SAFE ARRIVAL...back on Tanna

I got a phone call from Erik, they are back in Lenackel on Tanna Island.
Ken the other missionary met them at the airport, and they stayed in town overnight.
All is well they were able to take the V-Sat with them on the plane, and that is good news...they never know when they have to put something on the boat if it will make it without getting broke, stolen, or lost.
They were waiting to get the truck tires fixed when they called.
I got to talk to Joel. Last time I saw him, he was 18 months and not talking much, this time
we carried on a conversation. I was so surprised. He was just talking away.
He has the same Aussie accent as my other grandkids. I was thrilled to hear him talking so well.

They should be back in the village by now.

Thank You Lord for their safety.

On a mission....

Loosing weight and keeping it off is a never ending "mission" for me.
I will blame these 10 extra pounds on the holidays,but regardless of the reason now is the time to get them off.

First, since Erik sees me only every few years he is able to notice the extra baggage and He seems not to have a problem reminding me," that I need to stay healthy."
Second,
I have arthritis behind my knee cap so the extra weight causes undo pain and stress, and going to Vanuatu means I will be doing lots of walking.

My kids and daughter-in-law walk barefoot and for them shoes are something that they tolerate only when necessary. They move fast and furious to get where they need to be. The 5 mile hike to church is easy for all of them.

In the village the paths get extra slick from rain and human traffic. Last time I was there I wore my Crocs most of the time, and they are great for the village but when it is slick they are down right dangerous.Once you loose your footing there is no way to catch yourself.

One day Michele, David and I were trekking down the hill to visit some villagers.
Michele barefoot, and carrying Joel on her hip was traveling at a fast pace. I have learned that I can never keep up with her, so I was lagging behind going at my own pace when I like to say that the ground moved and down I went.

They kept going until David looked around and didn't see me.
"Grandma?" he called as he ran back down the hill.
At that point I was picking myself up off the ground, and sending up a prayer of thanks that I hadn't hurt myself.
"Are you okay?"
"You were just like superman," he said," one minute you were there and the next you were gone."

Hmmm....Well superman wouldn't have let the rut in the road take him down though he was right one minute I was up and the next I was down.

I took the hand he offered me, and
Michele slowed down until we got where we were going.

All week the little ol ladies in the village would laugh and tsk,tsk, pointing at me as Erik helped me up the hill.
Tsking is what they do when they think something is wrong.

I had to admit they had it over me when at 90 years old they are still walking a mile to their gardens and carrying back fruit and vegetables on their heads.

Anyway all this said I am back at weight watchers, bike exercising, and praying for God's help to get this weight off by May.
Oh yeah and I bought a super duper walking stick.:) That ought to help.
I would appreciate your prayers..

PRAISE....

I am updating the prayer requests.

All kids are doing better..

The money for the VSAT came in and if all goes well it will give the kids internet access in the village. That is a huge praise.

Pray that there will be a taxi available when they get back to the village on Weds. of this week.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRAYERS...Erik and Michele are thankful also.

Travel Insurance

Today I got travel insurance.
This insurance will cover an emergency cancellation of the trip, lost luggage,and medical evacuation from country we are in if we should get sick or hurt and need more care than we can get in Vanuatu.

The insurance is cheap compared to the cost of a cancelled ticket etc.
Children under 17 are free to cover. That was a break since Sage is only 14.

I tried to buy this insurance online but it kept throwing me out. I called the company and a young man named Ryan was eager to help and answered all my questions.
He had me set up pretty quickly.

I used a company called TRAVEL GUARD.

Poor Joel....

Sierra and JohnMark are doing much better. Well enough to win a swimming contest at the club in town, but Joel is sick now.

Good News....

JohnMark had blood work he does not have Dengue Fever or Malaria. It is a virus.
Thank You Lord, this is good news, but his fever is still high and he is very sick.
I'm thankful they are in the city instead of the village.Sierra is sick now.
Thank you for your prayers.

Continue to Pray....

JohnMark is still sick. He has swollen eyes and a fever.
Not sure what is going on.
They are taking him to the doctor today.
Thanks...

Sorrow is better than laughter, because a sad face is good for the heart. Ecc.7:3

Today this was in my devotional STREAMS IN THE DESERT, BY L.B. COWMAN
I thought it was so appropriate to POMs and our Missionary families that I had to share some of it with you.

" Sorrow, under the power of divine grace performs various ministries in our lives. Sorrrow reveals unknown depths of the soul, and unknown capacities for suffering and service. Lighthearted, frivolous people are always shallow and are never aware of their own meagerness or lack of depth. Sorrow is God's tool to plow the depths of the soul,that is may yield richer harvests. If humankind were still in a glorified state, having never fallen, then the strong floods of divine joy would be the force God would use to reveal our souls capacities; But in a fallen world, sorrow, yet with despair removed, is the power chosen to reveal us to ourselves. Accordingly, it is sorrow that causes us to take the time to think deeply and seriously.

Sorrow makes us move more slowly and considerately and examine our motives and attitudes. It opens within us the capacities of the heavenly life, and it makes us willing to set our capacities afloat on a limitless sea of service for God and for others."

My prayer would be that through these sorrows and losses, we would learn and grow into the people whose lives would bring honor and glory to our God.

Blessings to all of you...Thank you for your prayers for my grandchildren...I haven't heard how they are, but no news is good news at this point... I will let you know.

PRAYER REQUEST:

Three of my grandchildren are sick right now.
Please pray for wisdom as each one has different symptoms.
Pray they would get better because Erik and Michele have
3 days of conferences this week and it would be
good if everyone was well..
Thanks

I Understand......

For any POM that has not found the NATIONAL NETWORK OF PARENTS OF MISSIONARIES
website I highly recommend looking it up.I have it linked on the side bar. They have a yahoo group that allows POM's to connect with one another online.
Today Carla wrote about her missionary family. She shared that her new baby grandchild had just left for the mission field with his parents.

I have to say that this letter really moved me. I had such empathy for her and her family.
I think that sending a new baby off to the mission field is one of the hardest parts of being a missionary grandma.
When my youngest grandson was born I also had the privilege of spending some time with him. I remember holding baby Joel as I walked around the block. Crying and praying thanking God that I had had this time to hold him, kiss his little head, rock him,pray for him. He would never remember, but it was a memory that I would treasure.

My missionary family left when Joel was only two months old. It was so hard knowing that I would probably not see him until he was at least 2 years old, and he would be walking and talking by then.

This was one of those times that I just called out to God and had to give him the sorrow and the pain. God met me there, and carried the burden that day, but I realized that the reality of that sorrow is tucked away in my heart because today as I read the letter from Carla and contemplated writing this entry I found myself feeling the sorrow again and crying off and on all day.

It is now 3 years later. Joel is thriving.I have seen him once and I will get to see him again this year. I'm excited and looking forward to getting to know him, and him to know me. As I write this I just have to thank God for His goodness.

Since Joel's birth, God has blessed us with another grandson. He lives here. I do not take for granted his smile,or each time he is excited to see me,or his hugs,or my being able to watch him grow. He doesn't take Joel's place, but he has helped to bind up the wound.

"He heals the brokenhearted
and binds up their wounds." Ps.147:3

Airplane Reservations

I made our airline reservations this week online. I went directly to Air Pacific's web site, and found tickets to Fiji for less than $1000 a piece. This is a good price. The flight to Fiji leaves from Los Angeles, it is about a 12 hour flight. We loose a day immediately so that we will leave on a Saturday night around 11 p.m. and arrive in Fiji two days later on Monday morning at 5 a.m.

Air Pacific flys to Vanuatu from Fiji only twice a week, so we will stay in Fiji for 24 hours and fly to Vanuatu on Tuesday morning. I was able to make these reservations online also.

Next step will be to get a hotel reservation for the one night we will be in Fiji. I'm trying to do this online, but I'm having a little bit of trouble.I think that I may need to get an agency to do it.

Acts 3:1-10 in Nafe

I thought that you might like to see some translation written in the Nafe language.
This is Acts 3:1-10.
Erik has sent this to me with an audio spoken by one of the woman in the village.
I am having a little trouble putting that on here for you, but I will continue to see if I can figure it out.
For now it is just a blessing to see some of their hard work put into print.

Acts 3:1-10
" Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the ninth hour, the hour of prayer.
and a man who had been lame from his mother's womb was being carried along, whom they used to set down every day at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, in order to beg alms of those who were entering the temple.
When he saw Peter and John about to go into the temple, he began asking to receive alms. but Peter, along with John, fixed his gaze on him and said 'Look at us!'
and he began to give them his attention, expecting to receive something from them.
but Peter said, 'I do not possess silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you: in the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene walk!'
And seizing him by the right hand, he raised him up; and immediately his feet and his ankles were strengthened.
With a leap he stood upright and began to walk; and he entered the temple with them, walking and leaping and praising God.
And all the people saw him walking and praising God;
and they were taking note of him as being the one who used to sit at the Beautiful Gate of the temple to beg alms, and they were filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him."

Please continue to pray for the translation process, and that God's Word will go out to the people in the power of the Holy Spirit to change lives.

I"m going to Vanuatu :) Wahoo

I am excited. I am going to Vanuatu in May.
Art cannot get away from work so I am taking Sage, my 14 year old
grandson with me.

Sage got his passport rather quickly only took about 3 weeks.
With passports I can begin to make reservations.

Last trip to Vanuatu I used a travel agent to make reservations for me,
but this time I think that I will try and do it myself.
I will keep you updated on my progress.

Mission Accomplished

I shared earlier about the daily Advent Calender I sent to the kids.It was filled with project ideas. My mission was to give them something fun to do for Christmas and hopefully we would connect at the same time.
One of the projects was for them to make me a Christmas Card.
This week I got my cards.
AAAHHH.. Each one had a different picture and written sentiment. I thought you would enjoy hearing what JohnMark wrote in his...made me smile....:)

" Dear Grandma,
Thank you for the Christmas presents. I really miss you and Grandpa. Yesterday my friend David and I went to the Banyon tree in the bush. We made two tree houses, cooked food, ate a pineapple that I brought, and swung around on the vines.I love you.JohnMark."

A glimpse of his world. I loved it.
Mission accomplished.

Prayers of Many....

The apostle Paul often urged God's people to pray for him. He knew his success as a missionary was direcly related to the prayers of believers.

In 2Corinthians 1:8-11, Paul states," we do not want you to be uninformed brothers of the hardships we suffer in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure far beyond our ability to endure, so that I despaired of life. In our hearts we felt the sentence of death, but this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but God who raises the dead. He has delivered us from the deadly peril and He will deliver us as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in the answer to the prayers of many."

I know that my missionary family suffer hardships and pressures on a daily basis. Many of their hardships and pressures I know nothing about, and some I cannot understand, but my God who "raises the dead," knows of these needs and how to meet them.

Paul speaks confidently in these verses about God's deliverance and the importance that the prayers of the Corinthians played in this process and his success.

Prayer is a way for me to feel connected to my son and his family. We are connected to the same loving, powerful God.
Prayer helps me with my fears and anxiety of having them so far away, and not being close
Prayer Connects and enables me to lift up those that they are working with and for.
Prayer helps me be able to see answered prayer,and give thanks for the favor that He has shown us.

All this said I am adding a prayer sections on the side of this blog with prayer requests for Erik, Michele, and my grandkids.