Reflections on my recent trip to Honduras abound as many good things occurred that were very encouraging to see. Last week I went with two other men to hold seminars for pastors and their wives in the cities of Talanga, El Porvenir, and Guaimaca. Seeing friends from years past is always a true blessing. I have been very fortunate to develop friendships with about a dozen Honduran pastors. It is an honor to serve these brothers who labor in obscurity yet are doing good jobs of shepherding God's people under their care. Many of you know that it is Leonard, Jack and my heart to minister to pastor's in remote areas where they have very few opportunities to attend seminars for encouragement and education.
As I reported earlier, we saw God show up (always a good thing!) and heal marriages which were falling off the cliff. Eight people were healed of things such as tumors, depression, and pain in various parts of the body. Physical healing is always an amazing thing to participate in as God brings healing as a result of his unending goodness and love for us. The pastor's deep expressions of gratitude for coming and sharing with them is incredibly humbling. It makes the cost of going seem insignificant compared to the hope and encouragement given to fellow co-laborers of the gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven.
Tidbits of the trip for those who were not in church last Sunday. At El Porvenir there were two pastors who walked over 4 hours to attend the seminar. This is incredibly inspiring to continue onward in my own efforts to pastor were I am placed. (In my very first seminar I conducted in Omjon, Philippines one woman pastor started on Wednesday morning and arrived at 5:00 PM on Thursday to get to the closing session of the seminar.)
One of the hardest things for me to get used to during my travels to these remote places is the lack of hot water. How to bathe without going into shock each morning is always one of the major challenges of the trip. Each morning you take a deep breath and get the torment over with as quickly as possible. The 'deep breath' is to stifle the primal scream of anguish that wants to rise within me as good water runs down my back. The food is almost always good. And in those few times when you do not get enough to eat there is always the supply of Snickers and Butterfingers waiting to supplement the diet!
The flowering trees of Honduras are so gorgeous. Pictures (at least my pictures) do not do justice to their beauty.
As I close this entry let me give praise to the Lord for those in Honduras who serve in conditions most Americans would never submit too. So to Jorge, Carlos, Danilo, Henry, Elmore, Santos, Luis, Alvin, and the many others in the remote areas of central Honduras - WELL DONE.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Friday, October 16, 2009
Sunny Days Are Here Again
Two weeks ago I attended the Texas State Fair. It rained that day. And it has been raining ever since. Eight inches of rain in the past two weeks. Cloudy and overcast everyday. North Texans were on their knees pleading for sunshine. Waiting and waiting and waiting. Wednesday night I MADE MY CONFESSION TO A FRIEND. I was responsible for all the rain. It was because I went to the State Fair. Within twenty-four hours the skies cleared and the sun was back in its rightful place. All is well again. The past two weeks made us all yearn for God's Country (KANSAS) where in their state song the line "where the skies are not cloudy all day" rang true to our hearts. After the past two weeks it makes a person wonder how those poor souls survive in the Great Northwest.
Last Wednesday night, after making my confession, I felt so good that I invited a couple over to the house following the church activities to roast marshmallows over a new outdoor fire pit I had recently purchased. As earlier noted, it had rained eight inches and everything was soaked (including the firewood). This was no problem. Earlier in the day I discovered some lighter fluid left over from some distant grill out and figured I could use the lighter fluid to soak the wood and get it to burn enough to dry out and thus I would be in 'tall cotton' with a roaring fire amidst the wet wonderland. Alas there was not enough lighter fluid to complete the task so it was nip and tuck as to whether we could get the wood dry enough to stay burning. But God is good and with some newspaper and prayer we succeeded in getting the wood finally burning. Then I strode into the house to get the marshmallows only to discover the bag of marshmallows in the cupboard was a bag of miniature marshmallows! I can say that roasting miniature marshmallows is a real waste of time. They burn quickly. They have little taste. And the effort expended is not worth the reward received. Lessons learned through this futile event are: 1) Buy a full bottle of lighter fluid, 2) Dry out wood in the kitchen stove first, and 3) Buy bigger marshmallows!
Papa Was A Rolling Stone (playing in the background) sure takes one back down memory lane!
Three days from now I will be in Honduras. My two traveling companions, Jack and Leonard, and I will be conducting seminars for pastors. One never quite knows what to expect at these seminars. Last year it was marriages that were about to be ended that was the side issues we dealt with amidst the seminar. I am happy to report that the marriages are still together and improved. I am eager to get the recent update from the pastors and their wives. Another time in the Philippines it was a surprise to us to have a pastor tell us that he did not know he could show Grace to his church. Law was all he knew. It will be good to again rub shoulders with the pastors of Talanga, Honduras.
May everyone have a blessed day.
Blessings
Last Wednesday night, after making my confession, I felt so good that I invited a couple over to the house following the church activities to roast marshmallows over a new outdoor fire pit I had recently purchased. As earlier noted, it had rained eight inches and everything was soaked (including the firewood). This was no problem. Earlier in the day I discovered some lighter fluid left over from some distant grill out and figured I could use the lighter fluid to soak the wood and get it to burn enough to dry out and thus I would be in 'tall cotton' with a roaring fire amidst the wet wonderland. Alas there was not enough lighter fluid to complete the task so it was nip and tuck as to whether we could get the wood dry enough to stay burning. But God is good and with some newspaper and prayer we succeeded in getting the wood finally burning. Then I strode into the house to get the marshmallows only to discover the bag of marshmallows in the cupboard was a bag of miniature marshmallows! I can say that roasting miniature marshmallows is a real waste of time. They burn quickly. They have little taste. And the effort expended is not worth the reward received. Lessons learned through this futile event are: 1) Buy a full bottle of lighter fluid, 2) Dry out wood in the kitchen stove first, and 3) Buy bigger marshmallows!
Papa Was A Rolling Stone (playing in the background) sure takes one back down memory lane!
Three days from now I will be in Honduras. My two traveling companions, Jack and Leonard, and I will be conducting seminars for pastors. One never quite knows what to expect at these seminars. Last year it was marriages that were about to be ended that was the side issues we dealt with amidst the seminar. I am happy to report that the marriages are still together and improved. I am eager to get the recent update from the pastors and their wives. Another time in the Philippines it was a surprise to us to have a pastor tell us that he did not know he could show Grace to his church. Law was all he knew. It will be good to again rub shoulders with the pastors of Talanga, Honduras.
May everyone have a blessed day.
Blessings
Friday, October 2, 2009
October Treat
Yesterday I went to the Texas State Fair for the first time in 9 years. It was fun with not much changing since I last visited. But I will share three experiences.
First, I rode the Ferris wheel on the midway for the first time. I was surprised at how little motion there was. I grew up riding on Ferris wheels that were open bench/cart seating that would swing at the least bit of starting and stopping. The 'Texas Star' has a heavy cage that would take King Kong swinging it to produce any significant motion. Still, the view from 200 feet off the ground is spectacular.
The second experience was found at the auto show, specifically the Ford area. Ford had a humanoid robot that was amazingly advanced. It really did converse with the audience on a wide range of topics. It was totally absorbing to watch a robot pick at random someone from the audience and talk with them. This was a cool exhibit.
The third experience was humbling. Coming upon a trio (guitar, saxophone, trumpet) playing in a public area there were two men listening and dancing to the music with utter disregard to the people passing by. I have passed by similar scenes on other occasions with young men doing their break dancing or whatever. They were great at their dancing and knew it and wanting those passing by to see their 'greatness'. But this scene was different. The two men were mentally handicapped. They also were rhythmically challenged. (Note: The two aforementioned conditions are not related for I, too, am rhythmically challenged. No other comment is needed. :) ) As those passing by would look at the two dancers, there was the inevitable laugh at the two men. Yet the men were lost in their enjoyment of the music and were totally oblivious to those who thought they were the 'funny little men'. As I was watching this scene finishing an ice cream cone so I could go board the aerial tram, the Lord impressed upon me there was really only two free men within my eyesight! These two men were copying David as he 'danced before the Lord. David was caught up in his enjoyment of the Lord and danced with all his might, not caring what others (including his wife) thought of him, his style, or whatever. David danced because he loved the Lord. The world could laugh, but David would nevertheless dance!
--- Oh, to be free to dance as David and these two men danced.
Chicago - 0, Rio de Janeiro - The World
We now know that Chicago was the first to be eliminated from the 2016 Olympic consideration. I think the biggest mistake Chicago made in their last effort sales pitch before the Olympic Committee was in the makeup of the delegation traveling to Copenhagen. It was fine for President "O" and his wife to travel to Denmark, Oprah probably did just fine as well. But for the life of me I can't figure out why the rest of the delegation was comprised of former Olympians. I'm sure the vote would have been much better for Chicago if the bulk of the delegation was comprised of ACORN members instead of former Olympians. After all, what do Olympians know about rigging votes?
Blessings
First, I rode the Ferris wheel on the midway for the first time. I was surprised at how little motion there was. I grew up riding on Ferris wheels that were open bench/cart seating that would swing at the least bit of starting and stopping. The 'Texas Star' has a heavy cage that would take King Kong swinging it to produce any significant motion. Still, the view from 200 feet off the ground is spectacular.
The second experience was found at the auto show, specifically the Ford area. Ford had a humanoid robot that was amazingly advanced. It really did converse with the audience on a wide range of topics. It was totally absorbing to watch a robot pick at random someone from the audience and talk with them. This was a cool exhibit.
The third experience was humbling. Coming upon a trio (guitar, saxophone, trumpet) playing in a public area there were two men listening and dancing to the music with utter disregard to the people passing by. I have passed by similar scenes on other occasions with young men doing their break dancing or whatever. They were great at their dancing and knew it and wanting those passing by to see their 'greatness'. But this scene was different. The two men were mentally handicapped. They also were rhythmically challenged. (Note: The two aforementioned conditions are not related for I, too, am rhythmically challenged. No other comment is needed. :) ) As those passing by would look at the two dancers, there was the inevitable laugh at the two men. Yet the men were lost in their enjoyment of the music and were totally oblivious to those who thought they were the 'funny little men'. As I was watching this scene finishing an ice cream cone so I could go board the aerial tram, the Lord impressed upon me there was really only two free men within my eyesight! These two men were copying David as he 'danced before the Lord. David was caught up in his enjoyment of the Lord and danced with all his might, not caring what others (including his wife) thought of him, his style, or whatever. David danced because he loved the Lord. The world could laugh, but David would nevertheless dance!
--- Oh, to be free to dance as David and these two men danced.
Chicago - 0, Rio de Janeiro - The World
We now know that Chicago was the first to be eliminated from the 2016 Olympic consideration. I think the biggest mistake Chicago made in their last effort sales pitch before the Olympic Committee was in the makeup of the delegation traveling to Copenhagen. It was fine for President "O" and his wife to travel to Denmark, Oprah probably did just fine as well. But for the life of me I can't figure out why the rest of the delegation was comprised of former Olympians. I'm sure the vote would have been much better for Chicago if the bulk of the delegation was comprised of ACORN members instead of former Olympians. After all, what do Olympians know about rigging votes?
Blessings
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