Teacher and Healer

     I just received some distressing news.  A woman I care about deeply--my Bible study leader in South Dakota--has been diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease. She had had a very difficult summer, health-wise.  In fact, I didn't get to say goodbye to her in person before we moved to New Mexico, as she was indisposed.  She and I have been in touch, though, and that has been a blessing.  The following was on her Facebook update:

     Here is my latest update. 
I do have ALS-Lou Gehrig's. I have had fantastic doctors and nurses. I'll be going to Mayo but no date yet. 
My speech is slipping away but the rest of this old body is hanging in there. 
Thank you Thank you to all who have rallied around Wayne and me in prayers, cards, texts, and visits. 
Our faith and hope isn't in this world but in Jesus who has blessed us with a peace that surpasses all understanding.

     Jackie Heckathorn is known around our church for leading women's Bible studies.  I can name several woman who attribute their spiritual growth in life to Jackie's studies.  She teaches the Word of God uncompromisingly.  I remember the first Bible study I attended at her house.  She told me, "You'll never hear about me leading a study about how to have joy or something like that.  It's always going to be digging deep into the Word."

     Old and new Christians alike (even unbelievers) came to her studies, getting a deeper understanding of God's word.  It was a place where anyone could ask any question, and Jackie would dig into the Bible for the answers.

     I got an additional benefit from being in her Bible studies.

     If you've read my blog, you know that I struggled with some "mean girl" issues in the past.  I was hurt deeply by other girls in junior high (I'm not unique in that--almost no one makes in through junior high unscathed).  What made it difficult was that these girls were supposedly Christians, in my youth group.  Some very hurtful things happened.  As a result, I really struggled in my relationships with other girls, and then other women as I got older.  I went to several women's Bible studies as an adult, and all of them made me break into a cold sweat.  I would often misinterpret everything said or done as a personal slight against me.  Occasionally, there really would be a mean woman I crossed paths with, but more often then not, it was all in my head.  The one notable time I really did struggle with an adult "mean girl" in a Bible study, I handled it all wrongly, mainly because of these struggles.  And believe me when I say that I really struggled in this area of my life.  I was incredibly distrustful.  I viewed this as "staying ahead of the game" so to speak.  If I distrusted them, and they turned out to be nice, then I was okay.  But if I trusted them and they ended up being mean, I would get taken advantage of.  This was my thought pattern, wrong though it was.

     So...when Jackie first invited me to a Bible study she was leading, I wasn't so sure about it.  Something inside said to go.  So, I went.  I remember that first day, pulling up to her house.  Another woman I knew casually from church had just gotten out of her car and was walking to the front door.  My blood ran cold.  Would these ladies gang up on me?  No!  I couldn't think like that.  It had caused so much disaster in my life.  I wasn't going to let the past have power over me.  I got out of the car and also walked to the door.

     Jackie and the other woman were laughing as Jackie's dog did tricks, and I started to relax.  More ladies showed up over the next few minutes.  There was a girl there who was in her early 20's and a brand-new Christian.  She asked a lot of questions about things in the Bible.  The other lady who had shown up just as I had also asked a lot of really good questions.  These two ladies' questions steered the conversation toward different things in the Bible, and to really good places.  No one there was there to be mean.  This was the first time I trusted a group of women.  This was the first women's Bible study I can honestly say I succeeded in.

     Jackie disciples women through the Bible.  She is no-nonsense about it.  There are no games played.  The people who come to her study only stay if they want to be in the Word.

     God used Jackie, not only to be a teacher, but a healer in my life.  I really believe God healed me of my "mean girl" fears.  I am no longer scared to befriend my fellow Christian women.  I'm no longer so distrustful.

     Please pray for Jackie and her husband Wayne (who is also an in-depth Bible teacher at the church).  They are a precious couple that Walter and I have been proud to call friends.

All I Need

     Do you ever feel intimidated in witnessing situations?  Like maybe you're not adequate to reach certain people?  Maybe you need more training, etc?  I know I feel that way often.  I ask myself, "What if they ask such-and-such a question and won't accept my answer?" or "What if I offend them?"

     There are so many challenges in witnessing.  There are your average people to witness to.  People whose lives and culture are similar to yours.  These people are usually the easiest to witness to, because you share common ground with them.  For me, these people are the "All American" types.  People who work an honest job, enjoy life as they can, have some semblance of a Judaeo-Christian worldview, and are generally nice people.  These are the people I feel most comfortable witnessing to.  But not everyone fits this description, and yet those outside of that still need Jesus.  Am I equipped to reach them with the gospel?  I haven't always thought so.  

     Reaching those in a different lifestyle or culture can be intimidating, but it is very possible.  Until recently, I would freeze up if I saw a Muslim, or someone clearly caught up in the LGBT community.  I didn't think I had the answers for them.  I would be kind, but didn't try to share the gospel.  This all changed at a thrift store.

     My husband and I just moved from South Dakota to New Mexico.  We needed some things upon arrival (a new bookshelf for one), and decided to check out local thrift stores.  One of them ended up being a weird experience.  We found what we needed, at excellent prices.  But the workers were beyond what we bargained for.  

     We were greeted by a person (I thought it was a woman at first, but turned out to be a man) wearing make-up, sexy female clothes, perfectly shaved legs, and--to top it off--cat ears.  He talked to us in an odd voice that shook me to the core of my being.  The other workers in this store were also odd-looking and behaving, but a little less dramatic than this first person.  The most average-looking was a girl with a name badge that just said, "They/Them."  I asked her about it, and she replied, "Those are my pronouns.  I'm neither male nor female."  Clearly, this person was a female, but was choosing not to refer to herself that way.  I had no answer, but continued the business transaction kindly and pleasantly.  As we were leaving, we saw a sign on the wall that said it was a transgender store and hired transgender employees and gave money to help transgender causes.  We would never have given business to them if we had seen this before paying, because we believe that is against God's will.  But we believe God wanted us to go in there this once. Our spirits felt very heavy upon leaving.  These people are beloved by a God who crated them, but they are caught up in a lie.  We have been praying for them ever since.  Walter has especially felt burdened for the man dressed like a female and a cat.  

     I left that situation feeling totally intimidated about witnessing to these people.  Our twisted society has made it all but illegal to share the truth of the Bible with the LGBT community.  Everything they do is to be seen as beautiful and acceptable, and if you even remotely question this, you are hateful.  Walter and I feel nothing but love for the people at this thrift shop.  We want to see them freed from the bondage of sin.  

     Many people feel that the only way to reach people in different lifestyles (be it LGBT, some Eastern religion, or something else) is to act like it's all wonderful and beautiful.  I get very tired of the "don't judge" mantra everyone is saying today, acting like Christians are the problem (even fellow believers sometimes get into this blaming of Christians).  As Bible-beleivers, we are to "rightly divide the word of truth" (Second Timothy 2:15).  What does the word of God say?

     It says God created male and female (Genesis 1:27), so if we are to believe the Bible, we have to conclude that it is impossible to be neither.  The Bible says God is perfect and makes no mistakes.  (Numbers 23:19, Second Samuel 22:31).  Again, if we are to believe the Bible, we must conclude that it is not God's will, or even really possible to change genders.  There are only two genders, male and female, and God determined our gender at our conception.  So, these people at the thrift shop are clearly not operating in God's design for their lives.  God loves them and has so much better for them.  They need to be reached with the truth of the gospel.  I can't let their lifestyle intimidate me.  I need to be ready to give the gospel, and see the opportunities our Sovereign God sets up for me.  First Peter 3:15 says to be ready to give an answer for the hope within us, with fear and meekness.  That's the answer right there.  No matter who a person is, what they are doing, I need to be ready with the gospel.  I need to share it humbly.  I don't have to have all political or scientific arguments about their lifestyle.  I don't have to be an expert on their religion.  All I need is the same thing I need when sharing the gospel with people of my own lifestyle/culture:  The Bible and the Holy Spirit.  Check, and check!  If they reject it or get offended, that is not my fault.  That is between them and God.  In the Bible, many prophets were sent to those who rejected their message.  It wasn't the prophet's fault.  I need to be faithful with the gospel, and the truth of the Bible.  With the help of the Holy Spirit, I can do it!

Best Summer

     Last night was quite bittersweet as I dropped two high school girls off at their houses.  It had been an incredible summer of serving the Lord with these two, as well as the other summer missionaries I was in charge of.  Together, we did 5-day Bible clubs, open air evangelism, VBS's and fair ministry.  It has been an intense two months, and I've loved just about every minute of it.
     Many children in northwest Iowa heard the gospel of Christ this summer, with several putting their faith in Christ.  These are spiritual victories.  I also saw God have victory in all our lives as we served.
     It has been a blast serving with Child Evangelism Fellowship of Iowa.  I will greatly miss this ministry as Walter and I leave the Midwest and head to New Mexico.  I almost feel like God spoiled me this summer by letting me do what I love!
     Some truly memorable moments from this summer include:
   1) Running across Jericho Hills Bible Camp in the middle of a thunderstorm with my friend Wendy, lightning striking all around us!  I was praying...Wendy was laughing!
  2)  Trying to witness in Spanish to someone who ended up being Hawaiian!  Oops!
  3) A really fun practical joke my husband and I played on my summer missionaries.  They hadn't yet met him, so he "by chance" ran into us at Burger King.  He pretended to be a non-Christian and asked them questions to test their witnessing ability.  Then, in the middle of it, I went up and kissed him!  The teen's mouths dropped open.  I told them, "This is my husband.  He's already a Christian."  One boy said, "Why you little..."  They didn't stay mad, because we got them ice cream!
     Below are pictures from our ministry.