Did you know if you translate my last name Strandberg... it means beach-mountain?? Love it.
God has really over-blessed me this year with His nature. I began 2011 looking over the Eastern Ethiopian mountains as they stretched on their way to Somalia. I watched the sunrise every morning and it just about took my breath away each time. I love the desert. I love the ear-piercing calls from the mosques, reminding people that it's time to pray... because it reminded me that it was where I was made to be. Reaching the unreached. I'm in love the nations.
The view from our balcony in Harar. Unreal.
It was this year when God also called us back to the West for a season of refreshment and preparation for a future among new people groups. I must admit, I did NOT want to be refreshed if that meant leaving Africa. I knew it was time to leave... our Ethiopian pastors and disciples had been brought up in the Holy Spirit to take our place... the land had been pioneered, churches and Bible schools planted, lives transformed to Jesus... our calling to the East-Africans now rested in the hands of our Spiritual children. But I didn't want to leave! Yes, there are unreached people in every country on the planet - East or West, but I am called specifically to the untouched people groups... the places where the Word of God just hasn't gotten to. My heart burns for the poorest, the most broken, the beggars, the prostitutes, the possessed, the starving, the destitute.
So, where did God bring me next? Hawaii. Maybe I was the only person in the world who just didn't want to go to Hawaii. Yes I knew it would be a paradise, but please let me go to Rwanda or Mongolia or Tajikistan! But, Hawaii it was. The Big Island was a stunning place, full of adventure, but (ask my mother!) I was fidgety and restless and spoke of nothing else but the field. When I left Hawaii however, I suddenly understood that I was indeed revived . My body and emotions and spirit were rested. The beaches and pools and mountains and waves and sunsets -- were God's exact prescription! He is so faithful that He not only calls us to be His laborers and warriors in the field, but He also refreshes us when we need that too! He used immigration-messiness to get me to lie on a beach!
Psalm 23 -
The Lord is my shepherd, I have all that I need.
He lets me rest in green meadows, he leads me beside peaceful streams.
He renews my strength.
Now we're in Sweden. On more beaches! I went from desert Africa to the Pacific islands, to Atlantic Scandinavia! And now I feel such confidence in the season I am in. I know it's a season. The rest of my life will be full of spiritual pioneering and warring over souls. And sometimes God will bring me to more beaches and bbq's and remind me to just enjoy the simplicities of life. Our suitcases are collecting a little dust, our bathing suits are a bit salty, and our conversations are filled with dreams for the nations in South Asia and the Middle East. We see the horizon. We hear the cries of the lost. Our lives revolve around chasing nothing else but God's Kingdom. We work and save and pray and study and plan. And He is renewing our strength for the journey.
Sitting at the bay on the West coast of Sweden, watching the sailboats drift away...
The ferry on it's way to Denmark
I love the pictures and your message. It is a hard lesson to learn sometimes. God really wants us to rest at times. He is a loving Father who knows His children intimately, providing for our every need. He is in control, rest in His care. That is why He commanded the Sabbath. He knows our frail frames. His rules are for our benefit. Praise the Lord. God bless you in your rest, so you may be renewed.
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