Week four of our orientation training is almost complete and to say that we are not the same people we were when this all began a few short weeks ago would be an understatement. However, God is truly preparing us for the task that lies ahead of us. Which reminds me. We don't say this often enough, but it is always good to remind people of what that task is: to be a witness to the people of the nations in the hopes that they will put their saving faith in Jesus Christ. I just didn't want people to think that we were on a great world-wide adventure with no purpose. On the contrary, our focus is very laser-precise and any other work that we may do while we are in Russia is secondary to this. If you have never turned away from your sin and put your faith in Jesus and want to know more, please email Kellye or myself so that we, or someone we know, can talk with you about something that will change your life forever.
PRAYER PARTNERS
We have been having some trouble with our email distribution and newsletter lists, so we need the regular readers of our blogs to do us a favor. We need you to email your name, address and email address to Kellye so you can be included in our regular online and non-electronic newsletters. If you know of other people that should be (or that you want to be) included on that list, please send that information as well. Her email is: kellye@thehooksworld.com
I will be updating our prayer blog tomorrow with some issues that are coming to light. I think you will find it obvious that Satan does not particularly want 250+ missionaries to hit the field at full strength. However, our God is bigger than that and He hears the prayers of His people. So, please, if you do nothing else...pray, pray, pray! God hears and answers. Speaking of which, let me give a small testimony to the power of prayer. During our Korean cross-cultural worship time on Sunday night we prayed for a group of Korean missionaries (not IMB) that had been taken hostage by the Taliban several months ago. This week Taliban officials announced they would be releasing the prisoners and the first eight have already been set free. I don't think you can know how excited we were to get this news Tuesday morning.
MEN AND WOMEN OF GOD
It is getting late, so I won't spend much time on the topic, though I wish I could. However, let me tell you again what wonderful men and women of God serve the IMB...especially at the upper levels. Tonight we spent several hours with the three top-most leaders of the IMB and their wives in a small-group reception at one of their homes. Again, I could spend many minutes writing about this wonderful experience. Especially since we were tired and didn't really want to go in the first place. However, to hear these men and women share their hearts for missions and missionaries is uplifting and heartwarming to say the least. During our time there we were able to share things about our families and how we were feeling about the adjustments and changes to our lives thus far and about the apprehensions that we have about the remainder of our training and what lies beyond. As the evening was drawing to a close we had a time of prayer. (Gee, Marc, that is not uncommon or unexpected...) But what was unexpected was that one of the wives prayed specifically for Sarah Beth. I cannot tell you how this made Kellye and I feel, but know that we were overwhelmed. Isn't it nice to know that there are people beyond our family and our church who care enough about our little family to pray for them specifically?
THE REST OF THE WEEK
Tomorrow is an exciting day for us. One of our Moscow brothers flew in to town this evening (and boy are his arms tired!) for a presentation tomorrow. Please pray for "B" as he shares what his team in Moscow is doing and how they are reaching the city for Christ. The people who serve in the former Soviet Union are excited about the emphasis the IMB has placed on our region this year and like to wave our flag every chance we get.
Friday is another immunization day. I think we may be scheduled to get as many as four shots plus a TB test.
On Saturday the people from our region (Central and Eastern Europe) will partner with one of the local churches for a ministry project and then will gather at a local park for a picnic supper and time of fellowship. We love the folks who are going to serve in our region, so it will be a great day. And...
SATURDAY IS THE START OF OU FOOTBALL SEASON!!!!! Need I say more?
Thank you for your prayers and for your sweet cards and emails. They brighten every day. We love you all.
Blessings,
Marc
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Sunday, August 26, 2007
House Church and Cross-Cultural Worship
Have you ever shared living quarters with three other families? Well, during our time at FPO that is exactly what we are doing. We live in a "quad" which is basicilly four two or three-bedroom apartments that share a common living room. As you can imagine, after two weeks we have started to become rather close with our neighbors. So, I explained all of that so that I can tell you about house church. In many parts of the world Christians worship in small groups in apartments, huts and housees rather than in fancy multi-million church buildings like we do here in the United States, so while at FPO we are encouraged (nay, required) to learn how to study the Bible and worship in small groups. So, every Sunday morning at 9am we gather together in our living room for "house church." I love house church. The setting is intimate and we take turns each week leading the "service" and the music (rest assured, I will not be leading the singing.) One of our rules is that the "facilitator" asks the questions, but is not allowed to answer any of them, so our Bible study is just that. It really is a wonderful way to worship. I am sure I will write more on this in the next few weeks. We have been working our way through the book of Acts chapter by chapter. Because we have such a diverse group in our quad, it is interesting to hear what each other have to say and what we each get out of the passages we are studying. This week we will start meeting for worship every Tuesday through Friday morning as well as on Sundays. I think it will be a great way to start the day!
One of the goals of our time here at FPO is to get ourselves used to worshiping in different cultures and languages. So on Sunday evenings we all gather in the large meeting room for cross-cultural worship time. Last week we Indian (the country, not Native Americans) worship and this week we worshiped as they do in Korea. Now, I could spend a lot of time telling you how moving this experience is, but I am not sure that I have the words. We have an unusually large contingency of native Koreans here at FPO and I cannot tell you how moving it was to hear them give testimony and lead us in familiar hymns in their native tongue. I think the highlight of the evening was when one of the women sang "The Holy City" for us in Korean. There were many wet eyes when she was finished.
It is easy to fall into familar worship patterns and to totally miss meeting with God when we go to church. I challenge each of you to find new ways of approaching the throne of God in worship. For some of you, you may have the opportunity to attend a worship service in a different language. For others it might mean going to the "contemporary" service instead of the traditional service and for others it might mean going to church on Sunday night for the first time. I can assure you, that no matter what you do or what the language, if your heart is open you will be touched by His spirit.
Continue to pray this week. While our family always enjoys the benefits of specific prayer, I would encourage you this week to pray for two things: First, pray for the missionaries here at the International Learning Center. Making this transition from "regular life" to "missionary life" is not always an easy one. I have watched many families struggle with many different issues over the past few weeks. So, pray for the missionaries here as we meet with God and prepare our hearts, minds, bodies and spirits for the task that we have before us. Pray also for the lost people of the world. I will ask you this week that you pray specifically for the people of Central and Eastern Europe. All of the missionaries in our house church will be serving in this area of the world and the work will not be easy. Many of these countries are less than 1-percent evangelical Christians. The work there has been described as "plowing concrete." Many of the people in these areas proclaim themselves to be athiestic. Pray that the the Holy Spirit will begin working on each person that our group will come into contact with over the next three years. Pray that their hearts will be softened and they will be receptive to hear us tell our story about how having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ has changed our lives.
Know that each of you who reads these blogs are special to us and we love and miss you very much. We have not even left the States yet and I can tell you that missionary life is not an easy one. However, I cannot imagine a life outside of what God has called us to do. The temprature in Moscow is dropping this week, but our excitement continues to grow as we head into week four of our training.
Blessings,
Marc
One of the goals of our time here at FPO is to get ourselves used to worshiping in different cultures and languages. So on Sunday evenings we all gather in the large meeting room for cross-cultural worship time. Last week we Indian (the country, not Native Americans) worship and this week we worshiped as they do in Korea. Now, I could spend a lot of time telling you how moving this experience is, but I am not sure that I have the words. We have an unusually large contingency of native Koreans here at FPO and I cannot tell you how moving it was to hear them give testimony and lead us in familiar hymns in their native tongue. I think the highlight of the evening was when one of the women sang "The Holy City" for us in Korean. There were many wet eyes when she was finished.
It is easy to fall into familar worship patterns and to totally miss meeting with God when we go to church. I challenge each of you to find new ways of approaching the throne of God in worship. For some of you, you may have the opportunity to attend a worship service in a different language. For others it might mean going to the "contemporary" service instead of the traditional service and for others it might mean going to church on Sunday night for the first time. I can assure you, that no matter what you do or what the language, if your heart is open you will be touched by His spirit.
Continue to pray this week. While our family always enjoys the benefits of specific prayer, I would encourage you this week to pray for two things: First, pray for the missionaries here at the International Learning Center. Making this transition from "regular life" to "missionary life" is not always an easy one. I have watched many families struggle with many different issues over the past few weeks. So, pray for the missionaries here as we meet with God and prepare our hearts, minds, bodies and spirits for the task that we have before us. Pray also for the lost people of the world. I will ask you this week that you pray specifically for the people of Central and Eastern Europe. All of the missionaries in our house church will be serving in this area of the world and the work will not be easy. Many of these countries are less than 1-percent evangelical Christians. The work there has been described as "plowing concrete." Many of the people in these areas proclaim themselves to be athiestic. Pray that the the Holy Spirit will begin working on each person that our group will come into contact with over the next three years. Pray that their hearts will be softened and they will be receptive to hear us tell our story about how having a personal relationship with Jesus Christ has changed our lives.
Know that each of you who reads these blogs are special to us and we love and miss you very much. We have not even left the States yet and I can tell you that missionary life is not an easy one. However, I cannot imagine a life outside of what God has called us to do. The temprature in Moscow is dropping this week, but our excitement continues to grow as we head into week four of our training.
Blessings,
Marc
Friday, August 24, 2007
Shots, Special Meals & Church Doctrine...Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore!
As you can see from the title, we have had quite a week here at ILC! The week stared off with a bang when I had to take SB to the dentist on Monday. Over the weekend she broke part of her back tooth on a peppermint, so first thing Monday we were in the dentist's office. Next week she will have a root canal and the week after that she will go back to have a crown put on. Of couse, we are trying the best we can to look for the brighter side of every situation, so we are grateful that she is able to have this situation taken care of here and not by a Russian dentist. So, that is how the week started.
Now, those of you that know me well know that two of the things that I dislike most in life are needles and trying new foods. Well, I think that God spent the better part of the week laughing at me. One of the things they do here is try as best they can to prepare us to live in other cultures, so they have the cafeteria staff fix for us "special meals." We had two this week at lunch time. On Wednesday we had a North African/Middle East meal and Thursday we had a Hungarian meal. Now, let me say that the fresh bread the made was amazing! I loved it! (See, the brighter side.) Wednesday we had small spicy meatballs of some sort served with a diced tomato, onion and cucumber salad. We were not allowed to use silverware and had to eat with our hands. It was actually pretty good, though I didn't much care for the texture of the meat. However, I quickly learned that if you ate a small portion of meat with some bread you can make it more palatable. On Thursday we had Hungarian goulash with cabbage and more bread. I ate it. And, the bread was very good. We only have one "special meal" scheduled for next week, but don't let that keep you from praying. On a related, but side note. My quiet time lead me to Proverbs 23 on Thursday morning. Give it a read and think about our "special meals". I think you will find the humor that I found while studying the passage!
If you see misspelled words in this blog, you will have to forgive me. Today (Friday) was shot day. Kellye and I each had three shots and my arms are still pretty dang sore. John-John was the big hero though, he sat up in the chair and played his Gameboy while they stuck him in each arm. He was a trooper. The other kids did great too and I don't think anything ever phases Kellye.
We had an interesting exercise during class this morning. We had been studying Luke 10 where Jesus sends out the 70 on a short-term mission trip and instructs them to look for a "man of peace" in each of the towns they come to. While this is not a commandment of the Bible, it is good teaching and we have heard story after story from the field where missionaries were taken in by a person like this. So, it was time for a little role playing. Two people from every group were assigned to go to a village and encounter the people and talk with them as we sought for the "man of peace" among them. I am sure that our experiences in Russia will be vastly different from our collegues who are serving in small African villages, it was overwhelming to be surrounded by a group of people who were all talking to you at once, asking you questions, wanting things from you, picking your pockets, etc. Sometimes it was hard to think of anybody but the man of peace while other times you just wanted to go running from the room. Altogether an interesting experience.
The highlight of my week was two days of teaching about church doctrine from Tom Elliff. He is an Oklahoma pastor, former SBC president, and also a former missionary himself. Not only is he a delightful man and an inspired speaker, but he is a gifted teacher as well. You also have to understand that I love to study Southern Baptist doctrine. While my family may have raised me to be Southern Baptist, I am Baptist by choice because I believe the SB doctrine comes straight from the Word of God. Anyway, it was a great week and I learned a lot from his teaching. On a side note, I was introducing myself to Brother Tom before the session on Tuesday morning (I was on duty as the audio engineer that day) and mentioned the fact that I had graduated from OBU. He looked at my name tag and I watched his face as he recognized my name. (I thought the reaction was kind of strange) "I was on the OBU board of trustees when you graduated," he said. Now, that is impressive, my friends.
I am also taking a seminary class while I am here these two months. We had class Tuesday night and I am doing fairly well at keeping up with the reading and writing. Pray that I am able to continue to juggle that with all the other things I have to do.
Rachel and Rebecca Tarleton (Ed and Terri's twin daughters who have been here at ILC with us the past couple of weeks) flew back to Moscow this week. They are such sweet girls and we know that God arranged for them to be here, and in our quad, so they could help SB during this transition time. The night before they left we stayed up late playing Phase 10 and laughing. I know there will be many such nights like that around our table in Moscow and I thank God for their friendship with our family.
Well, that is what kind of week it has been around here. Next week we will be studying Church Planting Movements and have another round of shots and another "special meal." However, next Saturday is the start of college football season. BOOMER SOONER!
Know that God is in this place and he meets with us and challenges us daily. I hope that you are meeting with Him every morning as well. If you get a chance, give Luke 10:2 a read. Notice that Jesus says to the people whom he is sending out that they should pray for workers. Our family is praying that there will be others who feel called of God to join us as we enter the mission field. We all have our mission fields. Won't you find yours and commit yourself to go?
Blessings,
Marc
Now, those of you that know me well know that two of the things that I dislike most in life are needles and trying new foods. Well, I think that God spent the better part of the week laughing at me. One of the things they do here is try as best they can to prepare us to live in other cultures, so they have the cafeteria staff fix for us "special meals." We had two this week at lunch time. On Wednesday we had a North African/Middle East meal and Thursday we had a Hungarian meal. Now, let me say that the fresh bread the made was amazing! I loved it! (See, the brighter side.) Wednesday we had small spicy meatballs of some sort served with a diced tomato, onion and cucumber salad. We were not allowed to use silverware and had to eat with our hands. It was actually pretty good, though I didn't much care for the texture of the meat. However, I quickly learned that if you ate a small portion of meat with some bread you can make it more palatable. On Thursday we had Hungarian goulash with cabbage and more bread. I ate it. And, the bread was very good. We only have one "special meal" scheduled for next week, but don't let that keep you from praying. On a related, but side note. My quiet time lead me to Proverbs 23 on Thursday morning. Give it a read and think about our "special meals". I think you will find the humor that I found while studying the passage!
If you see misspelled words in this blog, you will have to forgive me. Today (Friday) was shot day. Kellye and I each had three shots and my arms are still pretty dang sore. John-John was the big hero though, he sat up in the chair and played his Gameboy while they stuck him in each arm. He was a trooper. The other kids did great too and I don't think anything ever phases Kellye.
We had an interesting exercise during class this morning. We had been studying Luke 10 where Jesus sends out the 70 on a short-term mission trip and instructs them to look for a "man of peace" in each of the towns they come to. While this is not a commandment of the Bible, it is good teaching and we have heard story after story from the field where missionaries were taken in by a person like this. So, it was time for a little role playing. Two people from every group were assigned to go to a village and encounter the people and talk with them as we sought for the "man of peace" among them. I am sure that our experiences in Russia will be vastly different from our collegues who are serving in small African villages, it was overwhelming to be surrounded by a group of people who were all talking to you at once, asking you questions, wanting things from you, picking your pockets, etc. Sometimes it was hard to think of anybody but the man of peace while other times you just wanted to go running from the room. Altogether an interesting experience.
The highlight of my week was two days of teaching about church doctrine from Tom Elliff. He is an Oklahoma pastor, former SBC president, and also a former missionary himself. Not only is he a delightful man and an inspired speaker, but he is a gifted teacher as well. You also have to understand that I love to study Southern Baptist doctrine. While my family may have raised me to be Southern Baptist, I am Baptist by choice because I believe the SB doctrine comes straight from the Word of God. Anyway, it was a great week and I learned a lot from his teaching. On a side note, I was introducing myself to Brother Tom before the session on Tuesday morning (I was on duty as the audio engineer that day) and mentioned the fact that I had graduated from OBU. He looked at my name tag and I watched his face as he recognized my name. (I thought the reaction was kind of strange) "I was on the OBU board of trustees when you graduated," he said. Now, that is impressive, my friends.
I am also taking a seminary class while I am here these two months. We had class Tuesday night and I am doing fairly well at keeping up with the reading and writing. Pray that I am able to continue to juggle that with all the other things I have to do.
Rachel and Rebecca Tarleton (Ed and Terri's twin daughters who have been here at ILC with us the past couple of weeks) flew back to Moscow this week. They are such sweet girls and we know that God arranged for them to be here, and in our quad, so they could help SB during this transition time. The night before they left we stayed up late playing Phase 10 and laughing. I know there will be many such nights like that around our table in Moscow and I thank God for their friendship with our family.
Well, that is what kind of week it has been around here. Next week we will be studying Church Planting Movements and have another round of shots and another "special meal." However, next Saturday is the start of college football season. BOOMER SOONER!
Know that God is in this place and he meets with us and challenges us daily. I hope that you are meeting with Him every morning as well. If you get a chance, give Luke 10:2 a read. Notice that Jesus says to the people whom he is sending out that they should pray for workers. Our family is praying that there will be others who feel called of God to join us as we enter the mission field. We all have our mission fields. Won't you find yours and commit yourself to go?
Blessings,
Marc
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Hard Lessons and The Week In Review
"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth." Acts 1:8
I have to tell you, after this last week at ILC, the remotest parts of the earth seem pretty far away. We are now two weeks into our eight weeks of training and the week was filled with some pretty hard lessons. You would think that the hardest part of this training is getting ready to live in different cultures and speak different languages, but it is not. The hardest part is the daily conviction by the Holy Spirit that we must continue to evolve and grow in our faith. Dr. Jerry Rankin, IMB President, spent three days with us last week teaching about spiritual warfare. He told a familiar story about a sculptor (Michelangelo, I think) who when asked how he made such beautiful sculptures said "I start with a block of granite and chip away at anything that does not look like a horse." That is pretty much what we have been through this past week. The Holy Spirit has spent the week chipping away at everything that does not look like Christ. Needless to say, I look more like a block of granite than I do a horse.
I was just looking through my notes from Dr. Rankin's last session and wanted to share some of what he taught. Of course, the goal of spiritual warfare is to have victory, and we can have victory as long as we rely on God and not ourselves. He reminded us that Satan is merely a fallen angel...a messenger. Satan is not equal with God and does not have the power of God. So, here are Dr. Rankin's six steps to spiritual victory:
1. Faith
2. Renewing of the mind
3. Commitment to the Lordship of Christ
4. Obedience
5. Abide in Christ
6. Love
We spent yesterday morning in a session about "What does a New Testament church look like?" Also very interesting. I will refrain from editorializing at this point.
Thursday we had a class on transitioning to a new culture and on grieving. Afterwards we had discussion in our small groups (these are the same groups we have house church and other activities with, so we are getting pretty close.) Kellye and I reacted in the ways that God has wired us...Kellye cried while I cracked jokes and laughed. One of the other guys in our group is my age and we are pretty similar, so we laughed while our wives passed a packet of tissue around the circle!
We have a map on our wall that gives statistics of the number of IMB missionaries, baptisms, church plants, etc. It is overwhelming to think that we only have just over 5,000 missionaries around the world...just a fraction of one percent of Southern Baptists in America.
---
I cannot tell you how much fun it is to be surrounded by this wonderful group of people. I could go on and on about the great folks here. The teachers are fantastic, the Missionaries in Residence (MIRs) from the field bring such insight, and the other couples and Journeymen that are here make me smile and laugh daily. They are special people.
We have a lot of OBU folks who are here. Want to baffle a group of strangers? Break out in Ka-Rip and see what happens!
Humm....so much to tell it is all getting kind of jumbled in my head this morning. We have been so busy and are just physically and mentally exhausted. I think things are going to slow down a little bit, though. We don't really have much planned for the weekend, so I will be able to catch up on my schoolwork and write a few papers that are due this next week. Tonight the AV Team is sponsoring "High School Musical Night" and will be showing HSM 1 and 2 on the big screen along with popcorn and other snacks. Those of you with kids know what a big deal HSM is. Of course, OU football kicks off in two weeks, so I will be finding a television and making a pot of chili!
We had a huge storm Thursday night. Lost power several times and the wind was incredible. You could see it blowing sheets of rain across the small lake out our back window. However, it did make for a relaxing night's sleep.
One of the requirements of the people on the Russia field is that we walk to the front gate and back several times a week. That is a 3-mile trek every time we do it. I was proud of the kids, they did pretty well the first time we did it. We are trying to go at least three times a week. As for me, I think it will be easier in the Moscow winter than it is in this heat!
Well, it is almost 10 AM and the kids are relaxing and Kellye has gone to town to shop with a friend. While that should make for a relaxing morning for me, I have reading and writing for a seminary class that has to be done. Know that you are missed, loved and prayed for.
I have to tell you, after this last week at ILC, the remotest parts of the earth seem pretty far away. We are now two weeks into our eight weeks of training and the week was filled with some pretty hard lessons. You would think that the hardest part of this training is getting ready to live in different cultures and speak different languages, but it is not. The hardest part is the daily conviction by the Holy Spirit that we must continue to evolve and grow in our faith. Dr. Jerry Rankin, IMB President, spent three days with us last week teaching about spiritual warfare. He told a familiar story about a sculptor (Michelangelo, I think) who when asked how he made such beautiful sculptures said "I start with a block of granite and chip away at anything that does not look like a horse." That is pretty much what we have been through this past week. The Holy Spirit has spent the week chipping away at everything that does not look like Christ. Needless to say, I look more like a block of granite than I do a horse.
I was just looking through my notes from Dr. Rankin's last session and wanted to share some of what he taught. Of course, the goal of spiritual warfare is to have victory, and we can have victory as long as we rely on God and not ourselves. He reminded us that Satan is merely a fallen angel...a messenger. Satan is not equal with God and does not have the power of God. So, here are Dr. Rankin's six steps to spiritual victory:
1. Faith
2. Renewing of the mind
3. Commitment to the Lordship of Christ
4. Obedience
5. Abide in Christ
6. Love
We spent yesterday morning in a session about "What does a New Testament church look like?" Also very interesting. I will refrain from editorializing at this point.
Thursday we had a class on transitioning to a new culture and on grieving. Afterwards we had discussion in our small groups (these are the same groups we have house church and other activities with, so we are getting pretty close.) Kellye and I reacted in the ways that God has wired us...Kellye cried while I cracked jokes and laughed. One of the other guys in our group is my age and we are pretty similar, so we laughed while our wives passed a packet of tissue around the circle!
We have a map on our wall that gives statistics of the number of IMB missionaries, baptisms, church plants, etc. It is overwhelming to think that we only have just over 5,000 missionaries around the world...just a fraction of one percent of Southern Baptists in America.
---
I cannot tell you how much fun it is to be surrounded by this wonderful group of people. I could go on and on about the great folks here. The teachers are fantastic, the Missionaries in Residence (MIRs) from the field bring such insight, and the other couples and Journeymen that are here make me smile and laugh daily. They are special people.
We have a lot of OBU folks who are here. Want to baffle a group of strangers? Break out in Ka-Rip and see what happens!
Humm....so much to tell it is all getting kind of jumbled in my head this morning. We have been so busy and are just physically and mentally exhausted. I think things are going to slow down a little bit, though. We don't really have much planned for the weekend, so I will be able to catch up on my schoolwork and write a few papers that are due this next week. Tonight the AV Team is sponsoring "High School Musical Night" and will be showing HSM 1 and 2 on the big screen along with popcorn and other snacks. Those of you with kids know what a big deal HSM is. Of course, OU football kicks off in two weeks, so I will be finding a television and making a pot of chili!
We had a huge storm Thursday night. Lost power several times and the wind was incredible. You could see it blowing sheets of rain across the small lake out our back window. However, it did make for a relaxing night's sleep.
One of the requirements of the people on the Russia field is that we walk to the front gate and back several times a week. That is a 3-mile trek every time we do it. I was proud of the kids, they did pretty well the first time we did it. We are trying to go at least three times a week. As for me, I think it will be easier in the Moscow winter than it is in this heat!
Well, it is almost 10 AM and the kids are relaxing and Kellye has gone to town to shop with a friend. While that should make for a relaxing morning for me, I have reading and writing for a seminary class that has to be done. Know that you are missed, loved and prayed for.
Thursday, August 9, 2007
Some Random Photos from FPO (Field Personnel Orientation)
This is the kiddos outside of the CERC (ok, I forget what that stands for, but it is their school) on their first day of "Missionary School."
John-John gets settled in at his desk as Kellye helps.
Hannah is a good "cousin" to Lydia Gilpin.
Sarah Beth with her new best friend, Sammy Gilpin
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
By The Numbers...
I thought I would share a few numbers and other missions-related thoughts with you this evening.
There are currently more than 5,000 missionary units (family or single individual) commissioned by the IMB serving in the field.
This is the largest group of IMB missionaries to be trained here at the International Learning Center. In our "class" there are 88 couples, 79 singles and 99 children who in another eight weeks will cover the earth for one purpose...to share the good news that God provided his son, Jesus, as a sacrifice for our sins and that we can be made right with God through our faith in Jesus.
The IMB Vision Statement says that "We will LEAD Southern Baptists to be on mission with God to bring all the peoples of the world to saving faith in Jesus Christ." (emphasis mine)
In his book, "To The Ends Of The Earth", IMB President Jerry Rankin says "It is not the responsibility of the International Mission Board to do missions on behalf of Southern Baptists; the Great Commission was given to every believer and every church. The role of the IMB as a denominational mission entity is to serve, enable, and facilitate all Southern Baptists to be obedient to our God's kingdom purpose and fulfill the Great Commission."
So here are some staggering numbers for you to consider. With more than 5,000 missionary units in the field there is one unit for every 1.6 million people in the world. In South Asia there is only Southern Baptist missionary for every 4.6 million people. More than 4,000 ethnic, linguistic people groups are identified as "unreached" and hundreds of them have no access to the Gospel whatsoever. 1.3 billion people have never heard the name of Jesus.
Rankin writes, "I have always assumed that reminding people of the Great Commission would motivate them to at least consider the possiblility of going as a missionary....However, we apply the Great Commission to whatever we do to witness where we live and choose to label it as "missions." We rationalize away this mandate meant for the church and all of God's people and assume it applies only to an elite few who are called as missionaries. We give token financial support for them to represent us and carry out the Great Commission on our behalf. We assume we are exempt and can pursue our own plans with no responsibility toward those throughout the world who desperately need to hear the good news of Jesus."
Rankin reminds us that while Southern Baptists have more than 5,000 missionaries on the field that number represents less than three-tenths of one percent of our church membership. "Does He (God) choose only one out of every three thousand faithful church members to go and witness to 95-percent of the world's population, while allowing the rest of us to live contentedly among the remaining five percent that has abundant opportunity to hear the gospel?"
It is time that each of us ask ourselves what we are doing to be actively involved with being on mission for Christ. What can we do to help spread the Gospel to every tribe and tongue around the world? The IMB has boiled down what you can do into three simple statements: "You can pray. You can give. You can go." Won't you take that first step today? Start simple...pray. Pray that God would reveal to you how you can be an ambassador for Him. Pray for missionaries who are on the field. Pray for missionaries who are here at the ILC for training. Pray for the different (or a specific) people groups of the world. And finally, as you are praying ask God, "Is it me that needs to go."
When you look at it, the numbers are staggering. Won't you join us on mission?
Blessings,
Marc
She Stole My Title!
I was going to write to you today about having tacos for dinner. Seriously! (Read Kellye's blog to find out why.)
Anway, I will write more today, but I wanted you all to pray hard for us today and for the rest of the week. Our training starts this afternoon and the kids start school this morning. We are happy, excited, scared, nervous, and feeling altogether unworthy of the task God has called us to. So pray. Pray without ceasing.
Time for breakfast and taking the kiddos to school, so more later.
Blessings,
Marc
Anway, I will write more today, but I wanted you all to pray hard for us today and for the rest of the week. Our training starts this afternoon and the kids start school this morning. We are happy, excited, scared, nervous, and feeling altogether unworthy of the task God has called us to. So pray. Pray without ceasing.
Time for breakfast and taking the kiddos to school, so more later.
Blessings,
Marc
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
Family Picture Day!
The night before we left Maryland we took advantage of Nanna's photographic skills and had her shoot some family photos. Here are some of the results!
Monday, August 6, 2007
The Journey Begins
This won't be long or detailed, but we wanted everybody to know that we arrived safely on "The Farm" today. We are getting settled into our newest temporary home. As I write this Kellye is unpacking the many suitcases, SB and Hannah are catching up on their computer time in the lab and John-John is playing with his friends James and Nathan. Life is good.
A special word of thanks to my parents, Mr Bob, and the folks at my home church, Westminster Baptist Church, for helping us get from my parents' house to the International Learning Center. We arrived "in style" in the church bus loaded down with our many, many bags of things. We are grateful and thankful to partner with a church that has such a loving spirit and a heart for missions.
There is something wonderful aobut ILC. Yes, it is beautiful (though extremely hot) here. But it is more than that. The staff is sweet and everybody is friendly. But beyond that, the people who are here know what it is to surrender to the call of missions. They have all sacrificed their lives to be in this place at this time. We are all crazy, you know. But it is a good kind of crazy. Of course, it was sweet to see the Riersons and the Gilpins. We have a friendship forged in the bond of His service and that makes it sweeter and more special than most relationships here on earth. I know we are just starting out, but if you ask me, getting to spend 8 weeks with these dear friends is the best part of our orientation. And for those who will come after us...look out! Robert, Matt and I are all serving on the AV team together. We are going to set a new standard! :-)
Well, a trip to Wal-Mart for essential supplies (diet coke and cheez-its) is on the calendar for this evening, so I better wind things up. Thanks again for reading and keeping up with us as our family continues to seek God's will for our lives. Continue to pray, especially for the kids. (But know that they have already started to adapt pretty well.) And pray that God will use this time, place and people to grow us into the kind of ambassadors that He would have us to be.
Blessings,
Marc
A special word of thanks to my parents, Mr Bob, and the folks at my home church, Westminster Baptist Church, for helping us get from my parents' house to the International Learning Center. We arrived "in style" in the church bus loaded down with our many, many bags of things. We are grateful and thankful to partner with a church that has such a loving spirit and a heart for missions.
There is something wonderful aobut ILC. Yes, it is beautiful (though extremely hot) here. But it is more than that. The staff is sweet and everybody is friendly. But beyond that, the people who are here know what it is to surrender to the call of missions. They have all sacrificed their lives to be in this place at this time. We are all crazy, you know. But it is a good kind of crazy. Of course, it was sweet to see the Riersons and the Gilpins. We have a friendship forged in the bond of His service and that makes it sweeter and more special than most relationships here on earth. I know we are just starting out, but if you ask me, getting to spend 8 weeks with these dear friends is the best part of our orientation. And for those who will come after us...look out! Robert, Matt and I are all serving on the AV team together. We are going to set a new standard! :-)
Well, a trip to Wal-Mart for essential supplies (diet coke and cheez-its) is on the calendar for this evening, so I better wind things up. Thanks again for reading and keeping up with us as our family continues to seek God's will for our lives. Continue to pray, especially for the kids. (But know that they have already started to adapt pretty well.) And pray that God will use this time, place and people to grow us into the kind of ambassadors that He would have us to be.
Blessings,
Marc
Sunday, August 5, 2007
Guess what? I'm Russian! Who knew??
Isn't God funny? I love that about Him. When the Bible says that "For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother's womb" (Psalm 139) it means that not only does he know who we were when we were born, or who we are today, but who are going to be in the future. Anyway, my Aunt Lee came over the other day to hang out and eat steamed crabs (yummy) with us. As we were sitting around talking I found out that on one side of the family I am only two generations removed from being Russian! All of my mother's side of the family is Eastern European and we knew we had ties to Hungary and Latvia, but my great-great grandfather came from Ufa, Russia. When we were traveling St. Petersburg in March we discovered that as long as I didn't open my mouth most people assumed that I was Russian. I believe that, like everything else, God has a plan and this is all part of it. How exciting!
AS SANDS IN THE HOURGLASS...
No, I don't watch soap operas, but my Grandmother did. "My Stories" is what she called them. Being home for a week has reminded me a lot of my Grandmother and Pop-Pop. I miss them and wish they could be with me during this part of my life as we get ready to serve. I know they are with me in spirit, but it would be nice if they were here in body too. Anyway, I thought about this introduction to "Days of Our Lives" this week as I watched the calendar count down the number of days until we start our field orientation at The Farm. Tomorrow we drive from here (my parents' house in Finksburg, Maryland) to the International Learning Center in Rockville, Virginia (just outside of Richmond. It is hard to believe that after two years of praying, planning, sweating, and hoping that we are finally here. Know this. God has been with us and has reconfirmed our call at every step of the way. This is not something that we do lightly or that was even our idea. We are just trying to be obiedient to "the call." If you have ever heard that still small voice, then you will understand. And no, it is not easy. However, I know that God will reward us for our faithfulness and obiedience...He already has.
While we have enjoyed spending time with family and friends over the past two months, we are very excited about spending the next 60 days at ILC. Is it because of the classes we will take? No. Is it because I love to eat in a cafeteria three times a day for two months? No. Is it because we get to use the "squatty potty"? A big, resounding NO. But the next two months will be sweet ones because we will be with dear friends with like-minded hearts. I can't tell you how many friends we have made already and how much I cannot wait to see them again and spend time laughing, crying and praying with them. There is something about being surrounded by people who have responded to the call just as you have. I know that many of you who read these blogs cannot really understand why we would want to sell everything we own and move around the world for an indeffinate period of time. And that is ok. It is hard to understand and harder to explain. Missionaries are a strange group of folks. So, to all of my missionary friends who read this, I cannot wait to see you! We are in for a fun and exciting couple of weeks. I do think it is a good thing that we are being housed in a "quad" rather than the dorms. It seems that Journeymen (those serving as missionaries right out of college) need their beauty sleep and are disturbed by the "old folks" who sit around laughing and telling stories into the wee hours of the morning.
Well, as usual my time to Blog has been cut short. There are so many things I want to write about. I hope that I will be able to do a more regular job of writing as we get into FPO and as we transition to the field. Know that we cherish your thoughts and prayers and emails. Thanks again for reading. We pray for you all regularly.
Blessings,
Marc
AS SANDS IN THE HOURGLASS...
No, I don't watch soap operas, but my Grandmother did. "My Stories" is what she called them. Being home for a week has reminded me a lot of my Grandmother and Pop-Pop. I miss them and wish they could be with me during this part of my life as we get ready to serve. I know they are with me in spirit, but it would be nice if they were here in body too. Anyway, I thought about this introduction to "Days of Our Lives" this week as I watched the calendar count down the number of days until we start our field orientation at The Farm. Tomorrow we drive from here (my parents' house in Finksburg, Maryland) to the International Learning Center in Rockville, Virginia (just outside of Richmond. It is hard to believe that after two years of praying, planning, sweating, and hoping that we are finally here. Know this. God has been with us and has reconfirmed our call at every step of the way. This is not something that we do lightly or that was even our idea. We are just trying to be obiedient to "the call." If you have ever heard that still small voice, then you will understand. And no, it is not easy. However, I know that God will reward us for our faithfulness and obiedience...He already has.
While we have enjoyed spending time with family and friends over the past two months, we are very excited about spending the next 60 days at ILC. Is it because of the classes we will take? No. Is it because I love to eat in a cafeteria three times a day for two months? No. Is it because we get to use the "squatty potty"? A big, resounding NO. But the next two months will be sweet ones because we will be with dear friends with like-minded hearts. I can't tell you how many friends we have made already and how much I cannot wait to see them again and spend time laughing, crying and praying with them. There is something about being surrounded by people who have responded to the call just as you have. I know that many of you who read these blogs cannot really understand why we would want to sell everything we own and move around the world for an indeffinate period of time. And that is ok. It is hard to understand and harder to explain. Missionaries are a strange group of folks. So, to all of my missionary friends who read this, I cannot wait to see you! We are in for a fun and exciting couple of weeks. I do think it is a good thing that we are being housed in a "quad" rather than the dorms. It seems that Journeymen (those serving as missionaries right out of college) need their beauty sleep and are disturbed by the "old folks" who sit around laughing and telling stories into the wee hours of the morning.
Well, as usual my time to Blog has been cut short. There are so many things I want to write about. I hope that I will be able to do a more regular job of writing as we get into FPO and as we transition to the field. Know that we cherish your thoughts and prayers and emails. Thanks again for reading. We pray for you all regularly.
Blessings,
Marc
Thursday, August 2, 2007
Catching up and more misc. stuff
It has been a while since I really had a chance to sit down and write something. I have tried several times, but always seem to get inturrupted. So, while sitting in the peacefulness of my parent's back porch I am going to try to get you caught up.
PACKING
I thought it was going to be easy. We had several garage sales and the more we sifted through the belongings we had accumliated over 17 years of marriage the easier it was to throw things away. During our month at the San Jose Mission House I would often look around and think (and even say to Kellye and Ken) that we would have room left over to take whatever we wanted. Well, I was wrong. (Gosh, that is hard to say, especially in print.) The week before we left we would pack, and then repack, and then weigh, and then reorganize, and then repack and when we were finished with that we would repack again. You see, getting all of our things into 14 suitcases is not really the issue. The biggest problem is that no one bag can weigh more than 50 pounds without forcing us to pay an extra fee for each bag that is overweight. So, while we had plenty of room we were wayyyyyy overweight. If you have read Kellye's blog then you have heard about us standing on the sidewalk of San Jose Blvd. in Jacksonville with suitcases open, moving clothes and other things from one bag to another while I stood on a set of scales with my arms out. It had to have been a pretty strange sight. We never could have even come close to getting ready without the help of Kellye's parents. They worked tirelessly every day to make sure that we had everything we needed when it came time to go. And, as usual, Barb and Troy Johnson came to our rescue. Not only did they make it possible for us to finish on time, we had lots of laughs along the way. "Are you my Daddy?" They will be missed. And, did I mention that we STILL did not get to take everything that we needed to bring (my pillows included.) So Ken boxed up the remaining things and sent them to Baltimore via UPS. Our largest challenge with packing is that we will be at the International Learning Center in Virginia for 8 weeks before we leave for Moscow. So the clothes we need for there will be quite different that what we will need when we arrive in Russia in October. Thankfully, we are driving from here to ILC, so weight will not be an issue again until we load up to head for the airport again. So, the packing and repacking continues.
MOVING DAY
I was pretty proud of us, actually. We had been dreading the day we had to say goodbye for some time and none of us were looking forward to the tears that would be shed. However, all things considered we did pretty well. Saying "until later" to Kellye's family was difficult. Florida has been our home for 10 years and our family has become very close. I don't think that a day went by without us talking to one another and knowing that we would be seperated by time and distance made saying goodbye even harder.
Friday was interesting. We got to church at 6am and nobody had the keys to the office, so we could not get to our luggage. Joe Hutchinson had to call Tim Martin and wake him up. Finally, Joe Puhl showed with and unlocked for us. We managed to get off on time and were doing pretty well until we got to airport security. Then, for reasons unclear to me, our WHOLE family was tagged for extra security screening. When we arrived in Baltimore we discovered that the airline totally destroyed one of the new suitcases that you guys bought for us. I have never seen a suitcase damaged to this extent. So, Monday we boxed it up and sent it off so Delta could figure out what they are going to do about it. Fun, fun.
17 YEARS, AND STILL GOING
Saturday was our anniversary. I am a lucky man. I have a wonderful, beautiful and Godly wife. She is my treasure and I adore her. I could never write all of the things that I should to express to her how I feel about her, but know that I could not be the man I am today without her. ILYBC!
WHERE I COME FROM
It has been nice for me to spend time in the place where I grew up. I love Maryland and frankly I had forgotten how pretty it is here. There are rolling hills, lots of farms, old farm buildings, and quaint little towns. It is so peaceful.
Anybody who really knows me knows that I love to eat and that I plan my vacations around what and where I am going to eat. This trip is no different. I have had my favorite ice cream and pizza. Tonight we are having steamed crabs and Kellye has requested a crabcake dinner for her 40th birthday on Saturday. (Did I mention that Saturday was her birthday??)
I was invited to preach at my home church on Sunday. It was good to be back with the church folks that I grew up with. They are special folks to me and many have places in Marc's "Hall of Fame of Faith." If time permits (you see, I am writing this instead of working on the final paper for my Systematic Theology class) I am going to post recordings of my sermon and a few other things on our podcast. I will post a note here when I get that done.
We spent yesterday evening with Greg and Terri Miller. Greg and I grew up in church together and we had a delightful time with them and their children. Tonight my Aunt Lee has come over to spend the day with us and eat crabs. It is good to spend time with her as well. We are running out of days to squeeze things in, so hopefully we can get everything in.
Well, I better get going. I have a million things to do today and am also helping Dad set up his new iPod. Who knows, I may even make a Mac covert of him before too long!
Thanks for reading and keeping up with our family. We love and pray for each of you.
Blessings,
Marc
PACKING
I thought it was going to be easy. We had several garage sales and the more we sifted through the belongings we had accumliated over 17 years of marriage the easier it was to throw things away. During our month at the San Jose Mission House I would often look around and think (and even say to Kellye and Ken) that we would have room left over to take whatever we wanted. Well, I was wrong. (Gosh, that is hard to say, especially in print.) The week before we left we would pack, and then repack, and then weigh, and then reorganize, and then repack and when we were finished with that we would repack again. You see, getting all of our things into 14 suitcases is not really the issue. The biggest problem is that no one bag can weigh more than 50 pounds without forcing us to pay an extra fee for each bag that is overweight. So, while we had plenty of room we were wayyyyyy overweight. If you have read Kellye's blog then you have heard about us standing on the sidewalk of San Jose Blvd. in Jacksonville with suitcases open, moving clothes and other things from one bag to another while I stood on a set of scales with my arms out. It had to have been a pretty strange sight. We never could have even come close to getting ready without the help of Kellye's parents. They worked tirelessly every day to make sure that we had everything we needed when it came time to go. And, as usual, Barb and Troy Johnson came to our rescue. Not only did they make it possible for us to finish on time, we had lots of laughs along the way. "Are you my Daddy?" They will be missed. And, did I mention that we STILL did not get to take everything that we needed to bring (my pillows included.) So Ken boxed up the remaining things and sent them to Baltimore via UPS. Our largest challenge with packing is that we will be at the International Learning Center in Virginia for 8 weeks before we leave for Moscow. So the clothes we need for there will be quite different that what we will need when we arrive in Russia in October. Thankfully, we are driving from here to ILC, so weight will not be an issue again until we load up to head for the airport again. So, the packing and repacking continues.
MOVING DAY
I was pretty proud of us, actually. We had been dreading the day we had to say goodbye for some time and none of us were looking forward to the tears that would be shed. However, all things considered we did pretty well. Saying "until later" to Kellye's family was difficult. Florida has been our home for 10 years and our family has become very close. I don't think that a day went by without us talking to one another and knowing that we would be seperated by time and distance made saying goodbye even harder.
Friday was interesting. We got to church at 6am and nobody had the keys to the office, so we could not get to our luggage. Joe Hutchinson had to call Tim Martin and wake him up. Finally, Joe Puhl showed with and unlocked for us. We managed to get off on time and were doing pretty well until we got to airport security. Then, for reasons unclear to me, our WHOLE family was tagged for extra security screening. When we arrived in Baltimore we discovered that the airline totally destroyed one of the new suitcases that you guys bought for us. I have never seen a suitcase damaged to this extent. So, Monday we boxed it up and sent it off so Delta could figure out what they are going to do about it. Fun, fun.
17 YEARS, AND STILL GOING
Saturday was our anniversary. I am a lucky man. I have a wonderful, beautiful and Godly wife. She is my treasure and I adore her. I could never write all of the things that I should to express to her how I feel about her, but know that I could not be the man I am today without her. ILYBC!
WHERE I COME FROM
It has been nice for me to spend time in the place where I grew up. I love Maryland and frankly I had forgotten how pretty it is here. There are rolling hills, lots of farms, old farm buildings, and quaint little towns. It is so peaceful.
Anybody who really knows me knows that I love to eat and that I plan my vacations around what and where I am going to eat. This trip is no different. I have had my favorite ice cream and pizza. Tonight we are having steamed crabs and Kellye has requested a crabcake dinner for her 40th birthday on Saturday. (Did I mention that Saturday was her birthday??)
I was invited to preach at my home church on Sunday. It was good to be back with the church folks that I grew up with. They are special folks to me and many have places in Marc's "Hall of Fame of Faith." If time permits (you see, I am writing this instead of working on the final paper for my Systematic Theology class) I am going to post recordings of my sermon and a few other things on our podcast. I will post a note here when I get that done.
We spent yesterday evening with Greg and Terri Miller. Greg and I grew up in church together and we had a delightful time with them and their children. Tonight my Aunt Lee has come over to spend the day with us and eat crabs. It is good to spend time with her as well. We are running out of days to squeeze things in, so hopefully we can get everything in.
Well, I better get going. I have a million things to do today and am also helping Dad set up his new iPod. Who knows, I may even make a Mac covert of him before too long!
Thanks for reading and keeping up with our family. We love and pray for each of you.
Blessings,
Marc
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