Leaning on the Everlasting Arms: Walking the Way of Jesus

Saturday, April 3, 2010

Walking the Way of Jesus

We no longer have a "Girl's Night" Bible study on Friday nights. The "girls" are now moms. We had a ratio of about 2 children to each adult. It was hard to Bible study...or do anything except watch the children. I tried hiring a babysitter. The hiring was easy...but the children wanted their moms. Here in Belize children get used to being with their mothers, by their mother's side almost all the time until they are about 4 and sometimes even later. So taking them from their mothers to play with a babysitter was traumatic. Hmmm. I think the "Girl's Night" needs to be a "Moms Morning Out" with a different focus, maybe something to do with ideas for playing with your child, or teaching your child about God. I'm not sure when this will happen.

At the same time that Girl's Night hit the babysitter snafu, Edgar was asking to be baptized. I met with him on Friday nights for about two months before his baptism this past December. Alejandro also asked for baptsim so we baptised them both at the same time. On the day of his baptism Edgar said, "Even though I'm baptized can I still come to Friday Night Bible study? I told him, "Sure!" So, since December 8, Edgar and Alejandro have been Bible studying with me on Friday Nights. We invited others to come. Sometimes someone else will drop in...but mostly it is just Edgar, Alejandro, and me.

The rear window of my van is some evidence of their transformation. A few days ago I was in Trial Farm Village visiting with Kristel's mother and I parked my van on the street. I came out of the house to see it covered with words. "Love Jesus, God. Go to church. Read the Bible. Want to do good." That's not the typical graffitti that my car collects when it is parked on the street. I drove on a bit farther in the village to Alejandro's house, and there in the front yard, looking quite proud of themselves were Alejandro and Edgar...They wanted to make sure I had seen their artwork.

BUT the nature of learning how to walk the way of Jesus is not straight...

One of the mothers asked me why I kept them til 9:30 on Friday night. I told her no, no, I sent them home at 8:30. Evidently on their bike trip home they had stopped to buy beer. They're not drinkers...just teenagers experimenting. BUT, sigh, immediately after Bible study? ARGH! That was disappointing to discover!

During the last week of this school term Manuel asked to not have to prepare a Bible story to teach so he could put more energy into his studies. (He got a 94% on his Techincal Drawing exam... came into my classroom with a long drawn out face... and said I was going to be disappointed....then dropped the graded exam in front of me... HA! A 94? Wonderful!)

Edgar said he wanted to try teaching a story on Sunday morning. He said he knew the Noah story and could teach that one. So I let him. It turned out to be a great opportunity for him to show some maturity. It also led to a good power point sermon about obeying God no matter what. No matter what other people think. No matter if it sounds crazy. No matter if you don't think you can finance the idea. Obey. Period.

1 comment:

Adrienne BodischApril 11, 2010 at 4:42 PM
I love hearing about what's going on in Belize. It's such an encouragement to me. I was wondering, do you have access to a video camera? I would love to see videos of your students and maybe even a church service?
The reason I ask is because I am going to visit the school for the deaf in Jamaica in May and I think it would be neat to be able to show them videos of deaf kids in other countries.
Do deaf people in Belize use ASL or at least mostly ASL?

Anyway, think about it and let me know. And keep on writing!
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Things I Love About Belize

EVERY meeting begins with prayer, whether it is a Town Council Meeting, a school function, or the National Spelling Bee.
No matter where you go, there is always someone you know who is greeting you with a smile and a wave.
The zillion stars in the sky.
When my car fell into an uncovered drain and I could not go forward or back... within 3 minutes 6 men came running to help and lifted the car up and out! Not that I would pull the stunt to have six men come running (smile)... but I have been saved more than once!
When something breaks, like the rubber gasket on the bottom of the tank behind my toilet and water was flowing everywhere, or when the dog chewed through my garden hose while I was at school and water sprayed over the fence and into the street, there is always a neighbor who is ready to come to the rescue and fix the problem.

About this Ministry

How did I end up in Belize?
In 2004 a Belizean family asked me to come to Belize to teach their deaf son and possibly other deaf children for the summer. We expected about six children but were surprised by fifty-two adults and children who came to our three week ASL workshop. God walked with me and led me each day. In so many ways God empowered me and encouraged me. When it was time to return to the US and my full time teaching job there, I felt God calling me to plan to return to Belize to start a Deaf Church. I returned the following August (2005) to start a church and teach the Deaf children at St. Peter's Anglican School here in Orange Walk. Since then God's hand on this ministry has been beyond my wildest dreams. This blog is a dialogue on the journey. I hope it shows God's power and presence in the lives of those who commit to following in Jesus' footsteps to build the Kingdom. I pray over each entry hoping it encourages others to "step out of the boat" and take risks to answer God's call in their lives.