Malaria, Roadtrip and a Rat

A lot happened in October. Well, a lot and yet not so much. How was my first time having malaria? Where did we Roadtrip to? And a rat? You’ll find all this in this month’s newsletter, enjoy!

Memorizing

Blessed is the one […] whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither – whatever they do prospers. [Psalm 1:1-3, NIV]

Delight in the law of the Lord, God's word, the Bible. Meditating about it day and night. Phew ... am I doing that? I'm still very far away from that and I have to say that I definitely struggle with this.

However, in the past few weeks I have started something that I wanted to do for a long time: memorizing parts of the Bible. Why is that? Don’t we have the Bible with us at all times?! But what if we don't? When I did the safety training and was lying in the basement with a bag over my head, I asked myself which Bible verses I could quote now ... the answer was pretty devastating. Sure, I think few of us ever get into a situation like that, but memorizing showed me another aspect: Pondering about it (meditate).

When I memorize Bible passages, I repeat them so often that I notice completely new things and anchor God's words in my heart. And God’s word is always on your lips. It will come to you every now and then. I've committed to memorize one passage a week, and I have to say I'm really enjoying it so far! Give it a try. You might also discover a new passion or a new way to work with the Bible.

Malaria and Co.

In the last newsletter I told you about my stomach pains. Well, they got better quite quickly, but then I got headaches and increased temperature. According to the clinic it was only a bacterial infection, so I was given antibiotics. Without improvement. We finally concluded, despite a negative test, on malaria and so I took malaria tablets. After 3 days everything was over and I was fit again. How can this be? I take my malaria prophylaxis daily to prevent from malaria. On the one hand, they relieved the symptoms, so I didn't notice it right away, and on the other hand, maybe they falsified the test. In any case, it was a helpful experience for me. 3 days later, I went to eat in a local restaurant and caught stomach pains again. Fortunately only for one night. It can happen so fast here. Since then I am doing great. Thanks so much for your prayers!

Trip

Last week I was able to go for 3 days to Kimatong to the tribe of the Laarim. My team leader had some things to fix and I was allowed to go along side him and learn a lot. We started early in the morning, 130km lay ahead of us. The road was in bad condition, many potholes, but after 6h of driving and a flat tire we arrived safely in the village. We were able to repair a solar system and the community water pump and help with many small things here and there. It was good to work with my hands and I could learn some new things. We also had a really good fellowship with the missionaries on site. And I was finally able to drive a motorcycle and a car again and get my first off-road kilometers in.

All in all, it was an incredibly good trip. I am deeply grateful for opportunities like this and look forward to more. Thanks to my Whatsapp newsletter people who have been praying hard for this!

The first rat

Yep, we had our first rat in the house...I was pretty disappointed because for 3 months we were rat-free. Oh well. So we set up rat traps and prayed. First we had tried cookies to catch them, but the next morning the cookies were gone and the traps were empty. They definitely outsmartened us. After some good advice, we tried to put on peanut butter and within hours we had caught the rat. Praise the Lord! So as a tip to y’all out there, peanut butter is the key!

What's next?

In two weeks, we're off on our first big trip as a team. We will be going to a tribe and living there for 2 weeks. I'm looking forward to learning a few words of the language and learning more about the culture. I'm sure it will be an awesome time and rich experience! Pray for preservation and many good experiences. Otherwise it’s just everyday life in Torit. Looking forward to continue learning language and deepening relationships and sharing life. Especially the youth bible study has been amazing recently, I really want to pursue that!

I hope you are all well! Thank you so much for all your encouragements on my journey and your support. Without you all this would not be possible! Take care,

Matze