handling the unforseen

There is a saying among the Khanti people, "if you plan for a day, pack for a week; if you plan for an hour, pack for 2 days." I think they are on to something because they are stressing the idea of being prepared, expecting that something will always happen.

I could write story after story of how that has been the theme of our week. It seems like the plans we had before coming out here have been blown away in the wind (or frozen in the cold). We have had numerous hindrances and have struggled to get the content that we have wanted to get.

There is a lot of spiritual warfare I am sure as it seems that the people we are looking for or the places we are trying to get are always a step ahead of us. We have chased a few rabbit trails which have turned out to yield very little if any information, we have not been able to gather nearly the amount of material that we need; but in all of this we must confess that God is at work out here.

Yesterday we had planned to go to two villages, Russinskaya and Federovskaya, but as Marc was walking out to go to a bank across the street from our hotel in the morning, he got bit by a German Shepherd. Although the bite was not bad, there were some punctures and abrasions so we as a team felt it was best to go ahead and see a doctor and just have it checked out. We knew that this would jeopardize our journey to the two villages, but we gave this over to the Lord and did what we knew was best. Marc was able to see a doctor rather quickly and had no problems. They cleaned out the wounds and gave him some medicine and sent him back. We were able to leave for the villages this afternoon and were only delayed by about an hour and a half.

We got to Russinskaya and went to a Khanti museum where we learned more about Khanti culture and lifestyles. While there we were also able to be apart of a gathering of believers. The village does not have a Baptist church and therefore they meet in an apartment. We got to hear their stories, hear their struggles, pray with them, encourage them, eat with them, and in the end we left feeling like we had achieved something. We were able to meet with some Khanti people which definitely made our night, but I think there was so much more to it than just this. We left Russinskaya and traveled to Federovskaya where we were able to be apart of another group and do the same.

Thinking back, I would not have planned the trip this way or thought that these things would have happened. I can't explain why these things have happened or why it seems the focus of the trip is constantly shifting, I (we) can only continue to focus on God and keep our trust in Him. As we are faced with the unforseen things that come up, we can rest knowing that God is in control, an that He has gone ahead of us along this journey.