It is 5 a.m. The neighbor’s music beats at our doors, forcing its way in like an unwelcome guest. We have been trying to fall asleep since 8 p.m., but to no avail. Even earplugs don’t help.

Lying awake, I wonder if I should go over and try to talk with the neighbors. Maybe they will understand some English. James has been up and down the stairs almost 20 times. Most recently, it was to see what was happening outside. Our neighbors’ visitor has an expensive sports car, and now they are racing up and down the street. James is outside and forgot to close the door, so the mosquitos have found me. Their bites burn and usually last for about a week.

God draws my attention away from the mosquitos and noise to something I can be thankful for—the fact that I can hear. I think of all the deaf people who have to live in complete silence. He then takes my thoughts to prayer. Having already prayed unsuccessfully for our neighbor’s sound equipment to miraculously break down, I ask the Lord what else I should pray for. His answer is unexpected: I want you to learn to praise Me in the noise. For the next hour, I praise God for all His blessings. There are so many things to be thankful for—our children, our family, our donors and prayer warriors, our church family, health, love and life. The music thumped on for another hour, but praise God, we could sleep in the next day.

Our stay in Asia has been challenging in a number of ways. Coming from a loud, assertive, fast-paced culture to this soft, timid, tardy culture has taught us lots of patience. We have both stepped out of our comfort zones to teach English. It has been a rewarding experience, and we are looking forward to what the Lord has planned for us. We pray every day that we will be able to return to our Allaja Project soon, but in the meantime we trust God’s plan. We are content and continue to praise Him in the noise.

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