I’m enjoying my view right now: in the distance the bright blue of the sky is in sharp contrast to the varigated greens of the jungle-clad mountains that surround us. Up closer, the leaves of the banana, coffee and betel nut trees are shining in the sunshine. For this California girl, the warm sun that is beating down makes my heart happy!
We definitely haven’t seen much of the sun in our 2+ weeks out here in the village. We’ve had rain for 17 out of 17 days so far. Lots and lots of it. According to our rain gauge, we’ve received over 10 ½ inches so far. Let’s just say that grey and gloomy is the norm around here!
I’m finding more and more that the unseen battle that’s going on around us is way more visible to me here in the village. I can feel the darts of discouragement and depression that are thrown repeatedly at us. It just seems like one thing after another contrives to slow down the translation work, and drive (me, especially) to discouragement.
The grey, wet rain is one of those things. We started off this stay with a working generator. It was great! For 2 weeks, whenever our batteries got too low because of the lack of sun, we could run the generator for a couple of hours and Matt could keep working. But once again this week, the generator, which has been a nightmare these past 3 years, broke yet again. When we think of the hundreds of dollars spent flying it back and forth to be fixed, and the months and months it’s sat in the repair shop, waiting for parts, it’s honestly depressing. Now we’re back to having to strictly ration our battery power. On the dark, cloudy days, all the power has to go to Matt’s computer so that he can work for as many hours as the power lasts. Often that’s only ‘till early afternoon before they get run down too far and he needs to stop. There’s no extra power to let the kids play a computer game or watch a movie to break up the monotony of a long, rainy afternoon .. Or even for me to play a 30 minute Zumba or Aerobics video so I can get some exercise. Definitely discouraging.
Another frustration (coincidence? I think not!) is that it seems like whenever we make trips out to the village, situations arise that make working on translation impossible. During our last village stay, I believe Matt worked with our co-translators on revising Luke for a total of 3 days. Out of 6 entire weeks! (He was able to work on other language-related things, just not specifically translating/revising.) All these ‘hevis’ just seem to crop up with impeccable timing. This stay so far, it’s been a massive, painful boil that one of our co-translators is having to deal with. He can’t sit and is in a great deal of pain. So obviously, it’s impossible for him to come sit in the office and work on translating.
So this morning, as I enjoy the warmth that the sun brings, I am reminding myself as I watch the cottony white clouds creeping down the mountains, that discouragement and depression won’t win! Verses such as “We are more than conquerors….” and “I can do all things through Him who gives me strength,” are floating through my head. God knows about the boil, and the generator, and the heaps and heaps of rain, and being trapped inside a little house with five stir-crazy and fighting kids! And He’s more powerful! These frustrations (while definitely difficult) won’t stop us from accomplishing that to which He has called us.
No comments:
Post a Comment