March / April 2008

Well... perhaps the fact that I never posted in March is an indicator of how crazy this Spring has been. Still, God is good.

The Short Version:

1. The Ligonier Conference was great
2. I "Walk[ed] for Life"
3. Hana's getaway
4. Preaching: round II
5. Africa!

And the long...
This year the theme of the Ligonier Conference was "Evangelism According to Jesus." Compared to last year (which was outstanding), this year was not as good. However, it was still a great experience. They gave RTS students free tickets about a week before the conference. I had already paid for my ticket, so I gave my ticket to my good friend (and fellow youth worker) Nathan. It was great having him there and we ended up having some really good conversations between the lectures.

On April 12, True Life Choice (teen crisis-pregnancy center) had their annual "Walk for Life." They invite people to walk around Orlando's beautiful Lake Eola in order to raise money for TLC. Their goal is to show unprepared and un-wed mothers-to-be that there are plenty of options other than abortion. It's amazing how many lives they have saved. Leone is a band I really like. Their singer (a 19-year-old, very talented musician and song writer) was almost aborted. He sings about it in a song called D&E. He says, "ok kill my baby...just don’t step on turtle eggs at the beach.... I'll take your life, so I can go on with mine." I know that if it weren't for the grace of our loving God, I wouldn't be so devastated by the number of abortions that take place in America every day. Especially since one is way too many. If you can stomach it... click here to see how many abortions (and suicides) are taking place right now. And people think humans are naturally good?

On a better note; Hana went down to Ft Meyers at the end of March with her friends from High School. They had a really good time! They stayed at her friend Kerry's parent's home and had a lot of lounging time at Sanibel Island and Ft Meyers Beach. Julie, her friend, is a runner and Hana joined her in a run each day. Also, things continue to go well for her at school. She likes her students more and more each day. We're hoping she'll be able to stay on for next school year. We'll see!

I was asked to preach at Hana's parents church on Sunday. Well, I was asked to do it a long time ago, but when they asked - they asked me to preach on Sunday. But I'm sure you figured that out without my help. Anyway... it went well. I wasn't quite as nervous this time. I preached on how repentance takes away the sorrow we feel over mistakes we've made in life. The coolest part was the fact that my brother-in-law (Jack) led worship. Maybe it was a taste of what's to come? Jack on guitar, me in the pulpit. Good times.

Finally, I would like to shout praises to the Lord for His faithfulness in bringing in the financial support I need for my trip to Africa with Global Church Advancement in June. For those of you that have partnered with us (in prayer or financially)... THANK YOU!! We're so grateful for your generosity and your desire to see the gospel proclaimed in west Africa.

Please pray for me! I have a rough month ahead of me. Papers, final exams, Mission trip planning (x2), youth group... it's going to be nuts. Pray that I will keep my eyes on Jesus and that I would not lose sight of the fact that my number one call in life is to be a good husband to Hana.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. (Romans 16:24 )

God bless,
MjR