After the Storm

God has been very good and gracious to us! We were concerned that this situation with my dad’s right-hand man leaving would really cause waves in the church. Dad has been doing damage control for the past two days. Thankfully our people are standing behind us 100%! They’ve seen this coming as well; it wasn’t too hard to detect that the Spirit was restrained...quenched. As painful as this situation has been, I believe this person needed to go in order for the Lord to keep growing our church. Somehow I have to believe that all these things are working together for good. We have a promise--Romans 8:28! I just pray God continues to bring to light the hidden things of darkness. Usually when one thing is brewing, there are a lot of other things either connected to the main problem or hiding behind it, using it as a cover up. I trust God will continue to do a great work. My hope is in Him.

Wednesday:
Our Wednesday night service was great! Dad preached about humility; he’s doing a series on the subject. It’s really been a blessing to me. The Kamps family came out; that was such an encouragement to us, because they always bring a wonderful spirit with them. They brought a young man, Brent Karding, with them who’s passing through on his way back from a missions trip in Denmark. Brent is the Kamps’ pastor’s nephew. Before the preaching started he got up and told us a little about his trip, then he sang a special. That was really nice. After the service it seemed to me that Brent was “passed” from one person to the other (chuckle); I guess everyone wanted a turn talking with him. Our people enjoy having out-of-the-country visitors. I know what an encouragement it is to me!

Thursday:
Yesterday morning I went with Dad to visit the last person on his list. Nathalie was working, so while Dad and Glenn took a walk around the neighborhood to talk things over, I stayed with the boys at the house. Daniel certainly kept me on my toes. I don’t know where toddlers get their energy! Baby Nathan was content to be held the whole time, so I didn’t have any trouble with him keeping him out of mischief.

We were invited to the Kamps’ house for dinner, so at 3:30 p.m. we left for their place. All of us girls stayed in the kitchen and talked and worked on getting dinner on the table, while the guys did their own thing. We didn’t even see them until we sat down for dinner.

Alisah, Grace, and Annika asked if I would fix their hair like I had it at church the night before, so I did that. Looked really cute! One of these days all 5 of us girls should have our hair fixed the same way and then take a picture. Several years ago my cousins and I had a picture taken when we all had 2 French braids in.

Anyway, we sat down for dinner at around 4:30. I had a puny bowl of cereal and a pack of crackers for my breakfast/lunch, so I was hungry! The spaghetti and salad tasted great. The conversation during dinner was interesting--eye surgery and all that. Brent must think we’re so weird. (chuckle) I was glad when the subject was changed; I felt weak, and I don’t think I was the only one.

We got dinner cleaned up, and then I helped Mrs. Kamps set out tea/coffee and dessert. Mom made short bread, and I made banana bread. It was wonderful to fellowship! If there is one thing missionary’s are familiar with it’s loneliness. I often don’t realize just how starved I am for fellowship until we have the treat of spending time with brothers and sisters in the Lord. Then it really hits home.

After dessert the guys went upstairs to pray, and we got the kitchen cleaned up. Then we all left for soul winning downtown. A rock concert was just finishing as we arrived at the square. Praise the Lord! The power of God was on that place!!! Dad preached, then Mr. Kamps preached, then Dad preached again. Wow! I wish I had it on video! People were listening. There certainly is power in numbers; the whole Kamps family was out, Brent, our family, Lamode, and Kweku. God blessed! Tons of tracts were put into the hands of the people. Mr. Kamps had to direct troublemakers away from the preacher twice. That doesn’t happen too often, so I’m glad Mr. Kamps was there to take care of it. Come to find out, one of those guys who seemed to want to cause a problem was actually saved. After Mr. Kamps got finished speaking with him the man was on our side and very open. Brent talked with a Christian who was all fired up about what we were doing. Maybe he will go to the Kamps’ church!

After soul winning we headed back to the Kamps’ house to pick up something we left there. To make a long story short, the guys ended up deciding to play hockey. Dad and Mom left Josiah to play with Mr. Kamps, Josh and Brent. Lydia and I were allowed to stay with Mrs. Kamps and the girls at the house. You should have heard Grace and Annika screaming with excitement. Ha, ha! Cute! I’m glad they seem to like us. We were singing together when the guys came back from their game…way too soon. So much for our grand plans! (Boo-hoo!) The guys settled themselves down in the living room and sang along with us. I surrendered the piano to Brent, who is a much better pianist than I am. I know when I’m beat! It was so nice to sing together. I loved it! The last song we sang was “Security,” a new song Brent taught us. It sorta reminded me of a lullaby and was a nice song to close with, seeing as it was nearing bedtime. We said good bye to Brent and wished him a good trip back to Canada. It was very nice to meet him. It was about 10:30 p.m. when Mr. Kamps drove the three of us home. We had a wonderful day!!! I praise God for the friends He has given us and the special people He has placed in our lives.