Saturday, November 6, 2010

Africa- Apuli??

So, apparently there are certain pet names here in Africa that the locals give to each other. Even guests. I guess there are like...10-12 of them total. That means that it is SO common to have to have the same name. They call them Empakos. So one of the most common greetings is: (forgive my spelling)
"Aliota. Empako yaweh?" (Hello, what is your empako? ((Pet name)))
That is just about it. Well, there is a lot more to it than that, but you know still. Some of the empakos mean things like Snake, Thunder, or Bull. Powerful names, right? Guess what mine is?

Apuli. Puppy.

So I went to one of my studies. Turns out, he was waiting for me. Problem is, I was late. Now, why was Trevor late? Because Trevor got lost in the middle of the African wilderness. Yeah, I was trying to find his house again to no avail. Of course, I wandered like a fool until my feet bled. After that, my shoes began to wear out and my knees buckled. Finally I found his house, and it turns out that it was about a 30 second walk if I had gone on the OTHER path. Seriously, I'm not even kidding. Oh well, it was a great time to sweat out my worries and nearly pass out from the heat.
So we had the study with him, and things went with great. Now he wants to come to meetings, and I'll get him his own bible.
Another study that I went on was nearly lost. You see, I met the girl again, but this time instead of being the nice and up building girl she was the first time we met, this time she seemed angry and critical.
"Somethings up, isnt it?" I thought.
When we first met her today, she asked "Why are you trying to change me?" With a scowl on her face. Turns out that her friends talked her out of studying the bible with us because they thought we were here to convert her. When we assured her that it was not our motive, her friends came out. They began to drill us with questions about the bible. They were almost aggressive in their questions, but the brother and I calmly explained each question from the bible. As we continued, you could WATCH their eyes and faces change, so that they softened to the point of wanting a bible study. We talked for an hour and a half. Soon, the questions went from criticizing to curiosity, from aggression to genuinely wanting answers. The answers we gave were straight from the scriptures, and they were satisfying. Then we showed them the teach book again and demonstrated how to do the study program.
During the time we spent with them, one man particularly asked the most questions.
How do Christians get baptized, and do they no matter what get saved when they are baptized?
What is a soul?
What happens to the soul at death?
What is Heaven?
Where is Heaven?
So on and so forth. Those were just a few. So finally I had to stop him and say:
"Listen, questions are good. The only thing is that in order to actually find the answers to your questions, (Matt 7:7) you need to take time on the subject at hand. You need to focus."
He started to ask more and ignore me, so I got a little more firm about it.
"No, hold on. Think about it this way. If I wanted to teach you everything there is to know about an engine, I couldn't just point at it and say 'that's the hose, that's the radiator, and that's the engine.' You wouldn't actually learn anything about the engine, would you? In order to REALLY learn about it, I would need to take time to teach you about each part, inside and out, and then show how it all works together. Otherwise, all you're going to know is a few basic ideas that alone do not help at all."
He didn't seem to get it, so I continued.
"Just like the engine, can you learn what the bible teaches in just a few sentences?"
THEN he got it, and he laughed when it was clear to him. So I finished by saying that in order to REALLY know what the bible teaches, he would need to take time to study and learn about each part, inside and out, and then learn how it all works together into one, solid understanding instead of just a few basic scattered thoughts that alone do not help him truly understand the bible. So from there, a bible study was started with them. That gives me about 6 bible studies so far. Now we'll see if they actually follow through with it.
*shrug* Time will tell. :]

Well that's about all for now, so I'll post some more later!
~Trevor B

5 comments:

  1. It's so encouraging and faith strengthening to hear. Sometimes it gets boring to hear no. No. No. But now you have 6 studies in how much time? 2 weeks? It shows Jehovah's real sense of mercy and knowing what's best, and being fair really. Sometimes we get so concerned about when the end is going to come but HE IS STILL DRAWING INTERESTED ONES IN!!! It's just fantastic.

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  2. BTW. From what I know of you, Apuli works! :)

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  3. Apuli sounds like they're getting to know you pretty well over there! Was that before or after you got lost? XP It's amazing to witness Jehovah's Holy Spirit at work ne? Keep up the great work! Jehovah's using you to the full because you are putting your heart and soul into it!

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  4. Maxine, thanks for the comment. Very true, what you said. I agree! And what do you mean, Apuli works for me?!

    Nautica, whatup, girl? Why does it seem like you agree with the Apuli thing?? IM NOT A PUPPY!

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