Dear friends,
Recap:
I have been back in Seattle since mid May now. In June I was able to find a place for my dad called Bayview Manor in Lower Queen Anne. In the same week I found an apartment for myself one block away. Also the Lord opened the door for a job at Christian Veterinary Mission on the CRISTA campus in Shoreline. Everything in coming back has “fallen into line”.
As many of you know, being closer to downtown Seattle I started going to Downtown Cornerstone Church in the heart of the city. We are a small Acts 29 church plant. Currently we are meeting once a week as a launch community to study God’s word, worship and pray. Once a month we have a “preview gathering” for the services we are preparing to launch, Lord willing, early next year. It is very exciting to be a part of a church plant. As evidenced at the "Seattle Harvest" a few weeks ago at the Key Arena, God is really moving in the Seattle area! I went on the Friday night and saw hundreds give their lives over to Jesus! I was teary eyed thinking of all those people then streaming out into the streets of Seattle and being a light for all to see. God is doing amazing things!
Even though I am back I know I have not been able to see many of you very often. With work, time with my dad, church, fellowship and times of rest, I have been seeking the Lord for His balance and will in all these areas. Through all of this I have learned the true meaning of saying “Lord willing” with every presumptuous statement! Coming back was not on my agenda but I have seen God's wisdom and fruit. At my dad's convalescent center I see my dad testifying as to why I am back and God is getting the glory! There is so much that we can have planned for our lives that we let God’s still small voice get muffled and chocked out by the white noise. By His grace I am growing, as we all are, and purposing to lay myself on His alter and be transformed by the renewing of my mind; not being conformed to this world, that I may prove what is the good and acceptable will of the Lord. (Rom. 12:1-2) We are all in this walk as one body in Christ.
It has been an honor to be a part of Christian Veterinary Mission. As their Outreach Volunteer Coordinator I am helping to mobilize people for Christ's cause through CVM to get people engaged in the areas of their gifting. As a mission our focus is to challenge, empower and facilitate veterinarians to serve other through their profession, living out their faith in Christ. We work with veterinary students, vet techs and professional vets. We encourage vets stateside to shine their light for Christ through their profession. In America we have some serious animal lovers! Our focus is not to give an animal a better life (while that may be a byproduct) but our focus is people coming to know the Lord through veterinarians as a vessel. In the majority world we send missionaries to share and teach animal healthcare and animal husbandry that people may have a sustainable way to help their family and communities. We work in the name of Christ and we have seen many come into a relationship with Him through the 2 Tim. 2:2 principle - teach others who will in turn teach others!
As time permits I am hoping to start writing a bit. Lord willing I will start taking a class early next year along with others as an arena for practice and to proclaim God's goodness and grace through the written word.
If you are looking for a way to give this Christmas I would ask you to check out two programs: "Give a Kid a Kid" program in Haiti (http://www.cvmusa.org/GiveAKidAKid ) and World Concern's Global Gift Guide (http://www.cvmusa.org/page.redir?target=http%3a%2f%2fwww.worldconcern.org%2fglobalgiftguide&srcid=26195&srctid=1&erid=789489 ). Give a gift that has holistic sustainable development in mind. When you give a goat to a child in Haiti they learn animal husbandry and have a sustainable way to help their families! The program incorporates biblical teachings and creation care, providing the children a way in which they will see the saving grace of Jesus in their lives and also, be able to take it home to their families!
If any of you would like to chat or say hi please email anytime. If any of you need one more person to come alongside you in prayer I would love to be there.
All to His glory,
Tiffany
Back in the NW
Dear friends,
I am back in the NW! Thank you for the outpouring of love and encouragement in coming back here to be with my dad and the rest of my family. My dad saw a specialist this last Monday and they confirmed that he has Multi System Atrophy. This is in the Parkinson's Plus family and it is quite aggressive.
Despite the grim diagnosis and returning from Mexico, I am filled with an immense joy to be here. Once I knew it was right to come back my whole desire has been to be here. I am excited to be near family and excited for God's plans! It was the easiest the decision I think I have ever made.
I will be back in Everett Monday night for the week and I have the honor of working at SBC then next weekend after church at Sonrise I will be on the island for the rest of June. After June my hope is to be in the Seattle area again to live and work and be near my dad...but the Lord knows what comes next!
I hope to see many of you soon!!!
Love in Christ,
Tiffany
I am back in the NW! Thank you for the outpouring of love and encouragement in coming back here to be with my dad and the rest of my family. My dad saw a specialist this last Monday and they confirmed that he has Multi System Atrophy. This is in the Parkinson's Plus family and it is quite aggressive.
Despite the grim diagnosis and returning from Mexico, I am filled with an immense joy to be here. Once I knew it was right to come back my whole desire has been to be here. I am excited to be near family and excited for God's plans! It was the easiest the decision I think I have ever made.
I will be back in Everett Monday night for the week and I have the honor of working at SBC then next weekend after church at Sonrise I will be on the island for the rest of June. After June my hope is to be in the Seattle area again to live and work and be near my dad...but the Lord knows what comes next!
I hope to see many of you soon!!!
Love in Christ,
Tiffany
Next Steps
Dear friends,
I am writing to inform you all that within the coming weeks I will be moving back to the NW for the time being. I heard the weather has been amazing and I don’t want to miss it!...No… I recently heard that my dad has become substantially weaker in the last several weeks and I feel a peace and a joy to return to be a help to him and my family.
It is very humbling to be coming back from the foreign mission field. I have only just begun my time here in Oaxaca. We have been able to do a few distribution trips and enter data of the indigenous languages from Culiacan but now I am leaving. It seems like just a small drop of water in an ocean of possibilities. But then I think that it is the many drops that make up this life and God’s purposes. All I can say is that when I heard how my dad was doing there was the moment where I knew my call was back near him and my family in the NW during this time. Why it did not click three weeks ago before I got on that plane…I don’t know. But I know that God has His appointed times and we are to occupy and follow as He leads.
If you would like to make a love offering for the transition back that would be much appreciated. But as for monthly support that will not be a need when I get back. To all of you who have given your prayers and your resources I give you my immense gratitude. But that is just human thanks. You have given to the work of the Lord in Brazil, Ecuador and two states in Mexico. You have been faithful in helping me to do the work of an evangelist and now others will continue to faithfully work and to water while God will give the increase.
Five years ago almost exactly I moved to Washington from Tucson, Arizona. I moved to the NW to help my dad open up his bed and breakfast and I started going to the church on the island. It was in the fall I enrolled in Seattle Bible College – where I came to receive Jesus as Lord of my life. The first time I went to be at my dad’s side to help the events led to me coming to the Lord! God does all things perfect and new so I look forward to what He will do this time!
I am excited to spend more time with each one of you and to put my religion into practice by caring for those of my family. I want to repay my parents and I know this is pleasing to the Lord (1 Tim. 5:4,8).
I know I am just “coming back home” but it feels like I am jumping into a whole new adventure. I have not been a cross-cultural missionary for a fraction of the time many others have but to be in ministry in the states seems like another big shift. I look forward to how God will use the time that has been spent in South America and Mexico. This is not closing a door I am simply continuing to run the race and when God wills I pray to continue to serve cross-culturally. And now I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. (Phil. 3:14)
Please Pray:
I am writing to inform you all that within the coming weeks I will be moving back to the NW for the time being. I heard the weather has been amazing and I don’t want to miss it!...No… I recently heard that my dad has become substantially weaker in the last several weeks and I feel a peace and a joy to return to be a help to him and my family.
It is very humbling to be coming back from the foreign mission field. I have only just begun my time here in Oaxaca. We have been able to do a few distribution trips and enter data of the indigenous languages from Culiacan but now I am leaving. It seems like just a small drop of water in an ocean of possibilities. But then I think that it is the many drops that make up this life and God’s purposes. All I can say is that when I heard how my dad was doing there was the moment where I knew my call was back near him and my family in the NW during this time. Why it did not click three weeks ago before I got on that plane…I don’t know. But I know that God has His appointed times and we are to occupy and follow as He leads.
If you would like to make a love offering for the transition back that would be much appreciated. But as for monthly support that will not be a need when I get back. To all of you who have given your prayers and your resources I give you my immense gratitude. But that is just human thanks. You have given to the work of the Lord in Brazil, Ecuador and two states in Mexico. You have been faithful in helping me to do the work of an evangelist and now others will continue to faithfully work and to water while God will give the increase.
Five years ago almost exactly I moved to Washington from Tucson, Arizona. I moved to the NW to help my dad open up his bed and breakfast and I started going to the church on the island. It was in the fall I enrolled in Seattle Bible College – where I came to receive Jesus as Lord of my life. The first time I went to be at my dad’s side to help the events led to me coming to the Lord! God does all things perfect and new so I look forward to what He will do this time!
I am excited to spend more time with each one of you and to put my religion into practice by caring for those of my family. I want to repay my parents and I know this is pleasing to the Lord (1 Tim. 5:4,8).
I know I am just “coming back home” but it feels like I am jumping into a whole new adventure. I have not been a cross-cultural missionary for a fraction of the time many others have but to be in ministry in the states seems like another big shift. I look forward to how God will use the time that has been spent in South America and Mexico. This is not closing a door I am simply continuing to run the race and when God wills I pray to continue to serve cross-culturally. And now I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. (Phil. 3:14)
Please Pray:
For my father. That he would come to know our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
For finding a cheap ticket back to the states on short notice.
For the transition back in the NW: Job, place to live… (If you have any leads in any of these areas please let me know!)
For Gospel Recordings Network (Buenas Nuevas) here in Oaxaca. They are in need of more workers for the harvest!
For Compassion Connection staff in Ecuador. This will put off my involvement there as well. Please pray for Steve, Sandi and Amie Youngren along with the other missionaries to continue in the field of souls there with the grace and strength God supplies.
Thanks again to all those who have been a part of the work!
Love in Christ,
Tiffany
Onto Oaxaca, Mexico
What a month here in the NW! I was able to spend a week with my sending church, Sonrise Chapel, and to visit Seattle Bible College as well as spend time with good friends. It was so refreshing and encouraging to meet with people and pray and be prayed for. For the rest of April I was here on San Juan Island with family. My dad is now in full time care at the convalescent center on the island and he needed help getting his things in order. Especially now that my parents are trying to sell the Bed and Breakfast I have had the big task of separating all of my dad's things from the garage and storage units on the property in case they move soon. Note to the wise...don't be a pack rat!...anyways...I have gone through many boxes and we have had a couple of great garage sales!
This Wednesday I am off to Oaxaca, Mexico. My time in Culiacan in February and March was for an outreach to the migrant workers in the area where we distributed gospel recording materials to upwards of 140 different indigenous languages. In Oaxaca I will begin the official training to become a recordist. There are still many languages of the America's that need to hear the good news of Jesus Christ in their own heart language. Here is a little blip of what the training will entail...
The training that Gospel Recordings Network Mexico provides will equip me to investigate the needs among the ethnic groups, make contact with language helpers in the target language, transport myself and the equipment to the tribal area, record Gospel messages and discipleship material in the native language, edit the recording and produce audio CDs or other media as needed. I will also be trained in oral communication, a socio-religious survey, history and geography of the ethnic groups, transcultural communication, design and printing of material for other languages, and use of Adobe Audition software...phew!
Thanks to our Lord, Father, Savior, Counselor! I am in awe that Jesus loves and redeemed a sinner like me and that He uses us for His purpose and plan of reconciliation. Thanks for my prayer peeps and my support team! We are in this together.
Love in Christ,
Tiff
Please Pray:
That Jesus would shine brightly through all of us as vessels for Him.
That I would continue to grow in the Spanish language.
For His open doors of ministry among the people groups of the Americas.
For boldness to preach the good news and that God's Holy Spirit would draw many to Himself.
For my family here. That those who don't, would know Jesus, and those who do would thrive...and that the B&B would sell. : )
This Wednesday I am off to Oaxaca, Mexico. My time in Culiacan in February and March was for an outreach to the migrant workers in the area where we distributed gospel recording materials to upwards of 140 different indigenous languages. In Oaxaca I will begin the official training to become a recordist. There are still many languages of the America's that need to hear the good news of Jesus Christ in their own heart language. Here is a little blip of what the training will entail...
The training that Gospel Recordings Network Mexico provides will equip me to investigate the needs among the ethnic groups, make contact with language helpers in the target language, transport myself and the equipment to the tribal area, record Gospel messages and discipleship material in the native language, edit the recording and produce audio CDs or other media as needed. I will also be trained in oral communication, a socio-religious survey, history and geography of the ethnic groups, transcultural communication, design and printing of material for other languages, and use of Adobe Audition software...phew!
Thanks to our Lord, Father, Savior, Counselor! I am in awe that Jesus loves and redeemed a sinner like me and that He uses us for His purpose and plan of reconciliation. Thanks for my prayer peeps and my support team! We are in this together.
Love in Christ,
Tiff
Please Pray:
That Jesus would shine brightly through all of us as vessels for Him.
That I would continue to grow in the Spanish language.
For His open doors of ministry among the people groups of the Americas.
For boldness to preach the good news and that God's Holy Spirit would draw many to Himself.
For my family here. That those who don't, would know Jesus, and those who do would thrive...and that the B&B would sell. : )
March update
This week we remember what Jesus gave on the cross, His life to gain ours. God has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and we carry the ministry of reconciliation to others in this world (2 Cor. 14-21). What beautiful simplicity we find in Christ our Lord, and what endless depth and unending wonder. How could it be that Jesus could be both - fragile and human to hang on the cross and die for our sins and Almighty God who framed the worlds by His word? It is because of Jesus and what He did that I am compelled to serve Him.
At the beginning of March the staff of Gospel Recordings and I took off from Culiacan for a staff retreat. It was a nice time to share and encourage after the intense outreach in February to the migrant camps in and around Culiacan. We enjoyed wonderful time of prayer, conversation and rest. After the retreat we returned to Culiacan for follow-ups in several of the camps that we had visited in February. However I left Culiacan a week sooner than I had intended when I heard that my dad had been brought to the hospital. On March 15th I heard that my father had been flown from San Juan Island to the Anacortes hospital. I changed my ticket and arrived in the Northwest on the afternoon of the 18th. Everything turned out to be okay but now my dad is living in full time care. I am here next month sorting through his storage units and simplifying things.
I have my ticket to go to Oaxaca, Mexico on the 5th of May. Lord willing, I will be beginning my training and involvement in Gospel Recordings at that time (To read more about Gospel Recordings and my involvement please read previous blogs).If you would like to hear more in person while I am in the area please contact me! I will be on Friday Harbor for most of the time in the Northwest but Lord willing I will be in Everett from the 10th of April until the 18th and I would love to share more with friends in person.
I give thanks to all of you who have prayed with me and given financial support! I never cease giving thanks for you all. Literally thousands received Jesus as Lord during February and March and thousands more received the gospel in their own language at no cost to them. Your prayers and support are always a part of that. Thanks you!!
Please let me know how you are and how I can be praying for you! I pray you all enjoy the priceless gift that Jesus paid for and the boldness to serve Him, however He calls you, in return.
Love in Christ,
Tiff
At the beginning of March the staff of Gospel Recordings and I took off from Culiacan for a staff retreat. It was a nice time to share and encourage after the intense outreach in February to the migrant camps in and around Culiacan. We enjoyed wonderful time of prayer, conversation and rest. After the retreat we returned to Culiacan for follow-ups in several of the camps that we had visited in February. However I left Culiacan a week sooner than I had intended when I heard that my dad had been brought to the hospital. On March 15th I heard that my father had been flown from San Juan Island to the Anacortes hospital. I changed my ticket and arrived in the Northwest on the afternoon of the 18th. Everything turned out to be okay but now my dad is living in full time care. I am here next month sorting through his storage units and simplifying things.
I have my ticket to go to Oaxaca, Mexico on the 5th of May. Lord willing, I will be beginning my training and involvement in Gospel Recordings at that time (To read more about Gospel Recordings and my involvement please read previous blogs).If you would like to hear more in person while I am in the area please contact me! I will be on Friday Harbor for most of the time in the Northwest but Lord willing I will be in Everett from the 10th of April until the 18th and I would love to share more with friends in person.
I give thanks to all of you who have prayed with me and given financial support! I never cease giving thanks for you all. Literally thousands received Jesus as Lord during February and March and thousands more received the gospel in their own language at no cost to them. Your prayers and support are always a part of that. Thanks you!!
Please let me know how you are and how I can be praying for you! I pray you all enjoy the priceless gift that Jesus paid for and the boldness to serve Him, however He calls you, in return.
Love in Christ,
Tiff
"The heavens declare the glory of God; and the skies declare the work of His hands. Day after day they pour forth speach; night after night they display knowledge. There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard. Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world." Psalm 19:1-3
What a month! I had heard a bit about the Culiacan project...now I have experienced it and I feel honored and blessed to have been a part of it.
The Culiacan project lasts for the whole month of February. Short term teams come down to help out anywhere from two weeks to the whole month. Five days a week, Monday thru Friday (and sometimes on Saturday), we visit camps in the surrounding areas here. There are over a hundred camps here. People come from all over Mexico to work in the fields that grow tomatoes. peppers and corn among other things. Many of the people in these camps speak a language other than Spanish. There are over 140 indigenous languages in Mexico. During the month we handed out Gospel tracks to over 130 of them!
We usually head out to the camps at 3 in the afternoon when the workers are getting back from the fields. Before three we are cleaning the cars and preparing the equipment before we go. I have been counting up the totals of CD's and decisions made for Jesus as well as tracking the languages we are seeing in the camps. This helps us so that when we return to the camps we know which language is most dominant from camp to camp. Over the course of this month we have handed out 6,634 CD's in the indigenous languages (this does not include the over 4,000 we handed out in Spanish), and 3,147 people received Jesus as their Lord and Savior! Many sheep have heard the voice of the Shepherd and responded! There are others that maybe did not receive the Lord on the night we were there but that have a precious seed now planted in their hearts.
There are too many stories to tell here but I will share one that touched my heart. One evening when we were watching "Magdelena: Released From Shame" (a variation on the Jesus film) there was a brother and sister sitting with me reclining on me. The boy was so animated watching the film. When Jesus multiplied the fish and bread his mouth dropped wide open, when Jesus rose the widow's son from the dead he leaped in his seat. When Jesus was lashed he jumped with each blow. At the end he received Jesus as Lord! When we returned to the camp for a follow up I saw the brother and sister again and I was giving them big hugs. Jesus is doing such great work!
Now that the teams have gone home I will be involved in the Buenas Nuevas staff retreat this week then for the rest of the month I will be helping with follow ups in the camps. At the end of the month most of the staff returns to Oaxaca (where I will meet them in May to start training with Buenas Nuevas, "Gospel Recordings" to become a recordist) I am more excited than ever to learn to record these different languages and how to distribute them. The Culiacan Project is a busy, rapid month but it is the fruit of much work by many recordist here in Mexico. They spend their lives recording the Gospel in every language so that people can know the Good News of Jesus Christ. These people are not just hearing the Gospel in Spanish which is not their original, heart language but they are hearing it in the language that is natural to them. If an English speaker sings a beautiful worship song in Spanish they can still praise the Lord and rejoice in Him but there is something that happens in a heart when they praise Him in their heart language, English. It is the same for the indigenous speakers around Mexico and around the world. Spanish or other main idioms are not their true language.
Please Pray:
For God's divine health and protection. We have had a handful of people in the hospital for one reason or another.
For the people in the camps to continue to grow in the Lord through discipleship and the growth that comes only from the Lord.
For someone to be here in Culiacan at the base year round. The outreach is only a few months of the year...but there is so much more that could be done if say a couple could be here year round.
For the Compassion Connection team in Ecuador (Who I miss greatly - but the plan is, Lord willing, to returning there after the training!) Steve and Sandi are in the states raising funds to build our new training center in Latacunga, Ecuador.
For endurance. I am traveling more than usual this year while I am involved with training with GRN. I return to the states in April to help my parents with some big changes, then I travel to Oaxaca in May for the training and Lord willing onto Colombia in August to finish up the training by December...and next year I would be back in Ecuador...
Thank you!
Thanks to all of you who are praying and being such a support. Each of you has been here in spirit! I do not say this lightly... it is your prayers that back each missionary with more than just a dream and a desire to help. Our prayers in the Lord produce great fruit that will last according to His power and purposes. It is your giving that is making it possible for myself and other missionaries to do the work of the ministry...Thanks!!!
What a month! I had heard a bit about the Culiacan project...now I have experienced it and I feel honored and blessed to have been a part of it.
The Culiacan project lasts for the whole month of February. Short term teams come down to help out anywhere from two weeks to the whole month. Five days a week, Monday thru Friday (and sometimes on Saturday), we visit camps in the surrounding areas here. There are over a hundred camps here. People come from all over Mexico to work in the fields that grow tomatoes. peppers and corn among other things. Many of the people in these camps speak a language other than Spanish. There are over 140 indigenous languages in Mexico. During the month we handed out Gospel tracks to over 130 of them!
We usually head out to the camps at 3 in the afternoon when the workers are getting back from the fields. Before three we are cleaning the cars and preparing the equipment before we go. I have been counting up the totals of CD's and decisions made for Jesus as well as tracking the languages we are seeing in the camps. This helps us so that when we return to the camps we know which language is most dominant from camp to camp. Over the course of this month we have handed out 6,634 CD's in the indigenous languages (this does not include the over 4,000 we handed out in Spanish), and 3,147 people received Jesus as their Lord and Savior! Many sheep have heard the voice of the Shepherd and responded! There are others that maybe did not receive the Lord on the night we were there but that have a precious seed now planted in their hearts.
There are too many stories to tell here but I will share one that touched my heart. One evening when we were watching "Magdelena: Released From Shame" (a variation on the Jesus film) there was a brother and sister sitting with me reclining on me. The boy was so animated watching the film. When Jesus multiplied the fish and bread his mouth dropped wide open, when Jesus rose the widow's son from the dead he leaped in his seat. When Jesus was lashed he jumped with each blow. At the end he received Jesus as Lord! When we returned to the camp for a follow up I saw the brother and sister again and I was giving them big hugs. Jesus is doing such great work!
Now that the teams have gone home I will be involved in the Buenas Nuevas staff retreat this week then for the rest of the month I will be helping with follow ups in the camps. At the end of the month most of the staff returns to Oaxaca (where I will meet them in May to start training with Buenas Nuevas, "Gospel Recordings" to become a recordist) I am more excited than ever to learn to record these different languages and how to distribute them. The Culiacan Project is a busy, rapid month but it is the fruit of much work by many recordist here in Mexico. They spend their lives recording the Gospel in every language so that people can know the Good News of Jesus Christ. These people are not just hearing the Gospel in Spanish which is not their original, heart language but they are hearing it in the language that is natural to them. If an English speaker sings a beautiful worship song in Spanish they can still praise the Lord and rejoice in Him but there is something that happens in a heart when they praise Him in their heart language, English. It is the same for the indigenous speakers around Mexico and around the world. Spanish or other main idioms are not their true language.
Please Pray:
For God's divine health and protection. We have had a handful of people in the hospital for one reason or another.
For the people in the camps to continue to grow in the Lord through discipleship and the growth that comes only from the Lord.
For someone to be here in Culiacan at the base year round. The outreach is only a few months of the year...but there is so much more that could be done if say a couple could be here year round.
For the Compassion Connection team in Ecuador (Who I miss greatly - but the plan is, Lord willing, to returning there after the training!) Steve and Sandi are in the states raising funds to build our new training center in Latacunga, Ecuador.
For endurance. I am traveling more than usual this year while I am involved with training with GRN. I return to the states in April to help my parents with some big changes, then I travel to Oaxaca in May for the training and Lord willing onto Colombia in August to finish up the training by December...and next year I would be back in Ecuador...
Thank you!
Thanks to all of you who are praying and being such a support. Each of you has been here in spirit! I do not say this lightly... it is your prayers that back each missionary with more than just a dream and a desire to help. Our prayers in the Lord produce great fruit that will last according to His power and purposes. It is your giving that is making it possible for myself and other missionaries to do the work of the ministry...Thanks!!!
Road to Culiacan...
I leave tomorrow for Culiacan, Mexico to work with Gospel Recordings! As I have shared in previous blogs, I am still a missionary with Compassion Connection of Ecuador, but I will be training with Gospel Recordings for the next year or so to become better equipped to reach oral cultures in Ecuador and beyond. I am very excited to start my time with Gospel Recordings with an outreach in Culiacan, Mexico. Every year thousands of Indigenous and Spanish speakers come from all over for the harvest in Culiacan.
"We anticipate another great year ministering to thousands of migrant workers drawn to the fertile fields of Culiacan. Each year we give out over 6000 cassettes in 130 languages, and see God touch thousands of people. Over the years dozens of churches have been planted among the villages represented in Culiacan." (From GRN webpage)
Gospel Recordings Network mission statement is: In partnership with the Church, to effectively communicate the Good News of the Lord Jesus Christ by means of culturally appropriate audio and audio-visual materials in every language.
Back when I was living in Belize one of the boys in the village of Blue Creek asked me to tell him a story. I started grasping at air. I certainly was not a storyteller and I began racking my brain for a story to tell that I remembered reading as a child. I finally settled on the story of Pinocchio. I remembered the general gist but I could not remember all of the details. I stumbled through the story feeling truly inadequate to get the whole story across. I believe that this boy was pleased enough but in my heart I wished that I had been better able to tell the story. I knew it would have brought him great joy.
Years later my dad bought the movie of Pinocchio and with the DVD came a small book of the story. I now carry it around with me to remind me. It reminds me that I want to be better at telling a story.
There are peoples all around this world that learn a truth through a story that gives a truth. I could tell a person from such a culture that God is kind, loving, strong….and give a list, but they won’t fully understand with their heart. Rather if I told them a story portraying these characteristics they will more likely understand it. 75% of the Bible is narrative. This means that the majority of the Bible is dedicated to stories!
Statistics show that about one third of the world’s population is non-literate or functionally illiterate. It is a false assumption to presume that these cultures do not value knowledge. Rather these cultures transmit knowledge in a different way. They learn through storytelling and other oral traditions. These are valued because they teach by example and they are familiar forms of communication. The Bible is a complete story book. It is the good news, the Gospel! Jesus delivered the gospel to the masses in parables. “A parable is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning.” The stories that the parables tell speak directly into the hearts of oral cultures.
I am excited and amazed at the grace and power of God to put me in a position many years ago to awkwardly tell a story to a ten year old boy and now be in the process of learning to tell a story. I am looking forward to training and reaching out to tell the greatest story ever – The love of God towards His creation in Christ Jesus! Among several things I will learn to use the recording devices, to edit recordings, and to distribution the audios.
Please Pray!
1. For an effective and fruitful outreach to the migrant workers in Culiacan.
2. For special encounters with people, that God would use the missionaries and open the hearts of those who will hear.
3. This is very new for me and I won’t know many people right away. I pray for peace and boldness.
4. Continue to pray for the missionaries in Ecuador, Steve and Sandi Youngren and the rest of the gang. The work with the Bible Institute continues and is poised to grow.
5. For continued finances
6. For strength and endurance during the month of February in particular (the initial outreach lasts all month so it could get intense)…March I will be involved in the follow up…
Thank you all for your prayers and generous giving. Your help makes it possible for me to be abroad so that others may hear and know the Lord Jesus. I will write at the end of February to tell you how the outreach is going. Tiffany
- Some statistics and quotes taken from "Scriptures in Use" Grass Roots Training Ministry
"We anticipate another great year ministering to thousands of migrant workers drawn to the fertile fields of Culiacan. Each year we give out over 6000 cassettes in 130 languages, and see God touch thousands of people. Over the years dozens of churches have been planted among the villages represented in Culiacan." (From GRN webpage)
Gospel Recordings Network mission statement is: In partnership with the Church, to effectively communicate the Good News of the Lord Jesus Christ by means of culturally appropriate audio and audio-visual materials in every language.
Back when I was living in Belize one of the boys in the village of Blue Creek asked me to tell him a story. I started grasping at air. I certainly was not a storyteller and I began racking my brain for a story to tell that I remembered reading as a child. I finally settled on the story of Pinocchio. I remembered the general gist but I could not remember all of the details. I stumbled through the story feeling truly inadequate to get the whole story across. I believe that this boy was pleased enough but in my heart I wished that I had been better able to tell the story. I knew it would have brought him great joy.
Years later my dad bought the movie of Pinocchio and with the DVD came a small book of the story. I now carry it around with me to remind me. It reminds me that I want to be better at telling a story.
There are peoples all around this world that learn a truth through a story that gives a truth. I could tell a person from such a culture that God is kind, loving, strong….and give a list, but they won’t fully understand with their heart. Rather if I told them a story portraying these characteristics they will more likely understand it. 75% of the Bible is narrative. This means that the majority of the Bible is dedicated to stories!
Statistics show that about one third of the world’s population is non-literate or functionally illiterate. It is a false assumption to presume that these cultures do not value knowledge. Rather these cultures transmit knowledge in a different way. They learn through storytelling and other oral traditions. These are valued because they teach by example and they are familiar forms of communication. The Bible is a complete story book. It is the good news, the Gospel! Jesus delivered the gospel to the masses in parables. “A parable is an earthly story with a heavenly meaning.” The stories that the parables tell speak directly into the hearts of oral cultures.
I am excited and amazed at the grace and power of God to put me in a position many years ago to awkwardly tell a story to a ten year old boy and now be in the process of learning to tell a story. I am looking forward to training and reaching out to tell the greatest story ever – The love of God towards His creation in Christ Jesus! Among several things I will learn to use the recording devices, to edit recordings, and to distribution the audios.
Please Pray!
1. For an effective and fruitful outreach to the migrant workers in Culiacan.
2. For special encounters with people, that God would use the missionaries and open the hearts of those who will hear.
3. This is very new for me and I won’t know many people right away. I pray for peace and boldness.
4. Continue to pray for the missionaries in Ecuador, Steve and Sandi Youngren and the rest of the gang. The work with the Bible Institute continues and is poised to grow.
5. For continued finances
6. For strength and endurance during the month of February in particular (the initial outreach lasts all month so it could get intense)…March I will be involved in the follow up…
Thank you all for your prayers and generous giving. Your help makes it possible for me to be abroad so that others may hear and know the Lord Jesus. I will write at the end of February to tell you how the outreach is going. Tiffany
- Some statistics and quotes taken from "Scriptures in Use" Grass Roots Training Ministry
Back in the Northwest
I hope you all had a great Christmas and New Year's! It has been nice being in the northwest visiting with family and friends. I have spent most of my time with my family resting from the work behind and for the work ahead. As I get ready to go I have been reflecting a lot on 1 Corinthians 13. If we are not reaching out to people with the love of God all of our actions and works mean nothing. I could "give my body" as a martyr for Jesus Christ but even that, which would seem like the pinnacle of self-sacrificing love, if it is not from the desire for the glory of God and the good of others it means nothing. I want more of that love. I know God is in control and working in our lives...I am learning to stop trying to control everything myself and rest in that fact more and more.
Excitement is building for when I leave for Culiacan, Mexico at the end of this month. Focused training in recordings for oral cultures will start in May but my next few months will be working with Gospel Recording Network in Culiacan for an outreach to the migrant workers that come to Culiacan every year for the harvest. This will be the practical outworking before learning how to do the recordings myself. For the month of March I will be a part of the follow-up team after different teams leave at the end of February.
It looks like this next year I will be able to come back to the Northwest every few months for about a month. This will be a great help to my family here as we are still trying to figure out what is going on with my dad and why he can't walk. My mom has had some respite from caring for him while I have been here.
Thank you for your continued prayer and support. I am sure for all of us we have our own interesting adventures and challenges ahead of us this year. I would love to know how I can be praying for all of you...please write me and let me know! : )
Excitement is building for when I leave for Culiacan, Mexico at the end of this month. Focused training in recordings for oral cultures will start in May but my next few months will be working with Gospel Recording Network in Culiacan for an outreach to the migrant workers that come to Culiacan every year for the harvest. This will be the practical outworking before learning how to do the recordings myself. For the month of March I will be a part of the follow-up team after different teams leave at the end of February.
It looks like this next year I will be able to come back to the Northwest every few months for about a month. This will be a great help to my family here as we are still trying to figure out what is going on with my dad and why he can't walk. My mom has had some respite from caring for him while I have been here.
Thank you for your continued prayer and support. I am sure for all of us we have our own interesting adventures and challenges ahead of us this year. I would love to know how I can be praying for all of you...please write me and let me know! : )
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
