Faith

“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation. By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. …And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.”
Hebrews 11:1,2, &6

PRAISE THE LORD!

I don’t even know where to begin...

The sound of the water droplets beating against the roof that God has placed over my head is the answer. Rain! Lots and lots of rain! Over the weekend we had no electricity, but that was okay because we didn’t have much water either. Monday we had electricity. Tuesday morning we ran out of water. So I’m supposed to pray, right? Junotte said, “God puts us in these desperate situations because it forces us to pray. He loves it when we pray!” On Tuesday night I prayed. I asked the Lord to fill our water buckets and give us lots of rain. I just reminded Him of His Word – wanting to bless His children, not giving us a stone when we ask for bread, and the story of Elijah. And then I thought about Elijah a little bit more… So I thought to myself, “If only I can stay awake and keep praying and checking out the window until it starts to rain!” Well, I prayed and then (like the disciples) I fell asleep. But the next day – it rained – praise the Lord! But it only rained a little. When I came home from school I looked at our big blue tub which catches the rain that falls off the roof… and it was filled to the brim! But our big black tank in the back which brings water into the house was still not very full. What to do? Be more specific! So I thanked the Lord for what He had provided that day, asked for forgiveness if I had been boastful about “my prayer brought the rain” instead of “God’s mercy and grace brought the rain,” and asked Him now to fill the big black tank in the back. …I woke up to showers this morning!!! And it’s been raining hard almost nonstop all day!!! Hallelujah! Praise the Lord! Even when I came home from school, I washed the huge pile of dirty dishes that we hadn’t washed because of lack of water, filled up all our water jugs we keep around, and did a load of laundry… and right after my laundry finished we had another huge downpour and everything was overflowing again! You have to admit the radness factor of God!

Another really cool thing about this whole event is that I have been asking God to teach me more about prayer. Wowzers! He is proving His point that He answers and gives abundantly more! Praise the Lord!

On Saturday night Junotte and I ate out at Truk Stop (by the way, Pop, the logo for this hotel & restaurant is “Your Inn for a Great Stay”). Anyway, so there was a nonChuukese lady at the table across from us and, of course, Junotte invited her to join us. So we had dinner together. And she came up to our apartment with pizza two nights later. She’s working on Pohnpei and is just in Chuuk for a week. She’s an unbeliever but, as I’m writing this, she’s on her way to pick us up and take us out to dinner again. We’ve been overt about our faith and our God but I pray we share the Gospel clearly tonight.

On to other news… Pat’s connections with the Rotary Club here allowed us to be guests at a cocktail party onboard of a French Navy ship. Yeah! You’re telling me! So we were being served these French cocktail hors d’oeuvres just like in the movies. One of the sailors I was talking to wanted me to try escargot (snail). I told him only if he ate one first, which of course he willingly did. Linda was just laughing and holding her hand over her mouth as I popped one in and chewed. It was… salty. (Also, it just so happened that one of my students found a live snail today and was showing it to me. I think seeing what I ate alive made me want to… well, you know. I don’t think I’ll try escargot again.) I didn’t have any wine or champagne though. Junotte knows French very well so she was having a ball. Most of the guys could only speak a little bit of English so it wasn’t very easy to communicate. Then a Navy man named Oliver (cool, huh, Mom?) gave Junotte, Linda, and me a tour of the ship. It wasn’t very big from the outset but once you were inside in the corridors I was so thankful for a guide! It was very fun. Junotte and I were one of the last few people to leave. We were talking with a man named Raul and Junotte ended up sharing the Gospel. It was so cool! And I said one of the only things I knew how to say in French – “C'est gratuity!” – “It’s free!” (Thanks for the correct spelling, Pop.) Praise the Lord! He was Catholic and said He believed and had assurance of going to heaven. Junotte suggested he read John chapter 3. You can pray for Raul!

…

So now I have come home from dinner with Loretha. I don’t think the she was quite ready and willing to hear the Gospel yet but Junotte always “acknowledge[d] his name” (Heb. 31:15). At one point in the end of our conversation Loretha commented about something and said, “I think you would say, ‘Call on Jesus.’” We all swapped e-mails and if we ever go to Pohnpei we’ll look her up and if she ever comes back to Chuuk she’ll look us up. Pray for Loretha!

Well, I still have a list of things I was going to say but I’ll wait until tomorrow or this weekend to finish. I thought I would post this for now though.

You don’t know how much I crave your prayers and am abundantly thankful for the ones you have offered and continue to offer to our gracious heavenly Father. Thank you so much!

“For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come. Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.” Hebrews 13:14-16

Continuing to serve Jesus Christ out in the uttermost parts…
Katie