CCF Men Mission Belize 2010

In January 2009, six CCF men went to the village of More Tomorrow in Belize to repair the roof and wire their community building for electricity. I'll let you guess who they were. Randy made our number seven as we headed out each day to meet some of the men of the village to do the work. We found the people warm, friendly, and most appreciative of our investment in their community and lives. We were glad to serve them, and grateful they had invited Randy & Sheila to use their community building for church services and children's Sunday School until a church building could be built.

A short time later, a medical mission team was shown land in the village where Randy hoped to build the church. A hat was passed on the spot, and the land was purchased. Then an Eagle Scout from Central Church Fort Smith organized and mobilized his church to build the church in More Tomorrow! All this in less than a year!
The men of CCF are feeling it's time to plan our next trip to Belize and get it on the calendar so more of you have the chance to go. We intend to go to the same village, build on our relationships and complete some interior work on the church, build a bathroom, and wire for electricity.
December & January are booked solid. Dates still open in February are 19 thru 26. So let me hear from you if you want to go, and these dates won't work for you! Let me suggest February 19-26, that's eight days, two travel days and six days in country. We'll work 4-5 days, or till we're finished, then be tourist for a day or two, visiting Mayan ruins, the beautiful coastal waters, the national zoo or other such delights. You'll love the people, serving the King, and the time together. Hope you can come experience the adventure!
-=Dwayne=-

Draw Close and Support Mission Belize

Greetings All, Please check out this free music download opportunity based on the popular, 3000 year old, Psalm or song of David, Psalm 23. You'll find it easy and intimate to worship with, as it draws you away to a real place of peace, quiet and rest.

Pass this along to your friends, especially those seeking to know the Lord in a deeper way, or those who need a quiet place of rest and peace in their lives. You'll be blessed. They will be blessed.

Shalom, and enjoy the Ancient Path! Dwayne

Keep The Main Thing The Main Thing!

Fix Your Eyes on Jesus

May he enlighten the eyes of your mind so that you can see what hope his call holds for you.

EPHESIANS 1:18 NIV

“What [does] it mean to be just like Jesus? The world has never known a heart so pure, a character so flawless. His spiritual hearing was so keen he never missed a heavenly whisper. His mercy so abundant he never missed a chance to forgive. No lie left his lips, no distraction marred his vision. He touched when others recoiled. He endured when other quit. Jesus is the ultimate model for every person .... God urges you to fix your eyes upon Jesus. Heaven invites you to set the lens of your heart on the heart of the Savior and make him the object of your life.”

from “Just Like Jesus”

Max Lucado

Needed: Men of Prayer
"What the Church needs to-day is not more machinery or better, not new organizations or more and novel methods, but men whom the Holy Ghost can use -- men of prayer, men mighty in prayer. The Holy Ghost does not flow through methods, but through men. He does not come on machinery, but on men. He does not anoint plans, but men -- men of prayer."
-E. M. Bounds

same kind of different as me

Every once in a while a book comes along that “stops you in your tracks.” “Explodes into your life,” might be more accurate. For me, this is that. same kind of different as me, by Ron Hall & Denver Moore is a true story of life, love and friendship. And, for reasons you’ll discover for yourself, one that men will like and find intriguing.

Without pain of study you’ll glean a lot of valuable truth, philosophy, and theology by engaging in the simple thoughts and complex lives of these authors and story tellers.

It’s an easy and enjoyable (for the most part) read. That is if you’re not afraid of life or death or friendship? Even if you are, the brevity and truth of these stories and these lives will draw you in. Besides, if you’re honest with yourself, these are big issues to your human soul, and you know it. Why not take a break in life, and walk this short path of someone else's pleasure, pain, and friendship? It’s a textbook on friendship! If you buy it and don’t like it, I’ll gladly purchase your copy. Happy living and reading! Enjoy and enrich your life in the pause!

It’s probably just me, but even the one-page “acknowledgments” at the end brought tears to my eyes, and joy to my heart. -=db=-

Contentment and Busy Lives

"He who follows righteousness and mercy finds life." Proverbs 21:21 NKJV

"In our world, contentment is a strange street vendor, roaming, looking for a home, but seldom finding an open door. He moves slowly from house to house, knocking on doors, offering his ware: an hour of peace, a smile of acceptance, a sigh of relief. But his goods are seldom taken. We are too busy to be content.

"Not now, thank you. I've too much to do," we say. "Too many marks to be made, too many achievements to be achieved...."

So the vendor moves on. When I asked him why so few welcomed him into their homes, his answer left me convicted. "I charge a high price, you know. My fee is steep. I ask people to trade in their schedules, frustrations, and anxieties. I demand that they put a torch to their fourteen-hour days and sleepless nights. You'd think I'd have more buyers." He scratched his beard, then added pensively, "But people seem strangely proud of their ulcers and headaches."

[From NO WONDER THEY CALL HIM SAVIOR, and reprinted in the devotional, GRACE FOR THE MOMENT, by Max Lucado. I highly recommend this book to you as a start or enhancement to your daily habits of reading the Word, prayer, and meditation to get on the path where you can hear the voice of God and have daily input from your relationship with Jesus. I saw a funny bumper sticker yesterday, "We're not human beings with a spiritual side - we're spiritual beings with a human side." :) May he bless you as you seek him. May he bless you with peace - shalom - שלום.] -=db=-

Jesus and the Lawyer . Jesus and You

Contrasting Ministries

"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself." Luke 10:27

A lawyer came to Jesus with an important question: How does one get to heaven? It is the test of orthodoxy for all religions, and the lawyer wanted to test Jesus. He didn't want the correct answer; he wanted to see how Jesus would answer. Jesus referred him to the Law, and the Lawyer correctly responded with the summary of the Law. When Jesus agreed with him, he asked, "Who is my neighbor?" That question prompted the Parable of the Good Samaritan.

The Levite and Priest are vocational religious workers. They were professional ministers and they didn't love their neighbor. The Samaritan, a layman not in the ministry, loved his neighbor. He who was in the ministry wasn't ministering, and he who wasn't in the ministry was ministering. The vocational religious workers saw ministry in terms of programs, the layman in terms of people. The Levite and Priest said, "My meeting is more important than that man's needs, and if he wants my help, let him come to where I minister and I will meet him on my terms."

The Samaritan met the stranger on the stranger's terms. In all probability: 1 – The Samaritan had a schedule he was willing to interrupt for the sake of this need. 2 – He probably never saw the stranger before or since. 3 – Getting involved was messy resulting in blood all over his clothes. 4 – The stranger was never able to repay the favor.

How do you view ministry? Are you a Levite or a Samaritan?

From "Thoughts From the Diary of a Desperate Man" Walter A. Henrichsen -=db=-

God In the Ordinary

In Christ we can come before God with freedom and without fear.
Ephesians 3:12

God calls us in a real world.... He doesn't communicate by stacking stars in the heavens or reincarnating grandparents from the grave....
He's not a magician or a good-luck charm or the man upstairs. He is, instead, the Creator of the universe who is right here in the thick of our day-to-day world who speaks to you more through cooing babies and hungry bellies than he ever will through horoscopes, zodiac papers, or weeping Madonnas.
If you get some supernatural vision or hear some strange voice in the night, don't get too carried away. It could be god or it could be indigestion, and you don't want to misinterpret one for the other.
God speaks in our world. We just have to learn to hear him... amidst the ordinary.

From And The Angels Were Silent by Max Lucado, also recorded in the excellent devotional book Grace for the Moment I've been recommending for your spiritual discipline. Consider ordering one today! We need spiritual thoughts and insights like this "daily." -=db=-

Retirement? Think Again

The Desire to Retire

"Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord." 1 Corinthians 15:58

God did not give you your vocation for the purpose of making money. Our Lord clearly teaches in His Sermon on the Mount that He will provide for your needs so that you can be profitably occupied doing His work. Your vocation is your pulpit. For this reason, you have no biblical ground for wanting to retire. Most believers who do want to retire, want a little bit of heaven this side of the grave. Such may be possible for the Philistines, but definitely not for the serious follower of Christ.

It may happen that one morning you awaken to find that you cannot get out of bed, forcing you into retirement, but that is different from desiring to retire. In your service for Christ, He may lead you out of your current vocation into some other form of service, but in this case you are merely "changing pulpits." I am not aware of any place in Scripture where God encourages retirement.

Those who say that they look forward to retirement testify that they have lost their purpose for living here on earth. God did not give you your life to spend as you see fit. Paul teaches that it is unthinkable that one for whom Christ died should live for himself. The desire to retire is an expression of despair. It means that you have lost your rudder and do not know why you are here or where you are going.

Devotional © Copyright by Walter A Henrichsen.

God's Suprises

“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.” I Corinthians 2:9

"Have you got God figured out? Have you got God captured on a flowchart and frozen on a flannel board? If so, then listen. Listen to God's surprises.
Hear the rocks meant for the body of the adulterous woman drop to the ground.
Listen as the Messiah whispers to the Samaritan woman, "I who speak to you am he."
Listen to the widow from Nain eating dinner with her son who is supposed to be dead ....
God appearing at the strangest of places. Doing the strangest of things. Stretching smiles where there had hung only frowns. Placing twinkles where there were only tears."

From Six Hours One Friday by Max Lucado, and included in the daily devotional Grace for the Moment, which I highly recommend to you. Blessings as you seek He Who is Worthy. -=db=-

A High-Stakes Mission

Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Matthew 10:28

"Hell's misery is deep, but not as deep as God's love.
So how do we apply this [truth]? If you are saved, it should cause you to rejoice. You've been rescued. A glance into hell leads the believer to rejoice. But it also leads the believer to redouble his efforts to reach the lost. To understand hell is to pray more earnestly and to serve more diligently. Ours is a high-stakes mission.
And the lost? What is the meaning of this message for the unprepared? Heed the warnings and get ready. This plane won't fly forever. "Death is the destiny of every man; the living should take this to heart" (Eccles. 7:2 NIV).

From When Christ Comes by Max Lucado reprinted in Grace for the Moment, a daily devotional I highly recommend! -=db=-

The "Well" and the "Path"

Greetings All,
It's been a while since I've posted, as well as the other contributors. It's been a (mostly) quiet time of reflection and listening for the still, small voice for me. As I was reading one of my daily devotionals this morning at Subiaco, the selections for the 23rd & 24th seem to really be apropos. I pray they speak to you.

If you're tired or thirsty, "Sit by the well. Rest."

"Cling to Me until the life from Me - the Divine Life, by that very contact, flows into your being and revives your fainting spirit.

Become recharged. When weary, do as I did on earth - Sit by the well. Rest.

Rest and gain power and strength and the work too will come to you as it came to Me.

Rest till every care-thought has gone, and then let the Tide of Love and Joy flow in."

If guidance tarries, get on the path and let the path lead you. Practice the disciplines!

"As I prompt you - act. When you have no clear guidance, then go forward quietly along the path of duty I have set before you.

No fear, no panic, quietly doing your daily duty.

This attitude of faith will receive its reward as surely as the acting upon My direct Guidance.

Rejoice in the sense of security that is yours."

His Shalom, שלום, Peace be yours as you serve and wait upon Him Who is Worthy,

Dwayne

God Calling, June 23 & 24, Edited by A.J. Russell

Death is Precious

"I will fulfill my vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people. Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints. O LORD, truly I am your servant; I am your servant, the son of your maidservant; you have freed me from my chains." (Psalms 116:14-16)

This week Noni's mother and Patty's father passed from this life into the presence of the Eternal God. And their Eternal God - by the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.
As with many saints before them, they and their loved ones have sensed the very presence of God descend into the room surrounding the event, with a strange wonderful peace, awe, and Other awareness that words fail to describe. This Personal appearance and welcoming to honor the departed, also arrests the body, mind and spirit of those left behind. A sort of heavenly anesthetic to ease the tearing and pain in the souls of the loved ones still earth bound at the physical loss of one so dear. Thank you Lord for your Presence in these times. As the Presence lifts slowly, and the normal cadence of this earth life returns to it's duration, remember to pray for and minister to these dear ones.

The God of all Peace be with you, and with them. Amen.

Spring Cleaning and The Air of the Kingdom

Spring Cleaning

---

Very few people realize that the old idea of a “Spring Cleaning” was part of the original Lenten observance. Cleaning out one’s house was symbolically associated with cleaning out one’s life of all the unnecessary clutter that had accumulated during the past year. This old notion still has excellent applications for all of us today.

Spring is a good time to clean out the clutter in our lives. That means disposing of useless papers and unused stuff but also throwing away grudges, both old and new.

The prevalence and durability of grudges proves Maya Angelou’s observation that people don’t always remember what you said or did, but they do remember how you made them feel.

Grudges are nothing more than toxic memories of how someone made us feel.

But Confucius taught that “To be wronged is nothing unless we continue to remember it.” So why do so many of us choose to consciously preserve and revisit toxic feelings that detract from our happiness?

Perhaps we fool ourselves into thinking we can inflict some sort of pain on the person who wronged us. In fact, holding on to a grudge is like holding on to a hot stone. It doesn’t hurt the stone or the person who gave it to us; it only hurts the one holding it. Carrying a grudge is like being stung to death by one bee.

It doesn’t matter how justified the bitter feelings are or how right we are. Holding on to a grievance turns pain into suffering. In a peculiar way it empowers the wrongdoer to hurt us again and again.

So give yourself a great gift. Muster the good sense and strength to root out and release deep – seated and long – held resentments.

If you can, forgive and forget. But all that’s really necessary is a firm decision to let go of your grudges so you can move forward and free yourself of the chains of resentment.

Let’s make our spring cleaning complete this year. Let’s clean out our house and our heart!

Tomorrow Begins With Today’s Dreams!

Charles B Saulsbery II, PhD

Pastoral & Community Liaison

Dr. Stan, said in his message a few weeks back, "Forgiveness is the air (or oxygen) of the kingdom of God. It's what we must constantly breath in and out." Let's get some cleaning done! For ourselves, for our King and his kingdom. Amen.

The Fear of the Lord is a Truning Point

Suddenly the fingers of a human hand appeared and wrote on the plaster of the wall, near the lampstand in the royal palace. The king watched the hand as it wrote. His face turned pale and he was so frightened that his knees knocked together and his legs gave way.
(Daniel 5:5-6)

In the Old Testament, the finger of God wrote the Ten Commandments on stone tablets and later inscribed a message of judgment on the plaster walls of Belshazzar’s palace. In the New Testament, the finger of Jesus wrote in the dirt in John 8:6.

Today we have God’s handwriting in Scripture. The very word Scripture comes from the Latin scriptum, meaning “to write.” All Scripture is inspired by God, and every word in God’s Word is God’s Word (2 Timothy 3:16).

President Abraham Lincoln came to that conclusion during the Civil War. He increasingly opened his Bible, frequently turning to Daniel and the other Old Testament prophets. He believed, as he told one group who presented him with a beautiful leather-bound Bible, that “this Great Book is the best gift God has given to man.”

If even wicked old Belshazzar trembled before this divine script, it’s important for all of us to revere, rely on, and obey every word from God, whether we are kings, presidents, cooks, housewives, plumbers, pastors, students, or servants.

In all my perplexities and distresses, the Bible has never failed to give me light and strength.
General Robert E. Lee

Read-Thru-the-Bible
Deuteronomy 1:1 - 2:37

Rahab The Harlot . Introduction to the "Diary"

During the last two years my spiritual life has taken a turn for the better! A turn that I desperately needed to take. Those walking closely with me know that both are true. It's mainly been that during that time I've been practicing the "habits" as I call them. In antiquity and by the learned they're called "spiritual disciplines." They've changed my life. Or more accurately, He has changed my life because of the increased focus and time I've spent listening to Him and apprehending spiritual truth. A big part of this, besides prayer, reading the Word, and staying in Community is my practice of reading three devotional books - a short scripture and thought for each day.
Recently I was spending some time with Brian, and introduced him to one of these books, Thoughts From The Diary Of A Desperate Man, by Walter A. Henrichsen. He immediately decided to order one, but also found the daily writ on the web at this address: http://www.ncmm.org/devotional/
He suggested I share it with you all, so we can read it together, and get in the habit of sharing our thoughts or lessons learned as we read. So be it! I pray it grows to mean as much to you as it has to me, since an American Airlines captain gifted me with it as we shared Christ over a meal in a London Tavern a few years ago. May your journey grow richer as you continue. Amen.
"She does not enter "The Hall of Fame" as one of God's heroines because she abandoned her promiscuous life and became a good Hebrew. Rather, because, as a whore, she "received the spies with peace." She testified to the spies, "for we have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red sea for you, when ye came out of Egypt… for the Lord your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath." [85] On the basis of a rumor over forty years old, she was willing to risk all she had. God overlooked her moral imperfections and declared her great.

Rahab knew very little and took great risks. By way of contrast, the Pharisees knew a great deal and took few risks. God rebuked the Pharisees and exalted Rahab. You please God, not by what you know but by the size of the risks you are willing to take; not by what you know, but by what you apply. God did not give you the Bible to make you a smarter sinner, but rather a holy saint. Application, not knowledge, pleases God."

Voice of Adventrue

“The Voice of Adventure”

“Those who try to keep their lives will lose them. But those who give up their lives will save them.” Luke 17:33

There is a rawness and wonder to life. Pursue it. Hunt for it. Sell out to get it. Don’t listen to the whines of those who have settled for a second-rate life and want you to do the same so they won’t feel guilty. Your goal is not to live long; it’s to live.

Jesus says the options are clear. On one side there is the voice of safety. You can build a fire in your hearth, stay inside, and stay warm and dry and safe….

Or you can hear the voice of adventure – God’s adventure. Instead of building a fire in your hearth, build a fire in your heart. Follow God’s impulses. Adopt the child. Move overseas. Teach the class. Change careers. Run for office. Make a difference. Sure it isn’t safe, but what is?

What adventure do you feel compelled to follow? What steps can you take to achieve it?

From “He Still Moves Stones,” and Grace for the Moment by Max Lucado

Tomas Nelson, Nashville TN, 2007

Mission Belize 2009

February 2, page 2

Roaring Creek, Belize City, DFW, Fort Smith, and Mena

Life happens. Life also is to be seized and lived – treasured really, with Friends. February 2 gets 2 entries for 2 reasons. Mission and Friendship. Which is more important? You tell me! Can they be separated? Should they be? This is how our mission ended….

The last thing Fred shared in his devotional, thru some tears, was a “Thank you” to our little troop of guys. “Six amigos coming together and being one,” he put it. He said he had experienced a “time to laugh.” It’s been six months since Nikita went to be with the Lord, and it left a hole in him that he, at times, wasn’t sure he could crawl out of. He had shared with me privately before the trip that he was thinking about asking the Lord for “six more months, because it’s so hard.” We all felt that a lot of healing came to Fred on the trip, and lots of distilled life came to us from Fred. But we were all one. He said it this way, “We were a little crazy at times, but I needed that!”

Well the day was incredibly beautiful and rewarding as our hundreds of photos and stories can attest. But it was the peace of mind and joy of helping others, and being with friends that marked that last day as we drove through the country west to east, sight seeing, daydreaming and meditating as we went. A quiet peaceful time really… punctuated with jokes on or about each other from time to time.

As we started to leave Belize, I started to feel some spiritual resistance as we headed back to the USA. I’ll leave it to prophetic people to interpret or speak to that. Our plane was delayed by a mechanical malfunction for thirty minutes. We missed our flight in from DFW to FSM due to this. We’re deciding where to spend the night, our little battle-tested group still undaunted, and in good spirits. We get a call from Carole for Ed that his mother may be dying? That changes everything. We now work together to get Ed there as soon as we can. We rent a van and drive through the night, arriving in Ft. Smith at 330am. Carole meets Ed and they drive on to Mena. The guys get home and in bed about 430-500am. Ed probably stays up almost 48 hours. But he gets to see him mom and be there when she goes to be with the Lord very peacefully, having lived a long healthy life. The guys pray for and support Ed and the family as they can the next few days. We’re grateful to share this special moment with him and to see his heart. Also to learn that his mom “knew the Lord almost her whole life, and she is probably the reason I’m saved or living today.”

Yep. Life is special. And life is brief.

Hope you’ll have More Tomorrow.

Mission Belize 2009

February 2

Xunantunich, Spanish Lookout, The Zoo, Belize City

Up 0600, Packed, Going Home Day!, Breakfast 0700, Devotional 0745-0815 by Fred – Very Good! 0830 Packed in Suburban and off for a big sightseeing day, en route to the airport – target 1530L (for 1700 – 5pm flight.)

Our goal is “Xunantunich” Mayan Ruins; lunch at “Spanish Lookout” in Mennonite country (Can you say “ice cream?”); the “Belize Zoo”; and the airport.

We did in fact accomplish all of that and have a great time together. Also another great photo day. I may speak about these later; but the best part of the day was the devotional by Fred.

Every other devotional during our stay was by our “spiritual leader,” Bobby, and he did an excellent job! But early in the week Fred had requested to do it the last day. And that day had arrived. He began, “I’m not asking that you carefully get all the detail, but please hear my heart.” Psalm 68:6 “…He sitteth the solitary in families.” “When I think of “solitary,” I think of a diamond – and what a diamond goes through. I look at the age group we have here. God has done a work in every one of us – for a reason – not just so we can say what we’ve been through. A diamond is the only jewel that can cut metal – can cut chains off people. Randy, you can do so in this place. The CCF men’s ministry, women’s ministry, all the ministries; we need to ratchet it up a few notches this year! All of us, step it up.”

Fred’s last and most heart felt word was about “fathers.” He said, “We have 10,000 teachers, but not many fathers.” “Look for opportunities, be one – to others.” May God lead and teach us to do so. Be willing and desire to do it. It’s rewarding and so needed. Amen.

I saw Fred, Ed and Ralph and the other men model it on the construction site. I saw the difference just three days made in Charles, Clifford, Mike, and Juan. A “father’s heart” makes a difference. Keep the vision alive. Make it plain. Do it.

More Tomorrow, from Fort Smith.

Mission Belize 2009

February 1
0615 Get up; 0700 breakfast. Bobby shared his life verse (Matt 16:25) "meant so much to him because he had lost his life trying to save it by his own means, and since giving it up to Jesus; got it back again." A few others share and then...
Time to go to More Tomorrow, and children's church. We arrive at 10am and start to open up the community building. Kids are already running our way. We have about 20 children before beginning and a few adults standing around, as Randy starts leading in some worship songs on the keyboard and guitar. The kids know them and are animated as they sing. Although the kids study and speak English in school, this is a predominately Spanish and Mayan speaking village. They are in for a treat, as our own Fred Zavala reads and tells them the story of Paul on the road to Damascus in Spanish. As he does so, he has the rest of our team acting it out!
After this Ralph and Bobby lead with the "butterfly" art and craft project of the day. We help each child build his butterfly, with as little or much help as he or she needs, and they start coloring their pictures of Paul struck by the blinding light, after they finish. The butterfly represents, they are told, that we are "new creatures in Christ." Just like Paul was!
After church we walked around the village and helped Randy measure and look at lots suitable for the new church, preschool, medical, multiuse facility he intends to build there for the fledgling chruch.
Back to the compound for relaxing afternoon of naps and walks across the swinging bridge to the confluence of the Belize River and Roaring Creek, a peaceful and beautiful site. There is also journaling, reading, washing clothes going on into the evening.
We've had a great, long, spiritually productive, and restful day. Thank you Lord!
Later I IM Colby to ask a computer question for the compound, and I'm informed who won the the Super Bowl. It seems rather unimportant, and a world away.
More Tomorrow!

Mission Belize 2009

January 31 Lamanai, Belize

Up 0600L – 0700L Breakfast
Devotional – Psalm 8 read by Bobby, then his favorite Job verse – Job 36:26.
“How great is our God – beyond our understanding?”

Off on a day of recreation to Orange Walk in the north – actual destination was the longest lived Mayan Ruin of “Lamanai” (submerged crocodile). It was 2 hour drive, followed by a 1.5 hour (26mile) boat ride through the jungle, followed by a 1 mile walk through the jungle and climbing the ruins – most notably the “high temple.” (see photo) This place was settled about 1500 B.C. and was still in operation when the Spanish arrived in 1500 A.D. – 3000 years! Most Mayan cities mysteriously went into decline and disappeared by around 900 A.D.

We had a Jewish woman, Judy, from New Jersey join our group – not by accident, I’m sure! She fit in well, and seemed to enjoy our camaraderie too.

Great day! Great weather! Great opportunity! Great friends! There was lots of laughter, joking and good will.

More Tomorrow!

Mission Belize 2009

January 30

Great day – up at 6 am as usual. French toast, fresh pineapple, and fresh papaya for breakfast. Bobby shared a devotional teaching on being “instant in prayer.”

Some of the main points were: (1) Hearing from God is not a three step process. (2) Probably 90% of the time you can go to the Word to hear. (3) But a key for me (I believe anyone) is Romans 12:12 – “Be instant in prayer.” (4) Means more than respond – means be waiting to hear that voice. (5) No better time to respond than during an invitation. (6) Heb 2:1 Must earnestly heed to the things you hear lest they slip away. (7) Be a doer of the Word – not a hearer only – deceiving yourselves.

Ralph commented about his beautiful Toucan wood carving. “The artist just took away what’s not supposed to be there.” God does so too, in us.

Randy chimed in:

“Quick to hear

Instant to obey

Your soul will never go astray!”

Bobby kept it going with:

“Get on your face

Find your place

Run your race!”

We arrived at More Tomorrow about 845 am. Half of us stopped by the hardware store for needed supplies. Half went with Eugenio to open the building, tear down and move the scaffolding to the new work location in the room. The first group arrived and the work was in full swing until we finished at 1:30 – 2::00 pm, had lunch, packed our tools, said goodbyes to our friends and headed back to Roaring Creek. Once there we headed for the showers, and spent the evening eating, relaxing, and taking a walk with Randy across a swinging bridge to the confluence of Roaring Creek and the Belize River – a beautiful spot.

Randy was able to have the day free from us again to catch up on his work. We spent the meal time and walk time catching up with him.

One final word on the men of More Tomorrow… We had such a good time and relationship with the village chairman, Mike, a village elder, George, and two younger men, Clifford and Charles. We worked side by side and really bonded in respect, friendship, and love. They were very expressive of their appreciation for what we did for them and their village. We were able to express our appreciation for their hard work, side by side, with us. They liked hanging with us, working hard and laughing a lot. They took pride and ownership in the project, and we made some good friends!

I’ll have another update with More Tomorrow!

Mission Belize 2009

January 29, 2009 Roaring Creek & More Tomorrow, Belize

Lights on at 600 a.m…. Great pancake breakfast and great devotional, sharing time.
Bobby suggested this morning that we call share our life verses from the Bible, or a favorite verse for the truth therein and to get to know each other better.

Bobby – Matt 16:35. He said he was saved at 7 years of age, but became serious about his faith at 36, after his wreck and trouble with the law. He was “tired being a failure as a Christian.”

Ralph – Psalm 23. God is so leading and so in control.

Ed – Scriptures are life to me, all of them. Lately it’s been the Lord’s Prayer.” I’ve sort of struggled with prayer my whole life. I think it’s very cool the Lord prayed, “Give us this day, our daily bread.”

Dwayne – Proverbs 3:5-6 & John 15. Trust the Lord with all your heart. Abide in Him.

Bert – John 15:18. “Bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.” And Eph 6, “must know you have an enemy to know how to conduct yourself.”

Fred – Psalm 121 “One Scripture has been a life line to me.”

Randy – Phil 3:10 “Paul had an incredible transformation in his life, and so did I.” “I want to know the power of His resurrection. The fellowship of His suffering. And be conformed to His death.” “Christ died in the Garden – not on the cross. It was God talking to God. I’m still struggling with that reality – conforming to His death. I want the Spirit win the battle with the flesh.”

We arrived in More Tomorrow about 9am. We put in a good, hard, long day's work – Clifford, George, Mike (village chairman), & Charles came back to help. We really like those guys, and the feeling seems mutual. Got a lot done by 545pm when we stopped! That’s it for now, I’ll report More Tomorrow! -=db=-

Mission Belize 2009

January 28, 2009 Belize

This was the first full day of work at the village of More Tomorrow. It’s been beautiful, sunny, 80F with a breeze every day. Sorry to hear about all the ice and 20F weather back home! We probably finished about a third of the job today. It’s a great group, and we’ve worked well together and had lots of laughs. The natives who have helped us seem to enjoy such and join in the joking as well.

We’re up at 6am each morning with Ed turning on the lights and yelling, “Up & at ‘em girls!” Breakfast is at 7am, followed by a 15 minute devotional. Bobby started us off today and it serving as our spiritual leader. His texts were Jeremiah 17:9 and Psalms 1:1-3.

“In prosperity be fruitful! Are you? Anyone can share – even a brand new believer. He could say, “I gave my life to the Lord; He’s leading me now.” Bobby shared his live verse is Matthew 16:25, “Who would save his life will lose it….” He went on to share “the Lord knows it, and He then judges “according to what their actions deserve.”

In the discussion that followed, Randy chimed in, “Be shiners instead of whiners!”

I’ll leave you with that and share More Tomorrow. Be blessed! -=db=-

Solitude, Struggle, Suffering, Success

Recent email to: Curtis, Gary & Bobby,

Thanks for pointing this out at prayer the other morning – the timing of Jacob's limp and suffering. All that appears bad is not bad. As Curtis says, “It’s all good!”

It’s significant and encouraging that major events still happen to us as we’re well advanced in our journey through life and our journey with God. Our best years are still in front of us! Amen. Shalom. -=db=-

Alone with God

Do you need some motivation to get alone with God. To go on a spiritual retreat as Pastor Craig has suggested / requested? This might help…

“If Jesus practiced solitude, and Paul practiced solitude; why should we think we need not practice solitude?” Dallas Willard

“Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. When he saw that he had not prevailed against him, he touched the socket of his thigh; so the socket of Jacob's thigh was dislocated while he wrestled with him. Then he said, "Let me go, for the dawn is breaking." But he said, "I will not let you go unless you bless me." So he said to him, "What is your name?" And he said, "Jacob." He said, "Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel; for you have striven with God and with men and have prevailed." Then Jacob asked him and said, "Please tell me your name." But he said, "Why is it that you ask my name?" And he blessed him there. (Gen 32:20-32) [Bolding mine.]

Being alone. Struggling with God and his fears. Determined to not let go, nor give up until getting something from God. Jacob struggled with God, himself, and others (Esau and Laban). For his tenacity and effort God changed his standing, his person, and his name – from “Deceiver” to “Israel,” “Prince with God” – WoW, may it be so with us in January, and in 2009, and forever. Our God is an Awesome God….

January 8, 2009 Subiaco

Investing in People

Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you. (John 15:16)

Everyone invests his life in something by virtue of his living. No moment can be saved for another day. Time once spent can never be recaptured. If this life is the seedtime of eternity, how do you best spend your life preparing for your time with God? Scripture answers this question by telling you to invest in the “fruit that remains.”

What is the fruit that remains? The Bible teaches that this imperishable fruit is human beings. Jesus invested His life in people. When He died, He died for people. He urged His followers, “Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life.” People are important; people last forever.

Things, on the other hand, have no intrinsic value. A beautiful cup may have utilitarian value in that it helps in getting drink to your mouth, but it is temporal and will not endure the consummation of the age. This does not mean that you should misuse temporal resources. Quite the contrary, God will hold you accountable, in part, for how you steward these resources.

As Christ’s obedient servant, use things to invest in people. An axiom of Scripture is: Steward the temporal; give your life in exchange for the eternal. Keep the value of your possessions in proper perspective; they are resources given by God to assist you in investing in “the fruit that remains.” This best prepares you for an eternity with Him. What does your investment portfolio reveal about your belief?

[This is from one of my prized devotional books, Thoughts From The Diary Of A Desperate Man by Walter A. Henrichsen. Email: walter@leadershipfoundation.org]