Greetings!
I hope this letter finds each of you well and continually growing and maturing in our Lord. Recently I taught my Wednesday night kid’s class what it means to seek God, to pursue God. It isn’t just a passive waiting but rather a treasure hunt. Then we practiced seeking by using hidden pictures activity sheets, you know, the kind from the Highlights magazines. In the same manner I love searching for the things God does in my life and in the lives of others, things big and small.
The other day as I was beginning to brainstorm ideas for this letter God brought Galatians 6:13-14 across my path. He’s done that several times in the past as I approach update letters, videos, furlough presentations or other events where I am asked to talk about what’s going on here. “For neither they themselves who are circumcised keep the law; but desire to have you circumcised, that they may glory in your flesh. But God forbid that I would glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.” Those verses are always such a wonderful reminder in sharing “the news” that I ought to focus on what I see God doing, and to brag on Him.
In the middle of March the new school year began here in Peru. For the first time in 2 years the kids were back to school in person. It is such a wonderful thing for them, but it also brought up a problem in Manchay where the Bible club meets. There is a group of about 13 girls who began coming to the Bible club when they were in elementary school and have kept coming even though they are now in the equivalent of 7th-10th grades. Unfortunately their classes meet in the afternoon/evening so they are no longer able to come to the Bible club.
God has been so good in providing us a place to meet on Saturday mornings. Anywhere from 3-10 girls have been coming depending on school, family events, and other responsibilities. One 4-year-old peeks his head in consistently each week to say hi…and beg a snack. Yes, I absolutely encourage it.
When I was 14 my youth pastor, Pastor Donavon taught me how to read my Bible. He taught me how to learn and grow from reading without relying on an adult to teach it to me. He taught me a method he called the OIA method. Observation – the facts, to whom, from whom, when, where, old covenant, new covenant, what happened, etc. Interpretation – define words; look for idioms, metaphors, similes, parables, etc; and determine the meaning of words like, “always,” or, “every,” in the context, etc. Application – can I apply this to myself and if so, how? Or what can I learn from it? As we have been meeting each Saturday the girls have been learning how to read the Bible for themselves using the same method and already I can see them growing.
As we were looking at Proverbs 8:17 “I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me,” I asked the girls to consider the context. Who was “I”? “Oh, wisdom!” One young lady exclaimed. So, one 14-year-old girl, without prompting, then said, “So, seeking wisdom early means early in life as in as a young person and not early in the day?” She was learning to read the Bible and understand it on her own. The same young lady then made the connection the next week that the “all” in “I can do all things” meant being content in whatever situation of life God placed her in. For me, watching these girls grow, and then connecting what they are learning back to another generation prior, seeing how God uses the small things generations later is such a treasure and I can’t help but share these beautiful stories with you.
So, what else has been going on in the last two months?
– The Wednesday night kid’s class has been learning lessons from the life of Joshua
– The Sunday night kid’s class has been learning from the life of Paul
– The Thursday evening Manchay class has been learning about the life of Jesus Christ
– The Saturday morning Manchay class has been learning how to read the Bible
– A young, unsaved woman in the US reached out, saying she needed a Christian voice in her life, said that she had a lot of questions and wanted to learn about how the Bible can help her so we’ve been video chatting on a regular basis.
– A young mother in a new neighborhood and I have spend time getting to know each other and are beginning a Bible study for other mothers and then a Bible story for their kids in the next few weeks.
In my last letter I mentioned 2 young ladies in my classes, a 12-year old and a 13-year old, that I was asking you all to pray for. After talking more with the 12-year-old, she has a clear memory of accepting Jesus Christ as Savior and continues to grow as she is exposed more and more to the things in the Bible. The 13-year-old had admitted previously that she wasn’t saved, but wasn’t ready to get saved yet. A few weeks had gone by and she didn’t seem interested in talking about it, but she was becoming more and more interested in the lessons she was hearing, and participating more and more in class. We were talking the other day about a VBS we’d attended during the summer (she attended, I taught). She asked about the teens who had been working, and I admitted many were new to the church, but came and helped so that they could hear the lessons too. I mentioned that several had acknowledged they were unsaved, but wanted to know more. Right away she said, “I raised my hand that day and said I wasn’t a Christian too.” We talked some (we were in a larger group of people) about how it’s good to keep learning, to keep asking questions and to find the answers to your questions. Please keep praying as we continue talking. She’s more and more open to talking about the things of Christ, and more and more interested in the Bible and what is being taught as opposed to the sulking and complaining that used to happen in the past, but she hasn’t gotten to the point yet where she is ready to go all in and accept Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.
Thank you all for your continued support, encouragement, and prayers. As things are opening back up here (We can finally go outside without a mask! Although are still required to double mask indoors,) I find my schedule filling up fast, and I am at a place where I need to discern between several good things because there is not enough time nor do I have enough energy to do it all. Please continue to pray that I would have that discernment in choosing where God would have me serve. Please continue to pray for my kids, those in my different classes, in the children’s home, and those that I will get to know as I start visiting with them during recess and lunch breaks at their school. Please also be praying for the young women/mothers that will be a part of our group in the next few weeks. I am not sure who God will bring our way, but I am excited to see!
Serving as an Ambassador for Christ,
Pam Drout