After several hours of Field Health class we concluded the course with some labs. Most of these labs were harmless, like looking in each others’ ears, taking blood pressures, etc. but one session was not so harmless. We learned to give each other shots! Well, kinda. I learned to give Brent a shot (although I must have struck a vein or something because he has a HUGE patch of bleeding under the skin) and he learned to give himself a shot! Given my history with needles (we are not on good terms) I would not allow Brent to shoot me so he chose to shoot himself – in the stomach! I still can’t believe he did it, I thought he was joking when he said he would but he definitely gave himself a shot in the stomach and there were several witnesses! I guess he made history for the class because no one else has ever done that before. Apparently giving himself the shot was a lot less painful than when I gave him one. I don’t know what that says about my nursing abilities…I guess I’d rather not know. Anyways, I’m very thankful that they provided this class for us because we learned some very basic medical principles about taking care of our families when there is no hospital near.
We have officially begun Animism class. Wow. If I didn’t think church planting in a tribal context was challenging before – I’m convinced that it is a God-sized task now! We’ve been introduced to the mind of an animist and it is SO different from our own that it doesn’t surprise me anymore that communicating the gospel effectively should take years. If I understand an animist worldview correctly, it revolves around fickle, temperamental spirits who have control over human situations but have little interest in benefiting those humans. This leaves the animist in a position of fear and trepidation as they seek to interact with and manipulate these powers. The truth about God, the Power of powers, has the ability to set them free from these chains of bondage. Furthermore, through his resurrection, Christ triumphed over the powers of darkness. These spirits that hold the animists’ heart in fear have no power over their Creator God. Instead, their Creator God has complete power and in that power has chosen to love man beyond what we can fathom.
Praise God for church planters willing to sacrifice a “normal life” in order to take the time to speak into this foreign worldview!