Regions Beyond Mission Outreach | Monday, July 21, 2008
The Regions Beyond Missions Outreach is a missions project dedicated to the task of personally evangelizing and equipping multitudes in Honduras, Mexico, India, Australia, and Peru with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Beginning in April of 2008, and each month following for five months, teams will be departing to the mission field for two weeks of evangelistic outreach, leadership training, summer Bible clubs, youth outreach and worker training, Scripture distribution, discipleship training, and tract distribution.
During last year’s Missions Conference my Pastor challenged me to not only financially support other missionaries, but to also consider actively being a missionary. We are all called to go, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” and the Regions Beyond Missions Outreach of Faith Baptist Church is allowing the members of Faith to fulfill God’s call. I accepted the Lord's call and will be on the last team for this year heading out to Peru.
We have seen great success with the first four mission trips and are now coming up on our fifth and final trip for this year. You can view pictures and updates from the previous trips on our church's site for Regions Beyond and will see daily updates during my trip to Peru.
Mission trip to Honduras in April 2008
Mission trip to Mexico City in May 2008
Mission trip to India in June 2008
Mission trip to Australia in July 2008
On August 11, 2008 the fifth missions team will be sent out from Faith Baptist Church to Tacna, Peru in South America. The team and I will be returning back home on August 25, 2008. We will be working with our missionaries the Earnharts, the team will be heading up two 5 day Vacation Bible Schools (the first week in Tacna and the second week in Arequipa) along with strengthening and developing local mission works through leadership training, special ladies meetings, teaching and preaching, and distributing tracts, New Testaments, and other materials.
Tacna, Peru lies south of the equator, in the foothills of the Andes. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean. The main spoken language is Spanish, although a significant number of Peruvians speak Quechua or other native languages. We will be in Peru during their winter, so temperatures will be in the higher 50’s to the lower 60’s.
Please pray for us as we venture out to Peru in service for the Lord ! :)
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. -John 3:16-18
But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. -Romans 5:8
That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. -Romans 10:9-13
Fall is officially here! | Friday, October 05, 2007
Well, it looks like it's official. The leaves are changing colours, there are pumpkins growing everywhere in Puyallup, and there is no sign of sunshine in the forecast. I was hoping for a Indian summer, but it appears we are getting the opposite! So far we're reaching record rainfall for the month of October and it's only the 7th! At least we'll have a good snowboarding season. ;-)
i get to drive down this street on the way to work five days a week! Isn't it gorgeous! In the spring I get to see everything come alive with the new blossoms and during the fall I get to see all the changing colours of the leaves! ;-)
33 days on the mission field in Africa! My Pastor (Pastor Mark Smith), the music director (Brandon Lane), our missionary to Honduras (Mike Lane), and a recently graduated teenager from our youth group (Bobby Gall) spent the last month passing out thousands of Bibles, New Testaments, and Sunday School material and teaching and encouraging the local pastors in the Zambia, Africa region. Can't believe it went by so fast, but I am so thankful they are back home safe. It's great to hear of the fruit of their labor on the mission field, with hundreds of people coming to know Christ as their Saviour and hundreds of pastors and thousands of Christians encouraged to continue in the Lord's work.
Going on a hiking trip with the Single's group from my church. We drove for about 1.5 hours till we reached the ranger station and learned that the road to get to the trail we were going to hike has been washed out. So what do we do? Park and walk the 3 miles to get to the trailhead! Then proceed up the trail, a 1.8 mile hike to a beautiful lake with a small rabbit trail half way up to see the waterfalls.
Matt got a little sleepy on the way to the hike. :-D
Part of our motley crew taking up the lead on our 3 mile hike down the road to the trailhead.
More of the crew coming up behind us.
Finally made it to the trailhead and Jess and Steve take a food break. What's on the menu: goldfish and fruit! :-)
The temperature got up to the 90's today. Rock climbing was difficult in the hot climbing gym and nobody else was there to climb with, so I climbed for a little less then an hour and then headed down to the water. The sunset wasn't anything spectacular since there were no clouds in the sky, but I found other things to fill my camera lens. I went searching along the rocky beach for anything of interest to take a picture of and ended up finding all kinds of things. Jellyfish laying in the rocks, still quite gooey. I didn't dare touch them just in case they could still sting me. I found an large clam shell still intact with one small chunk taken of the front. No pearl though. :-) Also found an old dried up crab shell.
The 2007 Senior Class of Faith Baptist Christian Academy singing a song they all wrote in tribute of those who helped them to get where they are today.
Bobby Gall giving a speech for all of the '07 senior class.
Bro. Dan ('07 senior's youth pastor) giving a speech to the graduates.
Love is very strange. Love is unconditional commitment to an imperfect individual. You need it but when you love, it's like destining yourself for pain. You become addicted and dependent on the person. You become strong and at the same time, you open yourself up to being hurt. Love can make you bear any kind of pain and any kind of sacrifice. It can also make you feel stupid and act stupidly. Sometimes when you love and end up giving so much of yourself, subconciously you only discover how much you've given when the person you love hurts you or has to say goodbye.
Then you realize, an important part of yourself is already with that person. It goes away when he leaves and you are left with a sickening, empty feeling inside.
Tears are bound to shed from your eyes no matter how you force yourself to keep them in. Most teardrops ever shed on this earth have been for love or lack of it. When tears dry, a silent loss sticks to your heart for a long, long time.
Well, that's what you get for caring so much about someone. But how can you regret it? To give yourself freely and lovingly is the most beautiful thing you can do. Loving makes you real. Loving also makes you cry. And that is why a teardrop is also BEAUTIFUL.
Another day, another pic. | Monday, April 09, 2007
Just got off work driving towards the dark storm clouds, not looking forward to the evening ahead. When the sun broke through the clouds. I looked to my right and saw the rainbow. I pulled off on a side road and there was a front yard full of colorful tulips. The Lord truly does love me and it's evident in the little surprises he gives me during the times I am most down.
Full time draftsman, part time rock climber, all the time crazy person who loves God, the outdoors, and spending as much time as possible with friends.
