So Many Trips, So Little Travel

Ruben with Mark and Alex (far left)

Here are a few of the guys at one of our many pot-luck occassions. This was a super bowl party, however, I confess - we just went for the food. True to our Christian heritage, we enjoy many community pot-lucks. I think we have all gained weight since we came. I (Deb) was counting on the Papua New Guinea trip to help me with dropping of few pounds since they all say that the rigors of hiking, airport walking and "different" food will take some weight off a person. We were confident that God was working out the arrangements for me to go to Papua in Rubne's place - but alas, He is not doing that. Now I wish I had not had so many desserts and chips.

So this has been quite an interesting beginning for us. Ruben says maybe God is getting us ready to just go anywhere. Gotta love Ruben's sense of humor - he would be happy to just go to Walmart about now. To learn so much in this short time and yet to not be able to join the others on the trips has been, we know, God's training that he has for us. We know we will benefit and that He will get us where He wants us to be in His way and in His time. We do not at all feel that any of this has been in vain. We are more and more convinced of Jesus' tender care than ever before and we are relishing the company and love we share with the other students and staff and teachers here.

On the medical front:
Ruben's Dr has continued to be concerned over his leg; not happy with the slowness of the healing. He referred him to an ortho Dr. who just happens to be the guy who invented the knee replacement. As impressive as this is - we were both hoping Ruben would not need those services. This Dr ordered two MRI's which were OK. He saw Ruben a couple days later and things seemed to look better as far as the swelling so he said to continue on the meds he has and see him next week. Just as an aside - a gal here took her son for an MRI accross the border and it cost them $100.00. Very easy, she said and they gave her the results before she left. We did not do that though because this Dr was arranging his schedule to see Ruben and it was a rush. So Ruben is still in the healing process - not out of the woods yet. This is serious stuff, so the Dr's keep telling us. We sure do appreciate them but they act as if he were just ignoring the problem.

Trips:

Because Ruben is limited to elevating his leg 90% of the time and still has infection and swelling to combat, we have declined trip 1 & 2 to Mexico. The airlines refused to transfer the air tickets to Papua New Guinea from Ruben's name to Deb's so that trip is out also. We are working with the travel agent to get them to refund the ticket funds, which they are very relunctant to do. There is a trip coming up to LaBarra (very south Mex, coastal) Mar 23 that we have been invited to join and are really hoping to get to go there. This is not a trip that was scheduled for training but is being led by a former student who is hoping to work there full time. We are seriously looking at joining him in planting a church there. We feel this is an awesome opportunity for us that we would not have had if one of us were to go to PaPua. Certainly, God will reveal His will for us.

Community:

I will post more on the other students here later - when I get more pictures. Please pray for them all. Sisson, Faulkner, Wilkesons - hoping for PNG full time. Caleb, Michelle, & Ronyaks - not sure yet. Chris J and us - hoping for Mexico. The Ronyaks just had there second baby and the Sisson just found out they are having a third. Ruben and I are the old ones in this group. We are so encouraged by these young people (I know that sounds so old!) - but some are under thirty. Caleb is 19 and Michelle is 21. It is just awesome to see their love for God and their desire to follow Jesus and seek out His calling on their lives.

Please Pray:

PNG trip Mar 2 - for those going and for open hearts and ears
Labarra Trip Mar 23 - ditto and that we would be able to go
Full restoration for Ruben's leg with no further problems
God's direction concerning long term plans and language school options
Direction, protection and growth for all of us here.
For the release of airline money

We love you all and pray for you often

Little Beauties

Here is Los Fresnos, we have an unusual tribe of little people. They seem to prize silliness and fun above all things in their culture. This "fun" typically takes form in the pretending to be somoeone else. They will spend hours (if allowed) taking on various roles; teacher, mother, princess, servant and some sort of person with super powers. They are persistent in their play, even when they repeatedly fall on the cement, incurring many scrapes and bruises. This is a resilient people who can cry or laugh at a moments notice. At times and for no apparent reason, they can be quite impish in their behavior; this is expecially true of the males. Our studies reveal that their social structure is maternal. One or two of the female little people will take on the role of chief game player. She will then tell the others what they will be playing and how they should do it. The males will usually follow along for a little while and then will go off on their own - probably because of the intricate rules of the games which can be confusing and change often. They are a loving and sometimes compliant group; they will receive food and gifts from any of us. Their language is mainly english with some terms that seem to express delight or displeasure and sometimes pain - it is a high toned whine. They all have this in common but the smaller ones seem to use this more often.

Our strategy for bringing the love of God to bear on this precious people includes very deliberate action coupled with patient waiting. They seem eager to hear God's Word if you can catch them at the right time of the day and if they are not too hungry. However, they do not seem to retain much of what they hear. Thus, the patient waiting. Also included are many kisses, hugs and lots of bandages. We have endeavored to divide the tribe and take two or three of them into our families. They still come together as a tribe during much of the day but are under the care of the families they have been assigned to. Each family, at their own discretion, takes time during the day to teach them the gospel with bible studies and most importantly, example. The little people are very bright and are quite adapt at spotting any inconsistencies - we are challenged constantly with this reality. These small ones are chief in our prayers and we have great hope for their future. We pray that our labor will not be in vain - we trust that God is faithful and that He will call them to His Son Jesus for His glory. Please join us in praying for these small ones and for us who have been privileged with the appointment of loving them in Christ.

Loss of All things

Phil. 3:8,10
For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ, and be found in him….that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any mean possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

The ultimate goal here is to attain the resurrection of the dead. But the immediate goal is to know Christ in such a way as to share in his sufferings and become like him in his death. The Apostle Paul is saying he wants to share in the sufferings of Christ. He knows that there is not another road to becoming like Christ in his death so that he may attain to the resurrection from the dead. What is interesting is that he suffers the loss of all things in order to get to share the sufferings of Christ. He seems to be citing two different sufferings: the loss of all things and sharing in Christ’s sufferings. He seems to equate gaining Christ with sharing in his sufferings and is looking at the loss of all things to be a way to that goal.

When Paul says, ”For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things”, isn’t that the same as sharing Christ’s suffering? No, that is our suffering. We must suffer the loss of the world to gain Christ. Once we “gain” Him in such a way that His name is lived through us; then we get to share His sufferings. We get to be persecuted for the greatest and most powerful name in all time, Jesus. So it is all about more of Christ for us who love Him, but there seems to be suffering that is required on our part and a suffering that comes as a consequence. All is granted by the Holy Spirit, but we do have our place to take in it.

What is Paul meaning by “all things”? In Phil. 4, he says that he has learned the secret of facing plenty, hunger, abundance and need; so I don’t think suffering the loss of all things means all or most material or physical things. We can make a big conversation about what a person ought or ought not to have in the sense of material things. Possibly one does need to lose some material possessions in this kind of suffering; God alone knows each man’s heart. But the things the Apostle refers to in this passage preceding verse 8 have to do with esteem and position. They have to do with proving oneself. We are all tempted to prove to the world who we are; heathen and Christian alike.

Jesus was tested in the dessert with this same temptation we all have. Satan taunted Him to prove Himself. Prove you are the Son of God and make bread. Prove you are the Son of God and let the angels rescue you when you fall. And; prove yourself in the world with all the kingdoms I can give you. Many times Jesus was asked to perform a sign to prove who He said he was. Jesus refused to take any offer to prove Himself and to even prove God’s power at that time. In refusing to prove Himself, he proved who he esteemed as greater; The Father. And so with us; when we turn down the offers from Satan and from our flesh to prove who we are, we prove the greater, Jesus. What are you tempted to prove you are, good Christian? Humble, smart, savvy, knowledgeable, biblical, daring, loving, evangelical, truthful? The offers are many. When we proclaim God’s word the question is not what we are trying to prove, but who. If we are to suffer the loss of all things, we must suffer the loss of esteem among men. It is the greatest sinful desire of humans; to “be somebody”. We must suffer the loss of being somebody. We must starve out every desire for it by turning down all offers. It is not an issue of whether anyone knows your name. It is more an issue of what drives a person’s heart. If we follow Jesus faithfully, we will be an example to someone; they will know who we are and when they think of us they will think more lovingly about Jesus as a result. That proves God’s love, not ours.

Lest we be fearful of our every hidden motive, let us remember that we are children. We are not up to such suffering – the loss of all things. At every turn is the question, “is it real or is it for esteem?” God will guide us by His love and care in Christ. If we will delight in Jesus above all else, we will also desire to share in His sufferings and we will throw all else off to get to it. It has been granted to us – to suffer for Jesus, to suffer with Jesus; and to be risen and exalted with Him. God will bring to pass what He grants.

Immovable

Psalm 46:10
Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.

Be still. God at times tells His people to stop, be perfectly still so we can see the salvation of the Lord. In Ex 14:13 He says, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today.” God was just about to work. The saving action for that problem was just about to break out on the scene. God wanted to get their attention so that they would be looking for His wonders. He told them to be still and watch, not to wait and see. Being still is waiting for the miracle that God has at hand. When God says, “Be Still”, He may be getting to show us His wonders. We should not take this directive with a sour attitude but as a cue that God is on the verge of bringing the solution that is best according to His wisdom. Being still is an exciting command because it indicates that God is about to bring us a knowledge of Himself. He says, “Be still, and know that I am God. “ There is a knowledge of God that comes with the stillness. He will supply a knowing of Himself that is necessary to the people and the situation.

In a hardship or trial we can become weary to the point of not wanting to move. That is not the same as being still; that is simply being tired and God may just tell you to get back up. Being still is not a passive response to a situation when you are out of ideas. Being still is not simply ceasing to strive. You can tell a child to stop running, and he may. But that is not the same as being still. We can put forth all our efforts to a circumstance or difficulty and then we can strive actively in prayer. Neither of these is wrong but when God says “Be Still”, they are to cease so we can be positioned to see His best for us. We tend to think of being still as the last thing a person does; when they have given up on a situation. We have little value for those who are not working hard to improve the problematic situation at hand. There is no esteem or respect for the direction to be still. We seem to think it as defeat, or a deflation to be told to stop and watch. But it is an invitation to watch God rescue us. It is a front-row seat to the miraculous, if we will but take our place. Being still before God is a deliberate action, by grace. We tend to overrate activity. We think we must always be doing something. There is a time for movement, a time for waiting and a time to be still. Waiting for God is not necessarily the same as being still. Waiting may just be a resting until further direction is given. Waiting is good; it is blessed. We should always wait on God when we don’t know what to do. Being still is a directive from God; it is an answer to the waiting. God may tell us to persist in prayer, to cry it out to Him until He answers. He may tell us to wait longer. He may tell us to run away or run through. And He may tell us to be still because He is about to show Himself to us in a way that we must be still to see.

In being still, we are immovable. We are still, immovable, steadfast, standing firm. That may mean we cease activity and it may not. It is an inner quietness that is immediately ready to embrace what God is ready to pour out. Stillness is intense, ready, peaceful and sure. It is like lightening ready to strike real close. Stillness hangs in the air like a static or the eye of the storm, or the quiet before a tornado. Our stillness is a sign to the enemy that he is about to come up against a wall. A big, unchangeable, wall – God Himself.

Seek the Lord - leg and all

O.K. so here is the big leg guy we've been talking so much about. And of course the kids - silly as ever. Ruben is healing up well. He is still in pain but it is lessening. This picture is actually after much improvement. I should have taken one earlier but frankly - it is yucky. It seems, of course to be dragging for him. He is looking forward to being able to actually walk for more than a few minutes at a time without being sore. Every affliction has it's course of completeness and so will this one.

Otherwise we are well and God is faithful to supply the joy of His fellowship without which there is really no reason for much of anything. I am convinced of this more and more as I read and pray and converse with others. At times I have wondered if I am just naive to think that we can actually hope to enjoy God's blessed company daily. I have decided I don't care if I am. That is my hope and I will hold to it. It is certainly biblical to live this way - so by God's grace, I will. Why bring this up here? It has been amazing to me that for the past few months, everywhere I turn, I find myself in conversation with a sibling in the Lord and it always gets around to God showing His love, in a way known to us - in every circumstance of need. Always there is a look from the person and then, "Well, you may not always hope to know that He is near." or something like that. So are we to see every trial as the one time we will not "see" our Jesus with us? How frightening! Is he not Immanuel? Is God not with us? Does the Holy Spirit not live within us? So what is there not to know? He is either there or He isn't. Perhaps our faith will be weak and we won't discern Him. Perhaps. I will hope for His joy anyway because it is right and it is good and even the darkness is not dark to God and after all, The Father was pleased to crush His son so if He is pleased to crush me then I will be in good company. I have thought lots on this - at times troubled. I know and see the evidence of this hope in God's people. It is the glorious evidence of the life of Christ. So I will keep it and I will purify my heart in it each day as God makes me able. I recommend it to you also - if it is not your habit to expect to encounter God Himself in His Holy Spirit through Jesus, you have good reason to start.

Well, I suppose that is an update of sorts. I hadn't planned on preaching to you all - but I am not inclined to delete it either. Loving and patient friends that you are - you aren't surprised. So things are moving along. We are praying that Ruben will be well enough to make the next Mexico trip at the end of Feb and to go on the Papua new Guinea trip in March which will be a little demanding phisically. Please pray with us about these and also for general protection and help teaching Elizabeth and David. The kids are doing really well. They have learned alot about meeting new people and having new friends and still loving old ones.

Ps 27:8

You have said, "Seek my face."

My heart says to you. "Your face, Lord do I seek."

True Authority

Ephesians 1:18-23
Having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know… what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come and he put all things under his feet and gave him as head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all.

Jesus has been given ALL authority. There is no authority or power or name over His. All things are submitted to Him. The church is His body, the fullness of him who fills all in all. The church is the fullness of Christ. This is not to imply that Christ is incomplete, but to declare who the children of God belong to and to whom they submit. We are His body and He is the head. The head runs the body. Our hand does not tell us what to think but our hand cannot move without the command from the head to do so. Eph 2:6 tells us that the church has been raised up in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.

The church as the body and fullness of Christ is also above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named. The church as the body of Christ has all things under her feet. This authority is for this age and for the age to come. The Church has authority in Christ today on this earth; this age. The Church is the body and fullness of Christ. We, as a body become one with Him by God’s grace which gives us faith for our standing and keeping.

That is not to say that man has any authority. Man cannot even charge the ants to leave his yard, let alone speak life or do good or anything other than evil. Those who think they have power to fulfill their own agendas based on a scripture or two are deluded. Jesus alone has all authority. Man outside of Christ is only destined to destruction.

The church has full authority and backing of God Himself to do all the Head commands. If we are not following the direction of the Head, being Jesus, we can expect no power or help or backing of His authority. If my hand involuntarily waved around, I would tie it down to make it stop. My body must do as my head commands or it is dysfunctional and not useful. If my body acts outside of the authority and commands of my head; it is an obvious problem to others. If my limbs all moved without my brain telling them to; my whole body would have to be hindered to keep me from hurting myself or others.

When the church submits to Jesus as head, she has full authority and power to so all that He commands. In Christ we have the authority to preach His gospel. We need not be afraid of persecution or ineffectiveness or complete failure. We have been given authority and power to preach the very truth that offers eternal life to those the Spirit will enable to receive.

We have authority to love, to heal, to help, to endure beyond reason. In all that we are commanded to do in Christ we have Him to back us fully. We have nothing without Jesus and everything with Him. If God determines that signs and wonders are needed to fulfill His work, He will supply them. Whatever God has told us to do; He will supply all we need to accomplish the work He has given us. We must trust that He will not only show us but that He has already been wherever He will lead us to go. He has prepared the way for us beforehand. He knows exactly what we will need and is willing to grant us full power and resources to complete the work chosen for us if we will but ask.

If, at our occupations we did not believe we had authority from the manager to do our work; we would not bother to go to work. If we went to work we sure wouldn’t accomplish anything because we would constantly question our place in the company. We wouldn’t order necessary supplies because we wouldn’t feel worthy to sign the purchase order. We wouldn’t be very inclined to go to our manager with our mistakes because after all, if he doesn’t even really want us on the job, why would he help? The one who keeps his position, invests his talents, and understands his place to complete the task given him; is the one who will be successful. Weather it is the janitor or the president; he must have a knowledge that he has been given authority to do what is asked of him. He can delegate or seek aide or take initiative with boldness to complete his tasks. He is interested in doing his job well and he is not preoccupied with weather his position is low or high. He has confidence that his employer will supply all that is needed to make him able to comply with his orders. The work he does is a reflection on the one who hired him.

Laziness has nothing to do with humility. Those who are in Christ have a place and a duty to fulfill. Those hired on by Jesus have all they need and more. They are not required to bring any strength or resources of their own – in fact they are commanded not to. But if they do not understand the authority given to them by the one with the power and resources, they will accomplish nothing. If they are able to remain employed, their reward will be small.