Parked for Awhile

I am so sorry we have not been able to get back to this blog sooner. We arrived home on Apr. 10th in the afternoon to a clean house thanks to my mother-in-law and a nifty housekeeper. We were able to attend the Good Friday service which I must say was the cup of cool water we needed. Our daughter Amy's in-laws also arrived which is always such a big blessing to us. They are strong, mature and wise believers that always give us rich fellowship. Paula is also a very talented artistic person and was a huge help with getting our display done for the following weekend.

I was asked to give a talk on missions to the Central District Women's retreat. It forced me to do some reflection and debriefing with the Lord as I struggled to know just what to say. I was very concerned that the message would not be diminished by the weakness of the messenger. I really felt the Lord answered prayers my prayers and the women were so receptive. Actually the retreat was perfect timing for me. I was running pretty much on empty and these serious, godly women in their 70's delivered a spiritual retreat that lifted all up to a higher plane of thinking concerning our bridegroom coming for us and what that means to us today.

Meanwhile, Alan came along to be introduced on Friday night along with our district superintendent and his wife. Then he had Saturday to just veg-out and do what he wanted. We were in Branson, MO, so not too bad though it was raining. Sunday afternoon we headed for a cabin we rented outside of Branson and slept! Then Monday had a wonderful time recapping what we have done the past 4 months, prayed for many things and headed off for the outlet malls. We even prayed about that. We were looking for shirts that are designed for humidity. We found that when we would wash our sweaty clothes while in places like India and Africa, the clothes would not be dry by morning so then you put on slightly damp shirts to begin another humid day. We were like kids finding the right toy, when we found these moisture-wicking shirts on clearance and on sale.

The rest of the week found us beginning to shape up what the next 3 months will look like. We must get busy at support raising and developing teaching with hand-outs to be ready for the first of June (in order to get it translated in time). Alan especially has a lot on his plate as he meets in Dallas with the Center of Church-Based training. They are bringing in people from all over the world to discuss important issues regarding the training of Pastors and leaders in places all over the globe. In August we will be going to Burundi and Kenya to be with pastors and their wives for a week in each place. Our teaching needs to be primarily of an oral approach as the education levels are limited for some and most of the women cannot read. It is an exciting thought to open an understanding of the scriptures to these called ones who are ministering to the body of Christ in their areas. Alan is especially on a time crunch to completely write his own "Basic Theology" course with hand-outs by the first of June. That way the materials can be translated in their own language. In Burundi we are on our own but in Kenya we are with a team. In both places I am the only American woman so I am praying for God to send me an assistant to go too. In the upcoming weeks I hope to enlist the help of our daughter Anne to post some pictures.

We also want to share about our trip to India as it impacted us in so many ways. It is truly a praise to our God that our health remained strong and our attitude positive despite many frustrations. We are learning more vividly that our God reigns and is not thwarted by anything despite the strongholds Satan has in many of the places we go. When you think of us please pray Ps. 18:28 "For it is you who light my lamp: the Lord my God lightens my darkness." In many ways we are in the dark as to what is the best way to reach these people, may the Lord bring to light what we should teach and how best to communicate the truth.

Be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus,

Al and Edie

House Calls

We have left Kolkata, in West Bengal India. The last night we were there we did house calls. The first home we visited was a family of believers. The man asked some practical questions that Alan answered for him from the scripture. They were such a sweet family. The second home was multi-family members of which the wife of the owner was the only believer. The son had slit his wrists recently and been in a hospital for 1month. He isn’t any better but had honest and hard questions to ask Alan. He did the best he could to answer them and then prayed passionately for him. His name is Michael. If you think of him pray for his salvation. Their other son died of a brain tumor.

We spent last night in Delhi and are headed this morning for Varanasi. It is a village with only 4 million people. We have to be discreet and careful since it is a strict Hindu area. We return here the next day and spend 2 days meeting with people here . On Friday the 10^th we leave late at night and then arrive at 3:15pm on the 10^th in Fort Dodge. Funny huh?

India is a difficult place to see. But what a light the Christians are here. They are really in contrast to their culture around them.

Thanks for listening and praying for us. We know your prayers are a sweet aroma to God on our behalf.

Love In Christ,

Al and Edie

Experiencing India

It is quite amazing to be here to say the least. So many people and mostly appear to be living in squalor. It is hard to imagine so many people infirmed, begging and washing themselves on the street corners from an old fashioned pump. We are in Bengal, which is communist-ruled, but the conditions are awful. Still Christ has compassion and so should we. His church is growing too despite all the bondage from Hinduism. It seems like hopelessness is all around. We leave here to go to a poorer and darker part of India tomorrow. This is Calcutta, which is considered to have more upper caste people. We are far from where William Carey started it all. I really wished we could have visited his residence.

I purchased fabric to make a sari but don’t know if I can have it done tomorrow or not.

We were out sightseeing last night and were by the river. A pile of garbage that people and birds were going through then several groups of people came to release idols in the river. Some were covered with colored dust. It was a sight to actually see people doing this bizarre thing. A train went by, old just like the movies and what a ride that would be. Not luxurious by any stretch of the imagination.

We are headed to do house visits (pastoral). You can’t imagine what it is like to be doing so many things without schedules or routine. In other words, it is always new situations we are having to quickly adapt to as best we can.

Our accommodations are comfortable. It is twin beds, but we figured out how to heat the water heater so will have a warm shower in the morning though the bathroom we don’t cool and it is very hot. It is also very humid. I actually had swelled ankles for the first time. I am drinking lots of water. The city traffic is just outside our window and is quite noisy. It quieted down though later and didn’t really get going until 6 am. I hope we can find a way to send this. The Cafe is closed today so will try tomorrow .

Love and miss you all,

Edie

Leaving Bangkok

We don’t have Internet access here so are going to try an Internet cafe down the street. Here it goes….

Hello Fellow Sojourners!

We finished out in Bangkok making new friends in ministry, and feeling like we learned a lot from our African brother who spoke on “Discipling the Nations” and the need for a mind transformed by the Word of God. Just as we in America tend to act in ways that are more “American” than Christian, other cultures do the same, only with more contrast, such as pagan practices of sprinkling salt on the ground around a house to keep the spirits away, as we heard one teacher in Africa was teaching. Unless people can see the difference of applying what God’s word says concerning who we worship, how we worship, how we are to think and live, etc., it is hindering to the change that can really be seen. We thought it interesting that we saw more visible signs of idol worship in the city of Bangkok than when we were there in January but then they were celebrating Christmas with trees , Christmas music etc.

We are now here in India. We are having plenty of interaction with nationals who are pastoring either full time or part time. The testimonies have been amazing. One member of our team from a church in Calif. said in the Middle East God is working through dreams and visions. Here it seems He is working through wonderful healings. The Hindu religion has been here from hundreds of years, encouraging worship of a lot gods. Many problems in families and the society are occurring because of that. People who come to Christ really know He is the true God, and that they have been rescued out of a harsh and oppressive religion. It isn’t the miracle that is important as much as it is the God who did it to show them He is good and just, and to worship Him is to obey Him. They are not looking to have all their problems solved because they see He doesn’t heal all the time but they know they need to just submit to His sovereign will, no matter what He chooses to do.

Alan and I both have enjoyed getting to know the congregation this morning. We had many opportunities to pray for different ones individually. That is a practice I wish we could incorporate more in our church fellowships. They love prayer and praising the Lord. Alan preached a powerful message about the man healed of his blindness but didn’t see who healed him. Eventually he was thrown out of the synagogue and when Jesus approached the man who now could see and told him who he was, the man fell down and worshipped Him. He now was given spiritual sight, but of course his problems didn’t go away---in fact he had new ones. Very culturally understandable here.

In the way of prayer requests for Alan and I , I ask for stamina. Good rest helps too. Also we ask that you join us in asking God to give us extraordinary ability to hear and understand what the Nationals are saying even if it is in English. Our hearing is not too sharp to begin with and we are finding it extremely hard to enter conversations or repeat names because we just can’t hear them clearly. So we ask you lift that up for us. We also would like the Lord to show us if he would have us to work here and what his will is in all of this. We need wisdom and the Spirit to prepare hearts for Alan’s presentation tomorrow regarding Church based training.

Thank you for your support and prayers,

Edie

A Day in the Forbidden City

We are learning so much about the “ways “ of different countries. In particular, we are learning so much about the places where we are able to spend time with the missionaries serving there. For instance, we learned that China doesn’t want their airplanes left out of the country. So if they think there is a chance they won’t get back because of weather or I suppose other reasons they will not let their planes leave the original location. Hence our plane that was supposed to leave from Mongolia at 4:30 pm did not leave until after midnight (we had some snow and wind). When we arrived at the Beijing airport it was deserted but fortunately our missionary arranged for us to have documentation that our plane had been delayed and we missed our connection. Through the lost luggage place we made headway and were given a hotel room free of charge. Only one condition, there were 2 to a room and our team member, Gene had to share a room with a stranger. We dropped into bed at 5:30am and got up around 10am. I had my first shower since we left, it felt heavenly!

Since we were here and given a special visa to move around without having to pay for the expensive visa, we thought we couldn't ignore this opportunity. So we went to the Forbidden City and Tienanmen Square. It was sobering to think of the history involved here and also the total absence of God everywhere. There is an elevating of man and the nation of China here. We have found food to be expensive here too. Glad this is only a short stop.

We are growing in a deeper appreciation for our missionaries everywhere. In Mongolia there is a cost to their physical bodies as well as sacrifices in other ways. Their dedication to the call and their love of the people is testimony to the grace our God gives when we live eternally. I am so grateful for the opportunity I (Edie) have had to give the women time to share with me, to give me a glimpse of their lives and offer opportunity to hear their concerns. It was a blessing to be able to see them light up as they would share. One lady said specifically that they usually have men visit but it was nice to have a woman come too for a change.

Alan and Gene gave a lengthy assessment of the work they are doing in Mongolia and the priorities they are working on. Their stand for a translation that does not use the same word for God as for Buddha is so important. A fight that won’t be necessarily be won in the near future but worthwhile in continuing to press with love among other believing foreigners. Another issue is foreign money funding pastors for full time work. Because of the culture this is a very detrimental system for the Mongolians. Several groups do it but our missionaries have refrained. It has many points to it’s argument that I won’t go into. The most positive outcome of all of this is that they have a team in Mongolia that is extraordinary. Their love and willingness to work through things together is admirable. A model for us all!! Al and Gene also talked through some things that they saw that would be good to work towards, perhaps some needs for setting up ways to help bring change but overall no red flags whatsoever.

Finally about to board for Bangkok.

So long…Edie

Another day in Mongolia

How are all of you doing? We are feeling very well. We are taking an immunity booster vitamin which is doing it’s job. We are packed up ready to be picked up. We are meeting with the team to do an evaluation of them. I am not a part of this except to be present.

It’s Snowing! It did this yesterday too but only for a few hours and then the sun came out. It is very dry here with little vegetation. Their power plants are coal burning which causes terrible pollution. Part of the sacrifice of serving here is the toll it takes on your physical life.

We have been learning a significant amount of historical and cultural information regarding Mongolia. The reason is that it factors into the development of the church as well as reaching the people here. Some interesting things you may not know is that many still live in Ghers, round homes, shaped like a circus tent with a stove pipe up through the middle of the roof. The people have been nomadic herders but that lifestyle is becoming increasingly more difficult to sustain a family.

The country has been vulnerable to domination by Russia and China. They are doing their best to make alliances with the west to keep from that happening again. Because of their history of it has become inherent in their culture to be “chameleon” like. Accommodating themselves when it most benefits them. Hence a challenge is to discern whether someone is truly born again or simply doing what it takes to gain financially from foreigners.

Another interesting consideration is how the Chinese worked to change the fierce Mongolian warrior to a more peace loving person. They did this by killing all their horses and encouraging the practice of Buddhism (pacifistic). When the Russians came they destroyed the temples and tried to wipe out the religious practices. Today there is a resurgence of Buddhism and animism. The Mongolian people are struggling to find their identity. They idolize Genghis Khan a violent dictator as well.

Thank you for continuing to lift us up in prayer,

Edie

Mongolian Mindset

Today was a day of further broadening our perspective of the Mongolian mindset. After a delightful breakfast with a key missionary family, and some stimulating conversation of the state of the Christian church both in Mongolia and America, we then set out to see a Russian monument of the peaceful relationship with Mongolia.

The communists relinquished control of the country in 1990. This monument is alongside a huge statue of Buddha and a hillside picture of the national hero Genghis Khan. Piles of rocks with religious paraphernalia dotted the countryside. These are places where people have left shrines to appeal to the gods to help them or to appease the spirits. We then went to town, parked and walked aways as there were one shop after another of Buddhist religious stuff, until you arrived at the Buddhist temple. There was a HUGE statue again of Buddha inside.

The struggle here is over a bible translation that was not professionally done. Among the problems with this translation is that they use the same word for God as for Buddha. As it was explained to us, the meaning of Buddha brings a mental picture of a man for the Mongolian. Whereas when we speak of God we don’t have a mental picture but rather a concept of the attributes of God. Sadly the Christian community is divided over the issue and it looks like a losing battle. More discussion on this issue is coming. We would appreciate your prayers for all the Christians involved in this issue and for us to be used of God however He so desires. This is such a dark place and the gospel is needed here badly. It is easy to see how Satan could take advantage of the opportunity to stir discord. It gives great hope and encouragement to know we can approach the throne of grace and appeal for His leading and understanding in matters like these.

Thanks for listening, and now I ask you stop and pray for the Word to be translated by trained linguists so that God’s people can know Him in Truth and Worship Him as the only true God.

Edie