T ~ Three amazing children, each a unique gift from God
H ~ Husband of integrity and love
A ~ Andes mountains outside of my window
N ~ New mercy every morning
K ~ Kindness from the heart
S ~ Silliness and laughter
G ~ God's faithfulness and power
I ~ Invitation at my heart's door to come and sup
V ~ Voices of children joined in song
I ~ Interest in me by a true friend
N ~ New beginnings
G ~ Growing in grace
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Friday, November 18, 2011
Ashaninka volume 15
Tonight was a night of firsts. Lydia is 40 years old and has never seen a Bible in her own dialect, Ashaninka. We have been talking about finding some Bibles for a while and were surprised tonight when Emely came, proudly carrying an Ahaninka New Testament someone had given her mom. Lydia started reading it immediately. I couldn't believe how big some of the words were, some with more than 20 letters in them! Lydia used it to follow along in Matthew where Brent was reading in Spanish. She said she was going to pepare herself by reading it and comparing it to Spanish and try again to share the Gospel with her family. She is also excited to read it to her mother, who does not speak Spanish.
Another first for Lydia tonight was when her 2 year old little girl, Katerine, climbed a large orange tree! Our study was interrupted by a call for help and we all ran over and there was tiny little Katerine, way up in the tree. She was stuck but didn't seem the least bit scared. Her mother, however, was! Giant Brent was able to reach her and get her down and everyone was happy.
Also a first for the 3 adults was that the "Lord's Prayer" is only a model given to us by Jesus, not an exact prayer we need to repeat over and over every day. The Catholic church teaches people to repeat this prayer, either as a way to show your desperateness to get something or your sincerity in repentence. The idea that it is a prayer Jesus used to teach us how to pray and not a magic prayer, was new to them. I think they understood.
A first for me was to learn that if anyone in this communtiy is caught stealing, child or adult, he is beat with a thorny vine from a certain tree. The thorns were described as needles that release a poison that numbs you as it goes in. Yikes! Safe to assume thieves are as uncommon there as are doors and windows!
Not a first for us, but still so sweet, were the kids picking fruit off the trees and offering it to us as a gift. They never want us to leave empty handed and it just shows their heart of thankfulness and humility.
Another first for Lydia tonight was when her 2 year old little girl, Katerine, climbed a large orange tree! Our study was interrupted by a call for help and we all ran over and there was tiny little Katerine, way up in the tree. She was stuck but didn't seem the least bit scared. Her mother, however, was! Giant Brent was able to reach her and get her down and everyone was happy.
Also a first for the 3 adults was that the "Lord's Prayer" is only a model given to us by Jesus, not an exact prayer we need to repeat over and over every day. The Catholic church teaches people to repeat this prayer, either as a way to show your desperateness to get something or your sincerity in repentence. The idea that it is a prayer Jesus used to teach us how to pray and not a magic prayer, was new to them. I think they understood.
A first for me was to learn that if anyone in this communtiy is caught stealing, child or adult, he is beat with a thorny vine from a certain tree. The thorns were described as needles that release a poison that numbs you as it goes in. Yikes! Safe to assume thieves are as uncommon there as are doors and windows!
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Church janitors
I can remember the church janitors from every church I've ever attended! Church janitors often have a thankless job, but oh, so important and necessary. I appreciate their job much more now that Brent, the kids and I have the big job of keeping our rented church facilities clean!
Our rented space is on a dirt road so it is constantly dusty. The wonderful roof that was constructed by our friends from Lima and Texas has several considerable leaks so when it rains, there is plenty of water to mop up. We like to have soda and/or snacks almost every time we meet, so there are inevitably stains, glops or crushed chips on the floor. When we hand out candy to the kids, probably 10 wrappers make it into the trash and we have found chewed gum in every conceivable place. Then there are the two bathrooms. There is usually evidence of a rat friend or two, and other......stuff to clean up.
I am so proud of our kids, who are really a huge help and have hammered nails, scrubbed toilets, swept, mopped, painted, cleaned 80 chairs from top to bottom, picked up trash, sanded......on and on I could go, and all of this in extremely hot conditions. They are such a blessing to us and I know God sees their service and will reward them for it.
Mostly, I am just so thankful for the men and women who's job it is to keep our churches clean and in order. I remember the O'Mears in Kennesaw, GA, an elderly couple who volunteered their time to clean our large church building. Take a minute and thank your church janitor this week!
Our rented space is on a dirt road so it is constantly dusty. The wonderful roof that was constructed by our friends from Lima and Texas has several considerable leaks so when it rains, there is plenty of water to mop up. We like to have soda and/or snacks almost every time we meet, so there are inevitably stains, glops or crushed chips on the floor. When we hand out candy to the kids, probably 10 wrappers make it into the trash and we have found chewed gum in every conceivable place. Then there are the two bathrooms. There is usually evidence of a rat friend or two, and other......stuff to clean up.
I am so proud of our kids, who are really a huge help and have hammered nails, scrubbed toilets, swept, mopped, painted, cleaned 80 chairs from top to bottom, picked up trash, sanded......on and on I could go, and all of this in extremely hot conditions. They are such a blessing to us and I know God sees their service and will reward them for it.
Mostly, I am just so thankful for the men and women who's job it is to keep our churches clean and in order. I remember the O'Mears in Kennesaw, GA, an elderly couple who volunteered their time to clean our large church building. Take a minute and thank your church janitor this week!
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Ashaninka volume 14
We forgot repellent tonight. Yep, the mosquitos were happy. Tomorrow we really need to go get yellow fever vaccines, been putting it off.....
Kelly, our 15 year old friend who received Christ recently is on our hearts this week. She goes to high school in Pichanaki so she takes a moto taxi (a motorcycle with a covered seat on the back ~ there are hundreds of them here, they are the main mode of transport) every day to and from school, and has to buy two uniforms and all of her school supplies to be able to study there. I have wondered where this money comes from. Her family lives on selling their produce and her dad's night watchman job, which pays very little. We learned that she is "sponsored" by a Catholic nun. To receive her "allowance" from this lady, Kelly must attend Catholic studies and do chores at the church. She really wants to leave this, but won't be able to go to school otherwise. We are praying for wisdom to know how to help her.
I had such fun handing out brand new dresses to all the little girls tonight! Oh how I wish I could have given them each ten dresses and new clothes for all the boys too. A group of ladies in the U.S. has a sewing ministry and they make dresses by the hundreds and send them to children who need them. I was able to get 20 of them and make 15 girls smile. A heartfelt thanks to the ladies who made the dresses, God knows who you are!
Something I love about these people is their thankfulness. The kids learn early to say thank you and to share. They are the most unselfish people I've met. It is such a pleasure to work with them and have them for our friends.
Kelly, our 15 year old friend who received Christ recently is on our hearts this week. She goes to high school in Pichanaki so she takes a moto taxi (a motorcycle with a covered seat on the back ~ there are hundreds of them here, they are the main mode of transport) every day to and from school, and has to buy two uniforms and all of her school supplies to be able to study there. I have wondered where this money comes from. Her family lives on selling their produce and her dad's night watchman job, which pays very little. We learned that she is "sponsored" by a Catholic nun. To receive her "allowance" from this lady, Kelly must attend Catholic studies and do chores at the church. She really wants to leave this, but won't be able to go to school otherwise. We are praying for wisdom to know how to help her.
I had such fun handing out brand new dresses to all the little girls tonight! Oh how I wish I could have given them each ten dresses and new clothes for all the boys too. A group of ladies in the U.S. has a sewing ministry and they make dresses by the hundreds and send them to children who need them. I was able to get 20 of them and make 15 girls smile. A heartfelt thanks to the ladies who made the dresses, God knows who you are!
Something I love about these people is their thankfulness. The kids learn early to say thank you and to share. They are the most unselfish people I've met. It is such a pleasure to work with them and have them for our friends.
Pure Joy International
Pure Joy International is a ministry to missionary wives around the world. I had the privilege of attending their Lima retreat last month and it was excellent. Pure Joy International is made up of a group of women who love the Lord with all their hearts, have the desire to serve Him and let Him use their gifts and talents, and who have a heart for missions. They raise financial support from churches and treat 50 missionary wives to a free 3 day retreat. Not only is it all inclusive and very relaxing for us, they travel with a music team and several teachers and counselors. They also come, after having spent hours in prayer for each one of us, by name.
This time was such a treat and such a challenge to me personally! The teachers were well prepared and vulnerably shared from their hearts. It was really cool to meet another Miriam Ruth and especially to be challenged by her to memorize books of the Bible. She was a special blessing to me. Another blessing was hearing Sharon Smith share. She and her husband were missionaries in Ecuador for 30 years and are now working in the BBFI home office. These women are human and faulty just like everyone else, but have allowed God to work in a wonderful way through them.
The theme of this retreat was "Take Off The Mask". What an important message for us women! Wearing a mask of happiness doesn't make us happy. Wearing a mask of importance doesn't make us important. Wearing a mask of a perfect marriage does nothing to change reality. Wearing a mask of kindness in public does not make us a kind person. Wearing any mask is silly, really. We may fool others, but we know what is in our heart and so does God. It's also likely that we're not really fooling as many people as we think we are. May we all be real, transparent and vulnerable. Masks are for Halloween!
God gave me a most special gift at the end of this retreat. My name and others were called and we were asked to go to the back of the room. I had no idea what for. When a lady handed me a huge stack of cards and said these were from my home church, I burst into tears and just couldn't believe it. First of all, someone from Pure Joy had taken the time to contact my church, Central Baptist, and explain that I was going to be in Lima, etc. Then someone at Central had to pass the word to those who wanted to send cards, collect them all and mail them to AR where they were packed in someone's luggage and brought to Lima and handed to me. These cards meant the world to me. For me, that was the highlight. Thank you, Central friends!
This time was such a treat and such a challenge to me personally! The teachers were well prepared and vulnerably shared from their hearts. It was really cool to meet another Miriam Ruth and especially to be challenged by her to memorize books of the Bible. She was a special blessing to me. Another blessing was hearing Sharon Smith share. She and her husband were missionaries in Ecuador for 30 years and are now working in the BBFI home office. These women are human and faulty just like everyone else, but have allowed God to work in a wonderful way through them.
The theme of this retreat was "Take Off The Mask". What an important message for us women! Wearing a mask of happiness doesn't make us happy. Wearing a mask of importance doesn't make us important. Wearing a mask of a perfect marriage does nothing to change reality. Wearing a mask of kindness in public does not make us a kind person. Wearing any mask is silly, really. We may fool others, but we know what is in our heart and so does God. It's also likely that we're not really fooling as many people as we think we are. May we all be real, transparent and vulnerable. Masks are for Halloween!
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