From The Kitchen Table November 2009

From The Kitchen Table

~ The Desk of Lynne Schaefer ~

November 2009

“Ask and you will receive and your joy will be complete.”

John 16:24

Dear Family and Friends

Something...was ... Stolen...from me!

Have you ever felt like something is missing, but you don’t quite know what it is. You know it is gone, you can feel it! I have known that feeling for some months now. It became my friend, reminding me each new day that I have been robbed of something. It took me a while to discover what it was. And then it dawned on me, it was my joy - and it was completely gone! The past year has been so stressful, so painful, and so terrible that I stopped enjoying our children. Stopped appreciating what I have and the wonderful place where we live. I took my eyes off the Lord during a flood of difficulties and felt myself drowning under the strain. Where I usually loved life and looked forwards to each new day – I felt myself getting annoyed and irritated at the smallest of things. A friend advised me to get some time-out, basically to have a break – and get some good time in with the Lord. That is not easy as a full time mom, living where we do, not having anywhere to go to get some much needed time alone. Our home is a very busy place with loads of visitors and activities continually happening in a constant stream. Then God provided us with a solution, a place where our family could go and recover from a difficult year. Our children needed their happy mom back; Grant needed his cheerful wife to surface out of the storm. We needed time as a family, to just laugh, play and enjoy each other. Eleven years on the mission field with many ups and downs, many hardships and stresses, we needed a time-out! Not to do deputation, not to speak at churches, not to do ministry or fix the car or do admin etc. Just some time to recover.

God has given us this time. A friend, who runs a lodge here on Lake Tanganyika in Zambia, asked us if we wanted to babysit the Lodge for her while she goes on leave. There are no guests here, no bookings for November. Our mission board agreed and we have had the time of rest that has been so needed. While we still do school with the kids, we have a cook to do all the cooking, a cleaner who refuses to let us clean up, she even complains if we make the beds. God is wonderful. He has provided for us in a way we never dreamed of. We can relax, spend time with Him and enjoy our children and each other. What a special time – we are not taking it for Granted.

A Time to Live... A Time to die

Towards the end of September, we got news that my dad was very sick and in hospital, and that we should come to Cape Town if we wanted to see him again. He was diagnosed with Asbestos Disease and was getting worse daily. We raced down to Cape Town hoping to see him, only to discover that he had died two days before we arrived while we were still on the road. It was a record 5 day drive down – but still not fast enough. It was heartbreaking to discover that we did not make it to see him one last time. It was thrilling, however, to hear that my mom lead him to Christ 10 minutes before he died. She had no idea he was going to die that day.

While in Cape Town, Grant was able to redo the engine on our vehicle. It was in bad need of an overhaul and the long 5 day drive to Cape Town put the engine on its last legs. Praise the Lord for a practical husband, who saves us so much money with his practical abilities. By redoing the engine himself, he saved so much money. God provided a wonderful workshop through a farmer in Grabouw, who also financially helped with the costs of engineering work that needed doing on the engine.

We lose our Life Jackets

Part of Grants ministry is teaching in a village right next to the Lodge we are staying in. The people asked him to come teach there. We are still trying to get the boat going again after discovering a problem with the gear box. We have a bag of life jackets we use when on the boat as the lake can be rough at times and because Grant has a strict policy of all on the water must wear life jackets. Unfortunately, the bag fell off the roof on a trip to the lake and we lost them all. We did not know they were missing till we got to the dock. As soon as we discovered it we decided to drive back up the mountain to see if we could find them, but I had locked the keys in the car!! It took 40 minutes to break into our car, and by that time the bag was gone. So, if you know anyone with any life jackets that they don’t use please let us know. We lost eight of them. At the moment our friend here at the lodge fetches us in their boat and we just pay the fuel costs for Grant’s once a month trip across to the village to teach.

Thanks for your encouragement, your prayers and support of our  ministry here. We pray God’s blessing on you as we get to the end of the year and look forward to a new year ahead. Please continue to pray for us for:

Prayer Needs:

· New Life jackets

· For the spares needed on the boat

· For God’s strength for us as a family

· For renewed joy in the Lord

· For Lorna at Bible College

· School books for next year

Praise the Lord for:

· My Dad’s salvation

· For a time of rest

· That our vehicle is going well again

· His faithfulness to us during a difficult year

God bless.

Lynne Schaefer and Family

Grant, Joel, Hope, Charley, Olivia, Luke

PO Box, 420032, Mbala, Zambia