Rebekah’s parents and boyfriend recently made a visit here
to Southeast Asia. It has been a blessing to have the opportunity to see
familiar faces from home. I believe that this time together was a time of
growth and learning. Thank you Whaley Family and Caleb for making the trip to
Southeast Asia.
During the visit of Rebekah’s family, we decided to explore
part of our island. This involved a mountain hike to the lip of a volcano. Our
hike began by hearing the call of monkeys in the treetops. Their sound echoed
throughout the mountain jungle as we continued our hike. The mountain was steep
(I worked muscles that I didn’t even know I had! Haha) but proved to be a great
climb. Once we got halfway to the top, for the sake of time, we decided to ride
motorcycles the rest of the way. This proved to be a thrilling experience.
First, my motorcycle did not have pegs to place my feet on. However, my
motorcycle driver had my safety in mind as he pointed to a random screw on the
motorcycle and told me to place my feet there. I felt like Elf in the North
Pole as I sat behind my motorcycle driver with my knees to my face. I held on
tight expect for the times that I was moving tree limbs away from our faces as
he rushed through the jungle branches. This proved to take a toll on the
motorcycle, as we had to pull over due to the bike overheating. We gave it some
time to cool and then continued our ride. Not too much longer and we pulled
over again. This time it was because we ran out of gas. So, here I am with only
my motorcycle driver, in thick jungle forest, on the side of a mountain when
suddenly, in English, he says to me, “Miss, what is your solution?” Shocked
that he could even communicate with me on this level, I responded by saying,
“Um, walk?” I don’t think he liked my idea as he then preceded to tell me that
he was going to return to the city by coasting down the mountain, fill up with
gas and then come back and pick me up. I asked if I could ride back down with
him to catch up with my friends and continue hiking the mountain with them so
that I would not be left alone. He said, “No, you stay here and I will go to
the city. Miss, don’t panic.” So, off he went to refill with gas. Shortly
after, Rebekah’s father came running up. He said that as my motorcycle driver
passed him on the way down, he told him that he had left someone up there. Her
dad and I continued hiking. Later, my motorcycle driver reappeared; full of gas
and so we took advantage of his services once again. After making it to the top
of the mountain, we had to climb a few hundred steps to reach the top of the
volcano. After, huffing and puffing, we made it and saw a huge crater full of
sulfur lakes. It was incredible. After enjoying a packed lunch at the top, we
began the journey back down the mountain. As you can imagine, going down was
much faster than going up. My motorcycle driver went slowly through rocky areas
and mud pits and then zoomed off on all other parts of the journey. As
off-roading is one of my favorite activities, it definitely was a thrill!
“There are times when we do know what [His] purpose is;
whether we will let the vision be turned into actual character depends upon us,
not upon [Him]. If we prefer to loll on the mount and live in the memory of the
vision, we will be of no use actually in the ordinary stuff of which human life
is made up. We have to learn to live in reliance on what we saw in the vision,
not in ecstasies and conscious contemplation of [Him], but to live in actualities
in the light of the vision until we get to the veritable reality. Every bit of
our training is in that direction. Learn to thank [Him] for making known His
demands.” –Oswald Chambers – Here in Southeast Asia I have witnessed “exciting”
efforts for Him. However, there have been days that simply represent the
process of ordinary life. I believe it is in these days that my Father has
tested my faithfulness by examining my level of willingness to be obedient in
the simple demands of life. As one who is still learning various ways to bring
about His glorification, I challenge you to also remain faithful in the
ordinary aspects of life. In Paul’s first letter to Corinth, he wrote the words
“Called to be saints.” Accept the lifestyle of this call. To those in Thessalonica,
He encouraged them to always rejoice, remain in constant communication with Him
and to continually give thanks to Him for that is His will. The pictures below
represent aspects of ordinary life here. It is the process of daily life
among people so that the end might be made known. There are moments of
presenting and discussion but there are also moments of laughter. All are important
in this method of effort. Other times ordinary life involves making meaning
conversation with the vendors in the local market. I am still learning how to
put aside my own time and desires for the sake of being genuine among everyday
people. The real solution to ordinary life is simply to be obedient to Him in
all things.
 |
| I was becoming short and she was becoming tall. |
No comments:
Post a Comment