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Sad Day

Wednesday was a hard day. I did the funeral for the son of a friend of mine. He was 31 years old and lived a life that was very different than most of us. The last 6 weeks he connected with his family after several years without any contact. He had been coming to church and was making plans for the future. He was riding his bike back home along Rocky Point Road and stopped to take in the view. For some reason he went under a tree and fell asleep. It was only 4 degrees that night and hypothermia set in. He was missing for a week before his body was found.
Several times during the service I found myself thinking of my own kids and how I would be feeling if I was sitting where his parents were sitting. There were several times that I got choked up as I greived for his family. His name was Peter, and just a few years older than my Peter. I was reminded how precious but also how fragile life is. One of the very sad moments is when the father was explaining that the last time he had seen his son was 6 years ago when they had an argument.
What a great reminder to make sure that we all tell those around us that we love them, and that we make sure that we keep our relationships free of anything that separates us from those we love.

Brad and Katie are here

Our new associate pastor has finally made it to Portola. They arrived Monday night after a 4 day adventure getting here. We got a phone call that their van broke down in Fallon, NV so Curtis and I drove over to load up their van on a trailer that could haul the van.
Tuesday morning a great team helped them get unloaded and they are getting all set up in their new home. It will be so great to have them on the team. We had our annual deacon Christmas party the other day and it seemed that Brad and Katie have been part of the church for years.
Katie and two of the boys were already practicing with one of the praise teams this week and Brad seems to know so many people in the church.
My prayer of course is that Portola quickly feels like their home and that God will use this wonderful family for His glory and that many will come to faith and grow in Christ as a result of their ministry.

Christmas is just around the corner. We are looking forward to having the boys home. Peter and Lauren will be coming in after Christmas. They will spend Christmas at her parents home. Steven will drive from LA and it will be so great to see them all.
Hope that you have a great Christmas this year and that you will remember why we celebrate this special season. Give your loved ones lots of hugs.

Back from the Philippines

It is great to be back home of course, but the trip to Can-oe was certainly something wonderful to remember.   First I want to thank all of you for praying for me while I was there.   I experienced a peace in my heart and an awareness of God directing me throughout the day.   There was a moment on the way to the town of Bontoc that the road was much too narrow for the bus I was in and the bus coming the other direction.  Inorder to continue ahead, our bus had to get very close to the edge of the road in fact so close that the tire of the bus was on top of a retaining wall that kept the road from washing down the cliff.   Yet as I looked over the cliff, I had a peace in my heart that I was in the Lord's hands.  (and I didn't see any other busses down at the bottom of the cliff).

I truly enjoyed seeing our church in Can-oe.   The culture is completely different, but they serve the same Lord that we do.   I had an instant love for our mission pastor Rudy.   He is a humble man of God that and is doing a great job there in what seemed to me to be the "uttermost part of the earth".  The church is filled with smiling people from little kids to old ladies.   God is truly at work in our church.

Many of you have asked me about how we got the pig there.  Rudy had it all arranged ahead of time and by the time we got to the village, the pig was already butchered.   I did see how they get pigs from one place to the next.   The pig is tied by his feet and "hands" to a bamboo pole and two men carry the pole over their shoulder.  Of course the pig isn't too excited about this arrangement and makes all sorts of racket. 

The pastor's conference also was a wonderful experience.   There were 23 pastors and church leaders at the conference.   They were very attentive and appreciative of what I had to say during the day.   Again I felt the presence of the Lord as I was teaching.   These men and women have such a great heart for the Lord and for seeing people come to Christ.   In fact, one of the general impressions that I came away with was that the "norm" for the Christian in the villages is a deeper comittment and love for the Lord than the "norm" for American Christians.

If you scroll down this page, I have inclued a few pictures from this trip.   Thanks again for praying.   I was so blessed to be able to go, to be able to meet our brothers and sisters in Christ, and to be part of what God is doing there in Can-oe and the other villages. 

Going to visit Canoe Station Church

Tomorrow morning (Monday) I will be heading to visit our church in the Philippines.   I fly out of San Francisco to Taipei and then to Manila.   From there I will travel to Bagio City and then to Bontoc.  Canoe is so remote that I won't actually get to the village until Sunday morning.  Harry Smith and I will show up in the village with two pigs.  (A requirement because the whole town shows up for a party to meet the visitors).   I will speak at the church on Sunday.   My prayer is that many who have never come to the church will come to visit that day and that as I share the gospel, the Holy Spirit will touch many hearts and many will be saved.   

One the way out, I will be speaking at a Pastor's conference (Nov 6)  I don't know how many pastors will be there, but it is an honor to be the speaker for the day.  I hope to be an encouragement to them and to be used of God wherever He sees fit.   

This is way out of my comfort zone so thanks for praying for me.   I will give a report when I get back.

Dennis

Associate Pastor

This last weekend we finally met Brad and Katie Campbell.  They came to visit us to candidate for the position of Associate Pastor.  His three main responsibilities will be to oversee the small group ministries, meeting and following up new believers, and building a young adult ministry.   It was a pleasure to spend time with them and to get to know them better.   We will have a business meeting in a week to determine if we will offer them a job.   They will then get back to us if they also sense God's leading for a good "fit" for Portola Station. 

It has been a lot of work to narrow down the resumes to this point, but it is so important that we get God's man for the job.   Pray with me for wisdom and discernment.   I am excited about what the future holds for our church family here at Portola Station.   We will know soon if Brad is to be a part of the staff team.

Turning 55

I guess that it is now official.   I can order off the back page of the Denny's menu.   Last night Deb and I met a bunch of friends at Denny's for dinner and I ordered from the Senior menu!   I pulled out my drivers license so that they could confirm the truth...I have crossed the threshold into the world of the Senior Adult.  Now that I am 55, not only can I get senior discounts, I can drive around town really slow with my left turn signal on all day even when I have no intention of turning left.

But I did take some time to take a little walk and think about my Christian life...where am I as a believer and where I need to be.   I am so aware that I have a long way to go.   Even after all these years God is still in the process of molding me into the man that He desires.    I have also been aware that I have been forgetting so many of the verses I once knew and I know that I need to get back into a regular schedule of scripture memory.   If I could just remember the ones that I have forgotten, I would be much more solid in "handling accurately the word of truth".

One of the best things about turning 55 is having the same friend and partner to walk these years together. Debby is certainly God's gift to me.   Peter and Steven are also God's precious gifts.   It seems that over the years I have accumulated so much stuff.   All the stuff is meaningless when compared to knowing the Lord and being able to count the years go by loving my family and friends. 

Jeep Trip

The church jeep trip went great.   It was a rougher road than I thought it would be, but that is what made it an adventure.   All the jeeps made it out, but not without some problems.   One of the jeeps broke some bolts in the front end, but there is nothing like bailing wire to fix things in an emergency.   We started at Packer Saddle, went by Pauly Creek, Hawley Lake, 4 hills mine, "A" Tree and ended up at Johnsville.  We had a prayer time in the evening at Gold lake where we spent the night.  Sunday morning we had an informal church service and we all agreed that we need to do this again.   I have posted a few pictures.

Finished I John

Sunday I finished the last section of I John.  What a blessing it has been.   I have read and reread that book over the years and memorized chunks of it, but the discipline of having to prepare a sermon every week has opened the book up to me in new ways.   Being able to study the scriptures is one of the "perks" of being a pastor.   Every Sunday I get to share with my friends what God has been teaching me every week.   I learn so much because I get to spend hours in the Word.   

One of the other things that I love about the scriptures is that they are "new" to my heart as the Holy Spirit makes the "lights come on" in my heart.   I may have read a certain verse literally hundreds of times, but sometimes after I have been praying about what God wants me to see in that familiar verse, it comes alive to me.

I have all a hard copy of each sermon and some of them are on MP3 that I can send to anyone who wants a copy.   

I am considering where to go next.   I will do a short series on Discovering our gifts, Developing our gifts, Dedicating our gifts, and Deploying our gifts.   I am hoping that at the end of that series we will have a "Ministry Fair" in the fellowship hall so those who are not yet serving can find a place of ministry that they love.

I am not sure what book I will be preaching from but I am thinking of an old testament book.  Pray for me that God will give me guidance.

Anniversary

Today is our anniversary.   32 years!   What a blessing it has been to be married to the most wonderful woman for so many years.   I truly see her as a blessing from God.   One of the best moments of my day is when I walk home and am greeted with the friendly voice of one who knows me best.   

I am motivated to be the best man that I can be...that every day I win her heart, every day I earn her respect and that every day I thank God for my wife.

I am reminded that I need to finish up the series that I started on our "Ground rules for marriage" for this blog.  Check it out...click on "A wonderful marriage".

Great Friends

Many of you know that one of the life changing moments in my life was back in 1991 driving home from my brothers memorial service.  It was a very difficult time in our lives, but the reception was wonderful because Dana and I had so many common friends.  We had a great time reconnecting to our friends at the reception, but on the way home, I told Deb that I felt my life was too busy for friends.  So I determined to change that and made time for friends which was the beginning of meeting with some friends early in the morning each week.   A life that is too busy for friends is simply too busy.

I also see the need to keep in contact with old friends that don't live close.  A few weeks ago I spent some time with my life-long friend Jim and his wife Margie, after his mother's memorial.  You know how there are friends where you can pick up right where you left off and it seems that no time has gone by.  Jim is such a friend.  But I know that I need to keep closer touch.

This week Tom and Bonnie (deb's college roommate) came to visit.    What a great time we had together.   Bonnie and Deb are such great friends and so alike and it was just fun to be together.   Tom is one of those guys that earns my respect so quickly.  He has such a gift of imparting into people's lives.  Tom is one of those guys who is a "refresher".  Paul writes to Philemon, "The hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you brother"  Philemon 7.  One of my life goals since college days is that I would be one who "refreshes".   I have been thinking again what this looks like, and am thinking about the work that God still has to do in my heart, in my attitude, in my schedule for this to happen better.