Celebrating through December

 “Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. With this in mind, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, I too decided to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.”  (Luke 1:1-4)

We are approaching Christmas.  Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Jesus.  As we celebrate His birth we would like to know more about Jesus and His life.  Luke, Paul’s dear friend and doctor (Colossians 4:14), did us a favor.  He made a careful investigation and wrote an orderly account of the life of Jesus.  If we read the book of Luke, we would gain an understanding of His life.

 

There are 24 chapters in the book of Luke. The challenge is to read (or listen, see below) one chapter each day beginning on December 1.  You will get to know Jesus better.  It will make the Christmas celebration more meaningful and enjoyable.  Let us read knowing each day that our family and others are reading the same chapters.  It might be helpful to share things you learn with others.  You can help each other learn and remember the events in Jesus’ life.

 

You need to make the commitment to read.  Then read each day.  You may want to keep a small journal or notes on each chapter as you read.  Then you can discuss those things with your Bible teacher, a pastor, or other Christian friends.  I pray that we all: Be smart, be careful, be helpful, be safe, and not be afraid.  God is with us now and forever.

 

Dale D. Meredith

Professor Emeritus, State University of New York at Buffalo

*Listen on Bible.Is or even watch AND listen.

Thankful for Jesus Film Project

Last week we did something unusual. We traveled outside the country--all of two hours to Antwerp, Belgium. We are grateful to the coordinators of the Flemish Jesus film project, Campus Crusade/Agape personnel Elaine (pictured with Keith) & Ralph Elliott. They hosted us with grace and introduced us to people and plans with contagious warmth and enthusiasm.

We are also thankful for the people at the Operation Mobilisation center outside Brussels. The director (far right) had requested a version of the Jesus film in Flemish even though a version already exists in standard Dutch. 

He and the others there helped set up their recording studio for us to use. We did some trial recording, mainly for casting purposes.

Flemish is related to Dutch but different. And people in the Flemish-speaking region of Belgium are also related, but different.  We look forward to learning more before and during this recording. The script and the cast should be ready by February.

A big thank you to all who prayed with us last week--and who have supported this work in prayer for the past 25 years!

 

What do all these photographs have in common?

Yes, they all contain Keith and they all needed you to happen.

And yes, Keith is in the field, recording.

 

He's recording the Jesus film,

    he's recording the entire New Testament, 

       he's recording children's Bible stories . . . 

in places from Latvia

        to

            Curaçao . . . 

in studios created in churches

    living rooms

        Bible societies

            rented vacation homes . . . 

None of them could have happened

    anywhere

        without your support,

            particularly your prayer support!

As Keith begins a new recording, this time the Jesus film

    right next door in Belgium, 

        please pray for the right voices for the right parts

            and good communication within the team.

And watch for new photos soon!

A Tale of Two Towns: Visits to and from Print and Oral Cultures

This is part of a series of blog posts written by our Student.Go intern Songz Nkolombe. He serves as children's minister in his home church in Cape Town South Africa. He does that in person. He currently works with us and studies at Truett Seminary in Texas via the Internet (photo from online meeting with Mary).

The on-going series, A Tale of Two Towns, can be read in English or Romanian on the Romany Education Blogspot.

Hello friends.

We continue the story of A Tale of Two Towns. The story presents the differences between people from oral and written cultures. Two strangers—Aule Songz & Tim Wright—from two different yet adjacent worlds share their towns’ stories. Now we are travelling with Tim as he enters my town—the print culture.

Previously, I told a story of a native who had to learn to see his land through the eyes and heart of a foreigner. This is my story, how I had to come out of comforts of the words, paragraphs and pages of my life to walk, live and play among strangers only to come back questioning my view of what learning means.

To prepare for Tim’s visit to my town, I’ve had to imagine how it must be for one to enter a world with
foreign concepts which he must learn as he navigates his way through life. I spoke with one of the elders in his town to find out what to look out for when Tim arrives—the red flags. For now, I’ll focus on one of those red flags: the stillness and quietness of my town. This, I was told, comes as a shock for someone from the oral town.

Since drama, speech and melody are vital to pass on information, their town is always alive whether people are at home, on the street corner, or in the marketplace. The land of print seems dead to this elder because our information is passed on mostly silently from the pages to the reader’s mind. Even when the reader would be overcome with great emotions because of the material he or she had read, these experiences would explode within them, while their outward countenance would appear as if they were not affected by what he had read.

I would never have considered my town to be dead or silent. For we write to preserve wisdom and knowledge in order to continue on living. What is written, no matter how old it may be, comes alive in my mind and expands my world.

Until we read again,

Songz