Three Weeks!

After three weeks in the 360 house, I am learning many lessons.

I am learning what it is like to live in a different culture.

I am learning what it is like to live in a big family.

I am learning that respect is learned and earned.

I am learning what it is like to sacrifice time for strangers.

PELILLO NEGRO, JOCOTAN CHIQUIMULA

God bless you everyone in Alabama, Praise The Lord we had a mission trip to one poor vilage, is almost 6 hours from Guatemala city, 5 hours on beautiful road, but 1 hour with bad road, we need to rent a 4 x 4 pick up truck.

The first picture is I gave de abide and Life blood to the pastor
Second are medical clinic, one doctor from my church and my family were attending 80 people.
3rd: God, you and I provide bibles for the new believers

I am very happy because my wife and my sons are missionaries, because was the first first mission trip, the name of that place is

PELILLO NEGRO, JOCOTAN CHIQUIMULA.

IMMER

Medicina & Balloons

1st picture Vicente is working with baloons for the children
2nd. one service, if you see no power right there, but they are very happy, they are mayans also, they speak Chortí
3rd. My wife is working int the pharmacy
4th. Our suite, in one hotel five stars right there
5th. The shampoo and soap that you gave, God provide for them, praise The Lord!!!
6th and 7th the houses and the paths, everything right there is mountain

Immer Saul Ramirez

A Mothers Love

Lisa:
Kristy and I have reflected on our time at your home Friday night and the one thing that made that night so special for both of us was watching Jerime curl up next to you on the couch. This was a picture that I would have not expected to see in only a few short weeks but because of Christ love in you Jerime has become very comfortable and feels loved in his new home. Thank you for showing us how to love the world.
Chad

God is Faithful

Rick and Lisa:

On my way out of town today I went by the post office and began to weap as I opened an envelope from the two of you. I don't know if you understand the meaning of the gift that you provided however it encouraged my faith tremendously. God has been very faithful to provide for this ministry. But during the past several weeks the donations have been very few and the expenses have been great. As long as donations were coming in I didn't doubt the provision of God that He is and will provide for the needs of this ministry however over the last few days as I looked at the flow of donations I have began to sinfully wonder in my mind how He was going to provide and even began to look at the budget and say are there any areas that we can save in, as if to say that my God is not capable of meeting our needs. However, when I arrived at the post office God slaps me upside the head with an absolutly unexpected envelope from you. I began to weap, not just because of the provision that He provided through you but primarily because of my sinfulness towards His faithfulness and because of your extreme sacrifice. The sacrifice that the two of you have made in investing in these four young men will change generations and the sacrificial giving that I opened today caused me to call out in repentance to my Father. I see your faithfulness to His word and I pray that my life will one day portray the same.

God help me to never take my eyes of off you and fall into the sinful trap of self reliance again.

I love you guys
Chad

Report to BOD

Rick's view to the Board of Directors after two weeks in the 360 house.

The dream that started 20 months ago is now a reality. The process of taking young men and transforming their lives into disciples has begun. Matt 28:19-20 is being lived out and I will testify to you this morning - He is with US! Matt 20:26-28 is being lived out as we are modeling servant hood to each other. Colossians 3:11-17 is evident in the fact God has chosen 2 Sudanese, 2 African Americans, a wonderful women and one redneck and brought them together to clothe themselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. To bear with each other and forgive grievances against one another. To put on love and let the peace of Christ rule in our hearts. To be thankful and let the word of Christ dwell in us, teaching and admonishing one another with wisdom and sing with gratitude in our hearts to God. Doing everything in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We are living Psalms 78 by showing the praises of the Lord to all generations so they might set their hope in God and not forget the works He has done, but keep His commandments.

I want to share with you this morning some of the ways these foundational words of God are being fulfilled. We have set some of our teachers and mentors in place. Derrick coming on Wednesday afternoon to teach theology. Bill Nelson is coming spending time with the guys working on their speech & pronunciation. September the guys will begin classes on How to Study the Bible with Bart Box. The highlights of their first two weeks was the team building exercises they participated in with Chad. They commented on how they had to depend on one another and how they had to trust each other. I can tell you as a spectator, these 4 guys grew closer that afternoon. Since then you can see a bond among them that was not there before. Weekly assignments and responsibilities have gone good, but we do have some challenges. We have the normal situations of trying to beat the system. This is to be expected, but we have confidence as time goes on good habits will be developed. (After 28 years of marriage, my wife will tell you I still do not get my weekly assignments right). Each week we have one cook, one dishwasher and one trash man. One is placed in the bullpen but he is asked to blog the events of the week on the 360 Website. We had our first big house cleaning yesterday. I believe the guys went to bed early last night. The priceless moment of the day was the finding of a sandwich wrapped in a napkin under the sofa cushion. As Bullen would say, "What in the world is going on!".

A Glimpse

by the Elders of Green Lawn Church of Christ
For the last 8 years I, along with Robby Rhodes and Charles McGowan from the Green Lawn congregation have traveled to a prison every third Sunday to conduct bible studies, worship, visits and encourage the inmates who have become followers of Jesus Christ. The numbers are growing and we have been very encouraged with the work. However yesterday, we got a taste of what I believe is the future of Christianity in America. Just before our assembly began about 15 inmates who have never been to our assembly showed up and asked if they could join us in our worship. Our Christian brothers welcomed them. As one of our brothers (who is an inmate) began the assembly several in the group, (who were Muslim) began to openly and rudely interrupt the assembly by asking questions and challenging the young Christian man who was trying to start the assembly by reading scripture. It became very apparent that these visitors did not come to listen but to interrupt and indoctrinate. They were starting to become belligerent and finally I stood up and told them that this was a Christian assembly for the purpose of worshipping the Creator of the Universe, and His Son, and that they were free to stay, learn and observe, but that it was neither the time nor place for such a public debate. This seemed to calm them down only for the moment. The guard who was outside the room heard their shouting, stepped in and ordered the men to be quiet or leave. Later Robby Rhodes had to again address the Muslims because of their constant interruptions of the assembly. Later, when our brothers in Christ began passing the plates for the Lord's Supper, the leader of the radical group grabbed a plate of bread, dumped it in his lap and told the whole assembly to 'Eat this.' At that point some of the Muslims came over to me and the other elders and started calling us Satan worshippers, white pigs and evil. They vowed to stop our preaching and teaching of Jesus. I thought, 'How blessed we were to be verbally attacked because of the Name of Jesus. Remember it was Jesus who said, 'Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.' (Matthew 5:11, 12). I believe that If it were not for the presence of the guard it would have become very violent, and possibly deadly. It will not surprise me
that our continued visits will eventually lead to our being attacked and harmed. Our guard was a female about the age of 50, and it is my firm belief that if those men had wanted to, they could have harmed or even killed us yesterday before she could have received the help needed to squelch the attacks. It is my conviction that yesterday was a glimpse of the future for all Christians in America. I also believe that any faith that is not deeply rooted in Jesus will not survive the future when the attacks come. Maybe this is God's way of getting our minds back on the important things in the kingdom of His Dear Son. I have also concluded that we must pray for those who have been too deceived by a man named Mohammed. I ask for prayers for me, not necessarily for safety, but for boldness, wisdom and courage to continue preaching and teaching the gospel of Jesus Christ and Him crucified and the kingdom of Heaven. All Praise and Glory to God.

Great Poor

The Greatest Poverty

Excerpt from the book:
Hope Lives~A Journey of Restoration
by Amber Van Schooneveld

“I shudder to think that when talking about poverty and my role in reaching out to others, I might sound arrogant, like some imperialist who, in my presumed superiority, condescends to help those “poor, poor souls.”

That’s hardly the case. I may not be doing much better than those in poverty myself. I’ve seen poor people worship, and they’ve definitely got me beat there. The poor thirst for God more than I do. They call out to Him more than I do. Sometimes I suspect they love Him more than I do. My faith seems cold and stiff next to theirs. No, I’m certainly not some kind of superior benefactor.

I, too, am embroiled in a battle. All of us are. For while there is a poverty of too little, there is also a poverty of too much. Satan can squash souls by making them believe they are insignificant and alone. But Satan can also entwine and imprison my soul in the poverty of too much.

I don't always feel rich, but I am. And riches are an equally potent, if not more potent, weapon to ensnare a soul. The poverty of too much can freeze my heart. It can deaden compassion. It can paralyze hands. Mother Teresa saw an awful lot of poverty—horrible poverty—and still decided this was the greatest poverty: “to decide that a child must die so that you may live as you wish.”

I am in the greatest poverty, a poverty of my soul, when I eat my fill and lounge on my couch, while thinking only fleetingly of others not as materially blessed as I have been. My poverty is real when my love is deadened, medicated, frozen by too much. And my soul is maybe in even more danger than those in the poverty of too little.

I am no great emissary kindly bringing restoration to those people. No. I am simply a fellow human, given a different responsibility and role to play on this earth. God placed me where I am, and He placed others where they are. The goal isn't for others to become like me, a wealthy American. The goal is simply for everyone to have enough. Those in poverty need enough—enough food each day, enough clean water to lead a healthy life, enough dignity to be the masterpiece God created them to be. And for me, straying closer to the poverty of too much, I need to move further back toward enough, to use what I have been given to help lift others toward enough, to use my resources to love as Jesus loved.”

The Wooden Bowl

The Wooden Bowl
I guarantee you will remember the tale of the Wooden Bowl tomorrow, a week from now, a month from now,
a year from now.

A frail old man went to live with his son, daughter-in-law, and four-year-old grandson.
The old man's hands trembled, his eyesight was blurred, and his step faltered
The family ate together at the table. But the elderly grandfather's shaky hands and
failing sight made eating difficult. Peas rolled off his spoon onto the floor.
When he grasped the glass, milk spilled on the tablecloth.
The son and daughter-in-law became irritated with the mess.
'We must do something about father,' said the son.
'I've had enough of his spilled milk, noisy eating, and food on the floor.'
So the husband and wife set a small table in the corner.
There, Grandfather ate alone while the rest of the family enjoyed dinner.
Since Grandfather had broken a dish or two, his food was served in a wooden bowl.
When the family glanced in Grandfather's direction, sometimes he had a tear in his eye as he sat alone.
Still, the only words the couple had for him were sharp admonitions when he dropped a fork or spilled food.
The four-year-old watched it all in silence.
One evening before supper, the father noticed his son playing with wood scraps on the floor.
He asked the child sweetly, 'What are you making?' Just as sweetly, the boy responded,
'Oh, I am making a little bowl for you and Mama to eat your food in when I grow up.
' The four-year-old smiled and went back to work.
The words so struck the parents so that they were speechless. Then tears started to stream down their cheeks. Though no word was spoken, both knew what must be done.
That evening the husband took Grandfather's hand and gently led him back to the family table.
For the remainder of his days he ate every meal with the family. And for some reason,
neither husband nor wife seemed to care any longer when a fork was dropped, milk spilled, or the tablecloth soiled.
Every day, you should reach out and touch someone.

Scatter Christ

Acts of Random Kindness