Every Nation

Noisy thoughts...

It's been rather noisy around here lately. Not the usual noisy of donkey and horse carts, tractors and dump trucks, but a noise reserved for a certain occasion.

The noise began after nightfall yesterday. Beautiful dancing by local people in their traditional clothing was accompanied not only by the local music, but also by loud drums and gongs. People here usually wear bright colors, especially the young women like those who were dancing, but not last night. The reds, pinks, yellows, greens, and blues were all replaced with white: the color of death.

I watched the rest of the ceremonies from our apartment rooftop this morning. More drums and gongs, plus trombones, french horns, and trumpets followed the coffin in parade-like funeral procession. Before they left for the burial, they raised the coffin a few feet off the ground and set off ear-shattering firecrackers under it. Once those had quieted, I could hear more chanting and music. Twenty or so men hoisted the coffin onto wooden rods on their shoulders. They joined the parade of musicians and what look like giant papier mâché piñatas: a car, a house, several people and horses, even an elephant. All the paper items will be burned during the burial ceremony in hopes that they will come to life in the underworld to assist the now-deceased person.

Just now, as I type, I hear more fireworks going off at the apartment where the person lived. The reason the family makes noise with the fireworks, the drums and gongs, all the musicians, and every other loud thing we've heard these last 2 days is to scare off spirits with evil intents from bothering their deceased relative. Everything the person will encounter in the underworld is mysterious and frightening. The singing and dancing is not the same as during a wedding feast; this is not a time for hope or joy.

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Let's rejoice and be thankful that we have confidence in where we'll be after we leave our bodies. Rejoice and be thankful that we who know Him have nothing to fear! Rejoice and thank Him that He hears us in our quietest prayers and our unspoken thoughts. Rejoice and be thankful that there's no need to make a lot of noise just to be safe, and that even if we made all the noise in the world, we could never scare Him off!

As you sing for joy and thank our Father, please speak with Him about the people here. He'll hear your softest tears and your loudest pleas the same. Ask Him to transform the hearts of the people here so that they would walk with Him each day. Ask Him that the next funeral they attend would be loud because of joyful shouts of people who have confidence in their family's eternal destinies! Ask Him to use you and to use us to make known the Joy that only He can give.

Thank you all,

L.A. & P.

What do you think about Jesus?

"So, what do you think about Jesus?"

I have to admit, I was shocked speechless. This young friend of ours, a motivated high school student who will graduate this year, had spent time with us on several previous occasions. He had even mentioned before that he owned a Bible and that he thought it was good, but conversations never proceeded much further than this.

Really, though, I was shocked not so much that "Rocky," as this young man is nicknamed, was interested in our loving brother and best friend, but that God chose to use us! We don't speak the language here very well yet. I still find my most common phrase to be "ting bu dong" - I don't understand what you're saying. We don't understand much about the culture. And, as I mentioned before, I didn't even know what to say when Rocky brought up the topic on his own! But that's one of my favorite things about God... he takes joy in using us, even in our weakness.

During the conversation that followed, he told us that this year he decided not to offer anything to the local gods because he believes Jesus instead.

Join us in asking God to continue making himself real to Rocky... who is so nicknamed because his actual English name is that of the man on whom Jesus has promised to build upon!

Yet, the promise remains...

With all the hustling of Christmas shopping and music, sometimes it's hard to focus on the true meaning of Christmas. But this year, it has been extra meaningful to us. Because the Christmas story is a missionary story. Its a story of God sending his own Son as a missionary into a world that was not deserving and that had rejected him, in order to reconcile all people to Himself. The prophet Isaiah put it this way:

The people who walk in darkness
         Will see a great light;
         Those who live in a dark land,
         The light will shine on them.
         You shall multiply the nation,
         You shall increase their gladness;
         They will be glad in Your presence
         As with the gladness of harvest,
         As men rejoice when they divide the spoil.
    For You shall break the yoke of their burden and the staff on their shoulders,
         The rod of their oppressor, as at the battle of Midian.
    For every boot of the booted warrior in the battle tumult,
         And cloak rolled in blood, will be for burning, fuel for the fire.
    For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us;
         And the government will rest on His shoulders;
         And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
         Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.

(Isaiah 9:2-6)

For most of us, this is a familiar story. But 2700 years after these words were written and 2000 years after Christ's birth, the people whom we are reaching have not heard this incredible promise or received the incredible gift of Jesus. Yet, the promise remains. These people WILL see a great light and it WILL shine on them!!!! Thank you for partnering with us as we seek to share this incredible Good News with those who have yet to experience the true Love of Christmas.

Language acquisition...

September 23, 2007

Two weeks ago, our Boot Camp class went to an Asian district in downtown Oklahoma City. Our task was to learn some phrases in Vietnamese and find certain ethnic foods in the markets. P. achieved the assigned goals, but L.A. found something else! At the third stop, a pottery market, some friends told me (L.A.) that they couldn't speak to the owner, because he knew only Chinese. A friend urged me to ask him about the origin of the beautiful pots. I am trying to overcome my timidness regarding speaking in a language I'm not too good in, because I'll need to just be bold once we get overseas! I went up to the man and asked, in Chinese, "Do you speak Mandarin (Chinese)?" He said yes, and stood up to talk. From then on, my timidness was gone! I asked him about the pots, which are made in China, and eventually found out that he painted them all! I asked about his time in Oklahoma; he's been in the United States for two months and does not have much business because people just drive by, whereas in China everyone walks and so they would at least see his wares. Eventually, it was time to meet P. and the rest of the team for lunch, so I had to say bye, but I went through the rest of the day excited that I was able to begin a friendship in a foreign language!

I just wanted to use that story to introduce this update, because P. and I are currently preparing for what I think will be the most exciting part of our training: language acquisition! Beginning Monday, we will take a course on the "Language Acquisition Made Practical" method. When we move across the ocean in January, we will use this method to learn the local language of the people to whom we want to tell about our loving Father! A week from today, we will leave Oklahoma for our 5 weeks of language learning in Mexico. We will learn a few phrases at a time through talking to people whom we meet walking around our villages. We're excited!

L.A. & P.