What happens when time passes by while you keep waiting for that thing you think you need to have in
order to be obedient?
We have been waiting, but not for
something extravagant, we have been waiting on a dining room table. We were trying to be wise with how we spent
our money since we spent more money than we had expected when we first moved
here to Tana.
Shortly after we moved into our new
house, I promised our day guard (Rina) that we wanted to have him & his
family over for dinner one night after we got a table. I often thought of that promise, but we were
still missing the one thing that we had
to have to be able to do that (or so I thought).
About 3 weeks ago, I decided that I
had waited long enough & that we were going to have people over whether or
not we had a table. Can I tell you that
having a dining room table is not the key to a successful meal with guests?
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| Alleluia 'sharing' her food with her friend, Nambina. |
We had such a fun evening with
Rina, Zo & their 1 yr old son when we shared a meal with them! Of course afterward we had rice & meat
all over our floor & stuck in our carpet, but “tsy maninona” (which means
it doesn’t matter: commonly said in Malagasy culture). The important thing was that we had the
opportunity to tell them how much we love & appreciate them and how we
wanted to share the love of God with them because that was why we were called
here.
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| Tanzona, Solo (one of our night guards) & Zoey |
This led us to have our other two
guards & their family/friend over for a meal in the following weeks. We had great fellowship and good spiritual
conversations! Afterwards, I found
myself wondering why it had taken us so long to do this in the first place. I can’t express the joy we felt knowing that
this is why we are called here—to be with the Malagasy!
The answer to my original question
is: we miss out on the joy that comes from knowing that we are being fully
obedient and the blessings that follow (for us blossoming Malagasy friendships
and the opportunity to share the gospel)!
What are you waiting on?
Vaovao hafa (Other News)
Tutor
time
- A few weeks ago we started studying Malagasy again with a tutor
House
hunting
- We are still having problems with our house. We are beginning to look for another house.
Bible study
- Ruth met a lady, Rina, from a local church, and has begun to meet & study the Bible with her. Rina senses a call on her life to become a missionary & Ruth is excited to love, support & encourage her through this process.
- Andy will be starting a Bible study soon with Solo (one of our guards) & his friend.
Mahoney Mayhem
Eli loves looking at maps and he
has already learned a lot of the countries of the world, so one day during home
school I asked him, “What countries are on either side of Germany ?” He replied matter-of-factly, “France and Paradise (otherwise known as Poland ).” Gotta love him!
A couple of
Sundays ago while we were in church, Zoey told me she was so glad that I was
her mommy. Then later in the service,
she asked me, “When I am a mommy, will you still be alive?” She really knows how to melt her mama’s
heart! I love my sweet girl!
Alleluia
has mastered walking & loves to play outdoors! She thinks she is big like her brother
& sister and loves to have her freedom.
She is very independent, always on the go and often makes us laugh:) . We are so blessed!
