Missionary Survey, Part 2: Young Married Women Speak

This is Part 2 of the Young Missionary Survey. (If you missed Part 1, you can access it here.) All of the missionary women participating in this survey are age 35 and below. In this part, we'll hear from the married women* who've served on the field.  

  

The question they’re answering is: Based on your experience, what advice would you give to women?

The young married missionary women answered:

• Enjoy where the Lord currently has you, and make the most of it! There will be times of loneliness, disappointment, fear, feeling inadequate, but God has you. He has currently called you where you are and as long as you are in His will, you will make it through! He doesn't promise that following Him will be easy, but it is worth it! You will eventually be able to speak and understand the language, make friends (as well as your kids), and you will start feeling comfortable and 'normal' in your new homeland. Enjoy where God has you, and when times get hard and you want to complain or 'go back home,' stick it out and you will see that it was worth all you had to do to get there . . . especially the first time you get to lead a national to Christ, or experience your husband do it. smile emoticon
• Write out your expectations for your ministry, for your husband, and for the nationals you are working with. Then, rip it up and ask God to show you His desires and His ways. So many frustrations stem from our unrealistic expectations of ourselves, others, and even of our Heavenly Father. Remember that surrender is more than surrendering to go; it's a daily laying down of self will. There will be many challenges that the Lord gives to reveal our selfishness and pride. May we say as Jesus did, "Thy will be done." Your joy will only be found in Christ. Enjoy your children; see them as God sees them--blessings!
• Practice being positive and making the best with what you have. We all have down days and struggles but no one has to live there. There are always blessings and things to be thankful for in every situation and generally more than we realize. I believe a happy person and a content person is a thankful person. To be thankful you have to be aware of the positive things around you to be thankful for. In the hardest most stressful times when you can't even find a beginning to your list, start loving on God in your quiet time. When you remember his goodness, it makes it easier to see all the good he has given also. Making the best out of a little will come extremely helpful on the field.
• You don't have to know all the answers right now, but trust the One who does. I have yet for Him to lead me astray.
• Love the Lord, love His Work, leave the results to God. Stand on His Promises. He is faithful! Remember that what we get to do is amazing because we reap eternal rewards. Everything we do, and the things we might do without are all worth it so another soul gets to be in heaven for eternity. I constantly remind myself, “Keep your eyes on Jesus!”
• Communicate! Be patient with yourself. Learning a language, culture, building a ministry takes a lifetime; it's not going to happen overnight. Don’t give up! It will feel like more than you can handle, and it is. But it’s not more than God can handle! Learn how to wait on the Lord. It's so easy to get frustrated when things aren't working out the way you want or as quickly as you want, and it can become consuming and drag you down. On purpose, decide to give it to the Lord every day, sometimes multiple times a day and trust in Who He is and that He is your loving Father Who wants the very best for you. He can see the bigger picture and will take care of any need or situation in His timing. The ministry is people. Love them by being selfless and giving. Step out of your comfort zone, and be willing to be used. God will stretch you and bless you through it, if you let Him. Enjoy the adventure!
• Serve others.
• Let go of traditions and be willing to embrace/create a new normal that will meet the unique needs you have in the unique place you've been called. July 4th is wonderful, but don't let the lack of something you've loved keep you from exploring and enjoying the fun things that surround you in your new home.
• The advice that I give myself all the time is to take everything one step at a time. Day by day. If you think of everything that has to be done, it will stress you out. But one task at a time isn't as overwhelming. One of my college professors always said, "shoot the crocodile closet to the boat." And be faithful. God didn't call us to be super successful, just to be faithful to what He has called us to do. He takes care of the rest.
• Do not go into debt. Living on the mission field is stressful. Learning to live on a foreign currency can be challenging. Doing all of that with debt adds a heavy distraction to what you were called to do.
• Be flexible! Flexible with your expectations, flexible with others' mentalities, flexible with your demands on others and yourself, flexible with pastors, flexible with visitors, flexible with household duties, flexible with your husband being on call all the time, flexible with people who don't have the same priorities as you, flexible with your children, flexible with your schedules, flexible when you have NO schedule! Flexibility and the willingness to learn and adapt are important anywhere, but when we can't "fall back" on what we know, or be with people who we instinctively know how to respond to, or how to deal with, when there are spiritual battles and totally different challenges, flexibility becomes invaluable to success on the mission field.
• Remember, to everything there is a season. As a mother and wife I have learned/still learning there are seasons in which we serve in the ministry. When the kids are smaller, it may seem like we are limited. Deputation, language school—those are only for season. God has purpose for all the seasons of life. Enjoy each one, and give each one your 100% best.
• It's totally okay to not be as busy ministry-wise as other older women in ministry are. I felt so much self-inflicted pressure, which translated to pressuring my hubby more because I couldn’t keep up and even once neglecting my kiddos when they were sick. I had to learn to not pressure myself or let others pressure me because there are seasons of life. Titus makes more sense to me now that I have little children. I understand what I can do, though, Sunday schools and women’ meetings. But I'm careful to do what I know doesn't leave my family with only leftovers of me. Last piece of advice I would give is to make your field your home. Don’t keep your eyes back on the States. Bloom where you are and be there completely. It will make a difference to those immediately around you like your little family and even to those you are reaching. Ask God to do this in your heart and family’s heart and let Him bring you joy through it. smile emoticon
• There have been so many times I just needed to vent. It helps me to write it all down, every ugly feeling. That way I can think it through and avoid burdening my husband unnecessarily, and explain what I'm dealing with better.
• Be humble and realize your biggest obstacle and enemy will be yourself.
• Life, in general, is inconvenient. Be flexible. Focus on truth during the hard times. Never forget that the Lord is always in control and He is always good. When going through a trial, look for the many blessings God gives to help you remember He is there with you during the power outages, loneliness, etc. Never underestimate the impact you are making. You may have to do nursery duty every service and never hear a sermon or talk to visitors, but you are making an impact through your example and service to the Lord. Dig roots where the Lord places you. You won't always be there and you may not be able to speak their language, but love and friendship supersedes language. Be faithful even when it hurts. Never stop shedding tears for lost souls.
• My advice would be to not try to be "wonder woman" on the field. You will not always be able to do everything you want to do (especially when you have small children). Let God lead you on a daily basis and always put your family first. I used to constantly beat myself up because I felt like I was not accomplishing much even though I as so busy. God knows our hearts and works in ways we cannot imagine.
• God has taught me so far to be patient; it's okay to take things slow. Learn as you go. Be teachable. Know that God uses people in all different kinds of ways and at all different timings. Do justly. Walk humbly. Love mercy.
• My go to verse when I have a really bad day is Psalms 139:14, "I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well." I never understand how "good, godly people" can be so cruel to missionaries but at the end of the day its not your husband (it is good that I have such a wonderful Godly husband), your children, your parents, your friends or even your pastor but you and your relationship with Our Lord Jesus Christ that will get you through it all. If you have that strong relationship with Him, all things will pass away. People will disappoint time and time again. They are not worth giving up the ministry for; they are human! But God is constant!
• God's plans will be much different than yours. After living in (mission field) for a year, I was diagnosed with leukemia, and that definitely wasn't in my plan. We saw God use my illness for good, and even though that wasn't something I would have thought I wanted. Philippians 4:11 is the verse the Lord gave me through that journey. Surrender is hard and sometimes happens to a husband before a wife. (My husband desired to go back to the field when I was given a clean bill of health, but I was much more hesitant.) The Lord worked on my heart, and after several months He gave me peace about returning. God will guide you when you seek and trust in Him.
• Trust God and submit to your husband. Know that your husband is human and he will make mistakes, but that God is in control and it is your job to submit, not fix him. And always show him respect; never disrespect him in public.
• Don't compare yourself to another missionary (good or bad)! Their strengths and weaknesses are not yours. God put you where you are and didn't make a mistake.
• God's timing is always right even when we don't see it. Keep plugging away! He is preparing us for more waiting . . . until we reach heaven! Don't try to carry the same load as your husband. You are not the head of the family or the one responsible for the ministry God has given to him. Your husband needs support and a sweet wife to come home to while he is in the fight! The devil will attack you. Be ready to fight him off with all your might and with prayer. He has been defeated already!
• Keep your eyes on eternity. The highs and the lows, difficulties and victories, will be put in proper focus with eternity in view!

Weren't these a blessing! Thank God for these young missionary women who are willing to lay down their lives to reach others with the gospel.

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* Note: The reason I divided singles and marrieds was not to discriminate; it was because singles addressed their advice to singles, and the married women to other married women.

Re-Inventing Your Witnessing Style

I'll admit, when we came to the field at the age of 22, my idea of Wittnessing generally consisted of door to door visitation, once a week with our church. I would also pass out tracts occasionally and spend time with my bus kids discussing salvation. That was just about all the experience I had with Wittnessing. You walk up to a door and after some pleasantries, pop the question.

"If you died today, do you know 100% for sure you will go to heaven? If not, please let me show you about 5 verses from the Bible that can tell you how you can know for sure."

I was blessed to be raised in a country founded on Christian values and principles. I was raised in a Christian home and had spent half of my childhood in the Bible Belt of America. As I am frequently asked in the country where we serve,

"Is everyone in Amercia a Christian?"

No, for sure not. But I'll admit the longer I spend in our little Buddhist/Hindu country I can see why outsiders may imagine that. Does everyone in the south go to church? NO! Even though they will promise to be there if you ask:) BUT, is their Bible knowledge and belief in the little they know a million times higher than those who have been devoid of the message of Christ for many years? YES!

You may think, hah! You haven't met ole Bubba who lives down the street from me! He sho don't know his Bible and doesn't believe a word in it! I do agree, that in the last couple of decades the moral and religious fiber of our country has deteriorated but I urge you to understand that even to the degree it has deteriorated it still supersedes many countries' knowledge and trust of scriptures.

I'll give a disclaimer for what I'm about to generalize, that it is based on someone who has lived in the south. I do understand there are areas of the states that have large masses of people completely devoid of any knowledge of the Bible or Christ.

However, I would wager that thousands of people in America, if asked if the Bible was Gods Word, would answer, yes.

Thousands would accept Gods idea of creation.

Millions have heard the name of Christ and accept that he is indeed a god or the God.

Millions would ascribe to the belief of heaven and hell.

Millions would believe that they have one life time to figure out where they will spend eternity.

While there are many followers of other religions in the States, I would say the vast majority do not bow a knee to any graven image. They don't live in fear of what that image or picture might do to them if they don't follow certain rules laid out.

As a rule, everything I just mentioned above is completely un-accepted where we serve. So when the American gets off the plane they are in for a rude wake up. After a few weeks or months, they are excited to find someone who knows enough English that they can wittness to them. You whip out your 5 verses and are super stoked to jump in. You aren't speaking more than a few minutes when you realize you are in the deep end of the pool without a paddle. The conversation may go like this:

Missionary-"Let's turn to John 3:16"

National- "John? What's John?"

Missionary- "It's a book in the Bible"

National- "A bible?! What's that?"

Missionary- uhhh.....(regains composure) It's the book Jesus wrote to us."

National- "Whose Jesus? Where did this book come from?"

Missionary- Jesus is the man who created the world and came from heaven to save us from our sins.

National- Blink...blink...this white person is a little crazy:) but I'll smile and nod.

And the American mind begins to turn. Solution..... Find a solution.....Finish the story. You explained it, they understood and accepted Christ, right? I mean it's a very simple truth. Anyone who hears it explained properly should be able to understand Gods sacrifice and love, right? We as Americans love things done quickly. We love finding a solution. We are by nature free thinkers (trust me on this) who will think till they find a solution. But the truth is, our American minds came to a screeching halt soon after we moved here. We realized that small tracts and tiny conversations in a door step weren't going to win this country to Christ. We all know the verse,

"So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." Romans 10:17

This verse is miraculously true. But in a place where their knowledge of Christ is so minimal if any, it takes a good amount of hearing to build their understanding. But as it does, have FAITH, God WILL work. So as the title says, we had to re-invent how we witnessed. Houses and culture isn't really set up here where you can go down a street and knock on every door and hand out tracts. So, what do we do? A couple of things.

1.) Learn to explain the history of Christ and the salvation plan thoroughly in an easy to understand way. We learned a WHOLE lot more about sharing Bible facts that are pertinent for someone here to understanding salvation. The Lord helped my husband as he spoke to many people to understand more and more how to help them understand salvation. He wrote a 5 lesson plan explaining salvation thoroughly. It goes over Creation, Sin, How do I know there is 1 God?, Who is Jesus?, What is his plan for salvation?" This plan generally takes 6-10 weeks to complete. Does everyone who goes through this plan get saved? No, but I can say the many of them do completely understand salvation. After this they can make a decision based on the truth whether they will trust Christ.

2.) Make friendships and spend time with people. This culture is relationship based. They aren't worried about appointments or time schedules. But they love to fellowship and don't understand someone who never has time for that. Our visitation program generally consists of 1-2 visits a day where you spend 30 minutes- 3 hours with a person. We spend this time either wittnesing, answering questions or just loving on that person. You do not have to have a wonderful deep relationship with someone for them to accept Christ but it can be very helpful. In a country where they have generally never heard of Christ and sure haven't seen a Christian live out his truths, they need time to watch, learn and soak it in.

3.) Learn to Wittness in any and every situation. One of the most frequently used technique, I believe, is this one. When you many times can't get people to commit to learning about this foreigners religion, your best tool is witnessing through anything you can. Did you know you don't need a tract to witness? I'm being facecous but I admit I felt like that a little when we first arrived. When we began to see the obstacle of witnessing to people here we began to pray that God would open up any opportunity to plant a seed. You would be amazed at the doors He will open if we seek to share the gospel first and foremost. A great example, is the picture below.

Our church just had their first baptistery made. It was a monster of a tank. And in true national style, they all came out to get a good glimpse of this beast of a box we were moving in. This beast also had to be heaved up 4 floors. The beauty of the sense of community and relationships here is how they will all jump in to assist a friend. Every male in the vicinity jumped in to heave this giant box over the railing of the roof from the ground. As it came in, many neighbors and passer-bys began to ask questions. What is this? What is it for? Our church members were only to willing to use this small open door to get as much of the gospel in as they could! Even a Buddhist nun walking by on the road got a little dose. There is hundreds of examples just like this. You wouldn't believe the opportunities that fall into your lap to witness to others about the gospel or Gods goodness and power, when you pray and seek the Lord. Sometimes they even do the asking!

4. PATIENCE!!!! Man, if I could type this a million times I would. Because that's how much patience you need when bringing the gospel to a completely un-reached people. Most people we have seen saved, we personally dealt with them 6mo-3 years. And we hopefull have some record breakers on the line. We continue to patiently share Gods love and salvation plan and pray along the way and daily remind ourselves to TRUST God is doing a mighty work in hearts that we cannot see.

I know that it can be hard sometimes for people in the states to understand the process it takes to win someone to Christ in a foreign land. I also know, it is difficult many times as an American to learn a new culture and figure out how to reach those whom you have given your life to minster to. We have in no way mastered anything. But through Gods grace we have re-invented our previous idea of witnessing and continue to sow and water that seed. Gods word truely is a mighty sword. It does so much more than our arguments or words could accomplish. It does miraculous works in the hearts of every man, woman, boy and girl in every country and every culture but some DO need a lil more time and educating than others.

 

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Vacation Bible School - Getting It on Paper

Hello again! I hope you are joining us again this week as we talk more about the planning of a schedule for a VBS program on your mission field. If you missed last week's post, I advise you to read it since it gives more information regarding the first steps of planning. This week, I hope to help you get all the ideas flooding your mind onto paper so that you are well prepared for the week of VBS to arrive!

One of the first things we must talk about is the THEME of your VBS program. Now, as I told you in the previous post, my husband and I hold a week long program in the summer; so I will use a week-long program as the example. Remember, you can hold a VBS program anytime of the year as long as you can be sure the children are free to attend. We have been dreaming of a winter program as well, but we have some work to do before we have a building where that could take place! Initially you must determine the time frame you want to use to hold the daily activities i.e., morning, afternoon, evening? Then, it is important to choose the length of time you will be using to keep the kids looking forward to each day, enjoying their time, and wanting to come back for more! Don't make each day go too long. We feel an ideal time frame is two hours. IF you are able to do a craft, three hours is sufficient if you have the craft set up ahead of time.

So, on to the THEME. This is one of the most fun things about planning, but it also requires a whole lot of time and thought. I will say one thing here that might surprise you! It is great if you have a theme with daily lessons that flow beautifully and oh, so smoothly, but honestly...the kids don't care as much about that as you do! Please don't misunderstand me. It is great to have a theme, but sometimes we get so wrapped up in the theme that we forget to strive EACH day to use the story or lesson, no matter what it may be, to teach and share the Gospel. Also, it is not always easy to translate or convey our American 'play on words' in the daily themes; so be aware of not making your decor and ideas too "American." Now, I want to share a few themes that we have used here in Russia in our VBS programs. The details are too lengthy to list in this post but I will be posting the detailed daily lesson plans in posts to come.

2007: Jesus Gives Salvation - Verse: Luke 19:10
2008: Jesus Is the Light - Verse: John 8:12
2009: Bible - A Living Book!
2010: How Decisions We Make Today Affect Our Future - this was not printed any where on the flyers or worksheets, but each day we taught about important decisions that affect our lives, i.e., Choosing proper friends, Listening to good advice, etc.
2011: The Heart - Verse: Proverbs 4:23
2012: Olympic Theme
2013: Laboratory of Fun (Science experiments)
2014: 'Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus - lessons based on Christ and what He can do!
2015: Little Wonders of God's Creation - Insects
2016: To be announced! :)

Once you have a theme, you must decide on a DAILY SCHEDULE of events, remembering that you have already determined a daily time frame which you need to be sure you can fill completely with activity but not go over.

Remember: Plan to keep the children busy at all times.

Busy children = control!

Here are the activities we include daily in our schedule:
*Registration (we will talk more about this later)
*Introduction/point tabulation time
*Song time
*Bible lesson
*Review game
*Craft time
*Snack time
*Game time
*Object Lesson (we haven't done this every year)
*Dismissal time - gives you a few minutes to hand out worksheets/invitations for them to give out and remind children to invite friends and come back the next day.

VBS 2008 Puppet show

The first couple of years, we also had a daily puppet show to help drive home the point of the day's theme. Puppets are a great way to keep the kids coming back each day by having their dialogue or story continue throughout the week. Also, if you do not have access to puppets, skits are another wonderful tool to help illustrate the daily lessons or themes.

At this point, you will do yourself a huge favor if you take the time now to determine:
your logo for the program which will be used in the printing of the flyers and worksheets,
each song to be sung,
each Bible lesson (obviously this is the skeleton that you build everything around),
daily worksheets (if you plan to use them),
a daily review game,
a daily craft (if you have the space and workers to complete one),
plan the snacks and drinks for each day (and who will bring them),
and four or five daily games (always plan for more than you need, just in case).

Trust me! Making all of these decisions now will be such a relief to you as the coordinator. It will give you more time during the week for all of the last minute problems you may have to fix, allow you more time to tally points (if you choose to use a point system), and allow you to focus more on any teaching you may be doing during the week. (Sometimes the coordinator wears many hats!)

Now that all of these decisions have been made, you can begin the paperwork part of preparing:
*Flyers and posters to be printed.
*Songbooks (will they be printed professionally? by you? What will be the cover design?)
*Daily worksheets (more to come on this in future posts)
*Verse lists for the children to have a concise list of all the verses they will hopefully memorize throughout the week!

Now, once you have jotted down some notes regarding which activities you wish to include each day of VBS, print out copies of that daily schedule for each of your workers. Here is an example at the end of this post of one for you to see from a previous VBS we held. I translated most of the important information for you into English. 

Please stick with me as we continue next Wednesday talking more about VBS! Again, if you have any questions or would like to know more about anything in these posts, please write me. I would love to hear from you!

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VBS – Day 1

Jehosophat  - Choose your friends wisely.  

Memory Verse: Proverbs 13:20 - “He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.”

“Общающийся с мудрыми будет мудр, а кто дружит с глупыми, развратится.”

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Программа (Program):

1.         Регистрация - Foyer        (Dee/Nancy and Lydia)   20 мин. (11:00 – 11:20)

2.         Предисловие-Main Hall  (David/Dee)                    30 мин.  (11:20 – 11:50)

Молитва (Prayer)   (David)

Explanation of Points (Dee)

                        Song of the Week: “Мы Бодрей на Жизненном Пути Пойдём ”

Object Lesson: (Dee)

Songs: (Dee) “Если Счастлив”, “Да Любит Он!”, Счастлив Я Всегда! 

                                                                        Divide into groups

Younger 6-8 years (Lydia/Dee) – smaller auditorium

Older 9-up years (David/Nancy) - main auditorium

3.         Lesson – Jehosophat/Verse: Proverbs 13:20               15 мин.  (11:50 – 12:05)

4.         Review Game: (Nancy-Older kids/Lydia-younger) 15 мин.  (12:05 – 12:20)

**AFTER LESSON YOUNGER KIDS SENT IN TO MAIN AUDITORIUM FOR SONGS**

(Nancy, Lydia, Elizabeth - set up for snacks in foyer while Dee sings with kids)

Соединить (Regroup)   - Everyone in foyer for snacks

5.         Snack time         Gather point cards                10 мин.  (12:20 – 12:30)

 (Nancy, Elizabeth, Lydia - Set up for craft in smaller auditorium)

6.         Craft:  Friendship - Hands (Everyone help as needed)   30 мин.  (12:30 – 13:00)

7.         Games  (David, Nancy, Elizabeth, Lydia)                        45 мин. (13:05 –13:50)     

8.         Dismissal  Main auditorium                                          5-10 мин.  (13:50 – 14:00)

                         Домашнее задание  (Give out homework sheets)

                        Молитва (Prayer)       (David)    

Homemade Cheez-It Cracker Recipe

This week I am just passing along a recipe I found while searching the internet to find a snack food my husband loved and missed from the States. I originally found this recipe here. Although there are several variations of how to make homemade Cheez-it crackers, I know this one works and tastes great.

Author: Veronica

Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 15 mins
Total time: 25 mins


Ingredients

2 Cups Sharp Cheddar, shredded ( I used Gouda)
¾ Cup flour, plus more for dusting
4 tablespoons butter, softened and cut into 4 pieces (I use unsalted butter and add 1 teaspoon salt to it)
½ teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon whole milk


Instructions 

**(I apologize for not having any photos to show of this process. If you follow the link above you can see photos of each step.)

Preheat oven to 160 degrees Celsius (350 degrees F).
In a food processor or using a handheld electric mixer as I did, combine the cheese, butter, flour, salt and pepper in 5-second pulses until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
Add the milk and process until the dough forms a ball, which takes about 10 seconds.
On a lightly floured surface, using a lightly floured rolling pin, roll the dough into a 13×7 inch rectangle that is about 1/16″ thick. I used a pizza cutter to trim off the sides but if you have a serrated cutter you can use it to make the serrated edges of the crackers.
Next cut the dough into 1×1 inch squares.
Transfer the crackers, carefully, to a parchment-lined large cookie sheet.
Using the dulled end of a skewer make a hole in each cracker and sprinkle with coarse sea salt.
Bake the crackers on the middle rack for 15 minutes, or until the ends are barely browned.
Remove from the oven and allow to cool thoroughly on the cookie sheet. (Tip: remove crackers when they are still light as they will darken when cooling on the cookie sheet.)

Serve at room temperature and enjoy.

Do You Remember Your First Bible?

We work in a small indigenous community of about 300 people here in Australia.  God has blessed us to be able to hold Sunday morning service, Wednesday night prayer meeting and Kid's Club, and Friday night Teen Group all within the community.  We are also blessed to be able to teach Religious Instruction in their public school every week. 

Teenagers are probably my favourite group of people to teach.  I can't help but think of my teen years and how God used the people around me to help guide me into my adult years.  I fear what my life would have been like had not some godly people taken a special interest me.

I was so excited when we started a teen group at our church.  I look at these young men and women and can't help but think that this is the next generation.  These are the next leaders of the community and hopefully our church.   

Last week at our Teen Group we gave our teens their very first Bible.  This photo is so precious to me.  Look at those smiles!  What could make me smile even more?  Seeing those boys walk into church on Sunday morning proudly carrying their new Bibles!

We have enjoyed teaching them about the Bible.  Think about not knowing how to find Psalm 23, or that there are two testaments, or what is the first book of the Bible.  This is all new to them, and I am so enjoying being there to teach them all of this.  Don't take these things for granted.  Sometimes we are so spoiled.  Many of us have several Bibles.  I hope you know what a precious thing it is to hold the Word of God in  your hands.

Do you remember your first Bible?  Was there a special story to go with it?  Please share in the comments, I'd love to hear about it.   I shared a Bible story over on my blog.