My Sticky Valentine...Loving Real, Loving Well

I am so honored to introduce you to my latest Guest Branch, my darling daughter, Elizabeth ... better known to all of us as Beth. Beth and Nate, her husband of ten-plus years, started out as good friends in high school. Years later, at just the right time, their real-life friendship blossomed into something more.

So in this post from her own blog, Beth describes a real-life romance, celebrating Valentines Day in a real-life way.

A profoundly real truth for us all!

Beth and Nate

My Sticky Valentine

Valentine’s Day has always been a sticky holiday for my husband and I. My decorating style may be romantic at times, but our style as a couple just doesn't jive with all the over the top drama associated with the holiday.  My date night of choice for example would be to go play a rousing game of billiards and flirt competitively with my husband over drinks rather than exchange sonnets professing our love.  There is just something that doesn't ring true in my heart if it has to be cloaked in too much pomp and circumstance.

We usually just play it safe though and go the humorous route, oh yeah, and chocolate...lots and lots of chocolate.  Honestly I would be hard pressed to find an occasion in life where Godiva would not be appropriate.

But last year I couldn't opt-out with humor.  Just a couple of months prior we had taken a large financial hit with our rental home, having to replace the entire AC unit as well as completing some other major repairs. While we were trying to regain our footing, we found out that we were expecting.  Being the efficient military couple, forced to travel light, we had gotten rid of all the paraphernalia required for a child under the age of 4.

It wasn't earth shattering and truly the latter one was a blessing but by Valentines day we were left feeling stressed and emotionally tired.

I set out to compose a valentine that was financially cheap, emotionally extravagant and honestly whimsical.

After composing the message, I printed it out on card stock folding it at the top twice, leaving 1/2in allowance between the folds, to fit a box of my husband's favorite chewing gum on the inside.

Then I left it on the seat of his car.

It's not perfect.  In fact I can't help thinking how my graphic designer brother might react to my type choice and spacing.  I guess its only fitting. My husband and I are not perfect either but in our imperfection, perfect for each other and isn't that what Valentines day is all about?

Visit Beth at her blog Rental Pretty

Rental Pretty

I'm not afraid to experiment with unconventional materials, snatch up and repurpose rejected items waiting for the landfill,and occasionally fail in the process.

It's all in the effort to transform this bland rental space from rental ready to RentalPretty.

A Better Resurrection

Kenya, africa

It was just a week ago that we heard the story of students having been massacred at a university in Kenya.  We were stunned but not surprised!  Radical Islamic terrorists made their mark again!

But I would venture to guess, few of us have heard the following story of hope and deliverance in the name of Jesus.  At least, I hadn't until I received an email from our brother in the Lord, Sammy Maina.  Sammy is a pastor of a small congregation in Nairobi.  (I posted his personal story of faith last year at Easter time.)

I was overjoyed to learn about the Lord's rescue, all because of the courage of the indwelling Christ in and through one young student.  Here is Sammy's account in his own words:

These are the last of the last days and seeing ugly scenes are inevitable as happened when 147 people were killed in a college in my country by terrorists last week. The word of God must be fulfilled.

A man within the group of students attacked told the attackers that he would not denounce Christ just because they held a gun at him. He held his bible in a room that had others in dozens while saying these words. He said if God had seen it fit for him to die by the gun so be it! But he was not ready to denounce that Jesus is his Lord. These words from him made the gunman to shiver and his mind seemed to have been taken away from what he intended to do. He stood for a while just guessing amid the frightened faces of many in that cubicle, save for this bold young man. He asked them all in that cubicle to flee for their lives as fast as they could, not firing a single bullet at them.  Thus this group of people that had hidden in that cubicle were all saved because of one man whose mind has been made up fully to live and die for Jesus Christ.

Christ the Messiah of God is the holder of our destiny. He knows our purpose for our living and what mission we must accomplish. If we have full trust in Him, we cannot perish if the reason of our coming is not fully met. We live predestined lives and our part is just to walk the path of that road as a train would move on a railway with its driver, less bothered about its motion for he is more than sure it is on the right track. I hear too that in  aeroplanes, pilots would after reaching some heights just relax and take coffee as the plane just moves on its predestined air route. The Lord is faithful!

We all are part of something bigger than ourselves, aren't we?

I can't help but think of what I call my

worldview passage

, Hebrews 11 & 12.  There we read of believer after believer who lived by faith.  Sometimes good things happened as they walked by faith, but sometimes "bad" things happened as they walked by faith.

But no matter what the outcome, they persevered by faith.  I especially love the following passage:

[By faith]

Women received back their dead, raised to life again. There were others who were tortured, refusing to be released so that they might gain an even better resurrection.  Some faced jeers and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were put to death by stoning; they were sawed in two; they were killed by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated— the world was not worthy of them.
Hebrews 11:35-38 NIV

Sammy

That Kenyan student was hoping for a better resurrection as he stood firm in his allegiance to Christ.  The world is not worthy of such as him. May we be encouraged to hold on to the reigning King of the world, our Lord Jesus Christ, no matter the outcome on this earth...by faith!

Dancing with Jesus

stephanie

May I introduce my long-time friend and sister in the Lord, Stephanie Curtis?  Stephanie and I met at Community Bible Chapel when our kiddos were very little.  And then low and behold, I ended up being her son Aaron's kindergarten teacher for several months (as a sub) at Scoffield Christian School in Dallas.

But Stephanie and I really connected in studying the word together with Chuck Swindoll and Insight for Living...via radio, of course.  Stephanie and I, along with another friend, would study all week, using Chuck's study guides, and then we would get together and discuss the Word, followed by prayer for our families and each other.

Those were precious days indeed...those days as young moms, sharing with the Lord and with each other!

Then there came moves to Atlanta (Stephanie) and Dayton (Jan)...

The years passed...and kids grew and married...and the grandkids started appearing.  Once a year communication through Christmas letters (Stephanie being more faithful at it than I was, I have to admit) kept us loosely connected.

Then entered facebook! Oh blessed facebook!  And my friend Stephanie came back into my life.

So I am honored to introduce you to my godly friend Stephanie as my latest Guest Branch. Be blessed and amazed as you read her story of a precious intimacy with her Savior and ours!

Thank you so much, Stephanie, for  sharing your experience with us...to God be all the glory for His pleasure and purpose in our generation to the next! (Acts 13:36)

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waltz

One generation will commend your works to another; they will tell of your mighty acts. They will speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty, and I will meditate on your wonderful works. Psalm 145: 3,4

About fifteen years ago, I began experiencing an intimacy with God I hadn't known before. In part, this was prompted by our involvement as intercessors in a cantata based on the Song of Solomon. Don and I began studying the Song of Solomon.  I felt a closeness, an intimacy with God, that was quite amazing. My life seemed like a date with the God of the universe.

There was a man in our church at that time named Lamar. He was old school Pentecostal, and he loved the Lord with every inch of his long, lanky body.  He always sat in the front row and when he got excited about the Lord, he started dancing. He hooted and hollered and kicked up his heels, doing sort of whirly-gig across the room. We are a charismatic church, but he trumped anything the rest of us did to show enthusiasm for God.

One Sunday the worship team did a beautiful melodic praise song. I began imagining that Jesus was asking me to dance and I danced with him in my mind. Of course, that sort of imagination can get tricky because you have to do it so that you don't really put a face on Jesus. After all, we don't know what he looked like. I could run the risk of putting Don's face there. Or, worse yet, George Clooney's face.

So, to my best ability, I imagined Jesus, in sort of a fuzzy way, dancing with me. It was so lovely. We must have been doing a waltz. I think he was in a tux. I was really into it and loving the moment—so much so that I didn't notice the tempo and rhythm transition to the next song, which was “Mercy is Falling.” The one with the refrain that goes “Hey Ho I receive your glory; Hey Ho I receive your grace, Hey Ho I will dance forever more.”

As the worship team was ramping up that rousing song, I felt someone tapping me on the shoulder. It startled me out of my reverie and to my surprise, Lamar was there asking me to dance. I was in shock.  Lamar had never asked anyone to dance with him before. Well, before I had a chance to get too nervous, he pulled me up to the front and there I was, whirly- gigging across the front of the room with Lamar!  When the song was over, Lamar told me the most amazing thing. He said that God had told him to ask me to dance.

Isn't that so incredible and so like our God? God has often shown me His humorous side. In this case, there I was imagining dancing a waltz with Jesus and He tells someone to ask me to dance---kicking and leaping across the room.

But, besides a little chuckle, there were observations and lessons there for me. First, the obvious observation. What a miracle. What a boost to my faith that God, when I was imagining dancing with Jesus, would actually tell someone to ask me to dance. That still blows me away!

One  lesson is that we never know what to expect when it comes to our God. We want God in our circumstances and in our lives, but we are clueless as to what that is going to look like. So, we sometimes don't recognize Him. Comparing our lives to a dance with the Lord, when He taps us on the shoulder and wants to dance with us, we are sometimes expecting a different kind of dance; a different kind song.

This brings me back to intimacy with God. It doesn't always feel like a date, or a slow dance, with the God of the universe. But, God is ever Present and ever waiting for us to dance with him.

Arrested by the Resurrected Christ: a Love Story!

Last fall in my adult writing/language class, I met a sweet sister in the Lord, Lisa Williams.  All of us, teachers and students alike, fell in love with Lisa because of her kind, loving, gentle ways.  But it wasn't long before we learned that Lisa was walking through a deep valley.  She had lost her husband Ernie, the love of her life, barely a year before she started classes with us. I don't know much about her dear husband Ernie.   But from what Lisa has shared, we could tell he was another brother who had been "arrested by the Risen Christ."  When he had encountered the living Christ, his life was never the same again.

Lisa & Ernie

So listen in as Lisa shares about this precious brother...and rejoice in the "multi-faceted" ways the Lord shows forth His glory by birthing children into His kingdom.

Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself; is not puffed up; Does not behave rudely; does not seek its own; is not provoked, thinks no evil... 1 Corinthians 13: 4,5

If I were going to describe my wonderful, awesome husband to you, and I am, I would have to say that this scripture in Corinthians would describe him, his heart,  and how he lived his life. When thinking of this scripture, I am also reminded of another scripture In James chapter 1: 17th verse, which says that "every good and perfect gift comes down from the father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning."   And that is what my husband, the love of my life, was -- a precious and valuable gift that was given to me.

My husband was the most patient and kind man I have ever known, always preferring someone else over himself.  He was also very genuine and charming. It's no wonder why he quickly won my heart.  But most of all, he loved and served Jesus, which drew us quickly together in a common bond, which quickly grew and flourished and became a deep love also for each other.   Ernie did not come to know the Lord till he was a teenager.  One night in a theater, he had gone with a youth group to see a movie called Time To Run, a Billy Graham gospel film.   After the movie, they had an altar call, and he went forward and prayed to receive Jesus as Lord and Savior, which changed him forever.

This was a true act of the Holy Spirit that day, drawing him.   He didn't have a lot of trust in the ministers who were at the church he was attending.   He had had many of them make promises to him after his dad had passed away at the young age of 13, promising him they would come spend time with him, but they never did.

Shortly after that, he was baptized and later he began to be used in the gifts, particularly the prophetic gifts, which worked so well with his very social personality.   He loved people and enjoyed interacting with them.  He loved to share the word with others and to discuss it.  He led many to know Jesus as Lord and Savior.

After Ernie and I met and then married in September of 1982, we served together in our church in many different areas, like visitation, children's church, and many different out reaches.  For 30 wonderful years, I had the pure joy of walking side by side with him, serving God with him and loving this truly awesome man, whom I love with ever fiber of my being.  Often when I pray, I thank the Lord and express to him saying,

"Lord,  you must really love me to have given him to me as my husband, to love and cherish.  He has brought so much love into my life!"

On October 24th 2012, Ernie went home to be with the Lord.  It was the most difficult day of my life.  My heart felt shattered and broken into.  I felt I could not go on without him.  Though my heart was broken, I know one day I will be with him again in heaven, where we will be together for all of eternity.

Lisa & Ernie's wedding

It's hard to walk alone Without your love and your embrace My life has become an empty place It's hard to walk alone

It's hard to wake each day And know you won't be in it To walk with me and talk things through Just like we always used to do Oh, it's so hard to walk alone

It's hard to take each step That leads from where we were So much in love for sure It's hard to walk alone

I wish I had you still You meant the world to me Your love was my greatest blessing And there will never be another like you

I pray the Lord will see me through And heal my grieving heart Until that day when we never again will part It's so hard to walk alone

By Lisa Williams

Pray for our dear sister as she grabs hold of the Lover of her soul who has promised,

For your Maker is your husband,    the Lord of hosts is his name... Isaiah 54:5

Father of the fatherless and protector of widows    is God in his holy habitation. Psalm 68:5

[youtuber youtube='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7uKp8IRSQw&feature=share']

Arrested by the Risen Christ: Sammy's Story

Sammy

In January of this year, I met a brother in the Lord through my blog.  His name is Sammy, and he and his family live in Nairobi, Kenya.   This dear brother reminds me of what the Lord says in the letter of James:

...has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? James 2:5 ESV

Sammy is truly rich in faith!  I have come to love this brother in the Lord and his sweet wife and children.  And I think you will too as you read of his heart for God and his testimony of faith and growth in Christ.

So no matter what "Christian tradition" you are a part of, please open your heart as you read his story in his own words.  You will be blessed.

Kenya, africa

I received Christ as a young boy at  my teen age. Both my parents have been Christians since i knew them and had been strict with our upbringing in God fearing ways. I was born from a major  slums in Nairobi where life is very harsh and  as a 2nd born in a family of 9 kids . 6 boys and 3 girls.  It was mandatory for us all to attend church. We attended a nearby Baptist church. So in my childhood years, i followed God because of  my parents'  imposed discipline not from my own will. Hence i stayed in the church doing the "good works".  As a teen of about 15 years old,  I would volunteer coming to church early than anyone else,  arranging and dusting the wooden pews and placing the hymnals at the intended places. I would do this again after the church service and go home. All this while i never really wanted to receive Christ because i knew i was just alright with God. I sure did act as a saved person and many knew that i was. i in fact accompanied other believers in the  to door witnessing but deep inside me i knew though i was doing all these things, there was a vacuum in my heart. A soft spoken voice would always say in me: "Sammy though you are doing good things, you need to receive him in your heart and confess with your tongue then you will be free. You need your name in the book of Life"

One Sunday morning, as i attended to my normal duties of wiping the pews, pastor entered the church and finding me alone, gazed at what i was doing. He stood there for some couple of minutes not saying a word but just looking. He then called me to him and lovingly, placing his hand on my shoulders said this words which i remember very vividly as if it were said yesterday: "Sammy, you do well every Sunday to do God's work, but it will be good for you, to give your life to Jesus" .  He said nothing else.This words were hot into my heart. I felt great sorrow in my heart and was grieved inside me. i had lost most of the valuable time trying to please God by works. I never knew that pastor had known that i wasn't saved all this while so i felt betrayed inside me. On that day, a visiting pastor who came later confirmed what the Spirit was saying to me since morning. He preached from the book of Ephesians 2: 8-10: Grace through faith not works. I was norvous at the Alter call for  i feared what people would say and think about me especially them that knew i was a brother in the Lord with them all this while.Non the less  the Spirit of God gave me boldness to responding to the call of Jesus.   For the first time, in honesty and truth through faith, i received the Lord through the power of that word: Grace not works!!

Now i was down to it with the ministry without any fear. I volunteered teaching the Sunday school class and taught the teens class for many years. Later I was elevated to being the Sunday school supritendant. I joined the church choir on the bass line.The church youth also chose me to be  their chairperson and so i arranged for  rallies, seminar meetings, prayer sessions, youth camps and vigil nights of prayer. In short, ministry was building up. God's favor was upon me.I had an urge within me that told me I need Him more in my life. I desired to be filled by His mighty power of the Holy Spirit. I desired what the pentecostal brethren had in them whenever they would visit our church there was something different. We rarely met for prayer as Baptists save for Sunday service. Growth was slow and retarded among the brethren here. Non the less i pursued on .

One Friday,while holding a vigil night at  an invited  Church, and while deep in prayer, pouring myself to the Lord, i felt the power of God come to me like a mighty wind.  For the first time i uttered words that i knew them not in any language glorifying God. I was filled with the Holy Spirit. Romans 8:26 became real to me that night and I prayed with much groanings in my inner man. My Christian life took another turn. This had not been taught in church for it is not even part of the doctrine of the Baptist church. We had been taught that you don't have to be filled by any power of God since you came to Him by his power. Which is correct but denies the fact of daily inward filling of God's presence.  In short, after this experience, many youth members whom i led were filled too of the power of the Holy Spirit and submitted themselves more in prayer and loving God than before. There was a dramatic change in the way we worshipped God In Church. People in church who thirsted for rightiousness started to experience new life in the kingdom. There was joy and much grace despite the poverty situation of the people. However, this did not go well with the elders and pastor.I never had favor with them no more. So on one side we wanted to love the elders and respect them in a Godly way but on the other hand we worshiped in fear of what they would say if God moved mightly. People would be desperate for God at this time. Hungry and thirsty for His word. Worship was intesified in the power of the Holy Spirit and the love for the Lord was so great amongst brethren.. Several of us went out to evangelise in open air meetings in villages and streets and God moved mightly confirming His word in salvation and healing.God moved with us wherever we went or were invited to share the gospel of Jesus.On one occasion we were banned from visiting baptist churches for we had turned things the pentecostal way they said.It was not welcome to pastor for one to be excited for the gospel and surely we never understood him. Many brethren were scattered to other churches. I had personally to move later .

I have since learnt the secret of seeking the Lord with the whole of my heart, mind and strength and knowing Him intimately on a very personal level.He has revealed to me many things in the Spirit through his word.Always telling me that i don't belong to this world but to the kingdom. There is  cry in my heart for many are getting lost in worldly ways.Many are forgotten by the church today and are unreached through the message of repentance unto God.It is a pity that religion instead of Christ who sets us free in all things takes center stage in the body of Christ today.While it is a good thing to be prospered and healed, it serves nothing if souls are not changing into the likeness of Christ.God is speaking to me about reaching out to families because many are without Christ and the family unity is the start of sincere love for God. I  know one day God will enable me build a prayer center home. A place where members of the family will have prayer retreats seeking answers to God instead of running to fun fares. I know God is faithful in all things. He Has been taking me through a process of growth in the inner man that i may be of use to Him as a living sacrifice in the call.  There has been a lot of prunning going through this process. Sometimes it has been hard and painful going through it in this life and my family is affected too. But God knows all things.

Lydia & children

Sammy's children

Sammy's childen

Sammy's son

Sammy niece

The Fleeting Sands of Time

The clock is ticking...the 2012 calendar pages are getting ready to close... And as they do, I'm happy to introduce you to another "guest branch."  Sue Cutting is a long-time friend, sister in the Lord, fellow homeschooler of yesteryear...but most of all a devout and earnest follower of our Lord Jesus Christ.

In this short piece, Sue writes from a "senior" perspective about the passage of time.  But this is not just for us seniors.  It's also for all younger folk:  moms, dads, singles...even teenagers.  Why?  Because life is fleeting...it's a vapor, a mist as the book of James says,

What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.  James 4:14

So join me in reading  and reflecting.  Thank you, Sue, for these wise words.

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Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of time…Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. Ephesians 5:15-17

A collection of hourglasses is gathered on a small, round table in our home. They are visible reminders of time relentlessly and silently slipping away.  At this point in our lives, more minutes are gone than yet remain and we want to be on guard against “time thieves” waiting to steal our treasured moments.

We remind ourselves that we can’t afford to waste time worrying. It is far better to pray, meditate on truth – and trust God.  We can’t afford to squander our days chasing fantasies or amassing more trinkets destined to rust, corrode or be eaten by moths.  No time left to “impress people” at the expense of pleasing God. No time left to expect others to meet the deepest needs of our hearts – because only God can do that.

We have these fleeting sands of time to live intentionally, thankfully, being mindful of the beauty around us and the multitude of blessings from a good God.  

For God so loved the world that He sent his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16

The privilege and responsibility of sharing this Good News with succeeding generations becomes more precious and pressing as the hourglass empties.

Sue & Tom Cutting

The Rest of the Story: John replies to "41 YEARS with the Same Man"

John on Thanksgiving at Beth's

Jan recently wrote about our anniversary, referencing The Ransom of Red Chief,

a short story in which the kidnappers end up paying the father to take his Dennis the Menace son back.  The context of our discussion was her plans to go for a walk around our daughter’s neighborhood in California.  She said, “If you don’t hear from me after a while, come looking for me in case someone has kidnapped me."

I said, “Well, they wouldn’t realize the prize they have.”  Because she is a prize to me and has been a blessing, not only to me for forty-one years, but also to her children, grand children, brothers, sisters, mom, family, friends, acquaintances, students, and random one-time encounters.  Everyone is her friend, and she is always thinking of ways to help someone else.  In fact, the kidnappers would most likely become the target of her concerns.

Jan smiled, “Yeah, like the ransom of Red Chief, right?”

“That’s not what I meant,” I wisely replied.  But upon further reflection, her kind intentions might drive the kidnappers to distraction from their intended purpose and cause them to offer to pay me to take her back.  That’s just the kind of person she is.

More "Moi Joy" -- a Response

Many of you have read my December post on what the Lord is doing among the Moi people of Papua, Indonesia through the Browns and other New Tribes missionaries. This week I received a response to that post from a dear family friend, Ron Hoffman.  Ron and his wife Eileen are themselves retired missionaries.  Ron was moved, after reading Rich's story, to share his meditations.

You may want to take a peek at Rich Brown's post to refresh your memory.  Then read and be encouraged by Ron's inspiring devotional response:

After reading the Browns’ experience with the Moi People, my mind went to the Apostle Paul when he visited the city of Corinth. Here was a city known to be without the true God.  It was common to hear at the time that when one was self-indulgent and controlled by sensuality, he was said to be “living like a Corinthian.”

When Paul began preaching at Corinth, the Lord spoke to him in a vision one night,

Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent.  For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city. Acts 18:9, 10 NIV

As with the Browns, Paul was seeking to “see a church born from ashes.”  Apparently, fear that this might not happen crept into Paul’s life.   The Lord was reminding Paul that it was His Church and His people.  Paul’s responsibility was to present the Gospel, and it was the Holy Spirit who would bring the Corinthians to salvation.  The results – Paul stayed a year and a half teaching the Word of God as the church continued to grow.

Isn’t it wonderful to realize that the Lord is still bringing people to Himself from all over the world through men and women like the Browns?  We all agree with Rich in speaking about our part in this process:

"He desired to use people like me, who are naturally selfish and unloving to show the Moi His entirely selfless and loving Son. The plan really didn’t make sense, but strength being made perfect in weakness is a foreign concept anyway.”

The thrilling results of their ministry encourage all of us.  It is wonderful to hear,

“I am totally overwhelmed…I thank you, I praise you Creator.”

And, this is from a man who all his life lived in a society “full of fear, hate, and treachery” one that had “frequent sickness and homicides” and “had lost all knowledge of God.”  Then we hear that not only do the Moi believers call out “Thank you Creator!” and “Praise you Creator!” but also have written countless songs of praise and thanksgiving.

These words of praise invite us to visit the future scene in Heaven found in Revelation 4 and 5.  As we cast our crowns before God, all believers will be exclaiming:

You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you have created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being…You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation…worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise…To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power forever and ever. Rev. 4:11; 5:9, 12, 13 NIV

Isn’t it exciting?  We might be standing next to a Moi as we experience this ultimate praise service!

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Ron shares his own story:

Ministry did not begin for me until later in life.  I was raised in a somewhat religious home but did not trust Christ as Savior until I was 20 years old at a religious retreat in Berchtesgaden, Germany while serving in the U. S. Army.

Ten years later, after marrying my wife, Eileen, and as a father of Tim and Sharon, I was called by the Lord to get further Bible training at Moody Bible Institute.  At that time, a friendship was nurtured from a one-time meeting in PA with John and Jan Loyd.

Ron & Eileen Hoffman

After graduation from Moody Bible Institute in 1976, we began ministry with American Missionary Fellowship – locating in S IL as Area Missionaries to local rural churches andCamp WE WO SE JE.  In 1992 – locating near Nashville TN - we began ministry as a Regional Director with AMF.  This involved leadership with AMF missionaries in 7 Mid South states. Our son and family continued the ministry in S IL and at Camp WE WO SE JE.

Since retiring in 2007 from the Regional Director position, Eileen and I have enjoyed visiting with family and friends in TN and IL.  I also enjoy writing, assisting in camping ministries, woodworking, gardening and home improvement projects.

Ron Hoffman 1/22/12

"Moi" Joy!

I'm so excited to share this story with you.   Some of you may have read my Christmas post MEGA-JOY.  Well, here is a real life sequel...with all the drama and joy of a present day coming of Emmanuel. Rich Brown (my first "guest branch") is our real life storyteller.  He and his wife Karen, along with their sweet daughters Atalee, Alyssa, and Ashlynn, are church planters with New Tribes Mission among the Moi people of Papua, Indonesia.  After years of seeming fruitlessness, the Lord has brought forth an amazing harvest of new believers among the Moi.

Now that the frenzy of Christmas shopping and wrapping and unwrapping is over, take a few moments to read Rich's account of this incredible work of God.  And be sure to witness the joy and thanksgiving that broke through for one man at the moment of salvation (shown in the video at the end).

Rich speaking:

What would it be like if you were born among a small people group of 1000 surrounded by beautiful jungle covered mountains?  Doesn’t sound too bad, maybe.  Well, what if the 1000 people you lived among were full of fear, hate, and treachery?  What initially might have sounded like a romantic setting suddenly becomes dark and oppressive.  This is the setting that the Moi people were born into.

Before the year 2000 the Moi were totally untouched and unknown by the outside world.  They were literally stuck in time; living just like their ancestors from centuries before.  Death was all too real with an infant mortality rate of 75%.  If they managed to be the one in four that survived childhood they likely weren’t going to live long because of frequent sickness and homicide.   Their world was sad. What makes their story even more heart wrenching is the fact that they were not just victims of circumstance, but rather, reapers of what they and their ancestors before them had sown.  They lost all knowledge of God.  In fact they did not even have a name for God, fearing only the evil spirits.  Their ancestors had followed after a course that led to a hopeless eternity from God.  All the generations that followed had also fallen headlong into the depths of a world without the knowledge of God.

Romans 1 so clearly shows this downward spiral mankind is on.  We, like the Moi, had chosen a path 180 degrees from Him.  In Romans 1:21 it says, “For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.” The desire to worship and thank God had been lost.  Although man did not seek God, He in His goodness had sought man.  He promised a Deliverer through Eve and many generations later that promise was fulfilled through His Son, Jesus.  After Jesus presented himself as a perfect sacrifice for mankind through his death, he rose from the dead three days later.  In His final words on earth he sent his followers to share the Good News about Him to all mankind.  He had made a way for people who were lost in their sins and blinded by Satan, the ruler of this present darkness, to be freed once and for all.  Hebrews 2:14b-15 says, “that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.”

In God’s goodness and love He had a plan for bringing the Moi people back to Himself.  For hundreds of years God had been looking down at this people group, with their own distinct language and culture, desiring that they might know Him.  Yet the Moi continued to live as they had for centuries without the knowledge of God.

Romans 10:14 says, “But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them?”

Before we were ever born God knew who would go and tell the Moi.

He would use a total of four different families to reach this small people group.  He desired to use people like me, who are naturally selfish and unloving to show the Moi His entirely selfless and loving Son.  The plan really didn’t make sense, but strength being made perfect in weakness is a foreign concept anyway.

In June of 2000 three families, with New Tribes Mission, left their relatives and homes to live among the newly discovered Moi people.  Supported by a network of believers around the world they intended to see a church born from ashes.

They began the long process of learning the language and culture of the Moi so when God’s Word was finally taught it would speak to their hearts.  Day in and day out they were salt and light to the Moi.  Medical care was one of the means of showing God’s love and compassion.  Sadly, only three years after living among the Moi, one of the families had to leave for health reasons.  In August 2005 we joined the team.  By this time the Moi language had been analyzed and reduced to writing.  Chronological Bible teaching lessons were being developed into Moi and accompanying scripture portions were being translated.  We actually had to come up with a name for God since they didn’t have one.  Taking the verb “anegite”, to create, we made the name, “Anegitemee”, the Creator.  It literally meant, “the one who creates”.

Finally, after years of hard work the time had come to present the truth about the Creator.  None of the Moi knew who this “Creator” was, but eight of the Moi were curious enough to find out.  For seven weeks they sat through the teaching.  Listening to nine lessons a week they were taken from Creation to Christ.  They were blown away by power and majesty of the Creator.  He was so powerful he could speak the worlds into existence and yet so loving He would walk in the garden with Adam and Eve, the pinnacle of His creation.

The faith of the eight who would believe continued to grow.  As they intently listened to the unfolding of God’s plan they saw His awesome power not only displayed in creation, but also in judgment of sin.  He wiped out the world with a flood and saved the eight who believed in Him.  He set a bow in the sky as a promise to never again destroy the world by flood.  They learned for the first time that the rainbow wasn’t an evil spirit’s walking stick, as they had always heard.  Right after the lessons on Noah and the flood, as we were leaving the small schoolhouse, we looked up and saw a beautiful rainbow.  The Moi for the first time in their history spoke words of praise and thanksgiving, “Thank you Creator!  It is a sign of your promise.  Praise you Creator!”

That day marked the first day where words of praise and thanksgiving were finally given to the one to whom all praise and thanksgiving are due.

A few weeks later the first eight of the Moi understood and believed in the substitutionary death of Jesus on their behalf.  He was their spotless lamb who had taken away their sins.  They were forgiven.  It was fitting that the Creator would make them into new creations in Christ.  They were never the same.

God used those first eight Moi believers to turn their world upside down.  They were radically changed by “The Creator’s Talk”.  From the testimony of their changed lives the Moi church has grown from eight to more than 120 believers.  The believers have written countless songs of praise and thanksgiving.

It says in Psalm 107:22, And let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving, and tell of his deeds in songs of JOY!

Here is Mbanapeoma’s testimony only moments after understanding and believing what Christ had done for him on the cross.  Notice his first ever words of praise and thanksgiving given to Him who alone is worthy.  Praise you Creator God!

If you would like to contact Rich and Karen and learn more about their lives and ministry among the Moi, please visit Rich's blog.

To read a response by Ron Hoffman, an AMF missionary...

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URGENT PRAYER NEED for the Moi: Rich received word that there's a tribal war going on right now.  It's possible that some of the new Moi believers may have been killed in that war. Isn't it amazing to think that some of those who not long ago were in darkness and without God could now be in the arms of their Savior! Read Rich's Christmas letter to learn more...but above all, please PRAY!!!!!