Simply the Story Workshop - Feb 2010

Regina & I

One year ago this month, I flew to Idaho to be part of a Simply The Story story-telling workshop with Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF.) The workshop was sponsored by CATCH ministry and held at Castle Hills Church of the Nazarene in Boise. The intent of the workshop was to teach the Nepalese Christian community how to lead interactive discussions on Bible passages as participants grasp truths and apply them to their daily living.

 The workshop was conducted by MAF’s orality specialist, Regina Manley and her team of volunteers. It was an amazing experience to be surrounded by men and women of faith who spoke Nepali and who through a translator where able to discuss the parables of Jesus by discovering the spiritual treasures and personal applications within the different stories.

CATCH & Nepalese Christians

As I participated in the three-day practitioner workshop, I realized what a blessing it was to see the parable of the Good Samaritan apply to any culture. More than thirty people gathered in circles of 5 people per group and listened to the twelve verses carefully. It was followed by the practitioner acting out the role of the priest, the Levite and by the Samaritan according to Luke 10:25-37. Next came the questions and the discussion that make this oral inductive bible study an incredible way to impact those who participate. At the end of the session, I was not only able to memorize the parable verse by verse but most importantly, appreciate the timeless story as my new Nepalese friend and I found the Good Samaritan still relevant in our daily lives.

Group Discussion

Although I was not an MAF missionary when I participated in the eighteen hour training session, I was beginning to sense that this was an area the Lord was preparing me for. The thought that I would be sharing the Word of God with people from different ethnic groups was a dream that I had had for many years. As a result of attending this captivating workshop, I began to ask God in my prayers to make a way for me to share His ageless stories with people groups from diverse places in the world. Since then, the Lord has answered my prayer and beginning this summer, I will have an opportunity to work with Regina Manley and the outstanding MAF-Learning Technologies team. -  Laura