Miss Anne's Jungle Update - 9/23/06

So, I told you about this letter a while back, but now I have permission to share it with you. I won't put quite the entirety of it here, but plenty for you to get a feel for her ministry. The emphasis is mine.

Dear Family,

It is so wretchedly hot and humid that I can’t imagine doing anything that would require the exertion of energy. I’m absolutely soaking wet from perspiration, and it’s been a long time since I needed a sheet to cover up with at night. At one point today, the humidity was higher than the temperature. Even Icabi, the Amazon parrot, is minding the heat. She has her wings spread out trying to catch a cool breeze. She loves getting a cold shower.

Anyhow, since I know that I should be doing something, don’t feel like doing anything, but don’t want to have a guilty conscience at the end of the day for having not used the afternoon to the fullest, I’ll try to get a letter off to you.

The end of the school year outing, which was just an idea when I last wrote, did take place. Oh what a delightful day it was! One of the mothers, Selita, cooked the chicken and brown beans here at my house the afternoon before. (From experience, it is known that some of the chicken and beans would have gone into the family cooking pot, if the cooking had been done elsewhere.) Jenny, another mother, cooked rice early the morning of the outing and I baked cakes in the wee camp oven. Then there was the igloo with plenty of drinking water. Everyone took their own Frisbee looking plastic plate, plastic cup and aluminum soup size spoon.

The Olangi Creek was quite overgrown which made for a slow, cautious trip so as not to damage the 30 horsepower motor or canoe. The Wiawia plantation was nothing but jungle making flip flops not the appropriate footwear. I have a cute picture of a bunch of kids with their arms and heads down an iguana hole with their posteriors up in the air. We came home with three iguanas. One iguana was probably quite delighted not to get caught even if he did loose his tail in the tug-of-war. One iguana was shot out of an overhanging tree limb as we navigated down the creek. It fell right on top of my head with blood splattering all over Boemboem (age 8) and me. We really didn’t mind, knowing how yummy supper was going to be.

That was a Saturday. The next Saturday Killit came from the capital city, Paramaribo, to give the house and clinic a termite treatment. Four men slept under the house in Moengo the night before so as to get a good start the next day. Jonathan and Orlando, a national from the village of Ricanau Moffo, had the men here by 8:00 AM. The men worked till after 3:00 PM pouring or squirting poison into trenches dug around the buildings, and drilled holes in the cement floor and walls. They brought their own cook while I cooked for Jonathan, MK Nathanael, Orlando, Desi and myself. I prepared chicken and sauerkraut with dumplings to eat over rice. There was chocolate cake with chocolate icing for everyone.

Wood worms have invaded the ceiling just over the kitchen table. More times a day than I can count, I have to brush the wood shavings off the table. Now adult worms are dropping onto the table and into the plate of food! Not my favorite source of protein. It was suggested that a strip of wood where the shavings and worms are falling from be removed. Desi right away said, “We can’t do that. We’ll have bat dirt all over the table and landing in the food.” Oh dear! I guess worms are better than bat dirt!

The past month has been filled with five Poeroe Blaka celebrations (end of mourning restrictions), two Siksi Wiki celebrations (six weeks after burial) and one Aiti Dei celebration (eight days after burial) in various river villages. All these celebrations include all night dancing which is very provocative even if no words are sung. It's like pantomime dancing and disgustingly wicked. If the person was baptized (catholic), there is a service around 8:00 PM, for about an hour. Then for the rest of the night there is dancing which reaches orgy proportion. Food is also cooked and presented to the spirit of the dead one being honored.

It brought sorrow to my heart to see grains of tenderness to spiritual matters trampled (as the result of these celebrations) in a number of individuals with whom I have dealt with in recent months. We certainly "…wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places" (Ephesians 6:12).

The Christians face so much pressure. Not only when there is a celebration, but every day. In this culture, there is acceptable lying, stealing, dishonesty, fornication, adultery, etc. The unrestrained indulgence in alcohol, drugs and sexual practices are rooted in the worship of the ancestors. It seems that the Christians do not recognize and hate sin as they should because of being raised in such an environment and being exposed to behavior that is considered normal and expected.

Evangelist Koempi’s son-in-law, Ronny, passed away after a battle with lung cancer. Ronny’s family is unsaved and has demanded that all the doings associated with death be done the heathen way. Koempi’s family needs God’s grace at this time to conduct themselves as God would have them to.


This epistle has become rather long and yet much has been left unwritten. There have been machete fights, cursing and slandering of each other and one mother split her adult son’s forehead open when she threw a broken radio at him in a fit of anger. All such behavior is the result of sin and disobedience to God.

I am amazed that God would count me worthy to live and serve among such despicable heathenism. What's more, He has preserved me these almost twenty-six years and given me the honor of being His Shepherdess to this needy flock.
...

"God's great movements in this world have been conditioned on, continued by,
and fashioned by prayer." E.M. Bounds


Love
Anne/Auntie Anne

PS. The Lantiwee/Pinatjarimi band is to perform at tonight’s shindig in the village of Langahoekoe. The band boys just came by to say good-bye, endure a word of admonition from Ma Anna, (that’s me), play a few minutes with the parrot and collect their drums. They have just left in the canoe, beating the drums and singing.

Prayer under grace and by grace

Don't give up in despair if no thoughts and no words come [in prayer], but only distractions and inward confusion. Often it helps to use the words of other...Psalm, hymn, song--use what helps most. And if the day ends in what seems a failure, don't fret. Tell Him you're sorry. Even so don't be discouraged. All discouragement is of the devil. – Amy Carmichael

Divine Good from Human Ill

"The Father will perfect that which concerns His own; and even where there are mistakes and failures, as alas! there are in abundance with all of us, His rich grace abounds over all, and actually takes occasion from our very mistakes to shine out all the more brightly–though, assuredly, the mistakes must produce their own painful and humiliating consequences.
...
It is our privilege to be able, in our little measure, to thank our Father in view of everything, and take refuge in His eternal counsels, which must be made good despite all the unbelief of the Christian, and all the malice of Satan." -C.H.M

Life: bucking Murphy's law

Because this blog is getting too serious, I am posting a forward from my files, to give people a smile instead of just deep ponderings. Have fun.

[Supposedly] The letter to the bank below is an actual letter that was sent to a bank by a 96 year old woman The bank manager thought it amusing enough to have it published in The New York Times. 

 Dear Sir: 

 I am writing to thank you for bouncing my check with which I endeavored to pay my plumber last month. By my calculations, three nanoseconds must have elapsed between his presenting the check and the arrival in my account of the funds needed to honor it. I refer, of course, to the automatic monthly deposit of my pension, an arrangement which, I admit, has been in place for only thirty years. You are to be commended for seizing that brief window of opportunity, and also for debiting my account $30 by way of penalty for the inconvenience caused to your bank. My thankfulness springs from the manner in which this incident has caused me to rethink my errant financial ways. I noticed that whereas I personally attend to your telephone calls and letters, when I try to contact you, I am confronted by the impersonal, overcharging, pre-recorded, faceless entity which your bank has become. From now on, I, like you, choose only to deal with a flesh-and-blood person. My mortgage and loan repayments will therefore and hereafter no longer be automatic, but will arrive at your bank, by check, addressed personally and confidentially to an employee at your bank whom you must nominate. Be aware that it is an offense under the Postal Act for any other person to open such an envelope. Please find attached an Application Contact Status which I require your chosen employee to complete. I am sorry it runs to eight pages, but in order that I know as much about him! or her as your bank knows about me, there is no alternative. Please note that all copies of his or her medical history must be countersigned by a Notary Public, and the mandatory details of his/her financial situation (income, debts, assets and liabilities) must be accompanied by documented proof. In due course, I will issue your employee with a PIN number which he/she must quote in dealings with me. I regret that it cannot be shorter than 28 digits but, again, I have modeled it on the number of button presses required of me to access my account balance on your phone bank service. As they say, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Let me level the playing field even further. When you call me, press buttons as follows: 1. To make an appointment to see me. 2. To query a missing payment. 3. To transfer the call to my living room in case I am there. 4. To transfer the call to my bedroom in case I am sleeping. 5. To transfer the call to my toilet in case I am attending to nature. 6. To transfer the call to my mobile phone if I am not at home. 7. To leave a message on my computer, a password to access my computer is required. Password will be communicated to you at a later date to the Authorized Contact. 8. To return to the main menu and to listen to options 1 through 7. 9. To make a general complaint or inquiry. The contact will then be put on hold, pending the attention of my automated answering service. While this may, on occasion, involve a lengthy wait, uplifting music will play for the duration of the call. Regrettably, but again following your example, I must also levy an establishment fee to cover the setting up of this new arrangement. May I wish you a happy, if ever so slightly less prosperous New Year? Your Humble Client

The privilege of serving the wicked?!

Dear friends, I tell you of something today that has stirred my heart and mind since I received it yesterday afternoon. I was sent an email update from Miss Anne (Dreisbach), who has worked down river from my family for years. For over 25 years, she has served in the deep jungles of Suriname as a single, nurse-midwife. I don't think I have ever seen any other person from outside a culture loved by the people as she is loved by all those on the river, saved or unsaved. And yet, she has experienced tremendous opposition, and the forces of darkness have done their utmost to destroy her work and her life. She has been in danger much; she has suffered physical hardship and ailment regularly. And I have not heard complain even once that it is too much. But, through all this, her people continue to reject the God whom she tells them of, and those who do receive Him have not followed wholly after the Lord as she has. And so, yesterday, when I got her update (which I am going to post, if she gives me permission), and read of the most recent works of God and Satan in her area, I was deeply effected by this statement.

"I am amazed that God would count me worthy to live and serve among such despicable heathenism."

Friends, how do we cultivate such a heart-understanding of the gloriousness of the Gospel ministry, that we can look at the task given to us as something of which we are unworthy? How do I get beyond the pride that tells me I am doing something noble in going to the lost? How do I really grasp that God has honored me with far more than I deserve when He allows me to serve those who have rebelled against Him?
My analysis of all this is that those of whom the world is not worthy realize that they are unworthy as well for they serve the only One Who is worthy. Finally, this passage comes to mind in regard to these things. "And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry." (I Tim. 1:12 KJV)

the Jesus of John 1

Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph, is presented in shocking glory and majesty in the first chapter of John.
He is given 14 major theological titles in this chapter.

- the Word (vs. 1, 14)

- God (vs. 1)

- The Light of men (vs. 4-8)

- The True light (vs. 9)

- The only Son (vs. 14)

- Jesus Christ (vs. 17)

- Jesus (vs. 29)

- The Lamb of God (vs. 29)

- The Son of God (vs. 34, 49)

- Teacher (vs. 38, 49)

- Messiah (vs. 41)

- He that was spoken of by Moses in the Law and the Prophets (vs. 45)

- The King of Israel (vs. 49)

- The Son of Man (vs. 51)

He is shown to be eternal (1:2).
He is shwon as the Creator of all (1:3).
He is shown to be the solution to the death and darkness which reigns in the hearts of men (1:4-5)
He is shown as the chooser of the redeemed (1:12-13).
He is shown as the humble Lord who made His living among His creation at the lowest levels (1:14).
He is shown as the exalted Lord who sits at the eternal Father's right hand (1:18).
He is shown as the omniscient Lord who calls His own to Himself (1:47-48)

This passage must be one of the most magnificent concerning the Lord Jesus Christ, the Word of God, who gave Himself as the Lamb of God that He might be the Light of the World. And All this despite the fact that He was Son of God, the King of Israel, the Messiah that had been foretold by Moses and the prophets.
How then do we not bow before Him in humble awe and holy reverence? He who loved us so greatly, deserves nothing less than our complete submission. "Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart."

But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. (2 Cor. 3:18)

Sanctification

Below is the daily devotional from Miles Stanford for today. It is, I think, a fair representation of the oringinal teaching of the Keswick/identification movement. This is what was meant, as I understand it from my reading. However, the Holiness Movement that came from those origins morphed into something that would have been abhorrent to the original proclaimers of "Keswick" theology.
I have put in bold what I thought were the main truths of this article. That is, that we must know (cognitively) our position as dead with Christ, raised to new life with Christ, and in the heavenlies with Christ; and then, we must learn (practically) to walk in the victory which we have been given positionally. This is why it is called "identification", because all this is based on being "with Christ."
Thus, the original teachings of Keswick teaches were not that believers reached some new higher plane where they no longer sinned; but rather that they learned more fully to walk in the position that they truly had with/in Christ. Thus, while they still sinned, they had learned to seek and to know the victory which Christ had bought for them. When it's put in these terms, I don't think it sounds quite so wild as some people say, but hey, to each their own.
Champ

POSITION AND POSSESSION

"I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:12).

To know our position in the Lord Jesus is necessary so that we may understand His ways and rest in His means. Then, by processing through the years He slowly narrows the discrepancy between our heavenly position and our personal condition. Truth is received in the mind, assimilated in the heart, and manifested in the walk.

"First, the believer, like a bird, flies at once to the top and sees everything accomplished on his behalf, and then he, as it were, comes back and creeps up every inch of the way. It is like ascending a ladder of grace.

"The first step is, we believe that the Lord Jesus was sent of the Father; second, that in the fullness of His work we are justified; third, we make His acquaintance, fourth, we come to see Him in heaven–we know our association with Him there, and His rest here, fifth, we learn the mystery, the great things we are entitled to because of being in His Body, His Bride; sixth, that we are seated in heavenly places in Him; seventh, we rejoice in wonder and in praise in the knowledge of Himself." -J.B.S.

"As the result of the work of His Cross and resurrection, eternal life is received complete by those who believe. But while that life is itself victorious incorruptible, and indestructible, the believer has to come by faith to prove it, to live by it, to learn its principles, to be conformed to it. The life in itself in the believer needs no addition, so far as its quality and quantity are concerned. So far as its power, its glory, its potentialities are concerned nothing can be added to it. But the course of spiritual experience, of spiritual life, is to discover, to appropriate, and to grow in all that the life represents and means." -T. A-S.

"Rooted and built up in Him, and established" (Colossians 2:7).

“Much of our difficulty as seeking Christians stems from our unwillingness to take God as He is and adjust our lives accordingly. We insist upon trying to modify Him and bring Him nearer to our own image.” — A. W. Tozer

Happy Birthday to StWtA!!!!!

Wednesday, September 27th was the 1st birthday of Spread the Word to All , the world renowned blog!!! On that day, it's 47th post was made. This highly reported blog is celebrating a slightly delayed b'day due to having a ucaring blog master who initially failed to notice the great occurrence. However, now things have been rectified.
Blah, blah, blah,

(Why do I even post things like this?)