Missionary stories filled with the heart of God. Please keep them in your prayers.
At first I thought I wasn’t in the danger zone but before long, I started getting alerts on my phone. My stress mounted as the pillar of smoke thickened and rose higher. With dry conditions and hot temperatures, it didn’t take a whole lot to get it started. Thank God there was almost noContinue reading August 2019
Blessed summer to you! I love the longer daylight hours, more time at home, hanging out with work crews at IBC, and interacting with students still living at IBC while they continue working. God has blessed me with opportunity to backpack twice recently. I also have two weeks off right now so am working feverishlyContinue reading July 2019
Thanks be to God for His blessings on IBC! Thank you to those of you who prayed for our many end-of-the-year events. First was the annual Spring Recital. All six piano and voice students did well.
The afternoon sun cast a warm glow through the classroom windows as the five of us interacted around the table. Whenever there was a lag in the discussion I interjected some new thoughts and allowed the students time to respond. Their ability to think and process improved noticeably over the course of the semester. IContinue reading May 2019
Thank you for your prayers for the students as they ministered both on the Navajo Reservation (Shonto area) and in Oklahoma and Texas. The two teams wearily pulled in to IBC on Friday. Many of the students are now home or elsewhere for some rest before resuming classes Monday, April 8. The photos give youContinue reading April 2019
The snow was great, but brought out a feeling of aloneness and helplessness that caught me off guard. Getting the car out of the driveway was a two-day process involving 5 hours of shoveling. But it also provided opportunity to connect with at least one neighbor, who gratefully took me out to dinner last SundayContinue reading March 2019
Thank you so much for your prayers. Spring semester is off to a good start. The Christ and Culture class has been amazing. I am privileged to work with four students from four different Native nations. They have been very thoughtful and appreciative of the opportunity to study what God’s Word says about what itContinue reading February 2019
I just spent some time reviewing my finances for the year and found that, including what I gave away, I had more income than I had expenses. That’s possible because of all your generous extra gifts! Praise God! Thank you so much for being a part of my life and ministry! Seriously. I must shareContinue reading January 2019
In May of this year, I completed 36 years of ministry among Native Americans, 27 of which have been at Indian Bible College. How grateful I am for the lifelong friends God has blessed me with both in Flagstaff and in New Mexico. Those I left behind when I came to teach at Indian BibleContinue reading December 2018
The San Carlos Apache Reservation is not the place a visitor might anticipate God would raise up a Godly leader for His glory. Butted up against the White Mountain Apache Reservation, east of Phoenix and south of Flagstaff, the San Carlos Apache Reservation instead might inspire a sense of despair. According to recent statistics, theContinue reading November 2018
The young woman stood quietly in the doorway to my office. Shyly she requested permission to interrupt my class work. “Certainly,” I responded, a bit surprised by her appeal. “How may I help you?” “Well,” she began hesitantly, “I have a problem with my presentation.” I encouraged her to continue. “You see, I said IContinue reading October 2018
Yesterday was our first “Thursday Lunch” of the semester. Johnny Glover provided the meal, driving several hours from Greasewood, Arizona, near Canyon De Chelly on the Navajo Reservation. Johnny is a missionary who cares more for the people around him than he does for his own needs. I’ve met several older single missionary men likeContinue reading September 2018
I was trying to not pay attention to the out-of-tune guitar being played a few feet away as I sat on my cot in the sanctuary of our host church in Pancho Villa, Chihuahua, Mexico. At the same time, I was thinking, “How might I be able to serve this young musician and this church?”
Sorry to be a few days late. It has been an interesting summer thus far. Praise God I was able to finish my class with Columbia International University. It was an exhausting, rewarding, fascinating class and I am grateful to have learned a significant amount of new information. May God us it in my lifeContinue reading July 2018
Reading through my class evaluations a few days ago I encountered one that came from a very angry student. I don’t know if it was just a bad day, but this student caught me completely off guard. If I were to believe what this person wrote, I might as well quit ministry right now.
What an amazing, gracious God we serve! I asked Him specifically to provide the full amount of cash needed to pay for the new property, and He did! Last Wednesday our business manager handed Pioneer Title Agency a check for the full amount we offered the Salvation Army: $675,000! Paid in full! I’m beginning toContinue reading May 2018
The room was darkened to help preserve a sense of security and anonymity, though every voice that spoke was known to the entire group present. This was a closed chapel, open only to a limited number of staff and to full-time students. In keeping with James 5:16, and in order to demonstrate the reality ofContinue reading April 1, 2018
Oh dear! I almost forgot to send you an update! We’ll keep this short!
Two students have dropped music lessons so I am down to 5 music students from the original 7. Personal Finance is going well, for the most part. Introduction to Missions is also going fairly well, as far as I can tell. Wade and I are making some progress in working on the Life Coaching program. We’ve decided to simplify overseeing the students this semester (only covering the basics and Wade and I overseeing all the underclassmen men and women) and reboot the entire program in the fall Lord willing.
Blessed New Year to you! May Jesus Christ be honored through our lives this year as never before, and may He choose to use us for His glory as we seek to serve Him with passion and zeal!
Tomorrow it is back to work. I’ll be preparing to teach Introduction to Missions again, team teaching Personal Finance, and teaching Voice, Piano, and Guitar to 7 students. I may also be working on putting together another Creative Ministry Methods class, but that still remains to be seen.
Music, they say, is the universal language. Unfortunately, it is only such in a very limited sense. Rhythmic patterns, scales, vocal production, what is considered desirable and beautiful, and instrumentation all vary widely from culture to culture.
Music transcends words. It is a language in its own right, but, more than that, an expression of emotion, the unique expression of a specific people. In a sense, music is the fleshing out of our innermost cries and longings. God is the inventor of music (see Job 38:7) and when we make music, we express our likeness to Him.
Fall seems particularly hesitant to settle in this year. I am thankful to be riding the bike to work still, though the darkness may soon be more of a problem than the cold.
Fall is in the air. The students and some of the IBC staff have returned from their annual Kick-off camp out. I haven’t heard reports yet of how that went since I’ve been enjoying time with my brother from Indiana. It’s quite unusual for a relative to visit, so I’m trying to show him as many of the thousands of “sights” that I can during the 3 days he is here.
“He was only 8 years old!” the student exclaimed incredulously in reference to the young boy’s gang-like saunter. The IBC student was sharing about some of the kids she worked with over the summer on her reservation. She told how one day when she was driving the van she used for picking up kids he requested that they stop for a beer and how he talked about his goal in life being to go to jail because that was “cool.” My heart broke to hear how desperately needy these kids were. The IBC student lamented not having training to work with such troubled youth and how she felt like a failure. But I saw her passion for their souls, her love and compassion for kids growing up with no adult role models that were worth emulating, and her ability to empathize because of her background.
Whew! Quick stats:
I drove a total of 8,980 miles this summer and made 50 visits (individual, church, or small group).
By the grace of God I am home safely and taking a little time off before school begins. I’ll be back full-time in the office starting next Tuesday and then leave for staff retreat on Wednesday. First full week will be August 14-18 and classes begin the 27th.
So, I forgot to include any prayer requests in that update last month. Sorry about that!
A brief summary of what I’ve been doing so far is:
I am feeling very blessed by all the gracious people along the way, especially the Kowalskis who continue to put up with me staying in their home, now going into the fourth week . . .