Just a little over a week ago we moved into our new house. We are so blessed to find such a nice house to rent. The Lord really brought it to us and we are so happy to be living in our own place now. With a new place though came a lot of renovations to make it more western family friendly, like a shower and a sink 😉
Joshua and Lily are doing very well. The move was a little hard on them but they seem to be adjusting okay now. Lily will be six months old in a week! She is growing up so fast. Joshua is talking a lot now and he loves being outside and especially loves riding the motorbike.
Covid19 is here in this city but so far we don’t know for sure of anyone who has been affected by it. The lack of work during this situation has really hurt the very poor people here. Please pray for God’s mercy here. Crime has gone up because people are getting desperate. Just a few days ago we had a helmet stolen from our yard and as much as it annoyed us, I was also happy that that person had something to sell in order to buy food.
Our lives haven’t changed that much except that we can’t go out as a family anymore and are mostly limited to staying at home. We try not to be out and about without masks because the people here are very afraid of westerners because they believe the virus came from us.
With the government offices shutting down because of Covid19 we are realizing that it is very likely that our visas won’t be processed in time for us to go back to the USA in mid-September as originally planned.
Our plans for the next couple months are to hit language learning really hard and try to catch up a bit. Eric is also going to begin teaching foundational bible teaching lessons with a group of believers here as language practice.
So that is a little bit of what everyday life looks like right now but on a different note, I wanted to share a little bit of what is going on in our hearts.
The song that keeps running through my mind all throughout the day recently is the song “Keep me near” by Rend Collective. There is a part in the song that says “rescue me in weakness of mind when distraction conquers me. Keep me in your shadow, O Lord. Give me grace to follow where you lead”. I realize this is a struggle within both Eric and I. Our hearts desire to serve the Lord and yet so easily we allow ourselves to be distracted by the things of this world. We have struggled with managing our time well and we know that and yet we still fail often. I feel like Paul when he says “For in my inner self I delight in God’s law, but I see a different law in the parts of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and taking me prisoner to the law of sin in the parts of my body”. There are times at the end of the day that I sit down and wonder “Lord what am I doing here? I feel like such a failure.” Days can pass when I have had barely any language learning time and my kids seem so demanding and whiny and I just feel at the end of my rope. We have been here for almost two years and we haven’t finished learning the national language yet and I just feel like a pathetic missionary. We came here with dreams of great success and instead we are met with our inadequacy and our sinful hearts. We ask you our friends and coworkers to pray for us, that our hearts would be focused on the Lord and that we would not be striving to live for ourselves but that in each moment we would be asking the Lord, “what would you have for me in this moment?” I know this maybe sounds discouraging, but in reality, we have been encouraged in the Lord despite our weaknesses. We are but fragile clay jars and the Lord knows that and takes us and uses us where we are at. We are so grateful to him that his patience and love is overwhelming and abounding even in our smallness.
We love you all and we are so thankful for you! It is so encouraging to know that you all are praying for us. Please let us know how we can be praying for you too. We know it is quite a difficult time for everyone in the States right now and we are so grateful for your continued support of us.
We are praying for you guys. Keep up the good work. Things will change soon and we all can be back to normal. God knows and cares. Please change my e-mail to:
jnlambert@comcast.net Thank you.
Do not be discouraged or dismayed.The Lord your God is with you wherever you go. Have l not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Joshua 1:9
Thank you for your demonstration of humility as you share your heart with us. Do not allow Satan to make you feel as failures. No one who obeys Him and sees their human frailties is a failure. Our God knew what was ahead for you and sent you because it was the perfect place for your family to be at this time.
In Jesus,
Judy Hogg
SRBC Plymouth, MI
PS. Your children are precious. Thanks for the pics!
I was encouraged reading this. I’ve often felt like a pathetic missionary too, and that reminds me that God choose the weak and foolish things of the world. Thanks for the reminder that we are just clay jars, but have a very loving and powerful God.
It was so good to hear from you. The kids are growing up so fast. A little disappointed that you won’t be coming home in September like you planned. This Covid19 has certainly disrupted the world. Its hard to imagine that it is there too. I will be glad when we can get out and about again. Its been hard on Carl not to be able to have visitors. We pray for you all the time and that you will be encouraged in the work you are doing. It is not easy, but you will get there. Miss you so much.
Good morning, Eric and Cheri! It is always a pleasure hearing from you. What impresses me most about both of you, beyond giving up a “normal” path in life to serve God abroad, is your genuineness — never lose that quality! To be honest, I think most people would be slapping the happiest smiley face on everything and sharing with us how great everything is. You are being honest, and I appreciate that. I have prayed for you often and will continue to pray for you all. Remember, the issue is not usually that the obstacles in life are too big; it’s that our faith is too small. God is ALWAYS faithful and has a perfect plan for you, whether it be serving Him where you are or elsewhere. Keep your ears open to his voice (I’m terrible at that! Even when He speaks clearly to me, I often ignore the advice!). I love you both. Get up every day and do the best you can. If you do, the best is always still to come. This is my 38th and last year of teaching. You may have heard that all schools are closed for the year. As a result, we are teaching from home (On-line learning). Talk about a challenge — I’m a dinosaur, and everything is about technology. I am a technological midget. It’s been difficult for me to learn, especially in a crash-course mode, but I have some colleagues that are “holding my hand” to get me to the finish line. Hang in there! Love in Christ, Chris LaMilza P.S. If you want to pray for me, pray that I would make Godly decisions as it relates to relationships. I need to adhere to God’s will in this area of my life, but I always feel unsure about what direction to go. Thanks!!