Memories of Matt

Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised:

Misty and Amy have returned safely from their latest community trip and, though it was discouraging in many ways, the LORD taught them so much everyday! Praise Him for His constant revelation of Himself to His children!

Prayer Necessities for the Skimmers:
1. We are having some serious visa issues right now and will be traveling to Cochabamba tomorrow to try to sort those out with the Bolivian immigration officials. Please pray that we would be accurate representations of the character of Christ before these government officials and that we would be humble and wise in our words.

2. Please be in prayer for our upcoming women's Xtreme training this fall. We have several national women who have expressed interest in being trained to go out and serve as missionaries, and we are so excited about all of this! Please pray that God would call these women first to Himself and then to His service.

3. Please be in prayer for my partner, Leah, as she has been facing some difficulties and discouragement lately. Pray that she would be encouraged by our Lord and that I would be able to encourage her as well.

Bonus for the Readers:

This will be a little different than most of my blogs, and I know some of you might be very glad to hear that. :) I wanted to use this space to pay tribute to my brother, Matt, because this coming Monday, May 3, will mark the fifteenth anniversary of his death. In some ways, it seems like he’s been gone forever but, in some ways, it seems like only yesterday. Matt was my only sibling, and he was 17 years old when he died. This is one of the last family pictures we had taken, from 1993 just before Matt was diagnosed.

Let me tell you a little about him. He was born in October of 1977, when I was in the first grade. At first, I thought he was pretty cool, because I got to leave school early to go to the hospital to see him for the first time. But that was before my dad traded in our beautiful sports car (which had no back seat) for a more practical, but far uglier, van. From that point on, Matt was just my annoying little brother.

Because of the six-year age difference, we weren’t all that close as we were growing up. He had his friends, and I had mine. We fought frequently, of course, but I learned to stop fighting physically when he got big enough to beat me. :)

But we did more than just fight. I remember having some surprisingly in-depth conversations with him. When I was about 14, our mother decided to quit her job to stay home with us, and Matt and I took a walk around the block the night our parents told us that. I remember telling him, “We’re going to have to make some changes and not be as greedy.” And his response was pretty astute for an 8-year-old: “Yeah, we can’t ask for so much stuff.” :)

That being said, Matt never had many problems with asking for what he wanted. When I was in college, I worked as an assistant manager at a local movie theater when I was home from school. One night, one of my employees came to tell me that my brother was there to see me. When I came to see him, I discovered that Matt had brought along with him the entire youth group from church, all of whom seemed to think I would allow them in to watch the movie of their choice for free. And you know what? I did, and my brother just grinned as he walked by me on the way to his free flick.

I was in college when we found out that Matt (pictured here to the right) had lymphoma. We were all shocked, of course. He was 15, six feet tall, a robust and healthy football player. Until he wasn’t.

It’s funny how life can change in an instant. One minute, I’m a 22-year-old college student with a perfectly healthy family back at home. The next, my brother is a cancer patient. Cancer. That’s a really ugly word that inevitably leads to one even uglier thought: Death.

Matt and I had never talked about faith. As a matter of fact, at that point in my life, I wasn’t following the Lord very closely, so I never had any real desire to talk about such things. But, thankfully, my dad asked the tough questions. One day, he asked Matt whether he was afraid, and Matt said no. Dad was understandably surprised, but Matt just said, “Why would I be afraid? What’s the worst thing that could happen? That I could die. But that’s the best thing that could happen.”

Wow. My brother had never really talked much about his faith before, but that explanation showed so much of how the Lord had worked in his life.

In May of 1995, Matt’s faith became sight when he stepped into the very presence of God, never to leave again. I’m sure he heard the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

I still have mixed emotions about it. Does that surprise you? I mean, really, why should I be mixed up about Matt’s death? Shouldn’t the only emotion I have be sadness?

Nope.

Don’t get me wrong. I definitely feel that sadness. Even today, fifteen years after his 20-month-long battle with lymphoma ended, I still miss Matt (pictured here after his bone marrow transplant). I miss how he used to start small fights between my grandparents just so he could sit back and laugh at their bickering. I miss watching “Beavis and Butt-head” with him and listening to him laugh his head off at the antics of two completely idiotic cartoon characters. I miss seeing him do the silliest things to entertain his best friends. I even miss things that never happened, like seeing his high school graduation or being a part of his wedding or watching him play with his children.

But I also feel happiness. Shortly after Matt’s funeral, my dad told me something that was completely beyond my grasp at the time. He said, “If I had the opportunity to bring Matt back today, I wouldn’t.” I didn’t understand that at all then, but I get it now. My brother is in the very presence of God! There’s no more pain, no more crying, no more darkness, and no more death for him. There is only worshipping in the loving arms of His Lord and knowing Him fully. Why would I ever want Matt to come back to this world when he has all of that?

Which brings me to the third emotion I feel: Jealousy. Not in the sense that I want to trade places with him but that I want to be there with him! I now understand completely what Paul meant when he said:

“For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” (Phil. 1:21)

There was a time when that concept was completely foreign to me. I remember my dad once told me how much he was looking forward to going home to be with the Lord. I was a teenager, and I thought, “I don’t want to do that yet! I want to finish school and have a great career and get married and have kids. All of that heaven stuff can wait!”

Yeah, I don’t feel that way anymore. I have learned that this world has nothing that can possibly compare with eternal life with my Savior. Can you imagine what it must be like to be with the Lord, with nothing standing in the way? Yeah, I can’t either, and I know it would be beyond anything I can even imagine.

Jesus describes eternal life for us in the midst of talking to His Father:

“Now this is eternal life: That they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent.” (Jn. 17:3)

And Paul gives a little information on the subject in these words:

“Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.” (1 Cor. 13:12)

One day, I will know God fully, even as He knows me. This, my brothers and sisters, is eternal life. Until then, we just have to persevere in what He’s called us to do. But all my hope is beyond this life.

Can’t wait to see you again, Matt. I think it just took me a little longer to learn the lessons you got in seventeen years. You weren’t short-changed; you were rewarded!

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.

The Best Birthday Gift of All

Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised:

We have been blessed with multiple opportunities to build relationships with local women. Leah and Misty have both met some believers who live in our neighborhood. And Leah and I have had three meetings with local women believers who have an interest in missions and have developed solid friendships with several of them. We are hopeful that these relationships will result in several of these women coming to work with us to reach the Quechua!

Prayer Necessities for the Skimmers:

1. During a time of discouragement for our team recently (one which I'll probably discuss in a future blog), the LORD encouraged us with Zechariah 4:6: "Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the LORD of hosts." This is not our work but His. Please pray for God to send His Spirit ahead of us to prepare the hearts of the women with whom we work and to show them that they are capable of being used by Him.

2. Be in prayer for Misty and Amy as they make a trip to the communities of Molle Molle (MOLE-yay MOLE-yay) and Candelaria (Kahn-duh-LAWR-ee-ah) for the next two weeks. Pray that God will use them to glorify Himself there and that they would be completely sustained by Him.

3. Please pray that we will soon obtain our resident visas here. We are hoping to attend a team meeting in Peru in May (and I'm hoping to take vacation in the States afterwards! :)), but none of us can leave Bolivia until we have our visas.

Inquiring Minds Wanna Know (Bonus for the Readers):

I'll go ahead and warn you now that this blog is really long. I think I'm trying to make up for not having blogged in two months. :)

I was raised Southern Baptist, and I've been familiar with "Open Windows," the daily devotional published by the denomination, for most of my life. I'm also very familiar with the pages in the middle of that magazine, the ones that tell you missionaries' birthdays with the thought that you'll pray for them on that day.

Prayer warriors like my grandmothers read "Open Windows." Now, as a Southern Baptist missionary with her name published on those pages, I know that there are more saints of God praying for me on that day than on any other day of the year. So I couldn't wait to see what God would do in response to all of those prayers this year. Maybe I'd get to see a church planted or a Quechua woman come to Christ.

My birthday was in January, though it was a little different from how I normally celebrate it. I spent the day taking Misty and Amy out to a Quechua community, something which is, quite honestly, never really a lot of fun for me. Let me tell you a little bit about what the visits are like.

1. The drive. The only thing I can say is that it's always an adventure. The roads are dirt and rock, often made up of one lane on the side of a mountain (pictured here, though this is a two-lane road). It typically takes me about seven hours to drive just under 200 miles. We drive through rivers pretty regularly (which makes for really treacherous driving during rainy season) and, if you meet another car on those one-lane roads, the one going downhill has to back up until there is a spot wide enough for them to pass each other. We are very thankful that the LORD (via the IMB) has provided us with an incredible truck that has been able to get us through anything we've thrown at it. Let's just say I'm a BIG fan of the Toyota. :)

2. The food. Quechua people spend their entire lives on their food. Nearly every moment of the day, they're either producing it, cooking it, or eating it. During September and October, they're plowing and planting their fields. From November to February, they're digging up weeds and taking care of the plants. From March to May, they're harvesting the crops. And, from June to August, they're preparing to plant the fields again. In between all of this, they spend hours cooking over an open fire the food that they eat four times a day.

So food is the best thing that they can offer someone. They are a hospitable people, so they take pride in offering visitors the best that they have. When those visitors happen to be those of us who are missionaries, they somehow believe we are just one small step below Jesus (which, if you've read anything else on this blog, you should recognize as being COMPLETELY wrong, but it's still their belief) and, thus, want to offer us not only the best that they have, but lots of it.

As I've already said, the Quechua eat four times a day. And they eat a LOT. Potatoes are their staple, so we'll often get a bowl containing ten or more whole boiled potatoes (not an exaggeration) on top of rice, any one of a variety of sauces, and chuño (kind of a freeze-dried potato). The food is actually very good; the problem for us is the quantity. But, because they have worked so hard for this food, it is insulting to them when we leave any of it in the bowl, so we do our dead-level best to finish it... even when it leaves us feeling very uncomfortable (and sometimes even worse, if you get my meaning).

3. The accommodations. Quechua communities don't have running water, apart from a well, and precious few have electricity. Going to the bathroom means walking to whatever outdoor spot they have designated for this use and hoping no one walks by as you do your business. The sleeping arrangements vary from place to place but typically involve some type of straw mat and lots of wool blankets. Bedtime usually comes pretty soon after it's dark because you get up before sunrise.

4. The language. Though we spent two months in language school studying Quechua, we have really only mastered the basics at this point. And, though some of the people speak Spanish as well, most - and especially most women - speak only Quechua. So it's always a challenge to listen to them jabber at me and try to communicate with them in return.

Are you getting the picture here? There are lots of things about the Quechua communities that I don't particularly enjoy. Those trips can be downright HARD.

But, before I go any further, I want to explain that I'm not trying to complain here. While there are difficult parts of this work, the blessings of doing it so greatly overwhelm the inconveniences that I honestly have no desire to complain to you about the few parts I don't like. But I'm trying to make a point and, to do so, I have to give you a realistic picture of what life out there is like.

As I said, we drove the girls out to a community called Falsuri on my birthday, taking our Quechua brother and good friend Simón (pictured left, along with his wife and children) along with us to introduce us. But we first spent six hours driving to Finca Esquina, the community where Simón was raised, to pick up his brother Gabriel, a leader among the churches in the area.

As we drove the additional hour required to reach Falsuri, Gabriel (pictured below with his second bowl of food :)) explained to us some of the problems that were occurring in the church there. The brothers were fighting among themselves and were in complete dysunity, to the point that all but one family had begun going to the church in a neighboring community. Most of the men of Falsuri had gone to Argentina for a few months to try to work there, leaving the women behind to tend to the fields and the rest of the work in the community. Gabriel did not believe Misty and Amy would be allowed to stay in Falsuri and, even if they were, there were not very many people there with whom they could share the Word.

That hour was extremely discouraging and, when we arrived in Falsuri, it only got worse. As we stood around and listened, Gabriel and Simón explained that Misty and Amy wanted to stay there for two weeks to work with the women and to share Quechua stories from the Bible with them. But, while we couldn't understand the words, the body language was very clear. The three men from Falsuri would not raise their eyes to look at us, and they explained to Gabriel and Simón that there was much fighting within their church and that they wanted to fix those problems before having our team come to stay with them. They asked if we would return in March, and we agreed. But then a really interesting thing happened.

One of those men from Falsuri finally looked up at us and asked if we were telling them the truth when we said we would come back in March. He said that others had said they would return to their community but had not. He wanted to know if we meant what we said. We assured him that we did, that we had already planned a trip to a nearby community in March and would return to Falsuri when we did so. He seemed genuinely pleased with our response.

As we got back into the truck for the long ride back to Finca Esquina, with revised plans for Misty and Amy to stay there to work and share stories for two weeks, Simón was very quiet. I eventually asked him to share his thoughts, and he explained that he was saddened and discouraged by the turn of events in Falsuri. It made him sad that there was so much strife in the church there, and it disappointed him that they had turned us away. Later that evening, Misty shared that she was also discouraged by what had happened. It made her wonder why we were even there.

When I shared with each of them the thoughts the LORD had put into my mind that day - the idea that our visit might be what the LORD used to get the attention of that struggling church and force them to put aside their differences and really strive for unity in their body, the recognition that we were genuinely wanted back in Falsuri - I realized that the purpose of all those prayers on my birthday was not for me to see a new church planted that day or to lead someone to Christ. It was for me to be able to see the LORD's underlying work a little more clearly so that I could encourage my brothers in their time of need.

Misty and Amy remained in Finca Esquina for the next two weeks and built some new and strong relationships with both believers and non-believers there. They were able to share their stories multiple times and discovered some things that only God's Word can correct. All in all, it was a valuable trip in which the Truth of God's Word that was planted there will not return void.

Simón told me the next day that what I had said encouraged him. Because of all of those prayers said on my behalf, my brother was built up. And isn't that what it's all about?

"Speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work." (Eph. 4:15-16)

So thanks for your prayers. Though my birthday this year, in all its uncomfortable glory, was far from the typical celebration I receive, it was actually better than most. And those prayers were truly the best birthday gift of all!

Entrusted with the Gospel

Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised:

This entire blog is one huge praise report about my friend, Brooklynn. She got to hear the Gospel and now has a Bible! Read below to find out more.

Prayer Necessities for the Skimmers:

1. Continue to be in prayer for Brooklynn, that she would read her Bible and that the Holy Spirit would continue to draw her to Himself.


2. Pray for us as we finish up our time of Quechua study here in Cochabamba and say goodbye to those with whom we´ve developed relationships here (pictured here are Bea and Annie, believers from Sweden with whom we became good friends). We will be leaving here Wednesday to return to our home in Sucre. Pray that we will "make the most of every opportunity" and would be wise with the time we have remaining.

3. Pray for us as we prepare to make a short community trip after Christmas. Pray that God would give us wisdom in choosing the parts of His Word to share in a community of people who are believers but without access to the Bible, and pray for the people there, that they would be doers of His Word and not hearers only.

Inquring Minds Wanna Know (Bonus for the Readers):

As I was reading the book of Jude this morning, I was struck by the great responsibility with which we as believers have been entrusted. This verse really hit me:

"Dear friends,... I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints." (Jude 3)




This week, God gave me the most amazing opportunity, and it can be directly attributed to your prayers. I´ve been asking you to pray for Brooklynn, the Belgian-Canadian woman with whom I previously got to share my testimony. (She´s pictured here with Misty, me, and Amy.) Well, this week, I got to talk to her even more in-depth, and it was certainly a God-ordained appointment.





We had learned that Brooklynn would be returning to her home in Belgium this past week, so I asked her to have dinner with me before she left. Being from Canada originally, English is her first language, so I was excited to be able to talk to her more about Jesus with no language barrier at all. I´ve so come to appreciate that!

God had prompted Leah to give a Bible to Brooklynn, so I took that with me to our dinner, along with a list of stories from the Word for her to read. I was hoping to get her to see the big picture of the Bible, culminating in the Gospel, without being intimidated by the sheer size of its 66 books. And, during the dinner, it was my hope to be able to share something of the Good News with her.

Have you ever tried to share the Gospel with someone who has very little or no background in Christianity? If so, you know how difficult it is. Even if the person has had some exposure to our faith, we often do them a disservice by just presenting a cursory Gospel presentation and pushing them to a quick decision. Following Christ is hard, and Jesus Himself told us we need to count the cost of being His disciple (see Lk. 14:25-34). This is how Paul described what it means to truly be His disciple:

"I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead." (Phil. 3:10-11)

If we just show that He is all joy and love without describing the demands of discipleship, we wind up with people who fall away from Christ at the first trial. And what´s worse is that they think that, because they once prayed a three-part prayer over a Gospel tract, they now have eternal life, though their lives show absolutely no evidence of that. These are the people to whom Christ will say, "I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness" (Matt. 7:23). And how much of that blame for that must be laid at my own feet?

So I really consulted the LORD about how to lay the foundation for the amazing Truth of the Gospel in this young woman with very little understanding of Who Christ was or why He came. How exactly does one explain thousands of years of the history of sinful man and the prophesied, personfied grace of a redeeming God in the span of a dinner?

But the LORD gave me the opportunity and the words. Brooklynn listened as I talked about Santa Claus and how I´d always wanted that to be true, for there to be someone out there who is so good that he brings gifts to all the children of the world, regardless of who or where they are. But then I´d realized that we have a "fairy tale" that is honestly true in that we have a God Who freely offers us salvation and the opportunity to know Him, even though we´ve been nothing but naughty for our entire lives.

When I explained that Jesus had come to earth with the express purpose of dying and that all of our sins, both before and after coming to Christ, were nailed to that cross with Him, she was excited. She explained that she had known about Jesus´death but that she had never before understood why He had to die.

When I told her that she had many people praying for her and that God was calling her into a relationship with Himself, she was moved. "Really?" she asked. She couldn´t believe that so many people who didn´t know her would be praying for her, and she was overwhelmed by the idea that God was pursuing her.

But this girl is not one to just blindly follow without questioning. She wanted to know why God would cause certain people to be born into such abject poverty when she and I have both had such great financial riches. She wanted to know what happens to those who will never hear about Jesus.

Was I bothered by her questions? No way! I actually welcomed them, because it meant she was actually considering whether what I had told her was really true. She wasn´t blindly believing me in the moment, only to fade away from the faith at the first sign of struggle. She was counting the cost and, if she does choose to follow Christ in the future, I have no doubt that she will know what she´s getting into.

As we said goodbye to Brooklynn this week, it was sad for all of us. I will truly mis her. But I am encouraged that she carries back to Belgium with her in the Word of God the same power that transformed my own life, and I take great delight in knowing this Truth:

"For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there without watering the earth and making it bear and sprout, and furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater; so will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; it will not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it." (Is. 55:10-11)

Please join me in praying that Brooklynn would be like the Bereans of old:

"Now the Bereans... received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true." (Acts 17:11)

Pray that she will one day be able to proclaim with the Samaritans:


"They said to the woman, ´We no longer believe just because of what you said; now we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this man really is the Savior of the world.´" (Jn. 4:42)

Two rainbows over our school in Cochabamba, Bolivia