LIVING PARABLES

1. The School on the High Ground Shares Living Water

“He wakeneth me morning by morning, he wakeneth my ear to hear as the learned”

Isaiah 50:4b

God will always wake you up if you ask him to. That has proved true for me anyway. In his mercy he will even wake you up when you don’t ask him to: at least in the spiritual sense. What He won’t do is make you get out of bed!

Matthew 25 tells us that even Christ’s people who await his return fall asleep. So with even the Christians asleep, who will awaken the world?  

The world will have its wake up call. Already the alarm has begun, and sometimes it rings rather brutal. My wife and I are back in Bolivia, and all the news here is inundated with reports of severe flooding. In certain regions the grasslands are so full of water that the cattle are drowning. Over half of our boarding students are unable to come to school because the roads are impassible. In San Joaquin the army has commandeered the use of the local ferries, so river travel is also out of the question even if one wished to brave the high waters. In Rurrenebaque, conditions have reached a state of national emergency.  After three weeks of non-stop rain, the streets have become canals. There have been mud slides, over a score of people have died, and thousands are without power and drinking water.

Some of you may remember that our sister school, Familia Feliz, is just outside the town of Rurrenebaque. The school is on high ground, however, and they have a miracle well that God provided just two months ago! It is now the only source of potable water in the region, and has been for about the last three weeks. The staff and students have been busy pumping and hauling drinking water to the hospital, army base, and thirsty neighbors. They have also been working directly with the army and navy in relief and rescue efforts and the doors have opened to do evangelism in the navy base like they did in the army since last summer! (See previous post.) They have made friends with the mayor and other important city officials as well. The formerly churlish Minister of Education that previously delighted in causing them grief has suddenly become most amiable.  See the pictures and read the inspiring full account of the miracles recently transpiring in Familia Feliz, at Miguel Tello’s blog: http://psalms27ten.blogspot.com/

The Almighty still sits on his throne, and he is still the same as he has ever been. He is a God of justice, but he delights in mercy. When we wonder why he makes use of such drastic measures to get our attention it is often because we have become desensitized to the horrendous nature of sin. We forget that the enemy and his rebellion have brought this. God shields us more than we deserve, but if a beating is what it takes to awaken us I’ll warrant that it’s a much better alternative to dying in bed. The seriousness of the coming judgment demands a warning more urgent than this world has ever yet seen!

(You can see a video of the flooding and the relief work that Familia Feliz is doing at  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDi9cVlyPak )

2. “Relax, my God ’as got this!”

“Not by might, now by power, but by my Spirit saith the Lord of hosts.” Zachariah 4:6

This is the beginning of my fifth full year at the school here in Bolivia, and I think I’ve cleaned the same little section of ground now for about the fifth time. The good news is that this year it only took me about fifteen minutes. What was once a gnarly untamed patch of vines and brush and later thick cow-grass is now nearly all lawn. Positive change comes slowly, unlike it’s counterpart. This I can see too in my own character. Sometimes I think I’ll never really be like Jesus. How can it surprise me then that many of my students, even after four years with us, still seem to struggle with the same old character problems?

            As usual, we are short of teachers this year. We don’t have an academic director, secretary, or school accountant. The paperwork we must turn in to the district of education proliferates like the jungle itself. There are innumerable challenges to face and unending work to be done. But it helps to step back a moment and look at the big picture before plunging again into the details. God is in control, He is working, and as long as I keep cooperating with Him I can bank on success!

God saves much more than a boy's finger!

             Alfredo is not your typical primary student. When he first came to us he didn’t know how to read at all and barely knew his alphabet. He was so shy he would hardly say a word. He just kept his head down and answered any direct questions as briefly as possible. It didn’t help that he was more than twice the size of his classmates and nearly twice their age, and that they would laugh when he didn’t know the answers despite the teachers’ admonitions and punishment. It soon became apparent that Alfredo needed individual attention. Thankfully God already had the solution. This year we had more teachers available than we ever have had before, and Zuleka Esteves from Puerto Rico volunteered to take Alfredo as her personal project. With her patient instruction and a lot of prayer, Alfredo began to make slow but steady progress, and he held his chin a little higher than he had before.

            Then one day Alfredo came to school with his hand all bandaged up. He assured his teacher that it was nothing but a minor injury. But a day or two later Alfredo didn’t come to school. As it turned out, Alfredo had tried to tattoo his finger, and it became infected. His family took him to the local clinic in Yata and the nurse cut open his hand to clean it. Unfortunately the infection only worsened. By the time Zuleka found out what had happened, Alfredo’s finger was losing sensation and turning black. Zuleka called the rest of the staff together to have special prayer.

“God can save your finger” she told Alfredo. Damaris and Susie cleaned the wound the best they could and kept fresh charcoal compresses on all throughout the night. The next day they took him to the hospital in Guayaramerin. The doctor took one look at the wound and shook his head.

            “We can inject some penicillin and try some antibiotics, but he should be prepared to lose his finger.” He said.

            But Zuleka was sure that God would do a miracle and save Alfredo’s finger, and she told the doctor so.

            “Well, a miracle is what it will take” was his response. Zuleka continued to pray for healing and that God would use this situation for His glory. Alfredo went home. Every day for the next couple of weeks, Zuleka and Damaris faithfully cleaned and reapplied charcoal compresses to Alfredo’s finger and Alfredo massaged it to encourage circulation and keep the finger warm. Soon he began to regain feeling. God healed Alfredo and his finger was completely restored.

            Alfredo can read now and he comes to church every Sabbath. His brother tried to persuade him to go to the school in Yata, but he says if he doesn’t come back to our school he won’t study at all because he won’t learn anywhere else. Next year he wants to come as a dorm student so he can learn more and attend morning and evening worships and be with kids his age. We don’t usually accept primary students in the dorm, but we plan to make an exception for Alfredo. He needs to get away from negative influences in Yata where nearly all the boys his age drink, smoke and party. Please continue to pray for Alfredo I expect God will continue to do great things in his life.

A dream of music sends a man to church.

While distributing food baskets for the project Serviendo con Amor[i] with my in-laws' church, my group visited Don Felipe. Don Felipe is 97 years old and lives alone. We found him preparing breakfast with his cowboy hat on. He pulled up some chairs for us and then took a seat in the hammock. He used to make brooms and sell them but now his fingers aren’t nimble enough and his sight is failing. He has family that visits him every couple of weeks, and God always provides. “I always have something to eat" he assured us.

“Would you like us to sing for you? Do you have a favorite hymn?” we asked.

“When the roll is called up yonder.” He responded immediately. “This song brought me to the truth. When I was young I had a dream where I heard the music as if it were passing by my house, but when I woke up I heard nothing. I only had the strong impression that I should go to church the coming Saturday. There was only one church in town that met on Saturday, and that was the Adventist church. The next Saturday I met up with a friend and I asked him when was the last time he thought of going to church. I told him about my dream and the strong impression that followed, and he said,

‘Well, let’s go then, what are we waiting for?’ He threw away his cigarettes and I threw away mine and we went to church! After the service my friend and I stayed around and I asked if anyone knew the song I had heard in my dream. I still had the melody clear in my head, so I whistled a little piece, and right away the brothers said;

‘Hey, we have that one in the hymnal!’

And wouldn’t you know, it was ‘When the roll is called up yonder! So now you know why I like that song so much. And you know, I never left the church since that day!”

            Don Felipe never knew how that song got stuck in his dream. Maybe his angel sung it in his ear, or who knows, maybe some faithful soul, joyful in the promise of a soon coming savior, was whistling on his way to work early in the morning.

Work together!

Brother Silvestre, a thin elderly man with a white mustache, is Don Felipe’s son. He had the sermon this last Sabbath. He said that when he used to do door-to-door work he met a man, a former Adventist who told him “I have three blows against you. If you can answer them, then I’ll listen to you. First of all there is this brother X that goes to your church. He is so unloving.”

In response, Silvestre told the man a story:  “There was a farmer who planted his whole field full of radishes, and just a few tomatoes. Hardly anybody bought the radishes, but the tomatoes sold very well at a high price. Is there a shortage of love in the church? Don’t leave! Plant something worthwhile! Plant some love and kindness!” Brother Silvestre never did tell us how the man liked his answer, nor what the other two “blows” were, but I thought his little parable was worth sharing. But the next story he told was one I will never forget:  

"There was a small boy who was lost in a huge rice field. The rice was thick and lush and as high as an elephant’s eye. The boy’s parents searched and searched and called and called to no avail. They called the neighbors and the local authorities, and soon a large force of search and rescue volunteers showed up to help. Everyone struck out into the field, but after hours of fruitless searching they were ready to give up. Finally someone had the idea that they link hands and form a chain that spanned the entire width of the field. The search began again, but together this time. The rescuers systematically covered every inch of that rice field. Somewhere in the middle they found the boy. Sadly, it was too late. He was already dead.”

            How much more could be done if we as churches would organize ourselves in united and intentional soul winning? How many are dying today because we each launch off on our own individual endeavors without bothering to involve others, or worse still, never go to work at all? May God give us more love for the perishing, and a sense of urgency that will inspire us to more fervent and united action!

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[i] "Serving with love" The project was planned on Sabbath afternoon at the Belize mission congress. (See post below.)

Don Felipe

Taking food baskets door-to-door

Organizing at the church

On the move!

Greetings from the MOVE[i] mission campus near Orange Walk, Belize! This is a good place to be for Christmas! Lyli and I came to attend “In the Power of His Might,” a three-day mission congress to motivate the local churches to get more involved in both local and foreign mission work.[ii] A few days before the congress, Keila Valenzuela, co-director of MOVE, called and urged us to come as soon as possible to help with the preparations. We arrived on Tuesday the 17^th. It has rained nearly every day, and the roads to the planned conference location became impassible. Keila was obliged to change the venue to the MOVE campus. The logistical pressure that ensued revolved around housing the nearly one hundred attendees who were registered for the full weekend. Camping in the rain would be miserable. Some guests would stay in the homes of the MOVE volunteers, but what about the rest? Providentially, there are several buildings under construction and one was ready for the roof. Some quick calculations insured that it would be just enough space to shelter the remaining visitors. So I joined the roofing crew. Two of them I knew from Bolivia: Samuel, a former student and graduate of UETIRG, and Edwin, previously a volunteer at the TV station in Santa Cruz and the Familia Feliz boarding school! Both are now volunteers at MOVE and loving it! I also really enjoyed getting to know Joel, a law student specializing in religious liberty at Duke University and former mission volunteer in Ethiopia and South Sudan. Turns out we more than likely played together at pastors’ retreats when we were kids, as our dads were pastors in the same district.

From the roof I could see workers pitch the big tent for the main meetings while others dug holes and put up tarp covered scaffolding for some improvised outhouses nearby. Other tarpaulins accommodated the seminar sessions. Perry Karges, a heavy equipment operator who hales from North Dakota installed two additional tanks on the water tower. But there was even more happening than met the eye: in the cafeteria, Ray, a young volunteer from Mexico Missions and Beyond[iii] installed an entire wall complete with a tiled serving deck. Inside sister Betty and others took turns cooking meals while Lyli helped Keila, Phoebe, and Katie prepare materials for the congress: name tags, schedules, signs, and more. In the evenings we practiced music.

Thursday afternoon, we fastened the last piece of sheet metal on the roof, just moments before the arrival of another downpour, and about three hours before the arrival of the guests for registration! How rapidly the work is done when we work together with a will, each one in their assigned place! During the congress they continued to keep us busy! Lyli led song service, I played the piano, did some impromptu translating to English or Spanish as the case required, and shared about the school in Bolivia. I also had one general session about the role of music in the last days.

The conference was phenomenal, and the Holy Spirit worked mightily despite our deficiencies. There was a rugged joy in slogging through the mud to sing “onward, forward”[iv] and listen to inspiring stories of faith, courage, and answered prayer from brothers and sisters from around the world. God is using diverse people in different places in fabulous ways!

After one stirring talk in the cafeteria I noticed a young man sitting alone at the adjacent table. I introduce myself and asked him how he was enjoying the congress.

“I just don’t know what to do” he replied. “I know God is calling me to do something but I don’t know where to go or how to start!” His answer took by surprise. His name is Damian, he is 21 years old, and he just started going to church again about a month ago! There are major problems in his family right now, and he is tired of it. He wants a different kind of life, something real, something meaningful. Thank God, who always has just what we need, and privileged me with words to encourage Damian. I reminded him of Abraham who responded to God’s call without knowing where he was going or what he would do when he got there. God doesn’t often show us the final destination, but he promises to guide us and teach us all along the way and invites us to trust him with everything.  I encouraged Damian to make that decision. I don’t know where God will lead Damian, but I suggested that he prayerfully consider the missionary training course at MOVE that begins this February as a good option to start with.

Another exciting thing about the mission congress was the opportunity to recruit prospective volunteers for this next school year. Ricci and George, for example, are getting married next month and afterward they want to come work with us in Bolivia. She is a science teacher and he has experience in carpentry and farming! What a valuable addition to the team! We are praying that God will open and close doors according to His will.

Give for the love of God    

“We can see only a little way before us; ‘but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.’ He never becomes confused. He sits above the confusion and distractions of the earth, and all things are opened to His divine survey; and from His great and calm eternity He can order that which His providence sees is best. If we were left to ourselves to plan, we should make mistakes. Our prejudices, our weaknesses, our self-deceptions, and our ignorances would be manifest in many ways. But the work is the Lord's, the cause is His; He never leaves His workmen without divine directions” My Life Today p. 14

On Sabbath afternoon it was time to practice what we preached. All of us divided into groups according to our home church[v] or mission project and organized a service activity to do within the next three weeks. Lyli and I joined the MOVE staff and planned a Christmas Eve concert to hold in the Orange Walk town plaza.  In one rare moment when not on the piano, I walked around the perimeter of the plaza handing out literature. “Yeah, and God bless right?” a young man with his wife and kids said as he received a tract.  “God’s not blessing me tonight nor tomorrow.” He answered his own question. At first it was hard to tell if he was just messing with me or if he was serious. He certainly looked and sounded serious enough.

“I don’t got nothin’ to give to my kids for Christmas. I’ve got to find someone to rob or somethin’ ‘cause God, ya know, sometimes He’s there for you and sometimes he’s not.” That was an extremely awkward moment for me as I tried to process how I should respond. Finally I just handed Him the only cash I had with me, while wondering if that was really the best response I could give. Maybe he was lying, and even if he wasn’t, why should I help someone who spoke openly of robbing people, and in front of his children at that? Then the Holy Spirit seemed to smack me over the head. Why should I always filter my giving based on whether I think they deserve it, or what they might to do with the gift? What if God based his giving on such criteria? He bestows a myriad gifts, good and perfect on an ungrateful and undeserving race: the pleasant perfume of the flowers, every breath of life-giving air, the joy of a genuine smile, the delightful flavor of a favorite fruit—oh, how he loves this old world, despite its rottenness! What perfect magnificence, what benevolent mercy, what unfathomable love! He took the biggest risk, gave the greatest gift of all in the life, death, and service of his only son, Jesus Christ. He gives it to everyone, knowing that even those of us who claim to love Him will kill His son all over again. And again. And again. For all practical purposes He is squandering His resources on millions who will never reciprocate His love: no acknowledgements, no surrendered heart or dedicated life, not even simple thanks? Instead, many return their gifted breath in blasphemies. Why does He keep giving? How does He do it? And more importantly, what even remotely valid excuse is left to me for NOT giving? Well, maybe I have one excuse: my proud, ugly, sinful, human heart that needs to be transformed by divine grace. My first work is to learn to give Him that.

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[i] MOVE  (Mission Outreach and Volunteer Evangelism) is a bilingual missionary training school. Classes open this February. For more information, go to http://www.movetraining.org/ and http://www.gospelministry.org/belize-volunteer-center/  

[ii] Guest speakers included Lowell Jenks (South Sudan, Africa), Jonathan Lovitt (Darjeeling, India), Jeff Sutton, (Belize), Ruan Swanepoel (Colombia) among others. You can listen to recorded sessions below.  

[iii] Mexico Missions and Beyond builds churches all over Mexico during Christmas vacation. When Ray first started working with them he says he knew almost nothing about construction. You would never know by watching him now. Ray is a great example of how God multiplies the talents of those who willingly employ themselves in His service. For more information go to http://www.mexico-missions.org/

[iv] From the hymn “Sound the Battle Cry.”

[v] At least 7 different churches were represented, including my in-laws’ church from across the border in Mexico.

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Part of the MOVE campus

The house I helped roof. It will serve as a girls' dorm.

Video about church plant project for April 2014

The following video gives a brief explanation about our school's purpose and mission and a current project to build a church in the nearest community. Sara Ross, a missionary volunteer who lives in Canada, is organizing a group to come in April and help us finish the church construction project there. We are super excited! Sara asked us for a short video, and I was able to get some help putting this together while here at the TV station in Santa Cruz.
Nine minute video about church plant project in Yata.

Bolivia Industrial School promotional brochure!

Feel free to download, print, and share. I'm not sure why some of the pictures turned out a little strange on this uploaded version, but you can get the main idea. If the embed doesn't work, try the following link: 
Bolivia Industrial School brochure

The BEST bread!

“Thy words were found and I did eat them, and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart, for I am called by thy name, oh Lord God of hosts” Jeremiah 15:16

I ate a crusty piece of plain bread the other day: without butter, jam, or any accouterments. It wasn’t even raisin or garlic or seven-grain bread. Yet as I gave it an uncharacteristically perseverant and methodical chew, I was slowly satisfied with the unpretentious pleasure of carbohydrates transformed into simple sugars. As the mouthful of mainstay fare took on a delightful flavor, I suddenly realized how much I’ve been affected by today’s pandering society of instant gratification: I’m usually too hurried to catch this flavor! My swallow reflex has been trained to fire early due to long habits of bolting down my meals, and hence the humbler food gets taken out of tasting range and is subsequently branded as unpalatable, or bland at best. We prefer flavors to burst forth immediately: we have no patience for thorough mastication, and one result of that is poor digestion.

 There is a spiritual application in this. Could it be that we are so accustomed to highly processed, fluffy, pre-packaged spiritual meals that we don’t have the patience to chew the simple Bread of Life, or to personally meditate, and mull over the scriptures until the sweetness emerges, and thus we have no stomach for simple and wholesome soul-nourishment? Has the desire for quick results dwarfed our capacity to follow a prolonged train of thought, and follow the links in a well-made chain of reasoning? Many of us don’t have the perseverance to stick to a job, whether intellectual or physical, when the work is slow and arduous. We are seldom content to do painstaking work with no sign of proximate reward. To read books is a laborious chore unless they have the consistency of whipped cream, or at least enough sugar or spice to keep me swallowing. But there is a very good reason that Jesus called himself the bread of life: not the whip cream, not the bread and butter, not the bread and jam, not even the toasted raisin-bread! Isn’t it time to that we learned to “Taste and see that the Lord is good” on his terms?  (Psalms 34:8).

And the angels are still singing... :)

Luis applied to attend our school after classes had already been in session for a couple of months. When we asked him why he wanted to study at UETIRG, he told us he wanted a different life, different than his father who got caught up in the drug-world. He told us "I want to learn to be able to tell the difference between right and wrong." We had to remind Luis of that answer multiple times throughout the year as we endeavored to instruct and guide him. Because of his personality and habits, he was quite a handful to say the least. But praise God, for his patience with us, and the patience he gives us, and above all, for his mercy and forgiveness and the new life in Christ Jesus!

Ruth Noemi shakes hands with Pastor Freddy

This young man was accepted because of an oversight. Usually we don't take primary students in the dorm. But Bismar is 16 years old, and no one realized until after he was accepted that he was only a seventh grader. As we began to see the way God was working in his life, we quickly realized that our "mistake" was really providential! God is so merciful and so amazing!

Eight of the ten students who were baptized this month holding their baptismal gift, a copy of "The Great Controversy."The two other candidates were baptized the previous Sabbath. 

THREE SABBATH PRAISES

Sabbath peace and greetings to all of you in Christ! We welcomed the Sabbath this evening singing the hymn “How Great thou Art” accompanied by rolling thunder and lightening-gilded clouds. What a spectacular God we serve! For the vespers meditation, I invited three people to share something about how great God has been for them this week. The first to speak was Javier Esteves, a brother from Puerto Rico who left his family business and came to spend this entire school year as a volunteer along with his wife and two daughters.  They have been such a blessing. Well, we have been praying for Javier’s brother-in-law, Daniel Ramon, who was recently diagnosed with an aggressive, mutating form of leukemia. After one dose of chemotherapy, instead of a lower cancer-cell count, the cancer had increased dramatically. The doctors told him to go home and enjoy what was left of his life the best that he could. Daniel decided to go to the U.S. and see if he could get an alternative treatment.  Meanwhile, we kept praying that God would be glorified through this difficult situation for the salvation of souls, and for Daniel’s healing. This morning they called Javier with the word that the cancer is in remission! We serve a powerful and merciful God!

Next to speak was Paulina, one of our seniors. She was thankful that we were able to burn our 3.2 acres of chaco and get it brushed and cleared in one week’s time. This was a miracle because the rainy season arrived emphatically with a deluge and the rain continued for over a week, saturating the brush that we needed to burn in order to plant the rice. Usually rainy season is a bit more gradual in its arrival. Finally we had a full day of sun. We were all praying fervently. We needed at least two more rainless days to be able to burn. The next day was Thursday, and after a morning of hot sunshine, there were systems developing to the west and to the southeast. Soon the sky was black and as the breeze picked up, we could see the rain falling not far away. Many of us stopped what we were doing and prayed for God to hold back the rain. Well, the storm passed by and left us dry, and Friday morning dawned hot and clear. In the afternoon we lit the chaco and by four in the afternoon it was all burned! Every day for the next week we worked from five to eleven o-clock a.m. to get out the firewood and pile and burn the brush and limbs that didn’t burn the first time.    

            The third praise this blessed Sabbath sat a few feet away from me with a huge smile on his face. His mere presence was a testimony to the healing power of our merciful Creator. Some of you may remember Mr. Antonio? While, last Sunday he was run over by a motorcycle. He was helping Mirta set up her vending table at the roadside cafeteria in Yata, when a young girl just learning to drive careened out of control and slammed into him. Praise God that one of our service-day teams was in the area at the time and was able to administer first aid. He seemed to have a dislocated hip and possible fractures in his leg, wrist, and finger as well as internal injuries. The x-rays revealed no fractures however, and when we brought him to the school to convalesce he made a rapid recovery. By Friday he was able to walk on his own and felt good enough to come praise the Lord with us to welcome His holy day!

            All this is just a drop in the bucket of blessings that God is pouring out and will continue to pour on his children that love him and seek Him with a whole heart.

International Missions Festival reminds us of our true citizenship...

Mexicans, Colombians, Bolivians, Puerto Ricans, Americans, but above all Christians and citizens of the heavenly kingdom!

My lovely wife at the booth representing the Heavenly Country. Knowing that any food we might serve would never do justice to the celestial cuisine, we only offered books, DVDs, and bible studies. We pray that each one will find the way to the Celestial City and be able to taste and see for themselves!

The United States serve to visiting guests. Each person was awarded a small "passport" as their meal ticket and were "stamped in" upon arrival at each country! (With exception of the heavenly country)

Wilfredo, myself, Diego, and Reinalda pose for a quick shot with the bowl of peanut-butter and jelly sandwiches. :)

The Puerto Rican crew!

The president recieves The Great Controversy!

"We need to be more aggressive in the mission that Christ has given us to take the gospel to the world. He is just waiting to do great things for us!" Warren's message (watch video below) was still fresh in my mind Sunday morning as I walked the two-kilometers out to the main road with my colportuers. Here at UETIRG Sundays are dedicated to service projects and outreach, and my group had an appointment to give a Bible study on Revelation with a Brazilian lady in Guayaramerin. When we reached the main road, all the traffic seemed to be going the other direction toward Yata and Riberalta. Finally an empty taxi going counter-current stopped and picked us up. The driver informed us that the president, Evo Morales, was on his way and would be arriving at Yata at 11:00 a.m. He would then continue on to Guayaramerin for lunch and to give the dedication speech for the new and only paved highway in northern Bolivia.

So it was true! We had received word just the night before that the president was coming, but such reports have circulated in the past and the promised visit never materialized. Today, however, the road was lined with welcome banners. We had been told that the schools in Yata would be lined up to greet the president, and that we should be there too! Suddenly I was struck with an audacious thought. Why not send the students with some copies of the Great Controversy! Just maybe God would give them an opportunity to give a copy to the president or at least to someone in his entourage! Yeah right. That's crazy. my built-in thought-auditor nearly succeeded in stifling the idea. But Warren's story came storming back to mind. Why not? The president is a real person! He needs to know about this final conflict just as much as anyone! As soon as we arrived in town I sent a text to the teachers still at the school and asked if one of them at least could take a group of students to wait for the president and to take along a half-dozen copies of the Great Controversy. Then I called my students into a huddle and we prayed. We prayed for our Bible study and for the people we would meet that day, but we also prayed for the president, and that if it was God's will that the students who went to see him would have a chance to testify and glorify God.

That afternoon Jerry sent me a text. "I shook the presidents hand!" Impressive! But it was the next message that really got me excited! "One of the girls gave him a Great Controversy and he accepted it! I got pictures!"

Wouldn't you know it! I have to smack myself. Why don't I pray bold prayers more often? Why don't I seize the sword of the Lord and press the attack, "turn the battle to the gates"? (Isaiah 28:6) Why don't I wake up and realize that the best defense is the urgent offensive ordered by our Captain Jesus Christ. "GO!"

How God used an unskilled pathfinder club to convert 25 soldiers...

Mr. Warren McDaniels, director of Familia Feliz boarding school visited us about a week ago and shared this exciting story. God is working in powerful ways to take the last message of warning to a world facing it's last moments. He can use anyone, even a newly-formed pathfinder club that doesn't know how to march! As soldiers of the cross, too many of us find ourselves as ignorant of the appropriate maneuvers for these last days as the children in Mr. Warren's story. But God in His mercy will still use us, if we are willing to get out there and work and depend on Him. May God give us wisdom to plan and boldness to do! Maranatha!

Pathfinders with soldiers

Independence day parade

Marching between the soldiers

Warren with the colonel

Recruits respond to a call during evangelistic meetings in the army base

A Short Illustration

On the bus today, I observe a flamboyant moneybag, spun with the bright woolen yarns of the highlands, hanging from the rear-view mirror. From the mouth of the bag cascades a collage of colorful bills from the strongest international currencies interspersed with the best of the local cash. Five hundred Euros, $1000, 200 bolivianos: such a wistful display of would-be wealth. I am struck by the fact that the greatest argument against the veracity of those monies is their blatant exhibition. Even from afar, before the boldfaced print “This note is not legal tender” becomes visible, everyone knows it’s fake. What fool would believe that that moneybag was for real? I laugh as I picture a thief greedily swiping the bag on his way out. Yet suddenly it strikes me that someone actually exchanged real money for that beautiful sham!

We all know intuitively that real treasures are hidden. So what can we say for the dazzling displays of entertainment, wealth, riches, and power and position that we find sprawled all around us? Why do we fall for it? Does not common sense alone dictate that this tantalizing smorgasbord of pleasure, fame, and fortune that the world proffers us is nothing but a cheap, hollow, rip-off? Yet we give our time, energy and health for it. We exchange our souls for it. Don’t you think its time we started pursuing the true riches?

When it all seems worth it

“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.” 1 Cor 15:58

“And let us not be weary in well doing; for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” Gal 6:9

Often there are moments in this work when I wonder if I am not really just wasting my efforts. In vain the classes, in vain the personal counseling, in vain the sweat, the prayers, the long hours. There is nothing romantic about being a volunteer missionary teacher at a boarding school like this one. It is hard, often thankless work, and at times there seems to be little progress to speak of. In such moments God’s promises like 1 Corinthians 15:58, and Galations 6:9 comfort and reanimate my spirit.

And then every so often God lets me see or hear a little something that gives me motive to keep pressing on. Like what Henri told Cornelio. Henri is a freshman this year, a clear-eyed country lad from a village about 12 kilometers distant.

“Teacher, this place is different!” He enthused after seeing God provide food for us yet again. “God actually answers prayer here, you can see it!”

“Why don’t you kids just listen to the voice of experience!”

“But he forsook the counsel which the old men gave him, and took counsel with the young men that were brought up with him, that stood before him.” 2 Chronicles 10:8

 

Riiiing! My wife and I both woke up to the sound of her cellphone. I wasn’t sure how long I had been sleeping, or what time it was.

“You answer” Lyli handed me the phone. I didn’t recognize the number.

“Hola?” Nothing but silence. “Hola?” I tried again. “I can’t hear anything.” Finally I hung up. The wrong number? A bad connection? Or just a prank call perhaps? The hour read 12:32 a.m.: way too early for these kind of shenanigans. I handed the phone back to my wife and rolled over to go back to sleep. It seemed a matter of mere minutes when the phone rang again but when I looked at the time it was five minutes after one. Again I was the designated answering service.

“Is teacher Ruan there?” a young female voice asked.

“Teacher Ruan?” who on earth could be calling I wondered. “Teacher Ruan hasn’t been here for almost two years now.” I found myself thinking out loud. “He is working at another mission project now. Is there something I can help you with? Who is this?”

“That doesn’t matter. Sorry to bother you.” Was all she said, followed by a click and the buzz of the dial tone.

Puzzled, I asked my wife who it could be, but neither of us recognized the voice. I was too tired to spend much time thinking about it, and I gave the phone back to my wife, quite sure that whoever it was wouldn’t call back again. Wrong. A few minutes later the phone rang again.

“Teacher Kody, don’t be angry.” I must have been still waking up, because I missed her next words: “I’m about to do something bad." Fortunately Lyli was listening too. Nothing escapes her and she clued me in afterward. 
"I wanted to talk to teacher Ruan, but since he’s not there I can talk to you?” I was almost wide-awake by now and her plea melted my heart.

“Of course, I am happy to listen” I assured her.

“I remember everything about the internado from the four years I spent there, I remember everyone, all my friends and classmates, Damaris, Joel, Alcides, the teachers, teacher Helen, Clint, Mindy, Ruan, Monica, teacher Keila. So many things I learned there, I should have paid attention, oh how I wish I could be there again, some day I will come visit!” By this time I had narrowed down to a couple of possibilities who this was, but the voice was still elusive. I sensed I shouldn’t try to press her too much for information, so I simply assured her of the love and mercy of Jesus, that he still has plans for her and to not give up to discouragement and temptation for we have a mighty redeemer, and I could hear her crying softly. When I offered to have prayer with her, she accepted, and I know God gave me the words.

“Thank you teacher Kody,” she said.

“It’s nothing. If there’s anything else we can do, please don’t hesitate to call.”

Based on everything she told us, my wife and I decided it must have been Albricia, a student who spent her four years here but never graduated because of problems she got into during her senior year. She left the school and continued down the same road until reality slapped her in the face. Like so many girls here, she is now a single mom, facing the daunting task of raising a child alone. We continue to pray for her.

A few weeks after vacation, two former students, Max and Juan Carlos, came to pay us a visit. Neither of them could stop smiling and they ended up staying for almost two weeks, helping out in the chaco, and even teaching a few classes. They both took me up on the opportunity to share with the kids for worship, and Max accepted the invitation to preach on Sabbath. Their message in a nutshell was, “take advantage of your time here, learn all you can from your teachers, don’t think that life is better out there in the world. We’ve tried it, and we wish we would have listened.”

            What Max and Juan Carlos said sounds similar to a few speeches I’ve made in class this year.  The message resonates with me especially as I reflect on how God must look at me. I honestly don't know how He is so patient. When will I learn to take advantage of God’s daily instruction? When will I learn to render a complete obedience and to take His Word for everything it offers? "Oh Kody, Kody, Kody! Hear the WORD of the Lord"* Jeremiah 22:29. That verse packs an especially powerful punch for me as I meditate on the almost exasperated urgency in that three-fold appeal. It reminds me of those powerful messages in Revelation chapter 14, messages that we can't afford to spurn. Oh that God will cure us, that we be not among the willful deaf! That we may claim his promise to give us the ear of the learned! (Isaiah 50:4)

 *I have personalized the original verse which says "Oh earth, earth, earth." So you can put your name in there too! That's God's plea to all of us right now. That's what the flying, shouting angels with their solemn warnings  in Revelation 14 are all about.

Attempted Robbery

Tuesday morning even smelled like Independence Day. I stashed several watermelons to cool in the creek, and split some firewood for the kitchen, while the kids went to march in Yata to fulfill our legal obligation as an accredited school to participate in a minimum of one civic event annually. This was the first time that I didn’t go with them. While colportuering on Sunday, I had met a family that very much wanted a Bible and I promised to return on Tuesday, forgetting all about the Independence day march. When I did remember, I decided that keeping my word was more important than the parade.

Campus was empty and the silence was uncanny. It was about ten minutes to ten when I finished the chores and headed down the driveway on the Honda scooter.  The highway was empty of truckers and there were few taxis, but there were plenty of private vehicles and a lot more motorcycle traffic than usual. I stayed close to the shoulder and kept a suspicious eye on all approaching vehicles. On holidays, ten o’clock is not too early for drunk drivers: rather ironic how Independence Day unveils so many dependents. 

            I had finished my house call and was about to return to the school when Lyli called. As soon as I heard her voice I knew something was wrong.

“We found Susie unconscious on the kitchen floor in the cafeteria and we are bringing her in to the hospital. Can you check if SEMDA is open today?” The private clinic offers much higher quality health care than the general public hospital. Before I could learn more details, the phone signal failed. SEMDA was closed, and I finally got ahold of Lyli again to let them know and she filled me in on a few more of the details.

Turns out that a matter of minutes after I left the school premises that morning, as if they were watching and waiting for me to leave, a man and a lady showed up at the school and approached Susie. They claimed to be neighbors looking for their lost horses. Susie remembered that one of our neighbors who, incidentally died in a head-on collision about two months ago while driving drunk, has some brothers she has never met.

“Oh, are you brother to the man who was killed on the highway?” she asked.

“Yes. We are brother and sister to him” Susie understood the man to say. They continued to chat and the visitors seemed to have no intention of continuing the search for their horses any time soon. Susie remembers that they asked her if she were alone and if the students had gone to march in Guayara. She told them they were just nearby in Yata. The lady asked to borrow some cups to drink some Tampico juice that she had with her, and when she offered some to Susie, Susie thought nothing of it. She did notice some powder on the edge of the cup, but she thought it was just powdered Yupi (Bolivian Kool-Aid).  A few minutes later she began to feel strange. Thankfully she had the presence of mind to call Cornelio, and she told the visitors that they were on their way back so she needed to go up to the kitchen to finish getting lunch ready. After that she doesn’t remember much, except that the couple got on their motorcycle and left while she went up to the kitchen to check the tofu.   

Thank God Susie was not injured and nothing was stolen, not even some cash that was on her kitchen table! We don’t plan to leave anyone here alone again, however, and Susie promises not to accept any more food or drink from strangers! (We were told drugging stunts like this are common practice for thieves in these parts.) Besides that we just praise and thank the Lord for his mercy and for the powerful angels stationed around this mission outpost!