Lord, plant my heart not on "What if.." but on "He will..."
Linda Krieg
So many uncertainties in today’s world, but then has anything really changed? Without omniscience, mankind has always lived with uncertainties. There is only One who knows what tomorrow brings, AND He controls what arrives through those portals of time, too. Knowing that, why does my mind ever toy with the “what if’s” of life? He has promised to guard me before and behind (Isaiah 52:12b), beside (Psalm 23:4), and underneath (Deuteronomy 33:27) too, so why would I let what if’s fester in my thinking? In Hebrews 13:5, not only does He promise never to leave or forsake me, but He makes that promise in emphatic terms, so why do I let my heart dwell on the what if’s instead of the so definitely promised and faithfully fulfilled He wills? May my heart (and yours) be solidly rooted that head knowledge.
It is ridiculous, really, how agile our minds are at creating excuses. You have probably noticed how tardy this update is, even though it’s been “in the works” for at least a month. My best excuse so far? Well, you know how “Let your fingers do the walking” is so ancient that most under 25 probably don’t even know to what it referred? In my case, “Let your fingers do the typing” is also a thing of the past, it seems. Instead, my fingers don’t cooperate well with what are left of my brain cells. While the grey matter is thinking one word, something entirely different often appears from my fingertips. And if you think that complicates updating a newsletter, you should try writing to friends in another country (like say PNG) in a different language. Add to that the fact that no grammar or spell checker on this earth could warn me of error in that language, instead creating their own, because obviously I intended to capitalize that “i” rather than lower case. Never mind that in Siawi, i is a house…and pronounced “e” by the way. (Look, with all that foolishness, I’ve created a second paragraph to this update!)
You may have wondered if the pandemic had rolled right over me, wafting me to my eternal home, but no. I don’t have that excuse, either. Thankfully, I’m doing well, and all my ailments seem to be the more minor, non-painful kind (what a blessing). Like most of my over-70 friends, regularly scheduled medical stuff provides a fairly active schedule where not much else is actively inclined. Having lived long enough with my Siawi friends to definitely appreciate the medical (and physical) luxuries we enjoy here in the USA, even those medical limitations lose their ability to create any self-pity.
While there isn’t much news on how my Siawi brothers and sisters are doing, I do know they are planning one of their yearly gatherings of the local likeminded churches in the upper Sepik River area where they live. With it still over a month away (in November), I want to get a number of letters written and emailed to mission headquarters in Wewak for someone to print and ready for delivery when the plane takes in the attending missionary representatives. Please do be praying, even now, as the various tribal leaders make plans for the gathering, deciding on the theme and speakers and as well as working out how to feed everyone from jungle sources (no running to Walmart, if you run food). Pray that God’s Word will be the basis for all sessions and that the fellowship will be great. If the Lord should send a few extra wild pigs into the pathway of arrows, or maybe an alligator or two, that would really help the meat situation.
While I know that Covid-19 has spread some in PNG, from what I hear, it hasn’t been as prevalent as in 1st world countries, maybe because of the lack of transportation between various population centers. While the pandemic may not have been as full-blown there, the lack of general medical care and medications from the government to supply the clinics has meant that the various common skin infections and sores have exploded in the villages. A missionary friend sent me a picture of the hands of one of the folks in their village, horribly covered with festering sores. I’m sure that is the case in Siawi too, since the ointments and antibiotics that we previously provided to treat yaws, impetigo, ulcers, scabies and such are no longer available.
More than anything, though, the believers need to remember and stand firmly on the truths of my first paragraph in this letter (just as we all do). Life is uncertain. Trials and tribulations will come. This world will never develop into utopia. With Adam and Eve’s sin the perfection of creation was destroyed and only Christ’s return to judge the world and reward his people will usher in perfection again.
Even so, come quickly, Lord!
Love and appreciate you all as you stand with the Siawi believers and me,
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
Ethnos360 Hdqts: 312 W 1st St, Sanford, FL 32771
