This date holds a cherished meaning for Sue and I. It was on this date that I took the hand of our five year daughter Beth and Sue took the hand of our three year Linnea and we boarded a very large United
Airline jet in Chattanooga, Tennessee. It was raining as hard as any monsoon. Our family and most of our home church were there to see us off. It was like a funeral. We were headed for one of the smallest atolls in the Pacific Ocean called the Gilbert Islands.
Since this was before the information highway opened we knew almost nothing about where we were going. There were 16 of the atolls and we were to live on Tarawa with about 16,000 people. It was 14 miles long and no more than a mile wide. We were to live in the village of Eita as the only foreign family. We were funny looking people.
Our home was a small concrete building that had been built by a former missionary one block at a time. I soon learned how to make those blocks as I built class rooms and a hugh cistern. We had no electricity. We got our water from the rain. No telephones. No one to call anyway. The nearest hospital was 1,500 miles by water. We got one plane a week and a ship every three months that would bring us fresh food.
We ate fish everyday. Every few days one of the fishermen would catch a 300 pound turtle and give us a large portion. Sue did miracles with what she had to cook. She cooked on a one eye camping stove the first year. It took us a year to get a new one from Japan. The refrigerator was a demon possessed kerosene contraption. We fought every two or three days.
The work was wonderful. We had a school of 120 students. Sue had a clinic for the villagers. They came to her for everything. She became very innovative. I pastored the church on the compound, directed a small Bible Institute and supervised 20 churches on the other atolls.
I am not sure what we did for the people there but we learned so much. We learned much about our Lord. Because of what we did not have and were so isolated we learned one great lesson that became the rock of our missionary life. YOU CAN TRUST GOD. When there is no one, there is God. When you are isolated He is there. When deeply in need of a miracle He provides.
After three years we moved on to other places of service but the lessons we learned have stayed with us. You really can trust Him. He will not fail you. No matter where you serve He knows you are there.
Airline jet in Chattanooga, Tennessee. It was raining as hard as any monsoon. Our family and most of our home church were there to see us off. It was like a funeral. We were headed for one of the smallest atolls in the Pacific Ocean called the Gilbert Islands.
Since this was before the information highway opened we knew almost nothing about where we were going. There were 16 of the atolls and we were to live on Tarawa with about 16,000 people. It was 14 miles long and no more than a mile wide. We were to live in the village of Eita as the only foreign family. We were funny looking people.
Our home was a small concrete building that had been built by a former missionary one block at a time. I soon learned how to make those blocks as I built class rooms and a hugh cistern. We had no electricity. We got our water from the rain. No telephones. No one to call anyway. The nearest hospital was 1,500 miles by water. We got one plane a week and a ship every three months that would bring us fresh food.
We ate fish everyday. Every few days one of the fishermen would catch a 300 pound turtle and give us a large portion. Sue did miracles with what she had to cook. She cooked on a one eye camping stove the first year. It took us a year to get a new one from Japan. The refrigerator was a demon possessed kerosene contraption. We fought every two or three days.
The work was wonderful. We had a school of 120 students. Sue had a clinic for the villagers. They came to her for everything. She became very innovative. I pastored the church on the compound, directed a small Bible Institute and supervised 20 churches on the other atolls.
I am not sure what we did for the people there but we learned so much. We learned much about our Lord. Because of what we did not have and were so isolated we learned one great lesson that became the rock of our missionary life. YOU CAN TRUST GOD. When there is no one, there is God. When you are isolated He is there. When deeply in need of a miracle He provides.
After three years we moved on to other places of service but the lessons we learned have stayed with us. You really can trust Him. He will not fail you. No matter where you serve He knows you are there.
No comments:
Post a Comment