Winter 1992

From the Pastor

Dear Friends of Ballee Baptist

By the time you receive this magazine, Christmas with all the festivities, food, toys, family gatherings and more food, will all be over!  But I trust that while the festivities have faded, the Christ of Christmas is as real as ever, because He lives within your heart as Saviour and Lord.

My wife, Lesley and myself, as we embark on another year of service for the Master, look back upon 1991 with praise and thanks to God for His faithfulness and blessing.  We bless the Lord for the encouragement and support received from all the overseers in the Fellowship, and from all who worship at Ballee.  We can say with Paul as he writes to the Church at Ephesus we “cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers”.

We go forth into 1992 with its “channel tunnel”, and its “Single European Market” holding on to two verses:

John 15: 5  “Without me you can do nothing”.

Phil. 4: 13  “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me”.

At this time of the year my heart goes out to those who are elderly, shut in or unwell and who find the dark long winter difficult to cope with.  Let me try to help you through these months with my Bible First Aid Kit!

Of course, all these cures are dependant on you first knowing the great physician personally.  He always gives a personal private consultation free of charge.  His diagnosis is always the disease called Sin – Rom. 3: 22-23 “For there is no difference for all have sinned and come short of the Glory of God”.  His cure is now available and in 100% successful (He has never lost a case!)  The cure requires you:(A)  be sorry for/turn back on sin

(B)     trust the death of Christ on Calvary to cleanse from sin.

Remember Acts 2: 21 “Whosoever shall call on the Name of the Lord shall be saved”.

I pray that each reader will know a blessed, peaceful and healthy 1992, not only in body (physically) but in spirit (spiritually).

3 John 1: 2 “Beloved I wish above all things that thou mayst prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth”.

Enjoy the rest of the publication!

NEW YEAR RESOLUTIONS

(I)                 To live will all my might while I do live

(II)              Never lose one moment of time

(III)            Never do anything which I should despise or think meanly of in another

(IV)           Never do anything out of revenge

(V)              Never do anything which I should be afraid to do if it were the last hour of my life.

Remember            The next time you are tempted to pick out the faults in your brother – take

time to count ten – ten faults of your own.

A PASTOR’S PRAYER

I do not ask

That crowds may throng the temple,

That standing room be at a price,

I only ask that as I voice the message,

They may see Christ.

I do not ask

For Churchly pomp and pageant,

Or music such as wealth alone can buy,

I only ask that as I voice the message,

He may be nigh.

I do not ask

That men may sound my praises,

Or headlines spread my name abroad,

I only pray that as I voice the message,

Hearts may find God.

I do not ask

For earthly place or laurel,

Or of this world’s distinction any cheer

I only ask that when I voice the message

Christ may be near.

-         - -- - - - - - -

Around the throne of God in heaven

Thousands of children stand,

Children whose sins are all forgiven

A holy, happy band,

Singing, ‘Glory, glory, glory’.

What brought them to that world above,

That heaven so bright and fair,

Where all is peace and joy and love?

How came those children there,

Singing, ‘Glory, glory, glory’.

Because the Saviour shed His Blood

To wash away their sin;

Bathed in that pure and precious flood,

Behold them white and clean,

Singing, ‘Glory, glory, glory’.

On earth they sought the Saviour’s grace,

On earth they loved His Name,

So now they see His blessed face,

And stand before the lamb,

Singing, ‘Glory, glory, glory’.

Hear God’s Word             Isa. 55: 3

Answer God’s call                 Matt. 11: 28

Pardon receive                      Neh. 9: 17

Peace possess                       Rom. 15: 33

Yield to God                         Rom. 6: 13

No condemnation             Rom. 8: 1

Eternal life is a gift                  Rom. 6: 23

Walk uprightly                       Eph. 5: 2

Youth is the time to

remember God                      Ecc. 12: 1

Early seek God               Ps. 63: 1

Attend to God’s word                Num. 12: 6a

Rejoice in the Lord               Phil. 4: 4

-         - - -- - - -

The smaller we are – the more room God has!

-         - - - - --

God wants us to love Him – not just the things He gives us.

-         - - - - -- - -

If absence makes the heart grow fonder – many people must really love church!

-         -- -- -- - -

Going to church doesn’t make anybody a Christian; any more than taking a wheelbarrow into a garage makes it an automobile.

-         - -- -- --

F – Forsaking

A – All

I  – I

T – Take

H – HIM

-         -- -- --- --- --

Mrs McCausland would like to know if anyone knows the words of  ‘The Death of Moses’.

Women’s Fellowship

“O give thanks unto the Lord for He is good” Psalm 107 v 1.

Our Ladies’ Fellowship meetings re-commenced on September 11^th with a visit from representatives from I.E.B.  Our speaker was to have been Miss Vera Smith but due to the death of her mother she was unable to attend.  There was no October meeting due to the mission but in November we had a visit from Mr Alan Armstrong E.C.M.  We were thrilled to hear how God is working in Eastern Europe, especially in the past two years.

At time of writing we are looking forward to our Christmas evening, always a happy time of fellowship and fun.  Our prayer meetings also continue on the last Wednesday of each month.  These have proved to be times of great blessing when God’s presence is very real.  If you have never been to our meetings may I take this opportunity to invite you and assure you of a very warm welcome.

Emma Simpson.

All the water in the world

However hard it tried

Could never sink a ship

Unless it got inside

All the evil in the world

The wickedness and bad

Can never sink the soul’s craft

Unless it gets inside.

Rearing kids is like holding a wet bar of soap

-         too firm a grasp and it shoots from your hand,

-         too loose a grasp and it slides away,

-         a gentle but firm grasp keeps it in your control!

The Right Road

“You can’t miss it!”  How many times have you heard these words added like a delectable sauce to the directions people have served you?  Personally, I almost dread the words, because in spite of the forceful reassurance, too often I do miss it!

There are those who would tell you, “You can’t miss heaven!  God is a God of love – He wouldn’t send anyone to hell.  All steeples point toward the sky!”  But they do not get their authority from the Bible!  Be careful – the ones who tell you this have already missed something themselves.

Misses what?  Missed the truth that there is only one way to heaven, Jesus Himself (see John 14: 6).

The very best insurance of getting where you want to go is to take with you a person who knows how to get there.  Let him give the directions at each fork in the road.

That is the way to be sure of heaven.  Take into your life the Way, Himself – Jesus, who said, “I am the way”.  When He is in your life, the various turns along the road will not side track you, and you will surely get there – you will not miss it!

Charles W. Shepson.

FIRST PRIORITY

What are the major interests in your life?  Food?  Clothing?  Your home?  Recreation?  Friendships?  Money?  Health?

All of the above are important, but Jesus declares there is another item that ought to be at the top of our list: the kingdom of God.  Where do you place the kingdom of God among your priorities?

Once you are a part of God’s kingdom and live under His rule, you can go to Him concerning all the other needs of your life.  The responsibility of provision then rests with Him.  Jesus said, “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you”.  (Matthew 6: 33).  Put first things first.  Get into the kingdom of God.  Get under God’s rulership.  Let Him become the Saviour and Guide of your life.  That is God’s order.  Are you ready for it?  He is.

Dwight Hall (Alliance Witness)

One sinner saved, that no one need despair;

One sinner lost, that no one may presume.

Read Luke 23: 32 – 43

Train up a child in the way he should go  - and go that way yourself.

COPING WITH PRESSURE

By James Gray

Do you feel things are getting on top of you?  Circumstances beyond our control can bring almost intolerable pressure.  How can we cope?  God does not mean us to bear alone the strains of life.  He has told us to cast our burden upon Him (Psalm 55: 22).  In your stressful situation, let Him take the strain from you.

‘I know that,’ you say.  ‘But I can’t do it.  I just can’t stop worrying’.  That is an understandable reaction, especially when circumstances for you may be so traumatic and testing.  But there is a key.

Jesus put it like this:  ‘Abide in me’ (John 15: 4-11).  Take time to cultivate your personal relationship with Christ, not just to contemplate your circumstances, then you will begin to abide in Him.  To have this intimate relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, we need to trust Him to forgive the sin which is coming between us and Him; to turn away from it and decide to follow Him always.  God has said:  ‘I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee’  (Heb. 13: 5).  ‘The eternal God is thy refuge and underneath are the everlasting arms’ (Deut. 31: 27).

If Christ is your Saviour and Lord, then you can actively claim these promises in every area of stress.  The pressure may still be there, but you will be able to live in peace and confidence, drawing hourly on the grace God gives His children.

Dark is the sky!  And veiled the unknown morrow!

Dark is life’s way, for night is not yet o’er,

The longed for glimpse I may not meanwhile borrow

But, this I know HE GOETH ON BEFORE.

Dangers are nigh, and fears my mind are shaking,

Heart seems to dread what life may hold in store;

But I am His – He knows the way I’m taking,

More blessed still – HE GOETH ON BEFORE.

Doubts cast their weird, unwelcome shadows o’er me,

Doubts that life’s best – life’s choicest things are o’er,

What but His Word can strengthen, can restore me,

And this blest fact; that still HE GOES BEFORE.

HE GOES BEFORE!  Be this my consolation,

He goes before! On this my heart would dwell;

He goes before! This guarantees salvation,

HE GOES BEFORE and therefore all is well.

Submitted by Agnes Kelso.

MISSIONARY NEWS

Dear Friends,

Just recently I attended a meeting where Dorrie Gunning was giving a report on her last term in Brazil, and it thrilled my soul to hear of the great things God was doing in that great land.  It wasn’t about the large numbers getting saved, but it was the ones and twos, who were fettered and deep in sin who God had wonderfully reached and saved.  Some who had only heard the Gospel message for the first or second time and yet they responded to the call of God, leaving behind lives of worshipping idols, drugs, drink etc. to serve the living and the true God.  When I heard about these people trusting Christ after only hearing for the first or second time, I thought about all the people in our own land, even round our own doors who have sat in Churches or mission halls for years and heard the gospel message over and over again and they are still not saved.  Proverbs 29 v 1 reminds us:  He that being often reproved hardeneth his neck shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.  Pray on for Brazil that God would continue to work and save many more precious souls, not forgetting those at home, who have often heard, lest they suddenly be cut off.

I had a letter a short time ago form our Brother, Walter Burrell, down in Cork, and I can tell all you folks at the church that he was thrilled with his last visit.  He wanted to thank you all for the tremendous gift of money, and the ladies for the woolly hats.  He said that the meeting had been such an encouragement to him.  In his own words he said, “I find it hard to express in words just how to thank you all, I just do not take these gifts lightly but prayerfully and carefully, praying God to help me to be faithful, Yours in Christ Jesus” Walter.  All I can say friends is, ‘What a great man of God Walter is’.  Pray for him and his wife Mary, and all the work he does on the ships and with those girls on the docks.

I would ask you to pray for the Dublin Christian Mission at this time, as they are going through a rough spot financially, support at the moment just covers staff allowances with nothing for other overheads, not a very encouraging situation, yet God has been working in a wonderful way, young people and even mothers have been getting saved, at the youth camps earlier in the year and there was also good news from the Hanna family.  God was pleased to bless His Word in saving two men in the Saturday night meetings.  Jim Hanna is also doing a great work in the Prisons; so do remember the Hanna family in these days.

Our minds would turn once again to our own missionaries from the Church, remembering specially the McGrath family over the Christmas and New Year period.  Pray for them as they may be a little homesick at this time.  We do thank God for His hand upon them in the past and we know that as we uphold them in prayer God will undertake for them.  We want to thank God for the safe arrival of another little baby daughter Joanna, we trust that God will bless her and the other two children out there in Panama.

Pray too for Sam and Anna up in Hollywood.  It is good to see the way God has been working up there.  They need wisdom to speak to the young soldiers, we realise that they could be cut down at any time, and if they are not saved they would be in a lost eternity.  So friends don’t let them down by failing to pray for them.  God answers prayer.

James and Audrey McKeown need our prayers too, as James seeks to teach the truth of the Word of God to the young students.  He needs wisdom from God.  May God bless both of them as they labour for Him.

Desmond Shaw

If Christ Should Come Tonight

Is my house set in order

If Christ should come today?

What tasks would be unfinished

If I were called away?

Suppose an angel told me

At early morning light,

“Your Lord will come this evening,

You shall go Home tonight!”

Would ecstasy be clouded

By thought of work undone,

The seed I might have scattered,

The crowns I might have won?

The soul I meant to speak to,

The purse I meant to share,

And oh, the wasted moments

I meant to spend in prayer!

The weight of unsaved millions

Would press upon my heart,

In their death am I certain

That I had not a part?

And such a few short moments

In which to set things right!

How feverishly I’d labour

Until the warning light!

O slothful soul and careless heart,

O eyes which have no sight,

Work, lest you reap but vain regrets!

Your Lord may come tonight!

By Martha Snell Nicholson

Language Learner Lament

By Melinda Schmidt

We sit here, language books in hand,

Strangers in a foreign land;

Thankful we are here at last,

Trying to learn this language fast!

But – OH! Some sounds don’t want to come;

The Africans must think we’re dumb!

Yet, glad we are, although its hard,

For ‘Fools for Christ’s sake’ please you Lord.

You’ve brought us here the lost to reach,

We love Your Word, we love to teach,

So here we are with tapes and books,

Provoking lots of puzzled looks!

I must admit I’ve had a doubt

If even You could help us out.

But nothing is too hard for you,

And we will find each promise true.

We want to speak of you to them,

But first this language we must learn!

Diligence the price to pay,

And steady plodding day by day.

(I thought to suffer for you Lord,

But isn’t this a bit too hard?)

But glad we’ll be when comes the day

We tell them what we came to say.

Lord, if we keep our eyes on You,

We’ll see a mountain moved – or two!

Increase our faith Lord, show us how

To demonstrate your power now.

And give us patience in our task

Until our goal is reached at last.

Then this will recompense the hours

When language learning tasks were ours!

Panama Field

Our First Trip to a Tribe by Geoffrey McGrath

It was a beautiful Saturday morning in Panama City.  The pilot of the small Cessna 185, Dave Byron, was busily doing last minute checks on the mission plane.  His assignment this morning?  To take us the McGrath’s, interior to the Kuna village of Morti.  At about 8.00am we arrived at the hangar, complete with supplies for our time in Morti.  The next process was to weigh everything, (including ourselves) and pack the plane.  At approx. 9.10am we left Paitilla airstrip on route to the Darien jungle.

After an uneventful, but interesting flight of 45 minutes, we began to descend slowly in search of the village of Morti, which is nestled deep in a valley in the heart of the Darien Jungle.  Suddenly we spotted it, at first only a glimpse of the missionaries houses, then the airstrip which ran directly in front of the homes.  One thing that we noticed was that the Indian village was directly across river from where the McDaniels and Goodmans lived, thus giving the missionaries a little privacy.  Another thing we noticed was the strong cross wind which caused the pilot to buzz (fly over) the strip twice before landing.  No sooner had we touched down, but the plane was swarmed with curious Indian children and adults wanting to see the visitors with the red hair!  The Indians really loved our two children, Matthew and Sarah.  When the plane flew out from Morti it took Joe and Sharon Goodman.  We couldn’t believe it, finally, after over five years of training and preparation we were here in a tribal village.

During the first day we just rested and got settled into the new surroundings.  Sarah and Matthew played with Pammie and Connie, the McDaniels’ children.  They really seemed to hit if off well together.  A number of Indians came to the McDaniels’ house, where Jerry and Joyce taught them from the Bible chronologically.  This was a daily occurrence.  The teaching responsibility is normally shared amongst the team members, but during our visit the McDaniels were the only missionaries in.  These folks who came for one-to-one teaching for the most part were unsaved.  (This however will change in the near future, when the believers under the supervision of the missionaries will begin to hear the bulk of the load for evangelistic teaching.  The ultimate goal is that one day the Kuna church will be able to support itself independent of outside input).

The second day, Sunday, Jerry took Gillian and myself over to the village to meet the people.  We had an interesting experience crossing the river in a dug-out canoe!  You could say it was a little wobbly!  Gillian wore the traditional Kuna dress, and many of the Kuna ladies commented on this.  One lady, ‘Mu’ (which means grandmother), welcomed us into her home, where we watched her make a meal.  She took some plantain (cooking banana), which she had boiled in a pot and proceeded to mash it with some corn (which she had fried and ground up).  The result was a mixture which looked like mashed potato mixed with coffee powder.  Mu got a good laugh out of Gillian when she tried to mix it.  Then came the inevitable, she offered us a taste, and to be honest it didn’t taste too bad.  I think, though that if we hadn’t watched her make it from the beginning, we never could have eaten it.  ‘Mu’ just came to trust the Lord about two weeks ago after being taught by both Joyce and Sharon.

The rest of our visit to the village took us to the homes of several other believers.  One home we went to was the home of ‘Edrofonso’, the son of the leading chief.  He finds it difficult as a Christian because as the chief’s son he is under pressure to follow the old ways that his father teaches to others.  What a blessing it was to our hearts that when we arrived at this home he was sitting with his Spanish and Kuna bibles having his devotions.  Pray for this young man who has such a desire to grow, yet who feels the pressure to conform to the old ways.  That evening the McDaniels and I went back over to the village for the believers’ meeting, while Gillian stayed at home and got the children ready for bed.  It was encouraging to share fellowship with brothers and sisters in the Lord who had been freed from the bondage of spirit worship and vain works.

The following day was Monday and Jerry and I began a very difficult but necessary job, that of washing the roof.  As the McDaniels live in a remote area clean water is difficult to come by.  In dry season they just pump it from the river, but in wet season which begins in May, rain water becomes their primary source for drinking water.  Always they need to filter and boil the water, but because they drain the rainwater from the roof into barrels, the moss which had gathered on the roof had to be washed off in preparation for wet season.  This involved us linking up a water pipe from the pump to the roof and then going along the roof scrubbing it and then rinsing the debris off with the river water.  Both of us got a good burning from the sun as the roof just reflected the sweltering heat-rays from the sun.  The next day, Tuesday saw us sunburned, blistered and sore from the previous days work.  Tuesday really was a day of recuperation in which I was able to make a start on this article, while Gillian helped with some of the teaching materials, by sorting and organising the chronological lesson materials into booklet form to give to the people.  As the believers are taught, then materials are prepared for them to help them study on their own and to share with others what they have learned.  Jerry and I also took a walk off into the jungle in the morning but didn’t find any monkeys to bring back for supper!

Wednesday, our last full day here in Morti!  It seemed that time has really flown.  Once again, Jerry and I made a visit to the village to talk with the people and to see about getting some relics to bring back as a reminder of our trip to the Kuna tribe.  The rest of the day passed uneventfully, until at 5.30pm we went over to the village to attend the evening meeting.  This time there were more in attendance than on Sunday evening.  Some of the young men had come back from hunting.  Part of the culture is that when a special event comes up the people involved are responsible to provide food etc. for the visitors and as there was a basketball tournament coming up the next week, many of the men were away hunting for food.

Thursday morning came too quick for us.  As we lay in bed we could hear the howler monkeys as they ‘whooped’ (the noise they make) in the distance.  Often you can hear them in the middle of the night and at times it sounds like a woman or a baby screaming.  It can be quite un-nerving to say the least.  It was busy getting packed up and ready for the plane.  The day just seemed to drag.  Not that we wanted to leave, but when you are sitting waiting for something to happen it really can seem like an eternity.  Three times planes flew over the village and each time we all ran out, only to find that it wasn’t our plane.  During the morning some believers came over for teaching and I got a good opportunity to video them and get a bit of a testimony recorded before my last camera battery ran out.  It was really encouraging to hear the testimonies.  They were as clear and sure of their salvation as you or I.

Finally at 4.00pm our plane arrived.  The pilot had been flying all day, as it was holiday time at the school the missionary children all had to be taken into the tribes that their parents worked in.  Dave (the pilot) took a few Indians over to an island to attend school and then we finally got our stuff into the plane.  Because the airstrip is pretty short we only were allowed 500 lbs weight going out.  Then at precisely 5.15pm we took to the skies and said our farewells to the village of Morti, and Kuna people and our dear friends, the McDaniels.  The view of the village from the air only served to challenge us more as we saw the village folks going about their everyday lives, many of them lost in their sin and in their need of a Saviour.  “Here am I, send me”! echoed in my mind as we watch Morti fade into the distance.  Our flight home was very good and as we came close to Panama City we got a beautiful view of some of the islands and a large river, which with its tributaries, looked like a giant tree with branches stretching into the jungle.  Dave guided the Cessna 185 into Paitilla airport at about 6.10pm where the McDaniels’ Volkswagen Beetle awaited us.

Well, you may ask us, “what things stuck out to you about Morti, and the people?”  First of all the people were bound by rigid social laws and almost everything they did had to be authorised by a village elder.  Their religion bound them to trying to please God by sacrifices and living right.  I guess that is how it is often for us though, isn’t it?  We feel that if we make sacrifices, for God, by doing without things or giving of our time, or doing the right things, that we can please Him, make ourselves more acceptable in His sight.  Also the poverty stood out before us.  People came asking for empty cans and cardboard boxes … anything that they could possibly use.  They lived often in dirt and squalor and there was some sickness with them and the drinking water is got from the same river where they washed themselves, their clothes and went to the bathroom.

We really don’t know where we will end up working, but we have really had a burden about the Kuna people and our visit only served to strengthen that burden.  Do pray for us that we will be open to God’s will, and that He will continue to work out the details in preparing us for the work He has for us here in Panama.

“Why must I die, oh could it be somewhere,

There is a God of whom I have not heard?

Eternal life already has provided,

But I must die, for I have not been told!

Why must I die, why must I die?

Can we not hear the heathen cry?

Or will they perish, still in darkness pleading,

Why must I die, why must I die?”

Language Study

Language study began for us here in Panama in September 1990.  After just