Battle With A Centipede!

Most of the time, I love living on a tropical Island. I love the coconut trees swaying in the sultry breezes, the smell of the ocean in the morning, and the markets full of people selling their wares of increasingly familiar produce. Sometimes, however, the local wildlife can make me wish for a safer place to hang my hat.

Last night as my wife and I prepared to go to bed, she sent me into the next room to get a sheet for the bed. Well, this may not sound like a dangerous mission to you, but here, the unexpected is to be expected (yeah don't try to figure that out, it is a headache-inducing way of thinking)!

So passing through the dimly lit living room to turn on the overhead lights, I see something on the floor. My mind just goes to the most obvious and says it's a piece of paper or something that can be picked up tomorrow. I turn on the kitchen light and pass back by the object in question, not really looking at it. As I enter the kitchen, a warning bell begins to go off in my mind and I look back just in time to see the innocent object begin to move across the floor!

A CENTIPEDE!!! Five inches of legs held together with menacing-looking body armor and little pinchers just searching for some available human flesh to torment. I hate those things like a pin cushion hates pins!

(The Enemy!)




Immediately, I go into battle mode, battle cry and all! I race into the kitchen to get the bug spray because there is no way I am getting close enough to that thing to kill it with a kitchen knife. Looking under the sink, I find only an empty can of bug spray. I would go and calmly ask my wife for another can if this had been a Sunday picnic, but it wasn't; it was war.

I yelled to Jen asking her If we have another can of spray, but, she didn't answer in that split second so I had to yell again. By this time, my wife is laughing at me as I go into my version of a war dance trying to get past the centipede who is blocking my way into the bedroom. The creature couldn't make up it's mind where it was going, so I had to leap over it to get to the room where the can of bug killer was.

Returning to the living room, I unleash a cloud of poison big enough to make the Geneva Convention shutter. Quickly, I leave the room, shutting the door behind me just in case anything survived. My wife was still laughing at me, even though I have just saved her life! Then my mind began to wonder just how the thing had gotten in, and not coming up with any answers, I switch to offense mode and begin to spray poison into every nook and cranny in our room, making sure there are more of these creatures lurking about.

Well, I guess all is well that ends well. I fought off the wild life without any outward scars and saved the night. My wife was so proud of me too; I could tell by the tears of joy welling up in her eyes - or maybe it was from laughing so hard. I choose to believe the former.

With the enemy dead, it was another one for the books. I did go into the living room later that night and spray the monster one more time, just for good measure. You say overkill, I say peace of mind is worth whatever you have to do!

(Proof that I won!)





Nathan

Nate & Jen's House

Here are a few up-to-date pictures of the house:

Kitchen cabinets waiting for paint.




A wall after two coats of paint - not sure which wall it is!!




The vaulted ceiling. Jen said on Facebook that Nate designed the screened opening in the vault, I assume to help remove the heat that rises.




The only room not open to the vaulted ceiling is the bathroom. They hope to be in their house within the next couple of weeks. The last I heard, they still had to install the solar panels, run water to the house, install the windows and do the electrical work. And finish painting, of course!!

Trica

The Call To Love

Occasionally, when the vehicles are up and running, I will bake banana bread for the sick children at the hospital. At first, I will admit, it felt weird, knowing the extreme differences in food preferences between the Ni-Van’s and an American such as myself. I have the usual insecurities of an inexperienced cook but as luck would have it, bananas are something loved equally by both sides of the equator.

This past Friday was a special trip. In times past, it has been slightly awkward and I wondered if the recipients found it awkward culturally to accept a gift from a stranger. This time was different. The nurses recognized me and smiled as if an old friend had come. The children were exceptionally outgoing and eager to receive. It made me feel so incredibly good just to do something for someone else, someone who was not a relative, not a friend, but a stranger.

The Bible teaches us that love “seeketh not her own.” It also says when you do something for “the least of these,” it is as if you have done something for Christ Himself. When we show others love, we are living examples. We are His hands and feet reaching out to those in need. So no, I didn’t build a pulpit and preach them a Sunday sermon. I simply took a little time out of my day to love.

God has richly blessed me with this opportunity. I know that missions is not about the missionary - it is about the people. But by loving a stranger, I was, in fact, loving God.

This was not a part of my assignment. This was an opportunity to do something on my own as unto the Lord. I am building relationships with the people, and building my confidence as a Christian worker. Who knows, maybe next time I will ask to pray with someone, or maybe they will be able to see Christ ‘s love in me and ask me to pray for them.

I am reminded of the five loaves and two fishes and how God made them stretch to feed 5000. So why couldn’t God use a loaf of banana bread and a chatty girl from Texas?

There are no cultural limits on the language of love. Some rarely speak it, while others rarely have it spoken to them. My goal as a missionary is not to prove how smart I am, how much knowledge I have about the country, or to have statistics proving my worth. My goal is to show Christ’s unfailing love to a people who have had their fill of a selfish imitation of true love.

It is a simple truth, but it is my greatest calling - the call to love.

Jennifer

Resting On The Workbench

Move. Move. Move.

Go. Go. Go.

Get to where you need to go and get there fast!

Born and raised in the U.S.A., these mottos have been implanted deeply in to my mind. I never thought that I was one of those people who had to be accomplishing things in order to feel good about myself. But, it turns out, I place a lot of my self-worth in the things I accomplish.

Looking back, it seems I have lived my life project to project; measuring my life by things accomplished.

I work hard to get things done. For what? So that I would have another badge on my mental merit wall, another trophy in my case of things I have done? Or does it go deeper than that; am I working just to prove that I measure up?

I have found that this mentality has been with me for most of my life and has even followed me onto the mission field. Though I say I am working for the Lord, I still feel I must keep a “to-do” list of things I need to accomplish. I have to prove to everyone that I can be in this ministry. If I am honest, I would even say I am trying to prove to God that I can do this work.

Key word: "I”.

Recently, while at a missions retreat, a phrase was mentioned in passing that caught my attention and got me to thinking. Four words, “. . . resting on the workbench”.

We as Christians sometimes use the woodcarver as a metaphor for God working in our lives. He cuts and shapes us, carving away what is not needed to bring out the shape He desires. As the knife moves, we become what the Carver wants.

In this whole process, where is the wood? Better yet, what does the wood do? There is only one thing for the wood to do.

Rest.

Where does the wood rest?

On the workbench!

I have tried so hard to prove myself, trying to take shape on my own. I work harder and faster trying to be useful on my own terms. I try to prove to my Maker that “I can”.

The truth is, I really can’t. Not on my own, anyway.

Sometimes God calls us to a time of waiting. During this time we often get very uncomfortable. We can think of a thousand things that need to be done. We make lists of thing that we need to do as soon as we can get going again. But the simple truth is this: if we would just take the waiting time to rest on His workbench, we would be accomplishing so much more that our feeble self-efforts ever could. Time spent on His workbench is never wasted.

I sometimes need to be reminded that my God is in control. He is working even when I am not. He who knew me before I was born knows what He is making of my life. I just need to relax and let the Carver do His work. You see, only when the wood rests on the workbench can the Master Carver do His work.

Let Him turn the wood as He wishes, let His tools move and do their work. In the end He will bring out everything He intended to.

I can move and go and try to work on a thousand different projects at once, but in the end I know what I will find: I can never accomplish more than when I allow myself to rest on the workbench.

Nate

The Day Nathan Fell

It was on a Thursday and I had worked hard that day. Bobby and I had already eaten dinner and I was relaxed in the recliner, reading the Drudge Report online. Bobby was on Face Book on the office computer. I had already checked FB for any news from Nathan or Jennifer, but there was none. You see, Face Book is our lifeline to Nathan and Jennifer.

Suddenly, Bobby came out of the office and announced that something has just been posted about Nathan. I immediately logged on.

The post from Bryan Webb (I found out a few minutes later that it was Alicia) simply said, “Pray for Nathan! I don’t know all the details yet, but pray for him!”

There are no words to describe the terror and helplessness that gripped my heart! I immediately began sending hurried messages to anyone who might be online in that part of the world, to no avail. And I began praying.

About five minutes into this torture, Jennifer’s mom called and let me know that Jennifer had just called her and all she knew was that Nathan had been seriously injured while working on their house and Jennifer was on the way to the hospital. And she asked everyone to please pray!

As soon as I got off the phone with her, I called our pastor, Bro, Danny Taylor. He happened to be at a Ozark Christian Schools staff and faculty dinner, so he made the need known and they prayed.

Next, I tried calling my sister, but she was at a youth retreat with our church youth, so her phone was off. I tried calling Bobby Dale, but he was at the same retreat, so no answer. I called both Naomi and Ruth and told them to start praying. I'm pretty sure I scared them almost to death! Mom wasn’t answering her phone. I only got voice mail on my other sister’s phone.

I finally got through to Tina, Kara Jaeger’s mom, hoping she had heard something from Steven and Kara. She hadn’t, but promised to try to get in touch with them.

For an agonizing forty-five minutes, I cried out to God for help. I didn’t know what kind of help we needed, but I knew that He knew. I reminded Him of what He already knew; that I had given Nate to Him years ago and that Nathan was His to do with as He pleased.

I also began learning a few sketchy details from Alicia Webb via FB chat. She was at home and only knew what was being relayed to her by her parents. What caused most of my apprehension was that I knew that Bryan Webb was leaving for Port Villa that day. So I was wondering how Jennifer was going to make all the decisions that might become necessary all on her own.

A few minutes later I heard Bobby talking to Bryan Webb. He wasn't in Port Villa after all! (You can read his blog about it here.) Things weren’t as serious as first thought - Just some stitches needed on Nate’s head, possibly some broken ribs and some very sore muscles. I can’t describe the relief that flooded me!

We later found out that Nate had several ribs out of place, which was causing excruciating pain. But, as God would have it, Nate and Jen were scheduled to attend a missionary retreat on the island of Fiji, and since they had to leave the country of Vanuatu anyway due to their Visa situation, the extended stay in Fiji allowed them to seek the necessary medical help that was not available in Vanuatu. Isn’t it amazing how God works it all out?

Please continue to keep Nate & Jen, Steven & Kara, and the Webb family in your prayers. They, along with a medical team, will be on the island of Pentecost for the next week. Nate & Jen will be acting as interpreters as well as doing whatever else needs to be done.

Trica

Visas Have Been Issued!!

I just wanted to let everyone know that Nathan & Jennifer have received their visas!! They will be leaving Fiji and heading to Port Villa tomorrow and should arrive back in Luganville on Monday.

Trica

Update On Nate & Jen

I thought I should put an update on here about Nathan & Jen's status.

Right now, they are in Fiji. They went over there for a retreat that was held for missionaries in that part of the world, but aren't going to be allowed back into Vanuatu until their visas are issued. Please help us pray in regards to this. If they don't receive copies of them by Sunday, they will miss going on a planned trip to the island of Pentecost with the Webb's and Jaeger's, something they've all been looking forward to.

While in Fiji, Nate has been able to see a chiropractor about his back. Since his fall, has had a lump on his back that was a cause for worry. Turns out, he has several ribs out of place! The chiropractor was able to put one back in place last week, and should be able to deal with the other this week. So it was good that their stay in Fiji was extended, even though they would rather be back in Luganville!

Here are a couple more recent pictures of their house:



Yep, that's the ladder that caused all the problems!!

Again, please keep Nate & Jen's visa situation in your prayers.

Trica