Becoming Greek

Nickle and Dime, The new airline way

I am sitting in Charlotte waiting on a plane around some grumpy passengers. Why, because the airlines are starting to nickle and dime you. On this US Air flight they charge $25 a bag for your first two, and $100 for the third. Thus causing pileups in the overhead bins in the plane. People are taking huge carry-ons which clogs up the loading process. Also, no more freebie refreshments. Soda will set you back $2, Coffee a dollar, and the drinkers get stuck for $7-9.... I am suprised I don't get charged for being tall.....

Kansas City

This weekend I was at a tremendous church in the Kansas City area. Pastor Jason St John is an awesome leader and the DNA of the church is refreshing. I had the honor to share a window in the morning with the adults and kids, and that evening shared in the night service. One of the best parts of the trip was the company. My brother Danny drove up from Springfield to hang out Saturday night, and all weekend I was staying at the Reed's house. All in all it was a great weekend and I am looking forward to seeing the Family tonight!!!

Disney with Brady, Mac, and Fay

This past week we spent the majority of the time in Orlando....  It feels a bit distant since we arrived home at 3:30 on Thursday night, and I find myself on Saturday morning typing this in an airport getting ready to fly to Kansas City.  We had plans to take the boys on a fun filled day to Disney on Tuesday, and then have our Service on Wednesday night.  However, we picked up a new friend in Florida..... Fay,  Tropical Storm Fay did every thing we didn't want it to do.  Fay dumped rain on Disney, and was supposed to roll right through Orlando on Tuesday.  But Fay decided that she would change her path, and because of the forecast we delayed our Disney day.  Fay continued to become more stubborn and so we decided to brave the rain on Wednesday.  All in All it turned out to be an excellent day in the park.  The lines were short, and the rain kept things cool.  We had a wonderful day in the park, and my son Brady loves roller coasters.  Brady enjoyed Big Thunder Mtn and laughed the entire way.  He had a blast meeting Mickey and Minnie, and loved the Country Bears.....  One thing that is great about itineration is the ability to see the country, but I am tired......

Oh Sister, you have given me work!

  My sister in law, Liz, lives in India. When she serves a large cup of tea to a friend in India, they always respond by saying, Oh sister you have given me work. Needless to say when I eyed down this piece of chocolate cake after a massive amount of food, I realized I had a little work to do. Jamie and I went to Maggianos for our anniversary dinner, and we had a ton of food.  The waiter wanted us to try a family style, and we has multiple appetizers, salads, entree's, and desserts.  It was a two hour time of eating, conversation, and wonderful company.  We were kid free, and we truly enjoyed a time of great Italian eating.  By the way, the chocolate cake was one of the best desserts ever....  What a way to celebrate seven great years with a wonderful wife!!

Across the Globe, is now Across the Street

Ten years ago I spent a summer working at a church in Boca Raton, Fl called Church of All Nations.  I walked to church everyday by an empty field.  Today that field has a huge Jehovah's Witness Hall, and a massive Muslim Mosque across the street from the church.  Ten years ago I would have assumed the greatest ambassadors, missionaries, and influences to the Muslim world lived in the Middle East.  And to tell you the truth I was correct in that thinking. Today our world is much different.  Because Ten years ago the greatest influencer that I know to a segment of the Muslim world (Pakistan) was born.  While we are here in Boca Raton the 10 year old girl has become great friends with another 10 year old from Pakistan.  Cultures have collided as a young girl from Central PA, who's dad played Jesus in the Easter drama became friends with a young Muslim from Pakistan.  It has been educational and inspirational for me to watch.  As our world globalizes at a break neck speed we all have opportunity to influence people across the globe.  These individuals are now living across the street. My friends have been put in a position of influence and learning on their end with this young girl. So what will you do when a mosque ends up in front of your church? Will we build friendships, or hide under a shell..... These are inevitable moments in our country, and our children are going to some of the most diverse mission fields on their school campus. So where will another 10 years take us on this journey?

Welcome to Miami

On Saturday we went down to Miami with the Kopes, and hung out on South Beach. We were walking by Miami Ink, which is a tattoo parlor that is on cable tv. When we walked by the store the star of the tv show, Ami, walked right in front of us. Jamie literally opened the door, and he almost bumped into Chet, me, and the boys. I snapped this photo when he was getting into his Bentley..... Brady was tempted to get a "go diego go" tattoo, but he is still underage......

Brady is so funny

Brady is such a funny kid.  Last night he was staying up late on his birthday....  Even though it was his real birthday we had celebrated it last week since we had a busy itineration day.  We were connected with two really great churches yesterday, and we were so blessed.  After our evening service in Ft Myers, FL Brady had a hard time going to sleep in the room.  We put Brady to bed in our room with the lights off and Jamie and I checked our emails.  Brady laid in bed for about an hour without falling asleep which is totally abnormal.  I stated to get fidgety and I wanted to watch a little ESPN.  I flipped on the tv and Brady popped his little head up.  It was a pitch black room with a newly glowing tv....  Brady then piped up that he needed a pair of sunglasses.  So I grabbed some sunglasses and we watched a little tv in this dark room.  It cracked me up as he cuddled with me watching tv wearing his sunglasses....  I don't think I will ever forget that moment.

Small World

This past Sunday I was speaking at Morningstar in Bechelsville, PA. After the service a guy approached me and was amazed to meet me..... This is not a normal occurance for me, but I welcomed it. He explained that he was just in Montana, and stoppped in a random AG church in Helena (my hometown). He went to a Sunday school class and heard a missionary share (my brother). He heard both brothers in the span of a month, and 2,200 miles away... What a small world....

Kiva

A couple months ago I was watching a show that focussed on Kiva. Kiva is a micro loan system that helps those in economic tough places around the world. The idea is so simple, but brilliant. The company has people on the ground in these 3rd world countries to monitor the progress of these buisness people. Kiva then targets those in the 1st world to lend small amounts of money to get people up on their feet.

I support a lady in Togo who needed some capitol for her business and a man in Azerbaijani who needed a cow. The man who needed a cow was expanding his milking enterprise to three cows. He needed $800 to buy the third bovine, and he will be able to give his family a better life. The kicker on Kiva is that they pay the loan back. The success payback rate is over 95%.

It is an idea that I love and support. As an American I can loan the wealth I have to those who need a better life... A am a proud part owner of a dairy cow in Azerbaijani. It makes me think how many people could excel in life if they just had the opportunity....

People are so eclectic....

This week has been a busy one when it comes to meeting with people, and one thing I can say is that people are eclectic. I have come to the realization that you can learn something from everyone that you have a significant conversation with. They might be older, younger, smarter, or dumber..... Yet, the ability to learn something from someone is there. We are all experts at something, and when you can talk with someone about their expertise you can truly learn a thing or two.

The greatest conversationalist that I know is a friend of ours named Dana. Dana has the gift of conversation, and I do not mean that she can talk the paint off a barn. Dana has a way of finding the passion of the person, and allows that individual to express themselves in a truly natural way. I have tried to better the art of conversation, and become a little more like Dana. I met this week with pastors, athletes, students, and a Ryan who was pretending to dress like a homeless person. I learned about church planting, division I football, the armed forces, paramedics, church discipline, and youth hosteling.... All to say I found some passions, and I was able to sit back and learn. A wise sales person once said that you earn more money with your ears than your mouth. The same can be true in conversation.... You learn more with your ears than your mouth.... I love talking with people because we truly are eclectic.

AJ Hodge

One of my best friends is in Korea today to pick up a newly adopted baby. Brian and Jolie Hodge were amazing youth leaders and in the next 24 hours they will be giving Anna J Hodge the luckiest day in here life. She is about to be adopted by two of the greatest people I know. She has no idea what a big day tomorrow will be for her.

Pray for a smooth transition, travel, and easy adjustment. I personally can't wait to meet her!!!

The O's

The past few days I have been able to enjoy America's pastime at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. The baseball players have done alright, but I have enjoyed some great company.

I attended a Tigers game with a true Detroit fan, Brad Leach. Brad was in Baltimore for his Master's work, and we enjoyed our time together. It is always refreshing to talk with such a great leader.

Monday night Jamie and I attended a game with some new friends from Trinity AG. Keith Edwards and his wife were a pleasure to spend some time with. I enjoy this stage so much when I can meet wonderful, intelligent people.

Yesterday capped off my summer with a few great Orioles fans. Andy, Brady, Jamie, and I all enjoyed a day game. Brady got to jump in the bounce house. He spent some quality time with "the bird", and we got a few funny pictures. But the coolest thing was that Brady got a ball. What a day, and what a lucky, happy kid!!

Simpleton

I am a simpleton when it comes to refreshing beverages. I really like raspberry Brisk ice tea, and I could argue that it should be everyones favorite. Now today was a great day in my book. Hans and Mia stopped by the house. I had a great meeting at VFCC with Dr McLeod about Engage. A solid Wed night service with Jack Mason in Spring City, PA. Yet, the kicker came at a normal gas station stop on the ride home.

I usually peer at the Pepsi section to find a absence of my favorite. However, tonight was a night of a man's simple dream coming true. Tonight I laid eyes on the 24 oz mighty can! Zelda has found his princess....... I can say that today was a good day.

Engage Missions

During my time in Springfield, MO I ran into a missionary I have worked with in the past named Steve Shoop. Steve is located in Guadalajara, Mexico and is doing an incredible job. He was a wonderful individual to work with, and now I get to extend that working relationship.

Steve has pioneered a program called

Engage Missions. This is a program designed to connect AG kids on the mission field before or during their college career. In the months ahead Engage will be partnered with most AG schools, and can work with any accredited institution. The basic concept is that a student gains missions experience, takes online classes, and has the opportunity to attend a university in another country. The student would not lose time in their educational process, but would be gaining experience in ministry. It is ideal for students pursuing a full time call of God, or a student who wants to serve for a year in their college years before hitting the workforce.

We are going to be a host site in the Fall of 09 and we are really excited about it. Not only will it allow us to accelerate what we are doing in Greece, but it will allow us to invest in the next generation. We will have a part in forming lives who will then go back home to the states and continue to serve. You will hear more about this opportunity in the months ahead....

Mac's creativity

Mac went to the Dr's yesterday and everything is looking really good. He was such a good sport about the entire thing. The toughest part was the arm splints the first few days. They were put on to keep him from rubbing his eyes, but it kept him from being able to eat very well. Mac is very independant and likes to feed himself, and so we found a solution. This pasta spoon became his mode of eating. He dealt with all this so well, and it encourages me as we get ready to move abroad. If you can learn to function well without bending your arms, you can learn to do a lot of things diffrent. What a great lession in flexability.... The splints are off and we have no more Mac-en-stien, but the flexible spirit remains.

Burkina Faso Miracle

WHile I was in Springfield we heard the miracle again that many of us have heard about this country in West Africa. About 80 years ago some of the first A/G missionaries arrived and built the first church. One of those workers has turned out to be the grandfather of the current superintendent Jean Palantari. As the indigenous church was built in this nation, the gospel exploded. Today in the country there are more A/G churches than you can throw a stick at. The countries population is 12 million, and they have 1 million members in the Assemblies of God. I the next few years they might have almost 10% of the country in this one denomination.

They have overcome a lot of obstacles to see the growth in the church explode. We are praying for a similar miracle to happen in Greece. The population is almost identical as Burkina Faso, but the A/G in Greece is not nearly as successful. The entire Pentecostal movement numbers close to 750 people. We are a long ways from a million members, but we just need the right move of God. We need the right grandfather to work in the right coffee shop, and we need the right workers in the harvest field at the right time...... May we be half as successful as Burkina Faso.

I hate saying goodbye

The past few days have held a lot of goodbyes..... I hate saying goodbye to people, and as we near our departure date in November they continue to get more frequent. I had a tough three day stretch the past few days. I said goodbye to some family from Wichita on Saturday as I left another great weekend of fishing after school of missions. I then spend Sunday with the Hernando's at their church in Springfield, MO. I had a wonderful time at their church, and a great time of fellowship. The sad thing was I had to say another goodbye. After a 14 hour drive through the night we had the Britton's over for a few minutes. We had some great conversation, and we said goodbye to Andrea. She is going abroad for the semester and she will not get back before the departure.....

All of these goodbyes have been bitter sweet. These people mean so much, and it is so hard to say goodbye. However, we will get to see them in the next few years in Greece. Some of the toughest goodbyes will hold some of the greatest hello's in the years ahead. We still have a lot of hard goodbyes ahead, but we are really looking to some great hello's in Greece....

I want to thank everyone for praying for Mac this morning. He is really sleepy, and seems to be doing well. He had a ton of fun before the surgery getting carted around on the wagon. After the surgery it was not so much fun for him. I think the toughest thing is the arm splints to keep him from rubbing his eyes. He moves as well as C3PO from star wars... He tried to eat a cracker this afternoon, but could not get it to his mouth..... A tad funny, but really frustrating for him. Some day we will get a laugh out of it together when he is older. It is sad, but the Dr said it went perfect and Mac has been resting well. We appreciate all the prayers, stop by's, calls, emails, and text's.....

Eye Surgery

Our son Mac is having eye surgery today.... Please keep hum in your prayers, and I will post an update latter with the results...

The Natural State

We are spending the 4th of July weekend in Arkansas. Our friends from Wichita have a cabin on Beaver Lake, and we have been enjoying our time in the natural state. Randy and I have logged approximately 10 hours fishing, and we think we had one bite. In fact the only thing we truly caught was a turtle, and the boys had fun playing with that this morning. We have spent the majority of the days on the lake swimming, tubing, and sun burning. It has been a great patriotic weekend!

The big fireworks show was rained out tonight and so we will not get to see it. Last night the neighborhood folk gave us quit a show, and so we are not to disappointed.

Tomorrow I am sharing at a great church in Bella Vista. One of my great friends from CBC is the youth pastor, and I am really looking forward to the service tomorrow morning. Once we finish service we head back to Springfield for one more week. We really needed this weekend to relax and revive.

If you look up the word "class"

If you would look up “class” in the dictionary you would see the face of John Palmer. He is the General Secretary of our fellowship, but Jamie and I know him as a Pastoral figure, uncle to a friend, mission’s supporter, and encourager. Today he took time from his busy day to have lunch with Jamie and I. Every time I get around him I am amazed at his ability to care about individual people circumstances. Even though he is a “big-wig”, he is probably the most down to earth person I know. He takes precious time to invest in others, and has a tangible passion for missions. I am blessed have him invest in me. He is a tremendous example of servant leadership. Jesus took time with the tax collectors, and the lowest people in his culture. Today an executive officer spent time with an unproven, first term, itinerating missionary. I will never be able to pay back a moment like that to him, but I can pay it forward one day. We have a tremendous man as our General Secretary.

I have had this feeling before

When I was in Bible College at CBC I was in desperate needs of some missions funds. I was leading a trip to Northern Ireland, back when no one was taking trips out of the country. We were coming down to the wire, and I had back to back weekends with services in Tulsa and Wichita. We needed several thousand dollars to meet our budget needs, and I just left it up to the Lord. Carbondale A/G in Tulsa and Evangel in Wichita saved the day. I can remember a sense of relief as those weekends allowed the dream of God to be fulfilled in my life.

Well, I felt like I was in the same situation the past few weeks. We recently found out that to acquire the business visa we need to start our coffee house we need a minimum financial amount. This is not the cost of the visa, but the validation that you can legitimately start a business in an EU (European Union) country. We found out that number is 60,000 euros ($95,000), and our jaws dropped. I have been feeling that financial pressure the past few weeks, but I have some good news. The last two weeks I had “feeling I have had before”. I had Sunday morning services in Tulsa and Wichita, and I was in need of some missions funds pretty badly. With an amount this high I really felt that I need to get some significant dollars in that project account. The last two weeks have been two of our top four offerings while itinerating. And thanks to Carbondale and Evangel we have some serious faith seed in that project account. We have a long way to go, but it the last few services have been huge for us.

Keep this financial need on your prayer radar while you think of it. We know God has his timing on it all. Five years ago we would have needed $55,000, but the drop in the dollars value is effecting this minimum amount by $40,000. It is a way for God to get all the glory because we have this on top of our cash and monthly pledge budget……. Good thing I am relying on the Lord for this one!

Back in the dorms

Well I am back in the CBC dorms as School of Missions has been rolling along this week. We have had some great sessions so far, and have connected with a lot of other missionaries. Today we talked in our Europe meeting about locations that are at the tip of the spear. Areas that have a few pioneers before a larger movement can happen. Greece just happens to be the place, and we happen to be on the tip of the AGWM spear.....

On another note I wanted to show off this picture of Mac. I always seemed to find interesting ways to entertain myself in my former college life. And it seems the DNA continued to my wee ones. Who knew a washing machine could be a hang out place?

Weekend in Oklahoma

This weekend we had a tremendous time in Oklahoma. We started off Saturday at Jet's Grandma's house. She had a pool, and Brady loved his time in the water. They had a slide that is normally slow for adults. Apparently, they do not have kids in spandex suits normally going down the slide. All that to say "the Mr Incredible" suit made Brady greased lightning.... It was a blast to watch.

Sunday AM we were in one of my favorite churched in the midwest in Tulsa. Carbondale A/G has been a church that throughout my Bible College years became an investment in my life. Not only in services, but several lifelong friends are from that church. They made a contribution to the coffee shop, and we appreciate their tender heart for missions.

Sunday PM we spent some time in Bartlesville. For those of you from FYM this is where Josh Willaford is from. I was able to hug on Josh's mom, hang out with Brady (the guitar player at the first Buelah Beach camp), and Chris and Becky Davis. We had a bunch of fun, and a great time in ministry. It was special spending time in the birthplace of Josh Willaford....