(NOTE: I'm actually back in the States again after some grueling hours in airplanes and airports. I didn't get around to posting while more while I was there because of scheduling and the lack of good internet access. There'll be a few more posts to follow concerning this trip so stay tuned.)
It's been a couple of really good days in the field here and today we will wrap things up.
Yesterday took us to three different villages and we shared with about 200 people. The first home was a second visit for us and our first chance to start an I Am Second bible study. For a large part of this and all of our visits today, we Americans don't play much of a role. That's just fine with me as the whole purpose of these visits is to equip these new believers and the local pastors with the tools and knowledge to learn and study about God on their own. After all, the commandment is "Go and make disciples", not to simply make believers. The Americans make their introductions, sharing about our country, participating in small talk with the people, and then sharing the gospel or our testimony with them.
The nationals then take over and lead the group in an I Am Second bible study. When properly done, these studies really do a great job of doing what most every teacher would agree is about the toughest thing to get a student to do: actually think about the topic at hand. The format encourages discussion and participation and for the most part, there are really no wrong answers that a participant can give.
At the end of our study time we asked for another appointment to study again. A young lady, mother of four, quickly volunteered her home for the next day. What was great about this was that you could tell from her enthusiasm and the way that she participated in the study that she wasn't volunteering her home simply for the honor of having Americans visit, but because she was eager to learn more.
Today we as Americans will do the last of our visits. The nationals will continue the studies in the homes that we've started them in. We will also be installing water filtration systems in six villages, a pretty desperate need here. As I mentioned in an earlier post, the level of poverty here is unimagineable to most Americans. Last night Matt, Jeff, and I were in the hotel room and the TV was on in the background. A commercial for one of the aid groups like Feed The Children came on. Jeff said "I never would have thought that I would be seeing one of these kids." referring to the haunting images on the screen.
I replied "You haven't seen one of them. You've seen thousands of them."
It's been a couple of really good days in the field here and today we will wrap things up.
Yesterday took us to three different villages and we shared with about 200 people. The first home was a second visit for us and our first chance to start an I Am Second bible study. For a large part of this and all of our visits today, we Americans don't play much of a role. That's just fine with me as the whole purpose of these visits is to equip these new believers and the local pastors with the tools and knowledge to learn and study about God on their own. After all, the commandment is "Go and make disciples", not to simply make believers. The Americans make their introductions, sharing about our country, participating in small talk with the people, and then sharing the gospel or our testimony with them.
At the end of our study time we asked for another appointment to study again. A young lady, mother of four, quickly volunteered her home for the next day. What was great about this was that you could tell from her enthusiasm and the way that she participated in the study that she wasn't volunteering her home simply for the honor of having Americans visit, but because she was eager to learn more.
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| Charles leading a group of interested young men in an I Am Second study. |
I replied "You haven't seen one of them. You've seen thousands of them."
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