“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him.” ~1 Corinthians 2:9
As I thought about what to write about this month, God brought this verse to my mind. I've always thought of this verse in terms of the future, like the place Jesus is building for us in heaven, the new bodies we'll receive, and finally being face-to-face with Jesus!! But as I looked into the context of the verse, it's actually talking about things that have already happened, things we've already received as members of God's family! Paul says that, if the Jews would have known “what God had prepared for those who love him,” they wouldn't have crucified Jesus, because Jesus and the reconciliation His death on the cross brings is “what no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined!” For many years, I thought that the main benefit from Jesus' death on the cross was that I can now go to heaven when I die. Jesus' sacrifice didn't have much effect on my life in the here and now. But now I realize that I wasn't seeing the full picture. The main point of Jesus' death was to reconcile us to God, to transform our relationship with Him. Yes, that means in the afterlife, but more applicably, it means now! In God's eyes, we are just as righteous as Jesus, now! In God's eyes, we have just as little sin as Jesus does, now! We can approach God with just as much freedom and confidence as Jesus has to approach God, now! “You are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God” (Gal 4:7). We have become children of God. Little kids say things like, “My dad's a firefighter.” “My dad's a doctor.” “My dad's a pilot.” We can say, “Well my dad is the king of the universe!!” Start enjoying your status as God's child! You have an access to God that the rest of the world has never even imagined. He has forgiven you and will continue to forgive you and treat you like you've never done it! He will never reject you! He is never disappointed in you! You will never fail to meet his expectations, because he knows you perfectly, inside and out, better than you know yourself! He is always perfectly content with you and only you, the person you are without your actions or your words or your worries or your accomplishments or your failures or your outward appearance. You. The invitation into that love is what “no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined.” And you've received an invitation. Right here. Right now.
Last week, we were all happy to finish our ethnography papers about our storying groups! I really enjoyed going out to the villages every week to interview people. Last time in my storying group, I taught them how to craft their own stories so that they can continue on their own when I'm gone. From here on out, I plan to let them lead the sessions so they can get practice and critique! The first story that they will teach is David and Goliath!
This past month, we got to do another two-day training out at OM's training center! We trained a group of twelve men between the ages of 16 and 40. I taught the story of the Good Samaritan and Noah. They had some really good discussion about loving others. We also had another week-long training at the OM church for a people without a Bible in their native language! It went well. They learned the stories of the Greatest Commandment, Who is the Greatest, and the Widow's Offering. We are starting our third workshop with them at the end of this week! We will be teaching some Old Testament stories that relate to stories in the book of Mark.
We continue to visit the Children's Home once or twice a week, hanging out with the kids and teaching them stories. We have been in the New Testament for a couple of months now. They had couple of weeks off of school, so we enjoyed going to the park and playing games with them! They also got a new drumset recently, so they have all been learning how to play!
On March 14, we got together with some other American families in the area and celebrated Ultimate Pi Day! We had six pies altogether and a freezer full of ice cream!! It was a good time of fellowship, worship, and learning from the Bible. We had a good Easter as well! My roommates cooked a special meal of baked chicken, roasted veggies, rolls, pineapple, and pie to top it off for dessert! We went to church, where they had a special program where the kids got up to sing songs and dance.
The biggest piece of news this month is that I have bought my plane ticket home!!! I will be coming back near the end of May in time for my sister's graduation from high school! I have so many mixed feelings as I look toward the end of my time here, as I think about what I've learned, how I've changed, and the work I've been a part of. Overall, I am so excited to see my family and friends back home and take time to relax, rejuvenate, and recharge my battery after my time abroad! I am still unsure of what my plans will be after I return to the US; I do have a couple ideas, but continue to pray that God would lead and guide me and the rest of my team as we decide on the next step! I would like to stay in Prescott for at least six months, if not a year! I hope to have an event for all of you summarizing my time here, so look for more information in the coming months!
Thank you all so much for all your prayers and financial support! I am looking forward to celebrating with you all that God has done here in this part of the world over the past year and a half!! “See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” (1 John 3:1)