“‘Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The LORD, the LORD, is my strength and my song; He has become my salvation.’ With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.” Isaiah 12:2-3 (NIV)We had no running water in our house growing up in the Congo. My grandmother, Marcella, had found a spring in the forest across the lake from our home long before I lived at … [Read more...] about Well of Salvation
My missionary kid experience
Footprints In The Sea
"Your path led through the sea, your way through the mighty waters, though your footprints were not seen." Psalm 77:19 (New International Version)When I was in eighth grade, my family went with two other families to Moanda, the fifteen mile strip of Congo coast on the Atlantic Ocean. Everyday we would load up in our vehicle and head down to Tonde (Tone-day) Beach to spend the day … [Read more...] about Footprints In The Sea
Longing’s Disappointment
"All these people were still living by faith when they died. They did not receive the things promised; they only saw them and welcomed them from a distance. And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth. People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own. If they had been thinking of the country they had left, they would have had opportunity to … [Read more...] about Longing’s Disappointment
Lifted Up In Their Hands
"For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone." Psalm 91:11-12Two years after we arrived in the Congo, my parents purchased a 1957 Mercedes Army truck which we affectionately named, "The Jolly Green Giant." The vehicle weighed seven tons empty. It was a … [Read more...] about Lifted Up In Their Hands
While I Was Still Speaking
"Like cold water to a weary soul is good news from a distant land." Proverbs 25:25After three and a half years of living in the Congo (called Zaire at the time), we were now just weeks away from leaving to go home to our family in the United States. Our excitement was palpable. Everyday I would mentally mark off another day until the MAF plane landed on our airstrip to take us to the capital … [Read more...] about While I Was Still Speaking
Freedom Isn’t Free
You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. Galatians 5:13 (NIV)(Todd and Nicol celebrating Fourth of July at Nkara-Ewa, Congo, 1981)Where were you September 11, 2001? I was getting breakfast for my four-year, three-year, and one-year-old children when the phone rang. It was my dad."Shawn, turn on the news … [Read more...] about Freedom Isn’t Free
