January 13, 2015

Friends-

Here is the second part of the saga from mid-December. As I mentioned yesterday, this situation has not been solved, but we have not gotten to part three; the part where God combines your prayers and His work to give us a miracle!

Thank you for standing with us in this,

Natalie

The Next Day-December 13

Stephen is an optimist in many things. I am what I would term a realist, but moving in the pessimists direction with each bureaucratic encounter.

When Stephen departed from the offices the night before, they told him to get there early the next morning so that he could get a place in line similar to the number he had. In no way was he given a bye for the time he already served. The placed opens at 8 AM, so he thought that if he left at 6 for the hour ride that he would be in good standings. When he arrived a bit after 7 AM the line was the equivalent of three city blocks- we have so much to learn.

We were expecting company for lunch, so I had stayed at home to make preparations. Periodically throughout the morning I got updates. Sometime around 10:30 I got the message that he was let inside the gate. About a half an hour late I got a call saying that he would only receive the goods if we paid $2800 in taxes and fees. The contents of the boxes cost less than $3000, and there was no way that we could even come up with $2800.

I was so sad and mad because adults and kids in the US had given their hard-earned money so that people in Nicaragua could have clean drinking water, yet this part of the government was more concerned about making a profit than the needs of their countrymen.

Stephen said he would call me back, but the next time I saw him was at the front gate about an hour and a half later. I was with our guests, debriefing some, and in the intervening time read the December 12^th entry in Jesus Calling (I was a day behind in my reading):

“Every detail of your life in under my control. Moreover, everything fits into a pattern for good to those who love Me and are called according to My design and purpose. Because the world is in an abnormal, fallen condition, people tend to think that chance governs the universe….Submerged beneath the surface of the visible world are mysteries too vast for you to      comprehend. …That is why you must live by faith and not by sight.”

I tried to argue that one. Every detail except for the Nicaraguan government is under God’s control, but that blasted my theology out of the water, so I had to trust, albeit grudgingly that this too could work out for good.

Meanwhile Stephen had left Managua in frustration and knew he would benefit from listening to Podcasted sermon rather than rehearsing the morning events on the ride home. He listened to Pastor Dave from our home church, Cedar Mill Bible Church. For 45 minutes he heard about the travesty of having a condemning spirit towards others. The conviction was too obvious to ignore; even with the frustrations and absurdities, he had no godly right to condemn these people.

So we wait, we pray, and we expect God intervention so that we can share the rest of the story with you, and you can praise God with us.