My wife always loves to say, “Praise God in your trials.” While that is a very true statement, it’s not the easiest to put into practice for some of us, myself included.

Our family recently made an excursion to the foothills of the Sierra Nevadas and floated down a section of river where Chinook salmon were spawning.

It was the perfect trip . . . that is, until disaster struck with only 1.5 miles to go. The rapids pushed the kayak into a bank of willows, where it got trapped. As I attempted to free the kayak, I unbalanced everything, and the current forced it to capsize. The girls were dumped out along with all of our belongings.

Anastasia, still in the water near the kayak, began screaming as she desperately clung to a branch. Nikki and I tried to swim against the current to get to her, but it was far too strong for us. We kept shouting at Anastasia to let go so she could float down to us, but she was too panicked to hear our instructions. I gripped onto the branches, pulling myself up to her. She finally let go and floated into my arms. I grabbed her and swam back to the opposite shore, then returned to the dump site to salvage what I could.

Afterward, I discovered that as soon as they capsized, Nikki started praying, thanking God for the trial. While I had been focusing on what I could do to help Anastasia, Nikki was aware that this was a challenge God would bring us through. She knew that God was in control, taking care of us. Her prayers were exactly what we needed, and the way things worked out was proof. We recovered the kayak, the oar, the adult life jackets and her phone. God made sure that we had everything that we absolutely needed to finish our float safely.

When we are in the mission field, I know that we will experience many trials and, like Anastasia, will need to listen for God’s guidance and let go so that He can carry us safely to shore.

Thank you to all of our supporters who have joined our team. If you are interested in supporting a mission project, pray that God will carry you to the project that He has in mind for you.

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