EXTRA! EXTRA! Read all about it!

This is was difficult blog post to write. Last week, Donna and I were looking forward to Christmas and New Year celebrations with each other and friends. On Friday, we used part of our day off to go the beach. We took a photo for our electronic Christmas card. The weather was great. The water was great. It was all good.

On Saturday, a recent and very difficult family situation took a turn for the worst. We quickly determined that it was necessary for Donna to return to the US as soon as possible so that she would be able to deal with it face to face rather than over the telephone and internet.

The plane ticket was purchased on Sunday morning and Donna was on a flight out of Mexico Monday afternoon. She will not likely be able to return until at least September, if ever. She was able to say good-bye to some of our friends. The rest will be very disappointed when I am able to catch up with them. I will be here solo until we sort out the next steps. Here is your opportunity to feel sorry for me. I’ll be here by myself for Christmas. Actually, don’t. I have plenty to keep me busy and good friends to keep me company.

Fortunately, due to sparse financial support from home, we had already been exploring our options in different scenarios. We have been living on my small pension and a little savings we had put together before coming here. We are getting very low on funds. Since we will now be splitting my pension between us, I may be forced to return as well within about two months. Donna will be looking for work to cover the balance of her living expenses and I will become very resourceful until it is time to leave if that is what will be. There will be a great testimony of God’s goodness no matter how this turns out.

We are thanking God for the sense of peace that He is giving us in our knowledge that He is in control and that we are in His capable hands. One of my favorite parts of the Bible is the book of Psalms. Recently I read Psalm 46.  Verses 1-3 say this, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth should change and though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea; though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains quake at its swelling pride.”  

There is more sadness and disappointment in the thought of leaving than I can describe. This has become a fruitful work and we have made some good friends. We can see so much more that could be accomplished. But I also have the thought that it is possible that if we were to remain, we would somehow stifle the small work which God has begun through us. Lives have been impacted and seeds have been planted. God is more than able to spark a purely indigenous work free of the influence and interference of a crazy type-A gringo.

This situation illustrates how quickly the unexpected can drastically interrupt and alter the course of our lives. With the sudden loss of a loved one or the unexpected loss of a job, we can be thrown into a tailspin from which we have difficulty recovering. Disasters usually come without much warning and our lives are never the same again. How good it is to know that no matter what comes our way, we can know that we are in God’s hands and nothing can snatch us away.  If you aren’t sure, ask me how you can be.