Marathon

In our last newsletter we told you that, by the end of 2010, we would make a decision whether to come back to South East Asia after our furlough or request another assignment.

These past 3 ½ years felt like a marathon, a long-distance race with no finish line in sight. And so it was very tempting to consider the end of our contract the finish line, to call it quits and move on , ask for another assignment, fly again.

Surprisingly, just before Christmas the DCA asked us to write up a MOU which, if signed by the government, would allow us to start our flight training program.
This, plus the fact that I felt that I would be to blame for the failure of the project if I’d quit now, tipped the scale in favor of coming back to SE Asia. Although I was at peace with that decision there was no sign of joy or excitement , just a sense of duty.

That’s when we received several e-mails with Bible verses. At first I didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary. It is after all customary this time of year. But after the 3rd or 4th one I started noticing that ,instead of the usual blessings, these verses contained exhortations to be strong (Jos 1:9), to stay calm and trust God (Isaiah 30:15), to look to the Lord and seek his face (Ps 105:4) etc. The last straw, so to speak, came yesterday, when I read a friend’s newsletter. He had included a short devotional on 2 Kings 6:15:17 : “When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh no, my lord! What shall we do?” the servant asked. “Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, LORD, so that he may see.” Then the LORD opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

After reading these verses my eyes also opened and I realized that the main problem over the past few months had been my attitude. I had been focused on “the army with horses and chariots”, on our circumstances and difficulties and had tried to overcome them relying on my own strength (weakness!) when I should have turned my eyes upon the Lord and, like Mary, just sit at his feet (Luke 10:42). Lesson learned….for now!

And so it is with renewed courage and a clear focus that I want to press on “to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me” (Acts 20:24).

Talking about race, beginning of December Cecile took part in the Angkor Wat International Half-Marathon in Siem Reap, Cambodia. She came back with a certificate stating that she had completed the race, but it was only a couple of days later that we found out on the internet that she had finished 12th out of 460 women. Had it not been for a pesky nature call that had her start the race 6 minutes after everybody else she would actually have placed 8th!

In closing we want to wish you all a blessed New Year 2011. May God give you Grace to keep your eyes turned upon Jesus.