Wednesday 30 April 2008 at 1:58 pm
One of the hardest and most helpless thing we have to do in this ministry is to watch youth that we have poured our lives into and fell in love with pack up a moving truck and leave.
It is through trails like this that God is perfecting our faith. (In WV that is called Cold Comfort)
Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. -- James 1: 2--4
Sunday 27 April 2008 at 07:53 am
Sometimes you just have to get back to basics.
So I laid aside things such as school, big youth rallies, and titles like church planter and I just hung out on property and met needs and shared the love of Jesus.
• I shuttled kids back and forth from school while their mother was recovering from a C-section.
• I took a youth out to buy some summer clothes, watch a movie and eat some NY style pizza.
• I picked up an out of work father and paid him a little to help me out and hung out with him and shared the Gospel.
• I taught a kids club
• I took a misbehaving kid home
• I delivered food to a family in need
• I met some new residents to Raleigh North
• I prayer walked Walnut Terrace
It really is so simple: hangout with people where they are and show and share the love of Jesus.
When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. So he began teaching them many things. – Mark 6:34
Monday 14 April 2008 at 1:26 pm
There is nothing like a day with a 7 year old.
So last Thursday I picked up one of my favorite 7 year olds in the whole world and we took off for a day at North Hills.
The day started at Ben and Jerry's with Strawberry Ice Cream with sprinkles (thats jimmies for my northern reader). We sat outside and ate our ice cream and talked about school and life and I answered about 3,000 questions.
Then we moved to Target for a little clothes shopping, and here is where you know that it was a God thing. We picked out shorts, a top, a beautiful sun dress, and hello kitty jacket. The way we know that it was God thing was mom approved of everything. It was suppose to be only three things but I know that this will be a shock to you but I gave in and let her get all four things.
Then we took off to see Horton Hears a Who. They did a much better job with this over the Grinch. We had blue icees, sour patch kids, and peanut M & M's . Then we talked about Horton all the way home.
So I dropped her off with Bo's for dinner for the family and her wired on sugar.
What a great day.
Sunday 06 April 2008 at 06:05 am
I was blessed with the opportunity to travel to Gastonia and conduct a conference on reaching multihousing communities. We had 11 people attend the conference. It was a great time as we sang kids songs and played youth games and just talked about this amazing and exciting ministry.
The greatest Joy was hanging out with Wavey. He came to the conference last year and man did he get it. They have started Mission Gaston. I got to go pray at his community, Highland Hills, and see their community center.
It is great to see how God has used the conference to spread the vision. We saw new works start after last years and I can’t wait to see what God does with this one. Then we have four in Oregon, and hopefully one in Durham and Spanish one in Raleigh this year.
It is great to see the vision grow.
“You are the salt of the earth. But what good is salt if it has lost its flavor? Can you make it salty again? It will be thrown out and trampled underfoot as worthless.
“You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father. Matthew 13 – 16 (NLV)
Thursday 03 April 2008 at 6:17 pm
Alone in my office
,apart from the normal church,
crying and begging for understanding.
Not a polite cry
,but the giant tears, hyperventilating,
nose running, head buried,
your mom just died
crying.
I know few understand
,that is part of our cross.
Desperation overpowers
common sense,
and the need to verbalize
emotions can not be ignored.
Empty
sympathy of friends
with places to be
leading to my office
crying and yelling at God.
My youth,
does not fall lightly
from my lips.
Some colloquialism
uttered out of connivance.
When she disappears into the streets,
or he slips behind bars.
When he has left without a goodbye
or hardness has overtaken their
faces.
They do not disappear as
unnoticed as you think.
For God has bound them
to my heart
and I will never be quite the same.
Tuesday 01 April 2008 at 07:40 am
We now have a couple mulithousing missionaries expecting children. The one thing that I can tell them is that the only thing I can promise them is advice from everyone. People who have had children recently, people who had children years ago, people who never have children will all have their two cents to put in. Me personally I prefer advice from someone who has relevant experiences to what I am facing. I only know one person who served as a Mission Raleigh Missionary while she was with child and raised him “in the field” for the first few years of his life. That was Caroline. I jokingly speak of the bar that she has set. Of course everyone is different but here is a few things I remember:
Her out gathering Kids while her feet were so swollen that she only could wear flip flops.
Her going to the food bank and getting food out of a deep box in the freezer because the other food bank person was scared of the cold.
Her out in the blazing summer watching a Mission Team with her mission point kids the week she was due.
Her leading a block party the Thursday before she gave birth.
Her asking me at the hospital hours after giving birth about how her site would be covered and giving me a list of people who needed food.
Her being out less than two weeks with the baby on her hip.
Camden getting hit in the head with a plastic horseshoe at a ripe old age of 2 weeks.
Her madly trying to squirt hand sanitizer on the dozens of kids trying to touch the baby.
Her handing the baby off to her youth to hold him while she dealt with issues.
Her handing him to me to take into a ICC meeting where I feed him his first solid food of Collard Greens cooked with Ham Hock
Her calling me about the diaper she had to change later that day.
Camden sleeping in every corner of the church in boxes, on t-shirts while we worked on projects.
Kristi walking him up and down every hallway while we worked on projects.
Camden not getting into his crib until 2 or 3 in the morning.
Delivering Turkeys when he was 2 or 3 and me knocking and him yelling MISSON RALEIGH
I prayed for this child, and the LORD has granted me what I asked of him. So now I give him to the LORD. For his whole life he will be given over to the LORD." 1 Samuel 1:27-28