Windy!

Gracious!  The weather here lately has been unbelievable. Crazy, strong winds that are ripping out trees, rain coming down in torrential sheets... Day after day after day.  Wow! We just heard today about some people dying yesterday when a tree fell down by the Bank. I miss the sun. I have enjoyed the cooler weather, but I am ready to get back to life as normal-sweating in my bed at 5 am. Haha. It would be nice to have a balance, but I am so very thankful that I am not in the cold of winter somewhere.

I have been enjoying hearing all the stories of how God worked in the kid's lives during OE. It was such a challenging time, and the kids really saw God at work.  Emma lost her footing once and was sliding down a steep hill. She should have kept going but something stopped her. There was nothing there, but she stopped.  God was watching out for her. There were so many times that we were in a village setting up a water systems for them and the minute we were done, the storms came and started filling up the tanks. We saw sick kids get better. We saw high schooler recommit their lives to God. And the thing that I LOVE is that these life changes continue. It wasn't just a mountain top experience. I see them growing and changing. This weekend the High School boys are all going to an orphanage to live and serve. They will be bringing food to the homeless of Sentani.  They will be the hands and feet of Christ.

The girls are going to be serving as well in a different location.  I am thrilled to be a part of putting faith into action. 

The measles epidemic is still going on, so keep praying about that. It is mostly kids ages 10 and under that are dying. One man took us for a walk in his village pointing to a hut and telling us how many they lost, and another hut and another. And he would go around the village naming kids that had died. The church that we went to was only half as full as normal.   The government gave us 800 vaccines to take in and we used a LOT. I am thankful for that chance to save lives.

One thing I have been thinking about a lot lately is a quote I read. It says, "Faith is having the courage to let God have control." I need to trust Him. I can't say that I have faith in God and then try to control everything myself. He can handle it. I need to give it to Him and walk away. Leave it. Don't grab it back. He has totally got this. It needs to be my second nature, and ingrained part of who I am. When troubles, and stressures come, I need to just hand them off and keep walking. Right? My desire is to make this part of my new normal-Trust. Faith. Courage.

Rachel