Being Still

Much has happened since our last entry and I’m not even sure where to start.

A good place is to note that we have received our temporary Mozambique visas and that was our last detail that could have stopped us.  Our shipment leaves the US on August 9 and we leave on August 6.  Our furlough has passed so very quickly and it is difficult to believe it is almost over.  We’re into the final details of determining what we will take in suitcases and what we will leave.  We also have a few things we will ship to OMS to hold for future teams to bring with them when they come.  

Our recent trip to the western US went very well and provided many opportunities to share the good news of what God is doing in Mozambique.

Some highlights in pictures.

We visited some close friends in Hot Sulfur Springs, Colorado, which provided a wonderful opportunity to drive into the gorgeous mountains of Colorado.  Snow was still on top of the mountains.  We also were able to speak at their church and participate in the mid-week service; a very special time for us.

Then, it was on to Denver to visit our friends who served in Mozambique at the same time we did.  We love them and it was a joy to be with them.  They attend the biggest church I have ever seen - so big I can’t begin to wrap my mind around it.  We had the privilege of going to church with them and I hung out at the Starbucks at the church waiting for my flight time up to Idaho - looking from the porch at the incredible Colorado Mountains; a great place to do devotions.

We squeezed in a short trip to Fort Collins where we visited our daughter Sarah and her hubby and our grandson, who were attending Campus Crusade for Christ training.  It seemed so normal to stop in for a little bit.  He is a cutie!  

Then, I went on to Idaho while Ann attended a Women of the Harvest conference in Colorado Springs.  She says that it was life-changing for her and a continuation of the theme we’ve been hearing the last couple of months - that we must stop and listen to what God is trying to say to us.  With the routine panic of life that seems to overwhelm us and crowd out our time with God, we need to create those those times we simply present our problem to God, and then just sit and quietly wait on Him to answer.  She met many wonderful ladies, including one missionary supported by our home church that she’d never met - but they both recognized each other from the pictures posted on the missionary board!  Another God-incidence?

Then, Ann tried to fly up and join me in Idaho Falls; BUT every afternoon these incredible storms were developing over Denver and moving east, messing with the air traffic.  A hail storm came through and damaged planes, stranding over 1000 people at the Denver airport.  She ended up staying an extra night and day in Denver before arriving after mid-night in Idaho Falls.  It’s all in His timing....

Idaho Falls; what can I say?  We lived there for over 7 years and it is my (Dave’s) home state, so it is always a treat to go there, even though the climate can best be described as 10 months of winter and two weeks of bad skiing.  BUT, it is so beautiful.  We spent precious time with family and friends - precious precious time - a type of home-coming.

One of the Idaho highlights was visiting the Bodies exhibit at the Idaho Falls Museum.  If this traveling exhibit from China comes your way, I recommend it.  It is not without controversy, but it is an incredible exhibit.  They have taken human specimens (I guess that is a politically correct way to say human beings) who have passed, and processed them so that you can see specific systems of the body; nervous system, alimentary system, muscles, bones, reproductive systems, circulatory, along with examples of abnormal things, such as tumors and disease processes.  I came away absolutely overwhelmed at the complexity of design of the human body and understanding in a new way what the Bible says, “we are marvelously and wonderfully made”.  The second thing I came away with was a realization of how crude our attempts to repair this marvelous machine are and how incredibly skilled surgeons need to be!  I recommend it but if you have a tendency for squeamish, well, you’ll have to decide.

As an aside, the museum was largely funded by the Carr Foundation, the same foundation that is investing heavily in Mozambique to rebuilt Gorangoso National Park, once one of the premier game parks in the world.

Sunday provided the opportunity to go to church with some friends who have visited us in Mozambique.  By making the early service, we were able to also speak at a home church that one of our long-time friends attends.  It was an incredible Sunday and as I think about the variety of churches we have had the privilege to attend this year, we serve an amazing God who is working in a variety of ways in a variety of contexts, because He has made us so uniquely different from one another.  He must find great pleasure in the variety of His creation.  From the Gigantic church of this trip to the small home church of the same trip, to everything in between, it has been a  true privilege to share our story with His people.  It is humbling.  God is working and I have found our journey to be a great encouragement.  Despite the media reporting bias, America is filled with good salt-of-the-earth people who love God and who are living out their Christianity in quiet and real ways, making a difference in their homes, their neighborhoods, their jobs, their communities, and in the world.  Our politicians and media talking-heads seem to want to operate in the extremes, which is where a very small minority of the population really lives.  What a world we live in, where truth has been replaced by the shouting from the extremes.  Come quickly Lord Jesus....

While in Idaho, I got to do a little farm work.  My Grandfather was a farmer and I enjoyed working with him on it.  In this photo, the blue tractor is the same age that I am, you could say it’s two old-timers working together.  

God is good.  Thank you for standing with us.  Please pray for healing for our friend Jim who is battling cancer.  We visited with him at Duke University a few months back and again at his home in Idaho Falls.  We love him and his wife and they are facing into a difficult situation with the strength and confidence that only comes from knowing Christ.  Should I ever face such a journey, they have set the example I would want to follow.  He trusts God unashamedly and his vision is clearly set on eternity.  But he is not alone; we have other friends engaged in this same battle for which we ask for His healing.  This life is but a vapor in light of the eternity that lies before us, which gives us great hope.

Blessings to you this wonderful day.  May the God of Peace grant you His presence and extend His mercy and peace into your life in a real and tangible way.  He is near, we simply need to listen.

Dave & Ann

“Be still, and know that I am God;”  Psalm 46:10

OMS Conference / Meetings & Ann's Birthday

We’ve been quiet with regard to the blog the last few weeks.   We recently returned to our idillic cabin in the woods after meetings at our mission headquarters.  I feel that I owe some sort of synopsis.  But before that, some updates:

• We continue to be on-track for leaving the States on August 6.  This was a bit later than we wanted but at the same time, it is largely a function of full planes this time of year.  
• We have sent our passports to the Mozambique Embassy to obtain the requisite visas we need to enter the country.  
• Our International Driver’s licenses just came in the mail with a three-year expiration date instead of the one-year you get with Triple A.  This links to our driver’s license expiration date, which makes more sense.
• We have been diligently packing up the few belongings we have in preparation of leaving the cabin.
• Ann is looking forward to attending the Women of the Harvest conference with her dear friend Jeannie in Denver.
• We are both looking forward to the ‘short’ airplane ride to Denver and Idaho to visit friends and family before departing.  It is all happening too fast!

Today is Ann’s birthday and yesterday was our anniversary - I’m not saying how many years, but it passes quickly.  Ann’s brother drove over yesterday to be with her on her birthday and was rather amazed at our place.  He wasn’t so sure about our five mile gravel driveway as he has had back surgery recently and is unable to turn his head to back up and wondered what he’d do if he met someone on the road!  But we didn’t.  We enjoyed talking and he had brought an article about Rob Bell’s recent book and wondered what we thought about it.  Ann’s brother is very well read and always interesting to talk to about most any subject.  

The meetings at OMS.  Well, not a lot to say actually.  The business part was a continuation, more or less, of the last couple of year’s meetings as the organization struggles with how to best function with a number of sending countries (Canada, UK, Australia, New Zealand, US, South Africa, Columbia, Philippines, South Korea) being empowered and independent yet all linked to an International organization.  (By sending countries, I am referring to countries that are currently sending missionaries under the OMS banner or OMS-related churches - OMS uses a slightly different definition that deals with the number of missionaries being send out)  Adding to the challenges are the self-sufficient OMS started churches that are now wanting their “place at the table” so-to-speak and wanting to send missionaries across the globe, either as their own missionaries or as a part of OMS.  Exciting problems and challenges to have, but also not easily addressed in such a strongly cross-cultural environment.  And then, in any given field, you may have missionaries from a number of dramatically different cultures serving in an even different culture; and additionally each sending country has different money accountability requirements, life-style expectations, medical expectations, and even worship expectations.  It gets very interesting and we must be full of grace, humility, acceptance, and  peace to deal with the very fluid dynamics - almost chaos theory!  So, we voted on some things, worked as a group on some recommendations for the board, and will see what comes of it all.   It is my prayer that God will move in wisdom in the hearts of leadership and the various board members as they lead OMS into the future in these uncertain times (but then again, aren’t all times really ‘uncertain times’?)  We truly need His presence in our lives, as individuals, as missionaries, as a mission organization, and as a nation truly.  We need to pray more and seek His face more.

When we weren’t in the business meetings, we received training on working cross-culturally.  The training was based on a great book I’ve written about previously and the training was done very well.  They call the teaching style “adult interactive learning” or some such nomenclature.  I’m not a big fan of the style as it takes a veeeeerrrrrryyyyyyyy loooooonnnnngggggg time to deliver a wee bit of information, but it is the current teaching rage I understand.  (Yup, just give me dat der slate and piece of chalk and a one-room school-house with a school-marm, now that’s teaching the way it was meant to be!  I’m sure that’s in the Bible somewhere....;-))  The interactive adult learning may be effective statistically, because it is certainly easy to remember a wee bit of information that is given over days and days in a various numbers of ways, but efficient? - don’t think so. The bruises on my head from banging it on the table are nearly healed..... However, I have to admit that we have used the technique with success in Mozambique, where group learning is highly valued, group dynamics are important and oral learning is key.  But for me as the Western student, I’d rather read the book, look at the chart, write a paper, take a written test, talk about how we apply the material in a practical way.  Do I sound like a visual learner to you?   Is that why I write too many words on the blog?  Is my cultural bias showing?  How about your own cultural bias?  This cross cultural stuff is hard, isn’t it?!

After the meetings, we moved into a several day conference which included more training on what is commonly called the doctrine of ‘holiness’.  I’d like to use a different term perhaps, because the word seems to invoke in people a whole host of preconceptions or misconceptions (more cross-cultural bias!) but we enjoyed the study and were privileged  to sit under the well-known and respected Asbury Seminary professor, Dr. John Oswalt.  He gave us much to ponder as we weave our way through the deep truths of the Bible.  While the gospel message itself is really quite simple, the Bible can also be as deep as the intellect desires to search and Dr. Oswalt’s teaching was deep, thought-provoking, and I thought quite strong.  I see such similarity in this doctrine with other teachings we've sat under; it just seems people use different terms and different experiences to try and explain an infinite and loving God's presence in our wee-little lives.  It is a journey, walking in the presence of Jesus, in the good times, in the bad times, but always with the peace that only He can bring.

The highlight for both of us was a session with Beth Coppedge, who is the daughter of Dennis Kinlaw, is the founder of Titus Women, and is a renowned and gifted speaker with a sweet spirit.  She took the teaching of Dr. Oswald and put a practical and real face to what he was teaching.  Ann has met her in times past and was overjoyed to get reacquainted with her.

We also enjoyed a time of fellowship with former missionaries to Mozambique and a couple serving in Africa with the Every Community for Christ church planting program.  We shared what was happening in Mozambique (although our information is becoming somewhat dated!), and enjoyed hearing about what is happening in other countries in Africa.  

Some fun statistics put together by fellow OMS missionary Valetta Crumley, that I thought I’d share with you: 

By our Lord’s grace many of the OMS goals for 2010 were exceeded and the OMS goals for 2011 are amazing.  We believe the Lord wants to do great things.  Please join us as we encourage many to pray more, give more and do more.  The harvest is truly ready.

Pray for:

            403,000 to make a decision to follow Jesus in 2011

            130,000 to be enrolled in follow-up programs

            125,000 to be baptized

              21,000 worshipping groups to be established

              12,000 new churches to be established

               27,000 LEADERS IN TRAINING

          1,750,000 attending services

You may ask, how can such a small missionary staff (OMS) propose such amazing goals? It is because the Lord called OMS to disciple and train multiplying disciple-makers.  Today OMS joins with 13,736 cross-culture co-workers in 53 nations.  Every day 275 people are baptized.  Last year 4,116 new churches were established.

Well put Valetta. Teaching National’s to evangelize their own countries - 2 Timothy 2:2

God Bless.  God with us - Immanuel.

Dave & Ann

Jesus-style greatness:  “...  Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.  For even the Son of Man (Jesus) did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”  Mark 10:43-45 

Shipment is off, more or less

The thunderstorm waited for us to finish.  The shipment is on its way to the warehouse awaiting us to release it for shipment to Mozambique.  Timing is very important.

The moving company showed up and inspected our shipment; made us remove a clump of dried Eculyptus leaves (dried plants) but other than that, we passed inspection.  The photos show the general progression.  The crew was wonderful and they knew their business.  The big cardboard container will be banded and wrapped at the warehouse and placed in storage until we release it.  We want it to arrive after we have arrived and after we have our resident visas in hand.

I have visions of it going into the big warehouse from the Indiana Jones movie, where it is parked next to the crate containing the Ark of the Covenant, lost forever to be revealed at a later time.  (If you don't know the movie, then ignore this paragraph!).

One highlight of the day was meeting a nice young lady at the storage unit named Serenity, who is on her way to Medical School in Oklahoma.  It was easy to see God's hand on this precious young lady, who has a sense of God's call on her life to serve in a developing country, perhaps in Africa, after she completes her training.  Maybe God will call her to Mozambique to work with our friends the Meyers in Beira, Mozambique, training doctors for Mozambique.  It is exciting to see young people like her with a strong sense of God's call on their lives and strongly resisting the lures of our culture.  

We have a friend in Idaho who sends us daily thoughts relative to what scripture says and what God's perspective might be...we love to get them and this morning's musing talked about how Satan sets traps for us, luring us with little pieces of bait he puts out and we nibble and WHAM, the trap springs....Why do we take the bait?  Our culture is just chock-full of those little traps.

Was it a random meeting - her storage unit was in the same area as our daughter's - what are the chances?  Coincidence or godincidence; time will tell!  As our dear momma Meyers says, in the mission business, you are always on duty!

Our airline tickets back are on hold and we're negotiating the final arrangements; expecting to leave the States around August 6 it would appear.  Should know in the next day or two.

Blessings,

Dave and Ann

“I know that you can do all things; no purpose of yours can be thwarted."  Job 42:2

Impossible made Possible

Something of late I’ve been most uncomfortable with are the celebrations of the earthly justice finally brought by our government recently.  Don’t get me wrong, I am thankful that justice has been served on someone who publicly confessed to such a horrific crime.  However, all of the celebration was very disconcerting to me, considering the high cost to so many, especially on the heals of my previous blog where I see such hate and division in the news stories of today and the comments that follow.  This should not be.  My every sense said that this should be a somber thing that where we nod our heads in sorrow of the whole affair and all those affected from beginning to end as a sign of this fallen world and the ghastly evil men are capable of.  

In preparing for the sunday school lesson tomorrow, the text asks the question: “In what circumstances are victory celebrations appropriate and inappropriate for Christians?  Explain your reasoning.”

No answers, just scripture references but this one jumped out at me:

“Do not gloat when your enemy falls; when he stumbles, do not let your heart rejoice, or the LORD will see and disapprove and turn his wrath away from him.”  Proverbs 24:17

I guess that is why it is uncomfortable.  It is not what what God intends for us who seek to follow Him in all our human frailty.  How natural for us to wish God's fury on those who are enemies against us, on a huge scale, or even a small scale. I think another term that comes to mind here is humility.

And next in today’s news is a story of a Nazi war criminal who was just convicted and reported to be responsible for over 28,000 deaths.  His defense was that it was just his job; it was what he had to do when he went to work at the ‘corpse factory’; never mind that these people being killed were the race of  very people God chose to bring the savior of the world and the Bible (OT) through.  That alone makes you realize that this dark dark time was about evil rising up in rebellion against God as it does over and over again.  The article goes on to talk about how men can do terrible atrocities in a detached manner as ‘normal’ people.  My goodness, someone who participated in the relentless murders in the Nazi death camps is ‘normal’.  Wrap your mind around that, but recognize that these kind of things still go on today for the nature of man has not changed.

Well, maybe we should all take note of these things.  Mankind is inherently evil and without the restraining power of God’s Spirit, there is no end to the evil mankind is capable of.  Normal people are capable of great evil absent of God’s presence in their lives.  The news makes that clear nearly every day.

To bridge the great divide between a holy God and men fascinated with evil, God in His grace and mercy had no choice but to provide a perfect sacrifice (Jesus) as payment for the incredible evil man is capable of and that he perpetrates on other men even though all are made ‘in the image of God’.  I think it is only His long-suffering and enduring love for mankind that preserves the beauty and wonder of His creation and keeps His children in the palm of His hand.  It makes sense; it provides a hope we cannot have otherwise for no one (ever notice how ‘no one’ can be compressed into ‘none’?) can be ‘good enough’ in his own power this side of heaven. There is just too much evil in us.

There is a saying, if God doesn’t do something about the rising evil in the world, He is going to have to raise Sodom and Gomorrah and apologize.  Maybe as His people we have become too complacent and too comfortable.  

When Jesus had just finished talking to the rich young ruler (Matthew 19:16) who had asked ‘what good thing must I do to get eternal life?’  The answer was seen as absolutely impossible to the disciples and challenged them to their very core as they asked, “who then can be saved?”   The answer is quoted in my summary verse below.  It says, basically, that no one (none) can....because it has to be through God and His mercy, that is the only way.  And when we stand before the Throne, as we all will whether we believe in Christ - or not, we will all be very surprised because “...many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.”  We are not to be judge and jury, we are not capable of it for only God sees the heart.  I simply want to be there because I have relinquished my selfishness and my weakness into His hands.  It is an ongoing process that is, well, impossible made possible....What about you?

Your homework - Read and study Matthew 19:16 - 30.

Blessings,

Dave 

“When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, Who then can be saved?  Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”  Matthew 19:25 & 26

More Praise

One of the things that we and many of our friends have been praying about for a very log time is a 'real job' for our third daughter.  She graduated from the University of Tennessee and worked in her field for one month before being laid off in the economic collapse.  So, after three years of surviving on whatever, she just started what we call a 'real job' that includes benefits.  And, she gets to move out of her college apartment!  We have been so encouraged by Lynsey's strength and forbearance in these difficult times.  We were blessed to swing through Knoxville for mother's day and celebrate this good news with her.  She has always been a special joy in our lives and we often refer to her as our 'neat kid' because she is, well...really a neat kid, well, young lady now.  More nicknames in future blogs!

Thank you for praying.  Thank you for this answer to prayer that relieves us so as we make our final preparations to return to Mozambique.

Please continue to pray about our shipment.  We still are baffled by the apparent inability to ship personal effects over to Mozambique because of Homeland Security requirements.  So many people tell us, oh yes, we can do that, only to say latter, 'no, we can't because of homeland security requirements.'  Crazy crazy times.   We are continuing to pack, trusting God in even this mundane but necessary task.  We are baffled.  How can any small business even survive in the face of something as simple as this?  We may be going back a whole lot lighter than we thought!

Photo is of us on mother's day with our 'neat kid' as we left her apartment to walk to church.  What a wonderful day it was.

Dave and Ann


"I call on you, O God, for you will answer me; give ear to me and hear my prayer.  Show the wonder of your great love..." Psalm 17:7
 

Baby Praise

We have had the privilege to do a little babysitting for the Grandson.  When he gets a little fussy, which is rare, we just plop him in his Boppy (don't ask) and turn on this DVD called "Baby Praise". It is a DVD that I think is prepared in Nashville, that has Christian praise music with videos of animals, other babies, geometric shapes, that go with the music.  Our little eight-month old, just stops and coo's and waves his hands to the music and the fussing goes away.  It is the most amazing thing.  In fact, it helps grumpy old grandpa to not be fussy too!

Praise cureth much!

I wish we'd had baby praise back when our kids were that age (back when we walked to school in the snow up hill both ways....).

Dave and Ann

"Praise the LORD.  How good it is to sing praises to our God, how pleasant and fitting to praise him!"  Psalm 147:1

Graduation

As our furlough time comes to a close, we we feel like we are racing to a rapidly approaching finish line, or as the saying goes, 'so much to do and so little time.'   It was our joy to be with our youngest daughter and her husband on Monday for Allison's graduation from nursing school.  Upon completion of her state boards in a few weeks, she will be a registered nurse (RN) like her mom.  When they get together now, they speak a different language of NICUs, ICUs, BPs, CPs, CBCs, and I&Os.   It was a lovely ceremony and we are so thankful for this significant accomplishment by daughter 4 of 4.  We are so proud of her!

This is our youngest who spent nearly half a year in Mozambique working at a school before we ever got there.  She reminds us that she was there before we were.   She also has a good understanding of what we do and some of the challenges we face because she's 'been there, done that' so there is an unsaid understanding that only those who have walked the same path can sometimes understand.

Isn't that in a way what God did for us? - the infinite creator, who walked along side of man, experiencing what we experience including the unfairness of life like we do - for what could be more unfair from the human perspective, that the very son of God would come to earth to do such good, to heal many, to feed many, to teach many, and yet, be treated with such contempt, to be unfairly tried, beaten, and crucified; He knows how bad it can be first hand.  We are blessed to have a mediator who understands on loves us so radically.

Congratulations to our precious Allison.  What a joy to be there for this important life event.

The following pledge was taken by the nursing students.  It would be a good pledge for all of us who are  in ministry, teachers, counselors, and for all those who seek to serve others in our human frailty:

I solemnly pledge myself before God and in the presence of this assembly,
to live my life with integrity and to practice my profession faithfully.


I will maintain confidentiality and continue to elevate the standard of care.
I will do what I can to alleviate suffering, prevent illness, promote healing, and will do no harm.


With dedication I will endeavor to uphold the ethical, scientific, and legal standards of my profession, 
and devote myself to the welfare of those committed to my care.


The Nurses' Pledge - Author unknown

Dave and Ann

Some Sad News

In the last couple of weeks, we’ve been writing and texting back and forth to our village church planting coordinator in Mozambique.  A scheduled pastor training conference didn’t go so well with one of our key trainers rallying others around him against others at the conference and he has apparently been an instigator of some of the unrest going on in our established churches.  To top it all off, it is alleged that he attempted to have the final paperwork for our training center land registered in his personal name rather than the name of the church denomination.  The conference ended in disarray and two of the national leaders took the problem to the National Assembly who took disciplinary action against the leader.   It is tragic; it is heart breaking; it is shocking; it is simply sad.  We had put so much faith and trust in this individual and were looking to him for leadership into the future.  From what I am hearing however, I am not certain that the fallen leader has truly been given ‘his say’ and perhaps that is a cultural thing where with me I like to think the accused needs to be able to face his accusers.  There are always two sides to a story and we need both sides to learn how to improve in times of relational failure, with a goal of reconciliation.  We have prayed; we have shed tears; we have tried to provide counsel but in the end we are all subject to the choices that we make and the consequences that they bring.

So, while we know that all things work together for good to those who love God and are called by him, sometimes the path can be rocky and painful as we are shaped and molded into His image.  But in the end we can have peace for He is in control and He will certainly accomplish His plans, with us or without us.  

The church planting work is progressing and a new work is developing between Gurué and Milange and we are thankful for the continuing moving of God’s Spirit in Mozambique and look forward to returning in what is not so very far off now. 

As I read the news and sometimes peruse the comments on various stories in the news, I cannot help but be taken aback by the raw hate and ill-will voiced in the comments.  In our own country, it seems we are becoming entirely polarized into hate groups as people strive to justify their own views; we are incapable of extending grace to those who walk a different path.  It is as if a great evil is again arising across the world and the world is hungry for someone, for anyone, to come and provide some assurance that personal peace and affluence can be retained or gained, however that looks in whatever culture.  It seems that times of great darkness come before times of great blessing.  But, the Bible teaches us that we cannot find peace when our focus is on ourselves - it just doesn’t happen.

Maybe that is why Jesus said “I am the light of the world” for he knew that times of great darkness would fall upon man as he fell into the wisdom of his own madness.  What other hope is there absent of relationship with the One who loves us so much?  Where else can we find the light of hope?

As I write, there is a great darkness coming over the mountain with tornadoes and severe thunderstorms in the forecast.  We have had wave after wave of such storms over the past few months.  A precursor to the darkness of the times.  This day has brought so much pain and suffering to so many and our hearts grieve.

There is an urgency in the air.  Come quickly Lord Jesus.

Dave & Ann

“The city (the new Jerusalem) does not need the sun or the moon to shine upon it, for the glory of God gives it light...Behold, I am coming soon!  My reward is with me and will give to everyone according to what he has done...Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life...”  Rev. 21:23 and 22:12,17

A Great Sermon

Last weekend we were blessed to celebrate Easter with daughter Allison and Son Byron in Greenville, SC.  Byron is on staff with Summit Church and we always enjoy attending this outreach church in Greenville.  I was particularly moved by Sunday morning's sermon as it brought a perspective that I'd not heard before.  It was built around when Jesus exited the tomb those years ago and the stone was rolled away, there was no one there waiting.  He had promised he would arise, people had heard it, but they just didn't 'get it'.  We struggle in that same vein today in that in our finite understanding, we often just don't 'get it' as the finite meets the infinite.  But by the Grace of God, go I.....May we all 'get it' this day.

Anyway, I was really moved by the teaching and thought some of you might enjoy it if you have 30 minutes or so and want to stream it.  I wish there was video included so you could see the passion in Pastor Jason's eyes and his style.   Here is the link:

http://www.summitupstate.org/sermons/outsiders-a-study-through-luke/luke-241-12-easter-outsiders-pt12

We had a great day celebrating Christ's resurrection, spending time walking around the lake at Furman University with Al and Bryon and just continuing to enjoy spring.  And of course, Allison is a cook beyond belief and we had a fantabulous Easter meal.  God is good to us.....all the time.....

Blessings.

Dave

"Then some of the scribes and Pharisees answered, saying, 'Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.'  But he answered and said to them, 'An evil and adulterous generation seeks after a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.  For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.'" (Matthew 28:38-40, NKJV)

Statistics

We are back at the cabin after spending Easter with our daughter Allison and her husband Byron.  We are in a bit of a shambles as we begin the packing process.  We are shipping by sea as it is impossible for us to ship by air, which being unfortunate, is just the way things go sometimes and we will look forward to seeing the blessings which will result.  We have found some folks in Atlanta willing to help us get this shipment out and have begun the process.

Our formal travel schedule is now over although we are still trying to put a trip to Idaho together and have a few things left to do, but we were wondering about this past year.   Sometimes it helps put some sort of perspective on things.  Since last September, we have traveled nearly 30,000 miles, stayed in 38 different places, spoke 123 times in a variety of venues in 87 different places as we shared the Good News of what God is doing in Mozambique.  We have been in 28 different churches during this time and we have experienced the overwhelming abundance of God's grace through His precious people.  We are so very appreciative of what God has done in this time of furlough and we look forward to returning to see what He will do in the next years in Mozambique.  He is truly faithful and we pray God will richly bless all those who stand so faithfully with us as together, we reach the nations for Christ.  What a privilege it has been.

The tulips are from the Duke University gardens in Durham, North Carolina where we were visiting some dear friends from Idaho who were there for medical consultation.  We simply can't get enough of spring this year, having missed it so very much during our time in Mozambique.  We serve an amazing God who dresses even the flowers in such splendor.

Blessings all.

Dave & Ann

"I could sing of His love forever....."  a song written by Martin Smith of Delirious 

On the lighter-side

Near a place called Hazard, Kentucky (no, we did not see Bo and Luke Duke, Daisy, or Uncle Jessie although we did see the Pole-eese), we got behind this truck and just laughed and laughed. Ann’s mom worked for ‘meals on wheels’ for many years and all of our daughters helped her do this at one time or the other. In addition, we have some dear friends in Parkersburg, WV who do meals for the homeless and indigent in their area out of a couple of trucks. This is a whole new twist!

I'd hire this guy if nothing else for his creativity!

The other picture is just a quick out the window shot to try and catch some of the beautiful colors of spring!  Pictures just don't do it justice.

Dave and Ann

"Then our mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy; then they said among the nations, “The Lord has done great things for them.” Psalm 126.2

Mount Carmel High School

Yesterday we had the privilege of speaking at Mount Carmel School in Vancleve, Kentucky, a short stone’s-throw from Kentucky Mountain Bible College.  We left on Thursday, traveling through rural Tennessee, Virginia and Kentucky.  We had met the headmaster during our time at Avon Park camp in Florida and just hit it off with him.

This school was founded in 1925 and is a faith-based school that accepts kids from all over the US and the world.  It is what I would call at nitch-school, in that it fills a particular need for quality and affordable education in a boarding school environment.  It is a peaceful respite in a beautiful setting and it was our privilege to spend a couple of days there.  We were quite impressed with the students we talked with. 

In addition, the school has an elementary day-school and the staff are some of the most dedicated you could ever meet, answering God’s call on their lives in this unique and important work.  

I was especially impressed by a young man from Thailand, who was graduating this year and had been accepted by Asbury College where he will study education as his dream is to return to Thailand and teach physics, math, and science in his home country.  His home country is helping him with his education in return for a 10-year teaching commitment.  Seems like a good deal to me, especially considering the extremely high cost of tuition at private schools like Asbury.  We know well, for our youngest daughter attended Asbury for a year and a half.   Opps, side-tracking again.

This young man is strong in his faith and will return to his home country with more than just an education - but as a missionary for Christ.  You cannot put God in a box - He accomplishes His plans in more ways and methods than we can imagine.  

And then there were the girls from Papua New Guinea that were just a joy to talk to and hear their hearts and dreams.  And a young man from Korea who wants to study Engineering and wanted my opinion on the best engineering universities in my opinion - I could answer that one right off the top of my head from my days in my old Job.  

It was a joy to serve in this way - I enjoy all the energy that young people bring, with their hopes and dreams, and especially those who are working hard to achieve those dreams that God has put on their hearts.  We challenged them to seek God’s plan and call on their lives, for he has given each of us unique skills and talents for a reason.  We need to cast our dreams before Him and then work towards them, asking for His divine direction and help - for that clear Call that comes from turning it all over to Him.

Kentucky Mountain Bible College is just down the road and the two schools cooperate with some of the college students being resident assistants at the high school while others practice preaching on Sunday at the chapel, and some of the high school students participating in college level courses at the Bible College - a great partnership with world-wide impact.

The drive over was amazing - one day the purple and white blossoms bursting out in their radiance and magnificence, and the next day the trees, as if competing for their turn, bursting out in that rich yellow-green of spring.  Spring came on April 14 and 15 in the Appalachian mountains and we enjoyed every sound, fragrance and sight, for we have sorely missed springtime in the States.

Thank you Lord and guide these precious students and guide them into the future you have in store for them.  May they not be distracted by the clutter of the world, but remain  focused on fulfilling that Call that you have for their lives.  Give the staff great wisdom as they teach and guide those precious ones you have placed in their care.  Amen.

Dave & Ann

"Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed......In his heart, a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.....Whoever gives heed to instruction prospers, and blessed is he who trusts in the LORD."  Proverbs 16: 3, 9, 20

Donations for this school via:

Mount Carmel High School

PO Box 2

Vancleve, KY  41385

God's world is simple in a magnificent way

After several months of travel, we arrived yesterday back at the cabin where we are beginning our preparations to return to Mozambique.  (My plan is to do a blog on statistics in the coming weeks).   As we drove south from Pittsburgh, the world became greener as we moved into spring.  The brown has turned to green and the Ornamental Pear trees, probably my most favorite tree, were moving from the white blossoms into their beautiful green; I had worried I would miss this favorite part of spring but God blessed us with this wonder of his creation as we drove south.

Ann said something as we traveled back to the cabin that was quite profound:

“God’s world is simple in a magnificent way”.  

It just rang true with me.  The Gospel is simple; God’s requirement for us to simply believe in Jesus is quite simple; our reliance on Him totally is quite simple; and the concept that He loves us beyond measure - well, it is quite simple. And yet, he can take us through the toughest and complex trial, by simply trusting Him.  And the beauty of the spring, the consistency of the spring flowers, the summer skies, the fall colors, and the purity of the snow.  Simply beautiful and a testimony of His love for us.

Life can be extremely difficult and there are no promises that things will be easy - it is a lie that we want to buy into but it just isn’t scriptural.  But armed with simple child-like faith, we see his mighty hand move in the most difficult situations as to the One who spoke things into existence, our most complex problem is, well, simple.  As Jesus says, “Trust in God, trust also in Me...”  It’s that simple!

We were greeted at the cabin by a beautiful patch of daffodils, attesting that spring is truly here.  I remain so thankful that we have this beautiful place of respite and once again, we are able to do devotions sitting on the porch viewing a world that cries out to the existence of a Holy God.  This one picture is of the sun burning through the cloud.  

I have begun to study the Book of Acts again as we prepare to return to Mozambique.  This precious book is rich with the history of the early church and God’s working to protect and establish His church.  I cannot study this book without feeling a sense of awe and even though I’ve taught through this book many times, it never gets old and I see new truths each time.

Tomorrow, we hit the road again to speak to the students at Mount Carmel School in Kentucky.  When I look at the map, it appears to me you can’t get there from here, so we are assured of a beautiful drive through the Appalachian Mountains.   We will then return for a couple of days before heading over to the Raleigh-Durham region to meet some friends from Idaho who will be consulting at Duke University hospital.  

We are praying earnestly for God’s direction on our preparations for returning to Mozambique.  We have quite a bit things we need to take back to Mozambique, more than we can check as baggage.  Even if we could, the theft problems in Jo-burgh are severe and we have learned from experience that one should minimize luggage going through that airport.  More times than not, our bags have been broken into and things removed at that airport.  Air cargo eliminates that problem and while it was exceedingly easy to ship from Mozambique to here, we have found it virtually impossible to ship air cargo from here to Mozambique because of Homeland Security regulations.  We have called numerous Freight Forwarders who initially say “sure” and then call us back later to say it is impossible.  The requirements are intense and while maybe a business can eventually get approved to air ship, the individual can’t.  South African Air told us they would receive a $25,000 fine if they accepted a shipment from us since we are ‘unknown shippers’.  So, our deadly audio bibles, wedding dresses, baby blankets, medical supplies, and keyboard can’t go!  Incredible to me but then again, when has government involvement in anything ever made it better?  Opps, is that a political comment?; I don’t think so - has nothing to do with politics - just government.  It all seems horribly anti-business to me.

Pray with us; we may just send some things by boat, but then we have to deal with long time frames and getting things through the port in Maputo can be very problematic and expensive.  We need to resolve this quickly as it is time to purchase our airline tickets but we are stalling until we know where we ship from.

A seemingly complex problem that is, well, simple to Him!

Make it so, dear Lord!  This is our prayer today; may we follow your leading - not our ways, but Yours!

Dave & Ann

“Did not our hearts glow within us while He was talking to us on the road and opened the scriptures to us?”  Luke 24:32 (Berkeley Version)

Travels

The first half of March has been a busy but blessed time for us.  We left the cabin for an appointment in Trenton, Missouri, stopping for the night in Nashville, where we enjoyed our Grandson Caleb - it is going to be extremely hard to leave the States with this precious little guy being here.

Watching the incredible changes from birth to now, we know what we will miss over the next few years.  Plus, his parents are pretty special also!

From Nashville, we traveled to Trenton Missouri where we had the privilege to speak and worship at the First Baptist Church.  The Pastor of this church had visited us in Mozambique with a team and we had stayed in touch with him after the visit.  We stayed at Pastor Chestnut's house and had a wonderful time of catching up.  The only clitch was that my power point presentation didn't work for some reason - something to do with switching from their system to my computer - it worked in 'practice' before the service but wouldn't cooperate at the time.  But, in all the times we've spoken, this was the first 'glitch' and it really didn't affect much of anything!  We were cared for very well and enjoyed an incredible lunch after the service.  We gave a mini-talk to the kitchen staff who worked hard to prepare the church-wide lunch but missed the service!  We are putting on weight because we are fed so well everywhere we go!

The drive through Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri was relaxing; beautiful farms.  We know that if God ever allows us to retire, it will be in a small town somewhere in a rural setting. That is where we are the most comfortable.  Beautiful states.

On Sunday, we did a 'two-fer', being in Trenton, Mo, which is in the northwest corner of the state, high-tailing it to Belleville, Illinois for an evening service with Men for Missions International (MFMI) Director Warren Hardig.  As you know, our first trips to Mozambique were through MFMI and we initiated the MFMI world-wide prayer ministry for Mozambique, now so wonderfully administered by our dear friend Karlene.

Ann working at Our Lady of the Snows

Our time at Saint Matthews United Methodist Church was wonderful, meeting up with Warren and his wife Velma, and speaking to one of the several services Sunday night.  This church is a very mission oriented church and we had many wonderful conversations with people after the service.  We also ran in to some people we had met at Avon Park, Florida, once again demonstrating how small this world of ours really is!  The church put us up at a nearby Catholic retreat center (Our Lady of the Snows Shrine) which was beautiful and peaceful.  Monday, we just stayed there most of the day doing office work and reports and taking advantage of their fast Internet and the beautiful surroundings.  That night, we went to a supporter's house in St. Louis, Missouri, some friends from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania, who relocated to St. Louis many years ago.  Again, a wonderful time to reconnect and catch up.

From there, we traveled to Evansville, Indiana where we reconnected with David and Faith Clark.  David is a childhood friend of mine (we played Cowboys and Indians when we lived in Idaho at the age of 5 or 6) who God brought back together in our early 20's in Idaho through a church.  David introduced us to OMS when he went to Haiti for a year to work on the radio station.  That is when we began supporting OMS missionaries all those years ago.  Again, a wonderful time to reconnect.

Next, back to OMS headquarters for meetings and an inexpensive place to stay before going back to Olney, Illinois, where we participated in a MFMI weekend at Grace Evangelical Church.  Olney is know as the home of the white squirrel.  We heard people talking about it, but then discovered that in-deed, the sign says and people talked about the white (albino) squirrels that are seen throughout the city!

The Olney white squirrel!

We spoke Saturday night at the MFMI banquet (lots of amazing food!) and I preached at the Sunday service.  This church is solidly behind OMS missionaries and it was a privilege to be there.   We were hosted so very well by Pastor Boostrom's parents and through their little duplex house was exactly the floor-plan we'd like to retire to some day, God willing.  After church, we went to an incredible local restaurant with an incredible buffet with lots of my favorite - fried okra!

A highlight of this trip was meeting Millie.  When I put a picture of Juka on the wall in the banquet, I could see that she was visibly moved by the photograph, with tears running down her face.  Afterwards, she talked with me and explained how she had been a part of the Prayer Initiative for Mozambique for many years and had been praying daily for Juka and his family for many years but she had never seen his face.  She asked many questions, clearly involved through prayer and totally knowledgeable of all the work that is going on in Mozambique.  A real prayer warrior, making a difference in Mozambique, living in the central US with a heart for a precious family on the other side of the world.  Only God can do this!

Ann with Millie

So, we find ourselves back at OMS before heading back to the Pittsburgh area for this coming weekend. This weekend, we will be at a church near Grove City - one of the first ones we ever visited and one we have always felt especially connected to.  When there last time, we stayed with our friends the Townsends, who are now in Japan with OMS.  That's another story for another blog....

Today they are running tornado drills all around the area and we have this constant sound of emergency vehicle sirens and tornado sirens.  With the world events today, one can understand the value of emergency drills.

Tomorrow we are headed back to the Pittsburgh area.  We should receive approval from OMS within the next couple of days to purchase our return tickets to Mozambique.  We have delayed our return to represent the field at Headquarters for the June meetings that happen every year.  Pray for us as we make our plans for return to Mozambique.

Sorry for the long post - my intention is more frequent smaller posts but this month got away from us!

30,000 miles by auto and continuing!

Dave & Ann


"...each one should retain the place in life that the Lord assigned to him and to which God has called him.  This is the rule I lay down in all the churches...."  1 Corinthians 7:17