Volume 4, Issue 3

September 2011

FAY FOOTPRINTS
Lutheran Bible Translators

If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one anothers feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you.

The Power of the Word

During our time in Cameroon, one of the Nizaa speakers we got to know was Pastor Ousmanou, who happens to be the first Nizaa I (Kory) met on my first trip to Cameroon. On one occasion, we began talking about the work that had been done by previous missionaries and how some of the gospels had been translated. These translations were done after he had moved away from the area, so he had never had a chance to see them. I was a bit shocked that he had never seen them and he was a bit shocked when I said that I had a copy! He sat in his chair, eagerly waiting to see the Word of God in his heart language for the first time, while I pulled up the document on my computer. As soon as he saw the screen, Pastor Ousmanous face lit up and he just started laughing. He read it out loud and translated it back into French for me. He had me pronounce words after him and taught me the meanings of some of them. We spent an hour talking about the text, interrupted by countless interjections of This is great!!! from Pastor Ousmanou. Seeing the Word of God in his heart language instilled in him a desire to help other Nizaa people have access to it. It is a privilege to experience the joy that comes when someone realizes that God speaks their language, too. He is not a distant God that does not care or understand Hes the God who knows them, loves them, and speaks directly to their hearts.

Blessings
At our home church this past Sunday, and on the radio as we have driven around town, weve heard a song by Laura Story called Blessings. The ending chorus goes like this: What if your blessings come through raindrops What if your healing comes through tears What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know you are near What if my greatest disappointments Or the aching of this life Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world cant satisfy What if the trials of this life, the rain, the storms, the hardest nights Are your mercies in disguise

We thank God for getting to enjoy fireworks on the 4th of July a first for all three of our kids!

We celebrated our 5th anniversary on July 30!

The last you heard from us, we told you that we were returning to the U.S. on medical leave. It was a very difficult and disappointing time. No one expected that we would need to leave so soon after arriving, least of all us. When it became clear that that was what He was leading us to do, we were still somewhat disappointed and confused, and yet we had the peace that passes all understanding. There were a lot of tears and sleepless nights but our Father reminded us that He would never leave us or stop loving us. We are incredibly grateful for so many prayers, cards, and kind words sent our way. Our continued prayer has been that He would use the whole situation for His glory. We have now been back for a little over two months. Cara has continued in counseling and is feeling much better than she did when we first arrived. We have all been praying fervently for Gods direction (continued on back).

John 13:14-15

At this time, we feel like God is not leading us to go back to Cameroon. One thing that Cara learned about herself in Cameroon is that she is in need of community with other moms of young children. This is not something that she realized about herself before we left for Cameroon but something that was realized once we were there. Galim is about 6 hours away from others who speak our language and 2 or 3 days drive from other young mothers. There is potential for another missionary couple to join with us on this (or another) project and therefore provide that need, but that is something to consider for the future. For now, Caras counselor and the staff at LBT wholeheartedly agree that remaining in the U.S. is the best decision for our family. Although we will not be returning to Cameroon for the time being, we still have a strong desire to further LBTs mission of bringing people to faith by making Gods Word available to them in the language of their hearts. This ministry has been on our hearts and a part of our lives for the last four years and is not something we want to quit being a part of just because things didnt go exactly the way we thought they would. On August 11, we were able to meet with supervisors at the home office in Chicago. They offered us an assignment at the office where we would be using our God-given talents, training, and experiences as LBT missionaries to help our organization grow. After a few days of praying, it was clear to us that this is a great opportunity for our family and we are very excited about the possibilities! We are still in discussion with our supervisors the specifics, but we will have an active role in helping prospective/new missionaries through the application, training, support-raising, and field orientation processes. There is a potential for over 35 new missionaries to join our organization in the next few years, which is a lot of growth for our small organization! Something very important to note is that we will still be relying on your prayers and financial gifts, so we humbly request that you continue to support us in these ways. We believe that God, in His mercy and grace, is giving us the opportunity to use our experiences and gifts to serve other missionaries, missionaries who will go out to the nations and help people like Pastor Ousmanou to read and be transformed by Gods Word in their own language. We are planning to move to the Chicago area by the end of September. We realize that many of you will have questions about our experiences in Cameroon and about what we will be doing in our new assignment. We will try to answer some of those in the coming months, but please feel free to send us an email or give us a call and wed be happy to talk with you. We firmly believe that lifes stormy and tear-stained moments can be used for Gods greater purposes. The most miraculous victory of all time was won when the disciples watched our Lord die on the cross and then saw Him in the flesh three days later. Talk about a blessing and a mercy in disguise! Walk with us as we move beyond disappointment and seek to serve the Lord where He has us today, not denying the past but living in the present and striving toward the future.

Please continue to pray for the Nizaa people, that in Gods timing they would have His Word in their own language. Also pray for our family as we make one last major move (for awhile) and establish routines, make new friends, and get started in our new role with LBT.

Contact us at: The Fays P.O Box 2050 Aurora, IL 60507-2050 kcfay@lbt.org 317-228-7911 www.fayfootprints.com

Send financial support to: Lutheran Bible Translators P.O. Box 2050 Aurora, IL 60507-2050 (Make checks out to Lutheran Bible Translators and write Fay ministry on the memo line)

The mission of LBT is to help bring people to faith in Jesus Christ by making the Word of God available to those who do not yet have it in the language of their hearts. For more information on LBT go to www.lbt.org