mission

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How to Pray for 31 Days

Untitled-1Can you spare a little time to pray? Can you dedicate the next 31 days to seeing God be glorified all around the world, in every nation, among every people? This 31 day prayer guide will tell you everything you need to know to pray effectively for just that.

When Jesus told his disciples to go make more disciples (you can read his Great Commission in Matthew Matthew 28:16-20), He told them to go to every nation. The world translated nation is actually ethne, from which we get the word ethnic. I like the Wycliffe translation: “Therefore go ye, and teach all folks…” We call them people groups—a group of people with the same cultural identity, separated from other groups with different cultural identities because of their differences—languages, customs, socio-economic status, caste, or even a physical or political barrier such as a mountain range or closed border. Continue reading →

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“Empower a Family, Change a Nation”

DRC map

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC, formerly known as Zaire) might be the poorest country in the world. It’s a place of both abundant natural resources and abject misery. Located in the heart of Africa, the DRC is surrounded by ten other nations, including Angola, Tanzania, Uganda, South Sudan, and Rwanda. Africa’s second-largest country (by land area), it’s home to 80 million people.

The DRC should be a prosperous nation, with its flowing rivers (and their ability to generate hydroelectric power), fertile soil, and rich mineral resources. It is not.

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Review: Passport through Darkness

Passport to DarknessRead this: Passport through Darkness: A True Story of Danger and Second Chances, by Kimberly L. Smith.

For perhaps most Americans, their faith consists of going to church on Sunday, sending up an occasional prayer, and being nice. Some volunteer at church, or for a local ministry. Some read their Bible on a regular basis. A few go on short-term mission trips. But for Kimberly Smith, none of that was enough. She and her husband sensed God calling them away from their comfortable lives and onto the mission field.

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Honoring Patrick

St Patrick wikipediaAre you wearing green? Eating green food, drinking green beer? Stores are selling shamrocks, leprechauns adorn decorations, and we’re all hoping for a pot of gold. What is St. Patrick’s Day about, really? Just as Frosty and mistletoe have little to do with the true purpose of Christmas, and Easter holds far more significance than a bunny bringing baskets of jelly beans, St. Patrick’s Day has a rich heritage far beyond our cultural celebration.

Patrick was born in Scotland 385 AD. He was abducted at age 16 and taken to Ireland, where he lived in bondage as a shepherd. During that time, his Christian faith became real to him, sustaining him for six long year. God then rescued him and he returned home, where he became a priest—only to be called as a missionary back to the very country where he had been enslaved.

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Bringing Them Christmas

What if you had never heard of Christmas?

Here in the U.S. almost every house in our neighborhood has some sort of decorations up. Santa is at the mall, and the stores have been pushing gifts for months. At least one radio station has been playing Christmas music nonstop since Thanksgiving. Our tree is up, the stockings are hung, and the calendar is full of invitations.

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Avoiding “Yearbook Christianity”

Have you heard of Yearbook Christianity? I recently heard a speaker describe it, and I admit it really hit home.

What was the first thing you did when you got your high school yearbook? What’s the first thing any of us did? We flipped to the index, if there was one, and located every page where our picture appeared. Then we checked out each photo to see what we looked like. Sound familiar?

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Is This Your Year to Go?

Our church just announced our short term mission opportunities for 2015. With an attendance of over 10,000 people, the booklet is quite thick. Is God calling you to Wales or India, Honduras or Macedonia? South Africa, Uganda, Haiti… the list goes on and on.

As I leafed through the pages, I asked God—are any of these trips for me? What do You want me to do this year? “Just moving will be enough for you for this year,” came the quiet reply. I admit I breathed a sigh of relief. Moving has been all-consuming for the past month, and there’s much more to do still. It’s amazing how much work it takes to simplify one’s life!

Still, I vividly remember reading a similar booklet two years ago, asking God the same question, and getting a much different answer. Much to my astonishment, the type on the page for Swaziland leapt off the page at me. It was so pronounced that at first I thought the page had been printed in bold.

I didn’t know why God wanted me to go to Swaziland. I’m not much of a “kid person” and this trip was all about kids. I signed up in pure obedience; it wasn’t until later that we realized we needed a person on the team dedicated to taking photos.

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Summer Reading with a Purpose

Are you interested in missions? Do you enjoy reading biographies? Reading about the lives of famous and not-so-famous people who gave their lives to reaching the unreached can be educational, inspiring, and entertaining. Here are some suggestions to get you (and your kids) started.

torches of joyTorches of Joy, by John Dekker. Pete and I know John Dekker—he served with Pete at a local mission ministry here in Colorado. It’s hard to believe this quiet, unassuming man and his family spent years living in the jungles of Irian Jaya. The Dani tribe was still living at a stone-age level when the Dekkers arrived to bring them the gospel. Today, they’re full of joy, and eagerly send missionaries to the other tribes around them. This book is a page turner! And in case you’re wondering, yes, noted novelist Ted Dekker is John and Helen’s son.

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Make Your Trip Count

I’m going to be honest—I’ve been so busy that I haven’t had time to write a post for today. Between numerous field trips to photograph bugs, flowers, and birds, a good friend’s birthday party, and an overnight babysitting one of my granddaughters, I haven’t sat down in days. Today I have a choice: write a post or clean the house. I really need to clean the house!

Now you have my list of excuses, but I’m not going to leave you high and dry. My sister-in-law sent me a link to an article in Leadership Journal that I want to share with you. Many of us go overseas on short-term mission trips, often involving orphans, work projects, or both. Yet, how often do we hear about our trip from the perspective of the children we go to visit?

This article was written by a Kenyan AIDS orphan who was on the receiving end of dozens of American mission trips.  It’s a real eye-opener! Once you’ve read it, let me know what you think.

The Good Missionary

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Come See My Photos!

Lake Agnes_COStateForestSP_LAH_8222 p_filt 24 x 36 gallery wrapI am ridiculously excited. Mission Coffee Roasters and Cafe, offering the best coffee in Colorado Springs (and maybe the world), is hosting my photographs from now through the end of April. There are over a dozen prints of all sizes, from an 8-inch square framed portrait of a Flamingo to huge, 2 by 3-foot gallery wraps of some of my favorite landscapes. They’re all on display, and they’re all for sale.

If you live in the Colorado Springs area, please come see my show. Mission Coffee is at 11641 Ridgeline Drive, Colorado Springs, Colorado 80921, just off Voyager at the far north end of town. They’re open from 6:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. every day except Sunday. Continue reading →