Tres Rios Church Update

We’ve been asking you for your prayers concerning where the church has been meeting since April 2007. To review, the city closed the establishment (an old restaurant) because the neighbors complained about a lot of loud parties there (not our parties!). Two developments have taken place just recently. One is that a meeting is to take place between the church, the mayor, and the owner of the property, who is favorable to the church. The hope is that the place will be reopened for church use, and we’ll be able to move out of the circus tent and off the (rainy!) basketball court and back into the building. The other possibility that is still pending is the purchase of a former church building for sale in the downtown Tres Rios district. It is a bargain at $136,000, and would be the best long-term solution. But of course, the folks in the church would need to come up with some initial funding and financing. You can all pray about that, without a doubt, and for wisdom in these times. And please know that we so depend on your intercession and interest in this project. If we deceive ourselves into trusting in our own understanding and then pretend that God has led us, we are deceived indeed! Thanks for your prayers!

Will My Self-Interest Assure Your Well-Being?

Many of you will remember a few weeks ago, back before the recent election, when it seemed that suddenly our nation’s economic health was headed over the precipice unless some major legislation was immediately passed. Oh yeah, the bailout thing! Does that seem like distant history now? It’s funny how quickly the next news item displaces the spectacle that preceded it. It’s also interesting how normal all this can seem to us who live in this world, but are hopefully not of it. How different is the world in its general outlook on the future, anyway? I found an interesting article in USA Today (http://usatoday.com/money/economy/2008-10-23-greenspan-congress_N.htm) reporting on former Federal Reserve Board Chairman Alan Greenspan's testimony before Congress. You'll find the usual economic news and predictions, which of course seem to be the basic fuel of the economic fire in the world. But more importantly, you'll find in this article some telling statements regarding basic worldview. Consider these:

• "the crisis has exposed flaws in his thinking and in the workings of the free-market system."
• Greenspan had a "belief that banks would be more prudent in their lending practices because of the need to protect their stockholders..."
• Greenspan said he had made a mistake in "believing that banks in operating in their self-interest would be sufficient to protect their shareholders..." (emphasis mine)
• Greenspan called this "a flaw in the model that I perceived is the critical functioning structure that defines how the world works." (emphasis mine)

People do not make decisions in their personal lives or create policy for nations in a worldview vacuum. There are assumptions (e.g. that self-interest will naturally translate into interest and care for others?) that we consciously or sub-consciously refer to in all that we do. Alan Greenspan is not the only individual with influence and power in our society that actually does have a carefully considered "model...that defines how the world works." Without knowing Mr. Greenspan personally, one has very little with which to question the sincerity of those worldviews or models. But sincerity is not the most fundamental question, since sincerity is not analogous to truth. (And there is a hint about my own model, i.e. that truth exists and is of the highest value.) We do have the freedom and capacity to compare other models with truth to determine their veracity (correspondence to ultimate reality) and justness (consequences for others). We are currently privileged to be looking upon some of the real-time logical conclusions and consequences to a model like Alan Greenspan's.

Your Prayers Must Be Coming True...

As we've traveled and shared with congregations that support what we do in Central America, we are always asked about what they can pray for. In EVERY instance, we have asked that you pray about the location where we meet for Sunday services. When we started gathering for worship there back in April of 2007, it was a great answer to prayer. We had been meeting in a residential home where we had our offices and housed some of our students. But we soon were making our neighbors uneasy with all the new faces in their midst, and we knew we had to leave. The current location is ideal in many ways, with no worries about the noise we make, and a swimming pool for baptisms to boot! But it seems that it has served its purpose for the time, and as the congregation grows in maturity, a new place to come together seems imminent.

Basically, there are a couple of reasons we should probably be meeting elsewhere. One has to do with the neighborhood. It is no better or worse than other neighborhoods in the township, but the locals themselves make a distinction as to its perceived dangerousness. While the neighborhood is indeed a hotbed of drug activity and even some violence, even the worst neighbors see us and our students as a blessing, and have never threatened any of us. On the contrary, when Roger recently had a cell phone stolen out of his car, some of the local toughs made every effort to locate it and defend his rights (and our students' efforts) in confronting the obvious thieves on his behalf. They were too late, as stolen merchandise moves very quickly in those markets! But it illustrates the impact that the Church has already had in a very rough place. On the other hand, those same neighbors who are part of the Church are very hesitant to invite their other acquaintances (from work, school, etc.) to join us, because they know what everyone thinks and what their fears are.

The other reason we need to meet elsewhere has to do with centrality. If we can find ourselves meeting in the central district of the township, everyone can not only arrive at church on their own, but also know that their invited friends can easily arrive. Central location is a question of logistics and future self-sustainability and independence.

So I think you must be praying about this. Why? We've been shut out of our present location! The place is rented out to other parties (literally) because we only rent it by the hour. And of late, some pretty wild drug parties have taken place on the grounds! They were so wild and raucous in fact that the neighbors called the police, on more than one occasion. So the municipality closed the place down. The church missed one Sunday of worship together, but are planning to meet this Sunday on the basketball court next door. Pray it doesn't rain! And keep praying for the right place. This may actually be a blessing, because if we're forced out of the present locale, the neighbors would understand our leaving better, and not feel so much that we were abandoning them. Your prayers can come true!

Of Mice and Men

Today I think I'll do the Central-American thing and tell you that I had a birthday this last weekend. To be truly Central-American, I might have reminded you before my birthday, but this will have to do. I had a great day, thanks in no small part to my dear wife Chrissy, who is the sole reason that any of our kids will have any sweet childhood memories of any occasion whatsoever. Party? She IS a party. And this weekend was no exception. Allow me to digress.








Apparently, a parade was planned for me in Mason City, IL. It had all the trappings of the Prairie Harvest Festival, but I think that was just a ruse to get me to the celebration. We stopped at Casey's on the way, and indulged in the finest cappuchino a buck and change can buy. But what made the parade super special was that our niece Haleigh was in the running for the Prairie Harvest Princess competition. We cheered as her float tottered by, so pleased to see her among the candidates, waving politely and wishing one and all a very good morning. The entourage of antique tractors and a long line of emergency vehicles made time fly, and when we were surprised by the horses at the end of the parade, it was nigh on lunch-time. We headed for the carnival with our carry-on suitcases full of projectile candy (no-one was hurt in the distribution).








The time came for the announcement of the winner of the Prairie Harvest Princess for 2008, and Haleigh won! We cheered again, hugged one another, and pumped our fists. Time to finish lunch, enjoy a little live entertainment on the flat-bed trailer, and make our way back to the car. But the car was parked on the far side of the carnival, and so we promised one ride for each child and headed that way. Of course, Chloe and Wyatt wanted to ride different rides, so we were in a conundrum. Was Wyatt big enough to ride the Rock-O-Plane by himself? Yes, but the ride-operator preferred that he not. So we quickly purchased a few more tickets, and I rode the Rock-O-Plane for the first time in maybe 25 years. Did I mention that we had lunch? Fortunately, the only things that went flying were the unsecured jaw-breakers I had snagged when the Shriners went by in the parade. In fairness, I had ignored the clearly posted warnings and left them in my shirt pocket. Wyatt thought it was awesome, but Chloe got pretty woozy on the swings.




We might have missed the climax of the event had Chloe not gotten a bit nauseous, though. While she was catching her breath, the boys found the mouse-roulette wheel sponsored by the local MCFD. This attraction is a 6-foot diameter wooden table, with holes drilled around the circumference, corresponding to different colors. Participants put their quarters down on a color on the surrounding counters, the wheel is spun, and a mouse is released in the center. If he runs down a hole corresponding to your color, you win the number of quarters indicated by the hole. It must be a good fund-raiser, because the place was packed, and the look of the whole set-up seemed to have a few years on it. Zach won 8 quarters, Austin wound up donating a few to the MCFD, Chloe managed to regain her equilibrium, and we made our way home. We finished the evening with a 3-birthday wing-ding at Amy Lowe's house (Chrissy's sister), celebrating with Jeremy Lowe (Amy's husband) and Jeni McLaughlin (Chrissy's sister also.) So you can see it was a special day, in part because of the events associated with it, but mostly because of the special people I could be with. We have been very blessed on this furlough to be able to spend time with family, first around Joplin with much of my family, and now in Illinois with Chrissy's family.

D-Group Leader Training in Panama

It seems of course that we've been back here in the USA on furlough for a loooonnnngg time...when in fact it's only been a few months. September 15th is around the corner, and you know what that means! Independence Day for the five Central American countries, who received their independence from Spain on the same day back in 1821. Which are the five? Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and Costa Rica. "What about Panama?" you will earnestly inquire. Panama also won their independence in 1821, but not until November 28, and they immediately decided to join Colombia. It wasn't until 1903 on November 3, however, that they broke away from Colombia, and became the Republica de Panamá which we know today. Soooo... Panama celebrates TWO Independence Days, and they kind of are, and kind of aren't part of Central America.

Speaking of Panama, that is where the next International School of Youth Ministry will be held in January, 2009. This conference/camp is in its fourth year, having rotated back and forth between Costa Rica and Panama. As I write, Roger Twitchell, with a delegation from the churches in Costa Rica, is on the road (the red Panamerican Highway in the map at right) to attend a training session near the border. It's about 7 hours from San Jose, and they'll be there through Friday and Saturday, probably coming home late Saturday night. Roger told me that they'll be staying with Eliecer Carrera, who is one of our graduates of the Institute. It sounds like they'll be sleeping on the floor, and eating at Eliecer's Aunt's restaurant! The food should be great! Another note of interest is that Eliecer will be getting married on September 20th, so if you were thinking about being at the wedding, you better look into some tickets before it's too late!