Sometimes life seems like one giant storm. For us this has been the best way to describe the reality of where we are at. The beginning of this year I (Nikki) was in a stronghold not wanting to be in this culture anymore. I was tired of having so many of my freedoms gone and just wanted my comforts of living back in the states. I was a miserable person to be around and Travis was constantly reminding me of the good things here and what we are blessed to be doing but I was done trying and fearful of so many things, one being what our future looked like. It was during this storm that I would pray and pray for God to just make things better for me. I didn't like what was going on inside of me and I knew my feelings and behavior was wrong but I fought everyday in my own strength hoping it would all change. Well, God did see me through that time but it didn't come without a fight from me. I have learned a lot about God and his love for me. I would have given up on me but he saw me through, and waited until I was willing to die to myself again. Now, I feel stronger and more on fire with our ministry here and I see the focus clearer through Gods eyes not my own. So, as I say this these last few months have been another storm of emotions. Travis has been busy with house builds, etc. and I have been busy training Carol in the Business Office and then a few weeks ago I was playing volleyball with our co-workers when I broke and dislocated my finger. It's times like these here that you don't take lightly because it could mean a medivac away to Australia. And, that is exactly what happened. This of course happened shortly after we purchased tickets to return home this summer so we were tapped. After thinking we were over one storm another hit. Also during this time Travis got news that his dad was going to be having back surgery that was a minor thing. While we were in Australia we were first told that I would probably need bone graphing done and possibly they would put a plate in. After waking up from surgery I was surprised to hear that I only needed a pin put in and it would be removed in 6 weeks. During our stay in Australia we had our flight rescheduled because a cyclone was expected to hit the area. We did make it back and Travis got plugged into work right away and then more news on his dad. Within a few days of his surgery he was taken back to the hospital with other health complications. His brother had his mom come stay with him during this time and as I write his dad is still in the hospital. We have been informed of where his parents are health wise and its not easy to hear this and feel the pressure to be home taking care of them and yet pulled in the other direction because of all the good things that are going on with our ministry here. So, here we are in another storm yet seeing the support of so many of our co-workers as they themselves are in their own storm. God has blessed us with such a great team here and we are so encouraged to have the freedom to share where we are at and what God is doing in our lives and how these storms have strengthened us in ways we never thought we could withstand.
