Category Archives: World Missions

Current Events, World Missions

Political violence in Zimbabwe: A Vineyard Church Report

The South African Vineyard AVC published a first hand story of the Vineyard Churches in Zimbabwe are handling the political violence. It is a very touching report – and a great reminder of the struggles our brothers go through everyday. You can read the full report here – some highlights are listed below.

Note: all highlights are quotes from the South African Vineyard AVC website

  • It is so unreal—or surreal! Everything looks “normal” on the surface: people walking around, cars on the roads, the city is busy, the meals we ate were excellent, no sign of police or military all over, the suburban houses look peaceful and beautiful with their big trees, gardens and flowers (we received amazing hospitality from our hosts). But talking to the people, living in their homes and visiting a supermarket, reveals the total abnormality of the situation. Zimbabwe is in deep crisis, in political genocide (contrary to the shameful denials of Thabo Mbeki).
  • Douglas had his hands tied behind his back with barbed wire; then they placed his hands on a rock and beat them with another rock till they were crushed. They forced him to have sex with two women in front of his pregnant wife. After we prayed for him, he asked for a pair of shoes, as his only pair was taken from him in the beating.[@more@]
  • We were deeply moved, humbled, challenged and spiritually inspired by these three farmers and leaders in the Chegutu Vineyard. They were radiant, despite their bodies being black and blue from the beatings. Ben’s face literally glowed with joy as he spoke—with a tennis ball size lump above his left eye! He has a 11 cm crack in his skull from the beatings, yet he remained conscious and clear thinking throughout the 8 hour trauma…. They had no fear, no hatred of the perpetrators. Instead they prayed aloud and blessed them in Jesus name. It is clear to us (we questioned them) that God has honoured their faith in obeying what they believe was God’s leading step by step to resist the evil of injustice. God has, and will, vindicate them.
  • The leaders shared where they and their congregations were at. All are in survival mode, adapting to the deteriorating situation as best as they know how, as God guides and helps them. Pastoring and leading people in such an abnormal situation is very challenging—they are courageous, faithfully serving God and his people in trying times, while keeping their own families afloat. We prayed for each of them with the laying on of hands, speaking wisdom, strength, stamina, blessing and anointing on them.
General, World Missions

A Promise Made In Paraguay

While in Paraguay I made a promise to a young lady to post her picture on my blog. Being a man of my word, I would like everyone to meet Y.  

Y, the world.


A bit about Y – she goes to the Paraguay Vineyard where she is part of the worship band (she has an amazing voice!!!).[@more@]

 

She also fluent in English which means I have to be careful in what I write. Tongue out  Oh wait… did I just write that?  Sigh…

What this post needs is another picture…something safe… like a tree… yeah, you all need a tree.

tree

General, World Missions

24.5 Hours And Counting

That is the number of hours we have been home (and by home, I mean the time we arrived at our abode in mountains). It has been a crazy 24.5 hours – some of the highlights include:

  • Preaching Sunday night at the Sweet Vineyard (note that this wasn’t that bad as it was mostly a review of the trip with some cool “life” lessons thrown in)
  • Watching “Finding Neverland” (this was our “crash-and-veg-out” item)
  • Going to work and facing all 300+ emails waiting to be answered
  • Reviewing the basement (it is amazing!!!!!  If you remembered, we hired out the finial phase of the basement as it was getting to be too much for us…the result is simply breath taking!!  Don’t worry, I will try to get pictures soon) Surprised
  • Hiring a plumber to install the bathroom toilet and sink
  • Drinking a cup of Vanilla Moon Tea (just a simple brew as I was unable to go to the coffee shop today…)
  • Found out that one of my favorite coffee shops is closing (not the chai tea one, the gaming one). Much sadness Frown

Wow! Just writing that list made me tired…  sigh…. And I still have to go to the men’s Bible study tonight (yes – I have to go. This is where the Kingdom is advanced – besides, if I didn’t go, I would get a TON of flack from ALL the guys in the church!)  Tongue out

Now, if only I could stop coughing up crap… double sigh.  Beware of South American flu virus – they are different from their North American cousins. Frown

World Missions

Back in the U.S.A.

We made it safely to L.A. after spending six hours wandering around Buenos Aires. Right now we are with E's sister – with whom we will be hanging out with until tomorrow morning when we fly back to Boise.

It's been a long trip – but a really, really good one. Laughing   The sad part is that I have to go back to work on Monday…. Frown   Such is life.

Anyway, thank you all for your prayers – they were a HUGE blessing!!!  We saw God do some amazing things – lifes were touched, including ours! Now we have to progess everything and write an update letter. Smile  Hopefully we will find time to do this fairly shortly…. of course, it may be a while as E has VBS coming up in a week (no time for breaks – hit the ground running). We will see. 

Thanks again for all your prayers and support. God bless. Laughing

World Missions

More Pictures From South America

As promised, here are some more pictures from Paraguay. But before the pics, a quick update.  Laughing

The retreat this weeked was amazing!!!  There was 60 adults plus a ton of kids there – the entire Vineyard Church plus some folks from other churchs. Some people gave their lives to God; others were healed of physical pains; still others received healing for emotional pain; and then there was those who gained confidence that God can use them to pray for others. 

From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it. (Matthew 11:12)

Now for the photos. Laughing

 
It was an honor to be the main speaker at the church retreat this past weekend. We had six sessions – J from Chile preached the first one (he also was our translator – ie. he's the guy on the right), I taught the next two, D&S taught the third one; then on Sunday, I taught the next two. [@more@]
 
 Here is E and J teaching the children on Thursday afternoon. There were a TON of kids – not all of them are pictured.
 
I must admit, we didn't spend the entire time preaching and teaching… Undecided  On Tuesday we went to the national Expo or fair. Here is E with the pastor's wife and daughter. 
 
 
At the Expo I saw coolest motorcycle – it was truck/bike!!!  They took a 150 or 200cc dirt bike and connected it to a truck bed. If only I could get one of these in Idaho!!
 
World Missions

Paraguay – A Report From The Front Lines

God is good. I’m doing a TON better – in fact, I believe I’m over the cold / flu we picked up in Chile. My lungs are still a bit tight, but that’s because the pollution and air quality here.

E is also doing better – but she is not quite fully well yet. However, she has been sleeping better (she slept about ten hours last night with only one or two coughing fits – as compared to four or five). Please keep her health in your prayers as we have another week in Paraguay before returning to the States.

The “Bible Study” on Wednesday turned out to be more of a church service with about 20 or so folks coming. J, the Chilian Pastor on the team, preached that evening at our request. It was a God thing as the people really need to hear what God had given him.

Thursday afternoon, E led the team in a ministry to the children in the community. After the Chicken skit, she talked about how we try to do things in our own strength. While she did this, she poured some water into a glass jar with some baking soda in it. As you might guess, nothing really happened.[@more@]

She then took another jar with baking soda and poured in some white vinegar (which was the Holy Spirit). This time, the jar exploded with suds!!!  It was amazing demostration of what happens when we allow God to work through us indead of trying to do it all on our own.

I have some pictures, but I’m not going to be able to upload them until Sunday or Monday. Frown

After the talk, E tied ballon animals for all the kids. I even got into the action and learned how to make a dog, sword and a parrot. Smile

That evening was a pretty heavy as we discussed some of the issues that can harm or destory a marriage. D&S headed up this part and did a wonderful job. Some of the topics they talked about were the Jezabel Spirit (ie. a controlling wife) and Soul Bonds (ie. sexual relationships with someone who’s not your spouse). As you can see, these where not “light” subjects – but they were ones given to us by God to discuss (after all if the Church doesn’t talk about them, the World will!!).

At the end of the evening, J led us in a worship song and a time of prayer. It was an amazing evening full of God and His grace. God is so good. Laughing

Tonight we head out to another city about 40 miles away for a retreat. What’s amazing to me is that the ENTIRE church is going on this retreat!!!  

The main focus of this retreat is going to be teaching them how to pray for one another and bascially, walk in the Kingdom.  We are all praying and expecting God to show up in some amazing ways. God’s Spirit will be there and where He is, those who are sick get healed, those in bondage are set free and those with hurts are comfronted.  It is His Kingdom breaking in upon us today.

I will try to upload some pictures Sunday evening or Monday morning as well as give you all an update on the weekend. God bless.

On a personal note, I’m really, really, REALLY hoping for a dark night so I can see the Southern Cross (this is one of my “must do/see” list). Tongue out

World Missions

A Few Pictures From Chile

Here are a few pictures from our time in Chile last week. 

The first one is of E talking to a couple of ladies in the San Bernardo Vineyard Church. It was at a surprise birthday party for the gal with her back to the camara. Let me tell you – it was a TON of fun!!!  Laughing

The second picture if of me preaching in another church on Sunday in Providencia (another section of Santiago.)  We had the pleasure of coming back to this church on Wenesday with D&S preaching. They have such a huge heart. Smile[@more@]

 

One of the cool parts of the trip was that all the Chilean pastor's wives loved my wedding ring tatoo. They all wanted their husbands to get one as they either kept losing their rings or were allergic to them. The funny part is that none of the husbands like the idea!!!!  Tongue out

Prayer items:

  • E is speaking to some of the children teaches tomorrow. Please pray that God will give her words to say as we're not sure what they want or need.
  • We are supposed to share a bit in a home group on Wednesday.  Not sure what though… Need to hear God
  • Thursday is going to be a busy day as we first lead a children outreach (pray for E as she is leading this part) and then we meet with the married couples in the church (D&S are heading this up)
  • Friday evening we leave to go to another town for a retreat over the weekend. While there will be different things going on during this retreat, the biggest item is the prayer and healing training class. Please pray for me as I prepare for this weekend
  • While we are getting better, please contiune to pray for our health.

 

World Missions

Just Arrived in Paraguay

We just arrived in Paraguay today after a week in Chile. It has been amazing to see God work in the lives of people in the various churches in Chile (we visited five different churches within one week). We have also see God heal some people completely of different physical and emotional problems. He is awesome!!! =)

E and I caught a cold while in Chile (it is VERY cold there!), but we are getting over it. Hopefully we will recover over the next few days as we have some time to rest now that we are in Paraguay. D and S have so far kept from getting sick – however, D is starting to feel a little ill. =/  Other then that, we all are doing great.

We will be in Paraguay for the next two weeks. I will be checking my emails off and on during this time if anyone needs to reach us.

Blessings

World Missions

A quick report from Chile

We arrived safely with problems. We held the prayer training class Friday evening and Saturday afternoon with amazing results. We have had several people with injures before the meetings who were 100% healed afterwards – the cool part is that it´s not us praying for them. It is their church brethen who are praying!!

Another awesome event happened Saturday just before lunch. We were praying for D & S´s hosts as he had some health problems. God gave us a word of knowledge that there was something deeper and emotional. When we asked them about it, the couple just broke down! It was the right word at the right time. God showed up. Smile

Anyway, we are off this morning to preach in two different churches. Hopefully I will be able to write again soon.

 

Prayer Request

 

  • E's throat and head has been hurting since we landed in Chile. It may be because of the air pollution and smog…. we don't know.
  • while I'm getting better preaching through a translator, I'm still have problems as it's very hard. The worse part is trying to keep my focus and follow through on an idea or thought. =/  (I'm just glad that God uses cracked pots)