The String

The string, made from a thin vine was hanging there on the shelf in the teachers study room. I noticed it when I walked in, but thought someone must have tied something up and left it dangling there. I had returned to our village for a short time to meet with the church leaders and Bible teachers and to get a few items from our house that we needed in our dorm ministry.

I didn’t look forward to explaining that we wouldn’t be returning to the village right away like we had planned. Things were going well in translation, curriculum development and discipleship. Shirley was starting up translation work in Genesis and we have all been excited about her joining in this part of the work. So I sat in the office with a heavy heart as I waited for the men to arrive.

As we met together there in the study/office under our house they explained to me some things that have been going on and how they have been encouraged through studying and teaching Galatians. Recently, some of them had been at an opening celebration for a new church building in a neighboring village and while they were there they met up with many people from other villages in the surrounding area. After Asele shared from Galatians chapter 3 some of the men asked a number of questions about God’s word. Later they told Asele that they wanted to hear more of this good talk in their own village. Wow! These were people from areas never before open to hearing God’s Word! God is at work.

While we were finishing up our meeting I asked how the medical side of things were going. Before Shirley and I left the village there was a whooping cough epidemic going on and we have been concerned for the children. They said that things were much better and that there were only a few who were sick with malaria. Just then one of the guys got up and retrieved the small string vine from the shelf and he began to explain about Sopol’s daughter. He said that one day she was swimming in the river with her friends and had some sort of seizure and went under. Her friends yelled for help and several guys responded by diving after her. It took them a little while to find her under the water, but they pulled her out and did all they knew to do to help her. She was unconscious for a while and they were sure she would die, but then God brought her back to consciousness. I asked how she was doing now and they pointed out the window where she was out playing with the rest of the kids. They hung the string as a reminder to tell me what God had done by showing how deep the water was where they found her. Holding it up it was well over their heads and I later measured at just over 9 feet. Praise the Lord for saving little Vini’s life.

My heart had been heavy before the meeting began, but I was reminded again that the Ivanga work is God’s work and he is not limited to Shirley and my being there in the village. He is continuing to show Himself strong in our absence and growing the church body in ways that are perfect to meet their current needs. He is so completely unlimited and His timing is so absolutely perfect!