On the Fifth Day…

Two guesses where this picture was taken…

“Near Tucson” would be a pretty good guess, but this photo was taken on a tiny tropical island in the southern Caribbean, an island called Bonaire. For me, it gives new meaning to the phrase desert island.

I’m here in Bonaire to fill the pulpit at International Bible Church, where Totoram Baran is the pastor, while he takes a well-deserved holiday in the USA. Community Bible Church supports Pastor Baran as one of our missionaries, and for two years in a row, we’ve sent a short term team to serve here during the summer. I get to preach twice. I’ve divided my Romans 12:1-2 sermon (which I’ve been posting here in short segments) into two parts, one of which I gave last Sunday, and the second this coming Sunday.

Pray for International Bible Church. It’s a very small congregation, but they are developing a heart for spreading the gospel in this end of the earth.

Bonaire’s economy is entirely supported by the fact that it is one of the best places in the world for scuba diving. So this year, while I’m here, I decided to take the three-day course and get my open water certification. The underwater wildlife is AMAZING! That’s the reason for the title of this post, because it was on the fifth day that God said, “Let the waters teem with swarms of living creatures.” Man do the waters teem! The other day, while snorkeling no more than 100 yards from the beach, I got to see a baracuda about half my size swimming slowly alongside a giant school of little silvery fish (like the school of fish in Finding Nemo that makes all the interesting shapes). All of a sudden, the baracuda turned and zipped through the crowd, grabbing one of the little fish for supper. WOW! I swam along next to this giant fish for about twenty minutes.

 

Skittles & Koosh Balls – Fun in Any Language

Stephanie writes:

Friday, September 28

Today, the ladies helped with a children’s program. A lovely young lady named ——- told the children several Bible stories. She also led them in worship songs. Even though we couldn’t understand the words, we knew when they sang “The Wise Man Built His House Upon the Rock” because of the hand motions. It was a delight to see the joy on their faces and to hear their sweet voices praising the Lord.

After stories and singing we gave them coloring pages with verses and pictures. Bengali children love to color because it is a rare treat for them. To help them learn the verses, we played a VBS game. They divided into boy and girl teams, tossed a koosh ball into a basket and pulled out a word from the verse. Both times, the girls were the first to get their verse in order. They all had a blast playing the game.

To encourage them to learn the verses we told them they could have a piece of candy from my treat bag if they would recite the verse. The children stood around the edges of the room quietly saying their verses over and over to learn them. Older children helped the younger children. Even the shyest, quietest children said their verses loudly and clearly and then got candy out of the bag with a big grin on their faces. We even had a few dads say the verses so they could have a piece of candy.

When the program concluded we enjoyed the Bengali version of fast food called box lunches. Everyone gets a small cardboard box with rice, curried vegetables, spicy chicken, a slice of lime and three cucumber slices. We ate with our hands (except me!) while seated on straw mats on the floor.

 

Dr. Stack on First-time Experiences

Dr. Stack writes:
30 September 2007
Bangladesh 
When was the last time you did anything for the first time?

When was the last time you observed a baptism in an eastern bathroom? My narrow-minded Western Christian world view initially thought “that’s not the way we do it, so their way must be wrong.”  How often have we said to our children “grow up” when they display acts of foolishness and self-centeredness? “Grow up” often implies that our child should not look at a situation where everything centers around them, but rather from the perspective of others. American Christians often think they must be closest to God and are in His “favor” because we have the best life-style, greatest intellect, and the most freedom. This incorrect thinking has led some people to think of America as a “Christian Country” or worse, to think they are assured salvation because they are materially “blessed.”

 

I also had the opportunity to watch a Muslim man ask for prayer from a group of Bengali believers during a small gathering. This came shortly after a lively discussion over discrepancies between the practice of the Muslim faith and the Koran. Believers that are former Muslims, frequently know the Koran much better than most Muslims as they have had to work out their new beliefs as a Christian from their beliefs as a Muslim.

 

Bengali take-out (rice, curry, chicken, vegetables in a take-out box). The final “first time” of the day. 

 

And now… Dr. Larry Stack

September 26:  Today is day 3 of 3 of the Conference and I’ve just listened to Sheldon Searle speak on “Following Him” and Mark Smith teach “Jesus, the Master Teacher.” I’m awed by the quality of teaching and teachers we have at Community Bible Church. However, as I listen to the speakers, I am wondering about the accuracy of the teaching. Is it precise? Does the teaching convey the concepts as God would have us understand them? The lessons are not being taught in the original language it was initially taught, and now it is being translated into yet another language through our translator, Mortuza. Is there some loss in translation? Then I thought about the material…the program…the Gospel. God’s word is extremely powerful if it can be taught by a child, the illiterate, a new Christian, a mature Christian, a non-Christian, even the rocks and trees! Effective delivery of the message has more to do with the power of the message and of the Holy Spirit, than with those doing the teaching.

During our afternoon break, our group went to the Bangladesh National Monument, a beautiful memorial park, north of Dhaka, dedicated to the 3 million soldiers who lost their lives during the 1971 War of Independence. While at the monument, ———, a long time member of the WOL Staff, gave a moving prayer, thanking God for the soldiers who gave their lives for the independence of Bangladesh and for Jesus Christ, who gave his life so that all men might have freedom from sin and its consequences.

 

Who’s Teaching Who?

Tuesday evening, I had the privilege of giving a talk on the fourth challenge of discipleship, “Take Up Your Cross.” When I woke up that morning, I had not slept well, and I was feeling a bit off. I had no appetite at all, and the thought of another breakfast of curried dal—sort of a thick curry flavored lentil soup—just didn’t seem like a good idea, so I decided to rest through breakfast. Well that hour came and went, and I felt no better. I ended up resting all day and trying to rehydrate myself. By the time it was my turn to speak, I felt a little better.

As it turns out, in the meeting immediately before my talk, various area leaders had given brief reports on their work. Invariably, as they talked about how many converts or baptisms they had seen, someone in the group would ask them about what sort of opposition they had experienced. Each one reported having been physically attacked and beaten on various occasions as a consequence of sharing the good news of the love of Christ.

And here I was to give a talk on the subject “Take Up Your Cross,” about how adopting God’s plan for our lives leads to suffering for the sake of others. Suddenly, my little jet-lag dehydration sickness and the hard bed I had to sleep on didn’t seem like such a big deal. Obviously, these men have much more experience with crosses than I do. I can only hope that sharing these scriptures can encourage them to remain faithful to their calling.

Hebrews 10:32-35 says, “But remember the former days, when, after being enlightened, you endured a great conflict of sufferings, partly by being made a public spectacle through reproaches and tribulations, and partly by becoming sharers with those who were so treated. For you showed sympathy to the prisoners and accepted joyfully the seizure of your property, knowing that you have for yourselves a better possession and a lasting one. Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward.”

These workers are frequently “being made a public spectacle through reproaches and tribulations.” We must do our part, “becoming sharers with those who are so treated.” Pray for these and other persecuted Christians around the world.