The "M" Word

What kind of hole have I dug our team into?

Platform work is a new concept for me.  In Argentina, one is allowed to be there with a "religious" visa.  That is not the case in other parts of the world.  Here in Central Asia, you need a platform to be in the country.  A platform is a real service that is performed for the people here.  It could be community development, preventative health, disaster management, etc..  Over the years, M's have experimented with various platforms and have approached the work of evangelism from various ways.

We believe, that are service to humanity should be without strings.  We serve people to serve people, not so that they will listen to our message.  There are no requirements of sitting through a Gospel presentation to receive the service we offer.

So what does a platform offer?  It offers a legitimate reason to be in a place and be the religious people we are.  We get to serve and we pray for opportunities to share.

Tomorrow, we are going out to a village where there is one believing family.  Actually, they are the only believing family in the whole region.  We want to help them grow as Christians, so we are creating a reason to be there and encourage them.  We are going to dig a hole.

Our team has agreed to build an outhouse for the local school, theirs fell down.  In order to do this project a hole 18 feet long, 6 feet wide, and 14 feet deep needs to be dug.  This means that 12 of us are going out to the village for the next three days to come along side the local people and break our backs in the sun.  We will dig, they will dig, and a hole will be dug.

What else we do?  We will worship together publicly, we are a religious people.  We will encourage our sister, she is a Christian.  And, we will share our faith with any who will listen, it is who we are.

Pray that the hole will be dug safely.  Pray that the hole in the hearts of those villagers will be filled with the love of Jesus Christ.

Friends from Afar

This weeks has started off like every other weeks since we arrived in Central Asia.  We have a plan, but we have no idea how the week will actually unfold.  This week, I am starting with a new tutor.  My previous tutor is an excellent teacher, I just needed to change things up a bit.  My new tutor is a "like-minded" man of faith so I am looking forward to learning a whole new vocabulary from him.

This week we should get the plates for our team vehicle.  They should be ready tomorrow.  It turns out that when you get your plates from the government, they are stamped with your vehicles numbers, but the plate is not painted.  That is what we are waiting on now, getting our plates painted.

This week also brings us friends from afar.  Our buddy, Conrad, will arrive on Thursday.  We are praying for his time here as we explore what God wants from each of us. 

We have found some routines that seem to be working for our home.  Meryl is a local man that is going to the big market for us once a week.  This helps us because he can buy more things in bulk at a cheaper price because he is a national.  This is saving us money and most of all it is saving Carla time. 

Another routine in our house is the milk lady.  Three times a week we get a delivery to our door of fresh milk (just a bit over a gallon) from the country.  Carla then has to boil the milk and scoop of the cream.  She doesn 't mind though, the milk is great tasting and the cream is handy to have for some of our meal choices.

The final new routine of our family is Taekwondo.  Annika and Aaron are going to Taekwondo three times a week at the central club in the city.  They study under a national champion and are working very hard.  Classes last an hour and half and it costs just $10 a month.  We are so pleased and they like the classes.

So what does new challenges and regular routines bring to our family?  New opportunities.  Pray for us as we seek to share the message that changes lives with those we are coming into contact with each day.

Thursdays

Finding a routine in a place where change is selective is a mixed blessing.  It seems that once you find a routine you are busy doing things that really are not that important to the true task at hand.  Have you ever felt overwhelmed with the simple task of life.  Going to the store, preparing meals, taking care of the kids, and going to work.  All of these things need to be done here also, they just take longer to do.

One routine we have found that has been a blessing to our family is Thursdays.  Every Thursday, our family with two or three other families go up to a little reservoir a few kilometers up the road.  It is nothing more than a pond on the side of the road, but it gives our families a needed relief from the everyday heat and a needed escape from the grind of each day.

Today was no different from any other Thursday, hot.  We have experimented with another place to recreate on Thursdays as well.  A few more kilometers up the road is little place with two slides that go into a pool and a nice place to hang out.  It cost a bit more than the reservoir because it was a bit more private.

So next Thursday, think of us, it is our day at the lake.

TWM #2

Life in what the West calls the "Third-World" or the undeveloped world is different than most of you may expect.  There is Internet (I think we finally worked out the bugs with ours), there is television (not 150 channels), there is entertainment (watching the rock throwing game is one of my favorites), and there are doctors (people here pray hard when they have to go to a doctor). 

I love living outside the US for many reasons.  One reason is the joy of getting to go back to the greatest place in the world to live.  Other reasons for loving life outside the US include; new cultures, experiencing the reality that people are people no matter where you go, and most importantly because of the need the to share Christ with those who have had not chance to hear the Gospel.

Life does have its challenges though.  People live where people live.  Bobby Clinton calls that Sovereign Foundations.  You have no control over where you were born and what your family was like.  Take marriage life here in Central Asia.  A typical husband here is expected to beat his wife, stay out with his friends, and rule his house with an iron fist.  Recently, we met a couple that have been attending a local fellowship.  She is baptized and her husband is not.  Until as recently as January, her husband, Meryl, lived up to her expectations of what a local husband should be.  Gina, Meryl's wife, would have to pay her husband from the money she earned to go to the bazaar to buy food for the family.  His money was his money and her money was his money. 

Meryl regularly beat Gina and on the night they were supposed to consummate their marriage, Meryl stayed out with his friends until the last moment.  What makes matters even worse is that Gina is expected to give herself freely to a man she barely even knows since most marriages are arranged.

The good news of the story is that Gina found peace with her God and knows Jesus Christ as her Savior.  The better news is that Meryl is now actively involved in their fellowship.  He is reading his Bible every day and many around believe that he is close to coming into a relationship with Christ.  Meryl no longer beats Gina and is turning into a decent husband.

So what do you do here when you find a wife that has been beaten by her husband?  This my TWM #2.  Nothing.  It is expected.  It is normal.  And there is nothing you can do about it.  The only hope for these families is the transforming power of Jesus Christ.  Pray for Meryl and Gina.  Pray for Meryl's salvation and pray for Gina to not hold bitterness.  One other bit of good news.  Meryl's little brother just got married (the wedding we went to a few weeks back) and Meryl is helping his little brother to treat his wife like a Christian should. The Gospel can transform entire families.