Post 93 / The Next Language

A Glorious Landing

I knew a man in Christ above fourteen years ago, (whether in the body, I cannot tell; or whether out of the body, I cannot tell: God knoweth;) such an one caught up to the third heaven. [2Co 12:2 KJV]

I am almost forced to share Paul’s discourse feature of hiding his identity in 2 Cor. 12. In this case I am not hiding my own identity but the persons and places in this story.

The situation was just about as surreal as Paul’s, as we stood in an unnamed African airport at 1:30 am, holding a $600 dollar invoice for duty on the recording equipment that we had brought with us. We had just completed an overnight train ride, and an overnight flight in the shadow of the earth and had finally arrived to our destination. The head of customs curtly ordered us to leave the inspection room and report to the office for paying duty.

I asked if I could bring in our national Director who was waiting outside. After talking our way through security points several times we got to the woman who was in complete control of the situation. After meeting the Director, who confirmed what we were doing, she abruptly told him to shut up and sit down. She wanted to talk to me. She said she could see from our itinerary that we had been travelling close to 30 hours. She also noticed my age from my passport which she was holding. She asked, “Why is someone your age doing this? Who is paying you? Don’t you have children and grandchildren to enjoy?” She told me that if we had been carrying Bibles as missionaries she would let it go. But she couldn’t see why all this new equipment was necessary.

I told her that we had something better than Bibles. We had the story of Jesus in more than 500 languages of her country. I asked what she spoke as a first language and she told me. While I was trying to find it on 5fish she kept asking me who was paying me to do this. I told her of my cattle that I had sold in order to make this trip. Just then I started playing her language which just “happened” to be the right one out of this language group.

Instantly a message called “What is a Christian?” took center stage. I stopped it, thinking I didn’t want to push our luck too far. She immediately told me to keep it playing and turn the volume up. She was totally absorbed in what she was hearing. One of her workers started asking to hear his language. She responded that he would not be interested because he was a Muslim. (Turns out she was Catholic.) But he insisted so I put the national Director to work finding this man’s language.

We downloaded the 5fish app onto the immigration chief’s phone so she could start to listen on her own phone and also gave her a blue tooth speaker so it would be louder.

Finally, she asked me what I would do if she waived the charges. I said that I would get to work and try to finish recording the rest of the languages in her country. I pointed out that every single piece of equipment in our four large suitcases was for the sole purpose of producing the same messages she was listening to. I did tell her that I had about half the cash in my pocket for the duty and also that I could not give her a bribe because that would not please God. She agreed. She also said that she would allow us to apply that duty money to, instead, getting all the languages with the Gospel.

Then she called her second in command to the office and explained what she was going to do and to see if he agreed. She informed us that she was going to waive the duty because we were doing a good thing for the most deprived groups of Nigeria and we were not charging for anything. She said, “These people have patiently put up with our harassment and I am going to let them go.” She then requested that we pray for them before we left.

So there we stood with her and her Muslim agent praying for them and giving thanks for their mercy and God for looking out for His equipment. Our Director immediately dubbed me the “archbishop of Global Recordings Network.”

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies. [Ps 23:5 KJV]

When a man’s ways please the LORD, He maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him. [Prov 16:7 KJV]

(Editor’s note: Praise God with us for opened doors. Pray for more “Acts” experiences for Larry and his team as they spend a month in this African country.)

God Bless,

Larry DeVilbiss | Executive Director

Global Recordings Network USA

If you are interested in learning how to share links on social media that will promote use of our recordings and the Gospel in general, please contact RolandHeck@GlobalRecordings.Net

Previous “The Next Language” posts
Tale of Three Sisters – Post 92
Collaboration – Post 91
Pick Your Fears Carefully – Post 90
Mixteco del Progreso – Post 89
Go – Post 88
Those Word Lists – Post 87
Altars – Post 86
Oh, for a Thousand Tongues – Post 85
Voices in the Wilderness – Post 84
Nigeria – First Impressions – Post 83
From the Land of Nod – Post 82
Tribute to Mexico – 1967 – 2022 – Post 81
Miniaturization – Post 80
Knowing The Times – Post 79
God Comes to a Dirty World – Post 78
Corn in Mexico – Post 77
When the Church Says No – Post 76
War – Post 75
Theirs Is the Kingdom – Post 74
The Hippie Era Lives On – Post 73
Genesis of a Recording Set – Post 72
Back Tracking – Post 71
Witnesses- Post 70
Who Is Your Owner? – Post 69
An Unsolicited Endorsement – Post 68
Oral Tradition – Post 67
Works of  Man – Post 66
Deliverance – Post 65
New Discoveries – Post 64
The Wall of Pain – Post 63
Is There a Place for the Gospel in Your Story – Post 62
The Love Pyramid – Post 61
Obsession – Post 60
Verb Tenses in Hebrews – Post 59
The Unseen Weapon – Post 58
The Gospel Arrives in Zapoteco:Elotepec – Post 57
Fishing – GRN Style – Post 56
A New Day in Mexico – Post 55
Seeking – Post 54
Pick Your Battles – Post 53
How Big Is Your God? – Post 52
A Muted Gospel? – Post 51
Dedication Service for Marcos – Post 50
Two Weeks, Two Months, Two Years – Post 49
What Will You Give to Jesus – Post 48
Special Assignment – Post 47
The Good and the Best – Post 46
How Many Languages Are There? – Post 45
Verifying Speech Varieties – Post 44
Those God Things – Post 43
Meet Notch, the Desert Cottontail – Post 42
The Lost Languages – Post 41
The Rest of the Yoke – Post 40
What About Those Last Languages – Post 39
A Yoke That Fits – Post 38
The Other Side – Post 37
It Is Finished – Post 36
On the Ground in Culiacan – Post 35
I Will Go With Thee – Post 34
Unseen Warfare – Post 33
God of the Gaps – Post 32
The Father of Faith Missions – Post 31
WAIT – Post 30
Our Ultimate Weapon – Post 29
What Are You Doing Here – Post 28
Recordist Training Course Update – Post 27
Still Shameful – Post 26
Numbers Update – Post 25
The Gospel and Idolatry – Post 24
Could Ye Not Pray – Post 23
John the Baptist and the New Normal – Post 22
Genesis of a Script – Post 21
Embena Experiences – Post 20
An Easter Like No Other – Post 19
Go Or Stay Home – Post 18
The Next Language – Post 17
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