"Rejoice always, pray with out ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."

-I Thessalonians 5:16-18

To me, the instructions that the apostle Paul gave to the Thessalonians in the verses above sound so simple and easy to follow.  I truly do think they are simple, but I often do not find that they come easily.  In my spiritual walk I wish I could say that I have mastered them, but there seems to be that one situation, that one disappointment, or even that one thought in my mind that I allow to hinder myself from living out such a life every moment of every day.  It can be something as small as being asked to eat some type of food that I do not wish to eat or it can be a more serious situation, but still it is followed by me grumbling, worrying, or even getting angry.  There are other times when I lose focus when I have or feel like I have failed God, thus leading me to frustration or discouragement.  Nevertheless I find great encouragement in the verses above.  I find them encouraging because I know that regardless of the circumstances I face while living in a fallen world and regardless of my mistakes or sins that I have committed or may commit, God still desires for me a life of which I will experience joyful communion with him with gratitude.  And if it were not possible to live such a life, God would not have used Paul to instruct the Thessalonians to live in such a way. 

           

A life of continual rejoicing, prayer, and giving thanks does not mean that we will not experience pain, sorrow, conflict, or the numerous other types of trials that exist.  In fact, following Christ often leads to more difficulties.  Though it is an ongoing process for me, I believe that I am learning how to experience the joy and peace of the Lord in the midst of hardships.  There are times I feel discouraged, anxious, or weary, but when I look to the Lord there is a deeper peace and a joy knowing that the he is in charge and that I can trust him.  The negative feelings that I have can still be there and may stick around for awhile, but it is the knowing that He will sustain me that allows me to press on with a prayerful and grateful heart.  Even if greater difficulties may be ahead in the future, it does not change the reality of God's faithfulness to provide every need on every occasion for his children.

Just last week, I made a visit to Kimatong in the northern Laarim territory with Clement who traveled there from Juba to read over a rough draft of the book of Mark in Laarim with some people in the community.  I have found it beneficial for my language learning to join these community checks as I get to listen and do my best to follow along as the passages are being read aloud and discussed in the Laarim language.  It is quite an amazing experience to be present as the word of God is being translated into a language that has never had it before. Getting up to visit Kimatong and its nearby villages also gave me the opportunity to meet with some of the local leaders in the area where I am planning to get established.  Although I did not get to meet with as many as I had hoped, I did have some positive meetings with a few key individuals.  I am so grateful for Clement who never seems to grow weary in his work.  Even after a full day of work of reading the Bible and discussing it with members of the community, he was still happy to help me learn and practice the language while taking me out to the village to visit the leaders in the community.

          

If the Lord is willing, I hope to be established in the village of Kerenge in the earlier part of 2013.  Though I am far from where I need to be in the language to start effectively communicating the word of God in a group setting, I am happy to see that I am continuing to make progress in the Laarim language.  Recently when I was in Torit, I was walking through town when I came across a woman who greeted me in Laarim .  I turned to her and noticed that she was someone I knew from Kimatong.  We began conversing, using the langauge and despite stumbling across a few words here and there, I realized how much more naturally the language is coming to me than it was a month ago.  It often gets the attention of everyone standing around or passing by when they hear a white person conversing not in English or Juba Arabic, but in one of the local languages.  I am learning that there needs to be a balance with language acquisition.  On one side if I push myself too hard without giving myself enough rest, I get wearied and lose interest for awhile.  On the other side if I began to notice a lot of progress, I can get overconfident and too comfortable.  I then forget the needed effort to get to the level that I had obtained and that it will continue to take a lot of effort to reach the next level.  I always hope to keep a healthy balance.

I continue to be overwhelmed with the support from many who have come alongside me in this work, despite living thousands of miles away.  For every prayer, financial gift, word of encouragement or any other means of supporting me out here, I am so grateful.  It is a humbling to receive so much without being able to give back to the same degree, but as God has used many to enable me to be here to carry out his work among the Laarim, I pray that I will always remain faithful to the task. It is my prayer that the God who owns the cattle on a thousand hills would multiply and return to those who have given unto Him.  He is faithful!

-Praise the Lord that we can trust him and experience his joy in all circumstances.  Pray for me as I continue to grow and learn how to rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and give thanks always.

-Praise the Lord for the people from the Laarim community who are involved in translating the word of God into their language.  Please continue to pray for a growing desire among more of the Laarim people to learn and know the word of God.

-Praise the Lord for the progress that is regularly being made as I learn the Laarim language.  Please continue to pray for me in this process as I am preparing to communicate in the Laarim language the word of God to the people.