The Worst Thanksgiving Day Ever

Yes, it could truthfully, pretty acurately be described as that. 
If Thanksgiving was meant to be a day off to take time to reflect over our blessings, and spend time with family, and eat lots of food...yeah, it wasn't any of that - at all! 
Actully, the entire week seemed to be a bad one. 

There were no pies, no turkey, no stuffing - our oven doesn't even work. It hasn't worked since we moved in, and our landlady has had trouble organizing a technician to come take a look at it. 
There was no taking a day off. Too much to do and too many interuptions in what had been supposed to be a week full of accomplishments made that impossible - besides, we're not in the States anyway. 
Nope. We're overseas being missionaries.

Yesterday in itself wasn't too bad. I got some document translation and other paperwork done that I hadn't planned on doing, exactly. But the circumstances surrounding the day - well, that's where the story lies! 

I did write a full large three paragraph story detailing the adventure of this week including: an unplanned overnight stay in a city a few hours away while buying a car, spending two days buying the car, having the same car out of comission until next Wednseday because of head gaskets needing to be replaced; architects coming to evaluate and make lists of repairs needed on the house (oh, yes! we officially have our first safe home!), wanting to get an electrical contract opened to provide power to the house so we can check the plumbing, not being able to do that and instead having to go a different route after trying three times; etc, etc. 
But instead, I erased all of that and decided to start with one simple sentence.

This morning, I cried. 

I was up on the roof talking to God, and I cried.
I cried because of the stress piling up around getting this entire operation going. 
I cried because documents need to be translated, vital documents; yet at the same time so do vital conversations and negotiations with electrical companies, and contractors, and landlords, and mechanics.
I cried because every day this week, every day, the schedule we made was not accomplished. In fact, every day, something we never even considered an issue, came up and overrided anything else we wanted to get done. 
And I cried because I was losing my passion. I was zoning out and it was all just becoming a job to me. 

This morning, God asked me a question - the same question Jesus asked his disciples in Mark 8:29. "But what about you? Who do you say I am?"
When I have bad days, I usually think about little Sebastian in Guatemala; the little 4 year old who has a dad who's a drunk, a grandmother who's deaf, and a mom who sometimes forgets he's there simply because she mentally can't help it. I think about the soldiers overseas who aren't with their families either and are facing tougher things than I am. I think about missionaries like Gladys Aylward or Don Richardson who've actually had the right to have bad days. And I count my blessings, I really do.  
But this morning, when faced with the question, I couldn't turn to any of these other people and say who they think God is. Because the question is, who do I think He is? 

Who do I think He is on a Thanksgiving Day that seemingly brings bad news with each developement? 
Who do I think He is during a week filled with delays and vital timelines, like inspection periods, creeping up without being able to do anything about it? 
Who do I think He is when I go to bed one night and have a hard time bringing into focus the purpose of being here? 

One thing I know - He is everything. The Son of the living, active, doing God. 
He is strength. And He is peace in the storm. 
He is the one who commands the winds and the waves to be quiet and tells the father of a dead daughter, "Do not fear. Just believe." 
He is strong enough to fight the spiritual battles in the warfare we are facing right now. 

For example:
Today was like the epitame of the entire week. 
We got a rental car to use while my bosses' car is getting repaired, so first thing this morning, we headed off to open the electrical contract - only to find that we're missing a paper we didn't even know we needed (thankfully, we figured out a temporary answer until we can get the paper). 
From there we went in search of a generator to borrow for a day so the plumber/technician could check the well pump and system of our safe home before the seven day inspection period allowed in our rental contract runs out (we have til Monday). The company in town said they have one on hand and we thought it was all going well - only to find out, after filling out ten minutes' worth of paperwork, that it didn't have the correct voltage. We left our rental car in their yard and hopped into the SUV of our friend who is helping us with this phase. 
Many hours later, 4:30 rolls around to find us back at the house with a generator we finally found from the next town over (a 45 minute drive, one way). The plumber/technician got there, and we can't wait to get things going - only to find out that, unbeknownst to the owner when he gave us the house, the well pump was stolen. Yup. Somebody moved the concrete slab that was in place the last years or so and supposed to be a sure guard guarantee against that very thing - they pulled up the pipe from way down under and broke off the pump (one of the most vital assests of a house) to sell. 
After going over what was there and making a list of supplies needed (including a new pump), we headed to the hardware store to check prices for tomorrow when we begin. By the time we got back to the yard of the first rental company (where we left our car), they'd already locked the gates and won't open them until tomorrow morning at 8:00. 
Oh yeah! One more thing. The schedule we made this morning said I was supposed to have the entire afternoon today to work on document translation :)
The epitame of the entire week - no joke! It's the kind of stuff that leaves us with the choice to either laugh or cry. 

Tonight, we laughed. 
Then we talked about how these things are not just a circumstance or coincidence. We are facing a real, head-on spiritual battle. 
The enemy hates what we're doing. 
He hates that we've been given open doors and God's favor. 
He hates that we are walking into his territory and actually making headway. 

So we keep doing it, we keep praying, we keep fighting and moving forward. 
And we answer the question, "But what about you? Who do you think I am?" 
Today, my answer is that my God is the one true God. A life giving God. My Father. 
And He is my reason to be thankful - even on the day that seems like the worst possible day ever to give thanks.