I am still heading down to my village women’s Bible study weekly, and joining them in the adventure of first-time learning. Though there has been quite a bit of uncertainty based on some serious misconduct by a ministry partner there, God has given me a lot of grace and patience to live in the tension of unresolved conflict, without either ignoring or fully confronting the problem. (difficult to know who to believe when you get opposing reports) Over the last several months I’ve really prayed for God to show me the way forward, asking Him to work through the weakness and failures of myself and others to be glorified.
Now I see Him beginning to do that.
With my upcoming two month absence for HMA (Home Ministry Assignment) God has shown me a new interim leader there. Frazier will be working closely with Pastor Daniel to begin using the same New Tribes curriculum that I have been loosely following. Though I began without this resource and have only referred to it sporadically, it is the perfect way to transfer leadership while continuing with the same curriculum. Both Daniel (who reads English and can struggle through the curriculum) and Frazier (who only reads Rotooro, so can read her Bible and get the curriculum outline from Daniel verbally) will learn so much as they struggle through the material together and then Frazier brings it to the women. I know there will be many pitfalls but I am excited to see her step into leadership, excited to see Daniel walking beside her in this mentoring way. Please pray for this, it is my desire to see her stay in leadership when I return so that I can begin another Bible study with another group of women who are requesting it.
Two weeks ago I began to prepare my weekly lesson and discovered that we had passed through all the exciting stories of Genesis and Exodus and were on the tabernacle and levitical laws. My spirit sank and I wondered how/what to teach. I went back to the New Tribes Foundations book and read through their material, most useful for these times in the stories when they need to be gathered into a cohesive lesson and aren’t clearly defined. What I found blessed and amazed me . . . . I have never seen the tabernacle like this before. Never seen the wonder of the old covenant and the new in this way. Never seen how the tabernacle completely sets the stage for the Gospel, a whole book plus completely dedicated to a building and its practices . . . Then the whole book of Hebrews almost completely dedicated to revealing and unfolding the story told in Leviticus.
As I sat in Bible study using my resource book, walking through the somewhat complicated description of the tabernacle . . . Praying for the women to get it, praying for them to use what God’s given them to intellectually understand . . . . All the verses from Hebrews came flooding back and I found myself answering every question with a verse. I brought them to Hebrews and we struggled through reading the Rotooro Bibles together (not always easily understandable since Lubwisi and Rotooro are similar but not the same.) I sat in amazement at how the Old Testament Hebrews had to approach God and in even greater amazement at the way Jesus has opened for us to access Him.
It’s like I’ve just heard the gospel for the first time . . . .
I’m encouraging you to spend a week or two reading through the book of Leviticus and then the book of Hebrews. And as you do, and you reach Hebrews 11:15, you’ll find that the Bible clearly says that the sacrifice which we are to give to God these days is a sacrifice of praise - praising Jesus for what He has done to complete, fulfill and reveal all that came before. I hope God fills your heart with wonder, as He has mine, so that praise is your perfect and complete response.