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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.
Saturday, November 28, 2009
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
Friday, October 16, 2009
In the multitude of words sin is not lacking, But he who restrains his lips is wise. (Proverbs 10:19)
First of all, I thank God for this opportunity to serve Him, by serving the His people at the Baptist Church of the North (BCN) and in all of Mauritius. As Jesus said “I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work” (John 9:4).
I apologize for the delay of my first blog entry. With a variety of initial tasks before me I’m grateful that my wife has helped to keep people up-to-date on certain aspects of life in Mauritius. When describing Mauritius, people come to mind first. Although there are a variety of beliefs and a high burglary rate, most people are friendly. I have learned that if your house is broken into, the thieves try to accommodate you as much as possible, in that they wait for you to fall asleep and then quietly tip-toe around you, as not to wake you.
On a more important topic, I believe the Lord is going to use my family mightily on this island. My prayer is that God uses me, and my family, effectively and efficiently to minister to the people of BCN, to the local community, and throughout the island. As I’m writing this, I’m twisting to look at a dry-erase board on the wall behind me. One the 2nd or 3rd night in Mauritius, I outlined four objectives, making sure to stay focused on the Lord’s work. By His strength I pray I will accomplish His will.
1) Equipping the Saints, for the work of the ministry (Ephesians 4:12) by teaching them word of God, verse by verse and chapter by chapter. While doing this I will focus on building and strengthening the following:
-----a. Servants
-----b. Leaders
-----c. Marriages
2) Community Evangelism. Within the local community I will personally be knocking on gates (no direct access to doors because of all the security walls) and handing out evangelical business cards to people on the street, in the grocery store, etcetera. I will also focus on:
-----a. Establishing a Street Witnessing Team
-----b. Distributing sermons recorded on CDs. Also a great way for visitors from Europe, Asia, Australia and Africa to take the message back to their country of origin!
-----c. Improving the BCN website to include storing my recorded sermons for people to listen to, anywhere on the earth.
3) Pastoral Care. Ministering to the sick and to those who have backslide away from the truth of Christ.
4) Become involved with and establish a stronger connection with:
-----a. Calvary Chapel Fellowship (Pastor Dominique’s church). The Mauritian government will not allow him to use the name “Mauritius” in the church title. I want to fellowship with him and minister to him and his family, as well as work on the physical needs of the building.
-----b. Campus Crusade: This is just a place-keeper for all the Christian organizations on the island. I want to strengthen our relationship with these organizations and hope to fill Pastor Ron’s (CC Myrtle Beach) speaking schedule when he returns to the island in June/July or 2010.
-----c. Workforce: The mostly Hindu Mauritian government does not like the idea of Christian-based initiatives and missionary support, but loves the idea of bringing business to Mauritius. Still figuring this part out.
Well, back to preparing for Sunday’s message in Colossians chapter 3: Putting off the old man and putting on the new man.
Bill - Foot washer
I apologize for the delay of my first blog entry. With a variety of initial tasks before me I’m grateful that my wife has helped to keep people up-to-date on certain aspects of life in Mauritius. When describing Mauritius, people come to mind first. Although there are a variety of beliefs and a high burglary rate, most people are friendly. I have learned that if your house is broken into, the thieves try to accommodate you as much as possible, in that they wait for you to fall asleep and then quietly tip-toe around you, as not to wake you.
On a more important topic, I believe the Lord is going to use my family mightily on this island. My prayer is that God uses me, and my family, effectively and efficiently to minister to the people of BCN, to the local community, and throughout the island. As I’m writing this, I’m twisting to look at a dry-erase board on the wall behind me. One the 2nd or 3rd night in Mauritius, I outlined four objectives, making sure to stay focused on the Lord’s work. By His strength I pray I will accomplish His will.
1) Equipping the Saints, for the work of the ministry (Ephesians 4:12) by teaching them word of God, verse by verse and chapter by chapter. While doing this I will focus on building and strengthening the following:
-----a. Servants
-----b. Leaders
-----c. Marriages
2) Community Evangelism. Within the local community I will personally be knocking on gates (no direct access to doors because of all the security walls) and handing out evangelical business cards to people on the street, in the grocery store, etcetera. I will also focus on:
-----a. Establishing a Street Witnessing Team
-----b. Distributing sermons recorded on CDs. Also a great way for visitors from Europe, Asia, Australia and Africa to take the message back to their country of origin!
-----c. Improving the BCN website to include storing my recorded sermons for people to listen to, anywhere on the earth.
3) Pastoral Care. Ministering to the sick and to those who have backslide away from the truth of Christ.
4) Become involved with and establish a stronger connection with:
-----a. Calvary Chapel Fellowship (Pastor Dominique’s church). The Mauritian government will not allow him to use the name “Mauritius” in the church title. I want to fellowship with him and minister to him and his family, as well as work on the physical needs of the building.
-----b. Campus Crusade: This is just a place-keeper for all the Christian organizations on the island. I want to strengthen our relationship with these organizations and hope to fill Pastor Ron’s (CC Myrtle Beach) speaking schedule when he returns to the island in June/July or 2010.
-----c. Workforce: The mostly Hindu Mauritian government does not like the idea of Christian-based initiatives and missionary support, but loves the idea of bringing business to Mauritius. Still figuring this part out.
Well, back to preparing for Sunday’s message in Colossians chapter 3: Putting off the old man and putting on the new man.
Bill - Foot washer
Monday, August 24, 2009
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