In Training: November 2011

The sun shone warmly through the window as we sat around the table for breakfast. As we lifted our heads from prayer, the stillness was broken by Alissa’s soft voice. “Mommy, where is our home?” Those words struck me. I had never stopped to realize how all this traveling was affecting my girls.
My thoughts flashed back to our trip the night before. As the stars twinkled in the sky, we squeezed into the front seat of the pick-up truck to begin the 10-hour trip back to Kentucky. I rested my head on the window as the girls began asking questions. “When will we get there? Will we see our friend, Gracie? How long will we stay this time?” It doesn’t matter where a person lives; there is no place like home.
Returning to the present, I searched for a gentle way to respond to Alissa’s question. Before I could think of anything to say, a smile came to her face, and she said, “I know, our home is in Heaven.” I leaned back into my chair, relieved. God had come through again, giving us peace about our situation.
It reminds me about how Abraham followed God’s leading and wondered when he would arrive at his home, the New Jerusalem. It was a child’s small voice that reminded me to be patient until we get to our home in Heaven. God still has work for us to do. When it is accomplished, He will take us to that Heavenly home where we will stay forever. —Pam Lello

In Training: October 2011

“Little ones to Him belong. They are weak, but He is strong . . .” My hoarse lullaby faltered and then fell silent, stifled by the choking in my throat and the deep aching in my heart. Hot tears streamed down my cheeks and dropped softly onto the tiny bundle in my arms. I gazed down into the painful darkness of my daughters eyes, determined to cradle her as long as I possibly could. Slowly, her vitality faded like a tiny wildflower picked before its time. And then it was over. Our precious Aubrie Marie had fallen asleep in Jesus after just four days of life. I gathered her close and sobbed out my sorrow. But even in the depth of our grief we had hope.
What must it be like for my Ama people who routinely suffer the loss of their children? They die amid squalor and filth without the comfort of a modern hospital. They slip away in malarial fevers, dehydrated by diarrhea, without the benefit of even simple treatments or medicines. But even more tragically, they die without hope. For them, death and what follows death is a horrifying unknown. There is no hope in the tortured wails of those they leave behind.
What must it be like for Jesus as His little ones slip away untouched by His love as hopeless grief grips their parents? The Bible says, “Jesus wept,” and I am sure His tears still flow today. I think I can hear Him crying out, “Please, please, won’t someone help My children? Won’t someone give My people hope?”—John Lello

In Training: September 2011

Contaminated Hands

During the mid 1800s, one of Vienna General Hospital’s maternity wards became notorious for the deaths of mothers. One in ten of the mothers in that ward became ill and died. In the other maternity ward of the same hospital, only one in 50 mothers died. The only apparent difference between the wards was that in the ward with the high mortality rate doctors attended mothers, but in the other ward midwives cared for them.
Dr. Ignaz Semmelweis became obsessed with finding the cause. Reasoning that the care provided by doctors in his ward could not be the cause of the deaths, he attempted to match every other aspect of care in his ward with the care given in the other ward, but the terrible mortality continued. Then something changed. He took a four-month leave, and when he returned, he found that the mortality rate had dropped significantly in his absence.
After much questioning, he found that the only difference between his practices and those of the doctors who had worked in his absence was that
he spent much more time doing research on cadavers. He theorized that disease-carrying “particles” from cadavers were being transmitted on the hands of doctors to patients, and he instituted the practice of washing hands in a chlorine-and-lime solution. Immediately the mortality rate dropped to 1 in 100.
We also struggle to save lives with contaminated hands when we insist that our children behave appropriately so we can feel like good parents, when we hold evangelistic meetings so we can report church growth, or even at times when we engage in missions in order to start successful church-planting movements. Whenever self-interest replaces unselfish concern for the lost, our hands stop healing and start contaminating.
The only cleansing agent is the blood of Christ. When applied, it destroys self and inspires love for our God and fellow man. Washed in His blood, we become effective healers. Please pray that the saving power of the Gospel will work mightily through us among the Ama people.—John Lello

In Training: August 2011

At AFM's Summer Institute of Frontier Missions, we have learned that God wants to completely bond us with the Ama people so we can be His message to them. In order to bond with our people, we must first let go of what feels familiar and immerse ourselves in their lives. Research in missions suggests several ideas we are considering.
First, missionaries need to be willing to live with a local family. In some cases, missionaries simply arrive and begin asking the people they meet if they know a family who would host them. Others arrange to stay with a local family for a time. In either case immersion in the lives of their people allows a much deeper and more intimate understanding.
Second, missionaries need to limit personal belongings to about 30 lbs. per person. An adult Ama may have only twenty possessions, so 30 lbs. of belongings seems like incredible amount of wealth. We must be careful not to let our belongings become a barrier.
Third, missionaries should use common modes of transportation. Along the upper stretches of the Sepik River, this will happen naturally since dugout canoes and walking are the only means of transportation.
Finally, missionaries need to learn language in the context of relationships that they develop and maintain. This approach not only produces fluency but also builds a large number of close friendships into which the seeds of the Gospel can be sown.
In all of this, our example is Christ, “Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant.” Please pray that we, like Christ, will not cling to our old culture but will instead communicate God’s love to our new culture in a way the people can understand.—John Lello

In Training: July 2011

As we headed to yet another donor appointment, I felt I was beginning to understand a bit of what our people in Papua New Guinea experience as semi-nomadic hunter-gathers. Ok, I wasn’t hunting or gathering food in the jungle, but I was beginning to feel semi-nomadic. Since joining AFM, we have traveled many miles encouraging people to get involved in missions. But this Sabbath, we witnessed missions at work.
A little girl, about seven years old, attended Sabbath School for the first time. She was bright and had many questions. During prayer time, she requested prayer for her sick daddy who smoked. “I know that if I can find a Bible and sneak it under his pillow at night, he will get better,” she said. What a beautiful example of a little child trying to understand the power of God. In Sabbath School, we had the opportunity to share the love of Jesus with her, and she was so eager to learn. With the Lord’s help, she might possibly be the next little missionary in that town.
I look forward to the opportunity to teach the Ama children about Jesus’ love. What a blessing it will be when the Ama children begin sharing their songs and memory verses with their parents and family members.
If you have always wanted to be a missionary, this is your chance. You may not be able to travel to other lands personally, but you can join us and experience the joy of little hearts turning to Jesus. Your prayers and monthly support will help us reach Ama children. —Pam Lello

In Training: June 2011

When I was a child, my parents began working as literature evangelists to support our family and pay for my father’s education at Princeton Theological Seminary. My mother usually returned from canvassing after my sister and I went to bed, but on some nights Dad allowed us to stay up and wait for her.
The three of us would stand in front of the glass doors that led onto the veranda of our second-story apartment and watch the headlights of the cars that turned onto our road, hoping each one was Mom.
To pass time, we guessed how many cars would turn onto our road before Mom arrived. As the number of cars approached our guess, we watched with increasing interest, exclaiming, “Hey, those look like Mom’s headlights!” When Mom finally arrived, everyone would run to meet her shouting, “Mom’s home! Mom’s home!”
Why is it so important that we believe passionately in the nearness of Christ’s return? First, the nearness of His coming and the uncertainty of its exact day and hour motivate us to watch expectantly. Also, the great work that remains to be done forces us to pray for the impossible. Jesus said, “The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth laborers into his harvest.”
If you, like Christ, are touched by the unreached masses of our time, pray the Lord of the harvest that He will send forth a host of laborers to the peoples of remote lands, hostile cultures and closed countries. Pray for the impossible and unlock the power of God.—John Lello

In Training: Will You?

Will You?

Not that long ago, a dear brother in Christ testified powerfully to me of his belief and joy in the nearness of Christ’s second coming. In the midst of our study of Daniel and Revelation and current events, he enthusiastically exclaimed, “He’s coming! He’s coming soon! I can’t wait!”
My brother’s joy was positively infectious, and I couldn’t help but join him in praise. But afterward I wondered about my own experience. Did I really believe in the nearness of Jesus’ coming like my friend does? The question drove me to the scriptures, and this is my testimony.
Yes, I really do believe in Jesus’ soon return! History is populated with accounts of precisely fulfilled prophecies all progressing inexorably toward one final event, the only major prophecy yet to be fulfilled.
In addition, Matthew 24:5-7 predicts spiritual deceptions, wars, rumors of war and natural disasters increasing in frequency and intensity as the pain of a women giving birth. These things have always existed, but never have they flashed across the headlines with such rapidity and severity.
Finally, the outpouring of the latter rain promised in James 5:7-8 is beginning to fall. In small churches and large centers of worship, prayer meetings are packed, people are experiencing revival and hundreds are dedicating themselves to the completion of the Gospel Commission. God is pouring out His Spirit upon His church.
Yet one question remains: will you and I receive His Spirit? Will we experience revival and reformation? Will we swell the number of those who will speed this last warning to the ends of the world? We can if we will. Jesus’ message to His church today is, “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me” (Rev. 3:20).—John Lello