Thursday, February 2, 2012

Questions from another reader of the blog and book

Dear Joanne,
   I am going to be a missionary in India some day and your book "And the Word Came with Power" inspired me. It shows that we can make our plans, but we have to say, "God's will be done." By the way, what was the best thing about living with the Balangaos? I would've been really embarrassed if someone had seen me bathing like they saw you.
Love,
Brenna, age 10

Hi, Brenna,

The best thing about living in Balangao was knowing, loving and being accepted by the people.  And seeing God work in their hearts and them responding…it was worth it all!  I learned many things from them…about family, about how to handle death, about generosity.  Balangaos give the visitor the VERY BEST they have.

 Well, yes…we were VERY embarrassed about being caught in the river…but our gracious man wasn’t.  So far as he was concerned, we were “squatted down” and appropriately covered in such circumstances.  (We learned their definition of modest.  Such things truly differ across cultural boundaries!
Joanne Shetler

Keep the questions coming, it is great to hear from the readers.  It also give us something new to post on the blog.  As the translators are busy, we can pray for and encourage them and post questions and answers from readers.

2 comments:

  1. Hi Joanne! I just finished reading your book and it really inspired me to be a missionary! Anyway, throughout The Word Came With Power I was wondering where your old partner Anne and her husband Tommy were. How is she doing?

    P.S. Do you mind if I join the translation team maybe when I grow up?

    Quinlan
    Age 10
    Iowa, U.S.A

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  2. Hi Ms. Joanne! We just finished reading And the Word Came with Power, we are praying for the Balangaos, and wondering if there is another way we can help the translation team along with prayer? Thank you for your great book!

    Price
    Age 8
    Air Force Family

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