Thanking God for His Goodness

Some things are easy to thank God for. For example, it has been wonderful to sleep in the same bed--my own bed--for the past 2 weeks plus!  And walks around the Compound have been a joy. (Today I discovered a plastic bag of white ants being dried in the sun!) For me, it has been great to bake cookies and create a pizza version on pita bread, have visitors in for dinner and serve our famed banana bread to Ugandan friends. Being back in our church and gathering with fellow missionaries have been special treats missed during our absence…to name a few.

However, there are other happenings that take more conscious effort to truly thank the Lord for. Case in point was this past Saturday. While on our way home from the Puppet Practice, our driver, Fred, noticed a “different” noise under the hood. We were not in heavy traffic and he was able to pull the car over to inspect; a rapidly fraying charging belt was the culprit.  Since the belt was still intact, Fred decided to try to drive to a mechanic we’ve dealt with before—we made it! Although busy with many jobs, a mechanic was assigned to us. After removing it he went off to find a replacement; I’ve been here long enough to know that finding a replacement part is often not simple! However, he soon returned and installed the belt. Fortunately I had enough cash to pay for the job.

As I mulled all this in my mind while traveling back home, my heart filled with praise for God’s goodness and faithfulness. The timing was so good—if it had happened on the way to the Puppet Practice, the time for preparing for upcoming puppet presentations would have been severely affected. Then, Fred was driving—he doesn’t often drive on Saturdays but due to other circumstances, he did. And if the belt had frayed the following day, Sunday (when I was the driver), it would have meant Ruth and I being stranded on the way to or from Church; we wouldn’t have been as “calmly decisive” as Fred (understatement!).

As we traveled back home, I recalled a verse we had read together earlier during the Puppet Practice—Psalm 50:23, “Giving thanks is a sacrifice that truly honors me.”

Ten Days—Really?

A couple months ago we were informed that Scripture Union Uganda was hosting a 10-day residential (campsite) Scripture Union Orientation for new members of Scripture Union in East Africa. We were urged to make arrangement our two workers, Esther and Chris, to attend. To be honest, our initial response was—TEN Days—Really? That just seemed like a huge interruption, especially when we thought we would be training test teachers to use the Lower Primary Obedience module and would also be in the midst of publishing the Forgiveness module.

A man’s heart plans his way, But the Lord directs his steps. Proverbs 16:9 (NKJV)

Enter the totally unexpected hip fracture for Ruth…and all plans suddenly and drastically changed. As God worked it out, those ten days of orientation corresponded with the final ten days of our stay in South Africa; we returned to Uganda on the final day of the orientation.

As Laura, and later Ruth, met with Esther and Chris, the immense blessing, encouragement, challenge, soul-searching, and revival of those ten days under the teaching of the various SU leaders kept spilling out. Our staff met God in a fresh way during that time…as we had in the circumstances God arranged for us thousands of miles away. Eventually it also came out that during the first weeks, despite their best efforts, they faced challenges leaving them somewhat discouraged. All of that just made them enter the orientation with tender and needy hearts—just what God loves!

God certainly knows what He is doing and can be trusted!

Faith 1.1

A basic course in Faith…that’s what we feel like we’ve been enrolled in during these four weeks in a foreign country dealing with rather major surgery and all that went with it. In somewhat different ways, we both struggled as we were “forced” to deepen our faith in our loving, caring, wise, all-powerful, sovereign God…our Good Shepherd…whose ways are much too high for us to truly understand. And at the end of our 4-week “course,” we can confidently say with greater conviction that God indeed can be trusted and is faithful.

Upon arrival at the Johannesburg hospital, x-rays confirmed that due to Ruth walking on her broken hip for almost 3 weeks, the blood supply for both the upper part of the hip joint and the “neck” of the hip bone had been badly damaged. Thus the surgeon felt that a total hip replacement was needed—a real shock to us! Surgery was set for Monday, June 16, 2 PM. Generally speaking, all went as expected and the first two nights were spent in Cardiac Intensive Care—not fun, but God saw me/us through. The second day, I was up and using a walker. Once the blood pressure returned to normal, pain became quite minimal and has continued to be so—what a gift!

Insurance did not cover Laura’s costs, but our mission fully supported her joining me and has worked with us to find ways to help with the costs.  We thank God for the generosity of His people. Laura had to trust God is new ways as she searched for Bed and Breakfast/Guest Houses (many had no vacancies), transportation, places to eat, etc. in a strange city (thank God, English is widely spoken). Laura was such a blessing to me in every way and I can never thank God enough for our friendship which has deepened through this 4-week ordeal.

After a 3-week stay in the hospital, I was transferred to a Rehabilitation Center for one week of Physio and Occupational Therapy. Of all things, I was assigned to the Ward named Faith. And when we were saw the number above my bed, 1.1, we both pondered the meaning…Faith 1.1—yes that’s what we’ve been enrolled in these weeks! The bed in the opposite corner was numbered 1.18 meaning there were 18 beds with semi-partitions between every 6 beds. Most of the others were stroke patients or accident victims and it didn’t take me very long to realize that I was the best off of all of them and had no reason to complain about anything! The two therapists assigned to me were excellent. I especially appreciated the Physio guy—when he learned of my longing to get outside, he did my initial evaluation by taking me to the garden. As soon as I was in the sun, I stopped and raised my hands in delight saying that was the best therapy for me possible! He moved me from the walker to one crutch within a few days and sent me home with greater confidence.

The number above my bed.

There’s so much more we could write, but let me close by giving yet another testimony to add to so many before me—God is faithful and can be trusted. His love to us is truly unfailing and unstoppable!