We were eating breakfast with our team the other morning when a story spilled out.  While we knew bits and pieces, we had never heard it in its entirety.

Eight years ago we were in the throes of moving from Shiloh's first location in Odza to where we are now.  While the new house was actually a bit larger than the old, the property was significantly smaller.  Shiloh Odza was situated on an acre of terraced and beautifully landscaped land.  All those lawns, hedges, flower gardens, and trees took a lot of work.  We had a full time gardener on our team.  In fact our day crew numbered five and we had a full time night guard as well.  But the new location with its postage-stamp size cement yard needed very little outdoor work.  We felt we could get by with only two people during the day, plus the night guard.  It was tough to know who to keep and who to let go, but through much discussion and prayer, we finally made the decision.  We would let the night guard go and would offer that post to Francis, who was actually one of our newest team members.  But he had proven himself to be valuable in the time he was with us and we didn't want to let him go.  

And thus begins the story Francis recently shared with us.  Ever since he was old enough to start looking for work, Francis had promised himself that he would NEVER take a night guard position.  Truth be told, he's afraid of the dark and doesn't even want to think of all the scary things he would have to deal with all night long, night after night.   Being a night guard was not for him.  No way.  Not now.  Not ever.  Not under any circumstances.  Then one day we offered him an opportunity to move with us to the new location, but only in the position of night guard.  We had no clue he felt the way he did about the job.  By that time he had grown spiritually to the point that he was starting to let God run his life.  While he really didn't want the job, he felt maybe God wanted him to take it.  So he accepted the offer, and we remained ignorant of what we were asking him to do.  

He reports that it was during those months that he was our night guard that his faith was stretched and he grew spiritually.  When a torrential tropical rainstorm blew in during the night, he would put on his hooded jacket, grab the flashlight, and go outside.  He was shivering cold, and scared to death.  But as he walked around outside all during the rainstorm, he was cast on the Lord.  He refused to stay inside the house because he knew that many thieves break into houses during the heavy rains.  As a child of God, he took his responsibility to do his job to the best of his ability very seriously.  And he cried out to God night after night for safety and protection for all of us.  He slowly began to see that our Heavenly Father was more than able to protect him in the middle of his worst fears.  

Today Francis looks back on those difficult months as the time when he grew the most spiritually.  He says it was there, walking around outside in the heavy rain, that he proved the faithfulness of God.  He learned to cling to Him as never before.  While he has no desire to give up being our cook and go back to being a night guard, he is so grateful for the time spent outside in the rain in the middle of the night.  He wouldn't change that experience for the world.