God sent us help this month in the form of some of our dearest friends from Georgia! They came with hearts willing to serve, and a professional knowledge of construction to help us in the completion of this mission house. They skillfully and painstakingly put the exterior molding on almost all of the windows, which is a detail that will finally seal them from the extreme tropical elements and insects. What a huge job, since each window casing has to be custom built with wood that is hard and its sawdust gives you an instant coughing fit. We are so very grateful for their sacrifice of time and resources to come and help us! It is an honor and an encouragement to have a visit from our old home country to bless us in such a big way in our new home country.
Vann and I have finished the rest of the exterior molding on the windows and doors since they left, which made us all the more grateful for the time that they saved us from having to do it all on our own! The house looks so much more finished and pretty with its exterior trim!
Remeber the pic last month of Vann with a chainsaw standing on top of a slab of wood? They look like this now! He hand-finished the bar and island tops, and they are super beautiful. The drywall still has yet to be finished, and then all of the finishing details that make a house livable inside have yet to be done; like paint on the walls, tile in the showers and flooring installed. These things take time to do alone, but finishing well is important. We are very much looking forward to being done with this project, and able to move on to other things. Through even this construction, we seek to glorify Him with the work of our hands. God is the Master Builder, and he cares about details. He spent a lot of time giving detailed instructions for the building of the ark and the temple and all of the things in it. Excellence is His only standard. We are not building an ark or a temple, but like Noah and Solomon, we have faith in God, trust in His leading, and look to Heaven as our ultimate home. (Heb.11: 10)
Our Clara turned 11 years old! She is growing up so fast, and is such a delight to all who know her. She loves Jesus, and is a deep thinker. God has a very special purpose for such a special girl, and we feel so blessed to be her parents!
Vann has fixed several washing machines this month, and helped with an emergency electrical issue for our neighboring missionaries. The slightest detail can make the biggest difference between life and death, or success and failure. Life sometimes seems so fragile, but we trust God to be in control of all of the details.
We’ve had some health details to look after recently. The kids have each needed trips to the dentist and a visit to the ENT team here on a missions trip in the last weeks. Thank God that everyone is healthy, but we have some upcoming expenses for braces and a possible tonsillectomy should the US team be able to come again in the future. God knows. Details are His business!
Are you trusting God to be in control of all of the details of your life? He will take perfect care of you if you surrender control to Him. He is able and loving! 1Peter 5:7
“It is not only wrong to worry, it is unbelief; worrying means we do not believe that God can look after the practical details of our lives, and it is never anything but those details that worry us.” Oswald Chamber