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.

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