Updates
Gratitude.
November used to mean cool, crisp days with warm sweaters and bright autumn colors, but now it brings rain with ever present sweltering heat, growing grass and encroaching jungle. Our fourth grader has had to memorize the order of the seasons in the Northern hemisphere because she hasn’t ever experienced them. We used to miss the changing of the seasons, but after a dozen years without them, we have learned to be content. Part of being content where we are, is finding beauty around us. There is so much beauty in the sunrises and sunsets of the rainy season. The lush green that surrounds us never fades, and something is always blooming. We are so very grateful to be able to live here.
There were a few quiet weeks when we first arrived home from our trip to the States due to the fact that no one knew that we were back, but that has changed now. The word is out, and we haven’t had a quiet day in quite some time! Every weekend is full of people coming to the pool for a quiet respite from life and the heat, and our weekdays are full of working on the house, helping other missionaries with various projects, and taking the time to meet with people here and in town.
The windows for the house are being assembled and installed! Vann has figured out how much argon gas is needed to fill each window for insulation and rust protection for the steel grates inside of them. All of the glass has been delivered, so we hope that the installation will go quickly!
Vann just passed the 7mm kidney stone that has been causing him so much excruciating pain for so long! Praise God! He will need to heal for a couple of days, but we are so relieved that this fight is over. Thank you for your prayers. We are so grateful!
We had a scare over Ethan’s eye last week. He was playing tetherball with some friends, and was hit directly in his open eye with the ball at close range. There was blackness and flashing lights in his vision, but with Vann’s sister’s help over Skype, he passed our initial tests for emergency issues. The next morning though, he awoke with a shadow in his peripheral vision. That worried us, so we took him to the only ophthalmologist in town. At least we have one now, for many years there was no ophthalmologist at all! The doctor said that Ethan’s retina was damaged, but not torn or detached, so he sent us home with some drops. His vision was perfectly clear the next day! It’s times like these that make it very difficult to be in the jungle, and so far away from capable help, but God provided just the right people near and far to help us. We are so very grateful for Ethan’s restored vision, and God’s mercy.
Thanksgiving was a fun one this year! We host all of the expats and missionaries in Pucallpa that want to come every year for Thanksgiving. There were 97 of us! It feels like a huge family reunion, and we love it! Everyone comes from all their different missions (bringing awesome food) and shares what God has been doing throughout the year, and what they are thankful for. It is epic. From Bible translations, churches, adoptions, and salvations to building mission homes, Sunday school huts, and aviation missions, God is doing mighty works in this jungle! We are so very grateful to be a part of the family of God, and privileged to work here in Peru!
Thank you to all of you who pray and give so sacrificially to allow us to live and work here. God bless you all abundantly!
“The thing that awakens the deepest well of gratitude in a human being is that God has forgiven sin.” Oswald Chambers