Actually, "just" sounds like it was a few minutes ago, but it was a couple of weeks ago, when we were with the Tsachi church, joining them in their service - this time with my sister Carol. It's been on my mind, and I'm still not sure how I'll carry it out. But let me tell you about the eventful meeting first..
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Arriving at the church, we found that some guests from the Kichwa church were there, along with some Tsáchila from another area. The picture above (taken after the activities were over and some had left) gives an example of the diversity of the people there that night.
You can see us, the 4th and 5th from the left - Germán slightly behind me - and beside me is Tserere, who is beside her husband Primitivo, the Tsachi leader of the church. My sister is the second from the right, and she is between the parents of a beautiful little baby whom we had the joy of dedicating to God. (Holding little Kleber Isaías in my arms while Germán prayed with the parents and the church was a joy!) The others in the picture are a mixture of Tsachi and Kichwa and "white" leaders, including a foreign missionary.
Carol presented flash memories on which were stored pretty much all their literature in Tsáfiqui, including the Scriptures. Then Germán gave the message, encouraging them to guide their lives by the Word of God, giving a bit more history of the Scriptures becoming available - centuries ago - to different peoples in their own languages, and how vital it is to all believers.
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For the after-service activities, chairs were taken from their rows and lined up along the walls, to give more room for people to circulate. I started serving up the Pineapple Cake I had taken. As usual, they asked for the recipe...and not as usual, I had forgotten to take it with me! During this time, we had the baby-dedication and just chatted and caught up with others.
Then...I "bit off more than I could chew". We have wanted to get an electronic piano for Tserere to play in the meetings. I talked to her and her husband before we left, to get some information...and was a little dismayed. She told me that my mom had not written the music with normal notes on pentagrams. Adapting to necessity, she had had to invent another method, something about the placement of fingers...BUT...the notebook in which they were all written had been lost! I wanted so much for her to be able to play that I said, "If I write out the songs for you, do you think that would work? She and her husband both agreed that it would. So I told them we would procure a piano for them.
It wasn't until later that it really sank in: their explanation of Mom's method wasn't clear, and I had no true idea how she did it...and the originals were lost! How in the world was I going to do what I offered? Well, now I have to think of how to do this so that she can follow the songs, without drawing notes on staves. (Any ideas out there?)
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I didn't find a verse on "biting off more than one can chew", but this might be close: "Enthusiasm without knowledge is no good; haste makes mistakes." (Proverbs 19:2) Oh well!! I'll just cling to this verse:
"Don't worry over anything whatever; tell God every detail of your needs in earnest and thankful prayer, and the peace of God which transcends human understanding, will keep constant guard over your hearts and minds as they rest in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:6)
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Father, sometimes our enthusiasm backs us into a corner!
Thank You for being patient with us and for promising us your peace.
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