How God Can Use a Child

This week our co-workers are hosting a large training event where they are discussing how to use Bible Storying to communicate the Truth. Altogether, with trainers and attendees, I think there is around 65 people at their house this week! This pictures shows some of the group gathered there. Steve has been helping in the discussions, doing some translating, and helping our Agta guys to understand the concepts. I have been playing chauffeur and gofer all week, running people back and forth and doing the necessary running around town. Since our mornings have been starting before our helper arrives, the kids have been leaving the house with me at 6am. It has been a busy week, but we are encouraged with how God is using this time in the lives of many people.

Here are some of the Agta guys who came - a few couldn't make it to the last day so they aren't in the picture.

I want to share with you about how God used Mikayla this week. By way of intro, something that has been on our hearts and in our prayers lately is how to help the new Agta believers to learn to worship in their heart language. Since they don't have any Scriptures in their mother tongue or any worship songs already written, this will require them translating some Psalms and putting them to music or writing their own from their hearts. Steve and I have been discussing and praying about how best to encourage them with this, but we have so far not brought it up with anyone. Well, it all began on the 1st day I was ferrying the Chieftain to the training...

1. The topic of heart worship naturally came up in discussion with the chieftain in the car, and it got his wheels turning.

2. The next day, completely out of the blue, Mikayla decided - for the 1st time ever - that she wanted to compose a song of praise to God. She had not been with me to hear the discussion with the chieftain in the car. She worked on it for several hours and completed it.

3. The next day, unbeknownst to me, Mikayla brought her newly-written song with us to pick up some more people for the training. She eagerly showed it to the men we picked up. That prompted a discussion about heart worship with those guys, and they were excited about the possibility. I encouraged them with, "If Mikayla can do it, so can you!"

4. One of the guys, Freddie, is musically inclined and became especially excited about this idea, and he wants to begin composing some worship songs in their heart language. He has said repeatedly, "If Mikayla can do it, so can I!!!"

5. On the final day of the training, each of the groups had to make a presentation to the rest of the group, showing a story they had learned as a group. Freddie decided he wanted to compose a song about Mary and Martha to communicate their group's story.

6. Also on the final day of the training, Mikayla showed her song to the training leader (from the States). Dorothy asked Mikayla if she would be willing to sing her song in front of the group to help those who were feeling nervous about their presentation to know that they can do it with God's help.

7. Mikayla was very nervous, but she felt like God could use her to encourage the others to be bold in sharing the truth. So she decided to rely on God and just do it.

"If a child can do it, so can we!"

Isn't it great how God can use anyone, regardless of how old (smart, educated, experienced...) we are???