28May2014 Joy Filled Noise

Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!

   Serve the Lord with gladness!

 Come into His presence with singing!

Know that the Lord, He is God!
    It is He who made us, and we are His;
    we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture.

 Enter His gates with thanksgiving,
    and His courts with praise!
    Give thanks to Him; bless His Name!

For the Lord is good;

    His steadfast love endures forever,
    and His faithfulness to all generations.

 

M. had her piano recital this week.  What a beautiful thing to see her making a joyful noise to the Lord!

"Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth;
    break forth into joyous song and sing praises! 

Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre,
    with the lyre and the sound of melody!

With trumpets and the sound of the horn
    make a joyful noise before the King, the Lord!

Let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
    the world and those who dwell in it!

Let the rivers clap their hands;
    let the hills sing for joy together

before the Lord, for He comes
    to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with righteousness,
    and the peoples with equity,"

23May2014 3-Year Search

Usually it's a familiar household item or maybe a TV or possibly a cellphone or access to the internet to contact family back home.  As resource manager for a refugee resettlement organization I've pretty much heard it all.  From the mundane (a larger pan or a pair of tennis shoes) to the pretty outlandish (a car), when new arrivals come to America they will often ask me for things.  It's such a honor to be able to give them these things, as available and within reason.  It truly is more of a blessing to give than to receive.

But my new friend was different. I had the privilege of picking him up at the airport and giving him a lift to his new apartment.  I was a little aggravated by the fact that it was one in the morning and after a rough day of setting up homes for two new families there I was making the trek to and from the airport in midnight darkness  My little pity party came to an abrupt end (and rightly so) when I spotted Ayub, walking through Terminal C, IOM bag in hand, looking from face to face probably wondering which person was there to greet him.  He shared a smile with each individual.  No one smiled back...except yours truly.  I called his name and welcomed him. After breezing through baggage claim (so easy when a refugee arrives with basically nothing) we headed out into the humidity, drove out of the parking deck and headed towards town.

Back to his request.  Ayub considered my question for a minute and said, "I'd like a Bible in my language."  Okay this was a new one so I probed a little bit.  "I've been looking for a Kurdish Bible for three years but have been unable to find one.  I did meet a man in prison* that had one but he only had one so he couldn't give me his."  I couldn't believe it.  A Bible!  Like me you probably have five of them gathering dust on the shelves of your home.  This man had been searching for one for 3 years! "I will find you one!" I blurted.  "I will not forget." I dropped Ayub off at home, declined a cup of tea, bottle of water and fruit and drove home.  It was nearly 3:00am and I was exhausted but guess who was on the internet shopping for Kurdish Bibles that morning

Yesterday, with great joy I put a copy of God's Word in Ayub's hands.  I pray that Father will bless my brother with a lifetime of encouragement, equipping and peace from it.  Please join me in praying for Ayub and the millions of others around the globe who hunger to see and hear Scripture in their heart language.  And may we never take for granted the freedom we are blessed with to have It in ours. 

*Ayub was detained for 10 days prior to coming to the US because he couldn't afford to pay for his exit visa.  He went directly from prison to the airport.