The Power of "I Can't"

Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised:

Misty and Amy had a great week in the community of Ayuma. The church there was so glad to see them, and they had several opportunities to share the stories of God's Word with the people. We are so thankful for this community and the constant encouragement that they are to us!

Prayer Necessities for the Skimmers:

1. Please continue to be in prayer for Misty and Amy as they have now moved on to the community of Falsuri, where the church has struggled with division and strife. Pray that the girls would be a true representation of what the church should always be - unified - and that they would be an encouragement to the people there.

2. Pray for the people of Falsuri and the girls' next community, which is still to be determined. Pray that the people would catch the vision of taking the Gospel to the ends of the earth, beginning with those of their own culture and language who have not heard.

3. Pray for Leah and me as we go on our own community trip next week. We will be taking Gretzel, a national believer who is interested in working with our team and who wants to get an idea of what the work is like. Pray that we would all be an encouragement to one another and to the church and that God would direct Gretzel's steps after she graduates from seminary this fall.

Inquiring Minds Wanna Know (Bonus for the Readers):

Misty and Amy are currently out on their fourth community trip. Prior to this one, they have spent time in a variety of Quechua villages. The first was a place called Finca Esquina (FEENK-ah eh-SKEE-nah), which I'll, from now on, just designate as "Finca." (In the pictures are Misty with a cute kitten from Finca and a sunset over one of the mountains there.)

Finca is a place that's near and dear to our hearts. It's the hometown of our dear friend Simón, and everyone on our men's and women's teams have visited there multiple times. It's kind of like our home, too.

On the girls' first trip following language school, we hadn't planned to send them to Finca, as they had already worked there before. But the Lord had other ideas and, when our plans to send them to a neighboring community fell through, it was our next choice. The girls spent two weeks there, going from house to house and developing friendships with believers and non-believers alike. During that trip, they had multiple opportunities to share the stories they had memorized.

Now, I'm not sure if I've fully explained how we work before, so let me take the opportunity to do so now. If you've heard this already, just skip the next few paragraphs. :)

We choose stories from the Bible that will address different barriers that we have seen among the people with whom we are working. If we are trying to evangelize an animistic people group who believe they need to influence the balance of power among evil spirits (like the Quechua), we would incorporate stories which show God has power over those evil spirits (the Gospel has LOTS of examples of Jesus driving out demons). In our case, we are seeking to disciple women, so we incorporate stories about how women are loved and used by God. An example would be something like the Samaritan woman at the well, where Jesus spent time in conversation with this outcast woman, resulting in her salvation and subsequent missionary efforts to bring her entire town to meet Jesus (see John 4:1-42).

Once the stories have been chosen, we carefully craft them to a manageable amount, using as much directly from the Word as possible. If necessary, we summarize large sections (for example, the flood is recorded over three chapters of Genesis, so the story is largely summarized), but we try to use as much direct quotation from Scripture as we can. Once the story has been crafted, we memorize it and share it with the people so that they can memorize it as well.

Now that sounds very easy, but it's not at all, either for the trainers or for the listeners. Memorization by hearing requires listening to the story multiple times. We as trainers do as much as we can to help the people memorize, particularly by incorporating actions and other memorization aids into the teaching, but the main method we use is lots of repetition. This gets tiring, and it's just plain hard work for everybody involved.

That being said, that was what our girls were trying to do in Finca (and on every trip they make). Unfortunately, they weren't having much success in getting the people to memorize the stories. The main excuse they heard time and time again was, "I can't."

When the girls are out on a trip, they call Leah and me twice a week to let us know how things are going, how we can be praying, and what struggles they're having. On that trip, they called us very discouraged, and the reason for that discouragement was that they kept hearing that excuse.

Let me give you a little background on the Quechua. This is a downtrodden people group, if ever there was one. Descendants of the powerful Incas, they were conquered by the Spanish in the 1500s. When that happened, their culture, their language, and their religion were all superseded by those of their conquerors. Suddenly, they became second-best and, 500 years later, this still continues. If they are educated at all, they are taught in Spanish and, sadly enough, most cannot even read in Quechua, though it is their first language. They are typically farmers (see the picture of us helping sow potatoes and beans in one of the fields in Finca) and live in the rural areas, meaning they are of a lower socioeconomic class than their Latin counterparts. Even if they have money and want to come to the cities, they are often precluded from living in certain areas simply because they are Quechua. Their animistic practices of animal sacrifice are also viewed as inferior to the practices of the Catholic church, meaning they frequently incorporate Catholic saints into their spiritual viewpoints.

Now, in addition to this second-class mentality of the race, imagine where the women are in social status. They are the lowest of an already low class of people. Is it any wonder these women think they can't memorize a story?

But, my friends, while it's very easy to understand and even sympathize with these women, let me remind us all of this: THAT IS AN EXCUSE!!!

I bet you're wondering how I, an American who's had every possible educational and financial opportunity, say that? Because Scripture tells me this:

"I can do all things through Him who strengthens me." (Phil. 4:13, NAS)

And it also says this:

"But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong." (2 Cor. 12:9-10, NIV)

See, there is no excuse for any of us because it's not we ourselves who are doing the work anyway. It is all about Him, His power, His strength. None of this is about us.

When the girls told us about how the women of Finca didn't believe they could memorize the stories, they wondered why they were even there. If the women weren't willing to put in the effort to learn the Word, why should our team even stay there? And I will admit that I wondered the same thing.

The next day, as I was praying about that very thing, God led me to this passage:

"'This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: "Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit," says the LORD Almighty."'" (Zech. 4:6)

That day, it was not the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel but the word of the LORD to Kelli because it was the key to everything for us. See, this work that we do will not be accomplished by us. The Quechua believers will never, by our might, come to know that they can do this work, and the Quechua non-believers will never, by our power, understand that there is One True God Who came in human form to redeem them. They will only know and understand these things by His Spirit.

So, if you think you can't memorize Scripture or share the Good News or anything else that God commands you to do, just remember how powerful that "I can't" mentality is. Then remind yourself of the Truth that nothing you do is by might nor by power but by His Spirit. Then you'll recognize that, through Him, you can.

Making People a Priority

Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised:

Our enemy tried his dead-level best (through some attacks on team unity and a mechanical problem with our truck) to keep our journeygirls from making the latest trip to three Quechua communities (Ayuma, Falsuri, and one still to be determined), but they made it safely to Ayuma on Sunday and will be there for three weeks. It was very clear to us all that the timing of this trip was of the Lord, and we are thankful that He got the girls where they need to be safely. It will be exciting to see what He will accomplish through them on this trip!

Prayer Necessities for the Skimmers:
1. Please pray for Misty and Amy (pictured here with me) as they spend the next three weeks investigating these Quechua communities. They will be sharing stories with the women and are looking to see where the interest is high and where the people are willing to memorize the stories and to share them with others. Their research on this and a future trip will determine where they will focus the remainder of their time on the field. Pray that the Lord would make it abundantly clear where they are to work.

2. Pray that the believers in these communities would catch the vision of "Quechua reaching Quechua." This is the goal the Lord has shown us, so please pray that He would reveal it to them as well and that they would grab on to the idea and run with it, planting churches among the unreached of their own culture.

3. Pray for wisdom for Leah and me (pictured here), that we would remain purposeful in choosing our activities. There are lots of demands on our time and, at times, it is overwhelming. Pray that we would know where to focus our efforts in relationship-building and that we would be able to effectively prioritize a variety of tasks.

Inquiring Minds Wanna Know (Bonus for the Readers):

"Be very careful, then, how you live - not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil." (Eph. 5:15-16)

As many of you might know, my parents have served the Lord in Europe for the last few years. What you might not know is that God has now called them to return to the United States, where they're continuing to serve Him in a slightly different capacity. That's sort of tangential to the point of this blog, but your prayers for their new ministry would be greatly appreciated.

Something my mom (pictured to the right with my dad) did a few months ago really made an impact on me, and I wanted to share it with you, in the hopes that it will ring true with you as well. The Christmas season in Europe is hectic just as it is in the US, especially if you're an American who is getting together with other Americans to celebrate the holiday.

Such was the case with my mom, who was responsible for bringing several dishes to the office Christmas party. She was bustling around the house getting ready to start cooking when there was a knock on the door. When she went to open it, she saw her 8-year-old friend Sophie standing there, accompanied by her 12-year-old brother and his friend.

I think I should explain some things about my mom before I continue. She's kind of a social butterfly, though she would probably disagree with that assessment. I don't mean that in the sense that you'll see her on the high-society page of your local newspaper. No, she's just a very genuine and sweet person who really cares about other people and, for that reason, everyone loves to be around her. She radiates the Lord's love.

But she'd had kind of a difficult time making friends in her new city, and that was very hard on her. She'd been praying for friends, and she was a little surprised that God had answered that by providing Sophie, a little neighbor girl with some physical disabilities. But Mom accepted what the Lord gave and spent time with Sophie.

On this particular day, Mom knew that she was on a tight schedule, so she seriously considered asking the kids to come back at a better time. After all, there was lots to get done and not much time in which to do it. Asking them to come back later was a perfectly reasonable option.

But that's not what she did. Instead, she invited all three kids in to help her. They spent the next few hours preparing the food that she needed to take to the party and, in the process, she got into a spiritual conversation with Sophie's older brother where she was able to plant some seeds for eternity. When the children left, Mom went to the party feeling cheerful... AND with all the food she was supposed to bring.

But the story doesn't end there. Through the kids, Mom was able to build a relationship with their mother, Lisa. One day not long before my parents left for the US, Lisa came to their house and told Mom she liked to be there because it was peaceful. When my mom inquired as to whether Lisa's house was hectic, she responded that that was not what she meant. She recognized that my mom lived a life of peace and wanted to know why. From there, Mom was able to share the Truth of the Prince of Peace with her. Wow!

But what most impacted me about this was my mom's willingness to adjust her schedule to accommodate those three kids. Without that initial act of love to those children, I'm not sure she would have had the later opportunity with Lisa.

So I started thinking about whether I would have done the same and, I'm sad to say, I don't think I would have. See, I come from the same task-oriented culture you do, and it's hard to leave that mentality behind.

There are two different types of cultures in the world: Task-oriented and relationship-oriented. In a relationship-oriented society, the relationships between people are the most valuable thing. As a result, time is less important than just fostering the relationship. Latin American cultures, in general, are very relationship-oriented.

I, on the other hand, am HIGHLY task-oriented, as are most Americans. It's hard for me to foster relationships because, quite honestly, it just takes too much time. I'm a list-maker, and spending time with people means I don't get very many things on my list accomplished for the day.

But can you see how task-orientation is contrary to the Gospel? Jesus had but ONE task: To glorify His Father. That was His one job each and every day and, to accomplish it, He spent all of His time and energy in making His Father known to people.

I remember one particular instance where Jesus was in the middle of teaching, and a synagogue ruler asked Him to come and raise his dead daughter to life. Now it was no problem for Jesus to resurrect people at any time (just see the resurrection of Lazarus in John 11 for proof), so He could have waited until He was finished with His teaching. But He immediately went with the man. However, while He was going, a woman with a bleeding disorder secretly touched Him so that she could be healed from her infirmity. When that happened, He stopped and asked who had touched Him. When the woman admitted it, He told her that her faith had healed her. Then, He continued on His way to the ruler's house, where He raised the little girl to life. (Go read the accounts in Matthew 9:18-26 and Luke 8:40-56 to get all the details.)

My point here is that Jesus cared more about his relationship with the synagogue ruler than he did about his task of teaching the crowd. But He also cared more about His relationship with the newly-healed woman than He did about the task of raising the synagogue ruler's daughter to life.

So I want to learn to be more like that. I, too, have but one task: To bring God glory. That is accomplished by establishing and maintaining relationships with people, whether that's with those on my team or with believers out in the Quechua communities or with non-believers.

There is no task I have that's more important than that one. I hope I can take a page out of my mom's book and accomplish it.