Send

I try not to whine much, but my schedule has been pretty hairy lately.  So hairy, in fact, that I haven't had time to update this blog.  I'll be posting some updates in coming days about some of our recent activities.  For now I'll just mention that next week I'll be attending the Send North America Conference in Woodstock (Atlanta), Georgia.  It's mostly about church planting, which is something our church is keen on.  

It just so happens that my mother's birthday is next week as well, so this year I'll get to be with the familia on her special day.

A Word About Numbers

I just checked in with the team from San Antonio, and they told me that they had 54 kids at the trailer park last night.  That's pretty exciting, considering they started with zero!

Last night at VBS we had a total of 251, which is about 50 more than we had the first night.  I'm positively copacetic about that!

I have long thought (and often said) that we can't judge the value of something based on how many people are involved in it.  I still believe that.  But I confess to being excited when I consider that this week we are exposing hundreds of adults and children alike to the good news of Christ.  Will they all become Christ-followers?  I doubt it.  But we sow anyway, with the confidence that the Lord of the harvest will reap some of the seed to His glory.

The First Rule Of Mission Work: Flexibility

In addition to having VBS at our church, we are hosting a couple of old friends this week.  For the past several years a team from Criswell College in Dallas has come to the valley each summer to do some project or another.  This year they are working with James, our college minister, who is in the early stages of a church plant.  They'll be doing some street evangelism, apartment ministry, and so on. 

The other group we are hosting comes from San Antonio.  A group of students from University Baptist Church, led by Jim Williams, has been coming to the MOC/HMC for several years; we are happy to see them again this year.

This morning they were to begin their own VBS in a local trailer park.  They arrived at the apppointed time to find exactly 0 kids.  They decided to change gears a little, and do an evening VBS instead.  Well, I just got back from that site, and am happy to say that there were about 35 kids there, having a good time, and learning about Jesus.  Go figure.

The First Night

Last night was the first night of VBS.  The crowd was kinda thin when we started at 5:45, but the kids kept trickling in for an hour or so.  By night's end we had 204 people (this includes workers), which is more than we had last year on Sunday evening!

By the way, it's time to reveal the grand prize that I talked about on July 9th.  Kids are receiving a ticket for each night of attendance (plus another for each friend they bring).  A drawing will be held at the end of the week.  The winner gets................a free airplane ride!  (A friend of the ministry has a plane, and will be taking our winner on a flight around the valley).  Pretty neat, huh?

God Bless America

I received this letter today.  I tell you, it warmed my heart.

Hi,
     My name is Peggy D******.  I visited your church on June 10th, 2012..........We stayed at the Hendrick Missions Center..............I had such a good time and experience at the Missions Center that I want to support Mrs. Connie's work.  I am enclosing a check for $400; it is my first Social Security check.  I hope it will be the first of many to come your way.
     Mrs. Connie told me it only cost $400 to put in a complete bathroom, so I thought, why not send my S.S. check?  After all, it is the first one, so I won't be missing something I've never had.  I hope this will help a family in some way.


     Yours truly,
     Peggy D.

Amazing Wonders

A highlight of my summer when I was growing up was getting to attend Vacation Bible School.  I don't really know why I loved it, but love it I did.  Cookies and Koolaid always tasted best when served by little old ladies in the old fellowship building at my home church.

Now I'm bearing down hard on age 50, and I still like VBS.  It's a hard week, to be sure, but there's an energy that surrounds it that's just not there for much of the year.  We always get to meet new people, and the memories last for years to come.

VBS 2012 will begin Sunday at 5:45.  There's an aviation theme this year, so it should be a hoot.  I hope you can make it.  Bring a friend!  Bring two!

p.s. One lucky child is going to be very glad he attended VBS.  We have a prize to award this year, and it's pretty special.  More details soon!

The Summit

Last Monday and Tuesday I attended the __________ summit in the Dallas area.  The summit was a time for networking, learning, sharing, and celebrating with people who are working with the _____________ people in Southeast Asia.    It was at once uplifting and discouraging.  Uplifting, because of the good work that is going among these people, but discouraging, because there is just so much to do, and so few willing to do it.

Definitions vary from agency to agency, but an unreached people group is often defined as a population that is less than 2% evangelical.  They remain unreached, in large measure, because they are hard to get to.....physically, culturally, and religiously.  Thankfully, more and more believers are catching the vision for reaching them, and good work is being done.  But it's a drop in the bucket, and the bucket is very large indeed.