Catching Up

Jose* has been with Transformados for about 2 and a half years. When he first started to come to basketball, he came because a friend invited him. He was friendly, spoke English quite well, and was open to talk about everything. He came to Bible Study early on and I found out he was an atheist. He had done a lot of reading of different religions and with the evolution theory presented in science classes, he was cynical and skeptical. But he said he was open. Yet he didn't come back to the Bible Study.
He continued to come to basketball practices, games, and other fun activities we hosted. This last summer, he was a volunteer leader and was very involved. When it ended, he was interviewed by another missionary living in La Paz as part of an attempt to produce some videos about the Transformados ministry.  When I talked to the missionary later, he seemed to think that Jose was a Christian.
So the next time I talked to Jose, I started to ask some probing questions. He smiled and told me that he had become a Christian 2 weeks ago. He hadn't told anyone because he wanted to see if it was real first. He was certain now, was experiencing peace and joy that was from the Lord. What had made the difference was spending a lot of time with our ministry, playing games, hanging out and feeling loved and accepted. He also was reading a book by Lee Stroebel that was given to him by the Eagers, our missionary partners. It had helped him get past the scientific doubts he had.
Mateo* is a bit younger. He has been a part of Transformados through basketball , but would come for a few months, then disappear for almost a year other than saying hi here and there. This summer, he started coming very regularly, and dropping in at our house too. He showed up one day with a big grin, and told us that he was now a believer. He had been an atheist as well, due to science classes as well. What had made the difference for him was a dream that he had. We were so glad to hear his big turn around. We are hoping to disciple both these young men and have started to try to meet weekly, and keep them involved as much as possible. For Jose, this means connecting him with missionaries we know in his new city. For Matteo, it is finding time in our schedules to meet here.
In all this, we are blessed to see God moving and drawing youth to himself, and that in some way, we are able to be a part of this. Praise God! And in some way, you may be a part of this too, and for this we thank you! *Names have been changed to protect the privacy of each person.

Basketball Shrinking and Expanding!

As we contemplate what is next in sports ministry, many ideas come in waves and at other times I flounder without ideas. One thought that has come multiple times is that we should be reaching out to the younger children, around 9 and up. By the time youth reach Jr. High, they are not interested in learning a different sport, and basketball is not very popular.
With that in mind, and a prayer, I decided to visit a school that we had visited in the past but had little interest shown by the leaders. Part of my motivation to get moving on this was that we have 4 volunteers coming soon, and we would love to take advantage of the extra help.
The principal was new. He invited me in to chat, unlike last time where we just talked through the fence. He was very interested as I talked about the club we had started in the secondary school, and what I would like to do in the future.
I was invited to pass by the Grade 4-6 classrooms to share the idea for a workshop and the regular practices that we have. I recognized several students that I already had been coaching, which was encouraging and neat. The students were very loud and excited even before I came in as there are so few days til Christmas. When the principal introduced me and talked about basketball, the majority of the students were very animated and interested, asking lots of questions. One classroom had a boy who kept asking about soccer, and I could tell that he would only come if we had a ball with hexagon panels on it and kicked it.
But as I left, there were many smiles, and my heart was light with joy as I anticipated the upcoming event. Pray with me as we prepare for Jan. 3-5th and as many youth as the Lord thinks we can handle!

Faith building is hard work. And not very fun. And not always our choice. It seems that God chooses to build our faith at times when we wish it was all very easy. I am learning that I need to let go and let God. And stop worrying about it. If I continue to worry, I really have not let go. I am hanging on to the rope and getting very burned and blistered hands. Want some context? Well...

I resigned from teaching 1.5 years ago. I missed the deadline for asking for a one year leave of absence by a week. We had to raise support for the position that we volunteered for, so that we could pay for our plane tickets and some other outgoing expenses. God built my faith in His provision through His church - in 2-3 months our tickets were pretty much reimbursed.
When we came back from Zambia, where we had volunteered, I applied for a teaching position again. I thought I would not have a problem, but with gov't cutbacks, there were not positions available for me. So I asked around, and was advised that substitute teaching would be sufficient income. Well, it has helped, but sufficient it is not for longterm provision. A great blessing was when I was able to fill in for 2 straight weeks at a school teaching Gr. 2. I had never taught full-time any grade lower than Gr. 5, so it was a stretch, but I loved the kids. It was a great experience.
Another job opened up at a school, so I applied for it. I did not get it. Now another has opened up, and I am praying and hoping that I will get that one. No more taking things for granted, my reputation or history are not enough. I need God to help me get the right job. He is faithful, and if I don't get it, I am trying hard to trust that he has reasons for my good, and my families' good, to not be working full-time.
Another faith building event has been the support of best friends. They have welcomed us back to our town, and have even given us a vehicle to use until our next leg of missions service. May God bless them richly!
We have had many asking how long until we head onto the next leg of our missions journey. Well, we have to raise support, monthly support, as we have been accepted by a faith mission - TEAM, which means raising money for all expenses, including the ministry expenses. A long time ago I would have never wanted to put myself in this position. But now I am excited to see how God is going to provide. He has amazed us in the past, and I trust we will be amazed again, though not surprised, for He is faithful, and sure everytime.
Hey, would love a brief comment when you read a blog! It encourages us.

The Faith Of A Little Child Shall Lead Them

I've been meaning to write about this ever since it happened, but daily life gets in the way of carving out time to sit and reflect and compose my thoughts on paper. Today I've found a little pocket of time to share an experience we had on New Years Day. Let me take you back in time and as I do, I hope you are blessed and challenged, like I was, through the faith and example of my children.

It all began Christmas morning when they announced in church that the following Saturday, January 1^st, 2011, we were to meet at the hospital with items to give away. We were told we could bring clothes, food, toiletries, soap, toys, books or whatever God laid on our hearts to give to bless those in the hospital. I came to understand that this is something the church does annually on the first of each new year. As I was pondering how we could be involved, God brought to mind a conversation I had with a friend from Canada. She had encouraged me to look for opportunities where we could serve together as a family. She felt that in doing so, our children would get to do 'missions' and feel a part of God's call to Zambia, instead of it just being for mommy and daddy. As I thought about the churches upcoming outreach, my friends wise advice came to mind and I realized that here was such an opportunity. A wonderful chance for us as a family to gather together items from our home and to give them away to bless others.

And so we did. We weren't making a trip to Choma for groceries that week so I went through our cupboards and pulled out numerous food items that I knew would be of benefit. We sorted through clothes and took out items that were in good condition but didn't fit anymore and added those to the pile. Then I encouraged Josiah and Keyana with the idea of going through their toys and setting aside some to give away to children in the hospital. I told them I thought this was a good idea but that I wasn't going to force them to, because I wanted them to give with happy and willing hearts. I left it with them and wondered what would become of such a thought.

The few toys we brought with us in no way compares to the many toys our children have back home in Canada. But this so called 'small amount' is still so much more than any Zambian child has or will ever hope to have. How is that even fair or right? How come we were born in a 'have' country when others were born into 'have not's?' It's hard to wrap my mind around the overabundance of material possessions and waste we have in 1^st world countries, and our own home, when compared with the disparity I see around me. And yet the fortitude, faith and generosity that shines through here in Zambia, despite people's difficult and impoverished circumstances amazes me! There's so much more I could say about this, but it's another thought to tackle in another blog.

As I continued to add to the pile of groceries, Josiah and Keyana started coming out of their room with toys to give away. It was more difficult for Josiah to part with some of his toys then it was for Keyana. He tends to be a bit like me in this regard. Some things are really easy to give away and other more treasured and sentimental possessions are difficult to let go. Keyana, on the other hand, would have probably given all her toys if I had let her. So I tried to encourage Josiah to give more and cautioned Keyana to keep a few toys, for our remaining months in Zambia, which we would part with when it was time for us to return to Canada. That seemed to suffice and they returned to their room to discover more 'treasures' to give away. With each toy they brought, whether it was a ball, or cars/trucks, a purse or sweets they had got at Christmas, a toy cell phone or animal figurines, my little ponies or VBS verse buddies, polly pockets or a package of balloons, I had no problem seeing them placed on the pile. We even collected stickers, sorted through crayons and made up sets of different colours to give away with a big stack of paper. I was feeling great about our family activity, excited that we could do this together, good about what we were donating and then........Keyana shattered my veneer of giving with the bomb of her deep-seated, heart-birthed, honest, selfless generosity and I learned an important lesson in the process.

“Mommy, I want to give my baby Sally away to a little girl in the hospital.” I turned to the voice that had just spoken and there beside me was Keyana holding her brown doll close to her heart. This was the doll that we had given her for Christmas the previous year. It was still in immaculate shape because Keyana was quite the little mother. She loved to dress her, hold her, wrap her up in blankets and rock her to sleep. Few days would pass, when she wasn't asking for me to tie baby Sally on her back with the mini chetengaes I had made for her. Then there were those times when Keyana and I would share a mommy-daughter moment, brushing and braiding Sally's hair, adding clips and beads to make it pretty. This wasn't just any doll, it was special. Keyana treasured it, played with it and slept with it every night. All of these thoughts passed through my mind and my sentimental side rose up to answer with a firm, “No, you can't give this doll away.” But the words were stopped by the thought, “do i want to be the one to squash my daughter's selfless heart?” The obvious answer was “no.” Instead I asked her, “are you sure you want to give baby Sally away?” trying to persuade her to do otherwise but she firmly shook her head, squared her shoulders and resolutely pronounced, “Yes. I want to give her away to a little girl in the hospital.” Again I wanted to convince her to keep her special doll. But why? Why was it so hard for me to see her want to give her away? Not only was I humbled by my daughter's example of generosity, I was also challenged to take a look at myself and in that moment of self-reflection, was ashamed to see my selfishness starring back at me. Why do I struggle to give with abandon? What keeps me from being truly generous? Why do I hold onto things so tightly? The answer? Because I'm incredibly selfish!

Sometimes pride rears it's ugly head and I begin to think that I'm a giving person. I enjoy putting shoe boxes together, giving clothes away to those in need, cooking meals for others, donating items, making school kits and the list goes on. But these things are easy to do. When was the last time that I gave so much that it actually hurt? When was the last time I gave where it cost me something? When was the last time I gave to the point where my faith was tested so that I had to completely trust God for the outcome?

And what would I be teaching my daughter if I said no? That it's okay to give away things we don't care about and to keep the best for ourselves?

How often don't I come to God like that, willing to part with only a little here, a little there, with things I don't really need or use, but not with the most expensive, or the most special or the most treasured? How often do I give God and others my worst, instead of my best? Over and over again, I come to Him with the leftovers of my day, my time, my focus, my gifts, my talents, my desire......content to let other things consume me and draw me farther from Him and from the servant He calls me to be.

As I looked at Keyana, clutching baby Sally to her chest, a smile on her face and her mind made up to bless another little girl with her most precious doll, tears came to my eyes. I was humbled by her generosity and her faith. She was willing to give away the doll she loved and would miss. She was willing to give even though it hurt. She was willing to bless another child even though it would cost her greatly. Her faith in God enabled her to give with open hands, knowing that even though she would miss her doll, God could be trusted with the outcome and that someone out there needed it more than she did. Here we've been teaching our children the importance of sharing and being kind and how God wants us to be generous people and now in the face of an amazing opportunity for Keyana to put this into practice, I was going to squelch the Holy Spirit's prompting! This was a wake up call! Did I want to be the one to stand in the way of her generous heart? No! Did I want to hinder her from listening to the Holy Spirit's voice? No! Did I want to squash the plant that was sprouting from the seed of generosity, placed with in her by God himself? No!

So I choked out a “Yes, you can give her away” and Keyana responded with Cheshire grin, squeezed baby Sally to her one last time, bounced away to lay her doll on the pile and then raced off to her room to find more treasures to give away.

The pile grew as Josiah, Keyana and I continued to collect items to take to the hospital. As the time neared, we loaded up the van and headed off to join the other church members. I knew that there would be many children in the hospital who would love to have a doll and that the decision about who to give it too could be difficult and overwhelming. So on the way to the hospital, I encouraged Keyana to pray and ask God to show her who to give baby Sally too. We joined hands and prayed that prayer together.

When we arrived at the hospital, ladies were there organizing the donated items to go to the children's ward and the male and female wards. At first we were told we could add our items to the piles, but Josiah and Keyana really wanted to personally give away what they had collected. We asked if that would be okay and were assured that it was. So we entered the children's ward with a couple bags of toys and clothes and began to distribute items to each child.

Thankfully, God enabled what we had brought to stretch far enough to cover all the children in the ward. I was worried that we might not have enough and that some would be left out. But such was not the case. Praise God! When we entered, I expected Keyana to rush to the first girl she saw and give her the doll. But she didn't. Instead, she happily took the toys and clothes I handed her and gave them away with a smile, keeping the bag with baby Sally in it, closely by her side. Josiah, seeming a bit uncomfortable at first, quickly warmed up to what we were doing and was excited to give away his animals and trucks and cars to some of the little boys.

I began to wonder if Keyana had changed her mind when we entered a small room, apart from the main ward. Inside, were two little girls. As we approached the end of the tiny room and the little girl on the bed, Keyana grabbed my hand. It was a sight that I'm sure we will never forget. This dear little girl had tripped over the end of a stick that was poking out from a blazing fire. It dislodged from the fire and caused a pot of boiling water to spill all over her body. She was suffering from painful looking burns to her legs, chest, neck, arms and the side of her face. She looked so sad and frightened. As we stood beside her, I felt a tug on my hand and leaned down to hear Keyana say, “Mommy, this is the little girl I want to give baby Sally to.” I smiled through my tears and said “okay” and watched as Keyana took out her precious doll and gently laid her beside the little girl. Her mother smiled, clasped her hands together and kept saying “thank you”, over and over again in Tonga. We left the room to the words of “God bless you” and when Keyana looked back, one last time, she saw her baby Sally snuggled up close to a new little girl.

There have been a couple times since our visit to the hospital, that Keyana has cried and said she misses her doll. But even in those times of sadness her prayer has continued to be, “God, please heal that little girl who had the bad burns and help baby Sally to bring her lots of joy.”

Indeed, the faith of a little child shall lead them! Or more aptly put, the faith of a little child has lead me. ~ Karlene

Photo 1: Keyana with her baby Sally

Photo 2: Josiah and Keyana sitting by the pile we made of things to give away

Singing His Praises!

"I will give thanks to the LORD because of his righteousness and will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High...Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name...Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name."
(Psalm 7:17, Psalm 103:1, Psalm 100:4)

God is good! God is trustworthy! God is Faithful! The words to one of my favorite hymns, have been running through my mind these past two weeks.

"Great is Thy Faithfulness, Great is Thy Faithfulness! Morning by morning new mercies I see. All I have needed your hand has provided. Great is your faithfulness, Lord unto me."

If I had to pick an anthem for our lives at this point in time, this song would win hands down. God has taken our faith and stretched it beyond what I thought possible and at the end of it, He has proven Himself faithful! Why do I doubt? Why do I question? Have I not learned anything from how He has always faithfully provided in the past? I find myself described oh so well in the pages of scripture when I read about the Israelites and how often, when faced with difficult and unknown circumstances, they forgot what God had done for them in the past and gave in to fear, worry, doubt, mistrust and complaining. Why do I lack faith and trust, in the One who has never failed me and who never will? I have some serious 'growing up' to do! And yet, God is so patient with me, just like He was with the Israelites. He continues to prove His faithfulness each and every day and continually calls me to trust, and trust and trust again, never once giving up on me and never once failing to be faithful.

I share this struggle to help you understand why these past two weeks have my heart overflowing with His praises! I am overwhelmed by all that He has done! I want to shout His praise from the rooftop and sing His praises to all the earth!

Answer to prayer # 1: Earlier this summer we had medicals done. Some of Anthony's blood work results concerned the doctor enough to order an ultrasound. This really set us back with questions. Is this God closing the door? If it's something serious, does that mean we won't go to Zambia? Will we go and then come back if he needs treatment? It made packing and planning and buying tickets rather difficult and it felt like we were left hanging and all the while wondering if we should proceed or if we should wait. The doctor's staff went out of their way to find an ultrasound appointment for Anthony before September and on August 10th he traveled to Grande Prairie to have it done. We praise God that the results show that everything is physically normal! The doctor believes that the blood work results might be from the damage caused by the malaria that Anthony had in Zambia and our concerns have been relieved.

Answer to prayer #2: So, with these positive results in mind, we once again returned to packing and preparation feeling that God had kept the door open and was continuing to confirm the call to Zambia. However, now we faced the unknown of what to do with our house. Our time of departure was nearing and we still did not have buyers or renters for our home. We knew that we could not possibly carry a mortgage and be on missions at the same time. Another unknown. Another reason to wait and trust on God. Then last Thursday, we had a couple come and look at our home and now...........we have renters!!!! Praise God!

Answer to prayer #3: For a time it looked like we would have to travel separately to Zambia due to time restraints and cost. However, this past Friday we received an email saying that our travel agent had found us cheap tickets for September 7th instead of August 26th. This buys us more time to get everything done that we need to here at home, still saves us money, enables us to travel as a family and gets Anthony to Zambia in time to attend most of the initial meetings and workshops with BIC teachers and headmasters!

What amazes me is that these three unknowns all came to a head on the same day last week. It was Tuesday morning, Anthony was gone for his ultrasound and we wouldn't know his results for 3-4 days, our email wasn't working so I couldn't check the replies that I was waiting for and hoping would bring some answers, we didn't have renters, we had no clue about what to do about booking tickets and when I had called MCC Alberta the day before to find out if any donations had come in, I was worried when their response was, "no." I was feeling stressed and worried and my mind was full of questions. I wanted answers to the unknowns, direction in what to do and an end to the waiting. It was then, that a still quite voice inside, urged me to turn to my Bible and thankfully I heeded it because God spoke straight to my heart. I opened my Bible and was blown away by the divinely appointed devotional that awaited me! The scripture read, "I am counting on the Lord; yes, I am counting on him. I have put my hope in his word." Psalm130:5. Let me quote the opening lines written by Charles Stanley.

"Right timing is critical in a believer's walk with the Lord. However, trusting His timing in important decisions, uncertain direction, or pressing needs is extremely difficult when everything within us cries, "Do something!" Because we want action, waiting for God seems so passive. To wait for the Lord means to pause for further instruction while remaining in the present circumstance. It is purposeful, expectant focus on God - a choice to be actively still and quiet in our hearts, listening for His voice and watching for His intervention. The wait is not for events to work out as we want, but rather for God's will to be done."

Oh how well God knows what we need and when we need it! How well He knows our hearts! I sat back after reading this and confessed my doubt, worry and fear, chose to wait and trust and the resulting peace was amazing! By the end of that same week, we had all of the answers listed above and we continue to praise God for His faithfulness! We still have a huge unknown facing us and that is the finances to purchase our tickets. At this present time we do not have enough money to buy our tickets and to pay our remaining bills. We have enough money to do one or the other, but not both. And so we enter another period of waiting and trusting God. We know that He will once again, prove Himself faithful! We have already been incredibly blessed through a dear couple who gave us a $500 donation toward our plane tickets! So we are well on our way and trusting God for another miraculous intervention! Through all of this, we are learning to trust and have faith! We now know beyond a shadow of a doubt that we are moving in the right direction and that God is affirming His call on our lives and confirming His call to Zambia. How good it is to know that we are walking in His will and following the path He has set before us. We have stepped out in faith and we know that God will continue to be faithful!

I came across a prayer in Colossians 1:9-14 that we would love to have you pray for us as we return to Zambia.

"9 So we have not stopped praying for you since we first heard about you. We ask God to give you complete knowledge of his will and to give you spiritual wisdom and understanding. 10 Then the way you live will always honor and please the Lord, and your lives will produce every kind of good fruit. All the while, you will grow as you learn to know God better and better.
11 We also pray that you will be strengthened with all his glorious power so you will have all the endurance and patience you need. May you be filled with joy, 12 always thanking the Father. He has enabled you to share in the inheritance that belongs to his people, who live in the light. 13 For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son, 14 who purchased our freedom and forgave our sins."

We appreciate your prayers and support! You are a vital part of God’s Ministry! In Christ and with love, The Thiessens ~ by Karlene

If you would like to support us financially, please make cheques payable to MCC Alberta and enclose a note like the one below.
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Please use the enclosed donation for the support of Anthony and Karlene Thiessen serving with MCC Zambia. Thank-you.
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The address of their office is Mennonite Central Committee Alberta, 210 2946 32 St NE Calgary, Alberta, T1Y 6J7.