15

It seems like yesterday you were so small,

and today (is it true?) you are now 15.

Happy Birthday, Michael!

You have brought incredible joy to my life...

and to our whole family.

Your smile is ever-ready,

even when I assign onerous Geometry proofs,

and order you to take out the trash, 

there it is, 

that smile that lights up the room.

upper left: Michael flying r/c       upper right and bottom: regional archery competition

We're proud of your accomplishments:

of your aptitude and insatiable thirst for information about all things aeronautic,

for your precision in archery...and for shooting a 266 at State,

for your growing academic abilities.

We're thankful for your flexibility and positive attitude through so many transitions and losses,

thankful for your sincere care for others,

your desire to live honorably,

and to be pleasing to God.

That could give us no greater joy.

We admire the man you are becoming, Michael,

and pray God's blessing and goodness will rest on you all the days of your life.

I have no greater joy

 than to hear that my children 

are walking in the truth.

3 John 1:4

pull up a chair

When our children were small, 

they loved to come into the kitchen to help me.

They'd drag a chair over to the counter,

and they'd dump in the ingredients I measured out,

stir for a few minutes until their little arms got tired,

and then hop down to go and play while the food simmered and cooked.

2002 - the 3 junior associates helping in the kitchen

God lets us do the same thing.

He's measuring, working, preparing the feast,

tirelessly providing the direction and the materials

and graciously allowing us to pull up a chair

and have a hand in what He's up to

as He makes His Word known throughout the world.

He summons us to cooperation.   
We are honored in being given the opportunity to participate in His good deeds.   
Remember how He asked for help in performing His miracles.   
Fill the water pots, stretch out your hand, distribute the loaves.  

-Elisabeth Elliot

...for it is GOD who works in you, 

both to will and to work for His good pleasure.

Philippians 2:13

two worlds meet

 In 2010 we first began attending this little church under a mango tree

in Davao City.  

We never even dreamed that just 5 years later 

the pastor and his wife would be sponsored to join us in our home church 

here in Savannah for a missions conference!

Michael, Amy, Elise, Mark, Barbara, Cathy and Vic at the Missions Conference

 What a sweet week it was, having them in our home,

introducing our dear friends from the Philippines

to dear friends here.

 Cathy visited the girls at college, 

and we brought them home to share the joy for the weekend.

 We were so blessed to have you in our home, Vic and Cathy...

the meeting of our worlds.

God go with you as you continue to bring His Word to your people!

 

eyes at the window

One afternoon early last year, as I brushed my hair in preparation for a meeting at the office,  I sensed something was not quite right.  I turned around to find,  two feet away through the always-open window, an unfamiliar old Filipina woman watching me, her eyes pressed up to the window screen.  

photo credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/thelightningman/5609066984/

She was on her way to visit my neighbor just behind our home, and she saw nothing strange in stopping to watch me brush my hair.  She was, after all, intensely interested in who I was and how I lived.

We talked for a few minutes, and as she left, I found myself wondering,  

“Are my eyes on Christ in that kind of focused way? 

 Do I long that much to know Him?   

Do I take any opportunity I can to gaze on Him, 

and focus on His Words?”  

Hebrews 12 tells us to “fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.”  What better way to grow our faith than by peering closely into the window of the Word, observing the life of Christ, seeing His promises to us, hearing His commands and His warnings?

“For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it.”

Heb.  2:1

inner sweetness

Kenyan street vendor selling fresh sugar cane

How sweet are your words to my taste, 

sweeter than honey to my mouth!

Psalm 119:103

The Bible is not an end in itself, 

but a means to bring men to an intimate and satisfying knowledge of God, 

that they may enter into Him, 

that they may delight in His Presence, 

may taste and know the inner sweetness of the very God Himself 

in the core and center of their hearts.

A. W. Tozer

onehundred-fold

Abegail sent the photo via Face book to Amy,

a picture of herself posed with the group of Compassion children 

who she now serves in Luzon, Philippines.

Abegail above, circled in yellow!

Abegail, who was once a little Compassion girl herself,

is grown up, graduated from college,
and living a life devoted to sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ
with children from her own tribe through Compassion International,

just as the Gospel was shared with her.

This is the kind of story we love to hear,

as the Word of God transforms lives,

giving a hope that spreads hope to others!

I have no greater joy 
than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.

3 John 1:4

the other side of the world

As I write this, Mark is getting ready to wake up and begin his day in Nairobi, Kenya.

He's been in Africa almost two weeks now

at a translation conference. 

In his Skype message to me this morning, he wrote: 

What a great group of guys. It's such a privilege to be doing this work, 

and to be serving with men like this.

I've loved some of the photos he's shared with us, and thought you might enjoy them, too...

Of course, Mark is exploring this new surroundings on his morning runs, 

and he came across this sign one morning.

It's a little different than the signs in our neighborhood.

 Mark's enjoyed how friendly the children are, and how surprised to see him running by their homes!

 Yes, he's really on the other side of the world...

 ...and the personalized Coke bottles look a little different than the ones at Kroger.

 Mark wondered if the chickens were part of the payment,

or part of the cure?

 

 Thanks for your prayers for Mark, and for the others he's working with during this conference.

We'll share more in the near future about the trip!

"Reading the scripture in another language is like eating a banana with the skin on. 

Now the scripture in my language is satisfying . . . 

like a sweet banana. I can't get enough of it!"

-recipient of a newly-translated NT...