Since we have gotten back from the States from Wendy's written b
oard exam, it has been so nice to have a little extra time to get more involved with our church. Wendy will have to start studying again soon (for the oral board exam, which is at the beginning of November), but we are savoring this little respite from studying! If you are wondering what we have been doing to get more involved in our church, you have come to the right place! Here is a picture of our church.
oard exam, it has been so nice to have a little extra time to get more involved with our church. Wendy will have to start studying again soon (for the oral board exam, which is at the beginning of November), but we are savoring this little respite from studying! If you are wondering what we have been doing to get more involved in our church, you have come to the right place! Here is a picture of our church..
Our first activity took place a little over a month ago. It was an evangelistic outreach to the neighborhood surrounding the church. During the week of the outreach, the church had nightly meetings designed to help prepare us for the outreach. This included teaching about God's call for us to be witnesses, along with some role-playing showing do's and don't's when going door-to-door sharing the Gospel - it was a very interesting cultural experience. Most of the stuff was the same as in the US - things such as don't talk too much, be a good listener, don't yawn and look bored while the person is talking, etc. The one interesting thing was that we were told not to make too much eye contact - exactly the opposite of what we would do in the US!
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Friday evening, we started at the church with some singing and a short word of encouragement from the pastor. Then when we were all ready to go door-to-door, a big downpour started (imagine a rainstorm in the rainforest!). So, we stayed in the church and sang and prayed. But after an hour, it was still raining hard, so we decided that God must have other plans.
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The next night we had planned to show an evangelistic movie (imagine a drive-in movie without the cars or popcorn), along with the worship team singing some
songs and the pastor sharing a message. Unlike the previous evening, this evening it was beautiful outside - God's wonderful timing! It was a big success, and 21 people came forward to accept Jesus, along with many others coming forward to request prayers.
songs and the pastor sharing a message. Unlike the previous evening, this evening it was beautiful outside - God's wonderful timing! It was a big success, and 21 people came forward to accept Jesus, along with many others coming forward to request prayers. Our next foray into church participation was when Eric gave the sermon in church. And he even gave it in French! To make sure that he was understood, Eric wrote out his sermon ahead of time and had the pastor make corrections in grammar/wording to make sure that the message would be understandable. Thanks to this preparation and much prayer, Eric was not very nervous, he spoke clearly and slowly, and the congregation seemed to follow the message quite well.
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So, what was the topic of Eric's sermon, you might be asking yourself. He decided that since this was his first sermon, he wouldn't tackle anything too difficult - he meerly talked about why God allows suffering - why bad things happen to "good" people. Eric is not a very theologically deep guy, so he stuck with what he knew - personal experience. He first shared about suffering in his own life - the deaths of his mom and brother, both Christians and both deaths due to cancer. .
He then talked about three instances of suffering in the Bible. The first (Acts 4:32-5:11) talked about two people who were put to death because of lies they told. This story showed suffering which came as a result of sin in someone's life. The second passage (2 Corinthians 12:7-10) showed God allowing suffering in the life of Paul in order to strengthen his character and deepen his dependance on God. And the third (John 9:1-11) was about a blind man that Jesus healed. Jesus told his disciples that this man's blindness was not due to his sin or the sin of his parents. Jesus said that the suffering was allowed that the glory of God might be displayed. So, these stories showed that suffering is sometimes due to sin in our lives, but not always! Sometimes it is allowed for our character development or so that glory may be given to God.
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The third activity was that Wendy helped to plan and put on a baby shower for the pastor's wife. So, after church one Sunday, all the men were sent away while the women and children ate cake and popcorn, played games, talked about God's gift of children, and made a lot of noise. In fact, they made so much noise that se
veral women from the neighborhood came by to find out what was happening, and they decided to join in on the fun. So, in addition to having a lot of fun, the baby shower served as a good opportunity to show God's love to these ladies! It is great how God uses our every-day activities to spread His love!
veral women from the neighborhood came by to find out what was happening, and they decided to join in on the fun. So, in addition to having a lot of fun, the baby shower served as a good opportunity to show God's love to these ladies! It is great how God uses our every-day activities to spread His love!
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