Moving to any new place requires adapting to new noises. Sometimes it means getting used to the creaks a house makes. Sometimes it means getting used to dogs barking all night long.
We've adapted to dogs barking, house creaks, the sound of scurrying lizards on the roof, birds chirping, cicadas blaring, geckos chirping, traffic driving, dinner bells dinging, river rushing.... all during the night as we sleep.
At first I thought "I'll never get to the point where I tune this out." I am a very light sleeper, the slightest unusual noise wakes me up. I prefer this, I like to remain vigilant and keep my eye open for issues around the house or with the kids. I've always been this way. When our children were babies, a cough or sneeze would wake me up from two closed doors down.
Which is why I'm amazed that we've adjusted to these noises and have been sleeping.
Until last night.
We got a new noise. Which I'm sure we'll eventually adapt to.
IT was hard to determine what it was at first but we landed on a bird's squawk.
At 3am, we darted awake to the sound of a loud car alarm... only slower.
And it was a bird.
Speaking of birds, a friend of mine would love bird watching here. If you are an avid bird fan this is the place! My wife saw a bird the size of an eagle, but brown on the white parts and white on the brown parts (if that makes sense) and the beak was something like a toucan's.
A large exotic looking bird. I wonder if he was the one making all the racket!
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please continue to pray, we appreciate your prayers.
There are a lot of families here saying their goodbyes and a lot of people with tearful eyes as they are going home finished. The end of the high school year often marks this large exodus.
Here we are, as the "new" arrivals. Several of us here are new. I am sitting in the place of a man who leave in 2 weeks, having taken his position. So there is definitely a sense for us of.... replacement and departure and loss. No place I've ever worked has had this kind of revolving personnel. The lifestyle here can be taxing, as can living under constant spiritual awareness.
There is no illusion here of safety, no illusion of financial security. Everyone is fully aware that they depend fully on God. It can be a struggle to constantly remind yourself of this, and for many that is a tiring struggle. For others, it is second nature.
Either way, our newness affords us the emotional detachment to not have to cry at every departure. So our prayer is that these families going on away would be guided by God, comforted, given rest, and kept safe. They have blessed us in so many ways in the little time we've been here and we pray that God would re-establish them where they are going and give them a vital new ministry.
This place needs to be surrounded in prayer right now as people are emotionally and physically exhausted from all the things they have to do to leave. The enemy wouldn't hesitate at the chance to use that leverage. We pray for their energy.
Please pray for ours too! Thank you!
