“The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit” (John 3:8).
Port Moresby is the capital city of Papua New Guinea, and it’s where we have done our banking for the past 12 years. The downtown district is on a peninsula jutting out into the Coral Sea, and it tends to be a breezy place.
Last week, Laurie and I went to the bank in preparation for our trip back to the village. The wind was the strongest I have ever experienced there. After parking our car on the street about a block from our bank, Laurie and I walked past a crowded bus stop. Everyone was squinting to keep the swirling dust out of their eyes. As we prepared to cross an intersection, the wind was whipping the powerlines and bending the poles like reeds. All of a sudden, we heard, POP! POP! POP! POP! POP! Looking up, we saw a most impressive fireworks show going on over our heads. Blown together by the wind, the swaying powerlines were arcing and exploding up and down the main streets of town. People ran in terror, and we decided this was one time when it would be wise to follow the crowd. It seemed like the deadly cables might come crashing down on us at any moment. There was a vacant lot near us with an iron fence around it. At a place where some pickets were missing, people scurried through into the safety of the open lot. We followed them through the fence and stood in the middle of the field watching the spectacle from a safe distance. After a minute or so, the sparking stopped. As people cautiously went back to the street, one young man turned to us and asked, “Are you all right?” It was comforting to see someone thinking of others in a time of crisis.
I thought the power would be out, and we wouldn’t get any banking done. Amazingly, however, our bank still had electricity.
Only a few weeks before this, we had gotten word about a serious offense committed by one of our most trusted local church leaders back in the village. The windstorm and the sparks and explosions we saw seemed to aptly illustrate the spiritual battle that is raging around our work. Though the enemy seeks to put doubts in our minds and fear in our hearts, we take comfort in the fact that God’s work keeps moving forward. Thank you for your prayers.
