We have been in the tribe 3 months. I consider it a milestone.... not only because I now have all my pictures hanging on the walls and a light in my dining room, but because I have survived 3 months living in an environment which has a reputation for eating people up. I have a friend who moved into a tribe after living 4 years in town, her husband previously serving as their area’s supply buyer; and after 3 months of tribal living, they carried her out on a stretcher.... the stress and pressure had so gotten to her that she was no longer able to walk and her hair had fallen out to the point that she was almost completely bald.
So I have survived 3 months and still have my huge mop of hair that is sweaty and sticking to my neck as I write. :)
Don’t get the idea that I am tough. I still scream at spiders and some days I am overwhelmed by the sheer amount of physical work it takes just to exist here. Each day, each minute is God’s grace... all God’s grace. We have seen His grace so much in these past months. I see it in the sunsets each evening and in the cool breezes that blow through our screens. I see it every time I see a chubby, healthy dark skinned baby - all evidences God is here in this place and taking care of these people who do not yet know Him... and taking care of us as we sweat and swat bugs and stumble to train our tongues to speak this language.
Today Brant killed a Death Adder not 3 feet away from where Elijah and his friend were playing on the airstrip. As Brant was burying the dead snake and putting away the machete, and still shaking from the adrenaline, he commented, “We would not be here one day without God’s protection and grace.” Yes, it’s true. But it’s also true that we would not live one day without God’s protection and grace in America as well. True, there are hospital ER’s with anti-venom readily available, but there are still car wrecks and cancer and tragic accidents everyday there. Whether here in the swamps where we have buried two members of our little community in less than 3 months, or in America, where our family dentist drops dead from a sudden stroke, life is fragile and precious.... and only God’s grace and protection holds up our loved ones.
I have not been in America for a couple years now, so I can’t say for certain, but I think that sometimes the comforts and conveniences (and knowledge that there are good hospitals nearby!) make people forget that it is God who protects life and provides the strength to get through it. One thing I love about this life is that it is hard, but through the constant challenges we have so many opportunities to see God work in amazing ways. He gives us strength to face each day with the spiders and the never ending list of chores and the mind boggling language. He reminded us today through a snake in the grass that He is watching and protecting us - and our children - each step of the way.
