June 2010
Quick Takes From India
Submitted by jmanley on Tue, 06/08/2010 - 08:19
We set out to accomplish four things. But as an added blessing, we find God's people enjoy the fellowship of one Spirit whether from megapolis slum or sun-blasted wilderness. Our four tasks:
- Mumbai (Bombay): Determine if we can help the pastor of a 25,000+ member house church network with leadership training
- Jaipur: Participate in an SIU (Scriptures In Use) church planter story workshop
- Bengaluru (Bangalore): Conduct an STS Bible story-telling workshop
- Mysore: Evaluate progress of a three-year relationship with the leader of a rural house church group
At just over a third of the way through our trip, I had to share these sample sightings... (more pictures)
Rural women receive hand-cranked audio Bible
Submitted by msanchez on Thu, 06/17/2010 - 12:43At one of the evening board meetings with MAFLT partner ProMETA, Judy Musselman gave Mauricio a box of Spanish versions of the Bible in cassette format, some cassette players and some cranks to power the players in places with no electricity nor available batteries.
Mauricio and his wife Rosalia were invited to the small rural village of Abangaritos, Puntarenas, Costa Rica, to attend a short weekend mission trip with their local church youth group. Mauricio had to preach that Sunday in San Jose, but decided to be in Abangaritos from Friday night to Saturday afternoon. Very short trip.
Because of MAFLT's involvement in Orality, Mauricio had learned that almost 70% of the worldwide population are oral learners. Mauricio decided to bring some of those Bible cassettes and devices with him, as maybe the Lord had people in that area needing access to the Word but without the possibility of reading the Bible.
His van was already full with his kids and their luggage, plus one more invitee; 6 people total. However, they made room for some of those kits.
They had a great opportunity to share the Gospel, pray, and spend time with some of the families in the area, as well as share some groceries with them. Mauricio preached on Friday night even though electricity was gone for most of the message (fortunately, his flashlight worked well).
The next day (Saturday), some of the sisters from the small church had prepared food for the visiting church team. While talking to them Mauricio discovered that one of those ladies, Maria, was illiterate, depending on one of her grandsons to read the Bible to her out loud when he could. The local pastor was very excited when Mauricio shared that he had a special Bible set using cassettes and devices for Maria to interact with the Bible whether or not she was able to read.
While Mauricio showed them how to use the devices and operate the crank (as electricity power goes out very often in that area), the pastor pointed the second lady in the kitchen named Carmen, saying, "sister Carmen's young son is totally blind, he is a good Christian and the Bible in audio would be a great blessing to him". Carmen expressed great joy when that possibility was offered to her.
Both Maria and Carmen received a couple of devices and tapes of Old Testament portions and the entire New Testament in Spanish. We praise the Lord for this opportunity and pray for more opportunities like this to bring hope to those who are desperately waiting for it.
