Feeding the Flame

Nebuchadnezzar then approached the opening of the blazing furnace and shouted, "Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, servants of the Most High God, come out! Come here!" Daniel 3:26

This verse came to mind as I watched Taryl, Terry and Eric combat a roaring fire for control over many helpless hamburger patties and hot dogs.

Daniel's three friends emerged unscathed, unsoiled, and smelling fresh. My friends? Well...how about sweaty, singed, and smelling of Eau de Briquette. The Lord reveals the significance and truth of His Scriptures in marvelous ways.

This evening, it was in the context of our outdoor barbecue party. We were especially blessed by the attendance of many JAARS residents and employees whom we sought to invite all week.

We talked, prayed, ate, laughed and fellowshipped at the pavilion our team helped to construct during our 2005 mission.

Construction workers, truck drivers, housekeepers, programmers, teachers, editors, receptionists and recruiters--many parts, one body in Christ. United by the flame that burns brightly.

You know which one ;)

Flannelgraphs and Sammy Hagar

"Scene-O-Felts are the Mercedes Benz of flannelgraphs."

That's what Dr. Cora Jewell said, anyway. Until yesterday, I didn't know what any of that was. Many of you do, I gather, from an informal poll I took within our JAARS team. Boy, did I live a sheltered life! I was in attendance at yesterday afternoon's official presentation where Cora donated her outstanding collection to the Wyclilffe organization. What a treat to see an exceptional example of the kind of artwork that served (and still serves) as the most basic of multimedia tools used to convey the message of God's word throughout the world.

Meanwhile, at today's JAARS prayer and worship session, a 53-year-old brother in Christ laid his fear and trepidation at the feet of Jesus. Our worship leader, Joe, explained to the crowd that what they were about to hear was put into his mind by our Lord. You see, the crowd was comprised of mostly older folk, the kind that rather enjoyed the first few old-stalwart songs we had just sung out of the trusty hymnal. Joe tried to prepare the audience for a bit of worship music that might be a departure from the norm. He said he couldn't let his fear drive him from a task that he knew God wanted him to perform. So, this mild-mannered, quiet-speaking man strapped on his electric guitar and ripped into a wonderful, rewritten, JAARS tribute to the tune of Sammy Hagar's, I Can't Drive 55! He was accompanied by his daughter on guitar, his friend on drums, and Eric Miller on bass.

The Aliotos hosted a pasta dinner last night, while tonight it was Taco Tuesday at the Jaspers. Walt Baker shared a great message paralleling the story of Nehemiah's construction capers with our own mission assignment here in Waxhaw.

And we prayed for the safe return of David and Mary Alice Bright and their family from Peru. As I write this, none of us knows the results of the Bright's travels. So, if any of you out there want to let us know--we'd be thankful.

Well--more thankful!

At Least It's a Dry Heat

The lowest predicted daytime temperature for Waxhaw this week is supposed to be 94 degrees. We hit the high 90s today, but the humidity has been and may continue to be relatively low. I'll tell you though, if there had been any serious moisture in the air today, we'd all be Belgian Waffles by now!

The Lord taught us through Taryl, this morning, about how He intended missionary service to be about fulfilling His promise to make His name great among ALL nations. (Malachi 1:11)

Since most of us arrived yesterday, it was nice to have all of Sunday to set up camp and come together through fellowship. We settled in, planned menus, shopped, attended vespers, and shared a group dinner. We rejoiced over the arrival of Walt and Shirley Baker, who spent last night with friends near Cincinnati, and reached JAARS this evening during our pizza party.

Tomorrow, we will be oriented and begin our assignments in many locations on campus and in various capacities.

For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; he is to be feared above all gods. Psalm 96:4

Creme of the Crop

The best cream soda I've had in a long time can be found in Devola, OH. At Miller's BP and mini-mart to be specific--the site of our first rest stop on the way to Waxhaw, NC.

When you've got five vehicles filled with 28 people (one-third of which are small children), and they're driving about 500 miles in about 10 hours--it's not a question of "if" but "when" the first relief stop will be requested.

My money was on the Foell party. It was a "no brainer". They did have 50% of the aforementioned small children onboard. So, at 10:45AM, the request crackled over the walkie-talkies,

"Andrew's gotta go to the bathroom."

To which Taryl, the team's global positioner, responded with the exact mileage to the nearest appropriate exit--as well as a handful of other salient alternatives.

"Andrew won't last long! The nearer, the better."

We descended on the small "gas & sip" off of I-77 with military precision, and quickly overwhelmed their facilities at 1100 hours.

While waiting for the troops to rotate through the loo, I spied dozens of interesting 20 ounce plastic bottles of cream soda. Their labels purporting the finest in cream soda experiences with a taste like "creme brulee". So, for 99 cents, me and many others in our team were truly rewarded with a fine, creamy drinking experience.

Thank you, Lord--and thank you, Andrew!

By the way, the rest of the trip concluded without a hitch. With a couple more stops added in, we made it to the JAARS campus before 6:30PM.

Unless They Are Sent

As I prepare for my return trip to the JAARS campus near Charlotte, I remember an article I read recently. In the last issue of WORLD magazine, there was an article about those 23 Korean missionaries who were kidnapped while serving in Afghanistan. There's such a fire among so many young, Korean Christians to serve as short-term missionaries. A concern was inferred, though, that maybe only more experienced and properly trained missionaries ought to serve in such dangerous and unstable locales as Afghanistan.

At the article's conclusion, a concerned Fuller seminary staff member commented,

"When I heard the news, I was sad and kind of angry about why non-professional missionaries went to such a dangerous place," Kim said. At 34, Kim has done his own short stints in India and Japan. "The main thing for short-term missionaries is to help long-term missionaries. If you miss the point, then it could be really dangerous."

Well, I don't know enough about all that to presume on the legitimacy God's call to my Korean brothers and sisters, nor do I sit in judgement on the adequacy of their preparations and leadership. I do know that the Lord works all things together for His good, and my prayers for them have been steady since I heard of their situation.

And I know that the Lord has called THIS short-term missionary to help the long-term missionaries at JAARS--beginning this Saturday. May His will be done.

Please keep us, and ALL short-term missions teams in your prayers this summer.