The boys taking a peek into the office.
Remember that riddle from elementary school: When is a door not a door? When it is ajar! That riddle comes flooding back to my memory every time I see the little red icon of car with its’ doors open illuminated on the dash board. The built-in vehicle warning light also serve its original purpose in letting me know that one of the car doors is partly open.
This last week the “door ajar” light came on in my office. Not literally of course, but I received word from a Patpatar man that a “door” had been slightly opened in the village where we have had so many “doors” shut. After we had to tear down our half built literacy building last year we have been praying for a place outside the missionaries house to have a place to meet. Door ajar! The newly chosen leaders in the village have decided to build a community house on a small strip of land in the middle of the village and they want the literacy class to take place there.
There was even more good news that the messenger began to relay to me while the boys outside the office, as usual, peered into the office window to watch everything going on. Those same leaders have also been discussing why after instating several more laws for those in the village only three months ago, that the problems in the community have become worse instead of better. They talked over several ideas that might bring to light the problem. Then one of them who had originally sat in on some of the Bible teaching nearly two years ago, had an idea. Door ajar! Why not have the lessons from the Bible taught to them and the community since many of them had not attended before. The man who had attended some went on to say that, “When those missionaries taught they stood only on God’s talk and I think that is what we need.”
Doors that have been closed are now ajar. We have seen in the past, some of them opened a small amount only to be slammed closed again. We are praying that they will this time continue to open more. On Monday (Sunday late in the States) these leaders will be meeting with the community to discuss the ideas. Pray that God will use it to open the doors even wider and that those who would oppose it, be silenced.
Aaron
Fact – After making two runs in our pickup truck last week for the Patpatar people to the aid post an hour away, our truck stopped working well. With no warning lights on the dash and my limited mechanic skills I didn’t know what to do. Thankfully after contacting a missionary mechanic and simply changing the fuel and air filters everything is working well again.