Last week I was able to be a part of
another Simply the Story training. This time the training was help in
Tenwek, in the western part of Kenya. It is in the highlands of the
country. A beautiful place of mountains and rolling hills, decorated
with more plants than one could imagine, and filled with the sound of
a powerful waterfall.
The trainees were about 35 in number,
some American missionaries (and one from New Zealand!), some Kenyan
women who help lead a Bible study ministry known as Tabitha
Ministries, and the team from the Eye Clinic here at Tenwek Hospital.
What a mixture of people all passionate about sharing the word of
God!
I was extremely blessed to meet some of
the women from the Eye Team. Do you remember the Cataract Clinic they
just finished up in Tonj? They were able to complete 218 surgeries!
Praise God. And these ladies on the team actually stayed in my room
there in Tonj while I took some leave in Kenya. Isn't it great the
way God works out the details.
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| A beautiful view of the Rift Valley in Kenya |
So we began our training, and Billy and
Scott were eager to help each member of the training team grow in our
abilities as story tellers and trainers. I was given a little more
responsibilities than our last training in Dhiakuei, but it was
certainly a good time of growth, and I was definitely surrounded by
encouraging people.
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| Scott Rambo (Uganda) and Tim Conaway (MM Logistician) on the bridge above the waterfall. |
During the training, stories are told
as demonstrations and we walk through the five steps:
- Tell the Story (accurately but in conversational language)
- Ask for a Volunteer to retell what they remember
- Lead Through the Story (retell but with questions)
- Look for Observations/Treasures
- Make Application
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| Teammates Tim Conaway and CT demonstrating the use of facial expressions to really make a story come alive. |
When you work through these five steps,
and really learn a story from the Bible well, you are putting the
truth of Scripture in your heart, or in your heart
pocket as Billy says. The more stories you learn,
the more you have in your heart pocket. So when you are walking
through the grocery story, and stop to say hello to a friend, you
hear about what's happening in their life and realize, “That really
resonates with this story I know from the Bible. I think there's
truth in it for my friend.” and you can pull that story out of your
heart pocket and share it with that person, asking questions as you
do, so that they may discover the truth of scripture rather than feel
“preached at.”
Or maybe you're at the doctors office,
or a hospital waiting room, or carpooling to a football game, or
eating lunch together with friends, and you realize that everywhere
you go there are people whose lives can be impacted, challenged,
comforted, encouraged, empowered, and saved by the power of the word
of God.
Doesn't scripture say that the Word of
God is alive and active? If it is alive then it is not irrelevant to
today.
And what did Jesus say, that man cannot
live on bread alone, but on what?
The word of God.
So my question to you is, what is in
your heart pocket?
