My iPhone. I know that sounds so terribly materialistic and that's the very thing Jesus is warning us about but it can be an effective tool .  I subscribe to several great podcasts by Christian and secular leaders.  Some are preaching, some leadership, some motivational, some are just talking about the awesome things God is doing around our world every day.  I listen to these as I'm driving, running, biking, mowing the yard or whatever.  It’s a great way to push back the thorns of life and renew my passion for our Lord

Slovenia is a beautiful, pristine place and an adventure sports paradise.  In the Soca Valley where we camped people were hiking, trail running, mountain biking, road biking, kayaking, rafting, paragliding, canyoneering, climbing, fly fishing and much more.  In the midst of this very healthy, very active lifestyle is a very intense doubt that there is a God -  or if there is a God he has anything to do with me or my life.

Our mission for the week was to hike, trail run and mountain bike through this amazingly beautiful countryside as we prayed for people and gave out literature explaining God's love for them and his desire to have a personal, meaningful relationship with each of them.  As I prayer-walked, prayer-ran and prayer-biked past the homes, farms and villages I kept thinking of a couple of phrases from the prayer of St Francis of Assisi, " Lord, make me an instrument of your peace …where there is doubt, let me sow faith".

As I've already said, this trip was very different from our usual XMA adventures where we help with physical needs along with sharing the Gospel with those who have never heard.  Slovenes live a very comfortable life.  They have good incomes, good healthcare, good schools, good food and they live in an amazingly pristine alpine environment.  They are content and feel they have no need for God - no need for faith.  That is why I found myself simply praying over and over, "Where there is doubt, let me sow faith".

This doubt is strong.  The Slovenes coldness of heart made the trip spiritually challenging.  Joe, the IMB missionary with whom we worked, told us the most effective thing we can do to reach Slovenes is prayer.  He asked us to bring as many volunteers as possible to come pray 'onsite with insight'.  He is convinced that the physical presence of Christians praying for and living out an exciting, vibrant, credible Christian life before Slovenes will make a difference.   God tells us in James 5:16, "The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective".  Faith will prevail if Christians will join in the struggle. 

We need athletic, adventure sports enthusiast to return to Slovenia with us as we hike, bike, climb, snowboard, adventure race, ice climb, play with and pray for Slovenes.  Check with our office today for info on future trips and how you can join us in this Adventure with a Purpose.

Habib is part of the Bongay* , an unreached people group living in Central Asia.  Until a few years ago the Bongay were not only unreached, they were also unengaged, meaning no one was even trying to take the Good News of Jesus to them.  For thousands of years they have lived and died in the mountains of Central Asia without ever hearing that God loves them and wants to have a relationship with them.

Then God called XMA to translate His Word into the Bongay language and to demonstrate His love through help with physical needs.  Through this work Habib began to hear God's Word and God used His Word to call Habib to himself.

We are continuing to work to ensure that every Bongay has an opportunity to hear about and accept Christ.  Come join us on an Adventure with a Purpose in Central Asia.

* Names have been changed for security.  As only the third known believer within the Bongay people group Habib will face many challenges as he lives out his decision to follow Christ.  Please pray for him, his family and all of the Bongay.

This is what happened to Sophie, (name changed to protect her). 

Sophie is a woman in her early 40’s.  She and her husband moved to a village in Central Asia.  Soon after they moved, her husband left her with no income and 7 children to feed.  Sophie had nothing.  She didn’t even have a door to her house. 

Last winter it got so cold in her village that 2 of her young children froze to death.

As we visited the village that Sophie lived in, we heard her story as well as so many other stories that would break your heart.   Alongside our national staff women in the country, we were able to start a sewing center, we not only help them to learn a skill but we also share Bible stories.  Many of these women cannot read or write so the Bible stories are so effective.   Many of them have never heard the name of Jesus  No where to go, no one who cares, no one to fight for them, no one who loves them.  When we bring Bible stories, it’s so amazing to watch hope come into their eyes.  “Maybe there truly is a God who cares about me.  Maybe He does love me like these women are telling me.  Maybe if I trust Him, He will help me!!”  As we listen to these women, love them for who they are and share about the greatest man that ever lived, we tell them that He loves them so very deeply and He is the God who we can trust….He never fails us.

Please pray for Sophie and the many women who are hearing the stories for the first time in their lives.  They are finding hope and finding that someone does care and love them.  What a joy and privilege to be the hands and feet to carry the good news to so many hurting people!

I have always assumed it was the hearer.  The faithful farmer sowed the seed as he was taught but the ground (unbelieving people) did not accept it.  But, perhaps the sower is at fault for not sowing the seed in a way they could understand.  Perhaps we are at fault when we present the Gospel to oral learners (which includes most of the remaining unreached peoples) using literate means such as printed Bibles, tracts or even preaching three point sermons and they do not understand it.  For these oral learners it is our responsibility to share the Gospel in a way which they can understand and accept.

Our first stop was at Pastor Juan’s.  After a brief night at his house on the river bank in the village of Subterraneo he led us on a six hour hike to Jardines, one of the five villages where he pastors.  News of our arrival spread quickly and by two o’clock the locals gathered at the small wooden church for worship and testimony.  Pastor Juan is doing a great job of ministering to the people in this isolated area and he welcomes our help to more effectively reach these villages.

From Pastor Juan’s area we moved on up the Patuca for another long hike into Agua Frescas.  There we met Roberto Calderon, his wife, and thirteen children.  We went to bed that night on the dirt floor in the large common room of the Calderon house with the sound of a Honduran soccer match blasting from a small transistor radio.  There was celebration throughout the household as the radio brought news of Honduras’ victory over Mexico.  The next morning we had church at the Calderon’s as our team shared testimonies and witnessed to the family.  No one accepted the Lord that morning but they were open to our message and welcomed us to return as soon as possible. 

After the house church service we moved on deeper into the jungle.  We met a local Christian named Alejandro on the trail and he led us on to La Selva.  Once again we were warmly welcomed into the homes and encouraged to return as soon as possible.

This was a very tough week for us gringos as we struggled along the steep, muddy jungle trails.  But I believe it was also a very profitable one for the kingdom.  We were an encouragement to the few local Christians we met and a blessing to the sick we encountered as we prayed for them and shared what medicine we had.  We made contacts and laid the groundwork for future XMA teams to help share God’s love with these warm, gracious people.  Please join us in prayer for these new friends and consider joining an XMA team in 2009 as we come back to share Christ through personal testimony, the Jesus Film, medical and dental work, and other human needs help.

Randy Pierce

Click this link to see Jardines on Google Earth.  You can see the Patuca River on the left and the Coco River/Nicaraguan border on the right side http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=14.4081,-85.3356&ie=UTF8&z=12&om=1

Check out our TribalConnection channel on YouTube for short videos from this trip:

www.youtube.com/tribalconnection1  

Uphold the rights of the oppressed and the destitute.

Rescue the poor and needy;

Save them from the hand of the wicked.

They don't know or understand;

They wander in darkness

                                                Psalms 82:3-5

These verses struck a chord in my heart this morning as our team is returning from Central Asia.  A few days ago we visited one of the women's sewing centers XMA help start.  Through translators the local village women told of the rapes and other abuses they endured during the civil war that ravaged this country a few years ago.  Most of these women and girls are now widows and orphans.  And their tragedy continues as they struggle to live without adequate food or housing, very little electricity, no running water or sewer, only scarcely available wood or dried animal dung for heat and cooking. 

I'm reminded of the song Emma by Emmanuel Jal, a former child soldier from Sudan who was rescued by a missionary named Emma McCune:

Emma

This one goes to Emma McCune

Angel to the rescue one afternoon

I'm here because you rescued me

I'm proud to carry your legacy

Thank you, bless you, R I Peace

What would I be if Emma never rescued me?

What would I be?

What would I be, another starving refugee?

What would I be?

What would I be if Emma never rescued me?

You would have seen my face on the telly

Fat hungry belly

Flies in my eyes head too big for my size

Just another little starving child

Running around in Africa born to  be wild

Praise God praise the Almighty

For sending an angel to rescue me

I got a reason for being on this earth coz I

Know more than many what a life is worth

And I, now that I got chance to stand my ground

I'm gonna run over mountains leaps and bounds

I ain't an angel hope I'll be one soon and if I am

I wanna be like Emma McCune

I would have probably died from starvation

Or some other wretched disease

I would have grown up with no education

Just another refugee

I stand here because someone cared

I stand here because someone dared

I know that there's a lot of Emmas out there

Who is willing and trying to save a life of a child

The sewing center is a tremendous help but it is not enough.  God compels us to do more!  We must be the someone who cared, the someone who dared, the Emma for those desperate souls in need.  We must help them with immediate needs such as food, medical, housing and education.  We must help them develop markets for their sewing products so they can become self-sufficient.  We must help them find the God of Emma McCune - the God who loves them and compels us to love them and help them.

This reminds me of the story in Ezekiel 37 where God brought the prophet Ezekiel to the valley of dry, dead bones and asked if they could be brought back to life.  Ezekiel’s reply, “Only You, O Lord, know”.  Then God showed Ezekiel it could be done just as easily as God brought these parched, dead mountains back to life.

Our XMA team is in Central Asia to drill a water well attempting to bring much needed water to a large village of over ten thousand people.  Currently, their only water source within miles is a small creek which over the past few years has turned salty.  We’ve been working on this project for almost a year now.  Researching options for obtaining clean water, raising funds, purchasing and then importing well drilling equipment and recruiting volunteers to come serve on the drilling team.  Will we be able to bring life restoring water to these desperately needy people?  Only You, O Lord, know!

Post script:  Our team did drill one hundred ninety feet into the desert floor as anxious villagers watched.  There seemed to be a small vein of water bearing sand at one hundred seventy-five feet but due to mechanical difficulties and our inexperience we did not get a working well this time.  We are making repairs to the equipment and will return for another attempt.