Is it worth it?

Our dear friends and fellow missionaries in Soddo have been battling a nasty African bug this week. We have been following their blog and praying for them as they have traveled from Soddo to Addis for medical care, had countless medical exams and tests, and been medically evacuated to South Africa. After a scary week, our friend Paul is getting better and God is providing healing and restoration.




This story hits our home a little hard as we prepare to move to Soddo. We wonder if someone in our family might be in the same predicament a year from now. We wonder if going to serve the Lord in Ethiopia is worth the risk of a threatening African virus. So, we question if this is God's will for our family. We have to be certain because we know that His will is the BEST place for all of us.

As our feet start to get a little cold, God reassures us by pushing the door to Ethiopia open a little wider. Encouragement came to us through this blog post by our friends in Soddo in the midst of their hardest time in Africa. Here are their words:

"A few minutes after Paul and I found out he would need to be medically evacuated to South Africa, I sat there next to him on the hospital bed in Ethiopia and just cried. I said, “I want to be home.” He said, “This is where the rubber meets the road, huh?” “Yes” I said with tears in my eyes. And he said, “But it is worth it.” And it is the truth. If this is where God wants us, then this the best place we can be and even in times of suffering, it is worth it."

So, we continue to follow God to Ethiopia and we pray that our words will be the same as our friends' when we encounter the trials that await us there. "It IS worth it!"

I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ Philippians 3:8