Four More Sleeps!

Today we received the email we have been waiting for!  Jim and Michelle's visas for Papua New Guinea have been approved, and they are ready to fly.  They will arrive in Manila on Wednesday, Dec. 14.  This Grandma is totally excited--even Grandpa seems pretty pleased!  They will stay with us until Christmas and then fly to PNG to start their ministry.  Thank You, Jesus!

Making Memories

I love studying the subject of missions. I think you could call it one of my passions in life. I have witnessed firsthand how much confusion has been created when missionaries try to pass on their own culture instead of the simple Gospel of Jesus Christ. So I work hard in my ministry to examine what I am passing on, and I talk with the people I am discipling about what is Gospel and what is culture. But I know we all have blind spots, and I am sure that no matter how careful I am, I will still somehow pass on my own culture without realizing it. (Just an example: one of our students from Sri Lanka said that men in their villages normally wear a wrap-around sarong.  But the village men were all under the impression that if they decided to become Christians, they would have to start wearing pants.  One elderly man was quite interested in the story of Jesus, but he didn't own any pants, so he never visited the church!)

When Christmas time rolls around, I always feel this struggle even more. So much of the way we celebrate Christmas in the west has nothing to do with Jesus and His birth. I mean, what do Frosty the Snowman and Silver Bells have to do with anything? Many American Christmas traditions have been borrowed by Filipinos, and this adds to the confusion. It is hard to explain to a student from Vietnam why the mall in the Philippines has fake snow hanging from the ceiling and pictures of reindeer painted on the windows, while we celebrate the birth of our Savior born in Bethlehem!

So today, I invited my IGSL discipleship group to my home. We had lunch together and then talked about what we see on Christmas cards. (I always save all the Christmas cards I get, and use them for times like this!) We looked at the cards, and talked about Christmas symbols that are biblical, connecting them to the Christmas story in the Bible. Those were easy: the star, the manger, the shepherds, etc. 

Then we talked about the symbols that western Christians like to use, like evergreen trees (representing eternal life) and candles (representing Jesus as the Light of the World). These are not found in the Bible, but they have a spiritual meaning for us. And we also talked about Rudolph and Frosty and how they got into the mix--it was fun! Then we recycled the cards and made some Christmas decorations of our own. The commercial aspect of Christmas has found its way into every corner of Asia, so they were glad to be able to understand the symbols so they can explain them to their friends and neighbors in the years to come.

We had a lot of fun, made good memories, and enjoyed each other.  I pray they will be able to find ways to create their own symbols and traditions to share the story of Christmas with people in their own countries when they go home.

It Matters

Once a month, my arm looks like this.  I go with a team of students to a national prison called the Correctional Institute for Women.  The letters at the top are "CIW" and if you look closely at the bottom you can make out the word "VISITOR".  Sometimes, when you go to a play or an amusement park, they stamp your hand or wrist to show that you have the privilege of going in.  At CIW, they stamp our wrists on the way in, to show that we have the privilege of going out.  Since last year, six students and I have been visiting CIW every month.

We can't bring cameras or cellphones inside.  We have to leave all of our personal belongings in a locker near the front gate.  So the only photo I can produce for you is a photo of my own wrist when I come out.  Sometimes I wish I could give you a glimpse of the place.  It's not that bad, as third world prisons go.  The women have beds to sleep in, and they have food to eat three times a day.  It's not great food, but it's food.  Many prisons in Asia don't have those basic provisions.  But it's dreary.  There are almost 2,000 women in this facility.  They stay in rooms full of bunk beds, with no other furniture, about 100 people to a room.  Most of the guards are irritable.  If we bring snacks for the prisoners, the guards will always take some. 

Once, I asked for advice from one of our IGSL students who had been in prison before.  He encouraged me to just make eye contact and smile with as many people as I could on my way in.  So I do that.  They always smile back, and usually greet me.  We meet with a group of about 12 women for Bible study and discipleship.  They are always so happy to see us, and they greet us with hugs.  We encourage them to take what we teach them and share it with others, and some of them are doing it.

Yesterday, after a Bible study on Romans 12:9-21, I asked them how we could apply the passage in the coming week.  They talked about trusting God to care for them when the guards are grouchy.  One lady talked about longing for a cup of coffee.  (The prison doesn't provide anything like that.)  She just talked to God about it, and that afternoon, a visitor came and brought her coffee.  She said God's sweet answer to her prayer showed her that He cares. Another lady talked about praying for the guards.  They all laughed about their answers, and told me, "We know you don't understand, because you live on the outside!"  Their whole world is divided into two parts, the inside and the outside. 

It's true.  I live on  the outside.  And I have the purple mark on my wrist to prove it.  But God gives me the privilege of going in and having fellowship with them on the inside.  It helps me see my life from a different perspective.  Although I know our visit brightens their day, it's probably not going to change the world.  But it matters to them.   And I think it matters to Jesus.  So we keep going.