My Stroke of Luck and a Tribute to a refugee who gave her life helping her family get out

​Hello my shocked and wearied friends, 

These are simultaneously the most infuriating & joyful days of my life. By simply re-forwarding a few emails from some friends in the A country, a small link was forged in a chain which may save many lives....My own life isn't even at risk & no $ was necessary......You'd do the same! I've suddenly been allowed to indirectly become part of this pipeline to a private team which already succeeded in a daring rescue after the 8/31 deadline in the "a" country. Hopefully, more will be attempted ASAP. This is what 6degreesandshrinking is about. 


I'm passionate & throw in/w my whole self at whatever I do. In 2015, the proverbial candle was burning at all 3 ends & I had a mild stroke due to excessive work.....It was my "Stroke of Luck" because it forced me into a more laid back life. The Lord is repaying me for the years that the locust has eaten.....(Joel 2:25). Now I run & do not grow weary (Isaiah 40:31). By God's Grace, the equivalent of several lives beyond my wildest dreams has been given me. Providence regularly falls in my path, despite my crud. The "locust yrs." were very frustrating as there were so many opps for service, yet so little time. Slowing down was made possible because my financial condition is satisfactory. So, last week, I was able to semi-retire in order to pursue the ministry I'd long desired among the 1400 people coming soon from the A country. Pray for 1) Efficiency & wisdom in time allocation 2) Fluency & that my comprehension catches up w/my speaking skills. (I learned the dialect of the country next door & there are new words to learn as well as diffs in pronunciation.) 3) Also pls pray for our direction in joining the right refugee agency. Our group isn't technically under anyone's authority. 4) Safety 5) That I'll connect only w/"men of peace" who want to pursue Jesus...(Luke 10:6)
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Last time, I mentioned E (not his real initial), the a man I'd met at the gym. Through divine circumstances, I gave him a Bible in his language. The mystery continued when he called last week at just the right moment to say he'd just bought his 1st house. After congratulating him, the thought occured....."What a 'coincidence'!".......I was just about to load up some ladders & donate them to a Christian thrift store. So, I asked E if he'd like an ext. ladder for his roof. He was very grateful. And, it was great to see him "step" into​ Gospel mystery again. LOL What a compelling witness of the Spirit's provision! It was a great "manly" housewarming gift!!!........Nyuk nyuk nyuk!!!!

Also been praying w/L (not his real initial) a lot lately by phone. He came to our community group for a year & a half several yrs ago & we recently reconnected. He's the same guy who's listening to Dostoyevsky's "The Brothers Karamazov" on Audible & was impressed w/how a seed must fall into the ground & die to produce many seeds. He never knew this was from the Bible! (I knew nothing about the novel until he told me this)......Anyway, don't know how this happened......but L's brother, who guarded members of the insurgency in a prison until they took over the country......& his oldest son got 3 month visas to the "I" country next door. They dressed like insurgency soldiers & crossed over about 10 days ago. The remaining 12 waited nearb​y for their chance.........A couple of days ago, in a great paradox of hope & tragedy that almost seems scripted, the rest of the family crossed. However, L's eldely mother slumped over as one of her sons carried her across the border. She was quickly rushed to a hospital where she passed away. The combination of long term health issues, prolonged stress & sudden joy of crossing was too much for her. Soldiers were also lurking nearby. L suspects that the family remained safe because of her.....as there is at least some shame in harrassing elderly women.....even among the bloodthirsty thugs who run the country now. While visiting him in his home Fri. evening, I referenced that seed in Dostoyevsky's work. He agreed that his mother was the seed which saved the family. I also told him of some parallels w/Joshua & Caleb when they got to go into the Promised Land. Thank you, Jesus, for seeing this family to safety. And thank you for the testimony of Your provision!

Michael Kelly Blanchard is one of my favorites....not only because he's a great musician but also for personal reasons. I emailed him to tell him that we used one of his songs at my dad's funeral. We'd had no prior contact, but he asked for my address & generously gifted me his CD, "Good Grief". It was such a great comfort that I used one of the songs at my grandmother's funeral a few months later. Because it is my desire that people from "that other Abrahamic religion" come to know that God weeps w/us in our sorrows, I wanted to dedicate this to the memory of L's mother......

THE BROKEN GOD 

Didn't see you there. Didn't know you were weeping, too. 
I think of tears as a human wound.
Though, of course, you care. 
You have shown you were human, too.
They say you cried at Lazarus' tomb. 

I was unaware how it is with a broken God. 
I thought of you as above my pain. 
Lost in my despair, so it is with a broken heart.
I never dreamed you could feel the same. 

(Interlude) 
Once in a magazine I saw a face
Wrinkled up in grief and travailed grace. 
I kept turning back to see that face. 
Some sad refugee from some sad place
In those eyes the sorrows of our race. 
Now I see it simply was the face of God. 
The face of God
Your face, dear God. 

Some say you're not there, just a myth for a lazy life.
An artifact from an ancient scroll. 
But I have known you near in the gift of a weary sigh. 
Lord for the lost and the lonesome soul. 

(Reprise) I was unaware how it is with a broken God, 
I never knew you could feel the same. 

For the safe arrival of more A people, the memory of L's mother......and the nations,

​........Just another witness to His Glory. ​