God Bless America!!

While it is still June, we are quickly approach July. 

July 4th, 1776 our Declaration of Independence was signed.  Not by all, it was in fact an act of treason again the throne of england.

Had we lost the war, those who fought for our freedom that first time would have been hung as traitors, or worse, drawn and quartered as a way to signal to every one that dissonance against the crown is not allowed.

But WE WON.

We won our freedom, and those who died to free us were justified in their actions.

Through the Consititution and the Bill of Rights we were granted rights as citizens of this great country.

The founding fathers didn't write in riddles, they clearly stated what it was they wanted and expected from our government and those who would given the responsibility to run it.  There was no room for interpretation of what they meant, they were clear.

No where in the Declaration of Independence, Constitution, or Bill of Rights does it say anything at all about a separation of Church and State.  It does however say that government is not permitted to pass laws governing the establishment or way of worship of any religious organization, be it Christian, Muslim, or any other religion.  It does not say that religion can't be in our schools, it does not say that religion can not be in our court rooms, it does not say that religion can not be in the public city square.

In fact in his farewell address George Washington said "We can not have National Morality apart from religious principle".

We have stopped teaching the generations where our morals come from, and thus they leave them at the wayside, diving our country deeper and deeper into a state of moral degradation.

Sure this song is from the 1990's, but it's still true.  We Need God in America Again!  And we need Americans who are not afraid to fight for the rights that were granted to US along with every other American to not be stopped by our government for worshipping our God the way we wish.

People died so we could have these freedoms, will we let their deaths be in vain while we sit idlely by and let these rights they fought to bravely to obtain be stripped from us?

Looking Back

I have been home for three days now from my Missions trip to Oklahoma.  I have always been told that you go on the missions trip to change the world (or at least a part of it), but you always come home being changed by the people you meet.

They're right.  I lived in Pittsburgh for going on 3 years, lived around it for almost 5, so close to 8 years total in the city and the neighboring towns.   I never really saw the people around me.  Even in the small rural community i grew up in or the one i live in now, i knew of people without ever really knowing them.  I realize that I saw the physical person, the one standing before me, but it never really impacted me beyond the fact that their presence was there.  I never really saw a need in them.

The truth of the matter is, you don't need to live near an inner city area, or a 3rd world country to meet people who are in need.  I may struggle to make ends me from month  to month sometimes, but i have never truly been without.  I've always had a home, a bed, and something to eat.  I've always had my basic needs provided for.  I've never truly been alone, I've always had someone to turn to for help or support.

For some people these simple things I have always seen as constants and expectations in my life, they view as luxuries.  I heard a couple of songs on the radio, that I have heard a million times before, but for the first time they take on a new meaning for me.  They touch me deeper than they ever have before.

Even after the work is done Oklahoma, God is still working on my heart.

I want God to open my eyes to the world around me.  Even though I may not have some huge expendable income, I can still help others, that my life isn't all about me and my own little world but that there is a bigger world around me that God has commanded me to serve as a beakon of his light.  If I can't follow his example, how will others ever know God the way I do?

God may command us to to be the light to the world and the salt of the earth, but He also gives us free will, the allowance to choose to obey or disobey.  But why should i disobey?  Why if he was willing to die for me, that I can't be willing to live for him?  I refuse to hide in my spiritual shell and chose to do nothing about the world around.  It's not about being spiritual and looking like a "good" person.  It's about having faith in God, trusting in the one who has ALWAYS kept his promises, and living that faith bold and out loud. 

Missions Trip Broken Arrow OK Day 6 - update

Today was our last day with Living Stones Church.  It was a bitter sweet day for all of us.  We know that they appreciate what we have done to help them and we know that they are equipped and ready to run with it.  But we have made some friends and it's hard to leave that.

This has been an amazing trip, and I have been blessed by the experience.  But I have also heard some heart breaking stories.

The pastor and his wife lost their daught to Leukemia last year.  Their other child ran away, and is now homeless and pregnant and refuses to go home.  She was brought home, but ran away again.  How heartbreaking it must be to essentially lose two children in one year.  And yet they strive on for their community and for thier grandchildren.  The daughter that died left behind two children of her own (Christy and Jayla) and four foster children (Cassidy, Najha, Destiny, and Eternity) whom she had taken care of for years.  With big hearts they couldn't see the foster children being split up and moved to new homes, and so they are now raising their late daughters' six kids.  They say it's what she would have wanted and they seem proud to do it.

Some of the stories i wish I could share, but publicly on here, it's not my place to do so.  But please, please, pray for the kids and families of this community.   I am so thankful that there are people like Rev. and Mrs. Trimiar and Carl and Angie Walker, people who see a need in their community and are striving to meet that need despite the limited resources they may posses.

Ms Lynda is the church's main Secretary, but she does so much more than that.  She runs a summer food program at the church for the local children, she runs a tutoring/mentory program, and she helps struggling families get back on their feet.

I know we've accomplished a lot this week.  The church itself is highly organized and functional, and the Men have done and Phenomenal job on the study room and bathroom building.

One of the things i noticed when I was cleaing and organizing the books, was how beaten up and tattered the church's bibles are.  I also know that many of these kids do not have a bible of their own, they just can't afford it or thier parents see no point in having one.  A lot of times church is the only time these kids get to read the bible.

I was wondering could we get a discount is we ordered Bibles in bulk.  Maybe 15 kids Bibles for the Children's Class, 20 for the Youth Group, and 50 to 75 general adult Bibles for the sanctuary.  Once I find out what that would cost, then maybe fundraising to make the money to pay for the Bibles and the money it would cost to send them there.

I will miss this place and these people.  Knowing them has made my life better.

Missions Trip Day 5 - Broken Arrow OK - Update

Today was once again a fun but tiring day.

We had 37 kids at Vacation Bible School this morning, and we had class outside because we were finishing up a project in the sunday school / fellowship room this morning.

 

Today we were talking about God's plan for us and the ABC's of Salvation

Black - Unrepented sin leads to eternal darkness.  It is a  condition of the heart that every human has because of Adam and Eve's original sin.  (Romans 3:23 "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God")

Red - We may have sin in our lives, but God loves us and does not want to be separated from him. But the problem is Sin is Sin and the cost of the sin is death. So he sent Jesus to die in our place. The blood of Christ flowed freely for all (Romans 5:8 "For God demonstrates his love for us in the while we were still sinners, Christ died for us")

White- The blood of Jesus paid the price for our sins and washes the darkness out of our lives.  It allows us to live in the light of a loving and merciful God. (Psalm 51:7 "... wash me, and I will be white as snow")

Blue-  When we repent of our sins and accept the free gift of God's forgiveness, baptism symbolizes our new lives in Christ.  Baptism is an outward expression of an inward decision.  It tells those you know and love that you have decided to become a follower of Christ, and have chosen to live a new life pleasing to God. (Romans 5:4 "Therefore we were burried with him by baptism.")

Green-  Grapes grow because they are being nurished by their vine.  Jesus tells us that he is the vine and we are the branches, if we remain in him, he will remain in us and we will bear much fruit (John 15:5).  For this reason we must grow in our faith, we must attend church, read the bible and pray.  We must be continually growing in our understanding of our Lord and Savior. (2 Peter 3:18 "But grow in the grace and understanding of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ")

Yellow - All this has been done so that we may live eternally in God's glorious kingdom of heaven. (Revelations 10:2 "Be faithful unto death and I will give you the crown of life.")

JOHN 3:16

"For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believed in him shall not perish but have everlasting life."

The ABC's of Salvation

A

Admit that you are a sinner

B

Believe that God sent Jesus to die for our sins

C

Confess your faith in God and be baptized a Christian

When we were reviewing the ABC's of salvation, this little boy, Daryll (pictured below) got the letter B correct, when i said "yes, good job" he screams with arms raised high, "I win!!!!".

Daryll

Carl Jr. (aka - Poopy)

Wednesday

(yes that's her name)



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Our projects are coming along nicely.  Joann has been hard at work re-tiling the sunday school / dining room.  She completed the job today, and it looks phenomenal.



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Another project we knocked out of the way was we moved  Rev. Trimiar's gigantic pulpit to the back of the sanctuary to be used as a sound stage.  But a baptist preacher can not be without a pulpit so three of us undertook the task of transforming an old podium/pulpit into one I'm sure he would be proud to stand behind.

 Before



Ashlyn and I began by sanding it down.  But as the electronic and sound system tech of the group, i needed to make a Radio Shack run to get the sound system running for Family Night that night.

Ashlyn and Lacey finished up the transformation with a beautiful off white paint job on the podium.

After

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Today the men made awesome headway on the study room and bathroom.  I'm not going to tell you what they did, I'm just going to show you.

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After a hard day at work, we got to have some fun.  Tonight was family night.  This meant the kids got to show what they've been learning all week and we had an awesome cookout.  Complete with a water balloon fight, and ended with just us slinging water and each other and putting ice cubes down each others backs.

Each age group did a different song from our songs this evening, and a group of girls did and interperative dance.

And in honor of the turtle who lost his life on the drive over here on Sunday. We presented to Pastor Trey the "Turtle Award".



Tomorrow will be another long day.  But this trip has been fun, and has taught me so much. I know I will not return home the same person I came.  I know we are helping those here at Living Stones Church but I feel i have gotten more from this trip than i have given.

Broken Arrow, OK - Day 4 - Update

Day 2 of VBS went even better than Day 1.  We had 32 kids today.

Today was "Dig into God's Provision"

God promises to provide for us in Philippians 4:19

God provides for us in all sorts of ways, from the roof over our heads, to the food in our stomachs and the clothes on our backs.  He also provides us with a beautiful world around us.  I shared a story with the oldest group of students today... When i was in Biology club in highschool and we went to New England, I remember looking out over the ocean from high atop a cliff, and all I could think was "God made this vast, beautiful, perfect place, and he still loved me enough to create me, flawed me, and more than that, he hears me when i prays and provides for everything I need.  How great is God?"

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I know for sure that God has been providing us with strength.  Some of the tasks we've tackled I can't believe we found the strength or energy to tackle.

The men have made great strides in remodling the storage shed into a study room.  And while it is far from where it needs to be, it has come a long way from where it was.

This morning they began demolition.  They began breaking down and removing sheet rock from the walls of the building.

By lunch time it was the shell they intended it to be. 

Next they need to put the insulation in and paneling up

Great strides were made in the foundation of the bathroom for the study room.  Grover has the joy of being the man in the whole.

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Some of the women (Theresa, Frena, Barbara, and Joann) started working on laying floor tiles after VBS (and lunch).  And even though we need to pick up more tiles, they should have the floor finished tomorrow.

While they were doing that, Ashlynn and I tackled the church's office.  It needed organized.  The pastor asked us to make it usable, we made it spotless.  We still have a few tasks to finish in there tomorrow, but then we're tackling the chapel.

We will be moving their GIANT pulpit to the back of the sanctuary so that they can use it for a sound booth, and painting an smaller pulpit to match the sanctuary to stand in place of the other one.  This will open the stage up more and give them a place to put the sound equipment.

While cleaning out the office i found the coolest piece of outdated technology.....

It wasn't all work though, we had some fun.

And Pastor Trey was acting goofy.

But the joke was on him.  Maranda and I had just finished our showers when we heard Pastor Trey yell from the men's bathroom "Does anyone have their phone with them?"

I yelled back "why".

He goes "Trevor and Snap took off with my clothes!"

I called Joann, who laughingly said she's go find her son.  In the mean time Pastor Trey kept yelling for us to tell them to hurry up.  So Maranda and I left, as we walked out of the door, i got a call from Joann, Pastor Trey's clothes were in the baby changing table.  We turned around and discovered the doors had locked behind us... and Pastor Trey had the keys to the main doors.  We didn't think anyone had a phone inside so we waited hoping Theresa who had gotten into the shower as we were leaving the bathroom would come out so we could get back in and deliver the message.

Finally Joann called back, we told her the delema, she called Ms. Barbara, and Ms. Barbara tolded Pastor Trey.

Trevor needs to sleep with one eye opened tonight.  Haha.

Now it's time to rest before another long night (we're having parents night at the church in the evening and inviting all the kids and their parents back for dinner. WooHoo Cookout!)

Day 3 Broken Arrow OK Update

14 of the 15 of us (one had to take the picture)

Today was a great day!  We had 28 kids at our VBS.  It wasn't chaotic, it was well organized and ran relatively smoothly despite US arriving late.  Tomorrow we need to start earlier.

Today's theme was Dig into God's Promises.  God makes us promises and he always keeps them.  This is both a good and a bad thing for us?  How could God keeping his promises be a bad thing for us?  Well, he tells us that one day "every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is LORD".  Simple fact of the matter is, weather you believe in Jesus as your savior, see him as a good teacher, or a crazy man you will one day be required by God to acknowledge the Sovereignty of Jesus.

God promises to take care of us  (Philippians 4:19)

God promises to always be with us  (Hebrews 13:5)

God promises us comfort and support  (Isaiah 40:30-31)

God promises to judge us (Matthew 25:31-45)

But the most important thing to remember is that God keeps his promises.  We can trust his word, we can trust what is written in the Bible because what God says will happen or will not happen (Genesis 9:11), will or will not happen, respectively.

It is a great God whom can be so highly trusted.  He is not fallible like we his creation.  He doesn't get bogged down with chores, and deadlines, or distracted by lesser things.  He is Holy and Above All and worthy of our trust and praise.

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While the women worked with the kids on VBS, the men were working on the main building project of this trip.  They are working on building a bathroom onto a storage shed.... which isn't as odd as it sounds when the secondary project is gutting the storage shed in order to turn it into computer/study room for the local kids to come and do their homework in a quiet, safe environment.  They also plan to section off a small section for kids to watch tv and play games, and in general given themselves something to do after school.

This is the soon-to-be study room

This is the restroom building project

The work is rewarding and fun.  I find myself exhausted when i sit down.  If i keep moving, keep working i'm fine, once i settle down though, i'm ready to go to sleep.  It is 7:38 and i'm thinking it's just about bedtime.

But that aside the stories you hear from the kids who know some of those who are returning for their second and third year at this place is just heart breaking.

One sweet little girl, Jayla (pictured above) lives with her older sister and her grandparents (the pastor and his wife of the church).  Last year, between when the group was here and when we returned, her mother died of Leukemia.  One of their other childen, ran away from home and the last news heard of her was that she was homeless and pregnant.  I can't imagine what it must be like to essentially lose two children in one year, and to know the struggles the one that is living but missing is going through.

Please pray for thier family, and that God strengthens them in this time and for the little girls who lost their mother to find comfort in God's loving arms.

Angela

Carl

Angela and Carl, the fearless leaders, have a heart for their community that you can feel before they even begin to speak.  They want so much to get this church functioning the way they wish it would so that they and the members of their church could better impact their community, and maybe one day send out missionary groups of their own to other churches struggling like theirs.

Carl is the Assistant Pastor at Living Stones, and it is his desire to see the youth group grow and the mens ministry to grow and flourish.  He was telling us, that the women of the community are faithful to come, but the men seem to come once and then don't come back for a while. They'll come for some big event at the church but don't wish to come if there isn't anything there for them to do.  He wants to see that change.  He wants them to come because they want to gather for fellowship and worship, because they want to learn about the word of God, not because there is a big project.

Heavenly Father;

Please be with the people of  Living Stones church.  Be with Angela and Carl and give them strength and encouragement that all their work is not for nothing, and that it is through them that you're work and glory will shine in their community.

Please be with each of the children who come to VBS.  We do not know the extent of their home lives or where they come from each day.  Please give us the patience to interact with them in a way that will show your love to them.  Many of these children just need to know that someone thinks they're important, that someone cares.

LORD, be with our team, and help us to complete our jobs each day with your joy and love overflowing from our lives.  Make in us a light to this community, and help those who may come to know you this week get tied into the church and begin to grow in you.

AMEN





Missions Trip - Day 2 - Update - Broken Arrow, OK

We arrived in Broken Arrow, OK at about 11am.  We met everyone here at Arrow Heights Baptist Church (where we're staying) and set up our rooms.  We then had lunch, a little rest and refresher time, and then we went out to Living Stones Baptist Church.  This is the church that we're going to be doing our work at.  In fact, we got right to work when we arrived.  The men started working on an outside project that they have going on and the women started scoping out and setting up for the VBS that we're going to be hosting.  We arrived there at about 2:30 and two hours passed so quickly.

We returned to Arrow Heights, had dinner, and then went shopping for things we need for our different tasks.

It's now quiet time, we're all about to turn in.  We've all had our showers.  Tomorrow the real fun starts.  We get to meet the VBS kids and the men get to really get to work.  They're going to be laying floor tiles, and doing some other projects, that i'll talk about when i know more about them.

I can't wait to see what God can do through us and what He is doing in this community.

Please keep Living Stones Baptist Church and the people of their community in your prayers.

4 Girls from the community

The Pastor of the Church & His Granddaughter

Carl

Mr. Steven and Trevor Hard at Work all ready

Grover Actually doing something (joking)

A few more girls from the community

These kids hang out at the church most of the time

My Prayer for this community

Heavenly Father;

Please be with the people of Broken Arrow, OK and  those of Living Stones Baptist Church.  Lord, please open the doors for this church to positively impact their community.  Lord, be with us as we work for and with this church, and help us to be a blessing to this community.  Help us to serve in the right spirit, with the right heart and attitude, remembering that this is for you and through your power.  That we can do nothing outside of your power and when we accepted our faults and shortcommings as part of your plans as a way to show your glory and power through our weaknesses.

Bless our work and this community.  Let it be for you glory!

AMEN