Here is a copy of the email I submitted to the National Park Service regarding the proposed Flight 93 memorial. If you care. I honestly can't believe it's true. It's got to be a hoax, it's so bad.
To Whom It May Concern,
The proposed crescent design of the Flight 93 memorial is a slap in the face of the people who gave their lives defending themselves and our country on that fated flight.
You should by no means approve this design that blatantly honors the terrorists who were responsible for the crash of Flight 93.
Sincerely,
Mark Lindberg
I got this story from Michelle Malkin.
[update]I tried to send the email and got a 404 server error - file not found for the uninitiated.
If you want to try it, you can go here. I hope this is happening because they're getting inundated with emails. You can also call at 814.443.4557.
Saturday, September 10, 2005
Monday, September 05, 2005
First Official Day as a Missionary
Well, that was fun. I slept way too late because I've been working on AIM's Katrina Relief Effort database all weekend. After I woke up, I did some more db work and fixed various errors on the site that we built and posted in one day.
We went to see the March of the Penguins - here's news for you...it's a documentary. Haven't you seen them before? What's the big deal? I paid $24 to see a documentary. Shoot me now.
After the movie and some dinner with the cousins at Grapevine Mills, the girls and I went to Dallas to find a man at the evacuee center in Reunion Arena. His family is at a center in Baton Rouge and he is, supposedly, here in the DFW area. I wasn't able to find him, but I think I will be able to track him down tomorrow. Apparently, he is an older man and doesn't know that his family is safe in Baton Rouge.
What's really cool is that tomorrow, I'll get to go on an errand of mercy, serve God and it'll be part of my job. Is that great or what?
I met a guy tonight from SGI. He said it was a world peace organization that is chartered by the UN. He was fairly reticent about it and it seemed kind of creepy. Anyone know what they are and what they do?
Ok, forget that. I just went and found them on the internet. They are officially creepy and I refuse to link to them. Here's a quote from their website:
Soka Gakkai International (SGI) is a Buddhist association with more than 12 million members in 190 countries and territories worldwide. For SGI members, Buddhism is a practical philosophy of individual empowerment and inner transformation that enables people to develop themselves and take responsibility for their lives.
The problem I have is that he never said he was Buddhist. He just came across all...I hate to use the word again, but creepy is it. It's Humanism. Man, it's too late to start that debate.
We went to see the March of the Penguins - here's news for you...it's a documentary. Haven't you seen them before? What's the big deal? I paid $24 to see a documentary. Shoot me now.
After the movie and some dinner with the cousins at Grapevine Mills, the girls and I went to Dallas to find a man at the evacuee center in Reunion Arena. His family is at a center in Baton Rouge and he is, supposedly, here in the DFW area. I wasn't able to find him, but I think I will be able to track him down tomorrow. Apparently, he is an older man and doesn't know that his family is safe in Baton Rouge.
What's really cool is that tomorrow, I'll get to go on an errand of mercy, serve God and it'll be part of my job. Is that great or what?
I met a guy tonight from SGI. He said it was a world peace organization that is chartered by the UN. He was fairly reticent about it and it seemed kind of creepy. Anyone know what they are and what they do?
Ok, forget that. I just went and found them on the internet. They are officially creepy and I refuse to link to them. Here's a quote from their website:
Soka Gakkai International (SGI) is a Buddhist association with more than 12 million members in 190 countries and territories worldwide. For SGI members, Buddhism is a practical philosophy of individual empowerment and inner transformation that enables people to develop themselves and take responsibility for their lives.
The problem I have is that he never said he was Buddhist. He just came across all...I hate to use the word again, but creepy is it. It's Humanism. Man, it's too late to start that debate.
The Whole Support Thing
So, I'm a missionary. I raise support for half of my income.
There, I said it.
One can't imagine how hard it has been to say that.
It has been very difficult to view myself as a Missionary. Note, if you will, the capital M.
I have been raising support for almost a year. I am attempting to go on staff with a missions trip organization in Gainesville, GA called Adventures In Missions. I will be their internal web guy. Throughout all of this, I've been a missionary. I've been on multiple mission trips, gone to prison, and even did an interview with the child of a friend who needed to interview a missionary. But I wasn't officially on staff because I didn't have my support raised.
Yesterday, 9/4, God provided all of our support.
Our church was discussing the possibility of upping our support $200 a month so that we could get over the hump. They had to table the issue because of budget issues - they don't have a mission budget right now. Then, on Sunday, a member of a sunday school class said he and his wife would support us for $200 a month. Praise God! Now we're at 100.99% of our support.
Thanks be to the great God of the universe for his marvelous love and favor. I will praise him as long as I have breath. Who am I that he is mindful of me?
There, I said it.
One can't imagine how hard it has been to say that.
It has been very difficult to view myself as a Missionary. Note, if you will, the capital M.
I have been raising support for almost a year. I am attempting to go on staff with a missions trip organization in Gainesville, GA called Adventures In Missions. I will be their internal web guy. Throughout all of this, I've been a missionary. I've been on multiple mission trips, gone to prison, and even did an interview with the child of a friend who needed to interview a missionary. But I wasn't officially on staff because I didn't have my support raised.
Yesterday, 9/4, God provided all of our support.
Our church was discussing the possibility of upping our support $200 a month so that we could get over the hump. They had to table the issue because of budget issues - they don't have a mission budget right now. Then, on Sunday, a member of a sunday school class said he and his wife would support us for $200 a month. Praise God! Now we're at 100.99% of our support.
Thanks be to the great God of the universe for his marvelous love and favor. I will praise him as long as I have breath. Who am I that he is mindful of me?
Sunday, September 04, 2005
Why Did You Make Me This Way?
Why are you the way you are?
I don't mean this in a 'God, why did you make me this way?' kind of lament. I mean, for what purpose was I crafted?
Think about all the things that make you you.
Ok, here's me: I'm a daydreamer, I make jokes all the time, I'm really good at looking for shortcuts, I am introspective, I'm very gregarious, I'm very loquacious (I LOVE that word), I love to ask people questions, I love to know the truth - from the source, not from you (as my wife, Carla, says, 'what does it say in the text?'), I'm very sarcastic, I love to read.
Somebody stop me...that list could go on forever. The Bible says I was made for a purpose - see Ps 139:13-15 and Jeremiah 29:11-13. God took whatever was required to make the unique person of me and had some sort of plan. All these parts are put together so that I can do...? What? What is it that God had planned?
Look at the list of attributes above. All of them come from some God-given characteristic. But look how the enemy has taken what God has made and turned it to evil: I can wile away the day doing nothing, I'm inconsiderate of others, I'm lazy, I'm withdrawn, I talk WAY too much, I'm nosy, I'm arrogant, I'm mean, I put myself before others.
Two things I'm NOT trying to do: 1 - Absolve myself of responsibility for my own actions, 2 - Fish for compliments.
Think about it - what if I was able to take all those cool, God-given attributes and use them for Him. Rather than serving my self and my own interests, I could serve Him. It would be so awesome to find the groove, wouldn't it? That place where you are being used as you are, as you were created, and as you were intended to be used.
I am praying for myself that God would make me part of his story. No, I don't mean that as a play on words of 'History.' I mean, God has a story that he wrote a long time ago. Now, I'm asking God to show me my part in his story, rather than asking him to be part of mine.
I don't mean this in a 'God, why did you make me this way?' kind of lament. I mean, for what purpose was I crafted?
Think about all the things that make you you.
Ok, here's me: I'm a daydreamer, I make jokes all the time, I'm really good at looking for shortcuts, I am introspective, I'm very gregarious, I'm very loquacious (I LOVE that word), I love to ask people questions, I love to know the truth - from the source, not from you (as my wife, Carla, says, 'what does it say in the text?'), I'm very sarcastic, I love to read.
Somebody stop me...that list could go on forever. The Bible says I was made for a purpose - see Ps 139:13-15 and Jeremiah 29:11-13. God took whatever was required to make the unique person of me and had some sort of plan. All these parts are put together so that I can do...? What? What is it that God had planned?
Look at the list of attributes above. All of them come from some God-given characteristic. But look how the enemy has taken what God has made and turned it to evil: I can wile away the day doing nothing, I'm inconsiderate of others, I'm lazy, I'm withdrawn, I talk WAY too much, I'm nosy, I'm arrogant, I'm mean, I put myself before others.
Two things I'm NOT trying to do: 1 - Absolve myself of responsibility for my own actions, 2 - Fish for compliments.
Think about it - what if I was able to take all those cool, God-given attributes and use them for Him. Rather than serving my self and my own interests, I could serve Him. It would be so awesome to find the groove, wouldn't it? That place where you are being used as you are, as you were created, and as you were intended to be used.
I am praying for myself that God would make me part of his story. No, I don't mean that as a play on words of 'History.' I mean, God has a story that he wrote a long time ago. Now, I'm asking God to show me my part in his story, rather than asking him to be part of mine.
Thursday, August 11, 2005
A Real Man
So, I was sitting at work one day in Dallas (sometime in 2002), dreaming about lunch. I'm a pretty big guy and this is a common occurrence.
I had five bucks and change in my pocket and I was thinking about how I was going to go to the Italian place two blocks away and get a stromboli. yuuummmm.
Carla and I had just talked the night before about not using the credit cards. You know, the whole radical idea of not spending money you don't actually have. Where do people get this crazy stuff?
So, I was going to be good. I was going to spend actual cash.
As I was sitting there, I felt God tell me that he wanted me to give my money away and fast for lunch. I had been thinking about fasting and had done it once or twice and it was pretty cool. Not something I wanted to do all the time, but a good thing to get one focused on the right stuff.
Ok, the whole fasting thing is cool and all, but this stromboli is GOOD. It was not going to kill me to miss a meal or six, but I really wanted that stromboli.
Here's what I did: I said, 'Ok, God. If someone asks me for some money when I go to lunch, I'll give them all my cash. But if they don't, I'm doing the stromboli thing."
I sat at my desk, counting the minutes until lunch. I planned to have a working lunch...
11:30:01 I was out the door. I didn't get twenty feet before a homeless-looking guy walks up to me and asks if I have any spare change. Boom. Just like that.
What was I supposed to do? If I give this guy my money, no stromboli. There was no way I could use a credit card to buy myself lunch...
Then, I had a brilliant idea. It was so brilliant, I was stunned by its clarity and magnificence. I would use a credit card to buy HIM lunch. That way, I would get my stromboli and eat it too. So to speak. I would gain points with God for being obedient, and there was no way that using a credit card to help someone could be wrong.
I said, "How about I just buy you lunch?"
He said, "Ok."
I asked him where he wanted to eat, but his attitude was "you're buying, I'm flying." I suggested Subway and he said fine. (Crucial part of the plan; Subway takes plastic, McDonald's doesn't.)
As we walked to Subway (which is, coincidentally, just past the stromboli place), I talked with him and asked him questions about his life. His name was Keith, and he seemed fairly with it. There did seem to be just a little something missing. Not mentally, more like he had accepted his station and had given up. This, from a five minute conversation...
Anyway, I told him that I was buying him lunch because God told me to and had given me the money to do it. I just didn't tell him which money... As we waited for his 12 inch meatball and mayo combo, we chatted about inconsequentials, I paid, wished him luck and headed to stromboli heaven.
I crossed the street and was immediately run over by a bus.
Just kidding.
Sitting on the sidewalk, right in front of me, was a guy asking for spare change.
Stromboli.
I told the guy, "I'm sorry, I just bought lunch for someone and now, all I have is enough money to buy myself lunch." I then promised to help him out another day.
I walked away, towards my blessed stromboli.
Inside the Italian place, I ordered my stromboli, paid, and sat down to wait for them to heat it up. As I was waiting, I thought, "I have change in my pocket. I can take it to the second guy who asked for money." I was so impressed with myself. I had been obedient to God, bought Keith lunch, got a stromboli, and was about to give my change to another homeless guy. It was the five loaves and two fishes all over again in Dallas, Texas.
I stepped out onto the sidewalk and started to walk towards the guy begging on the sidewalk. I looked up the street to where he was and stopped in my tracks. Sitting next to him, sharing his sandwich, was Keith. He had taken the sub I bought and split it with the guy. Even the chips and soda.
I made myself keep walking towards them, even though I was struggling not to cry. I handed the man my change and told Keith, "You're a better man than I am."
It sounded melodramatic, but there was nothing else I could say. Here I was, a fat, rich man, blessed by God with everything I needed. There was Keith, a skinny, homeless guy, blessed by God with a good heart.
I Samuel 15:22
I had five bucks and change in my pocket and I was thinking about how I was going to go to the Italian place two blocks away and get a stromboli. yuuummmm.
Carla and I had just talked the night before about not using the credit cards. You know, the whole radical idea of not spending money you don't actually have. Where do people get this crazy stuff?
So, I was going to be good. I was going to spend actual cash.
As I was sitting there, I felt God tell me that he wanted me to give my money away and fast for lunch. I had been thinking about fasting and had done it once or twice and it was pretty cool. Not something I wanted to do all the time, but a good thing to get one focused on the right stuff.
Ok, the whole fasting thing is cool and all, but this stromboli is GOOD. It was not going to kill me to miss a meal or six, but I really wanted that stromboli.
Here's what I did: I said, 'Ok, God. If someone asks me for some money when I go to lunch, I'll give them all my cash. But if they don't, I'm doing the stromboli thing."
I sat at my desk, counting the minutes until lunch. I planned to have a working lunch...
11:30:01 I was out the door. I didn't get twenty feet before a homeless-looking guy walks up to me and asks if I have any spare change. Boom. Just like that.
What was I supposed to do? If I give this guy my money, no stromboli. There was no way I could use a credit card to buy myself lunch...
Then, I had a brilliant idea. It was so brilliant, I was stunned by its clarity and magnificence. I would use a credit card to buy HIM lunch. That way, I would get my stromboli and eat it too. So to speak. I would gain points with God for being obedient, and there was no way that using a credit card to help someone could be wrong.
I said, "How about I just buy you lunch?"
He said, "Ok."
I asked him where he wanted to eat, but his attitude was "you're buying, I'm flying." I suggested Subway and he said fine. (Crucial part of the plan; Subway takes plastic, McDonald's doesn't.)
As we walked to Subway (which is, coincidentally, just past the stromboli place), I talked with him and asked him questions about his life. His name was Keith, and he seemed fairly with it. There did seem to be just a little something missing. Not mentally, more like he had accepted his station and had given up. This, from a five minute conversation...
Anyway, I told him that I was buying him lunch because God told me to and had given me the money to do it. I just didn't tell him which money... As we waited for his 12 inch meatball and mayo combo, we chatted about inconsequentials, I paid, wished him luck and headed to stromboli heaven.
I crossed the street and was immediately run over by a bus.
Just kidding.
Sitting on the sidewalk, right in front of me, was a guy asking for spare change.
Stromboli.
I told the guy, "I'm sorry, I just bought lunch for someone and now, all I have is enough money to buy myself lunch." I then promised to help him out another day.
I walked away, towards my blessed stromboli.
Inside the Italian place, I ordered my stromboli, paid, and sat down to wait for them to heat it up. As I was waiting, I thought, "I have change in my pocket. I can take it to the second guy who asked for money." I was so impressed with myself. I had been obedient to God, bought Keith lunch, got a stromboli, and was about to give my change to another homeless guy. It was the five loaves and two fishes all over again in Dallas, Texas.
I stepped out onto the sidewalk and started to walk towards the guy begging on the sidewalk. I looked up the street to where he was and stopped in my tracks. Sitting next to him, sharing his sandwich, was Keith. He had taken the sub I bought and split it with the guy. Even the chips and soda.
I made myself keep walking towards them, even though I was struggling not to cry. I handed the man my change and told Keith, "You're a better man than I am."
It sounded melodramatic, but there was nothing else I could say. Here I was, a fat, rich man, blessed by God with everything I needed. There was Keith, a skinny, homeless guy, blessed by God with a good heart.
I Samuel 15:22
Wednesday, August 10, 2005
Raising Support Update
$234 in monthly pledges to go...wow. That means we have been able to raise $1878 in monthly pledges. Who woulda thunk?
Right now, we have a total of 34 supporters with more on the way. Praise God.
Yesterday, I was doing some daydreaming - as I do from time to time. I was imagining what it would be like to have a lot of money. Yes, God convicted me about this, I just didn't respond to the conviction as quickly as I should have. I KNOW that I can't depend on money. It just causes more and new problems and doesn't really solve anything. God has also shown me that it would be very easy to make money a god. But man, wouldn't it be cool?
So, as I was putting away the thoughts of having big money, God showed me that I was doing the same thing with the $234 in monthly pledges. It's not big money, it's little money. But, I am still looking to that money for security. 'If I just had the rest of my support raised, everything would be cool.' Or something like that. I'm not sure that God is concerned with scale on issues like this. The love of money is wrong, at any level - see 1 Timothy 6:10 and Hebrews 13:5.
Of course I want to have the support raised. Of course it would be cool. But I keep going back to a statement by John Candy in the movie, 'Cool Runnings.' He said, "...if you're nothing without a medal, you'll be nothing with a medal."
Right now, we have a total of 34 supporters with more on the way. Praise God.
Yesterday, I was doing some daydreaming - as I do from time to time. I was imagining what it would be like to have a lot of money. Yes, God convicted me about this, I just didn't respond to the conviction as quickly as I should have. I KNOW that I can't depend on money. It just causes more and new problems and doesn't really solve anything. God has also shown me that it would be very easy to make money a god. But man, wouldn't it be cool?
So, as I was putting away the thoughts of having big money, God showed me that I was doing the same thing with the $234 in monthly pledges. It's not big money, it's little money. But, I am still looking to that money for security. 'If I just had the rest of my support raised, everything would be cool.' Or something like that. I'm not sure that God is concerned with scale on issues like this. The love of money is wrong, at any level - see 1 Timothy 6:10 and Hebrews 13:5.
Of course I want to have the support raised. Of course it would be cool. But I keep going back to a statement by John Candy in the movie, 'Cool Runnings.' He said, "...if you're nothing without a medal, you'll be nothing with a medal."
More Matamoros ATLs
The third ATL I led was cool. Way. Just remember, I was there, I saw this with my own eyes.
It was a pretty large group - about 12 - and we had to meet right outside the noisy VBS tent. I introduced the ATL and sent them away to pray.
When they came back, they immediately started to tell me what they thought God had revealed to them. Red shoes. A woman, all alone and carrying a heavy burden. A blue house. A man in a yellow shirt, walking by a blue car and Trinity was supposed to translate (this was from a young girl of about 12. I'll never forget what she said because she said it with such assurance). One of the leaders said, sort of embarrassed-like, 'something Irish...?' No one really reacted. We just said ok, and moved on to the next person.
We did the test and started out. I asked which direction we should go and they all said they wanted to go find a woman they had met the day before. They knew where her house was, so we started in that direction.
The first house we went to had a few people in the yard. We talked with them and weren't getting anywhere. It was apparent that they were just being polite. We said goodbye and walked across the street to a big, blue house. A young woman came out and three girls from our group went over to talk to her. The rest of us stayed back and prayed for them.
While we were praying, one of the girls in the group came up to me and asked if it was ok if she kept praying and asking God to show her something. Of course, I said yes. She moved across the street and began to pray. She came up to me five to ten minutes later and said that God had shown her a boat. I asked her what kind of boat and she said, 'a boat.'
Meanwhile, the girls that were at the house went inside for about five minutes. When they came out, they were smiling like you wouldn't believe. They said that the girl they had talked to was pregnant and her husband had been missing - she thought he was in jail in the States. One of our groups had visited her the day before and had prayed for the lady and her husband. He came home that night. When we showed up, she was ready to accept Christ as her savior and her grandmother was too. Praise God!
We continued walking and got to the house of the person they were looking for. She wasn't there. They talked with her young son - he was 12-14 - and, as we were leaving, I saw Trinity slip him some cash.
We turned a corner and saw a woman carrying a baby who was wearing red shoes. Some of the group started talking with her while about four others from our group went to the next house and started witnessing. The lady with the baby was a Jehovah's Witness. They gave her a tract and a Bible and left her alone after talking with her for a while. I wish I remembered what happened at the other house, but I don't.
As we were leaving, someone came out of that house and went to the bus stop. One of our girls, one who had not said a single word voluntarily the whole time we were out, took Trinity and the pastor's wife and went and talked with the girl at the bus stop. She told me later that she felt a strong push from the Holy Spirit to talk to the girl and she said to God, "If you want me to talk with her, you're going to have to make her come to me." When she looked up, the girl was walking straight at her. Is that cool or what?
It was time to head back, so we headed towards the VBS site, keeping the three people at the bus stop in sight. We stopped at a corner and someone saw a bunch (3) of people wearing yellow shirts standing across from a blue car. They shouted at me, 'Hey, look, there they are.' Meaning, the man in the yellow shirt thing mentioned earlier. I pointed out that none of the people wearing yellow shirts were, technically, male and therefore did not fit the criteria. They acknowledged this and went to talk with them anyway. What the heck, it was what we were there for.
I stayed on the corner so I could keep an eye on both groups. When the group of three left the bus stop, I directed them across the street to the yellow shirts.
I'll never forget what happened next. It was like I was watching a movie that I was also in...does that make sense? I saw a man in a yellow shirt walk by the blue car. I watched Trinity, the pastor's wife, and the junior high girl turn their heads and see the man in the yellow shirt. They headed towards him and he just kept on moving, around the corner and out of the picture. The three of them went to the house behind the blue car and led the father and the daughter to the Lord. Woo Hoo!
I found out later that the blue car had a shamrock hanging from the mirror and the thing that caught the eyes of the three girls was a water truck that drove by with a boat on it.
Why does stuff happen like this? I don't know. Does God do this kind of stuff here in the States? Yes. So what?
If someone is actually reading this, please comment on what you've read. I'd love to know what you think.
It was a pretty large group - about 12 - and we had to meet right outside the noisy VBS tent. I introduced the ATL and sent them away to pray.
When they came back, they immediately started to tell me what they thought God had revealed to them. Red shoes. A woman, all alone and carrying a heavy burden. A blue house. A man in a yellow shirt, walking by a blue car and Trinity was supposed to translate (this was from a young girl of about 12. I'll never forget what she said because she said it with such assurance). One of the leaders said, sort of embarrassed-like, 'something Irish...?' No one really reacted. We just said ok, and moved on to the next person.
We did the test and started out. I asked which direction we should go and they all said they wanted to go find a woman they had met the day before. They knew where her house was, so we started in that direction.
The first house we went to had a few people in the yard. We talked with them and weren't getting anywhere. It was apparent that they were just being polite. We said goodbye and walked across the street to a big, blue house. A young woman came out and three girls from our group went over to talk to her. The rest of us stayed back and prayed for them.
While we were praying, one of the girls in the group came up to me and asked if it was ok if she kept praying and asking God to show her something. Of course, I said yes. She moved across the street and began to pray. She came up to me five to ten minutes later and said that God had shown her a boat. I asked her what kind of boat and she said, 'a boat.'
Meanwhile, the girls that were at the house went inside for about five minutes. When they came out, they were smiling like you wouldn't believe. They said that the girl they had talked to was pregnant and her husband had been missing - she thought he was in jail in the States. One of our groups had visited her the day before and had prayed for the lady and her husband. He came home that night. When we showed up, she was ready to accept Christ as her savior and her grandmother was too. Praise God!
We continued walking and got to the house of the person they were looking for. She wasn't there. They talked with her young son - he was 12-14 - and, as we were leaving, I saw Trinity slip him some cash.
We turned a corner and saw a woman carrying a baby who was wearing red shoes. Some of the group started talking with her while about four others from our group went to the next house and started witnessing. The lady with the baby was a Jehovah's Witness. They gave her a tract and a Bible and left her alone after talking with her for a while. I wish I remembered what happened at the other house, but I don't.
As we were leaving, someone came out of that house and went to the bus stop. One of our girls, one who had not said a single word voluntarily the whole time we were out, took Trinity and the pastor's wife and went and talked with the girl at the bus stop. She told me later that she felt a strong push from the Holy Spirit to talk to the girl and she said to God, "If you want me to talk with her, you're going to have to make her come to me." When she looked up, the girl was walking straight at her. Is that cool or what?
It was time to head back, so we headed towards the VBS site, keeping the three people at the bus stop in sight. We stopped at a corner and someone saw a bunch (3) of people wearing yellow shirts standing across from a blue car. They shouted at me, 'Hey, look, there they are.' Meaning, the man in the yellow shirt thing mentioned earlier. I pointed out that none of the people wearing yellow shirts were, technically, male and therefore did not fit the criteria. They acknowledged this and went to talk with them anyway. What the heck, it was what we were there for.
I stayed on the corner so I could keep an eye on both groups. When the group of three left the bus stop, I directed them across the street to the yellow shirts.
I'll never forget what happened next. It was like I was watching a movie that I was also in...does that make sense? I saw a man in a yellow shirt walk by the blue car. I watched Trinity, the pastor's wife, and the junior high girl turn their heads and see the man in the yellow shirt. They headed towards him and he just kept on moving, around the corner and out of the picture. The three of them went to the house behind the blue car and led the father and the daughter to the Lord. Woo Hoo!
I found out later that the blue car had a shamrock hanging from the mirror and the thing that caught the eyes of the three girls was a water truck that drove by with a boat on it.
Why does stuff happen like this? I don't know. Does God do this kind of stuff here in the States? Yes. So what?
If someone is actually reading this, please comment on what you've read. I'd love to know what you think.
Tuesday, August 09, 2005
More ATL Stuff
The second ATL I did in Matamoros was a miserable failure. No one shared what God had shown them with any confidence. We didn't know where to go. We didn't find a single thing that we thought God was telling us.
Is that what made it a failure? No. What made it a failure was that I didn't really talk about it with them in the debrief.
So, here's what happened.
I talked with them - they were all boys, with the exception of one female leader - about what we were doing and why. I gave them the verses that have become my staple, Rev 3:20 and John 14:21, and sent them off to pray. They came back and had nothing. No one shared anything except for 'a red arrow.' During our discussion, one of the kids said that he wasn't convinced that God was real...what to do? I sent them off again and this time they came back with a little bit more information. They saw pink. Pink!
I felt a disaster coming on.
We started off in some random direction with Tori leading the way. We would get to an intersection and I would ask them which way we should go. No one would answer. Except for Tori. She got really frustrated with their inaction and ended up leading them around, starting conversations with people (through a translator) and trying to get these boys to do what they should be doing. She was unsuccessful.
We eventually gave up and headed back to the church. No one was saved. We didn't really talk to anyone except for some kids - they may have come to VBS, but I don't know for sure. When we got back, I tried to talk with them about what happened, but it just didn't seem to click. I did talk about whether or not we had heard the voice of God and how we apparently had not, but...it was just weird.
I did two more ATL's on that trip, both with two different teams from Georgia. They were from a different church than the boys mentioned above. On each of those trips, we saw EVERYTHING that God revealed. Why were they so different?
I think that God did reveal things to the boys in my second group and they, for whatever reason, were reluctant to share what it was. I say this for a number, 3, of reasons. 1) In all the ATLs I have done (somewhere around 12), God has always shown things to the people in the group - with the exception of this one group. 2) They were all junior high boys and appeared to be extremely concerned about what everyone thought about them. 3) The church they were from didn't seem to have an open spirit about this kind of thing. By this, I mean that it didn't appear that one could say something like, 'I saw something Irish' as a man did in one ATL I did, without worrying about rejection or condemnation. The other two churches on this trip were eager to see what God was doing while the people from this church stood to the side and sort of just watched. Not that there is anything wrong with watching, but they didn't really participate in most of the out-of-the-box stuff on the trip. At the end of the trip, I did see a definite change of heart in their youth leader. Maybe next year will be different.
Was it really a disaster? I guess it wasn't, at least for me. I learned that I need to make them comfortable with sharing. That I need to NOT take the responsibilty of the ATL's success on me.
The next day, I got to lead two more ATLs and saw God work in powerful ways.
Is that what made it a failure? No. What made it a failure was that I didn't really talk about it with them in the debrief.
So, here's what happened.
I talked with them - they were all boys, with the exception of one female leader - about what we were doing and why. I gave them the verses that have become my staple, Rev 3:20 and John 14:21, and sent them off to pray. They came back and had nothing. No one shared anything except for 'a red arrow.' During our discussion, one of the kids said that he wasn't convinced that God was real...what to do? I sent them off again and this time they came back with a little bit more information. They saw pink. Pink!
I felt a disaster coming on.
We started off in some random direction with Tori leading the way. We would get to an intersection and I would ask them which way we should go. No one would answer. Except for Tori. She got really frustrated with their inaction and ended up leading them around, starting conversations with people (through a translator) and trying to get these boys to do what they should be doing. She was unsuccessful.
We eventually gave up and headed back to the church. No one was saved. We didn't really talk to anyone except for some kids - they may have come to VBS, but I don't know for sure. When we got back, I tried to talk with them about what happened, but it just didn't seem to click. I did talk about whether or not we had heard the voice of God and how we apparently had not, but...it was just weird.
I did two more ATL's on that trip, both with two different teams from Georgia. They were from a different church than the boys mentioned above. On each of those trips, we saw EVERYTHING that God revealed. Why were they so different?
I think that God did reveal things to the boys in my second group and they, for whatever reason, were reluctant to share what it was. I say this for a number, 3, of reasons. 1) In all the ATLs I have done (somewhere around 12), God has always shown things to the people in the group - with the exception of this one group. 2) They were all junior high boys and appeared to be extremely concerned about what everyone thought about them. 3) The church they were from didn't seem to have an open spirit about this kind of thing. By this, I mean that it didn't appear that one could say something like, 'I saw something Irish' as a man did in one ATL I did, without worrying about rejection or condemnation. The other two churches on this trip were eager to see what God was doing while the people from this church stood to the side and sort of just watched. Not that there is anything wrong with watching, but they didn't really participate in most of the out-of-the-box stuff on the trip. At the end of the trip, I did see a definite change of heart in their youth leader. Maybe next year will be different.
Was it really a disaster? I guess it wasn't, at least for me. I learned that I need to make them comfortable with sharing. That I need to NOT take the responsibilty of the ATL's success on me.
The next day, I got to lead two more ATLs and saw God work in powerful ways.
Missionary or Mission Field?
So, I was in Fresno, CA, doing some video taping for Champions For Life (Bill Glass Ministries). Wendell Tyler, former running back for the 49ers, was speaking at one of the banquets and, as he left, he said, 'Remember, you're either a missionary or a mission field.'
For me, it was one of those 'hhhmmmm' moments. You know, when you sort of react and then you freeze, thinking about whatever was just said? Could it be true? Or is this one of those puesdo-profound statements that one reads on church signs?
So, I started thinking. It sounded reasonable. Which one was I? What about the people I go to church with? I mean, it's easy to apply this to the masses of people who don't go to church, but what about those of us who go to church? Am I a mission field? Are my friends a mission field? What about the kids in my sunday school class?
Ok, on some level, we're all a mission field. Everyone needs work at something. No one's perfect.
Having said that, I started to view the people around me in a totally different light. Now, just about everyone I meet or have any contact with, I ask the question, 'are they a missionary or a mission field?'
What, exactly, is a missionary? How does one determine if another person is a missionary or a mission field? I'm glad you asked.
I think that a missionary is someone who shares their faith verbally and with their works.
Does someone share their faith verbally? No? Mission field. Do they go out of their way to share their faith with their works? No? Mission field.
Does this mean that someone who isn't a missionary isn't a good Christian? I don't think that's the point. I think that someone who isn't a missionary just hasn't moved there yet - for whatever reason. I am talking here about small 'm' missionary. Not big 'M'-move-to-Africa-for-the-rest-of-your-life Missionary. I think that everyone is called to be a missionary (see two previous links and Matthew 4:19).
I started looking at my sunday school class as a mission field. Instead of seeing them as little Christians, I started to view them as a mission field and as people who needed to be taught how to be missionaries. While in SS, I presented the gospel whenever I could. I told them stories of the cool stuff that happened to me on my mission trips. I prayed for them (not as much as I should have). Kind of like when I was a teacher and I figured out that the seniors I had looked like adults, but still didn't know how to act like it. I made it my goal to show them how to behave like adults and it paid off.
Well, when I came back from a mission trip in Harlan, KY, the LABC kids had just returned from their mission trip in Matamoros. They were talking about it in SS large group and Caleb stated that he and some of the others in his group had prayed and asked God to show them something. Caleb said that he and a few others got a picture of an old woman that they had seen a day or two before. They found the lady again, talked to her, and she came to faith in Christ!
What does this have to do with our theme today? I asked Caleb about it and he said that he prayed because of the ATL I told him about. He moved from being a mission field to being a missionary. Way cool.
When Carla and I were in Harlan, we started to pray for the salvation of some of the kids on the mission trip. It was apparent that some of them weren't very strong in their faith and that others weren't even saved. By the end of the week, two of them had come to faith in Christ. We viewed them as a mission field, instead of missionaries.
What about you? Are you a missionary or a mission field? If you don't pick...you're a mission field. However, the cool thing is, you get to pick.
For me, it was one of those 'hhhmmmm' moments. You know, when you sort of react and then you freeze, thinking about whatever was just said? Could it be true? Or is this one of those puesdo-profound statements that one reads on church signs?
So, I started thinking. It sounded reasonable. Which one was I? What about the people I go to church with? I mean, it's easy to apply this to the masses of people who don't go to church, but what about those of us who go to church? Am I a mission field? Are my friends a mission field? What about the kids in my sunday school class?
Ok, on some level, we're all a mission field. Everyone needs work at something. No one's perfect.
Having said that, I started to view the people around me in a totally different light. Now, just about everyone I meet or have any contact with, I ask the question, 'are they a missionary or a mission field?'
What, exactly, is a missionary? How does one determine if another person is a missionary or a mission field? I'm glad you asked.
I think that a missionary is someone who shares their faith verbally and with their works.
Does someone share their faith verbally? No? Mission field. Do they go out of their way to share their faith with their works? No? Mission field.
Does this mean that someone who isn't a missionary isn't a good Christian? I don't think that's the point. I think that someone who isn't a missionary just hasn't moved there yet - for whatever reason. I am talking here about small 'm' missionary. Not big 'M'-move-to-Africa-for-the-rest-of-your-life Missionary. I think that everyone is called to be a missionary (see two previous links and Matthew 4:19).
I started looking at my sunday school class as a mission field. Instead of seeing them as little Christians, I started to view them as a mission field and as people who needed to be taught how to be missionaries. While in SS, I presented the gospel whenever I could. I told them stories of the cool stuff that happened to me on my mission trips. I prayed for them (not as much as I should have). Kind of like when I was a teacher and I figured out that the seniors I had looked like adults, but still didn't know how to act like it. I made it my goal to show them how to behave like adults and it paid off.
Well, when I came back from a mission trip in Harlan, KY, the LABC kids had just returned from their mission trip in Matamoros. They were talking about it in SS large group and Caleb stated that he and some of the others in his group had prayed and asked God to show them something. Caleb said that he and a few others got a picture of an old woman that they had seen a day or two before. They found the lady again, talked to her, and she came to faith in Christ!
What does this have to do with our theme today? I asked Caleb about it and he said that he prayed because of the ATL I told him about. He moved from being a mission field to being a missionary. Way cool.
When Carla and I were in Harlan, we started to pray for the salvation of some of the kids on the mission trip. It was apparent that some of them weren't very strong in their faith and that others weren't even saved. By the end of the week, two of them had come to faith in Christ. We viewed them as a mission field, instead of missionaries.
What about you? Are you a missionary or a mission field? If you don't pick...you're a mission field. However, the cool thing is, you get to pick.
Thursday, July 07, 2005
Saltillo Notes
It is truly amazing, the things that have happened on this trip thus far. I wish I could convey the feelings I have. I’m so tired – beyond belief, really. I’m frustrated, addlepated, and ready to go to bed. This is one of the hardest things I have ever done. Yet, I love it. God has worked in mighty ways with the kids with this group. He has taken words I have said and used them to speak to the kids and adults. He has used the sit down with Jesus material to open kids’ eyes, break their hearts, heal their hearts, and speak to them.
I apologize to the future me who will have to try to remember all this vague stuff.
I arrived around dinner time on Thursday, 6/23, and went to the Gateway. I moved into my room – the same one that Carla, the girls, and I had used – and hung around talking with anyone who had time. At the end of dinner, I was told that Giovanni was there – the setup coordinator. I met him and realized that I had met him earlier at the jfbc trip in October of 04. We went to the AIM office and had a meeting that lasted about three hours. I asked him questions about much of the stuff I knew I was going to have to do and he either gave me answers or reassurances that all would be well. What’s supposed to happen on the day before a trip is the project leader drives to all the different ministry sites, checks them out, meets the pastors, and determines what construction supplies are needed, if any. It was not possible/recommended for us to go to Saltillo, so all we could do was go to Reynosa, find Bigo’s and the hotel. No problemo. We drove to Reynosa the next day and drove around. We found the hotel and checked on the food and rooms. All was as it should be…except the fact that I didn’t have enough money in the budget sent to me to pay for them. I had been trying to get in touch with Juan, Rick, Jennifer, Steve, YoMama, - everyone. We couldn’t find Bigo’s. I finally got in touch with Rick and he said that the reason I couldn’t find the money in my budget, as that it wasn’t there. He said he would get the money for me asap. Juan eventually got me the money from an atm in the states. For some reason, he gave me an additional $600.
I had arranged to meet Steve Miller, the youth dude, at his hotel in Donna, TX, at 9:00
Friday night, I was busy getting everything ready – the van, my stuff, arrangements for the translators, everything. The translators: Michelle, a US citizen, 18, Three sisters, Maria, Lupita, and Juanita, all lived in Progresso, a small city about half way in between Matamoros and Reynosa. Juan L and I arranged for him to go and get Michelle in the US and to meet me on the south side of the border. Giovanni can’t go north, so I was going to have to leave him while I went north. I looked up the group’s hotel and downloaded a map from the border. I’m so smart…
So, on Saturday, Giovanni and I drove to Progresso to get the sisters. They were there, but they didn’t know we were coming, so they were asleep.
We met the pastor today, 6/27. He came to the hotel and we went out to the two ministry sites – one for the church foundation, the other for the ministry. We are digging holes that are 1 meter square. 20 of them. We are doing the other ministry at his current church, a building that he is renting. We have doubled up on construction and vbs. We also moved vbs to 4:00 at his request. We were going to go to the regular time, when some of his members came and asked if we could not do it 1-4. I offered the morn, but they seemed to want the 4-7 slot. When one of my team leaders, Frank, mentioned that that would make it easier to double up on vbs, I went for it.
The first atl we did was interesting. I talked, we all prayed and got some very specific stuff – I saw a yellow ford f-150 with a man working on the engine, someone else saw a woman in white, standing on a sidewalk between two blue men (?). No one got a specific direction. Someone got a picture of a place surrounded by mountains and someone else saw a bird. (I found out that someone in the group is a habitual liar. I wonder if this affected what happened…). So, we walked all around and didn’t really see any of the things we were looking for – except for the yellow ford, but I’m not sure of the significance of that. One thing is for sure, I was supposed to tell them everything and I didn’t – at first. I can’t help but wonder that my disobedience affected the outcome.
I apologize to the future me who will have to try to remember all this vague stuff.
I arrived around dinner time on Thursday, 6/23, and went to the Gateway. I moved into my room – the same one that Carla, the girls, and I had used – and hung around talking with anyone who had time. At the end of dinner, I was told that Giovanni was there – the setup coordinator. I met him and realized that I had met him earlier at the jfbc trip in October of 04. We went to the AIM office and had a meeting that lasted about three hours. I asked him questions about much of the stuff I knew I was going to have to do and he either gave me answers or reassurances that all would be well. What’s supposed to happen on the day before a trip is the project leader drives to all the different ministry sites, checks them out, meets the pastors, and determines what construction supplies are needed, if any. It was not possible/recommended for us to go to Saltillo, so all we could do was go to Reynosa, find Bigo’s and the hotel. No problemo. We drove to Reynosa the next day and drove around. We found the hotel and checked on the food and rooms. All was as it should be…except the fact that I didn’t have enough money in the budget sent to me to pay for them. I had been trying to get in touch with Juan, Rick, Jennifer, Steve, YoMama, - everyone. We couldn’t find Bigo’s. I finally got in touch with Rick and he said that the reason I couldn’t find the money in my budget, as that it wasn’t there. He said he would get the money for me asap. Juan eventually got me the money from an atm in the states. For some reason, he gave me an additional $600.
I had arranged to meet Steve Miller, the youth dude, at his hotel in Donna, TX, at 9:00
Friday night, I was busy getting everything ready – the van, my stuff, arrangements for the translators, everything. The translators: Michelle, a US citizen, 18, Three sisters, Maria, Lupita, and Juanita, all lived in Progresso, a small city about half way in between Matamoros and Reynosa. Juan L and I arranged for him to go and get Michelle in the US and to meet me on the south side of the border. Giovanni can’t go north, so I was going to have to leave him while I went north. I looked up the group’s hotel and downloaded a map from the border. I’m so smart…
So, on Saturday, Giovanni and I drove to Progresso to get the sisters. They were there, but they didn’t know we were coming, so they were asleep.
We met the pastor today, 6/27. He came to the hotel and we went out to the two ministry sites – one for the church foundation, the other for the ministry. We are digging holes that are 1 meter square. 20 of them. We are doing the other ministry at his current church, a building that he is renting. We have doubled up on construction and vbs. We also moved vbs to 4:00 at his request. We were going to go to the regular time, when some of his members came and asked if we could not do it 1-4. I offered the morn, but they seemed to want the 4-7 slot. When one of my team leaders, Frank, mentioned that that would make it easier to double up on vbs, I went for it.
The first atl we did was interesting. I talked, we all prayed and got some very specific stuff – I saw a yellow ford f-150 with a man working on the engine, someone else saw a woman in white, standing on a sidewalk between two blue men (?). No one got a specific direction. Someone got a picture of a place surrounded by mountains and someone else saw a bird. (I found out that someone in the group is a habitual liar. I wonder if this affected what happened…). So, we walked all around and didn’t really see any of the things we were looking for – except for the yellow ford, but I’m not sure of the significance of that. One thing is for sure, I was supposed to tell them everything and I didn’t – at first. I can’t help but wonder that my disobedience affected the outcome.
Friday, June 24, 2005
Pre-Project Jitters
Hola,
I'm leaving the Gateway, AIM's Matamoros base, tomorrow at 7 am and meeting my group in Donna, TX. We're going to go across the border, get our visas and travel permits, then go to Reynosa, check into a hotel, do our training, and spend the night.
We'll leave at 7 am and arrive in Saltillo around 12:30 pm.
Please continue to pray for my family and for me. Also, please pray for the participants on the trip. It is very important that they focus on why they're here - to build relationships and share the gospel.
mark
I'm leaving the Gateway, AIM's Matamoros base, tomorrow at 7 am and meeting my group in Donna, TX. We're going to go across the border, get our visas and travel permits, then go to Reynosa, check into a hotel, do our training, and spend the night.
We'll leave at 7 am and arrive in Saltillo around 12:30 pm.
Please continue to pray for my family and for me. Also, please pray for the participants on the trip. It is very important that they focus on why they're here - to build relationships and share the gospel.
mark
Saltillo, Pre-Trip Stuff
I got to the Gateway right before dinner and was able to eat with the group that is leaving tomorrow.
I found Giovanni, the guy I'll be doing the trip with. It turns out that I met him last year on the Johnson's Ferry Baptist Church trip. He's a good guy.
We spent about three hours talking through the schedule and all the practical stuff. I feel MUCH better about meeting the group on Saturday. I've got a real schedule and some things to tell them. We'll see what happens.
It is overwhelming the amount of detail that goes into a trip like this. I just keep thinking about II Corinthians 12:9 and I feel better.
I am excited about the opportunity to finally lead a mission trip, but scared that I'll forget something important. 'Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you.' I Peter 5:13.
mark
I found Giovanni, the guy I'll be doing the trip with. It turns out that I met him last year on the Johnson's Ferry Baptist Church trip. He's a good guy.
We spent about three hours talking through the schedule and all the practical stuff. I feel MUCH better about meeting the group on Saturday. I've got a real schedule and some things to tell them. We'll see what happens.
It is overwhelming the amount of detail that goes into a trip like this. I just keep thinking about II Corinthians 12:9 and I feel better.
I am excited about the opportunity to finally lead a mission trip, but scared that I'll forget something important. 'Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you.' I Peter 5:13.
mark
Thursday, June 23, 2005
To Saltillo
Hi all,
I'm in DFW about to get on a small plane to Houston and then to Harlingen.
Please pray for me and my family this week.
mark
I'm in DFW about to get on a small plane to Houston and then to Harlingen.
Please pray for me and my family this week.
mark
Monday, June 20, 2005
Ask The Lord
Ask The Lord (ATL).
Sounds innocuous, but do we really do it? By this, I mean, do we ask, then wait patiently and quietly for an answer?
Allow me to tell you what happened on my mission trip with AIM in Matamoros from 6/3 to 6/10. I'll preface this by saying that I was there and saw it with my own eyes...
The daily schedule for an AIM mission trip is divided into two ministry slots. The slots are usually 9 am to 12 pm and 1 pm to 4 pm. Participants are scheduled for any number of different types of ministry: Prayer walking, door-to-door evangelism, VBS, sports evangelism, feedings, and construction. For instance, in the morning, your team of 6 - 8 people may go prayer walking. At noon, you would return to the church base area, eat lunch, then, at 1 pm, go out and work on the house that your team is helping to build.
Sometimes, instead of the activities listed above, AIM groups have an ATL (come on, one has to have a cool acronym). During the ministry time, this group will not have a scheduled activity. Their only mandate is to pray and ask God what he would have them do. After spending time in prayer and then talking about what they believe God wants them to do, the group goes out and does it. Whatever it is.
I know what you're thinking, "It's crazy, there's no accountability, it's dangerous, God doesn't work that way, fill in your own objection here." Stick with me, Chester.
I was able to lead four different teams on an ATL. In each case, I talked with them for five to ten minutes, explaining what we were going to do. I showed them examples from my life and the Word where God spoke to ordinary humans. Then, I showed them the test we were going to apply to each supposed word from God:
I would then say a short prayer asking God to clear their minds of the voice of the enemy, the voice of the world, and, finally, their own incessant voice so they could clearly hear what he had to tell them. After dismissing them, I would stay and pray for their protection as they opened themselves up to the God and Father of all.
While I stood there, I would do my own ATL. "God, should I tell them to come back now? How about now? Now? Is that long enough?" You get the picture. When I would finally feel that God was telling me to bring them back together, I would call them in and ask the question - 'What do you think God wants us to do?'
Of the four groups, three were very responsive and willing to share, while the fourth was significantly more reticent. More on this at another time. Also, let me stress that most of these kids were junior high kids.
So, in the first group, there were immediate responses to my question. One boy said that he saw a woman in a pink shirt, sitting with children at her feet who had their legs crossed and a green house with two windows in front. Another boy said he saw the number six. A girl said, rather sheepishly, that she saw a big, black hole. One of the other boys said he saw a milk carton. The leader, a young woman in her early twenties, said she kept hearing the word evangelism and that we were supposed to go 'right.' When I asked her, "who's right?" she said, "my right." We briefly went over the test, decided we passed and moved out.
Off we went, filled with excitement and trepidation. Would God show up? We walked for what seemed like forever in the heat of the Matamoros afternoon. I thought we should stop and talk about why we weren't seeing anything, so we stepped into some shade on the shoulder. There was a house nearby with some kids about junior high age and our kids made some awkward attempts at conversation. After it became apparent that they were not interested in what we had to say, we left the house and gathered under the slight shade.
I had them all turn around and look at how far we had come. Not far at all, less than half a mile. I think I pointed out something brilliant like, "this is just like the Christian life, isn't it?" and we decided to move on.
The next house was a green house with two windows on the front, a woman in a pink shirt was sitting on the porch with children at her feet (I found out later that they did have their legs crossed when we got there. Also, it was house number 36. Apparently, this didn't feel right to the guy who said he saw a 6). One of the younger participants starting talking to her and discovered that she had been a Christian, but didn't think she was anymore. He led her through the plan of salvation and showed her how she was still saved. Using scripture, he was able to let her know that she was still saved. This was, apparently, much needed comfort to her.
We left them and continued walking, still looking for a six and a black hole... After passing a few more houses, we came upon a house with a couple sitting outside talking. Again, some of the younger participants started up a conversation with them. As they were talking, I noticed a big, black , mostly empty, trash can. The woman they were taking to accepted Christ as her savior. Amen, praise God, way cool.
As we were leaving, I was told that it was house number 6.
I have to go to bed, more later.
mark
Sounds innocuous, but do we really do it? By this, I mean, do we ask, then wait patiently and quietly for an answer?
Allow me to tell you what happened on my mission trip with AIM in Matamoros from 6/3 to 6/10. I'll preface this by saying that I was there and saw it with my own eyes...
The daily schedule for an AIM mission trip is divided into two ministry slots. The slots are usually 9 am to 12 pm and 1 pm to 4 pm. Participants are scheduled for any number of different types of ministry: Prayer walking, door-to-door evangelism, VBS, sports evangelism, feedings, and construction. For instance, in the morning, your team of 6 - 8 people may go prayer walking. At noon, you would return to the church base area, eat lunch, then, at 1 pm, go out and work on the house that your team is helping to build.
Sometimes, instead of the activities listed above, AIM groups have an ATL (come on, one has to have a cool acronym). During the ministry time, this group will not have a scheduled activity. Their only mandate is to pray and ask God what he would have them do. After spending time in prayer and then talking about what they believe God wants them to do, the group goes out and does it. Whatever it is.
I know what you're thinking, "It's crazy, there's no accountability, it's dangerous, God doesn't work that way, fill in your own objection here." Stick with me, Chester.
I was able to lead four different teams on an ATL. In each case, I talked with them for five to ten minutes, explaining what we were going to do. I showed them examples from my life and the Word where God spoke to ordinary humans. Then, I showed them the test we were going to apply to each supposed word from God:
- Is it scriptural?
- Does it exalt Christ?
- Do other Christians confirm it?
- Does it bear good fruit?
- Does God bring it to pass?
I would then say a short prayer asking God to clear their minds of the voice of the enemy, the voice of the world, and, finally, their own incessant voice so they could clearly hear what he had to tell them. After dismissing them, I would stay and pray for their protection as they opened themselves up to the God and Father of all.
While I stood there, I would do my own ATL. "God, should I tell them to come back now? How about now? Now? Is that long enough?" You get the picture. When I would finally feel that God was telling me to bring them back together, I would call them in and ask the question - 'What do you think God wants us to do?'
Of the four groups, three were very responsive and willing to share, while the fourth was significantly more reticent. More on this at another time. Also, let me stress that most of these kids were junior high kids.
So, in the first group, there were immediate responses to my question. One boy said that he saw a woman in a pink shirt, sitting with children at her feet who had their legs crossed and a green house with two windows in front. Another boy said he saw the number six. A girl said, rather sheepishly, that she saw a big, black hole. One of the other boys said he saw a milk carton. The leader, a young woman in her early twenties, said she kept hearing the word evangelism and that we were supposed to go 'right.' When I asked her, "who's right?" she said, "my right." We briefly went over the test, decided we passed and moved out.
Off we went, filled with excitement and trepidation. Would God show up? We walked for what seemed like forever in the heat of the Matamoros afternoon. I thought we should stop and talk about why we weren't seeing anything, so we stepped into some shade on the shoulder. There was a house nearby with some kids about junior high age and our kids made some awkward attempts at conversation. After it became apparent that they were not interested in what we had to say, we left the house and gathered under the slight shade.
I had them all turn around and look at how far we had come. Not far at all, less than half a mile. I think I pointed out something brilliant like, "this is just like the Christian life, isn't it?" and we decided to move on.
The next house was a green house with two windows on the front, a woman in a pink shirt was sitting on the porch with children at her feet (I found out later that they did have their legs crossed when we got there. Also, it was house number 36. Apparently, this didn't feel right to the guy who said he saw a 6). One of the younger participants starting talking to her and discovered that she had been a Christian, but didn't think she was anymore. He led her through the plan of salvation and showed her how she was still saved. Using scripture, he was able to let her know that she was still saved. This was, apparently, much needed comfort to her.
We left them and continued walking, still looking for a six and a black hole... After passing a few more houses, we came upon a house with a couple sitting outside talking. Again, some of the younger participants started up a conversation with them. As they were talking, I noticed a big, black , mostly empty, trash can. The woman they were taking to accepted Christ as her savior. Amen, praise God, way cool.
As we were leaving, I was told that it was house number 6.
I have to go to bed, more later.
mark
Wednesday, June 08, 2005
The Gateway
AIM's base in Matamoros is called the Gateway. The facilities are on sixty acres of land between Matamoros and the border. (Please forgive my spelling) There is a comidor that feeds 150 people at a time, dormitories that sleep 300+, a bodega (garage) to maintain a fleet of 6 to 7 vans and 3 buses, sleeping areas for staff, and offices for the Mexico branch of AIM. All in all, a very good facility. Everything is air conditioned, except the comidor and the garage, and there is hot and cold running water and internet access for staff - as is evident...
All AIM activities in Matamoros start from the Gateway. Participants drive over the border and stay in the Gateway for the length of their trip. They wake up in the morning, have breakfast, do devotionals and chores, have praise and worship, then head out into Matamoros to do ministry. As an aside, there is another AIM ministry that stays in Matamoros all the time, the First Year Missionaries.
A typical day has participants (who are all in teams of 6 - 10 with an adult leader), going out into the community to minister to the locals. The teams go in two shifts, the first in the morning, the second in the afternoon. Who woulda thunk? For example, a team would do VBS in the morning, then, after a lunch break at the church, do door-to-door in the afternoon. The next day, the same team may do praywalking, construction, visiting a rehabilitation center or the youth detention center, and so on throughout the week.
All activities in the city of Matamoros are focused on whichever church AIM is helping that week. This way, the local church benefits, not AIM. When participants are doing to door-to-door and someone makes a decision or requests more information, those details are given to the local pastor. When participants give a VBS, it is usually done at the church, but always in the name of the church. Sometimes, as is the case this week, a project is so large that it requires two ministry sites - this is AIMSpeak for the church in a colonia (neighborhood).
Yesterday, 6/7, I was in the evangelism coordinator for site 2. Basically, all I had to do was make sure the groups had their materials and knew where they were going. I also had to make sure that they turned in any response cards at the end of the day.
Tori and I went out on door-to-door with one of the groups. Actually, I forgot Tori at the VBS site and had to go back and get her...oops. Anyway, the group was pretty solid, so Tori and I just hung back, watched and did the prayer walking thing. First, they went to a house they have visited the day before. The guy there had seemed very interested in what they had to say about the gospel and had requested they come back. They stood outside the fence and called to him and, just as we were walking away, he came out. He was pretty young, maybe 25. Some of the participants talked with him and shared scripture with him while the rest of us prayed and talked. After some discussion, he accepted Christ as his savior. Sorry about the dry sounding report, I was standing in the back and couldn't hear...all I know is that there is another brother in the kingdom. Amen.
The group then went to another house and talked with the lady there. As we were leaving, another lady came up to me and motioned for us to go to her house, which was next door. Through one of our translators, she asked if we had any holy water. She said that her son had seen a red-headed doll walking in the house and that she felt a demonic presence. She wanted us to come in and pray for her and her family. We prayed as a group, then sent in Mike, one of the adult leaders, and Trinity, the translator. Three of the participants also went in - they're all seventh and eighth graders and are mostly all very bold in their faith. The rest of us stayed outside and prayed for their protection.
I don't know exactly what went on inside, but outside we had church. I was able to lead the group in prayer and they jumped in. We prayed, read scripture and sang. Totally awesome.
It was a great experience for me to be there and to be a part of what God is doing in Matamoros. It is different, being a staffer and not a participant. That is a story for later... The most incredible thing, for me as a father, was to see my Tori. She did not want to be there and wanted to be back at the Gateway in the air conditioning. Through some circumstances, she was not able to stay at the Gateway and I had to take her with me (Carla was following the project leader around for the day and Kaylie was at the Gateway). I talked with her about letting God help her make it a good day, rather than dwelling on the circumstances that kept her away from the ac. Apparently, she did it. While I was talking with a young man who had brought his daughter for VBS, Tori took his daughter to the playground and played with her. He accepted Christ as his savior and I can't stop thinking that Tori had a significant role in this by playing with his daughter and allowing him to focus on our conversation. When we went on door-to-door, she was very bold, walking up to mothers and children and, with the help of a translator, engaging them in conversation. I even saw her praying on the curb as others of our group talked with someone.
Please don't think this is one of those, 'look how great my kids are' things. Although, of course, it is. This is an answer to prayer for me. Tori can be very compassionate, but only does this from time to time. I have been praying about this and it is wonderful to see it happening.
mark
All AIM activities in Matamoros start from the Gateway. Participants drive over the border and stay in the Gateway for the length of their trip. They wake up in the morning, have breakfast, do devotionals and chores, have praise and worship, then head out into Matamoros to do ministry. As an aside, there is another AIM ministry that stays in Matamoros all the time, the First Year Missionaries.
A typical day has participants (who are all in teams of 6 - 10 with an adult leader), going out into the community to minister to the locals. The teams go in two shifts, the first in the morning, the second in the afternoon. Who woulda thunk? For example, a team would do VBS in the morning, then, after a lunch break at the church, do door-to-door in the afternoon. The next day, the same team may do praywalking, construction, visiting a rehabilitation center or the youth detention center, and so on throughout the week.
All activities in the city of Matamoros are focused on whichever church AIM is helping that week. This way, the local church benefits, not AIM. When participants are doing to door-to-door and someone makes a decision or requests more information, those details are given to the local pastor. When participants give a VBS, it is usually done at the church, but always in the name of the church. Sometimes, as is the case this week, a project is so large that it requires two ministry sites - this is AIMSpeak for the church in a colonia (neighborhood).
Yesterday, 6/7, I was in the evangelism coordinator for site 2. Basically, all I had to do was make sure the groups had their materials and knew where they were going. I also had to make sure that they turned in any response cards at the end of the day.
Tori and I went out on door-to-door with one of the groups. Actually, I forgot Tori at the VBS site and had to go back and get her...oops. Anyway, the group was pretty solid, so Tori and I just hung back, watched and did the prayer walking thing. First, they went to a house they have visited the day before. The guy there had seemed very interested in what they had to say about the gospel and had requested they come back. They stood outside the fence and called to him and, just as we were walking away, he came out. He was pretty young, maybe 25. Some of the participants talked with him and shared scripture with him while the rest of us prayed and talked. After some discussion, he accepted Christ as his savior. Sorry about the dry sounding report, I was standing in the back and couldn't hear...all I know is that there is another brother in the kingdom. Amen.
The group then went to another house and talked with the lady there. As we were leaving, another lady came up to me and motioned for us to go to her house, which was next door. Through one of our translators, she asked if we had any holy water. She said that her son had seen a red-headed doll walking in the house and that she felt a demonic presence. She wanted us to come in and pray for her and her family. We prayed as a group, then sent in Mike, one of the adult leaders, and Trinity, the translator. Three of the participants also went in - they're all seventh and eighth graders and are mostly all very bold in their faith. The rest of us stayed outside and prayed for their protection.
I don't know exactly what went on inside, but outside we had church. I was able to lead the group in prayer and they jumped in. We prayed, read scripture and sang. Totally awesome.
It was a great experience for me to be there and to be a part of what God is doing in Matamoros. It is different, being a staffer and not a participant. That is a story for later... The most incredible thing, for me as a father, was to see my Tori. She did not want to be there and wanted to be back at the Gateway in the air conditioning. Through some circumstances, she was not able to stay at the Gateway and I had to take her with me (Carla was following the project leader around for the day and Kaylie was at the Gateway). I talked with her about letting God help her make it a good day, rather than dwelling on the circumstances that kept her away from the ac. Apparently, she did it. While I was talking with a young man who had brought his daughter for VBS, Tori took his daughter to the playground and played with her. He accepted Christ as his savior and I can't stop thinking that Tori had a significant role in this by playing with his daughter and allowing him to focus on our conversation. When we went on door-to-door, she was very bold, walking up to mothers and children and, with the help of a translator, engaging them in conversation. I even saw her praying on the curb as others of our group talked with someone.
Please don't think this is one of those, 'look how great my kids are' things. Although, of course, it is. This is an answer to prayer for me. Tori can be very compassionate, but only does this from time to time. I have been praying about this and it is wonderful to see it happening.
mark
Friday, June 03, 2005
Matamoros Project Leader Training
We have been at the Gateway, AIM's Mexico base, since yesterday and are doing some serious Project Leader training. We've had a chance to get to know four other people who are going to be project leaders and spend time with them.
Today, we went around Matamoros to the different ministry sites and were exposed to the abject poverty of some parts of Matamoros.
We also met two pastors, Peter and Teofilia, that will be working with AIM and for whom AIM will be ministering this next week.
Please pray for us as we go through this next week. Carla got very sick tonight and needs to rest.
Today, we went around Matamoros to the different ministry sites and were exposed to the abject poverty of some parts of Matamoros.
We also met two pastors, Peter and Teofilia, that will be working with AIM and for whom AIM will be ministering this next week.
Please pray for us as we go through this next week. Carla got very sick tonight and needs to rest.
Wednesday, June 01, 2005
Matamoros Project Leader Training
Carla, the girls, and I will be heading to Matamoros, MX on 6/2 for project leader training. We will be renting a car and driving to Harlingen, TX where Steve Basden will pick us up. We'll have our first meeting Thursday night and then we'll be following my friend Cesar Gonzales as he does the project leader thing.
In order to be a project leader for AIM, one has to go to project leader training. They used to do it in Atlanta. One would sit for two days in a classroom in Atlanta and learn all the stuff one had to do to be a project leader. Woo. Hoo. Now, you get to go on a project and learn on the job.
I'm really looking forward to this as this will be the first time my daughters have been out of the country. Also, they will have a chance to meet and play with other AIM kids. Cesar's two girls and Thomi Wilson's five kids will be there. They will all get a chance to go on the mission trip and follow the mission participants around. Most importantly, we will be able to do ministry as a family.
When I went to China last year, I felt like I wasn't all there. (Insert joke here) Without my girls with me, I didn't feel like I was experiencing it fully.
Please pray for us as we do this work. We will need all the prayer we can get.
Our mission schedule for the summer is as follows:
In order to be a project leader for AIM, one has to go to project leader training. They used to do it in Atlanta. One would sit for two days in a classroom in Atlanta and learn all the stuff one had to do to be a project leader. Woo. Hoo. Now, you get to go on a project and learn on the job.
I'm really looking forward to this as this will be the first time my daughters have been out of the country. Also, they will have a chance to meet and play with other AIM kids. Cesar's two girls and Thomi Wilson's five kids will be there. They will all get a chance to go on the mission trip and follow the mission participants around. Most importantly, we will be able to do ministry as a family.
When I went to China last year, I felt like I wasn't all there. (Insert joke here) Without my girls with me, I didn't feel like I was experiencing it fully.
Please pray for us as we do this work. We will need all the prayer we can get.
Our mission schedule for the summer is as follows:
- June 2 to 10 - Matamoros
- June 13 to 18 - VBS at LABC
- June 23 to July 2 - Saltillo, MX. I'll be without the girls
- July 9 to 18 - Harlan, KY
Sunday, May 15, 2005
Fresno WOC Sunday
We went to the Juvenile facility again. I was able to see Jon Kregel - he played soccer with Pele, of all people. He had a really good message and was able to show the kids how success doesn't mean you've made it. I realize this is a very dry way to put it...
Next was Don Simpson. Don's claim to fame is that he spent seventeen years, nine months in Kansas penitentuaries for killing three people. That's it. No Super Bowl ring, no rags to riches. Just rags.
Now, to be fair to Don, he's built like Herschel Walker. It's obvious from his build and demeanor that he could have gone far in pro sports. As a matter of fact, he currently is a strength trainer for some semi-pro teams. When he walks into the room, everyone notices him. But, as he so eloquently said, he was stuck on stupid.
When he spoke to the large group - about 200 kids - he made a good impression. He does a good job of scaring and cajoling the kids - he's a 52 year old grandfather with six kids of his own, so he knows those ropes also.
However, he really came through when I saw him in a small group of about ten kids. We were in the lockdown unit and he spoke in a small room with the kids, guards, and WOC teammates sitting around him. He is much more impressive and intimidating up close. He spoke of hitting sixty-four people with an iron bar and how four of them still haven't woken up. He said he did this because he didn't want to take the time to argue with them.
Next was Don Simpson. Don's claim to fame is that he spent seventeen years, nine months in Kansas penitentuaries for killing three people. That's it. No Super Bowl ring, no rags to riches. Just rags.
Now, to be fair to Don, he's built like Herschel Walker. It's obvious from his build and demeanor that he could have gone far in pro sports. As a matter of fact, he currently is a strength trainer for some semi-pro teams. When he walks into the room, everyone notices him. But, as he so eloquently said, he was stuck on stupid.
When he spoke to the large group - about 200 kids - he made a good impression. He does a good job of scaring and cajoling the kids - he's a 52 year old grandfather with six kids of his own, so he knows those ropes also.
However, he really came through when I saw him in a small group of about ten kids. We were in the lockdown unit and he spoke in a small room with the kids, guards, and WOC teammates sitting around him. He is much more impressive and intimidating up close. He spoke of hitting sixty-four people with an iron bar and how four of them still haven't woken up. He said he did this because he didn't want to take the time to argue with them.
He also called a kid out that was, in his opinion, showing some attitude. He's not afraid to tell them exactly what he thinks about where they're going and why they shouldn't go. I think his best line was, "I've been down the road you're headed and believe me, you don't want to go there."
Our next stop was solitary confinement. Don spoke to about six kids who were confined to their cells, only three of which could even open the food slot to listen. The rest had to listen from behind a completely sealed off door - no bars or mesh, just a small window.
It was truly amazing to see this huge man filled with the love of God and having compassion on these children. At the end of his session, as the guards were telling us we had to leave, he lead three of them to faith in Christ. Praise God! What else can I say?
I thank God that I am able to go on these weekends and that he is using me for his kingdom.
Fresno WOC Saturday
Today, I went to Chowchilla, the largest women's unit in America. To say it was an eye-opening experience would be an understatement. I had been in one women's unit before, the Henley unit in South Texas, and it wasn't anything like this one.
Alan Orr and I arrived at the unit at 8:30 am and went to the Visitor's Center. There were about forty people there, waiting to get in to see a relative. Forty people for a prison population of almost 3700...do the math. We stood around and waited for Kevin K (I can't spell his last name), the Public Information Officer (PIO). He was going to be my minder for the day. He was a very nice guy, but still made it clear that I wasn't to go anywhere without him.
While we waited, I had to inventory my bag and go over it with an officer. No big deal.
We had to wait a while for Kevin, but he showed up around 9 and we made our way into the yard. It would probably be more accurate to call it the field. I don't know, but it was much larger than any yard I've ever seen. There was a cement walking track around the outside and a lot of grass in the middle. The stage was set up on the back of a big flatbed truck. I set up the camera on the truck and left it on for a shot that would show all the inmates walking in. Woo. Hoo.
Just watching the inmates walk in was an experience. They all walked in in an orderly fashion and sat down - most of them - but then started moving around. Most of them would stay in one place, apparently to save a spot, but there didn't appear to be a rule about moving around. I'm not saying there should be, it was just different. Also, they could smoke. Personally, I could care less if inmates are allowed to smoke or not, but after coming from the Texas prison system, it was weird to see that. Kevin told me that after 7/1, no tobacco would be allowed on the grounds - even from staff.
I could feel and see the spritual oppression over the whole place. Many of the women were tattooed extensively. Most of the tattoos were gang tattoos or some kind of possessive marking. By this I mean that they had, apparently, been marked by someone else. There were a few women that I had to double and triple check to see if they were, indeed, women. I have seen some butch women before, but the ones I saw there really were under demonic influence. Say what you will, but my heart broke for them in their bondage and the way they have been deceived.
We filmed Rick Cruz and Sandy Fatow. He is a hispanic performer (most excellent) and she has a rag/drugs to riches, fell and found Jesus story. There is no way I could do her story justice, you have to hear it for yourself.
More later.
Alan Orr and I arrived at the unit at 8:30 am and went to the Visitor's Center. There were about forty people there, waiting to get in to see a relative. Forty people for a prison population of almost 3700...do the math. We stood around and waited for Kevin K (I can't spell his last name), the Public Information Officer (PIO). He was going to be my minder for the day. He was a very nice guy, but still made it clear that I wasn't to go anywhere without him.
While we waited, I had to inventory my bag and go over it with an officer. No big deal.
We had to wait a while for Kevin, but he showed up around 9 and we made our way into the yard. It would probably be more accurate to call it the field. I don't know, but it was much larger than any yard I've ever seen. There was a cement walking track around the outside and a lot of grass in the middle. The stage was set up on the back of a big flatbed truck. I set up the camera on the truck and left it on for a shot that would show all the inmates walking in. Woo. Hoo.
Just watching the inmates walk in was an experience. They all walked in in an orderly fashion and sat down - most of them - but then started moving around. Most of them would stay in one place, apparently to save a spot, but there didn't appear to be a rule about moving around. I'm not saying there should be, it was just different. Also, they could smoke. Personally, I could care less if inmates are allowed to smoke or not, but after coming from the Texas prison system, it was weird to see that. Kevin told me that after 7/1, no tobacco would be allowed on the grounds - even from staff.
I could feel and see the spritual oppression over the whole place. Many of the women were tattooed extensively. Most of the tattoos were gang tattoos or some kind of possessive marking. By this I mean that they had, apparently, been marked by someone else. There were a few women that I had to double and triple check to see if they were, indeed, women. I have seen some butch women before, but the ones I saw there really were under demonic influence. Say what you will, but my heart broke for them in their bondage and the way they have been deceived.
We filmed Rick Cruz and Sandy Fatow. He is a hispanic performer (most excellent) and she has a rag/drugs to riches, fell and found Jesus story. There is no way I could do her story justice, you have to hear it for yourself.
More later.
Friday, May 13, 2005
Fresno WOC
I'm in Fresno, CA with Champions For Life (CFL), a Bill Glass ministry that does evangelism in the nation's prisons. Even though I have no more experience that anyone else with a video camera, I was asked to come here to help film in some of the surrounding prisons.
Yesterday, we did some pretty boring video of a meeting between the CFL coordinators and the wardens and staff of Chowchilla Women's facility - it's billed as the largest women's prison in the world.
Last night, I filmed the freshman training. There were about 300 people in an EV Free church here in Fresno. It went fairly well and I got some good 'before' interviews with from a group of college kids at the training. Tonight, I'll get the 'after' interviews. These are fun because you can see the changes in their attitudes and their excitement from the day in prison. They are with the Joshua Wilderness Institute and seem like a great bunch.
Today, I will be filming in the juvenile facility. Bill Glass will be doing his Blessing speech to a bunch of kids without fathers. The Blessing talks about how we need to be blessed by our fathers and how we have a heavenly father who wants to bless us.
Please pray for my family as they usually come under spiritual attack whenever we go on a prison visit. Pray for me also, as I go into the stronghold of the enemy.
Yesterday, we did some pretty boring video of a meeting between the CFL coordinators and the wardens and staff of Chowchilla Women's facility - it's billed as the largest women's prison in the world.
Last night, I filmed the freshman training. There were about 300 people in an EV Free church here in Fresno. It went fairly well and I got some good 'before' interviews with from a group of college kids at the training. Tonight, I'll get the 'after' interviews. These are fun because you can see the changes in their attitudes and their excitement from the day in prison. They are with the Joshua Wilderness Institute and seem like a great bunch.
Today, I will be filming in the juvenile facility. Bill Glass will be doing his Blessing speech to a bunch of kids without fathers. The Blessing talks about how we need to be blessed by our fathers and how we have a heavenly father who wants to bless us.
Please pray for my family as they usually come under spiritual attack whenever we go on a prison visit. Pray for me also, as I go into the stronghold of the enemy.
Sunday, May 01, 2005
New Blog
This is my new blog.
My old one is at marklindberg.blogspot.com. It has been put to another use...notes on my brother, Tim.
My old one is at marklindberg.blogspot.com. It has been put to another use...notes on my brother, Tim.
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