Every Kilometer A Thankful Heart

     It's been little over a week now and our time has been going well. We've seen God's faithfulness again and again. We just got home from our short trip to Bataan. It's a three hour drive from where we are staying. We had such a good time catching up with our friends and church. 

     On the drive back home, we stopped at a rest stop on the expressway/interstate to grab lunch. That's when things got a little shaky, the car that is. Our car started shaking in a very worrisome manner while it was idling. At this point we've already been praying that God would keep our air conditioner running so why not add shaking that rocks the entire car into the prayer mix. Alex checked all the fluids and asked if there was a mechanic at the gas station. No such luck, so we tried the next exit with the same results. We decided to just press on since the oil wasn't low and the issue only presented itself in idle. As we were driving down the interstate we prayed together that God would get us home. We knew that Manila traffic was ahead which means lots of stopping and idling.  Maybe some of you are like me when you pray. You know, you ask God to do something like keep your car running so you don't break down on one of the busiest streets in Manila, then in the back of your mind your actually making plans for when the car breaks down in the middle of the road, you know... just in case God isn't listening.

Matthew 17:20 "Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

I didn't need enough faith to move a mountain; I just needed enough to get our car to the guest house. That's exactly what God did by the way. We never came to a complete stop on one of the busiest streets in Manila (that never happens!). Have you seen a mustard seed? It's ridiculously tiny, and I don't even have that most of the time. I have such a small, fragile faith. The Holy Spirit has this gentle way of convicting us and teaching us at the same time. As every kilometer passed my heart became more and more thankful. God is really nurturing my minuscule faith, and making it into something beautiful. Granted it's a slow process with a scaredy-cat like me. I feel like a tiny sprout reaching up for the light who needs the Gardener to come along and tend it. At least I'm in good company. Look at who Jesus chose as his disciples. 

Matthew 17:14-20 When they came to the crowd, a man approached Jesus and knelt before him. “Lord, have mercy on my son,” he said. “He has seizures and is suffering greatly. He often falls into the fire or into the water. I brought him to your disciples, but they could not heal him.” “You unbelieving and perverse generation,” Jesus replied, “How long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy here to me.” Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed at that moment. Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”He replied, “Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

Praise God from whom all blessings flow, 

• We are through the worst of jet lag. Now we sleep as well as anyone else who has a 5 month old.
• Alex had a safe trip while picking up our car.
• We just had a wonderful visit with our church and friends from Bataan.
• All of our belongings look great! We don't have to throw anything out. I couldn't find any mold in the house at all, just lots of dead bugs... Big Ones. Yuck!
• Hinley was a little champion the whole trip! Even with skipped naps, and lots of brand new things and people to meet she did great.

Pray to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine,

• That we figure out what is going with our car before Alex has to make the 12 hour drive up north.
• For Alex, he has a bit of a stomach bug.
• We are getting together with a couple of our Language Consultants early next week. They'll be helping us get back in gear for language study.
• We are going to immigrations next week to get Hinley's paperwork finished.
• Also next week, we will be flying up north to look for a new house and possibly the guys will do some survey work.
• We are still trying to get in touch with the movers who will transport all our belongings up north.