Our One Hope

This is not what I thought it would be, 
a quiet safe place with time to rest 
and peace my constant cup of tea. 
Instead I toss and turn, my heart 
churning with yearning for that 
final resolution of these conflicts,
a revolution that turns the world
upside-down, filtering out the evil
and cleansing the cup so it can fill up
with harmony and purity, with love
that heals the hurts and starts
a whole new space, one blessed
with holy truth, security.
This is no usual war, no common
battleground where drones can see
insidious manoeuvers of the enemy.
No, it’s in the air! It’s everywhere,
in hearts and minds, targeting souls,
spreading fear and power grabs 
so that worlds rip and shred apart.
We cannot win without the aid
of One who rules the atmosphere,
the ins and outs of every home
and ups and downs, the One who knows
the ways the Enemy uses ruse
 to conquer for his purposes
the human race. So we cry out
to you, the Sovereign King,
our only hope when we see dreams
go up in smoke! Bring out your guards,
defend your own! Devastate
the darts that come with poison
intent to bring us down!
You have soldiers we can’t see
but we know they can overcome
the wiles of the Unruly One
and all his nasty hidden troops!
Our hope is you! Just you!

Do we believe he is God Almighty? We sing it. Do we live it?

These past two weeks I was involved in the official checking of our translation of Isaiah into Nyarafolo. The true meaning of one of the names of God came up when the consultant asked my co-translator, Moise, and I, why we had chosen to render  “YHWH sabaoth”  as “Yahweh the Commander of Heaven’s Armies.” Sure, that’s what the name means in Hebrew,  but doesn’t that scare people, he asked?

Moise chuckled. “No! They never reacted in fear when they heard it!” The Nyarafolo people are constanly aware of the spiritual forces all around them. Their traditional religion requires all sorts of sacrifices to various gods for different needs, and dangers from tripping up keep them in fear. When they realize that in Christ they are now serving the God in charge of the heavenly armies, they know they are in the hands of the One who can defend them and win over those lesser spiritual beings. They know the reality of spiritual warfare.

In English most translations render this as ”LORD Almighty” or “LORD of hosts”—in French, it is often “SEIGNEUR de l’Univers.” These all capture some of the relevant truths communicated by that name. Yahweh is all powerful, and reigns over the universe. He is lord of hosts, but growing up I always wondered who those hosts were: armies everywhere? crowds?

I processed the truth again this week. When we serve the One who is commander of his own huge and mighty army of beings we know are his loyal servants, the angels, the spiritual forces are the ones who need to be scared. We, Yahweh’s loved ones, are protected.

And when we are his servants, under the command of the One who rules his army of heavenly beings, we are also told to wear armor that is based on our faith in him. That brings hope in the crises as he tells us how to be prepared when battling these evil entities we cannot see:

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. (Eph. 6:12 NIV)

The New Living Translation does translate this name more literally: “the Lord, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies.” LORD stands for his name, the “I AM,” YHWH. More and more preachers and translations are ceasing to hide God’s real name, the one by which he revealed himself to humans from the time of creation to Noah, Abraham and Moses (Genesis 7-9, 12-15; Exodus 3, especially verses 13-14). God is the one who always has been, who is, who always will be, and his name is YHWH: the I AM. An English pronunciation of the Hebrew tetragrameton YHWH is Yahweh. (A misunderstanding of the later Hebrew written form that added the vowels for adonai, “lord”, led to the pronunciation “Jehovah.”)

When Israel began to suffer extreme threat from enemies, it was Yahweh the Commander of Heaven’s Armies who spoke to them again and again through the prophets. They needed to know that whatever armies came against them, they had be completely loyal to the Commander; then they could be saved. When they chose not to trust him, there was an inevitable consequence: the enemy would win. Under the Commander’s protection they would win. This brought confidence in both rescue and justice:

O [Yahweh, Commander] of Heaven’s Armies, what joy for those who trust in you. (Ps. 84:12 NLT)

For [Yahweh, Commander] of Heaven’s Armies has a day of reckoning. He will punish the proud and mighty and bring down everything that is exalted. (Isa. 2:12 NLT)

So, bringing this home to our contemporary world, we must remember who it is that sends us into battle, or hides us in his protection, or takes down the wicked forces. He is truly ruler of the entire universe, which includes the earth and the spiritual domain. What we see as corruption, power grabs and cruelty by the powerful here on earth is a result of sin and the machinations of the Enemy to do all he can to tear down what is right and mess up this world. He will not win in the end, but right now we are in a constant battle, whether we are aware of it or not. Remember:

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. (Eph. 6:12 NIV)

We tend to attribute the waves of evil around us to human brokenness, which is not wrong—it is just a war that goes way beyond that into the heavenly realms.  I am reminded of The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis, in which he imagined how a more experienced devil would coach a novice in strategies to make his assigned human wander from the Truth and be corrupted. If you haven’t read it, pick it up! For those of us who live in Western cultures, it opens the curtains between the physical and spiritual worlds and makes the spiritual battle very real.

There are times when we have truly felt the resistance of the Enemy to our work of translating God’s Word into Nyarafolo. We would get to key points, ready to finish a certain book or move ahead to complete the New Testament or Psalms, and the attack came: a translator fell off his motorcycle and ended up with severe back injuries that incapacitated him for months; a mysterious fire was sparked inside the translation office at dawn and destroyed many of our commentaries and dictionaries as well as a translation desk, severely damaging the electrical wiring and ceiling; just as we hoped literacy work was taking off, we discovered that the man hired to do it was morally corrupt . . . the list goes on.

I was constantly reminded that this project was the Lord’s. He had launched it and would finish it. We needed to be sure that we were wearing all of our battle and defensive gear:

13 For this reason, take up the full armor of God so that you may be able to stand your ground on the evil day, and having done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm therefore, by fastening the belt of truth around your waist, by putting on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 by fitting your feet with the preparation that comes from the good news of peace, 16 and in all of this, by taking up the shield of faith with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 With every prayer and petition, pray at all times in the Spirit, and to this end be alert, with all perseverance and requests for all the saints. (Eph. 6:13-18 NET)

We pressed on, praying continually, supported by the prayers of many of our friends and “companions of the Road.” The Word is still being completed in the Nyarafolo language, and attacks continue. But the New Testament, Pentateuch and Psalms is in print, in the hands of the people, and the harvest is increasingly visible! God, Yahweh the Commander of Heaven’s Armies, will complete what he has started!

Where do you see ongoing spiritual battle in your life, your community, your world? Make sure you constantly wear your armor and are ready to act as the Commander says to. And “with every prayer and petition, pray at all times in the Spirit, and to this end be alert”! The warfare is ongoing, but we know who is in charge every step of the way: Yahweh, the Commander of Heaven’s Armies!

*If you would like to hear more of the exciting story of how  the seed planted in this people group, the Nyarafolo, one of the “least-reached,” is in a season of harvest, you can hear it from my husband and I and the descendants of the first missionary to the Nyarafolo this coming Friday! We will be interviewed live on WorldVenture in Review:

http://www.worldventure.com/events 10 a.m. EDT, 9 a.m. CDT, 8 a.m. MDT, 7 a.m. PDT

At Pisankaha, January 2025: Lori Gould McKee, Greg Gould, Baba Philippe (son of one of the first Nyarafolo believers) and Hannah Gould

Power Paradox

When I let go 
take my hands off 
lose control 
then I am weak 
powerless to 
influence 
situations 
fix the problem 
do it my way.

Then paradox
takes over:
his hands firmly
in control
he is strong
powerful
able to
accomplish
the miracle required.

And there’s 
a corollary:
when I live
within his grace
I have his power
to use for him:
the paradox
of mutuality—
Christ in me.

Have you come up against a situation where you become aware that you, by yourself, cannot do what needs to be done? I’ve often been there, wondering how I can meet the challenge. My own resources, whatever they are, are either disregarded or insufficient. I feel that I’ve been preparing for this but now find that I cannot change a thing. I pray, and this is what my Master tells me: when you realize that you are too weak to push that heavy obstacle off the path, lean on me—let my powerful hand help you, let it do the work! It’s like the times I’ve begged my husband to come help me open a jar lid that is absolutely stuck and my hands are too weak to turn it; I take my hands off, he puts his strong fingers around it and there! It turns! Or I am struggling to take suitcases to the car, wondering who is around, and my son comes running up to take the heaviest ones out of my hands and carry them for me!

A key element here is belief that the person coming alongside you is strong enough to do what needs to be done. The more we grow in our faith in God, the more we learn that he is always able to do what is essential. True, he will do it his way, in his timing. But he does use his humble servant to get the job done when it needs to be done, when that servant leans on him for strength and direction. But if the servant insists on doing it on his own, refusing help or guidance, he can easily fail. He may push that obstacle with all that is in him, but nothing is accomplished.

Paul had to learn this the hard way when his arrogant self-reliant pride had to be crushed so that he could recognize his own insufficiency and rely on his Lord (2 Corinthians 12:7-9). Whatever his weakness (a “thorn in the flesh”) was, when he recognized it and gladly accepted the Lord’s strength instead, he found joy in that tough situation:

But [the Lord] said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. (2 Cor. 12:9 NIV)

He would “boast” about how he could not do his service on his own! That is a huge step, a growth in humility and recognition of human inadequacy, as well as growth in knowing God and his desire to give his servant the strength that is needed.

For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. (2 Cor. 4:6,7 NIV)

As we become increasingly close to God we learn to recognize his goodness and power that are shown in how the Messiah lived and worked. Paul even explained that although his light shines into us, we are just like clay jars that only show some of that glory. God alone can display his immense glory. But the light that we do radiate to the world reveals that it is no mere human gift: it is extraordinary light since it comes from God himself!

When we feel weak, like a clay jar that has no light in itself, it causes us to turn to the source of light and strength—like turning on a strong electric light when a little candle burns out, leaving a room dark. We have to believe that God who rules the universe is the one who can do what we ourselves cannot do. And going through the process of learning to rely on him, recognizing our “weakness,” is an essential learning curve in our spiritual journey.

So when we are in a place where we sense strong opposition from the Enemy, we ourselves are weak in comparison. We probably even look weak to the world around us. Why? Because we are obeying God, faithful to him, and this makes no sense to them. For example, we are not to retaliate in a way others may consider normal, because our Master has told us to love those who oppose us! We are to speak the truth in love rather than in derogatory put-downs. We are not to bear grudges, but forgive. All of that can be interpreted as weakness.

Christ himself did not retaliate when he was cruelly sent to the cross, knowing that his death would accomplish salvation for whoever would believe. He had not hidden who he was, but the very people who should have believed that he was Messiah rejected the truth and killed him. That did not destroy God’s plan or his power: Jesus was raised to life and now lives in us when we put our trust in him! As we serve him he empowers us.

For to be sure, he was crucified in weakness, yet he lives by God’s power. Likewise, we are weak in him, yet by God’s power we will live with him in our dealing with you. (2 Cor. 13:4 NIV)

Douglas Moo explains the “weakness” this way:

“The ‘weakness’ is not physical frailty or moral impotence but rather the ‘weakness’ of non-retaliation or non-aggressiveness before people and the ‘weakness’ of obeying God. People who are weak in human estimation because they seek to do God’s will are supremely strong. But that ‘weakness’ of Christ is past. Now he lives a resurrection life sustained ‘by God’s power,’ ‘the Spirit of holiness’ (Rom 1:4). As a result of his union with Christ (‘in him’) through faith, Paul shared the ‘weakness’ of Christ’s passion. But in his dealing with the Corinthians, he would be fully alive (‘we will live’), along with Christ (‘with him’), ‘by God’s power.’[1]

In other words, Paul was stepping aside from wielding his own authority to let Christ’s authority be his constant direction and strength for the task. He made this clear when he wrote to the Galatians:

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Gal. 2:20 NIV)

So when we are “weak,” laying aside self-assertiveness to let Christ call the shots, we are now serving the Almighty, the God who is love, light and life.

LORD Almighty, blessed is the one who trusts in you. (Ps. 84:12 NIV)

How are we blessed? He is our Father, our Guide, and when we rely on him, his strength is active and he accomplishes his purposes even through us. We have joy in the reality of that relationship. I am repeating this to myself every day as I go through an extremely challenging time. He is my strength!

 The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him. (Ps. 28:7 NIV)

[1] Douglas J. Moo, “The Letters and Revelation,” in NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible, ed. D. A. Carson (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2018), 2097–2098.

Moaning in the Desert

Bleak, dry ground extending 
to every horizon, 
sun beating down—no shelter, 
no way to move forward 
but step by tired step, 
feet filthy, sore. 
No food! I just scraped 
the last dried scraps 
from my shoulder bag. 
My children are crying: 
where are we going? 
where is home? not here! 
Is there really a promised land? 

We saw what our God did:
he shoved our angry enemies
into roaring waters. They’re gone.
But all we see before us
is desperation!
My friends say so too.
We groan. Hold hands.
Did Yahweh save us
just to laugh while we cry,
stranded out in nowhere?
Our leaders have lost it.
They took us from our homes!
Sure, we struggled there too
but we had food to eat!
Now all we see is desert. 
Deserted. Hope gone.

What? They say to turn,
to face over there,
to come near to Yahweh!
How can that be? Oh wow! 
That cloud we followed
just lit up like a blaze!
What is going on?
Now they tell us we’ll be
eating all we want
when the sun goes down
and breakfast will be served!
Really? Out here in the dust?
And yet—look—it’s happening!
Unbelievable! But oh so real!
Yahweh is here after all,
even in this bleak desert!
       (cf Exodus 16)


Sure, the Israelites were grumbling. They had just run through a crazy path in the Red Sea with a wall of water towering each side of the wet sand. The Egyptian army was coming! It must have been exhausting, especially for women with children. Then there had been the huge sigh of relief when Yahweh did that miracle and crashed the water walls down on the enemy. They were finally safe! Miriam led the celebration!

After that they walked three days without finding water to drink. And the one source they found was Marah, “bitter”. Another miracle: God told Moses to throw a certain tree in the water, and wow! it was drinkable. Then yet more trudging, with rest at a lovely oasis, but they were told to move forward again. Now no end was in sight. The world around them was becoming increasingly dry and barren. Ah, the “Wilderness of Sin” it was called. And the people sinned.

Worn out, hungry, with no idea of how much longer this was going to go on, they grumbled and cast blame on their leaders, who said they were following Yahweh’s orders. I probably would have grumbled too. There was no map, no end in sight, no rest stops, nowhere to get supplies. Did Moses and Aaron really know what they were doing?

Then, speaking through those two men, their God Yahweh answered them.

9 Then Moses said to Aaron, “Say to the whole congregation of the people of Israel, ‘Come near before the LORD, for he has heard your grumbling.'” 10 And as soon as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the people of Israel, they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory of the LORD appeared in the cloud. 11 And the LORD said to Moses, 12 “I have heard the grumbling of the people of Israel. Say to them, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. Then you shall know that I am the LORD your God.’”  (Exod. 16:9-12 ESV)

Now that was the first time that they had been told to come near to Yahweh! And he showed them visually that he was present, lighting up the pillar of cloud that that they’d been following. He truly is the God who loves being with his people. A verse that has influenced me all my life is this one:

Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. (Jas. 4:8a ESV)

What Yahweh promised the wanderers must have seemed impossible: dinner and breakfast  for thousands of people there in the wilderness. But he did do what he had said: he sent a flock of quail huge enough to fill each Hebrew’s hungry stomach, and in the morning he rained down “bread” no one had ever seen before. They named it “what is that stuff?” (manna). And in spite of not having had anything provided for them until that evening and morning, they were now being tested. Did they trust Yahweh to provide manna again the next day too? He said that they had to trust him—if they gathered more than their family needed, it would rot. A test of faith it was indeed!

We may find ourselves in a place of similar testing. Will the Lord actually make a way through the wilderness? One of my childhood songs comes to mind:

My Lord knows the way through the wilderness,

all I have to do is follow!

Faith for today is mine all the way

and all that I need for tomorrow!  (Sidney E. Cox)

Trust in God’s promise to guide us is something he teaches us as we follow him. To learn it, we have to practice it, stepping out in faith that he will provide what is needed. It’s easy to just recite The Lord’s Prayer without realizing that even there he was teaching us all to depend on him for “our daily bread.”

In order to demonstrate their trust that Yahweh would keep sending manna each day, the Israelites were forbidden from hoarding. They were not even allowed to save up for just one more day (except when the next day was Sabbath), and as day after day Yahweh came through with bread from heaven, they learned to let go of their need to do everything for themselves. “Let go, and let God!”

The Israelites had already seen God Yahweh destroy the enemies that intended to kill them. Their trust in his promise to bring them safely into the land he had prepared for them would be tested over and over, even after arriving there.

That kind of trust is a challenge for us, too, but Jesus made it clear that we need to trust our Father in heaven to be our provider and our rescuer. Another line of The Lord’s Prayer makes that clear:

And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. (Matt. 6:13 NET)

While they tramped through the wilderness the Hebrews were on a long learning curve, getting to know this amazing God who had saved them from slavery and slaughter,  and who could feed them and give them water while they walked for years—no road, no way to know the future. But he did it, and the story was written down to teach us the same lessons. Our God is trustworthy; what he says he will do, he will do. It may not be the next day. Or even the next year. But we are not to doubt his goodness and dissolve in grumbling. The evil one would be very happy with that! Instead:

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding. 6 Acknowledge him in all your ways, and he will make your paths straight. (Prov. 3:5,6 NET)

Putting these threads together, this is how we must grow in our intimacy with God and trust him. The context of that special verse in James gives perspective: we not only need to draw near, but repent and turn around, living wholeheartedly for our Lord.

7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you.  (Jas. 4:1 ESV)

Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. (Jas. 4:8 ESV)

We might feel like no end is in sight. There is one way to rest and to trust:  we  must count on our Sovereign God Yahweh to come through!

Rooted, Held Firm

When I choose  
to trust 
in spite of 
everything 
I shoot 
new rootlets 
into the  
pulsing 
burrowing 
system  
that anchors me 
in Jesus’ love. 

Living there
I am
drinking in
hesed and agape
unending
intimate
unselfish
empathetic
forgiving
unretaliating
love beyond
my understanding.

My heart is full
my veins
are pulsing
energy of life
and Jesus
has become
my constant
strength and song.

There is so much imagery in the Bible about plants! The Creator made them all, planned out the ways in which they would thrive and produce what his people and his earth need. And we people depend so much on the plants that the word pictures make great sense when we contemplate them.

I think of the Vine and its branches, and the way that the sap flows from the trunk (which is Jesus) to nourish the branches and make them fruitful. Then there is this  passage that adds rich depth to understanding the nutrient value of what we coak up from that attachment to him. It references what roots absorb from the soil in the ground that holds them firmly in place. I looked at the ancient tree in the photo above that has lived through countless storms, still flourishing—firmly rooted in the ground, even expanding its reach. It actually has become kind to the town people, giving them a place to store their wares. It is useful in new ways, old as it is.

I wonder how much nourishment it has to drink up in its mature age to keep healthy: Think about these verses :

16 I pray that

according to the wealth of his glory

he may grant you to be strengthened with power

through his Spirit in the inner person,

17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts

through faith,

so that,

 because you have been rooted and grounded in love,

18you may be able to comprehend with all the saints

what is the breadth and length and height and depth,

19 and thus to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge,

so that

you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.

(Eph. 3:16-19 NET)

The prayers for growth in these verses are powerful, each one linked to a prerequisite. Then it culminates with the criteria for knowing the love of Christ and being “filled up to all the fullness of God.” Which one of us who is committed to him does not long to be filled up like that? No more languishing, wilting, or failing to grow!

We must be strengthened by the Spirit in our inner person for us to get to that point. He lives in us, once we give ourselves to the Lord and devote ourselves to obedience.

This then makes it possible for Christ to live in us: we believe his promises, we accept his salvation and his daily shepherding. We have to have faith, trusting that what we cannot see is nevertheless truly Real, that Jesus is our Rescuer and Master.

It is because of that that we can put down roots into love, roots that hold us steady through storms and sunny days. His love sustains us and empowers us to really know him, to understand what is beyond normal human capability to understand: how incredibly deep and wide is his love! When we finally know what cannot be known otherwise, then we can be filled with God himself! His Presence changes everything in our outlook and our actions. His love is pouring through us, making us able to be healthy and fruitful. He himself is filling every aspect of our person!

So let’s shove our roots down to that love and drink it in. Storms will come, as well as long dry seasons, but that deep love never runs dry. And it flows into us, bringing us to that place of knowing increasingly better our beloved King of the Universe who actually wants to live with us so intimately!

Confession in the Storm

When turmoil seems to rule 
like waves surging high 
to crash, foaming— 
and you, Lord, seem to be asleep— 
fear also rises 
and takes control of our thoughts.

We hear the rage of the storm.
We feel the cold wind pierce
and chill our hearts,
icicle spears that do not melt.
We run to you,
crying out for you to act now!

Your response is rebuke:
Why are you afraid?
And you act. 
You reign over the storm
even when we fail you,
doubting your power, cringing.

Reminder: trust the King of the world!
The waves will calm, at least
in the view
of those with eyes glued
on him. He is in the boat with us!
We know he will do his thing!

It’s normal for fear to rise in reaction to surroundings that are in upheaval and out of your control. Are you feeling like that when you read the daily headlines? Or is it struggles in your workplace or your family that are wearing you thin? Is God going to intervene and calm the storm? Why is chaos continuing like this?

Once again my Jesus is reminding me that he may seem passive in the moment, but he is ultimately in control. He knows every minute what is happening, way more than I do. He knows where I am and what concerns me. My part is to trust his goodness and his sovereignty. The storm is real, but so is he, and he has purposes I cannot understand. I am not the key point in them; the world is much bigger than I am. But he hears my prayers, and says, “Why are you afraid? Where is your faith?” –just like he said to his disciples:

35 That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” 36 Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. 37 A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. 38 Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?” 39 He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. 40 He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” 41 They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!” (Mk. 4:35-41 NIV)

The disciples were not yet sure who Jesus really was, just that he had power. When the waves broke over the boat they couldn’t handle the water left behind, and they only had one person to turn to. So they did, waking him up with urgency. They still wondered why he had not already taken care of this! Did he not care about them? Jesus acted, then confronted them about their lack of faith in him. They were not yet ready to trust his character, to believe that he really considered their well-being to be important.

How about me? I know him and who he is. I have the rest of the story! I must remember to let him be the one in charge of the storm. He will accomplish his plan in his timing. Meanwhile I must also remember who I am in the scheme of things, and do my part by participating in keeping the boat afloat in whatever way he tells me to: loving my neighbor, speaking truth in love, sharing his light in darkness, going where he says to go.

And praying! Did you notice that Jesus did not act until the disciples begged him? That had to be a learning curve for them. He wants us to bring our requests, desperate or normal, to him at all times. We are then participants in what takes place as a result!

We must also bring our concerns to him and let him carry them.

 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. (1 Pet. 5:7 NIV)

Rejoice always, 17 pray continually, 18 give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thess. 5:16-18 NIV)

Can we give thanks as well, every time we pray?  Yes, if we remember that he is always listening, that we can trust him to do what is right, that he is all-powerful. Let’s thank him for that! And then there is that key point: he actually cares about me and you, and takes care of us. He loves me; he loves you! He can be depended on to carry us through whatever storm we are in, doing it his way and in his timing. Of course then I think about the times when, in spite of prayer, a Christian is persecuted and even loses their life. But their faith stood firm—what a witness that is!  Or we don’t see the answer we hoped for, not in our time span. That is when trust in God’s character and sovereign plan is essential. We are truly part of a much larger purpose, and we do not have access to all the fine print.

Do not fret because of those who are evil or be envious of those who do wrong; 2 for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away.

3 Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.

 4 Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

5 Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this: 6 He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun.

 7 Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.

 8 Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret— it leads only to evil. 9 For those who are evil will be destroyed, but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land. 10 A little while, and the wicked will be no more; though you look for them, they will not be found. 11 But the meek will inherit the land and enjoy peace and prosperity. (Ps. 37:1-11 NIV)

Our part is to trust Yahweh’s love and goodness and do the good he tells us to do. He is indeed in the boat with us! With him we can weather the storm!

Morning Thank-yous

Thank you for green filaments waving in the breeze on this hot day, 
for silver sunlight filtered through gray overcast skies, 
for the solid round edges of mangoes still ripening, 
hanging pregnantly from bowed branches,
and for those that have turned to gold and fallen 
to thirsty earth to make new wine and maybe children.

Thank you for trees that sing glory as I walk to work,
each flower individual in its watercolor hues:
themes of white, cream and yellow, rose and bright melon;
shower-of-gold blossoms like bunches of grapes;
 all of them  testimony to your infinite imagination,
artistic virtuosity far beyond our imitations.

Thank  you for soul music in the deeps of night
when thoughts carouse and wonder and weep;
you caress my distressed mind and stir in confidence
in your great story, the one that is not finished yet,
that holds my dear ones in your constant grip
and patiently designs a future filled with hope.

Thank you for reminding me this morning via mangoes,
and frangipani season and the gift of nature’s colors
and air movement in these pressured steamy moments,
that you are always here and there and everywhere;
your banner over us is love, and you delight in our appreciation
of the masterpieces you are creatively, constantly painting.

Yes, it has been hot and humid this past week in Côte d’Ivoire, and it’s easy to just notice the sweat rolling off my forehead and the heat rash starting to flare up. On the other hand, there is beauty and hope everywhere. I just need to pay attention. We are about to fly away out of it into the cold winter of Michigan, so I have been reminded to relish the things I’m going to miss—like mangoes, and the tree flowers, and birdsong concerts every sunrise hour.

This was all underlined last week when one of my  young African friends asked me why I had chosen my Nyarafolo name, the one that people love to call me whenever I am here. I knew why she was wondering. My name, Penyuɔnɔkuɔ, has a negative meaning. It is the short form of a well-known proverb: “You help people but then they forget to be grateful.” I had wondered the same thing—why that name?—when my women friends decided to give it to me, decades ago, because my foreign name “Linn” was too difficult, not familiar. So I had asked, “Why that one? I wanted a good one like Glenn’s!” (His name, Kajuʔulosori, means that he doesn’ hold grudges!) My friends answered: “It is a good name, because it’s so true!” They are going to love Ecclesiastes.

I had to process the relevance of that meaning for a while. Then, as I was reading the Word, I began to notice how many time my new name was echoed in the Scriptures. God would help people, but they would forget to to thank him! So I started writing “Penyuɔnɔkuɔ” beside those verses. Yes, that name was very meaningul in this world!

You deserted the Rock, who fathered you; you forgot the God who gave you birth. (Deut. 32:18 NIV)

. . . they did not keep God’s covenant and refused to live by his law. 11 They forgot what he had done, the wonders he had shown them. (Ps. 78:10 NIV)

He saved them from the hand of the foe; from the hand of the enemy he redeemed them. 11 The waters covered their adversaries; not one of them survived. 12 Then they believed his promises and sang his praise. 13 But they soon forgot what he had done and did not wait for his plan to unfold.  (Ps. 106:10-13 NIV)

When I fed them, they were satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud; then they forgot me. (Hos. 13:6 NIV)

That is a sampling. But those verses show how dangerous it is to forget what God has done and all the ways he has blessed us. It is not just a matter of forgetting to say “thank you!” The negligence leads to a lack of attachment to the God who provides, and saves, and guides all because he is the One who pays attention to us and loves us. We wander off into despair, seeing only the darkness in the world around us, not even considering our need to “wait for his plan to unfold.”(Psa. 106:13).

Noticing creation’s beauty gives us a daily step into gratitude. When we practice it, we can learn to notice the other things our Father is doing in our lives, our communities, our world as well. It is not only the magnificence of the sky and bits of the universe shining in it, or the stunning mountains or the cute animals. It is paying attention to meaningful words and actions.

As we were saying our goodbyes to Ferke friends this past weekend, we were showered with thank-yous, sometimes about things we didn’t remember doing. Other times it was just touching to find out that some act had been noticed. And when we thanked the friend who brought us her home-made peanut butter as a gift, and the taxi-driver who took me to and from work each day with no fee (serving his real Master), and the little boy who saw me gazing at the golden rain tree blossoms so climbed up and pulled off a bunch for me—each one of their faces lit up with happiness. The gratitude showed them that they were noticed and appreciated.

That is the least we can do for the King of the Universe. In spite of the chaos all around and personal suffering and disappointments, we must express thanks for ways we see his hand at work. I tell myself: Make a list when you wake up, or when you take your walk or drive to work, or when you are cooking or sweeping, or when you are ready for bed. What has been a hint or a neon sign that declared the Lord’s kindness today? Then we can say “thank you!” and experience that uplift that we need. Yes, he is near. Yes, he is good. Yes, he is at work! And we are so privileged to be attached to him!

Caught Inside a Wider Web

Baruch sat huddled 
within his scrolls 
deep in the throes of despair. 
Words darkened the parchment 
and his soul, relentlessly 
marking out tragedy, 
punishment! The torrent
of eviction, malediction
kept screaming in his mind,
the prophet’s warnings and lament.

But at the Throne
his pain was seen,
framed by the stain
of hemorrhage from
a heart off-center, 
rubbing on the cross-grain
of life gone contrary 
to all hoped for, 
one by one the dreams 
of grandeur snuffed out
(people hanging on words
so carefully stirred
in ink and sorrow,
smitten at last 
with heartsick yearning 
and turning to the prophet
and his scribe...)
.

And so, the prophet’s lips
now spoke to Baruch,
passing on a word from Yahweh:
This is no time for pout
or concentration on
one’s own small claim
to fame nor on the joy
of feeling used for good
and seeing things work out:
relationships restored
and people back in place,
accepting grace . . .
and yet within it all
desiring rest for self,
your peace the unsaid goal.

God’s purposes are broader.
This time is one for ripping,
not for mending. 
That time will come,
but not for your eyes, Baruch.
Your life is but one thread
appearing briefly, deep inside
the tapestry unfolding
of a nation’s discipline.
Should your desire for golden
resolution, and a spot of honor,
or just rest from all the turmoil,
come first in Yahweh’s plan?

Baruch kept on scribing, 
writing for the public
even this surprise aside,
now spoken not to nations
but to him, amazing witness
to the Lord’s commitment
to his people,
to care for them in trouble, 
even if their hopes get crushed
within the slow unscrolling
of Yahweh intervening
to finally make all well.
Time will tell.

So  Baruch wept his private tears 
and kept on serving, writing,
passing on the words
that burn my heart today:
We’re caught inside a wider web
but Yahweh is the weaver.
Enough. I rest.

 I hadn’t noticed Jeremiah 45, a short chapter with five verses, until I read it during a rough time for me. We were evacuated from our Côte d’Ivoire home and ministry due to war, and things were still very unsettled there. My beloved sister was dying from leukemia. And my work in Bible translation was temporarily on hold.

Now I am in a different life phase, actually translating Jeremiah into Nyarafolo with my coworker Moïse. We have not yet reached chapter 45, but the context of the first half of the book builds towards it: chapter after chapter is full of judgment of the rulers and people who are unfaithful to Yahweh their God. Jeremiah is sometimes called “the weeping prophet” for good reason: he wanted to cry fountains of tears (Jeremiah 9:1). It was a tough job he had been given, always relaying God’s messages of coming punishment because of their failure to stay faithful and their blatant wrongdoing.

And then Baruch, his scribe, is suddenly in focus. It’s clear that he and Jeremiah had shared many tough experiences. But most of the time Baruch is in the background, writing what he hears and sees. He is exhausted. It sounds like he not only has burnout but also overwhelming despair. Hope has withered into dust.

What a shock it must have been when suddenly Jeremiah passes on words that Yahweh is saying directly to him, Baruch! He is no longer just an observer and servant! Instead, Yahweh is affirming that he has heard Baruch’s heart:

2 “The LORD God of Israel has a message for you, Baruch. 3 ‘You have said, “I feel so hopeless! For the LORD has added sorrow to my suffering. I am worn out from groaning. I can’t find any rest.” (Jer. 45:2-3 NET)

Yahweh’s message was not very comforting. This is what he told Jeremiah:

“Tell Baruch, ‘The LORD says, “I am about to tear down what I have built and to uproot what I have planted. I will do this throughout the whole earth. 5 Are you looking for great things for yourself? Do not look for such things. For I, the LORD, affirm that I am about to bring disaster on all humanity. But I will allow you to escape with your life wherever you go.”‘” (Jer. 45:4-5 NET)

Quit looking for peace, prosperity or any great future? Those words were tough, but God gave a little glimmer of hope. There are disasters in which not even the innocent are spared, but the Lord was promising to at least let him live through whatever horrors would come. He was just not to expect to see his world healed. Not in his lifetime.

What has hit home to me is the attention of the Master of the Universe to even people with little personal influence or standing. He hears, he knows what is going on even with those of us in the background. When we are walking with him, he is walking with us through everything swirling around us. No chaos can remove us from his love and attention.

Whatever you are facing these days in your family, community, country or ministry, you are his. Our hope is anchored to just one Person, and he loves us. He knows every single thought we think, every struggle we have and every moment that brings joy. He is loving, even when he is ripping things apart to fulfill his purpose. What we often miss is that his purpose is far greater than our personal expectations and what might finally be resolved in our life span. We need to remember our place in the scheme of things:

Your life is but one thread
appearing briefly, deep inside
the tapestry unfolding
of a nation’s discipline.
Should your desire for golden
resolution, and a spot of honor,
or just rest from all the turmoil,
come first in Yahweh’s plan?
. . . we’re caught inside a wider web
but Yahweh is the weaver.
Enough. I rest.

The  prophecies in Jeremiah are overwhelmingly about judgment, but they do include a promise that eventually there will be restoration. Jeremiah and Baruch did not see that happy day. But they stayed faithful, and their testimony to us is powerful! When the chaos around us wears us out, we need to let the Master of the Universe carry our heart’s burdens while we still continue to do what he gives us to do. It may be to relay messages like Jeremiah and his scribe did—both of their jobs were a part of God’s work. Even those of us who are in the background, doing what he gives us to do out of the limelight, are noticed and loved. He will use us to accomplish his purpose, and eventually his purpose will be accomplished!

The Seed that Grows

You make us your heifer, pulling the plow, 
you shape us and train us, showing us how 
to lean to the left when your strong hand presses, 
to walk straight ahead, cleaning up messes 
and tearing out weeds, preparing the way 
for planting the seed in that soil on the day 
when all is in readiness, soft dirt tilled, 
and we press in the seeds till	the rows are all filled.

You must give the seed; our own is diseased.
You show how to plant it and tend it, then please,
you must send the rain that will make the shoots thrive,
the rain of what’s right and of hope that’s alive.
The roots will go deep, the stems will grow tall,
the leaves will shout green and the blossoms will fall
to make way for grain that is bred up above::
a life-giving harvest of unfailing love.

Wonder why we’re talking about being a heifer? It’s a meditation on Hosea 10:11-12, Scripture that has gained increased meaning to me once again. I will explain! This trip back to the field we worked in for over forty years, here in Nyarafolo land, has been full of a theme that we hear echoed again and again: seed-planting and harvest.

That Sunday in January when we joined the crowd at Pisankaha to remember Jim Gould’s legacy there it came up repeatedly, message after message. Jim had planted seed in hearts in that village and it had grown into the harvest we can see today. It had started with a small group of men interested in knowing Jesus, wanting to understand this Good News never heard before. Then Jim suddenly passed away after just three years of plowing and sowing in that “field,” so others had kept cultivating the seed. God gave increasing strength to the believers, empowering them to keep growing in spite of persecution that included setting fire to the field—to the church and the pastor’s house, and stealing families’ animals. Now we were celebrating the amazing harvest, with most of the villagers in Pisankaha now following Jesus.

Then this past Sunday Glenn and I visited the church plant in Lafokpokaha. Pastor Pekaly has been shepherding the small flock there and reaching out to five other groups. The two largest communities of believers from those groups joined the Lafokpo congregation to welcome us and to celebrate communion together.There was lots of joyful singing and dancing to open up the service. Then Pekaly introduced Glenn and reminded the people that he had been a child in Tiepogovogo when Glenn and Linn had begun working there. Sunday School began with Mariam teaching the kids outdoors during the service. She was a young woman married to the man who is now a Bible translator, Abdoulaye, and I was mentoring her as she taught Bible truths to these young boys who had never heard them before. She was a natural teacher with Spirit-gifting, and they were always mesmerized as they sat on the sprawling root of a tree at the edge of the village. Pekaly remembers how she sowed the seed and it landed on fertile soil in his heart. It grew and grew, and eventually led him to get pastoral training. Now he is also planting seed. And there is ongoing harvest!

I was deeply touched, sitting there in the cement room packed with eager listeners and kids  sprawled all over the floor. Back when Glenn was teaching those first believers in Tiepogovogo, and I got the Sunday School going with Mariam doing the actual teaching, we were only seeing slow progress. There was pushback from families in the village who did not want their kids to follow Jesus. One of them, Kifory who is now part of the Nyarafolo Translation Project team, was beaten when he returned home after sitting on the root for teaching; he had not been out in his father’s field chasing away monkeys! That was a long season of plowing hard soil.

Another young man, Fouhoton, had come to Jesus for rescue from scary spiritual oppression  he was experiencing after the death of his father. He had been the son designated to accompany his father in making sacrifices to the gods and spirits to beg them for good harvests, health and protection. He would spread the blood of the chicken on the sacrifice tree while his father said the incantations. Longing for release from the frightening spiritual attacks hitting him now that his father was gone, on Sundays he would sit in the back of the tiny building where his older brother and others were worshiping  Jesus. He heard Glenn repeating Jesus’ invitation to come to him, everyone who is carrying heavy loads, and they would find rest. “I need that rest, Jesus!” he said in his heart. And all the oppression disappeared! He became Tiepogovogo’s first pastor, and after 20 years there is now pastoring a large church in Ferke and leading outreach to the rest of Nyarafolo land.

There are other examples of seed planted in Tiepogovogo and growing into harvest, but these three stood out for me this Sunday as I remembered those kids craving teaching. We were like what Hosea was referring to: heifers yoked by the Master so that they could be guided as they did their work in the field. First they would need to plow the field, breaking up the tough soil to prepare for planting. That is like God leading us  to learn Nyarafolo even though we kept being warned that this was a very resistant people group. It started with language learning, building friendships, showing love. We didn’t know it, but Jesus had already plowed the soil in the hearts of two men by appearing to one of them at inviting him to come to him; that man was Pekaly’s father! And his friend who joined him in looking for Jesus was Fouhoton’s older brother! Fouhoton and Pekaly were young kids when we first began teaching there; they became the first two Nyarafolo pastors, continuing to plant the seed and reap ongoing harvest!

When you study the context of those verses in Hosea, the Israelites were being warned that judgment was coming unless they would return to how they used to be: well-trained heifers, and farmers who knew how to plow tough ground. The application to their lives would be to seek Yahweh, sow seed that was healthy and then reap a harvest of unfailing love!

Ephraim was a well-trained heifer who loved to thresh grain; I myself put a fine yoke on her neck. I will harness Ephraim. Let Judah plow! Let Jacob break up the unplowed ground for himself! 12 Sow righteousness for yourselves, reap unfailing love. Break up the unplowed ground for yourselves, for it is time to seek the LORD, until he comes and showers deliverance on you. (Hos. 10:11,12 NET)

“Go back to doing what I trained you for!” That was the message Yahweh was sending his people. If it would actually be done, then there would be good harvest and deliverance.

Jeremiah used this imagery too:

This is what the LORD says to the people of Judah and to Jerusalem: “Break up your unplowed ground and do not sow among thorns. (Jer. 4:3 NIV)

And Jesus  referenced it in his parable of the Sower (Mat. 13). Some of what we sow may land on rocks or where thorns grow up, but when he guides to fertile soil there will be harvest.

In those early days Glenn and I were learning what it meant to break up unplowed ground, to sow seed in the hearts of those the LORD, Yahweh, would direct us to. We had no idea what would come of it. We were just doing what he put in front of us, grateful for each opening, knowing we were supposed to be where he had led us. Now we can look back and see how the harvest is continuing, with certain key field workers still planting healthy seed and seeing the fruit of God’s love for all peoples. Unfailing love, faithful love, steadfast love, loyal love—those are all attempts to translate that deep Hebrew word hesed. What a wonderful harvest!

All these stories are just examples of what the Master might be doing where he has asked you to plant seed or plow soil or thresh grain. He determines what is needed to break through hard ground and produce fruit in his timing. Our job is to listen and go where he leads us—obeying the tug of that “yoke” he uses to direct us. It might be to teach Sunday School or Awana, or maybe to reach out to neighbors, or volunteer to help refugees. He knows where ground is to be plowed or seed planted, and he brings about harvest in his timing.

Glenn and I are so blessed to be able to see some of what God has done here, even using stumbling servants like us who had no idea what was going to come out of those early efforts. May you see the fruit of his unfailing love in your daily obedience too!

(Photo credit: Marilyn Pool)

My One Safe Place

When even the sunrise 
is muted by dust, 
the air polluted 
with smoke and red dirt, 
there is one safe place 
where I can stay, 
breathing in air 
that is healthy and clean, 
a place where my heart-hurts 
heal as I pray. 
Here beside you,
I’m finding a way
to gradually lay
each major worry,
each broken hope
on the palms of your hands.

You stretch them out,
your arms of power
with soft healing balm
poured onto me,
gently soothing
my fractured thoughts,
transforming them into
firm understanding
that all my hope
is truly in you.
You are my judge,
and their judge too;
I cannot see 
the ultimate scope
of what you are planning,
of what you will do.

I breathe it in. 
Your air is pure.
There is no dark
pollution here.
And you will help me
to persevere, 
eyes on you
and the final goal,
when you make all things
whole.

Our family has called the West African harmattan air “smust,” a blend of smoke and dust that carries in all sorts of gleanings it has picked up as it moves south from the Sahara. Here in the city the cooking fires and truck exhaust fumes add their spice. For most of us it just means dusting everything in the house more, but allergies and asthma can decide it is their time to rise, too.

It reminds me of the emotional atmosphere so many of us are living in these days. Whether we are in Africa with all the wars and rumors of wars along with fear of losing aid from other countries, or in the U.S. with all the headlines about political chaos, we can feel fear or disgust rising. It can truly be overwhelming.

The best place to go to breathe in totally different air is to our God:

You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. (Isa. 26:3 ESV)

I confess I have clung to that verse in many different circumstances, from sitting in a chair as the dentist starts drilling to trying to remain calm in a war zone. When I repeat it over and over, digesting the words, I am reminded that a mind focused on the King of the Universe who is my loving Father will  become distracted from fear and relax. When I contemplate his goodness and wisdom, I build trust where there was none (or very little). His purposes are not within my grasp. The key is trusting that he does indeed have purpose even in hard times.

I’ve been reading the Joseph story in Genesis. When I think of the cruelty he endured at the hands of his brothers, then years in prison due to the false accusation of his boss’s wife, I marvel that he held onto his trust in Yahweh. He obviously trusted him to empower him to interpret dreams when those opportunities opened up. And that brought him (after another long wait) into an unexpected position of power and wealth as he worked to prevent famine from devasting Egypt. Then his brothers came to beg for food too! He couldn’t trust them without first testing them severely, but when they had finally shown some selflessness he revealed who he was and gave God honor for fulfilling his purpose, unknown until then:

“I am Joseph, your brother,” he said, “the one you sold into Egypt. 5 And now don’t be worried or angry with yourselves for selling me here, because God sent me ahead of you to preserve life. 6 For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there will be five more years without plowing or harvesting. 7 God sent me ahead of you to establish you as a remnant within the land and to keep you alive by a great deliverance. 8 Therefore it was not you who sent me here, but God.  (Gen. 45:4b-8a CSB)

That truly took solid trust in God to see his purpose after all that suffering, forgiving his wicked brothers and being thrilled to save their lives and do what God had sent him to do!

We may not see God answer our prayers on the timeline that we were hoping for. We may not even still be alive when his purpose is revealed clearly! Or we might see it tomorrow—he might turn our world around so that it is no longer toppling, or return to earth and make all things brand new. We don’t know. But if we fix our thoughts on him instead of letting trouble and terror rule our minds, we can keep on keeping on. When we long to grow closer to our Lord and Savior, and become increasingly like him, then we might be able to do what seems so unlikely: find “joy” in trials:

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. 4 Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. (Jas. 1:2 NIV)

Not easy. Not natural for us. But he is our one safe place. With eyes on the one true God who loves us and lives in us and walks with us, those of us who belong to him can live to fulfill his purpose in us, and trust him to accomplish his purpose in the world. In his timing!

My coworker and I just translated the following verse into Nyarafolo today and it struck both me and Moise deeply. It echoes some psalms—this is truth that has been clung to for generations, that there is one safe place we can always count on, one person who is always there for us, even when the world is full of worthless things that are doted on even though they are not true:

O LORD, my strength and my stronghold, my refuge in the day of trouble, to you shall the nations come from the ends of the earth and say: “Our fathers have inherited nothing but lies, worthless things in which there is no profit. (Jer. 16:19 ESV)

He is our one safe place!

Remembering: “Smothered in the Night”

The long car twisted through tall grass 
In the shy darkness following sunset. 
Suddenly it was before us—the village, 
Mud huts huddled close like frightened sheep. 
Our headlights swept across them and then fell 
On a pile of children tumbling from the night 
To swarm around the car as we stepped out.

A skinny girl looked timidly up at me,
Hesitantly smiling. She held her baby brother,
Almost half her size, on her small back.
I smiled in return, and almost instantly
Muddy little hands from everywhere reached out
To greet me. We walked slowly, then, into
The cluster of huts, to a courtyard inside.

A boy lit a lantern, and we all sat down
On rough wood benches in the puddle of light.
A dwarfish man took out a tattered book
And we began to sing. Our music wasn’t sweet,
Yet with each song that rose and fell
Those hearts expressed their new-found joy.
A voice spoke quietly, and we all prayed.

A crude green box was passed around,
And from two work-worn fists there dropped
within it hard-won coins, their sacrifice
of love. Dad opened his black Testament,
And children playing near were quickly hushed.
Behind us women pounded grain and talked,
but in the courtyard all were silent, listening.

I looked around at every face, and pondered
On those lives. Four boys and men
Sat on a bench across from me.
One leaned ahead, intent on every word
that Daddy said. The others slumped
Against the wall. Their eyes were deeply tired.
They had worked hard and long that day.

One lonely girl leaned back against a post,
Her face a study in hope lost, now almost found.
She listened, but kept looking at the ground.
Lost deep in inner searching of her heart,
I felt for her, and longed that she might come
To Jesus, and find peace she’d never known.
Then all our heads were bowed again in prayer.

And as we rose to leave, once more
I glanced around at those then near to me,
And saw contentment in the young girl’s eyes.
The earnest listener on the bench was smiling.
But his companions’ faces were unchanged.
I yearned for these—their need was great.
“Oh, God,” I cried, “Please bring these souls to Thee!”

The car was waiting in the pitch-black dark,
And as we waved goodbye the headlights leapt
into the grass again, and left the village
Smothered in the night.
      Linnea Slater, 1967

I was a young teen when I wrote that poem about going with my parents to Pisankaha for an evening meeting. There were just a few young believers in Jesus there, men who really wanted to learn more. My parents did not speak their language, Nyarafolo, so they took a young man from church in Ferke to translate from French for them . He did not speak Nyarafolo either, just a related language from across the river, but the men could understand a lot of what he said.

Whenever I was home from boarding school I would join Mom and Dad, drawn to the need of these people isolated from so much. Only these few Nyarafolos knew about Jesus. I just sat in the dark and absorbed the scene, never imagining that in 2025 I would be back in that village in a big new church building remembering how it all got started when Jim Gould was following up young men who had come to the Baptist Hospital for treatment. They had showed some openness, so he went out to their village, Pisankaha, to try to meet with them. They were working in their fields; he went there to find them—they remember him trying to help with the work. Then after a while they agreed to welcome him in the village. He was learning Nyarafolo, doing the best he could, and several decided to follow Jesus instead of worshiping the gods of their traditional religion.

Then on Christmas 1965 Jim had died suddenly when his car rolled off the road, just after taking them back to Pisankaha after the all-night Christmas service at the Ferke town church. Mom and Dad and my Uncle John and Aunt Marion Slater all pitched in to continue his work in Pisankaha, joined by Pastor Bazoumana from the Ferke church as they rotated the responsibility.

This past Sunday (January 26) we gathered in Pisankaha with over 200 people, including pastors from other churches, to celebrate what God had done starting way back then. This was prompted by the visit of Lori Gould McKee and Greg Gould, who had been just six and four when their father died in 1965. Greg’s daughter Hannah was with them, and they admitted that she was the one who really had pushed them to come from America and see the harvest that had grown from the seed her grandfather had planted.

Remembering what God has done is actually a critical spiritual practice! It is dangerous to forget to look back, to quit sharing the proofs of the Father’s involvement in our lives. That leads to spiritual dryness and wandering and the consequences of wrong choices (see how it affected the Israelites:  Isa. 17:10; Ezek. 23:35).

Instead, we are told to do this:

Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them. (Deut. 4:9 NIV)

Remember the days of old; consider the generations long past. Ask your father and he will tell you, your elders, and they will explain to you. (Deut. 32:7 NIV)

Seek the LORD and his strength; seek his presence continually! Remember the wondrous works that he has done, his miracles and the judgments he uttered (1 Chr. 16:11,12 ESV)

And the psalmist vows:

I will remember the deeds of the LORD; yes, I will remember your wonders of old. (Ps. 77:11 ESV)

This is why I am in the long process of writing my memoir (maybe autobiography), remembering how I have seen the Lord’s fingerprints on my life. I need to pass them on:

We must not hide them from their children, but must tell a future generation the praises of the LORD, His might, and the wonderful works He has performed. (Ps. 78:4 CSB)

Even when I am old and gray, O God, do not abandon me, until I tell the next generation about your strength, and those coming after me about your power. (Ps. 71:18 NET)

A huge part of my story is how God used Jim’s death, and my father’s prayer that someone would be sent to continue his work, to plant an alert in my heart. I thought I was “just a girl” and could never do that. True—I could not do it alone,  especially not as a teen, but the Father sent me and Glenn here to be a part of the ongoing struggle to bring the Good News to this least-reached people group. We have seen Enemy pushback, we have seen amazing church growth in spite of it. Beleivers were once “smothered in the night” of spiritual darkness but now they are walking in the Light! The Lord is accomplishing his purpose!

Most of our work has been at Tiepogovogo, a village northeast of Pisankaha, another place God had chosen to plant seeds that would grow. After the small group of believing men was thriving there and some of their wives came to Jesus, we asked those first hardy believers from Pisankaha to come share their testimonies. As they told about the persecution they had experienced and the ongoing peace they found in Jesus, there was response we never expected: the women brought their idols and sacrifice jars to be burned! They had heard testimonies that Jesus’ power is the greatest, that he has opened the path to rescue and that it is worth it to suffer for him. The believers from Pisankaha were remembering the wonderful works of the Lord, how he had brought them through much persecution and had provided for them

We can find it easy to forget the fingerprints of God on our own lives. A few decades ago I was following a study guide that urged me to draw a timeline of my life, with moments of spiritual impact noted on it. These were likened to a standing stone set in a place to mark it as sacred, a monument to a critical moment (cf Gen 28.18). I had just learned what such a marker would be called in Nyarafolo as we translated Genesis: sɔ̀ngidaadiʔɛ: “a place to think and find”. You would mark the spot so it could be found again, think about what happened there, treasure it. I drew my timeline and began that journey of remembering. It was stunning how many different “standing stones” I needed to insert! Looking back we can notice things that we walked through without realizing what the Lord was doing.

Here is a challenge: take time to remember how the Lord has worked in you and in your world. Then share it with others, especially “the next generation”!

In the photo below there is a standing stone at Pisankaha that we just saw: the church that was burned nine years ago by Sacred Forest initiates (the men’s secret society in the traditional religion, who felt threatened by the growing numbers of Jesus followers), and beyond it, the new building with a crowd of people celebrating the memory of how God sent Jim Gould and then others to build his church there!

Photo credit: Linda Sharp