Two days ago Rocky finished installing our new wood stove! We were so excited to have our first fire. We sat around the stove, warming ourselves as the rain poured down outside. It was so incredibly nice to feel warm and dry! Rocky had a hard time getting the wood to burn, although. Here they use dense, wet hardwood for firewood - can you believe it? Q5 or about 60 cents bought us an arm load of wood, but it was too wet to burn. So, we had to improvise. We found a pine shelf from one of the cupboards we don't use, and burned it! It worked great!

This morning, we took the Land Cruiser 4x4 up to Bem Pek to check out the road. We are making our second trip up to this remote village with the Lighthouse Team and wanted to check out the condition of the road, as we have had some pretty crazy rain storms lately. Last year when we did children's ministry in Bem Pek, we had to rent 4x4's to get up the road because it had rained a lot and the road was in pretty rough shape. Now, although, the ministry has 2 of its own 4x4's, so we are good to go!

We didn't encounter any other vehicle traffic on the road, but lots of foot traffic. Many men were carrying down loads of wood. Some had long pieces, like the photo above, and others had short wood, meant for burning in the kitchen. In Tactic, the majority of people still cook over a fire. Some have pretty sophisticated wood stoves to cook on, but they still use wood.
The end of the road in Bem Pek offers quite a view. From one direction, looking back towards town, you can see the valleys full of corn. Every bit of land not covered with trees is planted in corn. From the opposite direction is a little foot path leading down to the small public school.

The vegetation is lush and varied and you can sure see the creativity of the Lord in the landscape; it is absolutely spectacular. In 2 weeks, we will be returning to Bem Pek, this time with a team. We will be doing 3 days of children's ministry in the little village and I know it will be a huge blessing to those living in Bem Pek. The miracle of the work that we do, although, is that as we serve, we receive an even greater blessing than the one we give to those we serve. How does that work? I don't know; but, I know it works. Time after time our hearts are humbled and filled with gratitude as we give ourselves away.

The principle in Scripture that speaks about giving your life away and in doing so you will find real life - life to the full...it is true!

When you are serving others, it is pretty tough to focus on your own challenges and hardships. I read somewhere that the best therapy for those suffering from depression is to plug in somewhere and volunteer. Yes! God knew this all along. He actually designed us to serve, not to be served, and in the serving we are lifted above our circumstances and blessed. Try it out - it really works!