We Have a BIG Family

            For the first couple of days that I was in Kenya again, I was able to go to a retreat for missionary women. It was quite a reverse culture shock for me to be surrounded by English-speaking women, eating chocolate, having a pedicure, making cards, and listening to a speaker! It was a wonderful time of fellowship and a wonderful refreshment for the ladies. They pour themselves out constantly and they rarely get a break! They work in difficult environments and they cherish the little pieces of home that come with the women’s retreat.

            It was encouraging to me to be around the incredibly real, down-to-earth women at the retreat. I had come from Tanzania where there were people from three separate continents together, working for the Lord. I felt such unity in Christ—like we were close simply because of our relationships with Jesus. This connection was not surprising though because we are all a part of the same family now. It was wonderful to come from that fellowship right into another, different community of believers. These women came from all over Kenya and maybe other parts of Africa. I was able to feel the unity of Christ in both settings—the Tanzanian Bush and the Kenyan retreat center.

            The unity of the Body of Christ doesn’t change, whether you’re in the Bush of Tanzania, the more advanced places of Kenya, or in the privileged country of the United States. We are children of God and we are connected through the blood of Christ.

            I wonder if we remember that when we interact with our brothers and sisters in Christ. I wonder if we are aware of the strong bonds that we possess. Do we take advantage of them by encouraging each other, building each other up in our faith? Or do we consider Jesus’ death to be so meaningless? Powerless? No. It unites us beyond culture, beyond location or circumstance, beyond personality or opinion. And God had called us to Unity, Peace, Encouragement, Love, Grace, Joy, and Bearing with one another. Let us not waste the precious time we have. But let us remember our kinship and our Father, who sacrificed more than we can comprehend to give us access to His Power, Love, Community, and Inheritance. We do not walk this road alone but together.

Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more, as you see the day drawing near.

Hebrews 10:23-25

He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.

1 Thessalonians 5:10-11

You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Galatians 3:26-29

Crossing the Border

            My time in the Bush was up at the end of January. It was time for me to take a shuttle (basically a big van) from Arusha, Tanzania, back to Nairobi, Kenya. This five-hour journey is a slightly nerve-racking experience—especially when you do it alone. Thankfully I’d made the same trip before on my way into Tanzania and I hadn’t been alone then. So I knew a little of what I’d have to do at the border, but I was still a bit nervous.

            At the border, the shuttle stopped and everyone got off. We all went through one line, crossed the “no man’s land,” and went through another line. The goal is to get through it all as quickly as possible so the shuttle driver doesn’t leave you behind. He wants to keep on schedule, you see.

            Thank the Lord, I got across the border and the bus in plenty of time. Plenty of time for the Maasai people to offer me all sorts of good things through the open van door. One man even offered to trade me his carved giraffe for my watch. I really appreciate my watch, so even though it was a tempting offer, I had to decline.

            As our bus was starting up, I realized that the man who’d been sitting next to me was not back yet. His bag and coat were still there, but he was missing. I was right behind the driver. I tapped him on the shoulder and said, “Are we leaving right now? He’s not back yet!” I pointed to the seat beside me. The driver said, “I know. We cannot wait much longer. We will stop at the rest stop soon for ten minutes.” I knew he was talking about the rest stop that was just beyond the border. They always stop there because they charge you to use the restrooms at the border.

            By this time I was freaking out a bit. This poor man was going to be left behind! How would he ever find us again? How would he get his stuff back? How would he continue his journey? Oh, it was all so unreal! Was this really happening?! What was I going to do? I had to do something! I was terrified for the man!

            When we stopped at the rest stop, I had meager hope that the man would know where to find us, let alone have a way to get to us in time. I contemplated what I should do. I considered I would have to talk to the bus driver and get him to go back and look for the poor guy. I even thought I would threaten to tell his superiors that he left someone behind if he refused to go back! The courage was beginning to well up within me as I prayed that God would help me and the man would be taken care of. BUT, miracle of miracles, the man showed up on the back of a picki picki (motorcycle) at the last minute! Thank God! He had arrived in the knick of time! He had been detained at the border, for whatever reason. I was just impressed that he knew where to find us and he got to us in time! And I didn’t have to threaten the driver! The tension left me completely and the rest of the journey to Nairobi was quite peaceful and uneventful. Thank you, Lord!

                             (Mountain through the shuttle window)

Getting a Little Help with Breakfast One Morning :)

Breath-Taking Views

This shot shows the valley between two mountainish hills. There's a river running through them. I lived far off in the distance of this picture, to the right of the river.

This photo was taken on an early morning as we were on our way to a Duah (Doo-ah, "funeral") that was a three hour walk away.

Made Out of the Same Fabric

Here are two stories that make me smile.

            This little girl’s name is Zooeeah. She is an adorably shy little 4 year old. Her family is the closest neighbor of the missionary women I was living with. She has three older brothers. Now Zooeeah is a spunky little girl, stubborn sometimes, and willful. One time she was trying to do a task (I forget what it was) and she was having trouble. Several people asked if they could help her, including the white women and one of her brothers. No, she did not want their help. “I can do it,” she said. Along comes her oldest brother, Shada. He says, “Can I help you, Zooeeah?” She adoringly looks into his eyes and, in her cute little voice, says, “Eh (Yes).” Another time, Zooeeah was playing with a make shift “car.” It was really a stick with a jug attached at the end of it. She would push it around and pretend it was a car. She and her brother, Moody, who is closest to her in age, started fighting over it. He finally gave in to her, but she started crying. Her father looked up from where he’d been hoeing and observing, and said, “Why are you upset? You got what you wanted.” These stories make me smile because they show how similar people are even when their cultures are totally different. Little girls look up to their older (in her case, oldest) brothers in any culture! There is sibling rivalry too-and often it is between the siblings who are closest in age! People are the same, no matter where they live or in what circumstances. We have the same emotions of affection and frustration and desires for independence and attention. 

            The man in the picture above was my home-stay dad, named D'Atoo but called Baba Asha (Father of Asha). One time, a couple of the women went to visit his home. When they walked into the front of his fenced in “yard,” they found him in a very amusing situation. He was sitting on a stool with nothing on except a kanga (basically a piece of cloth that all the women wear over their skirts) wrapped around his waist. That picture is funny in and of itself. But two of his granddaughters were also there, and he was allowing them to braid his hair! All the people in the village have very short hair, and they are somehow still able to braid it into cornrows. It is not a manly thing to do though. This older man was sitting, wearing women’s clothing, letting his granddaughters braid his hair. That makes me smile because he was so patient with them, having fun allowing them to be silly. At one point he said, “Alright, that is enough. Stop now.” And they begged him to let them keep going. Don’t we all want people to let us be goofy and do silly things to them? I remember when my sister and I convinced our brother to let us dress him up like a girl, put make-up on him, and take pictures. It was a silly thing to do, but don't we all want to do things like that at one time or another?

You see, we are truly all made from the same fabric. Maybe we have different patterns, but the material is the same. God made us; He is the engineer. He has given us ways in which we can relate to each and every human being on the planet. He has created us to be unique too. In that way, we can share points of common interest, yet still learn new perspectives from our differences.

Jesus "Became a Motilone"

            While I was in Tanzania, I was required to read a book called Bruchko. It was very eye-opening to me and I would like to share with you some of the insights that I gleaned from it. There aren’t too many spoilers in here. I think you’d still be able to enjoy the book if you want to read it. It’s fast-paced and exciting!

            Bruchko is an autobiography of Bruce Olson, a missionary to the Motilone Indians. As a young man, Bruce had a fascination with studying the Bible in its original languages (Greek, Hebrew). Through his studies, he came to the realization that it is possible to have a personal relationship with Jesus, and his life was changed. He began to feel called to missions, though he experienced much opposition and rejection from his family, the mission board, and even Christians on the mission field. Undeterred, Olson pressed on to fulfill God’s call on his life, even when he had no earthly support whatsoever.

            Even though Olson’s way seemed unsure and his decisions almost reckless sometimes, God’s faithful guidance and provision are evident through the entire plot. Olson eventually reached the Motilone Indians, whom he had been called to serve. Everyone feared these Indians because no one had ever been able to venture close to them without being killed. God allowed a way for Bruce to live among them though. He patiently learned their language and culture and endured many hardships along the way.

            It was five years before God decided to open the door of the gospel to the Indians. God’s power was revealed in the way He spoke through the Motilone culture and provided salvation through the testimony of the first Motilone who accepted Christ. A revival swept across villages and through the entire tribe. The Motilones became a pillar of faith and evangelism throughout the country and beyond. Bruce’s humble existence in the remote jungle of Columbia changed the course of the Motilone people’s lives and even the entire country!

            One thing that struck me while reading this account is that God’s approval is far greater than man’s approval. When the mission board rejected Bruce, he realized that God was still calling him to go. He needed to follow God’s voice even if humans did not agree. A similar situation occurred when Bruce was with the Yuko Indians, before he met the Motilones. Bruce said, looking back, “The Yukos didn’t particularly want me to stay, but God did. And I would have to follow God” (77). Bruce was learning that rejection from people was not necessarily an indicator of direction from God or his ultimate worth or success in life.

            In the same way, many modern peoples have a negative view of more primitive, obscure people groups. People think they are worthless, unintelligent, unimportant. They reject them. But God does not. He wants them to have relationships with Him. He sent His Son to die for them. He created them. He sends missionaries so that they will hear the gospel. These unreached groups are important in God’s eyes, even though many people reject them.

            Another thing that struck me was the fact that God speaks into each culture so that people can have an understanding of who He is and how He relates to them. When salvation swept across the Motilone villages, the catalyst was Olson’s main companion, Bobby, the first man to receive Jesus. That man, being respected among his people, was able to explain the gospel to all his people during a festival, through a common way of telling important news—singing a song in a hammock.

            Bobby’s presentation of the gospel used analogies that made sense to his people and made Jesus a real, relevant Savior. For example, it is culturally appropriate in the U.S. to say, “I want to invite Jesus to live inside my heart.” For the Motilone culture, Bobby explained that they should, “tie their hammocks into Jesus.” That analogy makes sense to them because they sleep in hammocks. It is a metaphor of complete trust and dependence. Olson observed, “[God] had spoken in the Motilone language and through the Motilone culture. He had not even had to use me” (146). God had prepared the hearts of the Motione people to hear His Word. He placed different ideas into their culture, which made the gospel completely applicable, and he presented it in a familiar, culturally normative way.

            This truth opens my eyes to the vast variety of God’s character, that He can descend to every culture in the world because He created them all and cares for them. I realize that I can be closed minded and narrow in my thinking. My ideas can conform to the American ideas of Christianity, and be judgmental of anything different. I realize now that God is so much bigger than my idea of Him. God is not judgmental, and each people group sees Him a bit differently because of their backgrounds, upbringing, culture, and surroundings. This is not being pluralistic; it is simply not putting God in a box based on my own “American” preconceived ideas or misconceptions about how Christianity should be manifested and spread.

            Ultimately, Bruchko strengthened my faith in the sovereignty of God and his care and understanding of all peoples.

How Can They Believe in the One of Whom They Have Not Heard?

            “We don’t even know him!” The woman exclaimed, exasperated. The woman was confused by the story the missionary doctors had told her about Jesus. They had come for just a short-term clinic. Because the people were desperate for medical attention, they walked hours to get to the clinic (This sounds horrendous to Americans who hardly ever walk five minutes to the grocery store. Let it be known that this is more normal in Africa.). There they would hear stories about Jesus, the Savior of the world. And surely the Lord was planting seeds, whetting appetites, and glorifying his name by revealing it to these people, right? Yes, I choose to believe so with all my heart.

            But I also believe that those seeds would never be watered except for the long-term commitment of the missionaries that I had the joy of living with for one month. The story of the doctors and the Alagweesa woman is true, told to me by one of my companions in Tanzania. The missionary had overheard a conversation between some women about Jesus and the stories the doctors were telling. When she inquired, the village women admitted their confusion, and who could blame them? Without the missionaries faithful presence, their efforts and successes to live among the villagers, learn their language and culture, the Africans could go to their graves without understanding the truth behind the stories they were told about Jesus.

            You see, for these Africans, Jesus does not fit into their worldview. Their worldview is a mixture of superstitious tribal customs, witchcraft, and Islam. When you mention Jesus, they think, “Oh, it is all good. You and I, we worship the same god. Oh, it is all good.” Their pluralistic thinking stems from their willingness to half-heartedly accept Islam while continuing to practice their traditional customs. What’s the difference if they add one more religion to the mix? The problem is also that they have no contextual knowledge of the Bible, of Creation and the Fall. Without growing up with that foundation, it is understandable that they would be confused by Jesus’ seeming importance—their Redemption.

            That is why the goal of the Christians I was living with is to do far more than just present the gospel to the villagers. They want to live with them, learn from them, immerse themselves in the culture and language, build relationships and trust, and share the gospel through everyday life.  Already, they have lived in the village for over a year, yet the first year was mainly language learning and relationship building. They have shared their beliefs through the way they live. God has blessed them with good relationships among their neighbors and language helpers. It is no secret that they are Christians. Since their language skills have greatly progressed, they have recently started doing tri-lingual church services in the village (Alagweesa, Kiswahili, English). In order to do these services, they ask their language helpers to assist them to ensure their translation of the Bible is correct and their sermons make sense grammatically. They have also started personal ministries with small groups of people. Two women teach English to some children who are motivated and want to move on to better education. Another woman reads the Bible individually with women, one of whom was rescued from demon possession.  Because of this, several people have been exposed to the gospel and the Christians have been able to talk with people and pray over them about issues such as demon possession and faithfulness in marriage.

            None of these things would be possible if the Christians had not lowered themselves to becoming learners—learners of culture, language, lifestyle, and humility. And this is only the beginning for them. Their ultimate goal is to present stories of the Bible in the Creation-Fall-Redemption sequence. Therefore, the people can understand the context for Jesus and why he is important to them. It is important that the missionaries have a grasp of the local culture and have firm relationships, because they need to be able to relate the gospel directly to that culture.  As God reveals himself uniquely to each person, he also reveals himself uniquely to each culture. In order for the gospel to be relevant to a people group, they must have it relate to things that they already know.

            For instance, Bruce Olson  (Bruchko) did not preach the gospel until he had lived with the Motilone Indians for five years. When he did preach the gospel, he knew the culture. He was able to relate the gospel to things that the Indians understood. They had a story of a man who became an ant so that he could help them build better homes and not scare them away. That is a parallel to Jesus becoming like humans to save us and not to punish us. That is how Bruchko presented the gospel to them—by using language and ideas that made sense to their culture.

            In the same way, the missionaries I was with have to find creative ways to relate the gospel to the Alagwa culture.  There is already one way they know that the gospel relates. There is a custom in the tribe that, if there has been an extremely devastating rift in a relationship (like recently when a man was angry and tried to kill his son), then, in order to restore that relationship, an animal must be sacrificed and the guts of the animal have to be smeared on both people. Only then can the two be reconciled. In the same way, Jesus was the sacrifice that allowed our relationship with the Lord to be reconciled.

            So, presenting the gospel requires long-term commitment, strong relationships and trust, and cultural knowledge and understanding. For the people to receive and understand the gospel, they need to understand the biblical context for Jesus, his importance, and their need for salvation, and be presented with it in their appropriate cultural context.

            Of course, God works in even the smallest of actions and He calls people to Himself in all sorts of ways. Therefore, what I have just stated is by no means a formula that one hundred percent always brings salvation. Only the Holy Spirit brings salvation to the hearts of men. We are but His vessels. We try to understand other people though and think about being in their shoes. What would make you more likely to believe a message that someone was telling you? Would you accept it if they were strangers and began their message mid-way through, with people’s names that you didn’t recognize, and figures of speech that made no sense to you? It might make you curious, but would you really care to listen? Or would you accept it if it were a friend that you trusted and he told you from the beginning, explaining who the characters were and using phrases that made sense to you?

            I’d venture to guess that the second one is more likely to be your choice. And, if you think about it, Jesus did the same thing by coming down to live among us. He “emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men…he humbled himself” (Phil. 2:7,8). We would not have listened to Him if He had stayed in heaven and made a way for salvation from His lofty abode. No, and we are called to have the same attitude as Christ (Phil 2:5). Therefore we need to humble ourselves to get to know the people around us, care for them, and understand through God’s perfect discernment how they would best receive the gospel—and then share it!