Yesterday in class we heard a testimony from Nard Pugyao. It was a very inspiring and moving testimony. Back in the 1950's one of _our_translators had gone to the phillipines to share the Gospel and translate the Bible starting with the book of Mark.
It was something along the lines of a very long flight, a canoe trip up the river, and an 8 hour hike to get to Nard's village. He was a young boy at the time. His village was tired of serving the spirit world. They would have to consult certain birds to walk safely. The witch doctor would consult evil spirits who proved time and time again to be angry and unpredictable. Nard's daughter was killed at the request of a spirit.
The people were ready for a new God, a more powerful God, and so they listened to the missionary. He told them about God and they loved it. But then, Nard got to the point of Mark where God sent His only son to die and he got mad and threw the book. What a powerless person God must be if He could not protect His only son.
He struggled with that and then God gave him a realization that Christ died for Nard, for him. He picked the book back up and then read that Christ rose from the dead. No one his Nard's imagination had ever done that! What power! What LOVE!
Nard devoted his life to Christ. His dad told him one day he was 7 years old and that he should go to first grade. There was a school a few miles away. He said "dad you don't know when I was born." and his dad said, "reach over your head and touch your ear....see you're 7." So Nard went, but he hated school and he cut school for months. And then, the translator had delivered to school some primers for learning to read, in the language of Nard's people, and he loved the books, and he loved learning to read.
Nard is a helicopter pilot for _us_ now. He had gone back to his tribe several times to assist in the translation work there. He has a strong memory of the scripture, you should see his copy of Mark, worn and torn, and held together by staples, but it's his treasure.
The part of the story he shared at the end, was that the week that the translator who originally came to his village was scheduled to fly out of San Francisco, CA. Was the week that the news hit the presses about Jim Elliot and his friend being massacred.
The translator could have changed his mind, and not gone. There are a lot of what if's in life. What if he didn't go? Nard wouldn't be standing there yesterday telling us of his story.
God has planned good works for us to do. God has put things in place. God has crafted us to be who we are. His provision for us is amazing when you look back and see how it all comes together. And knowing that we have the awesome opportunity to affect people for God's kingdom is overwhelmingly inspiring. After hearing Nard's testimony so many of us were charged up and ready to go yet again. God continually brings us the energy required for this job. Continually fills us up with inspiration. And this ICC training has equipped us in many ways to be prepared for what lies ahead, spiritually and mentally.
Thank you for sending us to training! It ends today, and then in the next 3 weeks Chad (me) will be in I.T. training.
