Refreshing like watermelon.

When we first arrived, we noticed another m’ssionary family had graciously stocked our fridge with lots fresh fruits and food, including a watermelon…that we kind of forgot about in the corner of our fridge. However, after a very long day of running & biking around the city doing errands, we remembered the watermelon. It must be the high altitude, because ever since arriving 2-3 days ago, our lips have been really dry and we’ve all been extremely thirsty. We cut that sucker open (it was so red!) and bit into it. OMG, the most refreshing thing ever! All 4 of us savored it…and it restored us, physically. Awesome watermelon pictured above :)

As you may have read, the last couple of days have been like a roller coaster. Kingston and Fiona didn’t do too well on the plane. Their sleep cycle has been thrown off. Our ATM card was swallowed into the machine. By Father’s grace, we had a second ATM card, but no machines would allow us to withdraw money. We were literally down to $7-8 USD. We didn’t have internet, and had no way to really contact our family (at least for the first day or so, until we got a cellular phone). Our bikes had locks on them, that I put on 2 months ago when I was here...but I forgot the darn codes, so we couldn’t use our bikes. All the meanwhile, Lily and I were physically weary.

However, we decided to just pr’y and pr'y and pr’y…and just lifted everything up to Him. We also knew we had people all over the world pr’ying for us, intervening for us! For the first time in my life, I felt like I was completely helpless…that I needed to rely completely and utterly on the creator of the universe. He was and has been so good to us! He didn’t make us worry or suffer very long. I won’t bore you with the details, but door upon door upon door started opening for us…not by our own doing. Answered pr’yers are like sweet and juicy watermelons on a hot and dry day…they refresh you, and they restore you. However, one thing Lily and I realized during our short time here is that being completely and utterly reliant on Him (and Him alone) has put us in those positions to experience His amazing grace, so much more than I have ever experienced in my life before.

In the last day or so, we’ve gotten (limited) internet, MONEY, some rest, Kingston and Fiona to sleep alone again…and lots and lots of encouragement from you guys back at home!

Prior to us starting this whole “full-time m’ssionary” thing, I never knew how HUGE financial and sp'ritual supporters would be! Knowing we have people back at home pr’ying for us, man oh man, it’s given us the hope to keep on going...knowing that we aren’t alone in this. It’s given us the courage we need to stay steadfast! We love each and every one of you!

Looking up with great anticipation,

Dan