Adventurer's Creed

We climb the highest mountains,
Just to get a better view.
We plumb the deepest oceans,
Cause we're daring through and through.
We cross the scorching desert,
Cokes in our hand.
We ski the polar ice caps,
In tuxedos looking grand.
We are reckless, brave and loyal,
And valiant to the end.
If you enter here a stranger,
you will exit as a friend.

Duct-Taped to a Tree

Last night I heard a very sad story concerning some of the short-term mission workers (serving from 6 months to two years) who are serving in the same country as us. It seems that a few days ago as they had gathered to play a game. The decision was made that a bet should be placed. The loser would be duct-taped to a tree for the rest of the night. What in the world! These are not high school students but for the most part college grads. And then, they here to be Christ’s ambassadors to the lost and to aid the local church?!

“Doctor Livingston I presume?” … and then after a quick game of blackjack, Stanly having lost to the Doctor, finds himself tied to a tree for the night. If this had been the scene of early mission work in Africa, need I ask how far the cause of Christ would have gone? So I am left to question once again, just where is the modern church going, and what will be its ultimate effect on missions?

Home Fellowship Starts

This weekend we started our first in-home fellowship. We had only invited about five people, and out of those we didn't know just how many would respond to our invitation. Well, people in our West African nation are not known for their punctuality, so I doubted that we would see many make it for the desired 9:30 starting time. Only two people had arrived by then. Was this all there would be? We hadn't been able to give that much notice for the meeting, so I did not let this discourage me too much. But slowly they started to show, and by the end of the meeting (at 2:30) we had a total of ten (counting the two of us). What a blessing!

Many people here are fed up with the sins which lie unattended to in the local churches. Yet such still seem to desire true fellowship. And, the few home groups which do exist have either drifted into extreme charismatic/pentacostalism, or have leaders who lord over the others.

One of our African friends had been a part of a fellowship which tended toward the latter course. The fellowship leader was the sole decision-maker as to whether the "door" was open or closed for new members or visitors to attend. He insisted that all new members be re-baptized, and they go through compulsary "Deliverance" sessions with him. This was even the case for members who'd only been out of town for a few months. Needless to say, that fellowship hadn't started out that way!

A little over a week ago an old friend stopped by our house to tell us that he was bothered that we were not attending a local "organized" church. I told him that if the Lord had placed it on his heart that we were in need of fellowship, he should visit us for that purpose on a regular basis. Almost two weeks have now passed and we are yet to hear back from him.

All over the city there are numbers of people who have left the organized churches here because of the open sins (among leaders and members) being practiced, and because of the abuses of power. I have steered clear of them for these reasons and because I don't want to be tied to a denomination. I also personaly don't see the sort of pattern they've set for meetings or leadership outlined in the Bible.

As a missionary I have longed for a place where I could point others to for fellowship, and for people who I might fellowship with as well. I didn't start out to plant a fellowship, but had hoped to find one to join. However, the "door" was closed. We are now just following as Jesus leads, meeting with our African brothers and sisters!

"In the 21st century nations don't invade other nations."

Speaking to reporters about the situation in Georgia, Sen. John McCain denounced the aggressive posture of Russia by claiming that: "In the 21st century nations don't invade other nations."

No, the US just bombs the ___ out of them!

Where are these US soldiers?

Or these?

That doesn't look like New York in the background!

And, then there is the bit of news that you have not been told!

The Russian news website Izvestia is reporting that an African American soldier/mercenary has been captured by Russian forces. He was captured with a number of Georgian soldiers, whose specialty was in handling ordinances. The report mentions that they believe he is a Nato instructor, and that he has been transferred to the Russian base of Vladikavkaz.

It also reports finding bodies of dead soldiers in Tskhinvali, the capital city of South Ossetia. But what stood out in the report was that some of the corpses were African American.

You see what we are not being told is that the US wants this little war and that US troops from Georgia (as in Atlanta, GA) were there and have even been added since the whole thing brokeout. Just look at this AP article:

(AP) — Georgian and U.S. troops started a joint military exercise Tuesday amid growing tensions between the ex-Soviet republic and Russia, a Georgian defense ministry official said.

(Paul Joseph Watson Prison Planet Friday, August 8, 2008)

Georgian forces, trained and equipped by the Pentagon and the U.S. government, killed 10 Russian peacekeepers early this morning in a provocation attack that has escalated into military conflict, but the subsequent corporate media coverage would have us believe that the U.S. and NATO-backed client state Georgia is a helpless victim, when in actual fact a far more nuanced geopolitical strategy is being played out.

Original reports early this morning detailed how Georgian forces had killed 10 Russian peacekeepers and wounded 30 others, which was the provocation for Russian forces to begin military operations, but the fact that Georgian forces were responsible for starting the conflagration has been completely buried in subsequent media coverage.

“Georgia and the Pentagon cooperate closely,” reports MSNBC, “Georgia has a 2,000-strong contingent supporting the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq, and Washington provides training and equipment to the Georgian military.”

The latest exercise, Immediate Response 2008, which took place last month, involved no less than one thousand U.S. troops working with Georgian troops in a war game scenario.

Moreover, the very “Rose Revolution” that brought the Harvard trained pro-US Georgian president Mikhail Saakashvilli to power in 2003 was wholly aided and abetted by the Central Intelligence Agency.

Boogy Mans! Missionaries & Cannibals

We now only have $2,450 to go, that is unless the plane tickets go up in price (I’m not being negative, just realistic)! Let’s pray it in!

I came across this old missionary game the other day and have since found two places where you can play it for free online - and one where you can download it for free. Have fun!

Play for free (each one has a different look to it):

http://games.yahoo.com/free-games/missionaries-and-cannibals

http://www.learn4good.com/games/puzzle/boat.htm

Free download:

Download Missionaries and Cannibals 1.1.0

A Banana Sandwich from God

One of our many stories of how the Lord has looked after us!

Lunch time was approaching in the village. Occasionally we would be invited to a villager’s home to eat. But today the noon meal was getting too close for that to look like it was going to happen. We’d been in tights spots financially before. In fact, we were learning to actually welcome them because God always worked in ways that left us speechless and full of praise. After all, there was that one time early on when we ran out of propane for the stove. So we sat a few cans of food on the hood of our bus to soak in the Central American sunshine. Of course we could have eaten the canned stew cold. However, it was nice to have a slightly warmed lunch. Wondering what we would do for supper that evening, our query was answered by a local pastor’s son who came to invite us to his house for dinner.

It was through recalling instances like this that gave us courage to wait patiently on the Lord this particular day. As we took stock of our pantry, it wasn’t completely empty. There were a few slices of bread and some peanut butter. We certainly weren’t going to starve, but some variety would be welcome. Just as we were about to begin our simple lunch preparations, a young girl appeared and made her way up the walk towards our front door. She had in her hand what was obviously a bag of bananas. This wasn’t an uncommon occurrence. At least once or twice a week a child would come around to sell whatever tropical fruit happened to be in season. Sometimes we bought and other times we didn’t. Sometimes which ever one of us was handling the deal would smile at the price and inquire if we were getting the “American special.” Usually the child in question smiled knowingly back and lowered the price a bit to meet the local market standards.

Mindful of our situation, we immediately had to inform the girl that we had no money with which to purchase her wares. She quickly responded by shaking her head and saying, “My grandmother told me to bring them to you.” This got our attention. Very seldom was fruit freely sent our way. “They are free?” we asked to make sure we understood her words. She nodded and held the bananas out to be taken.

Thanking her, we accepted the gift and turned to go inside. “I need my bag!” the girl exclaimed. Oh yeah, we still weren’t use to this cultural protocol. We’d both lived in West Africa before and had worked in areas that were much more impoverished than our current jungle home in Central America. In Africa, plastic grocery bags littered the landscape and flapped furiously in low-lying tree limbs. They didn’t seem nearly as cherished as in the village. We were learning that here one didn’t dare walk off with a “shilling bag,” as they were locally referred to, if it didn’t belong to them.

After carefully unpacking the bananas, the bag was returned to the girl. She left with more of our thanks following after her. We turned to face each other, inwardly rejoicing. The Lord knew of our situation and provided through an unlikely source so that we might have peanut butter and banana sandwiches. We hardly even knew grandma! This was a huge improvement on what we had anticipated lunch being. It wasn’t a life or death matter, but it was another experience that testified to the enduring faithfulness of God.

Used Tea Bags and Empty Promises

As already stated we are by faith missionaries; we do not solicit funds from anyone. We do inform individuals of our work but there is never a push for them to give on our part.

But here is where I vent... over the past few years of passing through the States for mission meetings or furloughs we have had quite a number of people who have told us that they were going to support our work only for us to never see them follow through. It would be one thing if these empty words came from the world; however, my experience has led me to discover that those of the world tend to follow through when they say that they intend to give.

Almost a year ago a man who had taken us to lunch said the he was going to start giving us $1,000 a month. There was a part of my heart which jumped for joy, but I always try to hold out on the real rejoicing till I actually see someone follow through. His words, sad to say, were empty. Not surprising, just in one Sunday school class alone, which we visit from time to time, four men have separately said that their individual families were going to start supporting us on a regular basis. This man was from that same class. However, he was not a deacon in the church as the other four were.

It seems that without fail, each time I find myself in the States visiting this class these same men will one by one walk up to me with the same speech about how they can’t do the work which I am doing but they can support it. I have never seen more than a $50 to $100 one-time gift come from any of them. My heart sinks, for this is nothing for a class who’s average salary runs well over $100,000 a year.

God does meet our needs though! We have had many occasions were we had to make $20 last us two or three weeks. And, as we look close as to where the $20 or so came from to take us through such hard days, to me it almost always seems that the Lord stirred some special heart to give the bare minimal to deliver us through such days.

If you are a missionary then you either have or most likely know of another who has received used tea bags in the mail. “We did not want to throw away what you might can use on the field.” I was with a friend when they received a letter containing one rubber band, one paper clip, and a note saying that, “the Lord was leading me to give you something.” The stamp cost more than... you get the picture. My friend laughed and said the person must have forgotten to put in the gift they wrote of. Of course the rubber band and paper clip were used, but I do throw away the used tea bags!