Smol tok nomo |
Smol tok nomo |
BBQ ANYONE? Hmmm where to start. How about Nathan’s first service ever while itinerating as a Missionary Associate. After spilling an enormous amount of BBQ sauce on himself and the two people beside him, the Pastor’s wife offers to wash his shirt before he leaves. He thanks her gracefully and heads to his next service only to realize that the offering for missions was in his shirt pocket! He had to turn around go back and ask for a new check. Somehow, even after this experience, he managed to continue the work. IUI (ITINERATING WHILE UNDER THE INFLUENCE). Next we have another pre- married Nathan itineration story. He and his pal Steven, who happened to be going to work as a nurse in a village clinic overseas, decided to do it together. They were having a difficult time late one night trying to find the church they were to speak at the next morning. So the Pastor came to the church building and waited outside for them. After driving slow (and a little bit of weaving) they arrived at the church just in time for a cop to pull them over right in front of the Pastor for drunk driving! They explained their dilemma to the officer and that they had NOT been drinking. FLOWERED SMELLING PUKE? Moving on to married life itinerating with two girls. January a patron of car sickness thrown into the Ozarks' famous curvy roads. There was the time she threw up more times than I had changes of clothes and went to church in footed pajamas wreaking of throw up. Despite my best efforts to wash and bury her in the perfume soaps and lotions in the church bathroom. Meeting with the Pastor while all of us “adults” do the adult thing and pretend that there is in fact not a disgusting smell lingering around the missionaries. Mmm flowers and puke, now that is a nice combination smell! IMPRESSIVE. Shortly after receiving approval to become missionaries we went to a district event. Our debut into the district if you will. The District Superintendent (leader for the entire district) decided to come and talk to our eldest, January. Her Dad was holding her and she decided to get shy so the DS got close into her face to speak gently as a means of comforting. Well apparently that was to close into her personal space so she reaches up takes her almost two year old hand and slaps him across the face! Her Dad went straight to the bathroom to discipline and talk with her while I stood in disbelief mumbling apologies all over myself. Apparently we make quite the first impression. MINI STORIES One time we went to give baths in a hotel tub only to find massive amounts of hair drainage the plumber had conveniently left for us. The Time we spilled something somewhere in the car that mildewed and we spent hours on the road accompanied by the smell. There was also the time while looking for a church we stopped just a mile short of finding it and drove 20 miles in the wrong direction just to drive 21 miles back towards the church and arrive 2 minutes until the service started. Times (more than once) we showed up and the Pastor had completely forgot we were coming. Once we showed up and begin to set our table up when another missionary showed up and started setting his table up in another part of the church only for us to find out the Pastor accidentally booked two missionaries on the same date. FEEL FREE TO STAND IN THE COLD AND WAIT. One more story for the road… literally. This one happened very recently. We had arrived at the churches evangelist quarters just in time for dinner. The Pastor called back after leaving to get his wife from work and asked if we would be interested in having pizza with them. For whatever reason we got our wires crossed and we thought they were bringing the pizza to eat at the evangelist quarters. The Pastors daughter comes and knocks on the door and says “were here” Nathan says “come on in” and the she says “no, that’s ok” and mumbles something Nathan can’t understand and goes back to the car. Five minutes pass. Ten minutes pass. Nathan gets up to look out the window to see what is happening and the Pastor is standing at the end of the drive (temps are under 20 degrees). Nathan looks at me and says, “maybe he is talking on the phone?” then sits back down in the recliner. Here is the scene when the Pastor walks up to the door we left wide open in hopes they knew they were welcome, Nathan is sitting casually reading a book, I am on the computer lounging on the couch, the girls are watching Veggie Tales barefoot with a blanket. The Pastor asks kindly, “my wife is already at the restaurant and wants to know if it is ok if she orders for us?” The realization of what just happened sinks in and we all jump up scurrying about to find shoes and coats taking another five minutes to be ready to go and completely embarrassed that the Pastor would think we hadn’t a care in the world while he stood in the cold ice covered driveway. More to come…. I am quite sure of it :)
1 Comment
I usually make it a point to write about things fresh on my heart and mind, but this one warranted looking back a few weeks. I was thick in the middle of a struggle unlike any I had ever faced. No, I am not saying it was the worst I have faced, but unique to me. I have had struggles in my faith, yes, but I have never even contemplated questioning who He is.
I was raised we don’t question God, period. We trust Him because He can see more than us, and has our best interest at heart. These are the times I am very aware that we have an enemy who is real, it was almost as if someone whispered in my ear “God is not faithful to you.” I have questioned circumstances, I have questioned motives of family members, I have questioned many things but this unwavering belief in who God is and what He is about is the very core of my faith and without that quite honestly can there be anything left? It was happening several times a day in a tormenting sort of way. I would be packing boxes, washing dishes, even getting ready for church and it would come to me “God is not faithful to you.” I knew better than this and felt such shame but wondered if I had the strength to fight the enemy since he was bringing this at such a time of discouragement it was hard to find the words or a way to fight it. Finally, some words came to me from the scripture that I had heard as a child. Just a fragment really but these are the words, “Let God be true and every man a liar.” I realized that “every man” included me. God’s word said He is Faithful that is who He is. It was then I remembered an old choir song I had sang in college, “I call you faithful YOUR NAME IS FAITHFUL”. It is so much a part of God some would even call Him Faithful as a name! I had to surrender all, even my own thoughts and opinions. Thoughts I didn’t even want or welcome but still there they were torturing me several times a day. However with this weapon of scripture each and every time I would say, “Let God be true and every man a liar.” I would tell God then and there " you are true your word is true and regardless of my thoughts or feelings you ARE faithful and if someone is a liar here, it is me (my feelings which I take responsibility for)." Then Sunday came (literally). Still thick in the battle we set out for church. The discouragement was still there and made even worse by the guilt of these thoughts I did not want to have. However, I had some fight in me and these thoughts also angered me so I knew even though I couldn’t see it or feel it in the middle of this life storm His word was “a lamp unto my path” lighting the way out of the storm. Sunday morning after church, a church I have never been to before, a lady approached me, a lady I had never met. She begin to share with me a story. Very familiar to those who know bible stories. The one where Jesus and the disciples were in the middle of a storm in a boat at sea and they feared for their lives and God said to the storm “Peace be still.” Yes, I know, this one is used so much with so much focus on the usual message of Christ speaking to our storm “be still” and that is a great message , but that was not the one this stranger had for me. This is what she said, “before they ever left the shore, before they ever faced the storm, Jesus said to the disciples “Come let us go to the other side.” So in the middle of that storm if they would have looked back God had already said on the shore” LETS GO TO THE OTHER SIDE.” Something rose up in me as I looked back to before the storm I was facing, God had already told me where He was taking me. How could I let doubt even get a foot hold whilst in the middle of my storm? I decided then and there rather He ever chose to calm the storm, or rather it was rough seas until we got to the other side and I literally crashed onto the shore it didn’t matter. He had already told me where we were going, and He never promised a smooth ride getting there and after all, He is Faithful. |
AuthorWife, Mother, Missionary, Teacher, Friend ... just a few of the many titles I gladly wear. Never dreamed this is the journey God would take me on. Archives
July 2022
Categories |