February 28, 2011
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| A nice set of Giraffe at Hluhluwe Park near us. |
We certainly consider it to be a honor to serve the Lord as missionaries in South Africa. We have completed three full years in this area and have been given permission to stay for another three. There is no possibility we could be here and work in places utterly foreign to our experience except that the Grace of God empowers us. However, even in the midst of walking out the path that Christ has given, sometimes there are trials and difficulties. The return to South Africa has been filled with challenges.
Our drive to the airport for the flight home took three hours (normally one) over ice and snow. We lost one of our bags (still not recovered) carrying approximately $1000 dollars worth of goods that are much more expensive here. The car was inoperable, the phone line/internet had electrical faults,the main computer crashed with everything on it, and one of our dogs died within one day of us being back.
James 1:12 (NASB)says,
12 Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.
We want to be people who “persevere under trial.” Don’t feel sympathy for what we’ve described, pray for us. Help us to get to the place of joy in the middle of these difficulties. We will not be detered from Christ’s plan for our lives and are ready to go to another level of demonstrating His love, compassion and understanding for people. One of the biggest ways we speak to the world about Jesus is how we react to
trouble.
Blessings in Christ………………………………………………………………….Rodney, Trina, Bridget
Update: Praise the Lord!!!! The bag was finally found on Friday, March 4th at the airport police department along with about 40 other missing bags. It was only missing a few things and we are very greatful to God for the retun of the bag.
