Monday, March 18, 2013



Dinangat Mail
I wanted to continue on with an update from one of the women from the Dinangat missionary team.  Ellie has been a vital part of the ministry along with the other two wives.  A few ladies and I are studying "contentment" here in the states but as you will read "God's contentment" is never based on where you live or how much you have.  Worry knows no bounderies but neither does the power of God.  Yes it is the missionaries that bring the gospel to these remote people but God use them to teach the missionary heart also.   How I wish I could take you to this beautiful place in the mountains of Papua New Guinea.  To see the love of God shine from the faces of the believers.  To sit with them on the ground as they worship the same God you and I worship.   To meet Ellie and the rest of the team and and hear their excitement at how God is working in  all their hearts.  But for now this precioius testemony will have to do.   

 March 2013

"Yesterday I worried a lot about whether or not I will be able to think straight and talk right when I will meet again with Elli to check the Bible Translation. Then today I worried again, but then I thought that those worries probably make God sad. Hasn't He helped me all those years and hasn't He worked through me and done it well? Why do I think that maybe now God would not help me again? So I stopped worrying and trusted God. And I came and now you see how well it went!"

 This is what Mesari (2nd lady on the right) told me yesterday as we met to check the Bible Translation for understanding, like we do every Tuesday afternoon. Her words touched me. I had to hold back my tears. How can Mesari have such a trust in God after knowing Him only for 5 years? How can she trust Him so much better than I?

 Wearing a ripped shirt and stitched together skirt, without shoes, without a watch, without any jewelry she sat cross legged in front of me on the floor where we read together the words of 1 Timothy 6, 6-9:

 "But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. People who want to get rich
fall into temptation…"

 When Mesari heard those words her eyes showed this deep shame. She felt bad, for she felt caught in her discontentment. She said, "Yes, that is true, when we have food and clothes, what else do we need? We have God, our Savior, He is everything we need to live and to die!"

 I don't know what to say. I feel awful. Just a minute ago she told me about her bad house and that at night when the family sleeps the rain drops on them through the bad roof. Now they will need to move to their smaller house in the garden which is further away and they will need to walk a long distance to come to the village every day. And for days now she is wearing this ripped shirt, or for weeks really. Sweet potatoes for breakfast, for lunch and for dinner.

 I feel ashamed. And somehow it feels good. For I see in this moment how precious of an example my Dinangat friend is to me. I am proud of her and I will never forget how she trusts God in her poor situation and finds contentment in Him in the midst of all this. This is what I want! And I thank God for Mesari!

We can  identify with Ellie and her friend Mesari...anxiety comes to us all. One of the suggestion in our contentment study is to write our worries out and put them in an Anxiety Box.   It will be a reminder that God is carrying those worries. Once or twice a year open the box and find God's has taken care of most of our worries. 

 I like what George Mueller said: " The beginning of anxiety is the end of faith.  The beginning of of true faith is the end of anxiety."

                          What helps you deal with your anxiety?

 
 

15 comments:

  1. I love the George Mueller quote. What you wrote also brought me back to what our pastor said..."That when we start to worry it is, in reality, a sin, as we lose faith and trust and let worries drown the truth that there is truly no worry that can be bigger than our God.

    This is a beautiful story/testimony you shared. Thank you. May you always remain strong in His mighty power. Thank you for reminding me that contentment in Christ is all I need for truly, He is our All in All. Glory be to God!

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  2. Thank you for sharing this lovely testimony at "Tell me a Story." How content are we? with our cupboards full of food and our refrigerator too, and hopefully not a leaky roof, and probably not torn clothes held together with stitches. Yet your friend was praising God for his blessings to her. Awesome!

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  3. Hi Betty,

    Where did you live overseas again? I have forgotten.

    Thanks for this story.

    Jennifer Dougan
    www.jenniferdougan.com

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  4. Roel, wish you were in our bible study, it's been a good one on contentment. Your post amaze me, you seem to perservere through so much to keep your job. I would think to do that you must have a contented heart. Thanks for stopping by. Glad you liked the testemony.

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  5. Dear Hazel, thanks for keeping an open door on your blog for such testemonies as Ellie's. I know the people who live so remote would be so shock to see all the goodness we live with and still get discontented. Blessings

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  6. Jennifer, the last country we served in was Papua New Guinea. Before that is was Bolivia, SA. Pray all is well in your part of the country. Thanks for stopping by.

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  7. Awesome post, Betty. My heart bouncing between the same emotions as Ellie's. I'm deeply gratified that God is moving with all the people that He's put on your heart. At the same time I feel shame of desiring and worrying over the things that don't add up to anything.

    Love that quote about faith and anxiety. How true. I'll be remembering this... Thanks for sharing your heart - helps mine.

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  8. Floyd, I bounce the same way every time I read one of these updates. I have been working on post how God used the simple act of "hope". It's one of those where I bear my flesh...not pretty...
    You have a tender heart brother
    I think you are convicted easily which is refreshing. Blessings.

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  9. George Mueller has inspired me since I first read a biography about this prayerful man.
    I deal with anxiety by prayer and keeping busy!

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  10. Elizabeth, thanks for stopping by. Thats a good combination, prayer and keeping busy...will put to rest anxiety anytime. Blessings my sister

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  11. I want to trust God in every situation and be anxious about nothing. I have been trying to pray or sing when my mind wanders but may try the box idea. Thank you. Many blessings!

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  12. Shana, thanks for stopping by. I like the idea of singing when I am anxious...you try the box and I will try the singing. Blessings my sister.

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  13. Great quote! It reminds me of what I read recently on a blog, (paraphrased): when we worry we temporarily become atheists.

    Worry takes away from who God is. I'm a guilty of having to repent of worry on a daily basis. But I find the more time I spend with God the less time I have to worry.

    When all else fails, praise songs help.

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  14. TC, thanks for stopping by...you are the second person to mentioned singing away the worries. Agree, the more time we spend with Him the less we have to worry. Blessings

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  15. Betty,

    Re your comment on my post "People-Watching in Ancient Israel," yes, that song is new to me too. I'm sorry that you are felling worn this week. May your Bible study time have been sweet this last week, and may you feel our Abba's rest sinking deep into you. :)

    Jennifer Dougan
    www.jenniferdougan.com

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