Feeding the Birds

This is my final post (as far as I know) about the Fire Up Conference a couple of weeks back. 

That Sunday morning we were in Troy, Illinois, I was given the opportunity to preach during the regular services (all THREE of them!) at Troy UMC. 

My text was Jesus' parable from Matthew 21 about the two sons who are told by their father to "Go today and work in the vineyard".  The first son responds, "I don't want to" but later "changes his mind" and goes to work.  The second son responds, "I will, sir" but never does get around to it.  Jesus was obviously pointing this simple parable straight at the religious folks of his day, and he finished by warning them that the "tax collectors and prostitutes" were entering the Kingdom before them. 

In the course of my sermon, I was using a story about Dats (age 10) that I have probably shared here before and that Melissa and I have been sharing typically as a part of our fundraising efforts:

(If you already know the story, feel free to skip down to the picture to hear The Rest of the Story.)

When Melissa was preparing for her first weeklong mission trip to Haiti in June of 2010, she was sharing with the rest of the family all that she was learning of the hardships of life in Haiti.  One night, completely unprompted by anyone (except the Holy Spirit!), Dats (then just newly 9) came to Melissa and offered her the $40 he had been saving up (probably to buy Legos).  He wanted her to give $20 to two different people. 

Melissa had no problem finding two people to help once she arrived in Haiti!  (I like to point out that $20 is paradoxical in Haiti - on the one hand it is nothing - a drop in the ocean, but it can also be life changing or even life saving.  And it will certainly be accepted gratefully.)  Melissa gave $20 to a woman who had been injured in the earthquake and the other $20 to a young man named Enil who had recently lost his job and had his cell phone stolen.

Fast forward one year.  Our entire family spent two weeks of July 2011 in Haiti as we sought to confirm God's call.  Near the end of that time, our hostess missionary, Jane, offered to take us in the mission van down the road a bit to a pottery business to do some sightseeing.  We had trouble getting off the mission compound though, since Jane seemed to be in high demand with various workers and friends.  After twenty minutes of halting non-progress, we were just about to finally get out the gates when Jane spotted someone on the doorstep of her house.  She asked if we would mind one more stop - a quick one - while she attended to this man's need. 

When she returned to the van a few moments later, she brought the man with her and explained that he needed a ride into town.  So I moved to the back seat and let this stranger sit down next to Dats in the van. 

As we got bumping down the road, Melissa started to put two and two together and realized that this was Enil.  She reminded Jane and Jane reminded Enil and Enil beamed in gratitude at Dats beside him.  Sitting behind these two, I was struck by the "coincidence" that brought Dats and Enil together and the lesson about faithfulness that God was obviously trying to teach me.  It seemed to me that the Lord was putting His stamp of approval on Dats' willingness to sacrifice his own self interests a year earlier in order to do God's work.  The stranger who received Dats' gift was no longer a stranger!

Enil and I both wanted to make sure we got a picture of these two brothers in Christ together:

So I was sharing this story with the fine folks at Troy UM Church a few weeks ago and something happened after the final service.  Melissa and the kids came from the hotel in time to be a part of that 10:30 worship, so they stood with me in the foyer at 11:30 as the the congregants filed out. 

At least three separate sweet church ladies looked over our kids and then asked, "Which one is Dats?" as they exited the sanctuary. And then each proceeded to press money into his palm.  But each one also told him that he needed to find someone in Haiti to pass the money along to! 

So God has multiplied Dats' original gift! 

It didn't take long to find someone to pass the money to.  A couple of days later we were back home in Indiana and I shared with Melissa and the kids a blog entry by Stacey Ayars regarding a woman named Roselore who cleans houses on the campus of  the Emmaus Biblical Seminary.  Stacey had written it the day before I preached.  You should take a few minutes and read Stacey's post through this link, because I can't do it justice here.  It is a heartbreaking account of a desperate mother and the twins she can't afford to feed.

Dats agreed that we should send $80 down to Stacey to pass along to Roselore.  Our friend Beka was leaving for Haiti and would be seeing Stacey in a few days, so we gave the cash to Beka knowing what the ladies of Troy UMC had given would quickly be put to use to fill a very real need. 

"Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. As it is written:

“He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor;

his righteousness endures forever.”

Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.

This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!"

2 Corinthians 9:6-15 (NIV)

---

Shelbyville News Article

My home town newspaper, The Shelbyville News, does a "Where are they now?" feature.  This past Tuesday, Steve Talbert wrote up and published a nice article about me and my family.  What an incredible opportunity to share our story with a large audience.  I have already had several people tell me they had seen the article. 

It is our joy to share what God is doing in our lives right now.  We are currently getting ready to share with folks in Iowa over spring break.  I can't wait to see old friends again and to introduce them to my family.

The link to the Shelbyville News article is right here.

Fire Up Part Two

Two weeks ago today we were getting back from Troy, Illinois and the Fire Up Conference there.  The conference ran from Friday night to Sunday noon.  My part officially was to lead a seminar on Saturday afternoon, perform my Kermit the Frog impression accompanied by Tim Price on banjo after dinner on Saturday and then I got the chance to preach three services on Sunday morning.

Tim's dad is the pastor of the church and has been there since 1988.  I believe that is some kind of record for a United Methodist Church!  As the church has grown spiritually under his leadership, the church's facility has grown physically as well.  The original sanctuary is now dwarfed by all the additions.  I got to preach to the regular Sunday morning crowd while the Fire Up Conference was wrapping up in the gym. 

Tim's keynote speaker for the conference was an amazing preacher from New York named Tom Richter.  I don't know much about the guy, but he sure can hold a crowd's attention.  He is one of those rare preachers who can be both funny and deep at the same time.  And although he was speaking to 300 teenagers, he had full attention from Dats, The Drama Queen (AKA Belle) and Ida too. 

Meanwhile, The Princess got very attached to Tim's six year old daughter, Ruby.  And, apparently, Ruby knows me as "Old Steve Gross".  During father/daughter time, Tim likes to tell "Old Steve Gross stories" to Ruby.  Some of them are true and some are made up.  I imagine that even the true ones are mostly fiction. 

I've got one more story to share from our weekend in Troy, but I want to devote an entire post to it, so for now I will post some more pictures:

We got to set up our official "One Mission Society" table for the weekend.

Tim and the Harvest Ministry Team do some last minute practicing before the start of the conference.

The Drama Queen and The Princess play Legos with Ruby behind our table.

Tim with his younger daughter, Macy. 

The Princess with a spooky looking clown.  In the afternoon, there were various activities for the teens.  Inflatable games were set up in a local grade school gym.  My kids exhausted themselves on this slide and the bungee run...

It's Dats verses Ida, who are tied together with a bungee cord.

Drama Queen also competed against Dats, while The Princess watched.

The Troy UMC sanctuary where I got to preach Sunday morning.

We headed back to Indiana after some chili for Sunday lunch and The Princess was heartbroken to leave behind her new friend Ruby.  She bawled!

And she was asleep within ten minutes!

Fire Up at Troy, Illinois

I know I don't have time to do this trip justice, so I am just going to have to accept the fact that posting a few pictures and random blurbs is better than nothing at all, so here goes...

On Saturday, February 23rd, the whole family headed to Troy, Illinois so that I could lead a seminar by invitation from my good friend from Asbury Seminary days, Tim Price.  Tim has a great ministry that he has been leading for years. Each year he gathers a talented group of college students as a singing, game-leading, worshipful ministry team.  Over the summers Tim travels with them all over the Midwest and sometimes beyond.  During the school year, he sometimes gathers them together for special events like the Fire Up youth conference.  He calls his ministry "Harvest". 

When he started Harvest, he wasn't much older than the college aged team members.  Nowadays he gets mistaken for their father whenever they make a stop for fast food.

The Fire Up Conferences started in 1997 with yours truly as the first speaker.  Tim had created a little history display for this year's Fire Up:

He even still uses a banner that I painted for him 15 years ago:

I love the Scripture reference.  It comes from Jeremiah 20:9.  The prophet is talking about all the flack he has taken for speaking on God's behalf and how he is tempted sometimes to throw in the towel and just shut his mouth, "But if I say, 'I will not remember Him or speak anymore in His name,' then in my heart it becomes like a burning fire shut up in my bones; and I am weary of holding it in, and I cannot endure it."

Tim's home church - where his dad has pastored since 1988 (which has to be some sort of record for a United Methodist church!) - graciously hosts this event each year.  Over three hundred teens and their youth pastors and adult sponsors attend and the Troy UMC families host the participants in their homes.  It is quite the production!  Tim coordinates the housing, the feeding, the main speaker, the worship music, seminar speakers and the clean up.  I hope he got a nap on Sunday afternoon...

It's getting late, so I'll have to make this a two (or three) parter.  I'll just close with some pictures of our kids enjoying the weekend.  They were so excited because Tim put us up in a hotel with an indoor swimming pool.  This process of raising funds for our upcoming ministry in Haiti continues to be such a blessing not only to me and Melissa, but to our whole family ... but maybe I'll tell you more about that in a day or two:

Dats and Ida riding the elevator down to the pool.  Not sure exactly why Ida is standing that way except for the fact that he's a big ball of goof.

The Princess in particular really enjoyed the chance to swim.

We often had the pool to ourselves.

#227 King Size Bed - Sell

I have really gotten out of the writing routine.  But I've come to a conclusion:  if I want to write more here (and I do!) then I had better start keeping my own private journal again.  So I am.  I started writing in it tonight. 


I realized that part of my problem in keeping this blog current is simply lack of sufficient time, but I can make the time.  The part of blogging that is really time consuming is trying to figure out what to share publicly and what should be kept private.  I mean, I want to be as transparent as possible here, but I don't need to air ALL my frustrations, disappointments and failings... for people in Malaysia to read.  (Seriously, it is so weird to see where some of the views originate.  Lately it has been South Korea and Saudi Arabia and Germany.)


I need to start giving, throwing and selling again, too.  I don't know if I can do something every single day, but I definitely need to start divesting again.  There's plenty in my classroom alone to keep me busy for a while.

Speaking of selling ... Melissa worked out a deal to sell Thing #227: our old king size bed.  I cannot tell you how much I miss that bed!  There is nothing quite like King Size - especially when you're 6'4".  The folks who rented our house are moving out now and heading back into their newly renovated home next door.  They got used to that bed and want to take it with them when they go. 

When we moved in with Melissa's mom last August, we borrowed a full size bed from Melissa's aunt because our new bedroom was going to be SMALL - built for a twin size at best.  Well, transitioning from King to Full was no small task and the next thing you knew, I was sleeping on an air mattress in the basement most nights! 

Not so good.

A few weeks after Christmas, my mom gave us her Queen size when she downsized to Full.  And we gladly took it.  (Thanks, mom!) Now we are able to sleep quite a bit better but there is literally a mere 14 inch clearance to the wall on Melissa's side and 18 on mine to the dresser.  (And when I use the word "literally", I mean that I literally went into the room just now with a tape measure and measured.)  At the foot of the bed we have 60 inches to the closet.  Literally. 

I don't know why I am telling you all this, except to say that none of it matters ultimately because - surprisingly - I have apparently "learned the secret of being content in any and every situation" (Phil 4:12).  Life is upside down and less than comfortable right now, but something (or rather, Someone) has me happier than I think I've ever been.

I would tell you what it is but ... it's a secret.  Guess you have to figure it out for yourself if you haven't already...

The Roller Coaster

I don't remember the context or even who said it, but I recall a preacher once saying that people tend to think of the Christian life as being rather dull and monotonous, yet he found a living relationship with Christ bares more resemblance to a roller coaster.  He said the highs were higher and the lows were lower than what non-believers experience in this life. 


I think it's true.


Some HIGHS from the past few days:
*A great couple who surprised us with dinner and a sacrificial gift towards our upcoming ministry in Haiti.
*The chance to visit a small group - the "sister" group to our regular small group - to share about our family's mission and to receive prayer.
*The offer of the use of a vehicle for as long as we need it, since we are down to one vehicle.  The couple making the offer felt prompted by the Holy Spirit to share with us as they recently read in the book of Acts how the early church held possessions in common!  That's radical, isn't it?  (I might have to say more about this later.)
*Dinner with my brother and his wife.  It's a high because I couldn't stop thinking about how miraculous is the difference between a few years ago and today in both his life circumstances and his spiritual health. 
*After many years of merely crossing paths with an old friend and her husband, finally getting to sit down and talk to the two of them and discovering two hearts so in tune with the Savior's.  We left their home wishing we had hours more to converse. 


Those are all GREAT and we praise God, but my heart is aching tonight for a dear friend who has travelled a dark path and is living in a dark place at the moment.  I don't really know any details - all I know is that my spirit is crying out on his behalf.  In prayer, I have found myself telling God that I am willing to do anything He might suggest if I could play some role in this brother's restoration. 


I think I'm feeling for my friend some degree of what Paul was feeling toward the Jews when he wrote in Romans 3:


1 I speak the truth in Christ—I am not lying, my conscience confirms it through the Holy Spirit— ² I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. ³ For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my people, those of my own race, ⁴ the people of Israel. Theirs is the adoption to sonship; theirs the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the law, the temple worship and the promises. ⁵ Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them is traced the human ancestry of the Messiah, who is God over all, forever praised!^[a] Amen.


And as I write this and look over that passage closely, I realize that what Paul feels there is simply a reflection of Christ's heart toward every lost person on this planet.  Every one of them. 


And I want to plead God's forgiveness for the lack of passion I have demonstrated for His lost sheep throughout my life...  My heart aches for my friend.  Is it even conceivable how much more God's heart aches over billions of His creatures?

"Earl Dix: Adventurer for God"

A couple of weeks ago Melissa and I met with a couple from our small group as we continue to seek financial partners in our call to minister in Haiti.  It was a great meeting - we got to know them much better in an hour and a half of face to face time than we have in months of small group meetings. 

For instance, I knew this couple had been to Africa for a short term mission trip, but had no idea the wife's grandparents had been full-on lifetime missionaries to Africa for over 50 years:  1929 to 1983.  She loaned me her grandfather's autobiography:

I have a longstanding LOVE for autobiographies of missionaries.  Even better is an autobiography of a missionary the world at large took little notice of - but who impacted that world in incredible ways through simple obedience to God's voice. 

Some lessons God reminded me of - in a timely way - through this little book:

1.  God prepares us in unexpected ways for service in his kingdom.  The know-how and work ethic Earl Dix developed as a child growing up on a farm in Nebraska were put to excellent use all across the back country of Zaire. 

2.  If we are even a little bit open to God's leading, He might take it and run with it.  Earl went to Moody to get some Bible training so he could "make a contribution in Sunday school" classes back home, but while at school, a friend encouraged him to check out missions to Africa.  He went to see the Director of Africa Inland Mission to get a brochure on missions - just to check out the possibility - and was mistaken for a candidate.  Before he knew it, he was in the midst of an interview and they were praying over him as if he were an established candidate!

3.  If we can trust God for the little things, we better be willing to trust God for the big things too.  (And "God's timing is perfect".)  Everything quickly fell into place for Earl and his fiancee to leave for the mission field in October of 1929 - approval, funds, passports, etc.  Earl was trying to figure out what the hurry was.  They sailed out of New York harbor on the morning the stock market crashed.  Even though it shook the markets worldwide, the missionary couple was able to get established in Zaire and God provided the support they needed each step of the way.

At the risk of my mom reading this and finding one more thing to worry about (if she hasn't already thought of this herself!), I will tell you one of the fears that lurks in the back of my mind.  And because I am hoping it is silly, I have not even shared this with Melissa (but she'll read this and we can talk about it then!):  WHAT IF we get our family to Haiti and, some time later, the U.S. economy collapses in a big way under the weight of national debt and unsustainable spending?  (Please tell me I'm being silly!)  WHAT IF such a collapse wipes out our bank account and all our support?  Would we be able to return to the U.S.?  What would we do for a paycheck even if we did return?  (Could never happen, right? Right??)

This is a shadowy fear, clear in the back of my mind, but it does pop into my consciousness now and then.  And then along comes the perfect antidote: this little book about a missionary whose first real step toward the mission field occurs simultaneously with the onset of the Great Depression.  I am reminded that it doesn't really matter if this particular fear of mine proves to be silly OR  prescient - what I need to remember right now is that God WILL provide, protect and lead.  I can't let any "what if?" paralyze me.

4.  Evangelism isn't just for the mission field.  On their way down the coast of Africa, Earl and his fiancee, Helena, shared the boat with a Hollywood movie crew bound for Kenya to film a movie called "Congorilla" (Ha!): 



I wonder if it's on Netflix??

 Anyway, Helena ended up in conversation one night mid-journey with the picture's sound man who admitted that he was a bit nervous about the project because the plan was to use recordings of the actual African animals in the movie.  It was going to require him getting dangerously close to wild beasts with his microphone in hand!  Helena led him to Christ - and true security - as they stood at the railing on the ship's deck.

5.  We cannot be witnesses for Christ in the wider culture if we compromise our beliefs.  At one point early in their career, Earl and Helena used an extended safari as an excuse to get out and meet some of the tribes living close to their home base.  They came upon a place called Pangba which had a watering hole where many animals gathered.  The local chief told Earl that he could hunt at Pangba if he wanted, but to not expect success unless he offered a sacrifice to the god of the watering hole.  The chief warned that without a sacrifice, the best Earl could expect would be to wound an animal and then lose it in the tall elephant grass and  jungle  surrounding the water.  Earl told the chief, "My God is a jealous God" who would not allow a sacrifice to any other.  The chief even suggested a possible solution:  Earl could give some little object he didn't want or need to one of the villagers, who would then make the sacrifice on his behalf!  Earl remained steadfast.

A couple of the locals went along with Earl's party to Pangba to see what would happen.  Earl had only the gun he had brought from Nebraska (a "varmint gun" for small game) and was a bit worried about how it would be interpreted if he failed to kill an animal.  A couple of times individual gazelles came within range, but each time Earl shot, he missed.  The animal would get spooked and bolt off into the jungle.  Eventually, the locals left, assuming the hunt was a waste of time.

At sunset, a herd of eleven gazelle gathered at the water's edge and Earl decided to belly crawl within shooting range.  The animals didn't spook.  He fired eleven shots and, even with the delays of reloading, the gazelle stayed in place and dropped one by one.  Only one ran wounded and it made it just to the edge of the forest!

On their way back to the village with the haul of meat to share, Earl spotted three water buck and killed them as well.  The next day, he killed three hartebeast, another gazelle and a hippo!  On the third day, the villagers asked Earl not to take his gun with him back to Pangba because their shoulders were blistered from carrying all the meat.  The chief willingly admitted, "Your God overpowered the god of the Pangba."

*****
There were many other great stories in this little book.  No doubt his good work in Africa made a lasting impact that continues to this day, but how awesome is it that his story can still instruct and encourage me - a complete stranger - over a quarter century past his death? 

Pretty awesome!


P.S. I need to return this copy of the book to his granddaughter, but you can find it on Amazon right here.