Guatemala Report: Return on Investment!

An Encouragement from Jorge

Pastor Jorge Pérez praying

As I was preparing to depart for my Honduras teaching trip in late July, I was surprised and blessed by a short, simple, and encouraging e-mail from Pastor Jorge Pérez in Guatemala. The fruit of all our investment of time, travel, teaching, money, and resources in Guatemala — including pastors' basic Bible study books; laptops; powerful, lightweight travel projectors for their teaching assignments; and helping to send the Guatemalan leadership-training team abroad — was summed up in that email:

I desire that God would give you a good teaching time in Honduras, and that the pastors there become lovers of Bible reading, just as it happened in Guatemala.

[click to continue…]

The King of Love My Shepherd Is

Henry Baker
(1821-1877)

Psalm 23

The King of love my Shepherd is,
Whose goodness faileth never;
I nothing lack if I am His
And He is mine forever.

Where streams of living water flow,
My ransomed soul He leadeth,
And, where the verdant pastures grow,
With food celestial feedeth. [click to continue…]

Flame of God

Amy Carmichael
(1867-1951)

From prayer that asks that I may be
Sheltered from winds that beat on Thee,
From fearing when I should aspire,
From faltering when I should climb higher—
From silken self, O Captain, free
Thy soldier who would follow Thee.

From subtle love of softening things,
From easy choices, weakenings, [click to continue…]

Honduras Report: Eating 81 Elephants!

¡Un Viaje Exitoso (A Successful Trip)!

With translator Antonio Rodríguez [L] and Superintendent Javier Cruz [R]

Thanks for praying! I’m back from almost two weeks in Honduras and the “prayer umbrella” was apparent every day — divine appointments, new friendships, unction in teaching, excellent translators, safety, perfect health, and lots of energy. Even two “almost missed” flight connections were just that — only “almost.” But the greatest success of the trip may be measured within a year’s time by the number of “elephants” eaten. Let me explain.

Hermeneutics and Elephants

When I visit these Latin American countries, the initial invitations center around teaching hermeneutics, a fancy word that can be boiled down to this: learning how to read, study, preach, and teach the Scriptures in context. We spend time in the first seminar defining and demonstrating many aspects of context — text, history, language, culture. But my overriding goal is to have the pastors and leaders remember two things: [click to continue…]

Thy Word, O Lord, Like Gentle Dews

Carl Garve
(1763-1841)
translated by Catherine Winkworth
(1827-1878)

Thy Word, O Lord, like gentle dews,
Falls soft on hearts that pine;
Lord, to Thy garden ne’er refuse
This heavenly balm of Thine.
Watered by Thee, let every tree
Then blossom to Thy praise,
By grace of Thine bear fruit divine
Through all the coming days.

Thy Word is like a flaming sword, [click to continue…]

“Wear a Bulletproof Vest”

Crazy? Guilty as Charged (I Hope!)

Where in the world is Honduras? (Map courtesy of Operation World)

Almost two months ago, once the dates were set for my first trip to Honduras, I asked missionary friend Bobby Hoyle of LendAHand Mission Teams if he had pointers about how to prepare for for my journey. “Yes,” said Bobby, who has been there. “Wear a bulletproof vest!” He was only partially in jest.

Yes, you can buy them on Amazon…

Now I don’t own, nor am I going to buy, a bulletproof vest. But it was Bobby’s way of saying that Honduras is a violent place. The United Nations ranks the country as having one of the highest murder rates in the world — 91.4 homicides per 100,000 people. (For comparison, the same report places the USA at 3.00-4.99 per 100,000 and Canada in the 0.00-2.99 range.)

“So why are you going? Are you crazy?” Well, yes, of course I’m “crazy” — I’m a follower of the Lord Jesus! I’m not brave or bold or macho; I’m going because the King is at work in Honduras, and He has called me to help His Church. I’m going in order to train pastors and leaders, men and women who are making a difference in the world, ministers who are part of the Kingdom advance that has raised the percentage of evangelicals in Honduras from around 10% of the population in 1975 to a projected 30% by 2025. I’m going to a country where half the population of over 8 million is under the age of 18. [click to continue…]

Tools: The Sacred Treasure House Initiative

A Miner's Tools

Shortly after I was born again (July 31, 1968 – almost 49 years ago!) at age 16, I became an avid Bible reader. I learned that the words of Edwin Hodder's hymn were true:

• An exhaustive Bible concordance;
• An illustrated Bible dictionary; and,
• A one-volume Bible commentary.

One of my new Christian friends pointed me to Sacred Treasure House, a small Christian bookstore in the town where I lived.

My old stomping grounds — Sacred Treasure House —
where I purchased all of my early Bible-study tools.
(Source: Costa Mesa Historical Society. Used by permission.)

Many of my part-time-job paychecks were spent [click to continue…]

Thy Word Is Like a Garden, Lord

Edwin Hodder
(1837-1904)

Thy Word is like a garden, Lord,
With flowers bright and fair;
And everyone who seeks may pluck
A lovely cluster there.

Thy Word is like a deep, deep mine;
And jewels rich and rare
Are hidden in [click to continue…]

Estamos en Casa (We're Home!)

He's Off Again…

Those of you who read our last newsletter (The Elvenking's Blessing) will remember Jim's request, “Please pray that what we teach in our upcoming teaching and discipling time in Nicaragua and Guatemala will be what's “most needed,” and, in the sense of deep heart needs, “least expected.”

National Palace, Managua, Nicaragua

The urgency of the needed prayer is now upon us. As this arrives in your inbox (May 5th) Jim is en route to Nicaragua. There he will be part of a team ministering to pastors in two out-of-the way locations, Quilali and Ocotal. But before the rest of the team even arrives, Jim will be making some strategic connections, solo, in Managua. Please pray with us for divine appointments, for facility in Spanish, for sensitivity to the Holy Spirit, and for ministry in and of the Lord – He is the one who touches hearts and lives with the reality of His empowering and life-giving Holy Spirit.

“Home” Defined by Mark 10:30

Map of Guatemala

Nicaragua is a fruitful field with many new friends, yet it isn't quite “home.” But in two weeks, we can say, “Estamos en casa” (“We're home”) — in Guatemala. [click to continue…]

Why We Go “There And Back Again”

My tattered copy of The Hobbit

It’s surprising the multitude of sources of inspiration the Holy Spirit can use. An unusual quote has guided a lot of my praying for ministry, especially over the last eight years of missions trips.

After the climactic battle in J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit, the victorious survivors (including, thank goodness, our hero Bilbo Baggins) journey together to their respective homes. Coming to a place where the Elven host turns off for the palace in Mirkwood, the Elvenking's farewell to Gandalf, like a benediction, has always captured my imagination. Here are his words as they are underlined in my delapidated, fifty-year-old hardback copy of the classic:

“May you ever appear where you are most needed and least expected! The oftener you appear in my halls, the better shall I be pleased!”

Thus I often find my heart expressing itself before the Throne in almost those exact words: “Lord, please [click to continue…]

We changed web hosting providers over the weekend, so if you could not access our sites for a few hours, the change is probably the reason.

Lord, Enthroned in Heav’nly Splendor

George H. Bourne
(1840-1925)

Lord, enthroned in heav’nly splendor,
First begotten from the dead,
Thou alone, our strong Defender,
Liftest up Thy people’s head.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Jesus, true and living Bread!
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Jesus, true and living Bread!

Here our humblest homage pay we,
Here in loving rev’rence bow;
Here for faith’s discernment pray we, [click to continue…]

Burn, Fire of God!

L. F. W. Woodford

Burn, fire of God! my ransomed soul possessing;
Pure fire Thou art, and I would dwell in Thee.
Light of my life, true source of every blessing,
Grant all my days one holy flame to be.

Burn, fire of God! Thy grace and glory knowing,
My cleansèd heart shall be all fire within—
Love all constraining, tenderness o'erflowing,
One kindling passion other lives to win.

Burn, fire of God! Thy cloven tongue bestowing,
Baptizing me with heavenly energy. [click to continue…]