An atheist witness to the power of God
I'd like to thank my on-line friend Barry for sharing this amazing story.
in which I discuss the unthinkable
Paul and I have just returned home from the funeral of a most precious little girl. Lydia's smile could have lit a room. Now it reflects the glory of God the Savior for all eternity. Perhaps you've noticed the sparsity of my entries here these last two weeks. We've been struggling and praying for appropriate ways to handle what we're dealing with, and when and whether to speak about it. Up until now, for reasons which will become obvious, I've only shared this with a very few trusted friends. Paul made reference to it on his blog several days ago, but with no specifics. I think it may be time for me to fill in the gaps. What we're dealing with is horrible and ugly - about as ugly as it gets. This all happens on the heels of my mother's death, and has now somehow managed to even overshadow that. Mother's death, as difficult as it was...well...it made sense. She was 87 years old, and hadn't been well in many years. This, on the other hand, is a m...
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t9-CS2v8wcc
If this guy's for real, then I'm stunned.
BTW, do you ever actually read my posts?
Love you,
Mom
Also I read most of your blog, but a lot of them are really long and I get distracted--especially when they have a lot of CS Lewis quotes that aren't written in like... a modern way I guess. Then I kind of skim them. Sorry.
And I'm glad to know you at least skim them. Lewis isn't that ancient, he died a few months before I was born - the same day as John F. Kennedy and Alduous Huxley, so he's pretty modern. I think it's more that he's British than old. Anyway, no apologies necessary. I was just curious.
I really like your new blog-look!
Angela
Also, you have been tagged, see my blog for details.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sEZcBeE33wc
"I just got the article below from a Wycliffe missionary friend - and also a Mennonite. I wonder how cousin John would take it?!
Very fascinating and at the same time affirming for the missionary task from a very unlikely source. But this guy has really been around, and has obviously taken many notes. I wish some of our cousins (and siblings) would have the same experience."
For a story from Anne's own experience of faith engendering initiative, check this link:
http://www.aegk.finespun.net/newsletter_november27_2007.php5
Thanks for stopping by, and for your input. The link you provided did not work, however, so I could not check it out. Perhaps you could double-check the address. I'd be interested in reading her story.
The link to the website is: http://www.aegk.finespun.net/index.php5
The story may be found under the newsletter link labelled "United we stand".
But here is the story below:
Let me tell you the story of two little girls who have grown up into beautiful and bold young women. Rachel and Lois were both born around 1986 to Cheba Traore, in the year after he was baptized. Their mothers were co-wives in a polygamous marriage. Their father, Cheba was the first Christian in Kotoura. Excited about his new faith, he never hesitated to share God's good news to others. When they were only eight years old, their father died leaving them and their six brothers and sisters without a daddy. Their uncle Musa (Moses) was put in charge of the entire family, though he was only 25 years old. Their growing up years were difficult as their uncle did his best to manage the large family on the farm. They did go to school but both of them dropped out quite young. Rachel did not complete primary school, and Lois failed her first year of high school. So they worked in the fields.
As they were growing into teenagers, their cousin Dauda (David) came back from his two year translation training program in Bangui, Central African Republic. He immediately started bringing together the young people of the church for various activities, including evangelism outings in neighbouring villages. Lois and Rachel were part of that group, and grew spiritually during that time.
In the meantime, Uncle Musa suggested to me the idea of sending Lois and Rachel to a Bible School for girls in Mali, where they could learn and study in the Bambara language, which they knew as a second language. I had committed myself to providing the schooling of Cheba's children after his death. So I accepted to cover their expenses for their 4 year training.
When they completed their training in last April, I was happy to hear that they were immediately taking charge of the Sunday school for the children attending church in Kotoura. But what I heard last week was way beyond my wildest hopes for these two young women.
When they came back from their training, they heard about the village of Sunturu where their Uncle Musa had been visiting a handful of Christians a couple of years earlier, but had stopped visiting them, and the small group had disbanded. Lois and Rachel decided to go and visit Sunturu. With the blessing of the Kotoura church they walked to Sunturu about 20 kms away, on a weekend in October, gathered together the disbanded group and began teaching and preaching to them and others who gathered to listen. At the end of their three nights in the village, there were 22 new believers! Since then the two women have taken turns with the young men going to Sunturu every Saturday night, and spending Sunday with the group. I was able to see them briefly two Sundays ago when I was in Kotoura (photo to come shortly), and learn about this wonderful development. As of Nov. 19, there were now 44 believers meeting together in Sunturu. Praise God!
What a wonderful story! Thanks for sharing it. As a woman, I find it especially encouraging to see the power of God at work in women of the faith to bring about such amazing results.
Again, thanks for sharing your sister's story.