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Showing posts from June, 2019

2019 Summer MLO Blog 12

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Well, thank God for small vacations and time away before the craziness began. Debbie and I returned to  HiS  HOUSE on Sunday night and it was a blessing to see many more of our team members in country and settled in. Our visitors from Kosovo and Macedonia arrived as well, and it was such a blessing to watch them all meld together. The team even surprised me with a birthday party to celebrate my 39 th . The  candles actually said I was 645, so I am somewhere between 39 and 645 - I will let you all guess.  No pictures  for that one!   Our MLO team this year includes a bunch of teenage girls, a few teenage boys, and some  young men and women  in their early-to-mid 20’s.  What a breath of fresh air they are. Each one has stepped up in huge ways by helping around the house and asking what they can do next. A huge blessing within the mix of all that is that t wo  of my great nieces and  o n e of my great n ephew s  are here, and two more are on the way. Debbie and I have enjoyed se

2019 Summer MLO Blog 11

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W hen God created the heavens and the earth and called it good, He was definitely looking at the coastline of Croatia! Wow, I wish the words and the pictures could do it justice, but they simply cannot. Words fail to describe the extreme beauty that God created, and the pictures fall well short of capturing the enormity of that beauty. For three days I was blessed to have the opportunity to slip away to take my bride and enjoy some time on the coast and some alone-time with each other. It was so refreshing to go from small villages enjoying the sights and sounds of each, to swimming in the gorgeous waters of the Adriatic. Our friends took us to an uninhabited island to jump off the rocks and enjoy some snorkeling one evening, and we spent a couple of nights in the most beautiful apartment and town in Pirovac, Croatia. We caught a small glimpse of heaven in those three days and enjoyed God’s creation that left only wonderful memories and a desire to return.  Here are but a fe

2019 Summer MLO Blog 10

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That Macedonia/Serbian Swing and the work we did around HiS HOUSE when we returned really did me in and put me down for quite a while with a really bad chest cold and cough. Praise God, Stefan’s mom is a doctor and she got me some antibiotics and has me well on the road to recovery.  I wanted to show you some pictures of HiS HOUSE and all the work that has been done these past several months to try and get it ready and useable for this summer’s MLO. We have 4 projects in the works: HiS Café & Kitchen (Phase I indoor, Phase II outdoor), Solomon’s Porch and the Upper Room. Our plan was to budget the time & finances for each project individually. However, we had to mix some projects along the way to prevent double work down the road. For instance, we really wanted to get HiS Café and Kitchen up and running for the Summer MLO, but since it is below the Upper Room and Solomon’s Porch and there was a leak that was going into the kitchen below, we needed to take care of the Upper

2019 Summer MLO Blog 9

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Hello folks, Sorry it’s been several days since I last reported back to you, but I have been rather sick since returning from Macedonia and Serbia. It was a crazy seven-day trip with four stops and several different camps that we took part in. My companions on this mission were a Jeff Sutherland, a dear friend of mine from FCA, and two friends of his. Jeff “SoCal” and I have become dear friends over the past three years and have planned this trip for the past two. Nathan Blank, a friend of Jeff’s and on his ministry board, and Kane Ulrich, a young FCA leader from Washington State, joined us on this trek into The Balkans. Macedonia MLO Team Our first stop was in Belgrade because we wanted to break up the trip and drive half way to Macedonia so we didn’t have to do the 8 and half hour trip in one day! As many of you know from reading my last blog, this was a blessing because one of the football players heard I was coming to Belgrade and asked if I would baptize him.  After

Summer MLO Blog 8

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Hello Folks,  Man what a ride these past several days have been. So many things have happened and so many places have been visited and they all amount to watching God's orchestrated pathway unfold right in front of you! I'm overwhelmed with emotion from watching God unfold His plan.  To witness His hand in all that has occurred really is like watching "Miracles While Holding onto Jesus' Robe" (like the old movie "Miracle on 34th Street" or "It's A Wonderful Life") over and over again. I have often heard the phrase "Every day is Christmas," and I am here to tell you, it feels like exactly that: The miracle birth of Jesus at Christmas, happening day after day! Or the production of bread and fish to overabundance after feeding the 5,000 from two loaves and 5 fish!  I spent Monday and Tuesday working around HiS HOUSE and preparing for Stefan and Arie's arrival and for the rest of the team and visitors, which has grown d

Summer MLO Blog 7

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Blog 7 Hello Folks,  Wow, where to begin! So many things happening and so much to share, but don’t want to overload or lengthen to the point that it takes up too much of your valuable time. That is the risk you take when not doing a daily blog and filling you in as the days roll out, so please know there is a whole lot more to tell than I can fit on this page, but that God will allow me to hit the highlights He desires to be shared.  First and foremost I want to share this huge news for  H i S PRINT . We have been trying to accomplish the task of making  H i S PRINT  a non-profit official in Croatia. Well, as of this past weekend, the official documents were signed and sent off by courier to become official. This is a huge accomplishment for us, as this will help with shipping and receiving of all the equipment we send every year, as well as all the other ministry-related things we do throughout the year with the community in Croatia. Join us in praising God for this major hur

Summer MLO Blog 6

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Hello Folks, Not enough can be said about prayer and the importance of staying in contact with God, asking for His protection, guidance, and wisdom. HiS PRINT has adopted prayer as the biggest part of our planning, provision and direction. Ephesians 6:18 – ”And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.” Praying for the Holy Spirit's leading is like writing your plans in pencil and giving God the Eraser! He owns them, we simply humbly come asking for His leading and our flexibility to hear, listen, apply and follow! “Prayer is: Earthly permission for Heavenly Interference.” - Tony Evans As we approach each MLO we use Preparatory Prayer. During the MLO we use Intercessory Prayer and after we are finished we focus on Reflective Prayer. Book-ending all things we do with prayer and being in constant contact him during allows you to give Him