"LIGHT MY CANDLE, LORD"
by Erwin Bourne-July 28, 2002

  For thou wilt light my candle: the LORD my God will
enlighten my darkness.
  For by thee I have run through a troop; and by my
God have I leaped over a wall (psalm 18:28-29 KJV).

"lord, you have brought light to my life; my God, you
light up my darkness.  In your strength I can crush an
army; with my God I can scale any wall.  As for God,
his way is perfect.  All the Lord's promises prove
true.  He is a shield for all who look to him for
protection.  For who is God except the Lord?  Who but
our God is a solid rock?  God arms me with strength!
He has made my way safe" (Psalm 18:28-32 NLT).

I'm a bit different, emotionally, than a lot of my
contemporaries, so I don't expect to be understood
exactly by all my family and friends and supporters of
our mission.  Dr. Allen McGuill of GALCOM INCORPORATED
recently sent me an e-mail from Canada, ending with
this Scripture verse:  "For thou wilt light my candle:
the LORD my God will enlighten my darkness" (Psalm
18:28).  Inspiration leapt out of this verse!  The NLT
reads, "lord, you have brought light to my life; my
God, you light up my darkness."  Let me enlighten you
with a couple of illustrations.

Before I landed in South America-coming from the
frontier of Alaska-my candle nearly went out, it was
down to a tiny flicker.  In fact, many a night as I
was retiring, I prayed God not to let me see the light
of another day.  My days were filled with depression.
Up on the Frontier of Interior Alaska, folk said I was
just listening to a different drummer.  And so my life
flickered and nearly went out.  So it was in one of
the darkest of nights (physically and emotionally)
that I took the venture to go to Colombia, South
America.

On this Sunday morning (July 28, 2002) I wrote the
message, "FAITH UNDER FIRE! And e-mailed it on the
World-Wide-Web.  Then I retired for most of the day.
I recalled that I had just purchased from an
indigenous tribesman a hand-woven hammock-made
entirely from jungle fibers.  Jean helped me string it
up on the river-front veranda between two stately
pillars.  I uncoupled both "legs" (prosthetics) and
stretched. The sky was overcast and growing darker so
she brought out a raincoat to cover me.  And almost
instantly I fell into a deep sleep.  So deep that I
slept through an Amazon down pour.  This life agrees
with me!

Psalm 18:29 continues:  "In your strength I can crush
an army; with my God I can scale any wall.  As for
God, his way is perfect."  A lot of vigor is
challenging my "inner man."  My outer man failed uite
miserably a couple weeks ago.  I, with two national
brethren, traveled downriver an hour in a lisador with
a 85hp Yamaha outboard.,  I was invigorated and felt
like I could "run through a troop" (KJV)-but I
couldn't scale the wall.  Well, Yes, with lots of help
I managed to get to the top of the bluff where the
Brazilian village of Sururuá was located.  However,
aftr a good service and some business, the men had to
drag down the bluff on the sear of my pants-due in
part to a drenching rainfall.

So now back to the Casa Grande mission base-and my
wheelchair and the woven fiber hammock!  This is where
I belong.  I have field men to do the work.  The Lord
will "light my candle: the LORD my God will enlighten
my darkness."  I'm back in my office at the computer.
It's 11 P.M.  I'll soon retire-but only 'til four A.M.
Then I need to get out on the veranda to meet the new
day.

With the first hint of daylight the "gallinazos" or
buzzards will leave the tree tops for another day of
scavangering.  Then the tiny Jenny Wren begins its
bright twittering song.  The air will be filled with
bird calls-and the coffee will be ready.  So now I
must sign off.  Another tropical squall is in action
outside.  The bed-not the hammock is inviting. I must
say "Good night!"


Erwin Bourne
<Outreach_amazon@yahoo.com>