Greetings from Lusaka. We had a great flight here and did not suffer from jet-lag at all. Fortunately I have had a lot of energy and that has been a real answer to prayer. It has been a great and meaningful experience to visit the Ripleys and the ACTION Zambia team here in Lusaka. I have been learning a lot and it will be hard to leave on Sunday. Today is the Zambia presidential election so pray for safety and peace in the aftermath of the election.
There are a lot of differences from this place compared to Manila and where I was in Niger. But when I was in church on Sunday and listened to the wonderful African singing with great joy, I couldn't hold back the tears. A flood of memories came to my mind. It is so good to worship the Lord with people from other races and cultures. Good practice for heaven, eh?
HIV/AIDS dominates so much of ministry and society here. They estimate maybe 1 in 5 or 6 people that we meet here are infected. I have met several, young and older. It is a sobering experience. One missionary told us how ironic it is that if we are in a room with an AIDS person, we want to protect ourselves. But the truth of the matter is that the AIDS person needs to be protected from us because they can't fight off any illnesses we may be carrying.
I will write more about our experiences later but here is a website to tell you something of what we've been up to. Thank you for your prayers.
http://ripleysinzambia.blogspot.com/
Thursday, September 28, 2006
Sunday, September 17, 2006
Why YOU Should Go to the Mission Field
Keith Green's Final Message
This article is definitely worth reading. Just click on the title and you'll be linked to the article. Thought provoking and hopefully encouraging to take action. I remember Keith Green's statement that we shouldn't be waiting for a calling to "Go" but rather a calling to "stay" if God was not sending us.
This article is definitely worth reading. Just click on the title and you'll be linked to the article. Thought provoking and hopefully encouraging to take action. I remember Keith Green's statement that we shouldn't be waiting for a calling to "Go" but rather a calling to "stay" if God was not sending us.
Love for the Word
Several years ago I was in a Precepts Bible study taught by my good friend Lynn Stapleton. It was held at our church, Greenhills Christian Fellowship, and we were studying to book of James. It became clear early on in the study that the women who had joined were not familiar with studying the Word for themselves. Lynn had been used to guiding women in study who had spent several hours each week working through the text on their own and came to the group ready to participate. But this group of ladies were only used to coming to a study to be taught by the teacher. So while studying the text of James together, Lynn also taught us how to study God's Word for ourselves. It was quite an interesting time.
One woman named Lilly was in the group. She was in her late 50s of Chinese immigrant descent. I will never forget the day when we were about halfway through the study, she suddenly shot a question to Lynn. I say "shot" because it was as if she immediately shot out a question that had just come to her mind. She said "Do you mean to tell me that I can study God's Word on my own and that the Holy Spirit will teach me what it says? And I don't have to have a teacher or pastor as my only way of learning God's Word?" She was astounded to learn that God would teach her what His Word means. She could and should study it for herself. She had never heard that before even though she had been a believer for quite some time. This was like a turning point in her life and it was clear that this new information radically changed her forever.
I saw Lilly in church this morning and she joyfully greeted me. I learned that after our study together on the book of James, Lilly went to tell her pastors and leaders in her Chinese church (she went to both my church at GCF and to a Chinese church) that she was learning how to study the Bible. They were happy to learn of her excitement. They invited Lynn to come and teach others in their church how to study. This led to maybe a year or two of training at that church. During that time Lilly also received training from Precepts to become a certified teacher in the Precepts Bible study methods. Then she began teaching the Word at her Chinese church to the women. The first study she tackled was the book of Romans! It was hard, but she stayed with it and was amazed at how much she was learning and how her faith was growing as she depended on God to reveal His truth to her.
What wonderful excitement for God's Word! If we don't study God's Word because we have been taught that only church leaders are authorized to do that, that is very unfortunate. But what if we know that we can study God's Word for ourselves but we don't care to--that is truly tragic.
One woman named Lilly was in the group. She was in her late 50s of Chinese immigrant descent. I will never forget the day when we were about halfway through the study, she suddenly shot a question to Lynn. I say "shot" because it was as if she immediately shot out a question that had just come to her mind. She said "Do you mean to tell me that I can study God's Word on my own and that the Holy Spirit will teach me what it says? And I don't have to have a teacher or pastor as my only way of learning God's Word?" She was astounded to learn that God would teach her what His Word means. She could and should study it for herself. She had never heard that before even though she had been a believer for quite some time. This was like a turning point in her life and it was clear that this new information radically changed her forever.
I saw Lilly in church this morning and she joyfully greeted me. I learned that after our study together on the book of James, Lilly went to tell her pastors and leaders in her Chinese church (she went to both my church at GCF and to a Chinese church) that she was learning how to study the Bible. They were happy to learn of her excitement. They invited Lynn to come and teach others in their church how to study. This led to maybe a year or two of training at that church. During that time Lilly also received training from Precepts to become a certified teacher in the Precepts Bible study methods. Then she began teaching the Word at her Chinese church to the women. The first study she tackled was the book of Romans! It was hard, but she stayed with it and was amazed at how much she was learning and how her faith was growing as she depended on God to reveal His truth to her.
What wonderful excitement for God's Word! If we don't study God's Word because we have been taught that only church leaders are authorized to do that, that is very unfortunate. But what if we know that we can study God's Word for ourselves but we don't care to--that is truly tragic.
Sunday, September 10, 2006
Return to Africa
The last time I was in Africa was from September 1978 to June 1979. I have always loved Africa and have been intrigued by its rich history and heritage. It seems to be a mysterious and misunderstood place and people. When I left in '79, I prayed that the Lord would enable me to someday return. Now the Lord is answering that prayer after 27 years. We won't be going to the same place, but that is ok. I am sure Niger has changed enough that I wouldn't really recognize it anyway. The people I knew are no longer there.
We leave on September 21 for Zambia. It will be great to see our friends the Ripleys there and meet other people on their team. It is probably our fastest growing field in ACTION and it may not be long before they exceed the Philippines in numbers. I don't know for sure what we will do there but I pray we can be an encouragement to their team and learn from them. I think they live in a more challenging environment due to the constant death from AIDS and the myriads of orphans.
Then on October 1 we will go to Cape Town where will attend a few days of meetings with the group that is strategizing how to reach street children around the world with the gospel.
I pray that I will have enough energy to make this trip meaningful and fruitful. I feel I am adjusting to my new dose of thyroid medicine, but this whole process has been much more difficult than I expected. There is not a "quick" cure. It takes time and there are a lot of ups and downs.
We leave on September 21 for Zambia. It will be great to see our friends the Ripleys there and meet other people on their team. It is probably our fastest growing field in ACTION and it may not be long before they exceed the Philippines in numbers. I don't know for sure what we will do there but I pray we can be an encouragement to their team and learn from them. I think they live in a more challenging environment due to the constant death from AIDS and the myriads of orphans.
Then on October 1 we will go to Cape Town where will attend a few days of meetings with the group that is strategizing how to reach street children around the world with the gospel.
I pray that I will have enough energy to make this trip meaningful and fruitful. I feel I am adjusting to my new dose of thyroid medicine, but this whole process has been much more difficult than I expected. There is not a "quick" cure. It takes time and there are a lot of ups and downs.
Come to Jesus and Live
This song has ministered to us quite a bit recently.
Chris Rice - Untitled Hymn (Come To Jesus) Lyrics
Weak and wounded sinner
Lost and left to die
O, raise your head, for love is passing by
Come to Jesus
Come to Jesus
Come to Jesus and live!
Now your burden's lifted
And carried far away
And precious blood has washed away the stain, so
Sing to Jesus
Sing to Jesus
Sing to Jesus and live!
And like a newborn baby
Don't be afraid to crawl
And remember when you walk
Sometimes we fall...so
Fall on Jesus
Fall on Jesus
Fall on Jesus and live!
Sometimes the way is lonely
And steep and filled with pain
So if your sky is dark and pours the rain, then
Cry to Jesus
Cry to Jesus
Cry to Jesus and live!
O, and when the love spills over
And music fills the night
And when you can't contain your joy inside, then
Dance for Jesus
Dance for Jesus
Dance for Jesus and live!
And with your final heartbeat
Kiss the world goodbye
Then go in peace, and laugh on Glory's side, and
Fly to Jesus
Fly to Jesus
Fly to Jesus and live!
Chris Rice - Untitled Hymn (Come To Jesus) Lyrics
Weak and wounded sinner
Lost and left to die
O, raise your head, for love is passing by
Come to Jesus
Come to Jesus
Come to Jesus and live!
Now your burden's lifted
And carried far away
And precious blood has washed away the stain, so
Sing to Jesus
Sing to Jesus
Sing to Jesus and live!
And like a newborn baby
Don't be afraid to crawl
And remember when you walk
Sometimes we fall...so
Fall on Jesus
Fall on Jesus
Fall on Jesus and live!
Sometimes the way is lonely
And steep and filled with pain
So if your sky is dark and pours the rain, then
Cry to Jesus
Cry to Jesus
Cry to Jesus and live!
O, and when the love spills over
And music fills the night
And when you can't contain your joy inside, then
Dance for Jesus
Dance for Jesus
Dance for Jesus and live!
And with your final heartbeat
Kiss the world goodbye
Then go in peace, and laugh on Glory's side, and
Fly to Jesus
Fly to Jesus
Fly to Jesus and live!
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