Friends and Weird Stuff

My friend Les, and his new bride, Rita, will be at our house tonight. They are from Salmon Arm, BC. I met Les at a College and Career Group in Salmon Arm when I was 19 years old. I haven't seen Les in about 10 years, but what happened to me today could not have happened without Les having something to do with it. I am not saying that Les did this, because that would be impossible, all I am saying is because Les is coming, I shouldn't have been surprised that this happened today.

Before I tell you what happened to me today, I need to give you a history of Les and myself.

Les and I are avid outdoors men. We are not hunters, but we love being out in the woods, or at the river and also hiking mountains together. My first summer back from Briercrest Bible College, Les and I went hiking Mount Rose Swanson outside of Armstrong, BC. This was a small hike, we could be up and down in about 4 hours. At that time I had a girlfriend back in Saskatchewan named Judy who I went to Bible College with. The purpose of this hike was to get to the top of the mountain and take a photo of the town of Armstrong for Judy.

We just started our hike when I saw a fresh pile of bear dung. I told Les to hold up, because I wanted to take this photo of fresh bear dung for my girlfriend back in Saskatchewan. I know - I'm a hopeless romantic that knows how to get the women, but somehow Les talked me out of taking a picture of bear dung that was hot off the press.

As we continued our hike, we got about three quarters of the way up the mountain when I heard a flock of partridge flying out of some trees. We must have spooked them somehow. I turned around to see Les running like a madman down the mountain. I yelled to him, "Where are you going? They were just partridge!" He yelled back, "IT'S A BEAR!!" I looked up and saw that Les was speaking the truth. What I thought was partridge was actually a bear ripping a tree out of the ground so it could get some good insects. I wasn't about to ask the bear to step out of the way because I realized that my life was in danger and all I really had to do was run faster than Les.

There was this other time that all of us as a college and career group decided to go tubing down the river. This was in August when our rivers in Canada have some sort of warmth to them. Les and I had a blast power swimming with the current, relaxing on tubes and having the time of our lives. Well, we got to the pick up point of the river where the other vehicles were waiting to pick us up and I saw this a little too late. Les got out in time, but I was having to really power swim up current, and I wasn't making good progress, the current started to pull me down. Just then a stronger swimmer from our group rescued me.

Today, I was doing some final surveying for our block party on Saturday, but before I went to the park, I thought it would be good to go and get a nice cold Ice Cap from Tim Horton's. As I was sipping my wonderful drink of decadence, I was walking the paved hiking path from Maple Avenue to Strathcona Island Park. I was on the path behind the Arena when I heard the scariest sound I have ever heard, and that was the shake of a rattle on a coiled up rattle snake.

I don't know what it is with Les and I and near death experiences, but it will be good to see my friend again. Bears and Rivers and Snakes, Oh My!

I'll Fly Away

Last week we bought a nice gazebo that we have been eying at Superstore and it finally came down to a price that was too hard to refuse. We were able to buy the 10x10 gazebo and 2 36" glass patio tables for about $175. We have enjoyed our gazebo and it has been a place for me to work when the kids get too rowdy and a place where Leigh and I could go after the kids went to bed, just for us to have some time alone.

Well, as we were distributing our block party invitations today it got a little windy. We came home after walking through the neighbourhood for about 3 hours and had a nap. When I woke up I saw our beloved gazebo on the other side of the back yard. It looked like it put up a noble fight, but alas, it breathed its last. I had the unbearable duty of dismantling our new bought friend and realizing that it was mangled beyond recognition. I don't think it is a coincidence that I am preaching on storing up treasures in heaven and not on earth where moth and rust destroy. Good bye our beloved gazebo.

Awesome Wrap Up

What a time we had yesterday at Stampede! The relationships we started to build on Wednesday came to a blossom on Saturday. Our Mission Team from Illinois became great friends with a family that doesn't go to church. These people go down to Illinois once per year, so they swapped mailing addresses and phone numbers. The police department and I have a great relationship now and one of the officers that goes to all of the schools told me that he would definitely be calling me. Another cool thing that happened was our last mission team from Louisiana invited a police officer to our block party. He couldn't make it because he had to work, but he became one of the police officers that became really good friends with us.

Yesterday I was able to have four spiritual conversations with the people we built trust with, and it is always good when they are the ones that initiate it.

Everybody in the office, the GM and the President thanked us for what we did and also told us that we did an excellent job and all of the volunteers are raving about us. We ended up serving about 400 people throughout Stampede.

God Things At The Stampede

Today was our second day working at Stampede and God is doing some cool things. We have befriended 6 police officers in the past two days and we were able to get a group picture. Later on Pastor Davy and I were handing out water bottles to the ATB girls at the information center and they asked us if we knew if there was a child find center at Stampede. We didn't know so we went and asked our police friends and they said there would be one next year and asked us if we would run it. Wow! Talk about building trust relationships.

The Vice President of the Stampede came by tonight about 10 minutes before we closed up shop and asked our mission team from IL if they were going to come back next year. This is huge! We are first time volunteers and God is letting us build these trust relationships.

We saw Addy today. Addy is a friend of ours that I first met at Spectrum, then again at Canada Day and today she gave me a big huge hug. She told me that she is working Alberta Summer Games and I asked if I could join her. She is ecstatic, so in 2 weeks I get to work with Addy again.

God is doing some cool stuff right now.

Cool Things At Stampede

Our mission team from Anna, IL is here and we are working Stampede this week. Actually, we have the honour of serving over 100 volunteers at the Stampede. We are running a pilot project which is a volunteer lounge where they can come in, cool down and get something to drink.

Well yesterday I had 2 newspaper interviews not only about the lounge, but also about the church! These reporters heard the accents of our friends from IL and asked if they are the same group that comes up from GA each year! (My friends in GA, you don't know the impact you have made in this community.)

I let them know that they are a different group connected through the same denomination helping out the same way in Medicine Hat. They asked me more about the church and one of the reporters said that he didn't believe in organized religion but for some reason he ends up getting all the religious stories. I told him that was God trying to get his attention.

Since this is the first year for the lounge, not many people have been in yet since they don't know about it, but we have had 9 police officers come in for drinks, and about 10 other volunteers. I know that it doesn't sound like a lot, but all of them were placed there by God and we can see exactly how unchurched they are.

We had one lady named Barb who asked after she saw the mission T-Shirts from our team in IL, "Is your church new because it is Baptist?" She was about 45 years old and no clue about church. She is a very sweet woman, but totally unchurched and that is what we are finding her in The Hat. We have a lot of Church buildings, but a huge population of unchurched people that are wondering why people with Southern Accents are coming to Medicine Hat. Please continue to pray for more of these God moments.

Humbling

I know me. I know that I have messed up a lot in my life and I know that I am far from perfection. I also know that I serve a God who knows me better than I know myself and still chooses to use me. That is grace, as a matter of fact, that is amazing grace.

I am preaching my way through the Sermon on the Mount in a 10 week series I have titled The Laws of the Kingdom. I never thought that God would use me in this way - as temporary pulpit supply for a church in a different Baptist Denomination than my own in order to bring about a spiritual renewal in a lethargic church.
This past Sunday the worship team did an amazing job in leading the people of Christ into worship. It was the first time since we started attending the church in February that I have seen the whole congregation sing and not just mouth words.

I am trying to be very careful now especially as I write this because I am terrified of touching God's glory, and by no means am I trying to share His glory, I am just His servant whom He is using right now. I have had many people talk with me over the past month on how God has been using the sermons I have been preaching to change their lives. 2 weeks ago I preached on MT 5:17-48 and called it the Law of Relationships and it was about how God wants Christians to do relationships His way. After that I had some people ask where they could get a copy of the sermon. Then this past Sunday I had a lady come up to me after the service and tell me what the sermons I was preaching was doing to her life. She quit her job because she was not able to honor Christ there since they wanted her to continue to lie. On top of that, her and her husband are letting a needy family move in with them because they know that is what a Christian will do. The funny thing is I never told people to quit their jobs or let needy people in, this is the work of the Holy Spirit.

Leigh worked VBS at the same church last week and what happened there could not have been a coincidence. If you have been reading the blog for a while you may remember the prayer cards that I had made up. Well, Leigh was working with the boss of the lady who I gave my first prayer card to. I met her in February at a stationary store that she works at and did not know that she goes to Temple Baptist Church where I am doing pulpit supply. Well the boss told Leigh that her life has changed dramatically since I came in and prayed with her.

On top of that I just got word that we are about to get a large sum of money from NAMB for church start-up costs which is a huge blessing also. It will help us pay for our first 6 months rent, get a new sound system, a new Apple Laptop computer, a keyboard and an electronic drum set.

I never knew when we said yes to God over one year ago that He had all of this planned for us. It is so true that you will never know what God has in store for you until you step out in faith; it is only after you step out in faith that God starts supplying.

Gators, Chili, and Spiritual Conversations

A friend of mine who runs the downtown core for Medicine Hat contacted me a couple of weeks ago and asked me if I would help him with the chili cook off. It would be my job to hire 10 people to help setup, operate, and clean up the chili cook off where there were 4 city blocks closed in the downtown core.

I did what he asked and he was ecstatic, and it was my job to help supervise everything downtown and I got to use a brand new John Deere Gator to drive around the downtown core in. That was fun.

My friend later was talking to me about more spiritual stuff, he is not yet a believer but is definitely seeking a deeper spirituality, he just doesn't understand yet that the deepest spirituality one can experience is in Jesus Christ.

God Moment Today?

Since we have been here in The Hat we have started 3 Bible Studies and all three have collapsed. After reviewing everything we were doing we noticed that all three Bible Studies included people from the the same demographic - they were all in poverty, all uneducated (less than grade 12 education), and all living off the government.

Today I was praying while Leigh took the boys to VBS at Temple Baptist Church and was asking God to start building HIS Church because I don't know what to do anymore. Later this afternoon I told Leigh that I think we should take the kids to the park and on the way to the park I asked her if she thought that we should gear our ministry towards families with special needs children.

Here's my reasoning for this:
1. In NAMB's On Mission journal/magazine last quarter it showed that families with special needs children are the biggest unreached people group in North America today

2. We have 2 special needs children

3. Leigh has made friends with one of Riley's schoolmate's mother who is not a believer and she was asking what VBS was all about. Her son is autistic and is Riley's best friend and may end up going to VBS this week.

Leigh thought that was the way to go also.

At the park there were 4 people. 2 Adult ladies and 2 teenagers with special needs. The two ladies were talking and I didn't want to interrupt them, and then I heard them call to the two boys that it was time to go meet up with the others. That's when I flagged them down and asked if they worked with these special needs children or if they were their own. Both of them are their own and one of the ladies is also a worker. One of them is a Believer and goes to Hillcrest church here in Medicine Hat. We talked for about 10 minutes and they told us all about the different programs and support groups available. As a matter of fact they invited our family to the ball game tonight, they have 4 extra tickets!

We hit it off pretty well and they meet at the Tim Horton's by my house everyday around 4:00 pm, and every Monday night at Kin Coulee park during the summer.

Reading this right off the bat - it seems to me that God is in this, but I have thought that before and seen it collapse. Will you please be in prayer with us over this matter.

Fishing

My brother came down from Calgary on Friday night and I took Saturday off of work. Last night I realized that I worked 13 days straight and boy am I feeling it now. So I thought it would be good yesterday to take my kid brother fishing in the South Saskatchewan River. We walked from my house to the river at 6:30 am and by 6:40 we had our lines in the water and by 6:50 I already landed 3 fish, one gold eye, and 2 walleyes. The gold eye was too small to keep, but we brought the two walleyes home and filleted those bad boys and fried them up, they were pretty good. We went back later that morning and he caught another walleye. I'm going to cast my line in the river later tonight and see if I can get anymore, I'm really hoping to catch a sturgeon; it's against the law to keep them, but the small ones are 3 feet long and the South Saskatchewan has about 10,000 of them.

Chili Cookoff

I have a friend who is organizing the Chili Cook Off for Medicine Hat and it looks like it is going to be the biggest one they have ever seen. He has asked me if our church would come and volunteer for Chili Cook Off! It seems our vision is getting out in the community and people who do not go to church, and organizations who are not necessarily Christian are inviting the Church to take part in the Community! This is such an honor to know that we are respected and trusted among the people of our community!

Excellent Turnout

Our block party couldn't have gone better! We had about 100 people show up and people were surprised that we weren't charging for any of the food or drink, they even asked where the donation box was and we had to tell them that this was a free gift to them, and it blew their minds. Throughout the whole block party we met 5 people who are interested in Pathway, one lady and her 2 children that live down the road from us have the same vision for church planting, but she goes to another church here in town that does some great work, but she also wants to partner with us. There were 4 other pre-believers that are at the curiosity stage with Jesus right now and are thinking about coming to Bible Study.

Our mission team was such a blessing today. They let me mingle and meet the people in our community while they served them. They are true missionaries at heart and we know that God is going to bless their work here in Medicine Hat. Many of the ladies have built relationships already with some of the locals and I know it is going to be hard for them when they go back to Louisiana.

There were about 100 people who showed up for the block party at Strathcona Island Park today and many of them came because of the invitations we left in the mail box. The cool thing about that was that all of them were looking for Jason because he had his name as the contact person on the invitations. So now there are about 100 people in our community that know about this church plant and know who we are and can contact us when they need help. Also when they see us on the street, they will be able to talk to us because that is very much how our community is - people just chew the fat with each other and that is part of our community's identity. I love it. Thank you FBC Sulphur for sending your missionaries up to us, and thank you Jesus for helping us love on this community that you love so dearly.

Big Day Today

I am writing this post at 8:00 am Sunday Morning. Today is going to be a busy day. I start off by preaching at Temple Baptist at 10:00 am, and then at 1:00 pm we start hosting our block party. We have got hot dogs, hamburgers, chips, pop, water and sno-cones to give out to people. We also have door prizes too. In the last 3 days we have had over 340 hits on our website 4 phone calls and 2 people on the street tell us that they are coming and bringing people. This is my very first block party and I hope it turns out to be a great success. I gave our mission team the day off yesterday, I have been working them a little too hard and I need them to be totally recuperated for today's block party. Today's block party is going to happen at Strathcona Island park where they have a place where we can cook, 2 play grounds and a water playground. It is a very well known park and many people come and visit. It is also on the Trans Canada trail, so in the 3 hours of our block party we will have about 50-100 people also walk past the park.

In another week and a half we have our last mission team coming from Anna, Illinois. Please pray for them, their names are Davy Miller, Beth Perry, Dexter and Susan Rhodes. Please continue to pray for our mission team from Sulphur, LA, I can see that God is using them greatly here in Medicine Hat.

Busy Day

What a day today was! The mission team and I start our day off at Tim Horton's in the morning and have a coffee and a breakfast sandwich. Leigh and the boys, plus James, Jim, Adena, and Linda went and handed out 500 more fliers today to invite people to the block party. So far, I have got 3 phone calls and 168 hits on the website in the last 2 days regarding the block party.

While they were stuffing mail boxes I took Janet and Debra to Lethbridge which is 2 hours away, but with the road construction it made it almost 3 hours. We had to pick up an ice crushing machine for our snow cones. It was cool coming on the way back because they got to see some buffalo for the first time.

After we got back from Lethbridge, the mission team and I went to Elk Water in Cypress Hills because there is no church there at all. They have some church camps, but no church. I got to hear the history of Elk Water also. It was a native community at first, but not a reserve. Later some of the ranchers in the area like the area and moved in, and the province like the area also and turned the area of Cypress Hills into Canada's only interprovincial park. The rule for provincial parks is that you cannot build a town inside the park, but since the town was already established before it became a park, it could stay but with restrictions. They could not expand the town site at all, so the only new building that could happen is if you tore down your old house and put up a new one.

We prayer walked around Elk Water and saw some things that God could really do over there and we are excited about that, then I was able to talk with Linda for a while. She is to the point of tears right now as she views the lostness here in Canada. Her heart is broken over how many people don't know Jesus and really don't care to know Him and it is obvious that God is doing a mighty work in Linda right now.

Louisiana mission trip Day 1-2

Well our mission team from Sulphur Louisiana made it to Calgary safe and sound. Jason met them at the airport and they followed him to Medicine Hat. Yesterday they started their day out by going to Tim Hortons and talking to people then they helped take down the tents that Jason had helped set up on Monday at the Canada Day celebration. Last night they did some prayer walking the the neighbourhood that Jason and I live in. They are great people ( all our mission teams have been awesome servants of the Lord. While on the prayer walk Jason and James ( the leader for the Sulphur team) was asked to leave a house by a guy who I guess did not like them talking to his friends. We also enjoyed fellowship around our fire pit in our backyard

Today the team went to Tim Horton's again and had coffee.(Thanks team for bringing me back an ice cap) They are now out handing out postcards to people in the community for our Block party that we are having on Sunday. Please pray for our mission team as they pass out these postcards that we will be able to bless lots of people on Sunday. They will be blanketing about 500 houses in the community we live in and then we will hit another community with the postcards. Please check back tomorrow for an update on what happened the rest of today.

The Smell Remembers When

Years ago Trisha Yearwood came out with a song titled "The Song Remembers When" and she sang about when a certain song came on the radio how it took her memory back in time to a young love that she once had.

Today I walked to Tim Horton's from my house and had a coffee and a breakfast sandwich and as I walked back to my house I could smell a familiar scent that took me back in time to my childhood. I could smell the water from the river and the wildflowers mixed with the native grass and the sweet scent of clean prairie air. The aroma took me back to when I was young and life was simple during my summers at Pasqua Lake near Fort Qu'Appelle, Saskatchewan.

My grandparents owned a lake lot cottage half way down Pasqua Lake that they called Num - Ti- Jah, and every summer we would drive from Edmonton and spend a few weeks of the summer time frolicking in the lake, fishing, water skiing and making forts down in the coulée areas where the deer would nest for the night. The smell took me back to a time that I longed for all year long as a young boy, and eventually a teenager, and then a young adult. It is amazing how powerful aroma really is. It can make you happy, sad, or even angry. It can make your mind wander and think of good times past, or sad times that you never want to endure again. It is surprising how the smell remembers when.

The Apostle Paul talks about the power of aroma in 2 Corinthians 2:15-16. He says, "For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, to one a fragrance from death to death, to the other a fragrance from life to life."

When it comes to Jesus, the smell will always remember when. We will remember how bad life was before we met Jesus and how much better it is now, but for others, the smell of Jesus is not so great. The smell is the stench of death, and they are reminded of how badly they hate the one who paid their penalty to turn the wrath of God away from them. For one the smell is sweet, for the other, the smell is bitter, but the smell will always remember when.