Author: kimberly Page 4 of 8

Easter Traditions

On March 26, 2016

Being on the mission field means that our family has to be intentional about lots of things – including holidays. If Josh and I don’t prepare something for Easter, our kids won’t know it’s important. I read a great book by Noel Piper called Treasuring Christ in Our Traditions which was very good at helping me to think intentionally about holidays and family traditions. Here are the ways we prepare for and celebrate Easter. I’d love to hear what your family does to make the holiday a memorable one.

The Lenten Tree – a devotional for families to walk through the Bible – from Adam and Eve to Jesus’s resurrection – during the 40 days of Lent. We do this at our breakfast table as our Bible time during this season.
Resurrection Eggs – a big hit for little kids
Reading The Biggest Story by Kevin DeYoung
Introducing great hymns about the cross
“Resurrection Cookies” – an tactile way for the kids to experience the Easter story on Saturday before Easter Sunday
Easter egg hunt on Sunday morning
Homemade cinnamon rolls!! (which I better get started on now…!)
Some sort of low-key worship and Scripture sharing time on Sunday with other workers in town

Good Friday

By kimberly

On March 25, 2016

In Chad, Ministry

On this Good Friday, we feel tension in wanting to stop life to focus fully on the suffering, death, and resurrection of our Savior; yet, life in our part of Chad doesn’t yet stop for the message of Jesus. Instead of a Good Friday service and time off from “work” this weekend, we find ourselves very blessed to be in the “thick” of ministry and life.

We have the opportunity to see in reality the blessings of Jesus’ work on the cross by…

… helping a malnourished baby and saying, “Thank you, Jesus that your body was broken for us and that if we “feed” of you we will never be spiritually hungry. You are the bread of life and you sustain us with joy and hope and peace and salvation.” (Luke 22:19; John 6:50-58)

…filling clay jars of water for our neighbors who have been days without water, and we say, “Thank you, Jesus for being the living water. We remember your death now, and we rejoice that your suffering and shame have given us life everlasting. In you, we will never thirst.” (John chapter 4)

…providing soap and water for little girls who visited us with filthy clothes and filthy bodies, and we look to Jesus and say, “Jesus, our works for you are as filthy rags, just like what these girls are wearing. Your death and resurrection have the power to wash our filthy hearts clean and make us new creatures.” (Hebrews 9:14; Isaiah 64:6)

…attending a full-day circumcision celebration for several young boys, and we can say, “Lord, we praise you that by believing in your death and resurrection, you circumcise our hearts; you set us apart to love You fully, inside and out.” (Romans 2:29)

In these very daily, sometimes monotonous matters of life and ministry in Chad, we are still able to worship at the foot of the cross and rejoice in His resurrection. Celebrating with you, brothers and sisters! Happy Easter!

Missionary Ice Cream

By kimberly

On March 20, 2016

In Chad, Kid's Corner

We are in the thick of hot season here, with temperatures above 110 most days. Frozen treats help us get through the afternoons, but we have to make everything ourselves. There’s no snow cone stands or ice cream shops around the corner. So, I created a quick and yummy 2 ingredient”ice cream” recipe that the boys can do almost alone. It is a winner in our house, so I thought I would share it with you!

Easy Banana Ice Cream

1/4 cup sweetened condensed milk

1 mashed banana

Mix together and place in the freezer for 2 hours. Enjoy! (Makes one serving.)

A Real-Life Hero

By kimberly

On March 12, 2016

In Chad, Family, Kid's Corner, Ministry

That moment when the missionary Mama is proud of raising her son in a hard place…

When mother and son read about the English Bible translator William Tyndale in the Christian Heroes book and her son asks if they can put his friend, Ms. A. in the heroes book.

“Because she translates the Bible into a language that the people here can understand.” Then they will know how to love and obey God.

Ms. A., the lady from Germany who lets my children walk her dog, becomes a real-life hero for my child.

And that’s just the kind of hero I want my boy to look up to.

Unchangeable, A Poem

By kimberly

On March 7, 2016

In Other thoughts

Many different houses; always constant God.

Various new cultures; One unchanging Lord.

Numerous languages; omnipotent God.

Ever-changing friendships; never changing Lord.

This world is not my home; I hope in You, Lord.

Knowing You’re unchangeable; my joy is in You, God.

Confronting Culture with Truth

By kimberly

On March 4, 2016

In Chad, Culture, Ministry

Unknown visitor: “Hello, can you help me?”

Me: “Hello, what exactly do you need?”

Visitor: “My son is sick and I want to take him to the witch doctor for healing. I would like you to give me a gift of money to help us travel.”

Me: “I am sorry, ma’am. I cannot give you money for that. I can give you money for a prescription at the pharmacy if you have one and I would like to pray for your son now. I know that God created your son and He has the power to heal your son. He does not need the help of a witch doctor.”

(We pray.)

Lady begins to leave: “Thank you for praying for us. Good-bye.”

Me: “We are followers of Jesus. I know many stories in the injiil (New Testament) of Jesus helping and healing sick people. If you want to come back to visit me, I would be happy to tell you some of these stories and explain more about what the injiil teaches.”

A Bittersweet Birthday

By kimberly

On March 3, 2016

In Chad, Culture, Ministry

Remember a year ago when I asked you to pray for a little baby who was born premature to a mother who had committed adultery? She was shamed by her family, was not responsive to the baby’s cries for milk, and was considering running away or giving the baby to the orphanage. A week after he was born, baby A. gained any weight and I took him and his mother to a clinic to get some help. We didn’t know if he would live or die. My friend and I had opportunities to love this mother and baby in very practical ways as well as share the gospel with her.

Fast forward a year. (Can it really already be a full year?!) The mother is now my language partner and helps others in town with language as well. God has shown himself faithful to her, although she refuses to pursue the truths we continue to present about sin, forgiveness, God’s love through Jesus and his provision for her.

We celebrated baby A’s first birthday in a subdued sort of way; he recently spent days in the hospital and is malnourished as a result of the sickness. His birthday was a celebration of God’s faithfulness in sustaining him this past year, but also a somber time as we recognized he has a long way to go before he has a chance of surviving past early childhood.

We ate banana cake and talked about prescription doses. We read Scripture with his family and gave gifts of new clothes, but also gave eggs, bananas, avocadoes and other nourishing foods to get him well. A week or so after his birthday, he was officially diagnosed as malnourished and is receiving a supplement to help him gain quickly. In addition to the extra food we try to give during the week, he gained a good amount in one wee and will continue on this regimen for a while.

A’s family is still not ready to embrace the gospel, but my prayer for this little boy and his family is that they will one day have a wonderful testimony to share of God’s relentless love for them through Jesus. Pray with me for A and his mother and family to lay aside their sinfulness and embrace the God of Scripture – a loving, just, holy God.

Pictures below:

Left – Calla Grace (3 months) next to baby A (almost one year).

Right – Baby A at his birthday party.

Kid’s Corner

By kimberly

On February 17, 2016

In Kid's Corner

Isaac: Mom! I know what “shirt” is in Arabic!

Me: Really? How do you know?

Isaac: Well, I asked Abdoulaye “da chunu” (what is this) and he said, “khalag” (shirt).

Me: That’s right!

I am praising God Isaac is taking initiative to speak to people on his own without my prompting. He even wanted me to let him stay and play at a friend’s house by himself recently!

Connecting Scripture to Chadian Life

By kimberly

On February 16, 2016

In Chad, Ministry

How many times have you been in a conversation with an unbeliever and you really want to turn them to God without making it awkward? In western society, talking about God and religion is almost taboo, but in Chad, God is a part of everyday conversations. (“How is your family?” “Praise God, we are all fine.”; “How are you today?” “Walking towards God.”) How is it that I still have a difficult time turning the conversation to Scripture?

The questions I am asked from women include topics such as children, marriage, health, food, and life in America. Oftentimes, we compare and contrast our culture with each other and they ask me what I think about how they do things. (“What do you think about the husbands leaving for months or years at a time?” “Do you think it is good for a man to have four wives?”) This gives me a chance to expose them to truths about God (He cares for them and knows everything about them; God created one man and one woman in the garden, not 4 wives for Adam; God wants to change our hearts, not just our outward behavior). However, oftentimes I get little response, or at most, the women agree but don’t ask for more information. My friends are so distracted by just surviving each day, it is often hard for them to think on a deeper, spiritual level (much like us many times?!).

I need wisdom to know how to insert truths and stories from Scripture into conversations with my friends and neighbors in a way that resonates with them. (What if I shared the prophecies of Hosea and the picture of Israel as an adulterous wife and God as the faithful husband who continually pursues her? Would that help them to understand the extent of God’s forgiving, merciful heart in a way they have never been taught in Islam?) I want to understand their struggles with sin and be so filled with God’s word that I can immediately connect them with Scripture that will penetrate their heart and be the beginning of real change in their lives. Pray with me as I search and study Scripture to find passages and stories that will speak to the women I am building relationships with.

“For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of heart.” Hebrews 4:12

Kid’s Corner

By kimberly

On February 13, 2016

In Kid's Corner

Isaac out on a visit: Mom, I think we should tell these friends about Jesus.

Me: Ok, Isaac, what should we tell them?

Isaac: Tell them that there is only one true God and they should not be praying to a false God. Tell them that Jesus is the most powerful one of all.

Me Thinking: I am sure at 4 1/2 years old, that was not on my mind.