So Little Faith
Today marks 20 months since we arrived in Timor-Leste. As you know, my purpose here is to start a school. In 9 weeks we will successfully complete our second school year. And yet…
We still don’t have a school.
I mean, we don’t have a physical building. We don’t even have land yet!
Several times a week we have new parents visiting our school, asking for information, and seeking to enrol their children. We even have a waiting list for some of our classes. And yet…
We’re running out of space at our temporary location to add new students and grades. In fact, we don’t even have enough teachers for next school year, so I’m not even sure if we’ll be able to accept many (or any) new students.
These are the things that weigh on my mind on a daily basis. These are the things that wake me up in the middle of the night to worry about. These are the things that have even turned a few of my hairs white! And yet…
As I was studying the Sabbath School lesson last week - the introduction to the new quarter about Peter - I came across the verse in Matthew 14:31 where Peter has just failed at walking on water and Jesus says, “You have so little faith… Why did you doubt me?” (NLT).
This past week, as I would find myself starting to worry or coming up with back-up plans in case we don’t get as many teachers as we need, I would hear those words ringing in my ears:
“You have so little faith. Why [do] you doubt me?”
And I know that the same Person who spoke those words to Peter are speaking them to me.
I’ve wondered several times over the past 20 months: Is this my fault? Am I the reason we still don’t have a school yet? It it because my faith isn’t strong enough?
I don’t know the answer to those questions. Maybe or maybe not. But I do know that it’s pushing me to put my trust in Him more every day.
Very soon, the General Conference will be meeting with officers from our Division to discuss more funding options so that we can (hopefully) buy land soon. So please pray about that. If the additional money comes through, there currently are a couple good options for land to purchase if it’s still available by then. So please pray about that too. Matt met the ADRA Brazil director at his recent meetings and he said they have many young people in Brazil looking for opportunities to volunteer for mission service, so I’ve been in contact with him and am hopeful that we will soon have more of the teachers we need. So you can also pray about that!
Perhaps my faith is too small, but hopefully, with combined prayers, we can start to see some of these needs being fulfilled!
We still don’t have a school.
I mean, we don’t have a physical building. We don’t even have land yet!
Several times a week we have new parents visiting our school, asking for information, and seeking to enrol their children. We even have a waiting list for some of our classes. And yet…
We’re running out of space at our temporary location to add new students and grades. In fact, we don’t even have enough teachers for next school year, so I’m not even sure if we’ll be able to accept many (or any) new students.
These are the things that weigh on my mind on a daily basis. These are the things that wake me up in the middle of the night to worry about. These are the things that have even turned a few of my hairs white! And yet…
As I was studying the Sabbath School lesson last week - the introduction to the new quarter about Peter - I came across the verse in Matthew 14:31 where Peter has just failed at walking on water and Jesus says, “You have so little faith… Why did you doubt me?” (NLT).
This past week, as I would find myself starting to worry or coming up with back-up plans in case we don’t get as many teachers as we need, I would hear those words ringing in my ears:
“You have so little faith. Why [do] you doubt me?”
And I know that the same Person who spoke those words to Peter are speaking them to me.
I’ve wondered several times over the past 20 months: Is this my fault? Am I the reason we still don’t have a school yet? It it because my faith isn’t strong enough?
I don’t know the answer to those questions. Maybe or maybe not. But I do know that it’s pushing me to put my trust in Him more every day.
Very soon, the General Conference will be meeting with officers from our Division to discuss more funding options so that we can (hopefully) buy land soon. So please pray about that. If the additional money comes through, there currently are a couple good options for land to purchase if it’s still available by then. So please pray about that too. Matt met the ADRA Brazil director at his recent meetings and he said they have many young people in Brazil looking for opportunities to volunteer for mission service, so I’ve been in contact with him and am hopeful that we will soon have more of the teachers we need. So you can also pray about that!
Perhaps my faith is too small, but hopefully, with combined prayers, we can start to see some of these needs being fulfilled!
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