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Robberies, Earthquake, Illness, Abundance
Dear Family and Friends,
In my last update, I (Lisa) shared about how God used Ephesians 3:20,21 prior to our visit to the States to redirect my focus from all that I could see that was wrong to a focus of expectation, believing that God will do exceedingly, abundantly beyond all that we ask or imagine during the course of the summer. And He did. The day before we left for Nicaragua, I picked up my devotional called "Jesus Calling" by Sarah Young, and to my delight – Ephesians 3:20,21 was the focus of this devotion. It was like this verse was a book end for our summer, beginning with that focus and reminding me again at the end that He is our abundant God.
That same afternoon, Dan shared a story with me that further illustrated the beauty of God's faithfulness to this promise. Dan said that he picked up our rental car in the city of Waterloo that afternoon for our drive to O'Hare airport in Chicago the next day. He drove it around Waterloo for 30 minutes running errands and then headed back to my parent's home which is 30 minutes from Waterloo. He headed down the highway when, suddenly, the car died. It "just happened" to die at the exit that would lead Dan back to the rental place. He said that he got the car going and then it would die and then it would go and did this until he reached the rental place.
The lady at the rental place said that they did not have any other cars left, except for a very expensive van with leather seats and all of the bells and whistles. Dan traded the very cheap vehicle that we rented in for a beautiful vehicle at no extra charge. An exceedingly, abundantly, beyond vehicle. So, after reading this verse again in the morning and then hearing his story in the afternoon, I was once again filled with the wonder of how God loves to make Himself known like that – through our every day circumstances. And we can see these things when we are watching in expectation of how He will reveal Himself and His abundance to us.
The trouble comes when there are big things that are going wrong in our lives. Sometimes we may wonder, then, about whether this God really is the exceedingly, abundantly beyond God that He says He is in His Word.
Like when I think about the three missionary families whose homes have been robbed in the past three weeks. They were robbed at night. The robbers had guns. The Dad of one of those families was shot in the leg by the robbers.
And then there was the earthquake this past week. It was the strongest and longest one that we have experienced, lasting close to a full minute. As I watched our hanging light swing violently back and forth while experiencing what felt like our home rolling back and forth, I thought about how vulnerable we are to this potential natural disaster.
Or like when I think about my friend, Cindy, mother of 4 young children who is dealing with cancer.
This past week I've also struggled with a 102 temp. for a couple of days and think about how this is the third virus I've had in 5 months. I can't remember the last time I dealt with so much illness.
And yet, I'm learning that seeing His abundance is about choosing which lens through which I see these things . . .
The wife of one of the families that was being robbed, calmly talked with the robbers throughout the robbery as they held a pillow over her head. She told them that Jesus loved them and asked them to consider receiving Him as their Savior. She chose to see God's abundant opportunity to share love and grace with those who were persecuting her. The family of the Dad who had gotten shot, gathered together to pray for the robbers as they were robbing their home. They chose to see God's abundant opportunity to pray for people who perhaps no one else prays for. And they chose to trust their abundant God with the Dad's life as he lay bleeding from the bullet wound. (The Dad went to the hospital and is doing fine now.)
At the time of the earthquake, a student shared with me that one of our NCA teachers was quite frightened by the whole experience, but in the middle of the earthquake, prayed out loud, "Thank you God for this earthquake." She chose to praise her abundant God in the midst of experiencing fear. And we continue to thank Him for His protection then and in the days that have followed.
My friend Cindy has shared with me that her young daughter is desiring to organize a "Jesus Party" in the midst of all that is happening in their family. This too is a beautiful picture of a celebration happening in the midst of difficult circumstances.
And my 102 temperature has slowed life down, enabling me to write to you . . . something I've been wanting to do for weeks now. It is always such a pleasure for me to do so.
I am so naturally a person who sees the glass half empty. I see the problems and the challenges. So, to live with "an exceedingly, abundantly, beyond perspective" of God and His intentions toward me is not natural. It is something that God is cultivating in me and I'm finding that the more I look and the more I thank Him and the more I watch for what He is doing, . . . the more I see and the more I experience joy and the more I am surprised and thrilled by a God who desires to reveal Himself to us.
In closing, I would like to ask you to pray for the situations I mentioned above. For healing and protection and for God's Hand to guide and direct. It is such a comfort to know that you are there praying for us and our community. It is times like these when we recognize how dependent we are on God's Hand of protection. Thank you!
Peace and love to you,
Dan, Lisa, Rebekah, and Will Van Zoest
PS. See Pictures Below!
Pictured below are our celebrations for our 16th wedding anniversary and Rebekah's surprise birthday party.
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