Moved ! and the story behind our new home

Family building adventures. 2005-2009Our family in 2005.

Laying firm foundation.

House raising party in 2006. Men from the community came to lend helping hands.

First stud wall up!

Daddy and some of my siblings.

Rafters are going up.

Roof raising party. Thanks be to God for all the helpers.

My sisters and I in the future living room/ dining / kitchen area. We are leaning against beams from world war 2 barracks.

The skeleton of a home.

Our home completed!!! (The white buckets were for collecting rain water for the garden)

My Father built a cabin in the woods.

Jonathan at the pump.

The barn. View from computer.

"Rejoice in the Lord always and again I say, Rejoice." Philippians 4:4 This was the beginning of the New Testament reading this morning at Church. My family especially has reason to rejoice in the Lord in this Advent season because we've moved into our long awaited home. We've been building it for four years.

"When are you all planning to move?" was a frequently asked question.

"By Christmas - we just don't know which year." was our joke, after it became apparent we weren't moving anytime soon.

"What is the story behind the house?" you may ask.

It began in year 2004. My uncle, aunt and four cousins moved in with us at the homestead "on the creek". ( In our area in Kentucky, we have ridges and creeks. If you have to drive up a big hill to get to your home you live "on the ridge" and if you can see hills around you I think you've found yourself in the "creek".) So Daddy, Mama, uncle, aunt and ten kids aging - 14,13,10,9, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 and 1 all lived in our one bathroom house for nine months. (Hey, it was like a big party for the kids.) Let's skip some details. It was decided that Papa would build my family a house in the back field (we had 4 acres) and my uncle would buy our house. But Grandpa heard about our plans and through his generosity and God's providence we were able to purchase a 15 acres piece of land.

The land had a little white house in which an elderly women lived in (which she had rights to until she died), two large barns falling down, an enormous amount of trash (Why send your trash to the dump if you can throw it over the hill?), an overgrown field and acres of woods. In the years that followed Daddy led in the development of the land ( cleaning up trash, putting in a driveway , clearing the fields, putting up fences, trimming trees, cultivating gardens, etc. ); fixing up the barns; building a cabin; planning and designing our house; developing two springs; and building our home. Not an easy job.

We sold our old home, shop and four acres to a home school family. Then we were able to pay back the money we had borrowed from Grandpa and build debt free.

On June 19th 2008, my family moved into the guest cabin Daddy and Ethan built in the woods. This cabin was complete with a bay window, wood flooring, faucet less sink, wood cook stove and back porch overlooking the ravine. What made the cabin unique for my family was the lack of electricity and running water. All the water we used for the family was pumped at the red hand pump outside the cabin. For cooking, washing dishes, baths, laundary, we learned to conserve water really well! As in: -"I think you can wear that shirt another day." We also learned how to live and work together in a tighter area. Let's say some days were better than others.

After a year and a half in the cabin, my father had finished the house and we eagerly bustled out of the cabin and into our beautiful new home. It looks as if we abandoned the cabin ! We took what we needed and left . One of these days we'll have to go clean out the cabin :)

Now we are in the house, just before Christmas year 2009. Thank you Lord for your provision in materials, time for building, friends and family who helped and grace to live one day at a time.

Parables

This morning, in Discipleship Class, I was introduced to an intriguing thought. This was in a subject I never had put much thought into - parables.

"Why parables?" You may ask, "Aren't those stories Jesus used when teaching?"

"Yes, exactly. Jesus taught in parables. And if Jesus used this method it must be a very good one."

" Yes, but that was a long time ago. We now live in an era of cell phones, Internet, facebook, science, ..."

" People are people. We all have that same nature. Those in Jesus' time(like us) had the need to be loved, need of belong, a self-centered nature. They cried, laughed, thought, and rested. Even before Jesus' time. "

In class, we were reading the story of David and Bathsheba. This is a dark story ... an account of a sin David committed against Bathseba, Uriah, and God. Then we read that David tried to cover up his sin ... This causes more consequences which spilled into the lives of many innocent people. (2 Sam. 11-12)

Next we find, Nathan, a prophet sent by God, spoke to David in a parable."There were two men in a certain town, one rich and the other poor.
'The rich man had a very large number of sheep and cattle, but the poor man had nothing except one little ewe lamb he had bought. He raised it, and it grew up with him and his children. It shared his food, drank from his cup and even slept in his arms. It was like a daughter to him.
'Now a traveler came to the rich man, but the rich man refrained from taking one of his own sheep or cattle to prepare a meal for the traveler who had come to him. Instead, he took the ewe lamb that belonged to the poor man and prepared it for the one who had come to him."

How did David respond?
"David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, "As surely as the Lord lives, the man who did this deserves to die!" (2 Sam. 12: ?)

"You are that man!" Nathan replied.

"Why did Nathan speak in a parable? Why did Jesus speak in parables?"

...The disciples came to him and asked, "Why do you speak to the people in parables?"
He replied, "The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him. This is why I speak to them in parables: "Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.
In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: " 'You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.
For this people's heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.' (Matt. 13: ?)

Jesus said, "Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand."

Parables are a way in which one reaches past a person's self-defence/ that feeling in which you have to defend yourself . "This is 'why' I'm O.K!"

What if Nathan had told King David, "You are a sinner worthy of death. You committed adultery with Uriah's wife, then committed murder against Uriah ..."? King David may have had Nathan's head chopped off. Do you think the people would have listened to Jesus? The Word tells us that the people's hearts where calloused. What callouses our hearts? Sin?

Fr. Bob brought forth the intriguing thought that we as Christian should also learn how to "speak in parables" in evangelism. Think about Jesus... OK. I'm stuck in this thought. I know what I'm thinking but just how to write that is a challenge. I found a article on http://www.internetevangelismday.com/ which so beautifully portrays what I am trying to share.

The Parable of Parable

Why stories communicate

"Once upon a time, Truth went about the streets as naked as the day he was born. As a result, no-one would let him into their homes. Whenever people caught sight of him, they turned away and fled. One day when Truth was sadly wandering about, he came upon Parable. Now, Parable was dressed in splendid clothes of beautiful colors. And Parable, seeing Truth, said, "Tell me, neighbor, what makes you look so sad?" Truth replied bitterly, "Ah, brother, things are bad. Very bad. I'm old, very old, and no-one wants to acknowledge me. No-one wants anything to do with me."

Hearing that, Parable said, "People don't run away from you because you're old. I too am old. Very old. But the older I get, the better people like me. I'll tell you a secret: Everyone like things disguised and prettied up a bit. Let me lend you some splendid clothes like mine, and you'll see that the very people who pushed you aside will invite you into their homes and be glad of your company."

Truth took parable's advice and put on the borrowed clothes. And from that time on, Truth and Parable have gone hand in hand together and everyone loves them. They make a happy pair."

Yiddish Folktales, Pantheon Books, New York, edited by Beatice Silverian Weinreich, ISBN: 0805210903

The Example of Jesus

"Jesus was not a theologian; He was God who told stories" - Madeleine L'Engle

We can use parable, as Jesus kid to illustrate the truth by pointing to meanings in books and films and everyday life. It is also very close to the concept of redemptive analogy.

Sermon illustrations are essential to clear communication and are very close to parable. "A sermon without illustrations is like a room without windows." (CH Spurgeon)

The word gospel is a direct translation of evangelion in the New Testament, though many modern translations use the equally valid good news. Interestingly, the word gospel comes from the Old English godspel which also means good story. One thing that makes us human is our imagination, the ability to visualize a narrative which we cannot see, whether past, present or future, fact or fiction. We are hardwired to create and understand 'story', even from a very early age.

"Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable. So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet: 'I will open my mouth in parables, I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world.'" ( Matt. 13:4-5)

As we read the four gospels, we see that Jesus never used scripture as a starting point except in the synagogue. He always used stories about everyday things. Perhaps surprisingly, it is never recorded that He even used a short narrative story from what we now call the Old Testament.

Note how universal this principal is: TV adverts tell a short narrative story in order to be memorable. Even a humor cartoon usually contains the snapshot of a short story.

Jesus was a Storyteller!

Why is storytelling so important for world mission? Here are some reasons, collected by Jim Bowman, Directoe of Scripture in Use:

• Over two thirds of the world population receive most of their information orally;
• For over one third of the world population, oral communication is the only source of information;
• 95% of women in the Islamic world can only be reached through oral comm.
• Over 75% of the Bible consists of stories

etc.

A surprisingly large number of people even in the West do not receive most of their information through the printed page. This subject of oral evangelism is very relevant even for evangelism in the West.

www.internetevangelismday.com/parable.php

Please leave a comment and share your thoughts on this subject

Story 1 - youth group

Mount Zion Church Youth Group

While at Living Hope Mission in Haiti, I had the joy of being part of the church's youth group. This group of young adults and teens had a unique bond in Christ.

Every Sunday evening there would be a meeting. They would open in prayer, then one youth would lead a 15 min devotion and then they would do an activity - board games, show-and-tell, movie or Andris would give some teaching. On those Sundays, we saw many new faces from the community.

Yet, more than a once a week meeting was the day-to-day interaction of many of these young folks at the mission. It may have meant a soccer game with the director, Andris; practicing a song for the upcoming Sunday service; sitting around the outdoor kitchen enjoying rice; making hundreds of paper flowers for the upcoming Mother's Day or working together to lead a church service. I saw beauty of unity, friendship and encouragement in the body of Christ through these people.

Then I came - a white, American dumb to the understanding of their language, Creole, and their culture. I moved in with the mission's directors, Andris and Mary Jane, for an unstated amount of time. ( I was not allowed to state when I was leaving until the day before departure.) Yet, this group opened wide their arms to me like they did to others coming from their community. This was one quality I especially admired - they could be a close group but were still able to include another.

In the video above you can see us singing, "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" in French.

"Just how did you come to singing with them?" I hear you asking.

I had been at the mission for one week. The youth were practicing songs for the upcoming Mother's Day program. I was watching. Andris then asked,"Do you want to try singing with them?"

"Yes" I answered. I timidly joined the group and tried to make those "funny" sounds. A couple days later I wrote in my journal

"...I went to practice with the youth for the upcoming program. One song, "Alpha & Omega", I don't know in English... the other was "The Battle Hymn of the Republic". In the chorus, the boys would sing "Glory, Glory" in there low voices followed by the girls, "Hallelujah". We sang in Creole of course. I simply watched Fenel's lips and listened to those around me." That is how I learned (and would still be if I were there now) - lip reading, listening and singing.

The language barrier was the biggest challenge for me those months. When I arrived I knew only a handful of phrases in Creole and when I left I could speak no more than in a light conversation (if you could call it that). This was frustrating. I love to talk to people, learn about them and simply understand what's going on. I remember on day in particular ... I was standing outside, we had just finished a Bible study.

"Koman ou ye?" Degazon, the cooking teacher, had asked with a smile. "Koman ou ye" means "how are you" in Creole. I had probably already heard this question 100 times that day. When one of the only phrases you know is "How are you" and you see 100 people. Guess what they ask you? and when the only reply you know is "good" ...

"I am frustrated," I retorted in English.

"Fr-ust-ra-ted? I don't understand?" She said with a very confused look, "In Creole?"

"I am well," I responded with a laugh at her confusion.

Yes, a language barrier is a frustrating barrier which crumbles in the matter of time and study. One way, I found to crack this barrier was singing with the youth. I got to the point in which I "mastered in making those funny sounds" even though I didn't understand what those words meant. But hey, that could be semi-fixed by having a couple high school students practice translating into English..

I thank God for the opportunities He gave me in interacting with the Zion Church youth group.

Mesi Senye! Mwen renmen Haitian zami yo mwen!

Thank you Lord! I love my Haitian friends!

Home again

Home again. It's been awhile since I've wrote anything on this blog ... let me give a little update. I came home to Kentucky about a month ago. Thus, I have completed my School of Servanthood internship with Reaching the Nations International. I've had quite the adjustment coming home. Let's say I wasn't expecting culture shock coming back to the place where I "look" (and act) like everyone - my own home. Yet, it hit me in the face. It's been a month and I'm about adjusted to our simple, complicated life in the cabin.
Here I am at a place seeking God for "next steps". One of the greatest things I learned this year was how much I need to learn. I think college is my next step. This next bit of time I'll be trying to "learn" what skills I can. My ambitions are high ... I want to learn French, how to crochet, knit, become "better read", guitar and so forth. But I find most days all I have time for is cleaning, cooking and going to work. We'll see what happens. I have to go now but I want to leave with a thought which Oswald Chambers left in his book "My Utmost Highest". "If you are going to be used by God, He will take you through a multitude of experiences that are not meant for you at all, they are meant to make you useful in His hands, and to enable you to understand what transpires in other souls so that you will never be surprised at what you come across. Oh, I can't deal with that person. why not? God gave you ample opportunity to soak before Him on that line, and you barged off because it seemed stupid to spend time in that way." Jonathan and I

Sveta playing the violin and cousins dancing

Some of those I love

All dressed up in country looking clothing.

My three youngest siblings.

Jonathan

quote

"Live each moment intensely"
-Mother Teresa

Haiti part one

Emily and I with some kids

Ashley and I with kids (Eddyson, Eberdine, Gessica, Lyberly, and Tarcha.) This was my last day in Haiti.

Have you ever asked the "Why" questions?

Hi friends and family

As many know I've been in Haiti the past three months. A week ago, today, I was flying home from the place and people I had grown to love on my way back to Columbus, Ohio to some more people I love and to finish my internship with Reaching the Nations International.
I plan to add a few posts with photos and stories from those months in Haiti. I am now sorting through my photos. I lost all the pictures I took the first two months but I was given all the photos the Mission took so I'm gonna have to see what I'll have to share.
Coming back was difficult for me, yet God's helping me keep it all in perspective. I'm trying to find my place in Columbus. I've even wondered "Why am I here?" ... Since in Haiti, I've seen area's of growth needed in my life ... now I'm ready to go do what's needed there so I can be "useful". But here I am ... God knows why. All this I'm writing is related to what Helen Morgan wrote once ... ( In our lives ) "How anxious we are to see 'fruit'. When a little appears we tend to brag about it and even photograph it because it seems to justify our existence to others and "make it all worthwhile". But we do not need to justify our existence. God called us and will use us when and how he wants. Dare we say that simply to obey Him is not worthwhile?"' I love that last line - the punch line. "Dare we say that simply to obey Him is not worthwhile?"
In my own life, I want to get on with things so I can "hurry" up and see some "fruit". Aren't you glad God's not in a hurry. That's one thing I love about God. The Bible says, " God is not slack concerning His promise as some count slackness but is long suffering toward us not willing that any should parish but that all should come to repentance." In my impatience I am wanting to "justify my existence" here. I ask, " Why am I here?". I want to be "needed" in my own little corner here. Have you ever felt that way? Dare we say that simply to obey Him is not worthwhile?
Yes, but ...
Dare we say that simply to obey Him is not worthwhile??
Yes, yet Why ...
Dare we say that simply to obey Him is not worthwhile? God called us and will is use when and how he wants. Isaiah 45: 9 says , " Shall the clay say to him how forms it, " What are you making?' ... No that would be silly to even think about. In verse 12 God goes on by saying, " I have made the the earth and created man on it. I - My hands - stretched out the the heavens, And all their host I have commanded. I have raised him up in righteousness, And I will direct all his way; ..." Next time you are out in a meadow full of wildflowers, or gazing into the starry night or upon a mountain sun-rise with the dew softly resting on the grass or are watching your children ponder the Creator of All - Him who by His hands stretched out the heavens - Him who made the earth and created man in His own image. I think that kind of Creator knows what He is doing in your life and mine. Do you?
God knows the beginning and end of the picture. I present a challenge to you if you have ever questioned like me ... Dare we say that to simply obey Him is not worthwhile?