Things I Missed

One thing that I missed being able to participate in while I was in Africa was Aubrey's graduation from paramedic school. Since I wasn't there to get any "proud mother" pictures, the "proud auntie" pictures will have to suffice. Thanks Annette for taking time from your own busy life to celebrate Aubrey's accomplishment with her.

Here is Annette's post.

And a few of her pictures:

More Parting Words

You never know when you're going to see someone for the last time. I last saw my brother Tom who I wrote about in March about a month ago before leaving for Africa. The day we were flying back last Sunday was the last time he was able to come to church. He crossed the river into the presence of Jesus today. The first thing that entered my mind when I heard the news was the first line of the chorus, "It Will Be Worth It All When We See Jesus." I'm sure he would tell me that now if he could.

At the service last week, they sang some of Tom's favorite songs. Here is one of them.

15 Minutes of Fame

Well, my little story made the cut. Look for me on June 4.

Dear One Year Life Verse Contributor:

Well it took a while, but the edited manuscript for The One Year Life Verse Devotional has gone to the typesetter. Phew!

Attached is a single month of the manuscript -- the month that includes your contribution. I'm sending this to you to confirm that you're in the book! And this note is also a final safety net to make sure we didn't totally mess up your story. Unless there is a glaring error, please don't find anything you want to change! The typesetters would not be happy with me.

A couple other thoughts:
The book is not yet on the Tyndale website. But other bookselling sites are pre-selling it. Check out amazon.com for a view of the cover:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-url/105-9066054-9530030?%5Fencoding=UTF8&search-type=ss&index=books&field-author=Jay%20Payleitner

Thanks! It turns out I got way more stories than I needed, and so quite a few didn't make the cut. Please pray with me that our devotional draws people to God and His Word.

With much appreciation,

Jay K. Payleitner

Parting Words

Susete and Nela both wrote short notes to me before we left. Brother Paul translated Susete's note for me. It reads:

My dear Sister Bi:

When you return to your land of America, I will not forget you because I will not forget you being here in Cape Verde. I'm not going to stop going to church. I'm writing this letter with a lot of joy because I'm going to miss you. I hope you will come back.

Go and be strong,
Susete

Still More Memorable Quotes

Sometimes the best preaching is the kind where all I jot down is quotes straight from scripture because there's not much "filler". That was the kind of message Paul Sr. preached Sunday morning. I've got about two whole pages of scripture and no fluffy stuff and nothing I don't know where to find in the Bible. But since the title of this post is quotes . . . .

Sunday night my brother from Brazil, Robson (pronounced Hobson) preached on Galatians 6:17.

"The marks -- Scars always tell a story."

"What do you think about a person who would suffer so much for you?"

"The marks and scars we have will one day disappear. The only one left who will have marks on his body in eternity is Jesus."

"Jesus has the marks of love. It's a love that is eternal."

More from Jonathan:

"The Word became flesh . . . The world needs the word inside us to become flesh. They need to see the word lived out in our lives."

"We need to expand our vision and see this world as God sees it."

I think it was Rand who quoted this:

Some men die in battle;
Some die in flames;
But most die little by little
Playing silly games.

Phillip Pritchard had this to say:

"Some people think that missions began with the Great Commission, but it began with the fall of man."

"We must realize that, just as with Abraham, God blesses us so that we can be a blessing."

More Memorable Quotes

Paul Pritchard Sr. left us with a series of challenging questions early in the trip:

- Are you in? (In Christ, that is)
- How far are you in?
- Are you faithful?
- Do you love the Lord?
- Are you a disciple?
- Are you getting others in?

Mrs. Cynthia:

"There is a certain type of person God is looking for." (Isaiah 61:1-2)

Russell Snoddy had this to say:

"In your life, don't believe you've reached it. There's farther to go. If not, you'd be in heaven. . . . If you think you've arrived, you won't follow Jesus any farther."

"I see God's hand moving all over the globe. The question is -- Do you want to be part of it?" (I do. Do you?)

"If we don't pay attention, we're going to miss something God is doing."

"When we remember how valuable our salvation is, when we remember how LOST we were, it will make us RUN to get others saved."

"Our time here (in Cape Verde) is short, but what we're doing is eternal because God is eternal."

"Satan has us convinced to just stay put - You've got good music, good preaching, you need to grow a little bit more first. You go to all the services, you give, you give to missions, you're good. But the job of the church is to go right into the enemy's territory, not hide behind our comforts. . . . The normal Christian life is to push the enemy back - it's what we're doing right here. This is the normal Christian life." ( . . . to which I can only say a hearty amen!)

"You can only live a normal Christian life if you have some things:
- You have to love God and love his Word. Jesus said, If you love me, you'll keep my commands. We desperately need this kind of love. This is the kind of love God saved us with. We can speak about the love of God, but if we have this kind of love, we can show them his love.
- You have to put God first. I'm here because God loves this place, and I love God. Moses said, If your presence is not with us, I'm not going to take one step. That's obedience!
- You have to have love for the lost. That love will cause us to leave the comforts of home and go forward to overcome the obstacles."

"Don't lose the opportunity to make a difference."

"The normal Christian life -- Love God -- Love people -- Be obedient."

Joe Davis again:

"The World is the next person you give a tract to."

"Why did I come back? Here is the place I have a common bond with men of like passion. I don't fit nowhere else."

Carla And Friends

In one of the classes at one of the high schools, we finished handing out the Bibles just as the kids were going to a break. So I got to talk with Carla and some of her friends. Communication was a little difficult, but at that level of education some of the kids know a little English, so it's not totally impossible. I had them all read John 3:16 from their new New Testaments. Carla and I spotted each other as we were leaving. She's the third girl to the left of the pole.

Quote of the Day

This quote from Joe Davis that I overheard from the men's devotions one morning deserves a post all by itself:

When the towers fell, we saw people risk their own lives to rush in and rescue people. We've seen tornadoes, and car wrecks, and house fires, and a hurricane on the Gulf Coast where the same thing happened. . . . People are perishing! . . . . What I don't see is the sense of urgency to get the Gospel to them.

God Can Use Anything

This young man received a tract because Anna got sick, and we had to stop and get her and the van cleaned up. This was the only time it happened, and she was fine the rest of the day.

One day after returning from working in the schools all day, I went up to the roof and was just praying for a while. This was part of my prayer that day:

Lord, I know you have people here, or you wouldn't have sent us. Help us find them."

This particular method of help was a bit unusual, but seems to have been as effective as any other I've come across. :)

Memorable Quotes

Here are a few memorable quotes from the first week.

Joe Davis, speaking about Jesus' words in Matthew 11:28-30 spoke about how young oxen are trained by being put into the yoke with an older, bigger, more experienced ox.

"The little ox doesn't pull anything. All he has to do is learn the yoke. The burden is all on the big ox."

Do you want to be a disciple of Christ? In Luke 14, three times Jesus says you can't be his disciple. "Verse 33 kicks most people right out the door. . . . He's not trying to keep people from being disciples. He's showing us what the path of discipleship is."

"Americans have so much stuff we're trying to get rid of some of the stuff so we can get more stuff."

"How can we make disciples if we are not disciples?"

"Christ is first. . . . He makes the choices. . . . He owns it all. . . . One of those three will knock most people out of the race."

"There are many things you can know about the Bible, but there are many things you will never understand until you give your life to the Gospel."

From Jonathan Quinn:

"God's priority is to redeem fallen man, not make us happy and comfortable."

"We think the community we live in is the world, but Jesus died for everyone on the face of the globe."

"We think the call to serve God is something only a few people have, but the call is to the world, and we're all responsible."

"There is going to have to be some suffering that has to take place in order to get the Gospel out to the world."

More later.

You Know Dreams Are Weird When . . .

. . . things from your dream start showing up in real life. Yesterday, while stopped at a gas station, I looked across the street, and lo and behold, there's the Suzuki shop from my dream. Not, only that, but I talked to a homeless guy named Derrick who was from Liberia while we were stopped there. He was probably a little Schizophrenic just judging from the way the conversation went, but I gave him a tract and talked to him a little bit about Jesus. Of course, this is a sea port city with closely packed streets and no grass, at least now during the dry season. So it was "interesting".

Yes, I Ate Goat

Two of the schools we stopped at yesterday wanted to feed us. At the first there was a selection of different foods. At the second, we had a goat and potato stew with rice. It was different, but good. I was in the group that got left at this school while some went to distribute Bibles in a smaller schhol. That gave me a chance to hang out with some of the kids. Yes, I wished that I knew more Portuguese. We did several group photos where the point seemed to be who could do the most interesting thing for the camera, I got them to do a hand pile with me. My hand really is at the bottom of all those other hands. It doesn't take much to be instantly surrounded by about 30 or 40 kids. The kids with the pile of sticks are having some sugar cane for an afternoon snack. And, yes, the lady really is sorting the rice grain by grain.

Rachael

Rachael seems to be having a good time here. She's been holding the wordless book while Brother Robson from Brazil tells the story. I'm just a bit concerned about her spiritual condition, however, as she was considering converting to Buddhism today. (Just kidding folks!)

She did get just a bit lobsterized on the last day.

A Study In Contrasts

In one of the towns we pass through you will see this church at one end of town and this house with a devil mask over the door. Pretty much everywhere you will see houses with crosses painted on each side of the door, but this doesn't mean the people who live there are Christian. I've been told that the crosses are supposed ward off evil spirits. Pray for the spirittual darkness to be lifted.

This particular town was one where Bibles were distributed in the school last year. The great need now is for a church and people who can disciple those in whose hearts God has been working. In fact, one of the team leaders said the other day that every town where we've taken God's Word into the schools needs a church. Pray for laborers.

I Can't Think Happy

Joe had made a joke earlier in the trip about standing around frowning to look important and busy, and he does it very well! But I caught him smiling today. He says I'm going to ruin his reputation.

Now I'm African

I bought a lenço today, and Nela helped me put it on. Nalito says that now I'm African. The lenço looks much better on Nela than it does on me, though, don't you think?

Nela and Linda

Nela and Linda are two of the Cape Verdeans who attend the little church here. On Friday, they, Nalito, and Charles went with us. It was nice to get to know them a little better. Nela speaks a little English, so we were able to have a little bit of conversation.

At one of the schools, we ran into a lady who was cleaning fish on one of the benches. I've spared you the grosser details of what was on the other side of the basin. :)

Lu

On Saturday, Rachael and I went over to Lu's house and almost had a conversation. There was lots of halting silence and looking through the word list, but we managed to exchange a few pieces of information. When we got back, Joyce asked me if I had invited her to church. I started to feel bad that I hadn't until I realized that I didn't know enough Portuguese to actually do that.

So after breakfast the next morning, I grabbed Lisa, and we went over to see if she would come. And she said yes. After the the service, I got Paul Sr. to help me explain a drawing I had told her earlier that I would show her. She had commented several times about how happy and content I was, and I had said that I wanted to show her a picture I had drawn when I was not so happy. As Paul and I explained the drawing and the story behind it, Paul began to share the Gospel with her, and she received Christ.

I know I'm at the end of a long line of people who have been planting seed and watering the ground, but it's such a priviledge to actually be there when that seed sprouts.

Left Behind

Last Thursday was my day to stat behind and help in the kitchen. Here is a picture of me and Anna doing dishes. I also got Joe and Lisa's wireless set up, which sure makes communication a whole lot easier -- as long as I remember to press the send/receive button. :)

Laundry Day

On the day I took this picture, Neni washed clothes and left well after dinner when they were all cleaned and hung on the lines. I saw the places on her hands where the skin had been rubbed raw and the bulging, swollen muscles in her forearms. At that moment, I knew that I didn't have a clue what hard work really is. I would have quit long before I had any marks in my body to show for my labor.

Update: Neni is no longer just the "laundry lady". She received Christ at one of the evening services, so she's also now my sister. Somewhere in between all of that laundry, she made a lovely table cover for me before I left.

Language Lesson

Not one, not two, but three languages were being taught in both directions between Charles and Jonathan.

Quiet Spot

I love the building designs here. Everything seems to be designed to maximize whatever breeze is blowing in off the ocean. This little breezeway really is quite breezy. I'm not the only one who found this a nice spot to have a little quiet time.

A Late Dinner Worth Waiting For

Got to meet Ruthe today, and she got to meet Christ. Brother Robson from Brazil started sharing the wordless book with her right in the main traffic area, and no one had the nerve to ask them to move or to serve dinner. So we waited and prayed. It wasn't long before the heads bowed in prayer, and I gained a new sister in Christ.