Eidsvold Doesn't Sound Australian

Our 2011 Australia GO! Team has had an incredible experience so far!  We just returned from 4 days in Eidsvold, a small community about six hours from Brisbane.  Our goal was to serve the Christian Center there, along with its new pastor, Mark, and his wife, Alex.  We had such a great time with kids and adults alike, playing sports, working through Bible lessons and crafts, singing, eating and running around together.  We also got better acquainted with different adults in town, learning much about the issues and circumstances surrounding this small community of both white and aboriginal residents.

It's tough to quantify our take-aways from this experience, or the impact we were able to have.  One local businessman did tell me that he appreciated our group being there, even for a few days each year, because he saw positive influence in kids' lives from our interaction with them.  He told me that our presence is a reminder of normality (imagine someone referring to us as normal!), that the world is bigger and more functional than what is seen only through the local lens of the town.  He thanked us for coming again, and offered his encouragement for our return next year.

The following are some more snaps of our last couple of days.  I'll write more about Eidsvold and other good stuff a bit later:

Pastor Mark and his wife, Alex

Prayer circle before leaving Eidsvold

Captain Luke, superhero of the crafts debris!

Lianna mixing it with kids during crafts

Craft Woman Leslee and her monkey

Beautiful Eidsvold kids

Josh and Clinton

Which way back to Brisbane?!

Alexis singing to an appreciative audience

Don (aka Papa Fresh) and the girls, Leslee and Daun

Please keep us in prayers as we head into our final weekend here.  Pray that we'll finish well and will take every opportunity to share the most important message on our hearts.  Pray that we will remain focused on the task at hand and not too distracted by thoughts of getting back to our "regular" way of life.  And pray that God will speak to us, even as He speaks through us, concerning lessons He's been showing us while serving here.  We just can't afford to be the same people when we return as we were before we left.


And those around us can't afford that either.

Australia and Montana- GO!

Summer in SoCal is kicking off, and with it two Knott Avenue Global Outreach (GO!) Teams committed to making a lasting difference throughout the world.

GO! Australia will be in Brisbane June 26-July 11. We'll again partner with our own Daun Slauson and the Ann Street Church of Christ, working with them as they reach those in their world. Our team includes Luke Hamagiwa, Josh Carman, Leslee Marvin, Lianna Cabrera, Mike Carman, and (in insets) Alexis Alvarado and Dan Stanton.

GO! Montana- Larry and Joyce Clasen, Kelly and Judy Kappen,  Lynn Ramirez, Carol Hall, and John and Connie Bergsto (not pictured)- will be in Kalispell, MT June 26-July 6, working at the Youth With a Mission (YWAM) base there. This training center is led by Jeff and Kristi Wilke from KACC. The team will be busy with projects  from office help to construction needs.

These teams need your prayers, as the experiences they'll encounter are not simply of the physical realm.  Without sounding too esoteric, we need to remember that we wage a battle of a spiritual nature.  That means that no matter what we're involved with, there are spiritual overtones and constructs that take us from the natural to the supernatural. Our conversations, relationships and opportunities all have spiritual overtones and ramifications that may resound into eternity.  So please pray for each of these team members as they give themselves for a cause so much greater than they.

Brisbane

Pray for them as they travel, serve, connect and pour themselves out for the glory of our Lord. Pray for divine appointments with people who need the hope and that Jesus brings. Pray for team unity and a spirit of oneness. Pray for their families who will carry on here in their absence. 

Remember also that you can check this blog site periodically for updates (at least for the Australia team!) as a way to keep you more closely connected with what's going on.  Better yet, you can subscribe to this blog (it's on the right of this screen and it's free!) so that when we do post, that update will come to you automagically!  Thanks for your prayers and concern for our teams...and as we go, will you also be aware of your call to go to wherever your world or field might be today so that you can make a world of difference?

After all, we really are all in this together!

Canada, Eh! Some Final Thoughts

I've spent the better part of this seek reflecting on out team's recent time in Toronto.  We had opportunity to see and do much, meet many, and learn so many things.  Friends here at home have asked us about the trip and those experiences that stood out to us. I want to take a moment to list a few of those highlights (although my list may differ slightly from what my teammates might say!):

• The ethnic and cultural diversity was overwhelming.  We learned that 55% of Canadians are now born outside of Canada.  In a gathering of some local Christian church pastors, five of the eight were non-Canadian born!  The Churchill Meadows Christian Church, a congregation of more than 600 with whom we partner, has more than 46 ethnic or people groups represented!

• This diversity provides great opportunity for the gospel.  We met with a young Polish church and its leadership, and spent a day in Little Portugal, distributing information for a new Brazilian church plant.  

• We visited Hindu and Buddhist temples, and a mosque.  The time at the mosque was especially engaging, as we spent time with a young imam named Munir.  He explained tenets of Islam with us and was extremely open and gracious as we discussed differences between our faiths.  There were times he admitted he had no answer to some of our questions, and we parted ways agreeing to continue seeking truth, wherever it might be found.  Please pray for him, that he will truly find the truth about God and the need for a relationship with Jesus.

• People throughout Toronto (properly called "Torontonians," we discovered!) were extremely nice to us, in every situation.  They received us politely as we distributed information about the church house-to-house, they helped us whenever we approached them with a need, and they were patient with us at every turn.  I asked the Canadian sitting next to me on the flight back to LA if every one in Toronto was so nice, and he replied, "Oh, there are many cities in the country where people are far nicer than those in Toronto!"  If that's true, I want to visit those cities!

• Canada has great spiritual need.  The culture has become increasingly secular in the last years, with little tolerance for Christianity.  The increasing immigration means a huge influx in other faiths, and a great deal of favor and latitude have been afforded them.  But standing for Christ has become more unpopular and difficult for individuals and groups.  There's more need for new churches now than ever!  We know that church planting is the most effective evangelism that can be done, and now is the time for contextually-relevant expressions of the church, meeting the needs of and hopes of this generation.

• We can make a difference in Canada!  Churches and individuals like us can impact and influence the spiritual landscape of those to the north of us.  Our partnership encourages and strengthens our brothers and sisters there.  Our involvement can help open new works and extend the influence of God's kingdom beyond our front doors.

Jim Tune, senior pastor of CMCC and president of Impact Canada, told us that it's understandable that we funnel resources and attention to the farthest points of the world.  And it's easy to overlook those who may be closest to us, assuming that they have all they need to understand the truth about God.  But with declining spirituality and burgeoning immigration, Canada, though a first-world nation economically, is a third-world nation spiritually (Jim's words).  And that a Canadian soul  dying without Jesus faces the same eternal consequences as a person in India, China, Japan or anywhere else who dies without knowing Him.


Thanks to those of you who prayed for us while we were away- but please don't stop your prayers!  Keep praying for your brothers and sisters at Churchill Meadows, for the churches in Toronto and beyond, for Impact Canada as it continues to plant churches throughout the country, and for God to be glorified among the Canadian people.  And in case you're interested, we're already talking about returning next year.  Pray about it...and the possibility of your place on the team with us.

Why Samoa?

Samoa is a beautiful South Pacific Polynesian island nation located 5-6 hours south and west of Hawai'i. The following are some facts about the nation:

Location: Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawai'i to New Zealand

Population: 177,000 (2006 est.)

Area: total area: 2,860 km² land area: 2,850 km² comparative area: slightly smaller than Rhode Island
Coastline: 403 km
Environment: current issues- soil erosion natural hazards: occasional typhoons; active volcanism international agreements

Arable land use: 19% permanent crops: 24% meadows and pastures: 0% forest and woodland: 47% other: 10%
Natural resources: hardwood forests, fish
Climate: tropical; rainy season (October to March), dry season (May to October)
Terrain: narrow coastal plain with volcanic, rocky, rugged mountains in interior

Christianity was introduced in the early 1800's, and since that time the people have, for the most part, embraced its message. If so many of Samoan people know the message of Christ, why do we send teams?

Pastor Ron Gallaher, who leads this trip, tells us that church in Samoa is designed basically for adults. Little attention or nurture is given to the young people, as they are expected to sit quietly and grow up in the church, where they will then take their place. However, that expectation often leads to boredom and disinterest in spiritual matters in the lives of the youth. Additionally, the suicide rate among Samoan teens is high. KACC teams have given their attention to working with kids. This focus not only provides a different perspective about the Gospel in the eyes of young people there, but it also demonstrates a priority and methodology that Samoan adult leaders may adopt as they are challenged to reach out to their children.

We have been blessed to meet on the campus of Malua Theological Seminary in the capital city of Apia. This gives opportunity to work with students training for pastoral ministry, and to share the importance of giving attention to youth in and outside the church. The relationships developed through the years have laid a foundation for being able to share openly and have instruction and concepts willingly received by local leaders. We continue to build those relationships with a continued presence and willingness to serve.

More on this as the trip progresses...please keep the team in prayer as they prepare to give of themselves to those in another part of God's world.