Drought

There has been so much going on here lately. I know you haven’t heard from me for a while. Our Internet has been awful. Even now we don’t have any but I thought I would write and hope to send it when I can. The Internet comes and goes. Sometimes Garth gets up very early just to try to send and receive emails or check Facebook.

We are in the midst of a terrible drought. People are saying the last time it was this bad was 1997. Airstrips in some places are being shut down because the air is so hazy and people are getting restless.  We really need rain. There are villages where people are starving because their gardens have all shriveled up. We have water at the dorm and our gardens are still growing. So that is a blessing.

We do need prayer for some unrest going on in town. The other morning there was a murder at our pasar (open air market).  The head of our organization sent us all a text asking us to stay home. Don’t go out. Since then there have been some retaliation killings. That is the way it is done here. There is no good judicial system, so the people take matters into their own hands. Life for life. They consider that fair.

We are in no danger. No one wants to harm us, but please pray for the hearts of these people. It is hard to break through age-old traditions. There is so much freedom and hope in God. I just wish they could see it.

Also pray for the missionary families serving here in Papua. Satan is having fun scattering discouragement, thoughts of failure and frustration, and loneliness around those ministering here. So many of my friends are using all their energy to just try and make it through another day. This is a tough place to live. The heat, the drought, the lack of conveniences, the fact there is never enough money and the frustration that brings, the difficulty of travel, a culture that will always tell you what they think you want to hear but don’t ever mean it, etc. I have friends leaving early, or taking an unplanned furlough, or getting ready to leave for good just because they can’t “do this” anymore. It breaks my heart.

But God knows. He knows their pain and struggles. Garth and I are doing well.  God is faithful to give us what we need each day. Tomorrow we are going out on a date!  WOW! It has been quite awhile since that happened. It will be nice to spend some time just us.

Thank you for faithfully praying for us. We need you.

Rachel

Goodness

So much goodness happening all around us!  God is so amazing. I need to tell you about some of it. Number One big and awesome thing is that WE GOT A VAN!!!!  It is so super terrific! Now we can travel all together as a dorm. Before this we had a van that fit 11. We are 18 when everyone is here, so that was a bit tricky. We also got another motorcycle. This one is smaller and I can drive it. That has been loads of fun!

Emma's finger is healed from the stitches, and she is back to playing volleyball. Sophie's Indonesian soccer team is in a tournament, and doing well.

We had our first dorm outing last weekend and went to the beach. That was a treat.

Also, the kids are settling in and adjusting better. Still a bit of school struggles, and homesickness, but that is to be expected.

Another big praise is my Bible study group. I love all the things God is teaching me through this time and this group of ladies. Last session we read the book UNGLUED. Amazing. The book dealt with how you handle those moments when you feel like losing it. Now we are reading HE RESTORES MY SOUL-A 40 day Journey toward personal renewal. Right now we are talking about brokenness. Brokenness is when I realize there is nothing left to reach for but God. What does it look like when I am totally committed to do everything in His strength?

There is a great picture of this in the book. If you have a glove lying on the table and want it to go pick up a book, it will not be able to do it. It can do nothing on its own. But when you fill the glove with your hand the glove is transformed into the image of your hand. The focus is on the hand doing things not the glove. The glove is only strong when it yields itself to the hand. So we are to be the glove and let God be the hand.

Anyways, these are just a few of the things I have been pondering lately.  It is so exciting to change and grow. I certainly never want to just stay where I am. God has so much more in store for me.

Thanks for your prayers.

Love
Rachel