Last Update from "KAHAN" (Email Update)

Update- August 26, 2007

Short Version:
· Workshop Update…Dedication and distribution of the stories went very well!
· “They know the Truth now, I’ve done what I came here to do, their salvation is not my responsibility…” ~ Local leader and the apostle Paul also…
· During the month of September, I’ll be traveling to two countries, both of which are currently experiencing some civil unrest.

Longer Version:
Picture: Robin and I distributing tapes. This man (his wife is on the left) has attended all of our storying workshops and has been using storying to reach Kahani people.

“They know the Truth now, I’ve done what I came here to do, their salvation is not my responsibility…”
One of the local leaders and his wife shared these thoughts with us when we went to visit them last week. They have been working in a city for several years, and have seen very little response. And yet, they persevere and hold on to the fact that their job is to tell the Truth, and His job is to change their hearts. As I prepared to share the story for our church time this past week, I came upon Paul’s encouragement to the elders in Ephesus. As I ask God to care for my friends who now have the Truth but have not yet decided to follow Him, I was encouraged by what Paul wrote:

“… I have done the Lord's work humbly--yes, and with tears. I have endured the trials that came to me…Yet I never shrank from telling you the truth, either publicly or in your homes. And now I am going to Jerusalem, drawn there irresistibly by the Holy Spirit… not knowing what awaits me, except that the Holy Spirit has told me in city after city that jail and suffering lie ahead. But my life is worth nothing unless I use it for doing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus--the work of telling others the Good News about God's wonderful kindness and love. And now I know that none of you to whom I have preached the Kingdom will ever see me again. Let me say plainly that I have been faithful. If any suffers eternal death, it cannot be blamed on me, for I didn't shrink from declaring all that God wants for you….” Acts 20:19-27 (portions)

Travel Plans…
For the next month, I’ll be traveling – by bus, plane, rickshaw, taxi, train, camel…and who knows what else… I am looking forward to the places and people I’ll be visiting in two different countries. At the moment, both of the countries I’m planning to visit are experiencing some civil unrest. Please ask Him to guide my steps not only while traveling, but for whatever He may lead me to as a result of visiting these places.

I will be returning to the USA October 3rd. My plans are to spend some time with my family, as well as with you! The next best thing to serving the Kahani people is sharing about them!

As I mentioned, after returning to the states, I’ll start training for recruiting for One-Story (www.onestory.org), as well as assisting my supervisor with developing some language learning materials. Both of these opportunities require continued prayer and financial support. Thank you for partnering with me in this journey and considering continuing to partner with me. This work is not possible without you!!

Till All Have Heard,

~ Elizabeth
P.S. Since I’ll be traveling a lot over the next month and am not sure how much email access I’ll have, please be patient with me as I reply to your emails!! However, please don’t hesitate to write! Now is a crucial time for me, as I get ready to “re-enter” my home country!! I need your support!

Surprise!! (Email Update)

Short Version:
I surprised my family and came home for our family reunion!!
2 months left in the project…
Then a month of traveling…

Longer Version:

Surprise!
Each year my mom’s family (now over 100 people!) all come together for a family reunion. Last year, there were only a few who weren’t able to make it, and I was one of them. It was one of the hardest times to be away from family. This year, I decided to surprise my family and come home! It was a wonderful time of reuniting with some of my cousins, aunts and uncles, many of whom live in other states and I only get to see once a year at the reunion. I also thoroughly enjoyed being with my family the week after the reunion, and getting to visit my brother who is working at camp in New Jersey.

2 months left in Kahan…
In the next two months Robin and I hope to make final recordings onto CD and cassette. Pray for Heather and Precious as they work hard to remember the stories to record them! Later this month, two girls (from our company) are visiting us who are interested in working in Kahan in the future. In August, we hope to have one last workshop with the leaders of the groups who have attended the previous workshops. We will present them with the cd’s and cassettes and also train them more in how to use the stories in chch planting work. Over the two months we’ll also be saying a lot of goodbyes to our ‘family’ and friends of the past two years.

Then What?
Robin and I have train tickets to leave “Kahan” the last week in August. During the month of September, I hope to travel to two other countries and see if He opens any doors for future work in those places. I’ll be in touch as those plans become more certain. And after September, I’ll be coming home

P & P
* Praise Him for being able to ‘be all there’ and fully enjoy the time home with my family.
* Praise Him for safe travels back to “Kahan.”
* Pray for Robin and me in the last two months in the project- most of all, for our relationships with the people and with each other.
* Pray for preparations for the last workshop in August.
* Pray for all the goodbyes we’ll be saying in the next two months.
* Pray for travel plan in September, that He will guide me where He wants me.

Till All Have Heard,

~ Elizabeth
Pictures:
- Natalie and me fighting for the frisbee.
- My Grandparents and me (my dad's parents)
- Eating out with my brother Mark at the camp where he is working this summer.
- My Grandfather and me, my mom's father.
- My Indian friends at home.

Workshop Update (Email Update)

Short Version – see quotes below: (See also pictures at the bottom!)

I don’t even know where to begin. Maybe a few quotes from the workshop will help…

“I learned that we shouldn’t go into villages and say, ‘I’m here to preach to you in the name of Jesus,’ we should say, ‘I have a story to tell you, do you want to hear it?’” (comment by a village woman who hasn’t ever been to the city before, or attended any kind of ‘religious/formal’ meeting)

“When she leaves, what will we do? How will we keep this going?” (comment made by a local leader, in reference to continuing the storying workshops, in spite of the fact that Robin and I are leaving). The discussion led into them deciding to have more storying workshops among themselves in the four main areas where they live.

“I don’t want to, but I feel like I can leave Kahan now. You are here to carry on the work.” (me- sharing with the participants the joy and encouragement that they are to me- to see them excited to carry on the work even after we leave…wow).

Overall, the workshop was a huge success. Even saying that, I feel like I’m containing all that God did in just a few words that don’t really do it justice. He really blew me away with how well everything went- from logistics, to communicating with the participants, to their overall energetic attitude about stories.

I walked home from the workshop on the second day watching the beautiful sunset behind the mountains, and tears came to my eyes. I realized that while there is still a ton of work to be done among the Kahani people, perhaps the work I came here to do over the past two years is really starting to pay off. That is, getting the tool of storying into the hands of those who will use it, not just this month- but for the rest of their lives. I realized how strangely wonderful it felt to realize I might not be needed anymore, or perhaps not in the same capacity.

I kept wondering how it was that things went so smoothly and even better than planned. Another quote can help me out here:

“Right now there are probably about 100 people praying for you, and this workshop!” (me- sharing with the participants that people all the way in America are praying for them specifically!)

I can’t tell you how much I felt your prayers. The past few weeks have been physically, emotionally and sometimes spiritually draining and I knew that even though I had a lot of excitement for the workshop, I was going to need some extra strength to get through it. I have to say that at the end of both days I felt energized just by watching Him do His stuff. And the power behind that was YOUR PRAYERS. Wow. How can I thank you enough?

To Him be the Glory,

~ Elizabeth

Two weeks ago, this week, next week (Email Update)

Update- June 1, 2007

Update- Short Version
· Two weeks ago: Our training in Thailand went well- learning how to make professional recordings of our stories, and how to possibly put the stories on the radio. It was also encouraging to reconnect with other teams and hear what He is doing in different countries.

· This week: Testing the whole set (29 stories) – with people who haven’t heard them.

· Next week: Conducting our Second Storying workshop- June 6-7th.

Longer Version
THIS WEEK (Testing the whole story set!)
I have already tested the whole set (our 29 stories combined are 2 hours and 3 minutes long!) with some friends from the highest caste and today, I finished testing the set with a friend of our house helper’s who is part of the lowest caste. This 45 year old woman has a third grade education and can’t read or write.

After hearing all the stories, the following conversations took place:

Me- “Do you think Moses, David, and Peter have a special relationship with God?
Friend- “Yes, because they listened to God, and did what he said…”
Me- “Do you think Kahani people would want this relationship with God?”
Friend- “yes…”
Me- How could they have that?
Friend- following God, trusting in Yishu, listening to what he says…
Me- But this God says to not worship other gods, so if you follow Him, what would that mean?
Friend- it means you can’t follow other gods.
Me- When I go to Kahani people’s homes, I see many pictures of gods and staues (idols), so I think for Kahani people this would be hard, or make them angry- what do you think?
Friend- yes, maybe…
Me- What is the benefit of following Yishu?
Friend- he can help you, he can do good things, you can also become good, etc.

In whom, or what is your confidence?
On a positive note, it seems that the idea that one can’t follow Yishu in addition to other gods seems to be getting across. But, it would also be nice if the answer to “what is the benefit of following Yishu” was, “to forgive my sins and help me have a right relationship with God!”

We realized several months ago that Kahani people don’t practice forgiveness, so because of that, we added phrases in our stories and additional stories that illustrated forgiveness to try and emphasize that point. However, I’m starting to wonder if most of the Kahani people do not see themselves as sinners- or at least not really bad sinners. So, even though now they might understand the concept of forgiveness from the stories, they don’t see a need for it themselves, and so they don’t mention this in their answers.

Realizing that the part of the message of the stories is perhaps still not getting through, I became discouraged. Thinking back over the two years that we’ve been here, I started to wonder what could have been done differently, or what other stories could have been told to make the message clearer. I felt hopeless, feeling like the stories are only that- just stories, and nothing more. Then, this morning I read:

“Blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence. They are like trees planted along the riverbank, with roots that reach deep into the water. Such trees are not bothered by heat or worried by long months of doubt. Their leaves stay green and they go right on producing delicious fruit.”
~ Jeremiah 17:7-8 NLT

God showed me that I had made the stories my confidence and hope. I started realizing that the stories are actually just stories. Yes, they are God’s Word, but without God’s holy spirit working through them, ‘ke ni hoon’ (‘nothing will happen’- a popular phrase among Kahani people). I thanked God for the reminder that my hope should be in Him. I also realized that I need to earnestly ask Him to fill in the gaps in the stories and for Him to reveal the truth to people.

NEXT WEEK- (STORYING WORKSHOP- June 6-7!!!)
I am so excited about what He will do at this workshop. There are more people planning to come to this one, and hopefully more women this time too! I can’t wait to share with them some of what we’ve done, but more importantly, model how they can craft stories and use them to reach the Kahani people.

While my main focus during the past years has been these stories, being able to pass on the tool of storying to nationals seems to make our work more worthwhile. It also feels like such a high privilege! I can’t wait to take it on!

Since Robin is away, I will be conducting the workshop, by myself. Pray for perseverance!

P&P
Praise for a refreshing time in Thailand.
Praise for reconnecting with neighbors, and them saying they missed me, and also missed the stories!!
Pray for Robin, as she has been in another country visiting a good friend for two weeks. Pray for a refreshing time for her.
Pray for Robin, as she travels to help with some consultant checks.
Pray for the storying workshop- Pray that I would be able to effectively and practically communicate the idea of storying. And pray that the participants catch the vision of how to use stories to reach their own Kahani people!
Pray also for adjustment to the idea of leaving my “home” here in less than 3 months.

Til All Have Heard,

~ Elizabeth

“It is in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for.”
~ Ephesians 11a

Good and Sad News (Email Update)

Update- April 12, 2007

The good news: We made an initial recording of the last story in our set!!!
The sad news: A fellow worker’s son committed suicide - we have to cancel/delay the storying workshop next week.

: ) THE GOOD NEWS: Our story-crafters, Heather, Gina, and Precious have been working hard the past few weeks to craft stories, and check them and re-craft them, and record them. This past week, we were able to record the last few stories in our set. This doesn’t mean we are “done”- of course, it just means that we now have an initial recording (or, as for some stories, up to 9 recordings!) of every story we have planned to do. I have been making almost daily trips to the neighbors to test stories, and took a trip to Grace’s village on Wednesday and was able to test some more stories there. Some days, it’s been wonderful to record a story in the morning, back-translate it into English in the afternoon and test it that evening!

Robin and I have both had some interesting conversations with our story-crafters lately. Please, please pray for all of them as they seek the Truth in these stories that they are telling! Please also pray for wisdom for Robin and me as we try and find ways to answer their questions and model what it means to be a follower of the Truth.

: ( - THE SAD NEWS: We received a call this morning from a friend who said “Mr. A’s (a man who has been helping us with the preparations for the workshop) –son died last night and so you have to cancel your storying workshop (previously scheduled for next week- April 17-18).” It is very sad, as his son (around 16 years old) committed suicide by swallowing poison.

Because of his son’s death, not only will Mr. A be unable to help us, but the location where we were planning to have the storying workshop will be in mourning for several days. Many of the leaders in our city will be involved with funeral services and it would be culturally inappropriate for us to carry on with our plans in this situation. We are very sad about the death, and also sad that this will delay the workshop and thus delay stories from reaching more Kahani people.

Thank you for your prayers for Mr A’s family as well as praying for those who were planning to come to the workshop- pray that they will be able to come at a later date.

Also, as we near the end of our project (about 5 more months)- pray against the Enemy and his evil schemes to delay/hinder the work.

Thank you, as always for your faithful prayers. Without your support, some Kahani people would never have the opportunity to hear of Him!

Til All Have Heard,
~ Elizabeth
“Christ’s love is greater than anyone can ever know, but I pray that you will be able to know that love.” ~ Ephesians 3:19
Pray today that the Kahani people would know His love.

March Quotes (Email Update)

April 1, 2007

“O Lord, my God, you have done many miracles for us. Your plans are too numerous to list.
If I tried to recite all your wonderful deeds, I would never come to the end of them!”
~ Psalm 40:5

Check out some quotes from this past month:

- “I heard a lot about this stuff before, I heard a lot of stuff from the Bible. I even went to a Christian school, but I never understood any of it…after hearing these stories, I understand more.” ~ Gina, (story-crafter from the city)- after hearing several of the stories.

- “Yes, my sister had an evil spirit in her a few years ago” ~ a testing subject after listening to the story of Jesus healing a demon possessed man.

- “I just washed the feet of 9 little girls yesterday. It was the end of a 9 day fast for 9 lesser goddesses- and so, I washed the feet of 9 little girls, and prayed to them also- as they were representations of the goddesses I was fasting for.” ~ Heather, story crafter- in a discussion about Jesus washing the disciples feet.

- “Who would believe in a god that does that?” ~ neighbor in response to the last plague of death on the firstborn in the Exodus story. After some frustrating discussion, and using a word picture about fairness, she then said, “It’s good you are doing these stories, so we can learn more about God.”

- “Every story you tell me, I tell the story to my mother that night” ~Grace- our (non-Christian) language helper (we didn’t realize she, and possibly others are already telling the stories to others!)

- “It doesn’t sound like different parts, it sounds like one story.” ~neighbor who listened to 4 stories about David.

- “Our gods say I shouldn’t pray for 10 days after someone dies…I was thinking that your God is somewhat different…” ~Precious- story-crafter, on deciding if she should come to our prayer time that week or not since it was only 5 days after someone in her village had died and she wasn’t sure if it was okay to pray to God. She did end up coming…and praying.

- “Did Jesus want the disciples to kill people? ~Heather (story-crafter) after hearing the part of the calling of the disciples story, “You were catching fish, but now you will catch men” – after all, when you catch fish, they usually die, right?

- “I’m glad you are planning to have another workshop. The information you shared with them in the storying workshop is something they can really apply to their ministry, since they mainly work with those who can’t read and write.” ~ one of the local leaders in reference to the workers he had sent for the workshop last month, and his excitement that we are planning to have another workshop in April.

- “It’s raining in our house” ~ me, trying to describe to the shopkeeper that water is seeping through our roof and walls from the rain!

P & P
Praise for:
* Heather and Gina (new story-crafters) have had a lot of time to work on stories- and we’ve been getting a lot of stories recorded and tested.
* People telling stories that we don’t even know about!
* Precious continues to see how God is different from her god.
* The positive feedback we’ve had from the workshop- and the excitement about having another one (April 17-18!)

Prayer for:
* Robin’s trip to the capitol- she is taking a trip there for a few days to rest and meet a friend.
* Connections with Heather (story-crafter) and her family- I’m planning to spend at least one night at her home while Robin is away.
* Our consultant – who has been busy doing ‘on-site’ checks for other storying projects as well as trying to check all of our stories- pray that she has time, energy and wisdom as she returns to the states and continues checking stories J
* Kahani people- that they would see the Truth.

Til All Have Heard,

~ Elizabeth

STORYING WORKSHOP (Email Update)

Update on Storying Workshop (“Potential Future Storytellers” - see picture)

“What she is saying is right”
One of the local believers said this to another one when we discussed the importance of sharing the stories with the village people in their heart language instead of the (more respected) trade language. Thank you again and again for your prayers for the storying workshop. In spite of a few frustrating moments, things went pretty well.

Over the past two days, the participants (local believers who speak the Kahani language and others from nearby cities) and Robin and I, listened to, discussed, and attempted to learn the first 5 stories in our initial set: Beginning-[includes Creation/Fall], Cain and Abel, God’s Promise to Abraham, David and Bathsheba, and David’s Punishment.

Encouraging and Frustrating…
It was encouraging that, at our insistence, they spoke in Kahani (local/village) language almost the whole time!
frustrating that when they retold a story they kept adding things from their own knowledge of the Bible
encouraging that when we told them of some testing results, they saw how Kahani people might misinterpret the story if they added or left out certain details
frustrating that when they acted out the Cain and Abel story they added a lot to the story that is not in the Book
encouraging that they really got into acting out the Cain and Abel story!
frustrating that we couldn’t understand everything that was said (due to our limited language)
encouraging that in spite of our limited language, they seemed to understand what we were saying, even if they are still processing the concepts.
encouraging that they saw an importance of starting at the beginning with Creation.
encouraging that they came back the second day!
encouraging that they are interested in another storying workshop, maybe a month from now.
encouraging that they said they would try to tell stories in their ministry!

* We ended the workshop with a challenge to them to try and tell the stories we learned (and others) and then when we meet again, we would like to hear a report of how it went.

Praise Him for:
- A talkative bunch of people- we feared they might not talk much. Instead, at times, it was hard to get them to be quiet!
- Several positive comments that were made about the stories and about using stories in their ministries
- Interest in another storying workshop- about a month from now.
- The participants leaving communicating with each other in Kahani- a lot more than when they arrived! :)

Ask him for:
- guidance as the people who participated in the workshop attempt to tell stories in their ministry
- stamina for us- even though it’s excited and motivating, Robin and I are physically and mentally tired- and neither one of us has slept well this week. Pray for rest and also perseverance as we get back into crafting stories.

* Immediate pr request: We haven’t had electricity for most of the day, and only have about 3 inches of water in the water tanks on our roof. Please pray that water comes tomorrow and our electricity comes back soon!!!

Til All Have Heard,
~ Elizabeth

Very quick update about workshop (Email Update)

Tuesday, February 27, 2007 – 11:30am Eastern Standard Time (10pm- South Asia time)

The first day of the storying workshop went fairly well.
It wasn’t perhaps quite what we expected, but then again, we didn’t quite know what to expect.
The morning was somewhat frustrating, but the afternoon was better…
Tomorrow, we will meet again- reviewing more stories and trying to help them see how they can apply what we’ve done in these two days in their own ministries.

Please praise God for:
- The people who did come to the workshop today (most are from other cities!)
- Accommodation provided for all participants
- The participants hearing perhaps some new ideas today- that they can teach in their own mother tongue, they can verbally tell a B story rather than only reading it, and it doesn’t have to necessarily include every detail, etc…
- Robin and I working well together
- Robin and I having enough energy to speak and listen in another language the whole day (very little was in English)

Please pray that:
- We would be able to communicate ideas clearly through modeling, etc
- The participants to see how they can learn themselves from these stories as well as use these stories to teach others
- The participants would be able to learn the stories they way they have been crafted
- The participants would understand more about how the story has been crafted and tested and is the way it is now…
- Robin and I would have strength and energy to focus for another full day of listening/communicating in another language!

The workshop will be taking place while most of you (in America) are sleeping- so if you wake up in the middle of the night- please pray for us!!!

In Him,

~ Elizabeth

Special Prayer Request

Special Pr. Request:

Next week (Feb 27-28 *new dates) we are hoping to have a storying workshop for some Christian workers. These workers are being sent by several pastors in surrounding areas. None of the local pastors speak the local language. Thus as a result, very few people in their congregation speak the local language and few are even originally from this area. However, the pastors do have a passion to reach this area. They have trained believers from villages or the city to do evang. in villages. These believers, plus a few others from other cities (2-3 hours away) are who will be attending the workshop.

Please pray specifically for the following:
**Outcome: pr above all that He receives glory by what we say and do.
Pray that the workers attending the workshop grow closer to Him through the devotional times we’ll have with each story.
**Pray that these workers see that they can share His stories in their mother tongue. Right now most of them use the trade language to ‘preach’ in since that’s the language they have the Bible in.
**Planning: pray for Robin and I as we plan this week just how to teach/model the stories.
**Language: pray for both of us as we think about how to communicate these ideas in the local language, as well as with the help of a translator.
**Logistics: the housing- pr that there are enough accommodations for those who are attending the workshop from other cities. Praise God for the local people who have agreed to provide housing for them.
**“Holi” festival: after changing the dates once due to the 21st being election day (and here, you aren’t allowed to hold religious functions on election day without taking permission from the District Magistrate), we learned that the Holi festival days start at the end of this month- potentially the 27th-28th. This festival is one where people throw colored powder/water on each other in celebration of Spring. We are hoping that it doesn’t really start until March, and that it doesn’t affect those traveling to the workshop!

It’s so exciting to think that this workshop could be one of the most important things we do during our time here. That is, getting these stories into the hands of people who will use them when were gone. Knowing that the Enemy also knows this and doesn’t want it to happen, causes me to ask for your prayers even more….

Thank you for your support through pryers!
Till All Have Heard,
~ Elizabeth

February 2007 Email Update

Short Version:
--Precious, one of our story crafters is noticing a difference between our God and hers
--I’ve been trying to come up with creative testing situations
--Forgiveness- a tricky issue to communicate in a culture that doesn’t practice it!!!
--P & P

Long Version
“Will you please pray for me?”
“Precious” one of our story-crafters called one night this past week and explained that her stomach was hurting her a lot. I asked if she wanted one of us to come over or get medicine for her. She said, “I’m just calling to ask you to pray for me.” A little embarrassed that my first reaction was to help her by human means, I then told her I would pray for her. Then I hesitantly asked, “Do you want me to pray for you now, on the phone?” She said, “yes, please.” We prayed, she said thanks and hung up. The next day, she came over and said, “Thank you for praying, I feel much better and know that it’s because God helped me because you asked him to.” From coming to our prayer time each week, Precious has heard many stories and seen us pray for each other. Earlier last week, Precious told her mom about how we (Robin and I) pray for other people. That really impressed her as it’s different from how she would typically pray to her gods.

“Let’s see who can retell the story better, you or your grandmother”
When listening to stories, people often get distracted by the goats, breakfast, other guests who drop in, the weather, washing clothes, fetching water, etc, etc…It’s hard to find ways to keep them focused for more than 5-10 minutes. While I’m not trying to make a competition out of these stories, today, I tried to make a game out of remembering the story by saying. “Yesterday, Aama (grandmother), remembered and told this story really well, let’s see if you can remember it better than her, or if she can tell it better than you!” It was interesting to see their attentiveness to the story after that!

“We don’t really forgive people here…”
Recently we realized that part of the reason people haven’t been able to retell parts of a few stories that talk about someone forgiving someone else or God forgiving someone is because they don’t really practice forgiveness here! They understand the word and maybe even the concept, but as one testing subject said, “Why should we say sorry and forgive, if we are just going to fight again? I’ve been in a fight with my sister-in-law for 15 years and we haven’t spoken in 15 years.” Pray that we find ways to illustrate this concept through the stories.

Praise for:
finding new neighbors with whom to test stories
being able to craft stories with new story-crafters, “Heather” and “Gina”
“Precious”- one of our story-crafters coming weekly to our story/prayer time.
being able to connect with various local Christian leaders regarding the storying workshop, and being able to get a list of several people who may attend!

Prayer for:
Pray for our story-crafters as we figure out how to communicate the concept of forgiveness.
Pray for creative ideas to help people stay focused on to the story in testing situations, and that they don’t distracted by life around them!
Pray for preparations for the storying workshop (February 20-21st!!!).
Pray for the Kahani people to see Truth in our lives and in these stories!

Thank you as always for your continued support and prayers…

In Him,
~ Elizabeth
“The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it, the world and all who live in it. For He founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters.” ~Psalms 24:1-2

MY BIRTHDAY! (Email Update)

Email Update

Short Version:
Birthday Party Update- thank you for praying!
“Why not have a storying workshop where people can learn the stories and how to use them in the villages?”
“Will you carry wood, eat grass, and tell stories?” (testing in villages…)

Birthday…Update
Thank you all for your prayers for my birthday party. One of our story-crafters “Precious,” helped prepare special food, and shared the story of Jesus’ birth. I followed with a brief testimony in Kahani language about what His birth meant in my life. It was a blessing to share my birthday with so many of our friends from such a wide variety of backgrounds.

“Why not have a storying workshop…?”
This past week, our housemate, Vivian, organized a workshop to motivate local leaders to support the translation work that is happening. Robin and I also did a short presentation on stories. The result from the presentation is the idea to have a two-day storying workshop for the local leaders to learn the Kahani stories and how to use them use them in their ministries and in evang. in the villages. While there is still much to plan, the tentative dates are February 20-21st. This is a huge step in transitioning the work we’ve done in the past year into the hands of nationals. It is our prayer when our time in this project is finished, we can leave knowing that His Word, through these stories, is going forth! Please pray now that He would be preparing those who will come and develop a desire to share the stories in the villages!

(picture: dancing at my birthday party!)
“Will you carry wood, eat grass, and tell stories?”
Our house helper, “Anna,” asked us this today as we started making plans to visit her mother’s village next week to test stories. She is excited to visit her family and show us her mother’s village. She has planned that we’ll sleep in a different place each night, staying for three nights, we think. Pray that the trip will go well, we’ll be able to test stories, as well as listen to their stories, and that above all, we would be a light to “Anna” and her extended family.

Picture: Left to right: Me, Vivian (our housemate, originally from Guatemala), Robin- roasting marshmallows and keeping warm by the fire we have several times a week at our home during the winter!

PRAISE AND PRAYER:
Praise for encouraging moments with story-crafters.
Praise for Robin and me coming to some decisions regarding the rest of the stories for the set.
Praise for the blessing of being able to share a story and testimony with many at my birthday party.
Prayer for testing in villages- the next few weeks, and continuing to adjust stories.
Prayer for beginning plans for the storying workshop! (currently scheduled for: Feb 20-21).

Til All Have Heard,

~ Elizabeth
“Like the ten spies, we too can be pessimists; or like the two spies, optimists. Like the ten, we can put our difficulties between us and God and say we are not able; or like the two, we can put God between the difficulties and ourselves and say we are able!” ~Henrietta C. Mears

“Is anything to hard for the Lord? No!” ~Genesis 18:14

Email Update!

Email Update- December 17, 2006

Short Version:
“Grace” – a new story crafter
“Are you going to invite me to your birthday party?”
What do these people really need to know to follow HIM?
The Himalayas…a constant encouragement.

A New Story-Crafter
We’ve started crafting stories with a new friend, “Grace”- (the relative of one of our neighbors). This involves taking trips to her village (15 minutes on the motorcycle, and about 45 minutes hike down to her village). Living in the village a few days a week to craft and test stories has been a blessing. Fetching water, fire wood (all on my head, of course), making rotis (flat, round bread) by fire-light, unsure of where the next spot will be to go to the bathroom, conversing in the village language, etc, etc- the fun never ends.

“Grace” a new story-crafter and me working on stories…
wrapped in our shawls to keep warm!

Are you going to invite me for your birthday?
All of our neighbors and even a few others have asked me this question recently. They all know my birthday is on the 21st of December, and they are all expecting a party with food and dancing. So, attempting to be culturally appropriate, we’ll arrange a party. I’m also hoping two of our story-crafters will be there, and I’ll ask one to tell the story of Jesus’ birth. I hope to follow the story, by sharing a short testimony of what the birth of this baby means in my life. It will be exciting to have the house filled with people- from the lowest class to the highest, and three different religions—most non-believers, but many of whom have heard some or all of the stories we have thus far.

What do these people really need to know to follow HIM?
As Robin and I have been meeting to discuss additional stories to add to the set, this question has been laying heavy on my heart and mind. Since we are planning to do only 24-26 stories, it’s not possible to focus on all the qualities and characteristics that could draw someone to Him. Thus, we have to make some decisions about what stories to do, and what characteristics to draw out. We have learned so much from the past year and are able to make some good “guesses.” However, it’s hard to accept that we won’t ever really know what’s best. We can try what we think would be best-- but then must fully TRUST that HE will take are of the rest.

As I praise him for the work that has been done and also ask him to help me trust Him with the work that remains, He has directed me to this verse…the words that David encouraged Solomon with as he got ready to build the temple.

“Be strong and courageous and do the work. Don’t be afraid! Don’t be discouraged by the size of the task, for the Lord God is with you! He will not fail you or forsake you.
He will see to it that all the work…is finished correctly.!
~ 1 Chronicles 28:20 (NLT)

The Himalayas – December brings cold weather, but also beautiful, clear views of the ‘snow mountains!’ Being able to wake up every morning and see the mountains (not these in particular, but other ones) constantly reminds me that just as the mountains stand firm no matter what happens- our Father is also there, no matter how good or how bad things may be. What a blessing to always be reminded of this.

PRAISE AND PRAYER:
Praise for a new story-crafter.
Praise for being able to make more progress on our previous stories.
Praise for staying healthy.
Prayer for all of our story-crafters (Nathan, Precious, Grace) as they continue adjust previous stories.
Prayer for my birthday party- that it would be another opportunity to demonstrate His love to the Kahani people. Also pray for my testimony- as I figure out how to say everything I want to in the Kahani language.
Prayer for guidance in deciding more stories for the set.

As you think about what this Christmas season means, don’t forget that so many people still don’t know its meaning. Pray for those across the street from you as well as the Kahani people- that HIS STORY would become real in their hearts!!!

Have a wonderful Christmas!

Til All Have Heard,

~ Elizabeth

Update from Family's Visit

Update- November 24, 2006

Short Version:
“I wouldn’t trade this for a 5-star hotel” (Family Visit)
Back to work…
P & P

“I wouldn’t trade this for a 5-star hotel”
In spite of our “squatty-potty,” bucket bath, and other things may have not been the most comfortable, this was the statement my mom made as we walked to our house helper’s village.

My family started out in Thailand, overlapping with some of my training- which gave them opportunity to meet some of the trainers, and several of my friends. We then headed to my home in “Kahan” where in addition to visiting a village, we also spent time meeting our story-crafters, back-translators and other friends. Being able to see, hear, smell, and taste where I live was an experience I’m sure they will never forget, and one that I’m so glad I was able to share with them.

Picture: In our house helper’s village



Back to work…
I travel via train and bus back to "Kahan" this evening (Friday morning Eastern Standard Time time). Robin arrives back Monday morning. We will sit down early next week to figure out what needs to happen to accomplish the goals we have in front of us. We have a goal to complete our 12 stories by the end of the year. This date has been pushed back twice already for various reasons- the main one being a result of findings from testing in the villages. For example, the serpent in the Fall story is seen as a god! We want to be sure the stories are communicating clearly, easy to remember, biblically accurate, and culturally sensitive – getting all these pieces to fit together takes time!

(Picture: Visiting some ruins in the capitol city)

P&P
Praise for a safe and enjoyable trip with my family.
Praise for their health- only one day of stomach stuff for Mommy, Daddy and Natalie- but the rest of the time they were fine!
Praise for training- I co-taught the language section of the training for the new teams, and had a great time doing that!
Praise for a Thanksgiving spent with my family.

Prayer for traveling back to Kahan tonight.
Prayer for my parents as they have a layover in Bangkok and will be traveling from Bankok back to JFK, America tomorrow.
Prayer for re-adjustment back to life and work in Kahan.
Prayer for Robin and I as we press toward our goal of completing this initial 12 story set by the end of the year.

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and enjoy the Winter season!!

Till All Have Heard,

~ Elizabeth

Email to Friends at Home in America

Hey Paltan! ('group' in Hindi)

It’s been a while since I’ve written- so sorry about that!! :( I hope you are all doing really well. I miss you lots!!!

1) India Update:
- Kahani- that’s the language I’ve been learning the past several months- it’s about equal to the amount of Hindi I know. It’s similar, has a lot of similar vocabulary, but also some words that are completely different. An interesting thing about the verbs. In Hindi sometimes the “command” form is the past tense in Kumaoni. For example, in Hindi, “karo” would mean, “Do it” but in Kumaoni if you say, “Oo kamr saf karo” – that would mean, “He cleaned the room.” Anyway, I still have lots to learn. Spending time out in the village helps my language so much…though it doesn’t help my stomach!!! Some villages I go to don’t have proper bathrooms, and sometimes the water I’m given is the same water the cows drink from…but all of that just adds to the excitement of being here

- Village life- I love it. I really enjoy it- fetching water, carrying large bundles of fresh cut grass 45 minutes up a steep mountain on the top of my head…there’s no end to the excitement! Of course, I know if I were to live here for months at a time, I might think otherwise, but at least for now, it’s a joy to be out with the village folk!

- The storying work…it’s going well. We have 12 stories we’ve been working on – There is quite a lot of working involved…making the stories, recording them, getting them back-translated (from Kahani into English, just to make sure we didn’t miss anything), testing the stories- (playing them for people and asking them questions, as well as checking to see if they can remember the stories), re-doing the story if it was too confusing at first, re-back-translating, re-testing, sending to our supervisors, re-testing, etc, etc, etc….It’s a lot of work…We are hoping to get a lot more done in the months of December and January, because mose village folks aren’t doing much then, since it’s too cold to do much work!!! We’ve also been getting some of their cultural stories- did you know that they have certain gods that are representative only of their area? It’s interesting to hear their stories too.

2) Thailand Update: (I’m here right now for some training)
- I went dirtbiking for the second time in Thailand- it was lots of fun- I think I fell more, but I have learned that the main thing when you fall is to get as far away from the bike as possible, so it doesn’t land on top of you (that happened the first time!!!!)
- I also went bungee jumping…that was pretty thrilling!!!
- I’ve also enjoyed two intense games of Frisbee, and will get to play once more next week- I’m going to bring my family along too!!!
- Of course, training is going on too- that’s going well!!! :)

DIRTBIKING! (that’s me on the left!)

3) My parents and Mark and Natatlie are arriving today- I’m SO EXCITED!!! They’ll be here in Thailand for about 10 days, then we all head to India for the trip of their lives!!! We’ll be going to where I live, and yes, getting to take a trip to the village!!! Then we’ll be back in Delhi for some sightseeing! They leave India the day after Thanksgiving.

I would love to hear what’s happening with all of you- please don’t’ forget me over here….I certainly haven’t forgotten you- though I apologize for not writing as often…. I miss you!!

~ Liz

My family is on their way!!! (Email Update)

November 4, 2006

My parents, and younger brother and sister have started the journey to this side of the world!!! I’m so excited to see all of them! Tomorrow, I will be flying to meet them in Bangkok!!!
Below is our itinerary for the next two weeks.

Our Itinerary:
November 5- Parents Arrive! (enjoy some of training and meeting others involved in One-Story, as well as see some sights of Thailand!)
November 14th- 2 Flights from Thailand to the capitol city of the country I’m working in.
November 15th- Day in the capitol city.
November 15th - night train to “Kahan” – a few days to enjoy my “home” and hopefully get to met our story-crafters, back-translators, and a trip to the village! J
November 20th- night train back to the capitol city
November 21- arrive in the capitol city – a few days to do some sightseeing, and enjoy Thanksgiving together.
November 24th- 2 Flights back to Bangkok, then USA.

Please be praying for:
1) My parents, Mark and Natalie as they adjust both to Thai culture, and Kahani culture.
2) My expectations and their expectations to be minimal…that we will enjoy being together and let little frustrations not frustrate us too much!
3) How He might use this trip to encourage and challenge all of us.
4) Safety in all the travels!!

Thanks so much!!

~ Elizabeth

Feeling Better! (Email Update)

(picture of Anne's Uncle playing an accordian type instrument, and Anne's litte cousin in their home)

Thank you for your prayers for my health. I’m feeling much better now, and have been able to resume working on stories, as well as take trips to two villages in the past few days. Please continue to pray for strength and endurance for both Robin and I as we work on stories- especially as we have 5 days left til our consultants arrive!!!!!!

“Sometimes a task we have begun takes on a seemingly crushing size, and we wonder what ever gave us the notion that we could accomplish it. There is no way out, no way around it, and yet we cannot contemplate actually carrying it through…Let us recall that the task is a divinely appointed one, and divine aid is to be expected. Expect it! Ask for it! Wait for it! Believe that God gives it. Offer to Him the job itself, along with your fears and misgivings about it. He will not fail or be discouraged. Let this encourage you. The day will come when the task will be finished. Trust Him for it! (~ Elisabeth Elliot)

‘For the Lord will help me; therefore I shall not be disgraced/confounded.’ Isaiah 50:7a

Email Update!

Short Version:
* Sick…
* 10 days and counting….(til our first Consultant Check!)

Longer Version!
Sick…
I’ve been sick the past five days- actually for longer than that, but more recently I’ve been sick and in bed the past few days. Initially it was a stomach thing, now it’s a cold/fever/body ache thing with the stomach thing. Don’t worry, I’m on antibiotics, and my roommate is taking good care of me! However, please do pray that I will get better soon- very soon. And especially also pray for my mind to rest as well as my body during this time. It’s very frustrating for me, who doesn’t like to sit still for too long, to be stuck in bed- especially when we have so much to do.

In spite of being sick, God has graciously helped me to reflect on all of His blessings and faithfulness to me over the past year. True, I would rather do that when I’m feeling better- but being sick somehow helps me realize it more, I think.

10 days and counting…(til our first Consultant Check!)
Our consultants (One-Story supervisors who check the accuracy of the work) are coming to check the progress of the stories in less than 10 days. They need to see several stories (via email) before coming so they can better know how to guide and direct us when they do come. We’ve been working hard trying to get everything ready- and things have been moving along, but there is still more to do. Please continue to pray that the stories will be completed in time- and if not, we won’t stress too much about it!!

P & P
* Praise for an encouraging trip to visit two other One-Story teams in the north of our country.
* Praise for beautiful weather yesterday and today (in spite of the monsoon season- the sun is shinning brightly!).
* Praise for “Precious” (another story-crafter) continuing to help with the stories.
* Prayer for health…for quick recovery.
* Prayer for “Nathan” (A new story-crafter) to be patient in making so many changes to stories!
* Prayer for Judy (our consultant) as she comes to check the work.- pray for safety traveling, and wisdom to help guide us.

Til All Have Heard,

~ Elizabeth
Just to keep the K people in front of our prayers…above is our house helper and some of her kids, in her village.

Email Update

June 20, 2006

Short Version:
- “Can you retell the story?” (Testing Stories...)
- Missing Home…
- On top of a bus? The adventures never end…
- Going to Thailand for training- Send things by June 30
- P & P

“Can you retell the story?”
This is the first question we ask and the most important question when testing a story. From the retelling of the story, we can begin to figure out what might need to be added/deleted or changed in the story. If the person forgets certain parts or adds something, then we can ask more questions to determine why this might be. Was it because the vocabulary is new to them? Was it because there are too many details, or the story is too long? Or is it just a difficult part to remember, no matter what? It’s interesting to see how much people can remember and listen to their answers to the questions. It’s also encouraging as Anne really enjoys testing and is able to do a testing session pretty much on her own.

Missing Home
I’m not sure why I am missing home so much right now. Perhaps it’s because both my mother’s family and my father’s family are having their family reunions in the next two weeks- and it will be the first one that I have ever missed. Everything is going well here, there is no reason to “run home.” In fact, our Father has been faithful and things are going quite well. Pray that I would find encouragement and motivation in that fact, and not dwell on the thought of missing home!

On top of a bus!?
We took a trip recently that involved me climbing on top of a fairly large bus to retrieve our computer that had been put up there. Five minutes after we left, the bus had a flat tire. Thus it was a perfect opportunity to get out and get the computer. There were of course, several people watching as I climbed the ladder on the back and fumbled around in the luggage to get our computer. But the computer was rescued, and it was another adventure. It seems we never run out of those here! (yeah, that's me- on top of the bus!!!)


Thailand Address: Please send things by June 30
We will be going back to Thailand in July for training. As always, I would love to hear from you- below is the address you can send things to. For things to reach me in time, it would be best to send them by June 30th. Thanks!

P & P
- Praise for Anne who has been doing a great job testing the stories.
- Praise for a back-translator (80 years old, but able to do the work!).
- Praise for safety on the bike thus far! (We drove through a herd of goats today!!!)

- Pray for another story crafter…
- Pray for more people to test the stories with
- Please also pray for more people to help with testing as it is an overwhelming task.
- Pray for me, as I lean on our Father to carry me through this period of missing home.
- Pray for Robin and me as we continue to figure out how to divide up the work.

Also, there’s been a “lull” in emails lately. I realize this is a busy time for many of you, however, I really do enjoy hearing from you! Knowing that you are praying for me motivates me! Please don’t hesitate to write!

Thank you for your continued prayers.

Til All Have Heard,

~ Elizabeth

First Storying Session ever! (Journal Entry)

Well, we had our first storying session.

It was…different than what I expected in many ways.

Anne was there when we got there, so we sat and talked with her some (in Hindi). I tried in my broken Hindi to explain what we were going to do. We listened to the Kahani recording first. When it was finished she asked, “Is there more?” I said, “yes, but we’ll do this part today.” She understood and said okay- then she asked if she was supposed to retell the story. I said, “no, we’ll listen to it a few more times, and talk about it.” She was relieved as she said, “I can’t remember all of it!”

Sam came in right about that time, and apologized for being late. He sat down and I explained slowly, (in English) the same thing I had just to Anne. He didn’t really respond, so I asked in Hindi if he understood what I said- he said yes.

We started with Genesis 2, thinking that would be a simpler story to start with. But Sam stopped us about ½ way through and said, “what about the first seven days? Did you just skip them?” We explained that we didn’t skip them, we would do a story about them- we were just starting with Gen. 2 for today. He was still confused for a long time as to why we didn’t include that part. Anne was of course left out since she doesn’t know the story of creation. It required a lot of patience from us as he kept saying, “on day one, day two- you have to include that…”

We kept listening to the recording… Sam stopped it again and said, “The names of the four rivers isn’t important.” Great! A great crafting note- we know not to include the names of the rivers. We asked Anne what she thought the Kahani people would think about rivers and names of rivers- she also said it wasn’t important.

Sam left at one point and I asked Anne what other part she thought was important or not important. She said that having that God made Adam and that from Adam God made Eve was very important. I didn’t get to ask her “why” it was important.

We asked Anne if had a story like this. She said yes, but she didn’t know the whole thing. Sam said that there was the science story that said we came from a monkey. I think he doesn’t know the Hindu/cultural stories. He has grown up a Christian and therefore, is also unaware (as we are) of the Hindu cultural stories.

Then, the instructor for the sewing class came in. We moved to another room. We had 30 minutes left, and at that point realized that no recording was going to happen today. We discussed the story- which was all in Hindi. I went through and asked how the kumaoni people would like/not like certain parts of the story. I asked what parts of the story were important and which parts weren’t. All of the answers came from Sam. Anne just sat there. I directed several questions to her, but he answered. A few times, I said, “okay, this is just for Anne”- she would kind-of answer, and then Sam would also comment. It was really hard to get Sam to be quiet and to hear what Anne's thoughts were.

It was hard becuase sometimes I could ask a question, but didn't understand their answers at all. So what was the point in even asking the question? Man, I have to learn more language!!

At the end of the session, we asked when they could meet next- Anne offered Monday...All in all, it was a good first session….but we have a long way to go!

25 stories to complete by December!

Email Update- April 20, 2006

Short Version
Training…25 stories to complete by December!!!
P & P

Training:
Our training this time looked a little different from last time. While we had some group discussion time, we also had several opportunities to discuss our project with our consultant and with other teams. (Our consultant will visit the project at various stages to provide feedback and check the work. Once story-crafting begins, we will be in constant communication with her over email).

Meeting with other teams was a blessing and I think will be the most fruitful part of our trainings. Hearing other teams’ stories and what worked and what didn’t was encouraging and motivating. While figuring out our own plans was stressful at times, it was being able to talk it through with others who have gone before that helped make it easier!

We have a goal to complete approx. 25 stories by December. Between other trainings we have and other times when we’ll be away from our people, this comes down to completing about 1 story a week. Thus, we’ll be very busy from now til then! We also need to find a story-crafter to do the work with us!! Please be praying for this person over the next week. If we don’t find someone soon, we will attempt to work with our language helper and her sister to begin crafting stories.

We fly back on Saturday and will arrive in Kahan on Monday morning.

P & P
* Praise for productive meetings with consultants and other teams.
* Praise for encouragement from our fellow workers.
* Praise for times of “fun” during training too! (hiking, driving a motorbike and dirtbike, playing Frisbee, etc)
* Pray for safety traveling back (2 planes, 1 taxi, 1 train, 1 jeep)
* Pray for God to direct our steps to meet a story crafter within the next week!!!
* Pray for increased language learning- as we need to learn a lot more in order to understand the stories and really get into it!
* Pray for Robin’s and my relationship as we enter into a different aspect of the work now and figure out how to ‘divide and conquer!’

Thank you for your faithfulness in prayer and for the letters that some of you sent- they were a huge encouragement to me.

~ Elizabeth
“Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.” Jeremiah 33:3