"He is before all things, and in Him, all things hold together."
~ Colossians 1:17
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They are back from South Asia...
here's an exclusive interview with Jason and Elizabeth…


How would you describe your experience in 3 words?
Jason: Challenging, humbling and revealing
Elizabeth: Stretching, redeeming, and revealing


What exactly did the team do, on the trip?
Elizabeth: 1) assisted a local team with leprosy and dental camps, 2) participated in Bible storytelling training and sharing with small groups, 3) created thousands of vocabulary cards & recording books on audio -- saving one local worker 129 1/2 hours of work on her ESL projects for mother tongue translators, 4) developed Bible based literacy materials for unreached people groups learning to read their own language, 5) gained perspective on what living overseas long-term looks like, 6) learning the local language, 7) interviewed ethnomusicologists, surveyors and translation consultants, 8) witnessed worship in the local language, 9) took anthropology and grammar classes with mother-tongue translators and 10) watched Bible translations being checked in several languages!!!
What was the hardest part?
Jason: The leprosy camp was a hard experience for me.  I'm not a medical person and also didn't know anything about leprosy before we arrived except that it's a contagious disease.  But by the end of the day, God gave me strength to bandage the wounds of a couple of the patients.  It brought a whole new meaning to the stories of Jesus healing lepers in the Bible.
Elizabeth: Besides the 6 sweaty hours in the oppressive heat, inbetween our 35 hour train and our 7 hour train, I think the hardest thing for me was balancing my role as a wife and as a team leader.  Both are still very brand new roles for me, so the learning curve was sharp!  Having an incredibly patient and continually understanding husband is probably what kept our relationship from crumbling during this trip!  I am so blessed!
What was your favorite moment of the trip?
Jason: I enjoyed spending time with the kids in the slum areas.  Our team had to figure out a way to teach them a Bible story through actions, while a local dentist worked on their teeth.  We taught them the story of baby Moses and how his sister cared for him.  Then we talked about how they can care for one another.
 
Elizabeth: The time with the ladies in the village!  Being able to talk in the local language about what it means to be married, and the issues that face them today, was a highlight for me.  Being with them reminded me of when I lived here and the pure joy that I experienced!  Next to God's glory, the reason I do what I do every day is so that women like them might know the Truth.
What are you going to do now after having been there?
Jason & Elizabeth: We don't want this trip to just be something that we did in the year 2014.  We want to continue reflect on the things God taught us and apply them in our lives in Florida or wherever we may be.  Practically speaking, we want to ride a local bus and start to learn our local culture a bit more.  We want to have another gathering with our neighbors.  Currently, Jason is back teaching at the local public school and taking classes all day on Saturday.  Elizabeth has hit the ground running with many conversations already started with eager students interested in internships for next year.
I have processed a few more emotions from the past summer on my blog and plan to continue to write more posts over the next month, especially reflecting on my time this past summer.

That's all there is to it - reflections on family reunion without my Grandfather.

Redeeming - thoughts on how the reactions of the Discovery team renewed my perspective on South Asia.

Honest Communication = Life - honest sharing about some of the internal turmoil that both Jason and I experienced on the trip.
Praise: Your prayers for safety and sanity and an overall successful Wycliffe Discovery trip to South Asia with 9 people were answered positively.

Prayer: for e-entry and settling back into the rhythm of life here in Florida.

Prayer: for creative ways to engage with our neighbors.

Prayer: for balance in life and work - there are still details to process from the past trip, but emails for next year's trips are already piling up.
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Contact Info:
elizabethstories@gmail.com

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