June 30, 2008
I’ll Take You Back
In EQUIP on Sunday morning, Marty and I team taught as we continue to study the parables of Jesus. This week it was my favorite “The Prodigal Son” from Luke 15. It was this passage that God used to bring me to my salvation point in Dec of 1991. We ended the class with this modern day telling of the parable by Jeremy Camp called, “I’ll Take you Back.”
Remember, if you are 1,000 miles away from God, it’s only one step back. Read I John 1:9 and you’ll see what I mean.
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June 30, 2008
Making Memories with Cherries
This morning I was getting ready to go to work and Maxine and the boys were headed off to pick cherries at a friend’s farm. I’ve just finished reading “Parenting is Heart Work” and remembered the challenge to make memories with your children. As I put on my shoes, I knew I had a choice. I could go to the office and start on the dozens of things I need to get done before we go on vacation or I could could pick cherries with my family. I made the decision to pick cherries and jumped on the scooter to head off to Flanagan.
We had a great time. There were dogs and cats to play with and cherry trees to climb. We got about a fourth of a five gallon bucket full before I started whipping the cherries at the boys. Maxine’s at home making home-made cherry cobbler and we had a great time together as a family!
By the way, I wonder if they make GPS for Scooters. I tried to go home the “backway” and ended up in….Gridley!
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June 27, 2008
Winning your child’s heart
I just finished reading “Parenting is Heart Work” by Dr. Scott Turansky and Joanne Miller. This is a great book for parents who are looking for help with not just changing their children’s behavior but making lasting heart changes in their character. They focus on three areas: emotional connectedness, instruction, and correction and give relevant, easy to understand examples of how to work toward deepening your children’s love for you and the Lord.
I had a great conversation with a step-mother who is wanting to win their step-daughter’s heart. Here are 11 things that the authors recommend to try to win children’s hearts. Pick one and see if you can apply it this week:
* Talk to the them
* Listen to them
* Touch them
* Engage in high-energy activities
* Share their interests with them
* Special treats - doesn’t have to cost a lot
* Partnering together on a service project
* Praise (often and liberally)
* Have fun with them
* Celebrate new times in their lives
* Recognize the meaning of traumatic events.
Which one can you do TODAY to win the hearts of your children?
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June 26, 2008
The Down Low on the DR
There are times when I get discouraged about the spiritual health of college age students. There’s so much to distract them from seeking God with all their hearts. But there are exceptions. Check out Thoughts by Em when you get a second. This is Emily Bill, Brian’s oldest daughter who is the Dominican Republic right now working at an orphanage. Stop right now and pray for her safety and effectiveness….no, I mean NOW! You’re still reading….
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June 26, 2008
Do Something? Methodist Style!
Check out this video of the Methodist’s church’s East St. Louis mission trip. Grant is doing a GREAT job at FUMC and teaching his students to Love God and Love Others. Check out what Gina Brooks, a friend of ours, as to say about getting out of her comfort zone. Great job Grant and fellow students!
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June 26, 2008
Time for a Cool Change
Back in the 70s, there was a great great song by the Little River Band that went something like this:
“If there’s one thing in my life that’s missing/it’s the time that I spend alone/sailing on the cold and bright clear water…”
Somehow, I got mixed up on our vacation plans. I thought we were headed off to St. Louis this week. Instead, that trip is for the 4th weekend. We spent the last three days at Indiana Beach. Well not at the overpriced joke of an amusement park (sorry if you’re a fan, we paid 7.50 each to go to the “beach” which was a lame concrete swimming area). We actually stayed at a duplex on Lake Schaffer. It was a wonderful little place with two duplexes, a small pool, a dock with a slide and a paddle boat for our disposal. There was another family there as well and they had boys about our boy’s age. They fished and swam and did flips of the dock (that was Austin, of course). We slept late, ate waffles for lunch and spent a lot of time on the paddle boat. In fact, I still feel like I’m on a paddle boat today! The lake was beautiful and the dragonflies were a sight. At dusk, thousands of dragonflies covered the shore.
I also got to read a lot and finished several books I’ve been working on. I finished Leon Morris’ commentary on Galatians. It was by far the most technical of the commentaries I’ve read so far - lots of Greek and tense studies. Several people have asked me why I quit the “Galatians Remix” series. I didn’t quit, I just took a step back. After those posts were linked to a well know author’s blog, I started feeling pressure to “publish.” I started out writing the posts to help me in my study of Galatians and to help students get a feel for the book. Once I started questioning my motivation, I knew I needed some time away. I plan to post several new Remix blogs soon.
I also finished “UnChristian:What a New Generation Thinks of Christianity…and why it matters.” This book is by two guys that are in Barna’s organization and many of the conclusions are disheartening. We are losing the 20 somethings and younger. We are failing miserably! The research shows that the younger generation sees Christians as “ hypocritical, uncaring, anti-homosexual, sheltered, too political, judgmental, and just plain mean spirited.” Kinnaman does a great job of parsing the findings and then giving his ideas about how to change these perceptions without watering down the truth of the Gospel. It is an important read for anyone serious about trying to reach the Mosiacs.
In Indiana, or at least in the part that we stayed in, they don’t celebrate Daylight Savings Time, so the sun literally went down at 9:30. That made for some spectacular sunsets across the lake.
Maxine did a great job picking this place.
I still do not feel good and have plans, gasp!, to go to the doctor this week. After so long it starts to get to you, you know!
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June 22, 2008
Two Youth Groups…two languages…one Lord
Here’s the video of the youth outreach in Mexico I mentioned this morning. (Thanks Alan for posting this!)
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June 20, 2008
I’m handy - just don’t let Maxine know!
When I was living in Mississippi, I worked at an outpatient clinic for a large psych hospital. After doing an evaluation on a young man, his father asked if he could see my hands. I thought this was a rather odd request but I played along and held my hands out. He said, “Just as I suspected!” Then he asked me if I was a preacher. I was actually the interim pastor for a small Baptist church at the time. Curiosity got the best of me and I asked me what he was getting at. He said, “I thought you were either a banker or a preacher…because you’ve never done a hard day’s work in your life!”
OUCH!
Well, that gentleman was wrong then and he would have been very impressed with Pastor Dick and I on this trip! We did rebar! I’m not sure I even knew what it was but Pastor Dick and I worked all day putting this thing together and then we put it on the wall. Yes, I’m handy - just don’t tell Maxine!
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June 18, 2008
Fabuloso Equipo!
Here’s a pic of the “fabulous team” from Mexico. We were about to go eat tacos and stopped to take a group picture overlooking San Juan Del Rio
Here’ the team at the end of the week in front of the Vida Abundante (Bible Church):
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June 18, 2008
Hay no lugar como mi casa!
It is Wednesday, I think. I’ve been told that all of my faithful readers, (all six of you), have been waiting with baited breath for the last installment of my Mexico updates. Well, wait no longer…
I will be posting some my pictures tomorrow. But check out Alan’s Blogfor some more pictures and video, especially of the youth outreach.
Our travel on Monday was incredibly smooth. Thanks for praying. Sarah was sick in the morning but looked better by lunch and Marshall was sick on the way home from the airport. Other than that we were all okay. The bus ride that I was so worried about was no biggie after taking to Bromine (motion sickness) pills. I think I actually fell asleep on the bus. The plane ride from Mexico City to Houston was smooth and on time. We went through customs without a problem. The plane ride from Houston to Chicago was really bumpy and at one point it felt like we fell a few hundred feet. But, we arrived on time and Kristy and Brad showed up just in time to take us home.
As I walked into the house, everyone was asleep and it was quiet. On a chair in the living room was a sign that said, “Welcome Home, daddy. Happy Father’s Day!” It had three pictures of what they missed most - a picture of Austin playing chess alone, a picture of Josh sitting on the back of the scooter, and a picture of me on the couch. There was a box with my shoes I wanted on the chair. I got a bowl of Cherrios and sat downstairs and caught up on the news. I was finally home.
Yesterday morning, I got up and gave the family all their gifts. The boys got t-shirts and home made tops. Maxine got a votive and opal earrings. I showed them all my pictures and then…
My stomach started doing tricks again. (I was very impressed with the three-and-a-half back flip with a side twist). I laid back down and honestly do not remember most of the rest of the day. I finally got up to eat dinner and stayed awake long enough to see KG, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen get their NBA Championship (anyone but Kobe!).
I feel a little better today but very, very weak. In fact, my legs feel like jello. I don’t know whether it is because of the change in altitude, in food, in weather, or what but I feel like I’ve run a marathon.
When I look around, I miss the mountains that surround San Juan Del Rio. I miss the colors of the houses. I miss listening intently to see if I can understand what people are saying all around me. I miss the Volkswagon Beatles that make up about 80% of the cars in Mexico. I do not miss the bathroom experiences - where every trip is an adventure!
Here’s a strange fact that you will need to know if you are ever in Mexico. Toilet paper does not go in the toilet but in a little can that sits next to the toilet. Think about that one. Also, in most places you have to pay to use the bathroom. It cost about 3 pesos (30 cents) and there is a person that gives you toilet paper.
It will take a couple of days to really be able to tell you what this trip meant to me and the team. My head is still swimming. I know this…there’s no place like home!
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June 15, 2008
Es Tiempo!
Well, it is almost ten and we are leaving here early, early, early tomorrow morning. We have had a wonderful day. Church this morning was amazing! Pastor Dick did a great job presenting the bad news/good news of Scripture. Randall made up gift bags and we were able to give the bags to the children. It was a very cool thing. We ate spaghetti and headed of to the camp. We drove nearly half a mile and toured the camp that they use for their youth groups and trainings. The camp is at 8,986 feet and boy did we feel it! I was sucking wind big time. We returned to the Beckers and had a light dinner and birthday party for Beth Hannah. (She’s 46 I think) We were given a time to tell our favorite memory of the trip. Paul explained that we get back and start talking about the trip, we’ll have about 15 seconds before they start to drift so we needed a story of God’s working in Mexico. Mine is easy - it was the two youth groups singing “All in All.” In fact, at church one of the girls in the praise band gave my the chord charts to “All in All” in Spanish. It was a wonderful gift.
Everyone is currently packing and getting ready to go. It seems like I’ve been in Mexico for a month. I miss my family, especially my kids today on Father’s Day. We all called our fathers and they had cake at church for all the dads.
How can you pray for us?
Here’s the plan for tomorrow - wake up at 5:15 AM. At the Becker’s house for donuts at 6:00 AM. We have to be at the bus station at 7:30 AM. Then a 3 hour bus ride to the Mexico City airport. Our flight takes off at about 1:30. Into Houston (the USA!) at about 3:30. We have about an hour layover. Then we take off about 4:30 and land in Chicago about 8:30. We will get picked up and arrive back at the church around 10:30. That’s if EVERYTHING goes exactly right. If not, it could be much later.
Please pray that our traveling will be safe and smooth. Most everyone is feeling better. Please for us as we ride the bus. The bus ride in was terrible and made me very dizzy.
Here’s something to think about. In this area of Mexico there are millions and millions of people and 99% of them have NEVER heard the Gospel. NEVER! I’m glad we are partnering with Paul and Grace, Alan and Beth, Scott and Ruth, and Beth to help the Gospel spread throughout this region.
I’m going to miss Mexico. I’m definitely coming back. But I’m really,ready to go home.
We will see you all soon.
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June 14, 2008
Cristo, Salvador digno de adorar
What a wonderful day in Mexico! We woke up late and ate a great breakfast and headed out to the market about 20 minutes away. We did stop at an outdoor market and walked through the booths. I can’t wait to post the pictures. What a cool experience. We went on to the actual market and stood, as a group, at the geographical center of Mexico! We spent two hours at the market and I bought some really cool things that I can’t post because they are surprises for my family! We went back to the Becker’s for lunch. Our stomach’s finally couldn’t take anymore Mexican food so we had some wonderful meatloaf last night and sandwiches today. Michael, Shiann, Rachael, and Sarah and I went to the square and they bought dresses. We came back here for the youth outreach. About 10 Mexican students from Abundant Life Bible Church, five of the Yingling kids, and our five students spent about three hours together. We started out playing pair soccer and then a form of duck, duck, goose. We came in to eat hot dogs and chips. I was given the opportunity to share my testimony with the group. Beth translated for me and I was told by several students that I was really empowered tonight which was very encouraging because it was the first time I had spoken through a translator.
The night ended with one of the coolest experiences of the trip. I grabbed Allan’s guitar and started playing. Immediately, the whole table started singing in two languages. We sang several songs for them. They sang several songs for us while Tayna played. Then we did several songs together with our group singing in English and their group in Spanish. That’s why I named the blog what I did. That’s “All in All” in Spanish. We ended the night with that chorus and I told them that Jesus is the same in any language. What a wonderful time of worship with our hermanos and hermanas en Cristo. In fact, as I type I can hear “All in All” coming from their boy’s room.
Tomorrow we will go to Iglesia Bliblica Vida Abuntante for service and then off to the camp for the afternoon. They have a camp in the mountains and we are going to be able to take a tour. Tomorrow night is for packing and getting ready to go.
Rachael and Shiann are feeling better, although Shiann didn’t feel that good this afternoon. Randall’s still moving slowly but is an amazing guy. He made gift bags for the kids at church tomorrow. Willard’s rib seems to be better. P-Diddy is doing better. Donna is doing well. Michael and Marshall both got their first chocolate kiss tonight. (We had chocolate fondue and the girls put it on their lips then kissed them on the cheek!) You’ll have to asked them about it!
In less than 36 hours, we will be on our way back to the States. We will leave different than we came. Our world is bigger, my Spanish is a little better (some would argue with that!), and Jesus is more incredible than ever.
As you head out for church this morning, remember that 1,659 miles south of you, there are about 70 Mexicans worshiping and listening to a sermon by Grandpa Sparky…and 10 gringos who loves Cristo.
Buenas Noches.
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June 13, 2008
The Rebar Boys and the Wall Builders stirke again! (Or how to get sick in Mexico!)
It is about 5 PM and we are all back at the houses where we are staying. Check out Allan’s blog for more pictures.
We had a productive day. Pastor Dick and I proved our handiness and did rebar! There are even pictures to prove it! Randall and Willard built a wall, well half a wall. It is a good straight wall! The rest of the team cleaned and did a whole bunch of things before we finished up this afternoon. For lunch, we had chili reyenos and Scott Yingling, the head of the CAM activity in this area, shared about the website and the plans for the community center.
I think many of us have hit a wall. Two of the students are down for the count sick and two of our adults, me included, are still struggling. Please pray that the medicine that they got for us will help our stomachs.
Also, pray for Pastor Dick, aka Grandpa Sparky, had a pretty bad fall down a dirt embankment and we thought he may be really hurt but he bounced back. He’s bruised and scraped up but he continued to work. We are now the “rebar” boys.
Sarah and Donna are headed to the women’s outreach. Rachael and Shiann are headed to bed. Michael and Marshall are headed Queretaro, about Bloomington for us, with Scott Yingling to pick up his kids from gymnastics. Randall, P-Diddy, Willard, and I will be headed to the Beckers for dinner and testimony time.
Pray for:
* Donna as she shares her testimony tonight at the outreach. Also, for Sarah who will have a lot of opportunity to interact with the women tonight.
* Pray for Shiann, Racheal, Randall, and myself for good health and for the medicine to kick-in.
* For the boys as they spend time with Scott tonight.
Tomorrow, the plans have changed and we are going to sleep in and go shopping. Tomorrow night is the youth outreach. I’m sharing my testimony and using the story of the Prodigal Son.
Everyday, we pass a Domino’s Pizza and one of the students said she wanted the jump out the car to get some pizza. There are several of the team that are homesick. I’m starting to even daydream in Spanish!
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June 12, 2008
Let the Walls Come Down!
Well, today is dia cinco en San Juan! We started out the day with a trip to the bookstore that Evon runs. I was able to get a gift for both my boys. It was strange seeing titles I knew in English. They have every author you would know and tracks and Bibles and Bible studies. It was a great visit and we blessed Evon by buying bags full of gifts.
We had another good day at the church and got a lot accomplished. We finished most of the sanding and mortar work and Willard and Sarah took five levels of bricks of the top of the wall. Mike cleaned them and Marshall hauled them away. Pastor Dick worked on another wall and Rachael and Shainn finished taking the entire wall down. They were soooo excited. Donna continued to quietly work and clean. Randall is extremely handy and did some difficult brick work.
For lunch, we had beans and rice served by a mom and her two daughters. One of the daughters, an 18 year old named Tanya, asked to stay and work with us. Tanya and Sarah hit it off and soon they were sweeping water off the roof together. She just finished high school and is going to college for guitar. She plays in the praise band on Sundays at church. We had a lot to talk about.
Tanya and I talked Spanish with each other and I did OK until she asked a question. I was half listening and I thought she asked me how old I was. I replied that I was 39. Her eyes got huge and Sarah started saying, “No, no no!” She had actually asked me how many children I had!!!! She thought I had 39! I was able to recover and answer her correctly.
Tonight we ate dinner at Nacho and Mari’s house. Nacho is a retired teacher and a leader in the church. He is a riot! Mari made tomales and I had chicken which was wonderful. Mari shared her testimony that included a trip to witch doctor to heal her of a skin problem. The witch doctor wasn’t there and she asked God to help her and she was healed right them and there! Nacho started going to church with her and, after meeting with one of the missionaries for five years, he finally surrendered his life to Christ. Their house is beautiful! All houses here are behind gates and after being let in it opens into a small courtyard covered with flowers. We got to go up to where Shiann and Sarah are staying and from out their window you can see most of San Juan.
Paul shared a short history of Mexico and that was helpful to put things in perspective.
Now we are back at the MacManus’ and Marshall and Mike are with Allan returning a movie and I’m headed to bed. Tomorrow we will continue work at the church and tomorrow night they are having a women’s outreach where the girls will give their testimonies. The men will head out for “man night.”
I wanted to share a couple of observations:
* In San Juan Del Rio, I have yet to see a man in shorts. In fact, there are people everywhere and most are “dressed up” for our standards. In fact, I’ll never forget Tanya carrying bricks in an outfit that look more like she was dressed up to go out to dinner. People in Mexico do not “grunge” like we do. It’s been strange wearing pants to the work site.
* The houses here are all different colors. On one block I saw a purple house next to a lime colored house next to a pink house. As far as you can see at Nacho’s house, there is a myriad of colors on every hill.
* The driving here reminds me of New York. There aren’t many signs and everyone kind of makes their own rules.
* The young people are VERY affectionate and we saw more than a few young couples making out where ever we went.
* The prices here are very cheap. At the bookstore, I bought four nice gifts for about $20. It would have cost me about $75 in the states.
* Since we are at about 7,000 feet, the weather has been almost cool at times, especially after it rains.
How can you pray for us?
* My stomach continues to do back flips. I’ve kept on trucking but it’s been difficult. Please pray that I would feel better in the morning.
* Shiann and Rachael both don’t feel good and Shiann’s been dizzy all day. This is probably altitude sickness.
* Pray for the female members of our team as they participate in a ladies outreach tomorrow night. Pray that they would not be nervous and that they would be an encouragement to the women of the church.
* Pray for our safety as we work and unity as a team.
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June 11, 2008
La Vida es una jornada
Hola from San Juan Del Rio! I’m again in Allan’s office at the end of long but wonderful day. I’ll just give you some highlights. You can check out Allan’s blog at No Other Name Ministries for video and pictures of the group making concrete by hand!
We started out this morning again at the church and moved a huge pile of sand and rocks closer to the church. The rest of the day was spent filling in holes in the columns with mortar. I think some of us wore more that we actually put on the bricks! We ate lunch - Tinga de Pollo - and then spent the rest of the day working with the rain pouring down on the tin roof. We sandpapered the bricks getting them ready for more work. At about four, I walked Shiann and Sarah back to Nacho’s house only to find they were not home. On our way back, it started pouring again. We were like wet rats by the time we got back to the church. After showers, we all ate dinner at the Becker’s. Pastor Dick and I had an opportunity to spend some time with Beth and the Beckers to encourage them. They are such wonderful people.
After dinner, a woman named Ivonne shared her testimony and it was amazing to hear, as Beth translated, how God kept chasing her as she experienced multiple struggles. She now runs the Book Store and is so happy to be serving the Lord. She has a 18 daughter named Rosa that we were able to get to know. I was able to speak some Spanish to her and she spoke some English. She is a normal 18 girl and the students hit it off with her.
We are now back at the house. Here are some individual highlights:
* P-Diddy, or Grandpa Sparky as the girls are calling him, stayed home this morning trying rest his voice. He is preaching this weekend and if he doesn’t get his voice back, I’m going to preach…in Spanish! He seems to be feeling a lot better and his voice has recovered a bit.
* Randall is a machine. He works, and works, and works. He is really funny and I got to hear about his love for aviation. He has very little fear and found a grocery store around the corner where we were able to get pops.
* Willard’s rib seems to be doing better and he was able to come along-side of us that are not inclined and help us learn to do the mortar. He is a wise owl and I’ll tell you a great story about him at the end.
* Donna won the golden sandpaper award yesterday. Today she was like the energizer bunny. She just kept going, and going, and going! When it started to rain, she grabbed a broom and kept the rain out of our work area!
* Rachael is amazing and is very caring. She was worried about me today. More about that in a minute. A great memory of Rachel is Shiann and her shoveling sand, in the pouring rain, then becoming slap-happy and throwing dirt all over each other.
* Sarah is in her element and is our translator, when I don’t understand, which is a lot! She is a great worker and her and Shiann are enjoying staying at Nacho’s.
* Shiann has worked hard, gave Pastor Dick and Michael a hard time, and wrote a lot in her journal. Tonight she is not feeling well at all and needs a lot of prayer.
* Marshall is now “Sir Mix-a-Lot” because he spent most of his day on his knees mixing the concrete for us. I found out that we share a love for history.
* Mike has been waxing philosophical and he is the one that gave me the name for this blog - Life is a Journey!
* I have struggled all day with stomach problems. I seem to be a little better tonight. I am really enjoying trying to speak Spanish, although I don’t always get it right.
Here’s a cool story to close. We went back to the house at the end of the day and Willard, Randall, Shainn, and Sarah stayed at the work-site waiting for Nacho to come home. After we left, a drunk man wandered into the church patio area and started trying to talk to them. Sarah had trouble understanding him. I am very protective of our students, particularly our female students. I would have probably puffed my chest out and told him to leave. Instead, Randall and Willard talked to him about God and invited him to church on Sunday! Way to go guys!
How can you pray?
* Shiann and I both are having serious stomach problems. Please pray that we would feel better in the morning.
* Pray for Pastor Dick’s voice to return strong.
* Pray for us as we work tomorrow and has we get to hear Nacho and Mari’s testimony tomorrow night.
Remember that you can check Allan’s blog at No Other Name Minsitries
to watch video and pictures of the group in action.
Thanks for praying for us. Pastor Brian has told me that many are keeping up with these blogs. We thank you for your support and care for our team!
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