2 Months In

Wow. I am blown away by how fast time has gone by and apologize for not updating enough. The past two months have been a blur, but they have been so good. Since my last update, I have hosted a summer college team that was here for 5 weeks. They did fabulous work. We spent 3 weeks going out into a nearby village prayer walking, sharing the gospel, and discipleship. Our local church here longs to plant a life-giving and reproducible church there, and we believe we are beginning to see the cell group for that form. There are around 4 guys and 4 ladies that we have begun to meet with almost weekly. We realize it will take time to see this fully come to fruition, but we are overjoyed at what is going on now. From this group, I have become close with 3 of the guys. They have been traveling to my house for teaching and training at least once a week. I have never seen such young men so hungry to grow. They challenge me continually.

While the team was here, we also had the chance to go to Kang. It has been two years since I was last there, and what a joy to reconnect with the believers there. I had the honor of preaching there. They are a special body close to my heart. Please pray for encouragement and growth there. It is a hard place, but in time, God will reap a harvest there. After preaching, we went to a farm about an hour away from Kang. We had the chance to show the Jesus film to around 50 bushman and their families. This was a tremendous opportunity with some very unreached people, and we saw 5 come forward at the end seeking Christ and asking to learn more. Jones, one of our national brothers, was so excited to see such fruit and promised to come and meet with them soon. He has such a heart to reach this nation!

Once we returned to Lobatse, we helped to host a youth revival. We have been studying what revival truly is - a strong, personal desire to know God more and more, and this week together was centered on knowing God, His plan for our life, and how to live that out daily. It was a great 6 days together. I had the chance to preach that Sunday, and I cannot thank you all enough for your prayers. God gave me a clear message and a passionate heart. Overall, the youth revival was very good, and I am proud to see the growth and maturity among the youth in the church as we discussed some serious topics. I look forward to seeing what God will do in and through them as they continue to grow!

Since then, the team left, and I went away for a few days in the bush. The past 7 weeks have been non-stop ministry, seminary work, and teaching, but they have been such a joy. Today is the first day that I have gotten up knowing that I have nothing I "have to do" today. I am going to enjoy this day of rest, because tomorrow I will begin helping with orientation for the next Hands On group coming through. God is good.

Prayer Requests
Now that this crazy summer schedule is ending, I ask for prayer for wisdom and discernment as I begin to seek God's will for my time here. I have not been able to develop a routine or schedule thus far with all of the teams and trips, but now my pace is settling down into "normal" life here. I want to be diligent with my time here, but I also do not want to out run my own pace nor what God has planned. So, prayer for discernment on this is coveted.
Also, please continue to pray for young men to disciple to become disciple makers. This is my heart for my time here, but I know God must do this work in them. Please beseech the Father to go before me and lead me to this men and for me to gladly and joyfully give all that I am to them.

I promise to do better on updating and sharing stories. I want each of you to know what God is doing in response to your giving and prayers and to share in the joy of His movement. He is moving here. Thank you.

Hitting the Ground Running

Well, first I want to apologize to everyone that it has been so long since I last updated, and say this update will be a bit longer than usual... I arrived in BW on May 22 knowing that our first team was going to arrive on May 27. My first few days here were mainly spent in bed sick due to the incredible temperature change (MS summer to 35 degrees my first night), but I was able to reconnect with the body here and my fellow workers and get settled into my house. Once all of this was done, we scrambled to get everything ready for the team of high school seniors/recent graduates. They have been a joy to have, but they have kept me very busy this last week and a half. I am happy to report now that they have been a blessing, and it has been incredible just to see the Father grow them while they are here. He has given them some incredible things to be a part of. I would like to share 2 of those stories now.

The first begins last Tuesday. We took them out to one of the villages near by to go Prayer Walking. We spent much of the morning before going out in prayer asking the Father to go before us, and He pressed it on several of us to ask specifically for 3 people to hear and understand His truth. As we went out, one of the groups was passing by an old ladies house, when she stopped them and invited them into her house. They began to share with her the story of Nicodemus from John 3. She told them that she had heard about Jesus and believed He was the Son of God, but she had been waiting on someone to come and share with her about how to be born again. She prayed with them on the spot! They were able to reconnect with her the following day, and they consensus was that she was filled with even more joy than the day before! One of the guy groups walking stopped in a yard with two ladies and began to share the same story. After sharing, one of the ladies opened up about her life. Her story was almost identical to the young man sharing. So he began to share his testimony, and she believed and asked to be born again. The lady with also asked to be born again. This was the first time he had ever shared and seen someone respond! So that totals for - Three women! Our Father is so good!

The second story is the fruit of 5 months of labor and prayer. Part of my on-field team has been helping the local church develop an after school AIDS Orphan Care center. In our town, AIDS has been a big problem, and there are a lot of children who live with extended family who do not have the means nor the time to fully care for them. Therefore, their school work suffers... they don't receive proper nutrients.. and rarely see/feel love. The care center will attempt to touch all of these facets. The children will receive tutoring, will see and learn about the love of Christ, and a healthy snack/meal. For the past 5 months they have been working to get it approved by the government, and last week they finally received that approval. 10 children were selected based on need and age. They want each child to be in the program for at least 2 years. Then on Thursday they had their grand opening with a ribbon cutting and all! It was a wonderful day, and the youth team was a big help in getting everything together and playing with the kids. 

So it has been an eventful 2 weeks since I arrived! I have two big prayer requests in closing.
The first came from a reminder reading in Matthew 4 this morning where the devil takes a truth from Psalm 91 and twists it to fit his desire, but Jesus knows the truth and is not swayed. As we prayer walked in the village, our national partners shared with me about how false doctrines and twisted truth now hold many people in the surrounding villages in darkness. So we have began to pray for Truth to be seen for what it is - Truth, and for twisted half-truths and false doctrines to be shown for the darkness they are. I invite you to labor with us in asking the Father to move in that way.

The second prayer requests comes from my reading in 1 Kings 6 this morning. In verses 11-12 God speaks to Solomon and tells him that if he walks according to His statutes and ways, then He will dwell among the people of Israel and not forsake them. This lead me to think about the work going on here. One problem at the moment is the purity of the church. The Father is pressing it upon our hearts to fight in prayer for this to change. For His people to walk in His ways that His presence may be known among these people groups. Pleases join us in beseeching Him for this - for faithful workers to know His ways and to walk in them that His glory may be see in their village, their region, and their nation.

Thank you so much for your continued support and prayer. Daily I am reminded at how inadequate I am but how glorious our Father is. I wouldn't be here without your support, and the way He is going before us and moving is only in response to prayers lifted up for the work. So thank you!

Pry for Today

Psalm 63:1-5

"O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly;

My soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You,

In a dry and weary land where there is no water.

² Thus I have seen You in the sanctuary,

To see Your power and Your glory.

³ Because Your lovingkindness is better than life,

My lips will praise You.

⁴ So I will bless You as long as I live;

I will lift up my hands in Your name.

⁵ My soul is satisfied as with marrow and fatness,

And my mouth offers praises with joyful lips."

I want to invite you to lift this passage up to the Father with me today for the peoples of the Horn:

-That He would stir this up in them to seek Him and know Him

-That they would see that He is all powerful and glorious

-That they would come to know His love, that is better than life

-That He will call out a people to praise and glorify Him

-That they would fine satisfaction in Him alone

L3 on Leaving day

Here are my notes from my reading this morning... The Father is so good.


5/11/2012

1 Samuel 25-26

Psalm 60-62

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R - Psalm 61:2

     "From the ends of the earth I call to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me to the rock that is higher than I."

   - Psalm 62:1-2, 5-6

     "My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from Him. He alone is my rock and my salvation. He is my fortress, I will never be shaken... ...Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from Him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; He is my fortress, I will not be shaken."

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E - These are from 2 psalms of David, crying out for God to sustain him and hold him. He has nowhere else to turn for salvation, safety, and comfort, but he knows God is enough. Either Saul or Absolom was seeking his life at this point, but as his heart grows faint, he calls out to God to lead him to the rock that is higher than he. He trusts that God's ways are higher than his ways... that even if it doesn't make sense to him, he still wants to trust God's plan and God's way... especially when his heart is giving way.. and this is why in 62 he can say - my soul finds rest in God alone... because that is what our souls were created for... salvation and hope are found in Him alone.. and He is a rock and a fortress for His children. Therefore, David can claim - I will not be shaken! Why? Because God cannot be shaken, and God is His refuge and foundation!

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A - This morning... I woke up after 4.5 hours of sleep in a freezing airport without a blanket... after a week and a half of constant going and doing where I lacked opportunities to sleep.. so, to say the least - I woke up feeling exhausted and wrecked... which is a great feeling going into this trip and new season. Not exactly what I would choose or plan. But before I was even born, God knew where I would be today and how I would feel. He knew that my reading plan would put me in Psalm 61-62 today. And He had a Rhema word for me. If David, facing DEATH and living in the wilderness, could seek the rock that is higher than he and find rest and salvation in God alone, then so can I. Hope is found in Christ alone. So, even though me earthly body feels wasted, my heart is satisfied and my soul has rest. His strength and power will sustain me. Therefore, I will boldly claim that I will not be shaken.. no matter how I feel, I will not let them control me or overwhelm me... I will find refuge in Christ. He is Lord and in control. To think otherwise is a lie. 

P - So, as I prepare to board my last flight, I ask that you lift me up in a few ways:

1. That I would be able to get some good sleep/rest on this 14hr flight.

2. That the Father would strengthen my self-control and grant me His patience, because I know mine is lacking today.

3. For the team - for cohesion in JC to be of one mind and one spirit.

4. For a true life giving movement to continue to develop and grow.

Thank you. I can't wait to share how the Father answers our pryrs and how He moves.

Peace in Preparation

It is crazy to think that in 12 days I will be boarding a plane to leave for 12-14 months. Generally that brings a lot of excitement to my mind and heart, but somedays it is a little overwhelming. This morning, it was a little frightening until I got into His Word. L3 had me in Ruth and in Romans 10 this morning. I will just start off saying that the Father has perfect timing.

Romans 10 and Ruth really connected well this morning, and they both spoke to my present situation. Ruth begins with a family that has lost everything. All the men die, and Naomi, the mother-in-law, is left with her two daughters-in-law in a foreign land. She determines to return to her own people, and she asks the two daughters to return to their own families. One of them does so, but Ruth steps up and says, "Where you go, I will go. Where You stay I will stay. Your God will be my God, and your people will be my people." In Romans 10:10 Paul says, "For with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation." Ruth believed that He was the God, and that staying with Naomi was what He would have her do. She confesses this to Naomi and walks it out in righteousness. This decision ultimately works out for her salvation. In Naomi's hometown there is a kinsman named Boaz. Ruth goes to pick up scraps form his fields to provide for herself and Naomi, as was the custom for widows and the poor. Boaz notices this new woman, and takes a liking to her. He promises her enough food to glean and water to drink. Eventually, Boaz becomes her kinsman redeemer and marries her. They have a child named Obed. Obed is the father of Jesse, and Jesse is the father of David. Crazy. God used a woman who was willing to leave her own people behind - the place she grew up, the gods she grew up with, and her own family - to go with a woman who had lost everything. Why? Because she believed God was the God. There is no way she could have known before she left that God would provide, especially with so much. It required faith to step out and go anyways.

This spoke to me this morning. When I felt He was leading me to return to BW for a time, I struggled for a while about how I could provide for such a journey... I knew that I could not. I finally released that weight and trusted that when He calls, He provides. Since then, He has gone above and beyond to show His faithfulness. For a while I struggled through who to go to to ask for support, and eventually He had me settle on a very short list. I sent out letters and made some calls, and let go of the control of the situation. And He answered big. He had prepared the hearts of these individuals and families to give, but He had also prepared others to give that I had not even asked. He has gone above and beyond to show me His faithfulness. Many of you reading this have been called by Him to support me. I cannot thank you enough. I want you to know that your faithfulness to His leading has helped confirm His calling on my life and has taught me to trust Him all the more.

And this is where Romans 10 comes back into the picture. Verses 14-15 summarize the heart He has given me pretty well. "How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher? How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, 'How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things!'" They cannot believe unless someone goes, and I cannot go unless I am sent. The Father has called me, but you are sending me. Your support makes the way possible, and your pryrs go before me preparing a way.

So I want to thank you, and ask you to continue to pry for Him to go before me. In 12 days I will be flying to the Horn of Africa to see friends and their work. Please pry for wisdom and discernment while I am there. I think this might be a region He calls me to in the future, and I want to listen to His voice while I am there. I will spend 10 days with them before flying down to BW. Once I get to BW, I will have a fast few days getting ready for short-term teams coming in to assist our ministry. Pry for the hearts of the teams coming - that they will be prepared to be flexible, to serve, and to love like He loves. Pry for us as we seek His will for their time there - how best to use them and invest in them.

It may be a few weeks before I get to update this again, but I will try to as often as I can. You are as much a part of this ministry as I am; therefore, I want you to know how He is moving and how you can continue to be a part of it!

Thank you again.
In Him.

I have just been enjoying today God's plan from the beginning concerning circumcision. It was never to be a one time act that one just did to get done. It has always been about the heart, and a continual obedience and joy that steams from it.

Jermiah 9:25-26
25 “Behold, the days are coming,” declares the LORD, “that I will punish all who are circumcised and yet uncircumcised— 26 Egypt and Judah, and Edom and the sons of Ammon, and Moab and all those inhabiting the desert who clip the hair on their temples; for all the nations are uncircumcised, and all the house of Israel are uncircumcised of heart.”

Deutoronomy 30:6
6 “Moreover the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, so that you may live.

Romans 2:29b
circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God.

Phillipians 3:2-3
2 Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil workers, beware of the false circumcision; 3 for we are the true circumcision, who worship in the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh,

There are a lot more examples than this, but these immediately came up and are a great start. Reality from the beginning is that one cannot be born into it. It is not a birthright. It has always been about the heart and its eternal choice. What is your heart choosing? Has it been circumcised by the Master craftsman, made alive, and filled with joy? Or was salvation to you just something you checked off of a to-do list? Check out what His word says about this. This is just a start.

Psalm of a Wildman 2: Fire

"Transition times,
They come and go slowly.
Sweet and sour like limes,
Both exciting… and lonely.

They come with longings,
And fear.
They can bring freedom,
And they can sear.

Let me not shy away,
Though the trial is great.
Strengthen me I pray,
Before it is too late.

Without Thee I am weak,
I crumble and fall.
It is Thee my heart seek,
To Thee alone I call.

I feel the heat,
I feel the sting.
I am stuck in this seat,
But I hear Your voice sing,

'Though the fire is hot,
It purifies.
Though change is hard,
It brings maturity.'

I long for Your touch,
To remove the dross.
To fill me with strength such,
That I may carry my cross.

'Though the fire is hot,
It purifies.
Though change is hard,
It brings maturity.'

I hear your gentle voice,
It is time to decide.
I have made my choice,
In You alone I will confide.

Yes, the fire is hot,
But I need purifying.
Oh, the change is hard,
But it brings maturity.

Purify me,
No matter the cost.
Sanctify me,
That my soul may not be lost.

To no longer be an infant,
Tossed to and fro on the sea.
But a warrior sent,
To set the captives free.

I submit to His will,
For the glory of His Name.
Forsaking the frill,
That all might do the same."