We
have not had the best of months in terms of repairs and breakdowns. But, all we have gone through God has
increased our confidence as we prepare to leave our country and move to
Honduras. Let me give you the rundown, so
you can understand what I am talking about:
First
on the way to Chicago to fly out on our exploratory trip to Rancho Ebenezer in early
February, we had to drive though a blizzard. The plow trucks were clearing the
lanes ahead of us, but also opening up many VW bug swallowing potholes. Although I dodged many, I eventually hit a large
one as I moved back into my lane from the previous pothole avoiding serpentine maneuver. There was a loud bang, but we did not lose the
tire. After our trip, about a month ago
a strange whirring noise began in the passage side tire, eventually growing to a revving
grinding kind of noise. Upon inspection, I
also discovered a dented rim and remembered my run it with the pothole. I decided it was the wheel bearing and was
able to replace it myself, although frustrating as any car project can be, I had
it fixed in an afternoon. No more weird
noise, and I got a small boost of confidence.
This was not the first hub I had replaced, but the first time I had some
help and a nice heated garage. This time I figured out the problem and fixed it myself.
Then
one evening during bath time, I noticed that we did not have hot water and my
poor kids took lukewarm baths that night.
At first I panicked because we want
to get our little house projects finished up so we can sell it, we did not want
to spend money replacing a water heater.
After doing a bit of research I
learned that it was just a small $8 part called a thermal couple that was
causing my problem. I ran to the store
got the part and had it fixed in an hour.
This was a big confidence booster; I had never taken apart a water
heater and did not even really understand how they worked. But now I do, what a great lesson to learn! And I could take a hot shower the next morning, thank goodness it had been bath night, and saving me from a brisk wake up the next day.
Then
last week Jen was making some lemon bread in the oven, but it took almost twice
as long to finish cooking. Then at
dinner time, the oven would not heat up at all.
Since I had recently tackled the water heater and the van I decided it was time to
take a stab at the oven as well. So after sticking my head in the oven to
figure out what was wrong, I did a little research and learned
that I had a bad igniter. Although the ignitor
still seemed to be working because it had a nice orange glow. I learned the sensor in the oven was not turning
on the gas, this is a safety feature. It sensed the igniter was not working correctly and could potentially cause an explosion. So once again I found the part and after a
quick swap out we had a hot oven once again at which time I pulled my head out
quickly. Now I know how an oven works
and what can cause it to stop working in the first place. I rewarded myself with a delicious piece of lemon bread.
As
we are beginning to raise support and trying to trim our budget, any one of
these issues could have been extremely frustrating and expensive. But, God used each one to encourage me and
give me some new skills. I realize
in Honduras I may not have the parts as easily at hand as I have here,
but now I know at least what is wrong and what part is necessary to make the
repairs. I have gained confidance to face new challages. Any of these breakdowns could
be discouraging attacks when living in a third world country meant to steal our joy and rob those who we will be serving
of our full attention. But God is
preparing us, helping us to be ready to face little discouragements. These breakdowns were intended to add frustration to our lives, but God used them for our good to teach and prepare us!
I thank God for his transforming
power in our lives! It is great that He
knows me well enough to understand how He can use frustrating moments in life
to encourage me as we move forward taking each new step in our walk of
obedience!
Romans
8:28 (NLT) And
we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who
love God and are called according to his purpose for them.
If you want to find out more about us and our minstry follow the lines for "About us" or "World Gospel Outreach" at the top of the page. Remember to keep us in your prayers. If God lays in on your heart to help us finacially you can click on the "Donate" Tab at the top or the page, You be redirected to the World Gospel outreach donation site then just select our name from the drop down list and give online.
If you have any questions email me at matt.nevala@wgomission.org
