Gone Global

2007-08-17T16:24:00.000-05:00

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2007-08-16T11:50:00.000-05:00

Earthquake Update #4

We just had yet another aftershock. They are so frightening.

No new news from our churches since the last update. Once all our churches have been confirmed safe, our National Leadership will determine how we can best offer assistance.

The US Geological Survey has re-evaluated the quake as an 8.0 o the scale.

Below is an article from www.reliefweb.int that sums up the current situation well:

SITUATION

1. At 11:40:58 PM (Greenwich time) 6:34:56 PM local time, an earthquake measuring 7.9 degrees in the Richter scale struck in the Department of Ica. The epicenter was 25 miles (61 kilometers) westnorthwest of Chincha Alta, Peru, and 90 miles (161 kilometers) south-southeast of Lima, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The epicenter was 30.2 km depth (18.8 miles). The town nearest to the epicentre is Chincha Alta.

2. Several aftershocks have been registered and continue. The effects were also strongly felt in the capital, Lima.

3. According to preliminary reports, the numbers of reported dead and injured have been increasing, with the latest reports of 450 killed and 1,000 injured according to the Peruvian Civil Defence System - Instituto Nacional de Defensa Civil -Civil Defense Agency - INDECI).

4. Electricity and communications have been cut off in several regions rendering searches and assessments difficult.

5. The earthquake caused buildings to shake and hundreds of people to run out into the streets after. There are unofficial reports of damages in the provinces of Ica, Chincha, Canete, and Pisco. The INDECI reports that 337 houses collapsed, 2 hotels destroyed, and 2 health centres affected (preliminary assessment). Reports also refer to some damage to the historic centre of Lima

6. All flights from the international airport in Lima have been temporarily suspended.

7. As a preventative measure, a tsunami warning was issued for Chile, Colombia Ecuador and Peru by the Hawaii Institute of Geophysics

NATIONAL RESPONSE

8. The Peruvian Government has declared the state of emergency in the Department of Ica and Cañete province. The President of Peru made in a statement confirmed that all national authorities were on high alert to respond to the situation and that all health services and centres must be on red alert, requesting all doctors to make themselves available and for all services to be free of charge for those who may need it

9. INDECI is currently setting up a situation room to respond to the emergency. An INDECI Assessment Team has been deployed to the provinces of Ica and Chincha. An aerial assessment is planned for August 16.

10. A local team of 40 firemen with USAR capabilities is being deployed to Ica. The Ministry of Health has deployed medical teams to the Ica Department in support to the local hospitals.

INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE

11. The Resident Coordinator’s Office in Lima has activated an Emergency Operations Centre and is holding a meeting of the UN Disaster Management Team.

12. The UN is in close contact with the Government of Peru and has offered support and assistance, including possibly an UN Disaster assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) Team and the mobilization of Search and Rescue Teams. The UNDMT is awaiting feedback from the Government.

13. Emergency cash grants were released by UNDP (USD 100,000) and OCHA (USD 100,000)

14. The Peruvian Red Cross (PRC) has mobilised a National Intervention Team to the region of the epicentre to assess needs and damages caused to infrastructure. The Regional Representation of the IFRC in Lima is directly supporting the PRC, and both are closely coordinating with INDECI, OCHA and Partner National Societies. IFRC already had staff in the country working on a response to the cold wave, who are being re-allocated temporarily to provide response support.

15. Funds from the IFRC's Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) are being made available to support the response if needed.

16. The Pan American Disaster Response Unit (PADRU) in Panama is on standby to send tents, blankets, jerry cans and other provisions by plane if needs are confirmed.

17. The Chilean and Colombian Red Cross have offered their support to the National Society in Peru if needed.

18. Spain has also offered assistance and sent a rescue team of 15 rescuers and four sniffer dogs.

19. Oxfam deployed a team to Pisco and Chincha to assess most urgent needs of the affected population.

20. OCHA continues to closely monitor the situation, including through the Regional Office in Panama, and remains in contact, with the Resident Coordinator and will provide further updates on the situation.

21. This situation report together with further information on ongoing emergencies is also available on the OSOCC Internet Website http://www.unocha.org/vosocc and on the OCHA Internet Website http://www.reliefweb.int/.

2007-08-16T09:26:00.000-05:00

Earthquake Update #3

(From Jarvis Ferguson)

From updating news, the earthquake was about 7.9 with epicenter south of Lima about 95 miles. As of the moment, we've had about 10 afterquakes that have measured about 5.0 on the scale. As to the city of Lima where we live, there is little damage except for a few adobe walls and buildings.

The zone affected to our south which includes the cities of Pisco, Chincha and surrounding villages has been heavily damaged, up to 70% destoyed, including hospitals. The main highway to the zone, The Panamericana, has been heavily damaged as well, so it is difficult to get aid to the area at this moment. Hundreds of deaths and injuries are being reported and updated.

The Wesleyan Church, which started in northern Peru 103 years ago, as yet does not have congregations in the area, although family members do live in the area.

I recently heard via telephone from our National Superintendent, Godofredo Mezones, who lives in the north. We are trying to communicate with our other pastors to see how their congregations in Lima and the mountains nearby are doing. Once communication is established, they will be looking at how the church can best respond.

For those in Texas and Louisiana, Kayleen Rosenquist, who is ministering in the Amazon, called this morning from Tamshiyacu to see how we are and to let us know she is OK.

Our pastors in Cusco, Jose and Cecil de Ita, are also doing well there. They felt the movement, but experienced no damage.

*Also, keep Dena in prayer, she is running a high fever this morning.

2007-08-16T07:09:00.000-05:00

Earthquake Update #2

As most know from our communications last night or the news this morning, Peru was hit by it's strongest earthquake in 30 years, last night.

The 7.9 magnitude quake hit shortly after supper time and currently appears to have killed hundreds and injured thousands. Thousands of people are homeless outside of Lima and families still trying to communicate with their loved ones. Many slept in parks, public squares and their cars in fear of aftershocks last night, a decision that, with the current winter temperatures may heighten the death toll.

Again, we are fine. We felt the quake very strongly. I was upstairs with Shaylee ad Dena was downstairs feeding Micaiah. We grabbed the kids and got into doorway where we rode out the almost 2 minutes of shaking.

We will do our best to keep our friends and supporters updated as well as post any relevant information regarding if and how the North American Church, and idividuals, can participate in relief efforts.

We will be contacting our National Superintendent for the Wesleyan Church this morning in prayer that our churches and members are safe.

Elliott

2007-08-15T19:36:00.000-05:00

Earthquake Update

As you may have seen on the news, Peru has been hit a magnitude 7.5 earthquake. We are all fine, if not slightly shaken (pardon the ill timed pun). There appears to be no damage to our house or neighboring buildings and we have received word that our mentors, Jarvis and Sue are safe and sound.

Please keep Peru in prayer as the nation recovers.

Sincerely,
Elliott, Dena, Micaiah and Shaylee Innes

2007-08-10T09:00:00.001-05:00

New Fish Bowl Devotional Available
Click Here

2007-08-09T12:22:00.000-05:00

Ok mom, here are your pictures.

2007-08-06T09:39:00.000-05:00

Here Fishy, Fishy, Fishy

Matthew 5:14-16

I went to college in Atlantic Canada where the people are french and the winters are hard. I think it’s for this reason (the cold thing, not the french thing) that my Bible College had “the fish bowl”.

The fish bowl was basically a breezeway that was built onto the front of the girls dorm to (presumably) protect the ladies from the wind and snow as they were getting their keys out.

It’s true purpose though, was as a location to meet, talk and after a nice dinner at one of the 3 retaraunts in town (McDonalds, KFC or Tim Hortons), to stand in and whisper sweet nothings.

Many first kisses, I love you’s, heartfelt admiration, bitter fights and disagreements, ugly breakups and even proposals have happened in the fish bowl.

However, it was just that. A fishbowl. It is a room enclosed by 4 glass walls. Whatever happens in the confines of the fishbowl are 100% public. Every first kiss and breakup are available for the entire campus to be a part of. In the fishbowl you work on your relationship knowing that at any moment the eyes of 230 people could be staring at your intimate moment, or even walk right into the fishbowl and stop whatever it is that has begun.

I don’t think we’re ever suppose to leave the fishbowl. At college we chose when we would go and stand in the fishbowl. At the time we may not have felt we had much choice because it seemed there was nowhere else to go, but the truth is, we chose that to be the place for first kisses and last words. We chose when we would allow others to see the intimate times of our relationship.

In our journey with Christ, we don’t have that choice. The Bible is pretty clear that we live in a fishbowl, that every aspect about our faith is open for the world to observe, poke and probe.

If we are truly a city on a hill, our faith will not be a drunk in an alley. It will be open for examination and not hidden, profoundly private. The world will see whether or not we are being real with our creator and ourselves or if we are just faking it and have a surface level, “Jesus love me, this I know” sort of faith.

Throughout many Latin American countries, governments have come to the slums and poverty stricken neighbourhoods, especially on the coasts, heralding a love for the poor and offered to paint their houses bright colors of blues, greens, reds and pinks.

The result has been simple, tourists coming in on cruise ships now look at the mountains surrounding the cities and take picture, gawking at how pretty all those small, colorful houses look. But if the tourist would think for a moment, and even take a moment to approach these “cities on the hill”, they would find that the children in those homes are still hungry, the fathers still come home in alcohol induced fits of rage and the water is not safe to drink. All that happens to these “cities” has been an external facelift.

In the fishbowl, a facelift faith isn’t going to work. In the fishbowl, the world will be able to witness our most intimate moments with God. They will see when we struggle with questions or triumph in victory. And at any moment another follower is able to walk into the picture and come alongside us, already knowing how we need their help, because they’ve seen us in the fishbowl, they’ve seen our pain and our joy.

The fishbowl is not a bad place. It’s by watching us struggle and triumph that the world will see that this faith is more than just following ancient, dead words, but it is alive and changing people, and in the end “they will give honor to God” (2 Pet. 2:12).

These “Fishbowl Devotions” are my questions and studies, open to the world to question and comment and grow me in my faith.

I couldn't resist:

2007-07-31T08:32:00.000-05:00

Mac Programs I Love

I must admit, I'm a Mac. I was a PC, but when my 2 yr old PC bit the dust last October, I opted for a Macbook. My logic was the insane reliability of their hardware and I decided I would get Mac with an Intel chip and run Windows.

It took me a few months to get my hands on a copy of Windows XP to install on the Mac and by then, I didn't want to. Mac had won me over.

So here, for my Mac lovin' friends, is a list of Mac Programs I love:

ieatbrainz: Compares the acoustical signature of your itunes library with that of an online database and gives you the correct song name, album, artist and composer. Great for getting rid of typos or problems like your computer listing "Dave Matthews Band" and "Dave Matthew's Band" as two different artists.
iPhoto Buddy: Creates multiple iPhoto libraries so that your pics don't get so cluttered. At one point I had about 3,000 pictures in one library and it would take almost 3 minutes to open the program. With iPhoto buddy, I have separated my pics into 4 different libraries and they open as a snap.
Quicksilver: I have not quite been evangelized to all of the glory of quicksilver, but to be able to open programs, folders and files in less time than it would take me to say "spotlight" is a time saver.
Audio Hijack Pro: One of the few programs on this list that you have to pay for, it takes my one complaint about my Macbook and throws it out the window. The speakers on the Macbook are awkwardly placed and very quiet. Audio Hijack allows me to crank the volume higher than the system would normally. This is a life saver when trying to watch a movie without headphones or external speakers attached.
Gmail notifier: A simple program, but it was the deal breaker to get me to switch to Gmail. Let's me know when I get a new email (and also when my gCal has new appointments coming up).
VLC: A media player that plays almost any format.
Skype: I love Macs built in video chat program iChat, and as far as I know, so do the other 3 people on the planet that use it. So because of a lack of users, I am forced to use another program to communicate, via video with the outside world (ie: grandparents). Skype is easy to use, has decent video and audio quality and has also been a huge help when I have been traveling with my Mac and gotten stuck in airports overnight. For pennies, you can use Skype to call land line phones from your computer.
Adium: I have friends that use almost any Instant Messaging program imaginable: GoogleTalk, MSN Messenger, Yahoo Messenger, AOL Instant Messenger, and so on. Adium let's me have all of those contacts, and communicate with all of them in one program. I just long for the day the add Skype and video support.
Facebook Sync: Just what it sounds like. Merges your Facebook friends and their contact info such as email, address, etc. into your Mac's address book. Great program to use, especially when people won't reply to your Plaxo request ;). This program is very much a BETA program. It works, but it is not pretty.
iWork: I am slowly moving from Microsoft Office to Mac's own iWork programs for my word processing and presentation needs. The end result from these programs look slicker and more professional. The presentation software, Keynote, puts PowerPoint to shame on many levels. But true assimilation cannot take place until they come out with a spreadsheet program to replace Excel. Come and come quickly!

What are your Mac programs you love?

2007-07-30T06:14:00.001-05:00

Babies, In-Laws and Youth... Oh My!

It's a quarter after six in the morning and Shaylee has been fussing since 4am so I thought I would go ahead, make some coffee and sit in my office with her until she decides to head back to sleep. At least this way Dena can get some sleep.

Things have been busy here the last couple of weeks:

New babies are a lot of work

I am so thankful for this amazing little pack of joy that God has given us. we had been concerned before the birth thinking, "Wow, 2 kids... this is going to be hard work." And guess what? It is! But we are handling it well thanks to a lot of prayers, Dena's mom's non-stop help and the fact that both are children are young enough that they won't remember how stupid we were as we tried to figure out how to do this 4-person family thing.

I have preached the last 2 weeks

This has been a blessing as I love to preach, but on the same token it's being a trying time because 1. I've been trying to do it and make sure I still get to spend adequate time with all members of my family (something more difficult now than last month) and 2. Even though I have ended up preaching with a translator both times, it's different to write a sermon and have to have a non-native english speaker in mind. It's amazing how many idioms and phrases don't translate, and even after I thought I had edited it pretty good, my translators would often stop me during our run through and say, "What does that mean."
On a side note, I preached in english the first time on purpose, the second time I tried to write my message in Spanish but at 8:30pm, Saturday night, my friend and I realized that we'd be working into the wee hours of Sunday morning if we continued trying to correct it... instead we just opted to have me preach it in English with translation at the Church.

We are making major changes in the youth ministries we are involved in (logos at the top of the post are the logos for the 2 groups)

Dena is taking somewhat of a "maternity leave" from the youth groups in general, but has actually managed to sit in on some of the meetings we have had over the last week as we (youth leaders of both groups, senior pastor, Dena and I) are making some pretty big changes to the way the youth ministry at our local church operates. After being here 6 months, it appeared to Dena and I that part of what was lacking in the groups were commitment. If something "better" showed itself at the last minute, the youth had no problem ditching the youth meeting to do that. For that reason we are going to be working with the core members of each group developing "student leaders" (I use the term "student" loosely as some of our youth are actually professional Dr's or Architects due to the Latin view of "Youth"). The overall leadership for the group will be broken down into two "teams" the "Leadership Team", which will be those that have been appointed by the church to lead the group and will be available for teaching as well as to provide oversight, vision, counsel and discipleship to the "student leaders"; and the "Direction Team", which is just that, a team of 5 youth (plus 1 for ever 5 new members as the ministry grows) and 1 member of the Leadership Team, that will basically do just as the name states, give direction to the group. This team will determine, through the guidance of the LT and Holy Spirit, the purpose, values and form that the ministry will follow. They will decide on schedules, speakers, special events, decor and ambiance, flow of the youth service/meeting as well as outreach and other ministries which the youth will be a part of.
Our goal is twofold. 1. To develop our youth into leaders that will be able to guide the church in the years to come, and 2. To encourage the youth to realize that they do not have to wait for the "years to come" in order to serve Christ and His church.

Visit from the Mother-in-Law

First let me say, if you have any good mother-in-law jokes, I would LOVE to have them. Secondly, it has been awesome having my mil, Lydia here these last couple of weeks. Dena and I actually sit in bed at night talking about, "How will we do this when she leaves?" She has been a life saver these last couple of weeks as I have been couped u in the office so much writing sermons or working on the youth changes. THANKS MOM!

Shaylee's dedication

We had Shaylee dedicated at church yesterday. It was a beautiful time and a thrill t be able to do it with Grandma here. Pics soon!

This week seems a little calmer and I am hoping that tomorrow we can take mom to the coast and eat at "Mangos" (maybe just my favorite restaurant of all time) and then some other time in the week I will hopefully find time to head over to our mentors house and hang out withj their son Joel and play some "Guitar Hero".

Oh, and see new pics below.

2007-07-25T16:08:00.001-05:00

TEV (The Elliott Version)

I have decided to use Psalm 96 as a text for this Sunday and after spending most of my day today reading and re-reading it, as well as reading others opinions and thoughts, I have come up with the following paraphrase (You can read it in the NIV here):

Paraphrase of Psalm 96:

Oh, that everybody would sing! Sing, anew! Sing in honor of Him!
Oh, that they would never stop worshiping him for delivering them from what was old and dead!

Go and tell about his glory, where He has not yet been glorified!
Go and share the incredible truth of Him, because he is awesome and deserves every bit of praise that we can muster, because he deserves our respect and holy fear.

Go because everything to which the world has attributed value is trash, because the One who created the heavens stands with splendor and majesty. Strength and magnificence surround Him.

All families of creation, lay upon Him all the magnificence and power that he deserves!
All families of creation, offer your lives to Him! Come and worship Him in all His beauty.

Now you, go and tell about His sovereignty to the ends of the earth.
Tell of the Kingdom that is eternal, never changing, tell of the King that rules with integrity.

Let all of creation, from the sea to the sky, once again praise Him as they were meant to.

Let everything worship as He returns to restore everything with fairness and truth.

2007-07-24T18:55:00.000-05:00

Sermon Prep

I'm preaching on missions again this Sunday to wrap up our local church's Month o' Missions. I'm not expecting a lot of people because it's the 29th of July, which is the day after the 28th, which is independence day here in Peru, so it'll be like having church on the July 4th weekend. A lot of families will be traveling.

That said, I want to take a fairly infomral approach and maybe just answer some general questions about missions.

I don't make random grabs for comments often, but today I am. Help me write my sermon.

What questions do you have about missions? Anything goes from raising support to biblical foundations thereof. Fire away and I'll be sure to post the final product when I am done.

Thanks,
Ell

2007-07-23T07:02:00.000-05:00

The sermon went well yesterday. The funniest thing being that my translator and I looked like we had gone shopping for corresponding outfits but hadn't eve talked about what we'd be wearing.

I'm just getting ready to head out to a breakfast meeting with some folks who are taking over an english speaking youth ministry at the "Union International Church" here in Lima. It's a non-denom church for expats.

They asked if I would help with their ministry and I explained I could not commit on a regular basis but would be happy to help them with special events, etc. This morning is sort of a brain storming session on thier fall (for us, spring) activities, and to give the youth leaders some basic pointers as they are new to ym (haha... fresh meat ;) )

Anyway, Mom has been asking me if my camera is broken so here are some new pics.

2007-07-21T15:49:00.000-05:00

*below is my manuscript from a message I will be sharing tomorrow to wrap up our local church's mission month. Please keep me and my translator in prayer as we share this word. The scripture is in Spanish so you'll have to find the verses on your own (biblegateway.com). And please not that I correct grammar on the fly, not in my manuscripts.

Abram Today

He is recognized among the most significant men in history by 3 of the world’s largest religions.

In the Jewish scriptures, our “Old Testament”, he is mentioned 40 times.

In the Islamic holy book, the Koran he is only behind the prophet Muhammad in importance.

In the Christian New Testament, he is referred to 75 times. Paul used him as the finest example of a man who is justified before God by faith apart from works (Romans 4). James referred to him as a man who demonstrated his faith to men by his works (James 2:21-23). The writer to the Hebrews pointed to him as an illustration of a man who walked by faith, devoting more space to him than any other individual in chapter eleven (Hebrews 11:8-19).

This man was Abraham. And understanding his calling from God, the covenant that he made with the Creator and the faith that it took is key in understanding the Bible as a whole and living our lives as people who truly desire to see God’s plans come to pass in this world.

I wish we had enough time to really examine every aspect of the life of Abraham, but unfortunately we don’t, so this morning, let’s focus in on the covenant, or agreement that was made between God and Abraham, actually called Abram at this point, and the events surrounding that.

We’ll be starting in Genesis 12.

This here is one of the key passages in all of scripture, without which we have an incomplete picture of God and his relation to us, his creation. It is the thread that ties the rest of the Old Testament together and also a prime passage showing the global nature of God’s ultimate plan of salvation.

Let’s read this together

1 El Señor le dijo a Abram: «Deja tu tierra, tus parientes y la casa de tu padre, y vete a la tierra que te mostraré.

2 »Haré de ti una nación grande,
y te bendeciré;
haré famoso tu *nombre,
y serás una bendición.
3 Bendeciré a los que te bendigan
y maldeciré a los que te maldigan;
¡por medio de ti serán bendecidas
todas las familias de la tierra!»
4 Abram partió, tal como el Señor se lo había ordenado, y Lot se fue con él. Abram tenía setenta y cinco años cuando salió de Jarán. 5 Al encaminarse hacia la tierra de Canaán, Abram se llevó a su esposa Saray, a su sobrino Lot, a toda la gente que habían adquirido en Jarán, y todos los bienes que habían acumulado. Cuando llegaron a Canaán,6 Abram atravesó toda esa región hasta llegar a Siquén, donde se encuentra la encina sagrada de Moré. En aquella época, los cananeos vivían en esa región.7 Allí el Señor se le apareció a Abram y le dijo: «Yo le daré esta tierra a tu descendencia.» Entonces Abram erigió un altar al Señor, porque se le había aparecido.

Now, Abram was living the dream life. He had plenty of money, tons of possessions, people who waited on him and served him, a loving wife and a great job as the owner of a large number of livestock. Not only was Abram rich, with lots of things and people who worked for him, but he lived in Ur, a great city. It was a wealthy city, known for its craftsmanship, technology and science. It was the New York City of Abram’s day.

But something interrupts his dream life. Something happens that cannot be ignored. God speaks. In v.1 we see God says to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you.”

Now, I want you to consider how Abram probably felt about this. He’d worked his whole life to build the life he now had. He was in his 70’s and had worked hard to get to where he was. He had his stuff, his staff, his wife and his city. He was comfortable. And now he had to make a choice, and it is the same choice that we as individuals and as a church have to make today.

Will we be obedient and go where God has prepared for us to go? Or would we rather be comfortable, and stay put, accepting where we are in our lives as sufficient?

The truth is friends, when we are obedient to God, we will not be comfortable.

Just like Abram and Sarah, when walking in obedience, we most likely will not know what comes next.

They knew Ur. They liked Ur. They had friends in Ur. They had family in Ur. Leaving, or going rather, meant more than just setting up their home in another place. It meant sacrifice, and sacrifice is never comfortable. It meant turning their backs on their families and friends. It meant having to deal with the criticism they received when their family asked, “Where will you go?” and only being able to respond, “Well, we’re not sure, but God said he’d show us.”

It meant not knowing whether or not they would have enough supplies to feed their servants and animals after they left Ur and while they were waiting for God to show them where they were going.

But we don’t like not knowing what will happen next. We go to conferences and received a minute by minute detail about what will be happening and at what time. When we’re watching TV we even get little reminders throughout the commercials about what show is “up next”.

But when we are obedient to God, we will most likely not know what is next. We won’t know how things will happen in our lives, or in the life of our church, we just have to trust, we just have to have faith that it will happen.

Jesus himself didn’t know what would happen from one day to the next in his ministry. In Luke 9:57-62 Jesus is explaining this very thing to the people who want to follow him. And note, he does not explain what great happiness waits for them if they follow him. He doesn’t tell them about fame, wealth or liberation from political powers, instead he tells them that it’s going to be rough.

57 Iban por el camino cuando alguien le dijo:

—Te seguiré a dondequiera que vayas.
58 —Las zorras tienen madrigueras y las aves tienen nidos —le respondió Jesús—, pero el Hijo del hombre no tiene dónde recostar la cabeza.
59 A otro le dijo:

—Sígueme.

—Señor —le contestó—, primero déjame ir a enterrar a mi padre.
60 —Deja que los muertos entierren a sus propios muertos, pero tú ve y proclama el reino de Dios —le replicó Jesús.
61 Otro afirmó:

—Te seguiré, Señor; pero primero déjame despedirme de mi familia.
62 Jesús le respondió:

—Nadie que mire atrás después de poner la mano en el arado es apto para el reino de Dios.

In other words, “Being obedient to my call means you will not be comfortable, you have to sacrifice everything that you have and know and live a life where you may not even know where you will sleep one night to the next.”

Will we be obedient and go where God has prepared for us to go? Or would we rather be comfortable?

This month, we, both as individuals and as a church, have been challenged. We have been brought face to face with the call of God for all of us, personally and corporately, to be involved in missions in one way or another.

Friends, our obedience here will not be easy. It will come at a price. We may not know how will work things out financially or with whatever resources God is asking us to provide in missions, but if we are to be obedient, we cannot be concerned with the how of things. We cannot be concerned with being comfortable or knowing how we will do what God is asking us to do.

We must simply be ready and willing to obediently sacrifice the things we are being asked to give up for the sake of answering God’s voice.

But this is not the only thing that characterizes obedience.

We must also be willing to recognize something else about obedience. Just as it was with Abram, when we are obedient, we may never see the fruit of our obedience.

V. 2 says:
"I will make you into a great nation
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.

In Chapter 15 God clarifies, telling the childless Abram, "Look up at the heavens and count the stars—if indeed you can count them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be."
And then clarifies the geographical boundaries regarding the land that he would give to Abram in v. 18, explaining the vast amount of property he would posses.

Some 70 years later, Now called Abraham, he stood on the edge of the land that God had promised him. He had acquired some of it, but not all. Even when his wife died, he was forced to pay for a plot of land to bury her. Hardly the “Great Nation” that God had promised.

I can just imagine the temptation Abraham must have faced at the end of his life to look backand see God’s promises as empty words.

“I’ve been obedient and this is what I have. I have wandered in the desert a good portion of my life, and own a small fraction the lands that God promised me. I have two sons after God has promised me more children than there are stars in the sky. If this is what obedience brings, why bother?”

And I think that we as Christians also look at where we are in the midst of our journey and think, “If this is obedience, why bother?” We look at the plight of AIDS in Africa, or the persecuted church in China, or child trafficking in southeast Asia and think, if after 2,000 years of Christianity being present on this earth and after 2,000 years of at least some people being obedient to Christ, this has been the result, why bother?”

Because eventually, Abraham’s descendants were more numerous than sand on the beach. Because eventually those descendants did occupy the land that God had promised Abraham, because eventually the greatest blessing the nations have ever known, came through his descendants in the form of Jesus Christ.

Abram’s obedience paid off. No, Abram never did see the full effects of his obedience in his lifetime, but in the end, the world is different, in the end the world has the opportunity to live a reunited and resurrected life with God, because of one man’s obedience.

We live in a consumer driven world. Constantly we are seeing more “free trade agreements” popping up, more consumer products coming into the market, more services being offered. The bottom line is we live in a world that wants to see an immediate return on our investments. When we buy something, we want to see the product now. We get indignant if we have to wait. That’s why this idea may be hard for us to grasp.

When we are obedient to God’s calling on our lives, whether it be in missions, in other forms of ministry, or even in our jobs or family lives, we cannot expect to immediately see the effects.

This is why it is so hard for a church to put missions as a priority. When we invest our time, money and resources into ministry in our own neighborhood, we see the immediate results. More children come to our programs, youth ministries become popular among students and young adults, more people come on a Sunday Morning. We see people’s lives changing as they begin their journey with the Lord. I am in no saying that any of that is bad, I’m simply saying that we have to be willing to give up the need to physically see the results if we are to be obedient.

When we support missions, we may never see those who benefit from our support until we meet them one day in Heaven. When we step out in faith and put missions as a priority, we must trust that the work being done is making a difference in the lives of those around us, even when we don’t see it.

Almost two weeks ago my son, Micaiah’s, life had a huge change. You see from the first day he arrived he has been the center of our universe. Everything revolved around him from when we got up in the morning, to when we ate our meals, to when we had to be home from visiting friends to how late we could be out at church events.

Then, came Shaylee. Now he is coming to realize that he has to share the spotlight with someone else. He is having to realize that this life is not just about him and his wants, but there are other people to consider.

You know. When we walk in obedience with God, this is something else that happens. Just like Micaiah, we come to realize that, unlike what we have though, our life, is not about us. We don’t exist for us to simply get ahead, or make money, or be happy. When we are obedient to God we realize that we actually are here for the opposite reason, to help others to get ahead, to help others live their life to their fullest potential, so that they too can then help others to live to their potential, and that is how the cycle works.

This was true in Abram’s life because When we are obedient the focus is taken off of ourselves and put onto others.

God had said in v. 2 and 3 that he would make Abram into a great nation, make his name great and bless him as a result of his obedience, but then he gave his reason. He explained that he would do all this so that “all the peoples of the earth will be blessed through you.”

It’s not about you. It’s not about us. We should not be obedient to God’s call on us to be involved in missions simply because of what we may get for it.

I have heard many people encourage churches to support missions by explaining, “I know of a church that never had any money and only 20 people coming a week to it, but when they started giving to missions they grew to 1,000 and now have more money than thy know what to do with.”

Now please understand, I do believe that when we are obedient, God will bless us. I believe that because I have experienced that in my own life. BUT, that blessing should not, and cannot be what drives us or motivates us to obedience.

Such blessing only occurs so that the greater blessing, that of blessing all the people of the earth, will grow.

Allow me to illustrate this from the gospels. In Matthew 25 Jesus illustrates blessing like this:

14 »El reino de los cielos es como un hombre que, yéndose lejos, llamó a sus siervos[e] y les entregó sus bienes.

15 A uno dio cinco talentos,[f] a otro dos y a otro uno, a cada uno conforme a su capacidad; y luego se fue lejos.

16 El que recibió cinco talentos fue y negoció con ellos, y ganó otros cinco talentos.

17 Asimismo el que recibió dos, ganó también otros dos.

18 Pero el que recibió uno hizo un hoyo en la tierra y escondió el dinero de su señor.

19 »Después de mucho tiempo regresó el señor de aquellos siervos y arregló cuentas con ellos.

20 Se acercó el que había recibido cinco talentos y trajo otros cinco talentos, diciendo: "Señor, cinco talentos me entregaste; aquí tienes, he ganado otros cinco talentos sobre ellos".

21 Su señor le dijo: "Bien, buen siervo y fiel; sobre poco has sido fiel, sobre mucho te pondré.[g] Entra en el gozo de tu señor".

22 Se acercó también el que había recibido dos talentos y dijo: "Señor, dos talentos me entregaste; aquí tienes, he ganado otros dos talentos sobre ellos".

23 Su señor le dijo: "Bien, buen siervo y fiel; sobre poco has sido fiel, sobre mucho te pondré. Entra en el gozo de tu señor".

24 Pero acercándose también el que había recibido un talento, dijo: "Señor, te conocía que eres hombre duro, que siegas donde no sembraste y recoges donde no esparciste;

25 por lo cual tuve miedo, y fui y escondí tu talento en la tierra; aquí tienes lo que es tuyo".

26 Respondiendo su señor, le dijo: "Siervo malo y negligente, sabías que siego donde no sembré y que recojo donde no esparcí.

27 Por tanto, debías haber dado mi dinero a los banqueros y, al venir yo, hubiera recibido lo que es mío con los intereses.

28 Quitadle, pues, el talento y dadlo al que tiene diez talentos,

29 porque al que tiene, le será dado y tendrá más; y al que no tiene, aun lo que tiene le será quitado.[h]

30 Y al siervo inútil echadlo en las tinieblas de afuera; allí será el lloro y el crujir de dientes".[i]

Every blessing that we have comes from God. James says in James 1:17: “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights,”

Just as the man who had doubled the number of talents he had received, was then given charge over even more, Abram was blessed with a great nation and much more so that he could in turn use those blessings to bless others.

As I said, when we are obedient, we will be blessed, but not as a form of reward.

I have a dog. Some of you have met her, and if you have, I apologize. She is a huge, crazy ball of energy that lives her little life by her own rules. But when she does something right, I try to always have a small dog treat or snack in my pocket to give her. I reward her obedience because it ensures more obedience in the future.

This is not why God blesses us. We are not his dogs, we are his children. We are blessed in our lives with money, friends, jobs, family or whatever resources we have so that we can in turn be a blessing to other people. When we are obedient to God in our lives, we will be blessed even more, but that is simply so we can turn around and be an even bigger blessing on those around us and those around the world.

If you look back at this parable of Jesus, you’ll notice something. The owner did give the servants the talents. He did not say, here, what was my money is now yours to invest and use. No, he entrusts his money to his servants, in essence he loans out what is his so that what he has can grow.

That is also the case with God. These blessings that Abram received, these blessings that we have, the blessings that we as a church have, are not our blessings. At best, they are on loan from God.

Anyone who says, “I don’t have enough money to support missions.” Is not understanding the concept of blessing. We don’t have any money, it all belongs to God, he has just chosen to entrust us with some of it, in hopes that we make wise decisions with it.

And of course we also have the ultimate blessing. You see, we have Christ, a descendant of Abram himself, has come, died on the cross and was resurrected so that we may have a relationship, a friendship with the creator of the universe, so that we can experience this restoration that is promised to us throughout the Bible.

But even this blessing cannot stop at us. It cannot stop at our salvation, our relationship, our restoration. We must now take this blessing and in turn bless every family on the earth, every nation by taking to them the amazing truth of Jesus Christ and what he has done for them. We must bless the nations by bringing to them the same restoration that has been brought to our lives, and to our church.

So again, we have a choice. It’s comfortable to focus on us. It doesn’t take nearly as much energy and whatever we do have we can use for our own desires. But when we are obedient to God, the comfort fades, as does the focus on ourselves. The blessings will no doubt abound, but not for us, not for our happiness or for us to use to get ahead. We will be blessed so that as a result all of the nations of the world will be blessed.

When we are obedient, we may not be comfortable, we may never see the full effect of our obedience, and we will no longer be focused on our selves.

But here is the most basic principle. Unfortunately, it’s often overlooked. When we are obedient, we will never be just standing still.

V. 4 begins with a few short words that truly prove that Abram was obedient to God. “So Abram left, as the Lord had told him.” “Abram partió, tal como el Señor se lo había ordenado”
Obedience does not happen when you receive a call from God. Obedience does not happen when we let those around us know that we plan on being obedient and following the plan or call that God has given us. Obedience does not happen when we have a mission conference and have preachers talk about missions for an entire month. Obedience happens when we take action.

Obedience happens when, instead of simply talking about all the great things that could be done in Africa, or China, or Australia, we refuse to simply sit back and be comfortable and actually hand over the money it will take to get things done.

Obedience happens when instead of simply saying you will pray for missions on a daily basis, you get serious about setting aside a time each and every day to actually go to battle and pray for those who are on the mission field and the needs of those around the world.

Obedience happens when you quit the job you are in and stop being so concerned about what your family will think because you have been called to go as a missionary to another country. Obedience happens when you do this and announce it to the world and to God that I will go.

Read with me in John 12:15-17.

Obedience is what Jesus wanted from Peter when he appeared to Simon Peter and other disciples for a post-resurrection breakfast by the lake.

15 Cuando terminaron de desayunar, Jesús le preguntó a Simón Pedro:

—Simón, hijo de Juan, ¿me amas más que éstos?

—Sí, Señor, tú sabes que te quiero —contestó Pedro.

—Apacienta mis corderos —le dijo Jesús.
16 Y volvió a preguntarle:

—Simón, hijo de Juan, ¿me amas?

—Sí, Señor, tú sabes que te quiero.

—Cuida de mis ovejas.
17 Por tercera vez Jesús le preguntó:

—Simón, hijo de Juan, ¿me quieres?

A Pedro le dolió que por tercera vez Jesús le hubiera preguntado: «¿Me quieres?» Así que le dijo:

—Señor, tú lo sabes todo; tú sabes que te quiero.

—Apacienta mis ovejas —le dijo Jesús—. 18 De veras te aseguro que cuando eras más joven te vestías tú mismo e ibas adonde querías; pero cuando seas viejo, extenderás las manos y otro te vestirá y te llevará adonde no quieras ir.
19 Esto dijo Jesús para dar a entender la clase de muerte con que Pedro glorificaría a Dios. Después de eso añadió:

—¡Sígueme!”

Our salvation is not dependant on our actions. Jesus does not offer his gift of reconciliation to us because we have done something or will do something.

But obedience is something else. Obedience requires action. It was not enough for Jesus to hear the words from Peter’s mouth, “Yes Lord, I love you.” In order to be obedient, in order to follow him as Jesus instructs him to do at the end of the verses we have just read, action was required.

It is not enough for us to sit here and sing songs and say, “Lord, we love the world. Lord, we value missions.” Because Jesus response is simple, “So love them. Don’t just say you love them, don’t just say you value missions, get moving. Do something to love them, do something to value those who the world has said are of no value… Feed my sheep!”

I hope that 5 years from now, we do not look back at the month of missions in 2007 and say, “That was the year we had some good messages.” Or “That was the year we had some great times of worship.”

I pray that 5 years from now we will look back and say that after the month of missions in 2007, after, like Abram, we heard from God, we did something. We did more than just talk, we did more than just sing, we did more than just thought about how nice it would be to be part of what God is doing around the world. I pray that we will say “That was when we got serious about being obedient to God! That was when we decided not be concerned with ourselves and our own comfort. That was when we decided that even if we never see the results with our own eyes, we will be obedient to God in missions. In all areas of our lives and whatever blessing that he has given us and asks us to use for his glory, we will use it, and whatever he asks us to sacrifice, we will sacrifice, and whatever he asks us to do we will do…

And wherever he asks us to go, as individuals, as a church, we will go.

That is what I pray happens as a result of what God has done in our hearts and in the heart of our church over the last month.

2007-07-17T08:04:00.000-05:00

Here is the official birth announcement that will be sent out to supporters over email.

2007-07-15T16:23:00.000-05:00

I realize that, although pictures have been abounding (and as there are grandparents and such still lurking in the shadow of the blogosphere, they will continue to abound), words have been short and few.

Here's the news:

The baby, (Shaylee Ann) is great. She's healthy, already establishing a feeding schedule and even let mom get a "good" night's sleep last night. I swear (as you'll see in the pics below) she gets more gorgeous every day. She has a perfect round little face and smoky eyes (that may actually be blue, despite what I said in an earlier now seem more blue than brown or green).

Dena is full of energy and needs to continually be told to rest. She just wants to do everything, but has been taking it easy and spending a good amount of time relaxing and bonding with Shaylee.

Micaiah is doing great. He loves his new little sister and as of yet has not called her a dog... this is extraordinary as he calls everything, lamps, birds, toys, his own father, "DOG". He went over to Sue and Jarvis's house yesterday afternoon and will probably stay there till tomorrow morning because...

I am sick. Yes... again. It hit the day after Shaylee's birth and I was hoping it was just exhaustion, but it has turned out to be parasites (again). It's nothing at all serious but it causes me to have a constant neck ache and frequent trips to ye ol' baño (think of the video game Pong. I am the ball and the paddles are the couch and the restroom). I got a good rest last night and hopefully get another good night's sleep tonight.

Lydia (aka, Dena's Mom/My mother in law/Grandma Meanie) arrives Tuesday night and we are very much looking forward to the company (*cough~~and the help~~cough*). It's always fun to have her around, Micaiah loves her, Dena is always ecstatic to have her mom around, and she's an amazing cook (*cough~~and the help~~cough*).

That's about it for now. Enjoy the pics.

2007-07-13T17:58:00.000-05:00

More baby pics to apease the grandparents

2007-07-11T14:45:00.000-05:00

Baby Blog
Update #6
2:45pm, July 11, 2007

First Bath pics.

2007-07-11T10:59:00.000-05:00

Baby Blog
Update #6
11:00am, July 11, 2007

Don't have much time, Dena wants to shower before the Doctor comes over to check her and needs me to watch Shaylee.

Here are a few more pics.

Everything is super, she is a milk guzzling machine and slept 4 hours solid last night.

2007-07-10T22:07:00.000-05:00

Baby Blog
Update #5
10:29pm

Shaylee Ann Innes was welcomed into the world this evening at 6:56pm. Yes, you'll notice that was very shortly after my last post. With the Doctor's supervision, I (Elliott) caught and handed her to he mommy after just 2 pushes!

Shaylee was born in our home, a natural, water birth. She is slightly more than 8 lbs and is 54 cm in length (I am to tired to do that calculation into inches).

Micaiah gave his little sister good night kisses on his way to bed tonight and was thrilled to see her.

We now will try and sleep. Micaiah will be up at 7 and Shaylee will no doubt be up 7 times before that.

Thank you for your prayers! God has entrusted us with an amazing part of his creation to our care this evening.

2007-07-10T18:13:00.000-05:00

Baby Blog
Update #4
6:13pm

Stronger contractions, just called the Dr again to come and stay with us till the baby is out.

2007-07-10T15:44:00.000-05:00

Baby Blog
Update #3
3:45pm

Well, we are definitely in labour. Contractions started at about 12:30 while we were out grocery shopping. We came home, ate some Chinese food with Jarvis and Sue and then played with Micaiah for a few. After the initial exam, Dena is still biologically very early in the labour and the Dr. said that on average we have another 7 hours or so to go, but really there is no way to tell. We'll see the Dr. again when the contractions become more intense and closer together.

Dena is resting and in good spirits. She was up and chatting until about a half hour ago and is now lying down and letting things progress.

On a prideful (humbly proud of course) note. Last night I said these words, "By midnight tomorrow we'll have the baby." And look what happened. I called it, oh yeah, give it up.

2007-07-10T10:54:00.000-05:00

BABY BLOG
Update #2
10:38am

Well, we are still waiting for contractions. I talked to the Doctor at around 8:30 and she is willing to wait as long as 48 hours before inducing from the time the water breaks, but her normal practice is 24 hours. We'll see as things progress if that is necessary, here's hoping it won't be. The biggest factor in inducing within any time frame is fear of infection and there are a number of things we can do that will prevent that from happening. Many women have gone as long as 2 weeks or longer after their water broke, but I doubt we'd be that extreme.

As far as how Dena is doing... she has been outside sweeping the patio and now just came in to ask if I approved of her vacuuming the hallway. LOL. When she's done that we'll get her showered and dressed and head out to do groceries... who knows what might trigger the contractions. It's just exciting knowing that the birth is so soon. With Micaiah, we waiting 3 weeks after the due date and tried everything to get him out. With the new baby, yesterday was the first due date we had and had been given tomorrow and the 12th as well. At least we know that the anticipation is about to be realized.

I guess that's it for now. Micaiah is still hanging out at Uncle Jarvis and Aunt Sue's house and will come home early afternoon.

Stay tuned.

2007-07-10T07:37:00.000-05:00

BABY BLOG

No baby yet. But here's the skinny.

Last night they finished our floors (faithful readers will know what I am talking about). Basically, they finished the last coat of varnish at 9:30 last night. I then left to go to our friends house (Sue and Jarvis) to spend the night with Dena and away from the fumes.

After climbing into the separate twin beds in the guest room we settled in for a long winters nap. At 12:40 the light flashed on and Dena was motioning for me to put on my hearing aids. Turned out her water had broken! Yippee!

After waiting another couple of hours, sharing now, one twin bed (cramped! Can you say, "The baby is a cover hog?"), our friend, Sue, drove us home so we could be in our own comfy bed when contractions started.

Long story short, it's 7:45am and no contractions yet. Dena is downstairs talking to Grandma Meanie (her mom... someday I'll explain the name... it's really quite endearing) on the phone and she insisted on making her own breakfast.

So as I have time throughout the day I'll try to blog. No promises, but I think this would be a neat record of the birth.

Please keep praying and we'll keep you up to date.

2007-07-10T01:43:00.000-05:00

IT'S 1:43AM AND DENA'S WATER BROKE ABOUT AN HOUR AGO!!! I'LL UPDATE SOON.