PEI: Visitation/Impartation Campaign begins

Jenny & I landed on PEI monday evening (after a nerve-racking flight for Jenny; it was her first flight on a passenger plane) and were met at the airport by my mom and my aunt Alexandra. We went and got a bite to eat at Pat & Willy's, then drove out to Montague. We visited Danny who graciously hooked us up with a LeBaron convertible to drive while we are on the Island. Sweet!!
On teusday we did some running around and I took Jenny to Murray River to places where I spent most of my childhood. It was pretty fun.
Today is my brother's 34th birthday, so we are at his place right now. We met with Noel Mal (Harvest House) earlier and he wants us to speak at his church and at Harvest House service on sunday. We want to take some people out evangelizin through the week.
Tomorrow we continue our meetings with Claude Shea and Dave & Lindsay Clark.
We are really excited to be here and are believing for some great things to happen. Great things already have.

a weekend in Toronto

Jenny and I cruised'er from St Catharines wednesday night (with the help of Heymans) and landed in Toronto an hour or so later. We came for the weekend to visit Shawn and Hayley and their 3 children. The 4 days here were pretty sweet. It is nice to be around Christians whom I also consider 'believers'. There are many "Christians" whom I know who I WOULD NOT categorize as believers, but lets not go there.

So, the time here was spent trying to make the Cuthill's life easier. I hope we did that, a little bit anyway. We got to do some pretty cool things too. One day, we got a bunch (11 garbage bags worth!!) of donated clothes. So we went to a park and set up a "thrift-store" and sold all the articles for $1 each! Good bargain, and a great way to meet new people. We also distributed fun game things for hundreds of kids! Good times.

Today (in about 4hrs) Jenny & I fly east to PEI for the next 11 days. We pray and expect our time to be filled with a release of impartation and passion!!

12 Startling Statistics

Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned

2Peter 2:2

1. Nearly half of born-again Christians (47%) agree that satan in "not a living being but is a symbol of evil."
2. 31% of born-agains also believe that if a person is good enough they can earn a place in Heaven.
3. 24% of born-agains agree that "while he lived on earth, Jesus committed sins, like other people."
4. 15% of born-again Christians claim that "after He was crucified and died, Jesus Christ did not return to life physically."
5. About one out of four (26%) born-again Christians believe that it doesn't matter what faith you follow because they all teach the same lessons )e.g. Hindu, Buddhism, Islam, etc).
6. Roughly 95% of all Christians never lead ONE person to Christ.
7. Although most believers say that serving the needy is important, just 34% gave any time and/or money to serve the poor in the last year.
8. Born-agains are more likely than are non-Christians to have experienced divorce (27% versus 24%)
9. One out of every six born-again Christians (16%) gave no money to his/her church during 1999. The proportion who tithed to their church was just 8%.
10. Christians spend seven times as much time on entertainment as they do on spiritual activities.
11. In a nationwide survey among born-again adults, none of the individuals interviewed said that the single, most important goal in their life was to be a committed follower of Jesus Christ.
12. 30% of born-agains have watched an "R"-rated movie in the last seven days compared to 40% of non-born-again people.

- Source: Barna Research

Scandalous Jesus

A couple of days ago I was reading an article in a 'Horizons' magazine by Chick Yuill. It is undoubtedly one of the best articles I have ever read and I share it -->HERE<-- for you to read as well. Here is a quote from it to wet your appetite:

Of all the promises that Jesus made, I wonder if the one he most regrets is “For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” Be honest, you’ve sat in some meetings feeling as though you’ve lost the will to live. The Son of God has to turn up at every one of them! And I have to honestly ask myself why a decent self-respecting sinner, who’s had a fun Saturday evening, should get up on a Sunday morning to come to some of the services that we do.

If you really like it, -->here<-- is a link to buy some of his books.

"Goodbye' Scott St Manor

This evening we said 'Goodbye' to our friends at Scott St Manor -->pics<--. To be honest, I was a wee bit skeptical that we would be able to round up as many residents as we did. It was amazing to be able to get group pictures with them and see the fruit that is evident in their lives after the effort we put in with them. Out of the 40 or so residents, we ended up really ministering to about half of them. 50% is pretty good. Anyways, I hope to see them again; if not in this life, then I guess "I'll see them by the River".

HCC, SSM, NCC, Cafe Amore,& a birthday and a BBQ

Lots since last post. Saturday we went to Hamilton Celebration Church; I drummed and Jenny had the kids do prophetic art. It was a good ole time.
Sunday, we went to NCC one last time. It was kinda disappointing that Randy was speaking instead of Peter Youngren but, oh well. Then Jenny and I spoke at Scott St Manor. Our text was Titus 1:16, which has been a recurring text as of late. It was likely to be our last service at the Manor :( In the evening I took Jenny to Cafe Amore (her favorite restaurant in St Catharines). It was some good.

Monday was Jenny and Jessica's 21st birthday and we celebrated by feeding 38 people at Scott St Manor. We had hamburgers, hot dogs, pasta salad, cake, and orange juice. It was quite a treat for the residents. Lets just say that their dietary requirements aren't likely met on a daily basis. They all sang 'Happy Birthday' to Jenny and Jessica and had a great overall time. Check out the photos -->HERE<-- and the video -->HERE<--.

It is so great to be able to bless those who have no means of repaying you. Jesus says in Luke 14:12-14, "When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors, otherwise they may also invite you in return and that will be your repayment. But when you give a reception, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, since they do not have the means to repay you; for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."
I have been to endless "Church" functions where the sole objective was to feed and "bless" the congregation. Only in Africa, with Iris Ministries, was I ever part of a feast for the poor. It is so humbling to feed those who can give nothing back to you but gladness and thankfulness. It is so much more rewarding and God-like. I would love to see the "Church" start to feel compassion and walk in charity (active love). I really think Jesus would like that too. So, why don't we?

a SAHLA THAI experience

Yesterday was a good day. Not that productive, in a ministry sense, but a great day nonetheless.
Early, I took Jenny to Niagara Falls (with Heymans having let us borrow his car, again!) to have her one remaining stitch removed. She is up and around now, and starting to feel much better. After that we wanted to get some pictures at the Falls but it was very overcast and kinda chilly. We made the best of it and returned to St Catharines after getting some All-U-Can-Eat Breakfast Buffet for $7.99! Sweet.

In the evening, as sort of a birthday meal, kinda, Jenny and I went to my (and hopefully her) favorite restaurant in St Catharines...........SAHLA THAI. It is the only place I've been where I can get food that is spicy enough. Obviously, it is a Thai restaurant, and the food is kinda exotic. It is soo good though. I will miss Sahla Thai :(

Later today, we head to Hamilton(HCC) where Jenny was the children's pastor for the better part of a year. Being in MIA since her cyst took over, we'll go back today to teach the kids her heresy one more time. It should be sweet. Tomorrow and monday are gonna be sweet too, but we'll cover that next week.

countdown: 7 days

Today was pretty sweet. Pastor George and Marilyn Woodward came and picked Jenny and I up in their Lexus and took us to Frescos for lunch. Then we went to their house and watched some good wholesome Christian programming. We had an awesome time to talk to them about all sorts of stuff, mostly about Vietnam and foreign missions though. George and Marilyn are two of my mostest favorite people in the world. George was Dean of Celebration Bible College when I attended and I quickly let him settle in to a pastoral role in my life. His guidance really has been a vital part of my growth the last year and a half.

After taking a nap, Heymans came and picked me up and we went to Scott St Manor to see how our friendies were doing. After a good visit there, we went to the Kilt & Clover in Port Dalhousie for Wednesday Wing Night. Good times, and good raves.

Time in St Catharines is getting short. It is good that it is.

8 days to go

Yes, that's right. Only 8 more days till Jenny and I cruise outta St Catharines. On the 21st we head north to Thorncliffe Park (Toronto) to be the Cuthill's slaves until the 26th. On the 26th we fly to Prince Edward Island to visit my family and friends for a week and a half before flying to Albany, NY on the 6th of June. I, truly, cannot wait to head out. Inside my head, it is time to move on from St Catharines, and onto different things.

Jenny got her stitches out yesterday. Well, all but one anyway. The Doc wasnt that impressed about the way the wound was healing so they left one stitch in. He wants to see her again friday, and we'll take it from there.
And yesterday I walked down Niagara St to Lakeshore Rd, over to Vine St, and up again. It was a 7KM walk that took almost 2 hrs!!

In other exciting news: thebricktestament.com has unveiled glorious pictures of the Hebrew Temple!! Check out the story -->HERE<--.

Heymans gets his credit.

Heymans came and picked me up today and took me to the Pen Center to buy me a new pair of shoes. We went to Sportchek and he got a pair of New Balance and I got a pair of Adidas. Heymans is quite a 'giving' guy, many times sacrificing blessings he's received in order to sow into others. Christendom needs more soldiers like him. After that we went to SoftMoc and he bought Jenny some Skechers. These were kinda like a going away gift, seeing that after the 21st, we may not see Heymans for a long time, if ever?

While we were picking out our shoes, Heymans struck up a conversation with an employee of Sportcheck. He told us that he banged up his shoulder pretty bad playing football and surgery was in the near future. Heymans asked if we could pray for him and right there, in the middle of Sportchek we laid hands on him and committed his football future to God. We want the doctor to give a mighty testimony when Dan has his next appointment. He was very interested to remain talking to us about foreign missions as Heymans cashed out. Heymans indeed deserved his credit today.

What glorious opportunities we pass by everyday, as Christians. It's so very easy to talk to a stranger about the weather, or the game last night, or whatever, but we shy away from talking about the most important thing in our lives. Then again, IS Christ the most important thing in our lives, if we shy away from the simple things like talking about him? We all know the answer, yet we hide behind more (less important) questions.

the life of a sluggard

Lots of reading and movies as Jenny's healing progresses. Today I finished a book on Evolution and we watched a documentary from the pastors of XXXChurch called Starving Jesus. It was all about a 40 day fasting and preaching tour across the U.S. which focused on getting congregations out of their churches and into their communities. Much of Christianity revolves around being blessed rather than being a blessing. Little do we realize that we are neither blessed nor a blessing, for it is only in being a blessing that we are really blessed. Get it? I hope so.
Check out the documentary if you are so inclined.

Some have 20/20 vision, and some have 10/40 vision.

I just put a new Poll on my sidebar dealing with where I believe the future is advancing from. The last little while thoughts of SE Asia have been persisting in their attempts to dominate my foreign mission thoughts. I love the thought of missions in the 10/40 Window. A place where Christians don't seem to want to go; yet a place where we are commanded to go. It's quite the paradox. Opportunities abound; and I present them to you. I would love to end up somewhere here in 2009. The seeking is on: Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Philippines, somewhere else maybe?


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Alexander, A Series of Unfortunate Events, Gremlins 2, Juno

Jenny is still down and out. Surgery was 10 days ago and according to good ole Dr Subramaniun she should be able to return to the bagel counter at Tim Hortons tomorrow!! Not likely. The recovery process remains ongoing. But, at least the process is active. Your prayers are indeed welcome.

The Flyers defeated the Montreal Canadiens 4-1 to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals. Bring on the Penguins!....if they get by the Rangers, of course.

I've been reading 'The Complete Idiot's Guide to Evolution' (I figure I should get a little schooling on the subject; it's quite interesting) and 'The Peace of St Francis'. And FYI (in case you didn't know) Oliver Stone disgraced 'Alexander'; simply awful. 'Gremlins 2' is amazing; 'Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events' is awesome, and 'Juno' is good too (Jenny is watching it for the second time right now as I write this).

We simply cannot wait to leave St Catharines and travel to PEI and beyond. DO NOT take good health for granted everyone; seriously.