I have a friend who is a Bible translator. Let’s call him “Ken” (not his real name because he’s in a secure location). He’s working in Southeast Asia. He has received an assignment to speak (at the local fellowship he attends) on Acts 10 (extension of the gospel to the gentiles) on May 5. He’s hoping to share with his church some of the exciting things happening these days through disciple-making movement and church-planting movement (DMM/CPM) growth. As it is “the 3rd Sunday of Easter,” he’s considering using the theme “The Light Dawns” with the image of the “Lion, Witch, and Wardrobe” — that, even after Aslan rose from the dead, Life had to be brought to different parts of Narnia by his people.
He’d like to make the point that Acts 10 broke things open in a new way, a way that is continuing today via (among other things) DMM/CPM. He asked me not to spend more than a couple minutes on this — but I wondered… what if we asked for help from thousands of Brigada participants from around the world. Could you supply him with a couple of short stories (it would be super awesome if you could point to a picture on the web that goes WITH the story, but be sure to protect identities in secure places). In particular, he’s looking for stories which illustrate (small- or large-scale) social transformation as a result of DMM/CPM. Obviously, since the message is a week from Sunday, time is of the essence. Would you have a moment to copy and paste something into a comment? (Don’t forget to change names if needed.) Thanks for any help you can give. Just click “Comment” and feel free to share anonymously if you must. Thanks again!
I tried to send a comment, but the page identified it as spam. Not sure what to do next.
Hello Decio,
Did you live in So Ozone Park in the latr 60s?
If so, please send me a message. I stayed with you before joining the US Navy. I last visited you at your home in Winston Salem.
God bless you, Bob
written by Lauretta DuBois, Bible translator in the southern Philippines
I want to tell you about Limpaayan!
In 1985 when we first moved to Malasila where Limpaayan lived, she was already a grandmother–but she had never learned to read.
She grew up in a very poor family, and her parents couldn’t afford to send her or her brothers and sisters to school.
When her parents died, Limpaayan was about 12 years old. She was left to take care of her brothers and sisters. They had a very hard time finding enough food to eat, and there was neither time nor money for school.
Later on Limpaayan married and had five children. When the youngest was still a tiny baby, her husband died in a transportation accident, and she was left to raise her children all by herself. She had to find work wherever she could, and there was no time for her to attend school, but she made a great effort to make sure her children were able to go to school.
One day Limpaayan came to us and said she wanted to learn to write her name so she could register to vote. In just four days and after lots of practice, she learned how to print her own name.
Then she said, “If only I knew all the letters in the alphabet.” So she began the process of learning to read and write all the letters and eventually she was able to read her own language.
In 2004, when the completed Tagabawa New Testament was dedicated, Limpaayan was there! She really wanted her own copy of the New Testament, but she didn’t have P35 pesos (about 63 cents) to pay for it.
When Jonathan, our 9 year old grandson, heard about her need, he reached in his pocket and handed me P35 pesos, and I gave Limpaayan her very own copy of the Bible in her language.
In 2004 just before we left Malasila, Limpaayan said to me, “If you hadn’t taught me how to read when I was 60 years old, I wouldn’t be able to read this book.”
March 26, 2005: We learned that Limpaayan was killed by a motorcyclist while she was walking along the road. Her testimony in church earlier that morning had been, “You must believe what the pastor says to us because it isn’t just his words he preaches, it is God’s Word.”