Sent off by the Blicks

We had a great time with the Blicks tonight.  Dinner and then a send off.  I have to say it was a true blessing to see them, spend time having fun and encouraging each other and then praying for us and sending us on.  There was a true sense that we stayed this extra day in Anchorage not just to be a tourist, but to see them.  

We leave tomorrow morning on the plane at 8:15 and arrive in Togiak at 11:30 am.  We are really eager to get there and meet our dear brothers and sisters in Jesus.  We continue to covet your prayers.  On a side note, I must say that Jim Gillete and Tim Smart are two of the finest men I could ever minister with.  I feel very privileged and blessed.

A day in Anchorage

What a blessing today was.  The three of us went south toward Portage Glacier and Wittier.  It is absolutely gorgeous up here.  God is sooo good in displaying His glory in His creation.  Truly "His righteousness is like the mighty mountains." 

The Word says in Isaiah 55:12  "You will go out with joy and be led forth with peace the mountains and hills will burst into song before you and all the trees of the fields will clap their hands... this will be for the Lord's renown, for an everlasting sign, which will not be destroyed. "

We prayed as we left this morning that the Lord would give us something special - even unexpected today.  Well, as we were having a cup of coffee at Starbuck's, Jim was talking about their mission trip to New York City and how Julie Blick taught him how to order at Starbuck's. Anyway, I told him to give her a call.  I thought they would be in airports today on their way home from Alaska.  As God would have it, they were on the other side of Anchorage and are flying out tonight.  We are having dinner with them in a few minutes.  How cool is that?  As PF continues our unintentional tag-team mission to Alaska this summer, we will have the opportunity to get tagged by the Blicks. 

God bless you all and thanks for praying.  We leave tomorrow morning for Togiak at 8:30 in the morning.

In Anchorage

Well, we made it!!!   Jim, Tim and I had good flights and made it no problem.  We got in at 9:30 pm Wednesday night.  We are 4 hours behind you.  We will be in Anchorage as a tourist today, so we are hoping to see some pretty cool stuff.  Our first stop will be at the Visitors Center and see what they suggest.  

One cool thing that happened today.  Jim brought his shofar along.  He took it as a carry on and as he was going through security in Buffalo they questioned him about it.  He told him it was a horn and they asked him how it worked.  So, right there in the airport Jim let 'er rip.  The guard smiled and off we went.  So, we feel the Lord sent us out with a blast of trumpet and the shout of victory.

Tomorrow (Friday) morning we jump aboard the little plains and head out to Togiak.  We are really excited about getting out there.  It seems that they are most excited about getting the camp started.  So, we get to join them in the pioneer process.  God bless you, thanks so much for praying and I will update this this evening.

Off to Alaska

We leave Wednesday morning for Togiak, Alaska. Many of you know Marian Hartley from Russell. She has been pastoring among the First Nations people up there for about 10 years now. She is truly a remarkable lady and we look forward to the privilege of walking alongside her and the great men and women in the church.

The focus of the trip will be very relational in nature as we look to continue to build a true bond with the people of the village and Praise Fellowship. They have become a sister church of ours. I believe there are some small building projects to work on. Jim and Tim are both contractors by trade. We will be spending much time with the people in the village. Friday night we meet with many young people and then of course, Sunday church and Wednesday fellowship.

One of the things we are really looking forward to is the "up river camp". Some of the people in their church have a vision to begin a camp for the kids in the village. They have been given land to use up river. Togiak is on Togiak Bay. We will cross the bay and head 10 miles up river to some virgin land. We will go there with the people with the vision. In the two days we spend there we will assist them in the beginning stages. Such as how they could use the land, where the camp could be, praying over the land, etc. I'm sure we will do a lot of clearing and probably building an outhouse.

FYI, Togiak is a village of about 800 residents and is located in the southwest part of AK. It's at approx. 59 degrees Latitute and 161 degrees Longitude.

Thanks so much for praying. I will keep you posted as often as I can.

Master the Basics

Sunday, Christopher Vengala spoke at PF.  What a great message he gave.  I hope you were able to hear it.  If not check it out on www.worshipplace.org    Anyways, he spoke on authentic christianity.  Wow!!  What a challenge for us all.  There were so many things that he said that were good, I'm not sure where to begin the recap.  So, I will just sum it up with one simple line.  He said, "Mastering the Basics is Christian Maturity."  I love that statement.  We often think that maturity means the deeper things or the flashy things.  Of course, those are fine, but they mean nothing if we do not pay attention to basic, authentic Christianity.

On another note, I will be leaving Wednesday morning along with Tim Smart and Jim Gillette.  We will be going to Togiak, Alaska to minister in that small village of Native Americans.  I will write another post about the itinerary, but I wanted to give you a heads up so you could be praying.  Also, I think I will be able to regularly update the blog while I am up there.

Never Give Up - Ever

As many of you know I am a huge New York Yankee fan. In fact I have been one since 1977 - So, this would be my 33rd season - wow that seems like a long time. Well I saw something last Friday night in the Yankee - Mets game that I have never seen before. The Yankees had just blown a lead and were down by one in the bottom of the ninth. Derek Jeter was on second and Mark Texiera was on first with Alex Rodriquez at bat with two outs. He popped up to the second baseman. A routine play that would end the game. But, amazingly he flat out dropped the ball. It just came right out of his glove. Both Jeter and Texiera scored and the Yankees won the game in most improbable fashion.

Here's what I want us to see. Mark Texiera who was on first base is a relatively slow runner. But he scored on this pop up. How did he do it? Even though the game was almost certainly over and lost, he took off running when A-Rod hit the ball. And, he didn't stop until he crossed the plate for the game-winning run. If you watch much professional baseball you know that on simple plays like that most players "dog it" and give up. But because Texiera didn't quit his team won.

Where are you in life right now? Does it seem like the "game is over"? Has your last hope just popped up? My friends, never give up!!! You never know when the improbable, even impossible will happen.

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." Galatians 6:9

Weekend Guest

Relax….it’s OK

By Brian Lindquist

Recently I watched my 2 youngest sons, Jon, 10 and Sam, 12, play basketball at a public court.  This was just a quick pickup game with 4 other kids from the neighborhood.  At the top of the hour chimes sounded out from the steeple of the church across the street followed by several patriotic songs played on the chimes. 

As I watched my guys play in the soft, beautiful light that comes as the sun starts or closes each day; with the Star Spangled Banner playing in the background it struck me how much this was just the essence of small town America.  Kids being kids, and a parent sitting watching them wondering what their future holds.  In our country we know that a kid can go from poor to rich, unknown to the leader of the free world.  This was a photo essay right out of National Geographic.

Now with an Administration and Congress in place that many of us worry will restrict our freedoms I am reminded of a book I’m reading that chronicles the collapse of the Soviet Union.  Most of us grew up assuming the Iron Curtain would always exist.  But depending on your scale of measuring time, it took from 3 years to just weeks for that Wall to fall.  The Communist leaders in the Soviet Union and their client states were completely astonished by the force of will in their enslaved peoples to be free. Again the time scale for these changes was amazing and in some cases the freedoms were won because the people acted so quickly their leaders couldn’t react swiftly enough to destroy the Freedom Fighters.

In our land we have known freedom way too long for people to step aside and surrender that precious commodity.  The Bible tells us that God appoints the Kings, that God has it all under control, that as long as we don’t lose the vision we won’t perish. (my paraphrase)

I’m sure all 3 of my boys will grow up in a land where freedom will still reign because if millions who were enslaved to the Communist system for 70 odd years can throw it off in a matter of months, we who have known freedom, have died for freedom, and have upheld it for hundreds of years will, if needed, make sure the Vision does not perish in our Nation.  If in no other way than being sure to pray for our leaders.

Oh, and my guys won by 2 points!!