We had just gotten home from a trip to the States (Hawaii to be exact). We had waited 3 years and finally were able to finalize Nancilynn’s citizenship. The Lord had provided an opportunity to house-sit for a pastor in Hawaii while we finished up the necessary paperwork. So, we were able to combine a business trip with a little R & R. However, when we arrived home, we found our house had been occupied by some very large 4-legged creatures.
The house we rent is situated on a large plot of land in Takhmau Cambodia. The landlord is very proud of his abundant fruit trees. Unfortunately with the trees come all sorts of wonderful creatures that live on the fruit that doesn’t get picked. The largest of those creatures are fruit rats. Somehow the rats got into the house and found they couldn’t get out. When we got home, all the screens had been chewed and my beautiful brand new stove, a gift from a supporting church in the States, had been infested. One of the deacons in our Phnom Penh church, Siphan, had been watching the house for us. He trapped the rats but the damage had already been done.
The Lord gave me grace to give the stove up to Him. “The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away, blessed be the name of the Lord.” You see, the stove was a brand new one with all the computerized bells and whistles that stoves come with today. The rats had chewed up the computer board and the wiring. It was virtually impossible to by parts for this stove here. Not only that, but in less than a week I was expecting company (4 guests for a Revival Conference). We had no extra funds to purchase a new stove (we just spent our wad in Hawaii). Ok, I thought, this is your problem, Lord! And I gave it to Him.
Siphan had a friend who was an electrician. Anyone living in a developing nation knows that you don’t throw anything away (that was my grandparent’s philosophy, too). Out of necessity, Cambodians have become very good at fixing things. We called Siphan’s friend, Nob, to come over and look at the stove. Then he began gutting it (I felt like I was watching a surgeon). After about three or four hours, the stove was put back together, reattached to the propane tank, and lit! I was thanking and praising the Lord!
Now, you may think that was the end of the story, but it’s not! After finding out Nob was a Mr. Fixit, Tom had him fixing all sorts of things around the house. He was back and forth to our house for a couple days. When the work was done and Nob was waiting for Tom to pay him, we had a chance to chat. He asked why we were in Cambodia, and I shared my testimony with him and how God called us to Cambodia. Then, Tom got home and shared the gospel with him. He accepted the Lord that day.
He shared with me later that in 1997 he had been thinking about becoming a Christian and had been attending a church in Phnom Penh. There was a Coup d’etat that summer and the pastor of that church fled the country stating that Cambodia was too dangerous and that he was never coming back. That devastated Nob. He never made the decision to become a Christian. He subsequently spent the intervening years in Siem Riep before returning to Phnom Penh to help his ailing father. Whenhe came to our house and he knew that we were Christian missionaries. Siphan had apparently shared that with him. He watched us for three days to see if our Christianity was real. Then he made his decision to accept Christ.
Now when I look at the stove in my kitchen, it serves as a reminder that everything that I have belongs to God – He can use it for His glory. I can completely trust Him. He makes no mistakes. It reminds me that often, I’m the only testimony of Jesus many will ever see – is it He whom they're seeing?
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Expectation Management
My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him. Psm62:5
My husband and I just celebrated 12 years of marriage this year. The year 1996 was not a banner year in history - a few significant events like the capture of the suspected Unabomber, the re-election of Bill Clinton, the bombing of the Olympic Park in Atlanta. Still, for us, it was the best year because it was when we began our great adventure of faith together. Of course, we had our expectations of what the coming years would bring. One of those things was a large family. We started late (34 and 38) but that never stopped us from expecting that God would do miracles.
The months passed and we hoped and prayed and the news we were looking for never came. Like many other couples, we were faced with the fact that we might not be able to conceive. So we began the typical journey for couples like us down the long road of tests to find out what we could do in order facilitate that miracle of conception. The end of that year found me recovering from what began as a simple 2 hour outpatient procedure and ended up being 8 hours and a 23 hour stay in the hospital. I had advanced endometriosis and all the scarring they removed from the surgery, I was told, would grow back within a month.
Miracles come in all shapes and sizes. But they all boil down to one thing - God doing the impossible to bring glory to Himself and further His Kingdom. Like, Paul, I prayed for healing. But the Lord chose not to answer that prayer. Instead, He gave me the grace to surrender my expectations of having children to Him and to pray that somehow my infertility might lead to furthering His Kingdom. Amy Carmichael once said "in acceptance lieth peace" and I can honestly say that from that point forward, I was at peace.
When we came to Cambodia as missionaries, it never crossed my mind to adopt. Child traffiking was such a big problem here that my husband and I were very wary. Twice Tom was offered a baby for $100. Cambodians thought it strange that we had no children and would ask us often if we didn't want any. My language teacher pitied me and would tell me so in her very direct Cambodian way. She had two other students who were older like us that had come to work with a non-government organization that had started taking care of people with HIV/AIDS. She introduced us. That began our journey down the road of adoption.
The Lord has given us the stewardship of four beautiful Cambodian children. Each one orphaned by HIV/AIDS (except one whose mom has not yet passed away). Thankfully all four children were spared from the disease. We are just in awe of what God has done in all our lives to put us together as a family. And because of this opportunity, God is opening up opportunities for others to come and help children who have contracted HIV/AIDS who otherwise would be "throw away" children. What a wonderful thing to be able to look back and see how God chose to answer prayer and to use my physical weakness to further His plan here in Cambodia.
My husband and I just celebrated 12 years of marriage this year. The year 1996 was not a banner year in history - a few significant events like the capture of the suspected Unabomber, the re-election of Bill Clinton, the bombing of the Olympic Park in Atlanta. Still, for us, it was the best year because it was when we began our great adventure of faith together. Of course, we had our expectations of what the coming years would bring. One of those things was a large family. We started late (34 and 38) but that never stopped us from expecting that God would do miracles.
The months passed and we hoped and prayed and the news we were looking for never came. Like many other couples, we were faced with the fact that we might not be able to conceive. So we began the typical journey for couples like us down the long road of tests to find out what we could do in order facilitate that miracle of conception. The end of that year found me recovering from what began as a simple 2 hour outpatient procedure and ended up being 8 hours and a 23 hour stay in the hospital. I had advanced endometriosis and all the scarring they removed from the surgery, I was told, would grow back within a month.
Miracles come in all shapes and sizes. But they all boil down to one thing - God doing the impossible to bring glory to Himself and further His Kingdom. Like, Paul, I prayed for healing. But the Lord chose not to answer that prayer. Instead, He gave me the grace to surrender my expectations of having children to Him and to pray that somehow my infertility might lead to furthering His Kingdom. Amy Carmichael once said "in acceptance lieth peace" and I can honestly say that from that point forward, I was at peace.
When we came to Cambodia as missionaries, it never crossed my mind to adopt. Child traffiking was such a big problem here that my husband and I were very wary. Twice Tom was offered a baby for $100. Cambodians thought it strange that we had no children and would ask us often if we didn't want any. My language teacher pitied me and would tell me so in her very direct Cambodian way. She had two other students who were older like us that had come to work with a non-government organization that had started taking care of people with HIV/AIDS. She introduced us. That began our journey down the road of adoption.
The Lord has given us the stewardship of four beautiful Cambodian children. Each one orphaned by HIV/AIDS (except one whose mom has not yet passed away). Thankfully all four children were spared from the disease. We are just in awe of what God has done in all our lives to put us together as a family. And because of this opportunity, God is opening up opportunities for others to come and help children who have contracted HIV/AIDS who otherwise would be "throw away" children. What a wonderful thing to be able to look back and see how God chose to answer prayer and to use my physical weakness to further His plan here in Cambodia.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
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