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Part 3
I’ve had the opportunity to visit a few people. Not many are sick, praise the Lord, but just to encourage people. We did lay hands on one woman who called for the Elders to lay hands on her, but no other physical needs were made known.
A few weeks ago we brought several of the CC Fellowship bookstore resources to BCN. Many people were able to acquire solid Christian material. In addition to equipping the saints with materials, people were able to see the type of resources available at the CC Fellowship bookstore. Alex and I will be working with Pastor Dominique to create a bookstore brochure to distribute. I’m also working with Pastor Ron for some additional materials that people have asked for by name.
When we arrived in Mauritius, there was already a food ministry in place to feed the poor. As an outreach, the soup kitchen, also referred to as the “Soul Kitchen”, provides soup, bread, a bible tract and welcoming faces. Some of the kids like to hang out as they eat their bread and soup. Other kids have started helping hand out the soup, bread and tracts. A few weeks ago, a boy, about 10 years old, made it a point to say he was coming back. His name in Ronaldo and he seems to appreciate us spending time with him and his brother. We’ll he did come back and we had the opportunity to talk about the Bible. I don’t know how good his English is, but he seems to like being there. My oldest son Jack, like to help at the “soul kitchen: as well. He also likes to walk around the neighborhood and look for the kids who came for soup. A few weeks ago, Jack and I were walking around the neighborhood where the homes are made of cinder block and rusty sheets of metal. We saw some kids kicking around a slightly deflated ball in the street (each of the 15 foot wide streets are lined with 6 foot high cinder block walls). Jack joined the fun and was immediately accepted even though the other kids were speaking Creole. The other kids seemed to really enjoy playing with Jack….maybe because he was the only one with blonde hair....a unique experience for them I’m sure.
A few days ago (Friday the 12th) we showed the DVD movie “Left Behind” at the church. Based on the New York Times best-selling book, “Left Behind” opens with the vanishing of millions of Christians (the rapture). Those that are left behind try to figure out what happened to all the missing people while the antichrist rises to power in the turmoil, signifying the beginning of the tribulation. Next month we will be showing “Left Behind – Tribulation Force” the sequel. Then in April, the church will show the third movie of the trilogy called “Left Behind – World at War”.
My wife and I have both been providing counseling for a variety of people. One couple is having marital issues. Another gentleman made contact through email, struggling with same-sex attraction even though he is married and attends church (not BCN or CC Fellowship). Then there are various other people that the Lord uses us to encourage. A lot of people are struggling with sin and it’s easy to not notice, but as we’ve made ourselves available to help, we see more opportunities to help. I know we’ve only scratched the surface as servants who try to help other Christians who are struggling with sin, but one thing I know is that there is an important difference between struggling with sin and simply sinning.
- foot washer -
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
.......O Daniel, I have now come forth to give you skill to understand. Daniel 9: 22
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Part 2
We have been able to share many resources with those that attend the BCN church as well as with others. Some of these resources include:
------ “More than a Carpenter” by Josh McDowell. Josh was a skeptic and thought Christians were out of their minds. Then he researched the claims of Jesus Christ with the purpose of disproving them, but he discovered that the evidence suggested exactly the opposite…..that Jesus truly was the God that he claimed to be.
----- “Calvary Chapel Distinctives” by Pastor Chuck Smith. Pastor Chuck explains how Calvary Chapel is different than other Christian churches, although there are many similarities. One such distinctive is the balanced emphasis on teaching the Word of God with an open heart to the work of the Holy Spirit. Another distinctive is teaching the Word verse by verse, chapter by chapter style of teaching the Word within its context.
----- “Hell’s best kept Secret” by Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron. A teaching DVD where Ray and Kirk discuss the reasons why modern evangelism produces an 80-90% “fall-away rate” from people who accept Christ. Ray and Kirk then detail the Biblical approach to evangelism and the “Way of the Master”. I presented this during a recent evangelism class here at BCN.
----- “The Philosophy of Ministry of Calvary Chapel” by Pastor Chuck Smith. An edited transcription from a message Pastor Chuck gave to leadership at one of the Calvary Chapels. Similar to the “Distinctives” book, but condensed and focuses more on the role and function of the church.
----- “The story of William Carey” who was a missionary to India
----- “The story of Hudson Taylor” who was a missionary to China
----- “Lost Boy” a documentary about Greg Laurie
----- “In the Blink of an eye” about the rapture
----- “Fire Proof” evangelical in nature using the topic of marriage
----- “Facing the Giants” evangelical in nature using the topic of never giving up
----- “Luther” a movie discussing the history of Martin Luther
----- “The Darwin Dilemma” revealing some of the issues in the teachings of Darwin concerning evolution. Specifically talks about the “Cambrian explosion” where life was shown not to slowly evolve, but shows a variety of complex life all appearing at once in time.
----- “Be a man” DVD conference where Pastor Ken Graves discusses “The Man” of Jesus Christ. He is man’s perfect role model and men should be looking to me more like Him, not focusing on man-made systems of self improvement.
----- “Case for Christ”, “Case for a Creation” and “Case for Faith” by Lee Strobel has developed three separate documentary style DVDs (also books). As a journalist and former atheist, Lee investigates the toughest objections to Christianity. While out to prove Christianity wrong, he discovers that Christ is the Son of God and submits to Christ as his Lord and Savior.
I’ve also been studying various resources including:
----- “The Emerging Church” by Charlie Campbell. A great DVD of CC Worldview Conference where Charlie explains the false teaching in the emerging church on topics such as: the gospel, the virgin birth, the Trinity, homosexuality and prayer.
----- “Darwin was Wrong” recorded at CC Costa Mesa. A variety of Ph.D. scientist discuss why Darwin was wrong on virtually every major topic he addressed. Some of the topics are: natural selection, geology, fossil records and the Tree of life. I showed the topic “the complexity of life” at last week’s men’s group and will be showing Pastor Chuck Smith’s discussion of “Darwin was wrong about God” this week.
- foot washer-
Part 2
We have been able to share many resources with those that attend the BCN church as well as with others. Some of these resources include:
------ “More than a Carpenter” by Josh McDowell. Josh was a skeptic and thought Christians were out of their minds. Then he researched the claims of Jesus Christ with the purpose of disproving them, but he discovered that the evidence suggested exactly the opposite…..that Jesus truly was the God that he claimed to be.
----- “Calvary Chapel Distinctives” by Pastor Chuck Smith. Pastor Chuck explains how Calvary Chapel is different than other Christian churches, although there are many similarities. One such distinctive is the balanced emphasis on teaching the Word of God with an open heart to the work of the Holy Spirit. Another distinctive is teaching the Word verse by verse, chapter by chapter style of teaching the Word within its context.
----- “Hell’s best kept Secret” by Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron. A teaching DVD where Ray and Kirk discuss the reasons why modern evangelism produces an 80-90% “fall-away rate” from people who accept Christ. Ray and Kirk then detail the Biblical approach to evangelism and the “Way of the Master”. I presented this during a recent evangelism class here at BCN.
----- “The Philosophy of Ministry of Calvary Chapel” by Pastor Chuck Smith. An edited transcription from a message Pastor Chuck gave to leadership at one of the Calvary Chapels. Similar to the “Distinctives” book, but condensed and focuses more on the role and function of the church.
----- “The story of William Carey” who was a missionary to India
----- “The story of Hudson Taylor” who was a missionary to China
----- “Lost Boy” a documentary about Greg Laurie
----- “In the Blink of an eye” about the rapture
----- “Fire Proof” evangelical in nature using the topic of marriage
----- “Facing the Giants” evangelical in nature using the topic of never giving up
----- “Luther” a movie discussing the history of Martin Luther
----- “The Darwin Dilemma” revealing some of the issues in the teachings of Darwin concerning evolution. Specifically talks about the “Cambrian explosion” where life was shown not to slowly evolve, but shows a variety of complex life all appearing at once in time.
----- “Be a man” DVD conference where Pastor Ken Graves discusses “The Man” of Jesus Christ. He is man’s perfect role model and men should be looking to me more like Him, not focusing on man-made systems of self improvement.
----- “Case for Christ”, “Case for a Creation” and “Case for Faith” by Lee Strobel has developed three separate documentary style DVDs (also books). As a journalist and former atheist, Lee investigates the toughest objections to Christianity. While out to prove Christianity wrong, he discovers that Christ is the Son of God and submits to Christ as his Lord and Savior.
I’ve also been studying various resources including:
----- “The Emerging Church” by Charlie Campbell. A great DVD of CC Worldview Conference where Charlie explains the false teaching in the emerging church on topics such as: the gospel, the virgin birth, the Trinity, homosexuality and prayer.
----- “Darwin was Wrong” recorded at CC Costa Mesa. A variety of Ph.D. scientist discuss why Darwin was wrong on virtually every major topic he addressed. Some of the topics are: natural selection, geology, fossil records and the Tree of life. I showed the topic “the complexity of life” at last week’s men’s group and will be showing Pastor Chuck Smith’s discussion of “Darwin was wrong about God” this week.
- foot washer-
Sunday, January 31, 2010
For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen………so that they are without excuse. Romans 1: 18-21
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PART 1
Reviewing the last three weeks I realize there is much to report. As I am writing this I realize that I will need to write this blog in parts due to the length. So this is part one of maybe four parts. I’ll try to recount the events in order, starting with a trip to Calvary Chapel Fellowship in Curepipe (Pastor Dom’s church). The whole family made it to Curepipe Sunday after service. Dom wasn’t feeling well, but he bravely joined us for some fellowship time. Cindy and the kids were there, as well as Colette and Daniel (regular attendees of the church). Danielle nursed Paul, Gary and I when we were all sick during the July mission trip, just after Pastor Ron returned to SC. There was also another woman there, Mariella who waited for my family’s arrival in Curepipe. We had a good time fellowshipping and hopefully brought a little USA likeminded uplifting of spirits to CC Fellowship.
I had the opportunity to record another 15 minute message on an AM station for the Mauritian program called Epilogue. The broadcast reaches all of Mauritius for those who tune into the AM program. Before recording the message I had the opportunity to discuss the topics of Jesus, sin and God with a Hindu gentleman whose wife was recording a message about Hinduism. This Hindu man was nice and even referenced Jesus acknowledging His sacrifice on the cross. I added that one of the most important things about Christ was that he rose from the dead, and that God is a God of the living. This man didn’t really know much about Christ or Christianity, just enough to be wrong. He proceeded to say that Christians emphasize sin too much. I think he might have been referencing the Mauritian Catholics. This man believed that being ignorant is sin and that if you are not ignorant then you aren’t sinning. I then explained that lack of ignorance does not mean you are without sin. In fact many people know about Christ, yet choose to disobey (rebel) against God and do as they please. Of course there are those of us who acknowledge Christ and our Lord and Savior, submitting ourselves to His will. Planting seeds.
Sherveen, a 17 year old young man living in Curepipe, stayed overnight in our home above the church the other week. We met him during the July mission trip. His mother attends CC Fellowship. Paul P. spent a lot of time with Sherveen and took him under his wing for a bit. We all took Sherveen out for this birthday in July. His father is not a good role model and unavailable to be a father figure, so it’s important that we can invite him up to the north part of Mauritius from time to time. He is a typical 17 year old, with typical issues and questions and it was a pleasure to have him with us. The only problem was that I let him borrow my Netbook for a few hours. I told him that the Netbook didn’t have any virus software installed, but you guessed it, the next day it only opened in “safe mode”. Silly me, letting a 17 year old use a computer (with or without virus software). I think all teenagers have the ability to surf hundreds of websites in just a matter of minutes. Somehow I’ll have to reformat the computer, but probably not until I return to SC.
In the next couple of days I will pick up where I left off with PART 2. I’d like to share my review of several Christian books and videos (equipping the Saints), the many visits of church members, the CC Fellowship bookstore sale and the local soup “soul” kitchen. Until the next blog…….
- Foot Washer -
PART 1
Reviewing the last three weeks I realize there is much to report. As I am writing this I realize that I will need to write this blog in parts due to the length. So this is part one of maybe four parts. I’ll try to recount the events in order, starting with a trip to Calvary Chapel Fellowship in Curepipe (Pastor Dom’s church). The whole family made it to Curepipe Sunday after service. Dom wasn’t feeling well, but he bravely joined us for some fellowship time. Cindy and the kids were there, as well as Colette and Daniel (regular attendees of the church). Danielle nursed Paul, Gary and I when we were all sick during the July mission trip, just after Pastor Ron returned to SC. There was also another woman there, Mariella who waited for my family’s arrival in Curepipe. We had a good time fellowshipping and hopefully brought a little USA likeminded uplifting of spirits to CC Fellowship.
I had the opportunity to record another 15 minute message on an AM station for the Mauritian program called Epilogue. The broadcast reaches all of Mauritius for those who tune into the AM program. Before recording the message I had the opportunity to discuss the topics of Jesus, sin and God with a Hindu gentleman whose wife was recording a message about Hinduism. This Hindu man was nice and even referenced Jesus acknowledging His sacrifice on the cross. I added that one of the most important things about Christ was that he rose from the dead, and that God is a God of the living. This man didn’t really know much about Christ or Christianity, just enough to be wrong. He proceeded to say that Christians emphasize sin too much. I think he might have been referencing the Mauritian Catholics. This man believed that being ignorant is sin and that if you are not ignorant then you aren’t sinning. I then explained that lack of ignorance does not mean you are without sin. In fact many people know about Christ, yet choose to disobey (rebel) against God and do as they please. Of course there are those of us who acknowledge Christ and our Lord and Savior, submitting ourselves to His will. Planting seeds.
Sherveen, a 17 year old young man living in Curepipe, stayed overnight in our home above the church the other week. We met him during the July mission trip. His mother attends CC Fellowship. Paul P. spent a lot of time with Sherveen and took him under his wing for a bit. We all took Sherveen out for this birthday in July. His father is not a good role model and unavailable to be a father figure, so it’s important that we can invite him up to the north part of Mauritius from time to time. He is a typical 17 year old, with typical issues and questions and it was a pleasure to have him with us. The only problem was that I let him borrow my Netbook for a few hours. I told him that the Netbook didn’t have any virus software installed, but you guessed it, the next day it only opened in “safe mode”. Silly me, letting a 17 year old use a computer (with or without virus software). I think all teenagers have the ability to surf hundreds of websites in just a matter of minutes. Somehow I’ll have to reformat the computer, but probably not until I return to SC.
In the next couple of days I will pick up where I left off with PART 2. I’d like to share my review of several Christian books and videos (equipping the Saints), the many visits of church members, the CC Fellowship bookstore sale and the local soup “soul” kitchen. Until the next blog…….
- Foot Washer -
Sunday, January 10, 2010
I see four men loose……and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God – Daniel 3:25
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The New Year marks the three-month point in our mission trip. This seems like an appropriate time to review the goals I established for our time in Mauritius. The four main goals are 1) Equipping the Saints via the Word, 2) Community Evangelism, 3) Pastoral Care and 4) General Mauritius focus.
1) We’ve gone through 3 books so far: Colossians, Philippians and Malachi. Currently we are in the book of Daniel and just finished chapter 3 this morning, I believe people see the value if studying God’s Word verse by verse and chapter by chapter. I pray this encourages the saints to continue to study God’s Word in context, avoiding any misunderstandings of the Bible.
2) For evangelism, we been creating sermon CDs for people to take as desired. From time to time I remind people to take these resources and pass them to others are led. The church website also has the previous messages available for download or streaming. I’m working with the website guys to change the layout a bit to facilitate a more user friendly look. Pastor Ron sent me an “evangelism kit” from Greg Laurie, so I plan on building an evangelism team and using the kit to help equip people for street witnessing. There is some Way of the Master CDs I have as well.
3) Pastoral care is going to be ramped up now that people feel a bit more comfortable with me. I’ve been able to share a meal with various people with my family, but I plan on spending a bit more time visiting people for 30-minites or so, assuming I have transportation. Pastor Dominique mentioned that in Mauritius, the people really desire visits from the Pastor.
4) Most of the general Mauritius focus has been Campus Crusade for Christ and CC Fellowship (Dom’s church). We had Dom and his family over the BCN church flat again the other week. The slept over 2 nights and it was a great time of fellowship. Alexandria and I get to minister to them with food and a relatively relaxing time. We went to the beach together and had a good time. I know they really like spending time with us and we like spending time with them. The guys from Campus Crusade mentioned that the three University students I met really enjoyed their time with me and wanted to get back together soon. I plan on going to the University and spending some time with them. Please pray that I have time and transportation.
This month (January) we are showing the movie “Luther”. The movies are open to all who want to attend and we post “movie posters” on a sign right along a busy street with a lot of foot traffic and car traffic. Mauritians love movies, so the goal is to attract as many people as possible to learn about Christ and the Christian faith. Last month we watched “Facing the Giants”. I think in February we watch “Left Behind”.
For Christmas we had a special Christmas morning service at 0900. Some ladies from the church decorated the sanctuary with gold colored linen, candles and used gold spray branches to make the sanctuary visually appealing. A temporary church choir formed and practiced singing Christian Christmas carols for several weeks. Jack liked going down the stairs on Thursday and Saturday nights to hear the choir practice. The church also hosted an evangelical musical outreach on December 13th. Family and friends were invited to hear the choir sing and to listen to four 5-minute messages about Christ inserted between songs.
The month of December wasn’t without sickness. First my baby became sick. Next was Jack and I was last. Thank God Alex didn’t get sick. My caring for the boys would have consisted of wrestling matches (even Will would have joined in) and pizza. Maybe I’d throw in an occasional hamburger. I was sick during Christmas Eve and I don’t think I’ve ever heard a longer duration of sporadic fireworks. The Mauritians really enjoy their fireworks and any reason to light them off is an opportunity seized. I don’t know why, but between 7:30pm and 2am, somebody was lighting 3 or 4 loud fireworks ever 30 minutes. As soon as I fell asleep, BOOM, another barrage of fireworks. I’d literally jump up in bed. But the explosions only lasted a few seconds, just enough to wake me up. Then, nothing for another 20 – 30 minutes or so. I don’t know if someone was making their own fireworks and it took them 20-30 minutes per bunch or if they kept running out of matches or fireworks and had to run out to the store again. Maybe they take rationing to the extreme. Of course the whole firework thing was nothing new to me because in Myrtle Beach, people also go crazy over fireworks. It’s funny; yesterday Alexandria and I heard fireworks starting as soon as baby Will went to sleep. We turned to each other and said, “well, it must be January 9th”, as if January night was a holiday. We did the same thing in Myrtle Beach when someone would like fireworks on July 10th, or any random day.
I feel good now and we are all ready to tackle the next three months. There’s a lot I’d like to accomplish including establishing the evangelism team I mentioned earlier. I also plan on bringing a lot of the Christian resources from Dom’s bookstore up hear for sale in 14 days. I want to get a bit more involved in Campus Crusade and to spend a bit of time in Curepipe to fellowship with the CC Saints.
- Foot Washer -
The New Year marks the three-month point in our mission trip. This seems like an appropriate time to review the goals I established for our time in Mauritius. The four main goals are 1) Equipping the Saints via the Word, 2) Community Evangelism, 3) Pastoral Care and 4) General Mauritius focus.
1) We’ve gone through 3 books so far: Colossians, Philippians and Malachi. Currently we are in the book of Daniel and just finished chapter 3 this morning, I believe people see the value if studying God’s Word verse by verse and chapter by chapter. I pray this encourages the saints to continue to study God’s Word in context, avoiding any misunderstandings of the Bible.
2) For evangelism, we been creating sermon CDs for people to take as desired. From time to time I remind people to take these resources and pass them to others are led. The church website also has the previous messages available for download or streaming. I’m working with the website guys to change the layout a bit to facilitate a more user friendly look. Pastor Ron sent me an “evangelism kit” from Greg Laurie, so I plan on building an evangelism team and using the kit to help equip people for street witnessing. There is some Way of the Master CDs I have as well.
3) Pastoral care is going to be ramped up now that people feel a bit more comfortable with me. I’ve been able to share a meal with various people with my family, but I plan on spending a bit more time visiting people for 30-minites or so, assuming I have transportation. Pastor Dominique mentioned that in Mauritius, the people really desire visits from the Pastor.
4) Most of the general Mauritius focus has been Campus Crusade for Christ and CC Fellowship (Dom’s church). We had Dom and his family over the BCN church flat again the other week. The slept over 2 nights and it was a great time of fellowship. Alexandria and I get to minister to them with food and a relatively relaxing time. We went to the beach together and had a good time. I know they really like spending time with us and we like spending time with them. The guys from Campus Crusade mentioned that the three University students I met really enjoyed their time with me and wanted to get back together soon. I plan on going to the University and spending some time with them. Please pray that I have time and transportation.
This month (January) we are showing the movie “Luther”. The movies are open to all who want to attend and we post “movie posters” on a sign right along a busy street with a lot of foot traffic and car traffic. Mauritians love movies, so the goal is to attract as many people as possible to learn about Christ and the Christian faith. Last month we watched “Facing the Giants”. I think in February we watch “Left Behind”.
For Christmas we had a special Christmas morning service at 0900. Some ladies from the church decorated the sanctuary with gold colored linen, candles and used gold spray branches to make the sanctuary visually appealing. A temporary church choir formed and practiced singing Christian Christmas carols for several weeks. Jack liked going down the stairs on Thursday and Saturday nights to hear the choir practice. The church also hosted an evangelical musical outreach on December 13th. Family and friends were invited to hear the choir sing and to listen to four 5-minute messages about Christ inserted between songs.
The month of December wasn’t without sickness. First my baby became sick. Next was Jack and I was last. Thank God Alex didn’t get sick. My caring for the boys would have consisted of wrestling matches (even Will would have joined in) and pizza. Maybe I’d throw in an occasional hamburger. I was sick during Christmas Eve and I don’t think I’ve ever heard a longer duration of sporadic fireworks. The Mauritians really enjoy their fireworks and any reason to light them off is an opportunity seized. I don’t know why, but between 7:30pm and 2am, somebody was lighting 3 or 4 loud fireworks ever 30 minutes. As soon as I fell asleep, BOOM, another barrage of fireworks. I’d literally jump up in bed. But the explosions only lasted a few seconds, just enough to wake me up. Then, nothing for another 20 – 30 minutes or so. I don’t know if someone was making their own fireworks and it took them 20-30 minutes per bunch or if they kept running out of matches or fireworks and had to run out to the store again. Maybe they take rationing to the extreme. Of course the whole firework thing was nothing new to me because in Myrtle Beach, people also go crazy over fireworks. It’s funny; yesterday Alexandria and I heard fireworks starting as soon as baby Will went to sleep. We turned to each other and said, “well, it must be January 9th”, as if January night was a holiday. We did the same thing in Myrtle Beach when someone would like fireworks on July 10th, or any random day.
I feel good now and we are all ready to tackle the next three months. There’s a lot I’d like to accomplish including establishing the evangelism team I mentioned earlier. I also plan on bringing a lot of the Christian resources from Dom’s bookstore up hear for sale in 14 days. I want to get a bit more involved in Campus Crusade and to spend a bit of time in Curepipe to fellowship with the CC Saints.
- Foot Washer -
Saturday, November 28, 2009
…….that you stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel (Philippians 1:27)
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In Mauritius, it’s not uncommon to have items stolen. In fact, the people living in the flat that we now call home were robbed while sleeping. The thieves even took jewelry off the nightstand, inches from their heads. Also, people have barbed wire around their homes and always lock-up their cars. I don’t think there is violent crime here, like that in South Africa, but a lot of things are stolen. Also, I was told that if I find lost items, I don’t bring them to the police, as they will be pocketed and never returned.
So, this brings me to this past Tuesday. I had to drive to Port Louis to pick up a package and to finalize something with the visa office. I took both children so that Alex would have some relief for a few hours since Jack is on school break. I parked in an old granary building which was converted to a parking garage. Upon my return to the car I noticed Will (the baby) was in need of a diaper change. I open the car and laid him on the back seat, changed his diaper and buckled him in his car seat. I told Jack to get in the car and buckle up. Then the three of us left the parking garage and headed home.
Thursday morning Alex asked for the car keys. She returned from the car quickly and asked where the borrowed “Bon Jovi Rock-Star” stroller was. Like a near death experience, my brain started replaying the last two days of my life as I searched in my head for the possible location. “Well, it wasn’t in the car yesterday” I said, trying to buy me time to think. I went through the motions of looking around the flat, as if by some chance Alex didn’t see it sitting in the open somewhere. At this point I realized I left the stroller in the parking garage. I took Will out of the stroller, changed his diaper, got Jack in the car and left. The stroller was out of sight, behind an old granary slide. Then, looking at the car, I was hoping that the car was broken into, and that the stroller was stolen. At least then I wouldn’t be to blame…..those thieving Mauritians. But, the car was not broken into. I then stated that I think I left it in the Port Louis parking garage. At this point we knew the stroller was gone forever. I imagined some 70 year old Mauritian man pushing his laundry and fruit around in the red Bon Jovi – designed stroller. By the way, why did Bon Jovi design a stroller, and more importantly, why was I pushing my son in one? Anyway, I decided to drive to Port Louis to confirm the stroller was gone.
On the way, I prayed to God. While I was praying, the enemy was filling my head with doubts. Things like “Why are you praying for the recovery of a stroller…that’s so unimportant”. But I realized that God wants us to pray to Him always, for the big things and for the little things. “Why are you more passionate in prayer about a stroller than you are about someone who has a more serious request”? A very valid point, but I knew that regardless of my short-comings, God wants me to pray to Him. I mean of course I don’t deserve God’s mercy, but that’s not the point. If I waited to pray to God until I deserved His mercy, I would never pray to God. As I was praying I made sure to proclaim that I will praise God if I find the stroller or if I don’t find the stroller. He is in control and He deserves praise because He is God and I’m not. Also, as I was driving, I knew that if my wife prayed in unity with my prayers of finding the stroller, then that is something that would please God. This of course doesn’t mean that God will do what I ask, God is God and our prayer should be about being more like Christ, not attempting to change God’s mind about something. Anyway, it was difficult to ask my wife to pray with me, since I had lost the stroller. I sent a text message asking for her to pray, knowing that regardless of what happens with the stroller, I would be doing the right thing by having unity in prayer with my wife.
As I approached the parking garage in Port Louis, I kind of expected to find the stroller just sitting there, behind the grain slide. As I walked through the parking garage, to the location where my car was parked, I saw no sign of the stroller. I thought, “well, I would have liked it to be found, but what can I expect….of course it’s gone forever”. As I continued through the parking garage, I passed a maintenance room that was open. A man was inside with his back to me. I though maybe he has the stroller in this room, but as I quickly looked in I verified that there indeed was no stroller. I kept walking until I came to the little office at the end of the building, where the parking attendants issue the time-stamped (actually hand written) tickets before you park. I said to on attendant that I left a red stroller here on Tuesday. I don’t know what my real motive was for stating my loss. I think in my head I just wanted them to know whose stroller was stolen, figuring that one of them saw it on Tuesday and now they would see the person who lost it….not that they would give it back, but that maybe they would feel bad about steeling it.
At this point, something unexpected happened. The guy seemed to gesture that he knew what I was talking about and walked back into the office. Could it be that the stroller was in the office? I felt a sense of hope and excitement filling me as the possibility was rising. Then, out from the office, rolled this red stroller, yes indeed the Bon Jovi Rock-star stroller. Praise the Lord! “Mercy Boku, Mercy Boku” I uttered. I thanked all three people there, although I have a feeling only the one knew what was going on. I left the garage and texted Alex “Praise the Lord”. She was very surprised that the stroller was found, but very confident that the Lord’s will would be done. What a blessing.
I told a few others about this story and a Mauritian man said that I was truly blessed because you never hear stories like this. As I said in the beginning, people risk a lot more to steal far less. So, more important than finding the stroller was the experience in the car ride to Port Louis, while in prayer. I think we all underestimate the power of a husband and wife praying in unity. While I know there is power in prayer and I know that where two or three are gathered, God is in their presence, I think there is a special blessing when those two people are husband and wife. I encourage all of you who are married to pray together, which some of you already do, to be like minded, sharing the mind-set of Christ.
In Mauritius, it’s not uncommon to have items stolen. In fact, the people living in the flat that we now call home were robbed while sleeping. The thieves even took jewelry off the nightstand, inches from their heads. Also, people have barbed wire around their homes and always lock-up their cars. I don’t think there is violent crime here, like that in South Africa, but a lot of things are stolen. Also, I was told that if I find lost items, I don’t bring them to the police, as they will be pocketed and never returned.
So, this brings me to this past Tuesday. I had to drive to Port Louis to pick up a package and to finalize something with the visa office. I took both children so that Alex would have some relief for a few hours since Jack is on school break. I parked in an old granary building which was converted to a parking garage. Upon my return to the car I noticed Will (the baby) was in need of a diaper change. I open the car and laid him on the back seat, changed his diaper and buckled him in his car seat. I told Jack to get in the car and buckle up. Then the three of us left the parking garage and headed home.
Thursday morning Alex asked for the car keys. She returned from the car quickly and asked where the borrowed “Bon Jovi Rock-Star” stroller was. Like a near death experience, my brain started replaying the last two days of my life as I searched in my head for the possible location. “Well, it wasn’t in the car yesterday” I said, trying to buy me time to think. I went through the motions of looking around the flat, as if by some chance Alex didn’t see it sitting in the open somewhere. At this point I realized I left the stroller in the parking garage. I took Will out of the stroller, changed his diaper, got Jack in the car and left. The stroller was out of sight, behind an old granary slide. Then, looking at the car, I was hoping that the car was broken into, and that the stroller was stolen. At least then I wouldn’t be to blame…..those thieving Mauritians. But, the car was not broken into. I then stated that I think I left it in the Port Louis parking garage. At this point we knew the stroller was gone forever. I imagined some 70 year old Mauritian man pushing his laundry and fruit around in the red Bon Jovi – designed stroller. By the way, why did Bon Jovi design a stroller, and more importantly, why was I pushing my son in one? Anyway, I decided to drive to Port Louis to confirm the stroller was gone.
On the way, I prayed to God. While I was praying, the enemy was filling my head with doubts. Things like “Why are you praying for the recovery of a stroller…that’s so unimportant”. But I realized that God wants us to pray to Him always, for the big things and for the little things. “Why are you more passionate in prayer about a stroller than you are about someone who has a more serious request”? A very valid point, but I knew that regardless of my short-comings, God wants me to pray to Him. I mean of course I don’t deserve God’s mercy, but that’s not the point. If I waited to pray to God until I deserved His mercy, I would never pray to God. As I was praying I made sure to proclaim that I will praise God if I find the stroller or if I don’t find the stroller. He is in control and He deserves praise because He is God and I’m not. Also, as I was driving, I knew that if my wife prayed in unity with my prayers of finding the stroller, then that is something that would please God. This of course doesn’t mean that God will do what I ask, God is God and our prayer should be about being more like Christ, not attempting to change God’s mind about something. Anyway, it was difficult to ask my wife to pray with me, since I had lost the stroller. I sent a text message asking for her to pray, knowing that regardless of what happens with the stroller, I would be doing the right thing by having unity in prayer with my wife.
As I approached the parking garage in Port Louis, I kind of expected to find the stroller just sitting there, behind the grain slide. As I walked through the parking garage, to the location where my car was parked, I saw no sign of the stroller. I thought, “well, I would have liked it to be found, but what can I expect….of course it’s gone forever”. As I continued through the parking garage, I passed a maintenance room that was open. A man was inside with his back to me. I though maybe he has the stroller in this room, but as I quickly looked in I verified that there indeed was no stroller. I kept walking until I came to the little office at the end of the building, where the parking attendants issue the time-stamped (actually hand written) tickets before you park. I said to on attendant that I left a red stroller here on Tuesday. I don’t know what my real motive was for stating my loss. I think in my head I just wanted them to know whose stroller was stolen, figuring that one of them saw it on Tuesday and now they would see the person who lost it….not that they would give it back, but that maybe they would feel bad about steeling it.
At this point, something unexpected happened. The guy seemed to gesture that he knew what I was talking about and walked back into the office. Could it be that the stroller was in the office? I felt a sense of hope and excitement filling me as the possibility was rising. Then, out from the office, rolled this red stroller, yes indeed the Bon Jovi Rock-star stroller. Praise the Lord! “Mercy Boku, Mercy Boku” I uttered. I thanked all three people there, although I have a feeling only the one knew what was going on. I left the garage and texted Alex “Praise the Lord”. She was very surprised that the stroller was found, but very confident that the Lord’s will would be done. What a blessing.
I told a few others about this story and a Mauritian man said that I was truly blessed because you never hear stories like this. As I said in the beginning, people risk a lot more to steal far less. So, more important than finding the stroller was the experience in the car ride to Port Louis, while in prayer. I think we all underestimate the power of a husband and wife praying in unity. While I know there is power in prayer and I know that where two or three are gathered, God is in their presence, I think there is a special blessing when those two people are husband and wife. I encourage all of you who are married to pray together, which some of you already do, to be like minded, sharing the mind-set of Christ.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of truth. (2 Timothy 3:7)
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In the past couple of weeks, I have prioritized time to review several Christian movies / documentaries. People give me videos and material that they found useful, but I have the responsibility to review these before “endorsing” them. So far the material has been good. I particularly enjoyed the learning about Hudson Taylor - a missionary to China, William Tyndale – who translated the Bible into English, and William Carey – a missionary to India. All three men suffered greatly, as each felt a calling on their life to serve our Lord Jesus Christ. I also watched the Ben Stein documentary “Expelled”. In the movie, Mr. Stein probes into the reasons why members of academia have been fired as a result of mentioning intelligent design as the source of life. I can’t help but think about John 1:5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. By the way, I choose this blog entry title because many people are always learning, and have dozens, if not hundreds of books on their shelves. Some people pride (there’s a problem right there) themselves on being well-read, but what are they reading? People can get so bogged down with man’s ideas about life and about the Bible that they can never come to the truth of who God is. It can be overwhelming to dig out of all the garbage filling the mind. Giving the enemy a foothold, whether in military battles or in spiritual battles, will result in massive casualties.
I also had the opportunity to record a Biblical message on an AM radio station in Mauritius. 30 minutes are allocated for a Biblical message and for playing Christian music. I was going to use three songs and talk for 15 minutes, but my message was too long. After I made some cuts, I still had 20 minutes of message. I decided to play just two songs. My topic was “Why I believe the Bible is the Word of God”. In summary the reason for my belief is because the Bible is proven to be the Word of God. If you’re interested in this topic, please access the message from the Baptist Church of the North (BCN) website (you can “click” on their logo to the left of this blog for a direct link”. After a review of my recording, the facilitator thought there wasn’t enough music, so next time I will stick with the original plan of three songs.
I’m hoping to get a copy of the 30-minute program so that I can place this on the Baptist Church website for download. I’m also working with the church to get my previous messages on the website for download. This is an amazing ministry in that people are able to listen to the sermon messages multiple times and can give away the CDs to minister to others. I’ve been using my laptop to record the messages, which has been working ok. I have an ink CD printer, but I have been borrowing Pastor Dominique’s (Dom) Light-scribe printer / duplicator to create the CDs. I gave Dom back his Light-scribe, but not before I pre-printed the last two messages on blank CDs. I guess I’ll have to resort to the “less cool” CD printer that uses ink. Knowing me, I’ll probably drive down to Dom’s to pre-burn additional blank CDs.
I will be teaching at another Baptist Church in Rose Belle (located in the south on the Mauritius map, where the “s” is in word “Mauritius”). It takes about 90 minutes to drive there without traffic and 3 hours with traffic (yes, Mauritius has traffic, but only around Port Louis). I taught in Rose Belle once before for the “scripture Day” on October 31st and the pastor asked me to teach again on December 6th. What’s nice about this opportunity is that I get to teach at BCN in the mornings with plenty of time to teach the 6pm service in Rose Belle. The Pastor’s wife invited me and my family for a late dinner after the service.
On the funnier side, Alex (wife) found a snake in our bathroom the other week. She also found a big spider (picture on her blog site) in the kitchen. For the last few weeks we haven’t turned off the bathroom light at night! Also, I seem to get anxious when I see something move out of the corner of my eye. Geckos and other bugs seem to like the kitchen because the windows are broken and there is a source of water and food. At night I turn on the lights and give the bugs a few moments to hide before I enter. I’d rather not see them. This reminds me a bit of the Army, in that you didn’t sleep until it was dark, so whatever was living in the dirt…..you didn’t see.
Thank you again for all your prayers and financial support. We appreciate both and thank the Lord daily.
- Foot Washer -
In the past couple of weeks, I have prioritized time to review several Christian movies / documentaries. People give me videos and material that they found useful, but I have the responsibility to review these before “endorsing” them. So far the material has been good. I particularly enjoyed the learning about Hudson Taylor - a missionary to China, William Tyndale – who translated the Bible into English, and William Carey – a missionary to India. All three men suffered greatly, as each felt a calling on their life to serve our Lord Jesus Christ. I also watched the Ben Stein documentary “Expelled”. In the movie, Mr. Stein probes into the reasons why members of academia have been fired as a result of mentioning intelligent design as the source of life. I can’t help but think about John 1:5 And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. By the way, I choose this blog entry title because many people are always learning, and have dozens, if not hundreds of books on their shelves. Some people pride (there’s a problem right there) themselves on being well-read, but what are they reading? People can get so bogged down with man’s ideas about life and about the Bible that they can never come to the truth of who God is. It can be overwhelming to dig out of all the garbage filling the mind. Giving the enemy a foothold, whether in military battles or in spiritual battles, will result in massive casualties.
I also had the opportunity to record a Biblical message on an AM radio station in Mauritius. 30 minutes are allocated for a Biblical message and for playing Christian music. I was going to use three songs and talk for 15 minutes, but my message was too long. After I made some cuts, I still had 20 minutes of message. I decided to play just two songs. My topic was “Why I believe the Bible is the Word of God”. In summary the reason for my belief is because the Bible is proven to be the Word of God. If you’re interested in this topic, please access the message from the Baptist Church of the North (BCN) website (you can “click” on their logo to the left of this blog for a direct link”. After a review of my recording, the facilitator thought there wasn’t enough music, so next time I will stick with the original plan of three songs.
I’m hoping to get a copy of the 30-minute program so that I can place this on the Baptist Church website for download. I’m also working with the church to get my previous messages on the website for download. This is an amazing ministry in that people are able to listen to the sermon messages multiple times and can give away the CDs to minister to others. I’ve been using my laptop to record the messages, which has been working ok. I have an ink CD printer, but I have been borrowing Pastor Dominique’s (Dom) Light-scribe printer / duplicator to create the CDs. I gave Dom back his Light-scribe, but not before I pre-printed the last two messages on blank CDs. I guess I’ll have to resort to the “less cool” CD printer that uses ink. Knowing me, I’ll probably drive down to Dom’s to pre-burn additional blank CDs.
I will be teaching at another Baptist Church in Rose Belle (located in the south on the Mauritius map, where the “s” is in word “Mauritius”). It takes about 90 minutes to drive there without traffic and 3 hours with traffic (yes, Mauritius has traffic, but only around Port Louis). I taught in Rose Belle once before for the “scripture Day” on October 31st and the pastor asked me to teach again on December 6th. What’s nice about this opportunity is that I get to teach at BCN in the mornings with plenty of time to teach the 6pm service in Rose Belle. The Pastor’s wife invited me and my family for a late dinner after the service.
On the funnier side, Alex (wife) found a snake in our bathroom the other week. She also found a big spider (picture on her blog site) in the kitchen. For the last few weeks we haven’t turned off the bathroom light at night! Also, I seem to get anxious when I see something move out of the corner of my eye. Geckos and other bugs seem to like the kitchen because the windows are broken and there is a source of water and food. At night I turn on the lights and give the bugs a few moments to hide before I enter. I’d rather not see them. This reminds me a bit of the Army, in that you didn’t sleep until it was dark, so whatever was living in the dirt…..you didn’t see.
Thank you again for all your prayers and financial support. We appreciate both and thank the Lord daily.
- Foot Washer -
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
The wicked flee when no one pursues, But the righteous are bold as a lion. (Proverbs 28:1)
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Thank you to all of you who have supported this mission with prayers and donations. I can feel your prayers as my family battles a bit of false doctrine in the church (more about this in a moment). I’m also grateful for the financial support that many of you have provided. Although I don’t know the specifics, I do know that many of you have donated more than once. I hope the “Giving Kiosk” link on this blog page for MAURITIUS - NORTH has proved to be an easy way to give back to the Lord through donations. Also, please remember Pastor Dominique and his family when you pray and when you consider giving on-line. They are very worthy and are in desperate need of support.
I had the opportunity to accompany Dominique (Dom) on a pastoral visit in the southern part of Mauritius. Since I had access to a car, I picked up Dom and we went to Daniel’s house. Daniel is the man who has a cancerous tumor on his spine. We sat with him for a bit and then Dom explained how to be saved. Daniel and his mother accepted the Lord and then we prayed for Daniel. Most of the conversation was in Creole, but I was able to lay hands on Daniel as I prayed to God silently in English, while Dom prayed out-loud in Creole.
I've been able to see Dom about 3 or 4 times so far. This weekend Dom, Cindy, Adriel (son 5) and Yamaelle (daughter 2) will stay at our place Sunday evening, until Monday evening, since there is a holiday on Monday. Alexandria (my wife) and I plan on really blessing them with tasty nutritious American-style foods, good fellowship, fun for the kids and a relaxing time (can you relax with young children?).
I’ve been building relationships within the Christian community here on the island, with my goal of filling Pastor Ron’s time with speaking engagements throughout the island when he returns with a team in the summer of 2010. This includes Campus Crusade for Christ, various Christian churches, the Mauritius Bible Training Institute, promoting the pastors conference in Christian news forums, and working with other organizations.
We’ve been especially busy in the local church. We’re initiating a monthly “movie night”, starting with “Fire Proof” in November. The Men’s group is going through the “Be a man” DVD and will then start the foundations class in late November. I'm preparing a study in 1st Peter for a Baptist event titled “Scripture Day” where Baptist Pastors and leaders share in the teaching of one book of the Bible. Alexandria (Alex) is leading a 16-week ladies study titled “Portrait of a woman” and is helping the Lighthouse Primary School (the school our son Jack attends) with various publications. Alex is also helping facilitate the more effective running of the baby/toddler room.
God has provided confirmation that we are doing His will in teaching His Word by having several people comment on how much they enjoy and glean from the teachings. Two Sundays ago, I mentioned that a Calvinist belief that God creates certain people for Hell by preventing them from exercising their free will to choose Christ, was untrue. I said that God knew before the foundations of the world who would choose Him, and God chooses (elects) those that choose Him. From this I discovered that some people in this church (still don’t know how many) are Calvinists! I ended up speaking with two Calvinists about 10 days ago on Sunday afternoon. Again on this last Sunday I had a married couple hand me a letter-size envelop with Calvinist propaganda. They also went on to say that Calvinism is true, etcetera. As uncomfortable as this is, I know I must press on and preach the truth of God. There's more that I would like to share with all of you, but since this is a public blog, it’s best to simply ask for continual prayers from my Church family in Myrtle Beach, and from the larger Christian family throughout the Country. Please pray that God continues to use me, to give me a boldness to teach His truth and to open the hearts of the people here in Mauritius to hear and accept the truth of our Lord Jesus Christ.
We are praying for you in South Carolina.
Bill – Foot washer
Thank you to all of you who have supported this mission with prayers and donations. I can feel your prayers as my family battles a bit of false doctrine in the church (more about this in a moment). I’m also grateful for the financial support that many of you have provided. Although I don’t know the specifics, I do know that many of you have donated more than once. I hope the “Giving Kiosk” link on this blog page for MAURITIUS - NORTH has proved to be an easy way to give back to the Lord through donations. Also, please remember Pastor Dominique and his family when you pray and when you consider giving on-line. They are very worthy and are in desperate need of support.
I had the opportunity to accompany Dominique (Dom) on a pastoral visit in the southern part of Mauritius. Since I had access to a car, I picked up Dom and we went to Daniel’s house. Daniel is the man who has a cancerous tumor on his spine. We sat with him for a bit and then Dom explained how to be saved. Daniel and his mother accepted the Lord and then we prayed for Daniel. Most of the conversation was in Creole, but I was able to lay hands on Daniel as I prayed to God silently in English, while Dom prayed out-loud in Creole.
I've been able to see Dom about 3 or 4 times so far. This weekend Dom, Cindy, Adriel (son 5) and Yamaelle (daughter 2) will stay at our place Sunday evening, until Monday evening, since there is a holiday on Monday. Alexandria (my wife) and I plan on really blessing them with tasty nutritious American-style foods, good fellowship, fun for the kids and a relaxing time (can you relax with young children?).
I’ve been building relationships within the Christian community here on the island, with my goal of filling Pastor Ron’s time with speaking engagements throughout the island when he returns with a team in the summer of 2010. This includes Campus Crusade for Christ, various Christian churches, the Mauritius Bible Training Institute, promoting the pastors conference in Christian news forums, and working with other organizations.
We’ve been especially busy in the local church. We’re initiating a monthly “movie night”, starting with “Fire Proof” in November. The Men’s group is going through the “Be a man” DVD and will then start the foundations class in late November. I'm preparing a study in 1st Peter for a Baptist event titled “Scripture Day” where Baptist Pastors and leaders share in the teaching of one book of the Bible. Alexandria (Alex) is leading a 16-week ladies study titled “Portrait of a woman” and is helping the Lighthouse Primary School (the school our son Jack attends) with various publications. Alex is also helping facilitate the more effective running of the baby/toddler room.
God has provided confirmation that we are doing His will in teaching His Word by having several people comment on how much they enjoy and glean from the teachings. Two Sundays ago, I mentioned that a Calvinist belief that God creates certain people for Hell by preventing them from exercising their free will to choose Christ, was untrue. I said that God knew before the foundations of the world who would choose Him, and God chooses (elects) those that choose Him. From this I discovered that some people in this church (still don’t know how many) are Calvinists! I ended up speaking with two Calvinists about 10 days ago on Sunday afternoon. Again on this last Sunday I had a married couple hand me a letter-size envelop with Calvinist propaganda. They also went on to say that Calvinism is true, etcetera. As uncomfortable as this is, I know I must press on and preach the truth of God. There's more that I would like to share with all of you, but since this is a public blog, it’s best to simply ask for continual prayers from my Church family in Myrtle Beach, and from the larger Christian family throughout the Country. Please pray that God continues to use me, to give me a boldness to teach His truth and to open the hearts of the people here in Mauritius to hear and accept the truth of our Lord Jesus Christ.
We are praying for you in South Carolina.
Bill – Foot washer
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