Dear Encouraging Saints,
We trust you have been walking in and experiencing the amazing grace of God this last month. Our eyes have been opened to see His hand more and more in the outpouring of His mercies and great grace over us and the school/mission. Praise God!
We would like to share the joyous news that Carrie Dotson, our short-term missionary from Washington, was civilly married here to a great man of God and they will have their church wedding in the States in May. Because Marco wants to stay in Ecuador, this means that Carrie will be available to continue helping at the school next year – yahoo!
Remember the events of December with the SOUND of praise going forth from the children of the school? God continued the story in January!
Over the holidays, I began to pray that God would use the praise of the children in more ways and places. I asked for unsolicited invitations to sing and dance. God answered. The children’s song on the radio and for the authorities so touched people that as soon as Christmas break was over, a delegation from the County again came up to the school (in the rain, mud, and cold with nice shoes and suits) to ask if we would please consider participating in the major kick-off program for the County Fair the 8th of January. Clarifying that it was not a celebration of the patron idol but of the county itself, I knew this was an answer to my prayer. I asked that we be allowed to sing more than one song and that we be first to perform to prepare the atmosphere. The authorities agreed.
We diligently prepared three songs, and while I was sure of the Christian Kichwa praise dance I was uncertain which one of the other two He had chosen. As I was praising and worshiping in our house the morning of the program, over the web cast came the song from the heart of the Father. Of all the songs that could have been played on the web that morning, God made my decision by playing the song we were to present. Filled with confidence and joy that this was to be an awesome program, we arrived to participate in a parade before the main event.
Complete with make-shift floats the parade had at least thirty different entries representing many schools and a multitude of special interest groups. Hundreds of people gathered to add to the noise, color and excitement. I wondered if our protected, secluded, and obviously the poorest children in the affair would go on stimulus overload. The peace that passes understanding covered us.
The mayor, his highest ranking staff, the beauty queens from the different villages, reporters for the press and judges were on one side of the open-air former basketball court while most of the crowd watched from the other three sides. What with the drizzle, puddles, loose gravel and wandering children, the cement base made for an interesting stage. Our kids had only practiced on a smooth, polished wooden floor under controlled conditions – and today? Deep breath. This was God’s victory, His day, He set it up, He would be glorified.
We were the third of the 20 or so groups to perform but had to follow an elementary school group of about 75 children who danced, offered sacrifices and worshiped the condor. Kjersti became physically ill. I watched horror and disbelief grow on the faces of our 15 little warriors around me as the understanding of what was being done sank in. To the teachers I issued the command to pray for angels and cleansing of the atmosphere. Audible thunder sounded in the heavens in response to our prayers. It was time for the Light to shine.
Not knowing the protocol that each group was supposed to give the MC a short introduction of the presentation, the 5 third and fourth graders with their teacher ran into position to dance before the Lord with Kichwa music and language. By God’s hand, the CD they used started with the clear clarion reading of verses in Nehemiah calling for the people to praise the Lord. A perfect introduction. In their native dress and joyful smiles on the their faces these children confidently twirled, jumped and skipped through a four-minute routine with the knowledge that they had been born to dance for the Lord.
Although superbly done, native dances are common at the County Fair so the crowd was only somewhat touched. The five dancers were then joined by the rest of our group for the song the Lord had chosen. The title of the song is “You are the God of Hope” written and sung by Glory of Zion International but the Spanish version has rewritten some of the lyrics. The words of the chorus are:
You are the God of hope, You are the God of justice,
You are the God Who listens, You are my Savior.
For five and a half minutes, silence covered the area as the words of hope rang out and our children, ages 6 to 12, brilliantly executed totally foreign choreography to the honor of God. The finale is the group dropping to their knees in worship while a white banner with red letters, JESUS, is lifted high. No one moved. I was told later by a school father who was on a different street, that the town was quiet, listening to the words of the song that echoed over the loud speakers.
After a few hushed moments, we quickly left the stage for the next group. However, the MC, Luis, the same man who set-up the radio program, reverently announced to the crowd that these songs were presented for the honor and glory of Jesus Christ and Him alone. Our school was not competing for the best presentation. Wow. Public acknowledgement of the Savior. Amazing grace.
Praise, pray, listen for His leading, present ourselves as living sacrifices to Him, obey and watch Him use us as Lights to those who dwell in darkness. His great grace covers us!
Together for the Kingdom,
The Injerds
Dave, Sharman and Kjersti
Praises:
*Answers to prayer and blessings because we obey.
*Precious faith-filled children.
*Carrie and Marco’s marriage.
*Daily manifestations of His grace.
Requests:
*More opportunities to share Jesus – through word, song and/or dance.
*Mission documents to be renewed soon.
*Our international endeavors to multiply exponentially.
*Mayra’s visa to be finalized so she and Erland can live in the States.
*Many sponsors to come forward to pray for and support His kids.
*Health and safety.