Who Controls the Weather?

Sometimes, I pray, and don’t see obvious results for a long time. But then, some days are like yesterday.

First, I have to say that 3 John 1:4 is absolutely true. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. E13 was baptized at the end of May, and he and his sister immediately put their faith into practice by attending CYIA. Christian Youth in Action is a 2-week camp held by Child Evangelism Fellowship on Moloka’i, training Christian teens in how to share the good news about Jesus with children. The first week was intensive training, followed by a week of leading 5-day clubs in several locations on Moloka’i and explaining our common human problem and God’s solution through Jesus. 

Back on Oahu, last week P14 and E13 participated in a club closer to Honolulu. Since we live almost an hour away (more when there’s traffic), I dropped them off each day and then usually hung around a nearby park or library for a few hours with the 3 younger boys until they were done. We prayed that 20 children would come to the 5-day club, and at least once there were indeed that many children. I was also praying for this week’s 5-day club, which I am hosting.

Hosting a 5-day club is not complicated. You need to secure a location, which in our case was the park down the road – I just phoned and checked that they were okay with me setting up a shade tent and attracting children to it. You also need to provide snacks, and do some advertising. I taped up flyers all over the neighborhood and sent an announcement to our online Nextdoor neighborhood group.

On Monday, I woke up and saw rain. It was drizzly and humid most of the morning, so we prayed, and God provided clear skies and bright sunshine during the club. Other than my 3 little boys, there were 3 children from another family that we know fairly well. I mentioned that the weather was an answer to prayer, and some of the children suggested that I ought to have prayed that it wouldn’t be so hot!

Monday night was stormy. In fact, we heard thunder, which has happened about 4 times total in the 4 years we’ve lived here. It was pouring buckets when I woke up yesterday morning, and the ground was soaked. Our ladies’ Bible study group (CBS) meets on Tuesday mornings at the beach for prayer, but the meeting was cancelled due to rain and thunder, so I texted everyone asking them to pray for a few dry hours in the afternoon. Then, since we would be missing our prayer meeting, the children and I had a little prayer meeting of our own in our living room. We prayed about the rain, and I specifically requested that it stop and not start up again until after 4:30. One of the children added a request that it wouldn’t be too hot, either. And we asked for more than 6 children to come.

It rained on and off throughout the morning, but by early afternoon the rain seemed to be tapering off, with occasional drizzle. By the time we started setting up the tent at 2:15, the sky was starting to clear. This time, though there were patches of blue sky, we set up under a shady tree and it wasn’t quite as hot. Everyone was much more comfortable. And another family I hadn’t met before arrived, saying they’d seen the posters around the neighborhood, so although one of the other kids was missing, our total ended up at 7 children, 8 if you count one who showed up briefly and left. (7 is more than 6. I need to pray more boldly.)

As club was starting to wind down, I noticed that the clouds were gathering. At 4:30, we started packing up, and by the time we were taking down the tent at 4:35, it started drizzling. You’d think the King of the Universe had been listening to our pleas for practical mercy so we could share his glory! Throughout the afternoon, the rain intensified, until by 6:30 it was coming down so hard that our back yard flooded. This has never happened before. All 5 kids went out and waded around in it.

So what are the odds that, on a day that started and ended with torrential rain, we would get dry weather at precisely the time and place we needed it? It isn’t a question of odds – it’s a question of who is really in charge.

Okay, Lord, since you’re in charge and you want children (and people who used to be children) to hear about you, I’m adding to my request. Please give us dry weather for 5-day club the rest of this week, and bring 30 children to club by Friday! 

 E13's baptism. Having the Pacific Ocean just down the road from church is convenient!

E13 (in orange shirt) climbing onto the plane to Moloka'i. P14 went in a different aircraft.

5-day club on Tuesday. See how dry the ground is! E13 is enthusiastically teaching the motions to the song while P14 and a friend hold up the words.

Blog Reboot

What do whaling, lightning conductors, and family moves between Norway and South Africa have in common?

I have neglected this blog for a few years, but I now have a specific goal in mind and plan to post more regularly. As far as I know, the best way to improve one’s skills in any area is to spend time practicing those skills. In this case, the skill in question is writing. I have done little writing in the past few years, but it is absolutely necessary if I am to achieve the goal that explains the question with which I opened this post. I want to write a book about my great-grandfather.

For those of you who have ever asked me where I am from, I may have given the super-truncated story (Everywhere. How about you?) or the brief story (Well, my dad is South African, my mom’s Norwegian, and I grew up all over the world). However, if you have appeared truly interested, I may have given the long version, which begins with my mom’s maternal grandfather.

My great-grandfather was a sailor. In fact, he worked as a whaler for much of his life. He sailed tall ships and even became a captain. On one occasion (though the family members I have asked aren’t in consensus about exactly when), he was shipwrecked and, for insurance purposes, wasn’t allowed to rescue anything of value from the ship, but he hid his sextant under his jacket when they left the ship because it was a good one. At some point he heard that in Durban, South Africa, sailors with experience on tall ships were in demand to brave the heights and install lightning conductors on buildings. He moved his family to South Africa, and my grandmother grew up there.

Now, when she was old enough, my grandmother wanted to spend some time in Norway, where she had been born. While she was there, she met my grandfather. They married and moved to South Africa (where my mom was born), but I guess my grandfather missed snow and people who spoke Norwegian, so they moved back to Norway when my mom was 4. Mom grew up in Norway. However – how’s this for symmetry? – when she was old enough, my mom wanted to spend some time in South Africa, where she had been born. While she was there, she met my dad. They married and had me, but by that point Dad had joined South Africa’s Department of Foreign Affairs. As a result, in between stints in South Africa, I grew up in exotic locales like Tel Aviv, Israel, Amman, Jordan, and Dallas, Texas.

The “where are you from” question has always made me a little uncomfortable, because of course there is no simple explanation. A flippant response I heard another person offer to that question may be my most satisfactory answer: “I’m from my parents.” And they, of course, are from my grandparents and great-grandparents. This is the inherent interest in genealogical research. But my great-grandfather was such a fascinating character that I want to focus on him. He’s also the one who started my family’s wandering habits, so I’m curious about what drove him. Right now, while my mom and many of her older cousins are still available to question, is a better time than, say, 5-10 years from now when my homeschooling tasks may be less demanding but there may be fewer people remaining who knew him.

So, I am re-booting this blog. My intention is to post once a week on a variety of topics. Some will involve homeschooling, some will involve my research on topics pertaining to my great-grandfather’s biography, some may contain musings on social or political issues. By writing on a regular basis, though, I hope to hone my skills and to keep on track with this project. Constructive comments on my writing style or content are welcome.