This is a recent message I taught at a Calvary Chapel Santa Maria missions conference. How is the Missionary God working in your life?
Time: 1:03:09
Friday, July 23, 2010
Monday, July 12, 2010
Online missions preparation
A few of the Shepherd's Staff guys were here on Friday and Saturday. We're moving towards offering some online missionary training and so we plotted out where we want to go with it. We also filmed some teasers for a few of the courses and then did a round table discussion on various missions topics. You should be able to see some of what we did on the SS website some time soon. The site is: www.shepsstaff.org
It's cooking here in Phoenix....again. We've been 112 and 113 for 4 of the last 6 days. This is now the "stupid hot" season. It's brutal.
The surveying of the property is set to start this week. It'll be close, but it does look like we might make it in time for the refugees to plant by September 15. Please keep that in prayer.
It's cooking here in Phoenix....again. We've been 112 and 113 for 4 of the last 6 days. This is now the "stupid hot" season. It's brutal.
The surveying of the property is set to start this week. It'll be close, but it does look like we might make it in time for the refugees to plant by September 15. Please keep that in prayer.
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Tidbits
Good news from the doctor yesterday...no surgery on my knee is needed! I will be gradually moving away from using the crutches in a few days and I'll also begin Physical Therapy for the knee within a week. God is good.
Things are proceeding with the garden project, but of course, new obstacles arise. We just found out that because of the size of the property we will garden, in order to get our permit from the city we need to have a complete site plan that includes drainage, elevation, and so forth. This increases the cost for the civil engineering that is necessary to produce what the city needs. Even with this extra cost we're still close financially, but I'd appreciate it if you could still keep it in prayer.
I just came from taking a Karen man to the motor vehicle department so that he could take an oral exam as the written driving test. This guy has been here 4 years, speaks very little English, has a wife and 5 boys, (and the youngest boy, age 2,) has Down's Syndrome. I took an upstanding Karen young man who is 17 to be the interpreter. Suffice it to say it was disaster.
Thank God that a very educated Karen woman has translated the Arizona driver's handbook into Karen. This guy will study in his language for the re-test on July 21.
Refugee ministry is never dull.
Things are proceeding with the garden project, but of course, new obstacles arise. We just found out that because of the size of the property we will garden, in order to get our permit from the city we need to have a complete site plan that includes drainage, elevation, and so forth. This increases the cost for the civil engineering that is necessary to produce what the city needs. Even with this extra cost we're still close financially, but I'd appreciate it if you could still keep it in prayer.
I just came from taking a Karen man to the motor vehicle department so that he could take an oral exam as the written driving test. This guy has been here 4 years, speaks very little English, has a wife and 5 boys, (and the youngest boy, age 2,) has Down's Syndrome. I took an upstanding Karen young man who is 17 to be the interpreter. Suffice it to say it was disaster.
Thank God that a very educated Karen woman has translated the Arizona driver's handbook into Karen. This guy will study in his language for the re-test on July 21.
Refugee ministry is never dull.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
He did it again!
Just a quick update...the Rotary club approved the plan!!! Thanks to those who prayed and to our gracious God who heard and moved. Many details to be worked out, but we're moving forward with God's hand clearly upon our efforts.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
All 8 cylinders needed, right here in Phoenix, U.S.A.
Last week, my wife and I had the privilege of hosting a Hungarian pastor and his family for a night as they drove back from Southern California to St. Louis. Pastor Adam graduated from seminary a few weeks ago after a year and a half of study. The whole family leaves for Hungary in a couple of weeks, where he will step back into his role as the pastor of what is likely the only evangelical Christian church in his city of 65,000 people. His humility and his ability to summarize the plight of his people and their country was astounding. The challenges he faces as he pastors in a very difficult environment are huge. Keep him in prayer.
Even though I can't remember the exact way the conversation unfolded as we stayed up late Wednesday evening discussing what God was doing, I felt prompted to share with him something that I'd like to share with you.
Knowing the foreign field experience that God has permitted me to have, he asked if I was content with not being able to live or even travel outside the U.S. in recent years. In other words, he wanted to know if I was content doing what I'm doing here in Phoenix. Trying to answer that question provoked me to share an analogy with him that I used to use fairly regularly.
To make it as simple as possible, until God planted us here in Phoenix and permitted me to work with refugees from all over the world, I genuinely felt like I was an 8 cylinder engine that regularly ran on 7 cylinders, but not contented to be doing so. Although I know this is probably an expression of my lack of spiritual maturity, the familiarity of life and ministry here in the U.S., (first in Southern California, and then in Nevada,) just didn't seem to require all 8 cylinders to be running to be the blessing I felt God wanted me to His people and to those who don't know Him.
But anytime I buckled into a seatbelt and a plane lifted off from LAX taking me to some overseas destination, as soon as the plane crossed the shoreline of the West coast, Texas, or the East coast, something inside of me came alive that seemed to be lying dormant while I was living and ministering in the U.S. It was like that 8th cylinder was now needed to do what God had called me to do, and it was exhilarating and fulfilling. But as soon as I boarded the plane to head back to the U.S. that cylinder seemed to go dormant again and remain so, as much as I tried to revive it for ministry here in the U.S. Strange, I know.
But now, right here in the U.S. Right here in Phoenix. That 8th cylinder kicks in regularly, (although not all the time.) Plunging into the world of refugees and entering into their apartments and their lives, is sufficient exposure to that which is foreign to require that 8th cylinder to begin operating. And the exhilaration and fulfillment, right here in the U.S., feels SOOOO good!
Can anyone relate?
Even though I can't remember the exact way the conversation unfolded as we stayed up late Wednesday evening discussing what God was doing, I felt prompted to share with him something that I'd like to share with you.
Knowing the foreign field experience that God has permitted me to have, he asked if I was content with not being able to live or even travel outside the U.S. in recent years. In other words, he wanted to know if I was content doing what I'm doing here in Phoenix. Trying to answer that question provoked me to share an analogy with him that I used to use fairly regularly.
To make it as simple as possible, until God planted us here in Phoenix and permitted me to work with refugees from all over the world, I genuinely felt like I was an 8 cylinder engine that regularly ran on 7 cylinders, but not contented to be doing so. Although I know this is probably an expression of my lack of spiritual maturity, the familiarity of life and ministry here in the U.S., (first in Southern California, and then in Nevada,) just didn't seem to require all 8 cylinders to be running to be the blessing I felt God wanted me to His people and to those who don't know Him.
But anytime I buckled into a seatbelt and a plane lifted off from LAX taking me to some overseas destination, as soon as the plane crossed the shoreline of the West coast, Texas, or the East coast, something inside of me came alive that seemed to be lying dormant while I was living and ministering in the U.S. It was like that 8th cylinder was now needed to do what God had called me to do, and it was exhilarating and fulfilling. But as soon as I boarded the plane to head back to the U.S. that cylinder seemed to go dormant again and remain so, as much as I tried to revive it for ministry here in the U.S. Strange, I know.
But now, right here in the U.S. Right here in Phoenix. That 8th cylinder kicks in regularly, (although not all the time.) Plunging into the world of refugees and entering into their apartments and their lives, is sufficient exposure to that which is foreign to require that 8th cylinder to begin operating. And the exhilaration and fulfillment, right here in the U.S., feels SOOOO good!
Can anyone relate?
Tuesday, June 8, 2010
Closer, but not quite there yet...
For those of you who have kept up with this blog and that care about what we're trying to do with getting our church's land ready for refugees to farm on, I'd like to ask you to amp up the prayer. Next Wednesday, June 16, will be another appearance before a key Rotary club. If this goes like our advocate with the club envisions it, we could be within $3,000 of our goal of $30,000. for the fence and soil preparation. If they go for this, it will be an act of God, close to what He already did in getting the water utility company to donate the $70,000. water hook-up work we needed done. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE keep next Wednesday in prayer.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Quick update
The missions conference in Philly went great! Thanks for praying that I'd be able to make the trip. If you'd like to hear the general session messages or the workshops, you can check out www.ccphilly.org
My knee continues to be a challenge. The ortho doc told me last week that I probably have cartilage damage, so he wants me to have an MRI to be sure. If it is cartilage damage, then I'm going to need arthroscopic surgery on it. So, I'm still gimping on my crutches. I can bend my knee quite a bit, but the doctor says I shouldn't be putting any weight on it. Another month or so on crutches doesn't look like fun, that's for sure.
Things are progressing with fundraising for the block wall for our community garden for refugees. We're doing another presentation at another Rotary club this Friday. We're about one third of the way there, with approximately 10,000 raised of the 30,000 that will be needed. We're doing all that we can, it's in the Lord's hands as to whether it will come together within the time frame that we'd like to see, (finishing the wall by the end of June.) Please continue to keep this in prayer.
We just finished our latest session of English as a Second Language classes here at the church. We had a consistent 20 people, mainly Iraqi refugees attending. Some great relationships were made and practical help was given as an expression of God's love to each and every one of the folks that attended. We'll be taking a break until mid-September due to the high cost of electricity that is necessary to air condition our church building during our "oven-baked" summer.
My knee continues to be a challenge. The ortho doc told me last week that I probably have cartilage damage, so he wants me to have an MRI to be sure. If it is cartilage damage, then I'm going to need arthroscopic surgery on it. So, I'm still gimping on my crutches. I can bend my knee quite a bit, but the doctor says I shouldn't be putting any weight on it. Another month or so on crutches doesn't look like fun, that's for sure.
Things are progressing with fundraising for the block wall for our community garden for refugees. We're doing another presentation at another Rotary club this Friday. We're about one third of the way there, with approximately 10,000 raised of the 30,000 that will be needed. We're doing all that we can, it's in the Lord's hands as to whether it will come together within the time frame that we'd like to see, (finishing the wall by the end of June.) Please continue to keep this in prayer.
We just finished our latest session of English as a Second Language classes here at the church. We had a consistent 20 people, mainly Iraqi refugees attending. Some great relationships were made and practical help was given as an expression of God's love to each and every one of the folks that attended. We'll be taking a break until mid-September due to the high cost of electricity that is necessary to air condition our church building during our "oven-baked" summer.
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