Boring WITH Brakes!

Location: You won't believe this--I am sitting in a gas station parking lot in R.'s Dacia with the computer on the steering wheel; it is Sunday, the 13th of February, a little after 2:30pm.

(The meat of this post is four paragraphs below, so skip there if you are in a hurry to know why I am waiting in the Dacia. Scroll down to the next post or look on the side column for a picture of a Dacia.)

I know, a laptop in a Dacia is like an oxymoron. The dash board is taped together, and I found a wire on my floorboard today, which I hope did not come off of something important. However, the steeringwheel is shaped just right for this little computer, and so here I am typing while I kill a bit of time.

I took this Dacia to the garage on Friday, and now I have brakes. I have to admit, driving with brakes is a bit more boring than driving with out, but I feel safer, especially when I have other people in the car--which is most of the time. For instance, I picked up four women who were hitchhiking out of my village together on Friday. They asked where I was going, and I mumbled something about taking the car to the garage because it needed some attention. However, they wanted to stop where I had not expected it, and when I could not stop, I had to admit that I had no breaks! As I downshifted and used my handbrake, I apologized that I could not stop right where they wanted, and that I had no brakes. I said, "I didn't want to tell you before, but now that you are getting out, I will tell you that I don't have brakes!"

There have been many surprises this week, and changes in schedules. Yesterday it poured, then snowed, and then the sun came out, all while I was cutting firewood. I was working on firewood yesterday instead of Friday, because Friday I had to go to town to get the brakes fixed. Thursday I was in town, too, because I had to pick up a package, which can only be done on Thursdays between 10am and 12pm. Now the guy at the post office has my cell phone number so he can call me when I get a package, saving us some of the trouble we have gone through. Most importantly, though, I met with my men's group on Thursday night, but please pray for us. It is going so well, but the other unofficial leader now has something at church each Thursday, and we might not be able to find a time during the week when we can all meet. That would be a great disappointment for me, because this group has been a huge blessing, but I trust the Lord; He knows what is best!

But enough about that, because I need to tell you about what just happened. I just came from A., a village in the Sighisoara area. We have a couple families from there who have been coming to our church, and it is a long way away; more than an hour's walk. These people have been coming faithfully every week, but they also beg every week, often going from one person to another. They are not bad people, but it is hard to feel welcoming to them if you know that they will ask you for something each time you talk to them.

I had run into the man earlier in the week, and I was praying for him the past few days; I could not get him out of my head. Finally, the Lord gave me a plan. I picked up groceries for them this morning--before they could ask me for anything--and volunteered to give them a ride home--again, before they could ask. Then I asked if I could come to the man's house after church for a cup of coffee, knowing that his house was in a very poor state and that he had little, if anything to offer me. He agreed, and I paid him a visit.

How wonderful it was! He is in a desperate situation, and it is true that his house is literally falling down around his ears. It is true that his wife died last year, and that he does not have much work because no one is hiring people to install new gutters at this time of year. It is true that they have almost nothing, and that they are using the second hand clothes they recently received. But it is also true that until he and his twelve-year-old daughter (who is sick and does not go to school) moved to this area, he went to church for eight years straight, never missing a Sunday! He gave up alcohol a long time again, and he trusts the Lord to provide.

I asked about his wife, and they showed me pictures. We chatted and laughed together, and then we prayed together. As we sat in their cold, fireless house, he did not offer me anything. But I was finally able to get behind the beggar to meet the man who loves Jesus, who wants to care for his daughter, and who is trying to get by best he can.

I am so glad I went. We have been praying together at church to know how to involve and help this and other families. We have several families who are coming regularly, who have enormous need, and who come from a little too far away to be very involved. Our church does not have the resources to help them much of the time, and we are trying to teach them to depend on Jesus.

So now I am killing time before I need to pick up R.'s family and take them home. Please pray for this man (G.) and his daughter (L.) Please pray for our church, as we stuggle with knowing how best to be the hands and feet, as well as mouth and heart, of our wonderful Jesus.

I bless you in His Name, in the Name of Jesus!

Save the Date!

Location: Home! (My house in the village of C., Romania.) It is nearly 8pm on the evening of February 7, 2011.

Why did I put an exclamation point behind "home"? It feels good to have a place to call home, and to be there. This has been my home since last May, even if I often stay in other places, and I am so blessed to have a space to myself. Thank You, God, for all Your blessings.

Though I finished my commuting schedule a month ago--the one that required me to spend the night in town several nights per week--I still sleep one or two nights in town on a regular basis, at my second home, J's apartment. (Please continue to pray for J., not because anything is wrong, but because we all need prayer. The Lord has used him to bless me greatly, time after time, even though I have often inconvenienced him. Thanks to your prayers, his heating system finally got fixed last week, which he will celebrate the rest of the winter, but do please continue to pray for him, that He might be blessed as much as he has been a blessing. Thanks!) It works nicely for me to stay there on Tuesday nights; that way I can participate in our small group that evening, and I am already in town Wednesday morning for my weekly visit to V., where we do our Bible Hour. Add in the fact that I find myself traveling sometimes, and you can understand why it feels so nice to have a quiet evening at home in the village. This weekend was fairly "chill" as far as my agenda was concerned, but it included a lot of unexpected travel. At the last minute, I made plans to visit some friends in Brasov with M., meeting her there after a course she finished on Saturday afternoon. On my way, I stopped in the village of A. to visit my buddy I. Unfortunately, I did not get to visit with him very long during that short visit, because he also had some other plans. However, I got to spend the majority of that day with my French friend, J., who is I.'s brother-in-law. J. and E. are back from several months in the States (he was the one I was covering for last fall on the child evangelism team), and we had a lot of important things to discuss. He is also one of my favorite people to pray with, and we made sure to pray together.

After that relaxed time in A., I hopped on a second train and met M. in Brasov, where we went to meet her friends. I especially enjoyed playing with their little baby. She is less than two, and though my Romanian is better than hers, her German is better than mine, so I was able to use her kiddie books to learn a few words, too. We had a good time with them, and I especially enjoyed taking a walk downtown Brasov with them. I had been there before a couple of times, but it was fun watching the baby chase the pigeons in the square.

So, except for teaching this morning (we have a French test tomorrow!), this has been a quiet day at home. I just finished some laundry after dinner, having spent a good portion of the afternoon . . . writing! It is such a joy to be writing! I do not know if what I am writing is good or not, but at the moment, I do not care. I am one step closer to some of my dreams just by being a writer, and since I am writing, I am a writer now! The more I write, the better I will get, and the odds are that something I write will be worth reading! I have had to be very intentional about sitting down to write, because I found that my habit was to try to get everything done first (like laundry, cooking, tidying up, emails, etc.) and then to write when I got done. However, that meant it was always late before I had a chance to write, and I was usually tired by then. Now that I have made it a priority, it works! Please pray for me in this, that I would prioritize my time in a godly way, being a good steward of it, and please pray that I would only write what the Lord gives me to write. He will direct my paths!


I do have a priority that is greater than writing, and that is spending time with my Jesus. Outside of teaching, that is how I spent the majority of my morning: in prayer and Bible study. Some people think I am a missionary, simply because I moved to a foreign land and am involved in ministy. Those folks might be okay with the idea of me spending time in prayer. However, I think there are a lot of people who wander what I do, thinking I am squandering my youth chasing adventures and not working. It is those kind of thoughts I have to battle when I set aside time for prayer. The truth is that it does not matter what people think: there is no better way to spend my time than in prayer and Bible study with my Jesus.

I have a question for you. Is your time with Jesus like my writing time was? I mean, do you try to get everything done that needs to be done, and then, by the end of the day, you might manage to find a few minutes of time to open your Bible or to recite a bedtime prayer through your fatigue? Or is it a priority? Do you schedule things around your time with Jesus, or do squeeze it into blank spots in your agenda?

It helps me to think of it as a wedding--not just any wedding, but my wedding. I do not know if or when I will get married, for that is all in God's hands. However, I imagine that should I get married, there would be very little that would be able to prevent me from making it to that wedding. If I am marrying the girl of my dreams, no storm, no catastrophe, no unexpected guest, no car problem, no attack, no challenge of any kind would keep me from getting there. And when I do arrive, and I am saying my vows or listening to hers, I would not answer my phone even if it is the president of a nation or a pope or a famous person of some sort. I would not run out halfway through to grab a burger, nor would I try multi-tasking, cooking lunch or trimming my fingernails for example, while I am at the altar tying the knot. Would you?

Think of your wedding, or some other extremely important appointment with someone you care about, someone you cherish. What would you allow to keep you from that date? What would you allow you to distract you from that time, or to cut it short?

For me, that is prayer time. I have made it a priority in my life, and even a phone call from a beautiful girl can wait if I am face to face with my Savior, the Jesus who died on a cross to set me eternally free.
Maybe you think I am slacking when I spend a whole morning in prayer instead of going out to "put my hand to the plow," but I have learned that every moment of my life is more productive through prayer than it is through my own strength. I would like to challenge you to set a date like that with Jesus. A date that you would not interrupt even if your friend in Romania called you. A date that you would keep everyday, even if it meant sometimes rearranging the rest of your schedule. A date that would convey to your Lord just how much you really love Him, that nothing else on the face of this earth is more important to you than Him.

I am praying that you will do that. Valentine's Day is coming up in America: who is your First Love?

If I may borrow an idea from Francis Chan, matched with a photo I took this weekend: Is this what your walk with your Abba, your Father, your God looks like? I hope so!

Meanwhile, thank you for your prayers for your friend in Romania. He is happy and healthy, and making some important decisions about the coming months. He has the responsibility and privilege of driving his friend's Dacia for the month, and of dating a beautiful Romanian Saxon gal from Sighisoara. He is investing in the life of a fifteen-year-old boy in the village of C., and he is preaching in the village of V. while learning wisdom from his choir director/mentor who leads and translates for him there. Most importantly, he is growing in faith and the Word as he walks with Jesus. He is honored that you pray for him, and that one of the churches in Indianapolis recently took a moment to present information about his life in Romania. Thanks for your prayers, thanks for your love, and thanks for reading this blog.

I bless you in the Name of our First Love, Jesus!

In Church, In Love

Location: Happy February (today's the 1st) from my little house in C., Romania

Before long I will drive my Dacia into town. No, it is not mine, it is R.'s; he had to leave town again and left it in my care again for the month. It is a blessing to have wheels, though it is even better to have him around. Please pray for him, and especially for his family while he is away. Our men's group will not be the same without him, either, and G. is also out of town this week.

Nonetheless, I am looking forward to men's group on Thursday; again last week it was a huge blessing! The Lord knew I needed something like that in my life. In fact, I have things each day of the week that I look forward to now . . . After Thursday comes Friday, my last day of language lessons for the week, often meaning my time is freer during the weekend. Saturday is my Sabbath day when I have no weekly plans, especially in the morning (and you will recall that the morning is my favorite time of day!). Sunday brings the opportunity to gather with people I love to worship our great God together. Monday represents the return to village life, a day when I can get caught up on things that need to be done, and if D. has done his homework all week, we watch a movie on Monday as a reward. Tuesday brings with it our young adult small group, and Wednesday is the day I head into the village of V. and help teach a Bible Hour there. Life is good, because God is so good, and so generous with His blessings!

Naturally, many of these days dawn on frustrations that, like weeds, need to be pulled up. But we can expect that in this life on a sin-cursed Earth, groaning until it is restored by our Creator. For instance, Sunday morning was extremely frustrating for me, and it was everything I could do to hold myself together. I wanted to fall apart, to surrender myself into God's arms and cry or sleep or sit quietly, but I could not for a variety of reasons. I had to chauffer many people to and from church, but I nearly went home in between, just wanting to isolate myself in my misery.

Do you know why I did not? Everything inside of me screamed to retreat, nurse my wounds, and recover in a peaceful place. Had I done that, though, the devil would have won that battle. Do you realize that? Do you recognize what a privilege it is and how important it is to gather with brothers and sisters in Christ to worship together? Even if you church is not perfect? Even if your frustrations are coming from your church! I remind you that the devil wants to isolate us. It is not a sin to not go to church . . . but it is unwise. When we do not fellowship with other believers, we give them no opportunity to encourage us. When we do not gather in worship with other believers, we short-change God, because we fail to bring Him blessings through corporate praise and devotion. When we do not gather as the Body of Christ, we avoid the very blessings we are praying for, the very help we are seeking, the very protection we need! So on Sunday, I went to church to scorn the devil.

It will not surprise you that the Lord blessed me. I did not enjoy service, I sat in the back and the whole time I did not want to be there. Yet because of that, I was able to pray more deeply from my heart when I was suddenly called to lead the congregation in prayer. And then the Lord blessed me through the attitude of a visiting friend who usually attends another church, one who came because another obligation had made her miss her own worship service, but her desire for Christian fellowship pushed her to come to another church to find it.

Do you ever want to go to church so badly that you will do everything in your power to get there? Or this: do you only obey God and resist the devil when you feel well, or even when your emotions assail you and your body threatens to shut down? God is always our God. Do you appreciate that fact? Do you show Him your appreciation? "Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, . . . (James 1:12).
While I am preaching from the Word that God has been pouring into my heart (James 1:25), I want to say something about romance.

Some of you may know, and others of you may be shocked to learn that I am dating a beautiful young lady here in Sighisoara. She is a great blessing to me, and I pray that the Lord's will may be done in our friendship, as well as in every other aspect of each of our lives. We are leaving everything in His hands.

Meanwhile, we like to hold hands. Of course, people notice when we hold hands, and we smiled when we spent some time with the teenage girl who lives across the street from me. As soon as she got home, we learned that she ran to call her best friend, another teenager in our Gospel choir, to tell her the exciting news about M. and J. You see, everyone likes romance, or, more accurately, everyone likes someone else's romance.

Why?

Because watching a young couple with dreamy eyes and silly smiles is like watching a movie. Their happiness is contagious, and their optimism brings hope to veteran couples whose marriages have lost some of their fire, and to unmarried singles who are dreaming of their own true love! It gives gossips something to talk about, gamers something to bet on, and poets fodder for their rhymes.

Now you know as well as I do that so much of what we call "love" turns out to be fleeting infatuation, and that "true love" is not as magical as it appears to the bystander. True love is hard work! True love is a decision that involves commitment, time, and effort. It requires grace, grace, and grace, plus forgiveness. It needs more time to listen than to talk, more time to understand than to analyze, and more time to be than to do. True love is build upon Jesus Christ as the cornerstone, but the rest of the bricks in the walls are conflicts that were defeated and covered over by mortor and plaster of forgiveness and grace.

That is us, Church. Is that what our Romance looks like?

I want us as the Church to be so in love with Jesus that everyone is talking about it--that everyone is excited about it! I want the gossips and the games and the bystanders to be so awestruck by the relationship they see us in, that they forget all of their whining and scheming and criticizing and demoralizing. I want to feel like I am walking on clouds because I am constantly receiving reminders from my Lord that He loves me, and I want to hold hands with Him as I walk through the cold and darkness or dance in the sun. I want our relationship with Jesus to give hope to those who have never allowed themselves to fall in love with Him, and to revive the fire of those who are barely hanging on to the faith they once had.

Certainly, on the inside, there will still be conflicts and tension in the church. But God's grace is sufficient to cover them, and if we set them on the cornerstone of Christ, they will become even stronger walls, cemented together by grace, showing beautiful mercy and lovingkindness to all who pass by or come in.

In America, it is nearly Valentine's Day. How about it. Would you be willing to fall in love with Jesus again? Or for the first time? Forever? He is waiting at your door with a bouquet of blessings--please do not keep Him waiting!

Speaking of waiting, I should get ready to head to town. However, I have been making a conscious effort to set writing as one of my highest priorities, because otherwise this passion of mine never finds issue. Please pray for me as I write. I want to write only what God puts in my heart, only for His glory. I trust Him to make plans for me that will organize the more mundane parts of my "to do" list, and that will also give release to the gifts and godly desires He has planted in me.

Thank you for your prayers; I am praying for You, too. I am delighted to watch your romance with Jesus unfold!

Recognizing a Man of God

(Below this, I just posted photos and an update called "A Free Lunch." Enjoy your meal! But I also wanted to share with you a little bit of what God has been teaching me about being a man of God. Our men's group has been talking about this, and my goal for a long while has been to be a man of God--not more, not less. Here is an excerpt from my prayer journal, as well as some research I did for our men's group. I pray that it blesses and challenges you, too! By the way, a friend of mine took this photo. Pretty amazing how beautiful a simple light in the sidewalk can look, huh? May, we, Christians, also be beautiful as the light of Christ shines from us, even when we are tread upon or cold and covered in snow!)

Here is what I wrote in a prayer before I did some Bible research:

"If I understand correctly, Abba, a godly man is one who no longer lives his own life, for his life has been crucified with Christ, and Christ's life lives in him. He is a man of integrity, living above reproach. He is humble and gentle, led by Your Spirit. He walks in the authority of Your Word, speaks with wisdom, and listens with patience. The fruits of the Spirit are manifest in him, and he encourages and edifies the people around him. He is righteous and holy; he disciplines in love but does not condemn. He exhorts with grace, using his spiritual gifts for the good of the Body of Christ. He thinks of others as better than himself, but it is the LORD who is the center of his thoughts and life. He resists the Enemy and temptation, and he blesses the people he meets. He does not envy or boast, but he is kind. He keeps no record of wrongs, but always trusts, always hopes, always protects. He cares for widows and orphans, and prays according to Your will. His life reflects Your glory; he lives in You."

Then I did some Bible research, and here are some lists I made about a godly man:

1 Timothy 3 suggests that a godly man is...
living above reproach, tested and proven blameless
the husband of one wife
temperate
sensible
respectable hospitable
an apt teacher
not a drunkard, nor indulging in much wine
not violent, but gentle
not quarrelsome
not a lover of money, nor greedy
an effective head of his household
known to have a good reputation among non-Christians
serious
not double-tongued
clinging to the mystery of faith with a clear conscience
prayerful (1 Timothy 2:8)

Titus 2 suggests that a godly man is...
prudent
sound in faith, in lvoe, and in endurance
self-controlled
a model of good works
teaches with integrity, gravity, and sound speech that cannot be censured
submissive to his authorities
giving satisfaction
not talking back
not pilfering
showing complete and perfect fidelity
an ornament to the doctrine of God

1 Corinthians 13 suggests that a godly man is...
patient
kind
not envious or boastful
not arrogant or rude
not insisting on his own way
not irritable or resentful
not rejoicing in wrongdoing, but in truth
bearing all things
believing all things
hoping all things
enduring all things
full of faith, hope, and love

And finally, Exodus 34:6 lists some of the qualities of God that a godly man must exhibit. He is...
merciful
gracious
slow to anger
abounding in steadfast love
abounding in faithfulness
keeping steadfast love for thousands
forgiving iniquity, transgression, and sin
not clearing the guilty

Wow, just typing this challenges me, and makes me want to grow! I want to humble myself more so that God pours more of Him into me, making me turn out more like Him!

May you and I both allow God to make us into men (and women) of God!

A Free Lunch

Location: J's Apartment, 11:00am on the 22nd of January, Sighisoara, Romania

Here is an inside look at a Romanian school. These photos are from our Christmas outreach, one of the wildest programs we did! We had permission to use a school classroom, but upon our arrival, the principal told me NO children would come. As you can see, we had to barricade the hallway until we were ready in the classroom, and then we did the entire program standing on tables in the middle of the crowd! It was the closest to stardom I will ever feel, but it was fun!


I chose these pictures because again on Thursday of this week I was in Romanian school in the Hunedoara region of Romania. You may remember that I have been a guest in their English classes a couple of other times, and we had a blast again as I participated in 8 hours of English instruction! I was asked if I was an actor, if I had thought about being a teacher, and if all teachers in America "play" with their students! I taught them songs and jokes and expressions, like "Golly!" from Gomer Pyle, USMC. I also taught some history and geography and math--you name it, we did it! It was a good day.

In fact, my whole visit to Hunedoara was nice. I got to visit with the three good friends that I particularly wanted to see, and I also met and stayed with an American missionary family there. I was shown great hospitality everywhere I went, and the Lord provided for all of my needs.

As will not surprise you, I had a bit of an adventure coming home, because there are few direct routes between Hunedoara and Sighisoara. So I rode in a car with a couple of my friends how were going to leave me in a train station halfway; from there I could catch a train sooner to Sighisoara. However, somehow we missed my stop, and I ended up going all the way to Cluj-Napoca with them, which is not at all on my way home--it is northwest of Sighisoara, where Hunedoara is southwest! The blessing was that I got to see two friends in Cluj whom I had not seen in a long while, including a Scottish friend, G., I had met last summer when I helped with their camp.

All is well that ends well! I arrived "home" to Sighisoara last night, and had a nice visit with J. I am very happy, because I am so blessed. I have particularly been counting my blessings because of some of the frustrations that assail me ("us" is more correct, because my friends and collegues are included, too). I am blessed to be healthy again, but sorry to see several of my friends battling illness and stress. I am blessed to have gracious hosts and places to stay, but J.'s heat and hot-water is not working properly, leaving us aware of the chill. I am blessed to have R.'s car in my possession for the week, but I have to get it running again today to pick up his family tomorrow. I am blessed to have the Bible as my source of wisdom (I read the book of Proverbs twice in the past few days), but I have a lot of decisions to make. I was thinking last night how life would certainly be easier if I was still living in my apartment in Indianapolis, or even in my bedroom at my parents' house.

But you know me! I do not make choices based on what is "easy," I do not counsel you to do so, either! There is little value in an easy life.

Let me tell you what I mean. I have been particularly encouraged lately by two of my friends here, one Romanian and one American.

The other day, my American friend became a bit exasperated when I replied to his query about my popcorn preferences by telling him it did not matter to me; I do not really like popcorn.

He said, "You don't like popcorn, you don't like movies, you don't like parties...!? You don't like anything!"

I calmly replied that he was exaggerating, that plenty of my likes were things that he does not like. Before I could give examples, though, he shot back, "What do you mean? I like to pray, too. I like Jesus. I like to read the Bible!"

That stopped me in my tracks. What a compliment! Some of my friends have joked about the only way to get me to a social gathering is to invite me to a "prayer meeting." But do you know what I told me friend? I said, "I could die happy right now. What more could I hope for than for people to know me as someone who loves to pray, who loves to read the Bible, and who loves Jesus?"

That is my desire--that my identity be wrapped up in the fact that Jesus is my Lord.

But it gets better. I found out last night that this friend called me a "saint," in the same sentence as he identified our humble and gentle pastor as a saint, too. I have a humble question for you. Would your friends describe you as a saint?

What an honor it is for me to hear that my friends are seeing Jesus in me, rather than just seeing me. The truth is that if you have surrendered your life to Christ, letting the Spirit of Jesus live in and through you, than you are a saint. You were a sinner, but now you are a saint. In other words, the holy life of the Most High God is living through you, to His glory. A sinner sins, and a saint is being sanctified by the Holy Spirit, everyday. The Bible calls us "saints," we who have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb, whose life now lives in us. I pray that the people outside the Church will look at us and see saints! I pray that your friends and family will look at you and see a saint--a son or daughter of God being made holy by the work of the LORD in you, not by your own power.

Let me tell you about another saint; her name is M., and she is my friend with whom I taught in Hunedoara on Thursday. I know many saints, but I want to tell you how this one encouraged me this week.

I already told you that the Lord provided for everything I needed this week. You probably recall that I pray every morning for Him to meet my needs; for example, each day I ask Him to provide me with my daily bread--my food for the day. On Thursday, I was not in a position to take a lunch to school, and neither did I know the plan. I left on faith, and when I met M., I found out that she had generously made me a couple of sandwiches, too. Whether we would have time to eat them or not in our busy schedule, that was another story!

Finally, between two of our classes, we pulled out the sandwiches to eat as we walked to the other building. As we entered, two small children ran up to give her big hugs, and she saw that they had no lunch with them (she told me later they come from a very poor family). She bent down and gave them my lunch! Actually, our lunch. A couple of sandwiches and some cookies. They were very happy, and started to eat them right away.

I, too, was very happy, proud to be friends with such a saint! Here she had worked hard to make sandwiches for both of us, even though she only slept ONE hour the night before and had lots of work to do for other things, and then she was bold enough to follow her heart and give away my sandwich without asking me. How I praised the LORD!

Do not worry; she had made four sandwiches, and so we still had enough to eat. But again I want to ask you--would your friends do that? Would someone who cares about you have such an enormous heart to risk disappointing you in order to give your blessing to someone in greater need of it? Would YOUbe willing to do that?

M. apologized to me, of course, but I hope she already new that there was no reason to apologize, and that I was not at all sorry she had done it. I know she is far from perfect, but I also see how beautifully the Lord reflects His mercy from this girl. There was another time in the past when a drunk street kid was getting beat up by other kids in the middle of the night; I will never forget M.'s eyes as we marched across the street to break things up, not knowing what we were getting ourselves into. Do you know why I am so thrilled to have friends like that?

Because that is the kind of friend that Jesus is, and they remind me of Him!

Jesus marches into the fray with a look of such determined love that wickness flees with a yelp. He gives boldly and abundantly to people in need, blessing them beyond their need, for their joy and His glory. He looks at His imperfect, human friends (us!), and instead of seeing our flaws, He calls us saints, because He sees His Spirit at work in us.

I have a challenge for you this week:

1., if you have never invited the Spirit of God to enter you and live His holy life through you, do it! He will make you holy, for the glory of your Father, God!

2., if the Spirit lives in you already, ask Him to make you so clearly a saint that your friends see you as a saint, that they see Jesus in you more than they see you!

Sinners, I pray that soon you will accept the grace of Jesus, so that you will experience the freedom and boldness of His great love for you. Saints, I pray that you, first of all, and then all of the world around you, will see that you are not your own, but that you are being made holy by the Living God at work in you! I bless you in the Name of Jesus the Christ!

Back in the Saddle

Location: My house in C., at 11:00am on the 15th of January.

This has been an amazing week metaphysically and relationally! I moved back to my house in the village, and you know I am back when you see me doing laundry by hand again, and when I am back to hitch-hiking as a normal means of transportation! Perhaps you think, "Poor J. has to do laundry by hand and has to travel by hand (his thumb)!" Yes, but I am thankful for two skillful hands that work well, for clothes to wash, for people to meet and places to go. In fact, yesterday I was blessed when I bought another plastic bucket. Now I can get two pails of water every time I go to fetch water, and that makes life a lot easier! Yes, now we are a two-bucket household!

What do I do with all that water? Well, laundering clothes takes quite a bit, and I also use it to make tea. You see, I am thrilled to tell you that I hosted four friends for our first official men's group meeting on Thursday night! I was in my heyday, and though I did not have a lot to offer my British, German, and Romanian buddies, I was able to offer them tea, coffee, and gummy bears. I bought instant coffee knowing that someone would like some even though I do not drink coffee, I had tea out for the British blokes, and the gummy bears were from Germany. I laughed when they marveled at the selection I offered, saying how American that was! I said, normally I would only have one thing to offer, but the rest came from America, sent by my mom!

No, men's group was spectacular, and I cannot wait for the next one! Unfortunately, I think I will miss the next one, because I will be teaching English for a day in a public school in Hunedoara (as I have done in the past). Yet I already did our "homework" for next time, researching in the Bible what a "man of God" is--in other words, what does it mean to be a "godly man"? This is a topic very dear to me, for it is my greatest goal in life, and the Lord has been teaching me much about it. For example, I made my list from 1 Timothy 3, Titus 2, 1 Corinthians 13, and Exodus 34:6. This is a weighty topic, and I am sure we will continue to discuss it beyond the meeting I will miss. This week we talked about and prayed for fathers, our fathers, the impact and influence fathers have, etc. Worldwide, we need strong Christian fathers, and it is certainly no less true in this area of Romania! I am very, very thankful for the earthly father God has given me.

Speaking of fathers, I am teaching the lesson for a children's program today, here in C. Even before men's group, I had started preparing it, and the topic is "God always fulfils his promises," looking at the call of Abraham in Genesis 12 to 17. However, the Lord had impressed upon my heart that I need to teach about fathers to these kids, most of whom do not have a good paternal role model. This will be particularly difficult because I am speaking (in Romanian) to the children, not to their fathers. By the time you see this, I will have already taught, but I pray now that the Lord will call some of you to pray for me about this. It is very important, and very delicate. But God wants to be our Father, and He will see to it that His Word is spoken clearly.

Not only am I teaching today, but my friend and fellow men's-group member, R., asked me to translate his sermon into English again in church tomorrow. It is very fun and a great honor to stand side-by-side with such a passionate man of God, having prayed that the Lord would speak His Word clearly through each of us, and watching the Spirit reach into the lives of the listeners. However, it is also quite a challenge for me, as my Romanian is merely one year old, and leaves a lot to be desired. Please pray for this, too.

Thank you, by the way, for all of your prayers for me. I believe so strongly in God's habit of answering prayers, that I lean on your prayers constantly. For example, I battled what became quite a miserable cough earlier this week, but the Lord has now healed me. Thank you for your prayers. And did I mention about the powerful message that God gave me for my village of V.? I had told my mentor I would not go with him on Wednesday as normal, because I was sick. However, Tuesday night, the Lord gave me a very clear teaching for that village through a friend's advice to read Joshua 2. In the morning I was feeling much better, and I caught a couple of buses that landed me in the village just in time to have some guy-time with my friend and then to teach our weekly Bible Hour. The Lord showed me that Rahab the prositute was condemned to death along with the rest of her city by decree of the LORD Himself. Nonetheless, she clung to hope in His mercy, even defying her king's direct orders, and through this was saved, along with her family. Not only was she supernaturally spared, but she lived with God's people and became the great-grandmother of King David and an ancestor of Jesus the Christ! Like when the Angel of Death spared the Hebrew children at Passover upon seeing crimson lamb's blood on the doorposts, Rahab's family was spared when the destroyers saw a crimson rope hung in the window. We, too, were condemned to death along with the rest of the world because of our sins, but God spared us supernaturally when he saw the blood of Jesus, the Lamb of God, upon us. If we surrender to Him, we, too, have the privilege to live as part of God's people, even being adopted into the family of Jesus. Wow!

So as you can see, a lot has been happening in the spiritual realms. I have been praying a lot, too, so please do not take offense when I spend time with the Lord instead of spending it with you. Add to that eight hours of French and English instruction, wood for my fire, a visit from my buddy P., and some catching-up on rest, and you will understand why I have not yet been able to write like I hope to, or to respond to emails. I hope to start doing that now, but I decided to fill you in from the blog to encourage your patience to endure a bit longer until you hear from me personally.

And since I am "back in the saddle" in village life, I am including a few pictures of that horseback riding adventure I described a couple of weeks ago. I am praying for you, and I certainly appreciate your prayers for me as I dive into the lives of the people around me relationally, spiritually, educationally, and in any other way the Spirit leads. I bless you in the Name of our Jesus!

Answered Prayers!

Location: J's apartment in Sighisoara, Romania, the 10th of January, 2011, at about 8:30pm.

What a day!

Today was the last official day of my time with the ministry group I have been helping out for the past four months; I also restarted the French and English lessons this morning. It was a busy day, especially as the cold I am battling worsened a bit, but I did manage an hour-and-a-half nap in the middle of it!

Now I am looking back on my day, realizing that I did not do a very good job of waiting in surrender upon my Lord Jesus. Probably in part because of my cold and not thinking clearly, I ran hither and thither instead of letting Him conduct me beside still waters. Now He is restoring my soul.

I just had dinner, but is was not nearly as good as my specialty pancakes that we ate a week ago with a few of the guests from the outreach that remained for a couple extra days. I also forgot to tell you about the adventure of starting a borrowed car whose frozen engine would not let us drive it from its parking space in the top of the citadel. I called my friend T., and as we pushed it, his family came around the corner in another car and all jumped out to help! Then we hopped in as it began picking up speed down a giant hill, and he helped me pop the clutch! I really appreciate his friendship and help, and it was fun to get to return to our village of V. again last Wednesday for some restoration work and our weekly "Bible hour."

The week was pretty full for a "vacation" week, but I met with several people I had been wanting to see. I spoke with two mentors asking for godly advice on some decisions I will soon have to be making, and I got to share meals with several friends. I also met 11 students newly arrived from Indiana for their January-term trip, and I successfully made a batch of bread pudding, even without a recipe! One highlight was a day with some Gypsy friends that included a great snowball fight on a frozen lake! Sadly, though, most of our snow has melted now, and we are shrouded in fog as the temperatures change.

But I have exciting news! Many of you know that I have been praying for godly support, especially from godly men in the area. Well, all of a sudden, an idea we had been chewing on for a few months became a reality: we have now formed a men's group, and our first official meeting will be this week at my house! We are five Christians from Great Britain (2), Romania, and Germany (and the USA, of course!). And as if that was not good enough, I was invited today to be part of a young adult group that is forming in my church, and which will be primarily men. Thank you for your prayers--I am so excited!

Yes, God is good! Church was special yesterday, because the Lord allowed me to be healthy enough to sing, as well as to translate (into English) for the sermon. That is the first time I have done that from the pulpit like that, and it is a huge (scary) responsibility. I would like my Romanian to be better, but it just reminds us that God uses us exactly how we are. His is the power, not ours! May He get the glory!

I am also pleased to report that I have begun to catch up on emails, and as I move back into more regular village life, I should have more time (if less internet access). Not only will I be saying goodbye to so many hours spent in town, but also to my collegue, S., who is heading back to Belgium this week; she was a great blessing for me this past semester. But she is on her way to America, and I am thankful that the Lord sends missionaries to my country, too, because my heart aches when I think about how many people in our great "Christian" nation--even those filling the church pews--who do not know Jesus!

Do you know Jesus? That is the most important question of your life. I am trying to learn how to be a godly man in all of my relationships with people, in church, at work, with girls, as a role model for children, etc., and the Lord has blessed me with many patient friends and mentors who are helping me. But at the heart of all of these relationships needs to be one person: Jesus.

I hear that there are birds dying and falling from the sky. One of my mentors is battling a rotten infection. Shootings are plaguing my motherland. Some of my friends are wrestling with tough questions about their families or their future. A fellow missionary is out of funds and unsure how to support his family and the men who work for him. My church is persevering through a rocky time of transitions. I am cursing the cold that is hounding me as I try to decide how best to love the people around me. But in all of it, we have hope, and His name is Jesus. This Hope is not just for 2011, it is for eternity. He does not want to be master of ceremonies for your religious traditions or the holy sector of your life. He wants to be your constant companion as He leads you through life, your Lord as He puts His life in you.

Will you let Him? Ask Him to be your Lord, and watch Him answer your prayers!

If Jesus Comes Back Tonight...

Location: The apartment's kitchen at the ministry base in Sighisoara, Romania, on the 3rd of January, 2011, at 7pm.

Warning: this will be a long post! One of my Swiss friends was reminding me that sometimes I write very long posts. Of course, that is for a couple of reasons. First of all, I love to write. Second of all, I have a lot to tell you about! Third, you can always read less than I write, but it is very hard to read more than what is there if I do not tell you enough about what you are interested in! So I will write a lot, and you can pick and choose which parts you want to read. Oh, and enjoy the pictures. They may be the last ones for a while because my camera seems to have had a burn out. At least, it is not working, for no apparent reason. That, however, is a problem for another day!

Last you knew, I was geared up for hosting a LOT of people from Switzerland, Belgium, Germany, American, and other places in Romania, before heading to Budapest. Well, I survivied--even flourished--among the horde of visitors, and the trip to Budapest was cancelled because a snowbound flight prevented the lady needing to fly out of Budapest from ever arriving in the first place. So let me tell you about our week.

As you recall, we had a long Christmas drive home from Switzerland. I am not sure I mentioned that the police stopped us in Germany or Austria, probably simply because we had a Romanian license plate. However, they let us continue without hassle, and we arrived in Targu Mures in the afternoon on Sunday, where I helped P. unload and picked up our team's van to bring it back to Sighisoara for them. I arrived in the evening and managed to get some sleep before "Outreach Week" hit the next morning.

On Monday, a very tired me managed to get the van stuck in the beautiful fluffly snow that covered the mud left by some road construction, but after digging out the tires with the window scraper and backing down the one-lane street for about 400 meters, arrived at the base to join the newly-arrived Belgian team in kicking-off our week (they are pictured above, at the dinner table). At that point, I had no idea just how much of a blessing those folks would be to me! My collegue, S., asked me to co-lead the team, and we were both overwhelmed by how wonderful these folks were. They were ready to help at a moment's notice, and they were a united group, full of joy and peace. They enjoyed laughing and loving, and with them it was a pleasure to overcome every challenge we faced during the week!

Later that day the rest of the folks arrived, mostly from Switzerland. It was a great joy for me to be reunited with several folks I had met last year, some of whom I had visited when I traveled through Switzerland last February. By the second day, our dream team consisted of about 10 Belgians, a Swiss family of 6 (the mother of whom is actually Dutch), a German backstage expert from New York, and my Swiss buddy, P., and one of his team members from Targu Mures, and a handful of folks who were part of our team for a day or two, depending on translation and other needs. The other American who came turned out to have lived six years of his life only about 15 or 20 minutes from where I lived with my parents in Indiana, and he is my age! Our team did ten outreach programs, and the Swiss team did about the same. We had some decent challenges at the beginning of the week with trailer-light problems, a run-away van, a host who told us no kids would come, wrong turns, snowy roads and dangerous weather, etc., but by the end of the week, it was smooth sailing and LOTS of fun!

Only today did the last 10 people leave, and their prolonged stay was really a bonus because we got to visit extra with the ones that stayed for a few more days. For example, the majority of the folks left on January 1st after we counted down the New Year from the top of the hill overlooking the city, where our panorama was perfect to enjoy the fireworks shot off from the citadel. Later that afternoon, we all went to my home village of C., where I received an unexpected blessing: the team gathered in my one-room house (the most people ever in there!) and prayed for me and the house! How humbling, and how splendid! Then we rode horses and hiked in the snow, up to the hilltop meadow where we had summer camp. I had not planned to ride, but ended up riding the most spirited horse bareback! I do not think I have ever galloped so fast, and hanging on was the name of the game! One of the horses took a spill on a slick spot, sending one of my local friends skidding across the snow, but both horse and rider were fine. Mine tried to fall a couple of times, but managed to keep her footing, and I managed to stay on her back! Talk about exhilerating! What a fine afternoon we had!

Yes, I had a great time with new and old friends. Here are some of the highlights of the week. In on of our weekly neighborhoods, we were invited to do our program in the school, and five-hundred kids were invited. When we arrived amid a few transportation set-backs, the principle told me the NO children would come. I assured her they would, and agreed that that was my problem. Soon we were holding the kids back just long enough to get the too-small room set up. Because we were late getting the sound system ready, I jumped on a table-top in the midst of the group to try to get control of the situation. Never did I dream we would be up there for the whole program, but soon my collegue joined me, and we did the whole show on a runway-like table in the middle of a crowd of boys and girls! Excellent!

The last two days' programs were super, too, as by then we had really gelled as a team. Each day I was involving different people in my entertainment roles, and we used juggling, sound games, stories, songs, colored scarves, clown antics, and more to keep the kids laughing--often they did not want to leave when it was their turn to go receive presents! We had a beautiful live manger scene played by several of the team members, which really drove our message home: Jesus is the greatest gift of Christmas, and He wants to be YOUR Savior!

You know, I got to lead worship and devotions a few times, and I spent a lot of time in prayer and Bible study myself. But one of the most memorable lessons from the Lord was in the kitchen on New Year's Eve, when I was listening to a young Belgian fellow pour out his heart. He is studying video game engineering and the like, thirsting for God's call and waiting until he hears it clearly. I love his heart, and it was a real treat to listen to his fervor. At one point, I made a point about his studies, joking a bit that he could stay in Romania instead of going home, because his exams were not so important. After all, if Jesus comes back tonight, I pointed out, the exams will not matter anyway! As you can imagine, in a house with nearly 70 people in it, there is no privacy, and there were others nearby. When I made that comment, a Swiss lady I do not know started dancing and jumping around, saying, "Oh, if Jesus comes back tonight! Hallelujah! Come, Lord Jesus!"

That made me think. Am I so ready for Jesus to come back? I hope so! Are you? Are you unable to keep yourself from dancing at the mere thought of Jesus returning tonight? Let us anticipate His return with joy! What a day of rejoicing it will be! And if you are not ready, I encourage you to get on your knees right now and ask Jesus to make you ready. Give Him your whole life and ask His Spirit to dwell in You, that His holy life lives in and through you, for your good and His glory! What if Jesus comes back tonight? Yippee!

Yes, this was a great week. There were challenges, of course, tough decisions, mistakes, and more. I was very tired, slept little, and worked from dawn to dusk. I even had to help plan and lead the New Year's Eve party! You know I hate games and parties (*wink*)! But God watched out for us. Our toughest outreach was not pretty, but it was still closer to a success than a failure, and it certainly could have been a lot worse! The Lord protected us from a van whose parking break did not keep it from rolling toward a group of children, and a Belgian teacher led the way in pushing children to safety and stopping the van's momentum. He protected me when I unknowingly stepped on a rusty nail; it came up through my tennis shoe and grazed my sock before protruding out the side without injuring me. And who knows how many times He sent his angels in the midst of pushing crowds, icy streets, and more? I certainly drove quite a bit; one day I drove five different vehicles!

So now, please, continue to pray. Pray that the Lord's Word will bear fruit in the lives of the people in the communities we entered. Pray that the team members would not forget what they saw, and that they would see Jesus more clearly each day! Please pray for the rest and recovery of the folks who gave all they had and more, who are fighting colds and exhaustion and jet lag. And please pray for you, them, and us--all--to be ready when Jesus comes back! It could be tonight...