Dispatch #4 from Lausanne--"Engaging the Missing One/fourth"
ENGAGING THE MISSING ONE/FOURTH
Friday’s sessions were very dear to my heart, as the focus was on the Unreached Peoples’ Groups. I have never been as hopeful as now. In the first few days we focused on the whole church and the whole gospel. Today, we began to focus on the whole world. AOF and CGSM, I have so much to share with you when I return. I feel the Lord calling us to a whole new level of commitment. One of the things that has happened is that a booklet was passed out that has the latest updates on the unreached. The focus for this Congress was the 632 unengaged unreached groups. This means those groups who are the most in need of gospel access. This is the first time that a list like this has been handed out to such a large group with the expectation that they will commit. Each delegate has been asked to sign the commitment form, which I will show you when I return.
The implications for this are beyond huge. In spite of the large numbers still unreached, I have never seen such a strategic focus. This is beyond teaching about UPG and hoping that someone will listen. With the cross section of the Church that is represented here, it seems more “doable” than ever. We will need to get Dr. Woodward’s reports, but the teaching on oral Bible storytelling in people’s heart languages seems to be bearing the most fruit world-wide. I am hoping you were able to access some of the stories given during Friday morning’s plenary 2. If not, we will report when we return. This is something else I can see God doing through us. We have already been learning some of the content in CGSM classes. Now we just need to work on the how-to’s of oral storytelling.
It has been very encouraging to participate in the reconciliation working group. The first day it was extremely painful to hear some of the stories. But today we focused on areas where there is much hope. One report was about a group of Christian and Muslim Palestinian women who have been meeting together to share one another’s stories. The Lord is doing such a work among them, that the Muslim women want to start including Jewish women in their meetings. There were so many places around the world where God is doing deep healing-the kind only He can do. On Monday, Doug Birdsall told the story of a woman from Rwanda who had watched her husband and son cruelly murdered in front of her during the genocide there. When the case went to trial, the judge asked the woman what punishment she wanted for the man who had done this. She said, “I have no family left, and they are not coming back. What I want you to do to this man is to make him my son. He must come visit me twice a week. I still have a lot of love to give.”
Tonight’s focus was on Africa. Of course the music was great. One of the most poignant points was about the fatherlessness in Africa. The fatherlessness has occurred because of wars, HIV, and abandonment. One ministry that is having a lot of success is one who disciples soccer coaches to disciple their players. Tonight’s focus was also on children. I sat with a woman at dinner from Puerto Rico, and her story fits right in to tonight’s topic. She is Columbian, but felt called to go to Puerto Rico over 20 years ago with YWAM to disciple young people to go out as missionaries. What she found was a population of churched young adults who were involved in every kind of sin and vice and really not willing to change. She wept before the Lord, and asked Him to release her to go where her heart really is, which is among the Uighur people of China. He said no, that she was to stay in Puerto Rico and start working with the very young children. So she started discipling and teaching the 5-15 year olds, and has kept that up all these years. She now has “graduates” who have gone to the Uighur people and are still serving there.
Tomorrow we have the final meeting of the African American group. Please continue to pray that God will speak clarity and vision. Also please continue to pray for Sabrina and I as we finish out the last few days. It has been such an unbelievable joy to meet her and have this time with her. I’m sure it is a meeting that was God ordained and that God has much work for us to do together. Also continue to pray for Dr. Woodward, as I believe he starts his return home soon. I have hardly seen him at all. I love and miss you all so much.
