We are excited to be working on our backyard garden! We look forward to having fresh fruits and veggies for our table, but we are also eagerly anticipating the chance to share some of our knowledge of gardening with our neighbors. Even though Timor is a largely agrarian society, there are a lot of challenges to food security that locals face every day. One big challenge is the dry season throughout half the year, of course. But also, there are a lot of long-standing practices that hinder, rather than help, food production. For example, rather than allowing leaves and other organic matter to mulch into their gardens and add nutrients to the soil, properties are religiously kept free of plant debris. This requires more watering during the dry season and allows weed growth, as well. We know that many aid agencies have tried to introduce healthy farming practices which may have been followed for a year or two but then abandoned for the traditional Timorese practices. But we hope that as our garden flourishes, our neighbors will take note and ask how they can have prolific gardens and plenty of food for their families, too.
Month: December 2015
Merry Christmas!
Christmas Newsletter 2015
Have Yourself a Sweaty Little Christmas
Merry Christmas from roasty toasty Timor Leste! Our hearts are torn this holiday season. We imagine being cozy with our loved ones back home by a roaring fire, sipping piping hot cocoa and enjoying the scent of a fresh cut Christmas tree while the sun sets at about 4 PM. But we are grateful for what we are actually doing, decorating with crafts for Christmas in our new home, sweating through the days while we work in our backyard garden, and plopping into patio chairs in our living room every evening to sip cold drinks and talk about the relationships God is building between us and our neighbors.
The Timorese love their Christmas music! We have been hearing Christmas songs in four languages (English, Tetun, Portuguese and Bahasa Indonesian) blasting from our neighbor’s house, and one of the favorites seems to be O Holy Night. We have been thinking about these lines:
Chains shall He break, for the slave is our brother.
And in His name, all oppression shall cease!
What a perfect word to speak over Timor! Both the traditional animistic religion and particular type of Catholicism preached here have heaped obligations and burdens on the Timorese for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. It’s time to share the freedom, peace and joy that Christ brought with His Advent! It’s going to be a great year, and we are thankful to all of you for partnering with us in this adventure.
Even though Christmas in Timor looks quite different from Christmas in North Carolina and Montana, we are joining you in thankfulness for what God has provided in the last year and for the friends and family He has blessed us with around the world. We pray you sense His joy this season, as well.
New to the Neighborhood
As evening fell, the whole team sat in patio chairs in the front yard of one of our neighbors. Moments before, we had been in the middle of preparing dinner when our neighbor, Ano, knocked on the door and told us that Miguel, the xefe aldeia, was ready to see us and we had to walk down the road to meet him immediately. The xefe aldeia is an elected official similar to a neighborhood mayor. It is a requirement for anyone moving into a neighborhood, especially foreigners, to obtain permission from the xefe aldeia to live there. Ano had previously told Jay and Ashley that Miguel didn’t like the conflict that the “new religions” (Protestantism vs. Catholicism, essentially) were creating in Timor. So when Miguel asked us our purpose for living in his neighborhood, Ashley said a quick silent prayer that God would grant us favor with Miguel and the language skills needed to communicate our purpose for being here. In Tetun, she said, “God loves the people of Timor-Leste, and we love the people of Timor-Leste. We want to help the people of Timor-Leste become better friends with Jesus.” There was a general positive response from the xefe’s family, who had gathered around to hear our story. The xefe himself was silent and thoughtful. In time, we finished chatting and trundled the kids home (Emi had fallen asleep in Megan’s lap), satisfied that we had fulfilled a cultural duty and given glory to God by being honest about the reason we had moved into the neighborhood.
God has already brought us several people who appear eager to learn more about knowing God personally. Jay met a young Timorese man and they began reading the book of Mark together. It appears we are jumping right in with what God brought us here to do, which is just fine with us! It could be very easy for us to get caught up in the difficulties of daily living, so being able to build relationships and to partner with Jesus as he works in peoples lives is very encouraging!
We are working on some garden space and beginning to plant seeds; we also might have a lead on a great space for a community garden 100 yards up the street! Jay taught about twenty neighbor children (who come over daily) how to start their own seedlings.
Divine Appointment
Adam and Jay met a Timorese man (Tony) at the bank and found out he had studied to be a priest for 10 years before leaving seminary because his questions about God were not being answered; he was only learning the traditions and liturgy (which are not bad things) of conducting a service, but he was not learning about who God is and how to have a relationship with him. He mentioned that the day before, he met some evangelists who helped to answer questions he has had for a long time. Adam pointed out that the Lord had led Tony to the people the day before and to us the following day because God wants an intimate relationship with him. We exchanged information and look forward to meeting again soon to start a Bible study! This is not the first time God has just had us “run into someone” who wants to know more about God. Please continue to pray for these divine appointments.
love4timor 