God's In Control

“Always be joyful. Keep on praying. No matter what happens, always be thankful for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.” 1 Thessalonians 5:16-17

What a beautiful Sabbath this was.
              We decided to go to the English Sabbath School but when we got to the Waid’s house Mr. Waid was sleeping so we decided not to disturb him. This gave us plenty of time to read our Bibles and old guides/insights. Church was really good too even though the sound equipment is absolutely dreadful.
             At the end of church we found out that we were suppose to have lunch at two, which is the time that we usually do the village Sabbath school. So I went to find Pastor Ponwell (I’m not sure how to spell it) to ask him if we could move the time of the Sabbath school. He told me that he would rather just do it at two but he wanted me to eat but I insisted on going at two (I was suppose to tell the story) and that I would get food after it was over. By the time two rolled around Lauren, Heather, and I went down stairs but Ponwell was nowhere so we decided to ask the waids where he was. The Waid’s convinced us to sit down and eat while we were waiting for him to show up. I ate super fast and kept checking to see if anyone was out there but I couldn’t tell if anyone was leaving the gate. I decided that I should go ask some of the older kids if a few of their friends had gone to help with the Sabbath school (our kids help out with song service). The kids told me that they had already left so I ran back into the kitchen to tell everyone. Mr. Waid saw my distress so he asked someone if they could take us to the village school on the rickshaw van.
             Not sure if we would make it in time for me to tell the story of Naaman I prayed that God would work everything out. When we got to the village school we ran into the courtyard but realized that Ponwell wasn’t there and neither were any of our kids! All the village kids saw that we were there so they gathered together on their mats and looked at us with expecting eyes. We had no translator (besides the teacher who spoke little English) so we just started singing songs. They didn’t know all the English songs we sang and there were definitely some awkward moments but we just kept on pushing through hoping that Ponwell would show up soon. The village kids really liked it when we did father Abraham even though they had no clue what they were saying. I kept giving the Sabbath school to Jesus knowing that everything would work out the way that he wanted it to. We did song service for about twenty to twenty five mins (poor kids hahah) and then we heard the rickshaw van coming with Ponwell and the kids!!
             They sang three more songs and then I told the story of Naaman and how God had healed him and then Ponwell translated it all. Then we gave out colored crayons and some coloring sheets. When they had finished they were suppose to come show it to us and then we would give them a little treat. It ended up being a really good Sabbath school and I’m pretty sure the kids enjoyed it a lot. God is definitely working in these villages. Not only do we get 30-40 kids that are Muslim or Hindu but we also get a large crowd of adults who stand along the fence and watch as well.
             We found out later that Ponwell had arranged it so that we could eat at 2 and be in the village at 3 but he had neglected to tell us that he had done this. Oh well. Everything went the way that God wanted it to go.
             God is teaching me so much here it is amazing. I’m learning how to lean on Him in new ways. He is also showing me some things that I have been holding onto in my life and that I am not letting Him have full control! These are things that I was just beginning to realize in America but I don’t think that I would have been able to really let go and surrender all. In Bangladesh I have no choice. God is so Good, He is perfecting me so that I can become more and more like Him! Amen.