Explosion of Delta Variant Explodes My Travel Plans
Linda Krieg
With not having been back to Missouri since 2014 and not having seen Wayne and Christy for 3 years and David and Grace for 2.5 years as the pandemic seemed to be loosening its grip on our nation, I was excited to book flights to Missouri. A visit with friends and family in the St. Louis area, including my home church family at Hope Bible Church was greatly anticipated. After spending half the time up in the St. Louis area, the plan was to go down to Camdenton for a few days with Wayne and Christy. (Sadly, David and Grace, living in Wisconsin, continue to be well out of my travel range.)
As Proverbs 16:9 says (ESV), “The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.” And while the Lord certainly foreknows the future, He does not choose to foretell/forewarn us about future events. Instead, He uses them in our lives in the way He deems best and most likely to glorify His name and expand His kingdom.
By the time my late August flight reservations were drawing near, the Delta Variant had exploded, especially in Florida and Missouri. After putting the decision off as long as I could (trying to ignore the skyrocketing numbers) and Florida’s feat of leading the nation in snagging said virus, it was finally time to bite the bullet and cancel all flights and Missouri plans. Maybe next year? Time will tell.
Okay, the above paragraphs comprise the reason for this update and pretty much cover all my news. How blessed I am that my problems can be encapsulated in such short order. Other than that, it’s life as usual. How many millions in today’s world wish that were true for them? You don’t even have to look at third world countries to find them-they are right here in the USA, and maybe even you yourself have physical burdens that far outweigh anything happening in my life. With droughts, fires, earthquakes, wars, oppressive governments, plus all the injustices in this world with Satan’s activities ramping up, as he sees the end coming, I’ve got a very comfortable little nest here at the Homes retirement center. And no matter what happens in my life (or yours, if you are part of Christ’s family), my blessings abound and nothing that Satan might throw at me can dampen that.
I wish I knew how my Siawi friends are doing, but there’s almost no news coming out of the jungle these days. Because of the lies with which has Satan twisted their culture, this pandemic holds special fears and challenges to believers. Rejoicing that they hold God’s Truth in their hands, I’m praying they’ll read that Word that debunks the devil’s lies. Please pray that they’ll stand strong, no matter what comes.
Will you please pray, as I try to formulate some letters to my Siawi friends? With a brain that has trouble handling English typing these days, communicating cross culturally will be a special challenge. It isn’t a case of teaching an old dog new tricks, but in getting it to remember old ones.
Wish I could close with a funny story, but I don’t think I know any. Well, our chaplain here at the Homes did share a (for me) laugh out loud joke the other day in the daily prayer update. I have no idea from whence it came, so can’t give proper credit, but I’ll close with it, anyway. Here goes:
Humor of the Day – The atheist and the bear
An atheist was taking a walk through the woods, admiring all that evolution had created. “What majestic trees! What powerful rivers! What beautiful animals!”, he said to himself.
As he was walking alongside the river, he heard a rustling in the bushes behind him. He turned to look. He saw a 7-foot grizzly charging toward him. He screamed in horror and ran away as fast as he could from the giant bear… He was so scared and ran so
fast that tears were coming to his eyes. He looked back and saw that the bear was gaining rapidly on him. His heart was pumping frantically as he tried to run even faster.
In his hurry, he didn’t see a projecting root and he tripped and fell. As he rolled over, he saw the bear over him with paw raised. At that instant, he screamed, “Oh my God!”
Time stopped, the bear froze. The forest and the river were silent. A bright light shone upon him and a voice from the sky said: “You deny my existence for all these years; teach others that I don’t exist; and even credit creation to some cosmic accident.
Do you expect me to help you out of this predicament? Am I to count you as a believer?”
The atheist looked toward the light and said, “It would be hypocritical for me to suddenly ask you to treat me as a believer now. Could you at least make the bear into a Christian?” “Very well.” The light went out, the sounds of the forest and the river resumed and the bear dropped his paw, and bringing it together with his other front paw, he bowed his head and spoke.
“Thank you Lord for this food which I am about to receive… Amen!”
May we each, too, be thankful for the Lord’s provision in our lives.
Love and appreciate you,
Linda
Linda_Krieg(at)ntm.org (lest scammers’ harvest my email address off the internet, used (at) instead of the normal @)
232 Brazil Court, Sanford, FL 32771
Cell phone: 407-415-2765
Ethnos360 Hdqts: 312 W 1st St, Sanford, FL 32771
