Raegan’s birthday is this week. If you missed any of my previous
posts about my wonderful daughter and how the Lord uses her, you can click here
or here. I can hardly believe she’s 15. It makes sense but at the same time, it
is just a reminder that she’ll be moving on in a just a few years. When I think
about her future, I am beyond excited. I cannot wait to see how the Lord uses
her. For as long as she can remember, I've always told her (and her brothers)
that my only desire is that they give their lives to the Lord, following hard
after Him and doing His will instead of their own.
I pray the same prayers as many parents: for their
steadfastness in obeying the Lord in all areas of their lives, for their future
spouses to do the same, that they have eyes to see what the Lord sees
everywhere they look, that their hearts break at injustice and they stand up
for what’s right, that they love “their neighbor” regardless of their
differences, etc., etc. I also pray one additional specific prayer: that their
lives may be used to share the gospel with the unreached people of the world.
With close to 2000 people groups who still have not one single verse of
scripture in their language, there is much work to be done, and I pray that
they are tools for the Lord. About two weeks ago, I had the privilege of seeing
some seeds planted twice in the same week.
On September 17, Raegan and I spent an entire day at the
Graduate Institute of Applied Linguistics. You see, she has had an interest in
languages for many years. One of her goals is to speak many languages. Along
those same lines, she wants to study linguistics. If you aren't sure what that
is, the best description is “the science of language.” Raegan and I were able
to sit in on two entire classes. The first professor even had copies of the
day’s work for us to follow along with notes and practice. The students in the
second class were giving presentations of a project that they had completed.
After that class, we went with the students to have lunch in the dining hall
and the professor decided to join us. It was great because they shared how they
ended up studying at GIAL, and they asked us lots of questions since we’re in
the midst of preparing for full time mission work. We attended the campus wide
chapel service, and met with the dean of the school, an admissions advisor, and
the financial aid advisor.
We also had the opportunity to see the campus and learn
about the work they do. We saw a huge bookshelf that contained a copy of the
first edition of every Bible completed by their workers. “First Edition” means
the first printed Bible in a specific language that had not previously had the
Bible and an edition includes at least the full New Testament, but not
necessarily the Old Testament. We also learned about the International Phonetic
Alphabet (IPA), which has a symbol for every single phone (or sound), that is
made with the human mouth/throat. It is really cool! They have computer
software that enables a person to practice each phone. When you click a symbol,
it plays the sound. Another program allows you to see a graph that shows the
sound waves made by that sound. When you say the word into a microphone, it
graphs what you said and you can see how well you match the correct sound. It’s
amazing! This portion of the visit would make a neat field trip for any student
or a fun little date for adults if you’re the least bit curious. Raegan and I
had a great time. If I had known what linguistics was when I was young, I might
have studied it myself. It is so fascinating.
On Friday of that week, I took all three kids to visit with
Pioneer Bible Translators. We got to attend their chapel service as well, which
was a wonderful experience. At one point, you could hear every person in the
room singing out in worship without reservation. The message shared by the
speaker was also great. She talked about hearing and obeying God. It can be
easy to say that we’re doing what God wants us to do, when we’re really doing
our version of what God wants us to do. That can sound complicated, but I think
if you ponder it for a short while, you’ll see the point clearly.
The kids and I visited with the recruiter who explained many
aspects of what they do at PBT. Although Raegan and I were pretty familiar
because of the Perspectives class and our visit to GIAL, we still enjoyed the
visit and it was a great way for the boys to learn more about this important
work.
So, as I originally stated, I look forward to seeing how the
Lord will use my children while they’re still young but also throughout their
lives. Whether they go into a foreign field, work in a profession that provides
significant income so that they can support others, serve here in the US,
mobilize others to enter the mission field, or any other role makes me no
difference; I just want them to follow God’s will. I encourage you to open the
eyes of your children (and yours, if not yet so) to the many different roles
that must be filled in order to bring God’s word to every nation, every tribe,
and every tongue. You might be surprised how you can participate right where
you are.
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