Brothers and Sisters,
It is late, my skirt emits a certain cloud of bugspray, my ankles are circled with soil, and this warm-cheeked head is tilty with slumber. So, I will shoot for the bullseye... and probably miss.
Why did women, on their way back from a Hindu God worship service in a friend's apartment, show up to listen with finger cymbals still in hand? Why did Yamun, forbidden to pray or learn about God for 3 years after her family members death rush in late from the market with her teenage neice? Why did my phone ring with our Hindu garden leader agreeing to be our translator at the very moment our new intern, Emily, was praying for one this morning?
Jesus and His welcomed Spirit through prayer. He is the draw and He will have His way as we invite Him to do what he already paid for.
Tonight in the Jolly Avenue Community Garden we held our first Bible storytelling program for Nepali speaking Hindus from the closed country of Bhutan. If I could share just one look with you, I would give you the glimpse of brown, taught and weathered faces reacting to the word of God for the first time in the entirety of their lives.
I, a woman of 25, had the high honor of watching women double my lifetime, sit around on logs and listen in with virgin ears to the creation of the world and God's plan for friendship with us. I heard their chuckles when they realized He put them in a garden, and their knowing "AHA'S!" when they were told of Eve's childbirth curse. My heart swelled with honor and burned with injustice. Please pray for our little team of storytellers, Emily Smith, Meagan Wright, and myself, and for those who will hear it!
During the question segment of the story, I asked how it made them feel. They all triumphantly declared, "Ramro chha! Ramro! Ramro!" meaning, "Good job! It's good! It's good!" I explained that it made me sad because though God loved them, their friendship had to be broken. Then, an elderly lady agreed she was sad too. Next, another gardener stated
She explained, "She is saying that she likes it! We have never heard this before. This is our first time hearing this story. We want to learn anything you can teach us about God and creation." I was floored. My internal jaw lay square between my feet.
These women have daughters beyond my years and yet they have travelled through every memory to this point devoid of Truth. Do we take this seriously? Heartwrenching! This is the heart of God, that He would have His worship and freedom would reach the captives. I have enjoyed them for nearly 6 months in my position at the garden. What if it had stopped at that, accepting that they are Hindus and we just can't communicate much, assuming they've probably already decided against Jesus anyway? I would have missed the privilege of marking, for the first time in their lifetime, that moment when light hit the photo paper and a new image was burned into them, drawing apart the light and dark.
Doesn't it make you think, as the body of Christ, that we need to stop worrying so much about the end when there are thousands of Nations who have never even heard the beginning?
Sharing Jesus with those who have never heard is not just pulling up the shade; it is acting to usher the return of Jesus back to earth!
I dare you to consider the weight of Glory you've been given,
Jenna in Clarkston
*If you would like to partner with my life amongst the unreached, please feel free to use the details below and contact me with any questions!
Putting Legs to My Feet:
Mail:Reach The Nations
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P.O. Box 911
Conyers, GA 30021
Please include “RTN-Jenna Givens” in the memo.
Care of: Stone Mountain Baptist Association
1200 Green Street, SE
P.O. Box 911
Conyers, GA 30021
Please include “RTN-Jenna Givens” in the memo.
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Enter: desired amount and then click the”make a donation” button
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