Press On While There's Still Time

May 07, 2017

Time. In some ways it flies by! In other ways it takes forever! Think about it. I’ve almost been married for 20 years. How is that possible? Yet, we have been through so much!

Time. No one has enough of it. We all want more of it. But God is above it. For us, right here, right now, we are seeking to make the most of it! We press on.

We’ve faced many hindrances along the way. I fear in listing them I will likely forget some, but here’s a few: sickness, surgeries, meetings- offering us a chance to get off the island which is crucial to our survival, but also include days of travel, the basic challenges of caring for yourself and your family in a place where nothing is easy or convenient, language and cultural barriers, disappointments, deaths of co-laborers here in Madagascar, as well, as family and friend in the States. Many times we don’t get to attend funerals. The physical needs of the people here are enough to drowned out any joy. It’s one mother with a sick child after another with no food to eat, no money for medication and not much shelter over their heads. Meeting our own needs is hard enough without seeking to help those all around us in need. We’ve finally come to realize, “It will NEVER be enough.” No matter how much we give or what we do to help it will never be enough. But the words of Jesus ring true in our ears, “What you’ve done unto the least of these, you’ve done unto me.” So, we press on.

Why do we press on? The needs and the call. Hundreds of thousands of Malagasy people living in the South, and all over the island, really, are living in darkness. Village after village seeks to know more about Jesus, although many still have never heard the true Gospel message. In the past 7 months, we have been getting reports almost daily of new villages seeking to know the truth of Jesus. One village was irate a few years ago when their neighbors began following this new religion. A church had been built. Week after week more people were seeking to follow Jesus. Leaders were rising up. They’d walk miles to get to the ocean to baptize new believers. Then the irate village went to their neighbor and asked to know about Jesus. God has called us to this place. We don’t know how much longer we have, but until he calls us elsewhere, we press on.

In Philippians, Paul makes this declaration, “Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 3:13b-14)

Let’s make the most of each day. Forget what’s behind and strain toward what’s ahead. Do the work He’s called us to do. Press on.

Praises:

*Each day the Lord is adding to the number of believers!

*Adam can go to the bush again

*Baylee and Suzie are almost finished with school for this year

*Our whole team is on the ground here in Madagascar

*Phoebe and Emma had a good vac and are back at school for their final term of the year

Prayer Requests:

*Health- there continue to be minor illnesses that get us down, Adam needs to be able to find balance and not push it too hard as he returns to the bush. We also covet your prayers to keep our cousins lifted up that are fighting cancer (Bethany & Candy)

*Our emotional wellbeing

*Volunteer teams- Pray the teams would be effective, strategic and the lives of those they touch would be changed

*The president of the CEIM convention that we partner with closely died last week. Pray for his wife, children, other family and the convention in his loss (heaven’s gain!)