Monday, May 30, 2011
Happy Birthday Blog!
(Yes, we do know about our droopy shelf! It is proof that particle board does not hold up well in the humidity of the Caribbean.)
If you happened to miss some of the pictures we have posted over the past year and a half click here.
Thank you for your support. Have a great day and we will see you next week!
Monday, May 23, 2011
"Its the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine."
This past week, we too, battled against the false teachings of Harold Camping. Many in Jamaica were scared and confused, others bitter and resentful, and still others at least were confronted with the idea that this life may not be all there is. There were reports of "entrepreneurs" capitalizing on people's fear while providing "emergency baptism" services for a price of JA$1000-1500 (about $12-18 USD). We also heard of people selling off their possessions and packing up their things to go and wait at the bus stop to await the return of Jesus (as if He was a bus driver). While the majority of people were not drinking Camping's Kool-Aid, the lesson of 1 John 4:1-6 (which providentially was my text for Sunday morning as I work my way through the book) to test the spirits is of vital importance, not only for us in our Jamaican context, which boasts a hyper-Christian culture although with little discernment, but also for the sake of the global Church.
Despite the false teachings, there is real hope. Even as 1 John wrote his letter to give his "little children" confidence and assurance of the truth, we too have a great opportunity to shed true, gospel light to those confused by false messengers. Camping's teachings are an incredible opportunity for us to have faith conversations with seekers, challenge the church in their abilities to discern the "Spirit of truth and the spirit of error," while further equipping them for the future. God, in His sovereignty, saw Harold Camping from day one. God was not thrown off and His plan not impeded. I think there is great potential from this "Doomsday FAIL" for the truth to be heralded with grace and love to those "left behind" in the wake of false prophets.
Despite the false teachings, there is real hope. Even as 1 John wrote his letter to give his "little children" confidence and assurance of the truth, we too have a great opportunity to shed true, gospel light to those confused by false messengers. Camping's teachings are an incredible opportunity for us to have faith conversations with seekers, challenge the church in their abilities to discern the "Spirit of truth and the spirit of error," while further equipping them for the future. God, in His sovereignty, saw Harold Camping from day one. God was not thrown off and His plan not impeded. I think there is great potential from this "Doomsday FAIL" for the truth to be heralded with grace and love to those "left behind" in the wake of false prophets.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
A Providential Shower
It is not rainy season here, but it sure was showering last night at the Woman's League meeting, the ladies ministry in the Buff Bay church. The ladies, most old enough to be Kirsten's mother, lavished Kirsten and me (I was invited to Woman's League for the special event), with love, food, and wonderful gifts as we await the arrival of our little bundle of joy. The women were precious as they shared what a blessing Kirsten has been to them and the church while also expressing their sadness about her leaving for a couple months.
As we have said at other times, this truly feels like home. Yes, many of you reading this are from our hometowns, and we miss you terribly (along with mornings without the roosters, driving on the right, pizza, and leafy green salads), but we really have joy living here. There is no doubt that some time off to recoup and reload is much needed, but we are already thinking about what happen when we return to Jamaica. Just today, Kirsten and I were discussing whether or not we will lose our ear for patois (the local dialect), as people have now stopped slowing down for us - and if we lose it, we will be lost again!
However, this is not all bad for the church or us either. One of the many great blessings of God's providence is that His plan is always better although not always easy. We see that God is actually allowing the church to get a dry-run of what it will look like when we would actually leave Jamaica for good if that be God's plan. We have labored to equip the saints to play a greater role in the ministry and now comes a time for us to assess, evaluate, and recalibrate.
We praise God for and are incredibly encouraged by the tremendous support and blessing that has come from the church even in being understanding of us returning back to NJ to have the baby, especially from Pastor Allen. That said, please pray for the churches as they prepare to shuffle people around to make sure the ministry doesn't miss a beat but continues to move forward. Please pray that this will be a great time for the church and a time in which leaders, both old and new, will be challenged and delight in serving the Lord and His people. Also pray for us as we pack, make arrangements, and coordinate all the details that go into our temporary return to Ocean City.
We will keep you posted throughout the summer and let you know where we are and what we are up to and eventually baby-pictures and thoughts. Until then...have a great day!
As we have said at other times, this truly feels like home. Yes, many of you reading this are from our hometowns, and we miss you terribly (along with mornings without the roosters, driving on the right, pizza, and leafy green salads), but we really have joy living here. There is no doubt that some time off to recoup and reload is much needed, but we are already thinking about what happen when we return to Jamaica. Just today, Kirsten and I were discussing whether or not we will lose our ear for patois (the local dialect), as people have now stopped slowing down for us - and if we lose it, we will be lost again!
However, this is not all bad for the church or us either. One of the many great blessings of God's providence is that His plan is always better although not always easy. We see that God is actually allowing the church to get a dry-run of what it will look like when we would actually leave Jamaica for good if that be God's plan. We have labored to equip the saints to play a greater role in the ministry and now comes a time for us to assess, evaluate, and recalibrate.
We praise God for and are incredibly encouraged by the tremendous support and blessing that has come from the church even in being understanding of us returning back to NJ to have the baby, especially from Pastor Allen. That said, please pray for the churches as they prepare to shuffle people around to make sure the ministry doesn't miss a beat but continues to move forward. Please pray that this will be a great time for the church and a time in which leaders, both old and new, will be challenged and delight in serving the Lord and His people. Also pray for us as we pack, make arrangements, and coordinate all the details that go into our temporary return to Ocean City.
We will keep you posted throughout the summer and let you know where we are and what we are up to and eventually baby-pictures and thoughts. Until then...have a great day!
Friday, May 13, 2011
Work Permit Update!
It has been a while since we have brought up the topic of our work permits. The reason is we hadn't heard anything! However we did receive word yesterday that we have been accepted for the permits with no problems, except for one really big problem - a giant price tag. The Ministry of Labour and Social Security in Jamaica is currently reevaluating our paperwork to discuss the possibility of our receiving the exemption again.
We are hopeful and trusting the Lord that we will get this exemption but invite you to pray along with us as we await the verdict. To add excitement into the mix, Kirsten, for a second time, will be illegal beginning on Sunday. Again, we trust that the Lord's timing is better than our own. We will continue to keep you posted.
We are hopeful and trusting the Lord that we will get this exemption but invite you to pray along with us as we await the verdict. To add excitement into the mix, Kirsten, for a second time, will be illegal beginning on Sunday. Again, we trust that the Lord's timing is better than our own. We will continue to keep you posted.
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
TWIB(B) Notes and Pictures
As a kid my brothers and I would race into the house after church and turn on "This Week in Baseball." In the show they would recap, obviously, the week of baseball news through highlights, interviews, and analysis. I have not interviewed anyone, but we do have some pictures and news to report, so here is 'This Week in Buff Bay...'
We told you of the high school team that joined us
this past week. The team did a nice job hosting a soccer tournament and series of nightly meetings with volleyball and other fun games, a movie night, and brief gospel messages. The meetings were geared toward the youth of Buff Bay. Here is a link to check out more pictures of the events.
One of the other exciting and thoughtful plans of the team was to throw a baby shower for Kirsten. Some of the kids on the trip were former students and a good number of girls had played on Kir's middle school basketball team. They were incredibly kind and cute in the way they treated Kirsten and the baby. More pictures here.
On Good Friday, which was a little more than a week ago, we celebrated as a church the baptism of eight people. They have completed the instructions class and are hungry and growing in the faith. Many of this group were greatly encouraged and strengthened by the discipleship groups that were formed in February. Since they have started, this group of eight has only missed a handful of discipleship classes and remains hungry for the Word. Here are some of the highlights of the baptism service.
Youth fellowship is continuing to move forward. We just hosted a planning meeting the other night and are glad that all the leaders are on the same page. This week one of the leaders, Damion, is going to be teaching the lesson on what it means to be committed to God's Word. Please pray for Damion as he prepares and delivers the lesson. As an added bonus, here is a link to pictures of one of our events a couple weeks ago - a Penny Concert. For those unfamiliar with this idea, here is the gist: you pay to get people up and sing or pay to get them to shut up...its quite fun.
The last word and picture is this...we have pineapples and no one took them!
We told you of the high school team that joined us
this past week. The team did a nice job hosting a soccer tournament and series of nightly meetings with volleyball and other fun games, a movie night, and brief gospel messages. The meetings were geared toward the youth of Buff Bay. Here is a link to check out more pictures of the events.
One of the other exciting and thoughtful plans of the team was to throw a baby shower for Kirsten. Some of the kids on the trip were former students and a good number of girls had played on Kir's middle school basketball team. They were incredibly kind and cute in the way they treated Kirsten and the baby. More pictures here.On Good Friday, which was a little more than a week ago, we celebrated as a church the baptism of eight people. They have completed the instructions class and are hungry and growing in the faith. Many of this group were greatly encouraged and strengthened by the discipleship groups that were formed in February. Since they have started, this group of eight has only missed a handful of discipleship classes and remains hungry for the Word. Here are some of the highlights of the baptism service.
Youth fellowship is continuing to move forward. We just hosted a planning meeting the other night and are glad that all the leaders are on the same page. This week one of the leaders, Damion, is going to be teaching the lesson on what it means to be committed to God's Word. Please pray for Damion as he prepares and delivers the lesson. As an added bonus, here is a link to pictures of one of our events a couple weeks ago - a Penny Concert. For those unfamiliar with this idea, here is the gist: you pay to get people up and sing or pay to get them to shut up...its quite fun.The last word and picture is this...we have pineapples and no one took them!
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