It is. It was.
Not like we expected.
Our events haven't worked how we thought.
That one was cancelled. The other one, cancelled. That one, impossible to do.
The events maybe were never supposed to work how we thought.
I've caught myself recently talking about "making contacts" than "making friends".
The people in our church also, as a group, feel weird.
It just feels like everything is in this transition, yet at the same time standing still.
I'm tired but don't feel like I've done enough.
And yet.
Our team in Loches also felt this year is a pivotal year. The message we received as a group was 'pruning'. God was pruning us down. Our numbers were slowly shrinking. People were moving. Loches is a transitional town. People don't seem to come to stay. They come and then move on.
This puts everything in an odd place.
We hear the message. We receive the message. We accept wrestle with the message.
And yet.
It's hard to move like God wants. It's hard to accept and decide as you receive.
What does this all mean?
Despite the uncertainty and confusion of the top part of this post, let me follow with this:
Not a moment has been lost.
The rest accrued during our confinement period was so much needed.
The short conversations through masks were good.
The prayer times in the backyard are a great reminder none of us are alone.
The time I have to give to my neighbors is the time God wants me to give to others.
I am not here to keep up with a beautiful building. It's helpful, but I am on earth to be in close relationship with God, to help others start their walk toward Him, and to show how close he came through Jesus.
People are not contacts. They are people. Some will be your friends, some not but each one needs time, each one should be seen as valuable.
Virus, poverty, languages cannot separate us from the love of God.
Our goal, as always, continues to be to show people God's love and to accept God's love in our life. God's love, expressed through many different avenues, is most clearly expressed through Jesus.
Be in prayer for our friends below, not their real names, but each name represents a person close to us.
Vincent
Carl
Abdul
Leon
Bernice
Bernice's son
Benedict
Destiny
Thank you for praying along with us. Thank you for supporting us. We hope to talk to you soon if possible!