Disappointment On The Journey

It was Monday night and after supper, Ruth and I read together that day’s devotional reading from Oswald Chambers “My Utmost For His Highest” which was based on Matthew 8:26, “Why are you fearful, O you of little faith?”  Together Ruth and I took time to share some things that we fear and then to pray about them together and renew our confidence in God.  A few hours later we received an e-mail with jarring news. A few months ago a related email had made us jump for joy as we read that we would receive a significant grant to go toward the Biblical values project in Uganda. (It was especially amazing because we had not expected it.) It seemed that God had provided for this need and we had no reason to “worry” about it! But…this email informed us there had been a mistake and it actually was for another project in the Central Africa Republic.  Although we are still processing this disappointing news, we are choosing to believe…rather than fear…that God will provide the needed resources…in His way.  

Locked Doors!

Ever feel like you’ve been imprisoned unjustly and there was no way out. You’ve tried to do things right, to plead respectfully, to reason with the accusers, etc…but to no avail. I haven’t been in that situation too often, but it happened early last week. I sent out the email with our prayer letter “Pearl of Africa Journal” attached…just like I’ve done many times in the past. But…by the time they were “sent,” I was overwhelmed by gobs of incoming mail. Now there are some people who respond that quickly to emails…but not that many. My heart fainted with I opened my InBox and saw “Delivery Status Notification (Failure)” as the subject for every one of them…well over 100 of them. I quickly realized that all of those addresses belonged to the same internet service provider, a prominent one in eastern Canada. I surmised that they didn’t like that many being mailed together, so started sending the returned emails out one by one…but before long, they started coming back to me, one by one. Oh no, this is more serious than I thought!

I got into their website and found live chat. A very gracious person responded and chatted with me, then transferred me to someone else, but ultimately I was told there was nothing they could do. Next, I tried sending an email explaining the problem. Fairly soon, a nice reply returned, saying that I would need to phone a certain number…fortunately a toll free number which actually worked from Uganda. Again, I was transferred to other people, each one very nice, but ultimately I was told they were sorry but they could do nothing to help me. Period…dead-end...locked into a prison, unjustly, with seemingly no way out!

By then, it was time to do Pray-as-you-read. Certainly there would be no problem with that since I’ve already sent the bulk mailing out three time since arriving in Uganda with no problems. Wrong…most of them connected with that internet server were returned. In frustration, I tried to resend some of them one by one, telling them of my predicament and asking if anyone knew someone with connections to that internet provider who could help me. I went to bed Wednesday night, quite frustrated that no matter how hard I had tried, seemingly I had gotten nowhere.

Thursday morning I read the first part of Acts 12 as my devotions, and soon came to verses 4 and 5. “After arresting him [Peter], he [Herod] put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each…So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.” Obviously my situation was FAR less serious than Peter’s, but very quickly I thought about four situations…four squads of four soldiers…in which Laura and I were feeling quite imprisoned, the internet situation being the most urgent. As I’m sure you know, in the Acts story, God sent an angel who removed the chains, took Peter right past all four squads of soldiers, opened the iron gate, and set him free in response to the prayers of God’s people. My strength was renewed…if God could do that for Peter, he could certainly release me/us from these situations.

Sure enough, that morning I found emails from two people (angels) whose email from me had sneaked through the internet server’s “iron gate” and arrived (most of the others were returned to me again), and they had made contact with people who work for that internet provider. Before too long, I was receiving emails from the technicians and it was confirmed that because so many emails came from Uganda with attachments, their spam filter marked them as possible spam. In the end it didn’t get solved until Monday mid afternoon (our time)…but we have walked through the iron gate, free! (And two of those other squads of guards/situations that I identified Thursday morning have also either been disbanded or at least are in the process of being so.) Thanks for praying for us…God is answering.

So, if you feel like you are in a prison and have no way out, take heart. God still has His angels and can open iron gates without keys!

God's Encouragements via Friends

Even though I feel we are progressing fairly smoothly through this time of adjustment, transition, and uncertainty, God knows our deepest needs even when we sometimes cannot identify them. This past week, we received our very first piece of mail, a greeting card, via our post office box. Besides a wonderful hand-written note of encouragement and assurance of prayer, it carried the verse, James 5:16, “When a believing person prays, great things happen.” Even as I read the card to Laura, the tears welled up in my eyes. Thank you, Lord, You, as a prayer answering God, remain the same through the transition mazes which sometimes leave us feeling helpless and unable to do anything significant or helpful.

And then, the next day, an email came from a friend who used to serve with her husband and family in Kenya. She shared her thoughts gleaned from Genesis 35 which she had read that day…thoughts about various “losses” which Jacob sustained but which were then replaced by God with “gains.” She correctly assumed we would be feeling the weight of some of our “losses” as we transition from the Philippines to Uganda and wanted to assure us that God would replace those “losses” with gains. Quite unexpectedly the tears started flowing again…yes, I was missing the familiar and feeling weary of constantly dealing with new and unknown. Thank you, Lord, that you are so gracious and faithful—You faithfully replace the things you choose to take away with even better gains…in Your time. (And in fact, He is already doing that.)

Later that same day, we joined the WorldVenture ladies for an afternoon tea. Our hostess made name tags and chose a verse for each of us. She asked us to read the verse and share whatever we’d like. My verse was one God gave me fairly soon after He had confirmed His will to transition to Uganda, Isaiah 41:9-10, “You are my servant. I have chosen you and not rejected you. Don’t be afraid, for I am with you! Don’t be frightened, for I am your God! I strengthen you—yes, I help you—yes, I uphold you with my saving right hand!” What a timely reminder! Thank you, Lord, that You Who have chosen me, as amazing as that thought is. You are my almighty God Who promises to be with me, to strengthen me, and to hold me…and You always keep your promises. And Thank You for friends who journey with us and encourage us, using Your Word.