Category Archives: Suffering

Spiritual Warfare, Suffering

House Fire

On Monday morning, January 20, I woke up early as usual. Around 5:30am I went from the little house (an ADU in the backyard), to the living room in the main house to spend time reading my Bible. We were supposed to have returned to home in Belize, where we are missionaries, the Wednesday before, but had Influenza A and an airport fiasco that prevented us from leaving–which you can read about here. So we decided to extend our home ministry assignment in southern California until we could reschedule our trip home to Belize.

A little after 7am, I returned to the little house so that Ray and I could pray together. Not long after, our twenty-three year old daughter ran in our room saying there was a fire in the main house. We ran in and saw smoke billowing down the stove vent from the attic. The kids were already out and AnnaGrace was putting the harness and leash on my sister’s dog. My parents, who are in the back part of the house, gathered their medicines and car keys. Our kids, who had been sleeping in the main house right under where the fire began, were outside barefoot and without sweaters with weather in the 40s fahrenheit. So I went in our little house, which was completely unaffected, to get my socks, shoes and sweaters to share. By the time I got outside, the firefighters were already on the property and setting up. They later said they arrived just 4 minutes after Ray made the 911 call.

It was sad and surreal to see flames jumping out of the attic of the house my parents have owned since 1979. Several neighbors came out to help–one entered the smoky house to make sure everyone was out. He later said there was already smoke up to his neck. Others brought chairs for my parents to sit in, blankets against the cold, snacks for our kids, and warm coffee and tea. It didn’t take long before the fire was out and we were giving statements to the fire chief, debriefing with the Red Cross, figuring out where to stay for the night, and cleaning up the huge collection of our belongings that the firemen rescued from the house.

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Gospel, Sovereignty, Suffering

Morning Glories and Gospel Hope

At certain times of the year, morning glories line the Northern Highway that runs between Corozal town and Orange Walk town in northern Belize. They don’t call your attention like the beautiful bougainvillea that take your breath away, making you wonder if Belize might just be a jewel among the countries of the earth. They are much more humble. You will miss them unless you travel the road frequently. They creep along the dusty, dirty shoulder where nothing else but sneezeweed would dare to lay down their roots. They make it clear that they have not been cultivated. They haven’t been planted there with human forethought and care. They come up on their own, roots deep under ground, impossible to get rid of even if you wanted.

Of all the gorgeous flowers in Belize, morning glories are among my favorites. I love a flower that refuses to take the hint that they are unwanted. They don’t mind the car exhaust, the dead animals being eaten up by vultures, the compacted earth that could never be used as planting soil. They don’t mind that they rarely get any notice.

It reminds me of our good God, who is always at work even in the darkest places. There are many places in our world that seem abandoned, ugly and without hope. Sometimes those places even appear in our churches, communities, homes and even our hearts. Relationships that don’t seem be able to be mended. Sins that can’t seem to be overcome. Loved ones that turn their back on their faith.

Ministry can also be like that dusty roadside. It can seem like the soil has been compacted by years of car exhaust and neglect. But God has promised that His Word will not return void. Like the humble morning glory, the Holy Spirit is at work, hidden, among roots that can’t be removed even if someone tried. And at the right moment, beauty and growth appear–maybe not in a flashy, take your breath away kind of growth–but real nonetheless. It is an honor for us to work along side national brothers and be a witness to the fruit of the gospel in northern Belize.

It is our privilege as missionaries to be used by God, whether He chooses to make our ministry is more like the bougainvillea, or more like the humble morning glory. We are currently in the middle of a six-month home ministry assignment. We are visiting our U.S. supporting churches, in states like North and South Carolina, Georgia, Mississippi, Alabama, Missouri, Illinois, Kansas, Arkansas and California. It is our prayer that as we report on our ministry in Belize, that God would use us to encourage the saints that we can trust our faithful Lord. We are actually pretty tired by all the travel, even as we enjoy sweet fellowship with our brothers and sisters in Christ. It is encouraging also for us to see how God is at work in the U.S. Some churches are growing and thriving, while others are struggling, and trying to revitalize again. But it is the same Holy Spirit that is doing His work deep in the hearts of His people,

 “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”

Romans 15:13