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“What are all those books for?” asked one of my language helpers.
“For teaching our child,” I replied (proud that I could do so in the minority language they are helping me learn). One of them didn’t understand what I meant, so the other one explained to him that they are books to teach us how to be parents. “No, not that.” I said, “They are books for us to use so we can teach things to our children for their education.” I had to switch back to the national language to explain what I meant.
They pulled one off the shelf and examined it. “Science,” it said on the cover. Thankful that it was a subject I knew in the national language I told them what it was and they were quickly satisfied (though a little confused about why our kids learn science at home instead of at school). Of all the books that we have lugged over here in our suitcases on various trips, the next one they pointed to was a book of Bible stories. One side has the story and the other side is for coloring. They asked about that one and I said it was full of stories from the Bible. They were again confused about why Bible is a part of the curriculum and not just things like science and math. I explained that we follow Jesus and want our kids to learn the story of God as well. They seemed intrigued and opened up the book and began asking me to tell them the story. By default we started in the national language but I quickly stopped that and said, “Let’s try to do this in your language.”
The picture for coloring on the opposite side of the page helped when I didn’t know a word. Afterwards one of the helpers told the other one that they should get back to the work I was paying them for (helping me learn their language). Of course, they were unaware of the irony of the whole situation and that statement. Since then we’ve continued to pray that the story would indeed be a living story – a story that they are unable to stop thinking about and a story that sinks down deep into their heart and causes them to recognize that it is real and true. Hopefully there will be many more opportunities to use their language to tell them more of the Living Story.
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“I have found there are three stages to every great work of God: first it is impossible, then it is difficult, then it is done.” –J. Hudson Taylor
Those who know us have heard or seen this quote several times in the last few years. We have had long stretches of feeling like we were trying to attempt the impossible (and wondering why), but He has also been very gracious to us and helped see us through to the point where more often than not it just seems difficult. Usually very difficult, but that’s still an improvement from impossible! There have been times when this blog has been left to lie dormant for a while because we were simply overwhelmed with the impossibility and couldn’t figure out what to say on here. More recently, though, it’s been forgotten about because of all that we had going on and the pressure to meet deadlines during the past year.
So, once again I hope to resurrect this blog and give some reports of what is happening (although they will always, by necessity, be vague) and what we are learning and experiencing through the process. This post is an attempt to get back into that groove and to say publicly that what we’ve come here to do is not impossible. We know that by faith. When something has felt impossible for a while, getting to that point where it is difficult is something to rejoice over! May He give us grace to persevere and see it through to the point where it is done!
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After months of not updating I’m sure there won’t be anyone that reads this for quite some time. It wouldn’t be fair for me to disappear for months and then expect you to reappear just because I came back. This post is just to say that we’re here and that I do, in fact, intend to keep this blog going.
Not long after arriving in our new location, things started to unravel. It’s hard to choose the right phrase to describe the struggles we faced because it’s so hard to capture the challenge of what we were facing without sounding as if I’m questioning God’s control of the situation. What I mean is, if I say things started to unravel I am, of course, speaking of our experience of the situation. At the same time, we know that from God’s perspective nothing ever “starts to unravel.” He was not caught unawares or unsure of what to do. But we were; and it took a lot out of us.
Looking back, I wish I could have done better of recording the experience here but many times just making it through the day and keeping up with the responsibilities of life was enough. I captured a lot of it in my journal, but I don’t think I’ll go back and post any of it here. We’ve moved into a new season and it’s probably better just to move forward for now. I might go back and post some things as of the start of the new year – but that would mostly relate to new activities since the turn of the year or things I’ve been reading or thinking about since then. So anyways, here we are. I hope to establish a regular routine of sharing about our experiences here (as much as is possible, given the sensitivities of our context) and my reflections on this life to which we’ve been called.
Filed under: prayer, testimonies, Uncategorized, worldview | Tags: Prayer, testimonies, worldview
N was excited when he found out we were believers, because he had questions. He had noticed that Christians seemed to have true happiness and treated each other better than most people. This had made him very curious, a genuine seeker. He had never been to church and didn’t speak any English, so his searching was limited to what he could find online in his own language, which wasn’t too much. He had found some websites, though, and had been reading and even listening to some sermons. Here’s how some of the conversation went.
“Where does someone have to go in order to believe in Jesus?” he asked.
“Nowhere,” I told him, “There are no sacred spots or buildings, no temples or places more holy than others.”
“What about church?” I thought he was ask this, and I was glad he did, so I could try to explain that you don’t have to be in a church to begin following Jesus, but that church is a gathering of people who follow Jesus to be together, encourage each other, worship him together, learn about him, etc.
“What does it mean to believe in Jesus? How can God help me?”
“Well, many ways, but most importantly by forgiving our sins. All of us have sin in our lives and we are unable to do anything about it. No amount of good deeds can take away or lessen our bad. That’s why Jesus came to die for us.”
“Jesus died for everyone?”
“Yes, everyone.”
“Not just the Jews?”
“No. Everyone.”
“Then who are the Jews?”
“That’s gonna take some time to explain…”
“How can I know more about Jesus?”
“Read the Bible.”
“The whole thing? It’s huge!”
“Well, start with the gospels – they are 4 books about Jesus’ life that were written soon after his death and resurrection. They are named Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.”
“You mean that’s what it means when the preacher says Matthew 22:37? What’s the 22 and the 37 mean? ” (I don’t actually remember what passage he asked about.)
I went on to explain chapters and verses, and remembered when I was confused about the chapter – colon – verse thing.
Before long we were out of time and I had to wrap up the conversation. We exchanged names for the first time in the conversation and exchanged contact info and that was it.
I was thankful for the opportunity to share with him, excited about the seeds that had already been planted in his heart, and saddened by the fact that I didn’t have much time that day and was leaving the country just a few days later. I connected him with friends and have prayed that he would remain open to the work that the Holy Spirit is doing in his life.
What is most exhilarating to me about this experience was that it was sparked by the witness of someone else, who will never know the power of their lived-out testimony before N and many others. It was a real example of John 13:35 and 1 Peter 3:15, two verses that we should pray will become a more consistent experience in our lives.
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Who are we and what is this blog about?
We are laborers, whose field is an unreached people group in East Asia. We are currently in our home country, preparing to return to the fields. The entries posted on this blog will be for the purposes of inviting you into the following:
- The experiences of cross-cultural workers trying to plant the seed of the gospel among unreached (and hard to reach) people.
- The people of this ethnic group, whose lives, worldview and societies have been largely untouched by the powerful Word of God.
- Accounts of what happens when The Living Story bears fruit in someone’s life.
