Missionary Lock-Picking

So what do you do when you are 10,000 miles from the States and July 4th is coming?

You invite fellow missionaries over and plan an adventure!
OK, so I invited them over to teach them how to steal, pick locks, and plunder. Let me explain.

Holidays like the Fourth of July can be tough for missionaries. No fireworks. No familiar decorations in the stores and no large family cookouts.

Many missionaries make the best of what they have. Their family dons the red, white, and blue. Mom finds a way to make a red, white, and blue dessert. They grill a hamburger if they can. And they pray to thank God for His goodness on America.

Many missionaries live quite a distance from other missionaries, so they celebrate quietly as a family.

What does our family do? We have chosen to reach out to other missionaries from around the valley and invite them to celebrate with us. Some of them have to travel long distances to get to our home, so we try to make it worth their trip.

The first year we hosted this event, we had confetti poppers filled with treats and played a trivia/charades/Pictionary style game to earn the right to pop the confetti poppers.

The second year, there were tons of children, so we planned a carnival with a ring toss game, knock the cans over game, and more. The children earned prizes when they won their game.

We could not host the Fourth of July party in 2015 because of the national disaster we had here. It also fell on a church day, but we we were all so busy with disaster relief work that it would not have worked on any day of the week. We missed getting together with them. In 2016 our family was on furlough. Again, we missed this special event with our friends.

It's 2017 and our family refused to miss another year. We longed to see our friends smiling, laughing, and enjoying fellowship around the goodness of God for our country.

Once again we planned a special day that I hope they will remember for a long time.

Here is what we did:

Food:

Everyone pitched in on the food. We had barbecue sandwiches, potato salad, fruit, veggies with dip, corn on the cob, cole slaw, chips and dip, fried apple pies, and no-bake cookies. Since everyone pitched in on the food, no one was overwhelmed with preparation.

Devotion:

Yes, missionaries treasure any time we get to fellowship around God's Word. The devotion was wonderful! We are thankful to be Americans, but we also long to see God exalted in our host country.

The Games:

For the younger children we set up a play room. One of the moms of two of the younger children helped me set this room up. Toy train, Hot Wheels cars, a road floor mat, Tinker Toys, a puzzle, balloons, and more.

Game #1

Red, White, and "You"
About half the people were given white clothes pins to wear on their shirts. If they said the word "you," someone without a clothes pin could steal their clothes pin. If they kept the clothes pin throughout the game time, they got 5 points. (Limit one clothes pin per person)

Game #2

Oh Say Can You See?
I had hidden red clothes pins around the house. If they found one, they got 5 points. (Limit one clothes pin per person)

Game #3

Wear Oh Wear?
If they wore red, white, and blue, they got 5 points. It had to be clothing, not accessories, nail polish, or undergarments.

Game #4

Freedom
Have you ever heard of the escape/breakout rooms that are so popular in the States right now? We created our own version. Instead of locking people in the rooms, we locked our little dog MoMo in a room with a combination lock on the door. (Everybody loves our sweet dog, MoMo. She was good motivation to rescue her from her prison.)


Here was the story line:

Captain MoMo of the American Army was captured by the British. She has lots of information that the American Army doesn't want the British to have access to. The Army has selected three groups to try to rescue Captain MoMo. They have to solve clues to figure out the combination to set her free. The first group to set her free gets national appreciation as well as a promotion in the Army.

We divided the missionaries into three groups. I set up three rooms with all the exact same clues. I also included some distractions that had nothing to do with the game just to make it a little tougher.

The three groups went to their assigned rooms and began working feverishly to solve the clues. There were eight clues total. They had to have all eight clues in order to get the combination. 

Here are the clues:

Clue #1:

I taped numbers and a plus sign on the spine of books in a series. To get the right number, they had to put the books in series order with the math sign at the beginning.

This clue was +267.

Clue #2:

I removed covers from DVD cases and put white paper on the inside. Then I used permanent marker to write the number for the clue. I wrote other numbers on the case with dry erase marker. In order to get the number, they had to figure out that some of the numbers could be erased. The answer to this clue was -982.

Clue #3:

I wrote a thank-you note thanking my mom for a shoe. This clue actually held a hint for clue #4. On the left side, I drew a picture of a shoe with Morse code that when solved read "plus 12." They would have to use their phones to look up Morse code. The solution for this clue was +12.

Clue #4:

In the room I had a couple of pairs of shoes against the wall, but then with those shoes I had a single shoe. Inside that shoe was a paper that read "-117."

Clue #5:

Hidden in the room were two index cards. One card had numbers and math signs. The other had holes. When the holey index card is placed on the other card, it reveals the correct numbers.

The solution to this one was -181.

Clue #6:

I wrote the number on the back of a greeting card cover. Then I cut it into a four-piece puzzle. The pieces were hidden around the room. One piece was hidden in the dry erase DVD cover.

The solution to this clue was +345.

Clue #7:

I opened a hymn book to a patriotic song. I took some wooden letters and wrote the number for the clue on the back. In order to get the order of the number right, they had to remember from music class "Every Good Boy Does Fine."

The solution to this clue was +1037.

Clue #8:

In the room, I placed batteries and I placed a flashlight without batteries somewhere else in the room. The goal was to get them to try to place the batteries in the flashlight. But inside the flashlight battery compartment was a small part of an index card with a number on it.

The number was -45.

The solution to this clue was -45.

The lock was tried many times.

When all the numbers are totaled, the final number is 336.

That was the combination to the lock.

Distractions in the room:

A receipt

a pile of coins

Other books

Other DVDs

A plate, bowl, and fork

Other greeting cards

A pencil

It took them 45 minutes before someone solve the puzzles. Many said the time seemed to fly by because they had so much fun.

The winning team members all received 5 points each.

We tallied the points up from all the games. The winner received a basket full of American goodies that everyone pitched in and donated. Ranch mix, chili powder, banana nut muffin mix, nutmeg, a Yankee candle, Bath and Body Works lotion, and much more!

********************

From our field to yours, we hope you all had a wonderful July 4th. Please remember to pray for missionaries who may not have other people to celebrate this special day with each year. Reach out to them and encourage them.

********************

Ministering Around The World VI- Europe

Wow! I really had my handful this month! Europe is a large region, and while they aren't abundant missionaries I was able to locate a couple in most places and interview some of those. I was able to talk to people in Spain, France, Romania, Netherlands, Bulgaria, Italy & Croatia. While we have all heard these country names before, the truth is most people know very little about them and most definitely understand ministering there.

 

They all have their own unique differences but I have definitely found many common threads that run throughout Europe. Economies vary, some places will be extremely modern and educated while others are only attempting to catch up to the Europe First World norm. Croatia endured a brutal war with Yugoslavia in the 90s that they are still desperately trying to recover. Many are jobless and have left the country for work. And those that remain many times work and are never paid. In Bulgaria, there is a large gypsy population that the missionary works with there. Bulgaria is a poor country but the people work hard to appear that they have more. In Spain they love to party. In France they are very family oriented. Spending as much time with family, enjoying life and food.

 

None of the countries, save maybe Romania, are full of dedicated believers in any religious sector but all are deeply affected by their Historcial form of religion that weaves its threads of doubt, fear and feelings of spirituality throughout their hearts and minds. Most have claimed either Catholicism or Orthodox as the counties religion on paper, while most say Atheism is the religion of the day. In the Netherlands only 17% even claimed believing in God at all!

Another heart breaking statistic that they all have in common is that only 1% or less of all the countries follow Bible believing Christianity. What a great mission field! Every country is dealing with people that take years of sowing the gospel seed before they even consider taking a step of belief. In Spain, Mrs. Kaiser mentioned that Catholics in their area need to here the gospel 50 times to understand the gospel. Did you notice she said, understand the gospel not choose to believe the gospel. It can be so difficult for people from Biblical Christian backgrounds to even grasp this thought but it is definitely true. Those that have been inundated with false doctrine for years can be at a loss to understand the simplicity and the new truths that the gospel presents. They are truly perplexed by these new things that are so drastically different than everything they have heard from a child.

Try to think of a truth that you have believed since a child. Something that is commonly accepted by most everyone around you. Something that in your mind has been proven and is completely believable. Let's say the earth is round. Can you imagine a foreigner coming to your town and trying to convince you that it wasn't. It would take a lot of evidence and discussion for you to even consider such a thought and you would be highly skeptical. I recall years of witnessing in Asia, when you would share anything from the Bible people would just stare at you in perplexity; not indignant, not indifferent, not argumentative, just simply perplexed by these new words and thoughts. Now people in Europe may get a different attitude of response when they share the truth but the lack of understanding is the same.

What a great challenge to us Christians, worldwide, to be consistent faithful wittness' to those who need us to go the extra mile.

Isn't that the essence of Christianity. Someone who would care enough to consistently share the Love of Christ no matter whether it was accepted, understood or appreciated. Sometimes we are so quick to clear our conscience that we have tried once or twice to share the gospel with someone. However we are also so quick to forget how much was invested in our own salvation. Most accepted Christ after hearing the gospel many many times. Even if you were saved as a child, how many Bible stories did you hear from parents, how many Sunday schools did you attend and sermons did you listen to before accepting Christ!

I discussed with the ladies how long they generally had to witness to someone to see them come to salvation. The average numbers between all the countries was 5-10 years. You can see how the fight against discouragement would be strong. The fight for each soul is a mighty battle. It was mentioned multiple times to me that Europe is known as the "graveyard of missionaries" Many missionaries have lost the battle with discouragement. This a great reminder for us to faithfully lift up our missionaries in our prayers and allow the Lord to lead us in how we can encourage those who are seeking out the one lamb.

The Netherlands, Italy and Croatia rated in with the least amount of missionaries. The ladies said there would be between 11-20. While France, Spain and Romania claim to have between 20-50. Keep in mine there is at least 20-25 other countries in Europe that I wasn't even able to get in contact with. Most have very few missionaries serving there.

I asked the ladies what was one of their greatest struggles ministering where they are. The biggest response was dealing with the Catholic Church, Orthodox or Charismatics. Some of those situations are just getting the people to overcome the teachings of these religions but in Romania it is even a step beyond. The Romanian Orthodox clergy actively tells lies about the Baptist Churches. Trying to scare their people with crazy and immoral stories they have fabricated about the Baptist Church and telling them that the biggest sin is leaving the church. This is obviously an obstacle to overcome. Thankfully we know that we fight not against flesh and blood. The devil is the one that connives the plans to attack the church and hinder the spreading of the gospel. Thankfully we serve a God who is Omnipotent and can give victory over all.

The second most used answer about their biggest struggle was dealing with the apathy of the regligious and the atheistic. So many have become harden and calloused to anything religious and show no feeling towards things of Christ. It can be a definite battle witnessing consistently and getting very little response. If you see some spark of interest, it spurs you on to faithfully share the truth but when you are dismissed regularly it can cause all kinds of doubts and discouragement. I remember our first few years on the mission field, this was a perplexing topic in our hearts. Serving in heathen countries and countries over-run with false religion tests all you believe and your faith in the Bible.

Thankfully if you allow it, God will use this to further confirm and convince you of the truth of the Bible no matter where you find yourself in this world!

And the truth that the Lord concreted in my heart was the fact that,

"For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." Heb. 4:12

When you doubt everything you see and everything you know, you can have faith in Gods Word. And when those around react to Gods word like they don't care, don't believe and wish you would just go away, you can count on this promise!

God IS working in their hearts!

Many times this may be the only thing that keeps missionaries going. Because faith in others, conversions nor joys of success will give you the same endurance as believing in Gods constant Omniscient working in EVERY SINGLE person's heart, including our own.

Also Mrs. Susan Abbot mentioned one struggle being the time it takes to make the relationships needed to witness to people in France. It takes a lot of time and patience to forge friendships with the French people. Which is one of the reasons people use so many different forms of outreach. Many of the ladies mentioned doing VBS, English classes, bible studies, tract distribution and camps as outreach in their areas. In Italy, Mrs. Rice, said they have a weekly booth in their market where they pass out tracts. In the Netherlands, street preaching is often done. Mrs. Susan Abbet in France said she has joined a craft club to meet some ladies and her children are involved in some sports teams, where they are able to meet and witness to other young people.

All of the missionaries I spoke to have either started a church where they are and seen some people saved or are working in a local church where they are. What a blessing to see that amidst all the difficulties these faithful servants and their families have seen victory in Christ in these challenging areas. Please continue to uplift them in prayer as they serve with their families in Europe. Pray for patience. Pray for wisdom. And also pray for national leadership. I was told by at least one lady that all the churches in the country were missionary led because of lack of male national leadership. It is a big need and a big prayer request.

Pray for Europe

Suzy Crocket-Romania

Kessler children- Bulgaria

Geigers-Spain

Keisers-Spain

 

Posted with Blogsy

The Road Less Traveled... for a Reason

People love to ask us questions about our field.

And I love to share about our field!

But sometimes they ask questions that are difficult to answer. They seem like simple questions, but in fact they are quite complicated and have a "long story" explanation.

Take, for example, this simple question:

"How long does it take you to get to church?"

Of course the person who asks this question is expecting me to give a simple time answer ( hours and/or minutes.)

If you are wanting a simple answer, the best I can do is to tell you it takes us anywhere from thirty minutes to an hour and a half... and there have been a couple of occasions where we never made it there at all.

For those who enjoy the "long story," just keep reading.

Here is how it works in a third-world country: We must have plan A, plan B, plan C... and so on. And it isn't necessary to go in alphabetical order either. Our family has found life more exciting when we skip to plan F and come back to plan D if plan F fails. It keeps things lively and fresh.

On the way to church, we may encounter a plethora of obstacles. We have learned how to skillfully navigate those obstacles with a laugh and a Facebook post.

Some of these obstacles are nature. Cows, chickens, ducks, dogs, goats... usually these are pretty easy to get around. Occasionally the cows take a little more effort to dodge. If the chicken decides to cross the road (for whatever reason) and we hit it, it costs us 1000 rupees. That's about $10 USD. Ducks are $14 USD. 

Monsoon season brings its own road adventures and obstacles such as washed-away, slippery, or soupy roads.

Then there is the construction. Construction is never announced. There are no signs or cones in the road. We just come upon it and deal with it. Either we find a way to remove the obstacle, or we must turn around and try plan N. Plan N is not that fun, but it is better than plan Q.

On many occasions, the men have had to remove large rocks where construction crews decided the best place to dump the rocks was right in the middle of the road. Sometimes the construction crew helps. Other times they stand and watch in awe that the foreigner is willing to get dirty by picking up these rocks.

 A few times this dumping practice has forced us to park the car and walk.

Sometimes the obstacle is people, political demonstrations, or festivals held in the streets. We just have to wait until they move on or some kind person clears the way for us to pass through.

Often there are traffic jams caused by narrow road ways and impatient drivers.

All these adventures remind me of another road:

Matthew 7:13-14 "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it."

It's not the easiest road to navigate, but it is the only one that takes us to the place we want to go. Yes, there is an easy road, but destruction isn't the destination I prefer. That's where the easy road leads.

So as you think about all our physical road adventures, stop and think about those who are on the wrong road spiritually. What are you doing to get them on the right road?

Cinnamon Amish Bread

 

I live this recipe. It's simple. It's fast and super yummy. Whenever in a pinch and I need to throw together a goody for breakfast, snack or desert I almost always have these ingredients in the house.

Cinnamon Amish Bread

Makes 2 loaves

1 cup butter, softened

2 cups sugar

2 eggs

2 cups buttermilk or 2 cups milk plus 2 tablespoons vinegar or lemon juice

4 cups flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

Cinnamon/sugar mixture:

2/3 cups sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon

Cream together butter, 2 cups of sugar, and eggs.

Add milk, flour, and baking soda.

Put 1/2 of batter (or a little less) into greased loaf pans (1/4 in each pan).

Mix in separate bowl the 2/3 c sugar and cinnamon.

Sprinkle 3/4 of cinnamon mixture on top of the 1/2 batter in each pan.

Add remaining batter to pans; sprinkle with last of cinnamon topping. Swirl with a knife.

Bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 min. or until toothpick tester come clean.

Cool in pan for 20 minutes before removing from pan.

Posted with Blogsy

Abide

My eyes open with the morning light.

A fresh, new day.

I rise and start on the plans for the day.

The list is long, but my strength seems enough.

Breakfast, dishes, chores.

My strength begins to fade.

I hear Him call.

"Abide."

Language class, homeschooling the children, cleaning.

I feel it in my muscles... in my bones.

A quick break for lunch. My eyes are heavy, but I must press on.

Visit a neighbor. I struggle to understand her. I feel like a failure in my language skills again. I walk home with my shoulders slumped.

Then I hear Him call.

"Abide."

Prepare my children's class lesson. Walk to the store for dinner supplies. My strength is almost gone, but the day is still hovering over me like the blazing sun.

Dinner prepared. Dishes washed. Clothes ironed for the next day. Children tucked in bed. Nothing left to give... nothing left... I wasn't strong enough...

I hear Him call... "Abide."

Rewind the day and start it again...

My eyes open with the morning light.

A fresh, new day.

I rise and get alone with Him. I open the Book. He speaks to me.

John 15:5 "I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing."

My strength will not be enough, so I must abide.

Breakfast, dishes, chores.

I rest in Him... I abide.

I hear Him call, "My grace is sufficient for thee."

Language class, homeschooling the children, cleaning.

A joy. A peace. A strength not my own.

A quick break for lunch. A prayer to focus on the tasks still before me.

Visit a neighbor. I struggle to understand her, but I know that He can do things I cannot do. A hug. A smile. We may struggle to understand each other, but she can see Christ loving her through me. His love has no language barrier. I walk home trusting Him to work.

Prepare my children's class lesson. Walk to the store for dinner supplies. My strength is almost gone, but His strength sustains me. His Word guides my steps.

Dinner prepared. Dishes washed. Clothes ironed for the next day. Children tucked in bed. A loving home. A peaceful evening. I lay down upon my bed and whisper a prayer of thanksgiving. He did it. He used me again. He sustained me.

I hear Him whisper, "My strength is made perfect in weakness... Abide."

Stages in Ministry: When You're Not Doing What You Thought You'd Be Doing

It’s kind of funny when you're as old as I am and you look back over your life. My husband and I have been on the field of Spain for nearly thirty-three years, and almost none of that time was spent doing what I envisioned.

Every field is different, and every missionary woman is different. So are our ministry purposes (schools, church planting, Bible translation, children’s homes, medical missions, etc.). We are singles, wives, and moms.

I don’t pretend to have the answers for every missionary woman. But, I thought you might learn through some of my own history. I hope you’ll smile with my memories and see how God was in it all—even when I had absolutely no idea what was going on.

We arrived in Spain with a baby in our arms—a screamer, who was quickly nicknamed “Comanche.” We knew nothing: no Spanish, nothing about the culture, zero. We were homeless, carless, and clueless. Thankfully, our co-workers were helpful and patient. They searched for an apartment for us, and they helped us to clean it, buy a car, and start paperwork for Spanish residency. They also got us enrolled in language school.

Eight months later, they left on furlough. We quickly found out that total immersion was somewhat close to drowning. We worked with the Spanish pastor and his wife, who spoke no English. To say the least, our conversations were “interesting,” like point, gesture, and grunt. Our private prayer meetings were bilingual. Our missionary co-workers experienced some health issues and remained in the States about two years instead of one. In the meantime, the Spanish pastor became discouraged and threatened to quit. We encouraged him to hang on at least until our co-worker returned. Can you imagine?!!!

By the time our co-worker got back, thankfully, the Spanish pastor was doing better. We also had a nice-sized group of young people, and my husband and I took the reins with them. My husband was barely able to read the devotionals, but we were making friends and having some kind of an impact in lives. I had our second baby, and we took both children everywhere with our young people.

Soon, it was time for us to leave on furlough. We had been in Spain for five years. Our furlough was longer, also, as we needed more support. Then, I found out I needed surgery. Our visas expired, and it took six months to get new ones. It was a long, painful—literally—time at home, filled with misdiagnoses and frustration. But also, God was giving us some new supporting churches, and they have stuck with us all these years.

When we arrived back in Spain, we were ready to start the new church—the reason we went in the first place. This was our vision. But, things didn’t work out that way. There were problems in the first church, and all of us were needed there. We were able, though, to find and buy a storefront in our target area. We applied for a building permit. (The storefront was rough brick on the outside and not even a finished floor inside. There were no walls or divisions.) We waited for permission to start building while holding weekly prayer meetings with our co-workers. God blessed! In fact, one of our supporting churches sent us nearly enough money to supply all the materials for finishing the inside. We hadn’t asked for anything, but God supplied. Our co-worker is a skilled carpenter and bricklayer, and my husband is a good electrician. They learned tiling together and did a beautiful job on the church. The two of them finished it in a year.

During that time, with our little ones, we continued to help out wherever we could in the first church, especially with young people. In 1994, we were able to open the new church. (It was ten years after we arrived on the field.) We had a wonderful opening service on a Saturday evening. I believe there were over eighty people present—many from sister churches. The next morning, a handful of people from our target area, our co-workers, and us attended. Soon, we held our first baptismal service. The new church had begun!

We did tract distribution on Saturdays and personal evangelism whenever we could. At that time, we got an average of one response for every 2,000 tracts that we distributed in mailboxes in our target area. Some people accepted Christ as a result, and we had other opportunities for personal testimony and witness. The church began to grow with baby Christians and non-believers attending as well. There were times when I had the opportunity to teach a children’s class and other times when we had no children. People moved out of the area in search of work. Our church attendance went up and down, and we tried to be faithful in outreach while ministering to those who attended.

Then, there were a couple of church splits in the first church. Some of those people came to our services. I began to teach the young women for a while. The pastor of that church resigned, and our co-worker was called back to take over. It was only natural that the families that had come to our church from that town would go back to their local church.

We were left with a “geriatric church.” My husband and I—with one teenager still at home—were easily the youngest people in the church. Soon, two of our women passed away and one moved away. We had no couples, no children, and everyone was up in years. It was almost funny! People would visit—and stay for one service. Did we scare them? Truly, it’s hard to attract families when you don’t have any. It’s hard to attract children when there aren’t other children or teens in the church. Some did come, though, and a young man our son’s age began attending.

I did weekly Bible studies with several different women. One of them has learned to read during our studies, and she came to know the Lord, too. Talk about a transformed life! She’s a new person!

We also experienced threats, harassment, and hostility.

What did I think I was going to be doing on the mission field?

• Mentoring groups of eager women—being a Titus 2 teacher
• Having a children’s ministry

What did I end up doing?

• Camp ministry
• Homeschooling for sixteen years and mentoring my own children
• Bible studies with those who wanted them, when they wanted them
• Teaching those few children we had in our church at different times
• I invented other areas of outreach. I wrote my book, began blogging, wrote a second book, and I counsel and mentor women by telephone, online, etc.

What have I learned?

1. My ideas and God’s are often poles apart. I need to be doing what He has in mind.
2. There are stages in everyone’s ministry.
3. You do what needs done, when and where it needs to be done.
4. For married women: ask your husband what his priorities are for you. This will quickly help you sort out your own. Someone gave me this advice years ago, and it has been very helpful!
5. If God doesn’t open a door, don’t push.
6. Cleaning the restrooms, mopping floors, keeping the nursery, and aiding a drug addict are just as spiritual as teaching, if they’re done in joyful service to the Lord.
7. It’s okay to ask God to show you ways you can do personal outreach. He will show you!
8. When God opens the door, go through it! God will give you the ministry He wants you to have and empower you to do it.

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable,

always abounding in the work of the Lord,

forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

 (1 Corinthians 15:58)

May God bless you in whatever He’s put on your plate today!