Author Archives: livinghopeprayer

A 5 year update from the field

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5 years ago

Five years ago, we moved into our home in Ayorou. We had been in our new country a mere week & we moved into a converted mud house in a town in the middle of nowhere, 3 hours from the capital city, & couldn’t speak a lick of anything except English. We had no idea what we were doing & had no idea what lay ahead of us. We were just plain clueless!
But in the last five years, we’ve learned a thing or two & realized that we still sometimes have no clue what we are doing!

Five years ago, I had no idea how to speak French or Songhai. I could barely get out a greeting. I sometimes felt paralyzed by the language barrier & wanted nothing more than to speak!

Five years ago, I had no idea that I would come to call a village in the middle of a third world country my home. I had no idea I’d fall in love with dirt roads, animal trodden paths, mud brick homes & the faces of so many people that looked nothing like me. I had no idea I’d miss it more than anything 5 years later.

Five years ago, I had no idea what day to day life would look like in that village. I had no idea that I would sleep outside 9 months of the year. I had no idea that I would actually get used to it. I had no idea that it would be 108 degrees in my kitchen while I tried to cook.

Five years ago, I had no idea what having malaria felt like … or a scorpion sting … or being electrocuted. I would like to forget all of those, thank you.

Five years ago, I had no idea what it felt like to live among people that were so impoverished, so “without” on a daily basis, so lost & dying, worshipping a false god that could not save them. I had no idea the emotional toll it would take on me some days. I had no idea that I would beg for their salvation. I had no idea that God would grant me the grace to see Him answer my prayer over & over.

Five years ago, I had no idea what prayer could do. I had no idea that hundreds of people on the other side of the world would pray for & with me & that we would all see God be so faithful to answer prayer after prayer after prayer. I had no idea what God could do through the prayers of His saints.

Five years ago, I had no idea what it was like to be a mother. And then … and then … May 15, 2008 came & I held the most beautiful baby girl in my arms. I had no idea that I would literally hurt with how much I loved this little girl. I had no idea what a mother’s love was until that day. I had no idea how much more I would love her day after day. I had no idea how much more I would love my God because of this gift He gave me. I had no idea how much more I would love my husband. I had no idea that I could feel this kind of intense love for a human being.

Five years ago, I had no idea that almost 2 years later I would feel it all over again. I had no idea that my love for my children would double. As I held my precious baby boy on that snowy morning in February 2010, my heart literally ached inside of me all over again for how much I loved him. I had no idea that I could love him so much & still love his sister equally.

Five years ago, I had no idea how hard it was to be a mother. I had no idea how fulfilling it was yet how hard it was to raise 2 children. I had no idea that it would be harder than sleeping outside for 9 months of the year or getting malaria or a scorpion sting. I had no idea that I would have to pray daily for grace, patience & wisdom to raise my children in the Lord. I had no idea that I would have to ask for forgiveness so many times for failing. I had no idea how much grace the Lord could show me.

Five years ago, I had no idea that Mark Phillips would be a father. I had no idea that I would fall in love with him all over again the moment I saw him with that little girl in his arms. I had no idea what a great father he would be. I had no idea how much he would bless me & serve me by being the father to our children. I had no idea that I would love him this much more than I did five years ago.

Five years ago, I had no idea that one word would rock my world: dementia. I had no idea that I would learn to grieve the living. I had no idea how to do that. I don’t know if I still know. I had no idea that I would be worlds away from the people I love as my world crumbled. I had no idea that I would wrestle over & over & over again for an answer, for something to cling to & be left with God’s Word & His grace only. I had no idea how much His grace is sufficient for me.

Five years ago, I had no idea that I would not be the same person I was five years ago. I had no idea how much God would teach me about myself by bringing me to this devastated land. I had no idea how much He would teach me about Himself in a dry & weary land where there is no water. I had no idea that I would love Him more than life. I had no idea how great a God He truly is. I had no idea.

I still think I have no idea sometimes. I definitely have no idea what the next 5 years hold. But I know that whatever God brings my way or wherever He takes me, He will show me more of Him.

Here is the link to see the pictures with this post: http://www.phillipsfamilyblog.com/2011/10/5-years-ago.html

Prayers for Friday – West Africa

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Another article on the “M’s” we work with in West Africa:

NIGER — As the only believers in a village with no previous Christian presence, John and Jennifer Smythe’s* job was to stand out. Striving against a prevalent Islam and animism, the Smythes began with prayer.

“We spent about three months walking about the streets,” John Smythe recalls, “meeting people, praying for them, telling them why we were there.”

The Songhai highly value hospitality, and many villagers welcomed the Smythes, hearing them out even if they silently disagreed. Slowly, the couple began to share Bible stories with their friends and neighbors, and a few believers soon multiplied.

“We got to see just amazing things, things we never thought we would see, as a large group of people came to faith in Christ,” Smythe recalls. “We were able to plant the first church ever in our village, a church that is now seeking to plant other churches.”

Their ministry philosophy among the Songhai is “really simple,” Smythe claims. “We speak the name of Christ boldly and often, in places it’s never been spoken to people who’ve never heard it, and we do that as often as we can.”

Response varies, but a general pattern has emerged, he indicates. For example, the team will “share the same story with a group of six people; two will immediately walk away, two sit there and kind of talk amongst each other, and two sit there and listen like they’re hearing the voice of their father.”

Many of those who listen attentively decide to become followers of Christ, and the Smythes intentionally encourage them to share their new faith with others.

“The only way the Songhai are going to be reached is with Songhai believers going out,” Smythe claims, “and so our goal is to disciple Songhai believers, and then send them out to Songhai lands.”

Discipleship is especially vital in areas with only one believer, providing a sense of connection to otherwise isolated Christians. On a visit to Niger, men from an American mission team spent the week counseling the sole believer in one village.

Smythe grants, “People may look at that as foolish … [but] I believe that this one man is going to be the catalyst for a great thing among the Songhai.”

Converts often face persecution and exclusion from their families, friends and neighbors, but consider the truth worth the cost and deeply value their new family in Christ. They also enthusiastically share their new faith. For American church members participating in mission trips to the Songhai, their zeal is a striking example of devotion.

“They know that they serve a mighty God and they do not fear,” observes mission team member Reggie Almondine* of Living Hope Baptist Church (LHBC) in Bowling Green, Ky. “They go at it full force.”

LHBC team member Charlotte Painter* recalls witnessing an exchange between a village elder and a national believer: “How many times do I hear [about] grace every Sunday, and then I’m sitting on this cot with this old man laying on a bed, with the banter going back and forth, and I’m hearing grace.” Coming face to face with a living examples of obedience to Christ has a lasting impact on volunteers.

The Songhai team’s partnership with churches like LHBC (which is the Smythes’ home church) is another part of their strategy to reach their people group – they ask churches to adopt certain Songhai areas – or the Songhai people as a whole – and commit to go there to share the Gospel.

LHBC sends four teams per year to Niger, and has an array of programs and initiatives to keep the Songhai immediate in the minds of church members. Even the children’s ministry has weekly activities related to the Songhai. “We just have truly adopted these people,” Almondine shares.

Adopting a people group enables churches in the United States to more fully engage with the conversion and discipleship of believers. Smythe notes, “They’re able to go back with names and stories, and then the next team comes back and asks about those, and it develops those relationships, and over time they build these connections.”

LHBC member Ann Marie Mooney* agrees: “For us at Living Hope, when we start seeing those faces, and knowing names to those faces, it has a huge impact.”

Having received a heart for the Songhai, LHBC members who visit Niger look forward to increasing awareness about the Songhai in the United States, even reaching out to immigrant Songhai communities. By partnering with churches like this, the Songhai team has expanded its reach well beyond the traditional Songhai territories, touching even exiles of the kingdom for Christ.

*Name changed

Jacqueline Gordon is serving for five months as a writer with the IMB’s Global Communication Team.

Prayer for Thursday – West Africa

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These people in this article are the people we are working with and who you have been praying for:)

NIGER, Western Africa — Timbuktu. The name inspires images of far-away lands, mythical realms and immense wealth. Many people are unaware the city actually does exist. Timbuktu was only one of a myriad of splendid cities within the Songhai Empire. For more than two centuries, the Songhai dynasty ruled most of central West Africa, supported by a flourishing trade in gold and salt.

“They were a rare combination of military and mystic might – they had these great warriors, but they also were these sorcerers and magicians who controlled the spirits, and could master the spirits of the river,” says John Smythe,* an IMB missionary who’s been working among the Songhai of Niger since 2006.

Ruled by a dynasty of Muslim kings, the empire expanded through a combination of practical politics and holy war. The meteoric rise of the Empire was matched by its sudden invasion and downfall in 1591.

Modern Songhai are mainly subsistence farmers, coaxing millet and rice out of the clay of the Niger River valley. It’s a land of flat-topped hills and wide, washed-out valleys, with deep, rain-cut channels between. Pale red clay and dark brown stone contrast oddly, like a bizarre sand painting.

Songhai villages consist of mud-brick houses; walls surround spacious, if bare, yards. Trash litters the streets – there is no other place for it. Animals wander wherever acacia fences do not keep them out. Village life is highlighted by scent. The heat bakes out the odor of moist sand and green growth. The smell of sweat and wood smoke is prevalent.

“Community is life” to the Songhai, explains Smythe. “They understand that tomorrow, ‘I might not have enough rice to feed my family, so I’d better rely on the community.’”

While officially Muslim, the Songhai generally practice animism – alongside daily prayers and reciting the Quran, “there’s still spirit possession ceremonies. … They are involved in all sorts of witchcraft,” says Smythe. Less than one percent of the population is Christian.

Out of the ruins of vanished empires and ancient superstitions, however, a new kingdom is being built among the Songhai, shares Smythe, “a kingdom not built with human hands, a kingdom that’s being built by God made out of living stones.”

This kingdom has not been built without struggle. According to Smythe, Songhai conversion is “a traumatic experience.” Those who step outside of accepted practices are ostracized, even exiled, by their communities. Many villagers refuse to buy or sell with a convert, and family members often shun believers. Pressure to return to the old ways comes from all directions.

One new believer must now eat outside every time he visits his in-laws, as they regard non-Muslims as unclean. Another told his family of his conversion and returned home that night to find all his possessions in a bag outside. Believers are often told, “Only white people can be Christians.”

The harshest confrontation came after Smythe and his family moved away from the small town where they had been ministering for three years, when a believer’s wife died suddenly. Ibrahim had been a dedicated Muslim who prayed five times daily, gave charity, and donated animals for religious festivals. “I thought in my heart if I [did these things], I was receiving forgiveness,” he says. “I could never know that in my heart … if I was being forgiven or not.”

After repeatedly dreaming of a light “that was Jesus Christ” coming between him and enveloping darkness, Ibrahim became a determined Christian despite rejection by his neighbors and refusal of business. His dedication and encouragement soon led his wife to Christ as well.

When his wife died, the village leaders, noting neither Ibrahim nor his wife were Muslim, refused to have her buried, claiming she would be treated like an animal and left to rot. Only if Ibrahim confessed Islam would his wife be buried and prayed for as culturally required. He refused, and set out to bury his wife alone, but the other believers rallied around him and aided him.

This unity in the face of cruel rejection was a turning point for the local church. It demonstrated the church could endure, even without the Smythes’ presence. “It was [a] testimony that, ‘We are not going to go back to our old faith, that we’re here to stay,’” claims Smythe, who now lives two hours away in Niger’s capital city.

In the face of opposition, the Smythes and their team “literally got to watch history change,” as this small group of believers grew into the first church ever seen in the region. That church “has continued to grow and understand what it means to be the church,” says Smythe. “… They are a true community that gives as anyone has need and shares as anyone has need.”

The transformation of believers is apparent to their village. Boubacar, once the “number-one bandit” in town and leader of the local fadah, or gang, was so altered that his friends asked him what medication he was on; he claimed, “My medicine is Jesus Christ.”

Boubacar stopped smoking, drinking and fighting, and even broke off an engagement. Three days after Boubacar’s conversion, Smythe discovered he intended to take a second wife, a practice common and perfectly acceptable to the Songhai. Smythe, with some unease, shared God’s plan for marriage as found in Genesis. Smythe relates: “His eyes just got huge, and I thought, ‘Oh man, he’s gonna hit me!’ And he looked me and he said, ‘I had no idea God’s Word said that.’” Boubacar went that very day to break off the engagement, despite having already paid the bride price. When asked about his decision, he claimed, “Everything Jesus says, that’s what I want to do.”

Boubacar was one of the believers who came alongside Ibrahim to bury his wife. His example has led many of his former fadah members to become believers.

Ibrahim and Boubacar are now leaders in the town church. Men meet in Ibrahim’s compound to sing worship songs, pray together and listen to the Proclaimer, an audio Bible in the Songhai language. Women believers meet separately, or listen to the Proclaimer with their husbands at home.

“You can’t see a building,” Smythe says about the blossoming movement among the Songhai. “Instead it’s a group of men, it’s a group of ladies huddled under a tree praying together, it’s a group studying God’s Word under a hanger, and it’s a new kingdom being ushered in. … It’s that kingdom that’s going to endure.”

To learn how you can partner with missionaries among the Songhai, visit Seeking the Songhai, which has information on the team’s progress as well as prayer focuses, team hosting opportunities, and partnership and trip applications. A monthly newsletter is also available.

*Name changed

Jacqueline Gordon is serving for five months as a writer with the IMB’s Global Communication Team.


Prayers for Tuesday

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A letter from Eric Kindberg, a Wycliff translator Living Hope supports.

Dear family and friends,

This week the Journal of Translation was posted on the Internet. I had a role in editing the three articles of this edition. This journal, like many of SIL’s other publications, now appears electronically. See the Editor’s Comments and the three articles by clicking on www.journaloftranslation.org. One article, “Baraka…”, tells how the Hebrew and Arabic word ‘blessing’, is used strategically to share the Gospel.

Job transitions—a job that I love! Last year God clearly guided me as I transitioned to a new role in Wycliffe/SIL International. I requested a role as editor with SIL’s publishing arm, Global Publishing Services. I was assigned as Associate Senior Editor—more responsibility than I expected! This allows me to fill several roles, and gives me the chance to work with people—contributors, Academic Coordinators and other editors—as a communicator in writing, and as a manager.

My primary role is as “Acquisitions Editor” in which I work with the Editor-in-Chief defining the need of, and guidelines for, new publications, and communicate with potential contributors. One seminary dissertation by a Ghanaian Board member of a partner Bible translation organization in West Africa, is being strongly considered for publication. In this academic study, the Bible translated into their language strongly impacted two cultural groups (Christian and Muslim) allowing them both to accept the Bible as theirs rather than a book for foreigners. Last week at a monthly GPS Publications Board meeting we discussed whether or not to publish the Ghanaian dissertation.

Managing the Waxhaw editorial team for the Journal of Translation (JoT) is another role. I recruited four editors here in Waxhaw and am training them—and myself. Between and during weekly meetings we polish translation articles—helping authors’ work bring glory to God. Bonnie Brown, GPS Managing Editor, came from our Dallas headquarters to train us three weeks ago.

 (JoT workshop) Do you cross your eyes when you hear the word “editing”? My eyes light up!

The JoT is one among other journals, e-books, research and instructional textbooks published by SIL for over 75 years to support Bible translation and research of lesser-known peoples, languages, and related academics. The Ethnologue, for example, is an encyclopedic reference work cataloging and mapping the world’s 6,909 known living languages. It also informs what Scripture portions are available in each language and what the literacy levels are for that language. Look up Navajo, or Zulu on www.ethnologue.org.

My Gullah (Sea Island Creole) Scripture Use assignment officially concluded last month. But for ongoing use, the Gullah Scripture CD set will be launched/dedicated at a special celebration on Saturday, November 12th on St. Helena Island, SC. As God orchestrates my transition from Argentina, Costa Rica and among the Gullah I am confident that those with whom I’ve worked in each place will bring to fruition the projects in which we’ve been involved together.

One other role keeps me current in Spanish. That is as facilitator of a web site called “Alfa-Educación”, a communications resource hub for Hispanic Literacy and Education specialists working in Bible translation related ministries throughout Latin America. But that story will wait for another occasion.

I thank God for new ways to be involved with His word translated into lives. God knows my heart—and matched me with a job that brings me joy. For choir at church we are memorizing Ps. 139. Verses 1-3 say:

1O LORD, you have searched me and known me! 2You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. 3You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways.

Thank you for making this ministry possible as a channel of God’s grace, with your resources. And we are thankful for Mary Lynn’s teaching job, that helps meet our needs. We do depend on your prayer, too. Following are some prayer and praise requests:

  • Pray for many outlets and opportunities for the GULLAH PEOPLE to use their recorded Scriptures:             Radio use, through Bible study groups, by means of a press release and ministerial alliance meetings this month, and the dedication ceremony coming up Nov 12th.
  • JONATHAN was praying with a family and their dog bit his hand this week. Pray for quick healing and victory over obstacles that distract and can cause fear. Praise for a good retreat with 30 youth and new commitment among some upcoming leaders.
  • CHRISTINE is grateful for a part-time job (at a deli) but keeps applying—and prays for more reliable hours and income. This weekend she awaits word from one potential employer. She helped Jonathan on staff for the Hispanic youth retreat he organized and led two weeks ago.
  • MARY LYNN’s Spanish students need to learn balance and discipline. Many are distracted and overly tired these days. Pray for opportunities for ML to have meaningful one-on-one talks with them.
  • For creativeness, initiative and wisdom for me as I learn to balance MY EDITIORIAL and other ROLES.
  • I am planning a different type of mission trip with my NC church, Spirit of Joy, Dec 27th-Jan 4th. Pray with me as I prepare my part in that trip. Praise God that church fund raisers have brought in all the money needed.

Warm blessings,

Eric Kindberg

Updates from South Asia

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Baptists minister after earthquake in India

A long arm excavator clears a road of large boulders in the North Indian state of Sikkim after the magnitude-6.9 earthquake on September 18. This was the last roadblock to the relief camp where a team from The Church at Brook Hills, Birmingham, Ala., served as a medical relief team (the first American team in the area).

By Neisha Fuson

Overcoming roadblocks — both figurative and literal — in north India became a common theme for an Alabama Baptist missions team from The Church at Brook Hills, Birmingham, in late September.

After preparing for months for an evangelistic missions experience in the western section of Sikkim state Sept. 24–Oct. 2, the team learned only days before departing it would be needed in a remote mountain village to the north and east of the original location.

A magnitude-6.9 earthquake shook the mostly Nepalese area near the India-Nepal border Sept. 18 at 6:10 p.m. The shock was felt even into Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh and China. At press time, India was reporting 93 deaths, China six deaths and Nepal six deaths. But the reports will most likely remain inaccurate in India because of the Hindu caste system, which prevents members of the lowest caste from being mentioned in death tolls, and the fact that some villages are unreachable.

Some deaths were from the earthquake, while others were from the landslides that followed it. Roads were blocked in numerous places around the affected area.

Because of potential disaster relief and medical needs, the team was diverted to a relief camp set up near the most accessible mountain village impacted by the earthquake.

National partners suggested the camp, hosted by a village in a valley area, as a place that would benefit most from the team’s time and the most easily accessible of the affected areas.

And so the team — an engineer, a paramedic, a law student, an agent at an accounting firm, a physical therapist and others under the leadership of Brook Hills member Casey Reeder — arrived in Delhi on Sept. 24 ready to tackle its new assignment.

Less than 10 hours later in a Jeep-like taxi, the team arrived in Mangan, where it had to obtain entry permits. Since the area has become highly dangerous after the earthquake and landslides, anyone who is not Lepcha (the people group in the area) must obtain a permit.

Hours passed, along with countless prayers; the team waited, hoping to hear it had permission to enter.

The permits were obtained only because there was a physical therapist and paramedic on the team, allowing it to serve in medical relief.

Permits in hand, the team members became the only Americans to enter the area after the earthquake, passing over several landslides and shabby-looking bridges and through very tight squeezes along bumpy mountain roads to get there. The timing of the team’s arrival was perfectly precise because if it had arrived even one day earlier, then the roads would not have been cleared from the landslides and fallen rocks, said Adam Reese, a Southern Baptist representative working in north India.

Reese, the team members and national partners who served as translators stayed at a Buddhist school, sleeping on cloth mats on the cold, gray concrete floor.

While nongovernmental organizations and others wanting to help supplied the nearby camp with rice, potatoes and tea, the team brought medical supplies, other food and water.

Brad Collins (left) fills water bottles at the community water source in the village that hosted an earthquake relief camp after the September 18 magnitude-6.9 earthquake in the North Indian state of Sikkim.

More than 100 Lepcha and Nepalese people sought refuge and food at the camp, located about a half-mile up the hillside from where the road was too dangerous to pass by taxi.

Russ Kinniburgh, the physical therapist on the team, saw an elderly woman making her way through the crowds. Her feeble hands held a cane that was about a foot too long in the wrong hand and backward. Kinniburgh cut the cane down and taught her how to use it properly. The next day, she hobbled by with a smile, cane properly in place.

The team cleaned some minor wounds and taught a few long-term care practices to those at the camp, but in general, its medical tasks were minimal. This allowed more time to visit with the people and look for opportunities to share something greater than a bottle of water or a Band-Aid — hope.

The people opened up to the team members. They invited them into their homes; gave them tea, or “chiya;” and listened as the smiling white faces shared stories about a man named Jesus.

Team member Chance Walters said, “As we were struggling to get (to the camp), it became frustrating and discouraging (to all of us).” But, he added, “I see now that even if just one person heard the gospel, then all the trouble to get here was worth it.

“I won’t ever forget the spiritual battle that went on inside myself as I shared the Word. I thought, ‘Why isn’t it like this in Alabama?’ Well it’s because I don’t do anything in Alabama,” Walters said, half in jest and half serious.

“My spirit knows that progress is being made here for those who heard the gospel, but I felt like a used car salesman who couldn’t close a deal. But ultimately I feel like the Spirit was just saying, ‘You just remember this. There’s a reason the enemy is on you now. You are preaching the gospel. You are sharing my Word.”

The team shared the gospel with many at the camp and surrounding area, even as officials kept a close eye on its work.

After leaving the camp, the team traveled to a larger town and prayer walked and shared the gospel in a nearby village, about a 30-minute walk away. Several people welcomed the team into their homes and listened to Bible stories.

As the trip came to a close, the discouragement that sat heavy at the beginning of the week turned into an uplifting joy. Because of the earthquake, several Alabama Baptists were part of more than just a trip to share Christ with the Lepcha and Nepalese people.

Prayers for Saturday

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These prayer requests are from our prayer connections card from Sunday.  Please lift these requests up to the Lord.

Pray that..

Tommy can heal more from his injuries he received in an accident.

A family that is seeking a new school for their child that is being bullied

The following will receive salvation: Drew, Hanna, Anastasia, Jason, Kyle, Bob, Steve, Matt, Bill, Ron, Tyler, Joe, Meadow, Missy, Joseph, Lenny, Frank, Dennis and Kristen

A young lady needs direction and needs to live her life for an audience of one.

A young lady of 14 years old adapts to her new adopted family.

Murray’s diabetes can stabilize.

A family can morn the death of a grandparent.  Also, that they can celebrate her walk in Christ.

An elderly couple can maintain their health.

A young lady can get along with her family.

Trent can be injury free in the remaining time he has to play college football.  Also, pray that he can focus on his academics and his military responsibility.

Tanner can stay clean from drugs and alcohol.  Praise the Lord, he rededicated his life:)

A lady’s house can be sold.

Jeremy can trust God’s plan for his life and that he will commit to putting God first in his life.

Craig and James can stop abusing alcohol.

Joe can know that God is with him.  He has just been diagnosed with an aggressive cancer.

A family can have strength during a time of morning.

Elizabeth can receive a cancer free report and that she is healed.

 

 

Friday – Renew Your Belief week 10

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By Cindy Starr

What do we believe?

Children, from the moment of conception, are a blessing from God and parents hear the primary responsibility of training them in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

Why do we believe this?

Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.

Why does it matter?

The book of Proverbs is a collection of wise maxims, not conditional promises. It is important to recognize that they are not written as a template for formulaic living: “if you do this, then this will happen.” This is why the response of Job’s friends was wrong. They thought that faithful obedience obligated God to respond in blessing; and they were wrong. Parenting does not work like a recipe. Parenting is much more like a walk of blind faith, an exercise in earnest obedience, and a courageous warfare with God’s glory the end in mind.

As parents, we train diligently as we live in the light of grace. We rely on God alone. We treasure His Word alone. We meditate and rest in His character alone and we believe that the work of salvation and sanctification is God’s work to do.  Does He use us? Yes, all the time.  Does He want us to be self-reliant? No, never. He is most visible against all odds. The law can never save. Formulas can never save. Only the sheer grace of God can save.

As parents, we train and we trust. We hold fast to Philippians 1:6; that God will complete what He has begun. We run with endurance and we hope and rest in His faithfulness. The end is God’s – our role is to train and re-train and to tell and re-tell the truths to each generation, that they should put their confidence in God and not forget His works or His commandments (Psalm 78). It is in this that God is glorified.