Who Are The Needy?

Three things are on my mind today that burden me.

One is a family I heard about through an e-mail. They have been kicked out of their appartment and today the dad lost his job. He just did not go to work. It is a situation I want to examine for myself but I am not sure what God wants me to do to help.

The other is a high maintenance church member who is in constant need of stroking. She is playing the no one has called me game after missing church a few times.

Finally I am concerned about Grover, the son of Ed and Luz Aungon who is in the hospital in the Philippines and in critical condition. He is very young. Has a liver disease.

What can I do?

I prayed for Grover. I visited the family and am still evaluating. I will probably call the lady on my way to a hospital visit.

That is my part. The rest is up to God and to others.

I Stole A Paper On Christmas Morning

I went to the local convenience store to get a paper but they were not open. However, the paper person had placed three stacks of new Daily Oklahoman's with their precious cargo of day after Christmas sale circulars near the door. There they were. New. Ready for sale but no one there to receive my $.50. So I took one. Yes, I stole the newspaper on the day of the birth of Jesus and I am a minister of the gospel. Now I do plan to take the money to them later in the day when they open. I stole the bad news on the day set asside to celebrate the good news.

Others tried to steal the good news soon after that time. Herod had all baby boys killed forcing Jesus' parents to take him to Egypt for a while. Then the scribes, pharasees and saducees were on a witch hunt to rid the world of such a fraud as Jesus. Finally He was nailed to a Roman cross and that was it. So, there you go. The story is over.

Not so fast. In three days he got a wake up call from God almighty and busted out of the grave and graveclothes to walk again with his disciples. He is alive. That is good news.

So I stole a paper on Christmas morning. The news was not so good but the sale circulars opened up new avenues for finding more things to buy to make my life more easy and fun. Now that is a good consumer and American thing to do.

I will get to the convenience store sometime today. Beleive me.

I'm Back

Well I guess I am getting introspective today. So I am back after several months. It is Christmas and we are having a big time with my grandaughter, son-in-law, son and daughter. My other daughter and her fiancee will be here tomorrow. I am cooking and watching videos and eating too much for a guy on a diet. I need to work out and probably will in a few minutes.

I am focused about three things today.

I am focused on my church and the tough decisions that will be made in the next few months. We are finally being confronted with the reality I knew when I first came to SLBC. We are a big ship with a limited crew and the crew is dying. My roll is to instill vision and at the same time lead the church to make the tough decisions that will involve people that we love. We have had the greatest year evangelistically yet the hardest year in breaking with the past. We are destined to have an even greater year in 2009. We are going to focus on prayer and Sunday school. I will work with staff on a prospect list, prayer focus week in January and staff prayer meetings.

Second I am also focused on my personal frame of mind and physical stamina. This is something I usuall don't address but I will. I am pleased with progress made in the last three months and I will continue. I have lost 22 lbs and have consistently ran or walked three miles a day. I am going to get the cholestoral down by February 15.

My frame of mind is another story. Christmas is a hard time for me and I have had some things happen in my extended family that have been really challenging. I am trying to not let it hinder what I do. It is hard to separate. However, I have a choice. I am not a victim.

Third, I am focused on sermon direction for January and my challenging opportunity to speak at a church on Exodus. I plan to be prayerful in the next two weeks and take a look at the scripture for what God wants to say to us in these days. It will happen.

There are some things that are out of my controll but of those things that are within my controll I plan to do three things:

1. Keep in mind that my main goal is to get closer to people not to win the argument.

2. Award myself for being successful in personal disciplines and keep my mind focused on the good things.

3. Get into the scripture and pray that the Holy Spirit will direct my thinking as I prepare. I will do this for an hour a day between now and Sunday.

So here I go. I am thinking out loud. It is fun and pregnant with great encouragement.

Dreaming

Forward thinking, strategic planning, vision making, goal setting and dreaming are all very important to church, business, family and personhood. However, most plans, dreams, visions and goals fall short of their ultimate fulfillment in life. At least that has been my experience. I had a dream of having $100,000 in endowmen in my church by the end of this year but it is only $65,000 and from only a few donors. There are approximately 12 people in the church who have taken this vision seriously enough to make consistent gifts.

I have a dream, vision, direction from God that I need to be involved in reaching spanish speaking people in our area. We attempted to start a church last year and both times we failed to get it off the ground. We have no hispanic people from our community coming here except children and youth on Wednesdays. I have challenged people to consider assisting a sister church in outreach and so far the well is empty, except for me.

I have a dream of being able myself to give back to my church more than they pay me and my vision was to do it all myself through the stock market and my "savy" investing skills. This year I have lost money and the bottom is not out of the market yet. I was going to fix it and realize my goals through buying a percentage ownership in companies or securing some debt instrument. I used some of the same techniques of the past but that wisdom did not work in these days. I am lost as to what to do.

I have a dream of guideing students to become pastors, missionaries and that SLBC can be a mission sending organization. I want students to become active in ministry while they are still students. I want student leaders. I want them to do more than just study about missions. I want them to put on a mission sweat. I want them to burn leather. I want them to engage people in christian conversations. We have none, so far.

Some of these dreams could still be fulfilled but not in my time. They may happen. They may not happen. So what do I do? I keep dreaming. I keep thinking strategically. I keep leading. I keep stretching myself and my church. I keep going. I press on.

What is my motivation for these things I ask myself. Am I trying to build a kingdom? Am I trying to gain success for personal fulfillment? Am I seeking a name for myself? Am I trying to look good in the eyes of other? I don't know. Sometimes I have to say that these may be my motivations. However, most of the time they are not. Most of the time my motivation is Kingdom. I want the Kingdom to grow, for more people to know Jesus and for people to have happy and fulfilled lives. I want to see people change. I want to do a good job. I want to fulfill my calling. That is it.

So that is the dream. It is God's dream for me. I am going to stick to it.

Capitol Hill Redskin

I am a redskin, a mighty mighty redskin. Yes I am. Well, so goes the cheer in the olden days, the 60's. I am surprised that they have not changed the name by now because redskin is not politically correct.


The shirt made it to the philippines on our mission trip recently. The indian got many stares from the locals.


High school was a different time yet it was a time when ideas were being formed about life. I was glad that Laurie and I got to speak in two high schools in the philippines. I hope we left some kind of an impression.


I just recently watched the movie Forest Gump. I have watched it several times. It is one of my favorite. His famous "momma said" statements are true to life. He was a man who kept his promise because his momma said to always keep a promise. He opened a shrimp business for his friend Bubba because he promised.


While in the Philippines I remember a promise I made to Jesus when I was 16. It was a promise to be a preacher of the gospel. It is a promise I plan to keep for the rest of my life. I want to be better in my latter years than I was in my early years. I was a student of Capitol Hill when I preached my first sermon. I also had a nursing home ministry at 17 and was leading worship in a small church in Oklahoma City at 16. I have never regretted a minute of that. It was formative for my ministry today.


I am now back home. Yes ministering to the area where I went to school. I cannot wait for see you at the pole. I cannot wait for revival. I cannot wait to seek to reach the hispanic community in two weeks. I cannot wait for the cottage prayer meetings.


I guess once a redskin always a redskin.

Don't Be Anxious

Jesus reminded us not to be anxious. If I can take things one day at a time I can make it. However if I am anxious I am unable to be focused. Right now I am listening to myself preach on tape. I am listening to one of my sermons from the road to recovery series I preached in June and July. It is one of my favorite series. It probably helped me more than anything I have done in a long time. It is a sermon about focusing on what to do today.

I am learning that willpower is not the way my life should work. My life should work with God's power. No "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

Focus on what I want not on what I don't want. Don't think about the negative but the positive. Focus on the fruit of the spirit. Focus not on what you have been but on what you can become. Every day should be a time of refocusing my life. I am doing that right now.

Something bad on T.V. you don't just say I am going to close my eyes and not watch this you must change the channel to watching something better for you.

Feelings are fickle. They are like the back tires of a front wheel drive tire. Two front tires are thinking and doing. They dictate the back tires of feelings and body function. You controll things in your life by thinking and doing. It begins with doing something. Let the doing or the action lead you. If you are guided by the spirit you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh.

So there is no need to be anxious. Focus on people who will help.

We Are Home

We made it home and are in a time of transition (jet lag) whatever it is called. I worked yesterday and am preparing for work today. Laurie just left. We are both wide awake at 4 a.m. and are trying to get our bodies into the right time zone. I know it will happen.

Today I get to go to a pastors conference, see my senior adults at Jolly Elders and will try to make some visits. I will also work on catching up on e-mail. There are a few fires that developed but that is to be expected with people. I also have an article to write and need to make a few phone calls to some key leaders.

The experience in the Philippines was greater than we expected. The best thing about it is that we knew that we were supposed to be there. It was God's will for us at this time.

Negative experences related to customer service issues we had with the credit card company as we tried to purchase a copy machine for CRI Philippines. The machine was not bought. We will have to wire the money.

Then there was this ticket agent in LAX for Frontier Airlines who decided to chide us for being in the wrong line preparing for a 6 a.m. flight on Sunday. I was not in the mood and we had a discussion. I have sent a complaint. I just wish all things could go smoothly. They were understaffed but that was not my problem. Usually I am pretty tollerant but this was more than I could take. We had been there since 4:30 a.m. It was a jungle. I wish I could always respond without too much emotion. I am still working on that but it is a lifetime work in progress I guess.

Home is reality. Grass was not mowed because the mower would not start. Lauries bushes she had just planted looked like sage brush. They were dead. The mileage on my honda indicated that it is time to change my oil and I just decided a few months ago to change my own oil to give the saving to missions. It is raining here and mowing even if the mower would start is not possible. So we have to wait with tall grass. That is an annoyance. We still have a bathroom that needs trim work finished and I have a shower that needs new washers in the faucet.

And for church, we are seeking to change the paradigm from preserving the past to confronting the future and engaging the culture. It is a battle. It is the new wineskins to replace the old. Buildings and things relating to them have killed more churches than any doctrinal dispute. We have a battle but I think we have the resources in people to meet the challenge. We are seeking to look through the windshield rather than the rear view mirror. It is all about people.

Also I came home to the death of one of our most special ladies. Pauline White (the General) died yesterday morning. Her funeral is Thursday. This has been coming for a few months but none of us are ready for it. I also discovered that another of our ladies died while I was gone. Life and death happens.

Well where do I go from here? I go to work today. I am leaving after posting this. I will go there and face whatever comes to me. It is a choice I am making today. God is in charge and he has gifted and trained me for a time as this. I will study for Sunday. I will make some calls, receive some calls, send and receive some e-mail. I will pray. I will seek to share Jesus. I will walk with Him. I will focus on the broad picture no matter how much people will try to force me to focus on trivia. I will focus on reaching new people. I will focus on ministering to those who need me most. I will delegate to others so I am free to do what is my duty today. God send laborers to the harvest today. In Jesus name, Amen.

Cell Phone Justice

Yesterday a bomb went off in M'lang, the place where I preached on Monday. It went off in the marketplace but only hurt one person the MILF terrorist who was carrying it. It seems that he had it all hooked up and ready to assemble when the cell phone he was using as a detonator received a text advertisement from the cell company about winning a contest. The bomber won alright with an injured arm and another loss in the battle for the fears of the general population. He only had it attached to the blasting cap and not the entire bomb or he would have not been around to be interrogated. The interrogation revealed other bombs that had been planted and they were quickly removed.

I love this story. It is another case of a bad crook, a stupid criminal a nervous terrorist. He was a terrorist ready to do damage but the only damage done was to his cause. Terror does not pay. Terror does not work. People will not be intimidated by such people who are willing to kill innocents in order to gain an upper hand in the psychological battle they conduct.

The mayor of M'lang is a Christian and a former graduate of SBC college where I spoke. He is standing for what is right. He is a target and needs our prayers. One of the bombs found was near his residence. It is not fair but who said life is fair.

Today I turn in my cell phone borrowed from Ed. It has some free text minutes on it and I am sure that Ed and Luz will get lots of use out of it. When I receive another one of those advertisements this morning I will not be as disgusted knowing that yesterday it spoiled a bombers attempt to do damage. We can call it cell phone justice.

Workers Everywhere

There are an abundance of workers in the Philippines. Everywhere you go they storm you with helpfulness at the stores, service stations and restaurants. It is their culture. They even pick up your trash at McDonalds and seem offended when you do it yourself. You are taking someones job when you do it. It is kind of like a union mentality without the unions.



I am reading Men at Work , The Craft of Baseball by George F. Will a book I spotted years ago but not enough time to read it. It is a story about baseball. I picked it up at a used bookstore in Davao. In the book Will speaks of a category of government that baseball has contributed to aristocracy, plutocracy and democracy. He calls it "palocracy," government by old pals. I have seen it in the retired firefighters association in Oklahoma City. Baseball is run by men whose lives have been intersecting and entwined for decades. Workers in ministry are an example of that kind of government. It is not negative like the good ole boys club it is strengthening. There is strength in numbers, companionship and combined wisdom.


There are plenty to work in the Philippines and workers in the ministry are available but they cannot make a living doing it. Most of them have to do many other things to supplement their income to make life happen. One pastor's salary in the US could support more than 60 pastors in the Philippines. That seems out of balance to me. I was pleased that when some laymen from Snow Hill gave money to Andrew, my son, to give to some people for a Jeepney to use to make income that they bought that Jeepney for $2,000 and that it has provided income to the pastor's family and two other families in the church for three years. Just a $2,000 investment provided a source of income for three families for three years and continues to provide that opportunity. I asked to drive it but they would not let me. It is too risky. However they took my picture in it and here it is.

CRI pays Ed 75% less than the average pastor in the US and yet with those funds several people are supported. Two are household workers who cooked our food and washed our clothes this week. That seems bad to most Americans and hints at a luxury a person should not be able to afford but it provides for two girls who do not have much future otherwise. It also set Ed and Luz free to do work with people. They also have people at their store who work to provide for their family and at the same time a retirement can be prepared for Ed who is 56. He is assisted by his son Don Don who is working in Barbados as a nurse and sends back funds for investing in land and the store.


The key is that these people are willing and ready to work. They just need an opportunity.

If David Only Knew

A home Bible study is the last evenings activities in Davao, Philippines. In the morning we will pack up and leave in the afternoon. The Bible study was on Psalm 23 and was led by a layman from DIBC. Psalm 23 is a psalm of David. Little did we know that there is a statue of a Philippine rendition of Micheangelo's statue of David. We saw it before studying the Psalm. The statue did not add value to the experience I don't think. I have not talked candidly with Laurie about it.

We had food....food and more food. I am going on a diet when this is over and getting back on my walking regimine.

Back to David. He was big and gold and in the pool below him he had sharks swimming. They were called nurse sharks, we are not sure why but I have a few ideas. I would not share them in public. David was the guard of the Davao gulf. It was interesting....it is against my better judgement but I think I will include a picture of it. Get ready. Here it is.

Training in US and Philippines

Today Ed and I had some frank conversations about the direction of our next phase of training. We both agree that it should be among the neediest tribal leaders. Ben Ebaan is a key to this training and is eager to focus still in Mindanau but to work smarter by turning loose our ten best trained to train others in the south. Ben and Ed may begin to focus on the Vysias and Luzon over the next three years. We would still be graduating approximately 100 each cycle in the south and could begin graduating some in the other two provinces. The goal would be to have another ten trainers in these areas as well. It will be a challenge to our funds and to our man power.

Ed is speaking at a strategic meeting in Bagio City next month and getting Ben there with him may expidite the process. The board will meet to discuss this. This speaking assignment is quite a compliment to Ed and to CRI. Many key leaders in the north will be attending this conference. Ed will be leading some break-out sessions. He is a well known and well respected leader in this country.

We are also seeking guidance from God regarding an invitation to work with philippinoes in Singapore. Brad was starting this new wave when he died. We need to pray hard about this possibility. Ed spoke to this group last year and it appears to be an opportunity.

Another thing is the focus on translating the material into cebuano. Ed is one of the only ones in the country who can do this and he needs a three month sabatical to do this. We must pray about it and the time.

It is hard to beleive that this little study in the church at Ephesus is so poinent and that the material creates a serindipity when one begins to study it.

I want to work in the US on translating it into spanish and starting a training institute in Oklahoma City using the material or some like it. Pray for the board as we seek to find the right people to lead this emphasis if we sense God's direction.

Old Caribou Eats Young Grass

We see what Ed calls "Old Caribou eating young grass" in the Philippines. Many of the Old Caribou are American men but some of them are Japanese. We decided that we hope the young grass is able to tie up many of the assets from the estate of these "Old Caribou" for when they die. The young grass will be more pastures in the future. Old Caribou will die. They should take a look at the gospel.

Today we were at the grazing land of Old Caribou. It is called the pearl farm and one of Ed and Luz's students they helped is one of the managers there. We received a generous discount so we could go for $1,025 pesos. It was beautiful. Beautiful beaches, cabins on stilts near the and on the sea, great food.

I was wearing Capitol Hill and OU stuff. The Indian was intriguing to the Filippinoes. It took us about 40 minutes in this boat to get to the island. We got a special tour of the island just for the owner. He had his own heliport so he could get there fast.

I had an interesting experience while in the gift shop. One of the security people took our picture candidly. He did not know I saw him. I told Laurie about it later. Ed was not surprised. They are all about safety and security. One of the undercover guys road back with us to the mainland.

This is more like a water buffalo.

Jesus Loves The Little Children

Jesus loves the children of the world. These children in the world of Mindanao are a reminder of hope for the future. Take a look in their eyes and see if you don't feel hope, joy and excitement about the future.

Who Cares If You Squeeze It If You've Got It

Some of you will be old enough to remember Mr. Wipple. Yes the famous commercial actor who squeezed something he told others not to squeeze and got caught. If you know the commercial you will understand, if not just forget it. It is an inside joke and I am not going to explain.

However, in our case we don't care if it is pre- or post- squeezed, Laurie is just glad that we have some along for the trip. It seems that when you go to the CR (Comfort Room) in the country (we used to call them outhouses or s_ _ _ houses (my dad would have called it). So when the urge hits and you've got to go you will take it squeezed or not.

In this picture Laurie is holding on to the object in question and the outhouse is the one with the corrogated roof in the background.

The Bull Likes Her

Well I think Laurie just found one of her relatives. She said he must be on her husband's side of the family. It is of the bovine family in Southern Philippines. He looked really healthy.

We are running into all kinds of animals on this trip. Some domestic and some not.

This chicken thinks it owns the place walking on the table. You will want to take a look before Kini Rogers gets ahold of it. Yes you got the name. It is a chicken place and fast food at that.

The little lamb is near the house where we are staying. It is a newborn still taking nourishment from mom. It does not know that it is the subject of a blog.

Really these pictures are for our grandaughter Macon who is 19 months old. She will probably be able to make the sounds for her mom and dad.

Snake Charmers

We are now playing for a few days. I mean we are eating, traveling and sight seeing and having a great time. We go to a pearl farm today and the beach. It is tough doing mission work.

Laurie got the opportunity to handle a snake. She looks like the snake charming type. However, I think the snake won.

We went to the country to Ed and Luz's hideaway. They have a little store, a farm and a training center on the sea in the south. It is perfect for them. Ed is going to do some work from there. He is also assisting some pastors and a church there. I am glad we can have a part in this ministry through CRI.

I am sure we will shop a little today to find gifts to bring home. That will be fun.

Alvin Bergante is Grande

This is a picture of Laurie and I presenting Dr. Alvin Bergante a bible and bible software I brought to him from the US. He is the president of Southern Baptist College. He was a gracious host during a very difficult political time in that area. A bombing happened just 5 km from here about two hours after this picture was taken. They closed school.

His school has Oklahoma ties. The Baptist Foundation of Oklahoma manages a trust that benefits this school. It is an endowment established by former southern baptist missionaries and former president of the school. It is the kind of thing that more schools need to establish. It is like our Legacy fund at South Lindsay. I was able to encourage the president to seek other donors for the trust to insure future income to the school. It was a good meeting. He was grande.

Get Out of Dodge (M'lang)

I spoke in the school and then we got out of Dodge. It seems that SBC was the only school in the area that still had school that day because of a Muslim election taking place. A few hours after we left there was a bombing about 5 km from the city of M'lan where we were. A farmer was taken captive and there was a gun battle between the MILF and the military. Ignorance is bliss. We found out about it today through some people Ed and Luz know.

Needless to say we cannot go to General Santos city tomorrow. It is in the same are yet further south. That is where we were scheduled to go for the day. We were also going to see Grace Pengoi in Marbel and Congressman Pac but that is not going to happen. Both of them are in the Catabato area. It is too volitile they say. We feel very safe where we are and do not think it is a problem doing things around here. We are having a great time.

We had dinner tonight with some SBC missionaries who are working in this area. They have two boys. It was a joy to see missions in action and to hear the stories of the good work being done here through the cooperative program. I met them before but Laurie had not. They are from Texas. That was interesting with Laurie being from there as well.

Forget Your Mother In Law

It is interesting that in another culture phrases are used that are intriguing and even amusing to us. In a restaurant in the Philippines they offer “bottomless tea” and “unlimited rice.” Those are expressions we would call free refills and all you can eat rice. Different but they communicate.

Ed told me about a new food he wanted to introduce to me and he said it is so good that it will cause you to “forget your mother in law.” My mother in law is hard to forget and it may not be that easy. You understand that I don’t want to forget her because she is the best. (She could be reading this).

We are winding down our ministry here and I will have lots to tell you when I return. As a matter of fact, we will be having a missions service on the 24th that will feature some information from our trip as well as our mission study organizations communicating their activities this year. Attending this service won’t make you “forget your mother in law” but it will speak of bottomless ministry opportunities and unlimited love.

If you want to follow our trip you may read about it on my blog at http://www.peewee3053.blogspot.com/ or you can look me up on facebook.com where I have posted some pictures. Make sure you check out Laurie and the pig (no I am not referring to myself).

Build Them While They are Young

Ed has made a statement a number of times that has stuck with me. He said that is it easier to "build them while they are young" than to "mend them when they are old." That is what is happening at Agdao Christian Fellowship SBC they are "building" young lives in an extreemly poor area. It is rewarding to see the ministry to the children. Jesus loved the children and that is more than a song.

The way God is blessing the Philippines is through the children. Also, I was impressed with the number of students who attended DIBC today. It is exciting to see the potential leadership in the next few years coming from these students.

They are even interested

in Oklahoma.

DIBC

Stands for Davao International Baptist Church where I spoke today. There were about 75-80 present and three made professions of faith. One lady was Muslim. She is seated two to the right of Laurie (the american). She was influenced by another Muslim friend (blue shirt) who came to Christ a year ago and is now involved in cross cultural missions. It was a great service. We had food after church. The Sunday School was wonderful. They are using V 2 V material and it is very helpful as they retool after a split. Ed is giving leadership.

I was low key and just preached like I do at South Lindsay. It was a great service with lively music. The WMU ladies did a great presentation at the beginning.

My health is 100%. Feeling good and trying to prepare to be scholarly tomorrow at the SBC meeting in Milang. Pray that I not get too big for my britches. I am going to do a short biography of Saul/Paul. I think it will be interesting to the high school and college students.

After that we are going to play. Missionaries don't tell you about the play part of it. Some of this trip is planned as a vacation for Laurie and I. The vacation part starts on Tuesday.

There was a blind man, Richard, who attended the church today with his two daughters. He is a former boxer and a missuse (guy that does massages). He is not a beleiver and was really listening. I think he is really close to Christ. The church is really working on him and loving on his family.

Tonight I have a strategic planning meeting with Ed and Ben Ebaan from the tribal convention. It will be interesting to see the results. We are trying to determne what to recommend to the CRI board regarding our next focus. Will it be in Mindenao, Visyas or both? We need prayer and guidance.

We attended a wedding at a Catholic church yesterday were the Aungon's grandson was Bible bearer. Here is his picture. It was a fun event.

A Friend On Facebook

This has been an interesting day. While on the facebook account my daughter set up for me I decided to try to find a long lost friend from seminary days, Ken Kawauchi. I did a search and found a Katy Kawauchi at Loyla Marymount. Guess what? You guessed it! She was his daughter. He e-mailed me and we have been catching up on old times. He lives in Hilo Hawaii. What a small world. I found my Hilo friend while in the philippines on facebook. This has been refreshing. We will keep in contact with each other.

Notice the picture of their family Ken sent me. Well they also have three dogs and I have those pictures as well.

We are going to a philippino wedding this afternoon. The Aungon's grandson, who is three, is the bible bearer in the wedding. We will blogg pictures when we get them.

I am reflecting on the experience at Mt. Carmel. It was a dose of reality. I got a spot on my berong (fancy philippino shirt) and had to speak with a stain. I sensed some rivalries, power plays and personality conflicts even among philippinoes. I should not be surprised. People are the same everywhere. The challenge is always to die to self so the gospel can be furthered. I will probably be able to preach better tomorrow because of experiencing those things. Church conflict is inevitable it is how it is handled that really matters.

This guy is probably not a Yankee fan. He may have just found the hat. Or perhaps a relative in the USA gave it to him. He let me take his picture. I thought it would be interesting to baseball fans. He might even be a former Yankee player.

Pig and Rice

We had pig and rice at the banquet. The pigs were purchased by CRI a few months ago and raised just for this occasion. They were the source of nourshment for about 300 people at graduation. Laurie got the first taste. She doesn't look too excited to me. She did not eat much of it. Of course, I could not eat at all except for a few bisquets (what we call crackers).

In addition to bisquet there are some interesting expressions I have learned along the way. They have regular ice tea and bottomless ice tea. Of course bottomless is free refills. Everyone should know that. They also have delivery with McDonalds.

They made a rock star out of me for the graduation. Now I know how my grandaughter Macon feels at church. They had my name in bold on the banners. Little do they know that I am really a red neck. I am just a south side Oklahoma City boy and I care about them and their work. I just want to help and that is why we are here.

The experience is more that I expected. Eye to eye contact is our best gift. Their gift is a smile. We are learning together to be better at the gospel ministry.

I will tell you more later.

Sick At Graduation

Graduation went well but I was sick the whole day. It was one of my best and worst days at the same time. I spoke but not sure if I communicated. Ed had trouble translating an illustration about an hourglass. It seems that mountain tribesmen no nothing of an hourglass. We all got a laugh out of it later. Isn't this a great looking graduating class. Some wore their tribal regalia.

On the way I told them how I woke up sick and went to the computer to do some work and that I heard the cat making lots of noise. It was either fighting or doing other things with another cat. When I said that Ed laughed and said that the cat could not be doing other things because they had the cat neutered a few months ago. Everyone laughed at me again.

I also got in trouble when I mentioned how Laurie and I met to a group of high school students. I told them that when I saw her I thought "look at that hot girl over there." They roared in laughter. Well it seems when you use the word "hot" it does not mean the same thing as in US. It means hot like as in a rabbit that is in heat.

Back to graduation. We met a couple who had to travel about 8 hours with a new baby, some by foot, to get to the graduation. They both graduated from the CRI school. They could be the poster child of our ministry here. They gave us two baskets made by the young people in their church as a gift. They were so appreciative of the help given to their ministry. They speak Cebwano and speak almost no english. One of the best things CRI has done is translate the Vision to Victory materials into their language. We are going to need to ask Ed to do more translation work in this area.

Because I was sick we decided to come back late in the evening. It was a long trip back and we got to bed late. The bumpy ride was not good for my stomach.

Well all work and no play makes Johnny a booring boy. We went today to a small resort area across the chanell from Davao called paradise island. We swam a little but I slept most of the time in a beach chair nursing my stomach. People from all walks of life. Some from Korea, Japan and Australia. Not many Americans. It was fun to do something different after 6 days of focus.

We get ready tomorrow for the Southern Baptist College a trip to Cotabato and speaking at Davao International Baptist Church. I am trying to catch up on blogging and facebook while I have internet. The internet is sporatic.

I am learning that people are the same everywhere. The graduation was full of testy females, proud men and politics just like in America. There were power struggles in the Convention at that time so the graduation was colored by other stuff going on outside our controll. We persevered.

On Wednesday we did our preparation for the graduation. It is Thursday instead of Friday. Communication here is different. I am going to speak on the marathon of ministry and how to finish well. 2 Timothy 4 is the text. Paul is being poured out like a drink offering, he is dying and yet he is ready and looks back and is proud of his efforts. What a way to go.

My stomach is a little weird today. I am trying a diet coke at 5:30 a.m. to settle it.

We tried to purchase the copy machine again on Wednesday this time with the South Lindsay card and we had the same problem. I chose not to get upset. I gave the poor sales lady a PayDay for her efforts. We will wire the money so Ed can get it next week. I tried. The system failed. It is out of my control.


We will travel and see lots of the ocean as in this picture. There are over 7000 islands in this archipelago. We will see a few today. Mt. Carmel is an international bible camp located south of Davao. It is also the location of what missionaries call the Farm. It is a training center and meeting place for missionaries from all over Asia. We will possibly see an SBC missionary who will remain unnamed. A man and his wife I have know from previous trips. If not, we will see them next Tuesday as they will come to the Aungon's for lunch. They work in the south.

My stomach is better. Coke is even medicinal here. I cannot be sick today. Too much to do. This is the real thing I came for. Thanks for your prayers. I don't want to come across as a typical American. That is hard. We are a bit paternalistic. My real ministry will be one on one. The speech is just a formality.

Day Two In Philippines

We are getting ready to travel to Mt. Carmal tomorrow. Here is Laurie in a jeepney with the driver and the four cooks who will prepare a meal for more than 200 tribal pastors and their families on friday. They will purchase the rice and vegtables on the way. CRI, the organization I head, purchased some small pigs early in the year and those will be sacrificed and prepared for the group. It is much cheaper to do it that way. We had a farmer raise the pork for the event. It is a delacacy for these pastors who very seldom have meat.

Let me back up. We had a very stressful day on Tuesday. It rained most of the morning making it impossible for us to speak at the school yet we visited the school and had individual interaction with students and faculty.

We had lunch at a philippine restaurant in their fanciest mall. The mall is nice and we were able to fellowship with the Panaoungons, with his son Redeem and our two ladies helping with evangelism.

I assisted in purchasing a copy machine but they would not take the CRI credit card. I spent four hours at the store and still did not purchase it. I am trying again today. I was really mad. I cannot beleive it. They wanted a fax from our bank. However, the bank hours are just the opposite. Open here closed there. Open there closed here. Not fun. I asked the lady at the bank if she wanted the chairman of Visa to come here on a plane and bring the cash. She was not amused. I told her that the reason to have a credit card was to avoid paper. She was not educated by that remark either. I should just be calm. Today i will try to use the South Lindsay card and then call it quits. I am not optimistic.

We are just hanging out today. I am studying for the message on Friday, Sunday and Monday. Laurie is reading. Ed and Luz are preparing programs, certificates and their son Alan is running errands.

More to come later.

Laurie The Evangelist

Who said she was only a nurse. In the Philippines she is a preacher of the gospel. Well, sort of. She is not of the rock star status of her son Andrew but pretty close. She was a hit. Her and her side kicks from the Agdao church. She spoke in about 7 classrooms on the first day.

She also entertained the students at the kendergarten at the church. The students there were very appreciative.

First Complete Day

The start of our day was at 6:45 with appointments at the High School at 8. We had a spread at the Aungons with Corn Flakes, toast, banannas and of course rice. The bananas are wonderful. I mean they are wonderful. They are small and sweet. I eat them all the time. Did I say they are wonderful.

Laurie and I split up at the school and spoke in separate rooms to cover more opportunities. The students were attentive, we answsered questions, explored the similarities between Baptists and Catholics and talked about culture. I used my experience attending mass the day before to bridge a gap. We also had a prayer with them and invited them to speak later with pastor Ponaongon who is also the chaplain of the school and president of the parent teacher association.

We had Korean food near the mall at lunch and Laurie had kemshi for the first time. You know, pickeled and fermented cabbage. We took Rachel and another girl from the Agdao church with us. They were Laurie's fellow evangelists. We went to the mall to purchase phone cards for our cell phones. My number is 639297140016 and Lauries is 639053267506 you can reach us at any time but it is best that you call from 8-10 a.m. that is 9-11 p.m. here. Or you can call from 8-midnight that is 9 to noon here. We are 13 hours ahead of you.

The afternoon was at the school and then shopping for a little while and then a trip to Jack's Ridge to see a panaoramic view of the city. It has been a full day.

Safe In Davao Philippines

Laurie and I are on our first time mission trip and we are delighted to be the guests of Dr. Edgar and Luz Aungon in southern Philippines.

Getting here was a delightful experience and I want to share. It began when I decided to buy this computer I am using to give it to a pastor friend in Agdao, a "Squatter Community", near Davao.

I called to register the computer and see if the warranty is good in the Philippines. The person working for Toshiba had an accent and that did not surprise me until I asked where he was stationed. You guessed it, he was in Manila. His name was Lawrence and I informed him that the next day we would be in Manila. We both laughed. The warranty is not good in the Philippines but who cares. It will at least last a year I am sure. It will probably last longer.

We arrived in Manila airport with a four hour Sunday morning layover. What were we to do? Well we got a cab and I introduced Laurie to Philippine culture at 5:30 a.m. So what did we do? You did not guess it. We went to McDonalds. Yes the golden arches. There, this security guy greeted us at the door. If you look closely you can see the merit badge with the arches on his chest on the same side as the gun. She was not amused.

Back at the airport there was a Catholic Mass being held in the north end of the terminal and I decided to attend. About 75-100 people gathered there mostly dark skinned, some with airline uniforms either flight attendants, pilots or airport workers. Others were passengers who heard the announcement on the LOUD speaker. The priest wore a baronge under the vestment. He read from the gospels and presented an evangelical message about Jesus feeding the 5000. It was very refreshing. I wish however he had given an invitation to come to Christ by faith not just to come to the Eucharist that was offered at the end. I was proud of him and his persistence to preach even though often he was interrupted by the latest flight announcement or the announcement to report any lonely bag left in the departure area. I was proud to know we were not the only ones presenting the gospel.

I need to back up. On our flight we met a lady in seat 62 I. Her name is Celliv and she is a nurse, of all things, in Los Angeles going home to see her parents and to give support and encouragement to a ministry her family founded in the Vasaias. That is in the center of the country between Manila and Davao. It is the island hit by the recent typhoon. She was a dynamic Christian with the penetrating eyes of a faith walking person attune to the Lord and with a laugh that would make you want to hug her immediately. She was fun and full of vision. She invited us to stay with her in L.A. on our return so we would not have to stay in the airport. We will certainly think about that.

Back a little further. While standing in line at LAX to check our baggage for the big trip we met "Hero." Yes that is his name. He is a recent graduate of an engineering school in San Francisco and was on standby. He is from the Philippines and offered helpful information about the i-pods we were taking as gifts to some teens we know in the Philippines. We were sad that he did not make it on the plane that evening. He took our phone number here in Philippines to call Laurie to see how she likes the Philippines after a week. We are praying he will make it here in a few days.

We are settled into the home of the Aungons. The Panaongons with their daughter KenKen, son John Mark, daughter Gracia and son DemDem came to visit us for dinner. They live in an extremely poor area by choice to minister to people in the squatter community of Agdao. John Mark's face when we presented the laptop and other gifts was priceless. That is what ministry and life is all about. Anecito and Lolita are the parents. Lolita teaches a kindergarten in the church for 42 children and Anecito owns a Jeepney business, is chaplain of the local High School and is the pastor of the church. He reminds me of someone yet he is just a little younger. He is also very handy and assists CRI with many projects directed by Ed.

I am up early doing this and anticipating my first day. I am going to speak to about 6 high school classes today and then who knows what else. I am studying for my messages to the graduates for the CRI module and for the students at Southern Baptist College. I am in Mt. Carmel for the graduation this Friday and at Mlang, North Cotabato both in the south. There are Muslim students in Mlang.

Luz loved her PayDay candy bars and anti-itch cream we brought her from WalMart. We take some things for granted. Ed loved his new 2 gig flash drive. Ed and I are both 57 and need all the gig we can get. He has the same kind of virus on his computer that I have on mine. Adriel Paul, or KA (King Allen) nick name, his three year old grandson is all over his computer. His picture is everywhere just like Macon, my granddaughter on mine. Grandpa's are the same even in the Philippines. LoLo is the name for grandpa. They informed us that he loves dinosaurs. We just happened to bring a coloring book of dinosaurs and stickers. We have not given it to them yet. God is always prepared to lead us even in the simple things.

Well we are safe, sound and comfortable. I am awake and ready to go. Keep praying for us.

God Showed Up

I was depressed yesterday and was shocked out of it by my wife asking me a question. She asked me to share with her three positive things that happened that day. I had to think for a while and then it clicked. There were more than three things that day that had happened to me that were positive.

Why was I not positive? Why did I not see God? It was my pride that was devistated by a downturn in my investments in the stock market. Yes, I am not as brilliant an investor as I thought. Of course, I can use the excuse that the market is down for everyone and that everyone has been hit. However, that is not totally the case as I invested in two few stocks and some were more risky than others. I was gambling. It did not pay off. I am caught in a market of high oil, recession and pessimism. I am actually invested in one stock that Jim Cramer called the worst possible investment. He did that yesterday. So, there it is.

Now I have three options regarding the market:

1. I can shoot myself. That won't solve anything.
2. I can shoot my wife, or have her killed for the insurance money. (That happened in our community but the husband got caught and it was for other reasons).
3. I can face reality, learn my lesson, and trust God for the lessen learned and for His will going forward. So I am to be patient.

God is at work. This has driven me to my knees. God has my attention in a good way.

The three positive things are:

1. My 15 month-old grandaughter called me. Well, she hit the send button by accident and called me. She did not say anything. She can't talk. I heard her voice though and it was good.
2. A lady affirmed me by phone out of the blue.
3. Another lady I don't hear from much approached me at church. She said some really nice things.

Today however, I had the best present. God showed up and his name was loretta. She was a middle aged black lady with a bleach stain on her blue shirt. She was at the hospital where I was visiting. I approached her but the meeting was for me. She blessed me. She prayed with me. She challenged me. She quoted more scripture than I had heard or read in weeks. She strengthened my faith. She was the face of God. Nothing else has mattered since that encounter.

The market. The church. The family issues. The hurts of humanity. The ministry. The personal hang-ups. The anger. The lust. The greed. The self-pity. The regrets. None of it mattered. I met Loretta and she was God. God showed up and I am blessed today.

Permanent

Why do they call what someone does to their hair to make it curly a permanent. Is it permanent? No, it is temporary. They have to go back again to have another permanent to make it curly again.

Some things permanent are not really permanent. Is life permanent? Not really. Today I saw two men who are soon to die. One is dying today and the other probably within this year. They were once thriving, now they are dying. They have children and grandchildren. They both have worked hard. They are not permanent. Or, are they?

Both know Jesus. Or, at least both claim faith. So, that makes them permanent? No, actually they are permanent just going in the right direction. There are others who are permanent going in the wrong direction.

It is not the way that seems right to a man that makes things permanent. It is God.

Plans

I am making plans for the next few months. They involve me, Laurie, my church and my family. First I am going to a bible conference with some friends in May. I will be studying the book of Exodus. That will be sweet.

Also in May I walk across the stage at Midwestern Seminary to get my D. Min. I actually earned it in December but it will be awarded in May. On my birthday the church is having a celebration for my graduation. I am looking forward to a great time. 

Then there are the summer activities. Camps, bible school, back yard bible clubs and other things. It is going to be great. 

Finally, Laurie and I are going to Davao, Philippines for two weeks. We will be doing some mission work, encouraging our partners there and speaking at graduation of some tribal pastors. I want to be ready.

Also, I am preaching from Genesis the next two months, having a baby dedication and seeking to raise $25,000 for our endowment. 

These are my plans. However, we do not really know what will happen. All of these may change. But I want to have a plan I think God will honor. He has a plan. Therefore I should seek His will for my life. 

God is good. I want to do his will. I want to cling to the cross. I am forced to my knees by my failures but I get up in His strength. 

Spokes for Sound

As a child there was this thing we did to give a motorized effect to our bicycle. We would attach a baseball card with a clothes pin to the spokes. As we peddled the bike would make great sounds. Mickey Mantle never sounded so good as the bike navigated through the neighborhood. 

Now that I think back the sound would drive me crazy today. Also, just the thought of a valuable baseball card being bent, folded and eventually destroyed. That thought is unsettling. 

What was a motor then would be valuable today. We had no idea how defacing a baseball card would cost us good money today. I cannot imagine a sound effect being so costly. However, then it did not mater. The sound was more valuable than the cardboard with a picture on it. 

It was the sound of innocence. It was fun. Value is in the eye of the beholder. Yesterdays trash is todays treasure. Or yesterdays fun is todays memory. Now that is the treasure. It is the memory. Memories are priceless. Mantle is dead. I am alive. I have memories and I can remember them. Thanks God for the sound of the past. 

He Was Great

The greatest generation lost another one in March but he was not just another one to me. He was my father-in-law. His name was John Roaten. As you can see, he served in the army air force during WW II.

He was a prude. Yes, he did not have a clue about the importance of the sexual revolution. He did not even like watching ladies underwear commercials on television. He was a lover of Israel and a Ronald Regan republican. He read his bible completely every year and you could tell because the bible he used was bound with clear tape.

He was boring. He just worked, went to church, loved his wife and children, tithed faithfully and gave occasionally to Jews for Jesus. He was shy. He was introverted to a certain extent. He did not do anything "great." He understood much trivia in the bible.

He was also a whimp. Yes, he did dishes. He also washed clothes, planted flowers, ran the vacuum and cooked occasionally. Not a real man. Not a real man? You be the judge.

He was never in prison, only had a few trafic violations, supported people in the ministry, had children and grandchildren who all know Jesus. Well except for Macon, my grandaughter, who is 16 months. He was a prude, was boring, was a whimp. He is one of a kind and we need more like him.

You understand I am only speaking tongue in cheek. He was what many of us need to be. He was a man of principle. He was a man of focus. He was a man who stood for the values of the greatest generation. I will never be that good. However, I want to try. I am better because he lived.

I miss him every day. I am sad. I am depressed thinking of him. However, I am motivated. I did the dishes and mowed the grass today because of thinking of him. Thanks John for the motivation today.

April Fool

It is April and I don't feel that foolish. There is some wind today. This month is special because two people in my life have birthdays. It is the 22nd and 26th. I also get to visit my grandaughter this week. So I am excited on both counts, birthdays and blessed grandbaby.

Today is tax day. That is a stress. I do six returns and they are all finished. I am happy. Need to mail two of them in a little while. I am going when my wife arrives.

I am not a fool today because I still beleive in God in spite of experiences that drive me away from Him. The Bible says that a "...fool says in his heart there is no God." I know there is a God. I better because I am a pastor. However, just being a pastor is not a good enough reason. I beleive. I believe. I really believe.

He is not too worked up about the things that brought me stress today. He is not too worked up about taxes, stock market jirations, people who criticize me, or things that did not go my way. He is more concerned about my priorities. Is He first?

Well He is right now and that is all I can committ too right now.

If you read this pray. Pray for me. Pray for my church. Pray for God to give His direction.

Also, admire my grandbaby. Her name is Macon. She is a babe on the beach. She is now 16 months.