. . . The village children saw us looking for a place to swim and began to lead us to the right place. Pretty soon even more children came and we had about twenty children all ready to go swimming!
Welsin, the chief's son, had been teasing me a lot earlier during freeze tag, so when he and Trevor (another village boy) wanted to take me and Nathan out in the canoe, I was a bit hesitant. I was afraid of sharks or of getting stuck somewhere, but Nathan and I decided to enjoy the adventure. I teased Welsin that he'd BETTER not tip the boat because I didn't want to be shark food! He kept teasing back that he was going to. I would tease back in Bislama, "You better not!", with an authoritative tone and he would just laugh so hard! Both of the boys found my fears hilarious. As luck would have it, after we got a ways out the canoe broke and we all fell in the water!! Welsin thought it was hilarious, and I have to admit, after all the teasing it was pretty funny.
Later, after we climbed into a bigger fishing boat, Welsin asked Nathan to tell them a story. Nathan told the story of David and Goliath, and then about an ice storm in Missouri. Then he had to explain snow to them! They asked Nathan if he had a truck in America and when he told them that even I had a car, they could not believe that I, being a woman, could drive!!
Before we left, I told Welsin that I was going to tell all the kids at school tomorrow about how he tipped the boat and tried to feed me to the sharks. All the kids laughed until they almost cried.
The day Wesin and Trevor took us out in the canoe will forever be one of my fondest memories of Vanuatu.
Jennifer
I don't have any pictures of that day, but Wesin is the blonde boy on the second bench. Trevor is sitting beside him.
A couple of the village children.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Diary of A Missionary's Wife - Part 2
April 14, 2010
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
A Plea For Prayer
I hear their cries, I see their eyes, silently as they pass by.
Is there anyone? Anyone who will pray for me?
The theme is raised, the experience seems but lost,
where are the men and women who will pay the cost?
I have felt, I have seen,
I know the power of a life redeemed.
I have prayed, hours spent, cries for the lost
but will I do it again?
Where is the burden? Where is the fire?
For more than just our own heart's desire.
What is passion without prayer?
Am I alone able to save truth through my opinion cast?
A thousand times I say no,
without prayer it shall not come to pass.
Oh that I would find time throughout my day to give in prayer
for the loss of truth in a world full of despair.
My meager efforts are from one alone, but by chance
God might grant, and revive us again.
Perhaps the world may continue at this pace,
but as for us, if only revival would visit this place.
Breath of God, breathe even now, that those who have not known
may find your presence in its fullness shown.
Change has come but You change not.
Oh, that truth would once again be sought!
Give us a hunger that cannot be filled,
for true righteousness revealed.
Oh, that we would love truth, and live in a way
that changes the world because we took the time to pray!
Jennifer
Is there anyone? Anyone who will pray for me?
The theme is raised, the experience seems but lost,
where are the men and women who will pay the cost?
I have felt, I have seen,
I know the power of a life redeemed.
I have prayed, hours spent, cries for the lost
but will I do it again?
Where is the burden? Where is the fire?
For more than just our own heart's desire.
What is passion without prayer?
Am I alone able to save truth through my opinion cast?
A thousand times I say no,
without prayer it shall not come to pass.
Oh that I would find time throughout my day to give in prayer
for the loss of truth in a world full of despair.
My meager efforts are from one alone, but by chance
God might grant, and revive us again.
Perhaps the world may continue at this pace,
but as for us, if only revival would visit this place.
Breath of God, breathe even now, that those who have not known
may find your presence in its fullness shown.
Change has come but You change not.
Oh, that truth would once again be sought!
Give us a hunger that cannot be filled,
for true righteousness revealed.
Oh, that we would love truth, and live in a way
that changes the world because we took the time to pray!
Jennifer
Friday, June 4, 2010
If I Could Speak From My Heart . . .
Revival is not something you can really tell someone about. It cannot even be shown to someone. It is something that has to be experienced for oneself. In the same sense, a burden for revival cannot really be explained to someone. As fervently as you may try to put it into words, it cannot really be expressed to its fullness. The only way to truly express a burden for revival is by crying out to a Holy God in prayer. He most certainly understands. He is the one who placed the burden in your heart.
The last couple of weeks here in Vanuatu, my burden has seemed to heighten. It is as if I cannot rest fully at night. I cannot think clearly during the day. My heart is crying out to my mind the desperate need for revival in this place.
I have felt the Spirit of God in the services. I have also grieved at the lack of tarrying in the altars. I ask myself, “Have they ever really experienced revival?” or “Do they even know how to seek for it?” My husband was kind enough to remind me of the Topeka, Kansas revival and how those young people had not experienced it, and yet sought for it.
A new thought entered my mind. Every year since I can remember, I have had an oasis. Be it Straight Paths Youth Camp as a girl, or OBI’s Convocation in later years, there has always been a place where I knew men and women of God were seeking for revival. In these times, I knew that if I could just get to those meetings then maybe, just maybe, I could glean from their experience and walk away with an experience of my own. Although I always prayed for these meetings, I knew that men and women of God far superior in dedication than I had paid the price through tears and time on their knees for me and others like me to experience revival.
These were men and women with a burden and a passion for my soul. How much I owe them!
Now God has called me to the ministry, more specifically, to the country of Vanuatu. I am in a place where I cannot pray for a people to experience revival once again, because I don’t know if they have or have not really experienced it the first time.
So here I am without my usual oasis. If I am to experience revival this year, I will have to find it on my own, without the camps or convocations. However, it is not enough for me alone to experience personal revival. I long, I crave - there is not a word to even describe the way I desire to see the Ni Van people captured by the presence of the Almighty God.
In all of this, I realize how many missionaries have spent a lifetime in one place and never had the opportunity to see revival in their country. It may not be during this two year term that I see God move in the way I so desire. But it is it with great rejoicing I can say, I know that the God I serve is able!
God is not bound by man, so I ask God: “If it is possible, let me see your Spirit fall here in a way that, not only they have never seen, but in a way we have never seen. For truly we are all in need of revival, and if you should wait to pour out your Spirit in this place when I am no longer here, I still want to thank you in advance, for You are the One who gives the increase, and You are the only One who can do the work in the hearts of your people. I ask that we never be afraid to ask for a mighty move from You, because I know it is but a small thing for You to do. I thank You for bringing me here, and ask that I may be a light to some hurting soul today. It is in Your name I ask this, Jesus. Amen.
Jennifer
The last couple of weeks here in Vanuatu, my burden has seemed to heighten. It is as if I cannot rest fully at night. I cannot think clearly during the day. My heart is crying out to my mind the desperate need for revival in this place.
I have felt the Spirit of God in the services. I have also grieved at the lack of tarrying in the altars. I ask myself, “Have they ever really experienced revival?” or “Do they even know how to seek for it?” My husband was kind enough to remind me of the Topeka, Kansas revival and how those young people had not experienced it, and yet sought for it.
A new thought entered my mind. Every year since I can remember, I have had an oasis. Be it Straight Paths Youth Camp as a girl, or OBI’s Convocation in later years, there has always been a place where I knew men and women of God were seeking for revival. In these times, I knew that if I could just get to those meetings then maybe, just maybe, I could glean from their experience and walk away with an experience of my own. Although I always prayed for these meetings, I knew that men and women of God far superior in dedication than I had paid the price through tears and time on their knees for me and others like me to experience revival.
These were men and women with a burden and a passion for my soul. How much I owe them!
Now God has called me to the ministry, more specifically, to the country of Vanuatu. I am in a place where I cannot pray for a people to experience revival once again, because I don’t know if they have or have not really experienced it the first time.
So here I am without my usual oasis. If I am to experience revival this year, I will have to find it on my own, without the camps or convocations. However, it is not enough for me alone to experience personal revival. I long, I crave - there is not a word to even describe the way I desire to see the Ni Van people captured by the presence of the Almighty God.
In all of this, I realize how many missionaries have spent a lifetime in one place and never had the opportunity to see revival in their country. It may not be during this two year term that I see God move in the way I so desire. But it is it with great rejoicing I can say, I know that the God I serve is able!
God is not bound by man, so I ask God: “If it is possible, let me see your Spirit fall here in a way that, not only they have never seen, but in a way we have never seen. For truly we are all in need of revival, and if you should wait to pour out your Spirit in this place when I am no longer here, I still want to thank you in advance, for You are the One who gives the increase, and You are the only One who can do the work in the hearts of your people. I ask that we never be afraid to ask for a mighty move from You, because I know it is but a small thing for You to do. I thank You for bringing me here, and ask that I may be a light to some hurting soul today. It is in Your name I ask this, Jesus. Amen.
Jennifer
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