Had a different kind of experience while substituting today. The school had a lockdown drill. The folks my age will remember drills where there was a bomb attack and we got under our desks and waited for the fallout to roll our way. Today the drill is designed to prepare the students to face the rampaging shooters. The announcement came as each and every student quickly got under their desks. I turned out the lights and closed and locked the door and waited in the far corner. One student asked me if I was sure I locked the door. She let me know that if they murdered her it would be my fault. The kids were handled the drill very well. The door was tried from the outside with no luck. The kids got excited when they tried the door. I can only imagine the reality of an armed maniac outside the door. Times have changed.

My hope in Fred Thompson for President has ended (maybe by some miracle). I heard his speech given to the Orange County Republicans early on and felt like here was a guy who had thought through some of the real issues. I was very impressed with his internet video challenging the left wing movie maker who had made a film praising Cuba’s medical system. I thought I would be seeing many of these internet shots during the campaign but that was the only one I saw. For now I think we missed a golden opportunity to have some real political progress. So I am stuck with politics as usual and I am having a tough time getting excited. I am enjoying President Clinton showing his true colors for one and all to see. Compare that to Fred Thompson and I think you’ll know what I mean. Here is a good article summing up his campaign.  

I just finished a revival in Wickenburg. There is always something special in those visits. I carry a greater weight of responsibility when I preach there because these are the people that ministered to me when I first got saved and have invested in mine and Joan’s lives countless times over the years. Joan was able to join me there for two days after settling Audra into school at Las Vegas. I have been thinking and praying about the revival for a while. The last time I preached was in Guatemala. I knew God wanted to accomplish some things but I wasn’t sure exactly what. I remembered a prophecy given to the church when I was a young convert about the need to repent or lose their candlestick. I ended up preaching around that theme for one of the sermons.

I was also able to put down on paper a sermon idea about the images we allow ourselves to see on TV, movies and our computer screens. This may sound easy, but it actually is a difficult subject to broach. I felt like the sermon was perfect for the church. I finished with an older sermon about dignity and felt like the revival left the saints refreshed.

Mr. Perkins came up to me after the one sermon in which I had touched on internet porn with a revelation. He said the first use of computers was when Aaron told Moses that “he was just googling around and out popped the golden calf”. Very apropos.

Here is an interesting letter from Martin Luther King to an anti-Zionist friend. I am preaching in Wickenburg and am looking for God to move upon the church in a special way. I am going to preach from the admonition made to the church in Ephesus in the book of Revelation.

Pastor Campbell preached from Ex 4:1-10. There is a mentality that you must be aware of. It is a demonic strategy in which the will of God can become secondary. If we are not

careful the will of God is viewed casually. It is an impossibility to function in God’s Kingdom if you have cast aside the will of God.

Are you living in and doling the will of God? God is faithful to guide us. God has a plan for our lives. We are co-laborers with God. He has orchestrated life to bring us here tonight. Our glimpses into the possibilities of God are given to us according to our surrendering to the will of God.

Est 4:14 … who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?"

Mordecai believes that the providence of God has placed Esther in the position she is in. Can you grasp this? Moses in the basket is pushed out and picked up by the daughter of Pharaoh. He floated into the hands of God’s will. This ia also true in our lives. God will make his call real to you.

In Ex 2:11 Moses goes out and sees an Egyptian beating one of his brethren. The issue is he sees something. The companion scripture is: Acts 7:23 "Now when he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren, the children of Israel.” It came into his heart. Has that ever happened to you? The world is full of people that never see what God wants them to see because of carnality. Can you see beyond your own issues? In Mt. Jesus was moved when he saw the multitudes. What moves you? Does it have God’s name on it? We sit in the crosshairs of a world ravished by sin.

In Acts 7:24 we see Moses’ mistake. In his passion and God’s moving on him he takes the life of the Egyptian because he couldn’t restrain the flesh. We want to fulfill the call of God via technology and the arm of the flesh—and we leave out the Spirit of God. It will cost Moses 40 years. Talent is not enough. Are you harnessing the call of God with prayer, fasting and humility?

Acts 7:29 sees Moses choosing to flee. The Shunnamite woman refused to deal with Gehazi—she already knew what was in his heart. If you function in prideful selfish carnality you will leave behind dead saints. Moses is now fearful, intimidated, out of the will of God. Pharaoh, a type of the world, will always chase you. Moses allies himself with the Midianites. Midianite traders sold Joseph into slavery. In Numbers they link up with the Moabites to harass the Israelites. Moses as he misses God’s will is driven to a place of vulnerability. He marries Ziporah. She later fights Moses on covenant. When you miss God’s will and live in the flesh the devil always has a trap for you. It computes out in deadly consequences of life. “I do not hear from God anymore” the cry of a backslidden preacher.

The Rod.

He is arguing with God. God becomes angry with Moses. Haven’t you learned anything in 40 years? When you leave the will of God your authority (rod) will become a serpent and you will flee. You throw away everything and flee and others are affected. The other part of Mordecai’s appeal to Esther is that if she fails to act she and her household will suffer. Mental delusion accompanies people who miss God’s will. Bitterness finds fertile ground in their soul. They break down landmarks of the mind.

You have to regain the authority that God has for you. Pick up that rod or the will of God no matter how uncomfortable. Pick it up and that which is common becomes the rod of deliverance. Your choice is the rod of God in your hand or a serpent at your feet that will keep you in fear and eventually bite you.

An indicator of Moses’ condition is that he complains that he is not able to speak properly. He went from Acts 7:21 “learned in all the wisdom” of Egypt and “mighty in word” to “I cannot speak”. Moses in Ex 6:12,30 says I am a man of uncircumcised lips. Something has been lost. When we are in this position we need to connect the dots. We need to see our lack of effectiveness and our own mental delusions. I don’t hear from God anymore—because you have missed the will of God.

Moses decides to pick up the rod/serpent and is able to deliver the people through the will of God. Moses is restored. Moses has a powerful ministry. Moses is seen on the mount of transfiguration.

The clear choice is: the rod of God in our hand or a serpent at our feet ready to strike.

I must go to the grave doing His will.

I stayed home from the conference tonight. I was going to sit down and add an entry about Pastor Campbell’s sermon, but the girls took my car with my notes in it. Why am I home? I think I have an pneumonia. Monday night after my night of parking cars in the cold I came home to a feverish night in my sleep. Did my best the next day to continue on made it through the morning and early evening, but when I left the tent at the altar call to go take my post, I was overcome with the chills and the shakes. Just went home to a night of headaches, fevers and demonic thought cycles.

I wonder about these events in my life. My sicknesses have been few and far between. I dealt with malaria in Zambia (the sickest I have ever been). I remember the time I was confronting the homosexual agenda in Seattle Public Schools. After my face to face meeting with the principal and her agents in which I stated my case, I returned to work as I watched my temperature rise and my stomach turn. By the time I got to work (a 20 minute drive) I was a mess. I had a guy pray for me and I went home.

After 2 weeks in Guatemala I came back not 100%. The 3 day fast and then a night in the cold and this is where I am at. But, I know there is more to this. I focus on the breaking of the spirit in one of my sermons. Prov 15:4 A wholesome tongue is a tree of life, But perverseness in it breaks the spirit . Prov 15:13 A merry heart makes a cheerful countenance, But by sorrow of the heart the spirit is broken. Prov 17:22 A merry heart does good,  like medicine, But a broken spirit dries the bones. Prov 18:14 The spirit of a man will sustain him in sickness, But who can bear a broken spirit ? I knew my spirit had taken a shot that Monday night. Then, that Tuesday night as I wrestled with dark thoughts all night, I knew I was in trouble.

Today, I helped Audra with some paper work. Talked to the Walmart pharmacist about some medicine. He said if I had a fever I should see a doctor to have an anti-biotic prescribed. Went to a emergency care clinic and was told it would be a 3 to 4 hour wait. Went to church with Audra, listened to an excellent sermon on hope as a way of life by Nigel Brown, didn’t take notes. Came home to have lunch with Don and Sylvia Honzay. They pastor in Carson City and their daughter Micah has become friends with Brooke and they are both staying with us during conference. Kris and Paula Hart out of Las Vegas came over also. Kris and I were comparing notes, mine from the superstitions of Zambia and he from the superstitions from the reservation where he pastored before. Then Kris began to talk about Glen Cluck’s morning sermon.

He said something that ringed so relevant to my previous night of black thoughts. So I asked him to expound some more. Apparently Glen Cluck said that the devil magnifies our negative thoughts about life in order to receive glory that is deflected from God. This is not a perfect quote, but as Kris expounded on how the devil can take something that has happened and twist it into a diabolical plan against our lives. I could only think about my previous night experience. Life was so dark, rejected and cast out I had not future. In my weakened condition, especially the weakening of my spirit, I was open to the attack on my mind. I have some clarity now, and I am sure God will have more clarity for me tomorrow when I get back to hearing some preaching.

I am still stuck with an apparent infection in my lungs. What did people do before penicillin? Live with it and eventually die from it? Joan tells me the infection cannot be naturally eliminated. So rest and allowing my body to overcome the infection is not an option. So it is penicillin or a miracle. I’ll get that other sermon done tonight or tomorrow after the girls return.

Pastor Aulson preached from Hag 2:1-9. The prophet says who remembers the former glory of the temple. Comparison. Be strong and work for I am with you. As you came out of Egypt My Spirit is with you now, do not fear. I have the money and I will fill this temple with glory and I will give peace.

Problems, Solutions, and Promises. God stirs King Cyrus to say that God has commanded him go build the temple. Those in captivity have been reduced, only a remnant would make the journey back to the promised land. They were leaving behind a land where they were asked to play the old songs to entertain their new masters. They hung there heads and wept. As time went on they began to like the taste of the bitter fruit of Babylon. This is all a parallel to what we are experiencing today.

This small band of determined people started off with angelic music in there ears. But as they got closer the music changed to a buzz saw. They were met by the Samarians. They were confronted with people saying they are Christians but whose life didn’t line up. Much as our pioneer pastors are welcomed by the same. You cannot build a church on church hoppers but you need to have people birthed in your house. The Samaritans eventually get a court order to halt the work.

They encountered obstacles & oppositions. They became creative in explaining why they were not succeeding. “This people say the time has not come”. They missed God and got diverted to taking care of their own interests. Volunteerism is always the first casualty.

Who believes God is sovereign. God sees if we have the perseverance. Early pioneers built rough houses so that they could focus on the fields and the temple. As time went on the focus changed. Our fellowship sent out rough hewn men who gave themselves to the business of pioneering. There were two guys in the same city. One guy found an apartment for 800. The other couldn’t find one less than 2000. Guess which one stayed.

We need perspective. Haggai 1:5 consider your ways. Eating but not having enough. Putting money into torn pockets. Ecclesiastics talks of an evil under the sun, you have everything but you are not satisfied. What good is a steak without taste buds? You have the outward signs of success but on the inside you are not satisfied. Maybe God is trying to speak to you.

It is good that God didn’t get ticked off when they surrendered to the obstacles. Hag 1:13 Haggai says God is with you. God’s solution was to send a prophet. This is always God’s method. Prophets take into consideration seasons, scriptures, and the Spirit. Prophets look into the circumstances of the people with the eye of the Spirit. The spirit of Israel was that it is not the time. The prophet says God says this is the time. God says this is my season for you to work. He uses the phrases “Thus sayeth the Lord” and “The word of the Lord came” 5 times.

If we are going to seize the moment we need the fresh Rhema that comes from God. Rhema the spoken word of God. God’s word is up to date. What a trajedy when God’s word comes to you and fizzles to nothing. We don’t need professional parrots. Mordecai was the man of the hour as he told Esther that this was the time for her to rise up that God orchestrated. Peter on the day of Pentecost came out speaking in tongues and had to face the mockers. This triggered his to refer to the things that Joel said pointing to this very moment. Peter was sensitive to the season and the scripture. Melchizedek led Abraham to understand that his victory came from God leading Abraham to tithe. In vs. 7 and 8 the prophet gives the people clear direction. Consider your ways go up to the mountain and get wood and build the temple.

Jonah is a picture of the embittered pastor who beats the sheep. He was hoping for the destruction of the people God told him to warn. If we are not careful we can become bitter towards the saints. Preachers: study, search out the right word the answer is not to always point out the faults of the saints. It is not enough to constantly point out the faults of the congregation (my saying: A Baptist pastor spends each Sunday convincing sinners they are saved. Pentecostal pastors spend each Sunday convincing people who are saved that they are not saved). Prophets (pastors) are called to give people clear solutions from God for their people. We need to find these solutions from God and give them to our people. We can resist God sometimes but we cannot resist God calling us to Him with “Come let us reason together”.

You tried, try again. Ezekiel and the dead bones. Can they live? You know Lord? These things only happen when we step out in faith and speak the Word of God. The woodpecker going to give its all on the oak; lighting splits the tree at the same time. We need God to anoint our preaching.

God has promises that we must hold onto. God speaks what the Jews already knew. Who remembers the old temple. No comparison. We remember the good ol days. Let us be careful to not quench the new things God is doing. Hag 2:5 Do not fear. God gave them a guarantee to help their demoralized state. He points them bag to the first temple of badger skins that the Jews accompanied through the wilderness. God’s presence makes the difference. God is always enough. Comparison is always of the devil. A struggling pioneer pastor working on a mega church pastored by a woman. The guys all mock him and his church, “The Potty House”. It was too much for him.

We are convinced that we need all of these things to further the Kingdom of God. We need God. Hag 2:8 God owns it all. The raven fed the prophet and the widow gave up her last meal in obedience to the prophet. Vs. 6-7 I will fill this temple with glory. Per functionary giving verses giving from the heart. In this age the closest thing to God’s heart is salvation. Giving to world evangelism is being in sync with the heart of God.

It is difficult, people are not lined up to pioneer. Bob Hall went through 4 difficult years in India but he left behind 4 churches with his key men in each one. Pastor Aulson wanted to go to New Zealand, a first world country. The door closed and he went to the Philippines. He felt that he missed the revival on Lincoln street. The Ruth street dynamics were different. He also missed Woodstock. He had a rough time in Houston that was very difficult. He was graciously brought back into Prescott as associate pastor. While there he heard a sermon about the glory of the latter house that raised him up.

God saves the best for last. There is much land to possess.

Our conference officially started tonight. Pastor Wayman Mitchell preached from Gal 4:4-5. The idea being that Jesus came at the perfect time as indicated by the phrase “the fullness of time”. He recounts a recent trip to Greece in capturing the sweeping of history. Jesus came at a historic moment after 400 years of silence from the times of Malachi. The idea is “providence”. God is at work behind the scenes. Jn 5:17 Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. We see providence working in the contest between Mordicai and Haman in the Book of Esther. God working towards an appointed time. Phil 2:13 God who works in you. 1 Cor 2:7-8 the hidden wisdom of God ordained before the ages, that if the rulers of this age had known they wouldn’t have crucified the Lord of glory.

The idea of fortuitous events. Pastor & Mrs. Mitchell invited some folks over to there house in 1958 or so and then in 1975 ran into them in Amsterdam and thus began our works in Holland. In 1957 they invited a man over for a dinner of chicken tough as leather. The man remembered the meal and invited them to Perth Australia in 1977 and thus our works in Australia were started. They sent the music group Eden. This is before political correctness; so the band played in all of the schools. It was a special moment in time and they just walked through the open door God gave them. In Samoa you can visit schools, in Africa it is wide open for the gospel. These are fortuitous times that we are living in.

We can facilitate events. Will it all be an accident or will be organized to take advantage of the times. Our generation has unlocked the genius of the human mind. There are social, geographical and technological events that are opening up the world to the gospel. In 1948 Pastor Mitchell owned one of the first portable radios. Things have changed. He is old enough to recognize the changes. The scale and speed of human mobility. It was a strategic moment when Jesus arrived. “All roads lead to Rome” is a tribute to the technological skills of the Romans in their day. The system of roads and colonies became a natural highway for the spreading of the gospel. The same thing is happening now.

This is a juncture of time in which God is preparing the world for the spread of the gospel. The globalization of the planet. Students from all over the world gathering together. Education facilitates the gospel. Business facilitates the gospel. The amount of resources in the hands of common people is unprecedented. One man wrote about the world that Jesus was calling us into: ethnic conflict, intruding technology, Aids, Int. drug gangs, high tech bondage, virus….We have been brought to this juncture at this time. This challenges us now. This is a defining moment and it requires a response.

Mt 23:37-38 Jerusalem did not know the time of its visitation. Mt 16:3 hypocrites cannot discern the signs of the times.   Individuals are the catalyst. Seizing the moment; something God would lay on you. Will we seize the moment? Jn 9:4 night comes when no one works. The story of the woman and the alabaster box; she seized the moment. That moment would never come again. Each of us must answer God’s calling for our lives. The power of human potential. The power of the tongue in James 3 can be turned to the positive. We are all called to set a fire in the earth. The ball is in our court. Mordecai said to Esther: who knows if you have come for a time such as this.

This matters for we are in a crucial moment in time. World is about to go through major transitions for good or bad. Islam, a demonic inspired religion wants you converted or dead. It will be impossible for anyone here to continue their life the way things have always been in the past. We will rather seize the moment or miss. Our fellowship seized a moment when God was bringing young people into church in the 70’s. Rom 13:11-12 knowing the time, time to wake up Eph redeem the time for the days are evil. Do not be unwise but understand what the will of the Lord is.

Back to ancient Greece. The ruined churches. How will history record our response? If we will respond to God the effects will multiply. The last word in acts can be translated “unhindered”. Paul was part of the unstoppable progress of the gospel from Jerusalem to Rome. What God will do if we properly allocate our resources and our people.

Pastor Greg Mitchell introduced Pastor Clement Okusi, also from London. He was intoned to the lack of accent with the morning speaker and let us know that Pastor Clement would more than make up for it with his English accent. He was born in London and lived in a single parent household, his Dad being the single parent. Between him and his brothers life was tough and masculine. He shared with us a story from his youth. He went to one of two rival Catholic schools. His school got a new headmaster who was going to get his school squared away. This new headmaster would eventually be knighted for his efforts in education. Clement likes to tell people that he was the reason the man was knighted. He got kicked out of school and was transferred over to the rival school. They were waiting for him and made his life miserable. One adult man who had a girl friend at the school was looking to beat Clement up. He had already socked him and Clement had run away. But on this day everyone was there to watch Clement get destroyed. Instead, he smacked Delroy and that was the end of his problems at the school.

As he prayed to start the service, he took aim at the spirit of passivity. His sermon was titled “The Power of Positive Resistance” from James 4:7. Submit, resist, and the devil will flee. Satan or adversary from 1 Pet 5:8. Three (tree in a proper English accent) truths about lions: natural born killers, masters of disguise, man-eaters. Jn 10 10 The thief comes to steal, kill and destroy. 2 Cor 11 14 satan as an angel of light. The Greek word for “resist” is “anthistemi”. Interesting word.  How to defeat your enemy? Continually resist until he is defeated. French Resistance. Our word has a medical application also. A Christian must have a spirit of resistance if he is to have any level of dominion.

Resistance turns offensive. He talked of a disciple named Kazim who is now a pastor in Lagos. Clement was the overzealous outreach leader demanding that the group go the extra mile in Romania. Kazim resisted this by walking forward leading the group behind him to continue the outreach. He then made sounds like a dog was attacking and turned and ran. Clement hearing the sound of the dog and seeing Kazim running also turned to run. Ha, Ha so much for the big, brave outreach leader.

When you feel the cold or flu come on, don’t surrender; fight back with prayer, attitude and medicine. A passive Christian will always be defeated. You have got to fight. One more important area for the need of resistance. The area of our minds. Rom 12 2 be a living sacrifice being transformed by the renewing of your mind. We feel safe and secure in our minds. Know one knows what we are thinking. Our thoughts can entertain us (someone who just laughs in the middle of a conversation because of something they are thinking). In our minds we take vengeance on every little snub that we experience. Therefore, we don’t want to discipline our minds. But we must. Depression is a lack of resistance.

Strongholds are areas of sin that we have not resisted for a long period of time. The story of the squatters who were never removed from an expensive piece of property due to the inertia of the local government and after 12 years they became the legal owners of a nice piece of property. The final point was that we need to recognize areas of attack, repent from our passivity and resolve to resist and fight back.

Our conference officially starts tomorrow night but we are treated to two visiting pastors the Sunday before the start. This morning it was Peter Chatlan from South London in England. Pastor Mitchell introduced him as a saved Nigerian. As he begins I am thinking where is the African accent, then where is the English accent; because he just sounds American. He preaches from Acts 16 where doors are closed and then the Macedonian call and the final encounter with the Philippian jailer.

A perfect topic to start conference and a new year: Vision. Be the best at what you do. Whatever your hand finds to do; do it with all your might. No more sleeping around. An exciting preacher. Develop a sensitivity to the voice of God. Tuned into God’s spirit. The common experience of sensing that God does not want us to do something and then we do it. He shared a story from his new convert days. He would dial random numbers and witness to the person at the other end. One time he made contact with a woman who gave him her testimony and invited him over. He and a friend went over and were greeted by a woman with one leg. She recounted a story in which she traveled after sensing that God did not want her to travel with the resulting accident that took her leg.

My sheep hear my voice. The need for discernment. He is taking is young church on prayer walks believing God for a building. Led to a broken down building. The 50^th worth building in Bristol City. He visits on a Sunday with some members of the church. Pastor injured with 3 people there asks Pastor Peter to preach. Goes the next Sunday looking for God to do something with the building. He tells the small group that they are the revival they are waiting for. The pastor gives him the key and some papers. He dreams of transforming this rundown building. He enters the building after being refused title deed and then finally getting it to a bible. He opens it up as we do as new converts and comes to Is 61:4 Isa 61:4

4 And they shall rebuild the old ruins,

They shall raise up the former desolations,

And they shall repair the ruined cities,

The desolations of many generations.

Final lesson is that you must go through some pain to get to your vision. The path to the Phillipian jailer lead through the prison. He recounts his 5 month ministry in Namibia. Revival with his first baptism for 67 people. Revival among young people led to irate parents who reported his work to authorities who took action against him for not having a work permit. This lead to a chapter in his life of taking over the church in which he got saved. He called it a year and a half of hell. He persevered and now the church is a center of evangelism.

We had lunch with the Nicodemus’ and Eric and Clementina Muyeiya of Kenya. Eric recounted similar stories when he took over his church when John Macarthy left Kenya. Enjoyed the preaching and am starting to get excited about conference.

I need to finally sit down and give a report on our Guatemalan trip. Joan went with me and we actually spent Christmas there in Guatemala City. We preached in 4 different churches and had a great time. Joan got to practice her Spanish and phrases and words that I had all but forgotten came flowing out of my mouth as I tried to communicate. Pastor Ontinel Rodriguez hosted us and set up our schedule. We got to the place to where between nods, unspoken knowledge and my broken Spanish we were able to communicate quite well. By the end of the trip he was experimenting with his English. On Christmas day we were eating a delicious meal prepared by Violeta, the pastor’s wife, I was trying to communicate to Pastor Ricardo. It was some thoughts that I had successfully communicated to Pastor Rodriguez before. When I was done, Pastor Ricardo was sharing with the others what I had said, when Pastor Rodriguez’ boys (he has 5 sons and a youngest princess) interrupted and told him what I really said. Saying all of this to say that I was able to communicate despite the language barrier and Pastor Rodriguez and his sons were in sync with me.

Pastor Rodriguez pastors the church that was pioneered by Frank Amada. I preached for his church and did a men’s discipleship. Our flights got delayed and missed because of storms in the Northeast so we had to fly through Panama and arrived without luggage. I took time from our search for bags to look out over a crowd of 100’s waiting for the passengers to clear customs. Joan and I eventually made our way through the crowd wondering how we would be recognized by Pastor Rodriguez. We eventually borrowed someone’s cell phone and called the # we had been calling from the states. We made contact and experienced the fun of talking while seeing the other person holding the phone. Mrs. Rodriguez said that she saw me when I looked over the crowd but that I looked younger than my picture with a baseball cap on. Remind me to not lose my baseball caps.

He put us up in The Pan American hotel. The Pan American is situated a block from the downtown plaza. It is an older hotel and is famous for their Guatemalan cuisine. We only ate two meals there but had coffee and bread there several times. Our first day in the city we took a stroll to the plaza. Christmas time had brought out all of the vendors with traditional items, international knock offs and lots of food. We went into two different cathedrals and the state house that was built for the President in 1942. The state house reminded me of our tour of Versailles in Paris. Hard to believe a third world country could support this level of extravagance. America somehow got and has retained to a certain degree the idea that leaders serve from the bible. Most third world leaders are served rather than serve.

Pastor Rodriguez’ church was a pleasure to preach in. They had a lively song service. Pastor Rodriguez conducts the service with an air of authority. I met Pastor George Moreno from El Paso who would translate 13 of the 15 sermons I preached. The services were supported by the surrounding churches. There was a sense of unity and purpose through out my time there. Pastor Moreno counted this time of partnering for the sake of my need of a translator as a God-given moment to bring the different churches together. I included this idea with my discipleship that I preached.

We then traveled to Esquintla crossing the band of 15 active volcanoes that divide Guatemala. We stopped in Antigua for some tourist shopping and a view of the volcano overlooking the city. We then toured the cathedrals that were destroyed by earthquakes and volcanoes. There were many tourists in Antigua and I saw lots of offers to take buses to different locations in Guatemala. While we were in Guatemala one of the other pastors called George from his campsite on the edge of one of the volcano craters. I had promised Anna Marie (Pastor Rodriguez’ daughter) lunch at MacDonald’s (pronounced McDonnas). MacDonald’s is very common in Guatemala. Many of them even include the McCafe for Starbucks like coffee which they serve to you at your table. Usually next to every MacDonald’s there is a Pollo Campero, Guatemala’s pride and joy of the fast food world. This Guatemalan chain is going international. Our first visit there we were kind of let down by the fast food nature of the place, but it seemed to be the local favorite and when you ordered your chicken traditional style it came with all of the fixings of a home cooked Guatemalan meal.

Esquintla was a third world pleasure. It lies down from the mountains that hold Guatemala city towards the coast. We drove through the coffee fields in the high country of Antigua through the sugar fields that surround Esquintla. It reminded us of Mazabuka in so many ways. We stayed in a small hotel without hot water. The potted plants were right from our porch in Zambia. The floating ashes from the burning sugar fields just added to the deja-vu experience. Each morning Joan and I had coffee in our room (Pastor Rodriguez had supplied us with an iron, coffee maker and coffee). We then took a stroll through the town stopping at one particular juice bar for a refreshing drink. We then had lunch for the pastor’s family whom I was preaching for, Pastor Rodriguez’s family, my escort, and Pastor Moreno’s family, my interpreter. At each church this was the arrangement and it was a special time of fellowship. I had broken a temporary crown and while is Esquintla I had spied out a dentist and took time one morning to see if he could fix me up. Pastor Rodriguez was a little worried about our strolls and was also worried about my visiting a local dentist, but all turned out well.

His concern was justified. One restaurant had a sign posted not allowing guns into the place. Typical of Latin America the shops are shuttered closed each night. Crime was apparently a real issue. Gangs have developed in the city with young kids with guns boarding buses and robbing everyone. I heard several stories of relatives who were murdered for cell phones. Pastor Ricardo and his family were traveling from their conference home when their bus was robbed and a stray bullet struck his youngest child’s head. The boy eventually died. It was actually a front page story and the newspapers tracked the boy’s hospital stay and eventual death. The president called in the military to not just patrol the streets but to track down and kill the gang members much like they tracked and killed the Indian guerillas in times past.

The services in Esquintla went very well. Once again the churches came together and we had visitors. The store front was open onto the street so it gave the services an outdoor feel. Pastor Ricardo and his family (he still has a daughter, Claudia and two twin boys) (they and Pastor Rodriguez’ children swam each day at the hotel’s pool) have taken some tough shots. I believe God wanted to use this time to really encourage him and his family. They supported all of the services and ate with us and Pastor Rodriguez on Christmas day at Pastor Rodriguez’ house.

We finished up in Esquintla with Pastor Moreno picking us up and taking us down to the beach with his wife and daughter, Esperanza (Espy) and Ariel. Everyone frolicked in the Pacific and we ate a seafood meal cooked over a fire at one of the many places along the beach. We drove back to Guatemala City for service that night at Pastor Moreno’s church. Once again the services were supported by all of the local churches. I ended up preaching only one sermon twice (at Pastor Moreno’s request). Ariel plays the keyboard and Espy the saxophone for their song service. Pastor Moreno has a great group of young guys in his church. Once again it reminded me of the young men I had in Mazabuka. What a privilege to be able to disciple young men.

We stayed with the Moreno’s in their house up in the hills overlooking the city. We spent Saturday at the local market of Mixco. What a treat to walk the crowded walkways between the shops and the stalls. Once again because of the timing of Christmas the makeshift stalls overwhelmed the market place with every color and smell of the season. The markets were bustling with business. I always enjoy checking out the fruits and vegetables along with the cuts of meat being sold. One thing I noticed in Guatemala and Zambia is the introduction of the international fruits or vegetables. The nicest looking apples being sold in the market place in Guatemala came from Washington. These fruits or vegetables are sold by many different vendors and the prices are always the same with no room in their margins for bargaining. The locally produced items are always open to negotiation. It was pleasant walk down to the marketplace and the walk up the hill home got all of our hearts pumping.

The day before Christmas found Pastor Moreno taking us back to the Pan American. We ate together and visited a local market they knew of for our last purchases. Joan didn’t get a lot of things but I think she is pleased with what she did get to memorialize our trip to Guatemala. That night we preached in Villa Nueva for Pastor Miguel. This church was pioneered by Pastor Rodriguez sent out by Pastor Amada. Pastor Mitchell had actually come and did a crusade here before we ever had any churches. Pastor Rodriguez was the electrician who wired the stage. He sat through some of the services but did not respond. Apparently somehow he hooked up with Pastor Amada when he came to the country. This church had a level of maturity although Pastor Miguel (Miguelito because of his small stature) had just been the pastor for less than a year. I preached some new sermons that I felt matched the season and the needs of the church. I preached on Joseph: 1) had Godly attractions 2) had compassion 3) could hear from God. Pastor Moreno interpreted his last sermon that Christmas eve. Pastor Mike Ashcraft out of Santa Monica took over interpreting the last two services, Christmas evening and the day after Christmas.

Christmas day was very pleasant. Joan and I had coffee and hot bread. We took our stroll through the plaza. We were picked up for lunch at the pastor’s house. We had a great meal that was topped off with the perfect cup of espresso from the pastor. One side bar: I had given a copy of the James Tembo film to Pastor Rodriguez. He and his boys had watched it and although they couldn’t understand the English they complimented it. They were enthralled with the restaurant scene where the actors are eating using their hands. They all commented about this. Kicked a football around with Minor, Pastor Rodriguez’ second born. The boys had already bought me one cd and they gave us some other cds with the song service music that Joan was impressed with. One special song that goes something like “what would have happened to me if you had not found me”, “where would I be If you had not forgiven me”, at any rate the song is beautiful in Spanish and each church when it was sung you could feel the hearts of the saints rising to touch God in praise. Pastor Mike translated my Christmas sermon that night, the 3 appearances of Christ. Under the influence of a book I was reading, I enjoyed giving a sweeping sermon of the birth of Christ and the reason for coming, the rapture and the second coming with special emphasis upon the millennial kingdom and our being placed in it. Pastor Mike had said that when I started the sermon he wasn’t sure how we could cover all of that in one sermon but he thought it preached well. Pastor Mike seems to have the calling of a missionary. This trip certainly revived those feelings in my own life and I am sure God will once again open a door for us into the nations.

Our last day before leaving Guatemala started early with a caravan of two vehicles carrying us, the Rodriguez’ and the Moreno’s heading for the mountains of Guatemala to a certain lake surrounded by villages and volcanoes. This trip took us through the native Guatemalan areas. The scenery was breathtaking. The country side was checker boarded with small plots of cultivated land. The land is rich. At some points we could see from the carved out sections of land 3 to 5 ft of topsoil. Guatemala apparently is the breadbasket of Central America. This area was different from the sugar fields and the coffee plantations. These were the peasant farmers, who from what I gathered are not poor peasants in the normal sense of the word, they are prosperous farmers taking advantage of the two growing seasons and the rich soil. We stopped for a wonderful breakfast overlooking the cultivated plots that stretched out below us. Onto the lake for a quick tour, a boat ride on the lake and a lunch before heading home for my final sermon.

Had a touch of flu but did my best to avoid short timer’s disease and felt pleased to give my all in that last service. Joan, Mike and I sang “Amazing Grace” as a special song and I almost choked to death as I reached the high notes, so it made for a tough start to my sermon. We finished up with a final meal that night at Guatemala’s favorite: Pollo Campero. This was the first day that we had eaten 3 full meals. It was a full day. We had brought a combination of candy bars, pens, markers and such as gifts for the pastors we preached for. We had got a Barbie for Anna Marie. She got the gift and wrapped it up to open on Boxing day. Her statement was that now she knows she got a real Barbie and not one of those copies. The only problem was that I had bought it and it had a crank on its back to make Barbie move. So I will have to make that right. The next morning we were taken to the airport by most of the Rodriguez family we were given some parting gifts that pleased my wife and a flag that I will proudly display. Until next time.