The lizard, the man of peace, and the shots

Blessed be the name of the LORD from this time forth and forever. From the rising of the sun to its setting the name of the LORD is to be praised. The LORD is high above the nations; His glory is above the heavens. Psalm 113:2-4

Lately, I look for every verse that has "the nations" in it, searching for God's direction and His promises about the different peoples of the world. After all, if there isn't biblical reason to go to the nations, why do Southern Baptists (and many other organizations) spend so much time and resources sending out people to reach the nations with the Good News? Of course, you know and I know that the Great Commission commands that we go out and tell the nations of Jesus, His saving grace, the redemption offered through Him. It's just kind of fun for me to see what God has to say about the nations elsewhere, too. As I look out at the assembly of my colleagues, I know that God is already in the places they are going, working among their people group, making a way for His message to be spread. It is comforting to me, especially as I look at my friends going to places where there is grave danger to them.

If you read Marc's blog (and you should, because his is funnier than mine), you know that we had a little role-playing exercise concerning the man of peace Jesus instructed the 70 (in some translations 72) he sent out to find. What Marc didn't write about was how hard a time he gave me when I was the missionary. He kept hanging on my arm and saying, "You are SO pretty. Will you marry me? You're prettier than all my other wives. I promise I won't sacrifice you to the volcano." He was OBNOXIOUS! Some of the missionaries in residence were laughing so hard they were doubled over. Hmmm....vengeance shall be mine. :o)

The search for a man of peace is really one of the most amazing things to come out of missionary stories. I was thinking about it yesterday as I was walking, and I saw this lizard with a purple tail. I swear! It had a purple tail! But as soon as it moved away from the purple flowers growing on the side of the road, it went back to being green. The role-playing was good, in that it made me know that sometimes the man of peace, the one who can open doors, doesn't automatically turn out to be the person you think. The man of peace could appear to be something else, but then still turn out to be a man of peace. Of course, it was about 120 degrees as I was walking, so it could just be that I was having some kind of horrible hallucination. Who knew Virginia could be this hot in the summer? Yikes!

Ahhhh...the shots. Actually, they went pretty well. John-John just hopped up in the chair, played his gameboy, and took the shots like a man. I was pretty impressed with him. We all had vaccines for rabies, and then I also had polio and a hepatitis A/B mix that's brand new. They are very, very efficient. We were in and out very quickly, which cut out a lot of the anxiety. Afterward, the children's ministry team had snacks and face painting and animal balloons for the kids. There was candy for the adults, too. It really wasn't too bad. We have shots again this Friday, so continue to pray for us. This is definitely not the fun part of being a missionary.

We have had a wonderful, wonderful weekend. Friday night, we ordered pizza, had all the teenagers over, and watched three hours of Hannah Montana episodes. It was hysterically funny. It's so nice to see my kids settle in to friendships, especially Sarah Beth. Hannah spent the night with another family Friday night, spent all day yesterday with them, went swimming with them, and then had takeout from a Chinese restaurant with them. What fun for her! And John-John spent yesterday morning with some friends at our house, and yesterday afternoon at Aunt Vickie's next door (making banana pudding that I'm really looking forward to today). Then last night, Sarah Beth babysat for us and we went with our friends Matt and Tara to Olive Garden and Kroger. We had a wonderful time! Sundays are always good, because there isn't really much on our plates. We have house church this morning (we love our small group!), lunch at noon, and cultural worship at 6 tonight (this week's service is Korean). Then Sarah Beth has what amounts to an after-church youth fellowship before they all head over to salsa dancing lessons. Doesn't that sound fun? I am so thankful to have had such a good weekend. We have really rested and enjoyed ourselves immensely.

Sarah Beth does have a root canal Tuesday afternoon, so please keep her in your prayers. We have shots on Friday, so please pray for us then. And generally, just pray that we will have ears to hear and eyes to see all that God has for us. There is an immense amount of information to take in, process, and apply. Somewhere in there, we also have to parent and have a daily life. There is just so much...pray that we will get everything done and that we'll do it all in a way that glorifies Him. I appreciate you so much. Thank you for reading this. Thank you for praying for us. And thank you for loving us and sending us out. What an honor and a privilege it is to take the Good News across the globe. Remember this--the Great Commission isn't just for missionaries, it's for all believers. How are you fulfilling it today? My prayer for you is that God will show you what He has for you, whether it's right where you are or across the ocean blue. Listen, and then be faithful to what you hear. Blessings!
His,
Kellye