"No"

Hello Faithful Partners,

I woke up this morning feeling a little discouraged...Nick continues to struggle with stomach pain, although the diarrhea has lessened and his appetite has increased.  His tests at the hospital only showed pus in his stool, but without identifiable cause.  We'll try a couple more tests, and we'll continue to wait.  Nick was due to have a friend visit from Kathmandu today, but a strike has closed the road and that is postponed.  We've had about 16 hours without electricity and I didn't plan well (this wasn't expected) and I am concerned that we may lose all of our food in the refrigerator and freezer (I really shouldn't have it so well stocked in this season).  And finally today we got the answer from the lawyer regarding guardianship/adoption of the abandoned baby girl who remains at the hospital: "No."  Adoption will not be possible for us for this girl. 

My neighbor invited me to join her at the local healthcare worker spiritual conference going on just a 20-minute walk from our home.  I just knew that I needed to go and worship the LORD and I knew that doing so corporately would encourage me.  There are hundreds of God's children from all over South Asia coming to our town to be encouraged in their service to the LORD through healthcare.  And it was a wonderful blessing.  I had some good tears, again, as we sang some songs that are very dear to me.  I was blessed by the message out of Exodus about the midwives, Shiphrah and Puah, who followed God's edict, instead of the governmental edict of the time, and spared the Hebrew babies.  And I was inspired to pray the prayer written in the conference handout:  "Lord, please give me three wounds: 1) the wound of contrition, that I might come to repentance for my own sins, 2) the wound of compassion (the kind of love that comes with pain, and continues to love), and 3) the wound of hunger, for the Lord Almighty, for His Word, and for His ways.  Finally, I was encouraged to remember that God's greatest works have been accomplished through human weakness and in what seemed like the darkest times.  The absolutely darkest time was when the Father turned his face away from his Son, Jesus Christ.  And it is in that moment that He accomplished His greatest act: that of saving a whole family of children from all over the earth. 

So, I go forward to work today feeling weak to accomplish anything good, but inspired to cry out to God to accomplish His will.  I hope you will do the same.  I hope that your worship of God will not stop at the altar with the meeting of your own needs, but will continue on to the point of contrition, compassion and hunger for God.  And then may we rejoice together in all that God accomplishes through hearts fully surrendered to Him, no matter the cost.  Our time of suffering is short; let us embrace it boldly.  Our time of rejoicing in His presence will be FOREVER!

Serving Him in Tansen, Nepal,

Kimberly, for the Beines