Saturday, April 30, 2011

February-April

A Good Reminder

This past week, my two main agenda items were planning for the eyeglass clinic we'll be hosting in June and preparing for a catechism-like class that we want to start next week with a few people from our Thursday night Bible study. Unfortunately, I couldn't find an English or Spanish catechism to help me with the planning, and I needed the registration lists from past eyeglass clinics and couldn't find those either. As a result, I didn't make as much progress with my tasks as I would have liked.

Today as Katie and I were coming home from Bible study in Lucumo, my phone rang. Cindy from Hotel Rumi Wasi was calling to let me know that they were cleaning out some storage at the hotel, and they found 2 boxes worth of stuff that Anthony had stored there. She wanted to know if we could come get it, so we stopped by on our way home.

We opened the first box to make sure it was ours, and sitting right on top was a Luther's Small Catechism in Spanish. There were 29 more in the box. We also found about 10 Spanish Bibles, some crafts and hygiene items that short-term teams had left, and, at the very bottom, the registration list from the 2009 eyeglass clinic.

The hotel workers had no idea why Katie and I kept looking at each other wide-eyed, smiling and laughing. Katie said it all when she looked at me and mouthed, "Thanks, God."

Thanks for what I was looking for, and thank you for the reminder that you're with us, in control, and faithful.

Monday, April 25, 2011

Strangers in a Strange Land

There are several places in the Bible that remind us that we are strangers on earth and heaven is our home. That always made sense to me on an intellectual level, but actually living as a foreigner has given me a deeper understanding of why it's important to see ourselves as strangers on earth, whether we live in our native countries or not.

As a foreigner, I'm able to observe the culture more objectively, and as a result it's easier to recognize aspects of the culture that go against God's Word. Because of the objective perspective, it seems easier to be in the world, but not of the world because of my lack of emotional ties to the culture and language.

I also don't get caught up in fashion and pop culture here. I follow what's going on so that I can join in conversations or have an idea of what people are talking about, but again, it's not something that consumes me. In the States I like to have clothes that are in fashion and look nice, and here I just wear what I have and don't care nearly as much. I think a big part of that is the fact that I'm going to look "out of place" and "foreign" no matter what I wear, so it's not worth the money or effort. I have what Katie and I like to call "the gringo card" which is like a free pass to not follow the cultural norms and not feel bad about it.

The language barrier is another thing that keeps my perspective objective as a foreigner. Even though I understand almost everything that's said, and I can communicate what I need to, Spanish is not my native language, so it's not my heart language. I have an intellectual understanding of the language, but I don't feel it. I think God has used that "unfeeling" Spanish heart of mine to be more bold in speaking His Word. I'm not as ashamed as I sometimes am in the States because I don't always feel what I'm saying, and I'm not as afraid of being judged since I will be here only a short time.

Because of my objective perspective, lack of many emotional ties, and the knowledge that I have another home (the good old USA), I don't worry about earthquakes or other natural disasters as much as the natives do. If something like that happens, they lose their house and everything they've worked for, whereas I lose a few possessions and, if things get too bad, I get to go home.

Along those same lines, living in a foreign land brings a greater appreciation and longing for home. As much as I love living in Peru right now and want to stay for at least another year, home is always on the back of my mind. I'm constantly comparing this foreign land to my native land, looking forward to my furlough in August, and thinking about what I'll do when I move back there permanently. There's just a very comforting, peaceful feeling that I get when I think of being back home.

So how exactly has all of this made me realize how brilliant God is when he describes us as strangers in a strange land? Well...

1) When you live with the objective perspective of a foreigner, you feel less attached to earthly things. "Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things." Colossians 3:2
2) It naturally gives us a "foreign card" that excuses us from living like the world lives (the social norms), trapped in sin and meaningless activity. "Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul." 1 Peter 2:11
3) It makes us more bold in preaching God's Word because we have a limited amount of time on earth, and it doesn't matter if people judge us for it or not. "We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us." 2 Corinthians 5:20a
4) It keeps us from worrying about what will happen to us in this world because we know we have a far superior home waiting for us that will bring us eternal comfort and peace. "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." John 16:33
5) And finally, it gives us a longing for our eternal home with our Savior. "But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ." Philippians 3:20

You can't have Gospel without the Law, and you can't truly appreciate Home until you've lived as a Stranger. "Remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ." Ephesians 2:13

Friday, April 8, 2011

If Only...

A few weeks ago at Bible study, we were reading through Exodus, and someone mentioned the movie, "The Ten Commandments" with Charleton Heston. Most of the people present knew the story of Moses because of this movie. However, there was one man, Lucho, who had never actually watched the whole movie (it is a long one). We were teasing him about falling asleep, and he responded with, "Well, maybe if Moses was played by Chuck Norris, I'd be able to stay awake." That would make the movie more...uh...interesting, but I think a drop-kick, shoot-em-up Moses would stray a little too far from the Biblical text.

As humans, we are always coming up with excuses for why we don't follow through or ways that something could be better or easier. We see this throughout the Bible and in ourselves today. If only I were a better speaker, if I were older, if I were younger, if I was prettier, if I was faster, and on and on. And unfortunately, we make excuses like these for our weak faith and doubts.

How often have we heard things like, "I would believe in God if He still spoke to us today like He did to the people in the Old Testament." Or "If I had lived in Jesus' time and seen his miracles, it would be easier to believe." Well, if you've ever said this or heard this, you're in good company.

Exhibit A: People who had seen Jesus feed the 5,000 approached him and said to him, "What miraculous sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? Our forefathers ate the manna in the desert; as it is written: 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'" John 6:30-31

They wanted a sign greater than manna from heaven. Ironically they were talking to God himself, the Bread of Life, "the bread that comes down from heaven, which a man may eat and not die." John 6:50

But the people did have a point. Their ancestors had seen the Red Sea part, they escaped the Egyptians, they were led by God in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. On top of all that, God sent them all the food they needed each and every day. It definitely would have been easy for that group of people to believe in God, right?

Exhibit B: The Israelites response upon seeing the Egyptians after escaping from Egypt and witnessing ten plagues: "What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? Didn't we say to you in Egypt, 'Leave us alone; let us serve the Egyptians'? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the desert!" Exodus 14:11-12

Their response after crossing the Red Sea and escaping from the Egyptians: "If only we had died by the Lord's hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death." Exodus 16:3

Let's not forget the fact that they didn't listen to the Lord's instructions for collecting the manna (they collected for more than a day at a time), and shortly thereafter they made a golden calf and worshipped it.

It's easy to judge the Israelites in the Bible. One would think that seeing all those miracles would make it pretty easy to know there was a God and believe in Him. But I wonder if they ever thought to themselves, "You know, God promised us a Messiah, but that was (5, 10, 500, 1000) years ago. If I just knew how much longer I'd have to wait or who the Messiah would be or how he would save us, I would believe. If I just knew exactly how things would go, and if God would write it down and I could have a copy of this plan so I didn't have to memorize the whole thing, I could teach it to my kids so much easier, and then I would know that God is God and that he saves us."

Maybe the people in Jesus' time thought, "He teaches with such authority, and he does miracles, but I just don't see how he will be able to save us. If I knew exactly how he planned to do that, and he didn't talk in parables so much, I'd believe in him."

Well, here we are. Exhibit C: We've got a written copy of God's plan, and it reveals to us "the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ" (Ephesians 1:9). We know exactly when the Messiah came, who he was, what he taught, and how he saved us. We know how God worked from the beginning of the world to the time of Jesus to bring everything to completion. We even know how he continues to work today. I'd say we have it made.

May we all live feeling blessed and privileged to have access to the Word of God, the "words of eternal life." John 6:68

"...blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed...But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name." John 20:29, 31

Friday, April 1, 2011

God's Sense of Humor

I've been leading a Bible study on John for the past few weeks here in Lunahuana. I'm so thankful that we have a faithful group who comes to study the Word with us, especially considering the patience they have to have with me as I struggle to find the right words and struggle even more to pronounce them correctly. Their patience is commendable, as is their sense of humor.

Last night as we were studying John chapter 6, we were talking about Jesus feeding the 5,000. Before he performs the miracle, Jesus asks Philip, "Where shall we buy the bread for these people to eat?" Philip sees no solution to this problem, even though he's already seen Jesus perform several signs and miracles. I wanted to make the point that man is generally slow to believe even after witnessing amazing things God has done. So, I started translating that statement to Spanish, using the word "hombres" (men). I should have used "seres humanos" (human beings) or maybe even "el hombre" (man), because basically what I started saying was, "men are slow to..." and before I could finish my statement, all the men started giving me a hard time about being a feminist and pretended like they were offended. We all got a good laugh out of my mistake.

I've heard that people remember things better when they have emotional ties, like laughter, to what they are learning. This is just another example of God's amazing design. I love His sense of humor (Exhibit A: moving a schedule-oriented, on-time, blonde girl to Latin America) and the fact that He gifted us with them as well. Not only do we get to enjoy the laughter that comes from them, but it helps us learn more and be healthier.

"Our mouths were filled with laughter, our tongues with songs of joy. Then is was said among the nations, 'The Lord has done great things for them.'" - Psalm 126:2