What's the BIG Deal?

    The BIG Deal no matter where one lives and works, whether it's in your home country or half-way around the world, is to bring glory and honour to our risen Lord!  How do we do this?  In so many ways, such as staying in tune with His Spirit and worshipping Him on a daily basis -- staying in the Word, in fellowship with other believers, in prayer, in song, etc. --  by being always ready to share the faith with anybody we come into contact with, with "gentleness and respect." -- by confessing your sin and turning from it -- by loving and serving our neighbour, (or our family members) out of love for Christ -- by cleaning toilets, housing people, giving away food, adopting orphans into your home, caring for the elderly-- by loving Christ so much that it shows in the way you give respect to all people and do not slander them even if you disagree with their views; wives, by not disagreeing with your husband in front of your children, etc; By following Christ and being obedient to Him, if it ever comes to it, to the point of death: obedience and respect to the government God has established over you, unless they try and make you renounce your faith, or something dreadful like that, then being committed so wholeheartedly to Christ, that a jail or death sentence on this earth would be counted as joy.
    How HARD is it to live the Christian walk, to walk the walk and not just talk the talk?  Quite hard!  But that is why He has given us His Spirit to live in us, and teach us, and guide us, and convict us in the way to go.  That is why He has promised us that He shall never leave us, never forsake us!  What a blessed promise that is, and we know we can trust Him always!  We know that nothing on this earth can separate His children from His love: not trouble, sickness, nakedness, persecution, death, demons, nothing.  (Romans 8) Remember, that as a believer, if you come down with cancer or something horrible, and God does not choose to heal you completely, that does not take you out of His great love for you.  If your child dies, God loves you just the same as if your child was still living.  We don't know why certain circumstances will happen in this life, but we do know we have a loving God whom we can trust to carry us through, and strengthen our faith. If you do not heal from a disease, it does not mean your faith is weak.  It might just mean your faith is growing stronger by the day, for you are learning to rely more upon the Father.

    I don't know why I just wrote all that.  I was supposed to be writing about Ivan.  Recently, God gave me an opportunity to bring Him glory by helping one man in our community come to know Him personally.  It was such a blessing, I love doing that, and it's neat to know that God allowed me to be home (Jared was gone), and allowed me to talk and pray with him.  We had not met him before, and he came of his own accord to our house in order to pray and follow Christ.  It was the highlight of my day and brought such joy and happiness to my heart to know that I had a new brother in Christ.  That's the BIG deal.

"There is a friend..."

"...there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother."  Proverbs 18:24b

The theme for this past month as been friendship: discovering new friends, and also enjoying the "old" friendships. :)  Relationship building is key to living in a new culture, to adjusting well and being able to "stick it out" in the hard times.  As we have lived here in Australia, and in Barunga specifically, the friendships we are building are a blessing.

Since we are living in Barunga, sometimes it's hard to separate life from work, and work from life.  I find myself saying, "How can we best show people we care about them?"  "Am I just a book salesman?"  Where is my heart?

The answer may not be surprising for yumob, (y'all in Kriol) and it wasn't an epiphany for me much either.  I was simply reminded in a big way where my heart lies: with the people.  There is no greater joy for me than to sit with folks and simply get to know them.  I like learning from them, and if I can help them/teach them, I enjoy that as well.  I enjoy enabling people to do what the Lord is calling them to do; and I really get excited when I am able to watch them apply it to their lives!

There are many different relationships/friendships built here.  Some relationships have been everyday seeing the people here in Barunga, whereas some are "workshop" relationships.  If we go to a neighbouring community and meet folks there, but we don't see them too often.  Anyway, there are many different friendships built in different contexts.

I met William and Marjorie while at the Katherine Christian Convention(KCC) last weekend.  They were two of the original translators for the Kriol Baibul.  Something I really appreciated about William was his patience in helping me with Kriol, and his ability to laugh at the little things.  He speaks the Roper River Kriol, which is a "heavier" Kriol than the one spoken in Barunga.  When I first met him, we were talking, and I used a phrase I learned while in a different community, and he laughed, and corrected me.  He would say, "Lagijat na."  "It's like that."  But I had learned at the other community they shorten it to, "Lat na."  So every time he saw me, he'd say, "Lat na!"  and then laugh.  Of course I'd say it back to him, and we'd both chuckle.  His heart to see God's Word in Kriol encouraged and inspired me in the work God has given us here.

Guy is a Christian man living in Barunga.  I have been able to sit with him at his house once, as well as see him on several occasions in the community and chat.  He is a blessing to me, and has given me the okay to come and visit him any time.  He stays very busy with work, and family as well.  He is a hard worker, so he's depended on by many people.  Please pray for me to be a blessing to Guy.  His wife, Beverly was also a member of the Kriol Baibul translation team.

Building relationships is THE ONLY WAY in indigenous society.  Relationships are everything.  There have been times when I've just been baffled by what strong ties our indigenous friends have to each other, and the responsibilities/obligations which come from those relationships.  When a relative (whether through blood or simply by skin name) asks for something, they give it.  Giving gifts is a common way to start and also continue a relationship.

For example, when we first arrived in Australia, and were at the Yangbala Kemp (Youth Camp),  there were a TON of flies!  It seemed there was no possible way to get away from them.  And they weren't polite, traditional "American" flies who just buzzed around, and landed on the table to be swatted.  These were the "fly-in-your-eyes, mouth, ears..." type of fly. I noticed our indigenous sister with a fly-net hat.  I said, "Cool hat!"  She took it off and said, "It's yours."  I was a little embarrassed, because I didn't mean to take it from her, but she explained, "You are my brother in Christ.  I want to give you this hat.  It's okay."  I'm still learning, but it seems to me that gift giving and receiving is a normal part of life.  It doesn't have to be anything large.  It could simply be tea or milk or sugar, but a gift shows a relationship.

As we continue to live here, and deepen our relationships with folks, please pray for wisdom and discernment in how to help them in the most important relationship of all: with Jesus Christ.