In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps. Proverbs 16:9
We were expecting to be in our final weeks before departure back to Papua New Guinea (PNG), but God had other steps for us. In the weeks before Christmas Andrea’s mom, Diana, came down with shingles. We quickly changed our Christmas plans from having her at our place in southern MD to heading to Grandma’s on the Eastern Shore, VA. Diana is a widow and has many other health issues including being a type 1 diabetic. Her shingles have developed into what doctors call post herpetic neuralgia – where the pain from the shingles remains even after the rash is gone.
We have delayed our return to PNG as we believe it is critical that we help Mom get back on her feet. We do not believe it will take much more than a few months at the most, but obviously have no definite schedule. We truly see this as God’s wonderful timing as we were stateside and able to help. None of us want sickness, but God allows it for His purpose.
This time has also been profitable for us to look into Paul’s allergies. We are trying an extremely restrictive diet to “cleanse” his system for thirty days. Basically Paul can only eat meat, vegetables and fruit minus any specifics that he tested intolerant to (like mangos). This diet sounds simple, but we have learned it is expensive. Andrea has done a wonderful job of making delicious meals for with such options.
We are seeing some improvements in both Diana and Paul, so we can see God using this time in many ways. That doesn’t make it easy to endure. Watching someone you love suffer like Diana has stretched us to our extreme. We have taken our turns at being mad at God, but thankfully He is big enough to handle that.
We desire to serve Him where we want to be. God is at work revealing this in us. We need to be willing to serve Him where HE wants us to be. We have always said that, but HE is showing us our hearts.
While You’re Praying…..
…..here are a few praises & a few more prayer requests:
* Phoebe and Joshua are healthy and doing well with all the transitions. Mom and dad… need prayer.
* Andrea’s mom Diana is slowly, but steadily improving.
* There are new aviation personnel en route to PNG.
* That we would be willing to wait with happy hearts on the Lord as He reveals His plan for our days.
* Safety as we are spending much time on the road between southern Maryland and Eastern Shore, Virginia during this “polar vortex”.
* We are currently at 68% of our mission recommended support of $7,055/month for a family of four.