It is not a lack of political strength and organization that troubles the place I've been; rather, it is the lack of Jesus - the Word of God.
Aside from the Word, everything is arbitrary.
This summer I have seen the laborers who have given up their peaceful lives to come do the dirty work. They are called blessed. These are the true peacemakers. These will be called children of God.
"If you would follow on to know the Lord, come at once to open the Bible expecting it to speak to you. Do not come with the notion that it is a thing which you may push around at your convenience. It is more than a thing, a voice, a word, the very Word of the living God." - A. W. Tozer I found a passion for knowledge of the Word this summer like I've never had before. It's been good to explore much of the history of Israel that I have missed by not reading it and really reaching for it myself.
There is none more able than Yahweh Himself. None compares.
I want to share with you a list of quotes from some of my friends who traveled to Guinea, Tanzania, and Italy this summer. I will leave their names undisclosed.
“God showed me that nothing is too difficult in comparison to seeing people without Jesus. There is nothing I wouldn’t give up to help them know Jesus.”
“God showed me that my identity shouldn’t be based upon what I do. Rather, He taught me my identity comes from Christ.”
“God used this summer to confirm I want to be a Bible Translator.”
“I got to participate in helping move forward the ministry of Bible Translation. We worked on a language in which there is an 80 old man is asking God to allow Him to live to see the day when the Word of God will be translated in His language."
“Before this trip, I thought I was a strong person. God showed me through getting sick how I need to live in humility.”
“We should live amongst the Bible-less people because Jesus is the answer for their lives just as he is the answer for our lives.”
“Even though typing 8,000 words of a dictionary wasn’t always exciting. It was a way I got to move forward the ministry of Bible Translation. Because our team did this, the missionaries will be able to devoting themselves to the ministry of translation.”
“When you work on a team, you can’t just focus on your own agenda. You have to look to the greater cause of what the team is to accomplish.”
“Community isn’t just a group of your friends.”
“I want to be a Bible Translator.”
“When in another culture, your faults are magnified. I know there are some things I need to work on before I become a missionary.”
“I didn’t know what starvation was until I held a little girl who was starving. Even though I have grown up hearing about grace, I didn’t know what grace was until I met a man who was trying to make amends for the sins he committed the previous day. God used this trip to show me how much people need Jesus.”
“I’m praying for God to send me.”
“God has shown me that I need to be a voice of the oppressed.”
“We often say, ‘I’ll go if God tells me to go.’ Why don’t we say, ‘I’ll go unless God tells me to stay'?"
Some of these may seem simple, some sound beautiful, some powerful, and some very insightful. These people witnessed first hand (some for the first time) the power of God this summer. He is our healer, our deliverer, our ever-present help. We depended on Him for everything this summer, even the small things, and especially the big things. There was nowhere else to turn - no parents, no best friends, no brothers or sisters, no fiancée... only God.
Thank you for reading this summer. I love each of you, and I thank you for supporting me in all the ways that you have. I hope to begin another blog sometime soon. When I do, I will post the link on my Facebook page so that you can read it if you wish. Wherever you go, go with God. Whatever you do, do it for His Kingdom. The Kingdom is here. Welcome it, spread it far and wide, teach it, preach it, live it, and read about it.
I want to leave you with this question:
If you only had one life to live (which you do), and if you knew the ultimate Truth about life (which you do), what would you do with that life, with that Truth?
Blessings
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Voyage to America
All day in town, no time for goodbyes
Stock up on malaria prophylaxis
Left my phone at the guesthouse, thought I would just leave it, but missionaries are too kind
Quick stop in the Gambia
Ton of food on the plane
Breakfast in Brussels ($59 for 4 people... Ridiculous!)
Chocolate in Brussels, worth it!
Nap in Brussels, not worth it! Sore neck and rug mark on forehead (lying facedown on floor in airport...)
Depart for USA... 8.5 hours (American Airlines food < Brussels Airlines food) Side note: once out of Africa, shoes are more highly valued on your feet by others
Land in Chicago. First things first, McDonald's (they don't accept Guinea Francs)
Fly through customs (welcome back to America)
Take-off #4, depart for Dallas
Cran-apple juice, no ice please
Just realized I actually did bring soil back from Africa, on my feet
Also just realized I can speak to everyone in English and expect them to understand me
Who buys the stuff in Sky Mall anyways?
Regretting the decision to wear contacts on this voyage, eyes are unreasonably dry
Land safely in Dallas, retrieve baggage
Highway to PBT office, orderly traffic was awesome, people follow rules here
Went all summer without seeing any deadly snakes or giant spiders (which exist in the tropics in Guinea), then 20 minutes after being in Dallas, I find and kill a scorpion in my guesthouse room... Awesome
This is just a quick report. Keep checking back every few days. I'll be writing again soon. Peace and love to you who are reading. God is good. He has rescued us out of sin and brought us into life. The wages of sin is death, but the grace come from Jesus covers us all.
Stock up on malaria prophylaxis
Left my phone at the guesthouse, thought I would just leave it, but missionaries are too kind
Quick stop in the Gambia
Ton of food on the plane
Breakfast in Brussels ($59 for 4 people... Ridiculous!)
Chocolate in Brussels, worth it!
Nap in Brussels, not worth it! Sore neck and rug mark on forehead (lying facedown on floor in airport...)
Depart for USA... 8.5 hours (American Airlines food < Brussels Airlines food) Side note: once out of Africa, shoes are more highly valued on your feet by others
Land in Chicago. First things first, McDonald's (they don't accept Guinea Francs)
Fly through customs (welcome back to America)
Take-off #4, depart for Dallas
Cran-apple juice, no ice please
Just realized I actually did bring soil back from Africa, on my feet
Also just realized I can speak to everyone in English and expect them to understand me
Who buys the stuff in Sky Mall anyways?
Regretting the decision to wear contacts on this voyage, eyes are unreasonably dry
Land safely in Dallas, retrieve baggage
Highway to PBT office, orderly traffic was awesome, people follow rules here
Went all summer without seeing any deadly snakes or giant spiders (which exist in the tropics in Guinea), then 20 minutes after being in Dallas, I find and kill a scorpion in my guesthouse room... Awesome
This is just a quick report. Keep checking back every few days. I'll be writing again soon. Peace and love to you who are reading. God is good. He has rescued us out of sin and brought us into life. The wages of sin is death, but the grace come from Jesus covers us all.
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Shawn's Story
In a recent post, I mentioned to you a man named Shawn who I met a couple weeks ago. I want to share a bit of his story with you.
Shawn was an upright Muslim man who had some prestige in his village. His brother is an Imam, and he has 2 wives. He has a large field, and he owns some cows. He visited the mosque often, and he prayed to Allah 5 times a day just as he should. But one night, he had this dream...
An old man, a man who was wise and respectable, appeared to Him in a dream one night. In his hands he held a book, a holy book. The man looked at Shawn and said to him, "This is true." Shawn went about his life making no change. He ignored the man in the dream and went about his Muslim business. Three months later, he saw the same old man in another dream. But this time the man had by his side a sheep. It was a sheep like no one has ever seen before. It was a sheep, no doubt; but it was so white. No one has ever seen such a beautiful sheep. And the man was shining, brighter than fire. He wasn't even able to look at the man. The man said to Shawn, "This book is true. Do what is says and follow me."
This time Shawn took heed. That morning he woke up before the sun. He left his house and told no one where he was going or why he was leaving. He didn't tell any of his family, not even his wives or his brothers. He went to a nearby village that was half Catholic. He told the leader of the Catholics what he had dreamt, and the leader told him that God was calling him to follow Jesus. Shawn contemplated this and decided that he was right. These dreams were from God. Jesus was calling him.
So Shawn began asking questions and trying his best to follow Jesus. He prayed to God and asked that Jesus would show him how best to live and what it means to disciple after Jesus. The truth is that the Christians in the other village didn't really know much about discipling others for Jesus. They weren't very interested in Shawn. They wanted the converts, but they didn't care enough to serve Shawn and disciple him. They did not know true servanthood or brotherhood. So Shawn was left to himself.
He continued praying to God and asking him how to follow Jesus. All the while, those in Shawn's village rebuked him. They told him that his dreams were from the devil and that he had been deceived. They began to persecute him. They burned down his fence, they sabotaged his fields, they let his cows out and some got away. At one point, they stole his wife! A religious leader got some kids together to stone one of his donkeys while she was giving birth, killing both. So Shawn kept praying. He knew the Truth, but he desired more. He asked God to send someone his way.
Shawn heard about a man who came to the village sometimes and gave books away. He so happened to run into this man whose name is Joe. He said to Joe, "I want to follow Jesus. Will you help me?" Coincidentally, the books that Joe was giving out were books of the Bible. Joe was a missionary. God had sent Joe to Shawn.
Soon after, Joe built some huts and moved his family out to the village next to Shawn, and for the past 5 years they have been studying the Word of God together. God is faithful, and Shawn has been faithful. God called Shawn, and Shawn followed. He has persevered. He has counted his persecution as a blessing, and he prays that his entire village would come to understand who Jesus really is. To that I say, Amen.
Shawn was an upright Muslim man who had some prestige in his village. His brother is an Imam, and he has 2 wives. He has a large field, and he owns some cows. He visited the mosque often, and he prayed to Allah 5 times a day just as he should. But one night, he had this dream...
An old man, a man who was wise and respectable, appeared to Him in a dream one night. In his hands he held a book, a holy book. The man looked at Shawn and said to him, "This is true." Shawn went about his life making no change. He ignored the man in the dream and went about his Muslim business. Three months later, he saw the same old man in another dream. But this time the man had by his side a sheep. It was a sheep like no one has ever seen before. It was a sheep, no doubt; but it was so white. No one has ever seen such a beautiful sheep. And the man was shining, brighter than fire. He wasn't even able to look at the man. The man said to Shawn, "This book is true. Do what is says and follow me."
This time Shawn took heed. That morning he woke up before the sun. He left his house and told no one where he was going or why he was leaving. He didn't tell any of his family, not even his wives or his brothers. He went to a nearby village that was half Catholic. He told the leader of the Catholics what he had dreamt, and the leader told him that God was calling him to follow Jesus. Shawn contemplated this and decided that he was right. These dreams were from God. Jesus was calling him.
So Shawn began asking questions and trying his best to follow Jesus. He prayed to God and asked that Jesus would show him how best to live and what it means to disciple after Jesus. The truth is that the Christians in the other village didn't really know much about discipling others for Jesus. They weren't very interested in Shawn. They wanted the converts, but they didn't care enough to serve Shawn and disciple him. They did not know true servanthood or brotherhood. So Shawn was left to himself.
He continued praying to God and asking him how to follow Jesus. All the while, those in Shawn's village rebuked him. They told him that his dreams were from the devil and that he had been deceived. They began to persecute him. They burned down his fence, they sabotaged his fields, they let his cows out and some got away. At one point, they stole his wife! A religious leader got some kids together to stone one of his donkeys while she was giving birth, killing both. So Shawn kept praying. He knew the Truth, but he desired more. He asked God to send someone his way.
Shawn heard about a man who came to the village sometimes and gave books away. He so happened to run into this man whose name is Joe. He said to Joe, "I want to follow Jesus. Will you help me?" Coincidentally, the books that Joe was giving out were books of the Bible. Joe was a missionary. God had sent Joe to Shawn.
Soon after, Joe built some huts and moved his family out to the village next to Shawn, and for the past 5 years they have been studying the Word of God together. God is faithful, and Shawn has been faithful. God called Shawn, and Shawn followed. He has persevered. He has counted his persecution as a blessing, and he prays that his entire village would come to understand who Jesus really is. To that I say, Amen.
Monday, August 1, 2011
Prayer update
Please pray for my physical body. I hadn't posted this publicly yet, but 2 weeks ago I got malaria. I took treatment for it right away, and the fever and all the symptoms were gone within 2 days. But now, 2 weeks later, I am still feeling discomfort and even sometimes pain in my stomach. It could be side effects from the malaria treatment, but it could be a number of other things as well.
We are blessed to have plenty of certified nurses in the area who have top knowledge about things here, and there is a God who knows all things and who holds me in His hands. I am talking to a nurse tomorrow, and I'm confident it will be worked out. Nonetheless, I am growing weary of being weary. My strength is not back up yet, and my body is just taking a toll. Please ask God that, if it be His will, He would heal me. I know firsthand the power of prayer, and I thank you for believing in that same power. Feel free to share this request and pray with everyone. God hears His people.
Peace and love
I'll talk to you soon
We are blessed to have plenty of certified nurses in the area who have top knowledge about things here, and there is a God who knows all things and who holds me in His hands. I am talking to a nurse tomorrow, and I'm confident it will be worked out. Nonetheless, I am growing weary of being weary. My strength is not back up yet, and my body is just taking a toll. Please ask God that, if it be His will, He would heal me. I know firsthand the power of prayer, and I thank you for believing in that same power. Feel free to share this request and pray with everyone. God hears His people.
Peace and love
I'll talk to you soon
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