Missions

Bible Translation in the Jungle

~ Abi ~ 2 Comments

A New Amazing Story from Wycliffe

This week Wycliffe published a new video on their home page.  You really want to see this one! It’s a short film about one of their teams working on a translation of the New Testament in a remote location in South America, the SAME TEAM that I got to meet and spend time with over Thanksgiving.  I am blown away once again at God’s sovereignty and timing. I have no doubt that He is going to do BIG things in this region of Peru, and I am in awe that He is letting us be a part.

Wycliffe Translation House

Genesis readers published in the heart language of those we ministered to.
Genesis readers published in the heart language of those we ministered to.

These Women Rock!

The woman in the above picture standing by the door is a Peruvian lady who has a huge heart for the Bible-less people along the river and is spending her life working to right that injustice. My favorite part of the video is when she shares through tears, “I want these people to know the God that I know.” Once again, watch this video!

The woman to the right, Selmira, is the first Christian in the village and is ON-FIRE for Jesus.  I so wish you could all meet her.  She is one of the sweetest and most incredible people I’ve ever met. You’ve got to, GOT TO read her story! And if anyone wants to come back with me to Peru, I’ll introduce you to her!

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Selmira, who is spending time outside of her village to serve on the translation team so her people can have the scripture in their heart language

Wycliffe Jungle House

Two months out of the year, the team spends time living among the people who they are translating for.  Their house is great, takes three days to get there by boat from the home where most of the translation work takes place in.  It was the house our team stayed in over Thanksgiving–the house with no running water, bathrooms, stove, oven, or electricity.

Wycliffe Jungle House
The home I spent a week in over Thanksgiving
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My Journey to the Jungle

~ Abi ~ 2 Comments

Abi in the jungle.jpg

So my story begins . . . I started working with refugees from tribal Burma. Women and their preschool babies. And I LOVED it! I thought I had found my life calling.

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And then I went to CROSS Con, a conference focused on unreached people groups. And I heard David Platt say that if every Christian in the world told every single person that they knew about Jesus, and all of them believed, there would still be over 2 billion people who did not know the saving love of Christ.

This rocked me deep to my core. There are over 2 billion people with no access to hearing the good news of Jesus. NO ACCESS! No church, no Bible, no Christian material in their language, no Christians who speak their language . . . nothing!

I decided there would be nothing better for me to spend my life doing than getting some of those people access to the One who has been for me the Fountain of Living Water.

There are two main groups of people with no access: Ones that have no access because of governments restricting access, and ones that have no access because of geography restricting access.

I started stumbling across books in the second category, and was completely fascinated. I’ve read or bought every book I can find about Pioneering Tribal missions. Have read over 50 and am always looking for more . . . suggestions welcome!

I decided I had to know if this was even a possibility for me. Could I live in an indigenous, rural community for the long haul? Long enough to see a healthy reproducing church in that people group and language? I decided to take a vision trip.

Hence, the seven weeks I spent in Peru over Christmas. And I found I LOVED IT! I loved getting to know the people; the children who were super curious and loved to laugh; the women with the babies in the sling on their backs, cooking over an open fire, throwing the dishwater over the short wall, swimming/bathing (fully clothed) in the river.

So I’m going back!

This week, I joined the team in Pucallpa with Pioneers. It’s a launch team. One step to getting out into the jungle is to get a team together and learn about jungle living. The launch team will help me do that.

Can you help me get there?

I need to get additional training at Radius International–a super intense ten-month program training me in language acquisition, cultural acquisition, church planting, translation, etc. It was started by Francis Chan and Brad Buser, located just over the border in Tijuana. School starts July 26, so I have until then to raise my full monthly support of $2,500/mo. 

If you want to give, you can go directly to Pioneers.org and give to my account, #112422.

Or, go to the Join My Team page, fill out the contact info, and I’ll get back with you and walk you through the giving process with Pioneers.

Have I said lately that I can’t do this alone? Thank you for all the prayers and support getting me in and out of the jungle for my vision trip. Now, can you pray and give so that I can get back? I am so so thankful for the amazing community that I have and I want you on my team!

Arrowed Adventures

~ Abi ~ 3 Comments

What’s in a name? I decided to name my blog Abi’s Arrowed Adventures because…

magnets

  1. Arrows have been a theme for me since the beginning of this new and latest adventure.  It was kind of an “accident.” I was making ceramic magnets during my spring break, asking people to pray, and I found this arrow stamp and thought it looked pretty cool, but the more I think about it I’m convinced it’s not an accident. Especially since I feel God calling me to the jungles where arrows have been a big part of the people’s lives.
  2. I love the idea of being one who is sent out by someone else and for a purpose.  I also want to be used to send out light and warmth into the dark places.
  3. I see life as an adventure.  There are good times and bad times and in between times, but if I just embrace it as an adventure, it makes everything more bearable. For example, two months ago I was traveling in the Amazon on a boat and suddenly the motor stopped.  We had already been traveling for hours up the river and were many hours from our destination. The boat stopped.  We got out.  I made a video, ending it with, “These two friends are discussing why the boat won’t work, but it’s all part of the adventure.”
  4. I’ve been asking people to give arrow prayers for me.  Handed out magnets with little arrows on them, asked people to give an arrow prayer every time they opened their fridge.  And now, here I am, going on my arrowed adventure, winged by many many prayers from super amazing friends and supporters.
  5. It relates to my new email  address, arrows2abi@gmail.com.  Just like arrow prayers, you can send arrow messages. Even one line letting me know how you are or that you’re thinking about me as I embark on the craziest adventure yet would be incredibly appreciated.  I CANNOT DO THIS ALONE so it’d be great to know that I’m not alone in this.
  6. And as one friend reminded me, it sounds like Abi’s HARROWED adventures. Which often happen when I’m galavanting around the world; narrowing missing my plane, train, boat or leaving my computer, iphone, expensive watch or passport in various and sundry locations.  Once again. I can’t do this alone.