We are so aware of your prayers! God has been using them to open our eyes and keep us clinging to His Hand during this time.
At this point we are in the concrete jungle called Manila. We flew up for field meetings held in this busy city. It became apparent the city time would extend due to unexpected reasons, so friends encouraged us to check on getting physical therapy to continue while here. Chris has little use of the hand and it wasn’t responding too well with him working it on his own. His therapist on Mindanao assured us that it would be the best course of action. We are positive God cleared the way immediately for therapy to resume in a very good hospital here and so are ½ way through that program. He is to have an evaluation of the progress at the end of that time with a surgeon here (as he needed the surgeon’s order to be permitted into therapy).
We are humbled to admit our faith is weak and at moments we face real discouragement. The injured finger is not progressing well. Expenses mount each day: surgical and medical fees, hotel/guest house expenses and added expenses of citified life – travel by plane, taxis, jeepney and bus, city food of restaurants and supermarkets and just life away from home. At last report, we were told of the prospect of more surgery and a longer stay in the city which in turn means being away from home even longer.
We found ourselves discouraged as we turned our gaze from Jesus and looked toward our circumstances with weakened spirits and weary hearts. God answered your prayers for us through a letter from our field chairman, Ross Ginn, where he shared about attitudes found in Scripture: 2 Corinthians 12:9-10; Colossians 1:11-12; Romans 8; Philippians 3:3 and 4:8; and 1 Thessalonians. 5:18.
We read: 2 Corinthians 4:15 “as God’s grace reaches more and more people, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory.16 That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. 17 For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! 18 So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.”
In his letter he quoted Newell:“Until we are carried quite out of our depth, to the point of drowning, beyond all of our own wisdom and resources, we will not cast ourselves completely upon the Lord’s Mercy and Grace. Only as everything and everyone fails us and we fail ourselves, do we draw upon abiding strength. ‘Blessed is the man whose strength is in You Lord’; not partly in the Lord and partly in himself. The Lord makes His servant weak, puts him in circumstances that will show him his nothingness that he may rest upon the Strength that is unfailing. It is a long lesson for all of us, but it cannot be passed over until learned.”
We have been challenged to realize that our discouragements are signals that we were not casting ourselves completely on His Mercy and Grace and in fact were not resting on His strength! Ross' letter helped us see through several attitudes as they really are and this one hit home:“To be discouraged is unbelief — as to the Father’s purpose and plan of blessing for you.”We confess this to you, our partners, so you may better pray for us and hold us accountable. We pray for others who face greater physical and financial challenges – maybe even some of you reading this update. We trust you will also draw encouragement from Scripture as He reveals His purpose and plan of blessing for you and through you. We endeavor to allow Him to help us in our unbelief and allow Him to fulfill His purpose and blessing for His Glory. Our desire is not to follow at a distance but to be in the "dust of His feet."
God fills our hearts with gratitude in multifaceted ways. Our partners shared with us the Banwaon teachers are teaching through Galatians and showing great insight from God the Holy Spirit as they bring His Word to their people, our brothers and sisters. Family and friends have been a great blessing to us. Humor has been interwoven in the tough times. Most of you will chuckle out loud at this photo that we just couldn’t resist taking! We love you and we praise God for you and thank Him for the part you play in our lives. He is at work to bring Himself glory on this earth and His Word to the Banwaon people.
LATEST NEWS Sept 15th: Chris will have to have another surgery grafting a tendon from his arm to repair his hand. We so appreciate your prayers as it means at least three more months away from home.
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