(Pictured:Ja and I with our friends at a traditional restaurant for one of our friend's birthdays, which had traditional food, live music, dancing, & yes, tambourines were the bomb!)

For people to meet Jesus in a non-Christian nation (10/40 window), it often is through relationships built over many years. The missionaries, church, and pastor were so grateful that we were able to stay in one place for 2 months. This enabled us to establish deeper friendships with many native people. And it is funny because you’d think we would need to try to meet people, but God brought people to us. Our team would meet in the park and worship, and people would stop to listen and talk with us. We would get together for coffee, to their house or our house, and be able to talk about many things, including Jesus. Some came to church with us (their first time) and were able to hear the gospel, something they had never heard before. We saw hearts were softening toward God. The guys on our team became friends with one guy. He made a commitment to Christ, and they continued to disciple him. After we left, he is now helping with worship at the church. Another guy worked near our girls’ apartment, and he would often stop to listen to us when we were meeting in the park. We tried to talk with him, gave him a Bible, and invited him to church; however, he did not know English. He came to church and made a commitment to Christ--praise God! I have learned since I have returned by our teammate Scott’s e-mails, who stayed for an extra month, how he came to know Jesus. Before he met us he asked God to reveal in a dream the one true religion to him, and he had a dream of the cross. Then he met us!!! Scott wrote to me that another man gave his testimony in church and was saved through a dream about Jesus! My own attempts for God are so feeble, but here is fruit of what God is doing, when we cannot even see it! These men were recently been baptized!

Me and Kristina, who is our contacts' daughter, looking so cute. She would sing to herself in the car, and I loved it. She didn't speak English, but I tried to talk with her anyway.

Summer Sun? Actually, Snow in June...

(Pictured: my team and pastor being goofy at church.)

I am back at the base in Lakeside, Montana for the summer working as receptionist, going to play rehearsals (yes, I am a small play for our theatre school), and maybe working grounds later this summer before beginning preparations for the Fall DTS which I am staffing. My students went through debriefing week and are now scattered across several countries. It is a hard adjustment back to life in America for me this time. I realize how much spiritual oppression we were living under overseas. I know I am supposed to be home, but part of me wants to stay there and continue ministering to my friends and the church there--especially when I face the reality that my friends...do not know Jesus. And they do not even know what they are missing--the greatest gift of all--Jesus! The only truly gift that matters in a person’s life because that is how we enter into true and eternal relationship with our Father God through Jesus Christ. I emotionally and spiritually hurt for them, but I know that the seeds planted are in the hands of the Lord, and that is the best place for them to be. I am keeping in touch with my friends, the church, and missionaries via e-mail. I continue praying that the Lord would guide and use my words of friendship and Jesus to penetrate their souls and nourish the soil of their hearts.

For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!" ~ Romans 10:12-15 ~

I pray this letter has blessed your hearts. I wish I could deliver my experiences to you in person!

God bless you in Jesus Christ’s Name,

Shannon

Hakani

This week my heart and eyes were moved to tears by a short, true story, movie-documentary called Hakani. It describes one young girl’s personal journey of being rescued from infanticide. In her case, her tribe in the Brazilian Amazon thought she was bringing curses on the tribe because she could not walk or talk, so they buried her alive. She was rescued by her brother and eventually brought to a YWAM missionary’s outpost on the edge of the jungle. She received help for her medical condition, a thyroid problem controlled with one pill a day, and was adopted by the missionary couple. Today, ten year Hakani is a thriving, walking, talking and singing young girl, full of life and lit up with a beautiful, beaming smile, which her name means.

Infanticide, the murder of babies and children, is a common practice in many Amazon tribes in Brazil. Tribesmen kill, and in many cases bury alive, those that are not “normal,” with birth defects, handicaps, twin, triplets, out of wedlock because they are considered curses on their tribes. The Brazilian government has yet to protect the human rights of these children, sometimes labeling these practices as preserving their tribal culture. However, even many tribes’ people are seeing these children as human and that they have a right to live and are rescuing them. Currently, the missions’ outpost is overflowing with rescued children and their rescuers, adults and families, who have themselves fled their tribes and sought refuge.

You and I can do something to help, and quickly! Muwaji’s Law, to protect these indigenous tribal children’s right to life, is going before the Brazilian government June 30th. We can spread awareness, specifically of what is going on in Brazil, by forwarding this e-mail or this link http://www.hakani.org on to other people. You can follow the other action steps listed at http://hakani.org/en/personal.asp. E-mail these government officials! Even our concern, disgust, words can provide a voice of truth to this atrocity, and help another child, one as important and valuable to the Lord, live a full life!

And they were bringing children to Him so that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked them. But when Jesus saw this, He was indignant and said to them, "Permit the children to come to Me; do not hinder them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. "Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all." And He took them in His arms and began blessing them, laying His hands on them. Mark 10:13-16

(The film Hakani was made by David Cunningham, who also produced the documentary Path to 9/11 and the movie The Seeker. He is the son of Loren and Darlene Cunningham, founders of YWAM, Youth With A Mission. David visited our YWAM MT base so that we could pray and if led, take action.)

Posing at the Agora

Michele F. and I did model poses on our first free day adventure. After taking a ferry, we hiked a great deal of city and hills to find Kadifekale, where Alexander the Great built a fortress and founded the city of Smyrna. Later in the day, we walked about and posed at the agora, the ancient city's marketplace, which was built my Marcus Arelius (yes the very same, sleazy brother in Gladiator) after an earthquake had destroyed an earlier one.

Imagine, surrounded by millions who believe a false god…

Today I felt like I was so blessed by the Lord because I heard from so many of my friends, (because I am far away). This is not to guilt you into sending me more e-mails or mail, but to encourage you that your words do touch me.

Many times e-mails are one of the ways that God sends encouragement to His children. Recently, as I was talking with our contacts here, they began to share how little or not at all they hear from their friends from home. Let me tell you—(and not from my difficult experiences but, let’s say, wisdom) being a missionary is hard! For the missionaries here, like in many other places around the world, you begin to feel the spiritual oppression and darkness more and more as you spend time there. You can feel it. I can feel it.

And imagine, imagine, being surrounded by millions of people who believe and worship a different god than you—a false god, people who are deceived into following a lie by the father of lies. You are the .0001% of the population who knows the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and Your Call is to share The Light! Imagine. Isn’t that what we are all called to share? Isn’t that what we are all called to live?

So I ask myself these questions, and I beg you to ask yourself today: Will my heart break for the millions? Will my heart break for the individual as Jesus’ heart broke? What is my life living for?

Marhaba Friends 03.26.08

"Mar-ha-ba" Friends (Hi),

I am here, and it is hard to type on their computers at an internet cafe. The first week has been so good. So far, we have met the our contacts here. Our group gets together in the park right by the Aegean Sea, and we sing and read. But we get awesome interruptions...with people and kids wanting to meet us. So we try to communicate in broken English, their language, and sign language. Then we play music for them or play volleyball and frisbee and talk about what music they like. Awesome opportunities are opening. We danced on Sunday for our new friends. Please keep remembering me and my group, for open doors, and that I would lead wisely, and for encouragement our friends here. That people we meet would have soft hearts. That we would find a translator. That maybe we could go into schools and teach English. And maybe do a concert in the park by the sea. Also that the right people would be put in front of us to develop good friendships.


Blessings.

Shannon