"Extra! Extra! Read all about it!" Yes, God answers prayer and sends "extras"...but His unexpected delights can come in the strangest packages.
When we were in Mich, our hearts sank to learn the elementary school we attended on furlough was no longer in operation...but sang again when we found it, saw the sign board outside the old building: "Washington Elementary School." There on the playground, in 3rd grade, God gave me the privilege of leading my first classmate to Himself. Thank You Lord, for letting us find it.
We saw Oak Pak High too. That was the place where I played on the all-black girls' basketball team. OK; I was the only non-black player. But I remember one half-time, someone in the bleachers came down and did a black handshake with me, saying I was cool man, not bad. (Nowadays, they say you're BAD, and it means the same thing.)
Going up to Canada, we had a big surprise. At the Edmonton connection, passengers were told we could get on the plane, but the baggage couldn't be carried. We had to wait 3 days for our suitcases to be delivered. That should've been a bad thing, right? But as a result, our sympathetic relatives ran around making sure we got all we needed, and one cousin, Kim, even bought new things for us. At the end of 3 days, we realized we'd been, not deprived, but treated.
When we got to Kauai (one of the Hawaiian islands where my mother was born), her youngest brother, Uncle Masa, showed us the old places they used to live/work/go to school. What a shock tho', when that evening, the entire island had a power outage! We found our way in the dark, and managed for a few hours with flashlights and cellphones. I don't know how my Uncle did it--but he showered in the dark and went to bed early. Maybe loss of electricity was a good thing. We didn't have to wrestle with loud music and wild party noises, just the cool trade winds and ocean surf. Was that Your idea, Father?
But there was still one more "extra" awaiting us. The day before we were to return to Japan, Joyce was supposed to visit a supporting church nearby and show her presentation, but she came down with fever. What was God doing? I ended up going to Calvary Independent by myself and sitting with Anne Kaneshiro, another former MK we knew in Okinawa, and some Japanese American grandmas the family ministered to. One showed me her Japanese Bible, which I excitedly opened, sharing a favorite passage and telling her why it struck me clearly in Japanese.
Joyce's fever just would not come down that entire day--but by morning, it had broken completely, so we could go home as scheduled. While viewing the Rainbow Shower Trees along the freeway on the way to the airport, I wondered, could the Lord have foreseen Joyce's need for rest before returning to Okinawa and MADE SURE she got a full day of staying in bed?
Like I said: some of God's extras come in the strangest packages.
