Yesterday on my walk I had decided to go into the park and towards the river. As I followed the road I came to a point where it was blocked by a gate. Just beyond the gate the road was no longer visible because the floodwaters had covered it.

Today as I prepared to set out on my walk I pondered where I should go. I thought ” it was a good walk yesterday, I will go that way again”. So I am following my same course fully expecting to find the road closed at that particular location. I got close to there and discovered that the gate was open and the road was clearly visible and passable!

Right away I was struck with this “life lesson” -

We often walk through life and come to those places where we have lost sight of the road or the road that we knew was suddenly obstructed. These seasons of obstruction and lack of sight can be very challenging.

Referring again to the natural situation I witnessed -

The road was there all along and in one day it went from unviewable and obstructed to clearly viewable and no longer obstructed … it was even completely dry!

Back to the “life lesson” -

I was reminded of many examples in the Bible where people were in difficult situations and then there was a “suddenly”. There is the deliverence of the Israelite people from Eqyptian bondage. There is the famous account of being at the shore of the Red Sea with an Army behind them with no place to go and seemingly certain death -  to being able to cross on dry ground. There is Joseph one day being in prison and the next being second in command of Egypt.

And yes, I was reminded of the Bible verse which says … “when the enemy comes in like a flood”. It often feels like  that. We go through times when we feel flooded by the challenges and obstacles in life. The great part is what follows in that verse is this …  “the Spirit of the Lord will lift up a standard against him”!

So to myself and others I implore you – when you have lost sight of the road and the way you need to go seems impossible and impassable … take heart!

So shall they fear The name of the LORD from the west, And His glory from the rising of the sun; When the enemy comes in like a flood, The Spirit of the LORD will lift up a standard against him.      Isaiah 58:19

“Will lift up a standard” comes from the Hebrew root – nuwc -which means …

1) to flee, escape

a) (Qal)

1) to flee

2) to escape

3) to take flight,m depart, disappear

He - The Spirit of the Lord – will cause the enemy to flee, to depart! He still sees the road and will cause the obstruction to be cleared! We need to be able to see Him and stand in faith.

On Sunday morning March 8th 2009
To the horror of those present and the shock of the town
At the First Baptist church of Maryville, Illinois
Pastor Fred Winters, while preaching, is suddenly gunned down

Through each word of each sentence
In every memorial service and interview,
Came the story of redemption
The love of Christ shone through

There was no denying the grieving,
Yet there was a worshipful faith-filled witness
Of He who dwelled within them
And of His radiant presence

I remember feeling such pride
In their Christ like responses
A powerful example of Jesus words
“Therefore whoever confesses…” (Matt 10:32)

“If this happened in my church”
I found myself contemplating in my mind
“Would this be the character that was found
If we were searched and tried?” (Psalm 139:23)

So here it is the 5th of May
Again, tragedy, due to their testimony
In the Coleman home, Columbia, Illinois
Three are taken down, Violently.

Our beloved Sheri, Garett and Gavin
No longer to be a part of our family, church or town
As we rend our hearts and garments here
They don their “graduation” gowns!

I am walking and praying
I am grieved and bewildered
I am thinking about the grain
That dies as it falls to the earth (John12:24a)

Coals have been fanned to flame
Fires of urgency have been rekindled (Jude 1:23a)
Seeds have fallen to the ground
But we are promised multitudes for each single (John 12:24b)

As I’m carrying these seeds
Securely cupped within my heart and symbolically my hands
I press on towards the river
And think “Yes, they will need water to fulfill the plan”

I arrive at the rivers edge
To find its crest is high and borders wide
Reminding me of the river in Ezekiel 47 (Ezekiel 47:5)
And the fruit bearing trees planted along its side (Ezekiel 47:7 and 47:12)

It says everything in its path will live (Ezekiel 47:9)
As it flows from the temple to the East (Ezekiel 47:1 and Ezekiel 47:8)
You may have gone into the ground a seed
But you will become a nourishing, medicinal tree. (Ezekiel 47:12) *

The truth is, a kernel of wheat must be planted in the soil. Unless it dies it will be alone–a single seed. But its death will produce many new kernels–a plentiful harvest of new lives. – John 12:24 NLT

* Sheri participated in Medical Missions!

© Laura Jean Eubanks May 6th 2009

Oh please do not look at me

With your earthly eyes

Try and see me as the one

Who has His throne on high

For where you may see the surface

He sees what’s within

He still calls me his beloved

Although He knows my sin

He understands my weakness

My failures and my shame

He has watched me take my every step

He knows which left me lame

So you may see me as I am

This day, this hour, this place

But He sees me as I can be

Through His love, His power, His grace

Copyright Laura Jean Eubanks 2-24-2002

Where am I?
I am in the USA.

When did I get back?
I arrived here in the end of October 2008 for what I thought would be approximately a 2 month stay before returning to my home in Mozambique. I was praying for the specific date of my return and was pretty surprised when “I heard” that I was not going back right away. I sensed that God wanted me to stay here for a season. It has been six months of mixed emotions. There were plenty of “unknowns” as to the reasons why I was staying but there was one definite ‘known’ – I was supposed to be doing my art.

What have I been doing?

• I have been missing Mozambique.
• I have been painting!
• I have been able to be very involved in the prayer room at my church. (www.destinychurch.org)
• In January we opened a second campus and I have been able to be a part of this by helping with set up and tear down, ministry to the children and worship team.
• I have been able to take part in art clinics on Friday afternoons and am now taking my second class on Monday  mornings with Jerry Thomas, a great artist and teacher in many mediums.
• I am currently teaching a small group/art class for children at my church on Tuesday evenings. I am covering foundational art while at the same time partnering each aspect of the “foundational art” with the “foundations of our faith”. This has been totally new for me and I seek God for my material week by week. It has been great so far! I am very excited because I know that this will be something I can use when I return to Mozambique.

When will I return?
All along I thought that it would be in June, yet all along I also had a sense that things were going to be changing – and I did not know what that meant or looked like. Now I know…

What will I be doing?

…………………………………..I will be “flowing with the changes” … I am moving to Dondo!

Quoting from an email I received April 28^th:

“Dondo missionary structure has changed radically – and we’re looking for people who’ve had experience in this culture and who have gifts which are desperately needed in Dondo – it’s crucial. The main leadership has been changed to involve Mozambicans and missionaries together – and training up some older youth in for example, art, for them to teach others, would be a wonderful expressive, creative and healing program for them.”

I have a real confirmation in my spirit about this although it does not come without personal “cost” – but I’ll address some of those thoughts in my blog and later communications. Let me tell you a little about Dondo. It is a short distance from Beira (which has a reported 35% HIV infection rate) in central Mozambique. It is a much smaller center than Pemba. Currently there are 27 boys between the ages of 8 and 16 for whom this is home. It also hosts a Bible school and oversees food distribution and care of 5,000 orphans in the surrounding areas. If you are interested in more details you can follow this link : http://www.irismin.com/ministryLoc_dondo.cfm

There were conversations of different changes prior to this recent email which I will detail more on my blog to keep this from getting lengthier. http://www.laborofloveforthenations.com/blog

I will share more of my personal vision for the arts and ministry in a future letter.

Where does my support come from?
The only way I am able to do what God has called me to do is through people who feel called to partner with me in various manners. These include …

Prayer – This is foundational to all that I am able to do.

Financial donations – These can be made through my web site. It is tax deductible through Iris Ministries or non tax deductible through my paypal account. Both are accessible through this link

http://www.laborofloveforthenations.com/donate.html

Juice Plus+ - I am a distributor and purchases through my site help to support me.
Because of their dedication to the health of the younger generation they offer free Juice Plus+ for 3 years to children between the age of 4 through college. Both links below go to my site which contains vast amounts of research and information.

• https://www.juiceplus.com/nsa/content/Home.soa?site=le59629
• http://www.lauraeubanks.com

Artwork – Originals, Prints and Note Cards (still to come)
http://www.laborofloveart.com

What are my prayer requests and needs? - Foremost … daily direction!

• I have immediate need of finances for my flights and ongoing need of monthly support.
• I am asking for wisdom and favor over logistics for flights and supplies. I feel a need to go to Beira first to drop off what I can bring from States. I would then need to get a flight to Pemba to move out of my house there, say my goodbyes and head back to Beira . Weight allowances for luggage will be a very limiting factor for the final “in country” flight from Pemba to Beira.
• My Africa cell phone “died” in its ability to send text messages a month or so before I left. Over there text messaging is the main and cheapest way of communicating with others. I can still make calls with the phone but it is very expensive. The other option is to walk all around to find the person you need to speak to.  So, if anybody has upgraded their phone and has a tri or quad band unlocked phone lying around it would be of great help to me!
• Ongoing need … language learning! (Does anybody have the Rosetta Stone Portuguese course?)
• Organization and completion of administrative tasks here.
• I desire greater freedom in the artwork creation process.
• I need wisdom for the reproduction and marketing of the art.

How can I thank you?
This season in the US has “painfully yet peacefully“ proved that my utter dependence is upon the Lord. I so greatly appreciate each of you that He has used in the various ways. Most times I feel inadequate in my ability to thank you. I pray that I will continue on to become the person He created me to be and that the fruit of my life will also be attributed to you. For now a hearty and humble “Thank you!”.

For the Kingdom and eternity … because of love.
Laura

…thoughts on the arrival of Spring as those of you from the United States are entering in to Autumn … It is getting warmer. In our house yesterday afternoon it was 96 degrees Fahrenheit. That was with door wide open, windows that are just screens, a decent breeze blowing and our fans on … oh yes, high humidity too! As draining as the factor of this is to daily life I still would say that I prefer this to being cold!

After a very long day, after two previous days of feeling sick, exhausted and emotionally overwhelmed I was waiting to figure out who I could get a ride home with as it had gotten late due to me re-painting Viaze’s game. Maria came and sat next to me and snuggled in. I asked her about the new little girl who arrived today and if she knew her name, which house she is in and etc. Then I said to her “now you are no longer the newest child here” and she bashfully smiled and snuggled in a little tighter. Without words it spoke to me about her comfort and sense of security with us. She has only been here around 3 months. Thank you Lord for allowing me to be a part of the team here that is able to lovingly “adopt” these children who are in desperate need!

After waiting an hour I was able to get the ride home. I climbed in the back of a truck and took in the scenery. The baobab trees and our African gazebos were almost silhouetted against the dusk sky. I was thoroughly “spent” but with gratitude marveled at the life I am living.

Sun. August 24^th 2008

On my walk to church a young girl named Manzinia who has been my companion at church the last couple of weeks saw me coming from far away, maybe 30 yards. She cried out “Mama Laura!” and ran full speed to me. I bent over to embrace her and she leaped into my arms with such force we collided and I got my nose smashed! It was painful but heartwarming and comical as well.

This morning had the thought of how amazing it is to be able to hear approx 80 Mozambican men in the Bible School singing their praises to the Lord. (Their dorms and worship area are very close to our house and here there is no glass in the windows.) It would be so foreign to hear anything like that back in the US but here it is one of my M-F daily experiences at beginning at 6:30 am.

Mon. August 11th 2008

…Another memorable moment was at the very end of staff church when we were pray out the visitors who would be leaving this week. One of the Mozambican “mamas” was up there and she had a little boy of about 6 or 7 who I assume was her son. As she was leaning over praying she had him directly in front and underneath her with his hands in hers showing him how to “lay hands on” and pray for the people. It was a beautiful sight!

Communication is especially difficult these days. My computer just up and died on me on the 30^th of June. We even had a computer expert here at the time and he could not revive it. It is very difficult to be here without access to the outside world. At the time I was making arrangements to have some artwork printed and delivered here for the Solemn Assembly. A visitor coming from the States would be able to bring it. In addition I was 2 weeks away from having to leave Mozambique to renew my Visa and still had all the arrangements to make. The embassies have become much “tighter” with the Visa’s they issue. The last time I was in the U.S. I applied for the same Visa as I had on my previous trip, a 6 month Visa which was the longest available. It was after I arrived here I discovered it was different. It was a 6 month Visa, but I had to leave the country to have it renewed every 90 days. This adds a huge expense. It cost me pennies under $1,050.00 for the trip without any food expense or extras. The flight alone was almost $800.00 and then there were busses across the border, Visa Fee, border taxes and accommodations. At the time there is only one airline that flies to the Capital city, Maputo, which is right on the border. I had to overnight there and in the morning take a bus across the border into South Africa. In Nelspruit there is a home that is a “ministry” to missionaries. They have beds available for only $5.00 a night and help with trips to the Mozambican Consulate and etc. The married couple, Kent and Shay, who run it are from Florida and they are fantastic. It is such a respite. For the first time in 3 months I had a warm shower and glass on the windows … both good things because it was cold! We are much closer to the equator here in Pemba. I’d like to say that my trip was successful as well as enjoyable. Since I had to go to all the trouble to leave the country and etc I was applying for a different Visa … a Residence Visa. With this I would be able to get a Dierre, allowing  me to be in the country for up to a year. After some challenges and needing to return to the consulate a second day I was told yes they issued me a Residence Visa. When I came back with this Visa I was informed what they gave me was not what they said and so I would not be able to apply for the Dierre and needed Immigration to revert to my original Visa to avoid having to leave the country again after 30 days instead of 90!!! Thankfully, that did happen. My lessons learned are now benefiting those currently needing to renew their Visas. They are trying other options rather than to incur the expense of travel to SA for a visa needing to be renewed every 30 days. This morning a family of 5 left to drive to Malawi and next week 2 female missionaries will be traveling part of the way by truck with the Mozambican Bible school students who will be returning to their villages after graduation and then taking the train the final way. Life here is certainly an adventure. J