VBS!

(oops! someone erased the 2, it's supposed to be 4-12!)

This past week we have been busy with VBS at Edinburgh Bible church. Our whole family helped. My main part was teaching the missionary story each day - the amazing and God-glorifying story of Adoniram Judson (unfortunately, but necessarily abridged to fit a little time slot and little minds) It was truly a joy to plant God's truth in young minds and pray that He would bear fruit through it in years to come. One of the best parts was teaching a room full of 140 children to sing some new songs. Each year, we've taught a hymn, and it is a joy to hear the building resound with their young voices. "Glorious is Thy Name, O Lord!"

We got some pictures today, most of them I took during outdoor games.

Vashti and I worked together with one of the small children's (4-7 years) groups. Vashti is the eldest daughter of the most prominent Hindu family in the community. Two of the daughters have become Christians, the other two are Hindu. She is married and has two young boys. It was great to work with you Vashti!


Two Christophers. One of them is my brother. :o) The other one was one of the most unruly children at VBS! Christopher, my brother was trying to teach him his Bible verse, 2 Cor. 5:17 - "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old has gone, the new has come!" (NIV) He definitely needs that work done in his heart. (When talking to me, he did not want to acknowledge that he was a sinner!) We are praying for the word of God to bear fruit in young lives.


Little Priya would not give me a smile all week. (And I tried to get one from her many times!)
It is sad to see children from poor, unhappy homes.


These three girls (playing Simon says) tied first place in points for the younger girls. The two on the left are the youngest daughters of our national co-workers.

Amzad. He lives in our village. Recently he broke his arm while climbing around in the sawmill yard near our house. He seems to be quite proud of his cast now. :o) He is a brother to "Jacob" of the former post.


Here are some cuties I just "had" to capture on film.




finally


Mother, Kelly and I at the end of the last day. (For Guyanese, it's proper to pose for a picture without showing teeth. Kellyactually is a very smiley person :o)
It was a tiring weak, but a good one, and all the praise for that goes to our very good God!


"And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap,
if we do not give up." - Galatians 6:9 ESV

Morning Prayer

"Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days." - Psalm 90:14 ESV

Take this day - I would not keep it for myself and fruitless be...

...Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. - John 15:5 ESV

I would see in it Thy glory

The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. -Psalm 19:1 ESV

I would read in it Thy story

"...give me understanding according to your word!" - Psalm 119:169 ESV

I would keep my soul-eyes fixed upon the One who died for me.

For I am Thine

I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. - Galatians 2:20 ESV

Then, let me hold and cling to closely

Not Thy gifts, but only Thee

Let me see I'm undeserving

Let me see my place is serving

Let me love Thee and Thy children

Let me gladly rest in Thee.

For Thou art mine.

- by Alyssa Faith Colby

Lonely Little Boy...
Friday, February 24, 2006

The other day I went out in the sawmill yard (our house is located in the compound of a decrepit, rusting overgrown sawmill just a few yards from the Berbice River) to dig some nice black dirt for my chrysanthemum. There were a few young boys playing "tah" in the sawmill yard and one of the little boys, Jacob (6,7? years old. I wonder if he would know if I asked him. He comes from a very broken home. He used to live with his mother, who died last year. Because of her immoral lifestyle, some suspected HIV was the cause. Now he lives down the road with his father, an Indian man with long hair who seems to be a hard person.)

Jacob came running toward me, his eyes bright "Yoh dig durty? Yoh dig durty?" Rather bewildered at his word usage, I finally replied, "I'm digging dirt" Holding up a handful I said, "This is dirt. Dirty is what my hands get when I hold dirt."

"Satan de in de dirt?"

"No. God made the dirt." Our conversation proceeded on how God made dirt and roots. I showed him the roots of the plants. He "helped" me get more dirt by continuing to pull up the weeds and give them to me to take the dirt off the roots. ...

"Who made you Jacob?"

"GOD mek me. He put de blood insie me body and mek de bones and mek me skin turn sof..."

"Why did God make you?" (He did not understand the word "why?")

"Me mother mek me....... Me mother is dead" He looked at me quite solemnly.

"I know. I'm sorry" We continued to talk. It was just amazing to me how he wanted to talk - about his grandfather praying, about God who "trow down de water from de sky" When I finally walked back inside with my potful of dirt, my heart said, "That was a precious mercy. Thank you God - for that opportunity, because I was not even looking for it" In fact I was thinking about "being busy at home," and wondering how much opportunity to reach out there really is - there are opportunities to serve right
at home of course, but also to minister to people that God is pleased to bring to us.

"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."
- Eph. 2:8-10 ESV

A Poem about Perseverance

I am faint, I cannot hold Thee
The arm of flesh shall fail me
My heart is wooden, cold and dull
A hopeless voice says, "You shall fall"
Unto my weary soul.

Oh, powerless am I to hold
To that which is eternal
My feeble grasps cannot enfold
Those hopes of joy supernal
Thus faints my soul.

If my endurance rests on me,
O God! No hope have I,
But woefully to wane from Thee
Hollow sighing till I die -
Unless Thou holdst my soul.

My Lord! My God! Thou Sovereign One,
Help me see those mighty bands
That bind me to Thy righteous Son
Fastened by Thy mighty hands -
In this may rest my soul.

I have no power - Thou hast all
All my strivings turn to dust
And in my dust-bound self I'd fall
But thou hast promised and art just
By grace to hold my soul.

I rest in Thee. In Thee I trust
Predestined, Thou hast called me,
And in Christ Jesus made me just,
And thou shalt glorify me,
And never loose my soul.

These are the mighty iron bands,
All by sovereign grace bound fast.
These are the never-failing hands,
That uphold me to the last.
Believe Thy God, my soul.

- Alyssa Colby

...nothing like a job well done!

Monday, September 11, 2006

...nothing like a job well done!

Quite a few years ago, a group of us missionary kids used to gather together to do music with one of the missionary moms. We learned alot of "Patch the Pirate" (Ron Hamilton) songs. The chorus of one that I still remember well goes something like this:

"It's good old fashioned, callous-makin' back-bone-breakin' work
That's the secret formula - it's plain, hard, work!
I work all day; I work all night; I'm up with the mornin' sun
'Cause nothin' brings me satisfaction like a job well done!

The other day the song was going through my head. When I got to the last line I started thinking... "Nothing brings me satisfaction like a job well done..." That is how I am. I love to start a task, whether sewing, cleaning, baking or writing, and finish it well. But there is one work that was better done than any job I've done. When it was done, the One who accomplished it said, "It is finished."

Whenever I think of that song now, I think of the finished work of Christ. His death on the cross for my sins and his resurrection for my justification, totally satisfied the justice of God. It should totally satisfy me. What can I do to make up for my sin? Nothing. "It is finished."

There at the cross of Christ, my salvation was worked, and worked perfectly. It was a job well done. Nothing should bring me greater satisfaction. I not only believe in this, I must satiate my soul-thirst with it.

"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus." - Rom. 3:23-26 ESV

It is finished!

His Mighty Hand

My Lord, how easily doth pride rise within my heart!

And, lo, how eas'ly Thou canst humble 'neath the weight of all Thy mercies.

O dump from heaven daily that sweet load upon my head,

that naught but praise might lift from 'neath its heavy glory.

Lord, Thy mercies ever humble me;

Yea, they ever lift me up to joyous heights where I am near Thee.

Thy hand is mighty – therefore may I lowly be beneath it.

Thy hand is mighty – O then lift me up to Thee!

-October 27, 2005


For thus says the One who is high and lifted up,
who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:
“I dwell in the high and holy place,
and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit,
to revive the spirit of the lowly,
and to revive the heart of the contrite.
- Isaiah 57:15 ESV

My Testimony
The Story of My Life and the Mercy of God

I was raised by Christian parents, and knew about the Bible and Jesus from an early age. But just like the Bible says , "Surely I was sinful from birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me." As I grew up, the sinfulness of my heart began to show itself in anger, hatred, and fear. I hated my brother so much that I would not be near him.

At children's ministry events at our church, I would go in the side room with those who wanted to be saved and the lady would pray with us, but I did not understand what was happening.
One time I prayed along. I wondered if I was saved. I began to believe that if you pray a prayer - and "really mean it" - you will be saved. In fearful moments, I would try to pray a good prayer of salvation, in case I might die suddenly. I didn't realize that this was a way of trying to earn salvation. As I grew older, I only became more self-centered and fearful.

When I was ten, our family went to Guyana as missionaries. Being in a foreign country only increased my fears, but I kept them inside. While my parents ministered in Guyana for our first term, I didn't care about missions. For me, life in Guyana was hanging out with my friends. My MK friends and I despised "girliness" as weakness. I started to wear unfeminine clothes. I did foolish things. I was moody and self-centered. I disliked my family and secretly thought I was better than them.

One Sunday, at church in Guyana, I wasn't paying attention to the service and thought it would be a good time to make sure of my salvation, so I mentally prayed the best prayer I could think of to a God I didn't know or love, trying to concentrate and "really mean it". Then I wrote the date in my Bible so I could look at it next time I doubted my salvation. I tried to read my Bible and pray every day. It made me feel like a good Christian. My parents thought I should be baptized, so I complied. I wrote out my testimony, thinking that I was saved by my prayer, and was baptized.

After four years in Guyana, we returned to the states for one year of home ministry. I remember during this time, beginning to feel convicted about my hatred toward my brother, feeling guilty about different areas of my life - but at the same time enjoying the simple pleasures of life in America. I went to youth group, would discuss "spiritual things" with my friends and felt quite mature, but never considered that my relationship with God was not one of faith and love, but one of blind groping and guilty fear.


When we returned to Guyana in 2003, my dad pastored a church plant there, and life went on. One Sunday afternoon, the familiar, but horrible hatred and resentment began to rise up inside me. I said nothing, but felt helpless before the hatred that was flooding over my heart. In deep despair, I went to my room, and began reading my Bible in Psalm 51. "Have mercy on me O God according to your unfailing love, according to your great compassion, blot out my transgressions... " It impressed me as exactly what I needed. Then I remembered 1 John - the book that bothered me. First John said a lot about love - love that I didn't have. I found one of the passages about love in chapter 3.
"We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death. Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him." (1 John 3:14-15 NIV)
The words cut to my heart. Suddenly the foundation I had been trying to build my life on - my goodness, my spirituality – it all crumbled away. I saw that I was a murderer and deserved hell. It was terrifying, but also freeing. For years I had tried to convince myself that I was right with God, and now, the rags that I had tried to cover my sinful heart with had been stripped away. I was glad to have my ugly heart uncovered. Now I knew that everything that kept me from really trusting Christ had been taken away.I continued reading..."This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us..." (1 John 3:16 NIV) It was what I had heard all my life – but now I knew what it meant. Jesus is able and willing to save sinners like me. He loved me and died for me. What more did I need? I began to cry. I didn't have to think of the right words. There was my Savior dying on a cross. HE was my salvation. "Jesus save me" It was a very sweet thing to cast my soul on God and ask for mercy just because of Jesus. I knew that trusting in Jesus, I would not be condemned. He said, "Whoever comes to me I will never drive away," and "Whoever believes in Him will never be put to shame."
What a difference it makes to have Christ! In Him there is power to love! Yes, I have stumbled many times, but that day was the first of many times that I turned to Christ and rested in His perfect salvation. I have learned that Christians are not people who believed once, or prayed a prayer once and then try to be good. Christians are people who believe in Christ and then keep on believing in Him as their only righteousness.

God could have left me to die in my own self-righteousness, but He didn't. How great is His mercy! He gave me faith to believe on His Son Jesus Christ and be saved - because faith and salvation are not from myself, but a gift of God's grace.

"For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them ." - Ephesians 2:8-10 ESV

~ ~ ~

God has provided salvation in Jesus Christ. I have found this Jesus and oh what a Savior He is! Then I find that part of believing this good news is taking it to others so that they can say, "How great is His mercy!". Even if it means laying down my life.

This is how we know what love is:

Jesus Christ laid down His life for us,

and we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers .