Hi Friends,

I just wanted to say thank you again for all your prayers for us with regards to the car accident. Last Monday I drove into Dodoma in our car with my mom and 2 others, one of whom was also in the accident. I was cautious while driving but didn’t feel nervous so I am thankful for that. We stopped at the sight of the accident and took a few pictures. I think we did more damage to the tree than the tree did to us. So I feel that I did okay as I “got back in the saddle” again.

The Land Rover has been put back together again and is in good shape. Repairs came to about $800.00 including labor which all things considered is not bad. Having a friend, the one who was in the car when the accident happened, do the repairs here helped a lot with the expense. Again, we are thanking the Lord that although it was very scary when it happened, it turned out to be a “minor” accident all things considered.

While crashing a car into a tree at speed was frightening, we have had news from various fronts all over the world about other different types of hardships. We have two dear friends who are fighting cancer. An AIM family lost their husband/father of 7 in January. Another missionary family we know of, brand new to the field, lost their one year old daughter to a brain tumor. A Christian school is going through major conflict and spiritual warfare. A partner organization here lost a building with language materials to fire, had a violent break in on one of their missionaries, had a death in the family of one of their Tanzanian colleagues due to poor medical treatment. We have many loved ones who are getting hit hard. And I am sure many of you are going through similar hardships. I recently read a devotional that talked about the difference between the results of bad things happening and the purpose of bad things happening. This prompted me to look up the word “purpose” in the Bible. Of course, the first verse that came to mind is Romans 8:28 which says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to his purpose.” As Christians, we often say that our purpose is to bring glory to God but I have to admit that although I have been a Christian for more than 30 years, I didn’t know of any particular verse that spoke to this. Most of the verses that speak of purpose refer to Christ’s purpose on earth but in Ephesians 1:11, it says, “In Him we we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of Him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will, in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of His glory.” So there it is. Both of these verses seem to talk about how God uses the results of situations in our lives to bring glory to Himself (the purpose) through us. For example, one of the positive results of the car accident is that a few Tanzanians had the opportunity to see a loving and godly husband come to the rescue of his wife without casting judgement and helping her in a gentle and caring way. Also, our friends and neighbors saw that just because we are rich (compared to most of them) white people, does not mean that we are somehow immune to such difficulties. Were these things the purpose of having a car accident? No, I don’t think so but they were some of the results that God can use to bring to glory to Himself through us if we allow Him to. As I know that I love Him and that I have been called according to His purpose, I pray that I and we as a family will continue to glorify our LORD in all things. And it is my prayer that these other brothers and sisters will see some positive results come from their struggles and that they will see how our mighty God will work these “bad” things for good and that the LORD will be glorified indeed!

May you be blessed today,
Melissa