Best read with coffee or tea...

I try to read Oswald's Chamber's Utmost for His Highest and the accompanying chapter from the Bible everyday.  For those unfamilar with Utmost for His Highest, Chamber's takes a verse from the Bible and expands on it.  I like to read the whole chapter that the verse is found in to get more context.  Many times when I read the chapter I find other verses or stories that are encouraging or thought provoking.  So, I wanted to share a few verses with you today.  Some are out of my reading and some are from a daily verse that is emailed to me.  It's simple, but will give you something to read and contemplate (all verses are from the Message version unless otherwise noted).  So, find ten to fifteen minutes, grab a cup of coffee and tea and read over these verses.  Let them sink in and consider how they apply to your day to day life.    

"The Spirit of God whets our appetite by giving us a taste of what's ahead.  He puts a little of heaven in our hearts, so that we'll never settle for less." 2 Corinthians 5: 5-6

"Cheerfully pleasing God is the main thing, and that's what we aim to do, regardless of our conditions.  Sooner or later we'll all have to face God, regardless of our conditions" 2 Corinthians 5:9-10

"Christ love has moved me to such extremes.  His love has the first and last word in everything we do." 2 Corinthians 5:14

"We're Christ's representatives.  God uses us to persuade men and women to drop their differences and enter into God's work of making things right between them.  We're speaking for Christ himself now:  Become friends with God; he's already a friend with you.  How? you say. In Christ.  God put the wrong on him who never did anything wrong, so we could be put right with God.  2 Corinthians 5: 20-21

"So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable.  Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless." 1 Corinthians 15:58 NLT Version

"Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promises." Hebrews 10:23

*Photos are from a Picassa photo search under cross and love.

Photos, Photos, Photos

I dropped the Missouri State University team off at the airport this morning along with my friend Megan McFarlane.  This was a great team and I had a great time.  It was so much fun to have Megan join the team.  We hadn't hung out in two years, so it was fun to catch up in El Salvador.   The MSU team was lead by Carmen Boyd.  She is a Profesor of Dietics at MSU.  The team was academic and made up of dietatic students and one student who is getting her masters in Child and Family Development.  We did a tour of some of the Latin American Child Care schools as well as other organizations in the country that deal with nutrition.  Some of the places we visited were the World Food Program, USAID, Love Link, Libras de Amor and various other organizations.  Convoy of Hope's nutritionist in El Salvador, Winny Menendez, set up the majority of the meetings for the team.  She did a great job.  I really appreciate all that she did to make this team go a smoothly as it did.  So, I am tired because the days were long, but I feel good about the week.   I had a hard time choosing, which photos I wanted to share, so I have uploaded quite a few.  I couldn't get all the captions and pictures to format like I wanted, but you'll get the idea. Enjoy =)    

Feed My Starving Children product, dried peaches from Gleanings for the Hungry and a soup mix that we were able to distribute at a very poor public school in a rural area of El Salvador

Megan, Sarah and Krystle distributing food in Convoy of Hope bags

Boy in El Salvador with a toothbrush from the MSU team

Dollie giving a toothbrushing illustration

This is at the LACC school San Jose El Naranjo this is pasta with chicken in it for the students at the school. The pasta is part of the Convoy of Hope Nutrition program.

Krystle weighing one of the students in the Nutrition Program

Measuring for the part of the arm where we measure for the arm circumference

Winny Menendez, Convoy of Hope's Nutritionist in El Salvador, is recording the measurments the MSU students are taking.

A dentist in Springfield donated toothbrushes. In every school the students gave presentations on how and why to brush your teeth and wash your hands.

MSU students with the director of Love Link

At the World Food Program meeting

At the World Food Program.  I thought these were were pretty cool.

These little girl was at a home for children whose parents have HIV or AIDs.  Most of the children here have HIV or AIDS as well.

Sea Shells in El Salvador

Sunset in El Salvador.

A worker at CENTA, El Salvador's agricultural and nutrition center, demonstrating how grafting works with trees. 

Megan and I's feet after walking around CENTA - At least flip flops are cooler than tennis shoes =)

Megan and I at the beach - hangin by the Palm tree =)

An International Camping Trip

I am on a plane headed to El Salvador. Internet on planes is quite amazing - however sometime after crossing outside the US boundaries I will lose internet access. Hopefully not mid sentence =). My travel schedule these last few months has been unbelievable. Even the three weeks I spent in El Salvador was spent traversing the country visiting schools. The schedule has made my blogging sporadic. I will try to get it back on schedule.

My most recent trip was to Panama. It was a blast. I came back under the weather with a cold, sore throat and most recently a strange stomach. Despite that the trip was a bit refreshing. It was something different and didn’t have the same stresses as other parts of my job. It was a week spent camping with the Guayami Indians. The AG National Church of Panama organizes an annual Family Camp for this indigenous group. Some of the families walk for a week just to be there. One woman gave birth, while at camp. I would imagine for a woman to leave home that near to time of birth that the event must be really important to her.

In the mornings the National Church held devotionals for the Guayami Indians and every evening there was a service. In between there were classes, lunch and swimming in the river. I attended a couple of evening services and the other nights I helped with bagging the food that was going to be distributed at the end of the week. One evening it down poured. I was soaked to the bone after making sure all the food was covered up. It wasn't Missouri winter rain, but Panama dry season rain, so I survived and didn't die of frostbite =). On Friday the Panamanians from the cities, a church from Kansas, Bethany Thompson and I distributed the food and clothes to 1000 plus families. We had to leave for Panama City after the distribution, but after we left people were baptized in the river.

I hope all is well in your lives. I encourage you to be a light in the darkness today. Live free and live well. Live in forgiveness, love, mercy and grace!

 

LACC, El Salvador and Gangs

I have been busy ever since I set my feet on El Salvadorian soil. Bethany, Winny (CoH staff in El Sal), and I have been visiting all of the Latin American Child Care Schools (LACC) that have the Nutrition of Hope program. There are eighteen schools in all and we have a few more to visit this week. Last Saturday we visited a ministry and did a distribution of food for the parents and toys for the children. The schools are all over the country, so we have spent our days driving and in meetings. The meetings have been helpful in building relationship with the school directors, seeing the school buildings and the children in the schools where the Nutrition Program operates. We have seen what gang filled communities can do to a school and seen the need for nutrition in the campo (countryside).

Gangs and the violence they bring have a powerful control over people. The children are harder and the schools aren't kept up the same.  I believe because if your school is too nice then you risk being robbed or threatened for money.  Gangs carry a real evilness. The directors that work in these gang areas have had their lives at risk. They have been threatened by gang leaders asking for money. However, these schools are light into their communities. The teachers and directors have an influence over their students.

Another ministry in El Salvador is called Castillo del Rey. In English it is known as Kings Castle. They work in areas with heavy gang influence. Their goal is to reach the child before they enter the years where they begin to join gangs. At one of the schools we visited the director spoke of a girl who was on the verge of the gang. She had been exposed to more violence than any child should be exposed to. This child went to a Castillo del Rey camp and her heart was softened. She let Christ come in and accepted him as her savior. God is working. God is moving.

I could say a lot more about gangs. I could probably get on a soap box and in my mind sometimes I do get on a soap box. Gangs are rampant throughout Latin America. Some of it has to do with US policy and US drug use. The real War on Drugs happens in the streets of major cities between gangs and the innocent people trying to live their lives. The trafficking of drugs into the US is part of the issue. Frankly, if the US doesn't change their drug policy the violence is going to continue to spill over into our streets. The fact that it is affecting our neighbor’s streets should have already caused us to re-look at our policies. However, the issue goes deeper than that into both spiritual and physical poverty, acceptance, corruption, control, power and so forth. It cannot be simplified. Pray for Latin America. Pray for those whose lives are affected by violence and poverty every day. Pray for LACC and their students and staff members. Pray for ministries like Castillo del Rey.

I was going to share a few verses, but I guess that was what was on my heart this morning. It is easy to get discouraged in this world, but press on because we have a God who overcomes. We have a God who is a light in the darkness and wants us to be people of the day. Let us be dressed in faith, love, and the hope of salvation (1 Thessalonians 5). Let us be people of prayer and people who believe in what our God can do!

    

Some Quick News

Quick Update -
Earlier this week I was asked to go to El Salvador to help out with our Nutrition Program. This morning I flew out of Springfield, MO at 6:00am. I landed in El Salvador with very little adventure in between. Although an officer with a drug dog did yell at me a bit. He didn't like that I didn't like his dog running up to me. He definitely needed to go to some sort of social interaction class! I made it and Bethany and Winny picked me up at the airport. I will be working with Bethany and our staff down here helping with the work load for awhile.

I will be back in the states in a few weeks and then turn around to go to Panama. Convoy partners with the National Church and Missionaries in Panama to help with an outreach to the Guaymi Indians. I have heard a lot about this outreach and am looking forward to going! After this I will be going back to El Salvador to lead a team of MSU teams. This team is actually an academic class. So, it will be a little bit different than the other teams I have worked with in the past. I think it will be fun and I was always a bit of geek, so I think it will work out just fine!

I hope all is well. May you feel God's blessing this week and be full of His joy!

Stormy Seas

Haiti Update:


Convoy of Hope is currently responding to the disaster in Haiti. Currently, there is an urgent need for fuel as well as clean water. We have several staff members who have set up a distribution site and have been able to distribute food and water. Here is the Convoy link for the latest updates and a spot to give (http://www.convoyofhope.org/). Please remember to pray for the people of Haiti and to pray for the Convoy staff as they work in Haiti.

Thoughts to Chew On:

I was reading Mark 4 the other day and came upon a story about Jesus and his disciples that made me chuckle.  I found it humourous because of the way it exemplifies human behavior  The story is found in Mark 4:35-41.   Jesus and the disciples decided to cross the Sea of Galilee when all of a sudden a huge storm came up. The disciples were frightened. They were scared out of their wits. I can imagine the panic they must have been feeling. I am sure they were pacing back and forth, their faces pale, and thinking about their near deaths. However, Jesus was taking a nap. The Message version says his head was on a pillow. In the midst of the disciples’ chaos, Jesus was sleeping! The disciples finally wake Jesus up saying "Teacher, is it nothing to you that we're going down?" Jesus went ahead and did what Jesus does. He calmed the sea. Jesus stopped the storm and then he asked the disciples "Why are you such cowards? Don't you have any faith at all?"  The disciples just stood in awe of Christ. Not even noticing they were just called cowards.

I love how Jesus was sleeping in this story. It made me think "Well, if Jesus wasn't worried about the storm, why were the disciples?" How many times in life as we are going through the storm do we fret, worry and panic? Yet is Christ fretting, worrying and panicking? Christ is always there with us as we face the hard things in life. He is there to comfort, to give courage, and to give strength. We need to remember that he is there and to exemplify his behavior as we face our storms and battles. If Christ isn't panicking and worrying, do we need to panic and worry?

Another point that I picked up was that the disciples kind of snapped at Jesus. While, we can't pick up voice intonation and body and facial language, the words themselves seem snappy. The disciples wake Jesus and say "Teacher, is it nothing to you that we're going down?" Their words show doubt in Christ. I am sure they were said out of fear of death and fear of the storm. We too need to be careful of our words when we are under pressure. When we feel stressed, fearful, insecure and so forth we have to be careful not to take that out on those around us. I suppose we need to count to ten or step out of the room until we have better control of our actions and words  

I pray that you continually let the Lord change and mold your heart.  I pray that you learn to trust him completely.  May the Lord guide you through your storms and may you go through the trial with faith in God and being gentle and loving with those around you.  Be blessed!    

* Pictures are from yahoo image search "Sea of Galilee Storm" and "Calm Sea"

A Quick Explanation and Choices

Note 1) I know one of the pictures on my Christmas Card may have left you wondering "What is that?".  I almost didn't send them out because of the picture.  It is a picture of a Convoy of Hope bag.  The symbol is two hands.  However, the hands were slightly covered by the front picture. So, unless you knew what the bag looked like, you wouldn't know what it was. Mystery solved. =)  I guess I live and learn. 

Note 2) Pictures are not mine. They are from Yahoo Image Search. 

Tonight I was doing my devotions.  I have been reading Oswald Chambers's Utmost for His Highest.  I like Utmost for His Highest.  It always gives me something to chew on.  Chambers wrotes about how worship to God needs to be fully inetgrated into our lives.  He states that it will take discipline to have this type of worship.  He used a verse in Genesis 12 to help prove his point. Genesis 12 starts with this verse "God told Abram: 'Leave your country, your family, and your father's home for a land that I will show you" (this isn't the verse Chambers uses).  Abram went.  He left his country, family and his father's home.  He took only his wife, possessions, his people and his nephew Lot.  If Abram hadn't been obedient he never would of received what God promised.  His descendants may never had become the nation of Israel. 

After reading the mentioned entry in Utmost for His Highest and Genesis 12 I began to mull over something I had been thinking about earlier today.  Choices.  This life as a Christ Follower is all about choices.  Deciding to following Christ, choosing to make Christ like decisions, having the discipline to put practices like prayer, worship, and mercy into our daily lives, and deciding to do what Christ ask of us (even if it seems crazy).  Take Joseph for example.  He was pledged to be married and his future wife says she is pregant and a virgin.  An angel came in a dream and told him it was allright, so he married Mary.  Later, after Jesus was born another angel came to Joseph.  This angel told him to flee to Egypt because Jesus was in danger.  After they had fled, Herod came and killed every male child in the area.  Imagine if Joseph had been disobedient.

Throughout the Bible and throughout Christian history God is able to use us to show his glory and miracles.  When we are obedient to Christ people are healed, people are saved, and miracles happen.  God doesn't need us, but he sure likes it when we are willing to serve and work for him in this world.  I want to encourage you not to miss out on all that God has for you.  That may mean setting aside an extra ten minutes everyday to worship and praise him.  This may mean asking a friend to come to church on Sunday.  This may mean praying and fasting for someone who needs a miracle.  This may mean letting God heal you of insecurities and finding your confidence in Him.

In my last blog my Dad asked you "What will it cost you?".  This blog is along those veins.  Making the right decison, making the good choice, may not be the easiest choice.  It may cost you something....