It seemed so redundant when the phone company began requiring us to dial the area code, even when it’s the same as ours. But now we are used to dialing 32 numbers when calling India! A new project is just getting established there, and the Internet connection is unreliable, so we make lots of phone calls. And having to dial all those numbers certainly helps build our patience! If we miss a digit, if the line is busy, if the call is dropped, or if the connection is poor, then we have to dial all those numbers again.

Calls from North America to Asia many time zones away must generally be made in the evenings. A good portion of our daily work takes place between 5:30 and 9 p.m.

In areas where it is dependable, the Internet is our best method of communication. A great deal of business can be done with e-mails. Still, our essential monthly Skype meetings must take place in the evening hours. But what a delight to see and hear our missionaries and work with them through the questions and challenges that arise as they strive to communicate God’s love to their people.

I think about all the challenges we create that make it difficult for God to communicate with us. Too many appointments, too many emails, too many Facebook friends—do these keep the avenues to our mind too busy to connect with God? He has expressed His great desire to talk with us. Let us remove the impediments and seek to contact Him at every opportunity. Only then can we come to know His will for us.

“Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you” (Jer. 29:12 ESV).

—Janella Abbey

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