Whatever You Want

Every week we do homeschool with our children.  One of the subjects is creative writing.  It’s funny how some days this subject can be fun and easy and other days it can be what bogs us down and devolves into whining and rolling around on the floor.  Thankfully, we’ve started to recognize the activities that causes the most trouble.  “Write whatever you want.”  “You choose the subject.”  “You can make it any way you choose.”  Whenever we hit phrases like this, we see our boys crumble under the pressure.  Too much freedom!  If they had just given them more to go on, limited the possibilities, our boys would be fine, but the wide-open spaces of “do whatever you want” cripple them with choice.

Son works on writing

We’ve noticed the same thing among our island brothers and sisters.  There is a great desire to share with them the concept of the freedom we have.  They come from a background in which everything is prescribed.  Isn’t it wonderful that, in reality, with a pure heart, there are so many ways to do things.  There is not one way to sing, but lots of ways.  There is not one way to pray, but lots of ways.  There is not one way to fast, but lots of ways.  There is not one way to celebrate holidays, but lots of ways.  What freedom we have—to discover ways to live, pray, celebrate that are both honoring to God and uniquely beautiful to our culture!  Isn’t it beautiful how we can have unity in diversity?  Isn’t it powerful the way we can worship in any language?  Some can stand and some can kneel.  Some will clap and some will dance.  Some will play drums and others will use only their voices, but all are permitted when done with a pure heart.  Oh what joy and freedom we have!

But sometimes, this joy and freedom can be like the open writing assignment we give our children.  Too much freedom can be crippling.  The person crippled by choice is crying out, “Which way should I go?  I don’t know.  I need help.  Who will help me?”  It’s not that they don’t want to choose, but they need help, advice and encouragement.  They need direction.  They need someone to help them get going.

When we first came to the islands we were hesitant to help people get going.  We didn’t want our culture and background to be too much of an influence.  If we told them how to start, wouldn’t we conform them to our ways?  Wouldn’t they lose sight of their own culture and values and take on ours whether right or wrong?  In our fear of passing on the wrong things, we ran the danger of not passing on anything except a crippling freedom of choice.

Going for our COVID vaccine

Thankfully, we can learn.  In homeschool we’ve learned to narrow the options.  It’s amazing the difference between saying, “do whatever you want” and “choose between these three choices.”  The funny thing is sometimes they choose a fourth choice, and that’s fine.  The important thing is freeing them to embrace the writing assignment.  Another thing we do is give them more time to think.  It’s amazing the difference it makes to say, “Tomorrow, you  are going to write about such and such.  Today, I want you to think about what you could write about tomorrow.”  Somehow this time delay frees them from the crippling power of too many choices having to be made now.  With a little time and a little direction, they often take the assignment and create something wonderful.  Sometimes the end result is quite different from what was assigned, but it’s okay because they have achieved the goal—write something!  Write from the heart.

We’ve found these principles to work with our island brothers and sisters too.  For a few years now, we’ve learned and used a simple model that gives people an uncomplicated but effective way to study the Book.  For a long time islanders did whatever seemed best to them.  Some have found their way forward, but many others have been crippled by the problem of  “Do whatever you want”, stopping them from studying well or with others. So we starting using the model as a team, and exposed others to it, but all the while desiring to see our island brothers and sisters start to use it regularly.  

Tom getting his vaccine

The model we use is flexible and simple.  It gives direction and form but not much more.  There is room for innovation and cultural adaptation.  We are excited, because recently we’ve seen more islanders becoming excited about using the model, learning how to do it and teaching others.  We hope they will take it and run with it.  Because the point is not the model, but to get them running, engaging, reading, and growing.  Maybe the end result will look different—great.  If the essential focus is still there, let them make it their own!  But what most excites us is to see them moving forward—no longer crippled by the “Whatever you want to do”scenario—but moving forward in spirit and truth.

PRAYERS ANSWERED
We got our first dose of COVID vaccine! We should also be able to go back in a month to get our second dose! We are thankful that vaccines have made it to the islands! Our two new teammates made it through their homestays and look forward in the future to going back for visits to build on the relationships they began. There hasn’t been any more demonstrations or major acts of unrest— most seem to anticipate that it will stay quiet for the month of fasting. We have been very blessed by the response we have gotten of people wanting to pray for the islands and islanders daily during the month of fasting! (Let us know if you want to participate, it’s not too late.) Our teammate was part of a meeting with island brothers and sisters to introduce a group of studies using newly translated passages and grouped in a way to give a solid foundation in the Book. It went well and follow-up meetings are planned.  

PRAYERS REQUESTED
We pray that the brothers and sisters that attended the meeting would be using the group of studies with their family and friends in their homes/villages. May studying and growing together become a regular occurrence! The month of fasting has begun! Pray for opportunities to share openly— that joy, love and peace would flow from us to others this month.

Requests from our old stomping grounds: Our old teammates and friends in Chad wrote to say that rebels are close to the capital (where they live) and they can expect fighting/warfare there soon. Pray for mercy on Chad, for peace and the preservation of life, and for our friends as leaders who will need to make decisions for their family and others at this critical time— may the peace that passes understanding be upon them all. The school where we learned French is in economic crisis (since France hasn’t been giving student visas during COVID). They are one of only two schools in France specifically training workers for the French-speaking world. They hope to have students returning this fall, but until then, they need funds so they won’t lose their property and staff. Pray that they would see the miraculous provision for their needs (we have some prospective teammates that hope to study there next year!).