Life is Good

Life is good and sometimes it's better. Keegan and I are enjoying a special time in our life right now. Bryce and Erin live less than a mile from our house and we are getting to be a part of Kyah's life unlike what we experienced with our other grandchildren. What fun it is to see him change in only a week's time. We have even gotten to babysit several times and it such fun. We just wish our other grandchildren were as close.Bryce has loved water since he came out of the womb. When he was a toddler we lost to him to every puddle of water no matter how big or small it was. It seems Kyah has his love for water already and loves to kick and splash in his bath.

Oh, yes, Fritz thinks Kyah is his newest and "bestest" friend. He doesn't give us or Kyah much space when Kyah is visiting.

Bethany is now 37 weeks and Miss Sadie will soon be joining our gaggle of grandchildren making number 6. We are all getting excited to meet her and we ask that you pray for her and her mom during the birth process. Kyah's birth reminded us all that uncomplicated births are no guarantees.


Please remember to pray for QUEST. QUEST begins next Sunday the 26th and it will be one of our biggest groups yet. There are so many new people coming and such excitement already. I will be going for 3 of the days and will be sorry that I can't stay for all of it, but I am glad I can go for some.

QUEST 2009 Day Two

Don't worry; I'm not going to take you through all the days! It's just that the blog only allows me to post so few pictures each time, and I have so many that I want to share. Every day at Quest centered around a different element of the spiritual disciplines and problem solving. Day Two's theme was "Personality and Teams: Celebrating our Diversity". We had all taken the Myers-Briggs Personality Test before coming, and days Two and Three would center on those results. On this day we explored our different personality types from the 4 characteristics and then moved right into what they bring to a team--some good and some not so good things. We were given tasks to work out with mixed teams and then with teams who had each had the same dominant personality characteric. Working with fellow "feelers" or fellow "thinkers" was so much easier than the diversified teams, but couldn't give near the complete balance a mixed team could. It was a day full of much laughter as we looked at ourselves and each other in a new way and realized just how creative our God is!
Day Three was centered on overcoming the Five Dysfunctions of Teams, still working from our Myers-Briggs test results. Day Four took us in seemingly another direction altogether as we learned how to journal our life story, but since all the themes of this QUEST were helping us learn who we were as individuals and how we work with others it dovetailed right in with the rest of the days. CAM will change it's structure April 1st from hierarchical to team and QUEST was built around helping the missionaries work through the change. Please pray for CAM as the change process.

QUEST 2009 Day One

QUEST 2009 has come and gone already. There was so much preparation and rush up until the day it began, and now it's over so quickly. God was there and He really blessed the event. This time we had one of our smaller groups, but it did not affect the quality at all. Day One we worked on the True Meaning of Community. Remember this is interactive learning and Jon Edwards the facilitator of the day's study put us all right to work. After an introduction and some basics we were divided into 2 small groups and instructed to form our group into a community and to function as a a community. Easier said than done with such diversity! Each group was made up of men and women from the different fields of CAM. We had no trouble with step one: Pseudo community in which the group avoids conflict and is extremely pleasant to each other-just a time of chatter and laughter. We felt pretty good about our time and broke for lunch. After lunch, each group had to come back together and move on to step two "Chaos". This is the step where everyone tries to make everyone else normal and to convert each other to their point of view or heal them. Definitely not as much fun as step one! We obviously did not have time to move to step three "Emptiness" or the fourth stage, "Community". At the end of the day, we all agreed there is much work to do in our lives, our ministries and our organization to grow our communities.

Envious

I have to be honest with you this morning. I am envious, if not even jealous (yes, I know it's a sin and and I am working on it.). Let me tell you why and then you will understand. Keegan's brother in law Jim just got back from a medical mission trip to Ghana. He leads a team there every six months and also leads teams to Mexico. Every time he comes back and shares what God did on the trip, I just wish I could have been a part of it. The pictures of the people, well and ill, and the testimonies of what God did makes my nursing heart wish I could have been there and have been used by God in such a way. I am so thrilled for Jim and how God uses him in this endeavor. He gives so sacrificially to serve God in this way using his talents, gifts, time, and money. God is blessing this ministry by providing so many materials for them to take each time and sending more team members on each trip. It is so exciting to see God work, and although I don't get to go, I do get to be a part of the team by praying.

Jim and Pat

The other thing that makes me feel envious this morning, is that Keegan's sister Pat just got back from a trip to Israel. She and a team are putting together a house in Jerusalem for interactive prayer. Pat and the team have become very active in creating interactive rooms for prayer in their church and other sites. They came to the attention of the International Mission Board who asked them to turn this old house that the IMB has had for years into a sanctuary for prayer. Pat and the team have made several trips there to get the house ready to open. This trip finished most of the indoor project and although she has only been home 48 hours, she has gotten reports of people from all walks and faiths entering there to find sanctuary. WOW! My heart just trembles with excitement to think what God will do with such a place in His holy city that is so war torn and so lost. Like Jim, Pat give so sacrificially to be used by God in this endeavor. I wish I had her pictures here to show you so you could see the transformation and the work that has gone into this transformation. Again, I had to remind myself that I was a part of that ministry-I had the privilege to pray for them.

Having both Pat and Jim over last night really raised my "green" level as they shared how God has led them to serve and what He is doing through their ministries. It caused me to go God again this morning, and ask forgiveness for the green, but to also be reminded that He has a plan for my life and my ministry. I am at a point of change and transition and I am waiting for His leading. It's not easy for me to wait and I think that's why my green level rose so high so quickly. Please pray for Pat and Jim and their respective ministries as they will both be returning to Israel and Ghana again. Pray for me as I wait to see what is my Ghana and Israel, and that I would be patient for the Lord.

So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life--your sleeping, eating, going to work and walking around life--place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. Don't become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead fix your attention on God. You'll be changed from the inside out. Readily recognize what he wants from you and quickly respond to it. "

Romans 12: 1-2 The Message

Hope in Dark Times

"Do not look forward to the changes and chances of this life in fear; rather look to them with full hope that, as they arise, God, whose you are, will deliver you out of them. He is your Keeper. He has kept you hitherto. Hold fast to his dear hand, and he will lead you safely through all things; and, when you cannot stand, he will bear you in his arms." - Saint Frances of Sales

Someone sent me the above quote this week attached to an email. It came on a day when the world and local news seemed overwhelming. Combined with my own fears of the future, I had forgotten that I always have hope no matter how dark it gets. My whole perspective was fear-based and not hope-based. Maybe you need a word of hope today. As much as I like what St. Frances had to say, I think the words from the Creator of hope will stand you in better stead to face today and every tomorrow you are given.

"Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us." - Romans 5:1-5 (NKJV)

As I write this today, the news of the world is no brighter, but my state of being is now one of hope and peace as I turned to the only one who could give me these things in such dark times. It doesn’t mean my battle with fear is over, but I have the victory for the moment and I have been reminded where to turn when I am overwhelmed.

Quest 2008

What is Quest? Keegan and I write about it, prepare for it, pray for it, ask others to pray for it, and we regularly attend it. I would guess many of you just know it’s some kind of conference associated with our ministry but not much else. Even though I have heard much about Quest, I have to confess that I didn’t fully grasp what it involved until I attended one. I knew it was a leadership formation conference for CAM leaders but not much more than that. In light of my own experience I encouraged Keegan to continue communicating what Quest is. Leadership formation has been a passion of Keegan since he began ministry in the local church. Quest is an out growth of that passion, years of working with leaders, CAM’s needs and the primary focus of his doctorate.

In June of last year attendees were asked to help pick a name and theme that would reflect their vision and values for leader formation. Thus, the name and mantra were created: Quest…Becoming a Christ-like Community of Lifelong Learners. The word “quest” implies the act of seeking or pursuing something. A quest can also be an adventure. Often, it describes a chivalrous enterprise in a medieval romance, usually involving an adventurous journey. God certainly intends for all of us to experience an adventurous and exciting Christian walk. Quest is designed for people who want to make a difference in their ministry setting, and the purpose is to help participants become lifelong learners with the goal to understand and then seek to align their actions and attitudes with biblical principles and practices. Over 100 CAM missionaries have participated at some level in leader formation and felt it to be enriching, stimulating and highly valuable. Under its current design Quest conferences are offered twice a year during the months of April and October. Attendees include both men and women who are invited by their respective organizational leaders to participate. When possible and desirable, couples are encouraged to participate together.

The April Quest themes were focus on: 1) Living and Serving Together as Multiple Generations; 2) Essential Counseling Skills; 3) 4) What Kind of Legacy Are You Leaving?; 5) Learning as a Way of Being. Keegan will be facilitated three of these sessions Jon Edwards, CAM's member care coordinator, facilitated one session. Please continue to pray for the moving of God’s Spirit through this ministry and for changed lives and a changed mission. Join us in praying God will continue to provide the funding to continue Quest and grow it for His glory and honor(funding is by donations to CAM).