June 2012 Mission Prayer Letter
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Tamayta – Week 2 – Second Bible Study
We reversed the time of service for the reasons stated earlier which meant a much earlier start from the village. Violet and the girls had planned on going with me, but Abagail was up in the middle of the night with a very upset stomach. So, Augustus and George went with me.
Arriving in Tamayta about 7:50am, there was nobody in sight at the school building. However, there were a number of Adventist women on their way to working on their little garden patches. We drove into the center of the village and made our presence known. George and Augustus recommended that I return to the school building up the road and they would walk through the town reminding people of Bible study.
I had no sooner arrived when the Adventist “pastor” showed up asking about me and what we were planning on doing. I stated that we were here to teach people about the Word of God and what it means in the matter of salvation. He was pleasant to talk about and told me they were preparing for a big conference with the topics of Elder Rule, Tithing, and Keeping the Sabbath. My first thought was, “My friend, you have omitted the weightier matters of the law!” I invited him to come but he said that they were doing other things but that I was welcome to the village. This was an interesting development because the people in charge of the school are Adventists and they were the ones that had to give permission for us to use the building! Praise the Lord.
A few people began walking in after that and we ended up with 10 including our small team of three one of them being Ellis and Joseph, who had been present last week. The other five were first-time visitors. Each of them introduced themselves and told us they were from the Methodist church.
Dear Family and Friends,
Foloblai – Week 2
Returning to the village, we learned that the man who was in charge of the keys for the local school had gone out of town, but some of the people who had been present in week 1 opened up their home. We ended up with 27 crowded into a very small mud brick room with dirt floors and only one window. Of course, no electricity makes it a little difficult to see your notes or Bible.
In a normal service, there is a lot of singing. As a general rule, the music rules the theology. The theology does not set the standard for the music. This time though I told the men that in training to be leaders, they must lead in every aspect of the worship and that everything must be preparing the heart for the hearing of the Scriptures. With that, I shared what I wanted them to sing and two songs were sung by those gathered this time led by the men who were with me. Now, it is easy to write songs here because the tune is ALWAYS the same as is the tempo of the song. The ONLY thing that changes is the words. So, we could write our own theologically correct songs in a way that is easy for the people to learn.
The service started and after two songs, I stood up and took charge of the teaching. Just as I stood to my feet, there was a commotion at the door, and in walked the Methodist bell-ringer!
