Green Eggs and I AM

Praise God for Iva May and her 5 hours of teaching this past week during our spiritual emphasis week at the Spanish school where I'm studying it. I think my favorite quote of hers was "If you make it, you will take it", referring to schemes we come up with to "help" God with His "Plan A" for our lives. Thing is, God has no Plan B and He has PROMISED to accomplish His Plan A. His promises are not like those that we humans make and try to fulfill, it's His very nature to accomplish what He promises. The great temptation is to hear a promise of God, be in a waiting-for-fulfillment period, and try to "help" God accomplish His goal by scheming up a Plan B. And you know where you'll end up! (If you don't, take a look at the stories in Bible and you'll find some Plan B's...it's not pretty!)

As a result of these talks, I've been studying God's promises (well, I'll be honest, they have been finding me--thanks, Holy Spirit) and it's amazing how tied they are to His Great Love for us. It seems that's WHY He promises anything to us, because of His unwavering Love.

Here's another awesome tidbit from the week, with thanks to Dr. Seuss for the original.

Green Eggs And I AM
By Elizabeth Wallace

My seminary course in Trinitarianism included several class lectures on "I AM" in the Bible. I wrote the following piece to fulfill the assignment of a creative project having to do with the Trinity.

I have wondered if Jesus had come at a different time how he would have communicated with His children. The following is a result of two greats in my life coming together: God, the ultimate lover of my soul, and Dr. Seuss, who had a love of the simple things of life. If Dr. Seuss had written theology books, instead of classics such as Green Eggs and Ham, I think it would have gone a little something like this.

Green Eggs And I AM

My name?
I AM.

I am I AM,
I AM I am.

I AM here,
I AM there,
I am I AM everywhere.

Father, Son, and Spirit are we.
We are one, but we are three.

I AM here,
I AM there,
I am I AM everywhere.

One in Three and Three in One,
Jesus is God, Jesus is Son.

Spirit's Power, Father's Plan,
Nail scars in the Son's pierced hands.

"What," you exclaim, "How can that be?"
Shhhh, my child, just rest in me.

I will not be put in a box.
I will not let you worship an ox.

I created it all-the family, the mountain, the tree-
We created it all, so you could grasp the "we."

I will call you here and there,
And I will go with you everywhere.

I AM here,
I AM there.
I am I AM everywhere.

Confused, uncertain, and having doubt?
Give up now, you won't figure it out.

Father, Son, and Spirit are we.
We are one, but we are three.

Adonai, Yahweh, Savior, Friend-
The aspects of me never end.

I will not be defined by just one name,
But I will love you just the same

So what should you do?
How should you react?
Learn enough truth to guard against attack.

Then let go of questions like "Why?"
And raise your voice in praise toward the sky.

Never to leave is my promise to you.
Stay focused, listen to me, and follow through.

Wherever I lead, wherever you go,
I'll be there, too, just continue to grow.

I am I AM,
I AM I am

On a train
In the rain
In a box
With a fox
On a boat
With a goat

Anywhere, everywhere you may go,
I am I AM is all you need to know.

From Prayer Essentials For Living In His Presence, Vol. 1, p. 71-72, ©2000, by Sylvia Gunter.
Available at www.thefathersbusiness.com.

Last but not Least

Something exciting is afoot at Wycliffe. It's possible that someone in your generation or the generation of your children will start work on the last language needing a Bible translation! Check out these facts from the Last Languages Campaign and read more by clicking on the links below.

For God loved the world so much that He gave His one and only son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 (NLT).

You just did something that nearly 200 million people cannot do. You read God's Word in the language you've most likely spoken from infancy — the language you understand best and that touches your heart. Read more.

~~~~

These remaining language communities are located in countries with high birthrates. That means millions of additional lives, will be touched over several generations, with the gospel.

Sadly, the mortality rate indicates 2.4 million people in these communities will die each year without hearing or reading God’s Word. Read more.

~~~~

Forty percent of the current language projects have been started within the past eight years. But so much remains to be done. Numbers don’t tell the whole story. It is about entire communities, and about making a difference for eternity. Read more.

Women of the Bible graduate!

Early Sunday morning I peeked out of my little dirt floor room, and found the courtyard humming with activity. These ladies peeled 400 POUNDS of potatoes to feed 100 people. Yes, that's the Quechua estimate: It will take 4 pounds of potatoes per person to keep everyone happy.












I also appreciated this lady's work, sweeping the dirt. That's not something you see everyday in my home town. You could actually see the difference!







Around 10:30, we started heading to the church for the graduation ceremony. It was scheduled for 10 a.m., but everyone knows that's just a goal. The service will start when everyone is ready. (My kind of place!)

Almost as soon as we started, Jan began to honor the trainers who had dedicated so much of their past year to these workshops. Each came forward to receive a gift of appreciation and we prayed over them.


The groups from each of the 3 workshop locations shared songs of praise. These ladies from Pachas couldn't have been more exuberant!




Plays were created, well, produced, out of the lessons. My favorite was supposed to be describing Job's wife, but instead focused in a very Quechua-like manner on the animals that Job owned, lost, and then regained. In this dramatic moment, the ox-driver is trying to control her "animals". Don't ask me where Job's wife ended up in this scene. (Actually I think she's on the right, helping control the oxen!)

This girl of 13 recited many, many memory verses in Quechua. She is also a star pupil, teaching these Bible lessons to men, women, and children in her church. Their level of hunger for Bible study doesn't seem to mind that this workbook is geared toward women!











Victoria shared about the "hardness" in her heart that softened when she heard of this class and started studying the Word of God in Quechua. Her smile alone tells how her heart is now.















After introductions, dramas, testimonies, memory verses, and a message, finally it was time to graduate. Felix, Bruce, and Polly joined with others to help pass out the certificates. These ladies were the "stars" of the show.













After the ceremony, we feasted together to celebrate the moment. It didn't take long for 400 pounds of potatoes, 50 pounds of onions, and 25 pounds of hot yellow peppers to disappear! Jan and Ernestina even made a three layer chocolate cake (two of them!) complete with chocolate frosting.


It was hard for me to come down from this all-day high, but the ladies had to jump on buses quickly to get home before dark, and the cooks and local folks were ready for their weekly volleyball game just an hour later. A good way to end this great day!

I lift up my eyes to the hills--Where does my help come from?

This verse from Psalm 121 has always been one of my favorites. When I think of this verse, I find myself looking up at the hills around my hometown(s), and imagining God coming over one of the mountaintops, down into the valley of my life to rescue me.

I wonder what Israel thought of this verse when David wrote it. When they looked up to the hills around their home, were they wondering if those hills would provide safety from attackers? Would they think of strength coming from alliances made over those hills?


Living in the Andes, the superlative of hills and valleys, I can lift my eyes up to the mountains any moment of the day. In fact, they are hard to avoid. (The view above is from my yard. These hills circle 360 degrees around Huanuco.)

Quechua people groups make their homes on these mountains, up to many thousands of feet higher than where I live. What do they think of when they lift their eyes up to the hills? Maybe because of their majesty and awe-someness, maybe because of their danger and intimidation, maybe because people control others through fear, maybe because of evil... for whatever reason, Quechua cultures traditionally fear and worship the mountains around them.

They believe that a mountain has the power to protect them from falling or the power to throw them off the mountain. Mountain spirits are believed to be responsible for landslides and failing crops. Sacrifices and other acts of worship are considered essential to appease the spirits of the mountains. To this day, many Quechua people fear the mountains and do whatever they can to keep themselves safe. Pastors struggle to pray only to God, worrying that they might anger the mountains that they've always prayed to.

When one of my Quechua friends looks up to the hills and asks "Where does my help come from?", the answer given in the rest of the Psalm 121 is life-changing:

My help comes from the LORD,
the Maker of heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot slip--
he who watches over you will not slumber;
indeed he who watches over Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
The LORD watches over you--
the LORD is your shade at your right hand;
the sun will not harm you by day,
nor the moon by night.
The LORD will keep you from all harm--
he will watch over your life;
the LORD will watch over your coming and going
both now and forevermore.

Training teachers

2 weeks ago we held the next in a series of workshops for 14 Huamalies Quechua women. They are being trained in adult education and Bible study, and will be teaching workshops for another 60 women over the next 6 months. These 60 women are leaders in their churches and they will be teaching at least another 500 women between now and December. What a great chance to empower these women to teach and train others! It's also thrilling to know that, for the first time, these hundreds of women will get to study the Bible in their own language!

Photos: Jan leading a lesson planning session; Bottom left: Keila, a new friend!; Bottom right: Celestina practicing teaching