Sunday, October 15th, I was sitting at my computer working on this post when the earthquake shook us to our core. The electricity went out and thus my laptop lost my work. If the ground shakes again as I write it this time, I will have something to think about...

The image to the right comes from a prayer booklet that I wrote about on Friday, October 13th. Paul and Susi Childers are YWAM missionaries with an incredible ministry to be "Voices for the Voiceless." Paul is from New Zealand and Susi is from Germany. The prayer booklet hits 30 tough issues of gender injustice. On Sunday, I was praying through this issue: AIDS.

All too often I have thought of AIDS as someone else's problem or thought of it as not something we have to worry about. I had little compassion for the suffering it was causing. I have had to question myself about whether my attitude about AIDS developed because of a judgmental spirit against homosexuals and the association of AIDS with homosexual behavior. Regardless of the cause of AIDS, however, men, women, and children are afflicted with this disease, and each of them were created in His image. We are commanded to love not just those who think or act like us, but all humanity, and to be the hands and feet of Christ to them.

Did you know that AIDS has killed more than 25 million people since 1981? That's a million per year. Looking at World Book, WWII was the war that killed more than any other, and it involved an estimated 17 million military deaths. Did you know that Africa has 12 million orphans who are orphans because of AIDS? Did you know that 43% of those infected with HIV are women?

We must be praying about this. We must have compassion on these people. There was a song Steve Camp wrote that always brought me to my knees because it asked a question that I never heard anyone ask in my "Christian" circles; frankly, I'm not sure any cared to think of such a thing. He asked whether I had tasted the tears of those who were afflicted with AIDS.

Have you? Or are AIDS victims the modern day lepers? Better yet, are homosexuals and other such "sinners" lepers to most Christians? Have you ever ministered to "such as these." Pray that God would intervene against this epidemic and that a cure would be found. Pray that people, including people like you, would be called upon to teach biblical truths to show that there is a very easy way to avoid contracting the disease, at least sexually. And look for other ways to minister to the broken hearted, not just those afflicted with AIDS, but with any social issue that you may have avoided in the past.

COUNTING JUST A FEW BLESSINGS When upon life’s billows you are tempest tossed, When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost, Count your many blessings, name them one by one, And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.\ Count your blessings, name them one by one, Count your blessings, see what God hath done! Count your blessings, name them one by one, And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done. Are you ever burdened with a load of care? Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear? Count your many blessings, every doubt will fly, And you will keep singing as the days go by. When you look at others with their lands and gold, Think that Christ has promised you His wealth untold; Count your many blessings. Wealth can never buy Your reward in heaven, nor your home on high. So, amid the conflict whether great or small, Do not be disheartened, God is over all; Count your many blessings, angels will attend, Help and comfort give you to your journey’s end.

We have been praying for a car for use while we are here at the University of the Nations. We had the use of someone else's car for our first week here and had to return it this evening. So, after doing much asking around, trying to find a way to borrow someone else's car, rent a car, or buy a "junker," we were prepared to try to buy one today as nothing else had panned out. We hoped that we could buy something that wouldn't have mechanical issues and that we could ultimately resell at the end of our stay here in December.

The power of prayer and the medium of blogging is amazing. A young lady in Canada had seen both our blog and the blog of Ben and Angie Wicks, from Seattle, Washington (http://www.wicksadventure.blogspot.com/). Ben and Angie have been here at the U of N since June, in the Crossroads DTS. We met them when we were here in July and have communicated with them ever since. They purchased a car when they arrived and were going to try to resell it now that they are leaving for Fiji on a two-month mission outreach with their two young children, Sam (6) and Katie (4). Recently, she emailed Ben and Angie that we needed a car, because she knew that they were trying to sell theirs. She had no idea that we already knew each other and that God was already moving in our hearts toward sharing the car! But her email also reminded the Wicks to see if we might be able to help them with the car.

Today, just as I was about to go to a used car dealer to buy a car, Ben called me and asked whether Tara and I could use the car in exchange for being the contact person for people who wanted to buy the car. That seemed like a good answer to prayer, because it would provide us a car free of charge for at least a little while until something more permanent could come along. It is a nice 2002 White PT Cruiser. He told me the details of what he was asking and hoping to get for it, but said that he felt like it would be hard to resell it here because of the limited number of people on the island (there are only about 150,000 people on the entire Big Island of Hawaii).

As soon as we got off the phone, God spoke to me directly and gave me an idea, telling me to call Ben right back. So, I did. I told Ben that I wasn't sure if this would be a good idea to him, but that I thought it would be perfect for us if we simply used his car for all three months and then paid to have the car shipped to Seattle, where the Wicks are from, so that they could have the car for sale in the Seattle market. He said he liked the idea, but that he wanted to think and pray about it.

After prayerful consideration, the deal was struck. God provided the Rileys a much nicer car than they felt they could afford (and it even has air conditioning!!) at a price that will be less than anything else than they could have done short of having a car gifted to them. Add to that the fact that yesterday I received a phone call from one of our friends telling me he wanted to send us a check that will be the amount of shipping for the vehicle!!!

Ben gave me the keys to the car at 5 p.m., as they were leaving for Fiji. I gave Dawn Gauslin the keys to her car just an hour later. Tonight we rejoiced in this blessing by taking all five of us on a drive around Kona and finishing with a piece of mud pie right by the ocean.

In addition to the car, Tara today was given sheets, pillows, floor rugs, a fan, books, decorations, and a multitude of other nice gifts by the Wicks and Nick and Jen Greener, another young couple leaving today for Fiji with their two children. We were truly overwhelmed with many blessings of things we really weren't prepared to buy but that will be very useful to our family.

Please pray for the Greeners and the Wicks as they travel to Fiji over the next 24 hours. Please pray that their families will not eat or drink anything that will be harmful to their bodies over the next 2 months and that God will protect them from all disease. Pray that they will bear joyfully the gospel of Christ every where they go, demonstrating God's love to the people of Fiji. Pray also that the Greeners and the Wicks will know where the Lord is leading them after their outreach to Fiji. The Wicks feel led to work with college students, but they have no idea what that might mean. The Greeners desire to go overseas to staff a YWAM base, but they don't know where God is leading them. There are probably 20-25 others with them; pray for the entire team. And praise God for His faithfulness to us. He is truly AMAZING!

This is what it feels like right now. We are tired, beaten, broken, exhausted, BUT we have hope and can fold our hands in prayer because we know the One who will sustain us and who has called us. He gives us everything we need for life and godliness. He is our refuge; He is our strength. He is our help in times of trouble. We aren't, but He is. We cannot, but He can.

So as we continue packing (it's now 10:42 p.m.) to prepare for our 7:00 a.m. flight tomorrow morning (which will involve 15 hours in planes and airports to get to Kona), and as we try to get our minds wrapped around what we need for a three month jaunt, we ask that you, as you feel the same way, fold your hands in prayer. We aren't the only ones here, reading this, who feel broken and beaten, run over by the proverbial Mack truck. And, being able to acknowledge that we are weak and turn to the One who can pick us back up and give us hope and renew our strength, will enable us to soar on wings like eagles, run and not grow weary, walk and not be faint. Praise our heavenly Father together with us! And, as you experience His healing power, please pray that we will continue to fold our hands in prayer and praise to Him throughout our journey. We are completely unable to do this, but He graciously plans to use us to assist hundreds, perhaps thousands, in their desire to obey the Great Commission as we work together at the University of the Nations (http://www.uofnkona.edu), a YWAM (http://www.ywam.org) campus.

We sure would love to have many join us! "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ flow over into our lives, so also through Christ our comfort overflows. If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort." 2 Corinthians 1:3-7.