I figure I have some time to write one of our legendary “quick” updates on life around the Global Frontier Missions base and Tlaxiaco. The older two kids are outside somewhere playing. Michelle is tired from a night of partying and taking a nap. Katria is climbing the walls around the apartment; ya, I can pound off a blog entry.
January has been a pretty quiet month overall for the Diks family. And after the rush, rush, rush of December and November we were glad to have it. We were able to achieve the “almost settled” feeling; you know the one? The one where your routine is pretty good, the kids are acting normal and you feel like you live here? And just in time too! Because in a month school is over, then we spend all of March working with the short term missions trips that come to the base and then it’s April and life changes again! Everyone has been healthy this month (I think) and we praise the Lord for His gifts of health and safety.
Chelsey and Jared are doing good in school. They still will not admit (or realize) how much Spanish they have learned. Yesterday we were over at one of the neighbours (I was attempting to fix a computer issue) and both kids didn’t notice how much they were chatting with them. Jared ended up helping stock the shelves in their store as well. Kind of neat.
The last two weeks of school were fun. First, we spent a week talking about revival. I think it’s one of the favourite “Christian-ese” terms to toss around, but I don’t know if many people actually understand what a real revival looks like. And how it might start. I say might because it’s a work of the Holy Spirit and He works with sovereignty. We can’t “make” a revival happen. But we can create the right conditions. And once it starts it something amazing and crazy. People start getting saved all over the place and even the land gets healed!
1. Pray – pray for it. Ask for the Holy Spirit to come and start changing lives in those that know Him and those that don’t. And not some wussy little 30 second “shopping list” thing. It takes constant, dedicated prayer from many people. People asking God to change their lives, to change their town/city and to start bringing in the harvest of lost souls. Anyone willing to do that? By the way, I heard a powerful quote from Louie Giglio on being close to God. He says “if you don’t have a heart for the lost, you have never actually been close to God.” How many of us have the same heart for the lost that God does? I know I’ve got a long way to go.
2. Repent – another good Christian word. Literally it means to “change your mind” or to realize that your sins are keeping God away from you. When you’re praying, you need to ask God to show you your sins. We all have them. And EVERY single one keeps God from fully moving in our lives. The little ones and the big ones (although we all know that every sin is equal and all equally keep us from getting closer to Him, right?). And when God points out the sin, may I suggest that you agree with Him and do everything in your power to STOP IT? I have learned how callously I have taken my sin in the past, and I suspect many Christians are the same way. And we wonder why churches are dying because of the majority of people being more interested in what they get out of the service than in what they can give to God?
Another cool thing about revival is that during and after every one in history there is a large (ok, massive) missionary movement. So God ignites a town or region to fully love and serve Him, and then those people cannot help but start taking the news that God loves everyone and He will forgive their sins to the ENTIRE WORLD!
So, for those of us that are really wanting cool new movements of missionaries to fulfull the great commission, what is more necessary? Highly structured committees planning every step and limiting what they think they can do, due to limited funds or people resources? Or perhaps prayer and repentance from every one of those same people begging God to change their lives and to use them to tell the world about the power of life in Christ? Committees aren’t wrong, but I sometimes wonder if our plans are so focused on what we think we can only accomplish as human beings that we forget to pencil in the “Holy Spirit” element of miracles and other cool stuff?
This last week of school was focused on the idea of oral storytelling and the creation of an oral Bible for those cultures who don’t learn in a “literate” (reading and analysis or the 3 point sermon) method or don’t actually have a written language. I learned that there are 4 billion people in the world who learn via telling each other stories and then memorizing them and applying the lessons to their life. In fact, the only cultures in the world who don’t learn this way are pretty much the western ones: Canada, USA and Europe. And studies are starting to show that our culture actuallyalso learns better from stories and music. For example, how many Bible verses do you remember? But how many songs and movie quotes do you remember the words for? I got challenged by that.
Another interesting fact is that even though at least two thirds of the world’s population learns via non-literate (storytelling) methods; about 95% of the world’s missionaries are using literate ways to teach them! Huh? And again, we wonder why the work is so hard so many times. Maybe a little change in strategy is needed? 
Lastly, we had an 80′s party last night at the base. Ya, a bunch of gringos running around in scary clothes and a tonne of hairspray. Thankfully there were no open flames! Most people headed over to the Reto second hand clothes store in town. Except that I think “second hand” is a generous term for most of the clothes. I actually believe that this is where Value Village sends the clothes that are too ugly or old for them to sell. So these clothes are most likely third or thirteenth hand. I also wondered what the good staff at the Reto thought about the constant stream of white people running in to buy all these clothes. (note, just hit the 1000 word mark there! Congrats on lasting so far!)
So we’re all dressed up. There were a few mullets. Way too much big hair. Even one guy sporting a FANTASTIC mesh shirt and cheesy mustache. Oh ya, it was me. Michelle looked amazing (which I didn’t know was possible for 80′s outfits) and the kids had a lot of fun too! There was food, 80′s Jeopardy (It was Twisted Sister, NOT K.I.S.S) and Guitar Hero. There are some pictures up in our gallery. Just click on this link and go to the Tlaxiaco January 2009 album.
Here’s a picture to whet your appetite though. One good looking family. Thanks to all for your continued prayer and financial support. We need it so please keep it up! Also, please don’t hesitiate to drop us an email and let us know what’s going on in your lives and how we can pray for you.
/RD
