Peru

So a long day of travel begins by getting out of bed on new years eve at 3:00AM. The team and I will land in Lima, Peru at 10:50PM if all goes as planned. Yea right. I'll just be happy if all the luggage makes it with us.

And it will all be worth it. We'll do some construction work at Hannah's Home and Orphanage. I have a feeling the Christmas parties we are hosting will be the highlight. We expect to have over 1,000 kids and will play games, face paint and just have fun. Then a little dancing and singing anda skit to share the gospel message. All hosted by local churches. So we have this privilege to not only tell 1,000 kids about Jesus, we'll see the international church at work and lift them up to their local neighborhoods.

On my first trip down to Peru I thought I was taking Jesus to a third world country. But I discovered He was already there.

THE Birth

We’ve been talking a lot about the birth of Jesus in Church the last few weeks. How the uncreated one came to be a man. The one who set the sun’s distance and moon’s gravitational pull and the earth’s orbit and our atmosphere’s oxygen concentration just so as to perfectly sustain life.

• but was this God born in a manger or a cattle feeding trough?

• was he wrapped in swaddling clothes or filthy rags from the barn floor?

• did the shepherds find a cooing, smiling baby or a screaming, freezing newborn?

• who cut God’s umbilical cord and with what?

• if Joseph was catching the Savior of the world who was holding Mary’s hand and moping sweat from her brow as she screamed from labor pains?

Sounds to me like the uncreated one chose to enter our mess in a mess. But as author Rick McKinley puts it…….this beautiful mess.

Take a few moments today and read the Christmas Story. It's in Luke 2:1-20and Revelation 12.

Genealogies Contradictive; Bible Declared Invalid

Just kidding.

But read Matthew 1 and Luke 3. These texts are giving the genealogy of Jesus. Notice they completely contradict each other in the generations between Jesus and David.

Interesting. I wanted to know more so I did a little research. I would encourage you to do the same but here is a link to an explanation that makes a lot of sense, I believe.

http://cgg.org/index.cfm/fuseaction/Library.sr/CT/BQA/k/184/Why-Does-Jesus-Have-Two-Different-Genealogies-Matthew-11-16;-Luke-323-38.htm

Who is my neighbor?

I had an interesting conversation last week sparked by my family's upcoming mission trip to Peru. A family member was asking my wife and I questions about it and I appreciated her honesty in the middle of it. She said she thinks we should help people in our country before others. She even stated that she refuses to give to any offerings at church that support foreign missions. I told her I understood that opinion but deep down I was saddened. That thinking seems to represent much of the United States. And while I do think I am to care for my family and neighborhood and co-workers and city, I believe the Bible raises the benchmark.

Read Revelation 5. Note the song being sung in verse 9: "....and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation."
This is a scene in heaven where there are apparently a lot of diverse people. So who is my neighbor?

Read Matthew 28: 16-20. Jesus instructs his followers to go and make disciples of all nations.
So who is my neighbor?

Read Genesis 12:1-3. Abraham is going to be made into a great nation (Israel). And God tells him that he will be blessed and he will be a blessing and all peoples on earth will be blessed through him. He is going to be blessed, not to kick back and enjoy it and keep it to himself and his nations, but to bless others. Blessed to be a blessing. So who is my neighbor?

And now the big one. Read Jesus' parable of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10: 25-37. Notice the very question of "who is my neighbor?" is asked by an expert in Jewish law in this story. But for the story that Jesus tells to make any sense you must understand who a Samaritan was. They were second class citizens. Jews of Jesus' day would not associate with them. Remember the Israel that Abraham was the father of? Well at one point in history they separated into the kingdoms of Israel and Judah. The kingdom or nation of Israel left Jerusalem and set up shop in............Samaria. So Jesus tells a story to answer the question and uses a second class citizen as en example of being neighborly. So do you have an prejudices? I do. And I believe that if Jesus told us this story today, the one we hold prejudice against would be Jesus' example of a Good Samaritan:

....but an illegal alien, as he traveled, came where the man was......

....but a man with a turban on his head, as he traveled, came where the man was.....

....but homeless man, as he traveled, came where the man was......

....but a citizen of the state of Michigan...........okay there's no way anything good came out of ......oops, I was born in Michigan.

So who is my neighbor?

The Holy Bang

A few things I learned from the sermon at church this weekend:

The air we breath is 21% oxygen. Change that ratio just an little and..............we're dead.

The sun's distance from the earth is just right. A little farther away and................we freeze.

The sun's distance from the earth is just right. A little closer and.........................we're toast(ed).

Gravity is perfect. A little less and............................................we float away.

Gravity is perfect. A little more and.........................................we're crushed by our own weight.

Every cell in our body contains our complete DNA code.

So maybe the evidence of an expanding galaxy does support some sort of explosion. But that explains it all? I don't think so. I choose to believe that The Creator put it all together to work the way it does. That a baby made it all. Was there some sort of pyrotechnics involved? Maybe so. A holy bang of a start.

Doubt

Doubt will try to crash vision.

Repeatedly and continually.

Most of this will come from family and friends trying to talk sense into you.

And yet the God who created seas and stars and sex and selenium put on human flesh and was born in a feeding trough for livestock. And he was homeless. Try to make sense out of that.

Apprehension kills a spititual buzz.

Lord, give your people courage to go and do where you want us to. Make us an example of what YOU can do with a life commited to you. Help us follow through.

The Purchase

Soooooo............I bought em (see previous post). And I could have gone to the self-serve checkout. But that would have felt like cheating. So I went to a real cashier.

She said: Will that be all?

I said: I dunno, does anything else go with em?

PDMMBT

Pastor Dave Made Me Buy Tampons

RiverTree Church Hartville has been collecting food for The Fish food pantry in Hartville. When the shelves were stocked there was one shelf that was empty: feminine hygiene products. So Pastor Dave told all the guys they had to go out this week and put aside their manhood for a moment and buy some. Want to join this group? Here are the steps:

1) Read Mark 5: 25-34. No really - don't read #2 yet. Go and read this passage in Mark.

2) Notice what Jesus does. He heals a woman who hasn't been touched for 12 years and hasn't been to church for six hundred twenty four (624) Sunday's (a woman who was bleeding in Jesus' day was unclean and not allowed in the temple). Jesus touches a nobody and shows her she is somebody.

3)Go buy a box of feminine hygiene products and take it to The Fish food panty or RiverTree Christian Church Hartville.

Unreligion

Went to Guardian Angels Catholic Church yesterday for my nephew's baptism. I am sorry for my critical spirit. I was uncomfortable, which in many ways is a good thing. But uncomfortable in the sense that I expected to feel welcome among other Christians. I did not understand many things about the service and had no idea what they believe about communion. It is my understanding that it is only for confirmed Catholics. So I did not go forward. It is also my understanding that divorced people may not take it. That is what I thought of when I saw one woman remain kneeling in the pew.

I don't get that.

Jesus first announced his Messiahship to a Samaritan woman who had been divorced multiple times. He offered her living water. Water he asked her to draw from the well. Water that, according to the religion of the day, was defiled because she, a Samaritan, had touched the bucket it came from.

Another critical thought: many of the people entering the church made the sign of the cross on themselves after dipping their finger in some water. Holy water I presume. Maybe Jesus' miracle of turning water into wine was a statement against ritual cleansing?

Lord please forgive my critical spirit. I am not ant-catholic. Just anit-religion.

UNchristian

This book by David Kinnaman and Gabe Lyons is an important read for all church leaders, elders and any one who gives a rip about where this whole Jesus thing is going. I've always felt like most churches I've been to were more concerned about what they (we) are against than what we are for. The research in this book seems to confirm that. From the book:

"In our national surveys we found the three most common perceptions of present-day Christianity are antihomosexual, judgmental, and hypocritical. These "big three" are followed by the following negative perceptions, embraced by a majority of young adults: old-fashioned, too involved in politics, out of touch with reality, insensitive to others, boring, not accepting of other faiths, and confusing. When they think of the Christian faith, these are the images that come to mind. This is what a new generation really thinks about Christianity."

I have seen many of these traits in myself. I do not see them in the Jesus I claim to follow.

The purpose of this book is not to rage against the church and Chrisitians. It is to let us know how the next generation views us. And I am concerned that we are in a little trouble here. Nextgeners are tired of us trying to sell Jesus to them. They need to hear about him as if we had just spoken to him on the phone last night. And our conversations with them mostly won't take place inside our church building. We've already become too irrelevant for that. We must move outside our walls to their neighborhoods: coffee shops and college campuses, bars and bistro's, the grocery store and the gutter. But the great news about this next generation is they are hungry for authenticity, relationship, and for their life to mean something, to be a part of something way bigger than themselves.

I honestly find it so easy to complain about what we (I've) done wrong as a church. It is easy to sit back and find fault with the Church and my church. But it is time I (we) move beyond that.
It is time to quit condeming lifestyles and love the people in them. It is time the church (you and I) really get this one thing: that the opposite of sin isn't virtue; it's grace (thank you author Philip Yancey).

Michaelangelo once said "critique by creating."

I want to do that.

while we were sleeping

This verse (Ezekiel 16:49) has been in my head and won't leave:

"Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy."

This was written by the prophet Ezekiel to the city of Jerusalem and her people. I always thought Sodom was destroyed because of the sexual sins of her people. This is where we get our term "sodomy". But the way Ezekiel puts it there was much more going on (or not going on) than that. And it makes me wonder if this is how God sees me and my city and my country.

I can easily be accused most days of being arrogant, overfed and unconcerned.

And no matter who runs this beautiful land when we wake up in the morning..........we will wake up. And the sun will still rise and the air will still allow me breath and Jesus will still be risen from the dead.

But I can't help but wonder how God sees US. Do we look allot like Ezekiel 16:49 as a nation?

I leave you with the words of a song by Casting Crowns:

Oh little town of Bethlehem / looks like another silent night
Above your deep and dreamless sleep / a giant star lights up the sky
And while you're lying in the dark / there shines an everlasting light
For the King has left his throne / and is sleeping in a manger tonight

Oh Bethlehem what you have missed while you were sleeping
For God became a man / and stepped into your world today
Oh Bethlehem, you will go down in history / as a city with no room for its King
While you were sleeping / while you were sleeping

Oh little town of Jerusalem / looks like another silent night
The Father gave his only Son / The Way, The Truth, The Life had come
But there was no room for Him in the world He came to save

Jerusalem, what you have missed while you were sleeping
The Savior of the world is dying on your cross today
Jerusalem, you will go down in history / as a city with no room for its King
While you were sleeping / while you were sleeping

United States of America / looks like another silent night
As we're sung to sleep by philosophies / that save the tress and kill the children
And while we're lying in the dark / there's a shout heard 'cross the eastern sky
For the Bridegroom has returned / and has carried His bride away in the night

America, what will we miss while we are sleeping
Will Jesus come again / and leave us slumbering where we lay
America, will we go down in history / as a nation with no room for its King
Will we be sleeping / will we be sleeping

Wisconsin

I'm in Wisconsin this weekend and heading to Lambeau field for the Packers/Colts game this afternoon. Factory tour of one of my suppliers Monday.

This morning I had a conversation with Elaine over breakfast. She is from Deleware and came here to Manitowoc, WI to visit a nun who was one of her teachers in grade school. I told her about a book I'm reading by David Crowder called "Praise Habit". The book is not about making praise a "habit" as in ritual. Crowder writes about how a nun's "habit" (as in the hat she wears) identifying her as a person of Christ. And how we should be the same, wearing Christ in our every day. As in putting him on in the morning. I love that. Elaine appreciated the conversation and so did I.

I want to wear Christ everyday and have it be obvious I follow Him by the way I live and love and act.

A rare night

Being almost empty Nester's it's becoming rare that Chris and I get to spend an evening with our college student kids. Thank God for a rare night. We went to Red Robin for dinner. Just the four of us. No friends or neighbors and no one missing. The 4 Royer's solo. We ate too much, considered beating up the dressed up Robin (called Red), left a good tip and then went to Wal-Mart for some entertainment.

We ended up spending like 45 minutes checking out every funny card they had. We laughed and had a blast and drew some stares. Who cares - it was fun. Have you ever seen those cartoon ones with music that sound like the chipmunks? You've got to check them out. Some of them are hilarious. We listened to every one of them I think.

Tomorrow Andrew and I head to Nueva York to help our friend Dave move there. Friday we're
"3 men and a truck". Unloading and unpacking Saturday will be followed by Sunday in New York City with worship at the Brooklyn Tabernacle. We fly home early in the afternoon Monday.

blog silence

Can you hear it?

Patriots Day

Passing by a local elementary school early this morning I noticed the marquee was silhouetted in fog and lights and it said that today is Patriots Day. That makes me sad. For me it conjures up images of war and closed borders and exclusivity.

I'm sad for all the pain the memories of today cause for the people who lost friends and family on the planes and in the buildings that was 9/11/01. I'm sad about the tens of thousands who have been killed in the name of "battling evil" and in "the war on terror". I'm sad for the soldiers who've done the killing. I'm sad for the soldiers who've been killed. I'm sad about the deep divisions and hate between nations and peoples that war brings.

What if our president and the people of the United States would have answered the 9/11 attacks with forgiveness instead of war? What if we invaded Afghanistan and Iraq with love and food and forgiveness and the good news of the gospel we claim to have as a Christian nation?

I'm sad that if George Bush would have suggested that, he would probably have been impeached for treason.

I leave you, the reader, with the following two thoughts:

1) "The war on terror is wrapped up in the war on poverty." -Colin Powell

2) A terrorist wrote most of the new testament.

children of illegal immigrants

According to the Urban Institute there may be over 3,000,000 children in the United States who have one or more parents that entered the country illegally.

And they're being rounded up and deported.

Don't departments of Health and Human Services promote the opposite of destroying families? Don't they promote, teach and train families staying together?

Isn't there a better way? Check out this story: http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/wayoflife/09/10/citizen.children/index.html

consider this

"One often meets his destiny on the road to avoid it."

- Master Oogway in the movie "Kung Fu Panda"

(he's the turtle)

The End of Poverty

I recently read a book called "The End of Poverty: Economic Possibilities for our Time" by Jeffrey Sachs.

I was disappointed.

Even though it's not an exciting read for the non-economist I did enjoy his economic history lessons. But it left me disappointed in that his main focus was attacking poverty from a macro-economic angle. Not that this is wrong. But we have been at this top-down, macro, big money scale for a long time and it hasn't seemed to make much of a difference. Does it ever really trickle down to the poorest of the poor? Here are a couple of points that did resonate with me:

• "The problems in urban areas revolve around empowerment and finance."
• From 9/11/01 through 2005 ( a little over 4 years ) the United States has spent $450 billion on the military and $15 billion on the plight of the world's poor.
• "The key to ending poverty is to create a global network of connections that reach from impoverished communities to the very centers of world power and wealth and back again.

And here's an interesting statement from Colin Powell noted in the book: "The war on terror is wrapped up in the war on poverty."

I'm not saying that big aid from big NGO's (non-governmental organizations) and rich countries should be abandoned. Maybe it's time for that aid to come from the bottom-up. In the form of micro-loans: small loans to poor entrepreneurs.

What if we empower single mothers to earn money from a micro-enterprise and help them lift themselves out of extreme poverty. Can you imagine the pride and self-worth that comes from that? And guess who gets released from poverty with them? The kids. So one micro-loan to one woman ends up impacting an entire family. Maybe that's something of what Jesus had in mind when he announced he had come to give good news to the poor, release prisoners and set captives free. Free from the lie of poverty.

time fly's when..........

Remember back in grade school when summer was sweetly long and seemed to last forever?

Remeber back in high school when summer seemed to end right after it started?

It seems like yesterday that my kids were in dance lessons and playing little league baseball and crying from a cut knee and fishing in the creek and practicing for the school play.

Today my youngest goes off to college. It seems like the curtain just went up on this raising kids life and today the play is ending. Not really. But it feels like it. They will always be my kids. Not really. They're God's. I am/was just his partner is raising and releasing them to be who he created them to be.

"A Prisoner Of Birth"

I just finished a novel titled "A Prisoner Of Birth" by Jeffrey Archer. It was a great read and well worth the time.

But the title got me thinking: Is this how the poor see themselves? Trapped by their birthplace and the circumstances they find themselves in?

Maybe that's why Jesus, when announcing his mission on earth, quoted Isaiah 61: 1,2:
"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor." (NIV).

.........to proclaim freedom for the prisoners..........

I have spent time with the poor. I have met my compassion children from Ecuador. I've stood in a shack of a home of thin plywood walls with tape at the ceiling, nothing but plastic tarping for a roof.............and therein seen deep joy and contentment.

So maybe these poor with hope aren't the prisoners of birth needing freedom.

Maybe I'm the one held captive..........

• by chasing the "American Dream"
• by my debt
• by my lifestyle
• by the lie of always needing to improve my lot/climb the corporate ladder
• by my apathy and selfishness

Maybe I'm the one Jesus was thinking about.

Locked Up Abroad

No..........not me. It's this cool show I stumbled across on NatGeo (National Geographic Channel). Ever seen it?

I don't watch much TV but this is definitely my new favorite show. And I'm not sure why.

I guess it appeals to my sense of adventure. And it seems that at least half of the episodes I've seen so far are missionaries that get kidnapped. Now I'm not saying I want this to happen to me nor am I minimizing the personal challenges and tragedies that have befallen some of these people. But I do get jacked up on adventure (and Mountain Dew) and going to other countries........especially those of the third world.

Maybe, deep down, I wonder if I've got what it takes to survive something like this. Physically AND spiritually. I think at my very core I wonder if I have the faith to endure. I want to be challenged, but not in a Colombian or Bengali jail. Last year I flew from Ecuador to Peru via Bogota, Columbia.........alone............on an airline I'd never heard of. But I guess I'd prefer to see if I've got what it takes right here in the safety of my own little village thank you very much.

So if you get a chance check it out. New episodes are Mondays at 9:00pm.

ex + ploit + ed

...........to make use of selfishly or unethically.

Last Thursday I saw the most glaring example of this I have ever seen in my life. I took the mission team to the Quito dump. When my wife visited there in 2005 the dump "workers" were living there with their children. They would sort through the garbage with babies on their back.

In 2008 they are no longer allowed to live at the dump. But the government is still happy to "employ" them. Okay so what's with "workers" and "employ" being in parenthesis?

Here is their story.

There are 300 workers at the dump. The day shift is from 7:00am to 6:00pm; the night shift goes from 7:00pm to 6:00am. A long work day by any standards. They sort through the garbage for recyclables like plastics and aluminum. And when I say "sort" I don't mean they stand by a conveyor belt plucking off the material. They literally stand in the garbage.......up to their knees or higher.........all the while watching they are not run over by the front end loader or the next truckload coming in. Oh and for those of you who have never been to Ecuador? You can't flush toilet paper there. It goes in the garbage.

No doubt a long, difficult, dangerous daily task. Disease and feces all around. So a rough day but why the "exploited" title? After all, it is a job. A way to feed their families, right? Well, sort of.

These workers are required to show up day in and day out and do the work, just like any other job. If not they are fired. But they have no salary or hourly rate. They get no pay. They work and sort eleven hours a day just for the right to sort, collect and take recyclables. Most of the workers are family units that hand the days' take over to the family head who cashes in and splits up the money.

What a racket this government has going here. Free labor and they can claim to the international community they are recycling!

The team and I stood briefly on a platform about a hundred feet above the activity. It looked like ants scurrying below. I am ashamed to even say it that way. I was embarrassed to view them. I felt like I was invading a sacred space of God.

I felt like I was exploiting them by my presence.


"He lifts the poor from the dust and the needy from the garbage dump. He sets
them among princes, placing them in the seats of honor. For all the earth is the Lord's, and he has set the world in order." (1 Samuel 2:8 NLT)

Really? Sorry Lord but the world didn't look in order at that garbage dump. It looked to me like the cycle of poverty is alive and well.

Home!

The team and I got home about 8:45 last night safe, healthy and only one hour late with all our luggage. Not bad.

Anyone interested in an inexpensive place to live? May I suggest Quito, Ecuador?

You would have to put up with viewing snow capped volcanoes and the sun rising above the mountains everyday. Your friends and work associates would expect more than a passing "hello, how are ya?" each day too. You would most likely hug, touch. And the cost of living?

Chinese dinner for 11 including beverages and tip: $45.00

Ten minute taxi ride for 4 people: $1.00

A gallon of gas: $1.48 (no kidding!)

Meeting the warm and wonderful people of Ecuador: priceless

The father Of Lies

The bible says Satan is the father of lies. And he is using poverty to tell children on the margins they don't matter to God. That's really the first thing poverty works on: killing the heart. Many children on the margins here in Ecuador are getting a moderate amout of food and are surviving, but they're not thriving. And poverty is telling them that they don't dare dream. That they are nothing and can be nothing and can do nothing.

I spent the day with Karen and Richard yesterday, the kids my wife and I sponsor through
Compassion International. It was a great day and lots of love was shared. Great conversation and fun and food. A blast saying hello and a bummer saying good-bye. Karen wanted to recite a bible verse and she repeated John 3:16 to me. I told her I have Jesus in my heart and asked her if she did too. She said YES!

The highlight of the day for me but a couple of other great moments too.

Karen and Richard have dreams. Karen wants to be a police officer, Richard a telecommunications engineer. Sounds to me like the lies have been exposed to The Light.

Right before we left my new friend becoming Anne prayed for the group. Lots of tears. Then we had all the compassion children and siblings sing "Jesus Loves Me" in Spanish. We gringos followed that up with our version in English. Then we all sang together. And I am convinced there was silence in heaven, cause we experienced it here on earth.

Hope Lives!

Relationship

Yesterday was to be an all work day at Nuevos Amigos School after walking the La Comuna neighborhood. The team worked on tile and painting and then broke for lunch. We invited our bus driver Luis and his ten year old daughter Sophia to join us and were glad they accepted. Nancy had made twelve sandwiches in the morning and with Ricardo and Eric joining us also we had exactly enough.

I teach mission teams in the pre-trip meetings to be flexible and expect surprises. Today there were some:

1) We went to Ricardo's house for a tour. It is a very nice house that he and his wife Maria are proud of and rightly so. He has been working on it for 14 years. Then they invited us all to sit for a drink and we gladly drank Naranjilla juice. Tan delicioso!

2) After we got back from touring Ricardo's home the teachers from La Guardaria day care approached me and asked if the team would like to ride the trolley cars up the mountain. Okay that sentence took me one minute to write but this discussion took probably fifteen minutes with my limited Spanish. At first I thought they were asking if we were taking our compassion kids there with us. Then I realized they wanted us all to go "ahora mismo" (at this moment). My first thought was "no" becasue we had work to get done. And I'm afraid of heights. Duh! That thinking is the very opposite to what I taught this team: to be flexible and expect schedule changes and this trip is about RELATIONSHIPS , not tasks. I almost blew it. Thank you God for leading me.

We agreed to go and had a great time. Six teachers from the school, our team of eight, Ricardo and his wife Maria and son Zacharias, seventeen in all. It was good relationship building as I had a chance to chat with Rosio, director of La Guardaria. I explained the union of ChildReach Ministries and Nuevos Amigos. She said she and her son could go back to the states and I could stay in Ecuador. I said that would work for me if my wife were here (no kidding Chris).

It was a day of relationships.

Oh and we walked the path after we got up the mountain and I realized I can't run fast or far at 13,451 feet above sea level.........in a t-shirt............at about 45 degrees! Brrrrrr.

The UNsponsored

Dear readers and especially friends of RiverTree Christian Church,

I spent the day at Compassion project EC124 in the south of Quito, Ecuador. My team experienced a lot today about which we have written and will continue to write about at http://www.childreachministries.org/08ec0718/.

I left the project with a very unusual request from the project director and the Compassion staff. I have a list of 23 children from this project still needing sponsors. Not all that unusual in that there are about 49,200 children in the country in the program, 10,000 of which are unsponsored. This request is a bit unusual as Compassion does not usually work like this. But on this list there are children that have been waiting for 3, 6, even 8 years for sponsors! The pastor and director are simply desperate for the wait to end for these children. God is too.

Is he waiting for you/me to take one of these kids? Can we, as a church, step up and solve this? Will 23 of you be willing to be the answer to this prayer?

Ecuador day 2

What a day! Great worship service at San Pablo in La Comuna, Quito, Ecuador. It was the first cross cultural worship service for many in the group. They loved it. Anne said she never experienced God like she did today.

The highlight for me was a pick up soccer game with my team and a group of street kids. These kids are sent out by their families to work the streets selling goods, washing car windows, shining shoes. Today Brian and Giermo put down their shoe shine boxes and got to be 9 year olds for awhile. Kicking a ball, laughing, running, free.

Una bonita dia ( a beautiful day)

Standing in the Gap

Ezekiel 22:30 "I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found none."

God was looking for his people to stand up and be an advocate for the nation of Israel so he would not have to send them into exile.

God is looking for his people today to stand in the gap for people in poverty; for children on the margins of society.

This morning my new friends becoming Steph, Gary, Anne, Jen, Jane, Nancy, Rob and I will begin a nearly 20 hour journey to Quito, Ecuador with ChildReach Ministries (www.childreachministies.org) to do just that. We do have some construction tasks to do. But our main focus will be to see what God is up to there. We will meet some incredible people. We will spend the day with the children we sponsor through Compassion International (www.compassion.com) showing them just by our willingness to be there that they matter deeply to God.

It is a privilege to be obedient.

My Critical Spirit

So I'm sitting on the patio at Panera the other day with a spinach and bacon souffle and a steaming hot cup of coffee, with smooth jazz playing in the background............reading a book about poverty. That's a contrast I can't seem to get over.

Anyway, I'm sitting there and I watch this guy walk in the door with an empty "to go" coffee cup (there's free re-fills at Panera). No way he was outside drinking his first cup and going back in for more cause the place just opened. Besides, I'm sitting near the front door and I know who's been here and who hasn't!

So you can probably see where this is going. I'm already assuming this guy is bringing back an empty cup from a previous days purchase to get free coffee today ( the java is self serve). I've accused him of stealing coffee. There's really no other scenario that fits, right? So I walk up and ask him!

No not really.

And then a "what if" came to mind: what if he's into recycling (the cup was Styrofoam) and he went to the counter to pay? Ouch.

So I'm either highly judgemental..........or into making excuses for thieves!

The Shack

The Shack: Where Tragedy Confronts Eternity by William P. Young is one of the best novels I have read in awhile. Simply unputdownable. It may shatter your image of what God looks and acts like; of what he/she/they really are.

Even though a novel by nature is untrue they are often woven with truths. Here's a few:

• we must learn to live loved
• God speaking in the book: "...just because I work incredible good out of unspeakable tragedies doesn't mean I orchestrate the tragedies. Don't ever assume that my using something means I caused it or that I need it to accomplish my purposes. That will only lead you to false notions about me. Grace doesn't depend on suffering to exist, but where there is suffering you will find grace in many facets and colors."
• if anything matters then everything matters

Love God? You'll love this book.

Don't love/mad at God? You'll love this book.

www.theshackbook.com

a family affair

Today our entire household joined The Junky Car Club (http://www.junkycarclub.com/). We all got free membership since we drive cars that are paid for. The whole premise of this is to get people to live with less and give more, namely by sponsoring a child through Compassion International (http://www.compassion.com/).

My wife Chris and I sponsor Richard and Karen from Ecuador and Laufu from Tanzania.

My daughter Sara sponsors Rosita from Ecuador.

My son Andrew sponsors Jhenny from Peru.

I get the incredible honor of visiting Richard and Karen in Ecuador when I lead a team down there in July. I can't wait.

You've probably heard it said that "the family that prays together stays together." Well I must admit that we don't do that nearly as often as we should. But maybe the family that sponsors together stays together?

Simple

I think I heard the best telling of the gospel ever last night. And it was done in only a few sentences. I was at the Alive Festival in Canal Fulton, Ohio watching the group "Casting Crowns". Mark, the lead singer, was speaking. He said he could think of a lot of people he would be willing to give his life for. I can too. And then he said this:

"But I can't think of anyone I'd be willing to give my son for."

Me neither.

That made me realize how deep and desperate is God's love for us. He's willing to shout it from the mountain top. He's whispering it in our ear.

Success -or- Significance

Maybe this is not an either/or proposition. What if it's more like both/and?

Done. It is finished. My son Andrew's high school career. He graduated last night with an honors diploma and as a member of Sociedad Honoraria Hispanica ( Spanish National Honor Society). Thank you God! It was a happy sad night.

Time marches on.

And as it does he becomes less and less my son and more and more God's. Andrew can get along fine without me now, but not without God. Jesus, I am asking you to give him a wild, dangerous, wonderful encounter with you. One that makes him pursue you and significance for your kingdom over success (at least as the world defines it).

As the superintendent of Jackson Schools spoke last night she cited a study of 1,500 college graduates. They were put into 2 categories: group A said they were pursuing wealth first and would do something they loved later in life (this group had 1,245 in it). Group B (255 strong) were going for their passions right off the bat. At the end of 20 years there were 101 millionaires.........................and only one of them came from group A!

Isn't that incredible?!?

Not really. Over 2,000 years ago a man gave the same advice. It was even put in a book for us to read. It's a way that is upside-down, inside-out, inverted, backward, upturned, chaotic and confusing:

• find life by losing yours
• live by dying

Andrew my son, my prayer for you is that you continue to follow Jesus of Nazareth and find "life that is truly life."

born banished

I love the Old Testament. It's so full of rich history and amazing stories. I love how these stories reveal God's plan to redeem us through his son Jesus.

King David's son Absalom kills David's other son Amnon and Absalom flees. Over time David gets over mourning Amnon's death and begins to mourn Absalom's absence. David's friend and army commander Joab realizes this and devises a plan to bring Absalom back. He gets a woman (a wise woman from Tekoa according to 2 Samuel 14) to go to David and claim she has the same type of story (one son has killed the other). And the story is important because in those days someone accused of murder could be struck down on the spot by a dude with the job title of "Avenger of Blood". To stay away from this guy until you get a trial you had to run and make it to a city of refuge. You were banished.

So David finally realizes Joab put her up to this and agrees to let Joab go get Absalom and provide him safe passage back to Jerusalem. Check out this wise woman's words in 2 Samuel 14: ".......But God does not take away life; instead, he devises ways so that a banished person may not remain estranged from him." So way back then (and way before that) the plan was in place. God was revealing his nature of giving us safe passage back to him.

We are born banished from a kingdom. But the King is looking to adopt. And not just take us into a family. But to also make us heirs of the kingdom. Incredible.

The cross Jesus hung on is "so that a banished person may not remain estranged from him."

Are you ready for your inheritance?

Truth

Myanmar is seizing the very aid sent to help its people after the recent cyclone. Today I heard a report that a plane carry aid and search & rescue workers was turned away because there were also reporters on board. Apparently the government has something to hide?

I know a movie isin't truth but the latest Rambo movie is based on the premise of sneaking missionaries into this very country, formerly known as Burma. It's a real blood and guts guy movie. I recommend it. If there's any fact at all in that movie this county definitely has something to hide.

And that's the thing about truth. If you tell it and live it you don't have to remember what you say or do.

My Cousin

Franc was on the national wish list for this tryke and his wish was granted by an anonymous donor. This is the thank you note we sent to all who were instrumental in making this possible.
Franc’s Poem

I was born without a brain,
And yet I’m very smart.
I cannot do what most kids do,
But I can steal your heart.

My progress may seem very slow,
But I do know what I like.
Being outdoors in the warm sunshine,
And riding on my trike.

The sound of children’s voices
Ringing through the air
I crane my neck to find them
I love when kids are near.

And music playing all around
It’s one of my favorite things
I feel the rhythm in my soul
I want to dance and sing

Oh, I can’t forget my time at school
And all I do each day
Crafts and stories and then it’s therapy
But sometimes I just want to play

I’m blessed in this life to have with me
People who really care
They love me unconditionally
I know that’s why I’m here.

Some may say my life’s not full
Because of how I am
But God’s the one who gave it to me
So I know I’m in His plan.

I have a ready smile
For each person that I meet
Perhaps I can’t say “hello”
But I would if I could speak

In fact, I’d say a mouthful
If I could talk to you
I’d start with thank you for your gift
And end with GOD BLESS YOU!

The safest place on earth............

Dictionary.com defines "safe" as "secure from liability to harm, injury, danger or risk.

Check out this quote from a guy named Barry Mosier: "We know that the safest place in the world to work is where the Lord wants you to work."

Now that sounds nice but it takes on a whole new meaning when you know about Barry. And this is why I think Jesus taught that the kingdom of God is upside down. You see, Barry and his family are missionaries who walked away from the recent plane crash in Africa. That quote from Barry is after the crash.

Check out his story here:
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/africa/04/16/congo.crash.survivors/index.html

Got Purpose?

You may think the following words are reckless. I think they're packed with wisdom. They're by author Erik Mirandette from his book The Only Road North: 9,000 Miles Of Dirt and Dreams.

"The most horrible and terrifying thing that I can imagine isn't that I would put all that I am on the line for a cause I believe in and then be called on it. The most horrible and terrifying thing is the thought that I could spend my whole existence minimizing the risks I take, living ignorantly convinced of my safety, rejecting the purpose I was created for, and then someday wake up an old man and see that life has passed before me, and now with death knocking on my door realize that in all my years I have never truly lived.

We each have a destiny, a legend that only we can live. To embrace it is scary and dangerous, and most choose not to. Most put it off until tomorrow, until after high school, until after college, until after establishing a financial base. Can't they see? We only get one shot at this life. Tomorrow may never come. The time is now! Not to drop everything and move to Africa, but to find the passion that is inside us and embrace it, to listen to its subtle whispers."

So what purpose were you created for?

Are you embracing it or ignoring it?

I think God usually talks to us in subtle whispers. Not audible mind you, but to our heart. And if we are busy enough, we can easily drown that out. God probably won't start shouting either. He'll probably continue whispering, and the less we pay attention the quieter that whisper will become. Until what we have and the life we're making and the tomorrow that we claim will be the time to follow Him, fades away.

grief and belief

While traveling home from vacation Sunday I got a call that my grandfather had passed away the day before.

I didn't think I'd be able to make it through speaking at his funeral tomorrow so here is a little memoir that I wrote.


An open letter to my grandfather by Rick Royer:

The community you lived in was better because of your leadership. For that I thank you. But even more, I’m thankful for you passing on family values to your son, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Thank you also for the example of a great marriage. Sixty-six years ago said “till death do us part” and you meant it.

I will always remember and cherish those summer trips we took. Canada, Gettysburg, Kings Island, New York City where we stood on top of the world trade center towers. A little bit of business with a lot of fun mixed in.

I’m proud of you and Grandma for sponsoring a little boy from Peru named Jordy through Compassion International. Thanks for giving him the opportunity to eat everyday and hear about Jesus. I plan to meet Jordy on a not too distant trip down there and will tell him all about you.

Late Sunday night, as I arrived home from vacation, I realized you left me one final gift. There on the kitchen counter was an envelope. You had addressed and mailed it just before your surgery day. I ran my fingers across those letters, and I could almost feel your pen writing. Inside was my birthday card and a present in the form of a check, again with your handwriting.

I’m not cashing the check!

So what will I miss about you most grandpa? One thing for sure is the carryout dinners from Jimmy Johns with a little bit of ice cream and a lot of reminiscing afterwards. Mostly I think I’ll miss your phone calls at work. Just a quick call to see if everyone is well, to ask about an upcoming mission trip, about how the kids are doing, or to see if we can get together.

We can definitely get together. Because we believe in the same Jesus who died to set us free.

One of my favorite parts of the Bible is in Revelation 21 where the new heaven and new earth are being described. And then verse 4 says “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death and mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”

What kind of King.................

God could have ridden in on a buff white stallion with an army to redeem his people and kingdom by force. Instead he rode on a donkey, alone, and died to do it. What kind of king is that?

When Jesus was arrested and brought to trial he knew everything but said nothing. He had more power available to him than any other man to ever walk this earth, yet he was whipped and beaten, undefended. What kind of king is that?

And this rescue plan of his? He stakes everything by paying for my sin with his death and gives me the free will to choose or reject him (and to ignore him is to reject him). What kind of king is that?

God announces forgiveness in advance and allows continuous and repetitive forgiveness. What an incredible risk! I wonder if my sin hurts just as much as the beatings and crucifixion he endured. Maybe even more? What kind of king is that?

When I'm challenged to do thing that I know I can, I do it. I'm more than eager to prove a point. Not Jesus. When he hung on the cross near death he was challenged: "Come down from the cross if you are the son of God." He stayed there. What kind of king is that?

What kind of king walks around homeless for three years teaching that we are to serve to be great? Doesn't he know that's not exactly how we measure success here in the United States? And where is this kingdom he talked about? Author Rick McKinley argues that this kingdom is breaking in all around us. I recommend his book titled "This Beautiful Mess"

"Good" Friday

Good for me. Painful for you Jesus. I believe that, as you hung on the cross and asked "My God, My God, Why have you forsaken me?" you were, in that moment, completely separated from the Father. I believe in that moment, every sin I have and will commit flowed through you, or rested on you somehow. And since God is holy and can not sin, you were keenly aware of being separated from the Father....................so I wouldn't be.

So what can I offer you in return? To know that I can't adequately repay you is actually freeing. It takes the pressure to perform off.

That's what a gift is all about.

On The Verge

In Numbers 14 the Israelites were on the verge. They had just spent the last 40 days in the desert. Just 40 DAYS before this they had seen all the plagues God sent against Egypt for their rescue. They saw the ark of the covenant made. They saw God in a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. They saw a dry path appear in the middle of the sea. They saw their pursuers drown in that sea. They made a cast idol, worshipped it, were given the ten commandments, drank water from a rock, ate manna for free, complained about the manna and were given quail till they got tired of that, and kept right on grumbling. All in 40 days!

Then Moses sends out a group of leaders on a spy mission. They were to go to the promised land, check it out, and report back. After just 40 days the nation of Israel is camped out on the edge of this land. A land flowing with milk and honey the Bible says. It's the land of their destiny. And the spies come back and report that this land is indeed awesome. Except for one problem. All but two of them (Joshua and Caleb) say the people living there are too big and powerful to depose. Joshua and Caleb's disagreement with this assessment nearly got them stoned to death. And the whole community starts grumbling again.

So instead of taking possession of their destiny on day 41 this community of believers/doubters/grumblers/rebels began another journey. One that would last 40 YEARS and see everyone over 20 years of age die in the desert, except for the two nearly stoned to death, Caleb and Joshua.

Israel was on the verge, but fear replaced faith. What are you on the verge of? What might it cost if fear or sin or ego get in the way?

God is writing an epic story.............and we're in it.

La Catacumbas

Last Friday I toured The Monastery San Francisco in the historical district of Lima, Peru. It was built in the 16th century for the Franciscan friary. I saw paintings from 1691, Sevillian tiles dating from 1621 and books as old as 1571. I was amazed to find the library holding these books to be open, without any climate control, and natural sunlight pouring in from the windows and skylights. The paintings were on a portico area on the outside of the building......just hanging there. Incredible.

The catacombs were amazing. Discovered in 1943, they are believed to hold some 25,000 bodies. It was the burial grounds until the first cemetery was opened outside Lima in 1808. It also had crypts where wealthy benefactors are buried. They are just like something you see on TV. Skulls and femurs everywhere ( they are the most dense and take the longest to decay ) and most North Americans are too tall to fit, so I had to hunch over for most of this part of the tour. If you would like to take a virtual tour go to http://www.museocatacumbas.com/

The Church

Last weeks mission to Peru with the Malone College nursing students was over the top for me. We had planned and tried to plan this trip to go to Ecuador for over two months. We prayed and asked God to open that door but it didn't happen. We were all disappointed but decided to follow God to Peru. There is no doubt this was His plan.

We did 3 solo clincs at which we saw over 250 patients. We plugged into one clinic with the Ministry of Health and probably saw 100 patients at that one alone. Many lives were touched, some were changed (right Alyssa, Stephanie, Jon, Rachel, Rebecca, Jess, Breadyn, Brannyn, Ashley and Elisabeth?).

On Wednesday the governments of Ecuador and Columbia were talking war, and we were glad we were not in Ecuador. But Monday, day three of the trip, was God's reason for changing our venue to Peru. That day we met Luis. He's the six year old boy with the soon to be fixed colostomy. We committed to getting this surgery taken care of for him and these nurses have apparently been talking about him alot. Ashley's friend from work is donating, Elisabeth has some friends interested, Brannyn's mom has a work associate donating, Stephanie's aunt already sent a check.

I am starting to wonder if Luis will be a healthcare worker someday, caring and curing the people of Peru. All because a group of twentysomething world changers took spring break to the gutter where people are hurting. It was a privilege watching God work through them. Way to BE the church!

Organized

Today we will battle another day of sunny and 80 in Peru. My heart goes out to my family and friends in Ohio who will battle yet another winter storm this weekend. We are hoping it does not delay our arrival back home.

We plan to visit a local nursing school and tour a hospital today. The nurses are pretty tired and I'm not sure we could handle another neighborhood clinic today.

Yesterday's clinic was another great day but started out questionably as our bus broke down on the way. Our bus driver, Americo, showed me we had thrown a belt and then he immediately got to work fixing it. Success after only about 15 minutes and we were on our way to Hogar de Ninos orphange for our clinic for the neighborhood of Pape Leon. We planned on two doctors...............and we got one. Our concern melted as we soon realized we were dealing with a very organized, effecient la doctora. We are also getting good at this and soon had all our stations set up.

Station # 1: Triage and vitals.
Station # 2: Doctor
Station # 3: Pharmacy and injections
Station # 4: Free clothes

It turns out that we served more people than any previous clinic: 127. We had no major surprises but did see a little boy with six toes. We see a lot of kids with worms and parasites according to our doctors. As our time here in Peru winds down I am so honored to be here with these world changers from Malone College. I am convinced that each and every one they served will come up to them in heaven to say "gracias" one more time.

La Pharmaica

Yesterday the group spent the day doing odd jobs at Hannah's Home. It is getting soooo close to opening. We played with the kids at Hogar de Ninos Orphanage in the afternoon and then came back for dinner. We went to Norky's for the best fire broasted chicken in the world. No kidding.
Then off to church at El Shalom in Villa El Salvador. I wanted the team to see the hospital there so we stopped by so they could take a few photos. It's in the median of the street and is made from cargo shipping containers. Very unique and resourceful. Church rocked. Really rocked. The team was up in front dancing by the end of the service.

The best part of my day was a trip with Felix and Diana to the pharmacy. We needed more supplies for today's clinic. We bought a lot and and as our clerk began boxing up our supplies the rest of the employees gathered around to see what all this was for. After Diana explained what we were doing they started bringing out stuff to give us. And not just one token donation.........lots of stuff. We spent about $220 on our list of medine. Diana, my translator and also a nursing student ( how appropriate ) estimates they gave us about $150 worth in free meds.

God is good.

UNchaos

Well, almost. Clinic # 2 was a lot better organized. We had 2 doctors (thanks to Dr. Steve Lohr) and we saw about 70 people today. We had 2 triage stations with a doctor and nurses. Another station was la botica ( a pharmacy ) where more nurses were stationed to dispense the vitamins and medicine. After the the doctor was done our patients then went to the final station to get some free clothing. The kids smiled, the moms were thankful, one woman cried.



Our little friend Luis came to see us again today. He is the little guy with the colon on the outside of his body. His mom had a diaper wrapped around it today. There was excrememt all over his belly. It was amazing to watch Brannyn and Ashley clean him with kid gloves, like he was there own son. We bought colostomy bags and showed his mom how to apply them and clean the area. And then we had the honor of telling her that the surgery he needs to fix all this will be paid for.

I'm pretty sure Luis is at least one of the reasons this group is in Peru. If we had gone to Ecuador we would never have met Luis. But God has plans for this little life. Wouldn't it be cool if he grew up and worked in healthcare?

God is good. All the time.

Chaos

The clinic today was one of the most unorganized, chaotic beautiful days ever. We had one doctor with us and we set up in the house of a resident of Lomas de Marchan. The house had a dirt floor with roosters in the back. Not the most sterile environment. Welcome to Peru. We served about 60 patients. I thought we would just give some basic, easy medical care. Not so.

We had a little girl come in named Andrea who was about three years old. She had burns all over her chest. A couple of the nurses debrided her scabs. That means they scraped them with a knife. Yikes! We expected her to scream. Instead she just wathed. I thought that was amazing. But we learned if the burns are second degree the chance is she didn't even feel it. She was alone. No parent came with her. Very sad.

Later in the day we met Luis. Luis is a six year old boy. Part of his colon was on the outside of his stomach. He had a colostomy but the family could not afford the bags needed. His mother had a t-shirt tied around him to catch his waste as it exited his body. We are going to purchase some of the bags he needs. For about $1,000.00 he can get an operation to fix his condition. So the nursing students decided they wanted to use the extra few hundred dollars from their trip money to help pay for Luis' operation. Tomorrow we will be able to tell his mother the operation will paid for. We need to raise a few hundred dollars to close the loop on this need.

So today Ashley, Braedyn, Stephanie, Jon, Alyssa, Brannyn, Rebecca, Jess, Elisabeth and Rachel just changed the world.

What an awesome day.

Friday I had an interesting conversation in the Houston airport. We were at our gate waiting to depart from Peru. So I sat down next to a guy and his wife. He is from Peru, which is no surprise as the plane we were both about to board was bound for there. But as our conversation continued it got pretty interesting. Turns out he (Batista) was raised in Pucusanah. It's a fishing village very close to where Hannnah's Home and Hope is being built in Chilca. We talked about what my group of nursing students was going to do in Peru and we were both pretty amazed that he used to live very close to our propety in Chilca.

But it gets better.

Batista talked about knowing Chilca and said his mother lives in a neighborhood in Chilca called Papa Leon. That's where our property is.

But it gets better.

His mother lives on the exact same street as our property. He said his mother had told him about the orphanage that ChildReach is building. He is going to visit us this Wednesday.

Saturday's clinic went well for the group. We were able to plug right into a clinic the government (Ministeria de Salud) was doing and the nurses did everything from blood pressure reading to injections.

Today we went to church and experienced a 2 hour service. In the small towns of Peru you are unable to leave without greeting every single person. Today's service was no different. Everyone hugged everyone. After our sermon each children's Sunday school class went up front and told the church what they learned. When the oldest ones were done we thought the service was over.

Nope.

The adults ( all of us ) had to go up front and be quizzed by Pastor Jorge about what we learned while the kids watched. It wasn't too bad actually.

Tomorrow is another clinic in the village of Lomas Marchan.

Arrived

Last night I stood in the longest customs line I have ever seen in the Lima, Peru airport. It took us two hours from the time we exited the plane to get through and claim our equipaje and get on the road. We arrived at Ola Grande at about 2:30AM...........umm........today I guess. And we hit the ground running soon with a clinic in Chilca at 9:00 am. I woke up around 6:30 so I'm "running" on about 3.5 hours of sleep. But all in all the travel day went well. All flights were fine and on time despite a good bit of snow in Cleveland.

Thank you God.

The Ten

Late tonight I'll be landing in Lima, Peru with Alyssa, Stepanie, Jon, Rachel, Rebecca, Jess, Braedyn, Brannyn, Ashley and Elisabeth. These "the ten" are nursing students at Malone College in Canton, Ohio.

We will be doing clinics in the neighborhoods around the town of Chilca where ChildReach Ministries (http://www.childreachministries.org/) is building a home for pregnant street girls as well as an orphanage.

Some are on their first ever mission trip. All will be exposed to a level of poverty they've probably never before experienced. And we will all be changed, I think.

They are excited about putting their nursing skills to work to help the less fortunate. I am excited to see what God does in their life too. I think they will experience a God way bigger than they ever imagined.

Check back on this blog if you're interested in what we're up to. Updates will also be at the ChildReach website by following this link: http://www.childreachministries.org/08pe0229/

Ban the Bible

Last night my wife and I met Mark Fashevsky from Tiraspol, Transnistria. Transnistria is a small area between the countries of Moldova and Ukraine. And that probably helped about zero of the adults my age (yes, I had to look it up too). It's been an independent state, in its own eyes, since 1992. In its own eyes? They have their own currency, president, military, flag, coat of arms, postal system, banking, national anthem, police but no recognition from the international community. Igor Smirnov has been their president for 17 years.

Mark works with Summit Missions from Akron, OH and has set up a foster care program there called Help The Children (www.htc.tiraspol.info/). It seeks to get orphans out of depressed and underfunded state run programs and into a christian home. Mark was inspired by a recent trip to Texas where he learned about the concept of fostering for the first time.

Mark presented a slide show about his country and the foster care program. He spoke of government corruption and a country of very poor people. He said you could not set up and succeed at business in his town, Tiraspol, without paying a bribe to the mayor. When he finished I was struck by how similar the story is to where I take mission teams to Ecuador and Peru. Kids starting life with nothing. Parents with little opportunity for work. Families break up. Alcohol and drugs rule the day. Kids pay the price. The cycle repeats. Hope is neither spoken or dreamed. But Mark is helping to break the cycle.

Mark told us his testimony about coming to faith in Jesus at 17 living in Russia. The Bible was a banned book and he said this naturally made everyone want it. He had been taught that Christians were dangerous and sacrificed children to their god. But a friend invited him to a Baptist church and he went. Mark described feeling different when he walked into this church and said "he knew there was something to this." He went home and prayed for repentance. I loved hearing him describe his youth and how the Bible was banned and how that generated incredible interest in it.

That reminds me how the early Christians, even though their religion was illegal, continued to meet and worship and serve. Then everything got messed up when Constantine legalized it. Maybe we need to be subversive and illegal again to really storm the gates of hell.

Civil Disobedience

Hebrew midwives Shiphrah and Puah did it. You can read their story in the book of Exodus. Pharaoh ordered them to kill all the males born to Hebrew women to control the Israelite population growth. Perhaps the intent was to wipe out the Hebrews? But these women lied to Pharaoh when asked why they let the boys live. And God blessed them with families of their own.

Next comes the mother and sister of Moses. Since Pharaoh's first try at genocide fails he then orders all Hebrew baby boys thrown into the Nile river. Instead, Moses' mom hides him for three months. When she can no loger keep him quiet she puts him in a basket and puts it on the bank of the river and posts her daughter at a distance to observe what happens. Apparently Moses' sister is brave enough (no mention of her age here) to approach as Pharaoh's daughter finds the basket. She is close enough to offer to find someone to nurse this new found baby as Pharaoh's daughter is discovering the contents of the basket.

And in the ultimate twist of fate Moses' mother not only gets to nurse her son, she gets paid to do it!

After this time of nursing is over she takes Moses back to Pharaoh's daughter. Talk about obedience! How difficult was this?

So where was Moses' father in all this? Tradition says Moses wrote this book of the bible and I would think he would include his father...........if he was around. The women seem to be doing all the disobeying here. Way to go girls!

Prayer: Does It Make Any Difference?

I just finished reading this book by Philip Yancey. It was a bit of an ardous read to go straight through but well worth the time nonetheless. Yancey writes , not from a claim of expertise on the subject, but as a fellow pilgrim seeking to answer such questions as why pray? Does prayer change God? What difference does it make?

I found it an excellent little trip of discovery as much about the nature of God as prayer. But is that the same thing? Maybe that's one of the best reasons to pray, to spend time getting to know Him.

I've often fallen asleep at night while praying. I wake up in the morning feeling guilty that I didn't stay awake to talk with God. And I wonder what God thinks about that. Reminds me of Jesus' experience with some disciples who couldn't stay awake to pray. Then I read an essay in this book by a woman named Susan. She noted: "I used to worry about falling asleep during prayer. Now, as a parent, I understand. What parent wouldn't wand her child to fall asleep in her arms?"

For now, and for reasons I really don't understand, prayer sets God loose on earth. When we meet Him face to face I think it will resume its rightful place as conversation.

A change of venue

One thing we at ChildReach Ministries always try to impress upon our trip participants is to be flexible. We set up an itinerary but are subject to what God wants to do, when God wants to do it. Well, I recently got a taste of my own medicine.

I wrote awhile back about a group of nursing students I am taking to Ecuador on a mission trip to do cross cultural clinicals. Only I'm not taking them to Ecuador. After over two months of trying to set this up to no avail we decided to give Peru a try. Within a week we have what looks like an incredible trip shaping up. We will work out of the hospital in Chilca and set up neighborhood pediatric clinics to distribute medicine and work with kids.

Ashley, one of the Malone nursing students going on this trip and my new friend becoming, told a pretty cool story last night as we were leaving our meeting about Peru. She was in a store hoping to buy a video camera for the mission trip. She got into a conversation with the salesperson about why she wanted one and another patron overheard them. This guy comes over and tells Ashley he overheard her talking and tells her he is a doctor who just moved to the area from Wisconsin; he tells her he thinks what she is doing (a nursing mission trip) is great.

He buys Ashley a $300.00 video camera right on the spot!

So God has already shown up on the trip in a big way and we haven't even left yet. He completley changed our venue from Ecuador to Peru and was certainly involved in a video camera transaction. And we are still 3-1/2 weeks away from departure.

I can't wait to get there and see what God does through, and to, these 10 students.

Morgan Freeman as God

My wife and I watched the movie EVAN ALMIGHTY the other night. I absolutely love how God was portrayed in this flick.

• He was serious and "on mission" and had a great sense of humor. Just like God.
  
• He didn't do his work through "religious" people. He chose available people who, eventually, became willing and obedient. Just like the 12 Jesus chose.
  
• He was loving and allowed a time of suffering to get people where they needed to go (Read about guys like Moses and David and Joseph).
  
• He responded to simple, quirky, honest prayers. Like kids would pray ( and maybe how you and I should too?)
  
• He didn't choose to work through "a" church. He chose "the" church; a "regular Joe" so to speak (sorry Joe)
  
• He came to earth in human form and "prodded" people to do what He wanted but never messed with free will.

A great scene from EVAN ALMIGHTY:

Evan's wife has taken their three kids and left him. She is having a conversation with a waiter in a restaurant, who turns out to be "God". Check out Morgan Freeman's name tag as the waiter in this scene ( Al Mighty ). They start talking about prayer and "God" tells her something like "do you think God gives people patience when they ask for it, or an opportunity to be patient? Do you think He gives them courage when they ask for it, or an opportunity to be courageous?

And my favorite scene is toward the end when Evan is walking through a meadow with his family. He sees "God" standing under a solitary tree and goes over to talk. "God" tells Evan he did a good job (that would be cool in and of itself ? ) and then they dance a little jig together.

A little glimpse of heaven I think.

La Ventanas (The Windows)

A somewhat humorous story from Peru.

Tuesday, January 14, 2008 5:15AM

This was to be my final day in Peru on this trip. I usually wake up early on my own, but not that early. I awoke to the sound of clanking outside my window at the hostal I was staying at (Ola Grande). Our bus was parked right outside of our room and in fact about 5 feet away from my roommate Larry's head. Our window was open and so I thought maybe our bus driver, Edgar, was doing some early morning cleaning or maintenance. I drifted off to sleep but awoke a few minutes later to the same sounds.

I thought it was strange so I woke Larry and said to him "let's look out the window." Much to our surprise we see all the windows gone from the side of the bus facing us and two guys busy stealing one from the other side! After Larry said "hey what are you guys doing?" they took off, jumped in their car and sped away. We were both laughing and dumbfounded at the same time! Not only did this happen right under our noses but what are they going to do with bus windows?!? But in a country where 54% of the population is poor, everything is valuable.

So Larry and I go out in our sandals and shorts to investigate. And we both notice la policia sitting in a car not 200 yards away so Larry whistles them over (Larry can whistle in Spanish). Since I speak the most Spanish I walk toward the police car as it approaches thinking about how I might be able to explain to them what just happened and try to describe the get away vehicle. As the police car stops and the one in the passenger side gets out with a rifle that looks six feet long I start to wonder what this guy might be thinking as he looks at two gringos in sandals and shorts in Peru at five in the morning! I also notice that it's hard to remember what little Spanish I know looking at a rifle.

I do my best to tell them there were "dos personas en un blanco coche con una luz" ( that was supposed to mean there were two people in a white car and there was only one tail light ).
Larry and I laugh like......ummmm........heck for a bit and then he goes back to sleep! I'm up for the duration and that's the end of the story.

Organism or Organization?

I read the parable of the sower in Matthew 13: 1-23 the other day and it made me wonder if my life looks like the seed sown among thorns more often than not.

The seed sown among thorns is "the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful." (NIV - emphasis mine ) That seems way too true for me. How about you? I'm also afraid it most accurately describes where much of the church in North America is.

Some interesting information from a book by Joel Vestel titled Dangerous Faith: Growing in God and Service to the World:

- the average donation by adults who attend U.S. Protestant churches is only about seventeen
dollars a week

- eighty percent of the world's evangelical wealth is in North America

- there is an estimated 850 billion dollars per year of disposable income among evangelicals in the United States

If the church, just in North America, followed God's heart on giving would that alone possibly be enough to fund the Great Commission?

I fear that the church in North America ( you and I ) looks less like the organism that Jesus expects to storm the gates of hell and more like an organization providing services to club members.

Saying "no"

Another story from Peru.

I sat in on a meeting last Friday the 11th with some ChildReach Ministries staff and a man named Ulysses. Ulysses wandered into Hannah's Home toward the end of our work day asking to meet with us. Ulysses was blind from diabetes but ChildReach recently helped pay for an operation to restore some of his sight. He was thanking us and asking for more help. He showed us how gangrene is eating away his foot and said he needs an operation soon to save it.

ChildReach does not have the funds right now to do this and explained that to him, also noting that we try to help as many people as possible.

We told Ulysses "no".

And I felt fine with that. We prayed for his healing and he kept thanking us and told us of his faith in God.

But over the last few days I have thought of him often. Especially this morning in church. Our sermon was about how we are blessed to be a blessing to others, specifically financially. And right now I feel like a hypocrite. I feel like I've done the very thing that James wrote about in chapter 2 verses 15 and 16: "Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, 'Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,' but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it?" (NIV)

What good is it indeed?

I wonder what Ulysses is thinking right now. I wonder if he thinks I'm as big a hypocrite as I feel like. Isn't faith without action hollow? James goes on to state that it's dead.

So I'm on a quest to figure out how to help Ulysses.

It's good to be home

Left Lima, Peru about 1:00 am Wednesday morning and arrived in Cleveland at 1:30 pm. A long day of travel. It was right back to my day job today and I'm really tired tonight. It's catching up with this 40 something.

It's good to be home. I missed:

- my wife
- ice ( been drinking warm water for the last 17 days )
- my bed
- my dogs
- my wife
- flushing toilet paper ( in Peru if it doesn't come out of your body it doesn't go in the potty)
- driving a car
- celebrating New Year's Eve with my wife
- salad (we can't eat anything washed in the water)
- corn fed beef ( meat is usually from Argentina and it tastes a lot different )
- breakfast on Thursday's with my friend Steve
- my wife

Another story or two about Peru in the days to come.

A bus ride, church and a sunset

We left our hostal this morning at 7:30AM and drove 2-1/2 hours south to Chincha. We decided to surprise Pastor Roldopho and attend his church today. La Iglesia Evangelica de Peruano Adonai. He and his family were happy to see us. It was a great service. We were outside (their church was destroyed by the earthquake) in the same covered alley where the teams that worked there the last weeks ate lunch. That was cool. Church where you are and with what you have seemed very real to me. There were about 50 total attenders.

A great example of this warm culture here in South America: every single Peruvian greeted each one of us both when they arrived and when they left. They did that with each other too.

We had lunch and then went to Pastor Dezi's church where Terry had a meeting to set up a couple of work crews from ChildReach to help out there. Meanwhile my friend Dave Bargerstock met with the child he sponsors through Compassion International. Her name is Emily.

I was able to watch a beautiful sunset tonight. At about 6:00 PM, as the weekend beach goers are leaving, the sun starts its descent. The beach is nearly silent as I watch the sun sink. The very hot day has given way to the cool of the evening. Typical here near the equator. As the sun sinks even lower I think of the kids I played with today at Dezi's church: Anna Patricia, Alejandro, Marco, Fernando, Marli and others. The sun rose and set on us knowing each other on earth in one hour. I hope we can play again in heaven.

It's not raining but there is a rainbow behind me. And tonight is definitely the best sunset yet this trip. God made a nice one. As its light dances on the clouds He makes oranges, purples, pinks, blues and greys I wish I could draw. Even a photo doesn't do it justice.

There is a straight line of clouds way out in the Pacific. They look like a wall. The sun has hidden behind it.

A day of traveling.....

From Punta Negra to Chilca to Lima to Villa El Salvador and back to Lima, Mira Flores, and then Chilca and finally to the hostal in Punta Negra.

My friend Dave connected with a young guy in the Chilca neighborhood when Hannah's Home is located a couple of years ago. Dave now supports his young friend Gabriel, who is fourteen, by giving his mother money for his schooling. A few days ago we were concerned that Gabriel had tuberculosis. He was coughing up blood so Dave took him to the hospital. We were told yesterday he did not have TB but further testing was necessary. So today I went with Dave, our translator Diana, Gabriel, his mother Lucia, and our bus driver Edgar to do that.

We first went to the public hospital in Lima to get the original x-rays. We took them to the private hospital in Villa El Salvador where we saw a great doctor. He wanted a CT Scan so after we paid his bill ( less than $3.00 US Dollars! ) we traveled back to Lima. We were able to get an appointment for the afternoon but the results would not be available for three hours. So after we paid that bill ( $65.00 US Dollars ) we went to Mira Flores for lunch at Chilis Restaurant. Gabriel and his mom had never seen anything like it and the joy on their faces was worth the drive.

Oh and at one point we drove past the US Embassy. I didn't take pictures because it is embarassingly large. Your hard earned taxed dollars at waste, I mean, work. And it was actually the ambassadors residence, not the embassy.

CT Scan results: probably not TB but their are definitely lesions on both of his lungs. Gabriel will go back to the doctor in Villa El Salvador on Friday for his read of the it and further directions. We asked Gabriel how he might have gotten a tear on his lung and he said he was beat up about four months ago...........because of the soccer team he was rooting for.

Pastor Rodolpho and Family

Pastor Rodolpho's "church" is where we worked last week in Chincha, Peru. I say "church" because there is no building right now due to the earthquake last year. This is his earthquake faith story.

Pastor Roldopho told us that after the earthquake hit he had his family and nothing else. His house was gone. His church was leveled. His family had no food or clothing or shelter. For many nights his family lived in a tent provided by the government. Many in Chincha still do. He said he thought his ministry was over because his denomination had no money to rebuild his church. He was prepared to leave Chincha.

Three days later his extended family arrived from Lima with supplies. But they also came to take he and his family back to Lima to live. They already had an apartment arranged for him and told him there was even a church next door that needed to hire a pastor. It sounded perfect.

Enter God. The one who knows the plans he has for us. Pastor told us that the night before he was set to leave, God woke him up in the middle of the night (just like God I am learning).............and told him to stay.........in Chincha. God gave him 2 Corinthians 4:7 to chew on: "But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us." (NIV) As I read on the next verses seem to fit too: "We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed." (NIV)

Pastor Rodolpho said the treasure in the jar is life. That it was his life and he was thankful he had it. God told him to stay and God would rebuild his church and ministry.

That is happening.

He plans for church construction to be done for his congregation of about 70 this February. From the all-surpassing power of God and not man.

Chinca, Peru

On Wednesday I left our main mission site at Hannah's Hope orphange and took a small group of students to Chincha, Peru. We took public transportation in a double decker bus. Our ride was about 2 hours.

This photo was taken on the street where we were working. The tents you see in the photo are where people are living due to the destruction from the Earthquake. If you enlarge the photo above you can get a feel for how dusty those living conditions are.

The team did demolition work at a local church that was completely destroyed. We worked pretty hard for 2-1/2 days and even got to do some home visits. At right is Pablo and his family. He has one room left of his home. The rest of the rooms are gone.

Here

After a long day of travel and meeting the team at the airport we walked outside to watch fireworks over Lima and wished each other "Feliz Ano". By the time we loaded all the stuff and people on the bus and got to Punta Negra, unpacked and got to bed it was 3:00AM. So we are here and we are tired.

But when we get to the worksite and meet a few kids I'm sure that will all disappear. We will be immersed in what we came to do. And I expect we will experience way more than we ever dreamed in the next two weeks. We came to build an orphange. But we will leave amazed.

Tomorrow I am leading a small group down to the earthquake area of Chinca to work on a Compassion International project. Compassion had about 9 projects closed down due to the earthquake. I will not have internet access but should be back on Saturday to update.