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Archive for the ‘Missions’ Category

Some Things Cross Language Barriers

Posted in Missions on February 3, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Some things simply cross cultural and even language barriers.  Last night, I got my first taste of Romanian games.  It reminded me that laughter is its own language.  We played for a couple of hours and it did not matter if we understood the Romanian language or not.  We laughed together and enjoyed being together, sharing the joy of Christ.

The love of God knows no language barrier either.  One of the most moving experiences of this trip for me came last night during our worship time.  Just as we were headed to the service, Jeff got word that his sister-in-law was being taken into surgery in Houston for an emergency C-section.  Jeff shared the news with the group and Ovidiu stood and asked us to stop and pray for Jeff’s family.  He called on two students to pray for Jeff’s sister-in-law.  As I sat and listened to two Romanian students, one after the other, pray in their native language for someone they have never met but because of their love of God and for Jeff, I was moved.  I was reminded that love transcends any barrier.  God is alive and well in Romania and it is such a blessing to be here and be a part of it.

What barriers have been placed in your life?

 

 

 

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A Castle and Worship

Posted in Hope, Missions on February 1, 2011| 4 Comments »

Romania is a very unique country – full of history and beauty.  This morning, after breakfast, the students moved into their first small group Bible studies.  I had the chance to listen in on one of those for a few minutes.  I am not sure if it was the intimidation factor of having an American leading the group or if it was just that they loved listening to Kimberely’s southern accent or a combination of both, but they listened intently as the discussion was begun about worship.

After the small group time, we all loaded up and drove a few miles away to tour Peles Castle.  It was an amazing display of craftsmanship and history.  I learned that Romania was ruled by a monarchy for a brief time – from the late 1800’s to the mid-1900’s.  This castle was built by the first king of Romania.

 

As we toured through the rooms, looking at all the ornate woodworking and attention to detail of just about every aspect of the structure, I thought about all the people it must have taken to construct such a masterpiece.  What commitment!  It took somewhere between 300 and 400 people nearly 30 years to finish – to make it a home worthy of the king.

Now, the property is leased by the state and stands as an historical reminder of a day when Romania was different.

All of this made me think about why we are here in this place this week.  We are here to lead students to a new understanding of worship.  It took nearly 30 years of unfailing commitment to complete the Peles Castle.  All to honor a king with an impressive summer home.  How much more should we be committed to brining honor to Christ?

That is the heart of worship – giving of ourselves to please and honor God!  Have you worshipped today?

As I write this, the group is spending the afternoon on the slopes of one of the most popular ski areas in the country.  I am still not feeling well, so I decided staying in might be the wiser thing to do.  But after dinner tonight, the group will meet again to continue thinking about worship.  Jeff Scott will be speaking through an interpreter about what worship must have looked like in Jesus’ time.  Pray for God to speak through him this evening.  Pray that the hearts of the students will be open to what God has to say.

Pray for a movement of God to begin here in this country through these students!

 

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A Visit to Nevrincia

Posted in Missions on January 31, 2011| 3 Comments »

Nevrencia, Romania was a winter wonderland this morning.  Everything was covered in snow.  Even though the village is one of the poorest in the area, the snow made it seem almost peaceful.  Unfortunately, the sub-zero temperatures make it difficult for many to survive since heat is hard to obtain.  Lifestyle here is very different from what I am accustomed to at home in the states.

Most people in the village have no transportation, so walking is the way to get around and on days like today, that is miserable.  The primary economy is agriculture but that is a harder life here than it is even at home.

To make matters worse, the area pastor continues to run into challenges each time he tries to work in the community because the local orthodox church is not very cooperative – making it difficult for Ovidiu to make any progress toward making an impact in the village.  But the need for the hope that only Jesus can bring is certainly there.

After visiting the village, our team along with 32 local students, headed out for a 6 hour drive to Sinaia, Romania.  After arriving here and settling in, we sat down for a wonderful meal and then met briefly as a group for a time of teaching and prayer.

Tomorrow, we begin the real event.   Several of the students speak English but not all of them.  Unfortunately, none of our team speaks Romanian.  So we will have to do everything through interpreters.  But I am excited to see what God will do in the lives of the students.  Please pray for God to move in miraculous ways in the lives of the students and our team members as well.  I would also ask for prayer for health – several of us are not feeling all that well.

God is amazing – follow along each day this week to see what happens!

Be blessed today!

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Journey to Romania

Posted in Missions on January 30, 2011| 1 Comment »

The journey has begun.  Kristi drove me to the airport about 17 hours ago.  And now, I am at Starbucks in the Frankfurt, Germany airport.  In about 2 hours, we board a plane for Budapest, Hungary.  Once there, we have a 7 hour van ride to Susani, Romania.

Unfortunately, I can’t sleep on a plane or in a van – unlike the gentleman who had me blocked in on the plane – he had no trouble sleeping for 7 hours straight.  Did I mention I was trapped?

Actually, it was a great flight.  And as I write this, the sun is coming up in Germany.  Isn’t it an amazing world in which we live!  In just 9 hours, we can fly half way around the world!

I am really excited about what God is going to do through this wonderful group this week.  Here is how you can pray today – pray that even though we will all be dealing with fatigue, that we will be God’s light to everyone we meet.  Also, pray that through the availability of eight people, the students from the Susani area will be impacted by God’s work.

I will update you more when I can.

Be blessed today!

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Headed to Romania

Posted in Community, Missions on January 28, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Tomorrow is the big day.  Nearly 24 hours of straight travel.  Destination?  Susani, Romania!

I have the opportunity to go with a group from Abilene to help out with a youth event in Romania – I’ve never preached through an interpreter so I am excited to see how that works.

We will be visiting a couple of different villages along the way to look at the potential for future trips and then we’ll settle down for three days with students.

I will be doing my best to write each day and keep you updated as well as give you an idea of how to pray for us.  I have never been to this country before so I am not sure what to expect, but I am told it is not hard to find internet access.

So pray for us.  Pray for safe travels.  Pray for receptive hearts and teachable minds among the students and those leading.  But most of all, pray that God will use our efforts to impact each and every person with whom we come in contact with love and compassion.

I am ready!  Oh, wait, I still need to pack – OK – almost ready!

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You Can Change the World!

Posted in Hope, Leadership, Missions on January 20, 2011| Leave a Comment »

If you are like me, you have a pretty good handle on your world.  You know that at the end of the day you will go home to a comfortable place, probably eat a decent meal and tomorrow you will get up and head off to your job or to school or whatever your day normally involves.  You might even have weekend plans that include some downtime and time with family and friends – who knows, maybe even church on Sunday.

We have grown very comfortable with our lives.  And as long as no one comes in and messes with it we are OK.  We may be aware of suffering on the other side of the world, but it is over there – too far away for me to worry about – heck, I have my own problems with which to be concerned.

We easily go about our insulated lives choosing not to concern ourselves with real needs of others – some just down the street.

Last night I had the blessing to begin a study on the new book, Out Live Your Life, by Max Lucado.  If you haven’t had a chance to pick up the book, I would strongly encourage you to do so but with a warning.

Don’t get it with the thought that it will make you feel good about yourself and your world.  It isn’t that it is depressing but it will mess you up.  It will open your eyes to things that you cannot, as a Christ follower, continue to ignore.

I would also invite you to join us in this journey on Wednesday nights at 6 if you are in town.  But again, don’t come to the study thinking it will be anything but challenging.

Last night I showed the promotional trailer for the video study.  As we watched, this flashed across the screen: “Remember when you thought you could change the world?  Well, you can!”

Come join us as we set out to change the world!

 

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Do You Have Time?

Posted in Hope, Missions on January 13, 2011| Leave a Comment »

Yesterday, I was in the Las Cruces, New Mexico area meeting with county officials about building restrictions.  Our church mission team tries to go and build a home each summer for a family in need  in the Rio Grande Valley.  We have extended our efforts just across the state line into New Mexico on a couple of occasions but found that their requirements were a bit different when it comes to constructing a home.  So yesterday, I went to talk to the officials to get an idea of what we will need to do if we build another home there.

Over the last three years or so, we have had the distinct privilege of working with a lady in the Las Cruces area who has helped us identify families who need assistance.  This lady comes closer to being recognized as a saint than anyone I know.

Sofia is a social worker through the school system.  Her job is to work with the under-privileged children and families in the school district.  She does an unbelievable job!  From teaching sewing and cooking classes to mothers, to feeding the children on the weekends and summer, to helping families find decent housing.  Sofia has dedicated her life to helping others.  Sofia went with me to meet with the county yesterday.

Our meeting with the county helped me realize just how much leg work will be involved in making preparations for our group to arrive as well as how much time would be required of Sofia both before we started and after we leave – pulling permits, meeting inspectors and filing all the paperwork.  As we drove away I asked Sofia if she understood what it would take from her to make this happen.  She understands.  Knowing all that she does on a daily basis, I asked her if she would have the time to take on this added job.

This was her response: “As long as there is life, there is time.”

After I dropped her off at the school, I had to pull over and write that down so that I wouldn’t forget.  As long as there is life, there is time!  What an amazing resolve to help others.  As long as I have breath, I can do what is necessary to make the time for what is important.

Sofia is an inspiration!  When I refer to her as a saint, she gets very embarrassed, but in my eyes – she is there!

Thank you Sofia for giving of yourself to help others day in and day out!

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Hope For The Hopeless

Posted in Church, Community, Hope, Missions on December 21, 2010| Leave a Comment »

I have had a day or two to begin to process all the things we experienced with our time of service with Mission Arlington.  I had the transformative experience of working along side some amazing South Plains College students this past weekend.  We did everything from pick up and deliver furniture to wrap Christmas gifts and work in the Christmas store.  We were able to work first hand with folks living in deplorable conditions in inner-city Arlington.  Among those were children in low-income housing complexes.

One of our assignments on Friday was to take a truck full of items – clothes, house-wares, toys and the like – to two different apartment complexes and organize all of it out on the ground and then go door to door to each of the units to tell the tenants that we were having a free garage sale.  In a matter of minutes the area was swarming with activity.

As I tried to connect with these folks, I saw something tragic in many of their eyes.  Looking into the hollow eyes of another human being and seeing nothing but darkness tore at my soul.  The darkness was complete absence – an absence of hope.  I was torn as we loaded up the left overs to move on to our next assignment.  I watched as the people I had just met carried their new found “treasures” back to their shelters and then I turned and got on my heated, comfortable bus to transport our workers back to our reality.  A reality that does not include a lack for anything.

The beauty of our time at Mission Arlington came on Sunday, when we had the opportunity to work with the children in some of those same housing complexes.  For them, the hope had not yet been drained from their eyes.  They still had the hope that innocence affords a child living in those conditions.  It was in those moments that I saw the opportunity to make a real difference.  Those workers and volunteers who work with those kids weekly are making a difference.  They are keeping their hope alive – hope that can only come from Jesus.

May God bless all those workers on the “front lines.”  Your work will produce fruit because you are serving as God’s hands and arms and feet.

I am glad I got to work with the kids whose hope is still alive – especially here at Christmas time.  But I can’t erase the image in my mind of the hopelessness in the eyes of the adults.

Come Lord Jesus, Come!  Restore hope to the hopeless!

Amen

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Inspired By Miss Tillie

Posted in Missions, Motivational on December 20, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Tillie Burgin is a modern day pioneer.  She is also a model of Jesus leadership.  She is in her 70’s but  she is still on the job and still the center of the organization.  But she is the center not because of her ego.  She is the center because of her passion and heart.  It is inspiring and contagious.

Mission Arlington owns and operates a literal fleet of vehicles – all running in different directions all day long, 6 days per week.  Many of the vehicles are large moving trucks used to pick up donated items and bring them back to be sorted and then re-loaded onto the trucks to be delivered to needy families in the Arlington area.

It was the last run of the day for our crew.  We had delivered a truck full of furniture to a family and then headed off to pick up items from four different donors.  The first three donors had a wide variety of items ranging from 32” TV’s to filing cabinets to used clothing – even an air compressor.  But the last pick up of the day for us was the remains of an estate sale.  Little did we know what we were in for.  We loaded the truck with as much as it could hold and headed back to the warehouse.

When we arrived, the staff immediately called Miss Tillie to take a look and see if the items were any value to the cause.  It was 5:45 in the evening, getting dark and cold.  But Miss Tillie came running, climbed up in the back of that truck and began sorting.

We finally got the truck unloaded and the items placed where they belonged.  I moved the large truck down the street to the parking area for the night and then walked back to the center to meet up with our crew.  It was 7 PM by that time and as I approached our group, I noticed Miss Tillie with a broom and dustpan, sweeping trash in the alley.

I was overcome with the realization that I was watching Jesus leadership in action.  Miss Tillie is the “real deal.”  Here we were going on twelve and a half hours straight and she was picking up trash in the parking lot and alley!

As I drove away that evening I pondered two things.  One, I hope I am still living out my passion with that kind of energy when I am Tillie’s age.  And two, I pray that I can exhibit that kind of servant leadership every day for the rest of my life.

Thank you Miss Tillie for inspiring us all!

 

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Available For Impact

Posted in Missions, Motivational on December 8, 2010| Leave a Comment »

Yesterday, I had the joy of retracing the steps of our construction mission efforts over the past 3 years in the El Paso area.  We visited with the three families we have worked with the last 3 summers.  All are doing well and are just as appreciative today as they were the day we walked away from their homes.

We then went on to look at potential projects and as we did, something began to happen to me that has happened many, many times before.  The overwhelming need fell like a thick blanket over my soul.  Thoughts of inadequacy began to flow.  Questions like:  “Where is the end?”  “What can we possibly do to help?” and “What is a long term fix for this situation?”

While it is a real dilemma in seeking to find answers for these questions, there is also great motivation to try and make an impact when given the opportunity to visit with those few we have impacted over the past 3 years.  As I walked away from one of the first homes we built in this area, the thought crossed my mind, “We made a difference here.”

Now don’t hear me say that we should ever get smug in our accomplishments.  God has brought the impact, we have just been available.  But it should be impossible for anyone to see the glaring need in this area and in the face of that need feel like they have “arrived.”

God is impacting lives in this area through men and women of faith from all over the state and even the country.  How could God use you today to make an impact in someone else’s life?  All you have to do is make yourself available!

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