OCTOBER 2005
Our Times Are In His Hands
Anyone who is familiar with the story of Alice In
Wonderland will probably remember this quote, “I’m late, I’m late for a very
important date.” All of us are impacted by time, appointments, schedules, days,
and dates. Calendars have been a great tool to help us remember what day it is,
what’s coming up in our schedules, and what important matters will need our
attention. At the end of each year, a calendar is like an album containing
little snapshots of what we’ve done and where we’ve been.
At home, our
family has one simple rule, “Write everything down in pencil.” One important
lesson a calendar teaches us is that plans can change. Doctor’s appointments
get canceled, dinner dates get rescheduled, and anticipated events don’t work
out. Thankfully, that doesn’t mean that our lives are out of control, that
nothing is certain, and that there’s nothing we can trust in.
The Bible tells us
that our times are in God’s hands. That means that God is bigger than time, dates,
and appointments. God’s plans for your life do not hinge on someone else’s
schedule. God’s plans for your life cannot be frustrated by what others do or
don’t do. God knows where you’ve been, He knows where you are, and He knows
where He is leading you. His plans for you are made according to His wisdom,
His love, and His power to perform them.
God wants you to
move through this day with a quiet heart, an inward assurance that He is in
control, a peaceful certainty that your life is in His hands, a deep trust in
His plan and purposes, and a thankful disposition toward all that He allows. He
wants you to put your faith in Him, not in a timetable. He wants you to wait on
Him and wait for Him. In His perfect way He will put everything together...see
to every detail...arrange every circumstance...and order every step to bring to
pass what He has for you.
Roy Lessin
Availability
A man applied for a job as a handyman. The prospective employer
asked, "Can you do carpentry?"
The man answered in the negative.
"How about bricklaying?" Again the man answered, "No."
The employer asked, "Well, what about electrical
work?" The man said "No, I don't know anything about that
either." Finally the employer said,
"Well, tell me then what is handy about you." The man replied, "I live just around the
corner."
Sometimes the greatest ability we can have is availability. To
be where God can call us, to be within whisper range of his summons, that is
the beginning of a life of meaningful discipleship.
King Duncan
Communication
A father once tried to talk to his son about how college was
going: The father said, "How are things going?" The son said,
"Good."
The father said, "And the dormitory?" He said,
"Good." The father said, "How are your studies going?" He
said, "Good." The father said, "Have you decided on a major
yet?" He said, "Yes."
"Well, what is it?" asked the father. The son said,
"Communication."
William J. Carl III
Wimps
Brennan Manning in his book, The Signature of Jesus, writes, “We
have made it too easy to be a Christian. The sole requirements are the
recitation of a creed and attendance at a local church where there is no
community and little fellowship.
Christianity used to be risky business; it is no longer. Cost-free
discipleship produces wimps.”
Steven M. Marsh
No More Words!
Show Me!
There's a wonderful scene near the end of the movie "My Fair
Lady" in which Liza Doolittle sings words that
God must also sing. She says, "Words! Words! Words! I'm so sick of words!
I get words all day through; first from him, now from you! Is that all you
blighters can do? Don't talk of stars burning above; If you're in love, Show me!… Never do I ever want to hear another word. There isn't
one I haven't heard… Don't talk of love lasting through time. Make me no
undying vow. Show me now!"
Richard Dake
Keeping Promises
I read a story some time back, I don’t have a clue whether it was
fiction, or true, but it really typifies the current American attitude, and
even to some degree, the current Christian attitude about promises that we
make.
There was a fairly rich young man who had been taken to the
hospital, critically ill. His condition worsened, and he was confined there for
quite a few weeks. His doctor even had told him that he wasn’t sure if he’d
recover, but that they would continue to do all they could.
The man was obviously scared to death, and said to the doctor,
"please, doctor, do everything you can, I don’t want to die, I have so
much to do yet in life, and if you can help me get better, I’ll even donate
$10,000 to the fund for the new hospital.” The young man happily began to
improve and recovered, and a few weeks later was released and went home.
Several months later, while he was out in the town, he saw the
doctor on the street, and the doctor asked him how he felt. The young man said,
“Doc, I haven’t felt better any time in my life.”
The doctor said, “That’s great, because I wanted to ask you
about the money you said you wanted to donate to the new hospital fund. You
remember you said if you got well, you’d like to donate $10,000, and we could
really use that now.”
“Man, if I said that,” the young man replied, “I must have been
really sick.”
For some people, making and KEEPING promises seems to be a
really tough issue, for some reason or another. But fortunately for us, there
is someone whose promises are always KEPT.
His name is Jesus.
Source Unknown
Who’s Your Daddy?
A little boy was standing on the sidewalk in the middle of a city
block. He was obviously waiting for something. An older man approached him and
asked for what he was waiting.
The little boy confidently told the older man that he was
waiting for the bus. The man laughed and said the bus stop was in the next
block. The boy acknowledged that fact but insisted the bus would stop for him
right here.
The older man became annoyed at what he thought was insolence.
He raised his voice and told the little boy that he'd better start walking if
he hoped to ride that bus. The boy politely turned down the suggestion and said
he would wait for the bus right where he stood.
The man fumed at the little boy and started walking off. But
before he was too far away, he heard the screeching of brakes. He turned around
and couldn't believe his eyes. The bus was actually stopping for the little
boy.
The bus door opened and the boy started climb aboard. But just
before he did, he turned toward the man down the street and yelled, "My daddy
is the bus driver."
Billy D. Strayhorn
Corporate Effects of
Sin
A man is on a boat. He is not alone, but acts as if he were. One
night . . .without warning . . . he suddenly begins to
cut a hole under his seat.
The other people on the boat shout and shriek at him: "What
on earth are you doing? Have you gone mad? Do you want to sink us all? Are you
trying to destroy us?"
Calmly, the man answers: "I don't understand what you want.
What I'm doing is none of your business. I paid my way. I'm not cutting under
your seat. Leave me alone!"
What you and I cannot forget, is that all of us are in the same
boat. The sins of others DO impact all of us.
Elie Wiesel
Discipleship In CommunityVery few people are expert in anything all by themselves. They need a supporting community. Do you know a good musician who was not trained, nurtured and sustained by the music community? Show me an athlete who achieves excellence all alone, apart from the athletic community. Very few wise men become so without the accumulated wisdom of the centuries as expressed in colleges and universities and libraries. Medical people are more like ensembles and symphonies than soloists. What business tycoon does it all on his own without dedicated experts in finance, engineering, personnel, and marketing? Excellence requires participation in, and support of, a community of like-minded people.
Likewise in the church. Very few achieve Christian maturity all by themselves. Seldom is the Bible studied diligently without the aid of pastors and teachers. Rarely are people led to generosity by their own impulses.
A Question Of Worth
Suppose that during the past week a young wife gave birth to her
first baby. Now suppose that as she held
her new baby in her arms and was enjoying the pleasure of motherhood, someone
came up to her and said, "How much do you want for the child?" Of
course she would show no interest in the offer and would be offended at even a
suggestion that her precious baby was for sale.
But the stranger is
persistent and offers a hundred thousand dollars, then a million dollars, and
finally ten million dollars. The offers are in vain because the mother will
simply press the baby closer to her and reply, "My baby is worth more to
me than all the world!"
Of course, if she
didn't say that, we would question whether she had the proper attitude for
motherhood. But why does she say it? Because she looks
forward to thousands of dirty diapers, sleepless nights with a sick child, and
the costs of raising that child? Because the child will bring her fame and fortune? Of course not.
Rather, it is
because she has chosen to value this tiny person, to deem the small one to be
of worth, and to love that baby of hers. Such worth resides in the very identity
of a person, not in performance. And such worth, coming from the image of God
in all of us, must be the basis for our concept of ourselves, too, if our
self-portrait is be durable and worthwhile.
My father, a
Polish immigrant, had a small grocery store in a little coal-mining town in
There was a tremendous snowstorm raging and the phone lines were
down. Dad decided to walk to this customer's home. I asked if I could go with
him. The snow was so deep we had to walk in automobile tracks. It took us 30
minutes to reach the man's home, but the relief on the customer's face was
worth the trek, especially when he thanked my father for being so honest.
One afternoon that following spring, Dad and I were walking home
when that customer saw us. He immediately crossed the street, without eye
contact. I asked Dad what had just happened. His reply was that he felt the
customer was not going to pay his outstanding bill.
Two weeks later, the man left town without paying his grocery
bill. I asked Dad if he remembered the Christmas Eve incident. Dad grabbed me by the shoulders
and looked directly at me, saying, "We all have choices. It was my choice
to do what I felt was right. His choice was not to pay his bill."
At age 13, I received a doctoral education in philosophy and
ethics from an immigrant with only a second grade education. This lesson has
remained in my heart and my mind.
Thank you, Dad, for teaching me how to make the right
choice.
Goals
That Mean Something
I once had a track coach in high
school. At the start of every practice, he told me
to "work hard and run fast."
I never knew what he meant. After all, how hard is
"hard"? How fast is "fast"?
A year later, I got a new track coach. He never told me to work
hard or to run fast. He just told me to "run five quarter miles in under a
minute, then run five more faster than that." I
knew what he meant.
When
we help people set goals, we should be like that track coach. We should help
set goals that are specific and measurable.
Quotable Quotes
Life is not a right full of
freedoms. Life is a privilege full of
responsibilities.
Stop and smell the roses before you stop and the roses smell you.
Never spit into a wishing well, as you may need to draw water
from it sometime!
A wise man learns from his
experiences, but a wiser man learns from others' experiences.
It's never too late to start doing the
right thing.
Drink six glasses of water at night before
you go to bed. Then you have to
get up in the morning.
The older you are the younger “old”
becomes.
Worry is like a rocking chair. You can rock all day and get nowhere.
If you really want to do something, you'll find a way; if you
don't, you'll find an excuse.
The Church is the one institution that exists for those outside
it.
The word of God is like a mirror in
that it shows us who we really are. It is like a map because it shows us where
we need to go. It is like a portrait for it paints for us a picture of who God
is.
Who Answers to Whom?
On his 89th birthday (Aug. 31) NPR senior news analyst Daniel
Schorr observed that President George Bush had "staked out a
non-position" on the debate between evolution and intelligent design by
saying that "both sides ought to be properly taught in the schools of
No, Mr. Schorr, you
have something to answer for, not God. God answers to no man. Come, Daniel
Schorr, take your place with Job and answer your
Maker: "The Lord answered Job [and Schorr] out of the whirlwind
and said: 'Who is this that darkens My counsel by words without knowledge?
Dress for action like a man; I will question you, and you make it known to Me… Who shut in the sea with doors when it burst out from
the womb, when I made clouds its garment and thick darkness its swaddling band,
and prescribed limits for it and set bars and doors, and said,
Thus far shall you come, and no farther, and here shall your proud waves be
stayed'?" (Job 38:1-3, 8-11).
Who are you, O man,
to answer back to God? Shall the pot say to the Potter, "This is an
unintelligent way to show your justice and your power? Come, Maker of heaven and
earth, sit at my feet - I have lived 89 years and have gotten much wisdom - and
I will teach You - the eternal God - how to govern the
universe?"
No. Rather let us
put our hands on our mouths and weep both for the perishing and for ourselves
who will soon follow. Whatever judgment has fallen, it is we who deserve it -
all of us. And whatever mercy is mingled with judgment in
God sent Jesus
Christ into the world to save sinners. He did not suffer massive shame and vain
because Americans are pretty good people. The magnitude of Christ's suffering
is owing to how deeply we deserve Katrina (and Rita) - all of us.
Our guilt in the
face of Katrina (and Rita) is not that we can’t see the intelligence in God's
design, but that we can't see arrogance in our own heart. God will always be
guilty of high crimes for those who think they've never committed any.
But God commits no
crimes when He brings famine, flood, and pestilence on the earth. "Does
disaster come to a city, unless the Lord has done it?” (Amos 3:6). The
answer of the prophet is no. God's own testimony is the same: "I form
light and create darkness, I make well-being and create calamity, I am the
Lord, who does all these things," (Isaiah 45:7). And if we ask, is there
intelligent design in it all, the Bible answers: "You meant evil…but
God meant it [designed it] for good,” (Genesis50:20).
This will always be
ludicrous to those who put the life of man above the glory of God. Until our
hearts are broken, not just for the life-destroying misery of human pain, but
for the God-insulting rebellion of human sin, we will not see intelligent
design in the way God mingles mercy and judgment in this world. But those who
bow before God's sovereign grace and say, "From Him and through Him and
to Him are all things. To Him be glory forever,"
are able to affirm, “Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of
God! How unsearchable are His judgments and how inscrutable His ways!"
(Romans 11:36, 33).
And wisdom is
another name for intelligent design.
No, Daniel Schorr,
God does not answer to us. We answer to Him. And we have only one answer:
"Guilty as charged." Every mouth is stopped and the whole world is
accountable before God. There is only one hope to escape the flood of God's
wrath. It is not the levee of human virtue but the high ground called
From Our Member
Karuna Dasari,
Karuna writes: “The Moriah Home and
School are running as normal as before. The school was reopened on June 8, 2005 and we
have now 345 students in the school. The Christian education is taught as
normal. Some of the students are taken away by parents because of the Christian
education at the
“Seven children have left the Moriah
home after the completion of High School, and new children have joined, so
there are 55 children in the home this year. The space is getting smaller as
the kids are growing. We would like to put 2 rooms for living and a hall for
study and also 2 bathrooms and latrines on the top of the Moriah home. It would
give them more living space as there is not much ground space at the Moriah
home. With this kind of an addition, the children will have more room to live,
sleep and study.
“I am closing this with a thankful
heart for everything you are doing for the B.F.L.C.”
From Our Members
Missionary Terry and Mary Schultz,
We have now been back from furlough a
little over 3 weeks. We had a great
time! The biggest and best highlights
were of course spending time with all of our family. And boy did we have fun
with them! What an awesome Fourth of
July! What a summer of memories that we
will not forget: Donny O & Bob D Concerts, Lion King, Shakespeare in the
Park, High Tea, BBQ’s, Ohio and Wisconsin State Fairs, movies, chats, walks,
eating, shopping, and so much more.
We praise God for the many blessings both sides of the family
have had this past year! We both feel we
must mention one very amazing praise point, and that is being able to surprise
Nancy Schultz at the birthday party her kids threw for her. At one point last year we thought we would
next see her with our heavenly Father.
Thanks be to God for a successful kidney and
liver transplant!
Besides family time we were kept very busy with doctor
appointments, church visits, classes/workshops, mission board meetings and our
very first vacation (alone) on furlough in nine years. We went to
Back to
A very big thank you to those of you who made the effort
to meet up with us while we were running around crazy this year. Thanks for all the love
and prayers you shared with us while we were home and as we start back are on
the mission field.
Much love,
Mary and Terry
…
and this hand-written note from Terry:
Dear Mt. Olive Family,
Thank you so much for the cross ornaments, books, box of art supplies,
pot luck, and free-will donation!! (What
a list!!) Visiting at
We thank God for the precious friendships with each of you that
will last an eternity!!
With much love,
Terry and Mary
After a terrific furlough in the Land
of the Free, it was time to get back to our brothers and sisters of the
Amazon! However, an abnormally long stretch of dry season had the Rio
Huallaga so low you could walk across it in only waist-deep water! The
smaller rivers that we take to reach our native villages had all but dried up!
We were up a creek without a…well without a creek!! With days and days of heat
that reached over 115 degrees, no wonder the people were once again referring
to the Amazon jungle as “el horno verde,”
– the green oven!
And so, instead of making a much anticipated jungle trip, we
took the next best option and invited our native leaders in to Tarapoto for a week of Bible Institute classes. This
was a bit tricky to set up, trying to get word of the classes to the leaders.
The journey for 4 of them included walking over 6 hours in the unrelenting heat
to arrive at a deep, serviceable river!
Lat week I sat down with our wonderful Chayahuita
pastor, Maravid, to catch up on the last couple of
months. What can I say about all the crazy developments in the wildly
intensifying struggle to save lost souls in the jungle? Maravid’s stories and info careened from the delightfully
surprising to the downright alarming! Hyperbole you say? Read on
dear readers!!
I.
For starters, a doctrinally-unsound independent church in one of
the large river towns had heard of Maravid and his
wonderful success as a native evangelist. Maravid
can teach, preach, and read from a Chayahuita Bible
translation. He even writes praise songs now!
One day, two pastors from the unorthodox church walked all the
way out to Maravid’s thatch-roof jungle home.
Surprisingly, no one was home that day from Maravid’s
extended family except Maravid. The two pastors
were invited into the house, where they soon ascertained that this was indeed
the person they were looking for. The men proceeded to take out 6 one
hundred soles bills and lay them on the table in front of Maravid.
(600 soles is equivalent to two month’s salary for a very industrious
crop-growing native. Or, in terms of an American family making $36,000 a
year, it was like putting 6 one-thousand-dollar bills on the table!)
The two men said the money was Maravid’s,
and there was more where that came from if he would leave the church he was now
serving and come to work for them! They would in fact, put Maravid on a monthly salary. Now, he would no longer
need to slave away in the horrible heat trying to grow crops!
Maravid told the
men to take their money off his table.
Now I don’t pretend that Maravid knows
all the critical differences between one church group and the next. But Maravid does know our church teachings are 100%
Bible-based. He knows he gets a good Christ-centered education with us
and that he is growing in faith and wisdom. But we do not pay him to be a
pastor.
As Maravid recounted this incident to
me, he looked away in that shy, timid way the Chayahuitas
do. He broke into a slight smile and said, “I’m glad my wife wasn’t home
to see all that money on the table…” We laughed. Then Maravid said, “I told those men I work with Pastor Terry
and Pastor Ronal. They have taught me the truth.”
II.
I was anxious to know if Maravid had any
news about Raphael, one of our native brothers from Nueva
Barranquita. Not long before I left for the
States, Raphael had met with a calamitous accident.
Raphael fell from a sky-high coconut tree and literally impaled
his leg on a sharp branch on the jungle floor. The branch went clear
through his lower left leg. With indescribable, searing pain, Raphael
raised his leg off the branch. He quickly improvised a bandage by wrapping a
huge leaf around his calf and binding it with vine to try and stop the flow of
blood. Pressing down on his leg while dragging it, he somehow stumbled back to
the village, which fortunately wasn’t too far away. Fellow natives came racing to his aid as he fell over and passed out.
Ronal and I had arrived just a couple days after Raphael’s
horrendous accident. A trail of blood on the raised wood floor of his
thatch-roof dwelling led to Raphael, who was lying right on the floor on a
filthy, insect-ridden blood-soaked little mat and cloth.
Raphael’s wife was attending to his still-open wound. She
had prepared some type of strange, jungle plant poultice which she
intermittently pressed on his leg while waving the swarming flies away.
Running out of the leg were fluids that, mixed with the poultice and sweat, produced
one horrifically-rank smell. It was all I could do to keep from gagging
at first!
Ronal and I offered to immediately transport Raphael to the Yurimaguas hospital with our outboard. We could
quickly construct a makeshift litter and carry him to our boat. For what
if infection were already setting in?!
Raphael, one of the most timid natives I have ever met, smiled
weakly and gently turned down our offer. I counseled with very strong
words that he must go to the hospital. Then Ronal took a turn, pleading with Raphael,
who still refused. I couldn’t believe it! It certainly wasn’t
because Raphael was afraid of the hospital. We had actually taken his
child to the Yuri hospital when she was gravely ill. Apparently,
something else was going on here. Strangely, through all our intense
efforts, Raphael’s wife never spoke a single word. Then again, according
to their culture, it may well have been improper for her to voice an opinion.
After a moment to consider the critical situation before us, I
decided to pull out all the stops: “Raphael” I pleaded, “If you don’t
come with us your leg may become so sick that it will need to be cut off.
You could even die! Do you understand me?!!”
Raphael smiled a pitiful smile and looked right at me to
indicate he truly understood my words… His look also indicated that the
discussion was over. He then turned away from us on his insect-ridden
mat.
I tried to stuff the rising swell of frustration into the back
of my mind, and glanced over at Ronal who was shaking his head in disbelief and
anger. There was nothing left to say. Resignedly, we each put a hand on
Raphael’s sweat-soaked dirty tee-shirt, and said a long prayer. Feeling
defeated and spent, we spoke a few last encouraging words to Raphael and his
wife and then walked out.
Later on after our church service, as we were leaving the
village, a relative of Raphael’s ran up behind us. His whispered
conversation hit us like a punch to the stomach:
Everyone in the village knew exactly why Raphael would not go
with us to the Yuri hospital. It had nothing to do with any fear of
hospitals. Rather, Raphael was afraid that if he left, he would lose his
wife. For she had already made it clear to him that she would not go
along to Yuri. And, Raphael could not force her to accompany him.
Everyone in the community was well aware that a man in the next village had an
impure interest in Raphael’s wife. Tragically, apparently Raphael’s wife
had been less than energetic in rebuffing the man’s inappropriate advances.
Raphael was convinced that if he left for the hospital for several days, when
he returned home his wife would be gone.
And so, Raphael was left with an unimaginable choice: He
could risk losing his leg and possibly his life, or risk losing his wife.
His marriage relationship, riddled through with a spouse’s sinful lack of
commitment and an openness to temptation, was about to extract a very high
price.
Over much time, a couple months in fact, amazingly, Raphael’s
leg slowly healed. However due to a lack of special medical attention,
the leg did not heal up very well. Now, Raphael walks every step of his
life with an agonizing, pronounced limp.
Raphael’s limp sends a sobering message to everyone who sees him
and hears the story. Such was the steep price he paid for a marriage
without trust… a truly sin-infected relationship.
III.
As if that weren’t enough, the Devil was wreaking havoc in other
parts of the jungle where we are trying to sow the gospel. Once again,
the Peruvian drug trade is making a big comeback in and around our
villages. And, not only is there a surge in coca production. Now
there are opium fields springing up!
Control of the insanely lucrative drug trade is spreading
violence throughout the area where we work. You may recall the deep
jungle trail we took just a few months back to visit
In fact, things are just as bad in Pelejo.
Once again our members are being actively recruited like everyone else in town
to join in the production and processing of coca leaves. The town has no
police and the village politicos turn a blind eye to it all, (not just out of
greed for their huge cut, but out of fear of the Columbians who make their
regular pickups). We pray that our poverty-level brothers and sisters,
who trudge out to their rice paddies day after blazing-hot day, hold fast as
this huge new wave of temptation for easy money descends upon them.
IV.
Meanwhile, an immense ray of joyful light descended upon Maravid’s household last month, as his very young daughter
Patricia (14) got married!
Now, everyone catch your breath a moment after reading that last
perhaps shocking line. Only 14. And yet,
in the Chayahuita culture, that is considered a
normal age to get married. Some native gals are married when they are 13
or even 12, (the girl’s biological capability to have babies being the cultural
criteria.) Moreover, we are talking
about a society in which many individuals do not live beyond their late 40s to
early 50s. (Finally, recall that most Bible scholars calculate the age of
Jesus’ mother to have been somewhere in her early teens!) Don’t get me
wrong. I’m certainly not advocating teen marriages! However, in the
Chayahuita culture where life is short and there are
very few divorces, one can understand their thinking.
Of course Patricia and her perspective husband had to
demonstrate to the girl’s extended family, and to the community as a whole,
that they were both ready to enter into marriage. Each had to pass a
curious test:
As strange as this may sound to our ears, the potential husband,
Eloy, was expected to demonstrate two things to the
community: 1, that he is hard working and possesses physical strength, and 2,
that he would be able to “control his woman.” (Yes, we are talking
major-league machismo here.) Both of these abilities must be demonstrated
in a ritual known as “chopping the wood.” Only then would the marriage be
permitted to take place. Here’s how the simple ritual goes:
The father of the bride has the responsibility of selecting a
tree in the jungle, which the perspective husband must chop down with a machete
within a reasonable amount of time. But what we really have here is an
exquisite cultural “control” or mechanism at play. For
if the father and mother are very happy with the suitor, the father will select
a fairly easy softwood tree to be chopped down. If Dad is a bit
perturbed by the impending nuptials but sees he must go along with Mom and
Daughter, he’ll make his feelings obvious and select a very large tree.
However, if Mom and Dad are dead set against the marriage, Dad will go out and
select the biggest hardwood tree he can find (hard as mahogany) which is
virtually impossible to fell with a machete. The crestfallen lad will
have been revealed to the community as incompetent (one who “just can’t hack
it” I guess) and be sadly declared unready for marriage.
For the gal, the indication of her readiness for marriage falls
more along the lines of demonstrating the ability to make and serve a bowl of
punch! She must make up a big batch of the native’s favorite drink, masato. The perspective bride does all the
preparations herself, from gathering and peeling the yucca roots, to chewing
them in her mouth and mixing them with her saliva, spitting them into a wooden
trough, adding water, mixing, and allowing time for ferment. She then
serves the masato to family and community, who marvel
at her skills and speak approvingly of her and her mother. Actually,
there’s no reason to be too critical of the fair young daughters. After
all, Mom and Dad know they can easily derail any wedding ideas with Dad’s
selection of a hardwood tree!
Getting back to the particular case of
Patricia and Eloy: Upon hearing Maravid’s description of the events, there appears to be
God’s guiding hand in the meeting of these two. For I was astounded to hear that Eloy
is a Believer who was in fact, looking for a Christian Chayahuita
wife!!
Eloy is from one
of the few, huge, Chayahuita settlements up north of Yurimaguas. The town (which includes mestizos) contains not only a grade school but even a high
school, as well as some type of Bible church. Eloy
is one of very few natives who have a high school education. He also went
to the local church and by the grace of God became a Christian. Along the
way, he even did a two-year stint in the Army, (choosing not to dodge that
requirement which is easy to do when living in the Amazon). He also managed
to learn to play the guitar!
Imagine the huge surprise to everyone involved, when this fine
young Christian native showed up to visit relatives near Parinari,
and instantly fell in love with Patricia! Maravid
took Eloy aside for some very serious conversations
with him about the “one thing needful” in life, and was astounded to discover
that Eloy possessed a personal faith in Jesus! Eloy was equally shocked to find out that he was talking to
a well-trained Christian Pastor and Evangelist!! Into the nights the two
talked religion, and Eloy immediately volunteered to
accompany Maravid on his evangelism calls! The
courting of Patricia went on under the watchful eye of the mom, Lucha, who was also excited to see her daughter going out
with a respectful Christian man. The courting lasted all of one week, as
the mom was won over early. A few days after that, Eloy
had chopped down an average-size softwood tree, Patricia had served delicious
yucca root drinks, and the impending wedding was announced.
I met Eloy last week, as Maravid had brought him along for our week of Bible
Institute training. I was immediately struck by the personal faith he
displayed and his sincere respect and gratitude for the opportunity to learn
from us!! With his extraordinary combination of jungle background, tough
army experience, high school education, and music talent, I believe God has
sent us a tremendous gift for our Amazon native ministry. Maravid certainly thinks so. They were like father
and son all week! Praise the Lord for this enormous blessing!!
V.
Maravid was also
thankful for the week of fellowship and encouragement that are a big part of
our Bible Institute time. For he was facing challenges like never before
in his ministry to the various Amazon native villages.
It hardly needs stating that as one grows in their sanctified
walk with the Lord, old, ungodly ways must be left behind. It is a sad
fact that several norms and practices of the Chayahuita
culture cannot be condoned by a Christian.
Maravid and his
extended family no longer take part in many of the frequent village-wide
celebrations in their home
Maravid explained
to the community that he and his extended family (plus a few other brave souls
from his flock) would no longer take part in such activities, as they certainly
do not please God. Two violent men of the village are furious over
this. They are now threatening to burn to the ground the big thatch-roof
church Maravid and his relatives had made.
Maravid has placed
this all in God’s hands. He has advised Ronal and me not to visit Parinari for a while, praying that the two men (and others
they are trying to incite) will cool off and back down. Maravid has informed the men that were they to burn the
Lord’s church down, he would simply build another one
deeper in the jungle. For the time being, Maravid
plans to spend less time in his house in the
We would ask that you pray for our wonderful, valiant brothers
who are contending for the gospel amidst these devilish obstacles. Satan
continues to try and snuff out these bright lights who
are bringing hope for the first time to villages deep in the jungle. We
praise the Lord for the continued working of the Holy Spirit to enable our
brothers to boldly proclaim their faith with their words and actions. As
Jesus declared in reference to Peter’s God-given faith:
“On this rock I will build my church, and the gates of
hell will not overcome it.” (Mt. 16:18b.)
Until next time amigos,
Terry
MLC Donation
At present, 225 Thrivent members have participated in this
opportunity.
Special forms are available in the back of church and must be
submitted with your gift.
What is MLC’s
financial condition?
The college is using up contingency funds to remain healthy and
efficient. (These funds will need to be
replaced in a fiscally responsible way for essential maintenance and improvements.) MLC needs to raise an additional $1.9 million
this school year, and over $4 million every school year for the foreseeable
future.
Why is MLC in this
situation?
Insufficient revenues to our synod have led to cuts in all areas,
including Ministerial Education. In the
past the synod itself has functioned as the endowment fund for MLC through
operating budget support. That support
has steadily decreased over the last 6 years from $5.4 million (42% of MLC’s
budget) in 2000-2001 to $700,000 (5% of MLC’s budget) in 2005-2006. During this same six-year period, student
fees, room/board, and tuition have increased from $7,715 to $12,400, while
attendance has decreased from 1,026 to 819.
This is a critical
moment. The
harvest of souls is still plentiful.
Workers for this harvest are still few.
In Jesus we must pray for those workers, and we must support the
training of well-qualified men and women who will proclaim the good news of
Christ to the next generation.
Thank you for your prayerful support!
ESL Tutors Needed
The St.
Croix Lutheran High School English as a Second Language Department is looking
for volunteers to tutor international students during school hours. Being
an international student is very challenging, and your one-on-one support with
speaking, writing and vocabulary building would provide some extra English
practice.
Currently, the ESL Department is looking for volunteers 1-2 days
a week during set 2 - usually from 9:02 - 9:50 am. (You are then invited
to join us for daily chapel from 9:50 - 10:10 am) If interested please
contact Mr. Casey Pufahl at 651-455-1521 ext. 129 or
cpufahl@sclhs.org.
Rides to Church
Would you like to give a student a ride to church?
As you know,
On Tuesday evening, October 4th,
the Women’s Guild of Mt. Olive Lutheran Church will be hosting what we hope
will turn into an annual Guild Anniversary/Kraut & Rib Supper. In order to make it easier for the kitchen
committee to purchase and prepare the proper amount of food we are asking for
reservations for this year’s event. Please sign up soon!
Entertainment for the evening is still pending, but we
have heard rumors about the Mt. Olive Kitchen Band and possibly a well-known
accordion player from
We will plan to start serving at5:30pm. You do not want to miss
this fun evening.
In conjunction with our supper, the Mt. Olive Youth Group will
be holding a fundraiser for the food shelf. Thrivent
will match donations for the supper up to $800.00. All proceeds from the meal
(after expenses) will go to the food shelf along with these matching funds.
See you on Tuesday, October 4th. Bring your appetites!
Women’s Guild Members & Friends
This
is to remind you of a change. Normally
each year at our Anniversary Dinner we have taken our annual donation to be
used for the year’s work of the Guild and for the support of the charities that
we support. This year, however, the
Youth League is sponsoring an offering for the Food Shelf. We have decided to postpone our donation
offering until the Guild Christmas Party held on the first Thursday in
December. You may also turn it in any
time in between by making a check out to the Women’s Guild, marking it Guild
Anniversary and giving it to our Treasurer, Marlene Struwe. We hope next year to follow it as usual
again. Thank You!
Marcella Voss
Women’s Guild President
Christian Life Ministries
Our
shelves are a little bare. They are in
need of diapers at the
Pound the Pavement for our Pets Walk
The
Lutheran Home has changed the name of their annual walk this year to “Pound the
Pavement for our Pets Walk”. This year
the funds will be used for the Lutheran Home.
The goal this year is to purchase a Living Design Aviary for the
Lutheran Home Special Care Residence. It
will be a two-mike walk through Belle Plaine. Children and pets are invited to walk
also. This will take place on Saturday,
October 8th. For more
information call Marcella at 651.487.1662.
Marcella Voss
Divinity is using
this race as an outreach event in their community and also fellowship for
They're planning a fun day with a 5K
run and walk, and also a Little Tykes’ Dash for children ages 2-7. The
goal is 400 participants. There will be snacks afterwards provided by Culvers, Panera Bread, Frito Lay, and Caribou Coffee. Everyone
entered in the 5K will receive a long sleeve T-shirt.
Please pick up an entry form in the back of church, and come out
and enjoy an afternoon of fun and
fellowship. (Register by October 1st and save $5.00.)
The Mt. Olive Women’s Guild is collecting non-perishable items
for the MLC Married Students’ Food Shelf.
The collection will take place through October 11th
and will be taken to MLC on October 12th, the day of the MLC
Auxiliary meeting in New Ulm.
A box has been
placed in the Fellowship Hall to receive your contributions. Thanks!
The Minnesota District OWLS is again
sponsoring a senior rally at
The date is Saturday, October 22, 2005. Pick up a registration form at church and
register before October 14th.
Bring-A-Friend-To-Church
Sunday
October 23, 2005, is
Please, for the sake of blood-bought souls, pray for this
special Bring-A-Friend Sunday. Pray that the Lord direct you to a friend,
family members, or co-worker who does not have a vibrant relationship with
Jesus. Whom will you invite?