Long Haul

 It feels like we are in a time of innovation on the islands.  We know of several new ideas floating around among our friends and colleagues on the islands— new business ideas, new ideas for reaching out, and new projects for engagement.   We are hearing about new people from new places (and certainly with new ideas) expressing interest in coming to the islands.  We are writing requests for new workers who might be interested in branching into new areas, helping us to grow, change and innovate. It’s exciting to think of all that might happen in the coming years if these things come together!

A big tree on small island-- it started as a seed

But what do we say to the prospective workers? to those who are eager and want to jump right in and see things happen?  We want new workers who have a vision for the future. We’d love to see new projects and ventures.  But we also know that new things on the islands take time.  

We were excited to be a part of the orientation of five new workers this past week.  These men and women are excited and eager.  They have new ideas and will push our teams into new areas of work and connection.  But they are also eager to listen and learn from the veteran workers leading sessions for their orientation.  As orientation went on, we noticed a theme emerging.  It was not planned.  It just seemed to happen.  Whether it was a session about language learning, team building or simply a veteran member given a devotion about their story, their struggles, their triumphs, the theme returned again and again.

Sometimes things take a really long time.
You need to have a long-haul mentality.
Don’t get discouraged. Don’t give up. Pray a lot!
It’s more of a marathon than a sprint.
Progress might be slow but keep it up.

These were the sentiments we heard shared again and again with the new team of workers.  Whether it was language learning, relationships, or starting a business, new workers need to know that it could take time. They need a long haul mentality. They may need to come to the islands and just learn the ropes and make connections for a couple years. They may need to first work in an area that isn’t where their passion or excitement lies.  They will need to be patient and humble. They will need to pray a lot and be sure this is the direction God wants them to go in.

Current best boat option

As an example of this, take our friends’ boat project.  He’s been hoping to provide safe and reliable travel between the small island and the other two islands—it has been an idea for a long time. It has been an active plan for years. The timeline has gotten delayed and plans have had to be completely scrapped and restarted several times. Sometimes the delays have been because of the government, sometimes banks, sometimes business partners, sometimes pandemics and global economics. There is a still a plan, but when will it become a reality? It’s still hard to say. These friends have been on the islands for many years, they know the culture and understand a lot of the bureaucracy. They have connections that have helped streamline things and still it has been a long and painfully slow process, and we are still waiting to see it successfully started.  It could be easy to give up hope.  But we encourage our friend and encourage our new people to hold onto hope. There is the chance for them to start something new.  Don’t get discouraged, don’t give up. Let’s pray! Even marathons have a finish line!

At one point doing the orientation, a worker who has been on the small island for over 24 years, shared about some of the things she had felt God leading her to when she was much younger, only to have her life and work go in a different direction for many years. It might have seemed to many as if those prayers had been unanswered—like the door had closed.   She thought the same at times, but was encouraged to persevere.  Now she could tell these new people, her prayers had become a reality, some 20 years after the initial prompting.  That’s endurance.  And as she let us know with a broad smile on her face, they were answers worth waiting for.

PRAYERS ANSWERED
The new workers on the small island had a week staying with local families and it went well and they are all happily settled into their own homes now. Our sister on the small island was under threat of having her house torn down and being completely excluded from her village community, but on the appointed day, no one showed up and the next day a group that included some of the main instigators came to invite her involvement in a community project! This was a huge and encouraging answer to prayer for her and all of us who were praying for her. We have some visitors passing through the islands and we are thankful that they made it safely to our island (including a much nicer boat trip from the small island than we had). It has been encouraging to interact with them.

PRAYERS REQUESTED
Pray for the new team as they settle into their first week of living in their new neighborhoods and starting what will become their normal weekly schedule of language learning, relationship building and team life. Pray that they would develop good and healthy habit and routines. The drama for our sister on the small island continues. Just today, she was called in by the military police on charges that she posted a video talking about what she believes on the internet. She will be held in custody overnight and there will be a hearing tomorrow morning. Pray for her kids and her to not fear but to stay strong and encouraged. Our older kids are going into finals week and then have to pack up and clean their dorm rooms before traveling to the islands Friday night into Saturday. Pray for their travel and energy/stress levels—we look forward to celebrating Thanksgiving with them on Sunday. May we be thankful and rejoice in all the blessing of this past year!