Well we aren't quite finished with week 2 yet but the students start to arrive tomorrow so I guess I'm just figuring that we are as close to "done" as we are going to get!
On Monday of this week we took our staff training to a friend of the base director's house. We were meeting a woman there named Susanne Childers. She is a photographer who works with YWAM at the base in Kona, Hawaii. We sat in this house (not her's of course) and she shared with us some stories of her travels in the missions field. She shared with us a story of an African woman she met in the Northern part of Africa. Her name as Annaziah. What Susanne told us was that this woman was a prostitue. Her and her prostitue friends all lived in this one building. Susanne's "interview" with this woman was in the day time so there wasn't a lot of business for the women. Annaziah told Susanne that there were children who stayed in that same building. Susanne then asked "who's children are they?" And her responce was that they were the children of the prostitues, that they would get pregnant and the children would like with their moms. However, that isn't the shocking part. These children lived under their mom's beds....that is where they slept. It didn't matter if the mom's had a "customer" that is where they were to stay - under the mom's bed. Susanne got to take a picture of this woman and as she was taking pictures she shared a little bit of what she was doing in Northern Africa. Since the woman prostitues didn't know how to read or write she explained, in short, everything from creation to Jesus....all that she could in the shortest amount of time she could. When she was done telling t his story, Annaziah looked at Susanne and asked her "How long have you known about this Jesus?". --Susanne is from Germany and she mentioned to us that they had a reformation about 500 years ago. Susanne didn't want to answer this questioin so she simply said "Quite a long time" And the next question she was asked was "Why hasn't someone come here to tell me about this Jesus earlier?". Susanne said all she could do was to weep.
Everyone of us took something away from our time with Susanne. That is just one of the stories she shared - just one out of maybe 10 that I heard. I doubt any of us will forget that question...."Why hasn't someone come here to tell me about this Jesus before you?" I think that is the reality of what we are doing here at YWAM. I know it is why I'm here. There are still people that haven 't heard; and even those who have heard it probably have never experiences the reality of how powerful that knowledge can be. I've experienced...that is why I'm here again, to share my experiences in the hopes that the LORD will reveal something to those who hear.
I was listening to a teaching by Graham Cooke the other day while I was doing some painting around the base....he said that he believes God chose him to minister to the Christians. And I believed him when he said that. Sometimes we have to be a missionary to the Christians - because they may not know what true "Christianity" is. It's not a religion - it is a relationship. Think about it -- Jesus is in a relationship with the LORD. GOD is Jesus' Father. When Jesus came to earth, all He could talk about was GOD. When Jesus went to be with His Heavenly Father, He sent the Holy Spirit (who is in a relationship with Jesus). All the Holy Spirit can talk about is Jesus. To live "on earth as it is in Heaven" is to live in real realationship. And not just with the Holy Spirit, Jesus, and God --- but with eachother. If not for that reason then why even have friends. If you don't have a relationship built on that truth of GOD, what is the purpose of that relationship?
This is the website for Susanne's photography:
http://www.photogenx.net/index.htm
I can honestly say that this meeting with this beautiful German woman has changed my life!
Like I said, the students begin to arrive tomorrow, we are all pretty excited but still have some stuff to do to be ready for them for tomorrow! Off to finish paintinig the bathroom!!!
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