Something new

Today begins my second year working as AZ Regional Rep.--new challenges and aventures await me and others.

Here's a story I want to pass onto you from my friends with a Firestone team in Africa:

A few weeks ago one of our teammates --Chifundo-- found that there was a snake in front of her house! In fear she immediately called a neighbor to come kill it for her. The boy came quickly and chopped off its head.Though the snake was now dead, it continued writhing on the ground, headless. As it was still moving around, Chifundo was suprised to find the boy picking up the snake without fear! She asked him why he wasn't afraid and he replied that though it still moved he knew it was, in fact, dead.
God used this story to teach me that I have no need to fear that which is powerless over us. I find it so easy, too easy, to tremble over the power of darkness; and yet we already know the end of the story, don't we? Satan's power is a lot like that of the snake... he continues to move... we see the effects of this... but his finality is certain!


One of the harsh realities of life here in _____, is the frequency of funerals. It is truly a part of everyday life; everything seems to revolve around them. Already, in the two years that we've lived here, "Jim" and I have been to many more funerals than we ever went to previously. As I sat at a funeral several months back, I began to wonder how it would be to be raised a ___, where death and dying is expected (not imagined away as we often do in the West) and dreaded. The sense of despair along with the wailing of the women is enough to break our hearts...they grieve without hope. I imagine how Jesus sees them in their grief; His longing is to comfort them, to make them His own.
Today we attended the funeral of our faithful houseworker, Mama Ellen. She worked for us since we first got here and began stumbling our way through ____. She saw our children grow and adapt to a new life and frequently brought her own two little children to play with ours. We suspected that she was sick for some time, though she worked hard up until two and a half weeks ago. These last few weeks were incredibly difficult for her as her body wasted away.
I went to her house this past Monday to see how she was doing, and it was apparent that she didn't have much time left. I chatted with her and prayed; another team member shared the gospel with her (she had been hearing so much of the Word over the last few years already!) and prayed with her again. The peace that she displayed in the last twenty-four hours really gives us hope that she made her peace with God!!
The last time I saw her, a group of us went to visit her again...we sang songs about God's love, we sang the Lord's Prayer. And we prayed with her...she so enjoyed that time! When we heard a few hours later that she had passed away, I imagined her in her new body without pain, in the presence of Jesus. While we're so very sad for her orphaned children, we are so happy for her. It was a real privilege to be a carrier of Peace.
Please pray for the millions of _____ who are dying without peace that can only come from Jesus. Pray that we will be able to share Jesus in a way that makes them hunger for more. Pray that our own focus would stay on Jesus...when we see the enormity of the task it becomes SO easy to grow discouraged. We are becoming more and more convinced that we're standing on a spiritual battleground. Please stand with us in prayer.