Standing in the Gap

1/16/2012

Cause me to hear Your loving- kindness in the morning, for on You do I lean and in You do I trust.
Cause me to know the way wherein I should walk, for I lift up my inner self to You.
Psalm143:8


I marvel at the way the Lord has sustained me over the last few months of uncertainty and "job insecurity". I am now out of work again.... got 8 looooonnnnngggggg shifts (usually 10 or more hours each shift) in the last 2 weeks but now have zip on the nursing home schedule and have not heard if Hospice really wants me or not????>>>>>...... they offered me $2.00 less per hour than I make at the nursing home "peddling" pills on what many of my colleagues affectionately call "Hell Hall"! They know what I make there... not a real way to attract me for working for them! They also cannot define for me what exactly it is they want me to do for them? Admissions? Call on weekends (they initially said they were "desperate" wanting me "yesterday" for me to take weekend call...even up to 64 hours straight from Fridays at 4 PM to Mondays at AM ... not sure it is either safe or legal but if it is... I would do it for the right price!) or working at the care center???? So I am waiting (a total of 3 weeks now) for someone to clarify what they want me for, so I can decide if the cut in pay might be worth it for the job offer!

The thought occurred to me today that maybe I should just go for the wedding(Feb 13th) in Nepal that I really want to attend and stay the 2 months and do it over the wedding rather than 3 weeks later, first of March, when I think I wanted to go anyway???? Never quite sure if my "Thinkin" is inspired or dangerous! Ohhh for a direct "bonk on the head" from the Lord to show me His path! So I am praying the above prayer and truly desire to Know His will! Please pray for me for that!

I am encouraged by the way He has taken care of me since my return from the last trip to Nepal. Initially the nursing home I work for had no work for me and then a smattering of shifts... to total one 2 week payment on my mortgage exactly! God moved a generous supporter to send me $500 towards my mortgage and combined with an advance payment from my friend to assist her elderly parents while she was gone over2 weeks of the holidays, and a surprise check from a friend who bought products from me several years ago, it exactly totaled another 2 week payment! Then the Lord brought me 8 shifts the last 2 weeks so payday on Jan 20th should catch me up again for a spell.

A pantry full of staples that needed eating has kept me in groceries and not lacking for nourishment. It confirms my need to trust Him "one day at a time" and that He has not forgotten His own.

A couple other concerns to request your prayers for:

*My Parents are definitely attending the Wedding ( 2 doctors in Nepal... one of whom my Dad delivered 28 years ago) and have purchased tickets to arrive in K-du Feb 3rd and then plan to go out to Dadeldhura for a week or so before the event. My Dad has a bad case of Shingles he has been fighting for the last 6 weeks or so. Pray for his recovery and that this trip will not be too stressful to exacerbate the condition. He is having a lot of nerve pain.

*Pray for R…... the engineer at the hospital in Dadeldhura, to come through with architectural plans for the new paraplegic facility and to follow through on the assistance he offered. He will not allow construction to begin till I return so I am feeling significant pressure to get back to make this happen.

*A Praise- but a dilemma and huge responsibility: The Board of Dare to Care has approved my return to Nepal to get this project off the ground and have authorized a "salary" for me equivalent to 2 months of my mortgage to enable me to go forward! Praise Him for His faithfulness. This is the first time I have ever allowed Dare to Care to be involved in my personal maintenance in the 7 years we have been serving. It is a blessing and a tremendous encouragement not to mention, timely! My plan was to use it for March and April but if there is no work here perhaps I should use it just a little earlier????

*Another Praise: My water leak causing my water meter to run away... was located by God's grace, down by the road (could have been anywhere in several hundred feet of my lawn between the house and the meter!) by a team of 3 men that owed one of my prayer supporters that worked for Quest a favor... they came and dug holes in my yard till they isolated the leak!). Another prayer supporter, a pipe fitter and his 16 year old son, came and dug for 2 days straight, in the pouring rain, till they had a hole 6 feet deep and big enough they could crawl down in to it and fixed the leak and wouldn't let me pay for that either! I am sooooooooooo blessed by these folks! So I am in good shape now but waiting for Manchester Water to adjust my outrageous bill. Pray they will hear the Lord speaking to them to offer me His favor on this too!

*A concern: I was bending over a patient's back side assisting with a treatment at work... the RN doing the treatment suddenly began "irrigating the wound" with no notice to me, and the over spray from the wound hit me smack in the face and in both eyes. Yuckkkkkkkkkk! It unfortunately has developed into pink eye for me and though I am on Q 4 hours intraocular antibiotics... my eyes are still itchy and only slightly improved. I have plans to follow up at Urgent Care tomorrow if I can get out. They are predicting more snow and ice for Seattle tomorrow! Hummmmm just not my lucky day!

*Pray for the team we are developing to come to Nepal with me in late October for 4 weeks. The team for March did not develop, but we have 13 who have expressed an interest in going in October! PTL. There is really only room for 7 this first trip.

*Pray for the Lord to provide someone (or two or three) who can help us research foundations that might be able to offer Dare to Care grants for any or all of our projects, from Phase 2 and 3 of our facility (a Skill training center and Library for impoverished women and a guest house to allow teams to come and serve short term) to working with a leprosy community or our orphanage. If we can find the appropriate foundations I have 2 people who have volunteered to assist with the actual grant writing. If you have any experience with this please contact me!

*Praying for another opportunity to show many of you our fine products our Nepali students have made as a quick fundraiser to gather in funds for other projects that need support too. We have focused on the new facility to the neglect of awareness for the radio station (we need $200/month... We are paid up till Dec 2011 so need more for the future to keep this great thing going!), The need for $ 2000 to sustain the women's ministries including an outreach to improvised widows and their families. The donation of a goat ($150) or 2 piglets ($100) or 2 chickens ($50) and includes a month supply of food for the animals allows us to encourage these women and families. We are also supporting the Brick- Making women (that is their day jobs) to learn more and make our beaded items. We also need supplies of wool for the paraplegics and their teenage caretakers to continue making knitted and beaded items. Even if you cannot attend the Valentine open house (date to be announced) you can give a gift of love that reaches farther than you can ever imagine! And for His Glory!

Well that should help you with your New Year’s resolution to wear out your knee pads praying for things that truly make a Kingdom difference!

Thanks for standing in the Gap with me! Don't know what I would do without you at my back! And reminding me that HE always has my back!
Blessings on you and yours in the New Year!
Till all have heard!

Dawn Didi