This morning I opted to sleep in till 6am and wake myself up with a brisk cold shower (not really an option since we only have cold water anyway, lol). We joined our group for breakfast and some excellent strong iced coffee with sweet milk (must start making this at home).
Then we headed out for the day.
On the ride out to Roots I soaked up all that was around me. The cool breeze coming in from the ocean, the men and women hunched over with baskets in hand as they worked in the rice fields, the skinny gray cows grazing freely along the roadside, children splashing and playing naked in the muddy ponds, vendors selling petrol in old glass soda bottles out of wire display racks set up on the side of the road.
I want to take in every nuance, every sight, sound and smell (well maybe not all of those,lol) and fully experience this land. I want it to be come a part of me, so that when I pray over the land and the people I am praying out of love as if for my own family.
It breaks my heart to see the oppression forced on these people by false religions. There is a Buddhist temple or Muslim mosque everywhere you turn, down every city or country road, and spirit houses in front of almost every single house and every business. If you can imagine a very ornate, gold encrusted large decorative bird house type structure perched upon a post. Spirit houses are used for people to put food and drink and other offerings to "appease the evil spirits". The religion is the culture. It is all they have ever known. It is ingraned into every aspect of daily life. And it is based in fear. There is no hope of redemption or everlasting life, only fear.
*example of a spirit house that was in a business
But I am learning to pray in new ways over this present evil and darkness in our world.
"Father God, I pray that your name will be honored, hallowed, sanctified wherever the truth about you is suppressed or denied. Lord, I pray in Jesus name, that your kingdom rule will become effective even where it is defied and that your will may be accomplished even where it is opposed by your enemies. I pray for your light to penetrate the darkness. You are God alone! To you be all glory and honor and power and praise for ever and ever unto the ends of the earth to every tribe and tongue! Amen."
At Roots the team busily returned to working on their tasks. Today I had the privilege of meeting with Mandi and Jared and looking over plans for the future layout of the land and buildings. It was thrilling to discuss the details of a sustainable, eco-friendly homestead in this tropical place. The possibilities of future gatherings, teaching about Jesus, praise and worship occurring on this land, housing a pastor for a local church, training young people to learn english and also learn about God! Suddenly Mandi's heart and her vision was clear in my heart too and I was overcome with joy. The Lord has emboldened her so much as she has stepped way out of her comfort zone from Plano, Texas to move half way around the world to give everything she has to serving Jesus wherever he leads. Talk about a life wholly surrendered and recklessly abandoned to the cause of Christ! I love my friend Mandi and I love her heart (and I love her kiddos too!)
Soon Brad, Pete and Dan returned with the tuk tuk drivers and a huge load of very large, very long bamboo. They unloaded the bamboo into a pile beside the dirt road. We began carrying them one by one down the narrow pathway between the wet rice fields, carefully dodging the sticks that held up electrical wires above our heads all the way down to the fence next to the pond where we hefted them over to be thrown into the water to soak until time to use them for building. I carried a few of them before stopping up by the road to help Shaela pull them from the pile and hand to the others.
Things were going along fine until I picked one large piece of bamboo and pulled hard to remove it from the pile. I was standing on the dirt road and because I pulled too hard and too swiftly I stumbled back and lost my footing slipping and falling awkwardly in a twisting motion down on my right foot. I heard a crack when it happened and instantly felt stupid and clumsy. I knew it was bad. I could not get up. They rushed to me and carried me to the side of the road and ran to get Crystal (awesome paramedic trained, former Marine). Someone had a cup of sugar cane water that was still cold so they held it agains my swelling foot. Crystal came running and they put me and her on the back of a motorcycle. The driver took us to Mandi's house back toward town. We elevated it and Crystal got me some ibuprofin while she took a closer look at it. We believe I either broke one of the bones on the top of my foot on the right side and/or possibly tore a ligament. As the afternoon went on it only got worse and hurt more. I could not put any weight on it at all. Pon brought me a handmade wooden crutch to help me get around. He is so kind and thoughtful.
When we did praise and worship as a group after lunch everyone joined in praying for complete healing over my foot. They laid hands on me and prayed together. I am believing that the Lord will heal me.
It was a bit challenging getting in and out of the tuk tuks at first but I was certain that I did not want to miss the afternoon Bible study and community outreach. I showed Kim how we would teach the foil art project for today and when we arrived there were even more children than yesterday! Yay! Kim did a fantastic job! With me seated on a wooden platform and art supplies set out all around we worked together with the help of our other amazing team members to do an art project with the children. Kim is so gifted with leading children. She is only 19 and I know God has beautiful plans for her in ministry. Shaela taught the kids a singing game all in a circle. Then they turned a christian rock song on to play through someone's phone and Brad taught all the kids how to dance the "chainsaw"! Oh my, how they loved that! It was hilarious. The music has a beat that just makes you want to get up and dance and the kids really got into it. Brad is also great with leading groups of kids. He has such a fun, contageous personality. The kids couldn't get enough of it. Too funny.
This evening some of our group went back out to a couple of different locations to look at possible future land for Shaela's ministry but I went back to the Botanica with Pete, Jeff and Brad. Jeff is also paramedic trained and he helped me with getting around and wrapping my foot. I was able to take a few minutes to do face time with Jeremy. It was just before 5am his time and he was about to get up for work so he was pretty groggy when I talked to him but it was good to hear his voice and to share what happened and ask for prayer for healing. Resting my foot in the cool saltwater pool helped a lot.
I was very tired after dinner so I made my way back to my room and laid down to sleep with my leg propped up on a pillow. I prayed and struggled through the night in prayers and restless dreams. Lord knows I've struggled through the years with desperately wanting to know without doubts that everything I believe about the Old and New Testament is true. That the words of the Bible, every book, from beginning to end are divinely inspired and wholly true. I prayed to know for certain. I prayed that God would show me if the faith we are spreading and staking our eternity on is true. My spirit is aching in this battle with my mind and I need clarity and peace. How can I believe so deeply and still experience such questioning, fears, and uncertainty?
I tossed and turned through the night. I dreamed a terrible dream. I saw a dark evil figure walking down a dirt road toward me and I was afraid. I prayed for the Holy Spirit to protect me. Suddenly I was dreaming that I was with my daddy at his home, my childhood home. When we went inside he was painting. There were walls and walls covered with mansions and he was working on them and I felt the love and comfort of being reunited with my daddy. I awoke and looked up to my ceiling where the mosquito net hung and the words "in my father's house are many mansions; if it were not so I would not have told you; behold I go to prepare a place for you and I will return". My restless sleep continued through the night and I jumped up startled in the early morning hours thinking a centipede had crawled across my leg. It woke Shaela and she turned on the light to make sure I was ok. She checked my bed and there was nothing there. I tried to sleep again but just felt tormented. I laid there a while before getting up to make myself take a cold shower. My foot hurt very, very badly and it was almost unbearable. I sobbed quietly. I wanted so desperately for the Lord to show himself through healing.
As I sat on the tile floor searching for pain medication in the dark I felt my Jesus whisper to my heart "I've healed you but that doesn't mean there won't still be pain."
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