APRIL 2006
We
Become His Son
There is a story that comes out of the Bedouin culture.
"Bedouin" is the Aramaic name for "desert dwellers." These
people live much as the characters of the Old Testament did. During a heated
argument, according to this story, a young Bedouin struck and killed a friend
of his. Knowing the ancient, inflexible customs of his people, the young man
fled, running across the desert under the cover of darkness, seeking safety.
He went to the black
tent of the tribal chief in order to seek his protection. The old chief took
the young Arab in. The chief assured him that he would be safe until the matter
could be settled legally.
The next day, the
young man's pursuers arrived, demanding the murderer be turned over to them.
They would see that justice would prevail in their own way. "But I have
given my word," protested the chief.
"But you don't
know whom he killed!" they countered. "I have given my word,"
the chief repeated.
"He killed your
son!" one of them blurted out. The chief was deeply and visibly shaken
with his news. He stood speechless with his head bowed for a long time. The
accused and the accusers as well as curious onlookers waited breathlessly. What
would happen to the young man? Finally the old man raised his head. "Then
he shall become my son," he informed them, "and everything I have
will one day be his."
The young man
certainly didn't deserve such generosity. And that, of course, is the point.
Love in its purest form is beyond comprehension. No one can merit it. It is
freely given. It is “agape” the love of God. Look to the cross. At the cross we
encounter love in its purest form.
Secondhand
Christians
For faith to be genuine it has to be our own. So many church
members are secondhand Christians. They have inherited it from their families,
borrowed it from their friends, married it, taken it
over like the cut of their clothes from the fashion of their group. Jesus calls us to be firsthand Christians
whose faith is as alive as our Savior.
selected
I once had a conversation with Felton Yeargen,
the lead singer of the band Homeland when they visited my church for a
concert. The band had entertained in
lots of churches around my part of the country. Lots of
wonderful experiences, some not so wonderful. Yeargen
had noticed the number of congregations that appeared to be experiencing
difficulty. He had a very wise answer for the cause of the problems; Felton
said, very simply, "They have forgotten what they're there for." How
easy that is to do.
No Celebration Without Confession
We hear a lot of talk about the word celebration in churches
today. There can be no celebration until there is first confession. In the
story of the prodigal son, the banquet does not occur until the boy had first
come to himself.
Leaders of one
church made an unusual request one day. They requested that the prayer of
confession be taken out of the order of worship. They gave these reasons:
1. Confessions imply that we are bad people.
2. Our children will get a negative image of themselves.
3. Guilt is damaging; we need to think positively.
4. Worship should always be uplifting and make us feel good.
This sounds like the philosophy advocated by that book some years ago "I'm
OK you're OK." Tell me then. If I'm OK and you're OK then what are we doing here? The refusal to acknowledge that we are
sinful people is damaging the church today, and it is damage that is coming
from within, not from without. Some churches have bought in to the modern
culture that we should have a positive self-image through positive thinking.
Friends, sin is
real, and it is too destructive to ignore. The cross reminds us just how
serious our sin is. The failure to express our sin before God and one another
devalues God's redemptive grace. It is not positive thinking that will remove
our guilt; it is God's redemptive action.
Brett Blair
Evidence
Of A Struggle
(The following is a portion of a message shared on the
Sometimes I think we overlook that our whole life is a struggle between
temptation and the new man within. It is
what I watch on TV, what enters my computer from the net, what I look at when
walking the streets, how far I let my mind wander.
As a school
administrator I often reflected on what I wanted from my students. Little by little it became clear to me that I
wanted to see evidence of a struggle in their lives. Absent evidence of a wrestling with and for
the truth in individuals, I knew the kids (singly and collectively) were
sliding toward a crisis. Sometimes the
absence of a struggle meant an overt embracing of some sinful behavior. It could equally be a smug self-confidence
because students (singly and collectively) took it for granted that they were
safe because they had the right family, the right church, and were following
the right set of rules.
My best moments were
those times when sin erupted and we had to talk across generations about life,
i.e., that sin is real and that God's love in Jesus Christ is greater than sin.
At these times I could also usually find an occasion to work with the
"Pharisee" dominating the thinking of those students who had not been
caught in "the sin of the moment."
What was I left to do between "best moments"? Make rules?
No. I didn't think so. I found that preaching and teaching was
all-important. That
and proclaiming the truth of God as a living example (in the midst of my own
struggles, of course).
What else is the
church to do? What else are parents to
do?
We will win if we
all struggle and help each other in the fight that Christ has won for us. We win when Christ Jesus is allied with the
new man in a holy coalition that is in spiritual control one person and one
situation at a time. The stronger the
alliance, the more likely there will be an active capacity for discernment,
i.e., making choices.
Collectively as a
church we will live in the tension between being overly permissive (overall)
and overly restrictive (overall). We
will strive (overall) not to lead the weak into situations for which their new
man/Christ Jesus coalition is not strong enough. We will (overall) not tempt the new man to
believe self-righteously, i.e. that the new man is "safe" because he
sits inside a circle of protective rules.
Satan knows how to exploit both situations.
The best analogy I
can think of is that of inoculation. Learn how Satan works by being vigorously
"in Christ" as the 'needle' of TV, internet, books, schools--all of
which can be Satan's workshop--scratch the surface of your spiritual life. Be inoculated individually, but bond with
others who are simultaneously undergoing the painful process of
inoculation. The fellowship of shared
faith is wonderful. When I am weak, you
my Christian friend are strong. And vice versa. But
you can't inoculate a group. Inoculation
happens one person at a time. The active ingredient in spiritual
inoculation is the Gospel in Word and sacrament. It is apprehended individually. It is shared in a group.
Take
Up Your Cross
This is a cheerful world as I see it from my garden under the
shadows of my vines. But If I were to ascend some high mountain and look over
the wide lands, you know very well what I would see: brigands on the highways,
pirates on the sea, armies fighting, cities burning; in
the amphitheaters men murdered to please the applauding crowds; selfishness and
cruelty and misery and despair under all roofs. It is a bad world, Donatus, an incredibly bad world. But I have discovered in
the midst of it a quiet and holy people who have learned a great secret. They
are despised and persecuted, but they care not. They are masters of their
souls. They have overcome the world. These people, Donatus,
are the Christians--and I am one of them.
To quote that great theologian Mark Twain:
"Many people are bothered by those passages in Scripture which they cannot
understand; but as for me, I always noticed that the passages in Scripture
which trouble me most are those which I do understand."
You often hear the usual
stories of pennies on the sidewalk being good luck, gifts from angels, etc.
This is the first time I've ever heard this twist on the story. It gives you
something to think about.
Several years ago, a friend
of mine and her husband were invited to spend the weekend at the husband's
employer's home. My friend, Arlene, was nervous about the weekend. The boss was
very wealthy, with a fine home on the waterway, and cars costing more than her
house.
The first day and evening
went well, and Arlene was delighted to have this rare glimpse into how the very
wealthy live. The husband's employer was quite generous as a host, and took
them to the finest restaurants. Arlene knew she would never have the
opportunity to indulge in this kind of extravagance again, so was enjoying
herself immensely.
As the three of them were
about to enter an exclusive restaurant that evening, the boss was walking
slightly ahead of Arlene and her husband. He stopped suddenly, looking down on
the pavement for a long, silent moment.
Arlene wondered if she was
supposed to pass him. There was nothing on the ground except a single darkened
penny that someone had dropped, and a few cigarette butts. Still silent, the
man reached down and picked up the penny.
He held it up and smiled,
then put it in his pocket as if he had found a great treasure. How absurd! What
need did this man have for a single penny? Why would he even take the time to
stop and pick it up?
Throughout dinner, the
entire scene nagged at her. Finally, she could stand it no longer. She casually
mentioned that her daughter once had a coin collection, and asked if the penny
he had found had been of some value.
A smile crept across the
man's face as he reached into his pocket for the penny and held it out for her
to see. She had seen many pennies before! What was the point of this?
"Look at it." he
said. "Read what it says." She read the words "
"No, not
that; read further."
"One
cent?"
"No, keep reading."
"In God We
Trust?" "Yes!" "And?"
"And if I trust in
God, the name of God is holy, even on a coin. Whenever I find a coin I see that
inscription. It is written on every single
When I was out shopping
today, I found a penny on the sidewalk. I stopped and picked it up, and
realized that I had been worrying and fretting in my mind about things I cannot
change. I read the words, "In God We Trust," and had to laugh. Yes,
God, I get the message.
It seems that I have been
finding an inordinate number of pennies in the last few months, but then,
pennies are plentiful! And, God is
patient.
The
Starving Family
Mother Teresa heard of a family whose nine members were starving
to death. She hurriedly obtained some rice and went to the family, giving them
enough rice to prepare a meal. But the woman divided the rice into two piles,
placed one in a bag and started to leave. Mother Teresa asked where she was
going. The woman said she was going to visit another family who she knew was
starving also.
It Will Be Better Higher Up
The American evangelist Dwight L. Moody told the story about a
Christian woman who was always bright, cheerful and optimistic, even though she
was confined to her room because of her illness. She lived in an attic
apartment on the fifth floor of an old, rundown building. A friend decided to
visit her one day and brought along another woman – a person of great wealth.
Since there was no elevator, the two ladies began the long climb upward. When
they reached the second floor, the well-to-do woman commented, "What a
dark and filthy place!" Her friend replied, "It’s
better higher up."
When they arrived at
the third landing, the remark was made: "Things look even worse
here." Again the reply: "It’s better higher up." Finally they reached the attic level, where
they found the bedridden saint of God. A smile on her face radiated the joy
that filled her heart.
Although the room was clean and flowers were
on the windowsill, the wealthy visitor could not contain herself about the
stark surroundings and blurted out: "It must be very difficult for you to
be here like this!" Without a moment’s hesitation the shut-in responded:
"It will be better higher up."
She was not looking
at temporal things. With the eyes of faith fixed on the eternal, she had found
the secret of true satisfaction and contentment. She had been transformed
because of what she knew was yet to come.
Don’t Put Off Until Tomorrow…
Too many people put off something that brings them joy just
because they haven't thought about it, don't have it on their schedule, didn't
know it was coming or are too rigid to depart from their routine.
I got to thinking
one day about all those people on the Titanic who passed up dessert at dinner
that fateful night in an effort to cut back.
From then on, I've tried to be a little more flexible.
How many women out
there will eat at home because their husband didn't suggest going out to dinner
until after something had been thawed?
Does the word "refrigeration" mean nothing to you?
How often have your
kids dropped in to talk and sat in silence while you watched 'Jeopardy' on
television?
I cannot count the
times I called my sister and said, "How about going to lunch in a half
hour?" She would gas up and stammer, "I can't. I have clothes on the line. My hair is dirty. I wish I had known yesterday, I had a late
breakfast, It looks like rain." And my personal favorite: "It's Monday." She died a few years
ago. We never did have lunch together.
Because Americans
cram so much into their lives, we tend to schedule our headaches. We live on a sparse diet of promises we make
to ourselves when all the conditions are perfect!
We'll go back and
visit the grandparents when we get Sarah toilet-trained. We'll entertain when we replace the
living-room carpet. We'll go on a second
honeymoon when we get two more kids out of college.
Life has a way of
accelerating as we get older. The days
get shorter, and the list of promises to ourselves
gets longer. One morning, we awaken, and
all we have to show for our lives is a litany of "I'm going to,"
"I plan on," and "Someday, when things are settled down a
bit."
When anyone calls my
'seize the moment' friend, she is open to adventure and available for
trips. She keeps an open mind on new
ideas. Her enthusiasm for life is
contagious. You talk with her for five
minutes, and you're ready to trade your bad feet for a pair of Rollerblades and
skip an elevator for a bungee cord.
My lips have not
touched ice cream in 10 years. I love
ice cream. It's just that I might as
well apply it directly to my stomach with a spatula and eliminate the digestive
process. The other day, I stopped the
car and bought a triple-decker. If my
car had hit an iceberg on the way home, I would have died happy.
Now
go on and have a nice day. Do something
you WANT to, not something on your SHOULD DO list. If you were going to die
soon and had only one phone call you could make, who would you call and what
would you say? And why are you waiting?
Have you
ever watched kids playing on a merry go round
Or listened to the rain lapping on the ground?
Ever followed a butterfly's erratic flight
Or gazed at the sun into the fading night?
Do you run through each day on the fly?
When you ask "How are you?" Do you hear the reply?
When the
day is done, do you lie in your bed
With the next hundred chores running through your
head?
Ever told your child, "We'll do it tomorrow."
And in your haste, not see his sorrow?
Ever lost touch? Let a good friendship
die?
Just call to say "Hi"?
When you
worry and hurry through your day
It is like an unopened gift....Thrown away.
Life is not a race. Take it slower.
Hear the music before the song is over.
received via e-mail
I REMEMBER... Aprons.
I don't think our kids know what an apron is.
The principal use of Grandma's apron was to protect the dress
underneath, but along with that, it served as a potholder for removing hot pans
from the oven.
It was wonderful for drying children's tears, and on occasion
was even used for cleaning out dirty ears.
From the chicken coop, the apron was used for carrying eggs,
fussy chicks, and sometimes half-hatched eggs to be finished in the warming
oven.
When company came, those aprons were ideal hiding places for shy
kids.
And when the weather was cold, grandma wrapped it around her
arms.
Those big old aprons wiped many a perspiring brow, bent over the
hot wood stove.
Chips and kindling wood were brought into the kitchen in that
apron.
From the garden, it carried all sorts of vegetables. After the
peas had been shelled, it carried out the hulls.
In the fall, the
apron was used to bring in apples that had fallen from the trees.
When unexpected company drove up the road, it was surprising how
much furniture that old apron could dust in a matter of seconds.
When dinner was ready, Grandma walked out onto the porch, waved
her apron, and the men knew it was time to come in from the fields to dinner.
It will be a long time before someone invents something that
will replace that "old-time apron" that served so many purposes.
A.S.A.P.
Ever wonder about the abbreviation
A.S.A.P.? Generally we think of it in
terms of even more hurry and stress in our lives. Maybe if we think of this abbreviation in a
different manner, we will begin to find a new way to deal with those rough days
along the way.
There's
work to do, deadlines to meet;
You've got no time to spare,
But as you hurry and scurry -
ASAP - ALWAYS SAY A PRAYER
In the
midst of family chaos,
"Quality time" is rare.
Do your best; let God do the rest -
ASAP - ALWAYS SAY A PRAYER.
It may seem
like your worries
Are more than you can bear.
Slow down and take a breather -
ASAP - ALWAYS SAY A PRAYER
God knows
how stressful life is;
He wants to ease our cares,
And He'll respond to all your needs
A.S.A.P. - ALWAYS SAY A PRAYER.
Stroke Identification
True Story
During a
BBQ, a friend stumbled and took a little fall.
She assured everyone that she was fine (they offered to call paramedics)
and just tripped over a brick because of her new shoes. They got her cleaned up
and got her a new plate of food. While
she appeared a bit shaken up, she went about enjoying herself the rest of the
evening. Her husband called later telling everyone that his wife had been taken
to the hospital, and at 6:00pm, she passed away. She had suffered a stroke at the BBQ. Had they known how to identify the signs of a
stroke perhaps she would be with us today.
A neurologist says that if he can get to a stroke victim within
3 hours he can totally reverse the effects of a stroke...totally. He said the
trick was getting a stroke recognized, diagnosed and getting to the patient
within 3 hours, which is tough.
RECOGNIZING A STROKE FAST - The “Face Arm Speech Test”
Sometimes
symptoms of a stroke are difficult to identify. Unfortunately, the lack of
awareness spells disaster. The stroke victim may suffer brain damage when
people nearby fail to recognize the symptoms of a stroke.
Now doctors say a bystander can recognize a
stroke by FAST. The “Face Arm Speech Test” can quickly identify stroke. Look for the key stroke symptoms:
· Facial weakness – ask the person to smile
· Arm weakness – ask the person to raise both arms
·
Speech disturbance – ask the person
to speak a simple sentence (Coherently) (i.e. . . It is sunny out today).
If he or she has trouble with any of these tasks, call 9-1-1
immediately and describe the symptoms to the dispatcher!
After discovering that a group of non-medical volunteers
could identify facial weakness, arm weakness and speech problems, researchers
urged the general public to learn the three questions. They presented their
conclusions at the American Stroke Association's annual meeting in February.
Widespread use of this test could result in prompt diagnosis and treatment of
the stroke and prevent brain damage.
Destination: Nuevo Limon Cocha, – Brother Basha’s
Shapra tribal village. Our deepest Amazon
jungle trip: Over 20 hours of jungle river travel over
two days, taking you within 200 kilometers of the Ecuadorian border.
It’s 5:00 AM, and
the men are loading the boat with 8 huge plastic containers of gas, - 18
gallons each, - 144 gallons total. The usual jungle evangelism team is
ready: Boat pilot Segundo, Jungle expert Jose (with shotgun for security) and
little pastor Ronal. And then there was Victor. Boat owner Miguel
was sending Victor along to help protect his investment which included a
beautiful 60 horse outboard. We’d be going through a lot of native
territory without any of the tribes’ permission to pass. And, we’d be without a
requisite native chief from the area in our boat to vouch for us. When
Jose first spotted Victor, his jaw dropped to the floor. Let’s just say
they knew each other from past encounters. Victor is a former, very
big-time drug runner. Miguel recently took him on for security. I
was quietly informed that Victor, with his mysterious little duffel bag, had
experience getting out of serious jams.
Segundo ran the
Outboard full bore all day, from 6:00 AM till 5:30 at night, when we arrived at
Ullpayacu. We pulled up beside an empty,
weathered, long wooden boat and tied on to it. This was one dirty,
backwater, dive of a river village. The only rooms to rent were on the
second floor over a rotted out, waterlogged bar on the verge of collapse, like
something washed up from hurricane Katrina. On our past trips Segundo and
Ronal had rented two overpriced $6.00 rooms in there. Jose and I always
opted for sleeping on the boat, fighting off the rats that skittered down our
rope and came on board for the food bags. This year, no one wanted to
sleep in Motley Hotel. Everyone preferred to take their chances with the
river rats.
With all those huge
barrels of gas, there wasn’t enough floor space left in the boat for everyone
to lie down. So Segundo and Victor simply moved their things into the
abandoned wood boat. All the boats have plastic sheet roofs due to the
huge rainforest downpours. Segundo hung his mosquito net from the roof
and lay down in the boat. Victor found a way to hang a hammock in the
roof and got in, wrapping himself up cocoon-like, till he was completely
incased. He knew what the night would bring; hordes and hordes of biting
insects. Ronal, Jose and I made as much floor space in our boat as we
could, and hung our mosquito nets. The boat wasn’t wide enough for a
non-Peruvian to completely stretch out. You could stick your legs out
over the edge of the boat, but then your feet would be right up against your
mosquito net and you’d get bitten. Plus, any rats scurrying across that
top edge would run into you. So, you simply had to curl up on the floor. With a giant dirty gas barrel just inches from your head,
and your feet pushed up against another giant barrel, it felt like you were
spending the night sleeping on the floor of a tiny floating gasoline
station. Aside from that, gently rocking in the water under stars and
moon so bright you could see them right through the thick mosquito net made for
one unforgettable night. Everyone was totally exhausted and soon fell
asleep except Jose, who stayed up most of the night on guard duty with his
loaded shotgun. The next morning, when asked about any four-footed
visitors during the night, Jose just smiled and said nothing.
We were back on the
river around 6:00 AM having waited for the heavy morning fog to finally
lift. We had a few scattered monkey and giant fish sightings. We’re
now over 15 hours upriver, when who should we encounter but our old friend, Mando with wife and two children in their dugout
canoe! The four of them have been to Tarapoto
twice where Mando attended workshops at our Bible
Institute. He was absolutely thrilled to see us! Segundo cut the
engine, as Mando paddled over beside us, grabbed the
edge of our boat, and settled in for a long conversation. He was doing
great, (aside from an obvious, colossal problem of bugs-in-the-hair). The
little child in the mother’s arms was sick, and they were off to the nearest
health clinic. Mando was very excited to be
invited for a week of classes in May. We made careful arrangements for
his huge trip to the Institute, as we will have no way to make further contact
with Mando. We needed to continue our journey,
but not before a few words with the wife and two children. I remember the
joy of baptizing this entire family! What a thrill to see once again the
little boy they had named Terry!
Onward up river,
past two villages of glowering Condoshis standing on the steep banks,
emphatically waving at us to stop and pull over. Thankfully they were not
waving rifles. This is always a dicey moment. As long as your boat
is moving, you have some options should the situation get out of hand.
However, once you pull over, your options are severely limited. This part
of the jungle abounds with stories of boats that have been stopped at villages,
only to be charged a “toll” for using the native’s river. The boat is
emptied of all the money, food and precious gas on board. Segundo gave a hand signal to the angry,
waving men, indicating that we would stop at their village on our return
trip. The now stone-face Condoshis nodded their understanding as if to
say, “oh yes, you will be back through here again.” Everyone knew that
the only real way out of this area of the jungle was on this same river past
the same village. I figured that even if things went bad on the way back,
we would have completed our mission of bringing the Gospel to Nuevo Limon
Cocha.
About an hour later,
we passed a strange Condoshi native we’d never met before named William.
He was simply paddling by with his family in a dugout when he waved for us to
stop. He knew who we were, which explained why he wasn’t afraid of us. We
of course brought the discussion around to spiritual matters. Incredibly, as we
finished talking, William invited us to work with his village!! What a
possible opportunity! We thanked him, and as we pulled away gave him half a bag
of bakery buns. (We had bought hundreds and hundreds of buns in giant
plastic bags to give away to natives along the way. Tribal villages don’t
have bakeries. Plain old buns are as special to many tribals
as a tasty birthday cake. William and his family were thrilled at the
rare treat of “somthin from the oven.” (I assumed that “nothing said lovin” quite like our gift, though I feared that our
mission methodology was now being influenced by the Pillsbury doughboy?!)
It took 9 hours to
finally reach Nuevo Limon Cocha, where we received a most excited
reception. A few hours later assistant Apu
(chief) Manihuari, Basha’s
brother, arrived from the jungle. Unfortunately, Basha
had gone to a health clinic. Manihuari was ecstatic
to see me after over a year. He thought I had died! Then again
people dying from diseases (malaria, hepatitis) or shootings by the rival
Condoshis is a common part of Shapra life. Manihuari’s nephew
had been shot dead just a few months ago. With a finger on my back, Manihuari indicated where the single bullet had entered the
boy at the base of the neck. Once again, these were crazy times in the
deadly feud between the two Amazon tribes that share a common border. You
may recall that as a young child, Manihuari had seen
his entire family massacred before his eyes in a deadly ambush. The family had
gone bathing in the river and young Manihuari had
wandered off. He hid in the bushes and saw his parents and siblings shot
and/or hacked with machetes. He was the only survivor.
Sitting and talking
to Manihuari, one cannot help but conclude that his
life was preserved for a purpose. He listened to our afternoon Gospel
discussion with such penetrating intensity that one knew the Holy Spirit had
worked saving faith in his heart. He often translated our Spanish into
their tribal language for the other natives. Manihuari
has attended our classes twice in Tarapoto. He
was tremendously excited to be invited again to our Bible Institute in May to
learn more about God.
After our
far-ranging religious discussion, we all needed a break. The natives
excitedly informed us that it was “maggot harvesting season,” when the huge,
cream-colored, thick-as-a-chunk-of-garden-hose worms were running silent inside
the soft trunks of a certain jungle palm tree. O.K., this doesn’t sound
as pleasant as, say, the sweet maple sap running in
I slapped on a huge
amount of insect repellent, as this is really deep jungle, while saying a
silent prayer to God. I of course thanked Him for the spectacular
reception we had received from our Shapra
brothers. I marveled at how they had been preserved in the faith and were eager to study with us. I was feeling nothing
short of exhilarated. I then asked God if He would perhaps permit a
little adventure on our jungle walk. And that’s when I should have recalled the
wise words of dear old Dad: “Be careful what you ask for son, you just
might get it…”
Our little group
that set off to harvest palm tree maggots consisted of Shapra
brother Alejandro in the lead, followed by Pelejo
jungle expert Jose with shotgun and machete, me and my machete, followed by
Pastor Ronal. Ronal is not real keen on animal encounters, far from
it. Coming up last, he knows that anything in the path will be long gone
by the time he gets there!
Less than 5 minutes
from the village we’re already into deep jungle when Jose screams out
SNAKE!! I dashed up, machete in hand. Jose yelled that he thought
it went up a tree, but we couldn’t see. It was gone. So we got back on
the trail. Less than another 5 minutes and Alejandro stumbles into
another snake. He starts screaming out “VENENOSO!! VENENOSO!!”(poisonous!) Jose
dashed up with his machete. WOOOSH, with one, huge swift stroke, he came
down on the snake. But it was still alive!!! Jose yelled for me to come
up - (just like that last snake hunt)!! Alejandro had leaped back, off to
the side of the trail and kept yelling “venenoso!!, venenoso!!” Ronal had
run clear off in the opposite direction straight into the bush! Jose
slowly stepped back and motioned for me to come right up. He kept yelling
“cuidado!! cuidado!!”
(careful!!) No wonder! The snake was still
alive!! It was so long (over 6 feet) that at first I thought it was two
snakes! It was a dark shiny black and deep yellow. “Where is the
head?” I started yelling, trying to figure out where a strike might come from!!
Jose wanted me to
come in even closer! It was like those crazy wildlife programs where you
see the mother lion half kill her prey, then make her cubs come up and finish
the job off. I was obviously playing lion cub to Jose’s mother
lion!! I approached a little closer. The snake was crawling and curling
all around! “Where’s the head?” I kept yelling, but Jose had stepped so
far back and couldn’t see! I decided to just go for the body with my
machete. I jumped in close, took a mighty hack that sent bright red blood
spewing out, and just as quickly jumped back. Alejandro started yelling
all over again “venenoso! venenoso!!, while Jose just smiled. No one was
laughing at my “hack and scat” snake-killing technique, though it quite
possibly looked more than a little ridiculous. I pounced in at least
three more times, feeling bolder with every whack. Finally, Jose stepped
in and with that mighty, over-the-head swing of his cut the snake head clean
off!!
At this point, Ronal
came up and decided to join in. (Nothing bonds us men quite like a group snake
kill.) Ronal took a few bold whacks at the headless snake, while the rest
of us tried to suppress a smile. When it was all over Alejandro came up
and, with a very long stick, pried the decapitated head open. He pointed
out the venom sacs and tiny fangs, which he said contained terrifically
poisonous venom.
It was now picture
taking time, as we took photo after photo of every combination of participants
holding the three items that the snake had become: The two pieces of
snake body (Jose had chopped it clean through) were held together. The head had
been jammed a few inches down a long stick like a yellow and black marshmallow
with fangs. It was all absolutely crazy.
After the great
snake encounter, the pursuit of palm tree maggots held little interest for us
so we returned to the village. It was early evening, and a dinner of fish
and bananas was set out on a huge banana tree leaf on the porch floor of Manuhuari’s dwelling. It’s always fun to have dinner
together, although having the native’s supremely dirty, calloused bare feet
just inches from the main course is always a bit disconcerting. Dozens
upon dozens of little river fish baked whole over a fire were tossed on the
community banana tree leaf and eagerly snapped up.
After dinner, our
church service/Bible class commenced. Every person in the village that
night, (about 25, as most of the men were off sleeping in their fields during
this season) listened intently to our presentation. Manuhuari
and the women who had been to Tarapoto remembered
several of our songs! During our presentation, it became obvious that the
concept of sin was still clearly grasped by all along with the need for a
Savior. The story of Jesus leaving the heavenly realms and taking on
human form in order to save us was acknowledged with knowing nods and
smiles! Praise the Lord! What an exciting evening!!
As always when we
work with animist groups, I reiterated in the strongest possible terms that
children of God need fear nothing in this world, including evil spirits in the
jungle, Supai (the leader of the evil spirits, the
Devil), or the spells, curses, and sorcery of enemy tribes. This information
elicited more huge smiles. We finished in the candlelight with prayers
and more songs. It was now completely dark out and the natives, per their
custom, would now ready to go to sleep. They would be up between 4:00 and
5:00 in the morning to bathe and eat, and then participate in another Bible
class.
Now our team had
quite a few choices of where to sleep that night. Several of the natives
offered their one small, enclosed bedroom in their thatch-and-pole homes.
However these small rooms were teeming with insects in the air plus insects
crawling across the floor. Add to the mix incredibly filthy scraps of
moldy bed sheets, grungy old mosquito nets, and a putrid sweaty smell and the
bedrooms were simply out of the question. However, how do we refuse these
generous offers without insulting our hosts?
We delicately
declined the rooms, saying we were more accustomed to sleeping in wide open
spaces. We would just use a little cleared yard space between the dwellings.
(We knew the community’s dogs kept the wild animals out of the village at
night.) The natives looked at each other a bit puzzled, but seemed to
accept our choice of the yard as simply the strange way of foreigners. We
began to spread a huge plastic sheet on the ground while Segundo went to cut
wood for poles to hang our mosquito nets from. However, the natives politely
pointed out, rain was clearly on the way. You could feel it.
Sleeping out in the open would be impossible. What do we do now? It
was pitch black out save for our flashlights. Of our dwindling options of
places to sleep, I would never have expected the final outcome: Sleeping
beneath two coffins containing two dead bodies.
To be continued…
Terry
(
On Saturday, March 11 I flew from MSP to
After this tour and
back at the church, many of the volunteers had choir practice before we took
part in the church service with Pastor Lindner from Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, as
the preacher. The choir sang with one of
their members as soloist and some of the church members returned to join
us. It was very moving to be part of
this special group of people. Pastor Sternhagen also had a morning devotion with the building
crews on Monday and Wednesday mornings; very interactive and very effective.
The women of the group hold a Ladies Bible Class one evening each week. The
building crews also have a reading from the Meditations before the noon-day
meal and the common table prayer is used before the evening meal.
The people
volunteering at Crown of Life fall under the umbrella organization of WELS
Kingdom Workers. The Builders for Christ
group has been in existence for about 10-12 years and consists of volunteers
who travel around the country building churches, additions to schools,
etc. Most of these people are retired
and have their own RVs and live on-site with the host church providing meals. The hurricane has resulted in an exception in
that the Builders have agreed to rebuild the fellowship hall for Crown of Life
so that the congregation can be one of the first back in their own facility in
this neighborhood. The Builders will be
wrapping up their work soon before the hot weather arrives. They hope to also rebuild the church at some
point although it is being using in its “gutted” condition.
The other group of
volunteers is called Faith in Action and includes the Mold Krewes,
kitchen help, and construction volunteers that are rebuilding homes that have
been gutted. They almost have the
parsonage done and hope to have six done before they break for the summer. I believe these include people from our Synod
who have taken time out of their lives as well as retirees to help. The homeowner provides the materials out of
insurance monies.
About a third of the
church has been turned into a kitchen so that all of the volunteers can be
fed. The wonderful head cook, Lynne Thierfelder, from
The Mold Krewe was provided with safety equipment including new Tyvex coveralls everyday, rubber boots and gloves, helmets
and respirators with filters. Their job
was very hard in all ways. They had to
meet the homeowner before the work was started and then proceed to carry out
all of the contents, furniture, televisions, carpeting, kitchen cabinets and
even the bathroom fixtures to the street where it was to be divided into three
piles: vegetation, garbage and toxic materials.
The city picks up these items on a regular basis. After the homes are cleared, the walls,
wiring and plumbing must be removed.
Some homes are gutted about six feet up, some to the ceiling, and some
even the ceiling has to be removed.
These walls are covered in black mold and everything smells very
badly. The respirators will keep out
most smells (except for the contents of refrigerators as an example) and must
be worn very tightly to be effective.
This work is very physical and generally not recommended for anyone over
30 but this week’s group included a dairy farmer from
But like the kitchen
staff, we felt so uplifted by the spirit of the volunteers who have been here
for months, by the members who have such love for each other, and by Jesus’
love for all of us! It was a privilege
to be part of this project. Please pray
for those still down there volunteering as they do get down seeing this devastation
and feeling like it will never be done.
Pray for Pastor and Carole Sternhagen who have
been the heart of this restoration, and pray for the members of Crown of Life
who have been through so much.
Pam Orr, member of
Dear fellow members
of Mt Olive Lutheran Church,
On behalf of the Coordinating Council, I
want to let you know about a possible opportunity for
During a recent pre-service prayer time, a
prayer was requested for our church in
Pastor Henkel brought up the idea at the
March 12 council meeting. At this point, the council has given Pastor Henkel
and Pastor Meier their blessing as they begin the process of contacting various
people and boards and investigating the feasibility of the idea of Daniel
coming to the States. More specifically, we set a goal of committing up to
$3000 to this effort, should it prove to be something that we are able to
pursue. This money would go primarily for the cost of airfare and other travel
costs. We will probably have door offerings and other opportunities for support
of this effort when the time comes.
I know that Daniel is a dear friend to
Pastor Meier and Pastor Henkel, and that the church in
Over the years, our Lord has blessed the
people of
Mark Sauer
Adult Discipleship Chairman
Sunday
Morning Prayer Time
Before each Sunday
morning worship service – at 8:45am – everyone is invited to the Fireside Room
for prayer time.
We need you!
We need your prayers! We need you to
pray for God’s blessing upon all who gather for worship.
May I encourage
you to come early to church to pray! It will make a big difference to you
– and to all whom the Lord gathers into His house!
Thrivent Update
Congregational Coordinators Mae Schmidt and Harold Rufledt welcome Darryl Folkens
who has volunteered for the position previously held by Jean Brown.
Baptismal
Medallions are given in recognition to individuals of any age who have been
recently baptized in the congregation. Confirmation Crosses are given in honor
of those who have affirmed their faith through confirmation.
Thrivent sent us a $25 check for allowing
church use for voting for the South Ramsey Chapter Board where we receive our
funds.
Our annual
church congregational activity is State Fair Parking where $1300 is matched by Thrivent. Please volunteer your time with this once-a-year
fund raiser.
Another
opportunity for Thrivent members is the GivingPlus Program where you can contribute up to $300 per
year for schools, campus ministry, some social ministry, and Lutheran
independent organizations and institutions. There is a special bonus for
volunteers with 25+ hours. Forms are available in the Fireside Room display or
from the Congregational Coordinators.
Thank
you for any suggestions for community church related events that we can help
with. We are open to new ideas.
Mae
L Schmidt, Congregational Coordinator
Singing New Songs To The Lord
The Seminary Chorus, a male choir of 50 men who are students at
our Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary in
Special
Organ Service
Organist Charles Bonow will be
presenting a concert-service here at
Please mark this
special date on your calendar and plan to invite your friends and relatives to
join you in church that Sunday.
Scrap & Stamp, Etc
Scrap &
Stamp, Etc. will meet in the Fireside Room Saturday, April 15th,
beginning at 9:00am, and ending at around noon. Bring your project of choice
and enjoy the company of your fellow crafters.
Women In The
Word
Our women’s Bible
study continues to meet and to study the Judge Deborah from the book of Judges.
The study is called “Daring to be Different”.
Please join us! We
meet Thursday, April 20th, at 7:00 p.m. Please consider coming
together with your sisters in Christ for an evening of Bible study, fellowship,
prayer and sharing. We have snacks too. We meet in the Fireside Room. Do come!
More Than
Rubies
More than Rubies Bible Study will
meet Tuesday, April 25th, at 7:00 p.m. at Keri’s place. If you’ve never been part of a small-group
Bible study before, or if you’ve been thinking about joining a Bible study but
just haven’t, now is the time to come! You won’t regret it! Call 651.488.2362 for more information.
Senior members of
More and more
Please note that although sponsored by the OWLS organization,
all
Participants will enjoy a variety of opportunities to enrich
their lives and grow in Christian faith and service. While renewing old
friendships and making new ones, seniors may choose to participate in a wide
variety of workshops and tours to area attractions. The devotions, worship
services, ministry reports and fellowship with other Christians will lend a
distinctly spiritual flavor to the experience.
You may request a convention packet by writing to:
OWLS
New
Convention information is also available online at: www.wels.net/jumpword/ OWLS
Christian Education Sunday and
It’s finally here!
Our
Christian Education Sunday will be held April 30th. This will include many
activities focused on all aspects of our support to the education process
including both children and adults. It’s
also the Sunday Organist Charles Bonow will be here
at
We will have our congregation join
the children during Sunday School to share and
participate with the children. Following will be a potluck dinner beginning at
12:00.
One of the key events is our Mt.
Olive Pinewood Derby race. This event is open to all in the congregation who
would like to participate. Some of the key dates include:
April 2nd - Pick up cars
at church and begin building
April 20th - 6:30
April 27th - 6:30
April 30th - 1:00 Race
Begins
Please plan to attend on Sunday,
April 30th and enjoy all the events of the day.
E. John Fredrich, Chairman Child, Youth, & Family Committee
Would you like to sponsor a Sunday
church bulletin? Maybe do so in honor of
a family member’s birthday or anniversary?
Or maybe in memory of loved ones?
There is a large poster in the back of church where you may sign
up for a particular Sunday or Sundays.
The suggested contribution is $20.00 per Sunday which covers the cost of
the bulletin and printing supplies.
A notice will be printed in the bulletin noting the donor (and
occasion or special event) of that Sunday’s bulletin.
Sunday
School News & Notes
Spring is in the air and with it comes
some exciting events for our Sunday School children.
The children will sing three times in April. They will sing for
the April 5th Lenten service as well as for the Easter Sunday
service and the Christian Education Sunday service on April 30th. Please watch
for more information in the April Parent Page.
Christian Education Sunday is April 30th. We are having a special service that day with organist Charlie Bonow leading us in worship. The children and Senior choir will beautify the service with song. There will be an Open House Sunday School and hymn sing before the potluck dinner at noon. The annual Mt. Olive Minute will be run that day after our potluck dinner.. The children will be receiving their cars very soon. There will be 2 work nights at church as indicated on the calendar in the Fellowship Hall.