Snowed in..but not out!

By -
On January 17 we said good bye to Michigan after four months of 'home' visit. We rented a car and headed off to Chicago to stay at a Best Western hotel until 3 a.m. to check in at the Chicago O'hare airport. It started snowing heavily and our road trip took an extra two hours to reach out hotel because of traffic and weather conditions. We finally reached the hotel and then I returned our rental car and walked back to the hotel in the snow. I didn't have a coat to keep me dry and just wore an old hooded sweatshirt, scarf, headband and a good pair of waterproof boots! I walked back the half mile to the hotel and finally settled into our room for the night.

Blizzard Selfies in Chicago O'hare Airport
"Finally, Jari, rest and we're going back home!" I said to my wife. About an hour later I received a terrible email notice from our airline, then soon the app sent a notice too, both read, "WE ARE CURRENTLY ATTEMPTING TO REBOOK YOU." When I opened the email it said our flight was delayed three hours! "Aw naw, not to-day!"  I exclaimed. The flight delay would cause us to miss our flight leaving Atlanta to Managua. After two hours trying to plan alternative ways to get to Nicaragua, we finally took the airlines offer of rescheduling our return trip to Nicaragua, for next Saturday, January 25.

Our returning to Nicaragua excitement was squashed completely! We now had more expenses and have to come and do this road trip all over again next Saturday. Why does this happen now, we have plans and work to get back to. We have businesses to build and programs to run in Nicaragua! The answer could be found in the response the airline gave me for not giving me extra perks for the cancellation, (like flying out of Grand Rapids instead of Chicago) 'uncontrolable circumstances in weather', they call this an "Act of God." No one has control of the weather, except God alone.

This goes back to those old questions mankind always has, "If God was so...xxxx why does He ... xxxx" - fill in the blanks with what ever you like. For us the answer is simple because we're fully surrendered to God's will in our lives. It can be found in my favorite section in the Holy Bible: Isaiah 55:1-9. Read with emphasis on the last two versus in there, 8-9.

We see God has a plan for everything and His promises are real and cannot be broken. There are a few of His promises in this section! Therefore; let's rejoice in this delay of plans! And here is why:

The hotel was booked on a free voucher. We didn't pay for the room only to leave back to Grand Rapids because of a cancelled flight. Jari and I got a very good night's sleep there and free breakfast! We had been preparing to leave since 4 a.m. Friday morning and we were tired! 

I have some cousins in Chicago that I didn't get to see while we are here in Michigan. One of them visited us in the hotel Saturday morning, ate breakfast again, and offered to pay for our rental car back to Grand Rapids!

The snow storm broke apart for the day. We had clean and clear roads from Chicago to Grand Rapids. We made it back in good time. The car rental was an hybrid car, only $13 in gas! The heavy snow started again around 5:30 p.m., an hour after we got back.

This extra week here in Grand Rapids allows us to take care of smaller details still pending and rest some more. Jari was sick with the flu, even had fevers for the first two days of the week. I was fighting it off and felt slow from the cough syrup I took for a few nights. We can return to Nicaragua in good health.

Finally, I came back to receive a note in the mail from a young lady, who said our presentation at her church helped her to grow closer to Christ! A wonderful note to close this snowy road trip, Praise God!

Press on brothers! Rejoice in the Lord!
Location: Grand Rapids, MI, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

How Erica changed my perspective

By -
Image
There is a change in our method of working with businesses in Nicaragua than when we first arrived in 2016. It is easier to explain this difference with a story! Five years ago I started working with the Association of Christian Entrepreneurs of Nicaragua, (AECNIC). An association started out of the Nehemiah Center. You can read about this association in older blog posts. (I don't know why the pictures do not show up anymore, blogger website problem?) I spent a lot of time mentoring the business owners who made up the board of directors for the association. Hours were spent helping these individuals get a stronger accounting system and flow process in their businesses. I loved working with all of them. Their positive attitudes and faith was, and still is, inspiring today.  In 2018, Nicaragua went through its political crisis. During those months many businesses were hurting and barely surviving. I met with Erica* to see how she was coping with the crisis we were all living through....
Read more

Project Mature Bean! Part 2, We Harvested!

By -
Image
Jari and I arrived back home in Jinotega late December, just before Christmas time. We took a few days to rest and recover from our travels and a small cold that traveling brings. We couldn't wait to go and see the field of beans now that it was almost harvest time. Up to this point, we only saw the field in pictures, but now it was time to be present and see the beans flow in the wind! The plants did not disappoint us in person. They were healthy, bushy with big leaves and plenty of bean pods maturing to a nice deep reddish color. Some of the plants leaves had started to turn yellow as they were reaching maturity and dying off, putting the last of their nutrients into the beans. Darwin had done a great job caring for the plants and now he was preparing for the harvest, but when would they be ready?  The answer was, wait. A test of patience. In the first week of January we saw large portions of the bean field dying off. Since this was Darwin's first time planting beans he wasn...
Read more

FINCA AVODAH

By -
Image
Our ministry is based on a simple but profound concept, work as worship! The Hebrew word AVODAH,( עבדה ) means service. It carries two other meanings, work and worship.   In the Old Testament this word was used when the nation of Israel was called to serve God, and worship him. It is also the same word used to describe work! We can say this word, Avodah, is spiritual service. (Exodus 23:25) This concept is expressed again by the Apostle Paul in Colossians 3:23. When we “work” as unto the Lord it is an act of spiritual service and is also worship.    Whether we are giving a workshop in the Jinotega Chamber of Commerce, or in a farmer’s field of beans, the concept of Avodah is what we live out and teach. It is in this field of beans where we have the most potential to reach our region of Nicaragua with the Gospel! We are now purchasing a small farm to invite farmers to experience avodah with their own senses. We have certified red bean seed, sorghum and hybrid corn availa...
Read more