Wait on the Lord

Has it ever occurred that we spend a lot of our time waiting on God?

Because of our innate selfishness, we have trouble when we must suppress the need to control and allow someone else to take the reign. So it is with God. This life we live is a constant battle of surrender to the One who loves us and knows best. May this lesson from the picture of the Potter and clay encourage your heart to stay in a state of surrender:

After the potter forms a piece of clay by squeezing it into shape, he must carefully and painstakingly set the fragile but beautiful piece aside to harden. All moisture must be driven from its body, or else, when it goes through the fire, it will explode and the process must be started again. Even though the temptation to touch the newly formed pot is strong, it must be handled very carefully or else it will be marred. Even after the pot has dried to a leather hard state, and can be handled somewhat, it remains in a very fragile and not very useful state. It must be put aside on the shelf to completely cure. How long can it sit on the shelf? It can sit there for years, if necessary. It is the condition of the clay whether it is ready for the fire or not. Cooperation and 'surrender' of the pot is key. The potential is great, but the process cannot be skipped or else a useful pot will not result. Even in this process, the Potter never takes his eye off the pot. So it is in our lives, we must wait on the Potter to determine when we are ready for the next step. He knows what is in the heart of the clay.

In Eccl. 3:1 we read that there is an appointed time, which implies proper completion for everything. And there is a time--an appropriate time or the the right time--for every event or purpose under heaven: birth and death, planting and uprooting, killing and healing, tearing down or building up, weeping or laughing, mourning or dancing, throwing stones or gathering stones, searching or quit searching, keeping or discarding, tearing apart or sewing together, being silent or speaking, loving or hating, war or peace. The different activities mentioned (vs. 2–8) include 14 pairs of opposites in order to cover the widest range of activity and to represent every aspect of human activity. The implication is plain: if we cooperate with God’s timing, life will not be meaningless. Everything will be “beautiful in His time” (v. 11) even the most difficult experiences of life (cf. Rom. 8:28).

You know, blind fate would be a terrible consolation, BUT how comforting it is to know that the events of the universe are ordered by a compassionate, gracious, longsuffering, and faithful God.


Our lives are not in the hand of some invisible force or blind fate
They are in the hands of God—our Creator
He is our Father and has personal concern for our lives
HE IS THE POTTER AND WE ARE THE CLAY

Wait for the Lord. Be strong and let your heart take courage; yes wait for the Lord. Ps. 27:14

THAT'S THE POINT!

Back in Alabama!!

Dale and Kim in the bush . . .

After 36 hours of traveling, we arrived home on Friday, April 23. Needless to say, we were exhausted and spent sleeping most of the day on Saturday. We are so thankful for the safe travel that the Lord granted us and the new friends that we have made.

We can't thank enough those who gave so unselfishly to make the pottery workshop a reality. I am amazed by the way the girls picked up the art of pottery and their desire to work at it. Those who have taken a class in wheel throwing know how difficult it is to get the hang of it. The Lord has a plan for those girls, and after being there, I realize the necessity of teaching them a trade. It was a joy to share with them the Love of God and what He can to do make beauty and purpose out of an ordinary lump of clay--us! If the Lord brings them to mind, please pray for them.

We are also thankful for the opportunity to dig wells to provide clean fresh water. A total of five wells were dug. At present only 2 were successful for water, and the verdict is out on one. As for the Himba people, we pray that the Wilkins will be able to get a bigger rig to help them dig deeper. By Provision is working tirelessly to bring water to several countries that are in desperate need. Please pray for them as they continue to go to the people with the Living water that only comes from Jesus Christ through this act of love in bringing them water. If you would like to give to this worthy cause, go to www.byprovision.org. We saw first hand the responsible way in which they handled the gifts given to bring water to a desperate area and show the Love of God through their actions.


Thank you all again for praying for us and for those who were able to give. We may not see the rewards in this lifetime, but I know that what you have done will reap benefits in these lives even if we may never know about them. As it says in II Cor. 4:7, "But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves." So we stand back and watch what the Lord does with what we have given--and that is the point, the surpassing greatness of the power of God.

Water!!!!!

Today we went back to the place that Dale had gone to when we first got here. We were able to set the pump and get water!!

Sunday Services

"Oh Lord, You are our Father and we are the clay; You are the Potter and all of us are the work of Your hand." Is 64:8

On Sunday morning with the children and Sunday evening with the adults, I shared the message of the Potter and the clay. God formed man from the dust of the earth--the word 'formed' meaning to squeeze into shape. The analogy of God as the Potter and we as the clay is a telling picture of meaning and purpose in each ones lives if they will only succumb to the loving hands of the Potter to mold and make a vessel of honor and glory to God. Even though the vessel has been marred by sin, God destined all of us to made in the image of His son Jesus Christ. For that image to be realized takes surrender on the part of the clay and a commitment to be shaped, formed and used by the Potter Himself. This picture allows us to see the importance of having Jesus as our Savior and Lord.

In the children's service, about half of the children responded to the message by giving their lives to Jesus or renewing their commitment to Jesus for the rest of their lives. For the adult service, I later heard that the message pricked their heart and that several recommitted their lives to Jesus anew with humility and fervor. I thank the Lord that He can take a simple message and demonstration, and impact lives for eternity. May He be glorified and may we realized "that we have this treasure in earthen vessels, sot hat the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves." II Cor 4:7

Meet Meke

This is Meke. She is from the north part of Namibia and is apart of the bush people. Her family lives in a hut and has to get water from wherever they can find it. She tends to be very shy & quiet. While growing up she never had enough to eat. She is in 12th grade and gets no support from her family. She has a very sweet spirit and a grateful heart. For her to be in her 12 year of school is a great accomplishment. Many young women don't make it beyond 10th grade.

MEET AINA

This is Aina. She is very quiet and shy, but has a sweet smile. She is very tall and skinny, which means she probably has not had enough to eat. Having some meat on your bones is considered a good thing. Elizabeth has reason to believe that her mother died not too long ago and that she is grieving the death of her mother--most likely because of aids. Her father is also dead. She is an orphan, but has family members in the north. She is from the Bush people. Because there is a break in school, the girls will be going home to their families for a month. She will return to the bush where there is no running water or electricity. Before coming to the girls hostel, she had never used a shower. She didn't know what it was. Aina is in the 11th grade and has endured much in her life. Will you pray for her?

The Himba

As different as the Himba culture is from mine, I find that people are the same when you can cut through the outward appearance. The teenage girls giggled and huddled in masses. The mothers were busy about taking care of their children--they loved it when we wanted to see the babies up close. Even the dark side of man's heart showed up. One of the leaders who had been with us every day, stole the oil for the drilling mechanism, the oil for the truck and 2 containers that held the foam that had to be added when water was applied to the drill bit. Confronting the issue head on, Elizabeth Wilkins scolded the pastor who knew the man who was with us and told him to get the stuff back. Interestingly, the man who stole the stuff did not come back himself, but sent his poor wife back with the goods. I don't think this is a lone incident--it appears to happen all the time.

We found out by being there that witchcraft is a force to be reckoned with--many in the little church there give in to the ancient culture which is nothing less than idolatry, fear, and witchcraft.

Pray for these people as they learn the word of God and try to understand the God that they serve is a powerful God and that they do not have to give in to the demands from the witchdoctor or ancient cultural practices that are straight from hell. God will not tolerate idolatry in any form, even if it is wrapped up in what some believe are "cute" cultural practices. God is a jealous God and He does not compete with so-called man's ancient rites and ways, or with modern man's self-sufficiency. It is all fueled by the god of this world who blinds the minds of the unbelieving--let us not be blinded by him. It might be packaged in many ways, but the devil uses the same old tactics.

One of my favorite pictures of the Himba children

These children were so curious of the water drilling process.

THe Himba--who we were with for 4 days

Look at the picture where the woman is carrying her baby on her back and the watermelon on here head. That baby is intentionally looking around to see what is going on. The mothers carried all of their babies like that.

The women with the 'horn' looking piece on their head meant that they were married. Even though the women did not wear any clothing from the waist up, they were very particular about what they wore and covered from the waist down. Waist up is for function only--to nurse.

More pictures of the Himba

THe Himba--who we were with for 4 days

Today we mourn

About 4 hours ago, a very good family friend of ours, Tony Lawson, passed from this life into the presence of Jesus. He found out only a few short weeks ago that he had melanoma. We are so sad for he was a bright spot in the lives of so many. Our family loved him and always loved to see him coming. He has left a sweet wife, Angie, and 2 children. Please pray for this family and all the friends that loved him. We will miss Tony Lawson!

My special friend

The first day we arrived in Himba land, an old man came out and watched us. He was so sweet. The first time I greeted him with a hand shake, he kissed my hand. As the day went on, we offered him some p-nuts, etc. and he reciprocated with corn from his garden (which he took us to see, where his wife was working). His name is Jamba and he is 80 years old--which is very old for the Himba. The third day that we were together he offered us a watermelon from his garden. He also brought back some rope and oil that some of the people stole on the last day. In his own way, he thanked us for trying so hard. He was one of the believers. I will see him in heaven one day.