Children's Education
 | ission | God Speaks Pame | |||
| oment | Posted November 14, 2019 | |||
by Susan Toler
The following is the latest update from the Toler family's mission in the hills of Mexico, translating the Pame language into words, and then translating the Bible into Pame.
Now we know!
"Now we know that God speaks Pame!" This was the proclamation that Pastor Catalino made during the recent Jonah presentation in the small, Mexican village of La Parada. For many of us, the book of Jonah is simply a story of a man who disobeys God and gets swallowed by a big fish. Imagine growing up in a culture full of false gods and spirits who are believed to be angry and who need to be appeased with constant sacrifices and offerings. The true God that we see in Jonah's story is a forgiving, loving and just God. He loved the people of Nineveh enough to bring Jonah via the belly of a big fish to preach to them about His coming wrath.
On September 14, 2019, the Central Pame translation team presented the first orally-translated book of the Bible in Pame to the community, and many Pame speakers heard about this forgiving God for the first time. The translation team was presented to the community and, after listening to the book of Jonah, the pastor shared a short sermon. They had a special class for children who learned the story of Jonah as well as a recently translated song about Jonah in Pame. Afterwards, everyone enjoyed mole (moe-lay) and fresh tortillas which were prepared by the ladies from the church. Please pray that this translation will spark a desire in the hearts of the Pame to know more about God and to want to hear more Scripture in their language.
| ission | Isaiah's Place Holds Fall Deaf Day and Worship | |||
| oment | Posted November 14, 2019 | |||
by Diane Frederickson
The following report details the events that took place at the Fall Deaf Day and Worship at Isaiah's Place's last month. You can also check out their upcoming November and December events.
Fall Deaf Day & Worship
28 Deaf friends and family joined together on October 19 for fall activities: straw-hat door decorations, pumpkin carving, and baked-potato dinner with lots of toppings and great desserts!
As Isaiah's Place personnel transitioned through with IP Deaf Church, we were constantly busy mid-weeks with plans for an ASL Retreat at IP on November 1-3. DCM (Deaf Christian Ministry) began November 7 in Waco, TX with the elementary-aged Deaf. We planned an early November gathering for 6th- 12th grade from our area. Watch for ongoing news on DCM FB or IP FB with text.Me.
| ission | AIA: A Disciple is a Learner | |||
| oment | Posted November 14, 2019 | |||
by Brian Firle
Brian Firle provides a testament to the fruits of their efforts in reaching the riders in the Pro-Cycling arena. His and his team's four-year outreach has been very fruitful. This is a very productive mission that the Chapel is supporting through the Global/National Sub Committee.
"A disciple is a learner, but not in the academic setting of a schoolroom, rather at the worksite of a craftsman. We do not acquire information about God, but skills in faith."
- Eugene Peterson
When I joined the AIA pro-cycling staff team in 2015, the idea of one day having a "spiritual retreat" for athletes was a pipe dream. We could hardly get athletes to come to the chapels we were hosting at races, much less be interested in their own spiritual journey. The dedication and focus of athletic pursuit is so strong that it was tough, and still is, to get athletes to give any attention to the deeper parts of their life. But slowly that has changed over the last 4 years. Normally, the first week of November is reserved for our Mexico home-build mission trip that we have taken athletes to since 2012. But because of the cost of the trip this year, it didn't seem like it was in the cards. Coupled with that, we had been feeling the need to build a space where athletes who were interested in growing in their faith could learn how to "be the disciple" within sport. So we began praying about doing a spiritual retreat where athletes would come, rest, learn, worship, pray, and grow together. We took the risk and spent many hours praying about how that time would look and who might be able to attend. After all, like the Mexico trip, getting someone to jump on a plane and fly somewhere else after spending the year traveling and not sleeping in their own bed, is a challenge to say the least.
The result, however, was a weekend filled with conversation on invitations to knowing the Holy Spirit, what real rest looks like, going to the true source for energy, love, joy, and hope, long talks on identity and calling, and finally, what it looks like to participate in being a "Kingdom builder" and living in community. It was rich and beautiful. In the mornings before we began our sessions, we had 10 minutes of worship. Todd, our AIA lead staff, broke down one morning and confessed how he never thought one day that a bunch of professional cyclists would be worshipping God together in a living room. It was magical, beautiful, and a testament to what God has done over many years of sowing seed in the sport.
One moment that sticks out to me came during one of our sessions where a local pastor was describing the difference between something being true, and something being real. Something that is true stays in our mind. It's an idea we can describe and talk about, but doesn't move further into our hearts. Something that is real is something we are convinced of, something that has become real because we experienced it. Our goal then isn't to download truths about God to use them simply as ideas, but experience those truths so they become real to us. This conversation percolated the entire weekend where athletes were describing all sorts of different truths that they have heard and learned over the years, but how they never have become real to them. And that is where our prayer time began: in those spaces of honesty where we can address truths that are not real to us, and ask God for an experience that plants them deep within our hearts and lives.
It's these subtle shifts that move us from being learners in a classroom to being learners at the foot of a craftsman. We don't acquire information about God, but skills in faith.
Click here to see an assortment of pictures from the gathering.
