Coincidence?

... I think not...


The last 2 weeks have been filled with incredible little details from the Lord! One might call them coincidence, but as for me, I think not. Are you seeing them in your life too? Those special details, that little extra preparation, that touch from the Father who loves you more than you can imagine and has plans beyond your comprehension? What wonderful treasures He places in each day!!


It sure is getting hot down here! In this land of perpetual summer, when summer truly does arrive, it gets quite toasty down here! And for the hottest part of the year, God has given me a summer home! How sweet! One of our missionary families is back in the States for the summer, so they invited me to housesit and dog-sit for them. And there are so many perks-- the bedrooms are cooler than in my house, there's a great view of the ocean from the kitchen (and great ocean breezes) and I have a sweet, hyper dog for company (i've really been missing my boyfriend's family's sweet goldendoodle, isn't God the nicest to send me a pet?!)! What a great way to spend the summer! Anyone wanna come visit? :)


God also special-delivered the book that I'm using in my Bible study with the orphan girls (and Esther, and her youth group! :). At Christmas, I looked for a good study book for them, but never really found what I was looking for; and then after the earthquake, things were on hold for quite a while. While back in the States for a little rest earlier this month, my wonderful boyfriend David's wonderful momma asked me if I still thinking about doing a study with the girls. We looked online for potential books, and then she found the perfect one!! It's called A Daughter's Worth, and it talks about your relationship with your heavenly Father, how He wanted you to be born, how He celebrates your every breath, and how He loves to hear from you. So, I ordered the book, and I had it sent over-night delivery as I was supposed to fly back to Haiti the following afternoon, which was a Tuesday. That day, I also learned that my flight back was cancelled due to the pilot strike of Spirit Airlines. So, I booked new tickets back for Wednesday, and the book arrived on Tuesday afternoon. Only, as I ripped off the packaging, I found not my awesome study for orphan girls, but rather a college course critical thinking book!! O NO!! So, I called amazon and had them rush-ship me the right book, knowing that it might not arrive before my departure the next day. Thankfully, the book came 3 hours before I left! Pilot strikes don't scare God! :) He can still get you where you need to be and exactly when you need to get there!


God's also been teaching me the Creole words that I need to know right before I need them! This week, I have been working hard at building up my Creole vocab base every day, and every day, God brings up words in conversation that I just learned! These words have made my daily activities easier, enhanced conversations, and make me laugh! :)


One of the words that I just learned became very important yesterday! Yesterday afternoon, at the hottest part of the day (a day where I started sweating at 7:30 am and pretty much didn't stop all day :), I went out swimming at the sand bar with several other missionaries. After a couple of hours, it looked like a storm was rolling in, so we packed up and turned the boat towards home. After a few minutes of cruising, we heard yells from 2 men in the ocean bobbing up and down and waving their arms frantically! They had been out fishing and their boat sank, leaving them stranded. With the incoming storm, the current was very strong, and they were having trouble swimming in to the shore. We tossed them each a rope and towed them in towards the shoreline. We would have invited them up into the boat but (here's my new creole word)-- they were completely naked!! Only in Haiti...


This morning, I headed to church alone. As we began singing, I felt a wave of loneliness wash over me. I asked the Lord to meet my needs, and just a few moments later, some of the other missionaries showed up. And I realized that one of our translators was in the row right in front of me. Since church starts at 7am (to beat the heat), I was back home after church by 9:15. I was praying for some friends, and God showed me verses on hospitality to pray for them. Soon, there was a knock on my door, bringing me a translator friend who wanted to check his email. And then a phone call from another friend who wants to come over and play video games (my summer house is totally decked out! :). And then yet another knock at the door from another young friend, a boy from Port who was orphaned and homeless after the quake. He wants to learn English and how to play guitar. He's also someone that I felt led to pray for yesterday. I was in the middle of a few things and a little preoccupied, so I asked my visitors are coming back this afternoon. I read a devotional book (it's my substitute for a sermon in English today) and it was talking about loving our neighbors. And it hit me all of a sudden-- how kind of God to answer my prayer with so many friends! And those verses on hospitality are definitely for me too! God sent me not one, not two, but three friends this afternoon!!


Hmmm, maybe it's all coincidence. But I prefer to think the Father is sending me tokens of His love and reminders of His presence.