I'll post this when the power comes on...

As some of you are aware, things don’t always run smoothly down here.  Well, smoothly in terms of the modern conveniences of home that never seem to malfunction for more than a couple hours, maybe a year at a time.  Our ritualistic power outages are an annoyance but I daresay too that we are getting used to them, although we do miss chatting with our family on Skype!  

And bugs aren’t supposed to live in such close proximity to humans all the time are they?  I’ve been to countries with much bigger, deadlier and menacing looking bugs, whereas the ones here are small and ever present wherever there’s a grain of sugar or a tasty leg.  The bedbugs really grossed Stacey out, and then for some reason there were ants in her sheets last night.  No reason, just because I suppose.  Why look at that, even now I am witnessing an ant carry another dead friend up the wall.  What compassionate little creatures.  

Its easy to think of Paul and what he endured, but we’re not even in the same league.  I actually just read about the amount of times he was whipped, stoned, beaten, jailed, shipwrecked, cursed, mocked and who knows what else because of what he tried to do and advance the Gospel. I am not discounting the encouragement we certainly can glean from his life (which many friends have also pointed out as well, thank you!), but I feel that our position is much safer than Paul’s, though God certainly is challenging us in different ways.  I am learning to appreciate these curveballs, they really do make life more interesting.  Nothing at home is that tough to deal with, well the weather maybe!  

There are so many things out of our control down here, yet they are in God’s control and He is merely observing how we will deal with it.  I’m still not sleeping well, but I have found that this is God’s way of gently asking me: “Will you still get up and spend time with me at dawn?”  Our room has more visitors than we invited sometimes and we bristle when God prompts: “Would you really let bugs ruin your whole mission experience?  Maybe even prohibit you from ever going somewhere else?”  

I do not speak for Stacey fresh after a particularly buggy night (and who can blame the poor girl!) but most of our problems so far are petty in light of the big picture.  What I relish is persevering to hear God’s voice, which yes, is hard when you are uncomfortable and grouchy but do I hear it any better in a modern society?  Our preferential treatment as first world citizens cancels out a world of difficulties that we would candidly say “no thank you” too, much less embrace them as a growing experience.  

All this to say, I’m not tooting my own horn and exclaiming “ra-ra look at me living in squalor and eating gruel” because as I mentioned it is not that bad.  Cultural differences are much harder than the ants and the spotty electricity anyways.  For Stacey and I though, because I can only speak for ourselves (Can I Stacey?) this is a valuable and wild experience.  We were obviously not seeking a cakewalk, nor did God desire to set us up for a disaster such as that either.  If He had to isolate us far away from our country, our family, our friends and our washing machine so we would sit and quietly listen to Him, then the cost cannot be counted.  As we listen, things will become clearer, even if at times we have to see them in the dark :)