Wednesday, June 30, 2004

more purpose

So I "hemmed and hawwed" (who made up that cliche?) for a while then called up the Friesan Family. I talked with them a bit and found out where their needs were... Dude, this awesome family has 5 (yes five) children out with them on the mission field! Their biggest need is for help with the home schooling, Not something I've ever participated in before, but that's never stopped me before!
So les, how is it a mission trip if you're just homeschooling?


another really good question! There are so many people involved with missions and reaching people, and each member of a team is a "link in the chain".
les... you seem to have a problem with cliches today

yes, it's seems as though I've found something that works for the moment... I think I'll run with it for a while.


back to the answer... Wycliffe Bible translators... the name pretty much sums them up don't you think? www.wycliffe.ca check them out for the whole summation. So, there is a need for the Bible to be translated into MANY MANY languages... can you believe that? That TODAY there are still close to 3,000 languages groups that haven't got the word of God in their hands!!!! There are people who haven't heard God's promises to them in their mother tongue.....ever. There are languages out there that still don't have written word....period. whoa.... hard to take in. I heard one story about a project where a national said something to the effect of "God didn't come for my people, He came only for those who could speak His language". WHOA, we've GOT to get on this! People are dieing and not hearing the word of God.... can you imagine? TODAY this is happening people! So, what goes into translating a language? SO MUCH! There's the most obvious, the most visible, those who are trained in linguistics... directly in the field, working with nationals. Then there are SO many more behind them! There are the office people sorting data that's brought in, there are the teachers who train those going to the field, there are those who are surveying the needs for other languages (will one translation make do for two dialects?), there are nationals in training to take part in the work of translations, There are people running the conference centres where the other missionaries and nationals train, there are people who sort out the details of missionaries returning on furlough, there are people finding plane tickets, there are people running training centres here, there are people teaching the children of the missionaries in the field (THAT'S ME!!!!!) and then there are the financial supporters of all these people.... without any of these... if one part was missing, nothing would happen.

So, like you I get to be a link in the chain... supporting in some way, if only to give back a few minutes in the day to hard working (and overworked!) missionaries out in the field....
les, what are the people you'll be working with/for doing over in Togo?


that my dear friend I'll tell you later... I've got to run

Tuesday, June 29, 2004

not a rant, a purpose

so, i've decided that by not having internet at home-this whole updating the blog is a little difficult. but you'll all be happy to know that i do really have a computer in my possession now, old as it may be, it's functioning and that's all that's necessary.
today i called doug lindsay (one of the awesome wycliffe dudes in toronto) about looking into ticket costs for togo. lol, in writing this i just remembered that i was to email him tonight with some info... consider it done.
i have to admit that i really haven't been as organized as i have been in the past. however, this time it's alot different. it's like a "create your own adventure" book. instead of everything being layed out for me, an agenda handed over, or even a list of "do's and don'ts in your preparation", i'm to figure it all out on my own. which is probably good, because i know i tend to lean pretty heavily on my supports, something like this is really going to streach me. if i was given a list i'd just plod right through it and give no thought to the workings, or even my purpose in going.
hey les, what is the purpose of this trip? you never did say.

well well, let me let you in on the details!
I LOVE JESUS, I love to tell people about Jesus, I love to travel, and I love to enable people to reach their full potential.... that pretty much sums me up right there... ok, you can add in that I can be a real cranky pants at times, and... ok, well lets not go into the workings of me too much right here right now. Anyway, those are my passions, so missions are something that I've become pretty passionate about. For awhile now I've been in contact with a pretty cool family (Rose and Roy Tibbit) in Ptbo, who have been putting a bug in my ear about Wycliffe Bible Translators... not too long ago I really felt God was putting on my heart that I should be getting active again in short term projects, so I called up Rose and explained what was on my heart.
I want to be able to serve in a capacity that will enable people who are trained for a certain job... to do their job! I don't want to be a "make work project" (that's been my mantra for a few months now) I don't want to go somewhere, take the full time missionaries away from their job while they spend time training me to do a job that they could do ten times faster on their own, just to have me leave as I start to catch on... and yes, there are good intentions out there from people who want "hands on, make a difference in the field right now". But really, it's a lot of stress on the full timers, and it can take up a lot of their MUCH sought after time! Instead, I want to do the ho-hum, doldrums work that I can just pick up and run with, or anything that is tying up the missionaries keeping them from completing the most pressing tasks... filing? tutoring? licking envelopes? answering the phone? copying data?? I don't really care, as long as it frees them up to get out in the field and do what they are trained to do!!!!
So, that aside, Rose laughed and said "isn't God funny?" and went on to say that she had just received an email (or maybe it was a report from a meeting?) outlining the need for someone to do just that... relieve the load... helping with homeschooling!!! Dude, I have never been a homeschooler, but I knew that I had to get into contact with that family.
getting late, I'll tell you more tommorow.

Friday, June 18, 2004

waking

Ah, a new day.
This morning I was woken by my alarm clock, I've set it back to the radio. I thought for awhile that I'd enjoy listening to a favorite CD to wake up... but there doesn't seem to be a way to change the song choice... I can only listen to the same song so many mornings in a row... flash backs of Groundhog Day greet me as I wake.... BUT I don't get any of the stations that I'd like to hear in the morning so that leaves me (mostly) foul. Back to my story. I woke up, hit the snooze button.woke up, hit the snooze button. woke up, hit the snooze button. then there was a knock at my door! funny as my room mate doesn't talk to people in the morning, then I remembered, "hey, my room mate isn't here, who's knocking on my door?" I'd forgotten that my friend Amanda has moved in for the two weeks while Sarah is away. (Hey Sarah, Amanda is staying over in the sun room while you're gone... I hope that's cool) HOW FUNNY to have a morning person in the house with me!!! She was much more awake than I was but had to share a story about a terrible dream she had (no, I won't give the details, someone might think that it was true). I hope that it wasn't the room giving her the bad dreams.... or the trains.... I only counted 3 trains last night before I fell asleep, and none of them blew their whistles. So good. I'm used to being the morning person.
I plan on doing NOTHING this evening. Is that being anti-social?

Thursday, June 17, 2004

A first dash of spice....

Now people are going to think that I've started a cooking business... or even a recipe site... nope, sorry to dissapoint you.. the parsley (of course) comes from a little run in with a young lady named Jaymie... Jaymie sat in the back of her mother's car one day desperatly trying to remember my name... from the back of the car I hear "umm, parsley, will you play barbies with me?"
end of story...