Only one prayer request this time, but it's a big one. As many of you already know, the current political situation in Bolivia is highly volatile. Last week, the Bolivian government ejected the US ambassador, and the US State Department is now suggesting that Americans avoid all non-essential travel to the country. Our missionaries there seem to be in little danger, as they wisely steer clear of political demonstrations. However, there is increasing violence associated with those demonstrations, and transportation has become more difficult due to roadblocks and fuel rationing. All of this seems to be more problematic in the urban areas, rather than in the rural sections where my team lives.
The guys on our team are not being allowed to go into the Quechua communities for the moment, as those on the field try to sort out how to contact them at a moment's notice if needed. And, with the animosity between the US and Bolivia, there is also the threat that the Bolivian government will ask all Americans to leave and will refuse to grant visas to those who are trying to enter. This obviously brings a lot of uncertainty to the personnel there. All of this is a hindrance to the cause of Christ, but we know that "the king's heart is like channels of water in the hand of the LORD; He turns it wherever He wishes" (Prov. 21:1).
Please pray fervently that the Lord will direct the hearts of the Bolivian officials as He desires. And continue to lift up our team there, that they would bring glory and honor to the King even in times of uncertainty and waiting.
Inquiring Minds Wanna Know (Bonus for the Readers):
As many of you know, I’m still in the States and have been in orientation with the IMB for the last six weeks. I’ve given you small snippets of what we’ve done, but I figured I’d try to give you a more comprehensive version of what we’ve been learning.
First of all, let me just say the IMB is a top-notch organization. And I’m not just saying that because I work for them. :) They really are very well-run, and their vision to reach all peoples on earth with the Good News of Jesus Christ has been carefully pondered and planned. And every bit of our training reflects the Great Commission mandate Jesus Himself has given us. To the left is a shot of one of the auditoriums on campus. The pictures you see are typical, and they really serve to remind you of John's vision of "a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb" (Rev. 7:9).We typically have classes Monday through Friday from 8:00 am to 3:00 pm. On Sundays, we have house church meetings in the morning and a large worship service at night.
FYI, the evening worship services are not like what you would expect at any church here in the States. They are meant to prepare us for what we will encounter on the field, so each week is a worship service reflective of what you would see in another area of the world. For example, one service was performed entirely in Indonesian, including singing, sermon, and prayers. I’m not kidding when I say there was no English whatsoever. It was a very different experience for me, but it will be enormously helpful when we arrive at our new homes. This is a shot of the lyrics to one of the Indonesian worship songs. So let me tell you about what we’ve been studying:
Week 1: Personal time with the Lord
Far and away, the most important thing for any believer is to remain close to the Lord. He is the Source of our power, and we can do nothing on our own. If we think we can go to the field and accomplish great works on our own, we will fail miserably. It was reinforced to us multiple times just how much we must be people of the Word and people of prayer. No great movement of God will happen without much time being spent in His Word and on our knees. As Jesus said, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing” (Jn. 15:5).
Week 2: Spiritual warfare
We were privileged to be taught by the IMB's president, Dr. Jerry Rankin, an incredible man of God and a wonderful scholar and teacher of the Word. It was so good that we got these classes early on, because it has been constant battles ever since. It was a good reminder that we have a powerful enemy and that we are now going behind enemy lines to infiltrate ground that has historically belonged to him. But we have a more powerful God within us Who has already won the victory! “You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world” (1 Jn. 4:4).
Week 3: Church planting movements
This was a great week as we spent the early part of it learning the New Testament definition of “church” and what it really means to plant one. We discussed Jesus’ model of how to enter a community and seek out those who show interest in spiritual matters (see Matt. 10:1-16; Lk. 9:1-6, 10:1-12) and the churches planted by the apostles in the book of Acts. The end of the week was spent talking about the rapid multiplication of churches as national believers then go forth to spread the Gospel to their own people. Very exciting stuff!
Week 4: Persecuted church
We had LOTS of stuff thrown at us this week as we learned about how to teach new believers, from the very beginning, that they are to go out and share the Gospel with others. The Great Commission tells us to go and make disciples, and we are to do this from the first. Then, towards the end of the week, we learned about the things new believers may have to face in an environment of persecution. To turn to Christ in some countries means almost certain death; in others, it means years of imprisonment. New believers in these cultures know this when they make the decision to accept Christ, but they also know the truth of Matt. 16:25: “For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.”
Week 5: Bible storyingMy favorite week yet! This is what I’ll be doing on the field, and I’ve been looking forward to learning it for a long time. Chronological Bible storying is a way of sharing God’s Word with those who learn best orally. For those of you who like statistics, let me give you a few astounding numbers:
1. Did you know that two-thirds of the people in the world are oral learners? That doesn’t mean they’re necessarily illiterate, just that they learn best by oral methods, as opposed to print methods.
2. Did you know that only 6% of the world’s languages have a complete translation of the Bible? To give you exact numbers, there are 6814 known languages, and only 430 have a complete Bible translation.
Thankfully, the ones that do have a Bible are heavily used languages like English, Chinese, and Spanish. Still, there are many people who don’t have access to God’s Word in print and couldn’t read it if they did. That’s where storying comes in. Even in print cultures like ours, people love to hear stories… and often remember them. So you use stories from the Bible to evangelize those who don’t know Christ and to disciple those who do.
Week 6: Safety training
I’m sworn to secrecy about the details, but suffice it to say this was an intensive week of preparation for what to do if you are in a variety of difficult situations. Yeah, we learned a lot, and I could tell you about it, but then I’d have to kill you. :) I’ll just say it was helpful, it was intense, and I’m glad it’s over!
OK, that’s enough! If anybody does have any suggestions on how to take in more water from that firehose, I’d appreciate the tips! Only 2-1/2 weeks of training remain, then I am headed for Guatemala's language school in mid-October. Thank you so much for your prayers, and I hope you know how much each of you mean to me.
