Today's Events

Our airstrip was opened today. We had good weather and the pilot approved everything. My family and I even got to be the first to leave the village on an airplane.

And, yes, we are truly grateful to God for this event. However, right as the inspection began taking place a big commotion started among the villagers. We soon found out that another young guy committed suicide the night before.

As tragic as the last suicide was, this one was even worse. He was someone we loved dearly and were very close to. He was my husband's best friend in the village and his language helper. He was also a very bright and happy young guy who was always smiling and making people laugh.

John Michael spent a lot of time with him yesterday at his house and even asking him if he would look after our garden when we left because the young man had just recently built his own house right behind our garden. Everything seemed normal and he was acting like his usual happy self. He was even excited that the airplane was coming the next day.

We are completely devastated and totally confused. None of this makes any sense to us. Please pray for us now as we are emotionally and physically exhausted and completely heartbroken, but are desperate to understand why this keeps happening. And please pray for our coworkers, the Dunns as they are still in the village dealing with the death.

I wish I could write more about how I am feeling and what this all means, but my head is in a fog and I don't even know where to start. I feel like I am using all my energy treading to keep my head above the waters of grief that are trying to consume me.

I will leave with this one thing though...I frequently like to share advice and experiences to missionaries preparing for the field, and right now I feel like this is the best thing I could ever tell you. Be 100% percent confident that the Lord is good and is on your side before you ever go anywhere. Because I am just going to be completely honest here- sometimes it is going to feel like He is not. At these times you can do nothing but cling to the Rock of Jesus Christ and the hope that is written in His Word. 
" The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; he rescues those whose spirits are crushed." Psalm 34:18