Transplants

 

Isaiah 61:1-3

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me,

    because the Lord has anointed me

    to proclaim good news to the poor.

He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,

    to proclaim freedom for the captives

    and release from darkness for the prisoners,[a]

2 

to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor

    and the day of vengeance of our God,

to comfort all who mourn,

3 

    and provide for those who grieve in Zion—

to bestow on them a crown of beauty

    instead of ashes,

the oil of joy

    instead of mourning,

and a garment of praise

    instead of a spirit of despair.

They will be called oaks of righteousness,

    a planting of the Lord

    for the display of his splendor.

While Neil is gone, my two little neighbor girls, who have adopted us as grandparents, often stop by to see if I am okay. They like to see me, but also hope to be entertained. Last week, I needed to transplant the garden seedlings Neil started right before he left for Kenya. After showing the girls to be very careful not to pinch or squash the tiny plants or their roots, they helped me fill pots with dirt and safely tuck them into holes they poked into the dirt in the pots with their fingers. Although they were extremely careful not to injure the little plants, there was dirt all over their clothes, the dining room table, and the floor by the time we were done. A week later, I sent photographic evidence of the fruit of our labors to Neil in Kenya.

This morning, I was thinking about how many of us have been transplanted by the Lord. Each move or life change can be either exciting or traumatic. Neil stayed with our friends, Joe and Karin Medley, and their daughters, Esther and Sophia, this week in Nairobi. They served as regional directors for Covenant Players, a worldwide theatrical missionary organization based in California. When Esther was born, they were directors in Europe and living in Germany. Then they were moved to Australia, where they were directors for Australasia. When Karin's mother's health was failing, they moved back to Germany, where Karin could help her father care for her mother. Now Joe's covenant of 35 years has been completed, and they are directors of a mission organization out of Germany, training evangelistic teams in Africa with their home base in Nairobi. As seasoned missionaries, Joe and Karin have been able to make those moves trusting in the Holy Spirit to guide their steps and provide for their needs.

The transition for their girls has been more traumatic, however. After making dear friends in one location, they have felt uprooted. Neil and I have been encouraging the girls that just as the Lord helped them find friends in their current location, He is already preparing their next location to receive them. The girls have been able to adjust, but it hasn't been easy. Many of us have also come through difficult life alterations. As I was transitioning through a divorce in 1979, one of my staff gave me a little standup cartoon poster that said, "Jesus, there is nothing happening today that you and I can't handle." I displayed that truth in my office until I retired. An elderly Norwegian relative used to say, "That is a surely t'ing." Margaret Jensen wrote a book entitled, "A Nail in a Sure Place." We all need those nails that held Jesus on the cross in our place. Jesus keeps us securely, gently tucking us into the sure places wherever we are transplanted. 

Neil is scheduled to depart from Nairobi at midnight tonight, Kenya time (4:00 p.m. our time), to land in Amsterdam in the morning and in Minneapolis tomorrow at noon.

Please pray:

• Neil will have all his documents to board and arrive in Minneapolis on schedule. 
• Healing of the skin rash that Neil is still suffering from.
• For the church leaders to help the people into their churches to be called Oaks of Righteousness, a planting of the Lord!
• Ruth will soon transfer Neil's interview notes to the reports the ROCK sponsors will receive.

Love,

Ruth

Helping Kenya