Eighty Percent

I began reading Genesis this fall and have made my way into Exodus. I think I was wanting to connect with the Mighty God who demonstrated power and strength through creation, the flood, Joseph, the plagues, and the parting of seas. My soul needed to taste again His goodness and divine control over the world. In these early chapters in His written word, we get to know Yahweh (the I AM), Yahweh Raffa (Lord Who Heals), El Roi (the God Who sees), etc. All of these attributes of our God are so comforting to me at this stage in our journey. 


I love reading about the Cloud by day and the Fire by night, and the Angel of the Lord that goes before the group. As I read, I claim that blessed protection for my family, my team, and our loved ones here who we will soon kiss goodbye. 


I have always been struck by the fact that "the Lord used to speak to Moses face to face, just as a man speaks to his friend." (Ex. 33: 11). So when I came to that verse this time around, I moved to the edge of my seat, because I remembered that this was when He showed Moses His goodness! Well, as I read this time, the conversation between them that we get a glimpse of touched a tender place in my heart. Moses is expressing his fear that things aren't going to go so well for Israel as they enter the land that Yahweh had promised to take them to. His words resonated deeply in me: 

"Then he (Moses) said to Him (LORD), 'If Your presence does not go with us, do not lead us up from here.'" (Exodus 33:15)

The Lord's response is so calming.

"I will do this thing...I have known you by name." (Ex. 33:17) 

And then Moses gets to see the glory (goodness) of the Lord.

I have begun praying those words to Him. Truly, anything we venture to do in our lives is meaningless, empty, scary, impossible unless the God Who Sees is with us, goes before us, and hems us in behind!

We got an email last week from a woman who wants to support us. Tuck quickly calculated and proclaimed, "We're at 80%!" It is incredible what the Lord has done. He has done it all.

Hebrews says "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever" (13:8). He will do this thing, for He has known us by name. He is worthy of praise!

Who needs a piggy bank when you can have an Anvil-Bank?

It is a regular occurrence for Tuck to come home from work and say to me, "Guess what! I had an idea today!" I used to be overwhelmed by his ideas. But after seeing him make/build/create the things he's had ideas about, I have learned to smile and try to imagine what he's describing to me. 


Earlier this summer, he came home very excited about his new idea. "An anvil piggy bank! We can make it out of sheet metal, and then groups can put their spare change into them, and...." he was expressing with enthusiasm. 


So, over the next few days, he created a few anvil banks from scrap metal. He put a little door on the bottom, and cut a hole in the top. He made a pocket for prayer cards on one side. 


We would like to offer these anvil banks to churches, small groups, businesses, or Sunday School classes who would like to collect change to help support our family. All of us lose our change in the sofa or car seats every day! Here's a great place to put it. This spare change can help our family build our house at Eden, buy propane so we can cook on our grill, buy tools for ministry, help cover traveling cost when we come home on furlough, or support dozens of other needs!


If you are interested in collecting change for us in an anvil bank hand made by Tuck, please contact us at dumondsojourner81@yahoo.com. We would be glad to get one to you as soon as possible!


God bless,
Carissa

Luke 5:11

Recently I was packing up items from a closet in our house. Next weekend we are moving from our home in Knoxville to stay with family in Pennsylvania. We are entering into the transition stage of our journey to Zimbabwe. Most missionaries go through a stage like this in which they live or operate from a temporary place until they are equipped and prepared to finally move to their new country. For us, every day is full of sentiment as we spend time with beloved friends, give away items we can't take with us, and pack up items that have beautiful memories attached to them. The items in this closet made me especially sentimental because they were photo albums and journals from years past. 


I was sitting on the floor looking at the stack of journals thinking, "What do I do with these?" So I decided to scan through one to see if it would help me to decide. It was from 2006. And I found 2 quotes inside that apply directly to this season of transition for Tuck and me. 


The first comes from my friend Dan Butler who has been a missionary for a long time. "Closure is the art of bringing to a satisfactory conclusion the passage of life through which we have just passed. Closure enables us to move on from one passage of life to another without carrying burdens of guilt and false expectations. It allows us to build on previous experiences instead of camping in the emotional fog of past memories."  Dan gave me this quote a month before I had left Ethiopia in 2004 to help me process reentry into the States, and I have revisited it frequently since. 


The other is a prayer that comes from Augustine's Confessions: "Gracious God, our Heavenly Father, we confess that we have sought from people and things what only you can give. Our hearts hunger for intimacy, our souls for significance, but only You can satisfy our longings. Truly "You have made us Yourself, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in You." Forgive us, help us, heal us, we ask through Christ Jesus our Savior and King." 


As I sat on the floor, surrounded by my old journals and photos, I contemplated that prayer. It made me think of Simon, James and John's reaction to Christ's call. Luke records their response in chapter 5 of his book: "they left everything and followed Him." Christ told them that He would make them fishers of men, and they were so compelled, they dropped their nets and joined Him. 


I guess it feels a little bit like He's calling us in the same way. It seemed like it was easy for those young men to leave their jobs and families to follow this young Rabbi, but it probably wasn't. We hope to step through this passage of life with good closure and joy for the next.  We don't know what to expect but we can trust that He will satisfy our longings along the way. 


Fellow fishers,
the DuMonds

Introductions

"For the Lord your God is the God of gods and the Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God who does not show partiality nor take a bribe. He executes justice for the orphan and the widow, and shows His love for the alien by giving him food and clothing. So show your love for the alien, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt. You shall fear the Lord your God; you shall serve Him and cling to Him and you shall swear by His name. He is your praise and He is your God, who has done these great and awesome things for you which your eyes have seen."
Deuteronomy 10:17-21

The three of us are on a journey to Zimbabwe, Africa to answer this calling. We are joining a ministry named Eden Children's Village in Doma, Zimbabwe. HIV/AIDS has orphaned hundreds of thousands of children in the region. At Eden, 150 orphans are cared for through a farm, a school, and a medical clinic. About half of the children live on site, and half live with family members in the community. The farm is 357 acres, and produces food and herbs that provide for meals and medicine. Corn is the major crop. The medical clinic serves the children and the whole region, offering free care to thousands of destitute Zimbabweans yearly. It produces herbal remedies for many illnesses and wounds. The orphans attend Eden Children's Academy and study using the Accelerated Christian Education curriculum. Scripture is embedded into every subject.

We would like to visit with you, your small group, Sunday School class, or church in order to share more about the ministry we are partnering with! Please contact us to set a date! God bless you on your journey, and thank you for being a part of ours!!!!


For more information about the ministry visit their website: http://www.edenchildrensvillage.org/
To receive our monthly newsletter updates, email Charles at dumondsojourner81@yahoo.com!