house is ready to receive us since they have replaced the roof/ceiling in our absence. Pray for our older two as they start a new year at boarding school and adjust to new dorms and roommates. Pray for our daughter as she begins injections two times a week for her rheumatoid arthritis— pray that she would tolerate the medication without side effects and that it would clear up her remaining symptoms. Pray for our time reconnecting with island friends and neighbors. We will see a lot of people this coming week, pray that we would have the energy we need and be lights back into our island community. Pray for the marriages of our island brothers and sisters— there was a wedding just this weekend on the big island- pray for this new union. At the same time, we have heard that another marriage is falling apart, pray for God’s grace and guidance for the family involved.