Day 4 Mission accomplished!

By the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit, the Oral Bible will be completed tomorrow morning. 1 more story will be recorded tomorrow morning and then they are finished. Amazing! We truly saw God's hand during this week. All the storytellers were able to come everyday and faithfully worked on their stories. Another woman (Yasheko) came today because she wanted to try telling 2 stories and she did it. 

Late afternoon, a large herd of cows made its way across our yard and they were bellowing. Our oldest children ran outside in the absence of the Gumuz herder, and tried steering them away from the house where the recording was taking place. Well amazingly as the cows walked past the house they were completely silent. A small thing maybe but so remarkable that those recording noticed that the silence held throughout the recording of the story they were doing! Small things, big things, God things. We praise Him. 

This evening, we were able to host the team for supper and the kids presented a Christmas presentation which they did so well and then we served Christmas baking. I really feel it is Christmas when it involves hosting, programs and food so this was special. Kalia as an angel and Sonia ran in to join her at one point, Joel and Ariana were shepherds and Nadia was a very cute 3 year old Mary. The four songs we memorized and practiced were performed with great enthusiasm despite Ariana and Sonia being feverish. 

Tomorrow, the team leader will hold a storying workshop for about 3 hours and that will wrap up the Gesses aspect of the Oral Bible recording. It has been a joy to be part of this team effort and we thank you for your part in praying for this project. We look forward to seeing how this Oral Bible will bring fruit in the lives of those who listen to God's word.

Oral Bible day 3: Persevering through the details

Today was another full day and the 7 storytellers worked with Rolf, John, Askale and Demalash until 2pm. They recorded 2-3 stories each today. Those that shone last week while we practiced the stories are shining this week. Interestingly one of the best storytellers is the woman who is non-literate but then her gift in retelling stories is why we chose her.  

This is an important week because not only are the Gumuz having the opportunity to learn the important skill of telling God's word accurately but also relying on the Holy Spirit to help them in their weakness. Pray that they will not be discouraged or overcome by the details.

Today we are praying for our guard's 2 year old son who has a swollen neck and can hardly breathe, eat or drink. I was hoping it might just be mumps but am worried it is actually diphtheria. They got medicine of some sort in town but it hasn't had any affect. There are reasons our children are vaccinated and so many of the diseases we see here could be avoided. Praying that the Lord brings healing and gives us wisdom in how to help.

Oral Bible Day 2

Yesterday, the 7 Gumuz storytellers completed 14 stories in total which was the goal for the first day. Today, 18 stories were completed with most of the storytellers recording 3 stories each. The afternoons get really warm and everyone is feeling rather weary by afternoon. Thankfully as the sun descends, the air cools and energy returns. They need strength and perseverance as the days continue and as the stories get harder.  

I wish that I could send you pictures of the sights that I am seeing. Each morning, the storytellers sit on woven stools under a tree or lie in the grass while they practice their story with a partner. It is beautiful to watch these men and women boldly proclaiming what God has done. These stories are not easy for them to remember but as they practice, the story becomes alive. We believe that God's word does not return empty and so we pray that these stories will spread far and wide.

When I read an email about the Conneticut school shooting, my heart broke and it seemed to consume my spirit. All these hurting families, all these children traumatized by what they have seen. The things that we have seen do not compare to the loss and pain being felt by so many families at this time. We are involved in an exciting week while men, women and children are mourning such great loss.  

I am sure some people are questioning God's love and sovereignty during this time. But I am reminded of His great love for us for His heart too is full of pain. He grieves when evil is so great. If he wasn't so patient, he would have ended this evil a long time ago but he has a plan. I have come to see over and over again that his plan is so much deeper and greater than anything we can even imagine.

We often feel weak as we serve the Gumuz people. We feel weary when we see all the pain around us and in the world. But may we be glad this Christmas for the promised Savior was given and the promised Savior will return and make all things right. Do we know His heart and His story well enough to share it boldly with those who are hurting this Christmas?

Day one: Oral Bible recording

Yesterday afternoon, a small team arrived in Gesses in order to record a Gumuz Oral Bible. Rolf and I have been working with 7 men and 1 woman in preparation for this week. We knew it would take a miracle to happen. Last week, Demalash and Askale were sick with malaria and were bedridden along with one of their children. Without them, the Oral Bible recording would not take place as they are needed for checking the stories for accuracy. They are able to follow the stories in Amharic and hear the Gumuz translation being told.

Normally the Oral Bible is done with story tellers who already read a trade language. In this case, the trade language is Amharic. This would allow the story tellers to read the story, memorize it and then orally translate it into their mother tongue. Of the 8 story tellers selected, only 3 of them are able to read beyond a grade 2 level. Because of this, Rolf and I were feeling really nervous about the upcoming project. Had we just agreed to something that was actually impossible?

So for the past 2 weeks, Rolf and I have spend several hours each day working with the Gumuz story tellers by orally telling them the stories in Amharic and then having them tell them back in Gumuz. By the end of the second week, we could only praise God at the potential we saw in those that had come to practice. They were telling the stories with fairly good accuracy and enthusiasm. It will still take a mighty work of the Holy Spirit because most of the stories are basically unfamiliar. 

We are praying for God's hand of protection on each one involved in this project. The number of events that could prevent this recording from happening are many - illness, community death or tragedy, technical issues, fieldwork, family issues, etc. Demalash and Askale are still recovering from their illness, another member is involved in reconciliation talks in his free time. All of them have fieldwork to do.

This week, I am taking a hostess role and I have to say that I much prefer being on the frontlines. I think it is much harder to pray (especially without fretting) yet I know it is a valuable role. So the kids and I are praying this week and looking forward to seeing how the Spirit moves.

By 5:30pm, the story tellers had received an hour long training, had prepped with Rolf, John, Askale or Demalash and had told 2 of their 10 stories. Thank you Jesus. Tomorrow, they will attempt 3 more stories each. 4 men in the morning so they can do their other work in the afternoon and the other 3 will come in the afternoon. Meanwhile, Demalash and one of the visiting team members will be editing the stories already completed.