A Sense of
Wonder
As usual, I hesitate to
speak of meetings, for fear you will skip this section, or, worse yet, fall
asleep. But I will continue, nonetheless, in trying to describe to you just how
unlike meetings our meetings really are. It seems a worthwhile endeavor because
we have seen God at work in ways I have not seen before…and because these
“meetings” are really fun!
Wonderful, is
an adjective so overused it has nearly lost its very essence. But think again
and consider what it is to be full of wonder. We were a wonder-full assembly
this past week. I heard one colleague, a Wycliffe missionary kid like Tom, talk about his
"sense of wonder" as he arrived at the Wycliffe Global Gathering.
Waiting in the registration line, he realized he was standing next to a man
from the Terena people group his parents had gone to work with many years
before. The Terena man pulled out his mobile phone and showed him the Terena
Scriptures online. God had fulfilled the vision of God's Word in the hands and
hearts of the Terena people of Brazil. And provided a way for all to have
access!
Another facet of this story
is that this Terena man is now one of many indigenous leaders in the global Bible
translation movements. That was just one of the wonderful ways God showed how He
is bringing the nations to himself. He revealed Himself in many ways in that
Thailand hotel this past week. Leaders from more than 80 Wycliffe Global
Alliance Organizations gathered. The vast majority are from the global south
and east. We are no longer an organization of primarily Westerners. About 10%
of the organizations are Indonesian. Quite the statistic considering Indonesia
has the largest Muslim population in the world.
People tend to forget there are also millions of Indonesian Christians! Almost
a dozen church denominations were also represented. They, too, are now Wycliffe
Global Alliance organizations. This is a very different Wycliffe than the one
we knew just a few years ago! We used to have voting organizations (mostly
western), non-voting orgs, partner orgs, and guest orgs. Today there are fewer
categories but even greater diversity of representation.
Back to the wonder! Worship
time included music in many languages. The board chair from Slovakia prayed an
ancient Christian Slavic chant and shared how the gospel came to his region
many centuries ago. We had an event called the Third Table where participants
from each major region of the world gave and received gifts from each cultural
region. Gifts like “friendship, relationship,” “servant leadership,” and “hospitality/generosity”
were described and embraced by the whole group. The rich discussions of these
gifts led to greater understanding and greater intercultural potential for the
Alliance. The greater the understanding--the deeper the friendships. The deeper
the friendships--the greater the opportunity to display the unity and diversity
of the body of Christ.
Worship time was also spent
exploring and reflecting on community. Just as we are blessed to be part of the
Alliance community, we are also blessed to be in community with you! It is a
privilege to encourage and support one another in prayer and friendship and we
are also so grateful for your financial support of this ministry in which we
serve.
As my plane prepares to land
in Dallas, I'm preparing myself to hit the ground running and rejoin Tom in our
packing and moving efforts! Yes, we are moving! After all the house projects
and talk of moving, it's now coming together very quickly. We close on our
house on Friday, so by next week will be looking for a new home in the Hampton,
Virginia area. Hard to believe! We have so many good memories from this house and
look forward to making new memories with family and friends in the new house.
Thanks for your prayers! We look forward to being closer to Kate and family, to
my parents and closer to water...and further from allergies...we hope! We can
continue our work from anywhere with Internet and an airport, so are grateful
for this opportunity. We will send you our new address when we have one!
Thank you again for your
part in ministry with us and with Him,
Susan and Tom Van Wynen
