Update from Uruguay
On Saturday, Jan. 14, Living Hopers Barry & Betty Carter departed for Uruguay where they were set to serve alongside Matt & Toni Daniels of Christian Associates. The day before their departure, they received this email from the Daniel’s. Pray for the Carters and the Daniels as they serve together in Uruguay this week.
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Dear Barry,
What a faith challenge we have had over the last few days. As we were finishing dinner Tuesday night, we decided to open the windows to let the cooler air in. It had been nearly 100 degrees for four days in a row, and the heat was unbearable. No cool breeze from the ocean whatsoever. The only wind blowing was from the north, and hot.
As I opened the windows, I saw black smoke rising above the southern wood, and I saw a crest of orange light over the tops of the trees. I felt very nervous inside, and felt that I should drive down to the highway for a better look. It was obvious the forest was on fire, but HOW FAR SOUTH was the question.
I told Toni to throw the kids in the car and then we would drive around and look. But when I looked out the window, the light was brighter, higher, and the smoke was thicker. The fire was upon us.
Allie broke into tears. “This is my worst nightmare, that all my stuff would be burned up in a fire.” She then hurried to pack almost EVERYTHING she had brought out here and packed it all in the back of the car. I nervously gathered a few costly items: laptop computers, videocameras, my Bible, and some flip flops, and then hurried around finding shorts and shoes for the babies. By the time we got outside, the air was thick with smoke, our adrenaline had kicked in, and we were preparing our flight. My heart sank as I thought of this whole place consumed with fire.
I looked for Toni, and finally found her out in the sports field with her hands outstretched toward the fire, praying to God to hold back the flames and to protect San Geronimo. I yelled at her to come on while we still could. The neighbors were all calling each other as well, making sure all knew and that all had time to get out.
We drove down to the highway in the direction of Montevideo and when we turned out on the highway, I honestly just wanted to vomit. The flames were 60 feet high in the air and the fire was going all the way up the hillside. We did not know what to do.
We watched, prayed, sang praise songs, updated Facebook, and wondered “What do we do now?”
We decided to take Toni and the children back to Montevideo, as it was now 9:45 pm, and they were exhausted. I returned to San Geronimio by 11:00 pm and the fire was just as bad as ever. The Highway was blocked off, and the fire was mostly contained, except on the south side of San Geronimo. The fire had not yet entered our property, even after four hours of burning. I stood at the property line and continued to pray as the Firemen wove their hose into the brush below San Geronimo. One neighbor with a bulldozer had made a firebreak and a pathway into the woods so the firemen could get in.
The blaze started to lessen with their efforts, but then, they ran out of water.
I went up to the house to prepare the pump to empty the cisterns into their truck if needed. Two neighbors came through and asked if they could drive their tractors and water tanks down through the prayer walks in order to fight the fire from above, from up inside the forest. Some twenty of us or so got buckets and garden sprayers and fought back the blaze all along the south side of the property, some 100 feet inside the property line. The stand of Eucalyptus trees on the south side was not consumed, but all the underbrush around it was burned.
At 2:30 am, the blaze was all put out, and only embers remained. Everyone went home. We congratulated one another. I mentioned my wife’s prayer at the tree line, but their response was a dead awkward silence. No one wants to believe! Or they were all just too tired.
After all left, I went down once more, just in time to see fire break out again on San Geronimo. Flames shot up some 10 feet in some pine trees and I yelled out to a few remaining stragglers. There were a couple firement up inside with backpacks on in the wood as well, and we all worked over the next hour to put the fire out.
At 4:30 am, I collapsed on my bed, and slept until 9 am when I got up to go get wife and children.
Upon arrival, we were walking with Toni to survey the damage when the fire broke out again just east of the property. We ran to help with that. Then it broke out again under the transformer on the SW corner of San Geronimo.
Finally, last night, all night, a steady rain came and fell and cooled the earth around us.
Incidentally, we had just been getting ready to pursue cleaning the property line to put up the new fence, but when we obtained prices to clean, we decided against it. Barry and Betty Carter, friends of ours, and of San Geronimo, are arriving Sunday, and Barry was coming just to help put up the fence. I told him we could not afford to both clean AND fence. We both agreed that we would do whatever God worked out. As we looked the next day, of the 150 meter length of the south side, some 135 had been completely cleaned by the fire. Two weeks prior, I had walked the line almost in despair about the work required to clean it up. Now, I just smiled at God´s efficiency and economy.
Well, we leave you with the photos for now, and joint praises to our God that we are all alright and that the fire never really reached San Geronimo with any significance. Praise the Lord!
Blessings,
Matt
p.s. We still do not know who started the fire. We will update you when we find out more news.
You can see pics of the fire on our Facebook site.
Re-Imagining Discipleship
As we have studied John 14 & 15 the past two weeks at Living Hope, we have placed a primary emphasis on understanding what it means to abide in Jesus. As Jesus completes his public ministry and prepares for his crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension, he spends his final moments with his disciples – teaching them what it means to abide in him and to be his disciples on mission in the world.
Two questions have been guiding our time through this text and, hopefully, begin to guide our common language and practice at Living Hope: “Are you abiding in Jesus Christ?” and “Who are you teaching to abide in Jesus Christ?” Last Sunday we concluded our time together with some simple application points that I believe can help us answer our “abiding” questions.
Inviting
As we have studied John’s gospel, we have seen a very simple (yet profound) practice that Jesus employs in order that his mission will continue on after his death and resurrection: the practice of invitation. In John 1:35-51, Jesus extends the invitation to Andrew, Peter, and Phillip by simply calling them to “Come and See” and “Follow Me”. Although these would-be disciples have no idea what is in store for them, they drop what they are doing and begin the journey of learning from Jesus.
If Living Hope is going to be a church that makes disciples, this practice is essential for us as well. I believe the simple and intentional practice of extending an invitation to another person in order to teach them the truth of Christ and model for them a life in Christ is what is often missing in our attempts to make disciples. We may talk about making disciples and even hope to make disciples, but until we actually invite someone to become a disciple, we have a stated value rather than a real value.
If you were to invite someone to be a disciple and teach them what it means to abide in Christ, who would it be? Perhaps a struggling couple in your small group, a neighbor down the street, an unbelieving co-worker, or even the barista at your local Starbucks? Begin to pray and ask the Holy Spirit to lead you to someone whom you can disciple, and when He does, extend an invitation.
Investing
Jesus spends an inordinate amount of time in John 13-17 alone with his disciples. Since he has completed his public ministry, and since he knows that he will soon be put to death publicly, he takes a large amount of his time and invests it in his disciples.
The practical impact of this encounter cannot be overlooked. Think about all of the “good” things the Incarnate Son of God could have been doing with his last few moments of “free time”: he could have continued healing the sick, he could have continued calling the masses to faith and repentance, he could have even continued pleading with the Pharisees to turn from their religion and embrace Him as the Messiah. But he doesn’t do any of those things.
Instead, Jesus invests the fading moments of his existence with 11 (Judas has departed) half-hearted disciples – whom he knows will soon abandon him in his greatest time of need. He gives them a symbol of his purifying blood by washing their feet. He models for them a life of service and love. He teaches them how to abide in him.
All of this shows us that if we want to make disciples of Jesus, we must invest our time and lives in a similar fashion. We must be willing to invite people into our lives when it is anything but convenient. We give away our time and experiences to others in order that they will grow in their faith in Christ and learn what it looks like to follow Jesus. We invest in others because he invested everything in us! (Philippians 2:3-11)
Imagining
One key concept that should not be overlooked in John 14-17 is Jesus’ expectation of what his disciples will become after he has departed. In other words, Jesus paints a picture for these disciples about the possibilities that are in store for them if they abide in him. He tells them they will receive the Holy Spirit (14:16, 26), they will be adopted into his family (14:18), they will be one with him and the father (14:20), they will bear fruit (15:5), they will experience true joy (15:11), persecution (15:18), and a deeper knowledge of the truth (16:12-13), just to name a few!
I believe the most overlooked aspect of teaching someone to abide in Christ is this work of “imagining” a different future for them. Life in Christ is blessed, full of joy, freedom, and satisfaction. Knowing and living in your identity in Christ is the work of discipleship, and this will always lead to re-creation and renewal in the life of a disciple. We must show others what this life can look like.
As you teach someone to abide in Christ, point to the great and glorious promises that Jesus gives to his disciples. Help them to imagine a different reality – one where King Jesus rules over them as the Servant King, extending grace upon grace to his followers. Help them to see how this affects their work, their relationships, their marriages, the future of their children, and the well-being of their neighborhood. Show them how a good and gracious God can wash the feet of sinners and rescue them from their own selfish ambition and self-hatred. Discipleship is giving them a new story, with a new plot, and a new Hero, so that they can see some alternative to the life they are currently living.
As we partner to make disciples at Living Hope, let us continue asking ourselves and others, “Are you abiding in Christ?”, and “Who are you teaching to abide in Christ?” In order to teach others what it means to abide, we must invite them into our lives, investing our time and experiences in them, and imagining a different future for them. I get excited thinking about how the Lord will continue to use these simple steps to make disciples at Living Hope.
Advent Season: Arrival
Advent, from the Latin, adventus, meaning ‘coming’ or ‘arrival’.
Today marks the beginning of the Advent Season; a season in the life of our faith wherein Christians around the world turn their hearts and minds and collective memories towards that first ‘arrival’. The first noel, the holy night when the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, dwelling first in swaddling clothes in a borrowed barn and later in grave linens in a borrowed tomb.
Advent prompts us to look back 2,000 years and to celebrate when God-in-flesh entered our world and ushered in the first fruits of a new Kingdom. But Advent also beckons us to look forward to the long awaited second Advent when our Christ King will return again and set all things right and new.
As we live in between these two advents – the one past and the one on its way – we carve out a holiday season whose purpose is to remind us to celebrate the new born King. Somewhere along the 2,000 year journey from there to here the holiday has gotten detoured – dramatically so at times – and we find ourselves arriving at December 25th exhausted and in debt wondering where the time went, rather than approaching the season worshipful, hopeful, peaceful and celebratory; surrounded with people we love and reminders that the world is changed because of Jesus of Bethlehem.
Over the years Living Hope has sought to celebrate the Advent Season in a way that most faithfully reflects our faith and that’s our aim this year as well. This year, we’ll made gifts with friends, we will celebrated, we’ll raised money and raised awareness about the plight of children without parents and families without water and we’ll reflected on the meaning of Christmas, celebrating the first Advent and anticipating the one to come. That’s the invitation, to Advent differently with us this year.
Small Steps
Several months ago Living Hope celebrated God’s work among the nations through our church. During that evening of Missions Celebration Sloan German shared with us how God had moved in her heart and propelled her to Kenya. In light of the upcoming trip to Kenya that is being organized by elder Alan May, I wanted to repost her comments from that night. I hope these comments are both an encouragement and a challenge to consider joining this team.
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My name is Sloan Germann and I am married to Luke. We have three girls ages 21, 19, and 15. Several years ago when our oldest was going through her middle school years, I began searching for a spiritual mentor for her: someone who could pour into her life, love on her, and encourage her in her walk with Christ. As a middle school teacher for 25 years, I knew that this person was not me. As I prayed for God to answer, a wise friend suggested that if I wanted God to provide a mentor for my daughter, I should be willing to be a mentor for a younger woman. I was stubborn and a slow learner. It took almost 18 months AND the loss of my job for me to obey the Lord. Fearing rejection, I approached four young women in our neighborhood, asking if they wanted to meet at our house on Friday mornings for Bible study. They all said yes!
What does this have to do with missions? What does this have to do with Kenya? I believe God used this small step of obedience, to prepare my heart for Kenya. There are 10-12 adults and over 60 orphan children at the Haven who desire someone to love on them, encourage them in their faith, and pour into their lives. It is my great joy and privilege to do so as often as I possibly can. If I can do it for 4 young Germantown moms, I can do it for our friends in Jua Kali, KENYA.
Through The Advent Conspiracy the last three years, sending school supplies, backpacks, clothing, crocs, and through the recent “Adopt An Orphan” drive conducted at Living Hope, many of you have been obedient to God’s call on your lives to invest in these precious believers in Kenya. Could God be calling you to even greater involvement in this ministry? Have you been tossing around in your head the idea of sponsoring a child at the Haven? Most of the children are NOT fully sponsored. If you feel the Lord leading you to sponsor a child, please contact Vicki Windam. If you are a mother with small children or a teenager, would you like to encourage an orphan by being a pen pal? All of the Kenyan children need to be able to communicate in English and pass a difficult national exam to qualify for high school. Writing letters and receiving letters in return would serve a great need.
Or maybe, just maybe, God is calling you to go. Alan May takes 2-4 trips a year to Kenya. Do you need to participate by going? A trip like this may be what you need to discover your own gifts and passions as you taste the joy and feel the excitement of serving the Lord half a world away. Developing relationships with our Kenyan brothers and sisters impacts us at the deepest level, at the very core of our being. Not only do we see what God is doing through His people, but we learn and bring it into who we are as a community of faith. We are challenged and changed by the Gospel in very real ways. We forgo comfort temporarily in order to glorify and honor Him and to make Him known.
I don’t speak Swahili; therefore I am grateful that our Kenyan friends speak English. But even if they didn’t, we can communicate the Gospel by loving each other well. Thankfully, in spite of our differences culturally, monetarily, and racially, we have a lot of common ground. We struggle with the same sin, and are in need of the Savior’s grace, love, and mercy. My question for Living Hope Church is: are we doing ALL we can as individuals and as a body to partner with The Haven? Are we loving them well? Currently, there is a trip scheduled for December. If God is nudging you to go, please see Alan May. If not, could you provide support so that someone else can go? God loves our Kenyan friends and I am confident that He will continue to provide for them. How wonderful that He allows us to be eyewitnesses and a small part of His marvelous work! To Him be the glory!
Remembering . . . the way to the future (part 2)
In my previous blog I discussed the importance of remembering all God has done for and through our body as we prepare to move to Piperton. We looked at Moses’ farewell speech to the people of Israel in the book of Deuteronomy as they gathered to make the long awaited move into the promise land. Moses’ speech centered around “remembering” so that the nation of Israel did not repeat the sins of the past. I suggest that we remember for a different reason. I suggest we remember God faithfulness in order to dream a new dream for the children of Living Hope (even the eighteen yet to be born)!
A future that includes our children sharing the gospel with their friends on the playground or ball field. A future that includes the LH babies yet to be born serving as missionaries, pastors, elders, children’s teachers or being doctors, lawyers, city government workers, firemen, FedEx pilots doing their jobs with gospel intentionality. A future where you see our current preschoolers as men and women of God discipling their children and their neighbors – expanding the kingdom right were God has placed them. A future where orphans and widows in countries currently closed to the Gospel hear of Jesus because the teachers in Hope Park shared Him with a child in their class and that child as an adult takes the Gospel to them! A future where prayers being prayed today by people who have never heard of Living Hope or even Memphis, TN are answered by the sacrifice of one of our kids. A future where LH church plants throughout our city and even the world are led by the toddlers currently comforted in our classrooms each week. Do you see that future? Can you visualize it! I can! That what’s keeps me going. That dream – that future.
The book of Deuteronomy ends with Moses’ death, but it says something that intrigued me. Deuteronomy 34:6 says “. . . Moses was 120 years old when he died. His eye was undimmed, and his vigor unabated.” At 120 years old Moses was still going strong! How is that possible? How can you deal with two million bellyaching, God-ignoring, frustrating people for 40 years and still be going strong? I mean Moses was just like me and you. At one point Moses says to God, “if I have to continue dealing with these people . . . just kill now!”
So how did Moses do it? How did Moses die a man still full of life at 120 years old? My answer . . . Moses REMEMBERED! He remembered God had a plan to bless the nations through the Israelites and Moses remembered God allowed him to be a part of it!
What about you? Are you remembering God has a plan for the nations of the world and He wants you to be a part of it? Why don’t you join His plan by teaching the kids of LHC? Teach so the yet to be born children in Afghanistan, Uganda, Nicaragua can hear the Gospel. Teach so that one day the American church is stirred to revival through the words of a child at Living Hope. Teach the gospel to the children of LHC because only through the gospel being lived out for generations can Memphis be healed. Teach, because God has a plan and He allows you to be a part of impacting the nations by teaching the children of Living Hope. Do you see it? Do you see the vision?