Christmas Memories

Christmas is a time for memories. Obviously, it’s primary purpose, one that is often neglected, is to remind us of the coming of the Messiah, the means by which God provided salvation for sinful mankind.  But it is also a time for remembering long-lost joys and relationships that have made Christmases past so sweet.

As a child, my most vivid memory is of the uncertain nature of when ‘Santa’ would come to our house.  My dad pastored a small church in Racine, Wisconsin and each year we would load up the car on the Monday after the Sunday before Christmas and we would make our way south.  We would make a short stop in Paducah, Kentucky, where my mother’s family would gather, then we would go on to Center, Texas for Christmas with my dad’s family.  We would miss one Sunday and get back right before the next, giving us almost two weeks to make the trek.  Because of this tradition, I never spent Christmas morning in my own home until the year after I graduated from college and spent Christmas alone in Spokane, WA, 2000 miles away from the rest of the family. 

Because we would always be away from home on Christmas morning, ‘Santa’ had to find us at home sometime before we left so that we could get our presents, so it was always an anxious time as we drew closer to the day of our departure as to when ‘Santa’ would come.  Sometimes we would wake up on Saturday morning before our departure and our gifts would be there, spread out on the living room floor.  At other times, Dad would say, “Hey, let’s go look at the pretty Christmas lights down at the lakeshore, and we would all pile in the car.  Just before we would leave, Mom would have to go back inside for something that she forgot.  When we got home from looking at the lights, the Jolly old Elf would have made his appearance and the presents would be there under the tree.  That feeling of imminent expectation was one that I will never forget and is my best reference when I think of how my heart should flutter at the certainty of His promise yet uncertainty of the timing when it comes to Christ’s return.

The next thing that comes to mind when I think of Christmas is just a simple expression without a spoken word.  It is the look on my grandfather’s face whenever we were gathered at his house on Christmas.  He was a quiet man, mostly because it was hard to get a word in edge-wise around that house.  The gift of gab is a dominant genetic characteristic of the Hughes clan.  We would gather in my great-grandmother’s room, around the fireplace, and talk and laugh and cut up, and Papaw would sit in the corner and watch and listen and just smile.  He was at peace and everything was right with the world, because he had his whole family around him.  When I think of what heaven will be like, I can’t help but wonder if there won’t be a familiar taste of that spirit of love, joy and peace.

One more thing that comes to my mind at this time of year is the feeling that I had that one Christmas, mentioned earlier, out of my 52 Christmases, that I spent away from family and home.  I had just turned 21, I was over my head in a job that I was unprepared for, and I was thousands of miles from the familiar.  I went outside of town to a friend’s acreage and cut the top out of a fir tree, thinking that it would be a good Christmas tree.  It more closely resembled a Christmas shrub.  Charlie Brown had nothing on me.  When all was said and done, friends from church invited me over for Christmas dinner and I enjoyed the fellowship, but for the first time in my life I understood what so many others feel at this time of year who are alone at Christmas time.  The soldier off to war, the homeless on the street, the prodigal far from home, I got just a little taste of how they feel and I never have forgotten it.

These days, our Christmas traditions have changed a bit.  With Mom and Dad now living with us, Christmas comes to us.  We always go to my sister’s in Fayetteville for Christmas Eve, have dinner together and then go walk around the old town square, then we make our way home for Christmas morning and the family gathering Christmas afternoon. But it is really hard for me to wait to open presents, so I am always trying to figure out a way to convince Santa to come early but Shelley is a little bit more of a traditionalist (i.e. grown-up). 

I am thankful for the memories that still remain.  Instead of mourning the loss of those who are no longer with us, I relish the times that we shared.  Instead of regretting what is no more, I look to and long for that which one day will be again, when we gather around the throne in heaven and witness God’s contented smile and realize that no one will ever be alone for Christmas again.

Does God Like What I Like?

Okay, let's get it all out in the open. MUSIC IS A TOOL OF THE DEVIL!....Ummm, not all music of course, just the music that I don't like.  Because God and I have similar tastes in music and therefore, I know exactly what He likes and what He doesn't. 
Sounds pretty arrogant doesn't it?  But it also sounds pretty familiar.  Not just from those who would have us sing nothing that was written after the 1850's but from those who would gladly throw the hymnbook away and have us sing the same few words over and over again ad infinitum.
So now that I have properly offended everyone, let's take an honest look at this issue that the devil does use to divide God's church in so many cases.
First, let's acknowledge that our preferences are going to be different, so we need to have a starting point that we can all agree on.  I suggest that we start with Scripture, because God's Word has an answer for everything.
The issue of worship has been a conflict from the very beginning.  I have heard it said that the first murder took place over the issue of worship.  Cain slew Abel over an offering that wasn't acceptable to the Lord.  Our problem with this anaolgy is defining who is who, so we will leave that one alone.  Jesus told the woman at the well that God was looking for worshippers who would worship him in Spirit and in truth.  So our worship must involve both the Truth of the Word of God and a responsiveness to His Spirit.  This can be accomplished in a number of ways.  Paul spoke in two different epistles about this issue.  In Eph. 5:19, he invoked the need to speak to ourselves in "psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord."  Each of those words described a different form of music, all present in their society, but each used for a specific purpose in their worship.  In this passage Paul emphasizes the use of these forms of music in personal devotion and private time with the Lord..  But in Col. 3:16, he uses the same descriptive terms while speaking of corporate worship.  He says "let the word of Christ dwell in you richly..." implying that one way for the message to be enriched in your heart and spirit is through music.  Then he broadens the application by saying "admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord."  We are to worship and sing together as a means of encouraging and edifying one another as we sing to the Lord with grace in our hearts.  Grace, now there's a concept that is not always seen in our discussions of this issue!
So these texts describe the use of varying types of music for God's glory, personal devotion, and corporate worship.  So what's the problem?  The problem is most often in our definitions of those terms, so let's talk about definitions.
What is spiritual music?  We most often want to define spiritual music by our own religious background and culture.  If that were true then that definition would be constantly changing and in constant contention.  Sadly, that is true, but I don't believe that God intended it to be that way.
Bear with me for a moment here and let me give you a scenario that is I believe is completely defensible from Scripture and is a reasonable approach to this issue. 
Eph. 5:19 talks about "making melody in your heart to the Lord." What if music is the language of our heart?  We know that it influences our heart, our feelings, our emotions.  We can see that Paul recognized the importance of music to worship, so why didn't he define his terms more specifically?  Could it be that God wants to hear us worship Him in the language of our heart?  African Christians will worship God in a different language.  Their music will also be different.  Asian Christians will worship God in their own language and to their on rythym and tempo.  We acknowledge this as natural and appropriate, why can't we see the same thing when it comes to the language of the heart between different generations in our own culture?
Music is ultimately a vehicle for the message. Even the most reverent of hymns can contain doctrinal error and be the tool of Satan to deceive and mislead.  Therefore, whatever the style of music, the key is to examine the truth of the lyrics in light of the Scriptures.
One argument made against Contemporary Christian music is the association in the hearts of many with the music of rebellion and worldliness of generations past.  It is important to understand that associations are personal, not universal and if we take this reasoning to it's logical conclusion, then we should all become Amish.  It is a similar argument to Paul's discussion of meats offered to idols.  He said that the meat was nothing, the idol was nothing, but if your heart condemns you, then you should abstain.  He did say that those who were stronger in the faith would recognize that distinction and shouldn't cause the weaker to stumble, so this issue is important.
Another issue is the use of instruments in our worship.  Many don't like guitars or drums being used in worship and I agree that these things sometimes overpower the message and distract from it, but we should be careful about associations once again, because the Scriptures are full of references to the instruments of praise used in worship by God's people and those instruments include a number of different instruments that strongly resemble the guitar and the drums.  Just look in your Concordance for the word "instruments" and then look up the definition of the names given in those passages.
And if the volume is your problem, then you need to read II Chron. 30:21.
So the Scriptures give us good reason to consider our opinions about worship to see if they line up with what God clearly says.
Let me bring this to a close with a couple of things to consider:
First, the issue here is not my preferences but our collective worship, so I need to remember a couple of things.  Spiritual maturity will result in patience, longsuffering, and deference to others.  All of us need to extend this grace to those around us as we worship together.
While some consider this issue the evidence of compromise and wandering from the true faith in modern churches, let me offer a different possibility.  Could it be that Satan knows how important music is in worship and that he has chosen to use it as a barrier between one generation and the next in an attempt to keep the Gospel from being passed down?  If this is even a remote possibility, shouldn't we consider it?  We would never say that we will share the Gospel with the world as soon as they learn our language.  Neither should we say, we will worship together with the next generation as soon as they agree to only do so in the language of the heart of our generation.
I believe that God hears, not the words, the beat, the tempo, and the volume, but the attitude of the heart whether we are singing Amazing Grace or the latest thing off the pen of Chris Tomlin. So come, let us worship the Lord together. Amen.

Cracked Pots

It amazes me, how God uses broken vessels to carry His Living Water.  It has been a while since I posted to this blog.  I could say that I've been busy, this has been an amazing summer filled with fruitful work and ministry. But in reality, I've just been distracted.  I've told people for a long time that God blesses me far beyond what I deserve, and that has become more real to me in these last few days.  At our Men's Retreat over the weekend, the Lord spoke to me and said, "Are you enjoying the blessings that I've been pouring out on your church?" He said, "Just imagine what I could do if you would just give me your whole heart, all of your attention, the full measure of your strength, and a single-minded focus."
The very first speaker quoted Ps. 19:12-14. It reminded me that my words, my thoughts, my actions, and the things that my heart meditates on are constantly in the sight of God and I need to be sure that they are acceptable to Him.
It is easy to let yourself think that the blessings of God are the result of your efforts, when in fact, I've learned that they are more often in spite of your shortcomings.  All God wants from us is a vessel that He can use.
I guess my challenge today is that we give ourselves fully to the Lord so that He has a little more to work with when He sets out to bless our lives and our church.  Because it truly is amazing how much Water He can haul, even in a cracked pot.

Lithuania - Day 4 - 17 More Set Free!

I apologize for not having any pictures tonight.  This has been a whirlwind of a day.  Up at 6:00, ummm, 6:10, ooookaayyyyy 6:20 AM so that we could pack up, load up, and head to the gym for our last day of Basketball Camp in Kaunas, three hours of basketball camp that included 17 more young people choosing to follow Christ, lunch at McDonald's(oh, by the way, ketchup costs .45 over here), a four and a half hour trip to Riga, an adventure at the airport, checking in for our flight and checking our bags, turning in the rental vans, and taking a taxi to our hotel. By the time we headed out from our hotel for the half mile walk to Riga's Old Town, it was almost 8 PM.  We decided to have one more good meal before we lift Riga, so we stopped in at T.G.I. Friday's.  After a great steak and a little dessert, we hit the shops for souvenirs and headed back to the hotel.  It is now 11:15 PM and the sun has just ducked below the horizon.  My laptop battery and my body's energy resources are both just about depleted, but I couldn't go to bed without sharing this last post.
God worked miracles today.  He intervened in a situation that could have thrown a stumbling block into the situation and turned it into a blessing.  He spoke to the hearts of the children and answered our direct prayers about a couple of the kids that we knew needed the Lord. Our young orphan Gades prayed to receive Christ and I am praying that God chooses to use him in a mighty way. 
One story that I must tell you.  Each day we wrote our names on a piece of duct tape and asked the kids to do the same so that we could communicate with them.  One of the younger orphans' name was Donates.  Yesterday as we were walking out of the gym, my name tag was hanging a little loose and he reached up and grabbed it.  This morning, when he arrived, he was wearing my name tag and made a point of showing it off to me.  He is probably no more than nine or ten.  He has such a sweet personality and I'm sure that the other boys make his life a living hell.  If I could, I would have brought him home with me.  When we asked them to pray and ask Jesus to be their Saviour, Donates was the first one to do so and the rest of the day, his smile lit up the entire room.  Before he left, he brought me a gift for all that we had done for them. 
Tomorrow we will leave Latvia.  While we were here, God used us to see 103 young people come to know him.  And although we will leave Latvia, Latvia will hold onto us for a long, long time.

Lithuania - Day 3 - Evangelical Christian Baptist Church

This morning, we had the chance to sleep in a little later because we didn't have to be at camp at 8:00 am.  Instead, we headed to the Kaunas Evangelical Christian Baptist Church at about 10:15.  They are the church that is hosting us this week.  They have worked very hard to get kids to come to the camp and we enjoyed worshipping with them this morning.  When we walked into the sanctuary on Friday night during our meeting, it struck me that our ministry's theme verse, John 14:6, was written in 12-inch letters on the front wall of their church.  I took it as a confirmation that god had brought us together.  The following video is my greeting to the church before I preached from John 14:1-6 during their morning worship service.

When I finished preaching, Joel and Gary led the church in a couple of worship songs.  They had sung a couple of hymns in Lithuanian before I preached, but they seemed to know the songs and sang along. Then the pastor came up and preached another short message and we had the offering, a couple of testimonies and we were finished.

After church we had lunch and then headed back to the gym for this afternoon's camp session.  We were up a little bit from yesterday.  We had a great time and it seemed that the kids were opening up to us a little more today.

I wanted to introduce one of our campers to you today.  I learned that the word for name is 'vardas,' so when I address one of the kids, I first ask , "Vardis?"  hoping that they will give me their name and that I can wrap my Oklahoma tongue around their Lithuanian letters.  This young man speaks pretty good English so when I asked him his name, he said, "Harry not Potter."  So I have continued to address him as Harry not Potter.  We have had a good laugh over it.

Each day, we do a few things that have nothing to do with basketball, just to build our relationship with the kids and to let them have a little fun.  In one of the games, Joel will take a 20 Litsas bill and hold it in front of one of the campers and ask them to hold their fingers half an inch apart.  When he releases it, if they can catch it between their fingers, its theirs.  It has been a real crowd pleaser.  So far only one boy has caught the money here.  The Latvian campers cost Joel a lot more money. :0)

After camp tonight, I went to the mall with the Hills and had dinner and did a little shopping.  The professional basketball team from Kaunas won the European Championships this year so there is memorabilia all over the mall.

Well tomorrow is our last day in Kaunas.  I miss you all and can't wait to see you, but there is one big thing that we need to do before we begin our journey home.  Tomorrow is the day of decision for the kids in our camp.  Please pray that the Spirit will have His way in their lives.  We can see the devil trying to get in the way.  It amazes me how that it is often those who already know the Lord that throw stumbling blocks into the path of those trying to win more to him.  Please pray that we will have an eager and willing translator who is prepared to see kids call on the name of Christ when we share the Gospel tomorrow.  See ya soon!

Lithuania - Day 2 -

Day two of our basketball camp in Lithuania was a little down in numbers, but it was Saturday and there were several conflicting things that we had to deal with.  The kids that were there enjoyed the camp and we got to give them the next portion of the Gospel, moving them toward a decision on Monday.  The excitement today came when the camp was over.  We quickly ate a couple of Hessburgers that our hosts brought to us at the gym and we loaded into the vans and headed to the Juvenile Prison on the other side of town.  This facility is a medium security style facility housing about 300 prisoners from 13 -18 years of age.  Their crimes range from car theft to murder and so we were aware that this was a little different than anything we had done up to this point. 
We arrived and they had us put our valuables, cell phones, and wallets in a locker, they took our passports and they let us through the gate, three at a time.  When we were all inside, it was a little ominous to hear that heavy door close behond us.  Hmmmm, I don't think I told anyone where I would be.  What if they won't let me out?
When we were in and had our balls and snacks ready, they let the first 49 kids into the gym.  Later we would have another group of almost 60.  They lined up against the wall and we introduced ourselves and played a couple of Minute2Winit games with them.

We then divided them into four groups and started our drills and teaching stations.  Three groups worked with the coaches on basketball skills while the other group came upstairs in the un-airconditioned gym so that Joel and I, with the help of our translator, Yurij, could share the Gospel with them.  We had just 12 minutes to tell them that there is a God who loves them and has a plan for their life, but unfortunately, our sin has created a barrier between us and God.  They were somewhat flippant about things until I said, "You are in this place because you have done wrong.  The wall outside is a barrier between you and the outside, just as sin is a barrier between you and God.  But because you are in here, you can understand what I am talking about much better than many who are on the outside.  They dare to say, 'I'm a pretty good person.'  But the Bible says that there are none righteous.  We are all sinners and there is a price for that sin."  When I got to this part of the story, each and every group quieted down and became very somber.  They listened attentively from that point on as I told them that Jesus had come as their substitute to take their punishment for them and if they would simply believe that He is who the Bible says that He is and believe in their hearts that God raised him from the grave like the Bible says He did, then they could pray and ask Him to forgive their sins, come into their heart, and be their Savior.

When we prayed with them, they were absolutely silent, and when we asked them to keep their heads bowed and to raise their hands if they had prayed and asked Jesus to save them, 51 of the over 100 inmates that we witnessed to raised their hand. 

As the last group of 9 was entering our area and taking their seats, the chaplain's wife took me aside and said, "In this group is their leader.  We must pray that God reaches him."  I asked her not to tell me which one he was until after we gave them the Gospel.  When we had finished sharing the Good News with them 5 of the 9 raised their hands that they had received Christ.  As we dismissed them to join the others, the chaplain's wife was bouncing off the walls with joy, muttering in Lithuanian and English, "Praise God! Praise God! Oh, Thank You, Lord!!!"  The young man recognized by all of the inmates as their leader had been the first in the group to raise his hand.  The others had their eyes closed so he did not influence them, but it was such an answer to prayer to see this young man come to Christ.  Later, as we prepared to leave, he presented Joel with a gift that the boys had made.  It was an amazing "God moment."



Our team with a few of the boys and the chaplain and his wife.

 We left the Prison knowing that almost half of the young men we dealt with today were set free from chains that bind them stronger than any prison cell ever could.

When we got back to the hotel, the Hill family and I decided to walk down to the Old Town area of Kaunas and get some supper.  We had some great pizza and then continued down the pedestrian mall among shops and restaurants.

It had a beautiful, European feel.  After spending the afternoon in the sweltering upstairs room engaged in spiritual warfare for the souls of those young men, it was refreshing to walk out in the open air and feel the freedom that God has given us.

Before we made it back to the hotel, it began to rain.  It was a slow, warm summer rain.  I found it to be rather romantic.  Unfortunately, the one that I would have liked to be walking with was 7,000 miles away.

Our trip is almost over.  It is hard to believe that we will only be here in Kaunas two more days.  I will be preaching tomorrow at the Evangelical Christian Baptist Church, then we will hurry to the gym for our camp.  On Monday, we will load everything up and check out of the hotel before the camp and then head out for Riga as soon as we are finished.  We will spend the night there and then board our plane on Tuesday morning for the journey home. Joel Hill and his son, Jordan, along with our media mogul, Justin, will make their way to Austria and Poland for two American Football camps in the next week or so.
Please pray earnestly for several things. First, for the young men that received Christ today.  They have a difficult road ahead of them.  Pray that the chaplain will minister to them effectively and they will grow in their walk with the Lord.  Second, pray for our campers, especially on Monday morning from 9 to Noon Lithuania time.  That is 1 to 4 AM in the states so I'm sure that God would answer your prayers if you prayed early. :0)  Pray that they will understand the Gospel and call on the Lord as well.  We hope to see one more great harvest of souls before we go home. Third, pray for us as we travel home and for the teams that will be going to Austria and Poland.  God is moving in a wonderful way.  Please keep praying.

Lithuania - Day 1 - Perspective

Isn't it amazing how quickly our perspective can change? If you had told me yesterday afternoon on our way here that we would have 41 campers for our first day of camp, I would have been very excited.  At that point, I had no point of reference for my expectations and we had even talked about the possibility that we could have 5 kids or 200.  If you had told me when I went to bed last night that we would have 41 kids in camp today, I think I would have been very disappointed, because we had heard of all the hard work that the church here had done in preparation and we were daring to expect 80 to 200 kids and talking about how to deal with that many kids effectively.

As I write to you this afternoon, we have finished our first day of camp with 41 campers and I am just marveling at the sovereign nature of the God that we serve.  We had exactly what we could handle today.  The gym here is 1/3 the size of the gym we used in Latvia.  It has outdoor courts that we planned to use as well, but it rained much of the morning so they were not always available to us.  And the language barrier seems to be a little harder to overcome here than it was in Latvia, but once again, God knows all that and He knows how to make it all worthwhile. 
Among the 41 campers were a group of about 7 kids from an orphanage here in Kaunas.  They made it clear as soon as they came through the door that they didn't want to be split up.  They wanted to stay together.  They were a challenge to work with.  They were difficult and disruptive, but it soon became clear to us that what they needed more than anything else was a little bit of genuine love.  One boy, Gadas, was expecially expressive during our presentation of the Gospel today.  Today's portion introduced God.  When we asked "Who is God?"  Gadas answered, "Me!" 

Please pray for this young man.  While he is going to be a difficult case, if he receives Christ, he has the potential to have a great impact for Him among the orphans.
We also had four young men from the Juvenile Prison that were allowed to come to our camp today.  They were all about 17 years old.  Coach Joshua Laney noticed how buff one young man was and told him, "You'd better quit lifting those weights, you are going to hurt yourself."  The boy said, "It's just survival."  He later told Coach Laney that he had been in the prison for four years and had four more years to serve.  This was the first time he had been able to go outside of the prison for an event.
Since today was the only day that these four boys would be at the camp, we took them back to the classroom when camp was over and shared the rest of the Gospel presentation with them.  With most of these kids, we will take it very slow and present the Gospel over the entire four day camp, but since we don't have that luxury with these boys, we took extra time today. When we had finished, each of them bowed their heads and prayed with us.  We don't know how many of them asked Christ to save them, but we do know that they received a detailed, step by step explanation of the Gospel and were asked to make a decision.  In my heart, I believe that God did a work in their lives today.



Our team with the four boys from the Youth Prison

 After the camp was over, the chaplains of the prison invited us to come tomorrow evening and do a two hour camp with 120 of the inmates inside the prison.  We will have the opportunity to clearly present the Gospel to all of them, so I believe that God answered our prayers today.  He gave us all of the kids we could handle and he opened a door to three times as many more for tomorrow afternoon.  We serve an amazing God!

Latvia/Lithuania Day 6 - Travel Day



Our sleeping quarters in Talsi
My bed is the one that is made up on the right.

We got up this morning, loaded the vans, ate breakfast, said our goodbyes, and we were ob the road before 8 AM. The trip to Kaunas, Lithuania would normally be about 4 1/2 hours if we were in a hurry, but we didn't have anything pressing in Kaunas until 6PM so we took a nice leisurely drive through the countryside, stopping to take pictures of interesting sites and eating at the McDonald's at the Acropolis Mall in Siauliai.

We learned that although Talsi is a quaint little village, it's standard of living is better than that of the people in the surrounding countryside between Talsi and the Lithuanian border. Lithuania's standard of living,however, seems to be much better. As we've travelled, we have seen several very interesting sites. Before we got out of Latvia, we saw a family of seven wild hogs cross the road in front of us. I wasn't able ask them if they were coming from Arkansas or headed back there. :0) We stopped and took pictures of several beautiful old churches, each one more elaborate than the last.

We also stopped at a shrine known as the hill of crosses. Historically it is a symbol of the resilient nature of the Christians in Lithuania. During the Soviet Era, the people would erect crosses on the hill and the Soviets would come and knock them down. Before long the people would set them up again. Since the fall of the Iron Curtain, over 200,000 crosses have been brought to this remote hillside north of Siauliai. Two popes have visited the site and there is now a Fransciscan Monestary at the site.

Personally, I found the place rather sad. Like so many things that man creates for worship, at some point we begin to miss the point and before long it becomes an idolatrous spectacle. But it did show us one thing, the people of Lithuania are hungry for a relationship with God. We pray that we can lead them away from dead ritual to a relationship with a living Savior.

We arrived at our hotel in Kaunas at about 4PM. It is a very nice place, The Park Inn by Raddison. The beds are no larger than the were at Talsi, but they are up off the floor.



L to R (Interpreters Uri and Aukse and Pastorus Vladymir

 We met our host, Pastor Vladymir of Kaunas Evangelical Christian Baptist Church and our interpreter, Aukse.  Pastor Vladymir speaks very little English and comes off pretty serious but I rode with him and Aukse to the school and tried to break the ice a little bit.  The church was started in 1875 and PastorVladymir has been there for 30 years.  They endured some pretty heavy persecution under the Soviets, and their church building was used for everything from a barracks to a night club to a warehouse for salt.  Since the fall of the Iron Curtain, they have been a shining light in their neighborhood, which once was one of the most violent in the country but now is recognized as peaceful and safe.

 
When we arrived at the school we were pleasantly surprised by what we found.  The school had repainted the gym floor and added several side goals since Joel had visited in the spring.  It is nowhere near the facility that we enjoyed in Latvia, but it is much better than we expected.
We then went o the church for a snack and a planning meeting with the Pastor and our interpreters.  They told us that they had given 200 flyers to the PE teachers at the area schools and that they had handed out around 700 flyers in the neighborhoods. The announcement had been made on the radio and in the newspapers as well. So, tomorrow we may have 50 and we may have 200.  It's all in God's hands.
We were speaking about the services at the church on Sunday and Aukse began talking about her love of praising God.  She said, "I have found something on the internet that I love.  Have you heard of K-love?  Positive and encouraging, yes?"

We also saw that Pastor Vladymir had several Gideon New Testaments in the Lithuanian language that he had been given for his people.  I told him that there were several Gideons who had been instrumental in our being able to come on this trip. We left our meeting tonight expecting God to do something so big that no one would mistake it for anything that we could have accomplished on our own.
When I got back to the hotel, I stopped at the display case for the restaurant in the lobby.  What I saw was an array of wonderful looking desserts.  There in the middle was a teacup filled with Creme brûlée.  I bought it and it was the second best that I have ever tasted(surpassed only by that prepared by Brenda Nowlin).
I thought it would be hard for God to outdo what He did last week, but I am beginning to believe that this week is going to be more memorable yet.

Latvia (Day 6) Part 2 - Day Trip to the Baltic Sea

After lunch today, a few of us hopped in the van and headed north to Kolka, a small village located at the convergence of the Bay of Riga and the Baltic Sea.  Along the way we saw some amazing old churches and beautiful countryside.  As we approached the Baltic, we wound our way through forests of cedar and birch trees and through great fields of wheat and hay.  At one point, we watched the farmers mowing and baling hay.  Walking through the fields behind the machinery were storks looking for lunch. 

As we passed through Valdemarpils, we saw a couple of the older girls who had attended our camp walking along the road.  We stopped and asked if they needed a ride and they got in.  They were hitch-hiking to Rojas (pronounced like my dad pronounces Hawaii, except with an 'R') to go to the beach for the afternoon.  The people here walk almost everywhere they go and they have no fear of hitch-hiking.  The American in us made us very concerned for their safety, so we dropped them in Rojas on our way to Kolka.

When we got to the Baltic, we walked about a half mile out to the point, where the Gulf of Riga and the Baltic Sea meet.  The waves in the picture below are where the waters of the two come together. 

The beach was pretty clear and the water was not terribly cold, so we waded out and got pictures in the Baltic Sea and the Bay of Riga.

Here is a short video to show you how far we had to walk to get from the Baltic Sea to the Bay of Riga.

When we got back to Talsi, we took a walk through the town and saw a few of the sights.  The Lutheran church here in Talsi was built in 1567, just 50 years after Luther hung his 95 Theses on the door of the Church in Wittenburg. 

The school is teaming with kids tonight as they are saying their goodbyes to the kids that we brought with us.  Tomorrow morning at 7 AM, we head for Lithuania.  Pray for that God prepares the way for us as we go.

Latvia (Day 6) - Tears on Earth, Rejoicing in Heaven

Okay, so the kids probably didn't understand why I was crying.  I was standing in the gym watching them go from coach to coach and asking for our autographs on the balls and t-shirts that we had given them, and it was all I could do to keep the tears from rolling down my face.  What I had witnessed in the previous hour and a half is still causing goose-bumps as I sit here seven hours later writing this post.  Today was the last day of our camp here in Talsi. Each day, we have shared a small portion of the Gospel and explained it as best we can to each group of kids who either weren't in the camp last summer or just didn't make a decision for Christ.  The first couple of days, we spoke of God's game plan for their life and the problem of sin.  It was evident that some were grasping what we were saying, because yesterday one of the boys, said, "Is today when we hear the good news?"  Well, this morning we brought each group into one of the locker rooms so that we could have a little privacy.

The first group was made up of 6 middle school boys.  When Joel asked them if they would like to ask Christ into their heart, all six raised their hands, all six prayed to receive Jesus, and all six became our brothers in Christ.  I left the room with the feeling  that this day was going to be very special.  So that every coach would have the opportunity to witness the impact of our work here this week, we rotated with each group so that each coach had a chance to sit in while the invitation was given to a small group of campers.  By the end of the day thirty-five campers prayed to ask Jesus to forgive their sins and be their Saviour.
When I heard the final results, I just couldn't hold back the tears.  5000 miles, thousands of dollars in travel expenses, time away from family and church responsibilities, all for a little basketball coaching???? Nice vacation, Pastor, have fun on your little basketball trip.  Well, today is what it is all about.  This is why we came.  There may be tears here in Talsi, but they are tears of joy, and they are nothing compared to the rejoicing that is going on in heaven right now.

Latvia (Day 5) Basketball, Bees, and Shish-kabob

It's been another beautiful day here in Talsi, Latvia.  We had 54 kids at camp this morning and things went very well.  I introduced Justin Hull to the kids that I am discipling.  Justin is our outstanding video guy who, when our portion of the trip is over will be returning to Talsi to continue the ministry to these young people long-term. Justin is a great young man and I am excited to see what God is going to do through him here in Talsi.

Today is the first day that every minute hasn't been scheduled, so after lunch, I came back to the school and took an hour long nap.  I have been staying up till 1AM every night getting my blog posted and my pictures up, etc. So the nap was a wonderful thing.  When I got up, our hostess, Inguna, took our team and the VBS team that is here from Texas out to a campground for a little getaway.

The place was beautiful, but then again, I've been using that word alot this week.  It was located in a birch and pine forest and had several small lakes with several nice cabins scattered around.  The cabins each had a large sauna and the plan was for Inguna to fix shish-kabobs for everyone and then we could use the sauna.  While the shishkabobs were grilling, we went on a little tour through the park that was focused on the life of bees.  We even got dressed up in a beekeeper's "costume" and the keeper showed us the hives and the whole process of honey production. 

It was interesting. It would have been nice if they had given us the costumes earlier, because the mosquitoes were terrible.  They even carried off a few of the young children. :0)  

The meal was amazing.  The meat was wonderfully seasoned, and the bread was excellent, and there was smoked chicken and these little bread twists that were slightly sweet and it was all fantastic. One of the ladies in the other group asked me to pass the smoked chicken and I said, "You know that it's not chicken, it's stork."  One of the other ladies eyes got as big as hubcaps.  She had eaten about four bites of the chicken and was convinced that I was telling the truth.  It was hilarious.

After dinner, the youngsters in both groups put on their swimsuits and got in the sauna.  I refrained, because I was sure that there was no one that wanted to see me in a swimsuit.  The sauna is a part of Latvian culture.  They sit in the dry sauna with the temperature at about 180 degrees, then they run outside and jump in the cold water of the pond.  They say that the sudden change in temperature is exhilerating, but I just took their word for it.  Besides, the little pond that they were jumping into was very small and kind of marshy.

I had the chance to sit down with Inguna for a little while and hear her testimony and the story of how she came to start a Christian school and how it is supported, etc.  She and her husband Maris are amazing people that God is using to do a tremendous work.  I have invited them to come speak at our church in November.

Tomorrow is our big day.  We will be giving the invitation to follow Christ to the 40 or so campers who have not accepted Him. Please pray that God will move in a mighty way.  It will all be happening between 1AM and 4AM Grove time, Wednesday morning, so I'm sure that you will all set your alarms and spend that three hours in prayer. :0) Ummmmm, or at least pray for us before you go to bed tonight that we can see a great harvest of souls here.

I have fallen in love with the people of my team.  I only barely knew any of them when we started on this journey together, but I have seen their hearts this week and I am glad that god allowed me to be a part  of all this.  And after tomorrow, we will only be half way finished.  Thursday morning it's on to Lithuania!

Latvia (Day 4) Riga 500

Today was an exciting day at camp.  I taught a lesson on feeding on the Word of God and the kids really  responded well.  We gave Bibles to all of the kids who made decisions to follow Christ at last year's camp.  The groups were arranged a little differently today which allowed me a couple of free segments to do some coaching.  I really enjoyed that and I think the campers did too. 

After lunch we loaded up the vans and headed to Riga, Latvia's capital and site of their airport.  The last member of our team arrived this afternoon, so we took it as an excuse to visit this wonderful old-world city.  Located on the banks of the beautiful Daugava River, Riga's central district holds all of the classic charm that you can imagine.  The 13th Century Riga Cathedral is a wonder of medieval architecture and it contains the second largest pipe organ in Latvia.

The Cathedral is set in the middle of a gorgeous piazza filled with shops and restaurants, with a soundtrack provided by street musicians of every variety, a talented young woman on a violin, playing a classical piece, a young girl in the market deftly playing a dulcimer, three teenage girls singing their version of a modern pop song as one of them strummed her guitar, and an old bearded man producing a hauntingly beautiful sound that flowed from his saxophone and echoed from the brightly colored walls of the courtyard.  Against the backdrop of an azure sky and snow white clouds, it gave you the feeling of an old romantic movie scene.

After our visit to Old Town Riga, we made our way to the airport to pick up Gary.  We dropped three of our team off at the terminal just a few minutes after his scheduled arrival time with the intention of making the circle a couple of times and saving the 2 Lat parking fee.  This is where our story enters the "Sounded like a good idea at the time" Zone.  Apparently Gary purchased the ticket that allows your luggage to visit all of the historic European capitals and Riga was well down on the list, so while we waited for him to find out that his socks and underwear may just get to see Springtime in Paris, we made enough left turns to qualify us for the next race on the NASCAR circuit.

We had dinner at a great restaurant in Riga and then made our way back here.  We are finding that this country is a study in contradictions; tremendous natural beauty, wonderful people who have endured great oppression and come out on the other side as survivors, and yet they are groping in spiritual darkness.  Please pray for us as we share the gospel these next couple of days.  We have almost 40 unsaved kids coming to camp everyday.  They are hearing a simple presentation of the Gospel that is progressing each day.  On Wednesday, we will bring them to the place of decision and we would ask that you pray very vigorously that they respond.  The basketball is fun, the sightseeing is awesome, but the reason we are here is to see kids saved.  Let's bombard the throne of God over the next 48 hours.

We have a great video guy with us on this trip. Justin has put together a short video with pictures from each day of the camp.  You can find them on Youtube at http://www.youtube.com/user/thewaysports#p/a/u/0/YwNK6Ob1_1c

Latvia (Day 3) Talsi Baptist Church and Day 1 of Basketball Camp

Sunday morning in Talsi, Latvia was a beautiful thing.  The sun comes up at about 3:00 AM and by the time we left the school and walked the three blocks to Talsi Baptist Church, it was a balmy 61 degrees and a beautifully sunny day.  Our group and another group of foreigners (Texans) who are here to do a VBS at the school joined with the regular crowd to fill the little church to capacity. 

The church looked like it usually runs around 100 in attendance.  They had a wonderful Choir and several extraordinary instrumentalists and they did hymns and praise songs that we were familiar with, although the lyrics were in Latvian, making them a little hard to follow.

God had been working ahead of time to prepare the way before us today.  While we are here in Latvia to present the Gospel to a Gospel-starved people, we found ourselves in the midst of a wonderful church full of Baptist people who know and worship the same Lord and Saviour that we do. And not only that, but the guest speaker today was a young Latvian preacher who went to Denmark to start a church.  He spoke of many of the same struggles that we experience back home; the struggle between ritual and relationship, the division between Christians over music and standards, and the loneliness of ministry in a difficult place, relieved by the visit of praying, encouraging friends from home.  As I sat in the service listening to him preach in Latvian and hearing a sketchy translation from one of our new Latvian friends, it made me aware of how those that we have come to minister to must feel when we speak to them of their need for Christ when they know nothing about him.  We have come to be the translators of the Gospel to their darkened hearts. 
The church service was a real blessing and it got our day off to a great start.
After lunch we made our way to the Gym for the first day of our Basketball Camp.  This is a holiday weekend here in Latvia, so we didn't have as many as we expected for the first day.  We had 42 kids show up, less than half of them had been at the camp last year.  The kids were very enthusiastic about learning basketball.

My main job at the camp this week will be to help those kids who received Christ at last year's camp to grow in their walk with the Lord.  Today, we reviewed what they had learned last year and introduced the things that we would share with them over the next three days.  I had 14 kids today and was able to converse with more than half of them in English.  My young friend, Janis, our host's son, served as my translator with the rest.  It was exciting to see their continued commitment to the decision that they made last year to follow Jesus.
We even had a slam dunk contest on a slightly lowered goal and I competed with the kids and made it through the first two rounds, so I guess I didn't embarass myself too much.
When the camp was over for the day, I had the opportunity to Skype into our services back home.  Even though I have only been gone a few days, it was great to see everyone there.  It is amazing to me that we can be 5,000 miles apart and be able to see and hear each other live. 

Supper tonight was a hotdog from a local gas station, which normally wouldn't seem like a very appetizing prospect, but the bun was really unique, almost like a French Bread that was hollowed out for the hot dog.  The filled the hole with ketchup and mustard and then slid the dog down into it.  Very nice and neat, and also very tasty. 
Well, it's only 11 o'clock, so I must be making progress on getting this blog posted.  Keep praying for us.  God is working and lives are being changed; our team's as much as anyone.

Latvia (Day 2) Stripping Wallpaper For Jesus

Today was a beautiful day in Latvia.  We got up and had a wonderful breakfast that featured scrambled eggs, a very interesting toast with melted cheese and garlic that was awesome, and more fresh strawberries with something that was called Russian creme.  I later found out that it was just sweetened condensed milk, so I have a new thing to try when I get home.
One of our team is going to stay here in Talsi as a missionary to disciple the young people that we see come to Christ through these camps.  After breakfast we went to the apartment that they are preparing for him to live in.  We spent most of the morning stripping wallpaper and moving furniture and painting ceilings. 
After doing as much damage as we could, we came back to the school for a little nap.
When everyone was refreshed, we went to a pizza place for dinner and then for a short tour of the town.  The menu of the pizza place was very interesting.  I have to say that it is the first place that I have ever seen beef tongue on the menu for a pizza. 
The town of Talsi is a beautiful little village whose archetecture reminds you of a WWII movie set.

We saw a family of swans walking down the middle of the street holding up traffic. Later in the evening, we saw a hedgehog walking around the school grounds.  Fortunately, we had one of our hosts there to tell us that they were very gentle animals, so I took the opportunity to pet one.

I'm a little sweaty because a couple of us had to show some of the young bucks around here how to play basketball.
We ended the evening with a long planning session for our camps which start tomorrow.  I will be in charge of discipling the kids who came to Christ in last year's camp.  The station where we share the Gospel will be divided into two sections this year.  Joel will teach the basic plan of salvation and I will teach some basic discipleship stuff.  It is looking like we will have a much better turnout than last year.  We are looking forward to a great start tomorrow afternoon.  Pray for us.

Latvia (Day 1)

World travel in the post-9/11 era is always an adventure.  Thursday around 12:30 PM, I headed for Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport.  If you've never been to NWA, let me tell you, it doesn't exactly exude "International Terminal."  It is simply a few buildings out in the middle of a farm field equipped with x-ray security equipment and a host of pleasant TSA employees. I arrived two hours prior to my scheduled departure time, met up with four of my team members, and quickly found out that there was something wrong with our plane that would result in an hour-long delay in our departure.  As it turned out, they found it necessary to delay our flight for an hour because one of the overhead lights was malfunctioning, which could have forced one of the passengers to take a short nap instead of reading the two-day old USA Today that they found in their seatback.
After an uneventful and well-lit 45-minute flight, we arrived in Memphis just 35 minutes before our scheduled Transatlantic departure.  When all was said and done, the tension of the early portion of our journey didn't have a major impact on our arrival in Amsterdam.  When I found my seat on the second leg of our journey, I met a young man named Robert.  He was an IT professional for the Hilton Hotel chain whose job took him regularly back and forth to the States from his home in Glasgow, Scotland.  His wonderful Gaelic accent made for a fascinating conversation and it wasn't long before the details of my trip and our ultimate goal of presenting the Gospel in a place that was darkened toward it came to the forefront.  Robert was very curious about my faith and as I shared the plan of salvation with him, he asked many very perceptive questions.  We discussed the problem of sin, the tendency of religions to fracture and fight, the fact of his spiritual hunger, but the absence of regular religious practice.  He listened carefully as I shared the details of God's simple plan of salvation and immediately drew the conclusion that if I believed what I was telling him, then I must believe that all mankind should follow the path that I was presenting.  But wouldn't God be sympathetic to the man who lived a good life and followed the principles of Buddha or Mohammed?  Our conversation emphsized one impication of the Gospel after another as the moments flew by.  After a full two hours, Robert apologetically said, "I really need to get some rest.  I have a big day tomorrow, so I am going to try to sleep."
When we reached our destination, I just couldn't bear the thought of seeing Robert step out of my life without one more opportunity to receive Christ.  I took my New Testament and wrote my name and phone number in it and I said, "I want to give you something.  This will answer the questions you have about your spiritual life.  Since you are in America so often, I've put my name and number in the front so that if you ever have a question you can call me."  He said, "I have a two hour layover, I think I'll start reading it right now.  Thank you very much, you've given me a lot to think about."
Our work in Latvia doesn't begin for a couple more days, but God has already given me the opportunity to share the Gospel with one searching soul.  Pray for Robert, a young man in his early 30's, with a six-year-old daughter, who knows that he has a need.  Pray that God will use our time together to only cause that hunger to increase until he comes face to face with the One who loves him enough to die for him.
Well, there is a lot more to tell, but it's time to hit the hay.  We are sleeping in the classrooms of the Talsi Christian School, a wonderful ministry in this small town that is doing a tremendous work in reaching young Latvian students for Christ. Tomorrow, I'll post a few pictures of this quaint little town and the wonderful uniqueness that I've already seen.

Perspective

Before the winds that blow do cease,
Teach me to dwell within Thy calm:
                                                   Amy Carmichael

WOW! Sometimes God allows us to step back for just a moment and get a perspective on the things that really matter. Over the last few weeks, I have heard myself say on several occasions, "I just haven't been able to get to that yet.  I have been sooo busy."  In the past few days, God has shown me that if I'm too busy for some things, then I'm just too busy and I need to reset my priorities.  Let me explain.
On Friday, I had a visit from a couple of old friends.  They had been members of the church I pastored in Oklahoma City.  While they were very dear to our hearts, their family was a constant source of difficulty.  Sin, pride, abuse and turmoil were their family legacy and as their Pastor, I was right in the middle of it. The strife impacted three generations and the consequences will continue to be dealt with for years to come.  I had only recently received a call from their present pastor about new turmoil and the possibility of more problems.  Then last week, I got a call that the father had been diagnosed with a terminal liver disease and that he had only 3 months to live.  When I called to console them, they asked if they could come for a visit.  They wanted to share with me what God had been doing in their life recently. 
As the day of their visit approached, I wondered what I would say.  The hope that we find in Christ is wonderful, but it is easy to seem callous or flippant when we disregard the obvious turmoil that death brings.
Heaven is real and the relief from suffering that it offers is sweet, but we are often conflicted by the pain of separation that those who are left behind will have to endure.
When the couple arrived at our home, I was surprised to find them upbeat and joyful.  As they shared with me the events of the past couple of months, there was a peace that I had never seen in their eyes before.  They told me of the work that God had been doing in them even before the diagnosis had been given and of how the Lord had worked things out so that their family could face this trial with grace rather than with dread. 
Longstanding hurts and unforgiveness had been dealt with.  The father, whose prideful self-will had brought about a controlling harshness, had acknowledged not only the sinfulness of his outward actions toward his children and his wife, but also the underlying spirit that continued to wound those that he loved and cared for.
What I saw when I looked at this couple were two people who were rejoicing in what God had done and trusting Him for what the future holds.  When the subject of his impending death came up, the answer was simple, straight-forward and confident.  "How can we be sad about the fact that He is going to be with Jesus?  His sorrow and pain will be over."
The two of them left on Saturday intending to take the backroads home and find a romantic spot to spend the evening and just enjoy some of the time that they had left together.  I found myself encouraged by their visit. 
Just over 24 hours later, the storms blew in.  A small tornado hit just south of our house and a horrific tornado took almost 1/4 of Joplin, killing at least 116 people.  The first news that I received about the Joplin tornado was that St. John's Hospital had taken a direct hit, that the top two floors were gone, and that the entire front face of the building was devastated.  One of our beloved church members, Ann Hickman, was in ICU, on the third floor of that hospital and her room had a front facing window, so immediately I began trying to find out what had happened to her.  I would not know until late the next day that she had survived and had been moved to a hospital in Springfield. 
This morning, 36 hours after the storm hit, sitting in my office with the sun shining outside, I am struck with the contrasts between the events of the past few days.  In the case of the couple that visited us, the storm that struck their life gave them time to contemplate their actions, their heart attitudes, and their relationship to God and to each other.  The spectre of death was bounded by the awareness of God's promises and His blessings even in the storm.  The result in their life and family was ultimately a blessing.  Their attitude reminded me of the old Jake Hess song, that Ron Fisher asked be played at his funeral, "Death Ain't No Big Deal."
In contrast, I see the massive destruction of the tornado, that descended on its victims in a moment, with very little warning, and left turmoil, devastation, and suffering in its wake.  This morning on the radio, I heard the voice of a man whose mother and his toddler son were in the path of the tornado and had not been heard from since the storm.  The desperation and panic in his words, as he pleaded with anyone within the sound of his voice, "If anyone knows anything, please contact us as soon as possible."  I see pictures of the survivors, wandering through demolished neighborhoods in stunned silence, their shock-numbed senses struggling to bring order to the chaos of their world.  And as the hours and the days pass, the stories will be heard of the lives cut short, the opportunities snatched away in a swirling whirlwind, and the long-road to recovery and restoration.

It is in this vast contrast that I hear the still, small voice of the Lord saying, "Boast not thyself of tomorrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth."  Life is uncertain and if the Lord tarries His coming, death awaits us all.  But we don't have to live our lives in fear.  We can be prepared.  The Lord told Hezekiah, "Set thine house in order..." I am sure that there will be those who, in response to this storm, build a storm shelter.  But I would encourage you to also prepare for the storms of life now matter what form they take by making things right with God and with those whom He has placed in your life.  That way, no matter what happens, no matter how strongly with winds blow, you can be at peace.