Getting Close

Well as most of you know my time here is winding down. I have less than two weeks left in Africa. In some ways it feels like I just got here, but in other ways I feel like I have been here for years. G0d has grown me in ways I could have never imagined and stretched me in ways I didn’t know I could be stretched. G0d’s faithfulness and your prayers have gotten me through. I know that many of you have been pr@ying for us as we finish these stories in the Nomad Language. So I wanted to share with you some of the miraculous ways G0d is working to finish the stories for the Nomad people.

Last time I updated you I told you about our steps for the stories and the work that still needed to be accomplished. There is so much of it and until about two weeks ago I would have said that there was no hope for completion. However, the L0rd has really been at work and has shown us that He is bigger than time and He can do whatever he wants.

So after we get an initial recording of the story we are required to go out and test the story with a Nomad audience. During the testing process, we check for comprehension, proper contextualization, and understanding. I have shared with you some stories of different ladies who have given the time to listen, such as The Sellers and Anna. These ladies have been invaluable to us, however about 2 months ago Anna left to go on an extended vacation and the group at The Sellers house has been slowly dwindling. Michelle and I began to pr@y about options for testing outside of the capitol. Information was brought to our attention about a Nomad area near where some of our new teammates live. We knew that if we stayed in the capitol there was no way we would be able to test all of the stories because we do not have any willing Nomad audiences. So we started to explore the idea of making a trip to this region.

First step was to make a contact that could be our mediator when we entered a village to test stories; mediators are very important in Africa. The mediator is used to explain needs, settle arguments, and even decide on prices between two parties. So we decided to call the man who are new teammates live with. We asked if he knew of any Nomad villages nearby his village that would be willing to participate in listening to the stories in order to help us with a project. This man whom I will call “John” began to set up everything. He found a village that was willing and ready. When we got the news we were overjoyed!!

So we packed our bags and prepared 24 stories to be tested. Usually it takes us about 1-2 hours to test a story so we had no idea how long we were going to be gone. When we arrived we were introduced to the village and our project was explained. We were then told that we could begin the next morning with our testing. As I laid in the hut that first night I started to worry about how the whole process was going to work. Michelle and I knew that we needed to work all day, everyday. We also knew that we had no relationship with these women who were going to hear these stories. In Africa relationships are key. Here you earn your voice through a relationship that has been nurtured over time. We knew that for the women to let us speak and for them to listen to the stories some kind relationship would need to be forged. I couldn’t sleep at all, so I just prayed that G0d’s Word would go out among these women and their lives would never be the same because of it.

The next morning John took the time to explain to us that the women of the village are strong Musl:ms. We told him that we understood. Then we went to meet the women of the village who would be listening to the stories; immediately there was a connection. The women were ecstatic to meet us. We began with the story of Abraham Calling. It took us a little while to get into the groove and that morning we tested 2 stories. We returned that night and tested 2 more. The next day we were only able to work for half of the day because of the Musl:m Pr@yer Day. We completed 2 more stories that day, for a total of 6.

Michelle and I knew that we needed to pick up the pace because even after we finish the testing of the stories there is still a lot of work to be done. We bathed the next day in pr@yer and the next morning the L0rd multiplied our time and we tested 4 stories in the time it had been taking us to do 2. The L0rd doubled our work and we finished the Old Testament!

We then went back to John’s house for lunch. After lunch we explained to John that the next stories would be about J3sus. We asked for his permission, as he is our mediator. He said, “The last story you played about Isaiah, I knew that it was talking about J3sus, but these women they do not know because they have not heard these stories before. I am okay if you play the stories, but the woman will have to decide for themselves.” That afternoon we went back to the village and it was explained to the women that the next stories were about J3sus. The women responded by saying, “You have come and asked for our help. We know that you are of a different religion that is not the same as ours. But we also know that the man who says these stories is a true Nomad man and has a good mind, so it is okay for us to listen.”

So for the next two days we tested and finished all 24 stories. G0d’s story was proclaimed. The women were so thankful to hear the stories from G0d’s Word. The last day we were sitting down with the entire group of woman around taking pictures. Michelle looked up and right over the hut where we had been playing the stories the last five days were two towers of the mosque. She thought to herself how awesome it was the G0d’s true word was proclaimed literally in the shadows of the mosque.

As we readied ourselves to leave I found myself not wanting to leave. Michelle and I felt like we had known these women forever, like they were old friends. It was so incredible, G0d knows that relationships are important to these people and he made one between us that stretched much deeper than the time we had known each other. As we made our way to the truck some women began to cry. And as we pulled away I began to pray that G0d’s word would penetrate their hearts. I pr@yed that these would tell other people the new stories that they had heard. And that G0d would wake them up at night by bringing these stories to their minds. And they would think often of the sacrifice J3sus made for them.

So now we are back in the capitol. We still have tons of work to do on our stories. Now that they are tested, we have to record all of the answers the women gave us and turn them into our supervisor. She will then decide when the story is approved for a final recording.

G0d is faithful and He is completing the work that is impossible in the time we have left. We know that G0d never promised us that the stories would be finished he just told us that he wanted us to share them with the Nomad people. We pray for more opportunities daily to do this.

Pr@yer Requests

1. Pr@y that as we work to finish the stories that G0d would multiply our time.

2. Pr@y for these women who were exposed to the entire G0spel for the first time the past week.

3. Pr@y for Michelle and I as we prepare for our return to the States and our time of transition.

4. Pr@y for contentment with the L0rd’s plans for our term. We are not sure if we will finish the project or not, but we know that the L0rd has called us to try.

5. Continue to pr@y for Sarah as she is in the States and readjusting.

Two Months Left

Well, time is winding down here, only 2 months and I will be home. Some days I am ready, some days I wish it was longer. I am sorry I have not posted in a while because we have been so busy. In the past month we have had a medical/dental team visit and we have been working hard on stories.

On my blog, I have explained our story project before, but for new readers I will give a short overview. Michelle, Sarah, and I are creating an Oral Bible Story Set in the Nomad language. You see, only 13% of Mali is functionally literate, which means the vast majority cannot read and may never learn. So our job is to put Bible stories into an audio format so that God’s Message can be shared with everyone. We have to go through many steps to accomplish this process.

First, we must gain an initial recording of the story in Nomad. Our friend, Michael, does this.

Second, we must translate the story back into English from Nomad. This is so we can make sure it says exactly what it is supposed to. Our friend, Jordan, does this.

Third, we go out and play the story for Nomad people. We ask questions to ensure the story is understood. This step is called testing.

Fourth, our supervisor looks over the story and approves it for a final recording.

So this is what we have been hard at work on for the past months. We are chugging along but we still have much work to do. We ask for your prayers this last two months.
• Pray that Michael and Jordan will be able to give us time to work on stories. We need them for three major parts of the process and they are both busy men.
• Pray that Michelle and I would seek God’s direction as we work.
• Pray for Sarah as she is still transitioning in the States.

The Stuff Prayers Are Made of…

So about a little over a month ago some of our friends met a “Nomad” woman, who I will call Anna. It happened when we were training our new team members. One of our assignments during the training was to go out and tell a Bible story to a new friend. We went out in pairs. One pair included Rita, an old team member, and Kendyll, a new team member. They saw a woman on the side of the road roasting corn, so they decided to strike up conversation and see if she would like to listen to a story. They talked with the woman through a translator and shared the story of the “Demon Possessed Man.” As they were beginning to leave the woman told the translator that she had a dream that white people would come and tell her about Jesus. This immediately caught our team members’ attention because this is what we pray for, this is the stuff our prayers are made of!

The next day at training we heard Kendyll and Rita share their testimony of Anna and her dream. As I listened to the story my heart leapt with joy. For the next week I thought about the woman a lot. We decided to give Rita a call to ask if she could introduce to the “Nomad” woman; Rita, of course, agreed.

Rita, a translator, and I went to meet her one morning. She wasn’t there when we arrived so we walked around the neighborhood until she came back from the market. Then the four of us sat down to talk as she roasted corn. Anna was very happy to see us. We talked casually for about fifteen or twenty minutes. Then we began to talk about the story she had heard the week before. She told us that she enjoyed the story very much. Then I told her that I had some stories in the “Nomad” language if she was interested in hearing them. She said she was and we listened to the Creation story together. Ever since this first meeting I have been thinking about Anna much.

This past week I could not get her off of my mind. I knew that the Father was urging me to go and share more stories with her. So this past Monday I went to her house. She was so excited. We talked for a long time. It was seriously just like I was talking to an old friend; we just chatted.

I told her I had brought other stories. She had this HUGE smile on her face. As we listened to “The Fall” together I watched her face and prayed for her understanding. Since my arrival here in Mali I have never seen anyone so intrigued in a story. Her concentration was undisturbed even though there was so much going on around her. When the story was over she immediately repeated it to me, every part. We talked for a little while about the story and what she learned. Then I asked her about the dream she had.

She explained to me that the dream happened about four years ago and she has thought a lot about it since then. She said in the dream she was sitting outside of the gate of her home talking to white people and those white people were telling her about Jesus. She then told me that she knew this dream would come true one day.

Today I went back to visit Anna. We listened to the “Noah” story. Tomorrow we already have plans to listen to the story of ” Abraham’s Calling.” Then we are going to visit some other “Nomad” families in the neighborhood.
As I pray for Anna I can’t help but think of the miraculous way God prepared her heart for the message of Jesus. Dreams and visions are something we pray for often for in this culture, because of their frequency and impact here. This is the stuff prayers are made of!!

Prayer Requests:

1. Pray for Anna as she hears the stories from God’s Word in her heart language. Pray for her understanding and acceptance of the truth.
2. Pray for language understanding for me. As she hears the stories I want to be able to not miss a thing.

Sarah

And then there were two.  In two days Sarah is leaving to go back to Ameriki (that is how they say America here.)  Michelle and I will then be staying till January.  The time is bittersweet as she says goodbye to all of her African friends and as she reflects on her time in Africa.  Please remember her in your prayers over the next two days.  The culture change will be great and we pray for grace.

Prayer Requests for Sarah:

1. Sweet goodbyes with her African friends
2. Sweet reunion with family and friends.
3. Adjustment back into American culture
4. Overwhelming peace about her departure and a knowledge that she was obedient to the call
5. Future plans

 

Michael Update

Our friend Michael came by to visit last night and say goodbye to Sarah.  As most of you know Michael is the one who helps us with stories.  He records them into the “Nomad” language.  Also, many of you know that he is a secret believer, because of severe persecution.  His family does not know about his faith.

A few weeks ago Michael took us to meet the woman to whom he is engaged.  After the meeting we asked Michael if she was a believer.  He told us no.  He also told us because of the impending wedding he would be going to visit his father in another country to tell him of his faith.  We prayed heavily for Michael as we knew this was going to be a very difficult experience.  We prayed that God would provide him with the courage and words to speak.

Last night when he came to visit it was the first time we spoken to him since his trip.  First we exchanged the polite and cultural greeting then we asked how the trip had gone.  At first he just said, “It was difficult.”  He began to explain that his father told him he was very disappointed.  His father told him, “Out of all the people my son is the one who chooses to leave Islam.”  There was much opposition from his father.

Please remember Michael, much his family still doesn’t know including his future wife’s family.  When word spreads persecution will come.

Prayer Requests for Michael

1. For strength and dependency on God during this time.
2. For God to melt the hearts of stone in Michael’s family.
3. Michael was in the hospital this past week for malaria.  Pray for a quick recovery.

Village Time!

This past week our supervisor allowed us to return to our village, Yosemite.  She wanted Sarah to be able to say goodbye before she leaves for America.  We left early in the morning, made the drive, and then stayed for two nights.  On the way there I was soooo excited.  Sarah and I have not returned to our village since we left.  The person I most excited about seeing was our mother, H-Mama.  She was the lady who took care of us in the village.  She fed us and tried her best to turn us into “Nomad” women.  She was really just like our mother.  She fixed our skirts when they were wrong, taught us how to make African cuisine, how to eat with our hands, and she even wiped our faces a few times.  So, there is deep connection between the four of us.

When we arrived in the village we parked the truck and starting walking to the entrance of our compound.  (A village is made up of many compounds.  Compounds are groups of huts that face an open courtyard.  In our compound lives family and extended family.)  I saw H-Mama through the entrance and excitement welled up inside of me.  However, to my surprise the excitement didn’t come out with words but with tears.   After we hugged I was finally to get out I missed you.

Then the next two days were awesome.  We visited all of our friends and gave them gifts from the capitol.  We just spent quality time with them.  Quality time that had been missed so much.  AND WE ATE TOGETHER!  We were in the village for a total of 43 hours and we ate 14 meals and 2 snacks.  There was so much food.  I was so excited to be there and I stuffed my face.

Both nights I lay in my tent.  Praising God for the opportunity for Sarah to say goodbye to here friends.  And also asking God for the “Nomad” people.  Praying that He would bring them to Himself.  Praying that they would realize the truth.  And also surrendering the knowledge that I may never see that myself.

The last morning in the village we gathered on H-Mama’s porch with our friends.  We were talking and laughing and H-Mama asks our supervisor to pray.  H-Mama is about as devout as they come in the Islamic world, but she asked for prayer in Jesus’ name.  Our supervisor asked me to tell H-Mama that she would pray in English because that is her strongest language and the Father understands it all.  They all agreed.  On that porch in a “Nomad” village controlled by Islam we prayed for their salvation in Jesus’ name.

Simbala

My last blog was about how Eli was getting a new roommate.  Well, Ben has been here for over a month now and the relationship is going well.  The first night Ben moved into Eli’s house we had a nice dinner and then Ben received his African name.  Eli had picked out two different names; both of the names are original to the “Nomad” people group.  Eli explained the meanings of the names and asked us to choose one for Ben.  We choose the SIMBALA.  This name means “to lean on God”  in Nomad.  It is pretty fitting name because Ben has made the intentional decision for the next two months to give up the comforts of home, give up a common language, and FULLY lean on God.

Since that night Ben and Eli have had many conversations about what it means to follow Jesus.  When the questions kept coming the Lord led Ben to ask Eli if he would like to study the Gospel of John together.  Eli agreed and about three weeks ago they began their study.  Eli was very interested the study and asked many questions.  However, as they got deeper Eli began to pull away.  He told Ben, “I need to think about some things that we are studying.”  Eli now has begun to try and change the subject the topic of study comes up.

From the outside and at a first glance this story can seem disappointing.  However, since I have been in Africa God has been breaking and molding me.  As I read His Word, as I Pray , as I talk with other believers God brings conviction into my heart.   Conviction that shows me something is wrong and I am not living the way God wants me to; and that conviction is tough.  Sometimes it hurts and weighs heavy on my heart.  Sometimes I even want to run away from that conviction.  However, when I surrender and let God do a purifying work in my life there is praise for a deeper, more intimate relationship with the Father.

So, Eli has begun to change the subject…Could it be that he experiencing conviction from the Father?  In Hebrews 4:12 Scripture says, “What God has said isn’t only alive and active! It is sharper than any double-edged sword. His word can cut through our spirits and souls and through our joints and marrow, until it discovers the desires and thoughts of our hearts.” CEV Every night Eli has been interacting the Word that reach into desires and thoughts of our hearts; a Word that is active and alive!   We praise God for conviction, even though it is tough, because we know what the outcome can be.  So would you join us in praising the Father for the conviction on Eli’s heart!  Eli may not quite know what to do with it yet, but pray for the Father to provide that understanding and we know He is faithful!

Prayer Requests for Simbala (Ben) and Eli:

1. For boldness and courage in Christ to speak truth as he lives at Eli’s and travels around the capitol meeting new friends.
2. That Ben would not discouraged by Eli’s disinterest.  And for wisdom to discern between conviction and disinterest.
3. For Ben’s language as he is daily trying to learn “Nomad.”
4. For Eli to be open to the gift of Christ.

Roomies

So this past we received many new team members, 10 in all. Nine of them are here to complete 2.5 year terms in order to produce a Chronological Bible Storying Set just like Sarah, Michelle, and I. There will be working among three people groups who have yet to hear the Good News in their heart language. However, the last new guy is going to be really special to our specific team.         His name is Ben. He will be here for around 3 months. He will be specifically working with Sarah, Michelle, and I. What will be his job you ask? He will be assisting us in completing our stories. He will also be doing some research in the capitol city finding more and more “Nomad” people. This will involve spending time in the markets and building relationships in order to find out which neighborhoods have a population of “Nomad” people.

AND THEN there is the best news of all!! Ben is going to be living with Eli in his home. Around two months ago we started to look for a place for Ben to live. After, our first choice fell through the Father led us to ask Eli if Ben could be his roomie. Eli and his older brother (the landlord) agreed almost immediately. Last week, we were at Eli’s house eating dinner and we began talking about Ben. Eli asked, “Does he know a lot about the Bible?” We answered, “Yes, he does.” Then Eli smiled and said, “Good, I have a lot of questions.”

So please Remember Ben and Eli in your pr@yers:

 For Ben’s quick and easy transition to African culture

 For his ears and tongue as he learns the “Nomad” language

 For boldness and courage to speak out in his new surrounding

 For the Father to guide his words as he answers Eli’s many questions

 For Eli an open heart to the Good News

 For courage and strength to follow

 For his family and friends that live in and around his house

The Recognition of TRUTH

So I want to introduce you to a fun group of ladies.  Earlier in the year we were introduced through some of our contacts to a “Nomad” family that lives on the other side of town.  Since then we have gone sometimes pretty regularly, sometimes not.  However, we have become pretty good friends through it all.

There are about five women who live at this house full time.  Then they are two women who have traveled to the capitol because of medical needs.  They have been staying at the house for a few months now.  Now these women really have incredible entrepreneurial skills.  Whenever we go to the house they are always making something in order to sell it.  They sell goats milk from their goats.  They buy fish in market and cook it to sell.  They sell little fried treats.  They burn wood and make charcoal to sell.  They chop wood and sell it for cooking fires.  They make a crazy amount of porridge every afternoon to sell to the neighbors.  And truly, I could go on and on.  So for these reasons I will call them “The Sellers.”

Well a few weeks ago we decided we needed another house for testing.  When we test we play the first recording of the story and we ask questions to confirm comprehension.  All the questions are usually pretty specific.  If the story is misunderstood we make note of it.  It does not necessarily mean that the story is wrong, but it could mean the story is just not as clear as it should be.  Also, there are many synonyms is the “Nomad” language so we make sure the most understood words are used.

About 2 weeks ago we went and asked if we could share a story with them.  The oldest lady in the house, who is in the capitol for medical reasons, asked if she could listen to the story first.  She took us into one of the rooms and began to listen.  There was no doubt in my mind that she was listening so that she could approve the story before the other women listened to it.  The story she listened to was Creation and she enjoyed it so much.  As soon as it was over, she told us how much she enjoyed it and that we could now go outside to play it for the other women.

We went outside the room into the courtyard.  All homes here have a courtyard.  This is where the majority of the living takes place.  They cook and socialize in the courtyard.  They do this mostly because it is too hot to stay inside their houses.  Pretty much the only thing they do inside is sleep and that’s only if it’s not too hot.

Well, we played the story again in the courtyard with about three more women present.  After it was finished they told us to walk across the courtyard and play it for another woman who was cooking.  After all the people in the courtyard had heard the story, we asked if we could ask them questions about the story.  The oldest woman was excited and immediately answered, “Yes, that will be very good.”  The other women shook their heads in agreement.

We began asking questions and answers started coming from all directions.  You see, everyone in the courtyard had heard the story and most were eager to share their thoughts.  However, some of the women weren’t as sure.  So the oldest woman empowered them saying, “It’s easy you just listen to the story and questions.  Then you answer the questions.”  We finished our testing questions in no time.  And probably with the most in depth answers we have heard.

As we were finishing up one of the woman arrived home and asked what we were doing.  We told her told her that we were listening to stories from God’s Word.  She immediately asked if she could hear the story too and of course we agreed.  This specific woman, who came in after the fact, was extremely excited about the stories and wanted to know if we had more.  We told that we would return with more stories.  All of the women told us, “These stories are very good to us!”  This is a very African thing to say.  And we of course told them, “Their help was very good to us!”

As I sit here writing this I am thinking how neat it is that the stories are not even near finished but people are already hearing God’s Word.  After these stories are tested they must be edited and then a final recording must be made.  We are still months out from having the finished product.  However, people are hungry for God’s Word NOW.

Pr@y that the Father would lead us to the seekers.

Pr@y that as testers hear these stories that they would recognize them as Truth.  Pr@y that they would share these stories with their friends.

Pr@y that they would not be able to get these stories out of their heads.

Pr@y that they would kept awake at night as they ponder these stories.

Remember in Isaiah 55:11: So is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

The Father’s Word is going out among the “Nomads” and we cling to God’s Promise that it will not return empty.

Big Announcement

Well here it is the big announcement. Many have been asking me when I will be leaving. Originally, I was to leave in October but I have extended 3 months and I will be home sometime in January. I am not quite sure of the exact date.

The Father began working on my heart last May concerning this extension. As you know, Michelle, our partner, arrived three months after us. When she arrived the question kept occurring to me “Who’s going to be Michelle’s partner when we leave? ” One day last May during my quiet time the question came to my mind again. As I thinking I received a VERY CLEAR answer: “You are going to be her partner.” As the time draws near to my original leave date there is peace that this is the right decision. Thank you for all your thoughts, pr@yers, and encouragement. Now, if it’s not much could I have them for just three months more.

Pr@yer Needs

1. Pr@y for Sarah as here leave date approaches. For a sweet time of goodbyes and good transition back to the states.

2. Pr@y for my parents as this is the official news of my three month extension.

3. Pr@y as we continue to translate B:ble stories into the “Nomad” language. We are rolling along!