We have a Ba………

Sorry is probably a theme today as we get caught up. There have been major issues with the internet and yesterday we have power issues. So what have we missed telling you? Hmmmm, I think I better make a list and try to comment later so I can be ready for VBS.

1) We got blessed by God with a 10-fold blessing for kids at VBS.
2) Completed small projects around the church and trying to solve an air conditioning issue.
3) Finished the 3 nights of Adult Bible study that went great
4) I have been meeting with some of the Elders here to discuss ways they can be missional and seek after children
5) Working on I introducing the children of the Boys and Girls Club of Roswell with senior citizens that have a desire to serve God and help with a major social issue
6) Help make dreams come true by taken 57 kids from the Boys and Girls Club to the Bottomless Lake for their first field trip all summer (think herding cats and loving ever second of it)
7) Seeing the Holy Spirit work in our team, some of the folks at Westminster, and the children

Oh man, I need to stop here right now because I need to run to Walgreens to get pictures printed off for the VBS frames. So I will leave you with some pictures.

Day #1 Through My Eyes

Today started with the fliers traveling from Albuquerque to Roswell. We had some difficulties with our flights departing on time. The first group of fliers left Saturday morning at 10:00am and were to arrive in Albuquerque at 7:35pm local time. The second group of fliers (the group I was in) were to leave Pittsburgh at 5:35pm and arrive in Albuquerque at 9:35pm local time. Well, my group landed first and by the time we got our cars and hit the road it was almost 11:00pm. We arrived in Roswell at Westminster Presbyterian before 2:00am.

The whole went to the morning worship with the Westminster congregation. Both Doug and I gave a minute for mission. We talked about our history in this mission field with this congregation. I pointed out that Alex was a youth in this church and has returned as a missionary from Grove City. Doug and I have a gift of a Wendell August Dogwood Cross for their church’s cross wall. We also told them how Chloe designed and hung the cross wall at North Liberty for her Gold Award.

Doug presented a praise with the help of some of the bus riders during a special time of praise during the service.

After the service the Westminster congregation hosted a “welcome” reception for our mission team. We had a great opportunity to talk to their members and share our experiences serving God in Roswell. After the reception it was off to the Hispanic Church lead by our friend Adam Soliz. Doug and I took a much larger role in the worship service. Doug lead the music and I gave a sermon.

I have shied away from writing and delivering sermons at North Liberty for many years now. So, writing again was a little bit of a challenge. I spoke today using Matthew 4:18-22. This is the account of Jesus calling His first disciples. So to not bore you readers the point was God calls in the midst of our daily lives. He only asks that we get-out-of-the-boat. Doug closed our time together with more praises offered in His name.

After our second worship we ate lunch and started transforming our host church into an amusement park for VBS. after several hours of working we had the great honor of eating dinner with Alex’s family. We had a traditional Filipino meal. To say it was great does not do justice to the great meal, fellowship, and setting.

We rushed back from dinner and hosted an adult Bible study where we studied Romans 12:1-2. By the end of our study we looked at how we can be a church that transforms our world.

Now, we are busy completing the decorations for VBS. Everyone is busy trying to make the first day of VBS a success.

So, this has been a very long day #1 through my eyes. But, I’m not tired. I’m energized because has called this group together for His purpose. I can sleep when I get home.

Final Countdown

We are in the final week and now we are busy doing those mundane things like washing and packing.  But God continues to put that excitement in our hearts as we anticipate meeting new children and families. sharing God’s word, worshiping and studying with the folks in Roswell.  We pray that the upcoming trips by road and air are uneventful.  We don’t want the devil interfering with our travel; so we can arrive in time for Sunday worship and preparation for Monday’s VBS.  We have been blessed by the generosity of many folks at North Liberty Presbyterian Church as we raised funds for this trip and even on Sunday the gifts continued with comments “use this for whatever you need”.  God’s blessing continue and as we prepare to leave we realize that He has allowed each of the team to answer that “call” and we can’t wait to see what He has in store for each of us.

God is Good

“All the time, God is good.” This is something we say some times in worship but not always realize that God is in fact good ALL the time.

In order to make our mission trip work to Roswell in July we needed to raise an additional $2000.00. Well, we did, by His grace the money was raised. Now we are planning the logistics of travel and He is good. We are finding better deals than we had three years ago!!

So yes, God is good…all the time God is good.