Trust and Patience

Trust and patience have been a huge factor in my life recently. The questions of what I will do when I go back to California have already begun to come up. I still don't know what I will do, or even what I want to do. Trusting that God has a plan for me is a given. Albeit, that has been a theme in my life for several years and it has taken me several years of personal struggles to realize that and to truly believe it. But waiting for that plan to happen has never been a strong suit for me. I still struggle with patience and not knowing what will happen in the next year, or even next few months. But God showed me this weekend, through the testimony of a new friend, that God will take His time and our job is to rest confidently in Him and to be patient. God is faithful to us and will keep His promises to us.  I found a quote online that I will share, I don't know where it comes from though : "God has perfect timing; never early, never late. It takes a lot of patience and a lot of faith. But it's always worth it in the end." The testimony I heard confirmed that. She went through the last 10+ years trying to find the perfect job that she believed was God's will and plan for her: translation missionary ministries. She found a good translation job with the government, but never found the perfect job to serve in the mission field, until recently. But until she found that job, she was faithful to God and trusted Him and His will for her. Her testimony encouraged me to continue trusting God and trust His timing.

"A man's steps are from the Lord; how then can man understand his way?" Proverbs 20:24

Again this weekend, God reminded me to trust Him in everything, especially when I am feeling overwhelmed. These last few weeks I have been feeling a little overwhelmed dealing with the problems that arise in organizing a huge camp this summer. My thoughts have been concentrated on finding a house or houses to accommodate our teams, finding a team for our teens camping trip, and also on my Kid's Day event. Yes, I had another Kid's Day last Saturday. I went in expecting to have around 15 kids total for the day, but ended up with 29! I had my moments of panic when I realized I didn't have enough papers for all the kids, when I didn't think our snack would be enough, and when the kids wouldn't sit still during the lesson or even during the craft time. I had to chase kids down from tables and bookshelves several times throughout the day. I had 17 kids in my younger class with only one other helper. There were times I didn't think we would make it. I just prayed so hard that God would get me through it and that no one would get hurt. Other than an incident where one kid was throwing crayons at another kid, no one got hurt. And guess what? God got me through the day!

Since then, I have heard more news about the housing situation for our teams. We still don't have a real confirmation yet, but it is looking hopeful with possibly another backup house in case the first one doesn't work. And even though looking for team members for the teenagers is still up and down, we have finally found a week that works for most of our teens. We still have several possibilities for team members, so things are hopeful and looking up. When I was sharing some of this with a friend today, I was reminded of a song from my childhood that seems to fit perfectly with this theme I keep struggling with. It goes something like this:

"God is bigger than the Boogie Man, He's bigger than Godzilla or the monsters on TV. Oh God is bigger than the Boogie Man and He's watching out for you and me!" Veggie Tales

Why yes, I did just quote a song sung by a cute little asparagus! But there is truth to this song! God is bigger than anything we can imagine. He is bigger than the monsters that are out in this world, but He is also bigger than the monsters in our hearts. He helps us overcome our fears of the future, our stresses over the little things in life, and He gives us strength to do it. Why does He do that? Because He loves us with an unimaginable love.

"For God so loved the world that He gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16

I will never be able to truly grasp the entirety of God's love for us, but I know that because of this love we have been saved through His Son Jesus. And through Jesus we can have a personal relationship with God, one where we learn to trust Him in everything. And we trust Him because we know He has a plan for us. We just need to wait patiently and trust in His faithfulness towards us.

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you  a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you, declares the Lord." Jeremiah 29:11-14a.

Languages

Last Sunday evening, my roommate invited me to her church's evening service. They were having a special speaker from Wycliffe Associates come and talk to them about his work in China and about the work to translate the Bible. I had the privilege of being invited to have dinner with him and another family from that church the following evening. It struck me how many languages there are out in the world that don't have a Bible or even a way of writing down their language. We take our language for granted, whereas this man is helping a people create their own alphabet/language and translate the Bible at the same time. I can understand how difficult that can be, but this man and his organization continue diligently to spread the Word. They know how important it  is to spread the gospel to all nations and all corners of the world and I can appreciate that.

The province of Quebec is considered one of the least reached areas of North America. The gospel has not been spread very successfully here and only 1% of the population here is considered to be Evangelical Christians. It can feel like a hostile place for Christians, but I know it is not as hostile as other places around the world. Some might consider it difficult to come here because of the language difference, but even our natural language (or mine at least) of English can help in some ways. It has helped me immensely that I have been able to learn the French language since coming here. But the fact that I speak English can sometimes draw people because they want to learn or practice the language. Sometimes one can share the gospel in English, but if you want to make a real connection with a person, speaking their native language can be such a blessing to you. I try to thank God every time someone gives me a compliment or comment about my French because I know I would not be here without Him. I am very thankful for how far He has brought me in this language and I hope and pray that I will not lose it. I am thankful for the lessons I am learning about language.

I will leave you with one prayer request, for my friend Edith Côté (pronounce like: coatay) and her family. I met her when I was just starting to learn French and we bonded over learning English and French. She helped me with my French and I helped her with her English, and she would come to my English Conversation events. We used to take the bus together before I moved to a different part of town. She has invited me to her house for dinner several times. I spent Christmas Dinner with her and her family, and just recently celebrated her son's 16th birthday with her and her family. I have tried talking with her about the gospel and a need for a savior. She seems open to hearing what I have to say and often agrees or says she likes those ideas, but something is still missing for her to fully commit. Please pray for me as I continue to try and minister to her and her family. Sometimes I lack the words or the courage to say something outright and I pray that God will equip me for it. I am very thankful for this friendship and this opportunity to minister to her.

Only God could have made two people from two different languages come together. God can make it become a ministry. Only God can change a person's heart. I pray that this relationship brings God the glory.

Thank you for your prayers.