Sparkling

Last week I went back again to the Correctional Institute for Women, the prison that I told you about in September.  We are continuing to go there as a team for ministry each month.  On Friday, the prison officials had an appreciation lunch for all the “Religious Volunteers” (that’s what they call us).  There are all kinds of Religious Volunteers – Catholic, Evangelical, Muslim, etc.  So it was very interesting to meet and talk with the other volunteers and the prison officials.

One fascinating lady I met is called “Nanay Sophie” by all the prisoners.  (“Nanay” means “Mama” in Tagalog).  She is an American missionary.  But before I tell you about Nanay Sophie, I have to explain a little about my own context.  At IGSL, I am considered “old”.  James and I (and one other colleague) have been in the Philippines for 31 years, so we are the longest-serving missionaries in the school.  Sometimes when our students hear that I came to the Philippines in 1979, they shake their heads in amazement and say, “I wasn’t even BORN yet then!”  I am truly certified as an elderly fossil.  I have reached the ripe old age of 55 and I think I have lots of experience.

But yesterday, when I was introduced to Nanay Sophie, I was told that she is 87 years old!  Can you imagine!?  She is still very healthy, strong, and active, both physically and mentally.  She told me that she has been a missionary in the Philippines since 1950.  So it was my turn to say, with wide eyes and open jaw, “I wasn’t even BORN yet then!”  Then I said, “That means you have been a missionary for sixty years already!” 

She answered, “Well, the Philippines was not our first assignment.  My husband and I went to China in 1948, but when the Communists took over we were forced to leave.  So we came to the Philippines.”  So this dear lady has been a missionary for 62 years, and is showing no signs of slowing down.  Her husband died 25 years ago, and she decided to just stay here and keep serving God.  She has five children, who are all in their sixties and retired already, and many more grandchildren and great-grandchildren.  They all live in the U.S.  They are happy about her decision to stay here and serve God, as long as she comes home every December and spends Christmas with them.  So that’s what she does.

Her passion for God just sparkles, and is absolutely contagious.  She works in the prison four days a week.  She loves to teach the Bible, and has a deep zeal for encouraging other missionaries.  When I had to say goodbye (reluctantly), she said, “Wait!  I need to hug you first!”   Wow.  I would love to be like her in my old age.  I’ve always said that I don’t believe in retirement, but it was sort of theoretical.  Now I can just say that my goal is to be like Nanay Sophie.

And so, as I was leaving, I said to her, “I want to be like you when I’m 87!”  

She said, “Oh, Honey, you won’t live to be 87.  The Lord will surely be back to get us before that!”  And she smiled that sparkly smile.  My heart sparkled for the rest of the day every time I remembered her.

When God Sighed

I really enjoy reading anything by Max Lucado. His way with words makes me think. I receive a weekly email from his ministry, and it always encourages me. If you would like to receive his mailings, visit his website. I hope this article will give you a glimpse into God's heart.

When God Sighed, by Max Lucado

Two days ago I read a word in the Bible that has since taken up residence in my heart.
To be honest, I didn't quite know what to do with it. It's only one word, and not a very big one at that. When I ran across the word, (which, by the way, is exactly what happened; I was running through the passage and this word came out of nowhere and bounced me like a speed bump) I didn't know what to do with it. I didn't have any hook to hang it on or category to file it under.
It was an enigmatic word in an enigmatic passage. But now, forty-eight hours later, I have found a place for it, a place all its own. My, what a word it is. Don't read it unless you don't mind changing your mind, because this little word might move your spiritual furniture around a bit.
Look at the passage with me.
Then Jesus left the vicinity of Tyre and went through Sidon, down to the Sea of Galilee and into the region of the Decapolis. There some people brought a man to him who was deaf and could hardly talk, and they begged him to place his hand on the man.
After he took him aside, away from the crowd, Jesus put his fingers into the man's ears. Then he spit and touched the man's tongue. He looked up to heaven and with a deep sigh said to him,"Ephphatha!" (which means, "Be opened!"). At this, the man's ears were opened, his tongue was loosened and he began to speak plainly. (Mark 7:31-35)
Quite a passage, isn't it?
Jesus is presented with a man who is deaf and has a speech impediment. Perhaps he stammered. Maybe he spoke with a lisp. Perhaps, because of his deafness, he never learned to articulate words properly.
Jesus, refusing to exploit the situation, took the man aside. He looked him in the face. Knowing it would be useless to talk, he explained what he was about to do through gestures. He spat and touched the man's tongue, telling him that whatever restricted his speech was about to be removed. He touched his ears. They, for the first time, were about to hear.
But before the man said a word or heard a sound, Jesus did something I never would have anticipated.
He sighed.
I might have expected a clap or a song or a prayer. Even a "Hallelujah!" or a brief lesson might have been appropriate. But the Son of God did none of these. Instead, he paused, looked into heaven, and sighed. From the depths of his being came a rush of emotion that said more than words.
Sigh. The word seemed out of place.
I'd never thought of God as one who sighs. I'd thought of God as one who commands. I'd thought of God as one who weeps. I'd thought of God as one who called forth the dead with a command or created the universe with a word ... but a God who sighs?
Perhaps this phrase caught my eye because I do my share of sighing.
I sighed yesterday when I visited a lady whose invalid husband had deteriorated so much he didn't recognize me. He thought I was trying to sell him something.
I sighed when the dirty-faced, scantily dressed, six-year-old girl in the grocery store asked me for some change.
And I sighed today listening to a husband tell how his wife won't forgive him.
No doubt you've done your share of sighing.
If you have teenagers, you've probably sighed. If you've tried to resist temptation, you've probably sighed. If you've had your motives questioned or your best acts of love rejected, you have been forced to take a deep breath and let escape a painful sigh.
I realize there exists a sigh of relief, a sigh of expectancy, and even a sigh of joy. But that isn't the sigh described in Mark 7. The sigh described is a hybrid of frustration and sadness. It lies somewhere between a fit of anger and a burst of tears.
The apostle Paul spoke of this sighing. Twice he said that Christians will sigh as long as we are on earth and long for heaven. The creation sighs as if she were giving birth. Even the Spirit sighs as he interprets our prayers. (Romans 8:22-27)
All these sighs come from the same anxiety; a recognition of pain that was never intended, or of hope deferred.
Man was not created to be separated from his creator; hence he sighs, longing for home. The creation was never intended to be inhabited by evil; hence she sighs, yearning for the Garden. And conversations with God were never intended to depend on a translator; hence the Spirit groans on our behalf, looking to a day when humans will see God face to face.
And when Jesus looked into the eyes of Satan's victim, the only appropriate thing to do was sigh. "It was never intended to be this way," the sigh said. "Your ears weren't made to be deaf, your tongue wasn't made to stumble." The imbalance of it all caused the Master to languish.
So, I found a place for the word. You might think it strange, but I placed it beside the word comfort, for in an indirect way, God's pain is our comfort.
And in the agony of Jesus lies our hope. Had he not sighed, had he not felt the burden for what was not intended, we would be in a pitiful condition. Had he simply chalked it all up to the inevitable or washed his hands of the whole stinking mess, what hope would we have?
But he didn't. That holy sigh assures us that God still groans for his people. He groans for the day when all sighs will cease, when what was intended to be will be.
From God Came Near: Chronicles of the ChristCopyright (Thomas Nelson, 1999) Max Lucado

Inside the Walls

Last month the ladies in my discipleship group decided to visit a women's prison in Manila.  We had a week set aside for ministry outside the school, and we thought this would be a good experience.  Little did we know that we would get hooked!  We have decided to go back once a month.  This prison, Correctional Insitute for Women, has 1,800 inmates.  We are finding unique ways that we can help the inmates of CIW, both physically and spiritually.  Pray for us that we can make the most of our time there and serve in a way that will honor our God.  The above photo shows us doing a special dance during a worship service.  (On the far left you can see a few of the prisoners enjoying the show.)