Why Bible translation? Why not just preach the gospel to them?
Missionaries have been preaching in Papua New Guinea for over 100 years and many good churches have been established. But on any given Sunday in the village where we work, you can hear the following things being taught:
Jesus died for our sins and we should follow him. He is the way to a relationship with God.
Or, you might hear that you can’t be a Christian unless an apostle from that particular church baptizes you. He will write your name in the book of life, which is at church headquarters in Kitchner, Ontario.
Or, you might hear that Jesus was only the messiah for the white people. In order to please God you must take food sacrifices to King Charles, the messiah for Papua New Guinea. He lives in Arkosame a village about a hundred miles away.
Who do you believe? What makes any one of those messages more believable than the other – the color skin of the messenger, how loudly he speaks his message, how much money he gives you to come to his church, how well you know him?
When the Bible is used in a church service, it is the Pidgin (trade language) translation. You might also hear this familiar passage read: For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. The pastor then applies this verse by saying that it means you should not smoke or chew bettlenut.
Part of the problem is that while we have many churches there is little or no Bible instruction for the teachers of those churches. Our friend Peter is the pastor of a church. Once a year he goes to a pastors training course for two weeks. He comes back to the area and then teaches what he learned to the leaders of the other churches he has started in the area. Those pastors have more training than most in our area.
One of the local translators we work with said this: Reading the Bible in church in Pidgin confuses people and our pastors end up teaching all kinds of wrong stuff which confuses people more. When we have it in our own language, it's clear.
Like Nehemiah, seeing this great need, contrasted with the importance of the scriptures in our own lives, was our call to take God’s word to those who don’t have it.
10/27/2010
Why translate the Bible?
here is a brief essay from a friend of mine, a translator whom I've helped many times with computer advice and repair
10/26/2010
Stories
I've always used this blog to share personal stories and experiences, but it dawns on me that there are so many exciting stories that WE get to hear because we know people who it happened to, or get to hear the testimony of people we have met, that you might also enjoy hearing. So from time to time I'll post a 'story' that doesn't have our direct involvement, where we aren't the main characters in the story, but that we and you, are involved in because we support their work. I'll try to make the stories as personal as I can.
This is Ainde's testimony, he's a neat guy, long white beard, and he's got a wonderful presence about him.
----------------
“For I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.” – Jeremiah 29:11
Nothing can thwart God’s purposes for each one of us if we remain true to Him. But how many times can someone meet with certain death - and escape? For Ainde Wainso, part of the Angaatiya people group in Papua New Guinea, it was obvious that Satan wanted him dead.
Listen to Ainde’s account of an experience in his childhood:
“I escaped death many times by God’s divine providence. My father died from an arrow wound infection when I was about 2 or 3 years old. We put his body to rest in a dry cave as my people’s custom was. A few days later, my mother took me to where we put my father’s body. I noticed she had a very strong rope with a tied knot in her hands. When we reached the cave, she made signs with her hands showing me that she was going to hang me first and then she would hang herself. My mother and I were alone in our hamlet far away from the big village and people. I cried loudly, telling my mother that I did not want to die. I wanted to live. She took pity on me and did not hang me and herself. After that she worked hard to bring me and my sister up on her own.”
The Angaatiya people had a reputation as fierce fighters, but they were a small people group. Some of their enemies were the Menyas. Hear another account:
“My only sister and a male cousin were killed and eaten by the Menyas in 1952 when they raided our village, set fire to it, and destroyed everything. My mother and I escaped with most of our people.”
Ainde said, “God, in his providence, saved me for the work of giving His word of life and salvation to my people- the Angaatiya.”
Angaataha is one of over 800 languages in Papua New Guinea. Tribal customs and the mountainous terrain are only part of the reason for the people of this country developing so many different languages. Some use a trade language, Tok Pisin, to communicate with each other, but this is inadequate for understanding terms like grace, mercy, and love. How could the Anaatiya people know that God sent His son for them as well? Would they believe in a God that didn’t speak their language
Like Ainde, the Angaatiya people were also saved and protected by God’s providence from their enemies completely wiping them out. They were reduced to only 477 people in 5 villages at the time of first contact with the outside world, modern civilization, and the first white government officers and missionaries. Ainde feels God sent the Australian colonial officers and white missionaries with the power of guns AND the power of the Good News about Christ. In the 1950’s, Lutheran missionaries came to this area of Papua New Guinea. A young Ainde, about 14 or 15, was baptized along with other converts as first generation Christians. The warfare and cannibalism was completely stopped by the early 1960’s.
Also in the early 60’s, several teams of SIL missionaries came to help translate God’s word into Angaataha. As with Ainde, these translators found the spiritual opposition strong. One couple’s marriage failed. The second and third teams experienced sickness in their families, but the third team did manage to complete translation of about 30% of the New Testament before they had to return home.
As the teams left for various reasons, it became clear that God was calling Ainde and others to do the translation for their own people. In the early 80’s, Ainde and James Namaranso joined together to work on completing the translation. But the Angaatiya was a group with a history of sorcery, witchcraft, and black magic. Satan would not allow God’s word to come to them without a fight. James’ wife died of breast cancer and Ainde’s wife left him and their two boys. Ainde was seriously ill many, many times - often with chronic asthma. He saw many others dying around him in hospital wards, but God spared him. Ainde’s declaration is: “We trust in the Lord and in His mighty power. We believe breakthrough and victory is just around corner, for we stand under the blood of Jesus Christ and His victory over Satan at Calvary.”
In December of 2004, the Angaataha New Testament was dedicated. When the New Testaments were received by the people, they spontaneously began a circle dance, reminiscent of their former tribal dances of victory. But this time instead of holding the limbs of their enemies over their heads, they were holding up God’s Word.
This is Ainde's testimony, he's a neat guy, long white beard, and he's got a wonderful presence about him.
----------------
“For I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.” – Jeremiah 29:11
Nothing can thwart God’s purposes for each one of us if we remain true to Him. But how many times can someone meet with certain death - and escape? For Ainde Wainso, part of the Angaatiya people group in Papua New Guinea, it was obvious that Satan wanted him dead.
Listen to Ainde’s account of an experience in his childhood:
“I escaped death many times by God’s divine providence. My father died from an arrow wound infection when I was about 2 or 3 years old. We put his body to rest in a dry cave as my people’s custom was. A few days later, my mother took me to where we put my father’s body. I noticed she had a very strong rope with a tied knot in her hands. When we reached the cave, she made signs with her hands showing me that she was going to hang me first and then she would hang herself. My mother and I were alone in our hamlet far away from the big village and people. I cried loudly, telling my mother that I did not want to die. I wanted to live. She took pity on me and did not hang me and herself. After that she worked hard to bring me and my sister up on her own.”
The Angaatiya people had a reputation as fierce fighters, but they were a small people group. Some of their enemies were the Menyas. Hear another account:
“My only sister and a male cousin were killed and eaten by the Menyas in 1952 when they raided our village, set fire to it, and destroyed everything. My mother and I escaped with most of our people.”
Ainde said, “God, in his providence, saved me for the work of giving His word of life and salvation to my people- the Angaatiya.”
Angaataha is one of over 800 languages in Papua New Guinea. Tribal customs and the mountainous terrain are only part of the reason for the people of this country developing so many different languages. Some use a trade language, Tok Pisin, to communicate with each other, but this is inadequate for understanding terms like grace, mercy, and love. How could the Anaatiya people know that God sent His son for them as well? Would they believe in a God that didn’t speak their language
Like Ainde, the Angaatiya people were also saved and protected by God’s providence from their enemies completely wiping them out. They were reduced to only 477 people in 5 villages at the time of first contact with the outside world, modern civilization, and the first white government officers and missionaries. Ainde feels God sent the Australian colonial officers and white missionaries with the power of guns AND the power of the Good News about Christ. In the 1950’s, Lutheran missionaries came to this area of Papua New Guinea. A young Ainde, about 14 or 15, was baptized along with other converts as first generation Christians. The warfare and cannibalism was completely stopped by the early 1960’s.
Also in the early 60’s, several teams of SIL missionaries came to help translate God’s word into Angaataha. As with Ainde, these translators found the spiritual opposition strong. One couple’s marriage failed. The second and third teams experienced sickness in their families, but the third team did manage to complete translation of about 30% of the New Testament before they had to return home.
As the teams left for various reasons, it became clear that God was calling Ainde and others to do the translation for their own people. In the early 80’s, Ainde and James Namaranso joined together to work on completing the translation. But the Angaatiya was a group with a history of sorcery, witchcraft, and black magic. Satan would not allow God’s word to come to them without a fight. James’ wife died of breast cancer and Ainde’s wife left him and their two boys. Ainde was seriously ill many, many times - often with chronic asthma. He saw many others dying around him in hospital wards, but God spared him. Ainde’s declaration is: “We trust in the Lord and in His mighty power. We believe breakthrough and victory is just around corner, for we stand under the blood of Jesus Christ and His victory over Satan at Calvary.”
In December of 2004, the Angaataha New Testament was dedicated. When the New Testaments were received by the people, they spontaneously began a circle dance, reminiscent of their former tribal dances of victory. But this time instead of holding the limbs of their enemies over their heads, they were holding up God’s Word.
10/21/2010
Today
What is Chad doing today?
oh, it's a typical day:
-meet with our home church missions committee, meet n greet. that was fun
-rush back home to complete a few hours of work on some priority 1 emergency issues
-change the oil in my car before our trip to Portland
-spend a few hours doing VMsphere training to brush up my skills so I can return to PNG ready to work on our new projects
-look around to borrow some snow chains
-order some parts for a repair that needs to be shipped to PNG
-play with my kids for a few minutes, maybe pick out some pumpkins
-inhale
-hopefully squeeze in the last game in the NLCS ...go GIANTS!
-configure a vpn and a network to prep access to install vmotion
-save a small universe by finding a rootkit virus installation and gain my employer a new customer.
-doing all that while my computer keeps randomly powering off.
Oddly enough, this is NOT a busy day. That's tomorrow, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.
Today is my slower day.
God I'm thankful for all these opportunities and the health to keep going. I ask forgiveness for wanting things to slow down a bit, as you keep showering us with your blessings.
my to-do list is growing daily and I haven't enough time to complete the items. Jan 10 is coming too quickly.
how to pray:
-more time
-need my laptop to quit dying or need to get a new laptop.
PRAISE:
support is at 89% now!
oh, it's a typical day:
-meet with our home church missions committee, meet n greet. that was fun
-rush back home to complete a few hours of work on some priority 1 emergency issues
-change the oil in my car before our trip to Portland
-spend a few hours doing VMsphere training to brush up my skills so I can return to PNG ready to work on our new projects
-look around to borrow some snow chains
-order some parts for a repair that needs to be shipped to PNG
-play with my kids for a few minutes, maybe pick out some pumpkins
-inhale
-hopefully squeeze in the last game in the NLCS ...go GIANTS!
-configure a vpn and a network to prep access to install vmotion
-save a small universe by finding a rootkit virus installation and gain my employer a new customer.
-doing all that while my computer keeps randomly powering off.
Oddly enough, this is NOT a busy day. That's tomorrow, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.
Today is my slower day.
God I'm thankful for all these opportunities and the health to keep going. I ask forgiveness for wanting things to slow down a bit, as you keep showering us with your blessings.
my to-do list is growing daily and I haven't enough time to complete the items. Jan 10 is coming too quickly.
how to pray:
-more time
-need my laptop to quit dying or need to get a new laptop.
PRAISE:
support is at 89% now!
10/15/2010
Disneyland from a Missionary's perspective
This will be a lengthy post, but I think, worth it. My wife and I were devout Disneyland fans back in college with season passes. We went many nights there and I proposed at Snow White's wishing well. Years later when our kids were around 4 and 6 we took them for their first, and later second, times. It was magical seeing it through our kids eyes.
It's nearly 5 years later now. I'm 5 years older, we're both late 30's in age. It's October which means the park is decorated for Halloween.
We were going to be in Southern California to meet with friends, family and a supporting church and the money all came together for a special family vacation to Disneyland in Anaheim, CA.
The trip went GREAT... I mean REALLY great, God confirmed our ministry in so many miraculous ways. I will blog about that possibly more later. But know we're very excited about our ministry and returning to PNG. So many things have happened that this 10 days feels more like a month because of the sheer volume of awesome things that has happened. I can't even recall them all.
First... a few words from our kids:
Day 1 at Disneyland we decided to ignore the advice of friends telling us about this new 'fastpass' system and how to work it. The day ended in disappointment as we found we could not see this 'world of color' show. So on Day 2 I decided to 'work the fastpass system' Which resulted in me doing a LOT of walking around while my wife took the kids to fantasyland rides.
Day 2: After two ull days I have decided that they have upset the delicate balance of magic at Disneyland. I have also decided I don't care at all for the new California Adventure. The fastpass system for world of color is a horrible disaster. The park opened at 9:30am and the horde of people RAN ignoring all warnings towards the fastpass machines. I refused to run. Wheelchairs, older people, heavier people, younger people, all dashed passed me. Combine CA adventure, with Dland and downtown disney and what you end up with is having to make reservations for rides since there is triple the crowd and triple the wait. I went on a weekday in October, on a drizzly day and it was still insanely crowded. The crowds will be the undoing of the park. Combine THAT with new information at the gate each day about what the closing times actually mean, some halloween party that meant we didn't get to see Fantasmic OR the fireworks... and you realize, that you need to plan your itenerary and the internet is not enough of an information source. I realize there is a phone app and such.. and the people who seemed to know their way around the park all had iphone4's and Verizon whatevers... there were a LOT of smartphones employed by families trying to figure out their next move. The LAZY, relaxed way of doing Dland comes at an extreme cost, which is not being able to ride rides.
The clothing fashions have changed, and I wondered how cold those folks with very short shorts felt, but also folks seemed rude to me. I think possibly large crowds are that way. I found myself compensating by being overly pleasant to people instead of grumpy. Before I left for PNG, a large crowd would make me angry and stressed. Now I feel, 'wow these people only need someone to simply be kind to them and they'll have a better day'.
Still, family fun can be found but you have to be deliberate about avoiding the madness. We tried to go with the flow but failed. Because things 'sell out'.
LOSING THE MAGIC:
lit and blinking balloons, neon blinking cotton candy? Everyone with iphones, i felt old.. and not because my body was sore, but because I was longing for the days of disney 15 years ago. I was wishing to see disneyland at night but it was too far away and the crowds too awesome to brave, but my wife suggested we get on the train. WHAT a great idea. So around 9pm we all prepared to board the Disneyland express.
FINDING THE MAGIC:
In the train station I suddenly felt the magic coming back, as I looked at the old photos. Which is when my wife found an old wurlitzer and put in a dime. Surely this old device would not work. But it did. And it played a wonderful tune, as we stood in awe, literally... stood. In the distance we heard the familiar bell of the Disneyland Express and I was transported back to a time when Disneyland still had magic. For a dime my wife found the magic for me, she gently put her arm around me and we rode around the park in style... and magic.
It was a great moment.
The next day it was raining, and we said goodbye as our blisters anticipated the time when we could sit for our shuttle. But before leaving, we ducked into Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln and I felt the magic again. I learned what the statue on top of the Capitol building was. I enjoyed the museum like feel of the room.
Now my wife sit here in the lobby of our hotel, ready to embark on the journey home tomorrow. There is free wireless in the lobby.
But the place is insane at 9pm. It seems at 8pm the park opens for a halloween trick or treat party, AND in the conference room here is a small children's beauty pageant. So we're playing a game of 'pageant or party' as we see people running around in different costumes. 'Is that a princess or a contestant?'.
Lots of sequins and sparklies. A hollywood agent type running around handling details and such.
And we are thankful for this trip to Southern California for many.... many reasons. Not the least of which, is a new found appreciation for the comfort of home, new found friends, surprise meetings with old friends, and enjoyable time with family and friends.
God has certainly blessed us. And this last 10 days, has accomplished the largest goal of all we had on our furlough: Re-confirming and re-energizing our desire for Papua New Guinea.
I hope this post doesn't sound too negative. We really enjoyed the family time. We made a lot of great memories. And we really are thankful that we got the chance to go at all. Someone had given us money specifically to do this trip. So we enjoyed it tremendously. It is simply that, after you've been away for a while and love the place and are used to no crowds and knowing people everywhere you go, it's a bit of a change.
Oh, we did bump into 2 groups of people we knew.
AND, we noticed after PNG that the Tiki room had 'birds of paradise' which are a bird from PNG.
AND when we didn't want people to know what were talking about in line, we could speak tok pisin.
It's nearly 5 years later now. I'm 5 years older, we're both late 30's in age. It's October which means the park is decorated for Halloween.
We were going to be in Southern California to meet with friends, family and a supporting church and the money all came together for a special family vacation to Disneyland in Anaheim, CA.
The trip went GREAT... I mean REALLY great, God confirmed our ministry in so many miraculous ways. I will blog about that possibly more later. But know we're very excited about our ministry and returning to PNG. So many things have happened that this 10 days feels more like a month because of the sheer volume of awesome things that has happened. I can't even recall them all.
First... a few words from our kids:
Calvin – while watching captain EO with me because it took me back “I don’t get it, is captain EO a boy or a girl?”
Calvin – while on the pirates of the C. he said while referring to the skeleton drinking a bottle of rum “he must be freshly dead because the bottle isn’t empty yet.”
Calvin – while on California Screaming “I’m going to die, I’m going to die, I’m going to die”
Calvin – after California Screamin “Choosing to ride that ride was the worst mistake of my life. There was probably a sonic boom during it but I couldn’t hear it because I was screaming my head off.”
Calvin and Sydney at the tortilla factory weighing Sydney (what’s your weight in tortillas)– Syd - “Wow I weigh like 100 more tortillas than Emmy” Cal - “well that’s because we eat tacos every Tuesday night”
Day 1 at Disneyland we decided to ignore the advice of friends telling us about this new 'fastpass' system and how to work it. The day ended in disappointment as we found we could not see this 'world of color' show. So on Day 2 I decided to 'work the fastpass system' Which resulted in me doing a LOT of walking around while my wife took the kids to fantasyland rides.
Day 2: After two ull days I have decided that they have upset the delicate balance of magic at Disneyland. I have also decided I don't care at all for the new California Adventure. The fastpass system for world of color is a horrible disaster. The park opened at 9:30am and the horde of people RAN ignoring all warnings towards the fastpass machines. I refused to run. Wheelchairs, older people, heavier people, younger people, all dashed passed me. Combine CA adventure, with Dland and downtown disney and what you end up with is having to make reservations for rides since there is triple the crowd and triple the wait. I went on a weekday in October, on a drizzly day and it was still insanely crowded. The crowds will be the undoing of the park. Combine THAT with new information at the gate each day about what the closing times actually mean, some halloween party that meant we didn't get to see Fantasmic OR the fireworks... and you realize, that you need to plan your itenerary and the internet is not enough of an information source. I realize there is a phone app and such.. and the people who seemed to know their way around the park all had iphone4's and Verizon whatevers... there were a LOT of smartphones employed by families trying to figure out their next move. The LAZY, relaxed way of doing Dland comes at an extreme cost, which is not being able to ride rides.
The clothing fashions have changed, and I wondered how cold those folks with very short shorts felt, but also folks seemed rude to me. I think possibly large crowds are that way. I found myself compensating by being overly pleasant to people instead of grumpy. Before I left for PNG, a large crowd would make me angry and stressed. Now I feel, 'wow these people only need someone to simply be kind to them and they'll have a better day'.
Still, family fun can be found but you have to be deliberate about avoiding the madness. We tried to go with the flow but failed. Because things 'sell out'.
LOSING THE MAGIC:
lit and blinking balloons, neon blinking cotton candy? Everyone with iphones, i felt old.. and not because my body was sore, but because I was longing for the days of disney 15 years ago. I was wishing to see disneyland at night but it was too far away and the crowds too awesome to brave, but my wife suggested we get on the train. WHAT a great idea. So around 9pm we all prepared to board the Disneyland express.
FINDING THE MAGIC:
In the train station I suddenly felt the magic coming back, as I looked at the old photos. Which is when my wife found an old wurlitzer and put in a dime. Surely this old device would not work. But it did. And it played a wonderful tune, as we stood in awe, literally... stood. In the distance we heard the familiar bell of the Disneyland Express and I was transported back to a time when Disneyland still had magic. For a dime my wife found the magic for me, she gently put her arm around me and we rode around the park in style... and magic.
It was a great moment.
The next day it was raining, and we said goodbye as our blisters anticipated the time when we could sit for our shuttle. But before leaving, we ducked into Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln and I felt the magic again. I learned what the statue on top of the Capitol building was. I enjoyed the museum like feel of the room.
Now my wife sit here in the lobby of our hotel, ready to embark on the journey home tomorrow. There is free wireless in the lobby.
But the place is insane at 9pm. It seems at 8pm the park opens for a halloween trick or treat party, AND in the conference room here is a small children's beauty pageant. So we're playing a game of 'pageant or party' as we see people running around in different costumes. 'Is that a princess or a contestant?'.
Lots of sequins and sparklies. A hollywood agent type running around handling details and such.
And we are thankful for this trip to Southern California for many.... many reasons. Not the least of which, is a new found appreciation for the comfort of home, new found friends, surprise meetings with old friends, and enjoyable time with family and friends.
God has certainly blessed us. And this last 10 days, has accomplished the largest goal of all we had on our furlough: Re-confirming and re-energizing our desire for Papua New Guinea.
I hope this post doesn't sound too negative. We really enjoyed the family time. We made a lot of great memories. And we really are thankful that we got the chance to go at all. Someone had given us money specifically to do this trip. So we enjoyed it tremendously. It is simply that, after you've been away for a while and love the place and are used to no crowds and knowing people everywhere you go, it's a bit of a change.
Oh, we did bump into 2 groups of people we knew.
AND, we noticed after PNG that the Tiki room had 'birds of paradise' which are a bird from PNG.
AND when we didn't want people to know what were talking about in line, we could speak tok pisin.
10/12/2010
Speaking to youth
this morning I woke up at 5:45am, and had this on my heart to share. I wrote it down as the thoughts in my head and sort of thought it could be a 'sermon' to youth or young adults.
Anyway, for what it's worth... this is what was on my heart and mind this morning.
Anyway, for what it's worth... this is what was on my heart and mind this morning.
'If anyone here is feeling left out, unnoticed, unrecognized, alone, I need to tell you that God is looking at you and thinking 'I have a plan for you, and it's awesome!'
I grew up with a bit of a wierd childhood and as a result I never really felt like I fit in anywhere. So I began to spend time with God, reading my Bible praying and I would say 'God, there are these great men in the Bible, Noah, Moses, Joseph, David, Paul... and they're all guys like me... human... do you want to do something incredible with my life? If so, I'm not psychic, I can't read minds, I need to know, so tell me.'
Then one day, I was 25 or so, I got this little bit of a feeling like I was supposed to go to Papua New Guinea to visit. And I couldn't forget that thought no matter how much I tried. Some people came to our class and spoke like I'm speaking now and I got this thought and it wouldn't go away.
So I prayed about it. And so I went to PNG. And when I got there, it was THERE that I felt at home. THERE that I felt like I fit in, I belonged, all my skills all my interests, my talents and my hobbies, my childhood everything clicked and I knew, I knew...
people say 'how did you know'.... man when you know it's very strong on your heart and your mind, and I KNEW this was the plan for my life.
God had planned everything that had happened in my life to get me to that point where He wanted me.
Jer 29:10- 10 This is what the LORD says: "When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my gracious promise to bring you back to this place. 11 For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14
Okay so now, if your'e in this room and you're in the other boat. You're thinking 'I got this handled... I've been a Christian since I was 5 years old, and I know exactly what's going on in my life. I have my goals, I have my life all set out before me.' That's awesome.
Guess what, that was me after college. I had goals to accomplish, and I did too, I accomplished every one of my goals. I was 33 when my last goal was accomplished. I wanted to have 2 kids, a lovely wife, and a job that paid me six figures a year. And I had it.
Then I said 'wow, now what? Retirement? At 33?'
So I started asking God more about what His plan for me was.
If you're there, where you have your plans all set out before you, you've got your life all laid out, you're in the cool group.... be sure that's what God's plan for you is.
Okay so the Bible says He has a plan... so let's talk about how we figure out the plan.
I mean are we supposed to HEAR GOD'S VOICE like we hear stuff on the t.v.?
Let me tell you how it worked for me.
I spent my time and effort getting closer to Christ. I spent a lot of time reading the Bible, praying, finding out what the truth was, kept asking God what He wanted of me. And the more time we spent together, the more times I knew what to do in those moments when you have a tough choice to make.
The the more times I chose to do what I felt would please God and not myself, the more I got to know what God wanted from me.
It was like building a friendship. You hang out with your buddies and you learn about them, you learn what they like and hate.
Okay... so that's the story of how I got involved in mission work and went overseas.
So the question remains for you all, ... what does God have planned for you. Well, I can't answer that for you, but I can answer a different question.
If you're asking 'how can I right now, get involved in reaching the whole world for Christ? Missions work?' ... I'll tell you very simply.
PRAY.
If you don't believe prayer works, go overseas and depend on God for everything. You'll soon realize prayer is everything.
There have been so many times I've been in dangerous situations that I got out of safely only because of prayer. Situations totally outside of my control. There have been times when we felt lighter inside happier during times when we should have been very sad, because we knew people back in the united states were praying for us.
So pray. Pray for us, pray for safety, pray for encouragement, pray for support, pray for our kids, pray for everything you can think of.
Prayer works, we're all standing here in front of you because God answers prayer.
KEEP praying. Prayer takes a while sometimes. In Daniel there's a story about an Angel who takes 21 days to answer a prayer because of all the fighting through the enemy he had to do. Check it out.
KEEP praying.
10/11/2010
Awesome Day Awesome Trip
We've been relatively busy this trip to So Cal. We haven't bought meal yet, we keep running into people who want to buy us a meal and visit.
Today we met a guy who was so generous and excited about how technology can be used to spread the Word and gave us some nice new toys to bring to PNG to give to other teams.
I was left in awe at his generosity to us and our children. He had goodies and gifts for them, and his heart was full of love for missionary kids.
Then tonight, we spoke at a young adults class and heard some awesome testimony and was able to share.
I do not know if you understand what I mean when I say 'divine appointments'. It basically means to me a meeting that God had designed for you to have.
I really can't list out all of the divine appointments we've had on this trip. There are far too many to count. Needless to say:
Nearly EVERY single encounter we have had on this trip has been an incredible reminder that GOD is confirming our ministry and blessing us WAY more than we deserve.
Have you ever thought 'WOW? what are the odds that I would meet someone who knew how to do _______ on the day when I had to figure out how to get ________ done. ?'
We revel in, love to see, get pumped up about.... the times when God does something that is so obviously only doable by Him.
And it's happening EVERY SINGLE DAY of this trip, multiple times a day!
God is confirming our ministry here. We pray and hope that we are helping spread His Word and His message to the people we meet.
It has been mind blowingly incredible.... my brain is so overflowing with the amazement of it all I can't even list them all out I can't even think them all through to list them all out.
Pure awe. God is good.
Today we met a guy who was so generous and excited about how technology can be used to spread the Word and gave us some nice new toys to bring to PNG to give to other teams.
I was left in awe at his generosity to us and our children. He had goodies and gifts for them, and his heart was full of love for missionary kids.
Then tonight, we spoke at a young adults class and heard some awesome testimony and was able to share.
I do not know if you understand what I mean when I say 'divine appointments'. It basically means to me a meeting that God had designed for you to have.
I really can't list out all of the divine appointments we've had on this trip. There are far too many to count. Needless to say:
Nearly EVERY single encounter we have had on this trip has been an incredible reminder that GOD is confirming our ministry and blessing us WAY more than we deserve.
Have you ever thought 'WOW? what are the odds that I would meet someone who knew how to do _______ on the day when I had to figure out how to get ________ done. ?'
We revel in, love to see, get pumped up about.... the times when God does something that is so obviously only doable by Him.
And it's happening EVERY SINGLE DAY of this trip, multiple times a day!
God is confirming our ministry here. We pray and hope that we are helping spread His Word and His message to the people we meet.
It has been mind blowingly incredible.... my brain is so overflowing with the amazement of it all I can't even list them all out I can't even think them all through to list them all out.
Pure awe. God is good.
10/08/2010
People
Which of these best describes you:
-you know today you're going to meet new people and you start to get nervous.
-you know today you're going to meet new people and you start to get excited.
?
Years ago, meeting new people was something that would give me butterflies in my stomach, although you wouldn't know it because I've got an extroverted exterior.
Today, I get really excited and here is why.
God has continually brought incredible, miraculous blessings to us through people.
And so, years ago it was my habit to think 'how can I get out of meeting someone new, I'll say 'no' to every opportunity to do something 'different'.
Now, I say 'yes, sure!, YAH!' to any opportunity to meet someone, because when I do that, God does such incredible things.
I would like to tell you about someone, but I'll wait a bit until I know him more. Needless to say, he's a techno guy, and he, without knowing me, send me his business card and a hard drive full of useful data on it.
I called and said 'I can't copy all this I don't have room'... he replied 'no, the hard drive is a gift, use it and copy the data and give it to others in PNG.'
!!!
This guy has turned supplying technical gadgets into a ministry... he buys them and gives them away to people who can put them to God's use!
How amazing is it?
Friends, I can not describe to you the incredible feeling of wonder I get, when I see our God work. It's like this magnificent puzzle of planning perfection.
I'll lay one out for you, but I can't finish it because it's not even over.
-We plan to go to Southern California
-my grandmother passes away
-we pray and decide to postpone the trip
-because of that decision that we're confident was God's leading:
-details surrounding my grandmother's apartment went very smoothly
-we got an extra speaking engagement
-we were hosted by a family we didn't know and turned out they know a lot of our same friends and blessed us not only with a place to stay but THE perfect place to stay!
-we met a man who gives gadgets to missionaries
-we had a spontaneous family reunion on Kendal's side.
-the kids wound up with a special gift.
- and more and more and more
All of it God had planned. His plans are way better than ours. We simply have striven to always say 'yes' when we feel his prompting.
Let me tell you, saying 'yes' has always been harder than saying 'no', but it has been vastly more rewarding and incredible to see God do His thing in front of us, and for us, and with us.
Thank you all!
-you know today you're going to meet new people and you start to get nervous.
-you know today you're going to meet new people and you start to get excited.
?
Years ago, meeting new people was something that would give me butterflies in my stomach, although you wouldn't know it because I've got an extroverted exterior.
Today, I get really excited and here is why.
God has continually brought incredible, miraculous blessings to us through people.
And so, years ago it was my habit to think 'how can I get out of meeting someone new, I'll say 'no' to every opportunity to do something 'different'.
Now, I say 'yes, sure!, YAH!' to any opportunity to meet someone, because when I do that, God does such incredible things.
I would like to tell you about someone, but I'll wait a bit until I know him more. Needless to say, he's a techno guy, and he, without knowing me, send me his business card and a hard drive full of useful data on it.
I called and said 'I can't copy all this I don't have room'... he replied 'no, the hard drive is a gift, use it and copy the data and give it to others in PNG.'
!!!
This guy has turned supplying technical gadgets into a ministry... he buys them and gives them away to people who can put them to God's use!
How amazing is it?
Friends, I can not describe to you the incredible feeling of wonder I get, when I see our God work. It's like this magnificent puzzle of planning perfection.
I'll lay one out for you, but I can't finish it because it's not even over.
-We plan to go to Southern California
-my grandmother passes away
-we pray and decide to postpone the trip
-because of that decision that we're confident was God's leading:
-details surrounding my grandmother's apartment went very smoothly
-we got an extra speaking engagement
-we were hosted by a family we didn't know and turned out they know a lot of our same friends and blessed us not only with a place to stay but THE perfect place to stay!
-we met a man who gives gadgets to missionaries
-we had a spontaneous family reunion on Kendal's side.
-the kids wound up with a special gift.
- and more and more and more
All of it God had planned. His plans are way better than ours. We simply have striven to always say 'yes' when we feel his prompting.
Let me tell you, saying 'yes' has always been harder than saying 'no', but it has been vastly more rewarding and incredible to see God do His thing in front of us, and for us, and with us.
Thank you all!
10/07/2010
In Southern Cal
well we're in southern Cal visiting partners, friends, family.
One of the things we were hoping to do while down here is to go to Disneyland.
First off, fellow missionaries reading this... here's another money tip:
check out priceline.com
you can pretty much tell hotels how much you're willing to pay for a room, if you're flexible regarding where you stay... and let's be honest... since we're out of the country our standards have lowered plus we don't know the area as well as we once did so... we're flexible! Discount hotel stays!
Anyway, we wanted to surprise the kids with Disneyland, and so we prayed about it and yes some money did come in for it, but we kept it a surprise.
I decided to turn it into a learning opportunity for the kids. We had been talking about God and how the kids felt He wanted us to be happy all the time. After much Biblical debate, the kids agreed God doesn't promise us to have fun all day every day.
This was a shock to their theologies for sure. But they finally agreed that life may be hard on God's path, but maybe from time to time we get a special treat from him.
So they decided to pray for Disneyland. What they didn't know was that I had already gotten the tickets. But I decided to let them pray and experience what fervent prayer and patience can do, as we have seen over the last several years.
So they prayed.
And waited.
And prayed again.
I held out for 3 days... waited until they were in the LA area.. even drove passed 6 flags, thinking about it, talking about it.. praying.
And to myself I'm thinking 'what's the harm in letting the kids think we may not go? Just for a few days.'
Well today we told them God answered their prayers and we were going.
But what we didn't expect was that tonight some friends gave each of the kids an envelope and inside it had money for 'something you want that's special'.
The kids as I put them to sleep tonight said,
'Dad, God answered our prayers about Disneyland, but also, He threw in a bonus and gave us enough money to each get a souvenir.'
Isn't that how God works? He continually chooses to bless us with a little bit more than we were expecting for ourselves. We absolutely love this because then we know it wasn't of our doing but it was God's.
Thank you to those who had an active role in letting our kids experience personally what we've seen for many years now through you.
In talking about it tonight with friends, I boiled it down like this:
-Sometimes we worry even though we know God provides
-When we worry we remind ourselves to bend our knees and pray... trusting God, surrendering our will.
-God shows up in some incredible way and does something really cool and beyond what we expected.
I absolutely love being surprised by God and I am so addicted to it, that I will gladly submit my will knowing His will has something better.
One of the things we were hoping to do while down here is to go to Disneyland.
First off, fellow missionaries reading this... here's another money tip:
check out priceline.com
you can pretty much tell hotels how much you're willing to pay for a room, if you're flexible regarding where you stay... and let's be honest... since we're out of the country our standards have lowered plus we don't know the area as well as we once did so... we're flexible! Discount hotel stays!
Anyway, we wanted to surprise the kids with Disneyland, and so we prayed about it and yes some money did come in for it, but we kept it a surprise.
I decided to turn it into a learning opportunity for the kids. We had been talking about God and how the kids felt He wanted us to be happy all the time. After much Biblical debate, the kids agreed God doesn't promise us to have fun all day every day.
This was a shock to their theologies for sure. But they finally agreed that life may be hard on God's path, but maybe from time to time we get a special treat from him.
So they decided to pray for Disneyland. What they didn't know was that I had already gotten the tickets. But I decided to let them pray and experience what fervent prayer and patience can do, as we have seen over the last several years.
So they prayed.
And waited.
And prayed again.
I held out for 3 days... waited until they were in the LA area.. even drove passed 6 flags, thinking about it, talking about it.. praying.
And to myself I'm thinking 'what's the harm in letting the kids think we may not go? Just for a few days.'
Well today we told them God answered their prayers and we were going.
But what we didn't expect was that tonight some friends gave each of the kids an envelope and inside it had money for 'something you want that's special'.
The kids as I put them to sleep tonight said,
'Dad, God answered our prayers about Disneyland, but also, He threw in a bonus and gave us enough money to each get a souvenir.'
Isn't that how God works? He continually chooses to bless us with a little bit more than we were expecting for ourselves. We absolutely love this because then we know it wasn't of our doing but it was God's.
Thank you to those who had an active role in letting our kids experience personally what we've seen for many years now through you.
In talking about it tonight with friends, I boiled it down like this:
-Sometimes we worry even though we know God provides
-When we worry we remind ourselves to bend our knees and pray... trusting God, surrendering our will.
-God shows up in some incredible way and does something really cool and beyond what we expected.
I absolutely love being surprised by God and I am so addicted to it, that I will gladly submit my will knowing His will has something better.
10/05/2010
Click
Being our first furlough, I've blogged a bit about what it's like going on your first furlough.
It is very busy.
You have goals to accomplish, and they are:
- inspire people's interest in missions - we do this by talking to groups
- raise financial partnership and prayer partnership - mostly by prayer and speaking
- reconnect/visit with family and friends
- get medical treatment needed
- purchase supplies that we lack in country
- rest and enjoy our home country
- get training for job back in PNG
- get re-inspired to return and start your second term
Well the first few goals we've been making headway on. But honestly, we've been so busy, we've barely gotten 'rest' and we definitely haven't gotten to the 'I really miss PNG' point....
until yesterday.
Something in me clicked and I got really excited about returning to PNG. It will be sad to leave here, but my spirit suddenly was... unburdened and I said 'Okay God, I can go back now.'
It might be a dirty little secret, but most every missionary needs to make that important transition during their furlough from 'Thank God I'm in America...' to 'Okay I'm re-inspired to go back and serve again!'.
I've finally gotten over the hump and began that transition.
And God knows my heart because as soon as I got to that point, the email and the phone started our support going in the positive direction again.
I'm still not ready to leave the U.S. but I'm starting the emotional process of being excited about the work yet to be done in PNG!
It is very busy.
You have goals to accomplish, and they are:
- inspire people's interest in missions - we do this by talking to groups
- raise financial partnership and prayer partnership - mostly by prayer and speaking
- reconnect/visit with family and friends
- get medical treatment needed
- purchase supplies that we lack in country
- rest and enjoy our home country
- get training for job back in PNG
- get re-inspired to return and start your second term
Well the first few goals we've been making headway on. But honestly, we've been so busy, we've barely gotten 'rest' and we definitely haven't gotten to the 'I really miss PNG' point....
until yesterday.
Something in me clicked and I got really excited about returning to PNG. It will be sad to leave here, but my spirit suddenly was... unburdened and I said 'Okay God, I can go back now.'
It might be a dirty little secret, but most every missionary needs to make that important transition during their furlough from 'Thank God I'm in America...' to 'Okay I'm re-inspired to go back and serve again!'.
I've finally gotten over the hump and began that transition.
And God knows my heart because as soon as I got to that point, the email and the phone started our support going in the positive direction again.
I'm still not ready to leave the U.S. but I'm starting the emotional process of being excited about the work yet to be done in PNG!
Newsletter gone
We've completely abandoned the idea of a paper newsletter. Which means it is imperative we have your proper email address.
We thought there might be some people out there without email addresses who would like a newsletter so we investigated the cost of doing it. For the past 3 years we have had a great sponsor who paid for our postage and printing. Since losing them, we have investigated other paths, but all of which were very expensive.
So, at the risk of upsetting people, we're convicted that being a better steward means stopping the paper newsletters.
If this upsets you, we'd love to know, but the odds are people that read this blog wouldn't be upset by it.
So were considering one last final mailer to everyone to say 'this is the end of the newsletters.'
please be sure to email us your opinions at
owens (at) gimpel.tv
We thought there might be some people out there without email addresses who would like a newsletter so we investigated the cost of doing it. For the past 3 years we have had a great sponsor who paid for our postage and printing. Since losing them, we have investigated other paths, but all of which were very expensive.
So, at the risk of upsetting people, we're convicted that being a better steward means stopping the paper newsletters.
If this upsets you, we'd love to know, but the odds are people that read this blog wouldn't be upset by it.
So were considering one last final mailer to everyone to say 'this is the end of the newsletters.'
please be sure to email us your opinions at
owens (at) gimpel.tv
10/03/2010
Faith in housing
So this morning, we had no housing for our LA trip.
Now we do.
We were convinced, that God had us change our LA trip from a week prior, because everything went really well since we made that choice. I mean, we got an extra speaking engagement out of it... packing up my Grandmother's apartment was easier. It was confirmed that it was a God thing.
This morning we began to stress a little. And so we prayed “God we know you have a plan, please reveal it soon to us.”
Today we got an email while we were out. “we have a little side house with 2 bedrooms we’d love to have you come stay for free” total strangers who house missionaries... About ten minutes from the church we’ll be speaking at.
So I call.
They’re really involved in missions and in two different churches. One of which is Eric Kregel’s old church in Chino Hills.
Still gets better.
They want to know if we want to be involved in their church’s mission fellowship night on Thursday night!!!!
This morning we were convinced God had canceled our housing to ‘upgrade us’ to someone He had in mind for us. This evening we were convinced.
I called in, and spoke with Ron, liked him instantly and he was watching the Giants game and said he was watching it with his son because they were both in fantasy football and Ron was beating his son by 3 points., and I said ‘Ron, I can tell we’re going to get along great”
We are convinced when God changes plans on us, He often had something better in mind. If we had booked a hotel and bit the bullet, we would have never tried to look up people who were registered to house missionaries. Instead we thought 'Okay God, let's see what you do with this!" I love it.. It is so encouraging to see people with generosity and love in their hearts in times like this, when it is so hard to be thinking about others.
Now we do.
We were convinced, that God had us change our LA trip from a week prior, because everything went really well since we made that choice. I mean, we got an extra speaking engagement out of it... packing up my Grandmother's apartment was easier. It was confirmed that it was a God thing.
This morning we began to stress a little. And so we prayed “God we know you have a plan, please reveal it soon to us.”
Today we got an email while we were out. “we have a little side house with 2 bedrooms we’d love to have you come stay for free” total strangers who house missionaries... About ten minutes from the church we’ll be speaking at.
So I call.
They’re really involved in missions and in two different churches. One of which is Eric Kregel’s old church in Chino Hills.
Still gets better.
They want to know if we want to be involved in their church’s mission fellowship night on Thursday night!!!!
This morning we were convinced God had canceled our housing to ‘upgrade us’ to someone He had in mind for us. This evening we were convinced.
I called in, and spoke with Ron, liked him instantly and he was watching the Giants game and said he was watching it with his son because they were both in fantasy football and Ron was beating his son by 3 points., and I said ‘Ron, I can tell we’re going to get along great”
We are convinced when God changes plans on us, He often had something better in mind. If we had booked a hotel and bit the bullet, we would have never tried to look up people who were registered to house missionaries. Instead we thought 'Okay God, let's see what you do with this!" I love it.. It is so encouraging to see people with generosity and love in their hearts in times like this, when it is so hard to be thinking about others.
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