Small Praises

I had another few minutes with neighbor children Riley (boy) and DeShaun right in front of their apartment. Adults were inside, with curtains open, so they must have seen it. Please pray for teachable moments and continued acceptance on the part of the parents. Hansel, Naomi, and infant son Joshua plan to come for Sunday dinner. Hospitality is a joy.

Glitches

As of yesterday, Dale turned down my ministry idea. I think part of the reason was that in a large church, one individual staff member can have only a very fragmented view of what is going on in an individual's life. So I wrote out some clarifications for him and am hoping he will reconsider. Meanwhile I am asking for help from other sources. This is a God thing. He will provide from somewhere. Meanwhile, I think the children I mentioned last time are pawns in a spiritual war. They obviously see the sharp contrast between my life and their parents' lives. There is something about me that they like. However, when their parents are observing, they are very cautious and won't say anything more to me than to greet me. They know that the fathers involved hate me and harass me, and are uncomfortable with this dichotomy. They are too young to understand what's going on. The parents are now keeping the children from being alone with me. This is war. The Lord can do anything, but it won't be easy. Please pray.

I Never Would Have Guessed

Becky, Yuki, and I had a nice mutual birthday party last Thursday. Yuki seemed more open spiritually. Praise the Lord! Sunday Rev. Nguu taught our adult Sunday School class. We had been studying Acts, so he took us through an overview of Acts, using the acrostic SPECK (Sin to avoid, Promises to claim, Examples to follow or avoid, Commands to obey, Knowledge of God). It was very good. Did you know that 85% of a dog's DNA is the same as people's? I didn't know that until our preacher on Sunday morning used his dog as an illustration (bad example). The evening service included, among other things, a report from missionaries to Angola. I still have a soft place in my heart for Africa. Also, that evening Susie had an inviting smile, so I sat next to her and fed her some trail mix. She's disabled. Our elders have decided that every three months, their meeting will be open to the congregation for prayer requests, questions, or just observation. One such meeting was last night. I indicated a desire for them to pray for me. There were several others. I had a prayer request for a physical need, Vocational Rehab, my neighborhood, and several ministry-related requests. Three elders named Jim were designated to pray for me. When I got home, three children were playing outside. This is not unusual, of course. However, normally the children only greet me, then go about their play. This time, they came up to me, and the two boys (about three years old) started jabbering. "Watch me." "It's not a real one " (in response to my comment about a plastic sword). "Your bushes have stickers." "Ooh! Now I have an owy!" "Do you have any candy for us?" (No). "Are you going to get some?" "Are you going to stay outside?" I was cold and told them maybe I'd stay outside when it got warmer. I knew better than to ask where this came from. It came from the Lord. It was a direct answer to elders' prayers regarding my neighborhood and ministry. So I started thinking in terms of ministry. What about 5-Day clubs (Child Evangelism Fellowship), VBS, and later, maybe just reading stories to them? I'm sure their parents don't read stories to them. I never would have guessed a ministry opportunity would come in this form. I should also mention that Voc Rehab sent me another letter of denial, citing timeliness, despite the fact that I had made a point of keeping in touch with them about the issue of timeliness. I again said I'd appeal, and they again reopened my case. We'll see how this goes. In response to the shooting at Georgia Tech, the Indianapolis Star had a front page article featuring one of the students who had been killed. He had a 4.0 grade average. Two men at Wal Mart were lamenting this tragic death. Yes, it was tragic. However, it still would have been a tragedy if he had the lowest grade-point average in the class. But then, of course, he wouldn't have been featured in the article. Such is our society, valuing people with obvious intelligence over those who are not so endowed. Sadly, many Christians also share these skewed values. I also believe the Lord wants me to initiate reconciliation between family members. So, I have drafted a letter to a couple. We w ill see what the Lord want s to do.

Only the Lord

Alot has happened. The Lord really challenged me, and showed me that even though I am a Christian, my life has still been all about me and my agenda. So I repented and am trying to be aware of what the Lord wants me to do in every situation. Example: My lease needs to be renewed. Some people tell me that my neighborhood is dangerous. Some people are willing for me to live in this dangerous situation as long as I am struggling with things without their help, but when I ask for help, they think I should move! I've prayed, and the Lord wants me to stay and have a ministry there. In fact, this seems to be related to the wilderness and promised land themes the Lord has been using in my life. My neighborhood is the promised land in this instance, and He intends to either save people, or drive the enemy out, like in the promised land stories in the books of Numbers and Joshua in the Bible. But I can't do it alone. I need help from my church. So I gave some notes to Dale, the director of local outreach at my church. He went on vacation soon after that, so we have not talked. All kinds of Scripture verses have gone through my mind, such as, "Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains alone, but if it dies, it bears much fruit." (from John 12). Jesus was saying that about Himself, but it is equally true of His followers. Another statement from the Apostle Paul in the Bible is, "I do not count my life as dear to myself." In other words, his life is valuable only in service to the Lord, and it is an expendable commodity. "A servant is not above his Master." Also a related saying is, "The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church." That's a application of the John 12 passage I quoted above. In God's economy, death is the key to life and growth. This has been proven true many times in the history of the church. Then yesterday, I had the privilege of hosting Rev. John Wesley Nguuh, a Kenyan pastor I've hosted before, a persecuted Christian from Bangladesh (who will remain anonymous for security reasons), and several Americans, including Dale, the local outreach director I mentioned above. This was rather timely, since it gave Dale an opportunity to experience firsthand one of the types of ministries I want to take place in my home. It was an opportunity for Rev. Nguuh to expand his church's ministry to the persecuted church, and for our Bangladeshi brother to receive prayer support. We saw his powerpoint presentation, and using the piano bench as an altar, we concluded our time in prayer. What a privilege it is to be involved in building God's Kingdom!