The Lord Showed Up

I wanted to tell you about a really amazing experience I had this past week. About a year ago if you remember, we had a very big storying workshop in my city with about 50 people coming. I asked specifically for your prayers in this endeavor. Well, the workshop came and went and I have gone on with life. It was a lot of work and I did see some good that came from it. But overall, I have been wondering if it did any good at all.

Then last weakend came. I was able to go to a women's retreat in a neighboring state.  About 50 women came from all over the country to report about how God was using stories in their villages. They had these books with them and I looked closer. And it was our training books that had been translated in their own language. Women from five different language groups were represented. The women had prepared stories, songs and skits based on the stories they were learning. One morning, they had a time of testimony. 

 

One young girl from the D language group stood up and said "a man had gone to a workshop in M Town (the town I live in) to learn how to share the Truth through the use of stories.   After the workshop, he came to my village to share and me and my entire family believed because we heard stories in our own heart language.".  

 

None of the testimonies were in English so I thought I misunderstood. Did she say M Town??? I asked my neighbors. They all confirmed, yes she had said it! 

 

After the time of testimonies, I found the women in charge of the D language group for the retreat. She had come to the M Town workshop with her husband last May and so I recognized her. I was in tears as I asked her "can you tell me what happened this past year" And basically, all those folks last year really took to heart what had been taught in the crafting workshop. They have been sharing and crafting stories in their own dialects this entire past year. At least for the D group, 21 stories have been crafted and are already being distributed on cassette tapes. But this sister said that the other groups have been working hard too so there is really no way to determine the impact.

 

She said 20 people so far have gotten dunked but even more people than that have believed. Its hard to really tell the exact numbers.  All I know is that God has worked.  She said "we will never forget what we learned sister. A big work happened there in M Town. Please don't stop what you are doing.".  This sister almost seemed hurt that I would assume God wasn't using stories to bring people to Himself.  

 

Anyway, I know that you will be encouraged by this news. Its not very often that the Lord reveals what He is doing in such a dramatic way. The workshop was a lot of work and for this entire year, I didn't really see the benefit. But the Lord showed up and surprised me.

 

Thank you to all who took part. We have a bigger family now to God be the glory!

 

You Just Never Know

The majority of my time here has been spent working with sweet ladies. They come from all backgrounds and all walks of life. My most cherished friendships have come from the women who are overlooked. The women who are looked down upon. The women who have very little voice in their worlds. These are the women who have gone out into the trenches and fields to share His Story. They don't have education or credentials. They just have a story to tell.

This past week I took part in a workshop of a different variety. Its not a situation that I was fully comfortable with. But my leadership thought it would be good if I did this and so I did. A bunch of pastors brought their men to record some stories. I knew something was up when I learned I had to refer to them separately as "pastors" and "believers" I asked the guy in charge...what is this-- a caste system??

The men were nice enough. They smiled and listened. And then totally didn't follow instructions.  They had a lot of excuses. So, I went toe to toe with this one pastor. He was disruptive, argumentative and disrespectful. Miraculously, I was as calm as a cucumber. I showed no emotion. I just stood firm in our Father's Word. I looked over...and my colleague who was in charge had tears in his eyes. He looked so discouraged.

The argument escalated and I think I almost had a mutiny on my hands. I called for a break. Let em cool down. I walked outside to find my colleague. I made some dumb joke about the Cold War (this guy is from Russia) and he just looked at me with sad eyes. I think he realized that his pastors that he called for this workshop were not the best men for the job. And that's got to be discouraging.

If it had been up to me, I would just have cancelled the rest of the training. It was wasting my time. And I had no emotional involvement, I didn't know these pastors from Adam. I was just doing a job I was asked to do. But then...I had the sad Russian dude...I wanted him to be encouraged...Russians are not suppose to be sad. So...I continued on.

After the break, I walked up to the pastor. And I basically just said the equivalent of 'no hard feelings' in Hindi. And he said..sister, I am the one who should be apologizing to you. WHAT?? That's a twist...as they say in the storytelling circles. For the rest of the day, he was my helper. He volunteered when nobody else would. I don't know what happened during that break but something did. This morning, as I go back for the last day of the training, I admit, I don't want to go. I just want to throw in the towel and go back to my ladies without all the hang ups. But, I just have to sit back and watch and see what HE will do...cause I just never know how things will turn out.

God Jesus Rescue Us

I was just on a really bad plane ride. It was the scariest of my life I think. It started out normal enough  but the last 20 minutes was torture. It was filled with a tremendous amount of turbulence and bumps. We tried to land once but the pilot aborted at the last second and swung the plane back up for another few minutes of turmoil. I wondered at one point if I would ever see land again. And giving out important life saving information is not widely practiced in these parts so we were left in the dark about what was really happening. Do we brace? Do we abort? Wait..where is the nearest exit. Dang it...what do they always say in those safety talks before we take off?? I need to listen more.

 Thankfully I was with a sweet, gentle woman of God who has been through it all and has the battle scars to prove it. She eats fear for breakfast...one of those superwomen types....She kindly let me bury my face into her shoulder. She stroked my hair as if I were a little girl again. And I let her.  All I could utter was "oh God...Jesus...rescue...us..." I even started singing out loud at one point...you are my hiding place....I needed help. I needed peace. I needed Jesus. Despite my circumstances, I can say that I did have a peace that passed all earthly understanding. The same peace I felt when I was laying there in that hospital bed with the phoid. I have always known with my head that we don't have to fear death anymore. But I never really KNEW it with my heart until now

I made it... obviously. My legs wobbled off the plane. The sweet woman of God blocked the isle so I could get out of the plane slowly.  She held back the mob of South Asians so that I could have some breathing room. Her and her husband formed a human shield around me until I could catch my breath. Will.never.forget.that.kindness.

I am still a little shell shocked. I jump at loud noises. I turn inward. I long for quite. And I am sure these feelings will pass...(I hope they do,I get on another plane next week). Now that I am out of harms way, I can't help but reflect on the situation. I came to faith at a young age and I have been walking with Him a long time. But when it comes down to it...I still let my hair be stroked. I still call out to Him. Oh God..Jesus..rescue...us. And thats how its suppose to be.

The Team

I just spent this past week doing some editing work with my fabulous team. I have been blessed beyond imagine by these folks and I will miss them dearly. They have impacted my life in more ways than I can even list. I am thankful that the Lord thought it good to bring them into my life.

Thank You Ladies

thank you to these ladies who taught me about struggle and music and life and faith

Broadcasting Hope

I had the chance to meet with some lovely people today. I visited an organization that broadcast programs on the radio into rural areas of this region. They create programs that address social issues of the day. I am personally working with the women's initiatives department.

This small crew of precious ladies writes, edits and performs their own programs. They deal with a variety of issues that women in society face such as violence, abuse, female infanticide and human trafficking. The particular program I helped with today was a fictitious story based on truth about a young girl being forced to have an abortion by her family. The reason? The girl was pregnant with a girl child..not the favored boy. Sex ratios are way out of whack here and organizations like these are trying to combat the problem one radio broadcast at a time.

I went in with the plan to encourage them and train them in storytelling techniques. But actually, I was the one who walked away with a bigger blessing. State of the art technology? No. Sincere hearts wanting to impact the darkness? A million times yes. It was my honor to encourage these dear ladies who have a heart for our Father.

Please lift up these ladies as they continue in their work. If you are interested in helping them or would like to learn more, please contact me

Wise Words from a Trash Can

 I have been away for a little while due to my water troubles in M Town. With a mixture of emotions, I had to vacate my apartment and have had limited Internet access. I have shifted to another town that lies closer to the mountains. Some great people are letting me temporarily stay in a flat that is already furnished and paid for. I will be traveling a bit and then moving my things out of my old flat into a new one soon.  Its been a time of great transition but also a really good time to lean on the ONE CONSTANT in life.

And..also a good time to glean wisdom from a trash can.

This sign was found on a trash can situated on a side of a mountain.