All to often missionaries become faces on cards held onto the fridge by a magnet. We have put them there because they spoke at our church or they are sponsored by our church so we take the prayer card and on the fridge it goes.
They should be more. As they are front line warriors taking the Good News of the Gospel to those we don't know or see and frankly most often don't want to know or see.
Hopeful we all can meet a missionary that will impact your life. Davey Jank is one of the those who impacted me. Although it was not until I was much older did the lessons he taught me as my camp counselor start to show fruit.
With the help of the internet I was able to track him down and reconnect. I now try to keep up to date with the work that he and his wife Marie are doing. I will be posting the updates they send as a way of taking them off the fridge and into my heart and hopefully your as well.
Find out more about the work that Davey and Marie are doing at www.ntm.org
Thursday, February 26, 2009
A Different Story
February 2009
Kalina and Tama'ye used to live in a mud-and-thatch house located along the
outer edge of the village. One of the main trails to the river happened to
lead right past their house, and when going to and from the river we would
often find them working outside, scraping away the persistent weeds that
dared spring up, or keeping their dirt yard swept clean of debris, or
putting the finishing touches on a new paddle or fish spear.
Their house wasn't very big, but it seemed to always be a bustling center of
activity as a steady stream of people stopped in to grab a bite to eat from
the seemingly bottomless fish pot, or to practice reading, or to just chat
and while the time away.
When Bible teaching began in the village, Kalina took it upon himself to
keep the meeting room clean and comfortable, at least to jungle standards.
During the teaching he would sit at the front of the room, tracking so
intently that he would sometimes blurt out the conclusion of a thought
before the teacher could.
Tama'ye, though, presented a different story, or more accurately, an
indifferent story. She just didn't seem to care at all about the Bible
teaching one way or the other. She attended the meetings, but more as a
social exercise than anything.
Her husband Kalina and her children were quick to embrace the Gospel, but
Tama'ye was a different story. She initially showed little inclination to
put her trust in the God of the Bible. Thankfully, over the course of time
she also became convinced, and joined her family in believing. No one
guessed that her faith would be the first to be put to the test.
Not too long ago, she fell ill. Initially no one was overly concerned, but
as days dragged into weeks, the tribal people began realizing that something
was seriously wrong with her. The village medic didn't have sufficient
training to diagnose her sickness, so her family loaded her onto a dugout
canoe and made the three-day trip out to town where they hoped a cure would
be prescribed; it never was.
Eventually, after having spent months taking their mother to doctors near
and far, and having exhausted their financial resources and medical
recourses, Tama'ye's two sons were left with little option other than to
take her back to the village so she could die among her own people.
Her family was distraught, but once again, Tama'ye was a different story.
She told everybody not to be sad; that she would soon be in heaven with God
and that she was happy and they should be, too. Choosing to ignore a
long-held tradition of her people, she said she didn't want to be buried
with her valuable possessions, but that her family should take all that was
hers and use it when she was gone. A few days later she died. Although
Kalina and others in the family and village still feel her absence deeply,
they can't help but thank God for the hope that Tama'ye both felt and shared
in her final days.
Please be praying for Kalina and others who continue to adjust to life
without Tama'ye. And thank you for the role you've played in bringing the
life-changing message of hope to this tribal family.
Davey and Marie Jank
Venezuela
Kalina and Tama'ye used to live in a mud-and-thatch house located along the
outer edge of the village. One of the main trails to the river happened to
lead right past their house, and when going to and from the river we would
often find them working outside, scraping away the persistent weeds that
dared spring up, or keeping their dirt yard swept clean of debris, or
putting the finishing touches on a new paddle or fish spear.
Their house wasn't very big, but it seemed to always be a bustling center of
activity as a steady stream of people stopped in to grab a bite to eat from
the seemingly bottomless fish pot, or to practice reading, or to just chat
and while the time away.
When Bible teaching began in the village, Kalina took it upon himself to
keep the meeting room clean and comfortable, at least to jungle standards.
During the teaching he would sit at the front of the room, tracking so
intently that he would sometimes blurt out the conclusion of a thought
before the teacher could.
Tama'ye, though, presented a different story, or more accurately, an
indifferent story. She just didn't seem to care at all about the Bible
teaching one way or the other. She attended the meetings, but more as a
social exercise than anything.
Her husband Kalina and her children were quick to embrace the Gospel, but
Tama'ye was a different story. She initially showed little inclination to
put her trust in the God of the Bible. Thankfully, over the course of time
she also became convinced, and joined her family in believing. No one
guessed that her faith would be the first to be put to the test.
Not too long ago, she fell ill. Initially no one was overly concerned, but
as days dragged into weeks, the tribal people began realizing that something
was seriously wrong with her. The village medic didn't have sufficient
training to diagnose her sickness, so her family loaded her onto a dugout
canoe and made the three-day trip out to town where they hoped a cure would
be prescribed; it never was.
Eventually, after having spent months taking their mother to doctors near
and far, and having exhausted their financial resources and medical
recourses, Tama'ye's two sons were left with little option other than to
take her back to the village so she could die among her own people.
Her family was distraught, but once again, Tama'ye was a different story.
She told everybody not to be sad; that she would soon be in heaven with God
and that she was happy and they should be, too. Choosing to ignore a
long-held tradition of her people, she said she didn't want to be buried
with her valuable possessions, but that her family should take all that was
hers and use it when she was gone. A few days later she died. Although
Kalina and others in the family and village still feel her absence deeply,
they can't help but thank God for the hope that Tama'ye both felt and shared
in her final days.
Please be praying for Kalina and others who continue to adjust to life
without Tama'ye. And thank you for the role you've played in bringing the
life-changing message of hope to this tribal family.
Davey and Marie Jank
Venezuela
Friday, February 6, 2009
Ponder
Its God's creation and nothing is an isolated event
He put the wheels in motion that no one can prevent
The things we see have a deeper meaning
than what we absorb in the first glance
Take the time to explore and find the complete impact
and know it's not just happenstance
Don Snider April 27, 2008
He put the wheels in motion that no one can prevent
The things we see have a deeper meaning
than what we absorb in the first glance
Take the time to explore and find the complete impact
and know it's not just happenstance
Don Snider April 27, 2008
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Fireproof
"FireProof"
Saturday night my wife and I sat down to our traditional movie night. The kids were in bed sleeping and we had a fresh batch of popcorn. We had been looking forward to borrowing this movie from our church library http://www.kitchenermb.com/. As it turned out our local store had it to rent so we brought it home.
Within minutes of the movie starting it captured me and now Fireproof has become my favourite movie of all time. It tells the story of a marriage redeemed and a husband and wife transformed . To call this movie a challenge, falls short. It is a dare, a "Love Dare". As a husband and father I want to challenge every man to pick up this torch. I can only see two reasons why you can't: 1) Because it hit to close to home and you are not man enough to face it 2) Your heart has been hardened so much that you can not respond to the pull on your soul
I really appreciated that this is not a male bashing movie. It is excellent in portraying both sides of the marriage story. So ladies this challenge is for you as well. Is your marriage fireproof?
http://www.fireproofmymarriage.com
Saturday night my wife and I sat down to our traditional movie night. The kids were in bed sleeping and we had a fresh batch of popcorn. We had been looking forward to borrowing this movie from our church library http://www.kitchenermb.com/. As it turned out our local store had it to rent so we brought it home.
Within minutes of the movie starting it captured me and now Fireproof has become my favourite movie of all time. It tells the story of a marriage redeemed and a husband and wife transformed . To call this movie a challenge, falls short. It is a dare, a "Love Dare". As a husband and father I want to challenge every man to pick up this torch. I can only see two reasons why you can't: 1) Because it hit to close to home and you are not man enough to face it 2) Your heart has been hardened so much that you can not respond to the pull on your soul
I really appreciated that this is not a male bashing movie. It is excellent in portraying both sides of the marriage story. So ladies this challenge is for you as well. Is your marriage fireproof?
http://www.fireproofmymarriage.com
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