October Update

    A new initiative that wouldn’t have been made possible without the partnership with Christ’s Church of the Valley is starting to take shape.
    In our last update we told you about John Maxwell’s Equip program that is literally reaching millions all over the world with Christian Leadership Training. As an Associate Trainer, we can now begin creating a network in two different locations in China and hope to go into Taiwan and train selected leaders that will train other leaders to maximize our efforts . We are planning a preliminary trip in January to connect with leaders and start the process of planning with a target of presenting the first section of material in June. This really is an exciting endeavor and has unlimited potential to reach many, many Chinese leaders to help them in church planting and evangelism. It’s a proven program and well accepted even in dark and difficult lands as the focus is ‘leadership training’. However, it is completely biblically based. Pray for us that the right connections with the right people will be made for this to be successful.

See their site for more information: www.iequip.org

    We have had a lot of generosity poured out on us by God through many of you, our supporting churches. In fact, the money needed for our closing was received to the dollar.  CCV also contributed to helping us with needed repairs with a lot of man power and also funding those repairs. We are always amazed at God’s provision and never want to take that for granted.
    We have also appreciated the many prayers for us during this time of change and trial. We know that God has led us to this point and we see God moving in even bigger ways than before. Thank you so much for joining us on this journey. It has now been 20 years since we began working for and in the Chinese harvest fields! Many of you have been with us the entire time supporting us, praying for us. Please know that the Lord is working through you and us to make a difference… through recruits, training, evangelism, encouraging, translation projects, awareness and so much more. Let us all keep striving until the last soul is saved. It is possible in THIS generation. Remember II Peter 3:9… not wanting ANY to perish.

August Update - Maximum Impact

What if you had an opportunity to reach a few that could reach millions?    Would you please pray for Dezi & I as we seek to determine the direction the Lord is taking us and that we have the heart, the passion and the determination to stay faithful and stay the course he has set before us?
    We thank you for your continued support to keep going in our effort to mobilize more workers for the Harvest. My time in Atlanta, GA was very challenging. John Maxwell’s Equip program is literally reaching millions all over the world with Christian Leadership Training. They go into an existing network of church leaders, and offer them leadership training to help them reproduce themselves, more leaders to start more churches. We want to take this into China using the network we have and it certainly appears the time is ripe. We would travel to various locations twice a year and gather house church leaders, businessmen and other entrepreneurs and go through a series of seminars teaching them Biblically based values and roles that they are held accountable to pass on to others. Over six years of curriculum has already been produced and translated into Mandarin Chinese and this is already being used in a few locations including Taiwan. We have been given an opportunity to be trainers and while it is completely self-funded, we have found no other way that is making as big an impact in China as this has the potential of being. Chinese are migrating all over the world now. The picture above was taken in Nairobi on my trip in June. Chinese restaurants were in places where there were no churches. Remember, there is an urgency to getting the Gospel out. With every breath there is someone passing into eternity.
    God is amazing as he has raised up faithful supporters like you to help us in ways beyond we could ask or imagine. We have been given a closing date of September 24th on a house in Surprise, AZ and my mother is settled in to a new apartment near by. The kids have started their new schools and are enjoying their new youth group. The last year has been the hardest of our lives and we are striving to learn the lessons that God is gently teaching. One of which is being more thankful. We never want to take you for granted. Thank you… for believing in us.

July Update - FIRE!!

There was a fire just starting on our street. I tried calling 911 on my cell but they wanted a lot of personal information and data from me before they even asked what the emergency was and the fire was growing. I looked down the street and there was a fireman checking a hydrant so ran to him to tell him. He kept on fiddling with the fire hydrant and said, “Yeah, I’ll call it in.” The fire was now engulfing the house. Many trucks came and a lot of fireman were all scrambling and getting hoses ready and connecting them, talking on their radios, getting out equipment and raising ladders. But not one hose was spraying on the fire yet. The fire was spreading to the nearby trees, yards and the roofs of neighboring homes. By the time the water was flowing, the fire was consuming the entire block. Then, I woke up….   It was only a dream. Or was it. I was really disturbed by the dream. Angry actually. Frustrated. I felt it was real. That it could happen. And then I realized it is happening. Christians are really busy. Doing a lot of things. Administrating this. And that. Gathering all kinds of seemingly important information that really doesn’t matter if it is in your computer or iphone or file cabinet at all because that’s where it sits. People are made aware of the danger of so many people all over the world, oppressed, in poverty, lost, but also your next door neighbor. They continue not knowing about the grace that can quench the guilt and rescue their souls. We are busy. Reading our Bibles. Going to ‘how to’ evangelize classes. Encouraging each other to worship. Having BBQs with our church friends. Discussing the need. Getting counseling. Praying for needs and wants. But, the world is engulfed and very little water is being poured on the flames. We need firemen actually fighting the fire.
   I’m heading to Atlanta this month for a one day conference with John Maxwell’s Equip and meeting with their International Director on an opportunity to train Chinese pastors in China to multiply their efforts. Perhaps firemen can be found within the neighborhood. When the dream fire started, a few garden hoses probably could have done the job. Put out a fire this month. Tell someone about Jesus.

June Update

Orphaned elephants. Yeah, probably not what you would expect me to talk about after returning on a trip from the Mathare slum in Kenya. I mean, I still can’t describe what I saw, felt, thought, smelled, witnessed. It’s all… overwhelming. The need there. The poverty. With a million residents living in a 2 ½ mile stretch of land in downtown Nairobi, 200,000 of which are children living in filth. Many if not most are orphans due to AIDS and malaria. They have nothing. Nothing. Just hope. They love Jesus. They danced to him. They sang to him. They wrote poems about him. They know he’s changed their life. Not their living. Their lives. They are following the one who loves them. Kinda like elephants at the Elephant Orphanage we visited. They have emotional trauma when their parents are killed or they become lost. In fact, elephants can stop eating because of mourning. So, their trainer adopts them. Sleeps with them. Feeds them. Talks to them. Lives with them 24/7. Giving them hope. Kinda like Jesus with the children. Hope is all they have. All they probably will ever have. We could never meet all the physical need of the slums. It’s not stopping the amazing CMF and Missions of Hope staff from trying. Our team of 90 did what they could for a week providing medical care, VBS, soccer clinics and building skylights in the shacks. Jesus is present in the slum. And there are many following him. When you have nothing else, you still can have peace. Like the baby elephants. They follow their trainer wherever he goes. Not wandering or wavering. Always in a straight line. They’ve been abandoned once. Never again. The children of the slum are learning to follow Jesus too. They’ve been abandoned. They will never stop following Jesus. He’s all they can depend on. He’s adopted them.

Dezi moved to Phoenix while I was gone and we are all back together. We had our first Mission Weekend at CCV and had over 600 sign up for mission trips. Recruiting is off the charts. Thanks for supporting the mobilization of more laborers. It’s making a difference. It’s spreading hope. And more are following.

Unsurmountable Need Is My Conundrum

This is crazy. So many people here in Nairobi, a couple of million living in slums which again, I can in no way begin to describe them to you. Nor can a picture truly capture the magnitude of the destitute life these admirable people live in each day etching out a living on pennies a day. (Don't fret, I'll add pictures as soon as I get back to my Macbook and download them from my iPhone. I hope you can sense my irony as I write that.)

While sitting at the Pangani Center today that holds just over 1,000 children from the Mathare slum teaching them and feeding them once a day and sending them back in the slums at night, the mission team from CCV met about strategy for Asia. We talked about possibilities in Taiwan, China, Thailand, Laos and India. You know, almost 60% of where the entire world's population resides.

The papers here in Nairobi are still wondering who threw the two grenades that killed 9 people and injured over 60 others into a Christian gathering discussing political changes. It's pretty obvious the Muslim counter party probably had a hand in it showing how much Islam really needs Christ, even though it is still the fastest growing religion in the world since 9/11.

Zach and Emma, two new friends from North Dakota who are serving on our medical team were trying to figure out why a little girl's ear was hurting so bad. There was no infection. But the ear was severely needing some serious irrigation. The equipment brought was useless because the batteries couldn't be charged properly here in the slum. We were trying to be innovative, but just didn't have the tools necessary to really help her. We gave her a small packet of vitamins and worm medicine and sent her on her way. She was the last patient to be seen today. She left crying.

Sitting on the bus to go back to our hostel, my window was pounded on and a young man high on sniffing glue, dressed in clothing that was so dirty there was no way to tell the original color of the cloth, his hand was held out for anything I might give him. I took a picture of him. And of a few other glue sniffers standing like zombies in the middle of the road. They were about 12 years old. We were told not to give handouts by the missionaries. We didn't want to enable them of course. Sigh.

It's been a busy week connecting with all sorts of other mission groups and missionaires while here. Too many really. Some even came all the way from their orphanages, and mission offices and churches to our hostel all wanting to "connect", aka... hoping for more support.

I could continue but if you know me, you know what I'm thinking. What in the world are we doing. WHAT IN THE WORLD ARE WE DOING.

Jesus said the poor we will always have with us. I think his point was pretty obvious. We can't do it all. We can't win all the lost, fix all the problems, feed all the hungry, heal all the sick, support all the missionaries who are so under funded. We can't. I feel we are supposed to. But we can't. The only thing that matters.... the ONLY THING THAT MATTERS is our relationship to Christ. Maybe you can find the passage where Jesus says that part about the poor, and then check out the context. It's late here and I'm exhausted. And I just realized that after all the days activities and serving so many and doing so much, I have forgotten to pray.

The need has overwhelmed me. And I have missed the point again today.

Missions of Hope - Nairobi, Kenya

I am currently sitting at the Gracia Hotel in Nairobi along with 90 others from Christ's Church of the Valley and First Christian Church of Phoenix. It has been an amazing trip so far. And words can't describe what everyone has in their hearts right now. It is nothing like I have ever participated in before.

We have six teams working here in a variety of projects... a medical team bringing dental and general medicine to about 250 people a day living in slums who can't afford health care of any kind... a VBS team working with 1,000 kids a day... a soccer team playing with 200-900 kids a day with some kids walking over two hours to play... an I.T. team working on the Mission of Hope computers and installing ten new donated laptops to their network... a video production team recording all kinds of footage to be used by the churches and the missions we are working with (and posting the official trip blog:  CCV - Nairobi ) ... and a Bring The Light team who goes into the slums and cuts a 12 x 12 inch hole in the tin roofs of about 45 shacks a day and installs a sheet that allows light in to what was complete darkness while sharing the Gospel with the residents. Yeah, a lot is being done.

They have nothing. I'm overwhelmed with the complete destitution of the Mathare Slum residents. Yet I am confounded with their indomitable spirit. They seem.... well.... happy. They have nothing. Yet, they are content. They are readily accepting of the Gospel. But they were smiling before we came... and as we left. I found myself wanting what they have. They have nothing.

This group is ripe for the harvest. Not the residents of the slum, even though I have seen no riper field in all of my missionary career. But the 90 who are with us. They are seeing the need and realizing they have the power to meet it. Not merely for a 12 day mission trip, but perhaps for a life time. That is what I am praying for. And if you pray for me, pray that what I have becomes nothing.

Uniting The Passion

Can we tell you… the vision that you have been supporting has not changed. In fact, we are convinced that we are in a time that God is calling us to see a much larger view than what we have previously imagined. The Chinese are still very open to the Gospel and yet so many are dying without a Savior because of the lack of opportunity to hear. In connecting workers, enhancing training and strategizing to become more effective with our resources, we believe we can together better meet this urgency. Or we can simply believe in what the Holy Spirit is doing and follow along as best as our faith and prayers will allow. Or maybe it’s the same thing. What we see is this, the Lord bringing like minded people together with this same goal, the same vision. It’s about reaching the lost, the lonely, the marginalized, the forgotten, the trapped, the forsaken. And people with that passion are uniting their efforts.

Over spring break and the weeks before and after, the friends pictured, and 7 others all came to Phoenix to see what God is doing here and how they might fit. One has already secured a two year internship with CCV and is focusing on Cross-Cultural Counseling. One is going to China for a 6 month internship. Two others who have had to return from China for an indefinite period and are relocating here to begin work with the many students who are studying here from their original city in China. Coincidence? Or spiritual?

It’s been hard to live by faith. The house is under contract. We are looking for one here. Flew home for a weekend to see the family. Preparing to take 90 including a nephew to Kenya in June. Still thankful for your trust. And prayers

I Came to the Desert Alone

Sometimes life feels like you are walking in the desert. Alone. There are no two sets of footprints. Just yours. And you know that it is good. You have read the stories of the men and women of God who have gone before. You empathize with their struggles and trials. And yet, you desperately want to get to the end of the chapter. To see how God is going to turn things around to the amazing. To the more than you can ask or imagine. From the harm that the enemy wishes to do to the good that will save many others. Dezi and the family were able to drive down to Arizona for a weekend last month, and we took a day to visit the desert. The real one. It was good for the family to come together and see where God seems to be leading us. Overlooking the Phoenix area on top of South Mountain, the kids were reminded of Taipei and all the millions of people who still do not know Jesus. We all realized that though we may live in the desert for a time, we are living for something bigger. And we need to wait to see how the chapter unfolds. We don’t want it to end quite yet. We can’t write the story ourselves. We must wait. We must trust. And sometimes, trusting feels like... the desert.

We really are not alone though. If not for you, we couldn’t be on this journey. We want to know that you are amazing. That your giving to us is like a drink of cold water in arid places, like Phoenix. Well it’s a dry heat. But thank you. Really. We are still living two lives. Dezi is in Moberly and has put our house up for sale. She’s finishing up the last semester of teaching Chinese and allowing our kids to finish out their school year. I am adapting to working out of Christ’s Church of the Valley and learning… and being challenged to believe in something much larger. Every church is fully capable of winning the lost. CCV is an excellent model. We expect recruitment to increase just as soon as we all get to the desert together.