I had the privilege of spending a week in the Big Easy over New Years and I saw again how far the city has come since I was last there, in August. There are more businesses open, more traffic, and excitement in general for the city’s main industry- tourism. It was a big week for N.O. as there were 2 large scale college football games and a major convention taking place there. People are optimistic that New Orleans is coming back. And while at a quick glance, it looks like a normally functioning city, you don’t have to wander very far to see the remaining scars of a city maimed by flood and wind damage not quite 2 ½ years ago.

I was there to work with a group from Austin, Texas. The church has made several trips to the gulf coast with C.O.I. They are very servant minded and they keep coming because they know that the need is still great in the area. They worked at the home of a single mother who operates a sewing business from her home as a means of support. She has been working on her house for a year and a half and is getting tired of living in a trailer – it is hard to believe that there are still many in the city that are not yet living in their homes. She was very thankful and was a great encouragement to the team in the work they came to do.

The Bible tells us that by our fruit, we will be known as Christ’s followers. Well there has been much fruit in New Orleans from believers coming to meet needs, and reach the lost. We have heard on several occasions that the reason that the city has come back as far as it has is because of Christian volunteers coming and spending time, energy and money to help. In fact, on a couple of occasions during this week in N.O., strangers walking by our work sites stopped to talk to us, opening the conversations with something like. “Do you know what I see here?” as they look at the group. “I see Jesus – thank you for coming to help us”. What a wonderful declaration of God’s love in this city! What an open door to share God’s love and gift of salvation with those who don’t know him! Please remember that the need is still great in this city. Let’s keep being the hands and feet of Christ in this city.

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Have you ever wondered what Heaven might be like? Is this wonder ever heightened by something you witness happening around you?

A couple of months ago I with some Ukrainian friends had the opportunity to attend a Hillsong Australia concert in Budapest, Hungary. The concert was held at a small outdoor stadium. There were no seats and the weather was already quite cool. I estimated approximately six thousand people in attendance – enough to fill the grounds. The excitement and anticipation were everything one would expect at such an event.

Most of those attending were from Eastern Europe and it was great to see such an enthusiastic turnout for a Christian worship concert. A poll by the speaker revealed that attendees had come from Slovakia, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and (if I remember correctly) Romania. I may have been the only Canadian there, but I knew that other friends of mine, a missionary couple from Sweden, were also there, and I was with friends from Ukraine. I’m sure there were probably smaller numbers of people from a few other countries, too. The Hillsong members were from Australia, of course, and together we all represented an assortment of nationalities.

Any speaking from the stage throughout the concert was done first in English and then translated into Hungarian. This suggested to me that at least some portion of the people there that evening didn’t have any idea what was being said.

What struck me part way through the concert was that I was standing in the midst of brothers and sisters in Christ whom I had never met before and whom I would likely never see again, and that we were all part of a prelude to worship in Heaven. As Hillsong led us in worship I looked around and saw people from different nations singing out and worshiping God together in one language. We had all come to the same place for one purpose.

If you’d have held a microphone to each mouth uttering praises that night you probably would have heard that not everyone got all of the words right and that pronunciation wasn’t perfect, but I’m confident that your thoughts, as did mine, would have journeyed ahead to the time when we all “from every tribe and nation” will stand before the throne of God and worship Him in unity.

We certainly do have an indescribable hope.

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I’m in Ukraine now. In case you weren’t aware, Thanksgiving isn’t a holiday that’s celebrated much outside of North America. I spent Thanksgiving day in the exact same way that I spend most Thursdays this semester, with the exception that I spent my morning with a friend learning how to bake pumpkin pie. The other missionaries here and I celebrated on Saturday. Our meal was somewhat non-traditional because the majority of our normal Thanksgiving dishes are difficult or impossible to find or make in Ukraine, but still we had a good time relaxing and spending time with friends.

Something I’ve been learning this season is that there is always something to be thankful for if you look. Our pastor read 1 Thess. 5:16-18 last week. “Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” Sasha reminded us of this verse the very next day in our staff meeting. I had read the verse not long before in my personal quiet time. I don’t know about you, but when God brings the same verse up several times in a short span of time, I take it as a sign to shape up and start paying attention to what He’s trying to tell me. The fact that this was right before Thanksgiving just reinforced the idea. “In everything give thanks.” There is something to be thankful for in EVERY circumstance. With this in mind, I began to look for something to be thankful for in some of the situations that aren’t my favorite. Here’s a sampling of what I came up with.

Situation: I was away from my family on a major family holiday. Thankful for: good friends who are becoming like family. Technology that lets me communicate with my family quickly and easily. Creative friends who managed to come up with pumpkin pie, turkey, and stuffing to make the holiday seem more homey in a place where none of those things are common or easy to make.

Situation: I spent Thanksgiving afternoon “teaching” a dozen wild and misbehaving orphans who wouldn’t listen to me and carried off the majority of my pens and markers. Thankful for: a warm classroom (not something to be taken for granted there). The realization that there are so many who have bigger problems than I do. Two new helpers in my class, one of whom speaks Russian well.

Situation: my apartment STILL doesn’t have heat or hot water. Thankful for: running water in general. An electric heater that takes the chill out of the bedroom. Warmer than usual weather right now.

My point in all this is that God wasn’t demanding the impossible when He told us to give thanks in everything. In every situation there is something to be thankful for if we can only put away our complaining for a few minutes and look for it. I know, it’s not a new revelation to any of you, but it’s one that I’m apt to forget and needed to be reminded of this year. Maybe you’ve forgotten, too? I want to encourage you to look at those situations that are unpleasant to you and find something in it for which you are thankful. Our God is always faithful and always good.

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I’ve been reading a book lately that has lots of good things to say in the area of marriage, but the one that stands out to me so far is the need to give our spouse praise and encouragement. They need to be encouraged and praised and we feel good when we give it out. I think this need exists in everyone including spouses, children, friends, co-workers and so on.

Have you ever been around a person who always has a since positive encouraging word for everyone they meet? I often think I want to be like that, but I’m afraid I often fall short. God has been showing me how important it is to give my family praise. Now I need to make it happen. I don’t know why it is so much easier to pick on the people we love than it is to give an encouraging word. I guess it is that sin nature that automatically sees the bad, but we are to lazy to work at seeing and commenting on the good. Someone once said it takes 10 positive comments to overcome one negative comment. I don’t know if that is true, but it sure gives me something to think about!!!

The Bible has a lot to say on the topic.

"Pleasant words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones." Pr. 16:24

"An anxious heart weighs a man down, but a kind word cheers him up." Pr. 12:25

I don’t think that I am a negative person, but I don’t want to be neutral either. So I am going to start asking the Lord for positive words to say to people. I want to be one of those people that I have so long admired.

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Following the 7.9 earthquake in August, the Lord put it in our executive director’s heart to start a mission outreach in Peru. I, along with our director, Mary Alice Isleib, and Bill Gibson, COI Operations director,  visited and saw firsthand the many ministry opportunities to help the people and to expand God’s Kingdom. The Lord blessed us with strong connections there to partner with and develop ministries for this disaster relief.  COI now has ministry in Peru!

The main areas where we’ll be working are the towns of Pisco and Ica, which were most affected by the earthquake.  Right now some shelter homes are being built for the people who lost everything. 

 
One of the most important ministries that we could have here is with the children, because they’re very affected by the destruction and loss.  Some of them lost one or more members of their family, along with everything they had. 

 Also, most of the churches were destroyed or damaged and need to be repaired or rebuilt.  Many pastors are struggling without their churches, and most of their members lost their homes too.  Right now is the perfect time to go and bring the gospel because people are open and hungry to hear what God has to tell them. 

Even with all the disaster and destruction surrounding them, you can see that the people are willing to go on, they have hope that one day they’ll have a home again and are ready to work. It is a great blessing that COI can be part of what the Lord will do in this nation.

YOU CAN BE PART OF THE PLAN OF GOD FOR PERU!  

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