Out of the Blue

*A guest post by Heather*

There we stood at one of the most comfortable locations I can find on earth, the beach. We had been warned that the water at this beach was pretty choppy, but we weren’t planning on swimming very deep. So in our great excitement we ran down into the water that was slowly rising and dancing on the sand. After a few moments of sweet bliss, foot prints in the sand, and wading in the water, I looked up. However, it was not soon enough. A gigantic wave came out of nowhere and pummeled us. Cara was knocked backward (and being about seven inches shorter) I was pulled all the way under and dragged for a few feet by the wave. We came up laughing hard. And we continued laughing for the rest of the day. We laughed because there wasn’t another wave that large for the rest of our time at the beach, apparently they only enjoy surprise attacks. We laughed at ourselves for ignoring the fact that there were other people there who were standing about 25 feet from the water watching us frolic in as unsuspecting prey. One of these men kept laughing at us for the next hour or so. Act two occurred several days ago as I was running. I was running along the road when I saw some children playing soccer. I asked them if I could play with them and they were excited and welcoming. We were really having fun when I went after a ball that had landed in a pile of mud on the side. I slipped in the mud and fell directly on my bottom. Some of the children were very entertained, but one of them ran into his home and brought me some water to wash off my hands. I thanked him and we continued playing until I had to run home. The point of these stories is not that I need to take walking, swimming, or ball retrieval lessons. These moments made me think about how easily I can be surprised. There was no reason to believe that we would be harassed by a random wave or that placing my foot in one slippery spot would cause a landslide. Sometimes I get comfortable when I don’t see any trouble coming, and that is when I am caught off guard. I am grateful for the comfort that I feel here and the grace that God has given me to live peacefully in a different culture. But I don’t want to be caught off guard, I want to be prepared but flexible for whatever and whoever God brings my way. Please ask that I would continue to be refined and prepared for the opportunities that He has for me.

Worthy of Worship

But when He [Jesus] saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd.” Matthew 9:36

“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom, and strength and honor and glory and blessing!” Revelation 5:12

Why did the chicken cross the road?!

Driving in the rain forest is so different than driving in the city. I consider myself a good driver, but there are animals here with apparent death wishes! Running total after 7 months: 3 chickens, 1 turkey, 1 duck, and zero lemurs (thank goodness for that!). I praise the Lord often for His protection against accidents. The various and sundry small fowl do not even phase our 4x4 truck, and I must admit that the feathers fluttering in the air afterwards are a tragic beauty. :P

Tomorrow Heather and I head twelve hours north for an Indian Oceans Island meeting. Please pray that we will be an encouragement and be encouraged by our brothers and sisters that we will see there. We’re also turning the time into a supply run to stock up on necessities like toilet paper, yeast, and margarine, and fun stuff like popcorn, cheese, and peanut butter. *grin*

With only two more villages to assess, I am turning more of my time to nursing preparation. For instance, the villagers have told us that they take very sick people to the hospital, but many times the patient dies before they can get there because it is such a long way away. They also said that most of their children who die do so before the age of three, so a couple of the many lessons I am preparing are When to Go to the Doctor and Caring for Children From Birth to Age Two. I ask for your prayers in this as it is very different than the emergency work I am used to! Also for wisdom as we brainstorm culturally-appropriate ways to have village clinics. :)

Love you all!
Cara :)
Psalm 30:11-12, 57:7-11, 66:8-9, and 67:1-7