Happenings

Well spring has sprung and the snow is gone (as for right now at least). We actually had some falling 2 days ago after having had 82 degrees the day before. Anyway welcome to Colorado weather.

We are really enjoying being back in what we both consider home. We live and work within a ten mile drive to Downtown Denver and about 20 mins into the hills. We love the sunshine which brightens our day more than 300 days a year and being around people who love life. This has been a very good move back and we are looking forward to many years ahead.

We are currently praying for a place of our own to live and have been asking God for a house within walking distance of the base, with a fenced backyard and plenty of room for guests. Our desire is to have a place for our dogs (which we need to pick by the end of the summer) but also a place close enough for people to visit from the YWAM base without needing to find a ride or go so far to get there. We have a heart to open our home for hospitality and need something which will enable us to do so.

We are excited to see how God will work this out and look forward to sharing His provisions along the way.

If you pray, please join us in asking God for wisdom and guidance; along with these we need to see His provisions for the needed finances and such in order to have the home we believe He desires for us to have.

Hope all is well with you and we look forward to sharing more later.

The Journey Continues!

As we travel on, the journey continues! Having been back in Denver for about a month now, we are still acclimating to community life and adjusting to living in someone's basement and not our own place. There is an excitement in our hearts and we are expectant of the things God wants to do in our lives as we continue to follow in HIs steps.

We will try to keep this updated for the purpose of people catching up.

We would love to hear from you as well, so if you have time jot us a note sometime.

The Journey!

Well if you are actually reading this, you have probably been following our steps in the sell of the house and move back to Colorado. As of Wednesday of this week, we closed on the house in Georgia and are now back in Arvada (which is indeed home for us).

We spent several days in Estes Park with all the staff and this was a great retreat for Lesa and Me. As we sat in our meeting room, we could see the views of God's mountains with white caps and blowing snow outside of our door. We are now preparing to get started in the positions we will be working in for the next quarter and we are excited about this.

It is our hope that as you read these blogs, you will be able to take part in what God is doing in and through us.

The journey continues and we invite you to walk with us as we go.

Until later

I will deliver you !

Stand still and see what I will do! Many months back, we felt God sharing these words with us and just about a month ago Lesa and I found ourselves asking once again for what we saw as a miracle. After having lost the sell of our home at the end of January, I asked God one day to provide a buyer within the next three weeks. People had shared with us, from the very beginning of putting a for sale sign in our yard what the market was like; neither of us went into this blindly, however we were stepping out into what we had in our hearts God was leading us to do.

At the time (in September) we didn't have the next step or know why we were going back to Colorado, but we felt we were to make the changes to simplify our lives in many different ways. As we have walked once again into the unknown; trying to obey what we see and hear, this has been a journey in and of itself. It has not been without great emotional trials and we have had our days of doubts and wondering "what are we doing" types of questions. Yet in the midst of those days, we have seen God's provision, guidance and care as we are trying to walk.

"Be still and see what I can do" As we continued to pray for a buyer (which is not the only thing we have been seeking God about but it's one of the big things for us right now), Lesa had been reading in Exodus 12 concerning the deliverance of the Israelites, the fasting of yeast for the festivals and such. Having read this together, we felt there was a significance of the 14Th and 15Th day of the month we were in. We didn't know what it was, but we were praying for a buyer for our house on the 15Th. Not really thinking of the fact the 15Th was the Friday ending the 3 week period I had asked God for at the end of January.

After reading, praying and believing for a buyer we had 2 back to back showings on the house in this same week (Tuesday & Wednesday) and an offer was made on the house on Friday the 15Th. Having seen God's provision and feeling these were the people we wanted to have in the home, we accepted the offer.

We are now trying to close by next Friday or early in March. I find it hard to think we have sold the house until the papers are signed and we hand over the keys. It is evident to us God is moving in our lives and on our behalf, yet we know things can sometimes get in the way.

Stand still and see what I will do! Be still and I will deliver you! These are not idle words given to a group of people thousands of years ago, God still delivers today. Not everything is about financial deliverance, many times it is the heart being set free from bondage or heartaches. Wherever you find yourself in need, cry out! David (in the Psalms) said; "I cried out to you and you heard my cry and answered me; my cry reached your ears"

He still hears our cry and answers; this doesn't mean everything we are crying out for is going to be answered the way I or you want, be when we are asking with seeking hearts and right motives God will answer.

This is our story and the stories of many who came before us, and I am sure some who read this will have there own as well.

"Be still and see what I can do!"

Grace & Peace!

Grace and Peace to you! These are the words which Paul, the writer in the New Testament so often started or concluded his messages. Grace and Peace?

This morning, I heard a definition of this word grace which seems to convey the heart of God best (in my opinion); absolutely free expression of the love of God; finding its only motive, in the bounty and benevolence of God.

This is good right? We need this type of grace! We live in a world where people do things for another person, only to be recognized or have something done in return. This is happening around us all the time. I scratch your back you scratch mine; however Jesus' way is different. Grace; joy, pleasure, acceptance and favor; favor done without expectation of return.

This is grace!

Peace~shalom~ (complete/wholeness) even in the midst of strife. Peace is not the absence of strife, yet understanding God is with me in the strife.

We all want world peace, yet what this means for most people is having all wars cease, no fighting in the schools etc. etc. How would it change our world, if we all chose to live with grace and peace in our hearts and on our tongues?

Grace for our enemies, people who have wronged us and everyone else who seems to fit this criteria.

Just something I was confronted with and thought I would put out there!

Until later

Give Thanks!

Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; His love endures forever. Let the redeemed of the Lord say this- those He redeemed from the hand of the foe, those He gathered from the lands, from the east and west, from north and south. Some wandered in desert wastelands, finding no way to a city where they could settle. They were hungry and thirsty, and their lives ebbed away. Then they cried out to the Lord in their distress. He led them by a straight way to a city where they could settle. Let them give thanks to the Lord for His unfailing love and His wonderful deeds for men, for He satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things. Psalm 107:1-9 NIV

Fighting!

As we sit here on January 30, 2008 we are fighting many feelings. We are having to fight against the feelings of anger towards the situation we now find ourselves in. Just last week at this time, we were finalizing the date of closing for our home and less than 48 hours later the buyer reneged on the contract. We were shocked and overwhelmed with the fact he has done this and it was not until a few days later that some aftershock of his decisions came to pass.

So here we are (for a lack of better words) back at point A again. Though we know God was not caught off guard or surprised, we were. This being the case, we are the ones walking through waiting and praying for God to show His provision once again. We are fighting the anger because, though we know the buyer chose to break the contract and in breaking it, also chose to make a few other decisions which highly effected us and the agreement we both signed; God is in control. We are not sure what He may be doing right now and what was started before the news was broken to us. One thing which makes it even harder, is having no one to walk with us through this time. We have a few friends at a distance but no real community here. This is one reason we are so encouraged and ready to move back to Denver, and yet we also know God has been teaching us things as well.

The tension and stress gets higher on some days, as we are both having to walk through our own personal feelings of what has and is taking place. These days are hard and though we know God never promised obedience would be easy, we have to be real with what we are going through; not only with Him but with others.

So we are fighting! Not only the feelings; we are fighting for the passion we have in our hearts and not willing to let it die. Not willing to allow circumstances to overcome the very desire we believe God Himself put into us. We believe He is our provider, not was sometime in the past, or for someone else; HE IS OUR PROVIDER and He is trustworthy!

Though we feel as if we were punched in the stomach, we have not and will not stay doubled over. We are pressing on and praying for blessings on this city as we prepare to leave.

We will keep fighting and if you are ready to fight alongside of us; we welcome you to the battle!

Shooting at YWAM Denver !

Since returning from Denver back in late December, we have spoken with many of you concerning the shooting which took place at the YWAM Denver base where we had spent many years and are now preparing to return to. After getting to Dublin where we currently live, we realized hardly anyone seemed to even know the shooting took place. This being the case, we wanted to post the press release which YWAM international sent out after the tragedy. As we are close with the leaders and many staff at the base, we ask for you continued prayers for God's healing and restoration here. Not only were we there for many years, we were also visiting the base during the time of the shooting and had the opportunity to watch God start the healing process for many. They have just started new schools at the beginning of this week (1/7/08) and have been trying to move along in the things of God. Thanks for your support for us and our YWAM family

Official Press Release from Youth With A Mission concerning the YWAM Denver shooting December 9th, 2007

A lone gunman entered a Youth With A Mission training center in the Denver, Colorado suburb of Arvada early Sunday morning, opening fire and hitting four members of the staff. All were taken to local hospitals and two later died of their injuries.

The two wounded remain in serious condition. The gunman has not yet been apprehended, and police are continuing their search for him.

The deceased have been identified as Tiffany Johnson, 26, from Minnesota, and Philip Crouse, 24, from Alaska. Both served as staff members at the Youth With A Mission Arvada campus. The third victim, Dan Griebenow, 24, has a bullet in his neck and is listed in critical but stable condition. The fourth victim Charlie Blanch, 22, suffered gunshot wounds to his legs.

Peter Warren, the Director of Youth with a Mission Denver says they had just finished a Christmas banquet when the suspect arrived and asked a 22-year-old woman from Minnesota if he could be housed for the evening. When she told him they could not house him, that's when, Warren says, the suspect opened fired with an automatic handgun, hitting four people. Police say they do not know whether the shooting was random or if there was a motive.

Warren says, "The young man – I don't know who he is; I don't think [the victims] knew him – but he must be going through a lot personally in his own life to do something like this. Our belief is that only God is the judge and our place is to forgive and that's a difficult thing to do, but really, I think it's the right thing to do," said Warren.

There are about 80 people living on the Arvada campus and they have been transported to the group's mountain campus near Golden, Colorado where they will stay while the murder investigation is processed at their residence. Warren says they are trying to deal with this situation as best as they can.

"There's no blueprint for this," said Warren. "You know, we're just going to be honest, we're going to pray with one another and cry with one another. These kids were like our kids, you know. It's just such a tragedy, but who knows what's going on in this young man's life."

Youth With A Mission (YWAM) is an international and interdenominational Christian movement with operating locations in 171 nations. Launched in 1960 as a means for young people to get involved in short-term missionary service, it now has over 16 000 staff working in 1180 centers and trains over 25 000 people each year to be involved in the organization’s primary goal – to know God and make Him known. YWAM is hugely varied in its approach, operating such ministries as drop-in centers for street children in South America; hospice care for AIDs victims in Africa; literacy and job creation programs throughout Asia; and is well known for its quick response and long-term commitment to global disasters, such as the 2006 tsunami.

YWAM International Chairman Lynn Green released this statement: "We feel a deep sense of loss today and we grieve with the families and those who were very close friends of the victims. Our surviving students and staff are being well cared for and we have total confidence in those who are responsible for the training program in Arvada to care for those who have been subjected to this assault.

"Those who lost their lives had dedicated themselves to serve and we feel the sorrow of their absence. Yet we take comfort from the assurance of everlasting life for those who follow Christ in loving service to others.

"It is a great tragedy that our culture seems to produce so many deeply troubled people who express their frustration in violence. We forgive the assailant and we rededicate ourselves to serving young people in the hope that we might bring healing to other needy youth."