Finding Faith in the Battle

In some ways I know that every time we put the kids to bed, we're one day closer to being in Malawi. But most of the time, I just feel like we're in an endless doggy-paddle contest, with no end in sight. One of the ways we're dealing with that is by packing a few boxes each day (thus the 25 boxes piled up in every corner, threatening to entirely take over our only living space in this apartment!) The other way we're coping is by trying to be more intentional about enjoying the small things that life in the US offers...the things that will soon be only memories. Fall is a great time for that, since there is no fall in Africa! So 2 weeks ago we spent the day hand-pressing our own apple cider from apples we picked from the trees. I'm quite sure nothing in this world tastes better, and as proof, the 4 gallons we brought home are gone already. Today we braved the wild world of the Pumpkin Patch/Corn Maze and enjoyed home-made pumpkin donuts and more hand-pressed cider ou...

I just received my official Portland Marathon Finisher Certificate today with my time of four hours, eleven minutes, and ten seconds. I never knew how meaningful training and running a marathon would be. In many ways it was a spiritual experience, conquering doubt with determination, exhaustion with endurance, and pain with patience. Running a marathon has been a long time dream of mine, as Miriam calls it, “one of my top bucket list items.” I thank God for my health and the opportunity to run it. So, let me share a quote that I have found meaningful during these last few months about the race of life: “Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the founder and finisher of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinful men,...

The last few weeks have been full of traveling and processing and planning, with very little to show for it. Oh sure, we do have $200 worth of shampoo, 4 cases of diapers, and enough Taco seasoning to supply the Yakima Valley for a while all sitting in our already-cramped living room. But really, life is otherwise plugging along pretty normally. Anya's back in the routine of school, though she's had a rough time with her new teacher who doesn't want 2 nd graders looking out of the window during school hours...something about "staying on task". Ethan and Chad have a system worked out, running errands, playing on PBSkids .org, and frequenting Yakima's parks each day. Miriam finished up work at the clinic for good, so now she's down to working just 21 hours a week at the nursing home. The baby is growing and kicking and down-right doing the jig most of the day, to the kids' delight and Miriam's discomfort. Just a "normal" family, living the...

Missionary candidates, who entered the interview process with us, were interested in our story as they imagined life for their kids overseas. Miriam and I talked a lot about our experience growing up in Africa and the pressures of being missionary kids. One evening, I began to talk about our family’s worst trials. We endured repeated robberies at gun point, but continued believing it was worth staying in Uganda to remain in the center of God’s will. Rebecca was one of those candidates. She said, “I remember praying for you Pumpellys in Uganda every night growing up.” Her parents had been committed prayer partners for my family during those hard years. It reminded me how critical praying is for missions to be effective and how encouraging it is to know you have been prayed for. Rebecca and her husband, Jared, were appointed as missionaries the same time we were and have become our friends. They are doing field personnel orientation in Richmond right now and will be moving to Western Eur...

Following the lead of our team-members, we are looking for 12 churches who will commit to become Strategic Prayer Partners. These will be churches that have a special connection to the work going on in Malawi. If we’re scheduled to speak at your church, you’ll be hearing even more about this soon! Praise God, eight churches have already agreed to partner with us. These churches are making a 3-year commitment to pray for the ministry in Malawi and for the Pumpelly family one month out of the year. They will track our ministry updates through-out the year, but make special efforts to pray heavily for the needs of our family and the Malawi mission during their one month. By having 12 churches, the work God is doing in Malawi will be bathed in prayer year-round. We are committed to the partnership also. We will provide monthly newsletters and specific prayer needs related to ministry and family, and will provide multi-media sources as desired by the churches for use during their month o...

This past weekend we went to an Ethiopian friend's wedding. The wedding included an Amharic prayer of blessing and the reception had a traditional Ethiopian feast and Ethiopian dancing. We always encourage our children to participate in the customs of our international friends. We are preparing them for Malawi, you know, so that they engage people with a warm smile, can shake hands, and are able to say, "That's interesting and different for me," instead of, "Yuk!" when served something new. During the wedding dance, one of the bride's aunts took Anya (age 7) by the hand and before we knew it she was jumping and dancing in the midst of all the Ethiopians. On the way home, I congratulated her on her willingness to try something new. It made our friends so happy that she celebrated with them in that way. She said, "I think I'm ready for Africa, but I'm not sure about you and mom--you didn't even dance. You weren't a very good example fo...

Breathing air is the witness of God's goodness to me. I have struggled with asthma throughout my life and it has been a major problem for me in the athletic and active parts of my days. Over the last three years I have been blessed with a decreasing number of attacks and over the last year I have been attack free. This year I have trained for the Portland Marathon, a longtime dream of mine. It requires frequent long runs. Today I ran 17 miles in 2 1/2 hrs (without medication). During mile five I took a deep breath. God revealed himself to me in that moment my lungs filled. The air I breath is a witness to the goodness of God. Paul told the crowd in Lystra (Acts 14) that even when God allows us to go our way, God does not leave us without a witness in doing good-there is rain for the growing season, food to fill our stomachs, joy to fill our hearts, and, adding to Paul's list I say, "air to fill our lungs." Praise God for life's seamingly ordinary blessings. Chad