Anna Jewel

Here she is, Anna Jewel, she is about 8 weeks old and is here at grandpa's visiting for a few days. One thing about her is that she really is a sweetheart. She is going to be a singer by the sound of her voice. I was thinking about how bad we mess up by not caring for the new "spiritual" babies that come our way. This baby needs constant care, she consumes all of her mothers time both day and night. Momma doesn't have her life anymore, its been lost in service to her child. The amazing thing that I notice about momma is that she does all this work with out complaining about how this baby is consuming all her free time, about the inconvienences and all the work she demands. As cute as this baby is, she cries, dirties her diaper, eats on a regular basis. Let us pay the price for the new borns that come our way and be committed to them until Christ is formed in their lives.

Set Backs!

Last Friday, I went to a "returning to your roots" concert in San Antonio. Some of the Christian artists that were popular in the "70s" and "80s" were reunited to do a concert. It was great to see Barry Mcguire, Dallas Holm, Chuck Girard, Janny Grein and others perform their classic songs from the past. Leon Petillo participated, sang and did a comedy ruitine. Towards the end he said, there is something that all of us want you to know. "A set back, is a set up, for a come back". Those words exploded in my spirit. Then on Sunday, I was at the "Macedonia Baptist Church" in San Antonio to share a little about our mission work and the guest speaker as he was promoting one of his CD's said, this one is called, "A set back, is a set up, for a comeback"! It just about blew me away. Two times in three days in completely different arenas God spoke to me. It made sence as I thought about the set backs in my life and since then everywhere I go I find somebody who is going through some kind of set back. What about you? Remember, our setbacks of life are just preparing us for a comeback of somekind in the future.

Security Walls go up!

In spite of heavy rain and other obstacles, the walls have been erected for the security of the childrens home in India. These walls were built to last. Finances are slowly coming in and as soon as we have enough to do the foundation, we will begin. This is a faith project and as we use what we have, God will give more. It is exciting to see a vision take on shape and form. Faith is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not yet seen. Heb 11:1. Here are a couple of pics for you to see and the evidence that God honors faith.

Still numb !!

A few days have passed since I heard the news about Babu. After trying to make some kind of sense from this tragedy, God has brought me a sence of peace and victory. I can't imagine the pain that Sudheera and her family feels with this loss. The children in the home really are "Sudheera's" kids. Her brother Bubli and herself are the only parents that these children have. Sudheera told me betwween sobs while we spoke on the phone that her heart feels very heavy and hurts. The secular authorities are investigating this situation and are trying to answer the question "why". Please pray for this family. They are facing a very dificult time and the trial is very hard. Society sometimes has a hard time understanding the motive and compassion that christians share with the less fortunate. They always look for an alterior motive. One thing remains true and will never change and that is "Jesus is Lord". Our plans to build a childrens home remains firm. We are raising finances to soon begin construction. As I write this the security wall is being built and progress is being made. Jesus said that in the world you would have tribulations but to be of good cheer for He has over come the world.

A Tribute to BABU!

Babu was found in the area of Chirala homeless. No father, mother or family to care for him. Sudheera found him one day and invited him to live at her childrens home. The last time that I was in India, I watched in amazement as Babu at the age of eleven do his algebra homework. I had to take it twice in high school and never really learned it. Babu wanted to be called "Luke" from the bible. He read that Luke was a doctor and he wanted to become a doctor so that he could help other homeless kids. On Saturday of last week, Babu went to school and was humiliated in front of his peers by his teacher because of some bad grades that he recieved. During school break he went to the home let himself in with his key and hung himself by the neck with a rope. A boy with such a wonderful future in this earth is now in the presence of Jesus in heaven. Babu loved Jesus and he knew him as his Lord and saviour. The question of why always arises in situations like this, I wish I knew that answer. To all of the Babu's living in the streets of India, homeless and with no one to care for them, I recommit myself to reach them with the love of Jesus. Babu, your life will not be in vain. May God give us a harvest of children who will rejoice with us together in heaven. Sometimes there is pain in serving others.

Pastors Appreciation Day

Today my congregation showed their appreciation to me their pastor. I enjoyed hearing some words from folks whose lives have been blessed by our ministry. Someone compiled a bunch of pictures from 30 years of ministry. Has it really been that long? There was a day according to the pictures that I actually looked young. I thought to myself, who is that guy? It has been an amazing run, God has shown himself to be faithful and to honor His word even though I haven't been all that faithful. We had a good South Texas Bar-b-que chicken dinner with alot of good fixings. It was a nice day and I was blessed by my congregation and felt loved and appreciated. It is a Joy to Serve Others!

The best daughter!

I'm blessed to have a wonderful daughter. I remember the day that she was born and the miracle that surrounded her birth. Now she is a wife and recently became a mom! Anna Jewel was born a few weeks ago and is a great blessing to our family. I know Patricia that you will be an excellent mom, because you are a great daughter. Sometimes we get so busy with life that we forget the many blessing in ones life. I just want to take a moment to let the blog world know how blessed I am to have such a wonderful daughter. I think that you can tell that I was proud of her when she was born, by calling her Patricia. So Trish, when things look cloudy and fuzzy, remember that we survived raising three kids, I have faith in you that you will be an excellent mom. Love you baby!!

Estate sales

Have you ever been to an estate sale? Everytime I go I am amazed at all the stuff that people collect over a life time. I was the executor of a friends estate and her house was literally jammed packed with junk from the floor to the ceiling. We dumped several tractor trailer sized containers of garbage that came out of her house. Also hidden amongst the garbage were some very valuable items. We americans think that we can't live without our precious possessions. It is next to impossible to part with items that we think we can't live without. I'm starting to streamline my life. I don't need a closet full of suits. Two or three are all I need. Don't need racks of shoes and dressers full of clothes that I seldom if ever use. No more "new" cars. The used one thats almost paid for will work just fine.

I've learned from estate sales that when people die they leave all of their stuff for the kids to fight over. What a mess! I have a suggestion, why not have your estate sale while you are still alive and invest that money into something that will be of eternal value. Sow into mission projects, women shelters, outreach endeavors, into something that will make a difference in people eternity. Just a thought!

50th Birthday

It's only by the grace of God and His faithfulness to me that I've come this far. Looking back I see some good, bad and ugly. Looking forward, I hope not to make the same mistakes as in the past and that with the wisdom learned have a life that is productive and fruitfull for Gods kingdom. The energy of the young man I used to be is forever gone. Hopefully I will be able to accomplish more with less. Thats kinda what Paul had in mind when he said, when I am weak, He is strong. Let your strenght energize me Oh Lord and raise up young men and woman to climb the mountains and do things that they are fit to do. Its time to pass on the baton to the younger generation, who will God raise up to send? Who will go for Him? Who is willing to pay the price? Isaiah said and responded, Here I am Lord, send me.

Check it out!

If you click on "complete profile" over to the right, you will find other blogs that I am trying to keep up. One is called "God still speaks" and is my blog devotional. You might get some insight from it. The other is about the Childrens home in India. Check them out! Hey, drop me a comment, its nice to know that you read my stuff.

The Bottom Line

Being in ministry now for 30 years I've come to know the importance of having finances if you want to acheive anything for God. Not only do you need for your family, but also for fulfilling Gods calling on your life. The bottom line is having a revelation of "Who your source is." It took me quite a while to get this truth inside of my spirit. For the first couple of years my P.O. Box seemed to be my source. I went there almost everyday to see what was in the mail box for me. I later learned that God could bless me without using the mail box. Even after 30 years the biggest struggle is to really trust God to meet my every need. If I were to leave my safe, secure, comfortable position as pastor and go again to the mission field, could I again put all of my trust in Him to meet my needs? I've seen his faithfulness in the past and I know that he would continue to do the same in the future. Do you trust more your employer than you do God to meet your needs? Maybe your employer is your P.O. Box for you. Can we trust God to meet our needs "outside" of our box? We have started to build the childrens home in India "by faith", meaning that the project will continue as funds come in. I would love to do this project without having to pause for more finances becoming available. Will you join your faith with mine?

One Year Anniversary

It's hard for me to beleive that one year has passed since we started the childens home in India. I was talking with Sudheera yesterday and with excitement in her voice she reminded me of our success in one year. It is amazing what happens when you step out in faith. Sudheera had to take a step of faith. Her family told her that she was crazy to trust people she never met before in person. They told her that she would be embarrassed when she was left all alone and abandoned. Thats kinda the way our faith is in God. We have never seen him personally but yet we trust him that he will do what He has promised. Well, we started by sending an offering a month for rent, food, and other needs that the home had. Sudheera went out into the streets and collected some kids. Even the kids had to use faith as they were invited to come to a house where they could eat and sleep and go to school. Some kids didn't beleive and were left out. We now have bought property and construction has begun. First the exterior wall is going up then work will begin on the actual building. Here in the US a home for 5 could be built for about 100,000 dollars. In India we are building a home for 100 kids for the same price. Amazing! Thanks for your prayers and support, may Gods blessings continue to be outpoured upon this outreach and may many orphans know and recieve God's love in their lives.

Disciples of Who?

Jesus said in Matthew 28 to go into all the world and make disciples. This command had been taken from one extreme to another leaving many people confused as to what Jesus actually meant. You hear some people say that I am so and so's disciple. or so and so is my disciple. I suppose that there is some truth to what they are saying. Allow me to shed a little bit of light on what is being asked of us by our Lord. He is not asking me to make disciples of Patrick. Our challenge is to make disciples of Jesus. This understanding releases us from the pressure of making disciples of ourselves. What good is it to make a disciple of myself? I am not perfect. To teach a disciple to live and act a certain why would make me feel like a hypocrite because I know that I make mistakes. I don't always say or do the right thing. I get angry, am not the perfect husband, am not the perfect pastor. If my goal is to make disciples of Jesus, all I have to do is to point my friends to Jesus. We want to be like Jesus, our converts need to become like Jesus, our church members need to be like Jesus. As we train new beleivers we take them to the Word and show them Jesus who is the example that we all should follow. What am I suggesting here? Just preach Jesus, teach Jesus, point people to Jesus and He will work his purpose in their lives. Isn't it a joy to serve others?

Untouchable Loggers

Out in the forrest we found a group of men and women who were cutting trees. I've worked in the tree industry before and I was amazed at what I found here. As you can see in this picture they are using a hand saw to cut this tree. Not a chain saw, a hand saw. This is the only tool they use. I must admit that the saw was quite sharp but wondered what a fellow could do here if he owned a "chain saw"? The untouchables are the outcasts of society but I was very impressed with the attitud of these people. Very upbeat, no depression for feeling like they are being abused or mistreated. We in the west are so blessed.

 

Arranged Wedding

I had the privilege of witnessing how an arranged marriage works in a christian family in India. It was a normal Tuesday at the Ambati house when Raju the oldest son recieved a call from a friend. This friend said that he had a young man (36) studying his masters in divinity that was interested in marrying his sister (Hepsiba age 35). So a meeting was arranged that evening for the two to meet. As Raju was interogating the young man, Hepsiba could only serve drinks to the men. She could not speak to Joseph. The next day was quite tense to see if Joseph was still interested after seeing Hepsiba the previous night. He was up front to let the family know that he was poor and had nothing to offer her. Well, the response was affirmative. Hepsiba also agreed and plans started for the wedding. On Friday night of the same week the ceremony took place. The couple were forbidden to speak to each other only to respond to the minister as he tied the knot. Afterwards, word came to the family from Raju that the house had to be vacated for the honeymooners that night. The whole family slept on mats on the dirt floor of the church just up the street. I was asked to stay a few extra days to share at the reception the following Saturday. It was a joy for me to witness this strange event and also to see in the following days some affection and friendship be established between the two. India is a stange place with still ancient traditions and culture. The people though are so beautiful and in need of a saviour. One billion souls and the vast majority are lost without Christ. The prophet Isaiah wrote, Who will I send, who will go? and he reponded to the call, Here I am send me.

I'm Back!!

It seems like an eternity has passed since my last entry. Wow! how time flys! I'm still trying to get over "jet-lag" even though it doesn't seem to be as bad as previous trips. Also I'm dealing with a stomach thing, soon it will pass and I will be able to enjoy this wonderful south Texas food. OK, we were able to find an arquitect to help with the erection of our childrens home. It will have a capacity of 100 kids and also house some staff and have a guest room. We are excited about this project. The estimated cost will be around $100,000.00 (us) plus furnishings. Construction is pending on getting approval from some village elders and then will commence. We also had a great Encounter for pastors and leaders while there. There were about 80 in attendance and many were blessed and touched by God's love. I am excited about raising this money for the project. Funds have already started to come in. There is no better place to sow financial seen than into the lives of orphans and widows. Babu is eleven and wants to be a doctor. He is already doing algebra in school and has a very intelligent mind. Christi was left by her mother in a movie theater and was told to beg from people when she got hungry. All of these kids really love Jesus and are growing in Gods love. It really is a Joy to Serve Others.

Here we are doing a ground breaking ceremony by putting a Bible into the ground. It symbolizes building the childrens home upon the Word of God. This is Sudheera and her Father placing the bible in the ground.

Sitting somewhere in the Orient

We just got off our 12 hour ride from LA to Tiepei. We have a layover before going on to Singapore and then Chennai, India. Hard to sleep in the middle seat! Especially with my friend Pete roaring like an airplane engine next to me. Never the less at 5am here, whatever that means, I feel alert and awake. I suppose we are about half way there by now, the old Butt is on the sore side already. Will keep you posted, thanks for your prayers.

Off to India

Here we go to India. Friday morning I heard the report givin by Indian official warning Americans in India to lay low because of terrorists threats in the two largest city airports. The last time we landed in Mumbai, spent the night and flew on to Chennai. Mumbai is where the problem might occur on Augest 15th. This trip we are flying directly into Chennai and will miss completly the possible danger areas. It is amazing to see how God leads and directs. Pete and I will be doing an encounter there for about 50 people and we will start working on the childrens home. I want to thank everyone that has helped with donations for this project. This is a very worth while endeavor and we are pleased with the results that we are seen so far. I will be posting pics as the trip moves on. We leave Harlingen Sunday at about 3pm and arrive in Chennai Tuesday at 10pm. It's a long flight to the other side of the world. Isn't it a joy to serve others?

Crusade Update

There was more opposition in the preparation of this crusade that any others that we have done. The only large facility available was a large church called the Tabernacle, how many new people do you think would go to a place named that? Not many! The location was another problem being about 6 miles outside of town. For us who drive alot, this doesn't mean much but for people who use public transporation it could be a problem. Some churches refused to cooperate because of the event being in this particular place. But, God is good and He accomplished what He wanted to. There were about 1,700 people in attendance and each night people were born again. There were several testimonies of healing some could be considered miracles. It was great to see people get blessed by Gods presence and bondages leave. One lady was filled with visible tumors, the greatest blessing was to see her countenance change and joy come onto her face. Another lady was delivered from demons as she slithered on the floor like a snake. After it was all said and done, Jesus is Lord. I took a 3 hour ride to the Usumacinta River on the Guatamala border and there ministered to some pastors from my dads ministry. The day I was there three youth, 15,15,16 were murdered during the night. They were thought to be theives or gang members. Here are a couple of pics that you might enjoy seeing.

Palenque Crusade

Will keep you updated on the progress of the crusade. Starts Thursday ends Saturday, will be going to the jungle near the Guatamala border to meet pastors on Sunday. Return on Tuesday.