Romans 8:28

“Africa is a great place to raise a family!”

That’s what the man said when he passed us in the guesthouse, first day in Nairobi.

I doubted, that first night in our new house in Tanzania, after tucking the children in under their nets, the four-month-old in her pack-n-play, mosquitos everywhere and statistics of malaria running through my head.  I doubted, unsettled, when it seemed to take so long just getting chairs to sit on, much less knowing what the man at the gate was saying to me, showing me his rash. :)

And God taught us along the way, pole pole (little by little), and I didn’t see how He was changing me, growing me in trust as He forced me to step way out of my comfort zone.  But He was, in His own way, as He took away the things I didn’t realize that I depended on.

He gave us plenty of opportunities to walk by faith, and each time He provided above and beyond what we could have imagined.  

And the children, they saw how He cared for each of them and they started to say things like, “Well, I guess God didn’t want us to have any electricity today,”

 when that was not yet what I was thinking :). 

 “All your sons will be taught by the LORD, and great will be your children’s peace.” Is. 54:13

So I was thinking about His faithfulness even more after Hannah’s last eye appointment, how we have these standing stones as a remembrance of His goodness, and how looking back on His fulfilled promises also helps us look forward with joy.  And I was going to write this blog just about all those things He has done, because many of you prayed us through those times. 

Because we knew we were leaving about a week before we told our children, I used that time to imagine that maybe they would just be excited about going back to the States, maybe it wouldn’t be as hard as I thought it would.  We have amazing friends there (you!), they love many things about that place.  So when we sat around the table after dinner and Dave shared from Acts where he has been studying with them about how Paul went to Jerusalem, resolute, because he wanted to obey God no matter what it cost him, and then we told them that it was going to cost us something as well, I was unprepared.  I wasn’t ready for faces in hands, heads on the table, racking sobs.  I wasn’t ready for tears that just wouldn’t stop coming, and Dave and I looked over these six breaking hearts at one another.  And Romans 8:28 wasn’t just a nice plaque on the wall or a stamp on cute stationary, it was a rock-solid truth to pound the stake of our lives into, steady and sure.  We can trust Him.  And we don’t need the verse for the good days, because we already think things are good.  We need it when we can’t see and things don’t feel so good anymore.

 “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a chosen and precious cornerstone,

 and the one who trusts in Him will never be put to shame.” (I Pet. 2:6)

“God’s will is what you would choose if you had all the information.”  And I forget that sometimes, when I wish it were different, I think I DO have all the information.  And I set myself up against my GOD, who is seated on His throne and who is greater than anything I could imagine.  And I, like John, am unworthy to even untie His sandals, and He still chooses to show Himself to me!  

And the only response to seeing His greatness is to fall flat on my face before Him, like poor, undone Isaiah. 

In the middle of all those tears, the 7-year-old gets up, grabs her Bible and says, “Can I read a couple of verses?”  And she ministers to us the words that He has put in her heart as she has been memorizing from Matthew 6, “Do not worry about your life…”

And when she has read the whole passage, we are all a little quieter.  We talk about how God is faithful and how He will use this not only for His glory, but for our good.  “Like that verse on the wall, Romans 8:28,” says Lauren, and she reads it, strong.  And we can pray, and cry, and grieve, and still stand straight on this solid rock of Jesus, who will yet do more than we could ask or imagine.  And we beg Him to work out verse 29 in us—conform us to you!  Use this to change us and strengthen us and cause us to repent and cling to you more!  And build these children into strong warriors for You, who don’t doubt your sovereignty or goodness in any situation.

“…you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” (I Peter 2:5)

And I too have to give up my own ideas of what looks best. 
Because, honestly, I love what Africa has done to our family.  The man was right—it is a great place to raise these children.  We have to look around for a calendar, such are our social engagements—we usually have to think about what month it is, day after sunny day.  These six have seen what much of the world lives like and instead of being spectators, they have let these people into their hearts.  They love orphans, not because God says to, but because they are their friends.  Their roots go down deep in this hot, brown soil.  It has been our privilege to be here for seven years.  It is not something we deserved or even expected, 

but it has blessed us beyond what we could have dreamed.   

When Dave fell off the roof of family house 4 several weeks ago, we marveled that night about how God had a large steel beam hit the ground about 4 inches from his head, making a large dent in the concrete.  And we wondered together if we would marvel about God’s providence and care if that same beam had specifically taken daddy from us instead of given him back to us.  Would we rejoice in His good plan then?  Many of you have those hard, hard things to look back on.  And our future remembrances that we look upon may include the death of a child or something equally unthinkable.  And we pray, by God’s grace, we may still declare the goodness of God in the land of the living!

At our ladies’ night a couple months ago, we heard a testimony from Neema, a constantly-smiling woman who works around here.  She was raped, and has a beautiful boy, Samueli, as a result.  She was disowned by everyone, almost had an abortion, kept this baby, providing for herself.  After hearing her sad testimony, she said that one verse was a theme of her life, and when she read it my own eyes burned with wonder.  I repeat it, for her and for us:

Psalm 116:12

How can I repay the LORD for all His goodness to me? 

I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord.

***

In every situation,

in every problem,

in every location,

in every relationship,

every time,

God is at work.

This moment is His moment,

where He is actively accomplishing His will. 

The thing that is most important in this moment

 is not what we desire,

but what He is doing.

-Paul Tripp

Happy Belated Martin Luther Day!

Luckily for us, we were studying Martin Luther when his great day came around on October 31.  Thus the hair cut for the annual "fall" harvest party with some of our favorite people. :)

And yes, those are watermelons, not pumpkins.