Today I reflected on a series of events that seemed to entwine around the same theme— that we weren’t welcome.
People working at the place where we walked our dog kept coming to us saying we needed to pay a fee, but when we asked how much and for what, the terms kept changing. Today, we were demanded to be charged 10 times more than what was first said.
Then later, Cliff was told off by a stranger.
Crazy barking ensued in the evening, though thankfully, not for long.
But it opened my eyes to what we knew was true— that while many welcome us, there are also many who treat foreigners and missionaries with a fierce degree of disdain and hostility.
I usually do my quiet time in the wee hours of the early morning. Today was a rare day i did it in the evening after the day was done. And interestingly, the theme was exactly what was on my mind all day—
We decided to pray as a family, for God to establish our spiritual authority here— to grow in favor with God and man, and to reclaim spaces— our home’s peace, our right to walk our dog, to be human without fear of other people’s hostility.
Bibi (Grandma), our neighbor next door, actually told us she’s determined to give one of her dogs away, and our vet introduced someone from the animal shelter to visit her— so we are praying truly for PEACE to be restored— not just in the physical but in the spiritual too.
Thank you for praying with us.