Tag Archives: Christianity

What’s whirling around my mind today

Posted on by
Reply

This past Saturday we started our joint ministry venture with Summit Church.   Each Saturday we are going to the central bus transfer station across from City Hall to hand out cold bottles of water.   Handing out cold water has become the simplest, yet single most powerful action we do.

This past Saturday was no exception.   A group of believers ranging in age from 4 months to over 40 handing out cold water with a smile and a simple word of love.   It was beautiful to watch the disbelieving smiles as hot hands grasped ice cold bottles of water.    My favorite was a blind man, who grinned from ear to ear as I touched the back of his hand with the cold bottle I was going to give him.

Kim got to put her ASL skills to use as she ministered to a woman she had met through the deaf center a few years ago.  This woman showed us her severely injured leg, and with Kim interpreting, we laid hands on her and prayed for her healing.

Mike got to speak with another man that he has built a relationship with through the years.  Speaking words of affirmation and encouragement.   It truly was joy for us…our minds filled with ideas for hot coffee in the winter and other ways to make this better.

I will be sending out a request for people to help us with the purchase of bottled water and I hope some will choose to come and join us.

Finances are still a great burden right now, but the Lord has also brought forth some unexpected provisions.   I’ve not been getting any calls for temp work and the Simplicity Solutions businesses are slow at the moment.  I have two interviews on Thursday for a F/T management position for an optical lab and retailer and a P/T position with a government contractor.   I have mixed emotions about both and wonder how these things will further/hinder the ministry in days to come if they come about at all.

I hope to have some clearer direction in the near future as I am getting to the place of needing to get my preparations in order for my upcoming trip to India.

I am simply asking the Lord to give me what I need to faithfully become the man I am called to be.

Pastor Adams gave me a report on the launching of the church in Moi’s Bridge.  I thought I would share it with you:

Greetings.Thank you for your prayers for our students.We had a very successful mission and church planting.Many got saved and gave their lives.We have officially planted the church in Moi’s bridge.I will send you the full report this week.
20 students came from Uganda and other church members from Uganda joined them.We saw the mighty hand of God.
God bless.Pass my regards to all.

Thank God for overseers

Posted on by
Reply

One of the most important things I did when starting Simplicity was enlisting three pastors I trust to be overseers of my ministry.  After God revealed who these men needed to be, I asked these men to watch me, my actions and my ministry for things that would harm the testimony of Christ or my work in His kingdom.    I have even given these three men permission to fire me from my own ministry if they ever deem it necessary, that is how much trust I place in these men.

Each month we gather together and I give them the ministry financial records, my personal finances and I discuss the joys, triumphs, defeats and struggles.   This month I found myself barraged by many doubts, worries and counsel from other sources that left a stain on my soul.   As I have shared these things with these men today and over the past few days, I found the Lord speaking words of life through them.   These men also helped me evaluate counsel and disgard that which was not of the Lord.  Clarity began emerging through the fog and the Lord helped me to see with a fresh set of eyes.

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to meet Daniel.   Daniel came into the church while I was doing some work on our door lettering.   Daniel was weathered and worn, having been on the streets for some time.   Daniel shared with me that he had not eaten for a few days, and that he was having trouble sleeping at nights, because the mosquitoes were biting him.

I took Daniel to Dollar General to buy him some food and insect repellent.   Daniel immediately headed to the cooler, grabbed a quart of milk and drank it as he walked through the store.  Needless to say the employees were not real thrilled with that and asked him if he was going to pay.  I told them I would take care of it and we continued shopping.  I purchased a can of Off, 5 cans of Vienna Sausages, another quart of milk and a soft drink for Daniel.   In the parking lot, he allowed me to pray for him and then he sat down on a bus stop to enjoy his meal.

The Lord has allowed us to get names of each person we have assisted.  We continue to pray for them, that His love would penetrate the darkness in their lives and break their bondage to the streets.

Pressing On

Posted on by
Reply

Uncertainty…that is a good word to describe my thoughts these days.  I am certain of a few things:

  • the ministry of Simplicity
  • my role in the body of Christ

My point of clarity is in my call, most everything else seems up in the air.

As we finish out the month of June, we have only been able to pay a few household bills and are past due on the rest.  We are $25 short of having the rent on our church space paid for.   The businesses are only producing a few dollars here and there.  I have been trying to find work, but not finding anything other than commission only positions that seem to want to nibble.

I have a unique situation, basic manual labor jobs won’t hire me because I’m overqualified or don’t have experience with that particular manual labor.   White collar jobs think I’ve been away from the corporate world too long.   I find myself unsure of what my steps should be.

God’s timing is interesting.  As I was writing this I was called by a staffing company to come in for an interview tomorrow morning.

Yesterday was another kingdom encounter on South Staples.   As we were getting ready to leave after the morning service, I heard someone shouting from across the street.  A woman came over and asked if we could help her with groceries until her disability check arrived later this week.   I could smell the alcohol on her breath, so I told her we would take her to the store and pick up a few staples if she would like.   She agreed and off to the store we went.

I spoke to her about the alcohol on her breath and expressed my concern that it was 11AM.  I asked her to be honest with me about her situation.   I learned that she had just moved back to Corpus from Austin, and that she was originally from New York.    She has been exposed to church and actually knows she needs to be in fellowship somewhere.  Her mother is in frail health back in New York, but her relationship with her father is strained and it prevents her from going to see her mother.   Her brother just finished a 15 year prison sentence, but came out a changed man after encountering Jesus in prison.

When we were done, we took her home…across the street from the church.   We have been praying for a person of peace in the neighborhood, and in this woman we found the greatest receptivity to the touch of God that we have encountered since starting Simplicity.  It is my hope that she will be our first person of peace in this troubled neighborhood.

2 Days and Counting

Posted on by
Reply

It is hard to believe that in 2 days I will board a plane here in Corpus Christi and spend the next 24 hours making my way to Africa.   This trip has me lit up with anticipation of all that God seeks to do in Kenya and Uganda, but more importantly in me.   This is not my first mission trip overseas alone, but there is a difference this time.  I have a greater awareness this go around of my full dependence upon God.

Those who pray for me and give regular counsel are all saying similar things.  Each one reiterating the understanding that this trip is the Lord’s doorway into the next chapter of my ministry call and my walk with Him.   The Lord has spent the last several months taking me through the process of complete surrender to Him.   Every step of faith has been a practical exercise in drawing closer to Him.

The word the Lord has given me for this journey is “steadfastness.”  I will be speaking to these Christian leaders about examples of standing firm…Moses, Joseph, Daniel and others.    This word is also for me.   The Lord has been teaching me how to stand firm, even when it seems nearly impossible.

When I return, we will be considering our next steps as a ministry.  The Lord has been speaking to me about “mobility” in serving the body and we find ourselves through the transitions of life once again honed down to a core nucleus in our ministry.   The Lord is at work, but He has not yet fully revealed His plan for Simplicity in the days to come.

She Chose the Streets

Posted on by
Reply

After the ups and downs of spiritual and emotional battle with our house guest last night, I thought we had perhaps reached a turning point, but sadly I was wrong.   When Carol went to see what she wanted for lunch, she found that our guest had packed up and left.   

The hardest part of ministry has always been wanting more for people than they want for themselves.   In the long run, the streets are familiar, in-spite of their inherant dangers.   For our part, God let our family work together for the benefit of someone else.   All we can do is be obedient and love others, what they do with that love still remains their choice.

In a very small way I understand what God must go through when He pours His love out on people and they still choose to walk away from Him.