In the most excellent account of J.O. Fraser's work among the Lisu people of Asia in the early 1900's (a work marked by a move of God that endures to this day), there is this particular insight:
...I find myself able to do little or nothing apart from God's going before me and working among them. Without this I feel like a man who has his boat grounded in shallow water. Pull or push as he may, he will not be able to make his boat move more than a few inches. But let the tide come in and lift his boat off the bottom -- then he will be able to move it as far as he pleases, quite easily and without friction.
It is indeed necessary for me to go around...preaching, teaching, exhorting, rebuking, but the amount of progress made thereby depends almost entirely on the state of the spiritual tide in the village -- a condition which you can control on your knees as well as I.
(Taylor, Behind the Ranges, p. 236-237)
This is still true. We have at times felt the lift and current, and more often its absence. If we are to ride the tide rather than push sand, we need your ongoing prayers more than anything else. And since specific prayer requires specific fuel, I hope to do a better job of providing details in these updates.
Praises
- Just as we were working to revamp our children's surgery sponsorship effort, the Lord provided several significant gifts designated for that program!
- As mentioned last time, we think low-cost audio players are a key to reaching the blind. Having spent much time praying and thinking about such players, I was delighted and greatly encouraged to discover another worker's website -- who seemed to have summarized some of my own conclusions. I hope to partner with this brother.
Requests
- Audio players and readily-accessible Gospel content go hand-in-hand. Pray for wisdom in following leads, cultivating partners, and making strategic decisions in these two areas. Pray for unity in purpose; the enemy would rather this didn't happen.
- Our goal is to identify and train faithful men and women who will become disciplemakers. Pray that the Lord would connect us to those whom He is calling. Pray that we would have wisdom and discernment as to where to invest limited time and resources.
So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, Who makes things grow. (1 Cor. 3:7)
Thanks for helping us float the boat. How about the place the Lord has you in ministry -- are you aground or prayerfully underway?
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