The last two months have been some of the most difficult and most wonderful times of our life! Isn’t life just FULL of contrasts? And like always when we go through hard times, we are made more than ever aware of how much we need the Lord; how absolutely impossible it is to take even one breath without Him! How wonderful to know that, in the good and the bad times, we can find our rest and security in our Father – who is, after all, the most Powerful Guy in the universe!
It was great seeing friends at the conference and Literacy workshop in the city. It was so encouraging to hear testimonies of the Lord’s guidance, his provision and his plan in motion! Thinking back on what the Lord has done strengthened our faith and put things into perspective. The Literacy consultation back in the villages right thereafter was very blessed (see other blogs for more on this). The three consultants stayed with us for 5 days.
The other side of the coin is less encouraging…
Scattered through all of this were an attack in the city on Nadia and Heidi and minutes later a robbery. A few days later back in the villages, Nadia found a man with a bag in his hands in our house. Turned out that he is not a thief, but possessed… We are not sure how long he has been in the house, but by the lingering smell it could have been a while. All three our kids were in the house during this time, but unaware of his presence.
We have no running water, since our solar water pump broke.
We had some weird health issues through the last months too: Both Waldo and Heidi had fevers at different times and Heidi also developed a strange rash, others of us had (or have!) runny tummies on and off. Francois has a bum knee from a fall and is fighting something – it seems his immune system is really low. During the conference Nadia had a root canal, then an abscess while being consulted for the Literacy work she is involved with… It finally resulted in her losing the tooth on our return to the city and so the battle with The Tooth came to an end! A battle that started nearly 3 years ago with a loose filling and one local dentist.
Some of our family back in SA is also going through tough times and it is making it just a bit harder to be far from loved ones!
But, let us put this behind us. Our earthly reality is but “light and momentary”. This soon shall pass! Truly this saying, penned by Paul, is trustworthy: In dying with Christ, true life we gain (2 Tim 2:11). For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed to us! (Rom 8:18). None of the challenges or trials even closely compare to what the apostle Paul went through… And that doesn’t come close to what Christ suffered for our sake.
Let us stay firm in what we believe, moving forward with our eyes on Jesus. Soon, His Name will be glorified over all the earth!