the art of communication

Art is an international language, 

understood by all. 

-Igor Babailov 

 

Sunday school was over, and it was time to head home from church.

As we reached the door, ready to leave, I spotted Amy and a little friend,

sharing a mutual enjoyment of art.

In case you're wondering...she was drawing elephants. :)

 

faith comes by hearing

Esther is a sweet, soft-spoken Filipina Christian who loves to attend church, 

where she hears the words that equip her for every good work. (Eph. 4:11-12)

Esther was just 12 years old when she came down with a bad case of measles. The doctor urged her father to take steps to save Esther's sight.  But Esther's mother was also very sick with another disease, and since their family had very little money available, Esther's father had to choose which one of them would receive medical help.

He chose to help her mother.  Esther's mother died.  And Esther lost her sight.

So then faith comes by hearing, 

and hearing by the word of God.

Romans 10:17

Being blind, Esther is unable to read God's Word.  For her, faith literally comes by hearing.  That's why she loves to come to church, to hear the Word, and to be reminded of God's care for her.  And that's why it's so exciting for Esther to have received one more way to hear.  Last Sunday, the church gave an exciting tool to Esther; an Audibible.

Audibible is a hand-held audio player in a sturdy case, capable of holding hundreds of hours of high quality audio content.  The Audibible was designed and developed as a cost efficient, durable tool to meet the needs of those who do not or cannot read.

Because the Audibible is solar powered, it doesn't require any costly batteries to keep it powered.  

A solar-powered device works great in this sunny climate!  

Esther receives her new Audibible, enabling her to listen to the Word in Cebuano

Audibibles are widely used to distribute God's Word in the Philippines. This is a country where, despite a high level of literacy (officially 92.6%), most people do not read.  One reason for that is that most available books are written either in English or in the national language. I don't know about you, but if I didn't have literature in my first language, I wouldn't be reading much for pleasure!

In addition, the Filipino climate and conditions are unfriendly to books.  Heat, humidity, and frequent flooding cause warping and molding, and hungry termites destroy what's left.  (That's such a sad truth for those of us who love books!)

These tough Audibibles, available in many languages, are a fabulous way to distribute the Word of God to many people who otherwise would not, or in Esther's case, cannot read it. May much faith come by hearing!

*Many thanks to Amanda C. for your labor of love to package and send Audibibles this direction!

o for a thousand tongues

O for a thousand tongues to sing

my great Redeemer's praise

the glories of my God and King,

the triumphs of His grace! *

Even as a little girl I loved this old hymn.

But I always thought the imagery odd,

envisioning myself with a thousand tongues.

I mean, that's just plain strange.

The author, Charles Wesley, began his education early at his mother's knee.

English was his first language, but his mother knew and taught Charles in

Greek, Latin and French.

Charles later graduated from Oxford with

a Masters in Classical languages and literature.

I now realize that such a man, as he wrote that hymn,

was not envisioning himself with a thousand tongues.

(Am I the only one who ever interpreted it that way?)

He was imagining a chorus of praise

in one thousand languages

from all around the earth and throughout history

all singing together the glories of our God and King!

Close your eyes for a moment and imagine it with me...

one thousand languages from all time and all places,

lifted in unison to sing of the triumphs of His grace.

No wonder Wesley wrote a hymn about it.

My gracious Master, and my God,

assist me to proclaim,

to spread through all the earth abroad

the honors of Thy name. *

Amen.

So that every tongue, every tribe

can join us when we lift our voices on that great day...

*Taken from the hymn, 'O For a Thousand Tongues' by Charles Wesley

**Note:  There are now almost 7,000 known languages in our world.  Maybe the hymn should read, 'O for 7000 tongues to sing...'

it pays

A mouse ran into her family's hole, frightened for her life.

'There's a cat outside!' she said to her father.

Her father said, 'Don't worry about that.' 

As they listened to the cat breathing just inches away,
 the father mouse positioned himself by the side of the hole and yelled: 

'Woof, Woof, Woof!' 

The cat took off, and the father mouse said, 

'See, I told you it pays to learn a second language.' 

–adapted from a story by Kenneth Pike, 
American linguist and anthropologist