Come to Me

These words of Jesus  are familiar to many of us:

Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, 

and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. 

Let me teach you because I am humble and gentle at heart, 

and you will find rest for your souls. 

For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.  

Matthew 11:28 - 30 NLT

What do you think these verses mean for you?  For some of us, these verses may mean that when life gets too tough, Jesus will fix it so we get a break. Others note that Jesus will still have us "bear the yoke", but He'll be attached to other side and help us carry the load.
When something is familiar, we tend to take it the same way every time we hear it.

Recently some Kenyan missionaries and pastors were led through a RENEWAL seminar at our house. WGM conducts this for our missionaries when they return to the US, and our WGM Member Health staff who were visiting in Kenya, took time one afternoon to lead the seminar here for these 3 couples. The Kenyans were wanting to learn how to help other missionaries and pastors who were Burned Out. Tired. Broken. Weary.

One part of the seminar was for each person to be quiet for 45 minutes and meditate on some scripture. The verse above was one of the scriptures.

When the 6 people returned to share what God had said to them, they all said the same thing: they had always thought this verse was about becoming a Christian. God takes our burden of sin, and sets us free.

But now they heard God say to them that He cared for them, knew they were weary in carrying many burdens of ministry, and He would teach them in His humble and gentle way, and give them rest.

• One couple have been missionaries for 20 years in difficult places in Kenya, and even these days are experiencing fighting and violence in their part of the country. 
• Another couple had been missionaries for 8 years to an unreached group. They were now directing other missionaries, and facing challenges of leadership and member care. 
• The other couple had just begun ministry, and feeling a deep sadness over years of childlessness.

There was excitement in their voices as they told of hearing God speak to their hurting hearts and weary souls. They were eager to share this with other missionaries and pastors. They hope to conduct this RENEWAL seminar for other Kenyan missionaries and pastors, so that they may have new life and health breathed into their lives.

Come to Me, Jesus says to all of us. 

What are our burdens? How tired are we? 

Does the work seem impossible to keep doing?

Why don't you spend an hour thinking about these words from Jesus. 

Hear Him talk to you. 

And rest.

A Typical-Untypical Week

We are often asked what a typical week is like for us. That is usually impossible to describe, since each week is completely different. Some weeks we have committee meetings, or meeting with missionaries, or traveling, or staying home. Earlier this month we had all of the above:

July 2, Wednesday
About 25 AGC urban pastors were having a retreat in Nakuru, and Jim was asked to speak to them about how to make worship more effective in their churches. We arrived late morning and shared for about 1 1/2 hours about creating services after which people will say "were not our hearts burning within us?", a reference to the disciples who met Jesus on the road to Emmaus after He was resurrected.

After lunch with the pastors, we traveled on to Tenwek in time for a Crisis Management meeting. Since the opposition party in Kenya was planning a big rally on Monday, July 7, we discussed plans for minimizing travel by our missionaries on that day and how to evaluate and strategize for other security issues we face in Kenya.



July 3, Thursday
Every 6 - 8 weeks, our Kenya Field Executive Finance Committee meets to discuss issues, evaluate progress, and make decisions. Jim leads the meeting and I take the minutes. This meeting ended a bit earlier than usual - only 7 hours long with lunch in between!

After supper, we met with one of our families who are heading for the US the following week for 6 months. They tell us their plans and challenges, and we have prayer for them. They have a son graduating from RVA, another son returning to Kenya in August to continue at RVA, and another son getting married in January.

July 4 - 6,   Friday - Sunday
We traveled from Tenwek to Kericho Friday morning since I had a meeting with the TEE Council. We heard about the progress and challenges in Theological Education by Extension, made plans for fundraising and celebration meetings in several church regions, reviewed the new 5-year Strategic Plan, and dedicated a new computer purchased by WGM.

We got home about 45 minutes before 2 new missionary families arrived for the weekend. Heath & Angela Many with 2 girls, and Jim & Martha Ritchie with 3 children are currently studying Kiswahili near Nairobi, and came for the weekend for some WGM orientation, shopping, eating, and warming up. Their language school is at a higher altitude with temps in the 40's - 60's these days, much rain, and little sun!

July 7, Monday
We had issued a travel warning to our missionaries due to a major opposition rally in Nairobi. Thankfully the day was peaceful, and we got a lot done at home.


July 8, Tuesday
We decided on the spur of the moment to travel to a nearby tourist campsite to celebrate our anniversary. It was only about 25 minutes from our house. For several years we had wanted to see what it was like, and were not disappointed. We stayed in one of their rustic "luxury tents" complete with electricity and comfortable furniture.



The rustic part was that it was hidden from the other nearby tents by bushes and trees, and the adjoining bathroom had a bucket for a toilet into which we poured sawdust after every visit. It also had an open-to-the-elements shower for which we arranged the time that the local workers would bring the hot water. The food was excellent, and we enjoyed watching and listening to the many birds surrounding the tent.








July 9, Wednesday
Our actual 37th anniversary! After lunch we traveled home.

That evening our Bible study group visited a local family who had an 8 year old boy with cerebral palsy. Our group sang, shared encouraging words, spoke a lesson from the Bible, shared gifts of food purchased by our group, and prayed for the family to keep their faith in God as He helped them in raising this child.








Our typical-untypical week brought many opportunities of teaching, encouraging others, meeting in committees, orienting new staff, traveling, eating together, celebrating marriage milestones, and ministering to those in need. So now you know why we sometimes have a hard time telling you what would be a "typical" week!

COOKOUT Kenyan Style

We are part of a neighborhood Bible study that meets every Wednesday night. Besides studying the Bible, our group prays for each other throughout the week, sponsors a couple of orphans in school, and visits those in need in the community throughout the year. We also decided to have occasional times of fellowship and fun. Here are some pictures of our recent cookout - Kenyan style - that was held in our back yard.

There were many similarities to American-style cookouts: families bring different dishes to share, people sit around while the meat cooks, and kids enjoy playing games in the back yard. Some of the foods are familiar - baked beans, potatoes, cole slaw, chicken, and grilled sausages. However, here are where the differences begin.

The main meat of the day was grilled goat. One of the members purchased the goat which was already skinned and cut up. We moved our grill to the back yard and about 5 men showed up early to grill it, which is the about the only food that men will cook. While each one had an opinion on how to do it, one of them took charge, and it turned out to be the most tender goat we have ever eaten here.

The women arrived later with the other dishes - chapatis (like tortillas), bhagias (batter-dipped sliced potatoes), ugali (stiff cornmeal mush), and pilau (rice with spices). After prayer, everyone seemed to know what to do, and the plates quickly filled up for the 27 people who were there. There was even enough for second helpings, including more goat meat. The dessert was fresh fruit, coffee, and chai (hot tea made with milk).

A couple of months earlier, the group had heard about a book called "The Five Love Languages", and were interested in studying it. Rather than study it on Wednesday nights, they decided that I would lead a discussion based on the book during the cook-out. Many had read the book ahead, and most had taken the test and knew their top two love languages. It was so fun to learn each others' primary and secondary love languages, and discuss how to apply this knowledge to their marriages, families, friends and in the workplace.




For those who know the book, my primary language is "Acts of Service" and secondary is "Words of Affirmation". Jim's languages are "Physical Touch" and "Receiving Gifts". We are opposite in the ways we prefer to receive love, which means we both have to work harder as we choose to show love to each other.





The cookout ended with prayer for each other and pictures of the group. The Lord held off the rain until we were finished, and everyone left happy to have eaten well and learned more about each other.

Shower the People You Love With Love

For those of you old enough to remember James Taylor, this will be a familiar song. The chorus encourages us to express our love to those we know and love and not hold back or wait. Here's a twist to that song that can give you a chance to help some people you will want to know and love.

This past week, we had the opportunity to take some friends to see the new Bethany Missions Center which is located about 25 minutes from us outside of Nakuru. It had begun as a dream by a former AGC Missions Director, who wanted a place for AGC missionaries and their families to rest, be renewed, and be trained. A plot was located, a site plan was marked out, and a couple of large metal buildings were put up. But the work stalled for a few years due to lack of leadership and funds.




A few attempts were begun to create bedrooms and offices in the large buildings, and the AGC missionaries began to use the site for some of their meetings.

This year, Men with Vision, the work team arm of WGM, sent its first team to the site to work together with AGC church members in construction of the Dining Hall/Conference center.

The foundation was laid as well as more work done on partitioning the buildings.

A block machine was later hired to construct the building blocks that would be put together for the walls, and in just a few weeks they were ready to be used. 

When we visited last week, the walls were already up about 5 feet! 

Very soon the windows will be installed and the roof put on. Another team is coming in June to do some of the finishing work. 

 The dream is becoming a reality. 

In a few weeks the first group of missionaries will come to be trained in Children's CHE (Community Health and Evangelism). This training will enable them to reach out more effectively to the many children in their communities with the love and message of Jesus. They in turn will engage their families to hear and respond to the Good News.

 




Here's where "shower the people you love with love" comes in. To get ready for the first group, the immediate needs are

• kitchen utensils
• dishes
• silverware
• mattresses
• sheets
• blankets 

In the US, we would have a "shower" to provide these necessary items. There would be a party, we would play games and eat some cake, and you would bring something as a contribution. Well, it's a bit far for you to come for a party, but you can still help.

Let me know if you want to buy something for the center, and I'll let you know what they still need, how much it costs, and how you can get the money to us. Items can be purchased in town, and are much cheaper than what you'd pay in the US. We'll even have a party as we bring your gifts!

Local churches will also be taking part, and this will be a blessing not only to the Mission Leaders, but also to the AGC missionaries themselves as they come and rest, be renewed, and be trained.

Shower the people you love with love, show them the way that you feel. 

Things are gonna be much better if you only will.

Looking Back - Easter Memories

Each year as I walk through Easter week, I remember the traditions I experienced as I was growing up. 

The Union Gospel Church of East Poestenkill was where my faith first began.

The week began with Palm Sunday. Our pastor, Rev. Charles Pollock, retold the story from the Bible, and brought palm fronds to church for each of us to take home after the service. Sometimes we formed them into a cross to remember the suffering and death of Christ.

The children's choir led out in the chorus and the congregation joined in the song "All Glory, Laud, and Honor", which told the story of Christ's Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem.
[Can you spot me - I'm front and center!]

The next event was Maundy Thursday which was held in the upstairs part of our fellowship hall. The pastor had prepared a table surrounded by 13 chairs. One chair held the picture of Jesus painted by Warner Sallman which usually hung in the downstairs fellowship hall. The other chairs were empty, signifying the disciples at the night of the Last Supper. After singing a few songs such as Hallelujah, What a Savior,  When I Survey the Wondrous Cross, and 'Tis Midnight; and on Olive's Brow, Rev. Pollock would read the story of the Last Supper when Jesus ate the Passover meal with his disciples. He then invited us to sit at the chairs around the table, 12 people at a time, to receive communion. The lights were off, with only candles at the table, helping us to put ourselves in the story. When all had finished, we closed with another hymn as we remembered Jesus singing with his disciples at the end of the meal, and then walking together to Gethsemane.
The candles would be blown out, and we walked out quietly to our homes.

I don't remember attending a Good Friday service until I moved after college to Corry PA to work at the Evangelical UM Church there. The community held a three hour service in the middle of the day, with pastors and choirs from the various local churches each reflecting on the last words of Jesus on the Cross:

Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do. 
Today you will be with Me in paradise. 
Behold your son, behold your mother. 
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me. 
I thirst. 
It is finished. 
Father, into your hands I commit my Spirit. 

Each of the seven last statements of Christ took on new meaning as the speakers spent time unpacking the words. It was a rich ecumenical event, demonstrating the unity of Christ's Church as we observed this saddest of all days.

Back to the time I was a child, Easter morning was full of traditions. My church, the Union Gospel Church, and the local Baptist church would meet in a large parking lot at 6:30 in the morning just as the sun was beginning to rise. We could hear a brook gurgling nearby, and the birds beginning to chirp. There were only one or two times that we had to move to the church due to snow or rain, but we considered the cold to be worth it as we heard the good news of the Resurrection and sang loudly with our breath making great clouds around us. I usually had a new Easter dress, hat, gloves and shoes, which barely kept me warm that morning. The new clothes were symbols to me of the New Life which Jesus brought that Resurrection morning.

After the one hour service, we went to church for breakfast. Scrambled eggs, sweet rolls, orange juice and coffee hit the spot, and prepared us for the morning worship service an hour later. 

Some years we had an Easter Cantata in the morning service. Many years, we children presented poems and re-enacted the story, complete with costumes and a makeshift curtain that could be drawn for change of scenes. The hymns for the day were the most joyous - I Know that My Redeemer Liveth, Christ Arose, and of course Christ the Lord is Risen Today. I have missed singing those over the many years living in Kenya. They were songs of triumph. Of hope. Of a Savior worthy to receive my praise and love.

Tradition. Sounds, visuals, smells, tastes, touch. 

My grasp of the Greatest Story on earth and the foundations of my faith 

came through all these senses, 

as year after year my family, church, and community 

retold it in ways 

that even a child could understand. 

Book Review: 7 - An Experimental Mutiny Against Excess by Jen Hatmaker

I love finding books that are outside my usual fare: books that challenge my comfort zone, inform my ignorance, or expand my awareness. I usually avoid trendy and trite. My contact with this author was minimal, having heard an interview of her on a Catalyst podcast. But what I had heard intrigued me, for she was both outrageous and genuine. I think this book was on sale for a short time (I rarely like to pay full price) which is why I bought and sent it to my kindle.

Another thing to point out is that I don't fast or like to think about fasting. With my stressful life, that's a stress I don't want to add. It's something I need to deal with, but for now I'm trying to at least keep life simpler. So it took a bit of courage to wade in to a book about fasting, though since it wasn't just about food, I figured I might not feel too guilty.

Her first few pages took a little bit of getting used to, since she tends to write in a stream-of-consciousness way. She's an extrovert to my introvertness, and a say-whatever-she-thinks or even say-before-she-thinks kind of person. But I eventually settled down and enjoyed the wild ride through her 7 month experiment.

Jen's purpose statement:
7 will be an exercise in simplicity with one goal: to create space for God's kingdom to break through.
Her method:
I approach this project in the spirit of a fast: an intentional reduction, a deliberate abstinence to summon God's movement in my life. A fast creates margin for God to move. Temporarily changing our routine of comfort jars us off high center. A fast is not necessarily something we offer God, but it assists us in offering ourselves.

By the end of the introduction I was hooked. I, too, wanted God to fill my life. I needed to empty out some stuff. I was eager to hear what she had to stay.

The first two months she did on her own, and the other months they did together as a family. By the end, they were all more intentional on how they lived, consumed, and reached out. It was not an end, but part of a process of loving God and others more.

Here's what she did during the 7 months:
Month 1 - Food: Eating only 7 foods
Month 2 - Clothes: Wearing only 7 items of clothing (underwear didn't count)
Month 3 - Possessions: Give away 7 things every day
Month 4 - Media: Turning off 7 media screens
Month 5 - Waste: Doing 7 habits for a greener life
Month 6 - Spending: Spending money in only 7 places
Month 7 - Stress: Resting, prayer, and observing 7 "Sacred Pauses" each day

Interspersed in the book is research on hunger, poverty, consumption, food production, and so many topics that give validity to the need to simplify our lives. A lot to think about.

Intrigued? I hope you are. I would love to hear that you get the book, read it, and begin to open up more spaces for God to fill.

I (and my stuff) must decrease and He must increase.

Rain

Rain has finally come to clean the dust from the air,
[So does the Lord come to clean the sin and clutter from my heart.]





... bringing life-giving water to the brown earth,
[My parched heart craves Your living water which You promised to all who ask}

... causing the dead grass to turn green and newly planted seeds to sprout, 

[You bring growth and new vision bursting from the seeds You planted in the dry times.]

… refreshing the birds who have endured the drought for too long.

[It feels so good to be clean and filled!]

No more artificial watering.

 [I don't have to keep trying to refresh myself with things that don't really satisfy.]

Cleansing,
restoring,
refreshing,
life-giving.

God's gift of rain is like His Holy Spirit who does the same work in my heart. 

Welcome rain! Welcome Holy Spirit! Thank You, Lord!

Lent: Giving Up, Giving Out or Giving In

I didn't grow up observing Lent. I attended a small non-denominational country church near Albany NY which had only four days on the church calendar - Christmas, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday. Sometimes Pentecost if the pastor was paying attention and thought that day was also significant. Even the denominational Christian college where I spent four years did not promote Lent or Advent as I recall, though they may have done it without my understanding.

It wasn't until I began working at a United Methodist church that I became aware of these Christian seasons, both through special services and through changing the colors of the altar cloths and choir stoles. I began to enjoy moving through the Christian story, giving more attention to the preparation for the two biggest events in human history - the birth of Jesus and his death and resurrection.

There is something powerful in joining with believers from around the world and across all faith traditions. I become more focused and intentional on remembering what my Lord and my God did for me. His reality becomes more significant than the world around me. I look for resources to help me go deeper in my understanding and practice.

Lent is the period of time leading up to Easter, beginning this year on on March 5. As I reflected on what it means to observe Lent, and wondered what I would do this year, it seemed there was a variety of ways that people set this time apart.

GIVING UP
The usual practice is to give something up. The purpose could be to experience a sacrifice that would help us identify with the sacrifice of Christ. As a type of fast, it could also serve to make a person more sensitive to spiritual things.
The items I often hear about are coffee, chocolate, desserts, Facebook, computer games - all things we may take great pleasure in doing that would become a personal sacrifice of sorts.

The positive results of Giving Up would be the daily reminder of what we are doing for the sake of Christ, as well as the witness to others that there is a greater purpose to follow in life.
The negative could be choosing something we could temporarily live without, choosing a trivial item that has little relationship to the actual purposes of Lent, and even the joy in resuming the practice that was given up  that overshadows the Resurrection!

GIVING OUT
Some choose to give more sacrificially to others during Lent, engaging in outreach to the needy. The purpose would again be identification with the life and sacrifice of Christ.
Volunteering, raising awareness, giving resources and time - all activities which are intentionally done during Lent as a service to the less fortunate.

This is actually related to the first point, since it is a "fast" that God prefers from us:
"Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: 
to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, 
to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? 
Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter;
when you see the naked, to clothe him, 
and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood?"

What could be more honoring to the Savior than for us to do as He did in serving the poor. And certainly charitable organizations can use all the help they can get.
However, if we view our activities as "paying our dues", or giving us credit on some spiritual scale, we reduce the meaning of Giving Out to another way to benefit ourselves more than others.

GIVING IN
Another word is surrender. Choosing to follow the will of God rather than my own.
It requires self-reflection to see who is really in charge.
Repentance.
Listening.
Seeking.
Desiring.
It is much harder than the other two (though may be combined with them).
It believes that God wants to control my Lenten journey, which may lead to a mountain top or valley.
It may be walking by myself or with others, though always with Him.
It is seeking the Giver more than the Gift, the Person more than the Practice.


I want to be ready on March 5 to begin whatever Jesus wants me to do for the next 40 days. In this regard, "pre-Lent"is as important as Lent itself. It is good to be intentional and plan how to put yourself in a place of hearing from and responding to God. I have been learning of various things other people have done or are doing during Lent:

• Give up being critical … or self-centered … or wanting to be comfortable all the time
• Give up praying in the usual way. One writer felt God wanted her to pray with 3 words only each day. It's not as easy as it sounds, to discern what 3 words would convey best what you wanted to say to God.
• Get on a scripture reading plan. That same author has a 40 day plan to read through the New Testament, 7 chapters a day. See margaretfeinberg.com
• Read some good Lenten books or guides. Our personal favorite is Reliving the Passion by Walter Wangerin. 
• Reflect on hymns and songs that tell about the suffering, death and resurrection of Jesus. You could do a song a day, and not exhaust them all.
• Attend special services during Lent, even at churches other than your own. 

Watch this blog for more Lenten reflections. And let me know what God has led you to do!

Pruning

Jim gave me pruning shears for Christmas. I did not ask for them, but he thought I might like them. And he may be right. We’ll see.

I have never known how to garden, nor have had a significant interest to learn. I usually kill plants that are in the house, because they don’t let me know when they are thirsty, or too hot, or being invaded by bugs. We have someone who works in our yard and who keeps things looking pretty good. So, I didn’t think I needed pruning shears.

But two days before Christmas, a man who had done some recent landscaping at our house came to visit to see how the plants and flowers were looking. As we walked around, he would often remark that he should have come sooner, or it wasn’t growing as he hoped, or wondered why the gardener had let some things grow so wild. I felt ashamed of how some things looked, even though I was not really responsible. At one point we observed that a certain plant, the Bird of Paradise, was covered by snails and slugs. After remarking how destructive they were, he asked for a spray bottle of concentrated salt solution. He kept tasting the solution and asking for more salt until he was satisfied that it was strong enough. The effect of the spray on the snails was immediate – they began disintegrating and dropping to the ground. (A small part of me was sad for the pain they were enduring, but I realized that caring for one plant required the destruction of something else. Something like the Circle of Life.)

Now I knew what to do when snails invaded a plant. If I could learn that, I could also learn how to care for the other plants, one by one, little by little. I also wanted to learn their names, as I had done with the birds in our yard several years earlier.

So Jim bought me my own gardening tool. Pruning shears by which I deal with plants one by one, little by little. I remembered several months earlier when we were at our home in NY tearing out the dead limbs and cutting down the bamboo that was invading our yard. It was hard work, but I discovered I enjoyed clearing out what should not be there so that what should be there will be stronger, healthier, and better looking.

You can guess the personal spiritual application in all of this. There are places in my soul that are ugly tangles of dead or destructive attitudes, thoughts, and habits. Some I have let remain because I didn’t know what to do about them. Some I can’t see by myself, but others can. Some I am not sure if they are good or bad, similar to a gardener deciding if something is a plant or weed.

Now, God is the Gardener, and does the pruning in my life (John 15). This requires me to not fight Him when He cuts things out or kills the destructive “snails” that feed on my life. However, other passages suggest that I have a more active part to play in the pruning process. Hebrews 12:1 exhorts me to “throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles”. While this is written in the context of running, it can also relate to the weeds, snails, and dead and diseased branches that I should remove myself.

Pruning, whether done by God or by myself is painful, embarrassing, and a bit scary as I wonder if it’s the right thing to do. But oh the final result is worth it. The real me as God intended begins to show through. New growth comes more quickly as the diseased parts are removed.

Our garden in Kenya was designed and planted about 40 years ago, and continues to bring beauty to our home as it is tended, improved, and pruned. I may even learn how to care for my plants both inside and out, and enjoy it! I’m 60 and intend to live some more years on this earth and into eternity. The Gardener and I will always have more to do. 

So, bring on the pruning shears.