Spectacularly Serene. Perfectly pristine. Calamity and chaos calmed. Barrett and I stood on the newly constructed deck on the side of a Mountain in North Carolina overlooking miles of ponds, woods, and blue skies. The cool breeze brushed my yet showered hair on my face and the sun warmed our faces as we gulped the view like starving fish eating food in a pond. We could hear the sound of a waterfall and stream serenading the air and dueting with the birds, butterflies and rustling leaves.
We had arrived at The Master’s Mission after serpentining through Hell’s Canyon, no joke! Over 350 switchbacks that left Barrett a bit green and wobbly and me white knuckled on the hand rests. It was worth it! Betsy has been visiting her son and daughter for the past two weeks which gave us our first time alone since our honeymoon! It was a needed break from school, work, and responsibility. We hiked, slept, and cooked in a sparse cabin with no electricity but propane gas stove and fridge. We enjoyed a brief hailstorm on our metal roof and having candle light at night as we discussed our life together thus far.
We also got an opportunity to talk with the staff and missionaries there. They are a mission that trains missionaries how to survive on the mission field. They teach then how to live without electricity, shop every 3 months, draft building plans, take apart and rebuild cars, shoot, and build houses. We saw 13 year olds driving trucks and 5 year olds on their own motorcycles and ATV’s. We watched American Idol at the home of the founders with their African zebra skins, antelope heads, and art circling the room like a tribal dance. We heard their tales of politics, people, and ministry with the 2 David’s battling it out in the back ground and us eating brownie sundaes. Amazing! We also had lunch with other missionaries and heard of their desire to counsel missionaries, show hospitality, and be Christ to the staff and community. It was an amazing place!!
Then we came back home and jumped into moving our friends, BQ’s, church, jobs, reading, and writing for our summer courses. The house looks fantastically clean and tidy which does wonders for our psyche and I am getting ready to pick up our dear Betsy in just a couple of hours.
Another highlight was having my friend Tiffany from Thailand, come and spend a Sunday with us and her folks. What an encouragement to hear how God has been working in her heart and teaching her about His sovereignty over her life’s events, what it means to trust Him, and hear about my old stomping grounds. Im so thankful for her visit and meeting her folks.
So we press on here realizing our need for having a thankful heart daily as we do exciting things and mundane things. We learn the need for rest, no cell signal, and giving grace to one another. We recall the quiet hikes through the off beaten track that shows both God’s peace and power. We suck in the smell of rain and rejoice at the new life it will bring. And we brace ourselves in this renewed spirit as we forge ahead into the unknown summer, trusting that God will give us the grace to persevere.