Abigail's Wisdom

Here is something I taught at our Ladies Bible study. It was written for the intent of being translated from English to Oromo verbally. 

Do you ever think you are too unimportant to do something important?

This is the story of Abigail. Abigail was not a queen; she did not have an important career. But she loved the Lord, and she had wisdom. This is her story:

Abigail was married to a man named Nabal. Nabal means ‘fool’, and he was a fool. He was also very wealthy. He had a thousand goats and three thousand sheep, which he was shearing at Carmel.

A man named David was in the desert at Carmel as well. David and about 600 men were camping around Nabal’s goats and sheep, but they never stole from him and they never treated his shepherds badly. David was told Nabal was at Carmel, so he sent ten men to go greet Nabal. They asked Nabal to feed David and his men. Nabal was very wealthy so he could afford to do it. But Nabal was known to be rude and mean in his dealings. He rudely refused to feed David and his men. When the ten men told David what happened, he became angry because they had been protecting Nabel’s flocks. David told his men, “Put on your swords!” They were going to kill every male in his family.

We can read what happened next: read 1 Samuel 25: 14-17. It says: 

  "One of the servants told Abigail, Nabal’s wife, “David sent messengers from the wilderness to give our master his greetings, but he hurled insults at them. Yet these men were very good to us. They did not mistreat us, and the whole time we were out in the fields near them nothing was missing. Night and day they were a wall around us the whole time we were herding our sheep near them. Now think it over and see what you can do, because disaster is hanging over our master and his whole household. He is such a wicked man that no one can talk to him.”

Immediately Abigail took two hundred loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five dressed sheep, 37 liters of roasted grain, a hundred cakes of raisins and two hundred cakes of pressed figs, and loaded them on donkeys. She did not tell her husband what she was doing. As she rode her donkey into the ravine, she met David and 400 of his men coming off the mountain. We can read what happened in 1 Samuel 25:21-25.

 Abigail was very wise with her words. She knew that if David killed Nabal and the men in her family, he would no longer be righteous. Not only was she protecting her family, but also the soon to be king and ancestor of Jesus. Abigail continued talking to David in verses 26-31. It says:

 "And now, my lord, as surely as the Lord your God lives and as you live, since the Lord has kept you from bloodshed and from avenging yourself with your own hands, may your enemies and all who are intent on harming my lord be like Nabal. And let this gift, which your servant has brought to my lord, be given to the men who follow you. “Please forgive your servant’s presumption. The Lord your God will certainly make a lasting dynasty for my lord, because you fight the Lord’s battles, and no wrongdoing will be found in you as long as you live. Even though someone is pursuing you to take your life, the life of my lord will be bound securely in the bundle of the living by the Lord your God, but the lives of your enemies he will hurl away as from the pocket of a sling. When the Lord has fulfilled for my lord every good thing he promised concerning him and has appointed him ruler over Israel, my lord will not have on his conscience the staggering burden of needless bloodshed or of having avenged himself. And when the Lord your God has brought my lord success, remember your servant.”

David’s response is in the next few verses. Read verses 32-35: "David said to Abigail, “Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, who has sent you today to meet me. May you be blessed for your good judgment and for keeping me from bloodshed this day and from avenging myself with my own hands. Otherwise, as surely as the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, who has kept me from harming you, if you had not come quickly to meet me, not one male belonging to Nabal would have been left alive by daybreak.” Then David accepted from her hand what she had brought him and said, “Go home in peace. I have heard your words and granted your request.”

David listened to Abigail because of her wisdom. He was very thankful for the wisdom of Abigail.

Abigail returned home to Nabal having a huge party, and he was very drunk. Being wise, Abigail waited to tell Nabal of what happened until he was sober. In the morning, when he was sober, Abigail told him how she saved his life, and the lives of every male in their family because of his foolish ways. Then his heart failed him and became like stone. About ten days later, the Lord struck Nabal and he died.

When David heard Nabal died he asked Abigail to marry him. And so she did.

Even though she was not a queen or someone important she played a very important role. We see great wisdom in her story. It is important to have wisdom.

Can you think of a time when you made a wise decision? How often do you seek wisdom from loved ones, the Bible, from the Lord?

Scripture is filled with gaining wisdom. All kinds of different people had wisdom. Many people strove for wisdom. People today strive for wisdom. Wisdom is not always easy to gain, but so important to have. Proverbs continually teaches on how important it is to gain wisdom. Here are two passages on wisdom from Proverbs:

Proverbs 8:17-21 (Wisdom is speaking)

   "I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me. With me are riches and honor, enduring wealth and prosperity. My fruit is better than fine gold; what I yield surpasses choice silver. I walk in the way of righteousness, along the paths of justice, bestowing a rich inheritance on those who love me and making their treasuries full." 

Proverbs 8:32-36 (Wisdom is still speaking)

“Now then, my children, listen to me; blessed are those who keep my ways. Listen to my instruction and be wise; do not disregard it. Blessed are those who listen to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at my doorway. For those who find me find life and receive favor from the Lord. But those who fail to find me harm themselves; all who hate me love death.”

As situations arise, it is important to seek wisdom. Ask God to fill you with his wisdom. Constantly seek to find wisdom; you will find it when you seek wisdom in the Lord. 

Blessings.

Language Learning

Akum oltay!

The language I am learning is Oromo. Like Spanish, they switch their sentence structure. Unlike Spanish, I am unfamiliar with certain sounds the language makes.

I have been having a blast learning a new language. We have hour long lessons every morning, Monday-Friday. At least 5 minutes of this time is used for laughing, unintentionally. Sometimes you just really mess up what you are trying to say. Here's an example:

We were learning how to invite someone over for tea. I said: "Would you like to come over to drink my house?" The kicker is this: I was talking in English, not Oromo.

Let me tell you, learning a new language is something else. You forget how to speak your own language. And it can be quite hilarious.

Here are some words, spelled how they sound, that I have learned and can think of right now (and I think they are right, buuut....you know, I could be wrong):

Akum oltay: greeting for after noon
akum bultay: greeting for before noon
akum oltan: greeting an older person, or multiple people for after noon
akum bultan: greeting an older person, or multiple for before noon
akakayou: grandpa
ako: grandma
hida dhu: mother
abuh: father
inteluh: daugher
mucha: baby
ray tea: goat
coh fee ya: hat
con colata: car
con colata fay um sa: truck
boyay: pig
kay-lo: yellow
cho co leesa: blue
gurracha: black
deema: red
magadisa: green

Okay, that's enough. I know a lot more than that! And!! I can follow a few commands, like stand up, sit down, put the red marker on/under/beside the table. Oh ya, we are learning a lot of Oromo.

Pray that we all continue to learn at a great pace. Pray that we are accurate, patient, and continue to find the joy in our mistakes. Finally, pray that our language tutor, Kalbessa, sees Jesus in each of us (Kait, the family, and I) and we are an encouragement to him in his faith.

Nagan olee! (Good bye for after noon to multiple people, I think.) :) 

Week 1: Complete (Holla!)

Week 1: Complete

What happened in the last week:
-I arrived in Ethiopia.
-My bags did not (of course). :)
-Then they did.
-4th of July, which Ethiopians do not celebrate. (It's an American holiday...July 4th, 1776 we declared our independence. No one else really has a reason to celebrate that.) We had a party with some American friends. Jen made an American flag cake. We put it on top of a British flag. Hahaha. The girls and Kait made a couple of signs. We lit off a firework (yes, just one). And we each got a sparkler.
-Kait and I traveled the 300-ish kilometers to Nekempte, which is where we are now.
-Since it was the weekend when we got here we were able to have a lot of bonding time with our host family. The parents are Steve and Doretha, the kids are Caeden, Reaghan, Andwynne, and Rowan. I probably spelled all of the kids' names wrong except Caeden. Because he is my student. :)
-We started language school. The language we are learning is Oromo.
-I started teaching Caeden. He is in first grade. And it's a blast.
-Kait and I started a college-aged Bible study for ladies only. It's called Girls Time. And it is awesome. We have a translator!
-I was almost hit my a bjiaj (taxi) today. I didn't hear him coming from behind, so it was probably my fault.
-I have had lots of yummy food.
-I accidentally handed something to a native using my left hand, which is bad, bad, bad. You are supposed to use your right hand. Always. But I forgot twice. Oopsi! I apologized in English. And then laughed. A lot. Because I did the wrong thing, then tried to apologize in a language they don't understand. Hahaha.

Contrary to popular though, I am not sun burned. It is actually mostly chilly here, because it is rainy season. I haven't eaten anything crazy. I haven't seen any crazy food. We have hot, running water (when the power is on). The power doesn't typically go out for days. But our first couple of days in Addis it did. Flashlights and candles are where it's at.

The people are (typically) pretty friendly, at least the people I have encountered. On our language route Kait and I stop at four (afur in Oromo) shops: OMG Business Center (a copy center), a stationary center, a vegetable stand, and a coffee/tea shop. Two of them can speak like 4 words of English, which means we get to figure out what words mean by repetition and actions. Sometimes it's a major fail and we do the whole smile and nod. But sometimes it is a success! Today Kait and I had a blast learning some different words with a couple of ladies and about 6 college-aged guys. They laughed at us a lot, but so did we. It was pretty fun. And the chai is awesome. Today I tried to tell a lady "gala tomee" (phonetically spelled) which is "thank you" in Oromo, but instead it came out "gracias". Yep. Not even the right language.

God is good. Actually, He's pretty great. It awesome to see the ministry that Steve and Doretha have here in Nekempte. Speaking of them, they are awesome. Their hearts of gold beat solely for the Lord. They are doing great things here. Apart from ministry, Doretha has one of the best laughs I have ever heard. The other night we were playing charades and Kait was acting like a bull and Doretha lost it. Hahaha. I am still laughing about it. Steve has one of the best senses of humor ever. Probably because mine is similar. I think he's hilarious. The kids are some of the most precious kids in the world. They each have their own personalities, and each make me laugh a lot. God has definitely blessed the Limiero family. They are very encouraging with my faith, as well. They pray together all the time; we pray together all the time. I am very, very blessed to be a part of this family.

That just skims the surface. Know that my time here has been awesome. Thank you for your prayers. Keep 'em comin'. Please pray for Steve and Doretha as well. Things to keep in prayer:

-Steve is doing a small group leader training
-Kait is teaching English to Oromo speaking students every day at 1:30-ish a.m. Montana time
-Steve, Kait, and I have a college Bible study/hang out time on Saturday's from 2-4 our time, so like 4-6 a.m. Montana time
-Kait and I have a Bible Study with a group of ladies ages 15-25 MWF from 4-6 our time, so 6-8 Montana time
-Doretha stays home with 4 kids and manages the house. She does a wicked awesome job at it. So praise for her hard work, and prayer for continued joy and energy.
-For all of us to be effective in our communications and relationships with the Ethiopian people
-For our language teacher, Kalbessa. He has been a great teacher so far!!

This is long enough! Hope you have enjoyed getting to see what I'm doing now!! If you  have any questions or comments, feel free to leave a comment. I'd love to hear what you have to say!!

Chow!

*Disclaimer: if anything is spelled wrong or sounds funny, I blame the jet lag and learning a new language. :)

The Bags are Packed

It’s the final countdown!

The bags are packed and stacked and ready to roll. What is keeping me from this journey to Afrika is a (hopefully) good night sleep, one last church service, breakfast with Gram , Pop, and my little brother Christopher, gasin’ up the truck, and a huckleberry milkshake.

Right now I am freaking out. But a good freaking out. I am a little nervous my bags are over the weight limit, but I think I’ll be fine!

It’s just about midnight. I’m trying to stop being hyper. First of all it’s my personality to be really hyper about things. Secondly I AM GOING TO AFRIKA!! Why wouldn’t or shouldn’t I be hyper?! (Because I have to sleep, that's why!)

The next time I blog I’ll be in…you know where…Afrika!

Becky's Wedding Day

My longest friendship is with a pretty gal named Becky. She recently got married. It was awesome.

Something happened the day of the wedding that neither I nor anyone else will forget. You know those things that happen only in movies? Well, it happened in real life at this wedding. Here's the story:

Saturday morning: wedding day. I woke up early (like 7:45) and headed to the salon to sit with one of the bridesmaids (and my new friend), Kristen, as she got her hair done. After she was finished and lookin' SO good, I had to run a couple of errands -- mainly taking a shower. I finished everything I needed, went to the salon just as the beautiful bride was getting her hair done, and we all hung out and had a good time. Following along the order of a wedding morning, we headed to the house to get changed into our dresses. We finished putting the last few touches on and headed to the ceremony site.

It was almost time.

Everything was going well. The wedding started a little later, as to be expected. Everyone looked good. Everyone was ready. It came time for the best man and I to precede Becky. As I took my place I looked over at the groom, Justin. I asked him if he was ready, if he was nervous, and told him he'd be fine. We hear the audience laughing, look up, and see the little boys coming up with these awesome signs and a shot gun:

Finally we see the flower girl, and not too far behind her the bride. She looks like a princess straight out of a fairy tale. It's magical. She makes her way to the front, I take her bouquet and fix her dress. Everything is going so smoothly. Half way through it hits me. I forgot the ring.

I immediately go into panic mode. In a span of about 5 seconds I think: "Who forgets the ring? What kind of maid of honor forgets the ring? I am the worst maid of honor ever. Heck, I'm the worst friend ever. Becky is going to hate me. The wedding is ruined." Then I have an idea: tell the bridesmaid next to me. So I lean over to my new friend, Kristen, and say, "Kristen, I forgot the ring!" Her response: "Oooh." Thinking quickly I ask her if I should use my spoon ring instead, to which she agrees. Then I get the perfect opportunity to temporarily fix my problem. Justin's dad, John, was praying over the couple. I lean over to the guy doing the ceremony, Dave, and in a very panicky 'whisper' I say, "Dave. Dave! DAVE! I forgot the ring!" He stares at me and starts smiling. I say, "Can I borrow yours?!" He starts taking it off, only to realize he can't. So he starts panicking because his ring is stuck. The prayer finishes and now we have two panicky people.

Dave, the awesome guy that he is, continues on without missing a beat. I start thinking to myself, "It's okay. It's only a ring. What's a ring, anyways? It's just symbolic for their marriage. They will still be married. At the end of the day the will still be married. We can totally pull this off." Justin gets the wedding band from the best man, says what he's supposed to, and slips it on Becky's finger. Becky, all smiles, turns to me, expecting the manly gold band they had picked out. Instead, I give her this silver spoon ring that fits a young lady's small hand and whisper, "Just pretend." She stares at me for a split second and mouths, "What?" I smile nervously and say, "I forgot his ring. Just use this one." I step back into my place. All is well. We can totally make this work.

Dave continues on with Becky saying, "Now, I have something to tell all of you." My thought: He wouldn't dare. Dave: "This is a fake ring.... We forgot the real one."

He dared. He told everyone. And everyone laughed. It was perfect.

They continued on with the ceremony. Dave tells Becky, "Repeat after me: 'With this ring.'" Becky says, "Well, not this ring, but the other ring!" Perfect impromptu. Never have I been so proud.

The ceremony finished out. Many people told me how beautifully perfect the wedding was. It was a beautiful day, along a beautifully scenic river, with beautiful Montanan decorations, and a perfect-for-each-other couple. And at the end of the day they were married.

Ten Days

Two words keep entering my mind: ten days.

Obviously the number changes, but today it's ten. Ten days until what? Ten days until this little lady heads to Spokane, Washington to catch the first flight on an awesome journey to Ethiopia. I just got butterflies.

I wanted to take a minute to let everyone know my thoughts and feelings as of right now.

-I am excited.

-I am nervous.

-I am really, really excited.

Knowing that I am about to be out of the country, out of the continent, for 6 months is kind of crazy. You’d think you can only realize something once. Nope. I have realized this about 8 times, and every time it blows my mind. Every time I realize I am going to Africa for 6 months I think, “What did I get myself into?” Then I think, “This is going to be awesome!”

I find a lot of comfort in the fact that our great God will be with me on the journey and every second during my stay in Ethiopia just as much as He is with me here in my favorite place, Libby, Montana. With each day that passes by I know that I am leaving everything I know, everything I am comfortable with, everything. But then I realize that I am not leaving everything. I am not leaving God; God is not leaving me. He is going with me. Someone that I am familiar with, Someone that I am very comfortable with, and Someone who knows me better than all of us combined will be right by my side, always.

As of now I am only a little nervous, but only a little. I know that as this next week and a half flies by and the day comes for me to be standing in that giant airport, checking in my luggage, praying everything goes smoothly, I will be one large bundle of nerves. Thankfully I can find comfort in the Lord. Thankfully I know that this is His will for my life, and it is my dream come true. Knowing that makes me more excited than anything. 

Ask, Seek, Knock

Do you ever read something and think, “Man, I wish that would happen in real life!” Have you ever heard a story and just knew they were exaggerating in some way because there is no way that stuff happens in real life? How about when you read things in the Bible? Jesus was born of a virgin, lived, was crucified, died, and rose again – that is the basis for the New Testament. It’s pretty easy to accept that, I think. What about when we read passages like the one found in Matthew 7:7-8, "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened."

What does that mean? That’s a nice passage. It gives hope. But…ya, it doesn’t really work like that.

Those may have been some of my thoughts. They may be some of your thoughts.

Then I learned. I learned that this passage is true; it actually happens. I prayed and prayed, and prayed some more for an opportunity to serve in Africa. And now I am going in 11 days. “Knock and the door will be opened to you.”

Jesus wasn’t kidding. I was pursuing Him, and all the while He knew my heart. “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desire of your heart.” –Psalm 37:4.

We serve a great God who cares about our desires and passions. What doors has He opened to give you the desire of your heart?