August 20, 2010
To the congregation in griffin georgia, on the north side,
Matthew a follower of the lord jesus christ and brother to all in the faith. I am aware of your works and the tireless hours you've spent in the declaring of the good news. .... I've always wanted to begin a letter that way, but then, i've never written a letter to a congregation before! There is so much to say, but i figure it would be rude of me to take up the whole service meeting( or whatever meeting that we're having), so i'll do my best to keep this short but sweet.
Life in kosrae is very rewarding, not because of the luxuries that are to be found on this island (there aren't any), but because of the work that is being done. Every day is started off on a spiritual note with
the considering of the daily text, and the theme of spirituality is continued through the day regardless the assignment. I find myself surrounded in a spiritual environment all day long, and this has been
so refreshing. There are about 15 workers in the group that i'm with. Each day at the site we get an opportunity to see Jehovah's blessings in action. From the smallest of things- a local donating a watermelon
to the group (a watermelon costs about 16 dollars here!), to the events that leave you in awe- 30 volunteers pouring 70 yards of concrete by hand, on a roof, in the middle of the summer!
This event solidified two scriptures into my mind forever- proverbs 3:5,6 where we're reminded to trust in Jehovah with ALL your heart and do not lean upon you own understanding, in all your ways take notice of him and he himself will make your paths straight. And Isaiah 40:29-31 where Jehovah promises to give the tired one power and the one without dynamic energy he makes full might abound.
In my experience with concrete, the day of the roof pour should never have happened. We were
an undermanned group, it was pouring down rain, a huge and i mean huge mangrove tree fell across the main road on the island cutting all power to the site and preventing workers from making it to the site. Everything SEEMED to be going wrong. I learned a valuable lesson that day. As the morning progressed Jehovah's hand in matters became more evident- The islanders were not deterred by the rain or the fallen tree, instead of driving they started walking. As the first batch of concrete was being mixed, the rain inexplicably stopped and did not start again until the batch of concrete had been poured. The small group of workers showed energy and power that can not be explained in words. Throughout the 10 hours of pouring concrete, everyone worked tirelessly all the while with smiles on their faces.
Jehovah is an amazing father. There is truly no one that comes close to rivaling his glory. Our assignment no matter where we are on this earth is to trust in him with all our hearts, not leaning on our understanding, and letting him make our paths straight. Focus all your energy on the doing of his will and he will NOT let you tire out. I traveled 7000 thousand miles to learn this lesson, I look forward to the months ahead to see what other valuable lessons are in store.
I miss you all very much and think of you often. I can see all of your faces now as I write this letter, I think most of you are smiling right now, not because of the tie that Don MacDonald is wearing, but because you are in the same spiritual environment that I am in Kosrae, and the same environment that all are brothers are in throughout the world.... We're in Jehovah's organization. Here it is safe and it is
comforting. Here is where we seek refuge from all the hardships of this wicked world. This is where we belong and this is where I look forward to seeing you in the near future.
Much love to all of you,
Matthew
To the congregation in griffin georgia, on the north side,
Matthew a follower of the lord jesus christ and brother to all in the faith. I am aware of your works and the tireless hours you've spent in the declaring of the good news. .... I've always wanted to begin a letter that way, but then, i've never written a letter to a congregation before! There is so much to say, but i figure it would be rude of me to take up the whole service meeting( or whatever meeting that we're having), so i'll do my best to keep this short but sweet.
Life in kosrae is very rewarding, not because of the luxuries that are to be found on this island (there aren't any), but because of the work that is being done. Every day is started off on a spiritual note with
the considering of the daily text, and the theme of spirituality is continued through the day regardless the assignment. I find myself surrounded in a spiritual environment all day long, and this has been
so refreshing. There are about 15 workers in the group that i'm with. Each day at the site we get an opportunity to see Jehovah's blessings in action. From the smallest of things- a local donating a watermelon
to the group (a watermelon costs about 16 dollars here!), to the events that leave you in awe- 30 volunteers pouring 70 yards of concrete by hand, on a roof, in the middle of the summer!
This event solidified two scriptures into my mind forever- proverbs 3:5,6 where we're reminded to trust in Jehovah with ALL your heart and do not lean upon you own understanding, in all your ways take notice of him and he himself will make your paths straight. And Isaiah 40:29-31 where Jehovah promises to give the tired one power and the one without dynamic energy he makes full might abound.
In my experience with concrete, the day of the roof pour should never have happened. We were
an undermanned group, it was pouring down rain, a huge and i mean huge mangrove tree fell across the main road on the island cutting all power to the site and preventing workers from making it to the site. Everything SEEMED to be going wrong. I learned a valuable lesson that day. As the morning progressed Jehovah's hand in matters became more evident- The islanders were not deterred by the rain or the fallen tree, instead of driving they started walking. As the first batch of concrete was being mixed, the rain inexplicably stopped and did not start again until the batch of concrete had been poured. The small group of workers showed energy and power that can not be explained in words. Throughout the 10 hours of pouring concrete, everyone worked tirelessly all the while with smiles on their faces.
Jehovah is an amazing father. There is truly no one that comes close to rivaling his glory. Our assignment no matter where we are on this earth is to trust in him with all our hearts, not leaning on our understanding, and letting him make our paths straight. Focus all your energy on the doing of his will and he will NOT let you tire out. I traveled 7000 thousand miles to learn this lesson, I look forward to the months ahead to see what other valuable lessons are in store.
I miss you all very much and think of you often. I can see all of your faces now as I write this letter, I think most of you are smiling right now, not because of the tie that Don MacDonald is wearing, but because you are in the same spiritual environment that I am in Kosrae, and the same environment that all are brothers are in throughout the world.... We're in Jehovah's organization. Here it is safe and it is
comforting. Here is where we seek refuge from all the hardships of this wicked world. This is where we belong and this is where I look forward to seeing you in the near future.
Much love to all of you,
Matthew
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