Pioneer Missions

Pioneer Missions, by Forrest McPhail, a very thoughtful book detailing the difficulties and blessings of missions in places where the Gospel has never been proclaimed to the current generations.

Many things must be done more carefully when planting churches in places where the Gospel is being heard for the first time. A missionary has to be sure he is limiting his preaching and church organization to what is strictly being done in the Bible. Western culture is not Bible truth, and should not be transmitted. And many things such as gifts must be carefully thought through. The author and his fellow workers have decided that any gifts must come strictly from themselves, and not be perceived as coming from the church. Gifts from the church simply cloud the Gospel and cause people to have "conversions" simply for what they can get.

This is a very thoughtful, well-documented book from a thoughtful missionary to Cambodia. At the end of each chapter, he describes both the challenges and blessings of pioneer ministry. I appreciated his well-written analysis very much.

Friday's Fave Five, 11/18/16

 LINK to Friday's Fave Five host blog

Seems like lately most of the posts on this blog have only been FFF.  I guess that is better than none at all!!  

And even right now - I have senior journals, ninth grade poetry projects, and eighth grade book reviews that all came in today.  Poor planning on some teacher's part!!  I want to get it all done by Thanksgiving - so probably ought to be grading instead of doing this.  Once in awhile, though, a teacher needs a break.

1. Our school play last week went very well.  I was backstage every night and this year did not have much to do.  No hems or buttons that needed instant repair, no Christmas trees to move onstage at a brief break, no prompts to the cast.

The picture below is of my son (with makeup and grayed hair!), who helped out this year at the request of our play director.  An older person was needed for one part.  Andrew also opened the play each night, in character, with the usual:  please silence cell phones, take crying children out, etc.  The last night he presented a senior student with a card signed by all the cast and a small gift.  This young man is the only student to have been in all five plays that we have produced at the community theater downtown.  Not only that, but he has a hearing impairment and has to work especially hard to be a part of the play cast.  I thought it was very nice of the cast to honor him in this way.

2. This is small, but so what.  Mike sent a text from work one day this week:  "Great lunch!"  He gets leftovers every day he goes to work, so I was pleased that he was pleased!

3. Frozen lemonade at Chick Fil A - Yesterday was a long day, with not much lunch, and I was meeting my parents at a basketball game (new daughter-in-law is the coach).  I was running errands in that part of town, so stopped and got a frozen lemonade.  You can get it made with diet lemonade, so the calories really aren't that high.  It was the perfect pick-me-up.

4. Change in the newspaper.  I started getting it delivered only three days a week, with the rest of the week on-line.  Much cheaper, and it works fine.  I actually kind of enjoy reading it on line.

5. Sync discovery.  This somewhat electronics-challenged lady bought a song on iTunes this week, on to my school computer--and discovered that it syncs automatically to my iPhone and then, at home, my MacBook Pro.  Same song, three devices.  OK, I'm light-years behind the times, but it's still a fun discovery.  :-)

Happy Thanksgiving week coming up!

Friday's Fave Five, 11/12/16, (a day late)

LINK to Friday's Fave Five host blog

I'm a day late - helping with the school play has kept me very occupied.  But it's a week worth celebrating.

1. A day out of school.  Well, school wasn't out, but this week is our school play, and I was at the downtown theater where it is held, assisting the director with the dress rehearsal.  My official title is "backstage manager."  What it really means is an authority figure holding things together back there! My son is a friend of our director and is helping also, by playing an older figure in the play that really called for someone more mature than a high schooler.

2. Celebration of son's birthday.  We had an early supper at a restaurant near the theater, since we both had to be there early.  All of us were there, and we met a friend of my daughter's who was able to come briefly.

3. Mike was spreading a little cracked corn in our back yard for his deer friends, when he heard a loud "whoosh-whooshing" overhead. He looked up to see five turkeys flying toward him from the neighbor's trees. They all perched directly above him and looked down as if to say "Please leave so we can eat." He took this shot with his phone. I thought it was a neat shot for something so sudden and unplanned.

4. Caramel apples from my aunt.  :-)  She is so thoughtful!!  She mailed me some delicious caramel apples from a company near her home that makes and ships them in the autumn.  I really, really, enjoyed them!!

5. VERY THANKFUL for the results of the election, which were a huge surprise.  Having no desire to watch the "coronation," I was very tired and went to bed at 8:30.  At 11:30,  I realized that Mike was still up, went out to the den, and could not believe what was happening.  Realizing that some readers of this blog may disagree,  I am nevertheless so thankful that Hillary's agenda was stopped. 

And finally, a funny:  I introduced Shakespeare this week, and told the seniors that he went to London to support his family by writing and acting in plays, because he had to go to the big city if he wanted that kind of work. One girl wrinkled her forehead and then said "Why didn't he just go to Hollywood?"   

A Day Late. . .

Twenty-eight years ago, yesterday now, I was counting fingers and toes.  On a little boy who was born as blue as the shirt he's wearing in the picture below.  (I will spare the reader the details.)  He was a 2 on his first Apgar reading, but back up to 10 on the second.  

He never slept for long as a baby because he was afraid he would miss something.  Even as a newborn, the slightest sound would make that little head crane upward, wanting to know what was going on.  He hasn't changed in that.  :-)

He is helping out our school play director this weekend, playing a small part that really requires someone who looks and acts older than a high school student.  I appreciate his willingness to do something like that when it would be easy to decline.  He has a great spirit and desire to do what he can to help.  He loves God.

I don't have any of his wedding pics on this computer.  But that changed his life dramatically as well, of course.

So happy 28th birthday, Andrew - even if it's a day late.

Senior recital in college

High school graduation