We wrapped up our time in this south-central state at teatime (11) this morning, Wednesday, the 5th. It was a difficult thing to say goodbye and head for the hotel to load our bags for the 7th of our 15 flights. A plane change and more than 7 hours later, we dumped our suitcases in a facility located right on the huge bay that lies east of this country.
We hadn’t had anything to eat since breakfast, it was now 6:30 pm, and we were under orders to hustle to the site of this retreat for the folks in the very southern part of the country.
It had been very hot at our last temporary residence – about 38 to 40 degrees Centigrade (100 or so Fahrenheit). But up there the humidity was not too bad. It is the rainy season, but it has not rained for a considerable length of time, and the sun is merciless.
Here the heat and humidity practically choked us when we climbed out of the taxi.
I was tired, hot, sweaty, and growing increasingly hungrier. The last thing I wanted to do was to meet folks I’d never seen before and listen to Tom preach a sermon I had heard before – two days ago.
But God… That’s the way the Bible puts it – at least in Ephesians 2, and no doubt in a bunch of other places. But God intervened.
Sure I had to meet a bunch of new people and try to learn a lot of new names. Sure it was hot and sticky; plus, there were mosquitoes. I was still hungry. And, the lights went out twice while Tom preached that same sermon.
But our Heavenly Daddy blessed me beyond anything I’d experienced to this point on this trip. The joy these folks expressed on seeing Tom and Janet again warmed my heart. Their obvious desire to make the acquaintance of Luana and me took away any reluctance I had about meeting new people and learning new names. But it was the interaction between Tom and his interpreter, a man he’d taught 6 years ago that really blessed me. Even though the lights played hide and seek, and the air conditioner conked out, Tom’s message was better than the first time I’d heard it.
I am eager to return this morning.
