Jungle J Man

2010-11-02T14:54:00.000-07:00

This blog is a compilation of articles highlighting my two years as a missionary in Suriname from October 2008(January 2009 arrival on the field)-October 2010. If you have stumbled upon this blog for the first time or have only taken a quick glance at a post or two and want an understanding of the whole experience I encourage you to begin from the very first post and move forward. I feel your reading of my thoughts, experiences, joys, disapointments etc is as good as any method to get a feel for the awesome time to minister among the Aukaan people in South America.

I have been writing and will continue to write for the veritas network www.theveritasnetwork.org, a website comprised of individuals who blog on various topics from a Biblical Worldview. I encourage you to check it out.

Saying goodbye: hope, joy and the family of God

2010-11-01T15:34:00.000-07:00

A fitting way to end it. So was my final night in Godoholo, Suriname. After nearly 14months doing ministry and living life in the well-known Aukaan village on the upper Tapanhoni River, the last goodbyes, embraces, poignant words and sincere expressions of gratitude were given on a most edifying and God-glorifying occasion. And oh yeah.…It was an absolute blast of a time.

During the months preceding my departure, I had been planning exactly how I wanted my final night in the village to be spent. Of a joyous and fun-filled evening, there was no question. A big party was going to be in the mix. Exactly how it would be done, what the content of the program would be…well I didn’t figure all that out until about 10 P.M Tuesday October 12 –when the party was over.Despite logistical uncertainties such as how much food to buy, how many people would actually show up, would the village have electricity, everything went unusually smooth. I had concerns about whether or not non-Christians would come and how “Christian” the fesa “feast”/party would be. Well, the party was 100% Jesus.

Members from the congregation wrote out a program that was full of worship music, reading of scripture, testimonies and dancing. Our second song was a bold mockery of the traditional village healer called the "bonuman. I knew some of the village leaders who had no regard for Christianity would come as I had invited them and who would stay (at least out of respect for me). Sure enough, they came, with many others who have yet to set foot in the Church but who heard the Gospel message, saw the Holy Spirit working and who I know witnessed the Joy of the Lord. I later felt conviction and regret that I was concerned the party might be “too Christian”. Praise God it was! What a lesson for Mr. Missionary.

At the scheduled starting time there were about 10 people there and I was consequently discouraged that perhaps only a handful would even come. Well, we started singing worship songs, the same ones sung acapella every Sunday assisted only by one tambourine. But as the minutes passed by people filed in. A majority stayed on the outside fringes watching but hesitant to be a part of “church”. People gave the most loving and emotionally-stirring words, especially those whom I was closest to. Various people came to the front, sang, presented gifts, preached the message of Christ boldly. I was excited at the opportunity to speak in front of such a big group. It was by far the biggest audience to which I had the chance to “preach”. I gave my sincerest gratitude to the people for allowing me to live with them for that time.

My words of thanks were anything but a pretense to reality –the Aukaaners of Godoholo were generous, hospitable, warm and welcoming. I can’t recall a day without receiving at least one free meal from somebody. Little kids would shout my name out and give me hugs whenever I passed by. You realize why the Bible says the poor are blessed in God’s eyes. Prior to my departure, villagers made laments about my leaving and incessantly posed the simple and yet painfully difficult question: “when are you coming back?” When it came my time to speak I projected what was on my heart. I answered the question of my return as a segue into the deeper and preeminent issue of death. The truth is only God knows when or if I will return. Tomorrow may never come. I may return but you may be dead. My going back to the U.S. can be perceived as “death” in a loose sense if I never get the chance to come back to Suriname and we never meet again. This, then is a rather sobering occasion… unless of course, you’re part of the family of God. Unless, you know Jesus as your savior. Only if you have sincere hope for the life eternal. I gave them the Gospel message. Jesus calls you to come follow him and offers to free you from what you fear most and from which you cannot escape. If you are part of God’s family there may be sadness, but not the kind of those who have no hope.

I exhorted them to not turn their heads the other way and ignore an offer of hope they’ll find nowhere else. There were plenty of “amen’s” from believers in the village who knew full well, even if the worst possible scenario were to occur, death, we know we cannot be hurt by the eternal and absolute second death. We'll meet again regardless! You often wonder what becomes of a message, preached without a microphone, interrupted by kids playing, babies crying and even hindered by my own fit of coughing. But the Word does not return void as we know.

I feel my message was very symbolic and representative of my ministry in Godoholo. I had many opportunities to share the Gospel message, to get to the root cause of why people won’t come to Christ and why others do. The Holy Spirit must do the work in changing lives. A missionary’s role is to bring the Word to them. Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the Word of Christ. Romans 10:17 God is good. He blessed my two years as a journeyman and my one year, 9 1/2 months on the field. It will be exciting to see either in this life or the next what fruit was borne of my truly short time working among the Aukaan people.

My prayer for the boys

2010-10-16T15:27:00.000-07:00

God calls men to be leaders. The Bible presses the need for Christian men to lead their families as well as His Church. Throughout the World, in the Christian Church we see men taking a back seat and women frequently put at the front fulfilling a role they were not made to fulfill. Some of this is done out of reluctant necessity and some a reflection of cultural egalitarian principles. Whatever the cause, churches lacking male leadership are invariably weak.
I wrote an earlier article titled: What’s your advice? about the unfortunate and heartbreaking circumstances of Aukaan women and their unbelieving, unfaithful and unrepentant husbands. A typical Aukaan woman in our church is young (in their 20’s or 30’s) and has a number of children along with her unbelieving man. She comes along with all her young kids to church each Sunday. In this groups is a significant number of young boys (13 years and younger). Nearly every one of Godoholo’s Christian women were saved after they were already with their husband. They often lament of how things would likely be different if they were Christians before they already lived with their man. But things are the way they are. Praise God for his revealing himself to them and bringing them out of darkness -unlike their ancestors before.
The boys in Church have been raised hearing the beautiful life-changing, life-saving Gospel message. These youth have the amazing privilege and responsibility to choose and follow Christ as men or to turn their back and follow Satan. Unlike their fathers, heathens without knowledge of Christ, they are without excuse. These Aukaan boys see how their fathers live….and conversely how their mother’s live. I know statistics show how boys, a vast majority of the time, follow in their father’s footsteps. God made young boys with a desire to emulate their fathers. Boys will take on habits and qualities as well as faults. The father is invariably the primary male role model for his sons.
It’s a tough crossroad to be at. As an outside observer, a grown man with a clear and Biblically determined perspective who can weigh the options and logically choose what path the boys should take. They see the righteous and love-filled lives of their mothers and their lust-driven, dishonest and deceitful fathers. They hear the message of truth weekly, joyfully worship at church and see (albeit a few) examples of Christian men and the good lives they live. They see young men who don’t fear God, seek only wealth, women and whatever fame or reputation they can get and are only angry, discontent and unfulfilled. Jesus: why wouldn’t you?
But I’m not these boys. I hope they’ve see me as an example to follow, but I know I’m also a white-guy outsider and by virtue of being foreign, am both placed and judged in a completely different category as a man. I don’t know the pressure that comes from the unbelieving majority of males whose long-standing concept of a man is blatantly non-Biblical. I don’t know what its like to have a father who would scoff at going to Church and tell me its only for women and kids and incongruous to true Aukaan masculinity. I don’t know what goes through their heads when older males pass by and contemptuously smirk at the youth worshipping.
Moreover, I know that statistically that outlook is bleak. Boys in America predominantly follow their fathers into belief or unbelief as well. And the cultural weight is nowhere nearly as heavily pressed against males to follow Christ in the U.S. as it is on Aukaaners. But I do know after leaving his disciples astonished to such a degree as to prompt them to say: “well then who can be saved?!” in response to his sobering, seemingly hopeless statement that it’s easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God Jesus answered saying, “with man this is impossible but with God all things are possible”.
Amen. And So I take full solace in Jesus’ words. Even if the circumstances were every bit of what I would consider ideal, the truth is it’s still impossible without God to ever be saved. God has shown himself to the generation in Church now and has transformed their lives. He did the work there and I have faith he will do it with the young boys who will become men. They have been blessed to be raised in Church, heard the Gospel and have seen the diametrically opposed lives between the saved and unsaved. I often consider and imagine the magnitude of even a handful of young male Christ-followers and the impact they’d have on their unsaved brothers. Additionally, they’d be the leaders the Church needs. It’s my hope…and my prayer for these boys.

The ridiculously pagan "broko day"

2010-09-14T18:45:00.000-07:00

Prior to immersion into a new culture, you somehow have a generalized notion that the holidays you celebrate are universal. However, you soon discover Christmas is not only treated as profanely as Tuesday @ the workplace but that there are apparently "other" holidays appropriate for partying like a rockstar. This last week, for eight days the Aukaan community in which I live celebrated what is known as brookodei (pronounced "broko day"). I haven't figured out why the misnomer has stood (should be "broko week") but nevertheless no one seems to have any qualms with the erroneous designation.

Brookodei is simply put, another Satan-glorifying, demon-summoning, fear-filled week for Aukaaners. For many, the week is simply a cultural tradition and this group is content at spectator status. For kids, it is somewhat of a cultural indoctrination. There's music, beverages, food and dancing. Additionally, there are a number of spiritually-dark practices which children are conspicuously seen at the forefront. These kids, not fully comprehending what they're doing entails but all the while subtly learning and respecting pagan traditions under an auspicious, rowdy environment. For adults, brookodei is vastly important to their well-being; "doing it right" means everything.

The celebration and its style has a unique African feel. The most ostentatious, garrish and ridiculous outfits are donned. There isn't a color on the spectrum absent. The brighter the outfit, the better. I couldn't resist laughing at the attire of the men. Every category of hat you could contrive from beanies to cowboy hats, bright pink sport coats, traditional sashes, gold chains and oversized dollar-sign belt buckles. Not a soul in the village had a complete and respectably-matched wardrobe. The women, as they always do, had better taste than the men. Their colorful and unique hand-sewn skirts matched their coresponding headwraps. Shame was absent and everyone wanted their picture taken. From my cultural standpoint, the most incongruous and undignified poses were rocked (i.e. Frowning, turning sideways to put emphasis on their rear end).

Humor set aside, what is the reason for celebrating brookodei? Well ancestor veberation (worship) is fundamental to the Aukaan animistic religious system. The week involves countless forms of appeasment to the deceased. Keeping ancestral spirits content and subdued is a constant concern for the living. A malevolent, vengeful spirit can wreak havoc on the village- bringing even death. While I didn't witness every day of the brookodei festivities, a few included taking sugar cane and pulverizing it with a wooden, baseball bat-sized pestle to produce syrup to be offered to the dead. An old wooden boat contained the sugar cane and a group proceeded to hit the cane in unison while singing in eerie rhythmic succession.

On another day men went upriver to cut firewood for the dead. Their return was highlighted by reckless driving antics in their motor boats. They spun in circles, curved around bends and then filled their boats with women who danced and sang while daredevils pulled stunts such as jumping from boat to boat. The atmosphere was in one sense simply ridiculous and seemingly harmless, but a closer look brought to light not only the spiritual state of the villagers, but exactly who these festivities honored.

The village generator ran all night long as people danced in a house set aside to hold dead bodies for viewing. An abundant amount of food was cooked and "thrown away"-prepared for the deceased of Godoholo. Alcohol was poured out as a libation at ancestral shrines. Moreover, men spent the entire week walking around in a drunken stupor, consuming some of the most potent, sinister liquor I've ever seen. Dances by the women were sexually-provocative and behavior lascivious. But what caught my attention more than anything else was what I didn't see in the faces around me: joy. There was plenty of shouting, hollering and jumping but peace was conspicuously absent. An underlying unease about the future pervaded all of brookodei.

As a follower of Jesus, it's not a mystery why things were this way. The "ancestors" receiving praise and honor are nothing less than demons. The food, alcohol and various gifts are not received by those intended eternally-condemned souls. Talking with Christian brothers and sisters in Godoholo, we had to laugh and comment on the fact of dogs, rats, roaches and ants getting a good meal from the thrown-away food. All the practices failed, and continually fail to alleviate a deep, dark and entrenched f fear of sickness, curses and death. I have often discussed with the villagers why it seems the ancestors, whether or not they were "good" or "bad" while they lived only threaten and bring terror.

But as often is the case here, light shined in the Midst of darkness. As I taught a Bible study during the middle of brookodei, I was blessed to see the redeemed from Godoholo come hear the Word of God and testify to how Jesus freed them from the slavery of Satan.

I rejoice to see our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, victor over sickness, death and all the principalities and powers of Satan displaying his omnipotent power saving those whom he chooses to reveal himself. Now that is a reason to celebrate.

where my writing's been

2010-09-12T16:39:00.000-07:00

If you've been following my blog, you see I haven't been posting as frequently on jungle j man. This is because I am (as of july) part of a blogging group called the veritas network; a website geared towards college-aged students that addresses a wide spectrum of topics from a Biblical perspective. I write at least two a month. I sure enjoy it and if you've enjoyed reading my articles you probably will top. This month for instance is an entire month devoted to topics on sex. Good scandalous stuff we're addressing. The address is theveritasnetwork.org

God's gonna destroy that place!

2010-08-18T17:25:00.000-07:00

Your individual identity in a regional sense is incidentally only fully realized when you reside somewhere outside your home (whether city, state or country). In the Suriname interior I'm often designated the "American boy" and even more inclusively as a "baaka" (foreigner). It happens when you are the sole white person in a village of 3,000 black persons. As so often exists, associations are invariably tied to stereotypes. Did you ever meet Michael Jackson? Do you know Obama? With maroons, and their understandably narrow worldview, opportunities to educate them (among other things) of the vastness of the U.S. In proportion to their country.

On a smaller and less aparent scale, my identity among other Americans (who for the last two years have been most exclusively southerners) including my own team here in Suriname is affectionately "California boy". Now being a Southern Baptist on the west coast my entire life, I never realized how southern Southern Baptists are. I haven't met many CA SB's outside the state itself. It's funny and occasionally somewhat confounding the types of responses I get relating to my home state. They have southern Baptists out there? Are there even Christians in that place (in jest mind you)? More often, the topic of conversation when referencing California is one of condemnation and postulating God's impending judgment on the state for its wickedness.

The American's worldview, broader than the maroon's would consider the Obama and Jackson questions pretty ridiculous. But by the same measurement, do I appeal to California's prodigious population (37 million people as of 2009). California has some of the largest evangelical congregations in the country, countless Christian institutions, and has produced many influential Christian leaders and movements. Men such as Rick Warren and Francis Chan are from the Golden state. The first Billy Graham crusade was in CA. But in defense of the opposition, California rightfully carries a reputation for many ungodly movements, institutions and individuals ranging from decadent Hollywood to the homosexual bath houses in San Francisco and the Free Love movement of the 1960's.

Afte close scrutiny of everyone else, and as the protagonist of my position, I incidentally placed myself in my own test and was found to have failed the broad spectrum test as well. The Netherlands, due to a national reputation of wickedness and depravity has been a personal scapegoat - fully deserving of God's wrath. And just like CA, evidence does exists to support my position. When the Aukaan pastor of the Church in my village showed me pictures from his trip to Holland and responded to my inquiry of the existence of Churches there, I was incredulous. Really? Even Pentecostal ones? Not just Dutch Reformed with a meager and dying congregation comprised of 90 year-old ladies? He said yes. There were a number of them he saw. Later, I was shocked by my own nearsightedness and ignorance. Even a nation epitomizing godlessness, hedonism, depravity; one who shamelessly promotes countless forms of detestable behavior, who legalizes prostitution, child pornography and yet has legislation deeming spanking one's own child a criminal offense. Christians: Even real ones?

After reflection on God's. Righteous judgment and Biblical accounts on the subject I inevitably came to the best know example: Sodom and Gomorrah, in Genesis 19. These two cities were unfathomably vile and wicked as to stir God's destructive wrath. Not since the flood had such an evil place existed. As we know Abraham pleaded with God until the number was brought from fifty to ten righteous people for whose sake he woluld not destroy those places with fire. Take some time and reflect on our above examples. There are undoubtedly more than ten righteous individuals in CA and as was brought to my attention, some in Holland as well!

Make no mistake, the wickedness in our world is increasing and our two regions of focus are shameful frontrunners. God detests sin. His perfect, Holy nature cannot tolerate it. Why then doesn't God send that impending destructive earthquake that's gonna send that left-leaning state in the heart of the Pacific? When is Holland gonna get its due?

How did father Abraham, a man called God's friend, placate the Almighty? He appealed to his immutable and just nature.

"Then Abraham approached him and said: Will you sweep away the righteous with the wicked? What if there are fifty righteous people in the city? Will you really sweep it away and not spare the place for the sake of the fifty righteous people in it? Far be it from you to do such a thing -to kill the righteous with the wicked, treating the righteous and wicked alike. Far be it from you! Will not the judge of all the Earth do right?" Genesis 19:23-26

And although God couldn't find ten, yet he still sent two angels to rescue the righteous man Lot and his immediate family and in spite of initial doubt (he hesitated at the angel's urging and his sons-in-law did not even believe).

God is withholding judgment on Earth for the sake of those made righteous by the blood of Jesus Christ. Jesus shows us this truth in the Parable of the Weeds in Matthew 13.

Not only is God withholding judgment during this present state of grace on Earth but he acccepts all who genuinely repent. Psalms 51:17 beautifully illustrates this: "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God you will not. Despise."

Jonah preached (at God's command) against nineveh and the entire city repented in sackcloth and ashes. And as we know God didn't exact the judgment he threatened.

In conclusion, we've established God is a Holy God, one who detests any and all forms of sin and who will bring righteous judgment to every soul from creation to the last day at the appointed time. Furthermore, he withholds wrath prepared for the wicked for the sake of the elect on Earth today. He is pleased with and desires earnest repentance more than earthy
destruction and eternal damnation.

A thorough understanding will hopefully change your perspective of the existence of evil and specifically large populations full of wicked people today....it did mine.

A fitting tribute to my tools

2010-07-15T16:32:00.000-07:00

There are few places on Earth that will test the craftsmanship, quality and overall durability of your tools to a greater degree than a humid tropical jungle climate. You learn shockingly fast what lasts and what ends-up in the trash pit or burn barrel. While there is little personal gain one receives for praising inanimate objects, I have long felt indebted to my tried and true partners of primarily petroleum and metallic make-up whose assistance I have counted as invaluable during the last 18 months. And although I have not contacted the companies who manufacture the following items for the possibility of receiving a payment fitting for endorsing their products, I do not consider the following pro bono promotion to be a fruitless and frivolous endeavor. I’ve made an ascending list and description of what I have chosen as six of my most useful tools and a brief description of each.

#6 Nalgene water bottle. This guy has been everywhere with me because….well you can’t live very long without water -and as my primary source for the containment and consumption of H2O it was been tested and proven faithful. As a Christmas gift Charles bought me a splendid additional attachment: a coffee filter. You pour grounds in this micro-screen cap attachment, add boiling water, agitate for four minutes and enjoy. Nalgene, I tip my hat to you my faithful friend.

#5 Leatherman Skeletool. The contemporary pocket-knife of today is no longer a one blade, 4 inch stainless steel whittling instrument. Many have multiple functions and various gadgets; but most of which the owner quickly discovers to be superfluous. The skeletool is lightweight with a stainless steel serrated blade, an interchangeable flat-head/ philipps screw driver option and a set of pliers with plenty of torque. I use the Leatherman from everything from peeling an orange to clipping and splicing electrical wire. Skeletool, you are cutting edge; always there when needed.

#4 Petzl Tikka Headlamp. While not earning a bronze, silver or gold, this illuminator carries much more than a token blue ribbon. This tool has been imperative in every sense of the word out here. The hands-free lighting is found to be no more appreciated than when everything besides your light is pitch-black. And when you are filleting a seven-pound peacock bass @ 8 p.m, every bit of your right and left arms and hands is needed. Furthermore, this headlamp is an LED: exceptionally bright, peerlessly efficient and durable. To get an idea, with everyday use, the same three AAA batteries lasted from February to May! Petzl LED, The darkness that surrounds something I only know from afar.

#3 Olympus Stylus Digital Camera. If ever there existed a perpetual test to validate the claim of waterproof 10 ft, shockproof 5 ft, than we (Taylor and Charles also have similar models of the same camera) are ready to take a stand in defense of this claim. Any given boat trip we’ve been on involves nearly all our equipment either getting splashed, soaked or submerged. The most thrilling videos and pics such as climbing up steep rapids or screaming down a zip-line inevitably end with the camera getting both banged-around and submerged. A camera any less durable would have been long gone. Olympus, if I go down to the greatest depths or ascend to the lofty heights….you will not fail to yield tangible evidence to show everyone later. 

#2 Clark Jungle Hammock. When nighttime comes in the jungle, finding a comfortable place to lay your head is vitally important. And there’s no place you’d rather not be than on the ground. I could make a list of 1,000 dangers and nuisances from stinging red ants to relentless rain storms that make a hammock necessary. Furthermore, mosquitoes and various other nasty insects will find you if you lack a mosquito net. The Clark Jungle Hammock covers both those bases and so much more. It can be rolled up and conveniently stuffed into a built-in enclosure sack. The expedience of the hammock is important when you’re always moving from place to place as I have been. There is a custom-fit tarp that can be fastened and strung-up as to keep the user completely dry in the worst of downpours. My appreciation for this jungle hammock has only grown with time. Clark, you have been my evening place of repose; thanks to you, my sleep has been sweeter, deeper and a whole lot longer.

#1 Blackberry Pearl. You might be surprised by this choice… of maybe not. This handheld wonder takes first place in function and value- no contest. Only two months prior to arriving in Suriname, the primary cell service provider for the country had a number of cell phone towers constructed forever changing the dynamics of the Aukaan people. I have internet access, email, and even Skype. I use my phone everyday, have consistent contact with my family, friends and my team here in the country. Technology is no more appreciated than when you reside in a remote area. The Blackberry keeps me up on what’s going on in the world through the news, facebook etc. Honestly, having this phone has made being away for such a long period of time much less difficult. Blackberry Pearl, you’ve made the world a much smaller place and brought so much of it to me.

So perhaps this tool tribute post will give a bit of an idea which physical possessions are of the greatest value out here in the Amazon. The products mentioned have earned my wholehearted stamp of approval. If you decide to purchase any of the above be sure to reference me as honest, genuine freelance sales rep who would gladly appreciate any amount of a monetary payment for my sales work. 

Giving your all, using your gift

2010-07-03T11:20:00.000-07:00

Most Christians you meet will often be quick to agree that God gives us gifts, talents and ability to further his Kingdom. Jesus emphasized on numerous occasions in the Gospels how “it’s to the Father’s Glory that you bear much fruit -fruit will last” (John 15) and described in a vivid and quite frankly fearful parable what will happen to us who “bury our talent” (Matt 25:25). Being in a foreign country among an impoverished people group you continually see basic human needs that remain unmet because there simply aren’t those with the money or ability to alleviate whatever suffering is present. While the causes of poverty usually involve multiple factors and the methods of ameliorating it are even more complex, being able to help with physical needs in whatever way possible goes far…and it points people to the hope that is Jesus.

Well, this last week I was privileged to see firsthand two men taking a portion of their vacation time, spending their own money and coming to the Suriname interior to use their gift to further our Lord’s Kingdom. Stephen Malone and Gary Poppe, dentists from Tennessee and Kansas, respectively, visited six villages in five days, instructed and assisted in pulling the teeth of numerous Aukaaners free of charge. For those of you who are not familiar with the Maroons of the interior, this might sound like a drastic or perhaps even extreme procedure. Pulling teeth? What about a good cleaning, a few fillings or even a root canal? I’ll be honest, what immediately came to mind as analogous to our present scenario would be a doctor coming to amputate the limbs of patients to prevent death from gangrene. In all actuality, the moderately morbid comparison is not too far-fetched. Of course, there’s a lot more functionality with a mouth devoid of a tooth or two than your body devoid of a right arm.

When one looks at the dental health of Aukaaners, they are without fluoridated water, regular dental check-ups, and critical oral hygiene habits. For most, their teeth are so decayed as to cause intense pain that cannot be alleviated until the bad tooth is extracted. For these people, the only solution they know of and hope to receive in order to find relief is for someone to pull the bad tooth/teeth.

What was awesome about Gary and Stephen coming here was that they didn’t pull most the teeth. They were here primarily for training two Aukaan Christian guys: Baa’ Henne and Baa’ Kenneth to do the procedure. Hene and Kenneth did an excellent job and have definitely earned the trust of their own people. Gary and Stephen used their gift, one that most of us (including Charles, Taylor and I) don’t possess, and as the circumstances demonstrated, was much needed and by the Aukaaners of Suriname. The one-week trip these men took had a huge impact that will resonate much longer than a few days in July.

Meeting the physical needs of people usually precedes their desire for Spiritual ones. When talking with people here, they often associate our ministry with the “teeth doctors” who came in such-and-such a year. I know people’s receptivity to the Gospel will increase as they see Love being the motivation behind the dental work. Praise God for men like Gary and Stephen who have vastly furthered the ministry in the interior by using their gift of dentistry to bear fruit –fruit that will last.

A surprise confrontation from the skeptic

2010-06-20T17:25:00.000-07:00

People have often asked me if meeting and/or interacting with another American or even another white person for that matter is perceived as a positive occurrence. One would think, in light of the fact that I live alone in a village in which there have been stretches as long a month-and-a-half with no interaction with someone besides the resident Aukaaners that I would jump at the sight for a chance of conversing in my native tongue. The reality, I have learned, is quite the contrary. There is typically, what I guess you could so eloquently categorize as three “white people” groups you meet in the interior of Suriname. The more common two: Peace Corps volunteers and European Tourists from France or Holland are generally somewhat risky because one doesn’t know there perception of missionaries- which is unfortunately often negative and with Europeans, the whole language guessing game: not knowing exactly where they’re from, both of us not sure if we might be proficient in the other’s language and to what degree they understand and speak English (which is more often than not, pretty well). With Peace Corps, it’s a real grab-bag. You might find a guy like a friend we have who is a born-again, evangelistic and down-to-Earth or you might get a liberal, pluralistic, feminist who sees you as someone destroying the beautiful and harmonious indigenous culture. The third group, one to which a degree of suspicion reaches its pinnacle and an encounter, as I just found out yesterday can be downright confrontational: an anthropologist.

When Joe white man shows up in your village while you’re having a conversation with the native inhabitants you’re naturally caught a bit off-guard; not being sure what to expect from this unavoidable, impending interaction. But you know you’re in for a lively debate when, after formal greetings and the divulging of your purpose being here your newfound antagonist makes this statement: “You’re a missionary…well I guess you and I are working against each other.” That’s right, that’s what the guy said. And this gentleman, presently working on his PhD brazenly began to question me in a flagrant display of academic pretentiousness my purpose for being here and my beliefs. This dialogue eventually covered more topics on ethics, theology, history and various sub-categories that I knew little or nothing about than I have ever participate in. I wish I could have recorded the entire “session”.

“Stan” as we shall call him posed questions such as follows: What is faith?, Who is God?, Why does this supposed loving God sent people to a place of torture and punishment? Is there is such a thing as sin? How can you profess there to be only one truth? Why is there suffering? Is God just?

Now keep in mind, Stan wasn’t asking these questions without premeditated knowledge both on the subject and support to refute a “Christian” answer. He had an incredible amount of head knowledge you’re apt to find within the intellectual circle. I realized early on, I would need a pen and a few spare ink cartridges to check-off the reading list this guy had compiled. He made it clear early on how he saw my work as culturally-destructive, ungrounded in truth, and pernicious. I remembered what Jesus said to his disciples about not worrying beforehand what to say because The Father will give you wisdom which your adversaries will not be able to refute contradict.

When quoting the Bible at one instance early on, Stan interjected stating: “Don’t use the Bible to defend your Christian position! Will a thief’s own testimony be valid in his own defense or are witnesses necessary?” Now I have, especially in the last two years really developed a passion for apologetics. I love to read books defending the faith and I also am interested in what authors and individuals who oppose Christianity have to say. As the dialogue continued, I began to appreciate this opportunity. Stan had an agenda and he was undoubtedly trying intimidation as a means to his perceived victory.

As Christians, it’s vastly important we know how defend our faith. Books such as the Case for Christ and the Case for Faith and Mere Christianity can go far to help you in this realm (They did for me). Now Stan invariably questioned every widely accepted set of truths out there. His field studies cultures and he seemed to have an obscure cultural example to contradict every “universal” out there. I brought to attention that there are generally accepted truths that span all cultures in regard to morality: murder, adultery, respect for the elderly, theft are a few examples.

Evidently, what Stan was trying to do was shock and stump me with the unusual and exceptional. I prayed many times for the Lord to give me wisdom to answer this belligerent skeptic After having a discussion that usually involved him doing most the talking I was able to bring a couple key points up that he cleverly side-stepped but could never answer me head-on. The biggest one, involving the spiritual presence in the village, namely the existence of demons he simply said doesn’t apply to his work. He knew acknowledging the spiritual realm opened up a big can of worms. He dismissed the Aukaaner’s widely held beliefs and plainly stated that he has a hard time accepting anything as fully and completely true. He questioned the existence of what is sin but yet freely labeled what he believed to be evil or wicked. How can you categorize evil when you haven’t established anything as being right or wrong? Clearly, there were too many holes created with his conviction-less belief system.

So, how does a man like this live and find his meaning? Well, when your stance is positioned as is Stan’s, you question everything, accept anything and oppose nothing. Your beliefs are as follows:

-You live by a set of ethics and morality which you can select, adopt or discard at your pleasure

-You’re principles and evidence necessitate acceptance of a “higher power” or “spiritual force” but he has no role in your life whether to judge, love, or guide. You are in no accountable to him.

-You can’t stand people who belief something with their whole heart and accept many of their core beliefs on faith but you eventually realize you can’t oppose them, it would contradict the very core of your life philosophy.

We ended our two-hour long discussion with him being much more subdued, amiable and reflective mood. His closing remarks being that it’s a good thing that I’m doing what I believe in and being sincere in it all. It’s the extent of what he could say, there’s no room for condemnation when truth is non-existent in your belief system. And although, from my standpoint, I don’t believe “being sincere” constitutes anything as right or true… (who can you find out there more sincere and zealous than an Islamic suicide bomber).

Then again, that’s why I’m a missionary and the Jesus I serve doesn’t accept any god, moral code, or philosophical state outside of him because He is Truth.

His Greatest creation

2010-06-10T07:23:00.001-07:00

My family’s, and incidentally my new home in CA is a town called Alta Sierra in Nevada County, a place notable for prominent environmentalism and generally liberal-minded people. There are no shortage of individuals who promote legalizing Marijuana, refuse to purchase groceries in plastic or paper bags and who are apt to hold a protest now and then. Many of these voice their often radical and unconventional views on government, the environment and social structure with bumper stickers. The most ubiquitous I’ve seen is tolerance-geared COEXIST in which each letter is a representation of a respective religious group.

In our family, viewing a coexist or a like-minded bumper sticker initiates a sort-of political and religious apologetic discussion about the contradictions and ridiculousness of such notions. About a week ago, after shopping with my mom two related bumper-stickers on a particular car really fired me up and got the wheels in my head turning. The statements were as follows: “Make Love…Not more!” and “Stop Overpopulation”. Upon my viewing I began my own series of arguments and rebuttals against those statements. I was able to ultimately break-down the source and overarching thought of what was written but first, a few thoughts.

First-off one of the primary reasons and logical intentions of Sex was for procreation. For this misguided environmentalist bent on everything being “natural”, I can’t think of anything more unnatural than the many methods of birth-control necessary to stop a clearly natural occurrence. Even an atheist understands this as being important for existence. Look at the state of Europe now with birth-rates so low that there are not enough children born to replace those who naturally die. In countries such as France, the government is giving handsome incentives for larger families. Secondly, the World is not in danger of overpopulation. How much open space do you see when you travel…a lot. I believe in what God said to Adam to increase in number and to subdue the Earth. And if the population grew unabated, I believe the Lord would do what was necessary for his creation to live.

I believe in what God commanded Adam, the first human to do … ”to fill the Earth and to subdue it.” Does that mean excessive waste, materialism, and environmental negligence?....Of course not. I believe we should care for the Earth, things such as alternative energy and recycling are great, and necessary. I think it’s terrible what happened in the Gulf with oil spill. Adam’s sole job, given by God was to tend to the Earth God had made.

I believe these points to be valid and good arguments but what I saw at the root of all this was that the statement claimed children are not a blessing, not welcome and do more harm than good. I believe if that’s your perspective, you don’t understand God’s will in his purpose for the creation of the Family. Moreover, it is quite frankly a very selfish way to live. By reading the other bumper stickers and understanding an environmentalist’s thought, they see humans as the enemies and destroyers. They exalt creation and falsely ascribe to it as possessing the same inherent value as Man. They are practicing a contemporary form of pantheism and ultimately by exalting the creation over the creator they are idolaters in every sense of the meaning.

And what they miss more than anything else is that crowning creation and pinnacle of his work was mankind. He created them with a soul and to do what no other form in creation did or could ever do: to Love and to be in communion with God. We are “worth more than many sparrows” as Jesus said in the beatitudes. The Greatest commandment was first: to Love God with all your heart and soul and mind and strength and the second was like it; to love your neighbor as yourself. You are worth more than any tree in the forest or bird in the air or fish in the sea.

I hope you take time to reflect and conceive the magnitude and beauty of God’s greatest creation: You and I.

A longing fulfilled

2010-05-21T13:09:00.000-07:00

After nearly 17 months in the country of Suriname and a notably nerve-racking month leading up to my departure in which it was uncertain if I would be coming home as late as 48 hours prior to departure I am in my parent's home in Alta Sierra CA relishing the strikingly cool spring temps and thoroughly enjoying all the comodities of the United States of America. But most importantly, being with my family and in community with friends I haven't seen in such a long time will be true joy.

Hope deferred

2010-04-30T16:30:00.000-07:00

So this last month or so has been one of most trying and difficult for me in regard to the suspense created from my incompleted stay paper situation. At the moment, with three weeks to the day which I am supposed to be leaving for a short vacation to the states, the invaluable necessary piece to get back into Suriname(whatever it is exactly: a stamp, a slip, a signature) is absent. Since discovering in March of last year after Me and Taylor's first extended stay that when we arrived in Suriname on January 6th we were given (unknown to us and apparently the IMB personnel who worked on our visa situation)a two month stay and were expected to go back to the states and then return. The country of Suriname had inacted a new Law sometime in the fall before we came.

Well, going back to the states was the last option we hoped to have to take. So with a few key connections in the city we were able to contact a man who would help us in so that we would not have to go the U.S. We began working on fixing the papers to go to the country of Guyana to spend a short time with another IMB couple that same month. As you can guess, with only a matter of days before we were suppposed to go, that planned trip had to be cancelled.

With an approaching regional prayer retreat planned in June we spent a good three weeks working with our Suriname connection "Kirk". We turned in every required document, had every Passport, birth certificate etc and were searching for what seemed the most simple of documents: some official receipt showing our paperwork was submitted and would allow us entry back into the country. Well, working with Kirk as we discovered was far from simple. As the day to leave neared we couldn't get a hold of him to save our lives and did not know until a day before we left if we would actually be leaving. Well..we went and came back without encountering any problems -no thanks to Kirk.

In October one of my best friends Chris asked me if I would be in his wedding party. I was honored by the proposal and after prayer decided in December I would be heading back to CA in May. I bought a $1,200 ticket from Paramaribo to San Francisco (a ticket to SAC was almost twice as much!) in early January. My supervisor brought to my attention the need to get my incomplete stay paper situation squared away. No need to worry right? I've got over five months. To make a long story short, two weeks ago I was back at square one...and working things out with Kirk again.

Nearly a year later and I'm still seeking the evasive piece that will allow me back into Suriname legally. This past week had be calling Kirk nearly everyday and him postponing and deferring my requests for every reason possible. Needless to say, I've had to fight the threat of constant anxiety, suspense, discouragment and despair.

Despite what seems to be a pretty bleak scenario, I have not lost heart or given up. I feel the Lord wants me to go and I know if it is his will I will be leaving on May 21. Philippians 4 has been the comfort God has given me: "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God which passes all undestanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus." I've taken solace in these words and put everything in the Lord's hands with complete peace...oh yeah and I am hoping and praying it works out! If you happen to read this blog before I post a verdict as soon as I know then pray with me for this situation.

In Proverbs it says: "Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life."

Hoping to get a little from that tree.

Funny questions for which you have no answer

2010-04-23T16:27:00.000-07:00

Well I got quite a few positive response from my blog "How you Know you live 4 degrees north of the equator" and i see the typcial viewer of this blog enjoys the peculiarities and cultural nuances -or you just like to hear how the weather is. lol

So I thought I'd post a blog along similiar lines pertaining to funny questions you don't have an answer to.

Okay Mr. American; learned gentleman, young, cosmopolitan and adaptable, ready for anything. So you think you've got everything settled now with your flexible and open world view. You've been living in a foreign culture nearly a year-and-a-half. By now, nothing thrown at you should stump you. However, there are certain recurring questions posed by your people group that you have been asked a thousand times and yet they always leave you..well without an adequate answer. I listed ten I could think. interesting enough, they all fit into the food or family category.

1.)"In America people don't eat the head of the fish??!!" I can't believe that. It is the best part!

2.)You're parents only had three kids? only three? Why?

3.) "So people in the U.S. don't eat the bones of the chicken? It wouldn't be good manners for me to do that?"

4.) "You're how old and you don't have a wife yet?"

5.)"You don't eat rice at every meal?!" "I can't imagine that. I couldn't do it."

6.)"They have laws that would prohibit you from killing certain animals for food?"

7.)"Why would it be illegal to have more than one wife?" You would go to jail for doing that?!"

8.)The breast part of the chicken is my least favorite part, I have to have bones in mine. The best part is the neck.

9.)Why wouldn't you take a woman here in the village? (Somehow all my thoughtful and reasonable answers never seem to suffice to satisfy them)

10.) "People don't eat chicken's feet in America?" If someone cooks up a chicken, that is the first part I'll take!!"

What's your advice?

2010-04-07T05:12:00.000-07:00

So here’s the scenario: She’s 23, has two young boys ages 3 and 2, she became a Christian about a year ago, she lives in a house in the village and attends Church regularly and has a desire to grow in her faith and knowledge of the Word. In addition, she has a husband whom she began to “live with” (marriage as we understand it as a legal union and an intended lifetime commitment doesn’t exist in traditional Aukaan culture) four years ago. This man “has” three other women (wives in a very loose sense) who live in different villages along the river. Our woman of focus understands fully that her man is openly promiscuous and a blatant adulterer. He will shamelessly call out at other women in his wife’s presence without hesitation in public. The traditional Aukaan culture fully accepts his lifestyle. She doesn’t see him for extended periods of time and doesn’t know when he’ll come to see her. Whenever it pleases him, he will call her to come see him where he works and stay for perhaps a week or so and then she will return to stay alone in the village. She herself does not sleep with other women because she desires to live the Christian life. She understands the sad reality of her situation but she fears the possibility of contracting an STD or even AIDS.

Scenario number #2: She’s 38, has been a Christian for over 15 years now and has five children. She began to “live” with her “husband” before she was saved. She is active in Church and prays diligently and seeks to follow the Lord closely. She discovered just a few years ago that her husband had taken another woman in the village where they currently reside and has five additional children with her. The relationship between the two women is contentious on nearly a daily basis. Our woman of focus is always suspecting that her husband is heading to a different part of the village to sleep with this “other” woman or give her money. There are often encounters in the village in which the “other” woman will curse her or threaten to fight. There are frequent heated arguments with her husband who is a man open to the Gospel who has even begun to come to Church. Even for him, the family situation is not black-and-white. He does have a responsibility to provide for all of those 10 kids and two wives but there is unceasing strife, unrest, discontentment and jealousy. Our believing wife often asks me to pray for God to give her patience as she has endured much. Furthermore, all five of her kids witness all that goes on and the impact it has on them undoubtedly unhealthy.

Not just hearing, but seeing firsthand stories like this has troubled me many a day in Godoloho. I have even on occasion been shoved into a “mediator” and counselor role. So I’ll prompt you to answer: what’s your advice?

Well….devoid of any advanced degree in marriage or family canceling and at the moment no personal marital experience from which to draw wisdom I went to the only place I knew: God’s Word.

I Peter 3:1-2

“Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, when they see the purity and reverence of your lives.”

I cannot imagine how trying it must be to be where these women, and many others like them, but I hope when you get a chance, pray for them and pray that the lives they live will display Jesus so that their husbands will come to know the savior – the only way for any true life change to come about.

How you know you live 4 degress North of the Equator

2010-04-04T09:58:00.001-07:00

I have always been a guy who loves weather and topics on the subject have and continue to fascinate me. Both my Grandfathers were farmers and from my experience being around them, understand how and why climate and other weather-related phenomena sparked their interest. I guess it’s in my blood. When journaling, I’ll often document the weather for the particular day. So after well over a year and especially after experiencing 12 full months in the jungle I thought I’d give a few of my observations pertaining to the statement: How you know you live 4 degrees North of the Equator.

Here are a few…

1) The words ice, snow, shiver and season do not exist in your people group’s language.

2.) Any given day could by any other given day of the year. (The temps vary so slightly that a season concept is non-existent.

3.) The sun is always intense and always hot even when the temps aren’t.

4.) You can get sun burned in <10 minutes.

5.) You have to search far and wide to find sunscreen in your country’s capital city.

6.) You have never worn the only sweatshirt you brought from home.

7.) The temps have never dipped below 67 degrees.

8.) You woke up freezing cold and checked the thermometer to see the display show 72 degrees Fahrenheit.

9.) You hung your black shirt out on the line in the morning and pulled a fully dry brown one in the afternoon.

10.) Your clothes will decay at an alarming rate.

11.) You never assume or have confidence that it won’t rain.

12.) Fully cleared grass and other plant growth can be over 6 feet high in a matter of a month or so.

13.) People are shocked that a time of year exists where you live in which it is so cold you cannot swim or wash in the rivers.

14.) Intervals of rain are consistent enough that for 80% of the year water caught from the sky is sufficient for all needs.

15.) You’re always sweating and as a consequence, you’re always washing clothes -and you don’t even think of wearing yesterday’s shirt today. lol
16.) You are always perspiring and have broken into a sweat at any and all of the 24 hours in a day.

17.) The season concept is painstakingly difficult for your people group to understand.

18.) If you cook it today, you better eat it before today ends.

19.) Ants: unfathomable both in number and variety. Every one of them is armed to the teeth.

20.) You’ve never had a need for chapstick or any type of lotion.

I could go on for a while but I felt twenty reasons would suffice to give you a little idea climate-wise from a 15 month veteran jungle man.

A few questions with Basiya Otmar

2010-04-04T09:50:00.000-07:00

On a cool and sparsely-clouded February morning I had an awesome opportunity to sit down and talk with a local village leader and acquaintance named Basiya Otmar. Otmar, whose wife is Saa Bea (read “Saa Bea’s story”) has a family, in which a number are believers and so he has ostensibly heard the message of the Gospel. As I sat down and watched him build a thatched hut in his large garden there ensued a deep and insightful dialogue on marriage, the Bible and Aukaan culture. I made an effort to remember as much as I could of what was said between us. What was discussed helped me better understand the average Aukaaner’s perspective worldview.

Otmar: Ryan, there was a guy a while back who told me a lot about the Bible and read the stories and I’m telling you that I would become a Christian if it wasn’t for the fact that believers have a problem with a man having more than one wife. Why is God opposed to that?

Me: Well…there are plenty of reasons why: For starters, in the beginning God made Adam and Eve, male and female, Jesus reinforced that as being the way God intended it to be from the beginning.

I then went into how men had or chose to take more than one wife including some of the Holy men of God in the Old Testament but you see the magnitude of strife it brought on them.

Otmar: Yeah, yeah I understand that. It’s not an easy thing to manage. It takes skill and a wise man who knows what he’s doing. But let me tell you something, I was one of 21 kids by my father and five of his wives but I was the only child of my mother. If my dad had only had one wife, he would have only had one child! Look what a problem we have on our hands then.

This evaluation of this phenomena by Otmar and his perception that having only one child in a family was a serious problem put into perspective how truly different the views of family and child rearing are in Aukaan culture. I had to laugh considering Otmar himself has nine children by his only wife. I wanted to tell him how there are plenty of women who bear enough children to make up for cases such as his own mother.

Me: Otmar you know quite well how every woman is jealous of any other woman with whom she must share her man. You also know you can’t love each one the same.

This question was initiated by his bringing to my attention the case of one particular man in Godoloho who has four wives and lives harmoniously with all four. He told me they all go to the planting grounds together and each will cook a particular dish and bring it to him without quarreling. (I later found out from another source that one of the wives had left him so clearly there were a few false assertions concerning his situation)

Otmar: True! You can’t love all of them the same, no doubt about that. But that’s where you find out how who has the smarts, wisdom or shrewdness to make everything work well. You must deceive each one of them so they each feel that you love them the most. Each one must believe they are your favorite.

Me: Yeah, but I find it hard to believe you can successfully carry that out. It will become quickly apparent who is more favored by the way you treat each one.

Me: Otmar, what about adultery and mistresses by so many men here? I know because men tell me all the time how they sleep with women besides their wives. I also know how they expect complete faithfulness to their husbands in that regard. Is this so?

Otmar: Absolutely. That’s how it works and those are the expectations.

Me: Don’t you see how there is a double standard here? You know the majority of these women with whom men are unfaithful are married to a man somewhere and someone’s wife is being unfaithful when men do what they please.

Otmar: hmmm. Yeah. (There was a sort of confident indifference to my observation- his acknowledging the discrepancy but knowing change wasn’t anywhere in the future nor was any effort going to be put forth by a reality so advantageous to himself)

Me: Otmar, You yourself have only one wife and a good one at that (his wife is Saa Bea, a strong believer, see “Saa Bea’s story” –one of my earlier posts) and you’re a valiant defender of polygamy so why don’t you take another wife yourself?

Otmar: Well..I have nine kids and providing for another woman and additional kids would be tough right now.

You can see how lame his own defense in relation to his antecedents for support of polygamy was. He didn’t use any arguments such as status, masculine dominance, or pleasure. I later talked to another Christian woman from church who told me quite plainly that Saa Bea wouldn’t take it. She’d leave him and/or fight with the rival. Truthfully, Otmar knows how a good, faithful wife is not a given and Saa is just that. He benefits from her Christian morality and belief in being faithful to one man despite his own unbelief.

This discussion was too good and it was the proper time to bring up how Saa Bea had been miraculously healed with the whole village being a witness to it including himself. Saa Bea had told me how Otmar acknowledged a miracle but still didn’t accept Jesus but I wanted to here from his own mouth his take on it. His response was what I expected but all the while so powerful and gave a clear glimpse into the hearts and minds of so many Aukaaners regarding the Gospel.

Otmar: Yeah Ryan, Bea was sick and paralyzed for two years and she was in fact, healed instantly. “They” (numerous villagers) refused to believe it really happened but it did.

Me: So it was a miracle then?

Otmar: Yeah.

Me: So Otmar you know how your wife continually refused help from the witch doctor and she called on Jesus’ to heal her despite everyone else rebuking and cursing her for doing so. You see how Christ’s power was what did it.

You have see with your own eyes how the God we worship has amazing power and might so the only question I have for you is this: Why don’t you become a Christian?

Otmar: Well…Ryan, you see our people brought these set of beliefs from Africa, they stayed with them as they were on plantations as slaves and they carried them as they came up the river to where we are today.

Otmar’s response was simply stated and surprisingly brief. It didn’t explain details and expound on the sanctity or effectiveness of the Aukaaner’s religious practices over others’. However, Otmar’s shockingly succinct response told abundantly more than the few words he spoke. What it said was: I don’t need any justification for why I or my people group believes what they believe. I hold fast to these beliefs because that’s how we’ve always done it and I’m not turning my back on that despite evidence of truth outside of it-even within my own family. Otmar’s “testimony” is representative of many Aukaaners in the interior and it gives a small glimpse into the hearts of the lost in Suriname. But praise be to Jesus Christ our savior for those who see God’s power, do believe and ‘produce a crop 30, 60 and even 100 times what was sown’

A blog of thanksgiving for the New Year

2010-01-01T16:23:00.000-08:00

In the remarkable and emotionally-stirring story of the Rich young man in Mark 10, a story that left the Twelve disciples in vexed wonder; a story in which the young man who fell on his knees before Jesus genuinely desiring to know how to find eternal life, and one in which it isn’t difficult to see ourselves in place of that man, Peter said to Jesus, “we have left everything to follow you!” And to this Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mothers or fathers or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields- and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life.” We all read the same gospel stories and there are those universal lessons which we all understand. But there also exists some aspects of a story: a certain phrase, a moment or reaction, a particular word that may mean more to us at a specific time in our life.

I’m confident most who read this passage see the splendid promise at the end: eternal life. It is undoubtedly the paramount promise given to us by Christ, the ultimate reward for all believers. But what precedes this promise is another, one for our life here on Earth. Jesus says we will receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers children and fields…). So as 2009 comes to a close and it marks my one-year anniversary since arriving in Suriname, I have found it the proper time to share with you from my heart about how the Lord has blessed me with “a hundred times as much in this present age”, notably, my Suriname family.

I have put much thought into writing this blog for a while because the gratitude and thankfulness has long been on my heart and mind. My supervisors (out of respect for their position of authority but not in any way an appropriate description of the relationship which is undoubtedly family-like) are absolutely awesome. They have been a blessing to Taylor and I from the very moment we met Charles a year ago on a sultry January morning in Paramaribo and Brittany five months later at our annual prayer retreat. Their three kids: Ethan, Caleb and Abigail have blessed the two “uncles” as we were given the endearing designation after we had known them no more than two days. I am thankful to God for them and all they have done for me.

When committing to be overseas in a foreign country for two years, who will be your supervisor is of critical importance to how your term will pan-out. I could write pages of all the exploits and outright adventures we’ve been through as well as awesome experiences with sharing Christ with the Aukaan people alongside Charles. But what I want to get across is how Charles has exhibited the highest virtue attained by a great leader: leading by example. I cannot recall anything he has asked us to do that he himself hasn’t done. We’ve storied together with our people group, we’ve told testimonies on the radio. He’s handed us the microphone on live radio and asked us to tell a Bible story extemporaneously. We’ve hauled a boat up a seemingly impassable rapid and camped out countless nights in the jungle with all the bumps, bruises, sore feet, oppressive heat and occasional plague-like swarms of insects. We have seen him with Brittany and the kids in the home and seen what and how Biblical, Christ-like marriage and fatherhood look like. In the interior, Charles is highly respected among the Aukaaners and our direct association with him has benefited the ministry in Ditabikii and Godoloho. Charles has challenged us in so many ways in our present lives as well as the near and far future. One day as we were doing a morning devotion Charles posed the question as to how did David’s mighty men slay giants. We pondered this for a few moments until Charles answered us saying that David himself had slain a giant. This lesson being that leadership is of upmost importance and that men will only summon the amount of courage and inspiration that their leaders are willing to display.

Brittany has been an incredible blessing to Taylor and I. She has shown an uncommon level of hospitality and thoughtfulness both in the city and the interior. While in the interior she frequently sends us out care packages with treats we love and new snacks we haven’t yet tried. In the city, we are treated to delicious homemade meals with their family. This has brought us to the obvious conclusion regarding our preferred cuisine in the city: the Shirey’s house.:) Even while in the interior Brittany would call us to see how we were doing, if we needed anything sent and for prayer specific prayer requests. She would often give us a verse she felt the Lord wanted us to hear. All this makes us feel every bit a part of the family. It makes being overseas feel surprisingly far from foreign.

Sharing about our ministry, sitting around the table both in the city and the interior has furthered my belief and gratitude that Jesus promise of a hundred times as much in this present age has been and is being fulfilled in my life. And for this I am thankful.

Manly man's work

2009-11-30T17:57:00.000-08:00

In the humorous song “I’m still a guy” by Brad Paisley the country artist sings the following line: “these days there’s dudes getting facials, manicured, waxed and botoxed with deep spray-on tans and creamy lotion-y hands that can’t grip a tackle box…” Well this might be the case with some of my misguided American brethren but there is a little place just down south where they haven’t heard of such beautifying enhancements. Here in busy kinder (bush country) my bar soap was a novelty and the object of wonder…and that was with the Aukaan women! Sand just doesn’t have the same refreshing scent as my verdant bar of Irish Spring. So needless to say people out here are tough…and therefore work is tough.

I consider myself an outdoorsman and a country boy of sorts. It wasn’t incidental that I arrived in this place doing this particular work in this jungle environment. And I have loved every minute of it. Since arriving in Godolphin a month ago, I had become acquainted with the village but hadn’t ventured to do anything too risky or adventurous. With a foreigner, Awakeners exercise an understandable degree of caution. You’re under their care and your well-being is their responsibility. They want to see what you can handle. You quickly learn why because there isn’t room for blunders when you’re deep in the bush and mistakes can very well cost you your life. After three weeks I was anxious to get out and do something outside Godolphin itself. I was chomping-at-the-bit to get after it.

So around the last week of September every family in Godolphin began the annual task of clearing a section of land to plant for next year’s crops. Baa’ Pikin Lodie gave me the go and so two days were spent cutting all the underbrush of a two to three acre plot of virgin jungle. With machete in hand we hacked and hacked…and hacked all day long. The jungle vines and brambles are which make the jungle so dense were the objects of our wrath. All the while carefully looking for hidden wasp nests and deadly snakes. It was work, no doubt and at the end of day 1 our hands were sore and bleeding. But as tough as this sounds, women in the village do it along side the men. Saa’ Olie, Baa’ Pikin Lodie’s wife worked with us the whole day. But this wasn’t the end to clearing the plot. A weekend to rest and then we go back to Faa goon: Fell all the trees on the plot. It’s what Aukaaners call man nengee wooko (“man’s work” or for a better definition and understanding, “manly man’s work”).

So Monday arrives and we load up all our gear and head to the planting ground (goon). There’s a clear and apparent disconnect that comes with two people who speak a different language. I could tell Baa’ Pikin Lodie wasn’t sure if I had worked with an axe before. I know he was going to be cutting with the chain saw and although I knew how to use one too I didn’t ask, besides I love workout you get cutting with an axe. When I told him I’d used an axe plenty of times helping my Grandparents cut firewood and didn’t try to push using the chainsaw there was an immediate relief on and reassurance on his face. Why would there be any apprehensions in the first place? I soon discovered why.

Before we put the axe to the tree, Baa’ Pikin Lodie prayed in earnest to the Lord for safety while we worked. It was really neat that he saw that as being of paramount importance and we wouldn’t dare venture to begin without asking God’s hand to be upon us. So I began to hack away. I love cutting with an axe. And when you fell a big tree after strenuous effort there is a unique sense of satisfaction – a victorious feeling. Well there are also dangers (big surprise) when Faa’ing a goon. The tricky part of the work stems from the vines interwined in as many as a dozen trees. You cut one expecting it to fall and it just hangs or won’t move. You look up and see it being held by a vine connected to another (usually bigger) tree. So you cut every tree in that area and yet none have come down. You carefully observe to spot which one is keeping them all from falling. So you eventually cut the winner and in an instant all the trees come down with a swift and violent crash. Toward the end of day two with a small section of the plot left uncut in which about 10 relatively large trees had all been hacked but were being held up by one. Baa’ Pikin Lodie had a necessary planned route of escape since the tree was situated right smack in the middle of where all the trees were going to fall. He cut until we heard the first (and only) telltale sign: a faint crackling of the trunk. So Lodie began a dash towards safety. The scene was like something from a movie because he barely escaped, the trees were so near to hitting him I couldn’t help but see Indiana Jones and the huge boulder in Raiders of the Lost Ark. And like Indy, he came out unscathed. There were many close calls but that’s what is to be expected when you’re doing man nengee wooko. So after two exhausting long days with sore hands and scraped and scratched legs (I for some unknown reason did not find it necessary to bring pants and I paid for it dearly) we were finished. At prayer time with believers we had plenty of reasons to give God praise. Many Aukaaners had gotten serious injuries and just a month or so previous several men had died from accidents.

When people in the village found out that I had Faa’d a goon they were impressed and laughed because this work is about as “Aukaan” as you can get. Doing it helped me understand and discover a newfound respect for the hard life they live to provide food for their families. When telling men here the story of the Fall of Man there is always a clear understanding and acceptance when God tells Adam: “cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life” and “by the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground”.

Once in a lifetime experience

2009-11-29T11:47:00.000-08:00

So often you hear the phrase “once-in-a-lifetime experience”. There are countless places and a diverse and extensive list of things people do that fit in the category. But anything, if done only once, is by definition a once is a lifetime experience. I was privileged to experience an event that will probably be a once-in a lifetime experience for myself and one which I doubt few, if any person outside of the interior jungle of Suriname will ever see. I got witness and be a part of what is known as Ponsu. An odd word it is, with no particular resemblance to any commonly used English word. How it is performed and the results are just as unique.

In the jungle there exists a certain plant which Aukaaners call “Neko”. It looks just like any piece of wood or medium-sized vine you see everyday but it possesses a striking potency when it is prepared and used in a particular manner. So the vine is sought and brought to a place upstream from the village, it is mashed and pulverized with hewn-out wooden clubs awaiting its fate: being washed in the Tapanhoni river. And what Neko does is a splendid and puzzling thing: as the Aukaaners say, “a meke den fisi dunguu”. Translation: It makes the fish drunk. Okay, so I’m gonna go out on a limb here and presume that you haven’t been around drunken fish. Well…..I’d take an intoxicated fish over a sober one any day…and not because they’re a lot more fun to be around. I know it sounds like I’m pulling your leg and you’re probably thinking a year in the bush is beginning to have adverse effects on my mind. But believe me, when I heard how this thing works I was just as incredulous. So when I witnessed Ponsu I made sure to take video and photographic evidence.

So what does a drunk fish do and why does every soul in the whole village come to take part in it? If you know the jungle you know every form of protein: fish, meat, fowl is diligently sought for consumption. When you find an effective method to acquire it you ride that wave. Physiologically, a “drunken” fish is simply one deprived of oxygen. And what is causing the water the fish is living in to be deprived of this precious oxygen? You got it: Neko. And so that’s how Ponsu works. The Neko has some chemical property that deprives the river water downstream from where it is washed of Oxygen. As I witnessed, a little Neko was effective for more than 10 kilometers downstream for a river at some spots is over 600 Meters across.

Well the fish behave well…like drunks. They are disoriented and sluggish. They float to the top of the water, flop around, sink back down, languidly swim in circles. And they are easy targets for an entire village (including myself) armed with spears. The village Ponsu’s the river once annually. So with a chance for an abundant catch of fish no one misses out. Even a rookie like myself speared at least four. It was a blast. We’re going into rapids and there are countless boats. It was like a roller coaster ride. I couldn’t believe I was really doing this. The implements were maybe six feet long and most were handmade of wood with a sharp tip. Needless to say, people we’re surprised to see a white guy (one who just arrived two weeks previously) out there.

The whole thing began on a Tuesday afternoon and ended Wednesday around 11 A.M. We camped on the river Tuesday night and got up around 4 A.M. and as the sun began to rise, a few men began to wash the Neko in the river. Behind these men lay a sea of boats and entire families waiting in visible anticipation. It was a race as I came to realize. After the washing was complete, someone shouted “Go!” and everyone began to rush downriver, maneuvering and dodging fellow boats; all while spearing fish they could find. We found one spot in the river and waited as all sorts of fish of every shape and size floated by from the tiniest guppy to six-pound peacock bass. I was in one boat with two seasoned veterans, Baa’ Bodi and Baa’ Yunkuman. When you saw a big one the excitement level jumped. The spotter pointed and if (when) someone missed, we all tried to take our shots as the fish would dip down and we looked intently to predict where it would pop back up. After about four hours it was complete. Everyone went home with a hearty portion of fish, much of which will not be eaten within a day or two. The rest is smoked, salted or dried for preservation. So this fleeting rush of fun has now come to a close but as for the once in a lifetime deal….well I’m here till October 2010 so there’s a high probability there will have to be a word replacement with the insertion twice -in a lifetime experience.

Fear

2009-11-29T11:42:00.000-08:00

With more than likely little knowledge of the interior of Suriname, what do you the reader imagine as being the two most commonly asked questions of me by Aukaaners? Think hard. There are no shortage of questions in the world. Before living here I would have never even known where to start so don’t beat yourself up for not knowing. Well, the two most common questions asked are these: You’re how old?...24! Why aren’t you married? and the second, “You aren’t afraid of (fill in the blank)? The former of these two…well, I’ll save that for another time…as in personal conversation, you probably don’t want to read a blog that long. Lol.

In our missionary training we learned of how sin manifests itself in (loosely) three different distinctive categories: guilt, shame and fear. Western cultures such as our own are guilt-based because we judge by law to determine right or wrong. In Aukaan culture fear pervades the lives of this people group and satan uses it to hold them in bondage to sin. Any time Aukaaners see me swimming in the river they are quick to warn me and admonish me to not go there. I have an answer ready but first ask them why I should be afraid. There is no good physical reason to fear swimming in the Tapanahoni, especially in the dry season with a languid current and an abundance of shallow places to take refuge if you become tired. None of the fish will attack humans so the only thing I am careful to take heed is sting-rays in the sand and the diabolical Makaa palms covered in thorns that occasionally lie just below the surface of the water. As of today, (October 17) I have yet to be stung by a sting ray nor have I gotten any sort of serious injury by a Makaa. All the praise to God for this.

Interesting enough, all the villagers who warned me about the river didn’t mention thorn palms or fresh water sting rays. They didn’t tell me I might drown because perhaps I’m not a good swimmer but they began to talk about spirits that pull you down under the water and drown you and all kinds of supernatural creatures and demons that seek out humans in the river. This might sound like myth and folklore that most in America would disregard as superstition. I’ve been here long enough to know the spiritual world and demonic oppression are so prevalent that I could never, as a believer deny that. So from there I begin from where I should’ve started anyway: The Lord. So I’ve told everyone who asks the question that I don’t know what’s under the water. I believe in evil spirits and perhaps there is something that can kill a person in the water but I believe in Jesus and I pray for God’s protection and the Holy Spirit that resides in all Christians keeps me safe not only in the river but everywhere I go. I put my trust in him to protect me and therefore I’m not afraid. This simple act of swimming in the river has had a great impact on villagers in Godoloho.

Taylor and I paddled in our canoe one night when I was down in Ditabikii for two weeks in October to another island in the dark and during a rainstorm. People were shocked and said, “They’re not afraid of anything”. We’ve taken every opportunity to give our Savior all the credit for this. That same week we spoke for an hour on the radio. Taylor interviewed me and I talked about swimming without fear and used the opportunity to share the Biblical account of Jesus and the demon- possessed man in Mark 5. Thousands heard this and I pray the Lord was and continues to be glorified in how we live our lives and that the manner in which we live them will be the biggest testimony of all.

Saa' Bea's testimony

2009-11-29T11:37:00.000-08:00

A true joy since arriving and doing ministry in Godoloho has been hearing the testimonies from believers in the village. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I got here concerning how these folks came to know Jesus as Lord and Savior. I had no preconceived notions because I knew how different life was here and people’s proximity with the spiritual world was so acute. I was sure that the story of how they came to faith would not be a typical answer you here back home. But what I heard and continue to hear had me listening in awe, wonder and amazement and praising God.

Nearly every testimony was a prolific story that invariably involved the supernatural. There were miraculous healings, visions and dreams. As time passed by I realized this to be the norm. I couldn’t wait to hear another story. I’m going to tell the story of one woman in Godoloho named Saa’ Bea whose testimony involved a miraculous healing, a dream and a steadfast faith of Job-like proportions.

As I sat down under the refreshing shade of a mango tree during a typical mid-morning Godoloho day eating watermelon and enjoying a cool breeze that would soon be forgotten as the hot mid-day afternoon hours arrived Saa Bea told me the following story:

She had been a believer for a while but her husband not (very typical scenario here). She had contracted some type of debilitating illness that essentially left her paralyzed below the neck. She told she couldn’t even lift a spoon to feed herself at more severe stages of this illness. She was a complete invalid and was at the mercy of her family to take care of her. She prayed fervently everyday for healing from God. She put her trust in Christ and said never doubted he would heal her. The unbelievers in her family and fellow villagers saw her feeble condition and urged her to seek healing from a Bonuman who would use magic, oracles, and other various forms witchcraft to attempt to make her well. She rejected all offers and held fast to her faith as sole healer. As time passed and her condition failed to improve, she was persecuted with increasing intensity as she would not even give the traditional medicinal treatment of the Aukaan people. Her neighbors derided, ridiculed and continued heaped abuse on her. They even made threats on her life and tried to convince her husband to divorce her and thereby remove his financial provision and care. One of her daughters, Esma (a Christian) stuck with her through this great time of trial and suffering. She tended to her needs during these years.

Then one day she had a dream. In the dream she saw Jesus. She said his face was as bright as the sun and his clothes a brilliant white. He told her in this vision to take a particular plant and make a certain wash with water and bathe in it. As she could not raise herself to retrieve the plant needed to make what the Lord had asked her to make, she begged her husband to do it. He did as she asked and she washed in it for three days. On the third day, she rose up and walked. An absolute miracle! All people in the village were in awe and acknowledged God’s power and his mercy towards Bea. A story of this magnitude was too wonderful to not ask others in Godoloho and surrounding villages. I asked two men who are non-believers about her and they both corroborated the story: She was paralyzed and became well miraculously.

As I sat in awe-struck wonder I posed the question as to what was the response to all those who witnessed the power of your God and your steadfast faith in the face of unrelenting opposition. She calmly answered that they did not deny the Lord’s power but did not come to repent or accept the God who did what no one else did or could. My eyes began to well up with tears as I saw the awesome power of Jesus and at the same moment the hardened, stubborn, rebellious and unbelieving human heart. I was quickly brought back to the Gospels in which Jesus did miraculous signs and wonders demonstrating his divinity and power over and above the entire world and everything which plagues and hinders humanity: even death itself. Pray for the Holy Spirit to soften hearts in Godoloho and the interior or Suriname. He’s revealing himself to many and bringing to himself those whom he is pleased to bring.

I couldn’t help but see in Saa Bea’s story Jesus words in the Parable of the Rich man and Lazarus:

“No father Abraham,’ he said, but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’
He said to him, ‘if they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’” -Luke 15:30-31

A divine revelation

2009-08-02T17:50:00.000-07:00

If you grew up as I did in Church every Sunday and Wednesday you heard sermon after sermon and Bible lesson after Bible lesson beginning in the nursery and continuing into adulthood emphasis was frequently made on faith and truly trusting God for guidance in life and divine revelation. The heroes of the faith were lauded for giving up everything this world had to offer trusting that what God promised them was infinitely better. It never ceases to amaze me how the Andrew and Peter dropped their nets one day, left their father, and followed Jesus. They had plenty of good, ostensible reasons for keeping their career and family. But now we read their story for no other reason than that they did leave those nets and followed Jesus.

Jesus told us to ask, seek and knock in Matthew but I’ve begin to see how seldom actually do it. Oh we ask, but when do we ask with no back-up plan, no alternative, no contingency? When do we ask Jesus, trusting that either we get an answer from him or don’t get one at all. When do truly walk by faith?

Since Charles, Brittany and his family have returned to Suriname our “orientation” period has been over. We just finished wrapping-up after a volunteer group came from Tennessee. (If any of you guys are reading this, just want to express how much I enjoyed you’re coming to Suriname and miss you) Now, with less than fifteen months left on my term it was time to decide where Taylor and I would be. We knew what we’d be doing: chronological Bible storying and discipleship, but weren’t sure exactly where we would be located. Realistically, most villages would be glad to have us and therefore we critically needed discernment of which one to stay. Prior to last week Charles had one place in mind for us to visit but none of us felt any particular place was where we should be. So last Sunday we’re sitting around the table with no clue of where we should be with every option on the table. Charles told us he wants us to be in the interior by Wednesday. Him and Brittany asked Taylor and I to entertain the thought of going to different villages and doing work separately. We got down on our knees and earnestly prayed that night for guidance. We asked for revelation through any and all means: dreams, a voice, a person, the Word etc.

Monday night came. We prayed together and went home and slept. In the morning I did my devotional and at one point I felt the Holy Spirit telling me of a certain village called Godoholo. Taylor had a dream that night of a certain man from a village right across from Ditabikii. Charles called and asked us if the Lord had given us an answer. He had given him and Brittany one. This was uncharted ground for me. Charles joked with me when we went to his house for lunch that if are answers didn’t coincide, someone got a word from God and someone got it from somewhere else. I was a little apprehensive to say the least about the revelation. So we sat around the table and told them what was revealed to me. When I said Godoholo they both looked at each other and smiled. Taylor then told us about his dream. Charles and Brittany prayed that night and told them that the Lord showed them that I should be in Godoholo and Taylor should stay in Ditabikii. We were in absolute amazement. God showed all four of us separately the same word. Incredible!

This faith step has really strengthened my walk with the Lord. Charles was not a bit surprised but told us that the Lord would not give us a contradictory answer. He tells us that those who seek will find, those who ask will receive and to him who knocks the door will be opened. And so Wednesday, we headed back interior and stayed for four days. We met with Captains from Ditabikii and Godohlo to ask permission to stay and tell Bible stories. It went really well. Although everything is yet to be finalized, God has shown us where he wants Taylor and I to be. God showed us how walking by faith pleases the Lord and he does not neglect us when we ask in his name.

Stating the obvious

2009-08-02T17:46:00.000-07:00

On a sultry, star-filled night in the interior Charles, Taylor and I along with 5 volunteers from Tennesse who had come for the week to do ministry in the interior sat in semi-circle just outside Ba’Jepin’s house waiting for “church” to start on a Wednesday night. We arrived around sunset and waited close to an hour before two other believers from the island arrived. They had been busy finishing up some last minute (or hour) work. As you can expect, this was anything but your conventional 11 A.M Sunday worship service. Charles initiated the time by asking Taylor and I to share a story from the Bible God had led us to share. Taylor told the parable of the net in Aukaan with Charles and I translating for the volunteers. He made an analogy pertinent to the jungle referring to fish we had caught setting hooks one day, some of which had been eaten by an alligator and we’re therefore analogous to “bad” fish in the parable and others which we’re the uneaten “good fish”. The Aukaaners understood well and repeated back the story and what the significance was in regard to God’s final righteous judgment.

I then told from memory the story of Jesus calming the storm in Mark 4 and made some practical application emphasizing how the disciples had seen Jesus’ authority, might and unprecedented miraculous power and yet when a storm threatened their ship (with Jesus himself on board!) they cried out: “master don’t you care that we’re going to drown?”. In the same way, we see Jesus’ work in our lives and yet when “storms” come and the wind howls and the waves crash all around we are too often like the disciples because of our lack of faith. After telling this story with a voice which was quickly waning as I was coming down with a cold, a brother, Ba’Maliki repeated the story back to me from memory with striking accuracy. It is Aukaan custom to repeat a story back to the story-teller to demonstrate their understanding of it. I was impressed and blessed to witness this. Charles concluded by asking three of the Aukaan brothers one example of which they have seen God’s work in their life. They all described how the Lord has shown himself faithful and Charles himself also gave one in which he prayed to God for rain to put out a big fire. Taylor and I witnessed this and it seeing it strengthened our faith.

As it was getting late, we prepared to leave but Charles could discern that rain was coming despite previously clear skies. Sure enough as we began walk out it began to pour. We went back to take cover at the house and wait out the deluge. Just then another believer Um Langa, showed up just as we were concluding the meeting clearly sad that he had missed the meeting. The rain delay gave us opportunity to share the stories with him. Taylor and Charles told their to Um Langa. He was joyful afterwards and grateful the Lord had sent the rain in order that we could not leave and as a consequence, he did not miss a word from the Lord. As Charles drove us back in treacherous darkness on the perilous river where only a spotlight and prior knowledge of the location of rocks prevented a disaster those in the group reflected back on what Um Langa had said. He never once veered from the reality that God sent the rain that night, at that particular time for the sole purpose of him getting a chance to hear those stories. I quickly realized how quickly I glossed over what was simply the obvious: God working through (in this case) nature to allow Um Langa to hear the word of the Lord. There’s a lesson to be learned from our Aukaan brother. If we only looked more intently we’d see God’s work in our lives in the simple and ordinary just as much as the profound and miraculous. We’ll see it as Um Langa did.

Time on the Air

2009-06-23T16:42:00.000-07:00

Since arriving in Suriname nearly six months ago, Taylor and I have prayed, strived, and persisted in learning the Aukaan language (and culture) with the intention of sharing the gospel. Considering we are here as missionaries, any striving less than this ultimate goal would make us two deceitful religious rogues. Lol. I reassure you, this is not the case. We have shared Bible stories and engaged in spiritual conversations as fast our language ability has allowed. Each successive trip saw more opportunities and almost daily discussions that one way or another involved the Lord. Our most recent trip to the interior (which was unfortunately cut short due to the pressing need to rectify our stay papers) saw the culmination of five months’ worth of language of learning. We got to share our testimonies through a surprising form of communication relatively recent to the jungle: the radio.

Ditabikii possesses the sole radio station for the entire interior. For Aukaaners and some of the other ethnic groups living within a 100 mile radius, the station, known as pakati was built by previous missionaries some of which include our supervisor Charles Shirey. The construction and broadcast of this radio station was one of the primary ways Southern Baptist missionaries served and invested in the Aukaan people. The radio broadcasts news, music (Christian and secular) and has a “Christian” hour where Bible stories are played every night at 8 p.m. ironically; we didn’t have a radio ourselves and so only heard what was faintly audible from the station located in our backyard. We first shared a short message in Aukaan introducing ourselves and briefly describing our purpose here while ending with a Bible verse.

We didn’t have a full understanding of how popular and widely-listened to the radio was until the subsequent days when just about everyone we talked to mentioned hearing us that Saturday night. We had rehearsed what we were going to say and carefully wrote the words and constantly practiced but the Lord really anointed it. Our language teacher Ba’Joti who gave a formal introduction later told us: “a be go gaata” (It went smooth)

With a limited amount of time in the Jungle, a newfound confidence in speaking Aukaan and a well-received response from villagers we made it a goal to get on the air again. After a week or so of writing, rewriting, reciting and proofreading we had our testimonies written and ready to present. And so on a Thursday night @ 8 we first prayed for the Lord to bless what would be said and for the Holy Spirit to move in the hearts of hearers. I went first, gave a brief story of my childhood, how became a Christian, how God called me to be a missionary here and the reason we have come all the way from America to Suriname. This being that Christ loves compels us, he desires a personal relationship with every person and he’s the only way to eternal life. Taylor followed with a similarly ordered testimony. The total time amounted to less than ten minutes.

Just as with the first time, many Aukaaners in the villagers heard us that night and told us so. We were delighted, not because we spoke the language intelligibly or local notoriety resulting from two white guys speaking Aukaan but because what was said was the gospel message. We were privileged to share our testimony to a greater number of individuals than what could’ve been during the whole five months. We pray that people residing in villages where we’ll be spending the next 15 months heard of our impending arrival and most importantly, the Holy Spirit planted a seed in some of their hearts.

The Bible says in Proverbs 16 that the Lord works out everything for his own ends. Reflecting back on our short broadcast, it made me realize how something as simple as a radio can be used by God to spread his message of Love, redemption and salvation. It’s of no consequence which medium is used to propagate the gospel. What matters is that the message is preached. Jesus told us that before he returns the gospel will be proclaimed to all nations. We further realized as missionaries how our purpose is to be obedient to Jesus’ call and simply share the good news. The transformation of individual lives is the Holy Spirit’s role. That’s a huge relief and takes a lot of pressure off us as Christians. It’s exciting to think through what means and circumstances God will use to save souls in Suriname.

Giving and Sharing

2009-04-26T17:40:00.000-07:00

Long before arriving in Suriname and even before applying to become a Journeyman, I had heard it said by those with experience on the mission field that the Lord will change you just as much as you hope or think you will change the lives of those around you. For the last four months, I’ve seen the Lord challenge me in countless ways, more than ever before since being overseas. One particular area where God has shown me I need change is in generosity and giving. Circumstances in the ministry here have revealed to me how far I fall short when I read the words of Jesus: “Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.” -Matthew 5:42, “But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back.” –Luke 6:35

It has been fairly easy to tithe my income (no matter how small) since I’ve been taught the importance of doing that from a young age. I continue to do this as an act of obedience as the Lord tells us but in one aspect it isn’t as a major sacrifice. This last month I read Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis (thanks for b-day gift Taylor) and in a section on Social Morality he states: “I do not believe one can settle how much we ought to give. I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare. In other words, if our expenditure on comforts, luxuries, amusements, etc., is up to the standard common among those with the same income as our own, we are probably giving too little. If our charities do not at all pinch or hamper us, I should say they are too small.” This really hit me because what the Lord was telling me was that I could and should give more.

To most of you, seeing the amount of money I’m bringing in would perhaps evoke thoughts of empathy for how much I was giving up when contrasted with what I could possibly earn in the U.S. That argument holds water until you live in a village like Ditabikii where you are hands-down wealthier than everyone around you. It’s amazing how even a single possession you own is more than people make in months or even a year here. So you can’t default to comparisons of your peers in America. In the states where most people aren’t persistently asking to borrow from you or for The Lord has given you more financially than those around you and the Biblical response to this is to be even more eager to share with those in need. In Luke’s gospel (12:48) Jesus tells us: “From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.”

In the states (at least in my experience) most people aren’t persistently asking to borrow or to have your possessions. You aren’t tested in your willingness to share as you I have been in Suriname. On a daily basis here people ask to borrow much of what we have. This includes various tools, machines, our boat etc. Sometimes kids or even adults will come by asking us to cook something for them. We buy food for ourselves and don’t have a ton to spare. Our friends will call asking us to buy them things in the city to bring back interior. While we have given more often than we’ve held back, my heart has too often been in the wrong place. I find myself internally grumbling and questioning and dreading….giving. And at that very moment I am aware how God judges the heart and I am convicted that I shouldn’t think this way. So in one way this is sort of a confession to all of you. I definitely have not “arrived” yet. I ask God to continue to change my heart to be more generous and to not do so grudgingly. On a positive note, the very fact that I possess the realization that I am not where I should be is a sure sign of improvement. I desire to be the “joyful giver” the word tells us God loves. When I face the realization that the Lord owns everything and he entrusts us with possessions to use for his glory, I fully grasp why it’s important to be all the more eager to share.

A trip to the Planting grounds

2009-04-26T17:35:00.000-07:00

Often, it happens in life that you experience one of those days in which the events that transpire seem to sum-up all that you’ve been doing. The experience is a kind of snapshot displaying a little bit of everything. Our trip to the goon (planting ground) was one of those days. One Saturday, Ba’Jepin invited us to go with him and his family to the goon (it is actually pronounced goan and yeah it was pretty funny when I first saw it spelled as well). We grabbed our gear, the equipment we bring everywhere we go, (machete, sunscreen, food, water, first aid kit, poncho etc.) took a ride up the river in the boat to a location where only Ba’Jepin himself could’ve known. There was a trail that began right at the bank. We tethered the boat to a tree, hopped out and began to hike. The path led us to the heart of the bush with all the sights and smells we have become so well acquainted with: namely the sweet floral scents of with the occasional peculiar odor signaling the presence of a snake.

We reached the goon after close to a mile of hiking. The typical Aukaan goon is a sizable acreage located away from the village where rice, corn, cassava, melons and other vegetables are grown. This food is primarily grown for each family’s consumption. The goon is farmed by slash and burn tactics and the land’s fertility is sufficient for only one season. As a result the location changes each year. A new tract of land is cleared and trees burned during the dry season and the seeds are sown to be harvested months later. The goon is far from the symmetrical, uniform American farm you see with evenly ploughed rows and spacing. The goon is littered with charred trees too large to burn and various plants and grass as tall as a man. Stalks of rice are growing in between all this. From the time we began work, Sonya, Ba’Jepin’s wife went into the field and picked stalks of rice by hand in the blazing sun with only a knife and a sack for the entire afternoon. We did some of the picking ourselves and learned how harvesting rice in this fashion is an extremely tedious and time-consuming process. We’ve participated as well as witnessed the complete process from harvesting rice to cooking it ourselves (there are a few more steps in between including pounding the rice in a giant mortar and pestle to remove the husk before sifting). We’ll never look at rice the same.

But our primary purpose was to help Ba’Jepin build a Masanga. The masanga is a thatched roof hut, a little house on the planting ground. The structure is made of wood and and palm branches; there exists not a single piece of synthetic, manmade equipment. We learned vicariously as Ba’Jepin demonstrated how to arrange and fasten the branches. For rope we used a kind of strong vine called Camina. It was strong and flexible and he told us he had looked deep in the jungle to find. As we were close to finished, much to our dismay we ran out of camina. How were we going to finish the Masanga? Not a second after he realized our means of tying was gone he told us to come with him to the edge of goon where the jungle began. Not ten meters in he had us cut down a certain plant, peel back the stem into thin strips and had us fasten them together to function as rope. It worked surprisingly well. We were able to finish the job. Taylor and I looked at each other in amazement. As we would soon find out, it would not be the last time. The roof was soon finished and was a quality piece of work: fully waterproof and would last at least two years.

The rope improvisation was an impressive feat but the highlight of the day occurred when we ventured back into the bush and began to hack down a number of medium-sized trees with trunks soft enough to felled with our machetes. The Palm-like leaves were saved for the masanga roof and Ba’Jepin’s sons mentioned to us something in Aukaan about the tree being edible. We were sure we hadn’t heard correctly. After all, we’ve only been learning the language for three months now. They insisted that this in fact was what they called Gruntu udu “vegetable wood”. They peeled back the bark to reveal a white soft core they proceeded to chew. We were skeptical to say the least, but after having already dined on Aligator, chickens feet, and Armadillo we thought we’d give it a shot. And so we ate it. It was bland but the taste was agreeable. Now we know one edible plant we could survive on if needed. It anything else, we can say, “We ate trees in Suriname”. The whole day was filled with demonstrations of ingenuity by using what the land provided. We weren’t witnessing a session on jungle survival. This was a normal family whose means of subsistence involved doing “survival” type things. The trip to the goon was an awesome learning experience, not because we ate gruntu udu or made twine out of leaves but because we were privileged to be part of a weekend family outing Suriname-style. We had the same feeling you get when you go out with your family on a recreational outing in the states. Ba’Jepin and the kids laughed at inside jokes, the boys enjoyed hacking-up trees with the machete and the Sonya and Agwena cooked. For many Aukaaners trips to the goon are the fun weekend activity everyone looks forward to. We couldn’t have asked for a better way to spend a Saturday.

A change of Plans

2009-03-19T18:58:00.000-07:00

In the book of James beginning in chapter 4 v.13-14 the author gives a stern warning to those who make boasts about the future. “Now listen you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow…

You might be wondering why you’re reading this blog in the third week of March when I said I would be in the jungle by March 11. Here’s where this passage in James pertains to our present situation.

The time we have spent in Paramaribo since March 4 has been a whirlwind of various natural and manmade obstacles. When we got to the city and quickly began to run the various errands that come with a six-week period away. We scheduled a flight back into the interior for Wednesday March 11. We were told that flights were not going out the day because of a Hindu national holiday in Suriname (Suriname is pretty diverse, 30% of the population is Hindustani- besides, most aren’t quick to fight a state mandated day off from work- regardless of what it represents) So, there was a possible flight on Thursday to Ditabikii which we tentatively penciled in….and then came the flood.

After hearing rain pour for most of the night in a state of quasi-consciousness that prevented me from gauging intensity of it, I woke up, walked into the kitchen and onto a floor fully covered in a thin layer of water. Shocked, I looked outside and saw our street which had become a canal and came to the conclusion that the rain apparently fell so fast and so hard that night as to rise and creep under our front door. From there it found its way into our front room. Thankfully, our house is covered in tile and it was possible to sweep out all the water with a squeegee. As you can guess, much of the city was inundated. The rain, continuing to fall for three more days didn’t help. As a consequence, flights were canceled. Our next planned departure: Saturday.

We told our families we’d be leaving a little later and told our tutors in the interior the same. Later that week we just needed to finish a few details with our stay papers and we’d be golden. However, as with all document work it was not as expedient as we had anticipated. Everyday brought forth a new development that couldn’t have varied greater than the previous day’s. We were sitting, waiting, wishing…and didn’t dare venture to make any more predictions about when we would be heading back.

As we woke up each day having no knowledge of how long our wait would be, the words of the Apostle James were continually coming to my mind. So to finish the passage James says in vs/ 14-15, “What is your life? You are but a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.”

While I feel that me and Taylor have been far from making rash predictions or absolutes about our future we have been made further aware of how so much of our life is outside of our control. We are “a mist that appears for a while and then vanishes”. For now (If the Lord wills it) we are heading to Ditabikii Saturday and have a tentative date of return sometime during the last week of April. Thanks for all your prayers and this blog will be updated if/when we get back. :)

As I was reading my devotions today I came across a verse in Proverbs quite applicable both for me and all of you.

“Many are the plans in a man’s heart , but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” Proverbs 19:21

40 days: perspectives and reality

2009-03-05T16:47:00.000-08:00

40 Days. Moses spent 40 days on Mount Sinai without eating bread or drinking water when he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant-The Ten Commandments. Jesus spent 40 days and forty nights, also without eating or drinking in the desert to be tempted by Satan. Ryan Rindels and Taylor Ivester spent 40 days deep in the jungle of Suriname…where they did eat some bread and water. Okay. So we didn’t abstain from food or drink for a month and a half but on more than a few occasions I felt my share of hunger and consequently further came to grasp how blasphemous it would be for me to even remotely put myself in such a category. In many ways, life, and the job I signed up for (in what seems like ages ago) is exactly what I expected it to be. But in an equally surprising number of categories it couldn’t be farther from what I anticipated. Whatever my preconceived notions, I am strengthened in my resolve that this is where God wants me…and oh yeah I’m having a blast.

So now you’re probably asking yourself, “well is he actually going to describe how life is different or the same as expected?” To that I will elucidate with as much or as little as I think (or hope) you would want to read without yawning or lamenting that another blogger doesn’t know when they have exhausted their reader’s patience.

Life and culture where we live in the interior is as close to a pure paradox as anything I can contrive. Here are a few examples: the boats people drive on (we live on a river so that’s everyone’s mode of transportation) are essentially oversized canoes made from giant trees felled and then hewn out with a combination of fire and axe. They are then painted and engraved by hand with tribal carvings….and then powered by a Yamaha 75 HP engine running on gas and oil. Needless to say these canoes have some giddy-up. Music: a typical scene as we glance from our house across the river is kids bathing in the river fishing with cane poles, a group of women cooking rice over a cooking fire in a small hut…to the background of bumping Reggae music from some dude’s stereo. Electricity comes to the village through a giant diesel generator that runs for a few hours each day. Of course the fuel is brought 100 miles upriver in….you guessed it, the motor-powered canoes.

For some reason me and Taylor (and more than likely some of you) thought we would be in remote areas away from civilization, living-off the land and then thriving in such conditions. We were wrong in two out of three of those categories. We are in a remote location: true, but the jungle doesn’t provide much naturally for regular nourishment. There is enough to survive in the bush, but that’s all you’ll be doing… surviving, and that’s a full-time job. When traveling on the river, the jungle is so thick that you cannot even dock your boat, you hit a wall of foliage and palms called Maka that are covered in thorns so dreadfully sharp you knew God created this specimen post-fall.

So Taylor and I, with our romantic notion of living like Bear Grylls for two years quickly vanished. We bought our food in the city and incidentally underestimated our daily consumption. We still went hunting but came back empty handed and were elated to still have peanut butter and jelly in our cabinet. But with much of survival appeal gone to the wayside the Lord taught me that what really mattered and the reason I am a missionary was simply this: the people. Living with them and showing the savior’s love with the hope that they will come to faith in him was the only thing I should care about. If that means dozing to sleep in a hammock one night to the sound of a bumpin’ stereo then I’m fine with that.

I’ve learned to appreciate any amenities I possess and have gladly used them with an understanding that God has given them to me for a reason. So this sounds like no place you’ve never heard of…it’s different for sure but God is working here and the gospel possesses a power of it’s own that crosses any and all culture boundaries. In the Mark 4:26-27, The Parable of the Growing Seed Jesus said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows though he does not know how.”

Manna...just enough for each day

2009-03-05T16:42:00.000-08:00

So maybe it was a culmination of 23 years’ worth of mom’s cooking and dad picking up the grocery tab. It might have very well been attributed to a 16 meal-a-week plan in college at a top-rate all-you-can eat cafeteria. It could have even been the sight of $700.00 SRD on a receipt (and my failure to register that one U.S. dollar makes $2.80 Suriname dollars) at the grocery store that acted as a deterrent. Whatever the possible causes, the reality as we soon found out wasn’t quite as ambiguous: we didn’t bring enough food.

When planning our meals we glossed over important nutritional and calorie packed foods. For instance, a half cup of tomato sauce for our spaghetti packs a mere 40 calories! Needless to say, spaghetti always left us wanting. Unfortunately, we don’t have a freezer so our chicken beef had to be consumed within the first few days. That gave us no real meat outside of canned tuna for the remaining 4 and-a-half weeks. We somehow thought that one oatmeal packet and a piece of bread was a sufficient breakfast.

We optimistically factored catching fish as part of our protein for some of our dinners.….we have yet to catch one fish (beyond small bait ones). We discovered that during this time of year when the water is high fishing is poor. We failed to factor in snacks for in between meals. In addition, with a fridge that works no more than twelve hours a day there began a race against mold on my bread. We somehow thought two jars of peanut butter: one small and one large would cut it. Needless to say, we found out quickly that at our normal (conservative) eating pace we’d run out of peanut butter, milk and bread. Our days were planned out in intricate detail documented with what we could eat from that day to the end. Towards the end of our trip, our post-dinner discussions would involve vivid details of our favorite dishes and what we planned to eat once we got in the city. I felt like a prisoner of war, starving and incessantly fantasizing of food. We treasured our precious snacks and would call to attention whenever we were about to consume it. It was peculiar and intriguing how watching Taylor down a savory snack and then asking him how good it tasted delighted me.

You all know how much I love to eat anyway and how active of a life I lead. Out here we were a steady share of hard work and vigorous exercise on a daily basis. I’d made an effort heartily during Christmas break and before I left packed a solid 170 lbs. I weighed myself last week…152. Don’t fret though, I’m healthy, just devoid of any body fat. What appears to be a situation worthy of your sympathy is actually a blessing and builder of faith. God provided for us through various people and sources to give us our daily bread and we have been as appreciative and grateful in an unprecedented way.

Here are a few of the ways:

-The Lord has blessed us with relationships with locals in who have on a regular basis given us watermelons grown from their own gardens

-Creation itself: There are mango trees everywhere and we pick as many of the delicious fruits as we can. We love em!

-Newfound friends: one day some guys came to our door accompanied by a career missionary from another organization. We discovered they were U.S. military and embassy guys checking out the interior on a short trip. We met them at an Aukan wedding the next day and befriended them. They knew our situation and offered to give us MRE’s (Meal Ready to Eat) they had and wouldn’t be eating. We were delighted and ecstatic and they guys even invited us for dinner at their house when we head back to the city.

-A girl who is a Peace Corps volunteer was heading back Paramaribo and coming back offered to pick-up anything we needed. We took her up on it.

-our supervisor Ted surprised us by sending out bread and powdered milk one day.

The way it ended up, we used and needed every item given to us. We always praised God for each of these gifts and being that I was in Exodus for my devotional reading much of last month I couldn’t help but feel some real personal application when I read how God provided Manna and Quail for the Israelites and gave them only what they needed each day and nothing more. The Lord provided Manna for us and I have no doubt he will continue to do so.

So Simple..and yet profound

2009-03-05T16:35:00.000-08:00

It’s pretty well known to most folks that a missionary’s first months (and for some up to a year) are spent learning the language of their respective culture. For many, this is often a time of previously unknown frustration, timidity, and confusion in the realm of basic communication. It is also an inevitability that a language learner will commit more than a few humorous gaffes. The truth remains that you have to keep trying and make mistakes in order to improve. In all likelihood those around you will be quick to correct any major errors you commit or anything you’ve said offensive. Our language teacher Ba’Jepin was teaching us a few Aukan terms for using the restroom when he asked Taylor and I what do you call that?…... then uttered an ubiquitous (apparently) four-letter word with an unambiguous connotation familiar to any English speaker with innocence, curiosity and sincerity. We immediately rolled with laughter but were quick to tell him that that was an “ogii wootu”- a bad word and it would be advisable not to use it. While I have yet (at least to my knowledge) to make any major linguistical blunders I’m sure my time will come.

For Taylor and I “language school” has been a little more informal and unconventional than many of our colleagues in other parts of the world. Currently, a majority of our language learning is done at our house for three hours or so each day after breakfast and before lunch. We have two language teachers who can show up anytime on any day or not at all. (this is the norm as we quickly discovered). The rule is as follows: if they don’t come it’s expected and you move on to something else, if they show up, you stop everything and do language or whatever else with them for as long as they want to stay. Finding people to speak with isn’t difficult. We paddle across the river from our house in our canoe most days, buy freshly-baked bread and chat with people. In addition, our house often resembles a public park: people and especially kids come over at any and all times of the day to stare at us, plead to come into our house or play with them. Between periodic sessions with our language teachers, interactions with locals and hitting the English-Aukan dictionary we’ve come a long way in six weeks. Praise God!

Like most tribal languages, Aukan is a simple language in grammar, pronunciation and has a limited vocabulary. This makes it simple to learn and speak but can frustrate a guy like myself used to an English language containing over 500,000 words. One word often has up to ten meanings (not counting additional idioms) in Aukan. An example is the word Nyan. The meanings are as follows: to eat, to bite, to sting, to rot-off, eat away, corrode, to waste, hurt or pain, to enjoy, to celebrate, food, fruit, crop, meat of a fruit. While most words have fewer meanings than nyan the pattern remains. The biggest language peculiarity to us was the word Lobi. It has two meanings but they differ to a profound degree: to Love, to Like. We couldn’t understand how they can use the same word for such definitions as vastly different as loving vs. liking. I pondered (and continue to do so) how relationships work here when it comes to male-female communication. I’m glad I don’t have to explain what I really meant when I said, “mi lobi yu”. Anyway, I’ll leave it up to you to ponder some possible humorous scenarios.

One of the ways I’ve continued to learn Aukan is by using my Bible, the Aukan translation of the New Testament, and a dictionary to transliterate the headings of passages into English. What I found was the simplicity of the language gave surprisingly profound spiritual truths and perspectives. Here are some examples: Matthew 5:43 Love for Enemies is: Lobi den feyanti fi yu enke na yu mati translated as: Love your enemy as you would love your friend. Matthew 6, Giving to the needy is: yeepi taawan sondee fu suku balinen translated as: Helping all without seeking fame or notoriety. In Mark 16, the Aukan New Testament gives a few extra passage headings. In verse 15 it states: Masaa Jesesi gi den bakaman fi en wan gaan wooko, Jesus gives the Apostles one big task. There are countless examples of entire verses that will touch your heart to read them transliterated.

In learning a new language it’s easier to see the importance of sharing the gospel in a particular ethnic group’s native tongue and why it greatly amazed the diverse group at Pentecost in the first century to hear the word of God in their heart language. So I’m on my way to being proficient enough in Aukan to share Jesus and God-willing, very soon.

For now

2009-01-23T19:41:00.000-08:00

Hey everyone, I'm leaving again for the interior, this time for six weeks. Me and Taylor should be back around March 4 and there will be plenty of blogs to post by then. You should check out the links below. Charles created these two videos from our first trip in. They're pretty sweet.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hlEdR0n1K4Q

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LxAAJtSZHJY

Lessons from a new culture

2009-01-20T16:06:00.000-08:00

Preparing mentally for life in a new country with a culture much different from my own, I felt that I knew what to expect. I mean I read Foreign to Familiar (those from ILC, you know what I’m talking about) and had been lectured for two months on how to handle it all. And in some ways I was prepared. I understand that being “on time” is universally subjective to the individual and that long lines and poor customer service are just a way of life. But despite these seemingly fixable hindrances that when corrected would greatly increase efficiency, I saw a trait very much foreign to contemporary Americans and the West: patience.

A rash observer would miss the fact that in spite of what looks like a stressful disaster, everyone is content as can be. In fact, most seem happier waiting to get gas for hours than the family in the SUV in the states picking up fast food at the swiftest drive-thru in town. My supervisor Charles prefaced us on the first day we prepared to run errands by saying: “If you get one thing done on your list today count it a success”. Although we were able to get more than one task each day, I saw just how and why this maxim rings true. But as days went by I began to be amazed by people’s demeanor and attitude and how through their eyes, it really wasn’t that big of a deal.

The day we left to begin our voyage to the interior, pick-up time was 4:00 A.M., changed to 5:00 A.M. and we actually left around 6:00. When we got the port where we were going to pick-up a boat to ride upstream that day, the crew was slow loading the boat. As a result, the tide dropped and the boat was stuck on the shore. Consequently, we had to wait for the tide to rise and then waves came that made the water too choppy for ride. So the first night we spent grounded, sleeping under a tin roof with thirty hammocks strung up underneath. I thought someone might be upset about this but everyone was relaxed and chill. The biggest surprise to me was how there was never a demand for entertainment or amusement. Americans, especially younger ones would be squirming, whining, complaining about nothing to do. And you know what? There was nothing to do and that was okay. The next day our boat had about twelve passengers and we sat on a dreadfully uncomfortable 2x4 plank for twelve hours in the hot sun and I didn’t hear one grievance.

After a few more days in Ditabikki I was most impressed with the children’s behavior. For instance, our tutor Ba’Jepin’s eleven year old son Melvin accompanied him as he gave Taylor and I a language lesson for two-straight hours. Melvin sat patiently, listened, and didn’t even give his dad a tug to protest his being a spectator for most the night. Throughout my time in Suriname (and especially in the interior) I’ve seen a level of patience that pervades the culture. I have begun to learn how refreshing this is. I’ve even begun to appreciate that the subjective on-time concept can be a two-way street

Undoubtedly, I value my culture and I believe promptness has more benefits than detriments, but I’ve had a new appreciation for a “hot climate culture” and I think we in the U.S. could benefit immensely in the realm of health, family, and even our relationship with the Lord if we heeded some of these principles. Sometimes we can be preoccupied and overbooked and in reality get nothing done because we miss what often really matters our relationship with God and other people. There’s a reason the Lord said: “be still and know that I am God”.

Power to trample on snakes and scorpions....

2009-01-18T16:57:00.000-08:00

Often there is a verse/verses in the Bible that you’ll read and often wonder if that will ever have any application to your life. Then one day an event occurs and it becomes clear that there isn’t a thing in the world that could have been said better to relate to what you’ve experienced. I’ve been in Suriname for an eventful two weeks and have been blessed beyond measure.

I got back to the city Wednesday after spending a week in the interior jungle 100 miles upriver from Paramaribo. Taylor and I will be spending most of our time in a village called Diitabiki during our next 6 months here. Our supervisor Charles was with us getting us oriented before he left last night to head back to the U.S. where he is on furlough till June. Our trip to the interior consisted of taking a motor boat two days upstream to Diitabiki, staying in the village and visiting believers and other contacts he has made during his seven years there. We then flew back home on a Cessna 206 airplane. We will be flying back to Diitabiki on Saturday and will stay there until March 4. We got a taste of everything we’ll be doing in the next two years: visiting villages, building relationships, discipling, evangelism, storying etc.

We were also quickly introduced to the physical and spiritual treachery that lies there. One afternoon last week we visited a village where Charles wanted to see some Christians he knew from there. During this time there was an Aukan funeral procession. Funerals in this culture are extremely dark and demonic and we wouldn’t have gone were there not people he had to see. It was a paradoxical situation because we’re on the outside of the village talking with new believers who have forsaken paganism and witchcraft to follow Christ all the while within view is a disturbing sight: A frenzied group had grabbed a sharp machete and was grasping the razor edge tugging back and forth. There should have been blood and men with sliced hands but everyone remained unscathed. There were men who looked demon possessed convulsing and mumbling chants. I asked Charles later how they didn’t get seriously hurt and he said during that particular ceremony they fight over a machete to see who will be possessed by spirits; demons give them power to remain unharmed.

Even during this time God protected us from Satan’s power and we were in fellowship with others who had come into the truth and away from a life of fear and spiritual oppression. The next day we were in our yard cleaning up and Charles and I stumbled upon a poisonous viper in the high grass. The snake was in the spot we were about to step but Charles saw it and we backed off, got a shovel and machete and killed it. Later that night one passage came to mind which the Lord used to encourage, comfort, and strengthen our faith. Luke 10: 19 “I have given you power to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you. However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” Being where I am, this particular verse was the right word at the right time and is evidence of the living and active nature of the Bible. I know there were dangers the Lord protected us from that we never knew were there but he also showed us in two situations exactly what perils he rescued us from.

From Suriname

2009-01-08T16:52:00.001-08:00

I'm here. I wish I had more time to write a longer blog but I'm heading out to the jungle after three days of orientation here in Paramaribo. It has been awesome since arrival, I guess you can call it the "honeymoon stage" so hopefully it lasts as long as possible. I'll have much more to write about in a week after visiting the Auken people and living in interior. We leave tommorrow morning at five A.M. and ride in a boat for three days visiting various tribes that our supervisor had helped when a flood ravaged the area seven months ago. The weather here is awesome right now, warm rain, temperatures around 80 degrees. A far cry from the frigid temps of my last two residences. keep praying for me and I'll update this thing when I get a chance.

The uncomfortable nest

2009-01-01T21:20:00.000-08:00

There was a time in my life when coming home brought the greatest degree of comfort and consolation. In fact, I remember being homesick and being in tears on the bus to science camp in the sixth grade. I also recall how hard it was the first time I was away from my family when I went to boy scout camp for seven days. I hope this is a surprise to you readers, but I even remember being in tears some nights when the thought of my parents being gone to Uruguay for two weeks on a mission trip in 1999 came to my mind because I would be away from them. Maybe a lot of it was due to adolescence and the emotional roller coasters one often rides during that time or maybe I just had a good family life and didn't feel the urge to get away from them.

Fast forward ten years and here I am at 23, on the eve of my departure for life in a foreign country and a completely new culture. I wouldn't have imagined even two years ago that I would be doing something like this after graduating college. The amount of time being away from home and friends and family would have been a major deterrent to me pursuing such a path. It's interesting how the Lord works things out in your life that you would never see coming or plan by yourself. As I look back over the last two and a half years when I first left home to finish my junior and senior years of college I see how my home became less like home both purposefully and incidentally.

After being home now for two weeks in a new house where I no longer even have a room to claim as my own I feel like a stranger in many ways. I have been sleeping on the floor in our living room with the other three rooms occupied by my brother, sister, and parents. The kitchen is rearranged differently so I find myself opening and closing every drawer and cabinet trying to find a spoon and bowl to eat cereal. But beyond the foreigness of the layout of the house, my mom is the humorous and influential factor making this "nest" progressively more uncomfortable.

Throughout this short break my mom has lamented the fact that I don't know where to find anything in the and how I have "made a mess of the whole house". I consider myself a pretty clean guy and if I was grading my cleanliness on the curve for people my age I'd be in the B+-A range. My mom has even confessed to being neurotic and and obsessive compulsive about cleanliness but this confession hasn't curbed her intensity. Those of you who know me willl understand this grievance: my appetite. Mom has consistently expressed her frustration with how much I eat (she may have a legitimate case) and how much she has had to spend on food since my sister and (mostly) I have been home. My best defense has been: "come on mom I'm only here for a few more days". This plea has also not aleviated the grief I've gotten.

All this to say that what I've taken from all this is that its the right time to go. Don't get me wrong I have had an awesome time with the family and wouldn't trade this short break for anything. But I realize that whether my parents have consciously or subconsciously tried to encourage me to move out I have made the realization that living on my own away from home is the right thing. Despite some of the annoyance that it brings, I've given to thought to how unhealthy it would be if the converse were true and home was too welcoming and comfortable. The likely consequence would be that I might be hesitant to do something like the Journeyman program. So I guess I have to say thanks to mom for indirectly inspiring me to pursue a path outside the four walls I'm in right now.

"Where O death is your victory?"

2008-12-25T10:06:00.000-08:00

This last week has been a refreshing time for me. Except for being in a new house, Christmas has remained similiar to previous family Christmases. This Christmas has a special significance because I will be leaving for two years and this time next year will find me in Suriname minus my family. I have given signficant thought to what I want to say to each member of my family to let them know I love them and all they mean to me. This brings me to my Grandpa, Robert Cotton.

My Grandpa is 81 years old and in failing health. Earlier this week he was admitted to the hospital where he is currently staying. As is true for most people venturing into their eighth decade of life, he has a number of bodily ailments which put him in persistent pain most days. When asked how he's doing, his favorite response laced with a touch of humor is: "I'm doing no good". Unlike the rest of the family, every year has seen him grow progressively imobile, sick and helpless. He's spending this Christmas lying on a hospital bed in a drug induced sleep.

I understand that my Grandpa's days are on this planet are short and I have faced the reality that he may not be alive when I get back in two years. While visiting Grandpa in the hospital yesterday and seeing him breathing laboriously, pale and incoherent I was faced with the inevitability of my own death and the disheartening end we will all one day experience. Later I went home and was reading I Corinthians 15 and the Lord spoke as he always does through his word.

"For since death came through a man, the ressurection of the dead came through a man, the ressurection of the dead also comes through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive."v.21-22

Chapter 15 is so powerful in that the Apostle Paul gives two drastic realities regarding Jesus' resurrection from the dead. There's no middle ground. If resurrection from the dead is untrue then:

our preaching and faith are useless. v.14
we are false witnesses about God. v.15
Christ has not been raised from the dead. v. 16,13
your faith is futile
you are sitll in your sins. v.17
those already died who believed in Christ are lost v.18
We are to be pitied more than all men. v.19

But CHRIST HAS BEEN RAISED and as it says in v. 26 "The last enemy to be destroyed is death."

My Grandpa is a believer and I find comfort as do all Christians do in the promise of eternal life to those who put their faith in the Son. I don't know how many days my Grandpa has left on this earth any more than I have knowledge of my own. I do know that man was not created to die and therefore he can never find any solace or peace about it apart from faith in Jesus. In him we have hope that will not disappoint.

As I celebrate Christmas I hope to better grasp the magnitude of that serene night over 2,000 years ago when our only hope for salvation came to Earth in the form of baby Jesus. And 33 years late what was written would be fulfilled:

"Where O death is your victory? Where O death is your sting?"

"Death has been swallowed up in victory!"

I'm going to visit Grandpa in a few hours and I hope he is conscious so I can read him a letter I wrote to him with the intention of giving it to him before I left on January 5th. Please pray for him and my remaining days we will spend together.

2008-12-19T17:49:00.000-08:00

I am currently the epitome of a rogue blogger commiting the sin of omission by failing to create new posts. But I have no excuse now since training is over and I'm home and there is high speed internet and its snowing outside and my ankle is sprained so I can't run. I'm reflecting on my two months of missionary training and I'd have to say that the most meaningful aspect of training at the ILC in Virginia was the growing brotherhood with my field partner Taylor. I've learned from experience that a solid, true, and genuine friend is a rarity. Me and T had been looking at similiar jobs at candidate conference in July when we met and had decided to do the Extreme team in Peru. We put Suriname as our third choice together so that if by chance our first and second went through we would be partners since that job required it. I didn't expect our first and second choices to fall through but they did and I know now that it was all part of the Lord's plan. The Suriname job description was similiar to our first choice but Extreme team was not a partner job. After getting a reality check from those who have done similiar assignments describing the isolation and loneliness that comes with living in the interior for weeks or months at a time I was further comforted that I was not going to be going solo. I know that the Lord is always with us as believers and he is all we need but I also know he created us to be in fellowship with others. Our common refrain during the last nine weeks came from Proverbs: "as iron sharpens iron so one man sharpens another". This was very much the case for us. We had a consistent prayer time every night and we had a recap of the day expressing our concerns, requests, joys, frustrations etc. We had an open honest accountability time once a week that actually became a highlight for me. I know that every person genuinely desires to be truthful and transparency with others. As it says in John 8:32 "the truth will set you free". I learned a lot about myself and how easily I become distracted by various relationships and lose focus. I was encouraged because Taylor always listened and gave me guidance and encouraged me to stay focused on the objective we have: sharing Christ with others. If I didn't have a brother in the Lord to sharpen me, I don't think I'd be broken but I would be much more dull. All that serious stuff aside, it was a fun just hanging out, playing sports, hanging on trees over the river, playing disc golf in the snow with glow sticks etc. Now our departure is just over two weeks away and the next twenty two months are gonna be a mix of trials, joys, sickness, adventure but through all that I'm glad to being sharing it with a friend who has become a brother.

2008-11-30T13:43:00.000-08:00

Well I have finally got around to creating a blog. What can I say? I'm a late bloomer. This will be an update for those who are following me as I go to Suriname as a Journeyman. I'm currently in training in Richmond, Virginia until December 18th. I will be back home in CA until I leave January 5th.