Kiev Video

Last night, Zach and I presented our Let's Start Talking report at Huntsville Church of Christ. To give people a taste of what it was like on our project with only two workers to do everything, we decided that we would be the only ones doing everything for the entire service. We did the announcements, singing, prayers, preaching, communion...everything.

While this might be more regular for a smaller congregation, it is a quite different for our church. In all though, I think everything went well. Kirby Logan even put Christ on in baptism. (I guess a few others helped with that.) At the end of services, we showed our LST video that is included below. (In order to view the video, you may have to visit my blog directly). I hope you enjoy it.

Amazing Conversations

Well, today was filled with amazing conversations. I tried something that I haven't done too much of in the past. I guess I am calling them prayer bombs. They actually go off during the conversations that I have with my readers.

I will ask them to read the passage for the day. While they are reading, I pray for them. I pray that God open their hearts and minds to understand Him better. I pray that His word do great things during our conversation. I pray that their eyes open to see Him in me. I pray that I use the right words to give them understanding and that God give them the true understanding that they need to live for Jesus.

Do you know what happened today? God blew up the place. Our conversations were unlike anything I have ever experienced on an LST project...and this is my fifth project! Every one of my readers opened up to me or God's word for no reason. I didn't do anything special except throw these prayer bombs.

They asked me for advice concerning specific problems they were going through. They were brought to tears at not being able to read again. They were intensely curious about why I followed Jesus. They made new commitments to following Jesus. It was pretty cool to witness.

Another Full Day

Today we had another full day of reading! Nine hours, and I got to teach a class for the youth group here in Kiev after that. It was incredible.

Today I even got to pray with one of my readers, Natasha. She says that she wants to do better at praying more regularly, but she usually gets very busy and doesn't think about it. Sounds familiar! She told me that she loves our reading sessions because she gets to practice her English and talk a lot about God at the same time. It is like a double blessing from God!

Continue to pray for our time here. We have our one day off tomorrow and then it is off to the races again with church on Sunday and then five more hours of reading after services. I am amazed at how much energy our God gives us. Please keep up the prayers.

LST First Look

Well, we had our First Look event for LST on Thursday. I think it went really well. I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of discussion I heard afterward about where people wanted to go and with whom!

I really like the changes this year. Students get to pick their location AND their team BEFORE they apply! This whole semester is going to be spent trying to figure out where in the whole world we want to go and which friends we are going to go with. I love it!

Doing this event during Thursday devo was also a good move. There were probably people there who wouldn't have come had we had a separate event for LST. Since I can only go two weeks this year, I am thinking about going to Asia, probably not Japan. Scooter and Emily are interested in going and I am still talking with Tanya about things. We might have three teams go this year, maybe four. We will see.

May God continue to encourage students to take a step of faith to make a serious difference in people's lives around the world. It truly shaped the course of my life... obviously for the better.

Saying Goodbye

Last night was our last party. There was a homecoming party that prevented several readers from coming, but the turnout was more than I had anticipated, twenty-two.

We played a few fun games together. The fish game was a hit. When you hear "fish" in the story you lift up your right finger while trying to catch with your left hand the finger of the person next to you. (I cheated a little bit because I knew the story, so I got pretty far. I just let others catch my finger at the end...wink...wink.)

Then we had a few snacks along with coke floats. It was interesting to watch the faces of the readers as we explained what a coke float was. They'd never heard of such a thing, but they tried it and liked it.

One of my readers surprised us with a piñata. Kayla went first, then Courtney, Emily, Tanya, and finally I went. It was so demolished at the end that they pulled it up to the top and it broke. Imagine that. I didn't even have to hit it! I just thought about hitting it and it broke!! Yes...I'm that strong.

Anyway, at the end we gave our readers their certificates, took some pictures, talked a little more, and then said goodbye. I can't believe we are finished with the work of our project already!! We have a ton of emails, many pictures, a few gifts, many memories, and confidence that God worked through it all for His glory.

Now we trust that his work is not finished here. God was working before we came and will continue after we leave. We praise him for this opportunity and ask him to spread the fragrance of Christ wherever we go.

Enjoy the pictures below.

The first worked on a word find with many of the words from our Luke workbook they'd been working on.
Tyler's just chillin' with his balloon thinking about something!!

Courtney and Kayla are having fun as we wait for the readers to show up. She couldn't wait to eat ice cream a little later on!

The human first human knot went well. In the end there were two circles they couldn't get untangled.

Our little human knot ended the same way, but it took us a very long time to realize it.

The "fish" game. No one really listened to the story. They were just listening for some form of the word fish before trying to not let their finger get caught by the person next to them. I almost won both times!!

These were three of my four readers. From left to right: Briceida, Ruth, and Tania.

We enjoyed snacks afterwards. Someone brought some "arroz con leche." It was very good!

Emily is trying to give the piñata her best hit. She missed several times. I didn't even swing!

Tania and Tanya. ¡Qué bonita mi amor es!

This is the other preacher, Elio, who works with Raul and Betty at the church. He teaches the Bible class on Sunday mornings.

Our Daily Schedule

The routine continues.

We get up early (it starts getting light about 5:30 or so), get started with breakfast, feed Kayla and Tyler, get them dressed, pack a lunch for Kayla, and get bags ready for the day. Tanya leaves to walk to the school to read about 7:30am (its about a 15 minute walk) and the rest of our family starts walking about 8:00am until a taxi comes by to take us to the Christian school here in Panama.

Betty Alvarado helps run the Christian bilingual school at the Church of Christ. She offered that Kayla go to this school while she was here...and it didn't cost us anything! What a blessing this has been to us and our daughter! She is working on her Spanish all the time. It is kind of funny to listen to. It kind of sounds like Spanish, but it really isn't any language at all (at least to us). She has so many friends now in Panama. Her teachers love her (and her red hair).

Tyler and I hang out for a little while, he takes a nap, I get a few things done for our project, and then we make our way to the cafeteria about 11:15am where we will meet the rest of the team for lunch. After lunch Tanya and Tyler go back to the house while I go to read for the afternoon. Depending on our plans for dinner we meet each other, cook dinner, have our team devotional and depart to our respective houses.

For our family, this begins our nightly routine of baths; after a long day of high humidity and a little rain (yes it rains every day only with a couple of exceptions since we've been here), this is much needed. After baths we get ready for bed and get to sleep. This early time to bed (sometime around 9pm) makes getting up so early the next morning easier! Then we get to do it all over again.

I hope you have enjoyed this glimpse into our daily schedule while here in Panama.

Reading Away

Emily arrived safely last night and I just talked to Spencer who is waiting for his flight at the airport. Please pray that this transition goes smoothly.

Our reading continues today. We are completely full. There are no more spots available for reading unless a reader can't come to any of their reading times. This is great news! This is also the time when our relationships with our readers starts to get a little more serious. We need continual prayers for these deepening relationships. Ask that God give us wisdom to know what questions are necessary to bring our readers closer to Him. I wait to see what he does this week through our service.

Below are a few pictures to give you a glimpse into our work. Most of our time is spent reading the Bible with the students at the University, so it would be misleading to not include these pictures. Please pray for these 8-hour days of reading.

Texas Party

Last night was our first party. It was a Texas party. Betty and Raul (the preacher here) told us that this was the most readers that have ever been to a party since they started about 5 years ago. There were 34 total, including us. We played Texas People Bingo and Texas Pictionary. We explained Texas slang, but I think that was difficult to understand in Spanish. Oh yeah...we also brought Texas dirt for everyone to eat (see the picture below) along with my grandmother's special Texas sweet tea.

With all the people there we were able to sign up more readers. Now our schedule is completely full!! Praise the Lord!! Enjoy the pictures from the party.

This is our dirt. Really it was a pudding recipe with Oreo cookies on top.

Our team.

Spencer and Raul explain how to play Texas Bingo.

We rush around trying to find people who fit certain criteria on our Texas Bingo sheet.

More Texas Bingo.

Our Texas Pictionary was a hit with our very own Vanna White. Kayla loved erasing what was drawn after each contestant came to draw their masterpiece. One time, she accidently erased the score!! Everyone at the party rightly thought that it was so cute.

Kayla still being cute.

Tyler hit this ball all over the place. He will definitely be a baller!!

Until next time. Peace.

Panama Pictures

Here are a couple of pictures of our family. I thought I would share them today. We are near the Bridge of the Americas at the end (or beginning) of the Panama Canal. There were several big cargo ships leaving the canal and cranking up their engines. Enjoy.

Worship in Panama

Worship in another country has always been a blessing! This morning proved to be the case once again. It was refreshing to hear the sermon translated into English, but it was also good to hear Spanish songs of adoration to our Lord. The people were so warm and friendly this morning. They enjoyed seeing Kayla and Tyler too. Our children are such easy conversation starters.

Our reading starts again tomorrow morning. Pray that God continues to give us strength to offer his grace in our conversations. Also pray that our party on Thursday is a success. Thanks for your continued support.

Update from Panama

We have arrived!! Hitting the ground running we have been reading one-on-one with readers every day since we arrived. One of Courtney's readers showed up for Wednesday night service with her mother and child. What a cool thing after only inviting them that morning.

Kayla and Tyler are adjusting well. Just this morning Kayla was singing, "Arriba, up; abajo, down." She also like to say outside the window "Hola. Buenos dias" to the people next door.

It is fun to see EVERYONE (no exception) watch Kayla with her beautiful red hair. Wherever we go people talk about what a beautiful doll she is.

With eyes on us constantly, please pray that we bring glory to our God and take advantage of that witness. The people in Panama are so nice. They are eager to improve their English and make a good American friend. We are grateful that we have this opportunity.

Panama!!

We leave for Panama on Monday morning. Things are kindof getting crazy around here! There are always last minute things to get together. That is just how these trips go.

I am excited to see how our whole family does in another country together. I'm sure we will do fine, but someone mentioned on Sunday that Tyler is going to be walking when he gets back. That will probably be true! I never thought of that. We think the family we are staying with has a little girl about Kayla's age, so language might be interesting, but really cool to watch. Hopefully the little Spanish Kayla does know will help out.

This year is also going to be good to see how God works through what we offer. Our team is wonderful! I can't wait to read again.

Lord, please guide our steps. Let us walk with you. Continue to prepare the hearts that will be touched by your word this summer, my own included. You are amazing. Protect us for your name's sake. Amen.

LST Training

Our Let's Start Talking training continued last night. I am excited about our team. We are getting to know each more and more and have so many different types of personalities. It is going to be cool to be a part of a student team...the dynamic is definitely different, but a good different.

I am hoping that I communicate (not just verbally) that there is not a team leader, namely myself. We are all sharing the leadership. The challenge is to make sure this mindset gets reinforced as we continue the training; we all contribute much to the team.

This year, I am really interested to see how we work out the details with Kayla and Tyler. I pray that they are able to play an important role, but we all need to learn what that role is going to be. For myself and Tanya, we need to give Kayla more opportunities to do things with the group. May God be glorified in all our training.

Let's Start Talking Brasil Video

This was the video I showed last night at church as I reported about our Let's Start Talking trip to Rio de Janeiro last July. I hope you enjoy it.

Packing for Rio

As you can see, tonight I am packing for my two-week trip to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. We leave tomorrow! Trying to get everything into one suitcase is going to be a chore; I don't know how I am going to do it. I do have one little bad that I can check if need be, but I don't want to carry this one around too.

I am going to miss my family tremendously! This will be the longest time that I have been away from everyone since Tanya and I have been married. Wow! God will give us strength though. He has also provided Skype...a cool way to keep in touch with them with video calls...yes!!

Well, the work ahead is going to be hard, but rewarding at the same time. Lee Ann and I have been preparing for this trip since way back last fall. The journey has been amazing and I look forward to seeing the people God will touch through us. We are focused on Sharing Jesus and Sharing Ourselves. I can't wait to read the story of Jesus with people!

Lord, protect us as we travel. Let our hearts be prompted by your Spirit to move us where you need us to accomplish your will...whether we are aware of it or not. Give us the words to say, the energy to love, the compassion to listen, and the guidance to grow. Please continue to prepare the hearts of our readers. Let them encounter you as they interact with us. Grow them to be your disciples telling others about who you are. Keep us in your arms. Amen.

Prayer

I am going to be praying for students on a more regular basis. I don't do this often enough. My compassion needs to grow, and I need to be praying more for those whom God has entrusted to me. Much like our LST information pages, I have put together a form to keep track of what I pray for with each student. May God be glorified as I begin this journey.

Let's Start Talking

God got me thinking about the future last night.

Last night we had another training meeting for our LST project this summer to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Larry came too because he wants to go. While I'm not sure if this will even be possible, it is exciting to think about the future.

Perhaps we can really get many in our congregation excited about God's mission in the world. How exciting it is to think about people being so passionate about God's mission that God begins to flood our doors with those who need him! As the number of workers goes through the roof, so the people who need God.

Not only that, but our students could begin to catch a glimpse of where God can use them. Brazil... Japan...Germany...Argentina. Maybe mission teams will form in our ministry. Together they leave SHSU after graduation seeking to become a mission team. Together they catch a vision of campus ministry and seek more training to become campus ministers.

God got me thinking about the future last night.

The Holy Spirit Preventing

I have always wondered about the following passage in Acts:

"Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and
Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the
province of Asia. When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter
Bythinia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. Do they passed by
Mysia and went down to Troas." Acts 16:6-8

What? Why would God prevent them from preaching the word? I thought we were able to do that wherever we went. At least this is what I tell students! And what is going on with the Spirit of Jesus not allowing them to enter Bythinia? Why would this happen? Basically, I am full of questions concerning this passage.

Not only this, but I have similar questions regarding my recent frustrations with LST in Huntsville. My efforts are going nowhere! Is the Holy Spirit preventing this evangelistic opportunity in Huntsville? I don't know, but why would this happen? Does Friends Speak need to be up and running before LST will have a chance? What is going on?

As of now, it looks like myself and LeeAnn are the ones wanting to go on a project. Even in my commitment, I must wrestle with the familial sacrifices it would take. I don't understand what is happening. All I can do right now is wait...and continue to wrestle with God's will!

Give me understanding, Lord. Let me be patient as I wait on your timing. I am dumbfounded...please enlighten me.

Let's Start Talking

Tonight about 7 are meeting to begin taking the commitment to an LST project to the next level. It seems like 6 weeks is scaring many people away from doing anything. Because of this, a 3-week project is what I am pushing for right now. I asked them to think about when and where they would like to go next summer. I would like to have our first official training meeting on Sunday if at all possible.

For a while now I have been discouraged about the enthusiasm of the students. It seems like they just didn't want to come on board with LST. I have let it rest for a little bit without saying much to the students (I don't want to be the one they avoid because they know I am going to talk about LST all the time). I am starting back up now with more enthusiasm because I seriously let it go. But time is getting pretty short now; people need to be making the choice to go on a project. We are less than a month away from the Dec 1 deadline.

Check out my personal LST webpage. You can begin making contributions to help me on my trip for next summer.

Lord, give me strength to answer questions and challenge students to get started with the application process. I want them to make the commitment because I know that God can do amazing things through them. May you be glorified, God.

Encouraged

This last weekend I went to Fort Worth, TX to a Let's Start Talking trainers and recruiters seminar. I got to room with my best friend David. The weekend was really good for LST stuff! I got to spend time thinking about how to tell people about being missionaries next summer. It really is a life changing experience.

The really encouraging thing about the weekend though was spending time just talking with David. Friday night and Saturday night we stayed up til about 1:30am talking about all kinds of things. Ministry, God, Jesus, church, discipleship. What was cool and encouraging was that we have been experiencing similiar growth in being Jesus' disciples. Each of us have been seeing our walk with Jesus in new, challenging ways. Both of us are being confronted with the kind of life to which Jesus calls his disciples.

Being ministers of the gospel we both also have challenges with how to bring others to similar places. All I can say is that God has encouraged us both! Praise Him for friendships like this. He really knows what he is doing.

Ask that the Lord put someone in your path that he can use to make you both better disciples.