This post was originally published on June 17, 2022 at https://thekresges.com/2022/06/17/give-us-this-day-our-daily-fish/.
Allow me to express warm greetings on behalf of the past 11 months of silence. It’s summer break, and apparently that’s the only time I get down to writing. Last year I mounted a 7-day campaign of blog posts, but this year I’m making no promises. Just buckle your seat belts and see what the coming days bring!
Our flight program here in Asia-Pacific is small–we operate just one aircraft in our location. This means that when the aircraft is down, the flight program is down. In other words, the people depending on the airplane for transportation or supplies have to find other options. The plane can be grounded for various reasons (usually routine inspections). However, once every six years, the propeller is required to be removed and overhauled. This is a MAJOR hiccup in the flight program. Well, we hit that six-year marker in propeller history this past March. What was hoped to be a 6-8 week interruption has now been almost three and a half months.
If you read our blog marathon last year, you’ll remember my friend Grace (Day 3: Marshmallows and a Med-Evac). Grace’s family is highly impacted by the status of the flight program. This year, they made a video to illustrate the enormous difference that the plane makes in their lives. Please take a moment to watch The Alternate Route.
Since March, the propeller has been to another continent and back in its overhaul journey, through customs delays and a major international holiday. This week it finally arrived, the men reinstalled it, and it is beautiful to behold!
While the aircraft undergoes final tests and inspections, Grace’s family eagerly awaits their supply flight next week, all the more so because their store of meat and vegetables has been depleted for a few weeks. Usually they can rely on local fish for daily protein, but even fish has been scarce lately due to tidal vagaries. They finally broke down and purchased a goat to butcher for meat. The goat arrived today, and to their unfortunate surprise, it was a pregnant nanny. While this bodes well for a future supply of fresh milk, it does nothing to alleviate the scarcity of meat. Grace said today, “We get front seats to see God bring us our daily ‘fish.’” Would you join us in prayer that God would answer that very basic request for Grace’s family–to “give us this day our daily bread,” just as Jesus taught His disciples to pray? And also join us in praise that He will soon provide through the normal route of supply flights.
Paul says in Philippians 4:11-13, “…I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well-fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.” (NIV)
