(Sabbath, December 4, 2010)
Dear Family and Friends:
It is 4:40 a.m. and we have an early start on a busy day. Last night we went to the Zemabawk church at their request for “a piece of the pie.” They were not able to come to the Last Day Events Seminar at the Conference Headquarters church because of distance and lack of transportation. So, “if Mohammed won’t go to the mountain, the mountain will go to Mohammed.”
Our translator drove the Conference car and Biaka was along. He is “saving his voice” but we noted that he talked with animation to the driver the whole way there and back.
Zemabawk church is the first SDA church in Aizawl. It was started by a student from Assam Training School in 1946. Their present building was erected in 1993—six years before we came to India the first time. They supported our first evangelistic series in India at that time that resulted in the Mawbawk church. It is the church that went to another village in earlier days and preached an evangelistic series with a new church arising from it. But the Baptists there were enraged. They drove out the new converts and burned down the church. So our Zemabawk members went back and salvaged the metal after the fire and carried it back. With it they built a church school that has been enlarged over the years and now has 180 students. Most of them are not SDA and it is a great mission outreach in that section of Aizawl. That is the school where we gave a last minute gift from Danny Knupczik on a previous trip that was exactly enough to add a needed new room to the school. Today in the “Divine Service” Glenn will pass on Danny’s greetings to them again.
The plans last night were to present “USA in Bible Prophecy” with computer and video projector visuals, but flexibility is always in order in the mission field. There was no electricity from the town. The church has a battery backup system that was adequate for the P.A. System and house lights but not for projector needs. So Glenn changed the subject to another we had heard was appreciated elsewhere “Laodicea”. They listened well. Our translator is the Executive Secretary of the Mizo Conference and does very well. Today he has to be at the Mawbawk church for a special area meeting of youth, so someone else will translate for us at Zemabawk, probably Biaka in spite of his voice protection needs.
Since the church cannot be darkened well in the daytime, we plan to not use video projector and computer but to present “The Gospel In Priestly Garments” and dress up one of them in the High Priest robes. We can share a lot of message at one time with that subject. We had expected to have an afternoon meeting with them also, but learned last night that the Central Church in Aizawl had heard of the meetings and urged that we also come there for the afternoon service. All agreed and that is where we expect to be. We say “expect” because one never knows for sure. There will be no night meeting so we can catch up on the sharing of photos with the Nussbaums. They have some from Myanmar and a village near there, while we have photos they want of the baptism at Chhimlaung and the school at Tlangsang. That’s the nice thing about digital photos—they are easy to share and nothing is lost in doing it. Same thing happens when sharing the Gospel. In fact, everyone gains.
Glenn spent several hours preparing a computer sermon on Heaven for the final meeting tomorrow night at the Conference Church, but our translator suggested we present “Laoadicea” there also because of its content. That will be much easier logistically because we don’t need to drag computer and projector there. Also, it is easier to modify and shorten if necessary than when bound to the visuals. And we can do it even in the dark if all the lights go out. They plan a farewell for us then and even though Biaka said we should plan a full sermon, we know by experience that other preliminaries can rob the sermon of half its time and we don’t want a long-drawn-out final service. Glenn is content to let the Apostle Paul do the preaching “a long while until daybreak “ (Acts 20:11). We came close to that in Andhra Pradesh because of not getting started until after 10 p.m. with the sermon and long-winded translation. We have no real control over the service but just do our part whenever it is fitted in. We are glad the Holy Spirit is in charge of results.
Last night when we had to switch from computer and projector, Glenn told them about evangelist Ken Cox in USA who once used multi-media with 4 huge screens and about 19 projectors synchronized by computer. Once Glenn asked him what if a big problem developed and the system did not work. His response was memorable. “What can it do to me? I can always stand on my hind legs and preach the Word.” And so it happens, and did last night. We have noticed that Cox now uses just one video projector with computer and one screen. We also have abandoned our multi-media equipment that was so demanding to haul around and store afterwards.
We suddenly realized when doing a Sanctuary Seminar and were asked about the robes, that we have been using them since the 70’s—more than 40 years. They have been in many places around the world under very difficult conditions with grime and dust, not to mention sweat, and still look presentable. We think the Lord has had a part in preserving them. Mary Alice also has a part in her careful handling and cleaning. The material for the Ephod was difficult to find with all the colors mentioned in Exodus 28. Now some of them have worn off. We discovered that they were printed on rather than woven. And we will need a little help to renew the Hebrew letters painted on the stones with the names of the 12 tribes. Maybe son Glenn will come to the rescue since he is the Hebrew scholar in our family.
Looking outside right now we see that “morning has broken” and it’s time to get ready for “Divine Service” following Sabbath School.
With love, in His love,
Dad and Mom, Grandpa and Grandma, Glenn and Mary Alice