I met Daisy this past weekend in Honduras. Daisy lives in a new house in Santa Ana and works for Casa de Esperanza. She and her three sons – Saul, Eduardo, and Carlos recently moved from a community called Union e Fuersa to Santa Ana because her home wasn’t safe anymore. Her old neighborhood had been taken over by the “bad guys” and Daisy was afraid that her oldest son was going to join them. Daisy told Carlos that God has a better plan for him and she was able to move because of the new houses that were constructed on the TORCH property in Santa Ana.
Anyway – back to Daisy.
Daisy is always smiling – ALWAYS!
Her heart is so big that she gets her feelings hurt if she isn’t allowed to help out. It’s really hard to describe just how much of a servant Daisy is because I’ve never quite run across anyone quite like her.
Daisy has adopted Karen & Jennifer – my friends that manage Casa de Esperanza – as her family. She has matter of factly told both of them that other than her sons, they are the only family that she has. She loves them and does what she thinks is watching out for them. On nights when Karen & Jen are in Tegucigalpa, Daisy patiently waits near the gate for her “family” to come home.
In 48 hours that I’ve been back in the states, I’ve come to see that Daisy is to Karen & Jennifer what we should be to the family of God.
Daisy’s willingness to do anything for her “family” – with a smile of satisfaction is an attitude that would serve all of us (me) well.
Daisy’s love for her family makes her want to watch out for them is how we should all be – especially when one of our family goes away. We should be like Daisy and celebrate their return.
Daisy’s heart is big – so big that it shows up in her smile and her hugs. I think that she gives hugs so that she will get hugs. Nothing wrong with that.... we all need more of both! (giving and getting)
Marc
Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Sunday, March 19, 2006
Headed To Hondo
This past week I heard the comment "God wouldn't call someone to a ministry and not provide the resources". I really like that thought and plan to use it...often.
This comment seems to be a real true-ism with my friends - Mike & Janet Paden. The Paden's are those that I mentioned a while back that are tired of "playing church" and are planning to spend retirement in the mission field. They have decided to sell the house, quit the job and move to a third world country to serve Jesus. Well, they put their house on the market last week and today it sold. I guess that the answer is pretty clear that our God wants them in the mission field.
In April, Mike & Janet will be moving from Shilo, IL to Santa Ana, Honduras. That is a pretty big change - one that is best described as by the words of the writer of Acts - BOLD!
BOLD Faith is what I want. Mike & Janet are an inspiration to me. They will join others of my friends with faith BOLD enough to listen to the call to GO. The call that Jesus made in the great commission to GO & make disciples. My friends Joe Merillot, Karen Vaughan, & Jennifer Wright are already living in Santa Ana and are just doing what Jesus told us all to do. Many others are demonstrating BOLD Faith by providing the support to keep these misintries going. Praying every day and writting checks - even when the evil one is tempting us to spend the money on ourselves.
Mike & I are blessed to be able to travel to Honduras this weekend. We will be working with our friends in Santa Ana and making plans for Mike & Janet to join those already there.
When the Paden's arrive, they plan to work with Noel Aragon - the minister of the church in Santa Ana, they will assist Karen & Jen in the work at Casa de Esperanza, they will support the clinic and the teans that come to work there, they will discover new ministries that need their hands as tools, & they will serve Jesus.
Yep, my friends are BOLDLY Going - Pray for them and for Joe, Karen, & Jennifer.
mt
This comment seems to be a real true-ism with my friends - Mike & Janet Paden. The Paden's are those that I mentioned a while back that are tired of "playing church" and are planning to spend retirement in the mission field. They have decided to sell the house, quit the job and move to a third world country to serve Jesus. Well, they put their house on the market last week and today it sold. I guess that the answer is pretty clear that our God wants them in the mission field.
In April, Mike & Janet will be moving from Shilo, IL to Santa Ana, Honduras. That is a pretty big change - one that is best described as by the words of the writer of Acts - BOLD!
BOLD Faith is what I want. Mike & Janet are an inspiration to me. They will join others of my friends with faith BOLD enough to listen to the call to GO. The call that Jesus made in the great commission to GO & make disciples. My friends Joe Merillot, Karen Vaughan, & Jennifer Wright are already living in Santa Ana and are just doing what Jesus told us all to do. Many others are demonstrating BOLD Faith by providing the support to keep these misintries going. Praying every day and writting checks - even when the evil one is tempting us to spend the money on ourselves.
Mike & I are blessed to be able to travel to Honduras this weekend. We will be working with our friends in Santa Ana and making plans for Mike & Janet to join those already there.
When the Paden's arrive, they plan to work with Noel Aragon - the minister of the church in Santa Ana, they will assist Karen & Jen in the work at Casa de Esperanza, they will support the clinic and the teans that come to work there, they will discover new ministries that need their hands as tools, & they will serve Jesus.
Yep, my friends are BOLDLY Going - Pray for them and for Joe, Karen, & Jennifer.
mt
Thursday, March 09, 2006
Dear Ryan
Dear Ryan,
I really am missing you. I can’t believe it’s been 6 years now. Time has flown, but, it has stood still at times too.
Sometimes I wonder what I would have done differently if I would have known that night of March 11th would be the last time I would see you this side of heaven. I have thanked my God often that the last words both of us said were simply “I love you”.
Ryan I still do love you. Knowing you are in heaven is good for my heart but, it will never make waiting to see you again easier. The games we played when you were a little boy – giving each other big bear hugs never stopped and I am so glad that you were never embarrassed to give me one of your trademark big hugs. I miss your hugs.
You would be so proud of your little brother and sister. They are doing great. Nathan is a great daddy and your little niece – my grand baby is so beautiful. I’m sure that you will be legendary in the stories that Nathan tells little Camille about you. Nate really misses you too. He has hurt more than any of us can possible know.
Nicole has grown into such a beautiful young woman. She has a boyfriend and he probably needs a dose of some of the torture that you would have offered – but, in the end you would like him. He treats Nicole like he should and he is a good man. Nate has stepped into your shoes as the big brother protector of your little sis. You would be amazed at how they have grown so much closer.
We’ll all be in Mississippi this weekend. It just seemed like the place we needed to be – with the friends that came to offer comfort on the day that we lost you.
I love you and I miss you.
Dad
I SURE MISS YOU - by Gearal Crabb
If life could only bring again, the days I took for granted when
To hear your voice was just a call away
Oh what I'd give for just some time, to say the things that slipped my mind
There's so much now I'd really like to say
But I can never go back when we did the things we did back then
I'll store those precious memories in my mind
I'll take what you've instilled in me;
I'll try to be all I can be
And walk the path that you have left behind
I sure miss you; life will never be the same with you not here
Each passing day has brought much pain
But with God's grace my strength remains
I sure miss you, but heaven's sweeter with you there
The little things that seemed so small are now gold in a memory vault
I cherish every one I have of you
Now I can see and recognize the part you played to shape my life
I often see you in the things I do
In God's design and master plan He saw the hurting hearts of man
As we would say goodbye to those so dear
So with our family and friends we'll be together once again
We'll view all heaven's splendor hand in hand
I really am missing you. I can’t believe it’s been 6 years now. Time has flown, but, it has stood still at times too.
Sometimes I wonder what I would have done differently if I would have known that night of March 11th would be the last time I would see you this side of heaven. I have thanked my God often that the last words both of us said were simply “I love you”.
Ryan I still do love you. Knowing you are in heaven is good for my heart but, it will never make waiting to see you again easier. The games we played when you were a little boy – giving each other big bear hugs never stopped and I am so glad that you were never embarrassed to give me one of your trademark big hugs. I miss your hugs.
You would be so proud of your little brother and sister. They are doing great. Nathan is a great daddy and your little niece – my grand baby is so beautiful. I’m sure that you will be legendary in the stories that Nathan tells little Camille about you. Nate really misses you too. He has hurt more than any of us can possible know.
Nicole has grown into such a beautiful young woman. She has a boyfriend and he probably needs a dose of some of the torture that you would have offered – but, in the end you would like him. He treats Nicole like he should and he is a good man. Nate has stepped into your shoes as the big brother protector of your little sis. You would be amazed at how they have grown so much closer.
We’ll all be in Mississippi this weekend. It just seemed like the place we needed to be – with the friends that came to offer comfort on the day that we lost you.
I love you and I miss you.
Dad
I SURE MISS YOU - by Gearal Crabb
If life could only bring again, the days I took for granted when
To hear your voice was just a call away
Oh what I'd give for just some time, to say the things that slipped my mind
There's so much now I'd really like to say
But I can never go back when we did the things we did back then
I'll store those precious memories in my mind
I'll take what you've instilled in me;
I'll try to be all I can be
And walk the path that you have left behind
I sure miss you; life will never be the same with you not here
Each passing day has brought much pain
But with God's grace my strength remains
I sure miss you, but heaven's sweeter with you there
The little things that seemed so small are now gold in a memory vault
I cherish every one I have of you
Now I can see and recognize the part you played to shape my life
I often see you in the things I do
In God's design and master plan He saw the hurting hearts of man
As we would say goodbye to those so dear
So with our family and friends we'll be together once again
We'll view all heaven's splendor hand in hand
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
Obscene
Through the years there has been a lot of debate about exactly what obscene really is. The definition boiled down to “you’ll know it when you see it”.
The truth is, obscenity is all around us and we don’t see it because we have become so used to it that we just dismiss it as the world around us. Our senses don’t work as well as they should because we have abused them for so long that we aren’t able to see what is right in front of our eyes.
Last night I saw and participated in an obscenity and don’t even know whether to feel privileged, disgusted, lucky, or what. Please don’t think that I’ve gone crazy – I just went to a basketball game. The Memphis Grizzly’s are the local pro team and I’ve been to several games but last night was a little different because I was invited to go with some friends and sit in the sideline seats. It was pretty cool – we were almost right on the court and had an unbelievable view of the game. The thing that got me thinking about the obscenity of it was when I looked at the ticket and saw that it was a $150! I was with a group of 4 so that meant that we’d just sat in seats that cost $600 – for one game that was about 2 hours long. A season in the NBA has 40 home games plus about 5 pre-season and an average of 6 post season games making these seats cost over $30,000 in a year. Add in food and extras and you notch it up to close to $40,000 for 4 seats for basketball.
On my drive home from the arena, I decided that I’d participated in something obscene.
How could anyone ever justify that sort of expense when there are so very many hungry people in the world around us? Then I thought about how we justify a lot of other obscenities in our lives – the ones that we’ve become accustomed to like; most movies, many television shows, the language we “tolerate”, etc. Once we develop calluses, once we develop blind spots, we can ignore the obscenities and even act like they are just normal life.
I’m guessing that the folks that spend $40,000 on basketball tickets can easily justify the expense because it is really such a small percentage of their income that it doesn’t interfere at all with the good things that they do. I am not even intentionally trying to throw stones at people that buy these seats, I’m just looking at the $40 grand as the equivalent of 40 houses, or ½ of a new children’s home, tons of food, and lots of lost opportunities. I wonder if it was God’s plan for the money to be spent that way when he put his master plan in place? I wonder how often I’ve been obscene in the way I’ve spent money that God planned for something else?
The truth is, obscenity is all around us and we don’t see it because we have become so used to it that we just dismiss it as the world around us. Our senses don’t work as well as they should because we have abused them for so long that we aren’t able to see what is right in front of our eyes.
Last night I saw and participated in an obscenity and don’t even know whether to feel privileged, disgusted, lucky, or what. Please don’t think that I’ve gone crazy – I just went to a basketball game. The Memphis Grizzly’s are the local pro team and I’ve been to several games but last night was a little different because I was invited to go with some friends and sit in the sideline seats. It was pretty cool – we were almost right on the court and had an unbelievable view of the game. The thing that got me thinking about the obscenity of it was when I looked at the ticket and saw that it was a $150! I was with a group of 4 so that meant that we’d just sat in seats that cost $600 – for one game that was about 2 hours long. A season in the NBA has 40 home games plus about 5 pre-season and an average of 6 post season games making these seats cost over $30,000 in a year. Add in food and extras and you notch it up to close to $40,000 for 4 seats for basketball.
On my drive home from the arena, I decided that I’d participated in something obscene.
How could anyone ever justify that sort of expense when there are so very many hungry people in the world around us? Then I thought about how we justify a lot of other obscenities in our lives – the ones that we’ve become accustomed to like; most movies, many television shows, the language we “tolerate”, etc. Once we develop calluses, once we develop blind spots, we can ignore the obscenities and even act like they are just normal life.
I’m guessing that the folks that spend $40,000 on basketball tickets can easily justify the expense because it is really such a small percentage of their income that it doesn’t interfere at all with the good things that they do. I am not even intentionally trying to throw stones at people that buy these seats, I’m just looking at the $40 grand as the equivalent of 40 houses, or ½ of a new children’s home, tons of food, and lots of lost opportunities. I wonder if it was God’s plan for the money to be spent that way when he put his master plan in place? I wonder how often I’ve been obscene in the way I’ve spent money that God planned for something else?
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
Feed My Sheep
Reading the words that Jesus said to Peter in John 21 has always made me thing that Jesus was telling us that we needed to feed each other with his words. I guess that I have always thought this because - it is what I was taught. I don't ever remember hearing a lesson about acutally feeding people - food, you know the stuff that helps us stay alive. I don't know why it had never occured to me that Jesus may have actually meant what he said - "Peter, feed my lambs", "Peter, take care of my sheep", "Peter, feed my sheep!". I mean- we like to take the words that Jesus spoke as what he meant so why not the words that he spoke to Peter?
I think that I've never thought about these words as a charge to go out and feed people is that I am surrounded by people that are never really hungry. Working in Central America has really opened my eyes to the fact that there really aren't any truly hungry people in the USA. We don't have a population of people that go to bed hungry and wake up the same way. People that spend their lives looking for something to eat. We don't have mothers that are desperate to find food for their baby. We don't have families that decide that they will stop feeding the younger two or three kids so that the rest of the family can have a little more. We aren't in a country that has a generation of malnourished kids that are stunted in their growth and their mental devolepment.
I started thinking about this last week on an airplane while reading the USA Today. I was reading an article where the author said "I've never gone to bed hungry". That statement made me stop reading and start thinking about the power of the words. I HAVE NEVER GONE TO BED HUNGRY... Added to that, until my work in Honduras, I had never personally known anyone that had ever truly gone to bed hungry. Someone that had nothing in the house to eat and not much of any chance that there would be anything there the next day. True hunger is something that I have never known. Yes, I can take you to it, show it to you and introduce you to people that are living right smack in the middle of it - but, I've never "been there, done that".
FEED MY LAMBS, TAKE CARE OF MY SHEEP, FEED MY SHEEP!
Yes, these words that Jesus spoke to Peter - and to me are easily read more than one way. One day I will be able to ask Jesus how he meant them. In the mean time, I am reading them both ways and believe that helping to take care of the physical feeding will open the door to spiritual feeding.
I think that I've never thought about these words as a charge to go out and feed people is that I am surrounded by people that are never really hungry. Working in Central America has really opened my eyes to the fact that there really aren't any truly hungry people in the USA. We don't have a population of people that go to bed hungry and wake up the same way. People that spend their lives looking for something to eat. We don't have mothers that are desperate to find food for their baby. We don't have families that decide that they will stop feeding the younger two or three kids so that the rest of the family can have a little more. We aren't in a country that has a generation of malnourished kids that are stunted in their growth and their mental devolepment.
I started thinking about this last week on an airplane while reading the USA Today. I was reading an article where the author said "I've never gone to bed hungry". That statement made me stop reading and start thinking about the power of the words. I HAVE NEVER GONE TO BED HUNGRY... Added to that, until my work in Honduras, I had never personally known anyone that had ever truly gone to bed hungry. Someone that had nothing in the house to eat and not much of any chance that there would be anything there the next day. True hunger is something that I have never known. Yes, I can take you to it, show it to you and introduce you to people that are living right smack in the middle of it - but, I've never "been there, done that".
FEED MY LAMBS, TAKE CARE OF MY SHEEP, FEED MY SHEEP!
Yes, these words that Jesus spoke to Peter - and to me are easily read more than one way. One day I will be able to ask Jesus how he meant them. In the mean time, I am reading them both ways and believe that helping to take care of the physical feeding will open the door to spiritual feeding.
Sunday, February 05, 2006
GO!
I just had lunch with some friends - friends that we've been talking with for the past few weeks about going.
My friends told me that they are at a time in their lives that they could keep on working for the next 15 years so they could have a bigger nest egg at their retirement or - they could follow the pull that is in their heart to GO! They have chosen to GO and I am awed that they have asked me to help them and that I get to be a part of this plan.
My friends told me that they are tired of playing games, working to support their stuff, tired of making excuses for not following the great comission, tires of playing church. They said that they just want to be servants, that they want to be the hands and feet of Jesus.
I made a promise that I will help and will be there for them.
They are hoping to sell the house, cars, and other belongings so that they can move to a third world nation and work daily - taking the gospel to people that really need and want to hear it.
Pray for my friends.
My friends told me that they are at a time in their lives that they could keep on working for the next 15 years so they could have a bigger nest egg at their retirement or - they could follow the pull that is in their heart to GO! They have chosen to GO and I am awed that they have asked me to help them and that I get to be a part of this plan.
My friends told me that they are tired of playing games, working to support their stuff, tired of making excuses for not following the great comission, tires of playing church. They said that they just want to be servants, that they want to be the hands and feet of Jesus.
I made a promise that I will help and will be there for them.
They are hoping to sell the house, cars, and other belongings so that they can move to a third world nation and work daily - taking the gospel to people that really need and want to hear it.
Pray for my friends.
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
Temptations
Last weekend I went to the place that everyone goes to for fun & shopping – WalMart!
Everything was pretty normal till I got to my car and realized that my new toothbrush was laying in the bottom of the basket and hadn’t been scanned.
I had made it through SECURITY – through the watchful eyes of the WalMart Greeter / Receipt Checker / Basket Watcher Person with merchandise that had not been paid for.
I was very close to becoming a THIEF! (and I hate thieves)
Amazing thoughts went through my head – the wrong side of my brain was yelling “go ahead and take it, nobody’s gonna know” and “you spend a fortune in this store – ‘bout time you go a little bonus”.......
Well, the good side beat out the dark side and I went inside to pay the $2.50 for my new toothbrush.
I just wonder why it is that we continue to ever be tempted by even the simple things, the things that we actually hate?
Everything was pretty normal till I got to my car and realized that my new toothbrush was laying in the bottom of the basket and hadn’t been scanned.
I had made it through SECURITY – through the watchful eyes of the WalMart Greeter / Receipt Checker / Basket Watcher Person with merchandise that had not been paid for.
I was very close to becoming a THIEF! (and I hate thieves)
Amazing thoughts went through my head – the wrong side of my brain was yelling “go ahead and take it, nobody’s gonna know” and “you spend a fortune in this store – ‘bout time you go a little bonus”.......
Well, the good side beat out the dark side and I went inside to pay the $2.50 for my new toothbrush.
I just wonder why it is that we continue to ever be tempted by even the simple things, the things that we actually hate?
Thursday, January 12, 2006
It's Not My Plan
Here is the final product. I'll put some pictures of the inside here soon - but, this is one beautiful building - isn't it!
Getting from the shrub covered ground to this - from August to now has been an adventure, a challenge, a frustration, a joy, a pain, and has involved every emotion that I have. I know that I am not alone in this - I'm not the only one that has laid awake at night wondering if all of this was really God's plan or just one that I tried to blame on Him.
All along I have been confident that this is 100% his plan, there have just been time when seeds of doubt tried to creep into my head. In hindsite, the periods of doubt were almost always when I was not spending enough time in prayer - neglecting the reason for this home. In the end, God showed me that his promise of taking care of things is really a promise.
Everytime that I am reminded of the faithfulness of my God, I remember the words to a song written by the Crabb Family - a Southern Gospel group from Kentucky. This song is called "Through The Fire" and the words go like this -
so many times i've questioned certain circumstances
things i could not understand
many times in trials, weakness blurs my vision
then my frustration gets so out of hand
its then i am reminded i've never been forsaken
i've never had to stand the test alone
as i look at all the victories the spirit rises up in me
and its through the fire my weakness is made strong
he never promised that the cross would not get heavy
and the hill would not be hard to climb
he never offered our victories without fighting
but he said help would always come in time
just remember when your standing in the valley of decision
and the adversary says give in
just hold on, our lord will show up
and he will take you through the fire again
This was a song that really helped Terri & I to get trough some really dark days. When I bought the CD I hadn't even heard of the Crabb Family - I just liked the cover of the CD.....
One thing is certain - God continually shows us that his plan for us isn't generally the easy way out. Isn't that great - if he just poured everything out without expecting us to work then we would be a bunch of spoiled faithless children - Working hard - no doubt is God's plan for us to learn, to build our faith, and to grow stronger in him.
Thank you Father for the lessons you teach me. Thank you for your faithfulness and the lessons of patience that you teach me by doing things on your time - in your plan - and not mine. Please bless the children that you have in your plan for Casa de Esperanza.
Thursday, December 22, 2005
2005 And Out
When I was a kid, a year seemed like a decade and a decade seemed like a lifetime. I guess when you are a kid, both are true. This year is almost gone and I am barely used to writting 2005 because I am still not quite in the new century. Oh well. I don't need to worry too much about writting 2005 much longer because we only have 9 days of it left.
A lot of really good and unexpected things have happened in this fast paced year that has just BLOOOOWN by. 2005 started like bost others - on the 1st of January... sorry about that..
When the year started I was comfortable in my job and expected to continue in the pork businness for a long time. Surprise - our unexpected job change and move (soon I hope) to Memphis has been an above average - very good change. My new company is off to a great start and the people are the best that I have ever worked with. God is good.
Please pray that our house will sell very soon and we can get this move made.
TORCH missions was an unbelievable adventure in 2005. Our team grew and grew and eventually expanded to about 180. We were able to plant 2 churches, feed about 1500 families, help almost 1000 in medical clinics, build 35 houses & a church building, and teach the Word to many many people. There were over 54 new Christians from the seeds that were sown.
Terri & I were also drawn into the work around development, construction, and establishent of a new children's home project in Honduras. Casa de Esperanza is now built, dedicated to our Lord, and will be ready to accept children in early January. Casa is a beautiful building and is in a very very beautiful place. If you never thought that you had a reason to go to Honduras, Casa would change your mind. Especially when we get the kids there in January.
My new year of 2005 started with an extreme life change because I became a grandpa on the 31st of December, 2004. New Yeaers Eve is now and forever to be known as Camille's birthday. Being a grandpa is excellent! You gotta be one to understand.
In early December, I also became the proud parent of a son with a 4.0 in college. If you knew where Nathan had been, you too would celebrate this God made change with me. He has become a wonderful husband, dad, & student. Thank you God!
My other change in 2005 is one that I am not quite sure about. His name is Matt and he is Nicole's boyfriend. Matt is really nice and is good to Nicole but, I am not quite ready to share MY baby with another man.
We are off to Texas tomorrow to be with the folks for Christmas. I am looking forward to it....all of it except not having Nathan, Julia, & Camille there. They will be with Julia's parents and we will see them the following weekend on Camille's birthday (the day previously called New Years Eve). It will be great!
Our God is so good... all the time!
Merry Christmas
Marc
A lot of really good and unexpected things have happened in this fast paced year that has just BLOOOOWN by. 2005 started like bost others - on the 1st of January... sorry about that..
When the year started I was comfortable in my job and expected to continue in the pork businness for a long time. Surprise - our unexpected job change and move (soon I hope) to Memphis has been an above average - very good change. My new company is off to a great start and the people are the best that I have ever worked with. God is good.
Please pray that our house will sell very soon and we can get this move made.
TORCH missions was an unbelievable adventure in 2005. Our team grew and grew and eventually expanded to about 180. We were able to plant 2 churches, feed about 1500 families, help almost 1000 in medical clinics, build 35 houses & a church building, and teach the Word to many many people. There were over 54 new Christians from the seeds that were sown.
Terri & I were also drawn into the work around development, construction, and establishent of a new children's home project in Honduras. Casa de Esperanza is now built, dedicated to our Lord, and will be ready to accept children in early January. Casa is a beautiful building and is in a very very beautiful place. If you never thought that you had a reason to go to Honduras, Casa would change your mind. Especially when we get the kids there in January.
My new year of 2005 started with an extreme life change because I became a grandpa on the 31st of December, 2004. New Yeaers Eve is now and forever to be known as Camille's birthday. Being a grandpa is excellent! You gotta be one to understand.
In early December, I also became the proud parent of a son with a 4.0 in college. If you knew where Nathan had been, you too would celebrate this God made change with me. He has become a wonderful husband, dad, & student. Thank you God!
My other change in 2005 is one that I am not quite sure about. His name is Matt and he is Nicole's boyfriend. Matt is really nice and is good to Nicole but, I am not quite ready to share MY baby with another man.
We are off to Texas tomorrow to be with the folks for Christmas. I am looking forward to it....all of it except not having Nathan, Julia, & Camille there. They will be with Julia's parents and we will see them the following weekend on Camille's birthday (the day previously called New Years Eve). It will be great!
Our God is so good... all the time!
Merry Christmas
Marc
Monday, December 05, 2005
December 10th -
Last summer I was with my friend Tim and we were pulling dates out of the air. One of the dates that we pulled was December 10th, 2005. that is the day we decided would be a good day to open a children’s home. In June or July, it seemed a long time off and certainly enough time to raise money, build a big house, stock it up with all the things that one might need to take care of 20 kids, plan a party, and probably have days or even weeks to spare.
Well, most of that has happened – except for the part about raising all the money, we are pretty close though. As far as the part about the big house, that too is almost finished and it is gonna be great. The 20 kids are coming and the party is planned. December 10th as going to be a day to remember – a day to remember as the birthday of Casa de Esperanza – the Home of Hope. From it’s concept in April to it’s opening this coming Saturday has been amazing. Terri & I are blessed that we are going to be there for the excitement.
By summer, the house at Casa will be full of children, full of love, and full of wonder. The yard will be full of reminders of the children that live there. The rooms will have the noises that happy kids make and the kitchen will be filled with the smells of the food that will keep them full. When visitors come, they will be greeted with smiles and hugs.
December 10th will also be a big step for the “Women of My Hope” as we will be with them when they break ground on the training center in Santa Ana. In a few months, ladies will be learning the skills that they need to provide for their families. I’m excited.
A year ago, I would have never dreamed that I would get the chance to help build this children’s home....for that matter, even that it was a remote possibility. Now, here we are right in the middle of everything and loving (almost) every minute of it.
I guess we are pretty small minded when we try to ‘box in” our concept of what God has planned for us. Just a few years ago, all I wanted to do was take one of my kids on a mission to Honduras and now I get to take about 200 people a year on mission to Honduras.
In April when my friend Jen Wright sent a note to Tim Hines that she would really like to take care of kids in Honduras, probably had no idea that the events of the past 8 months would lead her to living in Santa Ana in a place called Casa de Esperanza. Be careful when you dream outloud – others may hear you (especially our God) and you might get what you were asking for.
Well, enough rambling. This Saturday is going to be a wonderfully great day and I am blessed that i get to be a part of it. I can’t wait to see what the God’s next plan is.
Well, most of that has happened – except for the part about raising all the money, we are pretty close though. As far as the part about the big house, that too is almost finished and it is gonna be great. The 20 kids are coming and the party is planned. December 10th as going to be a day to remember – a day to remember as the birthday of Casa de Esperanza – the Home of Hope. From it’s concept in April to it’s opening this coming Saturday has been amazing. Terri & I are blessed that we are going to be there for the excitement.
By summer, the house at Casa will be full of children, full of love, and full of wonder. The yard will be full of reminders of the children that live there. The rooms will have the noises that happy kids make and the kitchen will be filled with the smells of the food that will keep them full. When visitors come, they will be greeted with smiles and hugs.
December 10th will also be a big step for the “Women of My Hope” as we will be with them when they break ground on the training center in Santa Ana. In a few months, ladies will be learning the skills that they need to provide for their families. I’m excited.
A year ago, I would have never dreamed that I would get the chance to help build this children’s home....for that matter, even that it was a remote possibility. Now, here we are right in the middle of everything and loving (almost) every minute of it.
I guess we are pretty small minded when we try to ‘box in” our concept of what God has planned for us. Just a few years ago, all I wanted to do was take one of my kids on a mission to Honduras and now I get to take about 200 people a year on mission to Honduras.
In April when my friend Jen Wright sent a note to Tim Hines that she would really like to take care of kids in Honduras, probably had no idea that the events of the past 8 months would lead her to living in Santa Ana in a place called Casa de Esperanza. Be careful when you dream outloud – others may hear you (especially our God) and you might get what you were asking for.
Well, enough rambling. This Saturday is going to be a wonderfully great day and I am blessed that i get to be a part of it. I can’t wait to see what the God’s next plan is.
Monday, November 28, 2005
Random Ramblings
Thanksgiving has come and gone - my favorite holiday of the year. It was a great weekend - family, food, & football. None of it would be the same if it weren't for the family part of it and the combination of the three is excellent.
The week before TG, Terri & I were on a business trip in Las Vegas. Being with Terri for the week was really good - especially in a place like Vegas. For the life of me, I can't understand why that place is so attractive to so many people. I hadn't been to LV in a few years but, the downhill slide seems to be continuing at a rapid rate. They advertise themselves as "sin city" and that may be an understatement. The thing about it that bugs me the most is that it seems that people are buying off on the new advertising campaign that says "whatever happens in Las Vegas - stays in Las Vegas". This seems to be the thought of people that a little bit of the dark side every now and then won't hurt anything - will it? I really believe that Las Vegas is a growing cancer on the landscape and I am not sure that the country wants to be cured.
Things that are glorified in Vegas are spreading around the country so - to keep pace, they must reach further down so that they are still attractive to the nation.
Now you know my feelings about LV - if you are planning a convention there, please don't invite me. Thanks!
Casa de Esperanza is coming along very well. It is scheduled to open on December 10th and it is going to be awesome. Terri & I will go down to Tegucigalpa on the 8th and will be there for the celebration. If you need to give someone a lasting gift for Christmas, give them the honor of sponsoring a child in their name. You and your gift reciepient will be blessed beyond anything you could possibly buy here. Where else could you be assured of saving a life for $100 a month?
Think about it & send me an eamil or give me a call. You can emai me at marclt2003@yahoo.com or call me at 901-598-0356 which by the way is my new cell number.
I will be posting pics of the opening during the weekend of the 10th of December. (Just a thought - if you can't take on a child on your own, why not get a Sunday School Class together and do it.)
The week before TG, Terri & I were on a business trip in Las Vegas. Being with Terri for the week was really good - especially in a place like Vegas. For the life of me, I can't understand why that place is so attractive to so many people. I hadn't been to LV in a few years but, the downhill slide seems to be continuing at a rapid rate. They advertise themselves as "sin city" and that may be an understatement. The thing about it that bugs me the most is that it seems that people are buying off on the new advertising campaign that says "whatever happens in Las Vegas - stays in Las Vegas". This seems to be the thought of people that a little bit of the dark side every now and then won't hurt anything - will it? I really believe that Las Vegas is a growing cancer on the landscape and I am not sure that the country wants to be cured.
Things that are glorified in Vegas are spreading around the country so - to keep pace, they must reach further down so that they are still attractive to the nation.
Now you know my feelings about LV - if you are planning a convention there, please don't invite me. Thanks!
Casa de Esperanza is coming along very well. It is scheduled to open on December 10th and it is going to be awesome. Terri & I will go down to Tegucigalpa on the 8th and will be there for the celebration. If you need to give someone a lasting gift for Christmas, give them the honor of sponsoring a child in their name. You and your gift reciepient will be blessed beyond anything you could possibly buy here. Where else could you be assured of saving a life for $100 a month?
Think about it & send me an eamil or give me a call. You can emai me at marclt2003@yahoo.com or call me at 901-598-0356 which by the way is my new cell number.
I will be posting pics of the opening during the weekend of the 10th of December. (Just a thought - if you can't take on a child on your own, why not get a Sunday School Class together and do it.)
Thursday, November 10, 2005
Bigger Than I COULD Imagine!
Last April I wen to Honduras to prepare for the summer mission teams and to take a look at a piece of land for the IRC. Standing on the land with my friends and praying together to seek God's will for what we should do was amazing. Over the weekend we made a decision to go ahead and buy the land for $45,000. Since we only had about $20,000 of the money in hand - it was a leap of faith but, we felt that our amazing God had plans for the plot of dirt in Santa Ana.
Since that day, the land has been paid for, a church building has been built and there are many new Christians that worship together there, a the original house on the land has been remodeled into a clinic, 14 homes have been built for people that needed a place to live, and we are about 75% complete in the construction of Casa de Esperanza - The House of Hope - a children's home for about 20 homeless kids. All of his in 6 months is BIGGER THAN I COULD IMAGINE!
I wonder why we don't think bigger? Why do we limit what God can do by thinking small? I have learned so much about how big and amazing our God is from my first hand view of what has happened in the past 6 months. All that He has done makes me think of the words we sing...
"You are beautiful beyond description,
to marvelous for words
To beautiful for comprehension,
like nothing ever seen or heard
Who can grasp your infinite wisdom?
Who can fathom the depth of your love?
You are beautiful beyond description
Majesty enthroned in love.
And I stand, I stand in awe of You
I stand, I stand in awe of You
Holy God to whom all praise is due,
I stand in awe, of You."
Friday, November 04, 2005
Growing
My little granddaughter has started walking and it is pure joy to watch! She is happy with herself and she can see the joy that it brings to everyone around her. She likes being the center of attention. Camille is 10 months old and changes every day.
I also really enjoy watching Nathan & Julia grow as parents – they are almost as entertaining as Camille. Both of them are head over heels in love with their baby and they would die to protect her. They are going to be great parents and I am proud of them and the way that they care of my grandbaby.
Watching Camille and her parents develop has reminded me how much our God cares for us and how – as our dad, he protects us, forgives us, allows us to grow, and was even willing to die for us. It is amazing to me that we – as Christians expect so much – so soon from new believers.... babies in Jesus. We just need to look at them as babies and as big brothers and sisters – nurse them in their development. Allowing them – each other to grow up is what we need. Looking at each other as brothers and sisters is what we need. Taking care of each other as we would a baby is what we need. Forgiveness and love is what we need. Maybe that is why Jesus said that he would forgive us the same way we forgive each other.... because we just can’t do it without the love that comes with a family.
Friday, October 21, 2005
Murphy's Law (on a plane)
Last week I was on too many airplanes – understatement, I way on way too many airplanes. I flew across the country twice – was in every time zone at least once and most of them 2 or three times. New company, new products, selling hard and things are good on that front. The bad part is getting from point A to point B.
I was on one of my flights from Los Angeles to Salt Lake City and managed to have the “Murphy’s Law” of seat assignments – which seems to be the standard lately. “Murphy’s Law” says that if anything can go wrong, it probably will. Applying “M.L.” to airplane seating means that you are almost guaranteed to get the worst seat on the plane. That would be a center seat on a 4 hour flight and the plane is delayed – after you’ve already boarded. It could be a seat on the back row – next to the restroom that is absolutely going to run over in mid flight – nothing like blue water between your toes! It could be the incessant talker, or the gassy neighbor, the “two seater” squeezed into one seat and spilling over in to your space, or it could be some combination of any or all of these.
Anyway, last weeks example of “Murphy on a plane” was actually the passenger seated directly in front of me. My neighbor to the north was one of those special people that believe that the universe that God created was made especially for them – and nobody else. She was one of those wonderful souls that believe that there is only one person in the world that has value – and the rest of us are minions; made for the purpose of whatever she wants. I learned all of this (about my neighbor) on a short two hour flight. I can’t tell you her name and I learned all I know about her by her actions. (the saying that actions speak louder than words was never more true than in this experience) As soon as the plane backed away from the gate my neighbor SLAMMED her seat back into the recline position as far as it would go. This happened to be directly into my knees. (I can’t tell you why Delta makes the distance between rows for people that are shorter than the average Chinese dwarf – but, they are.) Whatever the case, every time I moved my pinned legs, my neighbors chair moved too. Every time her chair moved – she literally growled and attempted to slam her chair back into a “more” reclined position. All this went on for the entire 2 hours of flying. I even asked her to please move your chair up – even just a half inch so that we could both be a little more comfortable to which she reacted by growling and slamming it back again. Finally, the flight was over, my pinned legs began the road to recovery and Miss Universe was on her way to use and abuse other minions.
I’ve now had a week to ponder the still unbelievable actions of a person that never spoke – only growled at me. I have laughed about it and yet, am amazed that there are really people in the world that don’t care anything about the feelings of others around them Then I consider that there are really a lot of folks like this – maybe not as bold and blatant but still oblivious to the needs of the needy and the hurting world around them. Maybe I needed someone so rude to help me wake up to a better understanding of just who is sharing “my space”….. even if that “space “ is on the other side of the world.
marc
I was on one of my flights from Los Angeles to Salt Lake City and managed to have the “Murphy’s Law” of seat assignments – which seems to be the standard lately. “Murphy’s Law” says that if anything can go wrong, it probably will. Applying “M.L.” to airplane seating means that you are almost guaranteed to get the worst seat on the plane. That would be a center seat on a 4 hour flight and the plane is delayed – after you’ve already boarded. It could be a seat on the back row – next to the restroom that is absolutely going to run over in mid flight – nothing like blue water between your toes! It could be the incessant talker, or the gassy neighbor, the “two seater” squeezed into one seat and spilling over in to your space, or it could be some combination of any or all of these.
Anyway, last weeks example of “Murphy on a plane” was actually the passenger seated directly in front of me. My neighbor to the north was one of those special people that believe that the universe that God created was made especially for them – and nobody else. She was one of those wonderful souls that believe that there is only one person in the world that has value – and the rest of us are minions; made for the purpose of whatever she wants. I learned all of this (about my neighbor) on a short two hour flight. I can’t tell you her name and I learned all I know about her by her actions. (the saying that actions speak louder than words was never more true than in this experience) As soon as the plane backed away from the gate my neighbor SLAMMED her seat back into the recline position as far as it would go. This happened to be directly into my knees. (I can’t tell you why Delta makes the distance between rows for people that are shorter than the average Chinese dwarf – but, they are.) Whatever the case, every time I moved my pinned legs, my neighbors chair moved too. Every time her chair moved – she literally growled and attempted to slam her chair back into a “more” reclined position. All this went on for the entire 2 hours of flying. I even asked her to please move your chair up – even just a half inch so that we could both be a little more comfortable to which she reacted by growling and slamming it back again. Finally, the flight was over, my pinned legs began the road to recovery and Miss Universe was on her way to use and abuse other minions.
I’ve now had a week to ponder the still unbelievable actions of a person that never spoke – only growled at me. I have laughed about it and yet, am amazed that there are really people in the world that don’t care anything about the feelings of others around them Then I consider that there are really a lot of folks like this – maybe not as bold and blatant but still oblivious to the needs of the needy and the hurting world around them. Maybe I needed someone so rude to help me wake up to a better understanding of just who is sharing “my space”….. even if that “space “ is on the other side of the world.
marc
Friday, September 30, 2005
Lots of thoughts
Lots of thoughts and not much time to blog.
Last Friday, I was leaving Memphis on my weekly pilgrimage back to O’Fallon when there was a four car pile-up right behind me. I pulled off as fast as I could and ran back to the first crashed car – actually a van. There were 5 people in the van and 4 of them were hurt. One at a time, I helped the injured people out of the van and onto the ground where they could lay down and wait until the professionals arrived – it took the first ambulance almost 45 minutes to arrive. There were hurting people in every one of the other 3 wrecked cars. I have never had to be the first on the scene for anything like that and I hope that it was a one time thing. I’ll never forget the little boy that was afraid that he was gong to lose all of his stuff……or the lady that was traveling alone and at first thought she was okay but collapsed in pain… I prayed with her and we both cried. I was amazed at the raw emotion of the moment.
All of this made me even more aware of the ongoing pain and anguish of the people that continue to suffer on the coast. I read this week that there are probably 160,000 houses in New Orleans that will need to be plowed under – another 68,000 in Mississippi and about the same numbers that need major repairs. I don’t know how the relief volunteers can keep going day after day – they must be emotionally exhausted! Pray for the workers and for the people that they are there to serve.
I was in Philadelphia this week and – because of a horse show, hotels were a premium. I had to pay almost $200 for a room at a Marriott Courtyard. What a rip-off!
I was in the lobby and overheard some of the “horse people” talking about their show horses – that has gotta be one of the most expensive hobbies around – I read that the average spend for a show horse is over $2000 per month! That’s $24,000 a year for a pet.
We could send a whole mission team from Baxter to Mexico for that! We could plant 5 new churches in Honduras and support the preachers for less than that!
Build 24 houses – take care of 40 kids in a children’s home – build 2 church buildings – all for the cost of a “toy”. If my priorities ever get so out of wack that I am throwing money away instead of spending it wisely – please somebody, slap me!
I could blog on but, work is calling!
marc
Last Friday, I was leaving Memphis on my weekly pilgrimage back to O’Fallon when there was a four car pile-up right behind me. I pulled off as fast as I could and ran back to the first crashed car – actually a van. There were 5 people in the van and 4 of them were hurt. One at a time, I helped the injured people out of the van and onto the ground where they could lay down and wait until the professionals arrived – it took the first ambulance almost 45 minutes to arrive. There were hurting people in every one of the other 3 wrecked cars. I have never had to be the first on the scene for anything like that and I hope that it was a one time thing. I’ll never forget the little boy that was afraid that he was gong to lose all of his stuff……or the lady that was traveling alone and at first thought she was okay but collapsed in pain… I prayed with her and we both cried. I was amazed at the raw emotion of the moment.
All of this made me even more aware of the ongoing pain and anguish of the people that continue to suffer on the coast. I read this week that there are probably 160,000 houses in New Orleans that will need to be plowed under – another 68,000 in Mississippi and about the same numbers that need major repairs. I don’t know how the relief volunteers can keep going day after day – they must be emotionally exhausted! Pray for the workers and for the people that they are there to serve.
I was in Philadelphia this week and – because of a horse show, hotels were a premium. I had to pay almost $200 for a room at a Marriott Courtyard. What a rip-off!
I was in the lobby and overheard some of the “horse people” talking about their show horses – that has gotta be one of the most expensive hobbies around – I read that the average spend for a show horse is over $2000 per month! That’s $24,000 a year for a pet.
We could send a whole mission team from Baxter to Mexico for that! We could plant 5 new churches in Honduras and support the preachers for less than that!
Build 24 houses – take care of 40 kids in a children’s home – build 2 church buildings – all for the cost of a “toy”. If my priorities ever get so out of wack that I am throwing money away instead of spending it wisely – please somebody, slap me!
I could blog on but, work is calling!
marc
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
I Wonder?
I wonder why we expect brand new Christians to come out of the water all grown-up?
I wonder why we are afraid to tell our friends that aren’t Christians about the good things that our God has done for us?
I wonder why we have such a hard time sharing our problems and our weaknesses with other Christians?
I can’t figure out why it is so hard to confess our sins to each other and to ask our friends to pray for the help we need.
Why do we pretend to be strong when we know that we are really weaklings?
Why is it easier to be a cut down artist instead of the one that lifts people up?
Why is it so hard to trust each other?
Where did you see Jesus today? Did you look for him? Did you start the day expecting to see him?
Why is it harder to tell people that are not blood relatives how much you love them?
I wonder when Christians stopped greeting each other with a holy kiss?
Why does it make some people uncomfortable when others lift holy hands to God?
How is it that it is so easy to ignore the poor in our own communities?
I wonder what it would be like to give the first homeless person that I see enough money to live on for the next month? Or – my best clothes or my favorite CD or my last $100?
I wonder if others would think I was crazy?
What would it be like to be called “crazy for Jesus”?
I wonder what it would be like to tell your family that you were giving it all up to serve the Lord 100% of the time – a long ways from home?
I wonder?
I wonder why we are afraid to tell our friends that aren’t Christians about the good things that our God has done for us?
I wonder why we have such a hard time sharing our problems and our weaknesses with other Christians?
I can’t figure out why it is so hard to confess our sins to each other and to ask our friends to pray for the help we need.
Why do we pretend to be strong when we know that we are really weaklings?
Why is it easier to be a cut down artist instead of the one that lifts people up?
Why is it so hard to trust each other?
Where did you see Jesus today? Did you look for him? Did you start the day expecting to see him?
Why is it harder to tell people that are not blood relatives how much you love them?
I wonder when Christians stopped greeting each other with a holy kiss?
Why does it make some people uncomfortable when others lift holy hands to God?
How is it that it is so easy to ignore the poor in our own communities?
I wonder what it would be like to give the first homeless person that I see enough money to live on for the next month? Or – my best clothes or my favorite CD or my last $100?
I wonder if others would think I was crazy?
What would it be like to be called “crazy for Jesus”?
I wonder what it would be like to tell your family that you were giving it all up to serve the Lord 100% of the time – a long ways from home?
I wonder?
Thursday, September 15, 2005
misc stuff......
It is amazing to me how much focus the politicos want to put on blaming someone for everything about Hurricane Katrina – even going as far as blaming the president on the hurricane itself because he doesn’t pay enough attention to global warming. It’s like a bunch of kids. Why would anyone ever want to go into a life of politics?
On the other side of the focus issue, our churches have been phenomenal in putting their focus on resolving the issues of helping people pull their lives back together. My prayer is that working together for this cause will help people to see that the real purpose God gave us is to work together for him and not to just warm a pew 3 times a week. I pray that we will stop worrying about things that don’t matter and focus on things that do matter.
Right now, here are things that matter to me –
The hurricane relief work – especially in the communities where I have friends – Gulfport and Mandeville.
My friend Terry Reeves and his battle with melanoma – he is having surgery today and he needs our prayer that he will be healed.
Casa de Esperanza – the children’s home project in Santa Ana, Honduras is real and with God’s will, it will open on December 10th. We still need to raise $30,000 for this project.
Selling my house in Illinois so Terri & I can get this move over with.
Getting ready for TORCH 2006.
If you read this, please pray for these things and leave me a comment on what I can be praying for on your account.
marc
On the other side of the focus issue, our churches have been phenomenal in putting their focus on resolving the issues of helping people pull their lives back together. My prayer is that working together for this cause will help people to see that the real purpose God gave us is to work together for him and not to just warm a pew 3 times a week. I pray that we will stop worrying about things that don’t matter and focus on things that do matter.
Right now, here are things that matter to me –
The hurricane relief work – especially in the communities where I have friends – Gulfport and Mandeville.
My friend Terry Reeves and his battle with melanoma – he is having surgery today and he needs our prayer that he will be healed.
Casa de Esperanza – the children’s home project in Santa Ana, Honduras is real and with God’s will, it will open on December 10th. We still need to raise $30,000 for this project.
Selling my house in Illinois so Terri & I can get this move over with.
Getting ready for TORCH 2006.
If you read this, please pray for these things and leave me a comment on what I can be praying for on your account.
marc
Tuesday, September 06, 2005
More Katrina Needs
James said that being faithful is backing your words with action. The example that in James 2 –
14What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? 15Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. 16If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? 17In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
What a powerful text –
I also like the words of Solomon when he wrote “if you hear the cries of the hungry and ignore them, one day your cries will also be ignored”
In our country, it has been easy to never really see big needs or to hear the cries of the hungry – No More!
The sheer size of Katrina, the scope of the damage, and the numbers of those hurting are impossible to ignore. As a believer, I cannot see how anyone can sit this one out – this is the time for real sacrifice and sacrificial giving.
I plan to fast one day each week and make sure that the money that I would have spent on food will go to someone in the hurricane zone for food. I know that Terri & I will be talking over the next few weeks about how we can help friends and people that we don’t know that have been affected by Katrina.
There are so many ways to help –
Here is an email that another TORCH / IRC leader sent this morning –
IRC/Torch Missions is putting together a team to serve the people in Louisiana and Mississippi. I have spoken to Janet Hines in Baton Rouge and there are many needs. Here is list of items that can be used NOW. Please let me know where and how much you are able to collect and we will work on getting the much needed supplies to the distribution centers. So they can be handed out other people.
Need List:
RVs -- to house workers -- we need to house 30-50 people
Clothes Pre sorted by male-female-child - size (only good condition please)
Shoes all types flip-flops are OK
Sheets - towels -
Bleach
Mosquito repellent
Hand Sanitizer
Under ware all types and sizes
Adult diapers
Baby Formula -- power or pre mixed
Diapers
Personal hygiene items
Chain Saws
Man Power Needs:
People to load & deliver
Tree cutters
Counselors
Nurses
Doctors
Needs; --- pasted from an email sent from Baton Rouge
1. We need Prayer first, foremost and often....If the Air Condition> can be turned on by prayer, anything can happen.
2. We need to finish our Kitchen, upgraded that will allow us to> serve 1,000's of meal-we will work with baton Rouge to get this done THIS> WEEK. Cost of $25.000.00.
3. Need to arrange to get a mobile shower and a mobile> toilets...Urgently...Tell us where to go...
4. Industrial Size Washers and Dryers.....Urgently...
5. Industrial Ice maker....Urgently> > We can make available our building to stay, but we need to be able> to accommodate and need it quickly. HELP !!!!!!
6. We need clothes, underwear, shorts, T Shirts and flip flops, and> entire outfit, they have nothing....
7. Toiletries, shampoo, toothpaste, even some makeup.....
8. Canned meats, fruits, diapers, formula, energy drinks, fruit> snacks.
9. 10 Pick up trucks with trailers and drivers for 2 weeks
10. Winnebagoes and pop up containers, self contained
11. Electricans to set up external power hookups
12. Tarps of all sizes, Visqueen
13. 50 chain saws, stihl brand as they ar more durable, 100 chains,> commercial chain sharperner
14. 1 inch ropes
15. 200 cots
16. 100 matteresses
17. 15 people, willing to work in in Airconditioned church to> prepare boxes to goout
18. 3,000 empty cardboard boxes, 18 x 24 x 12
19. 20 cases of packing tape
20. 5 empties semi-trucks containers to be used for 2 months
21. 5 pressure washers
22. 2 250 gallon gas containers, one for gas and one for diesel
23. 100 gallon gas tank to take to station for refilling
24. 50 generators
25. 20 people for roof crews
26. 40 people for chain saw crews>
Please Call me or Email at (423) 341-1000
tomgilroy2000@yahoo.com
As you can see – the list offers plenty of opportunity for all of us to stand up and share our faith with our action.
Marc
14What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? 15Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. 16If one of you says to him, "Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed," but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? 17In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.
What a powerful text –
I also like the words of Solomon when he wrote “if you hear the cries of the hungry and ignore them, one day your cries will also be ignored”
In our country, it has been easy to never really see big needs or to hear the cries of the hungry – No More!
The sheer size of Katrina, the scope of the damage, and the numbers of those hurting are impossible to ignore. As a believer, I cannot see how anyone can sit this one out – this is the time for real sacrifice and sacrificial giving.
I plan to fast one day each week and make sure that the money that I would have spent on food will go to someone in the hurricane zone for food. I know that Terri & I will be talking over the next few weeks about how we can help friends and people that we don’t know that have been affected by Katrina.
There are so many ways to help –
Here is an email that another TORCH / IRC leader sent this morning –
IRC/Torch Missions is putting together a team to serve the people in Louisiana and Mississippi. I have spoken to Janet Hines in Baton Rouge and there are many needs. Here is list of items that can be used NOW. Please let me know where and how much you are able to collect and we will work on getting the much needed supplies to the distribution centers. So they can be handed out other people.
Need List:
RVs -- to house workers -- we need to house 30-50 people
Clothes Pre sorted by male-female-child - size (only good condition please)
Shoes all types flip-flops are OK
Sheets - towels -
Bleach
Mosquito repellent
Hand Sanitizer
Under ware all types and sizes
Adult diapers
Baby Formula -- power or pre mixed
Diapers
Personal hygiene items
Chain Saws
Man Power Needs:
People to load & deliver
Tree cutters
Counselors
Nurses
Doctors
Needs; --- pasted from an email sent from Baton Rouge
1. We need Prayer first, foremost and often....If the Air Condition> can be turned on by prayer, anything can happen.
2. We need to finish our Kitchen, upgraded that will allow us to> serve 1,000's of meal-we will work with baton Rouge to get this done THIS> WEEK. Cost of $25.000.00.
3. Need to arrange to get a mobile shower and a mobile> toilets...Urgently...Tell us where to go...
4. Industrial Size Washers and Dryers.....Urgently...
5. Industrial Ice maker....Urgently> > We can make available our building to stay, but we need to be able> to accommodate and need it quickly. HELP !!!!!!
6. We need clothes, underwear, shorts, T Shirts and flip flops, and> entire outfit, they have nothing....
7. Toiletries, shampoo, toothpaste, even some makeup.....
8. Canned meats, fruits, diapers, formula, energy drinks, fruit> snacks.
9. 10 Pick up trucks with trailers and drivers for 2 weeks
10. Winnebagoes and pop up containers, self contained
11. Electricans to set up external power hookups
12. Tarps of all sizes, Visqueen
13. 50 chain saws, stihl brand as they ar more durable, 100 chains,> commercial chain sharperner
14. 1 inch ropes
15. 200 cots
16. 100 matteresses
17. 15 people, willing to work in in Airconditioned church to> prepare boxes to goout
18. 3,000 empty cardboard boxes, 18 x 24 x 12
19. 20 cases of packing tape
20. 5 empties semi-trucks containers to be used for 2 months
21. 5 pressure washers
22. 2 250 gallon gas containers, one for gas and one for diesel
23. 100 gallon gas tank to take to station for refilling
24. 50 generators
25. 20 people for roof crews
26. 40 people for chain saw crews>
Please Call me or Email at (423) 341-1000
tomgilroy2000@yahoo.com
As you can see – the list offers plenty of opportunity for all of us to stand up and share our faith with our action.
Marc
Wednesday, August 31, 2005
Katrina
My friends from Gulfport and New Orleans evacuated on Sunday and are fine – they don’t have any idea what the condition of their homes will be – but, they are doing well. They are worried about people that they know that chose to stay behind because communication is so bad that nobody knows much about the condition of the people that stayed back to “ride out the storm”. Personally, I can’t for the life of me figure out why anybody in their right mind was thinking when they decided to “ride out the storm”. All day Saturday and especially Sunday the forecasters were telling people that Katrina was going to be as bad as a storm could be – and on Sunday we all woke up to hear that she was a CATEGORY 5!... and that she was on her way to a direct hit on New Orleans and Mississippi.
About 70 or 75% of the people in the path of the pending disaster listened and left. That meant that there were still 25 or 30% of the people that heard the same warning and for one reason or another ignored the warnings and decided to stay behind. I do not understand what they could have been thinking….
To me this is just like hearing the warnings of Jesus and choosing instead to ignore them – pretending that they really don’t mean anything – that “since I can’t see the storm, it must not be there” – or, just hoping that ignoring the truth, it will just go away.
Katrina was like Jesus in another way too. Just like Jesus, nobody made the people that chose to ignore the warnings leave. Jesus said that following him was The Way and that we must follow him by our own choice. There isn’t one example where Jesus forced anybody into salvation…… I guess that you can’t force somebody to save themselves from a storm that they don’t want to be saved from.
As for me and my house, we will follow the Lord!
About 70 or 75% of the people in the path of the pending disaster listened and left. That meant that there were still 25 or 30% of the people that heard the same warning and for one reason or another ignored the warnings and decided to stay behind. I do not understand what they could have been thinking….
To me this is just like hearing the warnings of Jesus and choosing instead to ignore them – pretending that they really don’t mean anything – that “since I can’t see the storm, it must not be there” – or, just hoping that ignoring the truth, it will just go away.
Katrina was like Jesus in another way too. Just like Jesus, nobody made the people that chose to ignore the warnings leave. Jesus said that following him was The Way and that we must follow him by our own choice. There isn’t one example where Jesus forced anybody into salvation…… I guess that you can’t force somebody to save themselves from a storm that they don’t want to be saved from.
As for me and my house, we will follow the Lord!
Tuesday, August 23, 2005
God's Amazing Plans
A few months ago I was standing in the middle of piece of property in a place called Santa Ana – a village that is about 15 miles from the airport in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. I was with friends and we all had the same question – What would God have us do with this land? At the time the land was for sale and the non profit group that I work with was looking for property to build a training center for the Mi Esperanza ministry. Doubt’s were there – where would we ever come up with $47,000?.... is there really a commitment?.... what if this isn’t God’s plan?...is the land too far from Tegucigalpa?...
We prayed for God to show us His will. Right in the middle of the land we prayed and almost immediately God started sending us his answers.
Within 36 hours, we were certain that the clear answers were right in front of us –
Almost ½ of the money for the land became available, funding for a clinic was found and the house that was on the property would make a perfect clinic, money for a planned new church building was already in place and the land was a perfect location, Jen Wright sent an email that said that she believed that God had called her to move to Honduras to take care of kids and the land is a perfect place for a children’s home, on and on, god provided answers for our prayers and we clearly saw that it was part of God’s plan for our ministry to buy this property.
I am amazed at how things have developed since April. The property is 100% paid for and it has been transformed from a sleepy piece of land into a place of action. The original house is almost ready to be opened into a clinic, there are now homes for 20 families, the church building is complete and people are worshiping there every Sunday and that building will soon be an integral part of the Santa Ana community, the ground is being prepared for construction of the children’s home and we will be there on December 10th for the opening celebration. The crazy thing is, we started looking at the land for a Mi Esperanza training center and have since seen that we’ll need more room to make that happen. It now looks like we will be attempting to buy another piece land – maybe the one directly across the road from the original property – for the training center. We plan to have a ground breaking for the center on the 10th of December – as part of the celebration of the opening of Casa de Esperanza – the children’s home.
I have fallen in love with the work of getting Casa de Esperanza off the ground. The two women that are leaving for this work on October 25th have become my family and I love them dearly. Jen & Karen clearly heard the words of Jesus - “Follow Me”, and they have chosen to do just that. They are two of my hero’s.
There is so much happening and so many good things ahead – I can’t wait to see what our amazing God has planned for the next few months!
We prayed for God to show us His will. Right in the middle of the land we prayed and almost immediately God started sending us his answers.
Within 36 hours, we were certain that the clear answers were right in front of us –
Almost ½ of the money for the land became available, funding for a clinic was found and the house that was on the property would make a perfect clinic, money for a planned new church building was already in place and the land was a perfect location, Jen Wright sent an email that said that she believed that God had called her to move to Honduras to take care of kids and the land is a perfect place for a children’s home, on and on, god provided answers for our prayers and we clearly saw that it was part of God’s plan for our ministry to buy this property.
I am amazed at how things have developed since April. The property is 100% paid for and it has been transformed from a sleepy piece of land into a place of action. The original house is almost ready to be opened into a clinic, there are now homes for 20 families, the church building is complete and people are worshiping there every Sunday and that building will soon be an integral part of the Santa Ana community, the ground is being prepared for construction of the children’s home and we will be there on December 10th for the opening celebration. The crazy thing is, we started looking at the land for a Mi Esperanza training center and have since seen that we’ll need more room to make that happen. It now looks like we will be attempting to buy another piece land – maybe the one directly across the road from the original property – for the training center. We plan to have a ground breaking for the center on the 10th of December – as part of the celebration of the opening of Casa de Esperanza – the children’s home.
I have fallen in love with the work of getting Casa de Esperanza off the ground. The two women that are leaving for this work on October 25th have become my family and I love them dearly. Jen & Karen clearly heard the words of Jesus - “Follow Me”, and they have chosen to do just that. They are two of my hero’s.
There is so much happening and so many good things ahead – I can’t wait to see what our amazing God has planned for the next few months!
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