Saturday Post -- 22/10/11

One obvious way in which we've seen God's hand at work over the last couple of years is our never wanting for shelter. Our missionary colleagues have graciously opened their doors to us from the start, with Kenny & Claudia affording us an en-suite bedroom at the beginning of 2010; a few months later, Diego & Jo vacated their whole upstairs area, allowing us to move into an 'apartment' of our own. We have been here ever since.

All the while, however, we've been keenly aware of our need to get a first footing on the property ladder. Last year, when some neighbouring plots went up for sale, we decided to put a deposit down for some land, though we had no immediate plans to build (which is the significantly cheaper option here). But earlier this year, our hand was somewhat forced, as Diego & Jo made the decision that they and their three children would leave Bolivia by December. Reassuringly, the home's future owners have said we can stay here as long as we like. Nonetheless, we reckoned it might be time to speak to an architect.

Edwin, highly recommended by all and sundry, came on board in July, and has been sketching away ever since to design a simple three-bedroom home, which we hope to populate with local visitors, foreign visitors and, if God wills it, our own family. If you've read the blog much, you'll have noted the recurring theme of our knocking doors and the Lord flinging them open, and naturally, we see this house as something of a leap of faith, taking our long-term commitment here to a new level. Well if the speed of this process is anything to go by, we are clearly meant to be here -- three months after contacting Edwin, we're all set to break ground.

The only significant hurdle which remains is the transfer of documents of land ownership. Now that the land belongs to us, we need to meet with the former landowner to transfer the paperwork to our name. Though resident in Santa Cruz, she is planning on coming to Trinidad in November. However, with rainy season looming large, Edwin is keen to get the foundations down ASAP. So we've taken the decision that I will travel to Santa Cruz via overnight bus on Sunday night, meet with the former landowner on Monday morning, and head back to Trinidad that night. While the thought of getting this process out of the way is appealing, I am a light sleeper at the best of times, and am anticipating a rough couple of days as a result. Please pray for energy and patience.

And pray that we'll both be rested up for the remainder of the week, as the Foundation is closing for a couple of days so that we can sit down and plan our future strategy as an organisation. We need a sense of the Lord's guidance in a big way throughout this process.

I've been challenged this week about what it means for the Christian to listen to the Lord and discern his will. Tomorrow I'll have the opportunity to give my first sermon since our break on John 12:1-19. The first chunk of this passage is taken from Jesus' visit to Lazarus, Mary and Martha's home in Bethany the day before Palm Sunday, and Mary's anointing of his feet. I was struck by the contrast between Mary and the disciples in this scene (albeit the only disciple in John's account to kick up a fuss is Judas). They consider Mary's use of this expensive ointment as wasteful. Jesus, of course, defends Mary, explaining that she's simply preparing his body for burial.

I thought about how it could be that such a gulf of foresight existed between the disciples and Mary. How many times had Jesus forewarned the disciples as to the events of that coming week? Yet on as many, if not more occasions, we know the disciples ignored these forewarnings, sometimes even attempting to convince him not to pursue such a path. What privileged access they had for three full years, and yet what glaring lack of belief.

What did Mary have that even the disciples didn't? As I meditated, I remembered that Mary had a previous connection with the Lord's feet. In Luke 10:39 we read '[Mary] sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching.' No protestations. No niggling doubts. Just a willingness to humble oneself and hear what the Lord had to say.

Secondly, and briefly, I read Daniel 6 as part of my readings yesterday, which recounts the great Sunday School tale of Daniel's 'disobedience' and relatively uneventful night in the lion's den. I had read the passage so often in the past, but the Lord drew my attention in a new way to a simple narrative aspect of the narrative in verse 10: 'he had windows open toward Jerusalem'. God had granted Daniel with such wisdom that fame and fortune had followed him wherever he so much as breathed in the great ancient city of Babylon. He had been taken as a captive from a spiritually-destitute Judah and within years had had bestowed on him the highest titles outside monarchy itself. He doubtless had full access to the greatest pleasures of the world at that time. Yet, above all, he had windows open toward Jerusalem. Daniel knew that the real glory was on the horizon, and he was in no mood to miss out on it.

And so we pray for ourselves and for others that we too would learn to humble ourselves in a status-driven world, to keep our own eyes on the Lord when there is so much to distract us, and to listen to him when our every fibre of our frail beings says 'no'.

Prayer

• For safety and energy for Craig as he travels to Santa Cruz, and success in the transferral of documentation.
• For the Lord's wisdom during the planning days for the Foundation later this week.

Praise

• For the Lord's blessing of our home plans thus far, and therein, his clear instruction to us to remain in Trinidad.
• For all that God continues to teach us through his Word.

¡Que Dios les bendiga!

Craig & Amanda