From a Mom’s Heart

This actually was not written by us; it was written by our oldest daughter. It gives the full story of the miracle we have all been a part of over the past several weeks. Here it is in its entirety:

 

This Momma's heart has been through a lot over the past two weeks. It all started on a Saturday evening when I wasn't feeling the baby move; I thought maybe he was just having a down day because he had been quite active earlier. The next day, however, I knew that something wasn't right. I called my doctor, and I went to the emergency room. The nurse found his heartbeat right away, and I was immediately relieved, thinking all was well. When I still failed to feel movement, however, the resident came in to do a biophysical profile, which is an ultrasound in which she looks for five specific things. She did four different ultrasounds over the course of several hours, and his score kept going down until at the last one he scored a 2...really bad!

My doctor had come in to check on me and ended up spending the night at the hospital to be sure I was okay. He came into my room around 3:30am and said he was going to do a c-section to get the baby out since there was no way of knowing what was wrong. I called David and began praying like I never have before. I was told that the NICU team from Toledo Hospital would be at the delivery and that the baby would be taken there. My main concern at this point was that I wouldn't see my baby for four days; I had no idea of what lay ahead!

David made it just before the doctor began my surgery. I was so thankful! The baby was up at the top of my uterus, so the doctor and resident were pressing on my belly to get him down so they could pull him out. They were forced to make an additional incision in order to reach him. As the doctor delivered him, he asked what his name was; we hadn't made a decision, but David said, "Aaron."

Every mother expects to hear her baby's cry immediately; I heard silence. The baby was given to the NICU team; David was trying to watch, but they made him sit down. I was later told that Aaron was not breathing nor did he have a heartbeat at birth; his apgar score was a zero. His second one given five minutes later was a two. The neonatologist had to resuscitate him. The NICU team worked on him at the hospital for three hours. Then I was finally able to see him for the first time. He was bundled in an emergency transport incubator with all kinds of machines doing everything for him. One of the nurses wanted to be sure I could see him; she moved my bed and his, and she helped me reach his little hand. He was completely helpless! The neonatologist looked at me and told me that he was very sick and that he might die; she was brutally honest, and I needed her to be. Then he was taken away.

A couple of hours later, the attending physician in the NICU called me and said that someone needed to be with Aaron at the hospital because he was very concerned that he might not make it. He explained to me that he was on an oscillator and that they had given him a paralytic drug to keep him from moving so as not to injure himself. He said Aaron was extremely ill and they hadn't figured out why. I sent David to the other hospital right away. My nurses worked to get me transferred, and I was finally able to go at 2:30 in the afternoon. When I arrived at the hospital and was checked in and settled, my nurse put me in a wheelchair and took me to Aaron's room. I was so unprepared for what I saw...my son attached to all kinds of life support. There were so many things running through my head. He lay there completely motionless, a tube down his throat to help him breathe. He was extremely puffy, his skin pulled tight around his little body. He had multiple medications running through an umbilical line. His entire body was bruised. He was not beautiful by the world's definition by any means, but he was MINE! And I loved him immediately.

The doctor came and talked to me, and I can't even remember what in the world he said. I just cried. I was so afraid that I would lose my baby. Thank God that my sister was there to ask the right questions and to help me understand what was going on. When I saw how scared she was, though, I knew it was horribly bad. When I returned to my room, I told my dad that I trusted God, but the hard part of trusting Him is that it doesn't mean things will work out the way I want them to...it just means that I trust Him, no matter what. So began my journey of trust.

The days were long. The days were hard. The days were emotional! The days were God's! It was amazing to see God begin to work miracles in Aaron's little body. We prayed his name over him...Aaron: mountain of strength...Joseph: Jehovah increases. And we began to see God bring healing. The doctors were astonished. The nurses were floored. God was in control!

Now, two weeks later, Aaron is off of all medications and support other than his feeding tube. He is beginning to learn to eat as we work with him at times he is awake and interested. The nurses have gone from telling me that he would probably be there a couple of weeks past his due date (10 weeks total) to saying that he could be ready to go home in a couple of weeks (4-5 weeks total). Over the past few days, I have gone from not being allowed to hold him (because of his chest tubes) to having to ask a nurse to get him for me (because of his picc line) to being able to get him in and out of his bed as I please at any time. All of his tests have come back with good results. He is extremely responsive which is a good sign developmentally.

Aaron weighs 4 pounds, 6 ounces, and all of the weight he has gained is positive gain, not fluid retention. He is amazing! God is amazing! And I am grateful...forever grateful!

Are You Blessing Your Children on a Regular Basis?

Usually on Sabbath (Friday evening) before retiring for bed.
This is usually pronounces while the father is laying hands on the forehead of each child and speaking the blessing. In some homes the blessing is followed by a kiss, and in other homes it is followed by personal words of praise.

This will 1) make each child feel loved, significant, and special 2) give each child fond memories of “family-together-time, and 3) enact the blessing of God in each child.
The Blessing for a Son

May the Lord make you like Ephraim and Manasseh

Why?
Just before he dies, Jacob blesses his two grandsons, Ephraim and Manasseh . He says they should become role models for the Jewish people in the future.
So Jacob blessed the boys that day with this blessing: “The people of Israel will use your names when they give a blessing. They will say, ‘May God make you as prosperous as Ephraim and Manasseh.’ ” In this way, Jacob put Ephraim ahead of Manasseh. ^[1]." (Genesis 48:20)
Ephraim and Manasseh did in fact become role models worthy of emulation. Unlike those before them, including Cain and Abel, Isaac and Ishmael, Jacob and Esau, and Joseph and his brothers, Ephraim and Manasseh were not rivals. Rather, Ephraim and Manasseh were brothers united by their drive to perform good deeds.

The Blessing for a Daughter

May the Lord make you like Sarah, Rebecca, Rachel and Leah.

Why?
Each of the matriarchs has qualities that qualify them to be role models.
The matriarchs were strong and laudable women. They endured difficult home lives, hardships in marriage, infertility, abduction, envy from other woman, and difficult children. Nevertheless, these righteous women, through their individual passion, their partnerships with the patriarchs and their loyalty to God, succeed to build a nation.

The Blessing for Children
May the Lord bless you and protect you.

May the Lord smile on you and be gracious to you.

May the Lord show you his favor and give you his peace.’ Number 6:24-26

---

^[1] Tyndale House Publishers, Holy Bible : New Living Translation., 3rd ed. (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2007), Ge 48:20.

The Death of Osama bin Laden

Friends,

I am concerned about the finality with which most are dealing with the death of Osama bin Laden. It seems that now that justice has been served (somewhat,) many are once again feeling safe and sound. Unfortunately, I believe that these are greatly deceived. You see, we in the West are judging things by our own understanding and culture; but Middle Eastern culture is very different. While we have looked at the governmental structure (or lack thereof) of the Taliban and such, we have looked at that structure through our own, western-civilized lenses … and thus overlooked reality.

Modern US governmental structure is what might be labeled as a centralized system: that is, there is structure (including ranks of command and control) and there are rules. Middle eastern organizations (?) such as the Taliban, Al Qaeida, and others tend to operate in a way that we might label as “decentralized systems.” This means that there is no clear leader, there is no rank of command and control, and instead, there is distributed or shared power, and ambiguity.

We are aware of this in the US but oftentimes, we fail to think of it regarding modern leadership. We are familiar with Wikipedia, where there is no ONE center of authority. We are familiar with the internet; and even though it was invented by Al Gore (GROAN!!!) we understand there is no clear, central authority here.

Two authors have defined such decentralized activities and comparisons in terms of starfish and spiders. Their illustration may be summarized thusly: The Spider is Centralized. It has a Central body with legs. If you cut off its head, it dies. The Starfish might be seen as a Decentralized network. It has no head and its major organs are replicated throughout each arm. If you cut it in half and you get two starfish. (If you would like to read more, check out The Starfish and the Spider:  The Unstoppable Power of Leaderless Organizations by Ori Brafman and Rod Beckstrom. All I just gave you is a summary of the first two chapters.)

This above picture is what I think, even as I write, is taking place among Radical Islam. So, in my opinion, the death of Osama bin Laden does not bring an end to the terror or the uprisings; instead, it gives naïve American citizens a false sense of security.

So then where can we rest and be secure?

Let’s put our trust in the Lord!

Here is my paraphrase of Psalm 91

    1 Those who live in (abide in, dwell in) the shelter of the Most High will find rest (and peace and security) in the shadow of the Almighty.
    2 This I declare about the LORD: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety (not relevant news or public acclamations); He (alone) is my God, and I trust Him (and Him alone.)
    3 For He will rescue you from every trap (including deception and false security) and protect you from deadly disease.
    4 (Like a mother hen) He will cover you with his feathers. He will shelter (protect)  you with his wings. And His faithful promises are your armor and protection.
    5 Do not be afraid of the terrors (or terrorists) of the night, nor the arrow (bombs, threats, etc.) that flies in the day.
    6 Do not dread the disease (unknown, mysteries) that stalks in darkness, nor the disaster (threats to eradicate the free world) that strikes at midday.
    7 Though a thousand fall at your side, though ten thousand are dying around you,
      these evils will not touch you.
    8 Just open your eyes, and see how the wicked are punished.

   14 The LORD says, “I will rescue (all) those who love (and who prove that love by trusting) me. (In fact, and I assure this,) I will protect those who trust in My name.
    15 When they call on Me, I will answer (respond and come to the rescue); I will be with them in (every) trouble.  I will rescue and honor them.
    16 I will reward them with a long life and give them my salvation (both here and in eternity.)” Tyndale House Publishers, Holy Bible : New Living Translation., 3rd ed. (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2007), Ps 91.

And finally, as we face uncertain days ahead, I close with the words of Job as he, too, face uncertain days: “Though He may slay me, yet will I still trust in Him …” (Job 13:15 my paraphrase)

As most are, I am glad this phase (bin Laden) has come to an end in our narrative; nonetheless, I choose NOT to place my hope in reports, tales, and celebrations; I put my trust in the Lord.

Where will you put your trust?

Isaiah 49:2- “I am like a polished arrow in His quiver.”

Garrett Ministries is a division of Polished Arrow Christian Endeavors, a Not-for-Profit Corporation licensed in the state of Illinois.

The Twelfth Imam by Joel C. Rosenberg- A Review

 

This review WILL give one important but (I feel) necessary spoiler.

I have loved all of Rosenberg’s fact-fictional writings. Some have called him prophetic in his writings because seemingly, he has been able to predict events before they happened … including the massacre of 9/11 and the capture of Saddam Hussein. Yes, both of these events (and more) were actually written about in his fictional writings.

And he IS an exciting Christian writer with a gripping story.

But all of his previous fictional works were clearly, up front, “to-be-continued.”

Not so with the Twelfth Imam. (and thus, the spoiler.)

In the book, we are again taken to the world of the Middle East where we are presented with several believable characters. And Rosenberg takes the time to develop them all well.

He even ventures into a bit of a taboo field (for Christians) that has a critical tie-in toward the end of this story.

He presents a great understanding of various aspects of Islam AND he presents some of the tensions the world and Islam are throwing at one another.

Again, I was SUPER engaged in the Twelfth Imam.

But my recommendation to ALL readers is: wait until the “follow up” book comes out because you will get so wrapped up in this one … and then come to an abrupt NON-ending.

I wanted so much more and I wanted it NOW.

But, we will wait patiently for the next episode.

Isaiah 49:2- “I am like a polished arrow in His quiver.”

Garrett Ministries is a division of Polished Arrow Christian Endeavors, a Not-for-Profit Corporation licensed in the state of Illinois.

Courageous: The Movie- A Review

 

Cheri and I just walked in the door from seeing the Pastors’ preview of Courageous: The Movie. It is coming out in theaters on September 30.

May I simply say that it is a MUST SEE movie … especially for all dads. It is serious. It is funny. It is challenging. It is liberating. It is all of those things and more.

While I cannot give you a spoiler, I can say that this movie is for dads what Fireproof is for marriages.

My favorite character is Javier and I have now adopted his title for my Marroquin son: The Snake King. See it; you’ll see what I mean.

Here is an advance trailer and tickets are coming out beginning Father’s Day.

http://courageousthemovie.com/

Isaiah 49:2- “I am like a polished arrow in His quiver.”

Garrett Ministries is a division of Polished Arrow Christian Endeavors, a Not-for-Profit Corporation licensed in the state of Illinois.

Highlight of Our Disney Vacation

Hi All,

I am really sorry that I haven’t shared this with all of you already since it is probably THE HIGHLIGHT of our Disney Vacation. The night that Jim took Jamie & Crystal to Downtown Disney I brought their kids back to the room after swimming and got them ready for bed. Chloe was out like a light. I was trying unsuccessfully to find a kids’ program for Christian and Carson to watch as they drifted off to sleep. We were talking about the day and all the fun we had … that was the day the boys went on the Pirate Adventure. And I don’t really remember how the conversation turned to Jesus wanting to be our best friend but Christian started asking me questions about it … like, how can He live in our hearts (Carson thought that sounded gross) and what did it mean for Jesus to be our best friend, would he do stuff with us … did it mean He would come play with him? And I shared with Christian that when Jesus comes to be our best friend that He will be with us all the time and He will help us make good choices and love people and treat them good and be kind and loving and He will help us do great things. Christian was really interested and I saw that open door of his heart so I asked him if he would like to pray and ask Jesus to be his best friend and he said yes … so I led him in a prayer and He asked Jesus to forgive him and to be his very best friend and help him live his life for Him.

So awesome!

Carson had some interest but not quite ready at his age … he thought it was gross the Jesus would come and live in our hearts and he already has a best friend at school. I told him that Jesus would be his very best friend when he is ready.

Cheri

Soul Print by Mark Batterson- A Review

I think for once, I’ve finally gotten it right. Mind you, not everything is always a “do-over.” Nor is much sad or difficult in my life. But I have had a journey of reading that was often met with books that I just could not connect with until I had approached them a third or fourth time.

But I have finally gotten it right (or at least something in that “reading” genre has finally taken ahold of me.)

I just finished reading Soul Print by Pastor Mark Batterson. Keep in mind that I have three other books by Batterson and that I fell absolutely in love with his, In a Pit with a Lion of a Snowy Day. So Soul Print was high on my list of desire-to-reads. And it DID NOT FAIL. In this book, Batterson addresses your uniqueness, as well as God’s unique plan for you. Pastor Mark also encourages and teaches each Christian in the paths of integrity and spirituality.

I think that Batterson brings a fresh breath to the Christian world in the facts that he is relevant and yet, with sufficient Biblical depth. I find his writing engaging as well as thought (and LIFE) provoking and I am always encouraged yet challenged when I read his works. (Plus, it didn’t hurt any that Soul Print drew much of its attention from the stories concerning King David, who happens to be one of the Bible’s most interesting individuals.

I strongly recommend Soul Print and I look forward to using it in my personal life as well in my teachings. I rate it 5 out of 5. I find no fault with it other than I prefer briefer chapters … but with the divisions within each chapter, that was over-lookable.

I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.

Isaiah 49:2- “I am like a polished arrow in His quiver.”

Garrett Ministries is a division of Polished Arrow Christian Endeavors, a Not-for-Profit Corporation licensed in the state of Illinois.

Cartagena Day 3 Repost (w/ pics)

 

In some respects, this has been a relatively uneventful day. We did have one session today with the local ministerial association. We had a good time as I ministered to them about personal integrity and taking care of their personal lives, including their families. You should have seen their faces when I told them that it was OK to turn off their cell phones once in a while. After I spoke, they had their normal monthly business and we had to leave before they were done. I would have liked to have spoken with some of the pastors afterward though.

We rested much of the afternoon; this heat and humidity is an energy killer.

Early in the afternoon, Cheri and I walked down to the bay. It was a very nice time squeezing off some photos and just being together in the fresh, salty aired breeze.

Cartagena is certainly a beautiful city and we are quickly reminded that we are staying right in the ritzy part of it. We have seen three bedroom apartments worth millions of dollars, live in maids, nannies, and dog walkers.(We’re not in Kansas anymore Toto.)

Tonight we ministered to couples and had a blast as we spoke life and truth into their lives … All peppered with fun and laughter.

Unfortunately, we did not get to call my grandson Carson for his birthday because of the timing and accessibility of phones. I am sure he had a great day AND we can celebrate with him at Disney in a couple of weeks.

It’s time to shut down for the night.

Hasta luego!

Cartagena Day 3 repost

 

In some respects, this has been a relatively uneventful day. We did have one session today with the local ministerial association. We had a good time as I ministered to them about personal integrity and taking care of their personal lives, including their families. You should have seen their faces when I told them that it was ok to turn off their cell phones once in a while. After I spoke, they had their normal business and we had to leave before they were done. I would have liked to have spoken with some of the pastors afterward though.

We rested much of the afternoon; this heat and humidity is an energy killer.
Early in the afternoon, Cheri and I walked down to the bay. It was a very nice time squeezing off some photos and just being together in the fresh, salty aired breeze.

Cartagena is certainly a beautiful city and we are quickly reminded that we are staying right in the ritzy part of it. We have seen three bedroom apartments worth millions of dollars, live in maids, nannies, and dog walkers.(We're not in Kansas anymore Toto.)
Tonight we ministered to couples and had a blast as we spoke life and truth into their lives ... All was peppered with fun and laughter.

Unfortunately, we did not get to call my grandson Carson for his birthday because of the timing and accessibility of phones. I am sure he had a great day AND we can celebrate with him at Disney in a couple of weeks.

It's time to shut down for the night.

Hasta luego!

Cartagena- Day 2- revised post

 

I wanted to repost these that should have pictures accompanying them since … well, I have pictures. Also, Cheri is giving some input in here as well.

Today, we actually begin our conferences. Today's and Tonight's meetings are at the Iglesia de Arbol de Vida hosted by Pastor Luis. Our initial group was small- maybe 75-100 people and was comprised of pastors and wives.
One very interesting thing happened today: we were actually cut off in traffic by a donkey-pulled cart. Again I can say, I've never seen that before.

I spoke in the first service alone BUT Cheri's luggage did get here this am so she was able to speak in the second meeting.
My message re: “What is the Church?” was well received and won the approval of this reserved congregation.
Cheri was able to teach the second session re: “Living on Purpose” (much to my relief.) She spoke for a good hour and won the respect of the people.
After these AM sessions, I shared a Greek thought of the day with the word used in Romans 8:26 concerning the Holy Spirit helping us in out weaknesses. Even the Senior Pastor of the church was moved upon by the Holy Spirit on this one.
We left for the day around lunch time and retired to the apartment for needed lunch and rest.

For the evening service, I spoke concerning the Lord of the Breakthroughs. We had an altar call with over 100 coming up for prayer. (by the way, there were probably about 250 in tonight's service.
It has been a long time since I have seen God's move so obvious. I don't often get hyped up about people falling under God's power because that CAN BE a result of too much emotionalism ... but not so tonight. It was not really an emotional message.

We feel that we are already making some new friends among these precious pastors and their wives ... and we are delighted.
We had a beautiful trip back to the apartment where we were met with supper. Our driver took us through the old city where we saw castles lit up at night, the home (at least one of them) of Julio Iglesias, and many historic sites. then we rode along the beach ... again all I can say is, "BONITA- (Beautiful)."
Around the table, we had God-ordained conversation with Francelina, our hostess. It was truly precious.
I can't wait to see what God is going to do tomorrow.

Yeshua in Context by Derek Leman- a book review

Derail Leman's new book is definitely a great read. It is one of the newer publications from Messianic Judaism and provides a contextual rendering of the words spoken by Jesus Christ in the Gospels.

I thought the research seemed sound and I thought the writing style was very engaging.

Perhaps the thing I liked most about this book is that is reflective of a growth in Messianic Judaism: it does not build a foundation for Messianic Judaism; it assumes such ... And then produces a helpful understanding of Middle Eastern, Jewish backgrounds of Jesus' teaching.

I think it is one of the best Messianic reads i have had in a long time.

Yeshua in Contet is written by Derek Leman and is published byMount Olive Press in Stone Mountain Georgia.
ISBN 978-0-9747814-4-0

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Medellin to Chicago

Today started early ... And a lesson to remember is that late nights and early mornings do not mix together well.

Marlen took us to the airport, we checked through exit tax area, checked our bags through and went through 6 stages of security checks (literally) (only to later realize that they had inspected two of our checked bags.)

For some reason, the three hour flight seemed short.

Miami is always interesting.

Our flight from Miami to Chicago seemed much longer although they were about the same.

We're glad to be home.

Hopefully I will reflect more tomorrow but for now, it's time for bed.


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Medallion- day 3

What a fabulous day!

We woke up early this morning for our final day of the Medellin Pastor's Seminar. We were really excited about what God is doing. Our anticipation was well-paid off. Again we had many visiting pastors who had not registered for the conference and we were honored by their presence ... But we were overwhelmed by the attention, reception, and appreciation these registered pastors showed us. One pastor, the president of the Bogota Pastors' Association came all the way to Medellin from Bogota ... And yes, he issued an Invitation to bring these same messages to the pastors in Bogota. We are working on dates for this.

My first message today was concerning Sabbath- being versus doing. It offered very practical recommendations concerning how to transform our performance-oriented lives into Presence-oriented ones.

Cheri then spoke primarily to the ladies concerning the heart of the lioness. A couple of husbands gave her a (fun) hard time afterward. During our break, we were approached by a group of women pastors who invited Cheri to come and speak at their retreat.

For our final presentation, we team-taught Spiritual Disciplines as a way to Spiritual Transformation. Again, we offered practical recommendations from the Word of God concerning spiritual transformation. This is what our hearts have prepared for and this is what we love. As we finished, we had a beautiful time together in the altar. Afterward, we were shown love and appreciation by all in attendance. They presented me with a beautiful, expensive Castiliano shirt (I think I spelled that right) and presented Cheri with beautiful Colombian artifacts jewelry. We were very honored and humbled by their love. We realized that some of these pastors face regular threats from guerilla forces and may not be alive to be at another similar conference, yet they keep serving the Lord.

Marlen then took us to lunch in a quaint Colombian restaurant where Cheri had pescado frijo and I had bandeja paisa ... A meal which should easily feed 3 men. We then went to the historical local village which gave us great scenery of the city.

Then we went and had sweets.

No mas! No mas! No mas! I think i have gained 5 pounds in Colombia this time ... No kidding.

We got back to the room and Pedro and Mabel, Pedro and Marlena, and Adam took us out to ..l you guessed it ... A closing meal.

Leaving good friends is always difficult but we know we shall see these again ... And Pastor Pedro is getting me a custom, hand-crafted Colombian guitar for our next visit.

We are packed and ready to go in the morning. It will be a long day of flights and airports ... But we are glad to be heading home to our family and our church family ... Still, we already miss our Colombian friends.

I will post pictures as soon as we get settled in at home and have the means to do so.

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Location:Calle 15A 30,Medellín,Colombia

Medellin Colombia -Day 2

Wow!!!

Another incredible day of the Pastor's Seminar. They are so hungry for God to move in their midst; we are humbled by their pull on us.

The day started with me alone. Cheri had been so sick through the night and I know she was tired from being sick. So I left her at the hotel room after emailing the church for prayer, praying for Cheri myself, and then downing a great cup of Colombian coffee.

When I got to the church and stepped up into the pulpit, I realized something very crucial: I do not necessarily need Cheri to speak beside me or to speak instead of me; I need Cheri for her love and support. It was different Sunday as we went two different directions to minister out of necessity. We each knew that, even though we were ministering in two different places, we had one another's backs. But this time, i was alone in the pulpit and she was alone in the bed. I had the president of the Pastors' Association call her at 10:30 ... And she Was ready to be picked up so we could team teach. (Thank God Cheri wasn't carrying the whole load; she was drained of energy ... But her heart said preach")

I spoke about avoiding stagnation in ministry at 8:30; Cheri and I spoke together about a healthy me, a healthy family, and a heathy ministry.

After praying with several pastors, we went to lunch at a large charismatic church that is based in the G-12 movement. This was a gathering of prominent business men and political leaders. It was refreshing to brush elbows with these dedicated Christian leaders of the Medellin community. (and their church, btw, is in the midst of Pablo Escabar's neighborhood. We actually saw a couple of buildings he built for the community ... Very interesting.) Lunch was excellent ... And then they asked me to speak. Hmmm, no one told me I would be speaking at this meeting. But I refused to show surprise (i hope) and moved forward with some "now" thoughts God had laid on my heart.

To tell you the truth, we are feeling such an anointing, I think I could recite the ABCs and lives would be changed this week. ;-)

We retired to the room for a late siesta where Cheri can simply regain some more strength; in the meanwhile, I will pray and hone tomorrow's messages.


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Location:Calle 15A 30,Medellín,Colombia

Medellin Colombia day one

Today we opened our Pastors' Conference in Medellin. We woke up ready for this (although I woke up at 4:30 AM to the tune of two teen-aged boys fighting in the hallway on the floor below.)

After breakfast, we went to the church and discovered that they had gone all out on this event. They had eight foot tall banners with Cheri's and my face taking up about one third of it ... And there are no other speakers. And we found out they have flyers all over town ... In full color. Of course, we knew they had tv ads because we actually videotaped those (minus the tag lines) back in Tinley Park. ... But then we got the real shock: all of these pastors are wearing buttons with Cheri's and my pictures on them ... I mean 2" round buttons. We are not used to this kind of attention to say the least. And we're not embarrassed; we're humbled by it all.

Anyway, service started on time with great worship. I was up first and ministered on What is the Church? We took a break and Cheri ministered regarding Guard Your Heart. We were very well received and enjoyed our fellowship aver the services.lunch was with Pastor Andrew, pastor of the host church. I don't know how many they run but they have four services, all mostly full and their sanctuary seats well over two thousand people. He was a delight and spoke to us about coming in for staff consultation next year with his personal staff. (it's good to be recognized for qualities again.)

We spent the afternoon in siesta and then went out with good friends Pedro, Mabel, and Alejandro and Margarita. These accept us as family and provide us an incredible experience. They tells us, "you are not paisa (native country men) but you are familia. Again, this gives us a great feeling.

Well, we barely (literally) make it back to the room and Cheri is violently ill. Afterwards, she feels much better but is still nauseated. She feels as if it is something she ate but that is somewhat strange since food preparation hygiene is at US or above standards. And I feel a little wrest too as I write this.

Oh well, finalize preparation on tomorrow's messages (as we here several gunshots down the street), then we're off to bed.

By the way, we really DO feel absolutely safe and in God's hands here in what was once known as the most dangerous city in the world.


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Location:Calle 14,Medellín,Colombia

Cartagena - Medellin Colombia

Today was a day of transition.

We woke up early and went to the beach in Cartagena.

We had lunch with the administrator and financial secretary of Arbor de Vida church and exchanged gifts and prayers.

We packed and headed to the airport where we were greeted by more members of Arbor de Vida to say good-bye.

Then we flew to Medellin.

We were met by Pastor Marleyn (and I may discover a better way to spell her name)

We are now ready for bed.


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Location:Colombia

Cartagena-day 7

What a marvelous way to end our ministry in Cartagena. I preached two messages at Arbor de Vida. Arbor de Vida is a Multi-site church and Cheri spoke at one of their other campuses. Although Cheri and I conducted these alone, Pedro was with us as the Colombian president of Christ for the City International. He spoke at three churches today ... So three of us spoke at six services today.

Cheri was very well received at her church as she spoke on Freedom and certainly, freedom was in the house.

I, too was well received as I spoke on God using our brokenness. There was a great encouragement among the congregation

After a brief siesta, we toured the city, took many photos, rode a horse drawn carriage on tour, and purchased a few souvenirs.

We then came back to the apartment, ate, and had a marvelous time of prayer with Maria and Francelina.

Tomorrow will be a sad day as we leave a part of our hearts in Cartagena.


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Location:Cartagena, Colombia

Cartagena- Day 6

I'm not sure when this will post; it's been a long day and a late night and I have two services to preach Sunday: one at 7:00 and the other at 9:30.

We closed out the Pastor's Seminar this morning with two great services. The building was relatively full and the people were expectant. I spoke in the first meeting regarding Staying on Task: Finishing the Journey. You could look at the faces and see that many were ready to quit simply out of weariness and frustration. Most every pastor understands this sentiment and primarily needs some encouragement. I gave the encouragement and some needed Scripture regarding how to protect oneself from such happening again.

And Cheri and team-taught to wrap up the series. We taught on spiritual disciplines as a means to renewing our spirits and minds. It was well received and many gave testimony of how their lives had been changed and challenged through our time together.

We went to the apartment for lunch and had a (briefer than normal) siesta. The reason for the shortness was that we had a city wide youth rally to conduct.275-300 teen showed up for the incredible time together. Their worship team did a great job and it was obvious that we were working with a group of kids who (mostly) lived the Lord.

I came up next and led in a crowd surfing race. Because the church was divided into two sections, we simply had two teams whose goal it was to transport one youth leader on each side all the way to the back and then back up front again. All of this was done over their heads ... As in they passed the youth leaders over the students heads from front to back and to front again. (I think one youth leader was briefly dumped on the way back up ... But no one was injured and nothing was broke.)

These kids were hyped. Cheri spoke (masterfully) about being a lion chaser and terrorizing the lions in our lives. Her challenge was that the same energy that went into a brief, frivolous game could by used for Jesus to win a generation and to win a country. We had a tremendous altar call with most students dedicating themselves to use their energies for Christ. We also had at least 13 saved and had many more staying afterwards for prayer, counsel, and photos. I have one really good shot of Cheri in a bunch of kids. We had fun ... And God moved too.

Now to finalize preparation for services tomorrow.




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Location:Cartagena, Colombia

Colombia- Day 5

Today was our first and only free day.

We began the day with breakfast which we all enjoyed. We also noticed on the news that Japan was hit last night by a powerful earthquake and were also reminded that about his time last year, we were in Hawaii awakening to tsunami warnings, which Hawaii is again doing today.

George took us on a guided tour today, beginning at a restaurant on the bay inside the walls of the walled city. I made sone fabulous pictures ... Many of them ... Only to discover that I had not replaced my memory card in my camera after I had imported them into Cheri's net book. Arguing.

Well, I couldn't go back and make up for these but I did have my video camera with me and it takes some decent stills. Cheri also had her camera but it doesn't seem to take crisp photos like my Pentax.

We were in an older part of Cartagena today and I did get to snap a few photos of some of the older homes. They were all very beautiful. We also went up the mountain to an old convent. Here you could see the entire city, both rich and poor. Here too we made many pictures.

Then we went down to the castillo where again we made pictures and where I a was ably to pick up a couple of xxl t-shirts. (They're actually difficult to find here. I guess most men aren't the same size as me here.) We also went to an artisan mercado and viewed their goods. I hope we get to go back here.

We had lunch with the host pastors and the administrative pastors as well as Pedro and Adam. We spoke for a long time about what God has done during this time of ministry and we planned for the future. Who knows what God has in store.

And siesta was wonderful although prior to resting, we all tried to catch up on what's going on about the earthquake.

After our time of siesta, we were picked up at the apartment by Jorge and Dianna. They are such a delightful couple whom God is just beginning to mightily use. They took all four of us out to an incredible meal at a typico Colombian high-end restaurant. Cheri and I both had the most wonderful fish (and they were different from each other.)

Then we had such intimate conversation wherein God was so tangible. It felt good to be used in that way as we counseled and prayed with this couple.

We also sense God changing our messages for tomorrow somewhat so I am sitting up (very) late re-hashing the messages for tomorrow. (Late nights make for long days ... so I am praying for divine rest as we finish up our Cartagena Pastors' Convention Saturday AM.




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Location:Cartagena

Colombia - Day 4

This has been a very exciting, yet very tiring day.

Cheri spoke first to the Pastor's wives today regarding Guarding Your Heart. I then spoke to everyone concerning community and working together. During the break, the pastor proudly showed us his audio, video, and internet equipment. He was so proud of the assets in this area and we were proud for him. While he was showing us these things, I spied a Cartagena poster concerning our ministers' convention. Pedro kept telling me in Spanish, "Pastor Jim, you're famous." apparently, these posters are all over town with Cheri's and my picture on them.

We have won two new friends on this journey. One is a young worship leader named Wilson. I guess he is mid-20s to 30 and is simply a delightful young man that happens to know a little English.

Our other friend is a little girl name Dianna who has really attached to Cheri. (I think Cheri has fallen for her two. She is probably 6 or 7 and is simply adorable (and shy.)

After the break, I was up to speak again. This time i spoke concerning "doing versus being" and it launched that from the commandment to remember the Sabbath to keep it holy.

We broke for lunch and immediately travelled to The Colegio Corporacion Cartagena Latino-americano where I joyously addressed the teachers and staff of this 600+ member school. (he may have even told me 800 but I forget.) my message regarding needing one another was well received. We were also invited to speak at another church Sunday but unfortunately, we are already booked up with Cheri going in one direction and I in other.

After a brief rest, I once again ministered to the pastors and local church attendees where I spoke on the woman with the issue of blood and the need for memorials to remind us from where God has brought us. We had a marvelous time with strong prayer for healing afterwards.

We are really enjoying seeing what God is doing and we are humbled that He would choose us.

We are also excited that He has placed us in such a beautiful place among so many new friends.

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Location:Cartagena, Colombia