Showers of Blessings

These past two weeks have felt like we have just moved to Africa.  Part of being settle in a new place is just getting used to the way things are.   So, after being here in Zambia for 8 months, it was time for us to move from our comfortable 1 bedroom flat to the “Big House” (a 4-bedroom house just across the road from the hospital).   In preparation for the move, we had the ceilings in the bathroom and kitchen replaced.  It was a wise decision to do this before we moved in as when the old ceiling came down so did the 40 years of dirt that these windy winter days had deposited in the rafters.

Now after painting and several cleanings to remove all the dust we were ready to move in.   It seems like an easy task to move from a 1 bedroom to a 4 bed room place, but 40 years of missionaries living in this house has left many wonderful treasures which needed to be sorted and rearranged to make way for our things.   So, the most common phrase these days is, “Have you seen…?”.  This change of venue, along with a change in water schedule and recently expanded load shedding, has left us feeling like we had just arrived all over again.   Now two weeks into the move we are feeling settled and thankful for the many blessings of our new home.

This brings up “Showers of Blessings”.  In our old house, we had a continuous water heater which was great as long as you had water and electric at the same time.  These types of heaters are pressure dependent and while wonderful when the pressure is good, often required a bit of a dance when the pressure was low to keep the water at the right temperature.   I generally referred to showers by the level at which the nozzle had to be held to achieve the correct temperature.  (head, shoulders, knees or toes – don’t recommend the last level as conducive to getting clean).  So, moving to the Big house we were excited to move to a house with a water tank.   Day one, when we moved into the new house, we heard a rushing noise near the outside drain.  Turns out the intake pipe had ruptured and was flowing directly into the sewer.  So, we turned off the water to the house and spent the first 2 nights without water or a shower.   The next morning it was fixed.   Would you believe a second pipe broke by day 4 and we went through the whole process again?

So now, with running water, I was ready for a good shower.   To use this heater; you turned on the inlet valve and the power to the heater.   You had to wait about 10 minutes and your shower was ready.  If you didn’t wait long enough your shower was cold and if you waited too long your shower was too hot.  Great! I traded showers controlled by height for showers controlled by time.   So, shower one was way too hot! (again much dancing required).  Shower two, the shower was way too cold (remember its about 45-55 degrees in the house these days).   So, you would think shower three would have been just right (I’m Laughing).

I was not having this shower by timer so on our trip to Choma I was in search of a “shower mixer”.   After checking 4 hardware stores, I found one and returned home triumphantly.   Now you know the old saying “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it”?  Well, here in Zambia I think it’s “If it’s broke don’t fix it!”  The reason is that even the smallest home improvement turns into a big ordeal.   So, knowing this, I elicited the help of our local plumber to tackle this task.   I figured that I could do it, but if I got stuck it was better to have someone with the right tools and knowledge.   Good call!  After Day one, the project was mostly done but required some parts so no shower.   Day 2, the plumber returned and replace the last 2 conduits.   That evening I jumped into the shower (even after my wife told me it wasn’t working well—which she tested before attempting a shower!).   This time I could go from Hot to Cold but nothing in between (needless to say “more dancing”).   After a disappointing 3^rd shower, I surveyed the system and realized that the plumber had inadvertently switched the intake and outputs to and from the water heater causing the improper mixing.   “Well I can switch 2 flexible ½ inch conduits no problem!” I thought.   Done.   Now there was no water flow at all!  So, day 3 the plumber returned.   Turns out with all the work, small rocks (pieces of sediment in our water from the old pipes) had blocked the intake valve as well as some of the internal mechanisms of the shower.   So, after cleaning these out, the water began to flow.  So, shower 4 was well mixed and quite pleasant.   Of course, the shower head only worked halfway because of calcium which had blocked most of the head’s outputs, and after the shower the one joint was leaking significantly.   So tonight, I was determined to fix it once and for all.   After my run this evening, I was ready for a good shower.   I redid the leaking junction and no leak!   I cleaned the shower head with Mineral Spirits, often used here because of the high calcium level in the water.  (I think it is hydrochloric acid or something – very toxic but it does the job).   So, after all these maneuvers, the shower head flowed nicely and I took one of the best showers I have had in a long time.

So why the long story about our water issues.   Lately I’ve been thinking about “showers of blessings”.  The song “Counting all my blessings” by Rend Collective has been going through my mind as well as the old song “Count your blessings, name them one by one.”

It sounds like a good idea, but I was wondering whether counting your blessings is actually biblical.   While I could not find this exact wording in the Bible, the psalmist in Psalm 103 and 107 does exactly this.   Psalm 103:2 says, “Bless the Lord, oh my soul and forget not his benefits”.  The psalmist then goes on to list God’s blessings: He forgives our sin…  He redeems us from the pit… He satisfies your desires…  Following a list of Gods blessings.  Psalm 107:43 says: “whoever is wise let him attend to these things, consider the steadfast love of the Lord”.   In verse 42 the Psalmist says: “the wise ponder the blessing of the Lord. The upright see and rejoice but the wicked keep their mouths shut.”

In this day of COVID 19 there is much we could complain about but the palmist challenges us to count our blessings and rejoice about them.  The wise ponder the blessings of the Lord and make them known, the wicked keep quiet about it.  So, where does that leave those that complain, somewhere behind the wicked?

So, as I look at my showers of blessing, I have to praise the Lord.   Not just for a good shower but for water pressure good enough to burst our pipes twice, leaky pipes that mean we have water, not being able to find my things because I both have things to misplace but also this large house in which to misplace them.

What about COVID?  Right now, we are supposed to be home going to camp meeting, mission conference, and visiting family.  But God is doing amazing things not just in spite of COVID but because of COVID.  I call these my COVID blessings

Churches that have been forced to go online are now readily available to us to share in worship with our churches back home.

NGO organizations have sent money for COVID relief allowing us to buy much needed supplies, improve infrastructure, and care for patients.

Our house which didn’t sell before we left, has now become a gathering place for all our children who have returned home from there schools because of COVID, allowing them to spend time together for the first time in years.

As a result of COVID relief legislation, we have been able to borrow money from our IRA and pay of our mortgage off which has been a huge monthly drain on our finances.

Because of COVID, Naomi’s internship has continued online, allowing her to work and stay at home, not having to pay high rent in Philadelphia.

As a result of COVID Door dash (home delivery of take out) has taken off and our girls have found a new way to make money for school.

God is blessing all around.   I hope today you choose to see these blessings.  Name them one by one and it will surprise you what the Lord has done!

Our 4 kids and their cousin enjoyed a celebration together on the 4th of July

Blessings,

Mark and Maggie

1. Many of you ask about how COVID is going here. One more COVID blessing. For 4 months we have been preparing for COVID without any cases in our areas (a blessing in itself) Last week we had 2 individuals who attended a funeral in Lusaka, where the son and the deceased man both turned out to have COVID.  They live about 45 minutes away.   They both chose to come here for contact testing.   One was positive, our first case.   Praise the Lord we were prepared and all the proper procedures were followed and we had no unprotected contacts or exposures.   All the training and planning has paid off.   The numbers in the country are now rising and we expect to see more cases but we are blessed to have had good training and donation of PPE and supplies.   Thanks for your prayers as the Pandemic is now coming to our area.

PSS.   My wife has just told me there is a new drip from the shower.   The calcium build up may stop it, but that’s a problem for another day and another Bible lesson I’m sure (Matthew 6:25)