Restoring Hope for a Better Tomorrow

This past weekend my oldest son, Michael turned 22.  It is inconceivable to me that he is graduating from U.T. this May and is getting married this summer.  We had an amazing weekend together as a family.  When Michael’s fiancée asked him what he wanted for his birthday, he said for Daniel, my son who is at UTSA, to come home to celebrate with us.  It was great to have dinner Friday night as a family.  It was filled with laughter, sibling banter, and the typical loud Fechner discussions.  As we were celebrating this great evening together and God’s continued goodness to us I couldn’t help but reflect on the day before and the truth of the scripture, “in whatever state you find yourself, count it all joy.” 

It was my honor last Thursday to speak at the Missions Commissioning service at Prestonwood Christian Academy.  Each year hundreds of students and sponsors are sent out to local, national, and global missions.  It is thrilling to see the younger students praying for and gathering supplies for the older students who will be sent out to share the love of Christ.  This year as I was preparing to speak the Lord led me to share a very simple charge with the students.  First, that when they go, they would see with the eyes of Christ what He sees.  We so often judge, based on race, poverty, education, and the decisions of prior generations, the people we are to love and to serve with the love of Christ.  We often go and transact with them but don’t truly love them and long to build a relationship with them.  I am humbled that God didn’t send Jesus on a mission trip for one week but on a mission to save us from ourselves.  He walked among us, touched the leper, went to the rich man’s house, healed the sick and ultimately gave His very life so that we, who were nothing, might have everything through Christ. I asked the students not only to see with the eyes of Christ the people they were ministering to but also to ask the Holy Spirit to search them and see if there be any wicked way in them. When you go and see the needs of others it should convict us as it does me, of our selfishness, greed, and carnality.  How can we continue to justify our self indulgences when we see children dying from lack of clean water or food or shelter?  We not only must see, but we must love others more than ourselves with the love of Christ. 

Ultimately, I shared that we are the very hands and feet of Christ to a lost and hurting world.  The Lord gripped all of our hearts when a children’s choir from Uganda sang and led us in worship right before I spoke.  Their joy and pure worship brought us to tears.  This ministry is the fruit of our Awana ministry and our amazing Children’s ministry.  These children who have nothing flew across the ocean, many for the first time, to sing for us at Prestonwood. They convicted all of us by their sweet and joyful faces that know that Jesus is more than enough. We saw in them the love of Christ and His goodness to send them across the ocean to speak blessing into us.  I then had our students come to the altar for me to pray over them and the children from Africa began to pray blessings over them before I said a word.  It is a beautiful thing to see these children of the least count it all joy simply because they can be used by God to encourage us to see as they see, love as they love, and to go as they do to the nations of the earth.  I have included pictures of these amazing children.

Medically, we are a month away from our next CT scan.  This will be our first indicator of the progress that the Tarseva with my continued treatments from Germany is making against the cancer by God’s grace.  We are counting it all joy in whatever circumstance we find ourselves.  We are simply following the example of the children of Africa.  We love you and thank you for your continued prayers.  We celebrate with you our good God.

The Olympics are an incredible example of going against the odds.  So often most of these athletes have been told that what they are seeking to do is impossible.  This is not feasible or affordable, yet in the pursuit of Gold, these men and women choose to ignore the odds and press on to achieve their dreams.  They risk everything, as we tragically experienced in these Winter Olympics in the death of an Olympian. 

The Scriptures clearly tell us it is impossible to please God if we don’t live by faith.  We must not settle for comfortable or safe when God’s work is to be done.  Amazingly, people are willing to spend 8 to 10 hours a day training, eating right, saving every dime and travel half way around the world to be a part of the Olympics and  defy all odds. Yet many of us, as Christians, have never acted on our faith in obedience to God in challenging and difficult situations. 

The story of the woman at the well intrigues me because Jesus was willing to stop and talk to a woman who no one thought was worth the time.  She was a woman of the streets who knew many men.  No respectable man, much less a teacher of the word of God, would talk to her.  Yet Jesus not only met with her at the well, but went out of His way to go to her town, to see that He could share with her the gift of living water, so that she would never thirst again.  Ultimately she came to receive Christ as her Savior and brought her entire village with her to meet Jesus.  Only God knew the potential this woman had to bring her town to the Lord.  He saw in her what she didn’t see in herself.  

How sad it is for those of us who have experienced this same miracle of salvation to quit believing God to work miracles in others lives through us.  The disciples went to the village and transacted with these Samaritans and led no one to Christ.  Oh, to believe God beyond all the odds for His miraculous power to transform others lives, no matter their past, their education, their race or their training.  Would we, the body of Christ, believe God for miracles because He is able?  

This past week I was sharing with a business person about our ministry and seeing the Lord transform former drug dealers, prostitutes, materialistic business men and women, to love God and each other and see them work together to bring glory to God by blessing urban communities in our cities. He said these kinds of results are 1 in a 1,000 and not to expect them to happen very much.  It broke my heart how quickly we back away from the faith to believe God for hundreds of 1 in a 1,000 in one community to bring glory to Him.  For many of you who are battling economic needs, or illness, bankers and doctors have given you percentages and timelines until you are bankrupt or no longer among us.  Let me exhort us all to keep your eyes on Jesus, the author & perfecter of our faith.  You are not a percentage, a timeline, a bank account, or a failure, but through Christ Jesus you are a new creation, a joint heir, and more than a conquerer.  I pray wherever you find yourself in your walk with God that you will join me in believing God against all odds to be a glorious, loving God who longs to meet our every need, to enable us to expand His love and bring glory to His name.  Let’s remember the Gold we are going for won’t tarnish or ever be forgotten when we lay our crowns before our Savior in heaven. 

Medically I feel great because of your love and sustaining prayers.  We are daily getting to meet new people battling cancer and are praying for them and believing God with them for their healing against all odds.  Please feel free to send me names and numbers of people to pray for and contact if you wish.  You bless me and humble me daily.

We had the joy of hosting the funeral for a dear friend, Viola, in the inner city this past week.  She lived in the Turner Courts Housing Development for over fifteen years.  When I started my first Bible Study in Turner Courts with Velma, Viola was one of the first to be a faithful member of our Encouragement Team.  I remember the day she prayed to receive Christ as her Lord & Savior.  She had such a joy about her and loved life. 

The event that humbled me about her was that after 4 weeks of doing the Bible study at Teena Aycock’s home in Turner Courts, she and the other ladies found out it was my birthday and they each bought me a birthday present.  I was just coming out of my obsession with me and the things of this world and this group of welfare Moms and Grandmothers, living off food stamps, had each purchased a gift for me.  The gift Viola gave was a red gable sweater and was easily one size too small.  It didn’t matter that I would never wear it because it was one of the most precious gifts I had ever received.  I remember giving it to Velma and asking her to give it to someone who it would fit and keep them warm.

While I was speaking at the funeral the snow was falling on a field that used to be Turner Courts Housing Development where she lived for 15 years.  I loved how the snow so amazingly makes everything that is brown and dead look so alive….like Jesus making our sins white as snow.  This gift of snow was covering all of Viola’s past with the present blessing of God’s grace through Jesus Christ and His righteousness.  All her past was forgiven because of her faith in Jesus and she is now in heaven worshiping the Lord in her new mansion.  God taught me much through Viola and her generosity.  It is the same gift of giving that the Bible speaks of regarding the Macedonians, a very poor congregation  who gave beyond their ability.  I have done funerals where hundreds have attended but none was as sweet as this service with 14 or 15 people honoring one of God’s choice servants.  Many of the miracles of God’s redemption of this same community where Turner Courts is located is because of the faith of women like Viola who came to know Christ and realized that there is greater joy in giving than in taking.  Viola taught me so much in my early days in the ministry.  I am excited that, although she died with very few of the things of this world that she is now in her new body and mansion worshiping Jesus forever after hearing the words, “Well done, thy good and faithful servant.”  She is my modern day story of the widow’s mite.  I pray that those of us with much would learn to give the way so many with so little do, beyond our ability.  Then we too can be unexpected gifts to those around us.  Ask God to open your eyes to the needs of others and allow you to be the very answer to their prayers.  I know I am the grateful recipient of many of your prayers and love and am hopeful that I will remember with you, that to whom much is given, much is required!

This past week I was thankful for the gift of another birthday.  It is amazing how my perspective has changed about getting older.  I used to dread certain aspects of aging and now I look forward to all that God has planned for this day and every day to follow.  Recently I was thinking about the scriptures that tell us to put on the whole armor of God. Eph. 6:10-18 “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.  Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.  For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.  Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all to stand firm.  Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace.  In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication.” 

These verses have captivated my heart as I know they have a clear picture of how we are to suit up by faith for the battlefield of life.  I remember sharing with a neighbor, years ago, he was a motorcycle policeman and had gotten off his motorcycle to give someone a ticket and was hit by another car passing by.  He said he normally takes his helmet off but this time he didn’t.  It made the verse about the helmet of salvation become very real as his wearing his helmet saved his life.  I love the fact that for many of us battling, we desire to have victory and that comes through Christ and the word of God.  I don’t want to just play defense but to have an offensive attack against the enemy.  The scripture is very clear that our weapon is the sword of the Spirit or “The Word of God.”  I love when people tell me there is no cure or that this cancer is terminal, to go to the Word.  “With God all things are possible” or “By His stripes we are healed” or simply “to count it all joy.”  The last verse has been on my heart, as years ago I asked God how I could truly expect joy in my life.  I was a Christian but I was not living clothed in the armor of God.  He led me to a very simple outline of my priorities if I lived for Jesus first, others second and self last, I could expect true joy….Jesus, Others, You!  I have been seeking to experience this ever since.  This past week as I was reflecting on these verses of the armor of God, there came a realization.  When we are part of God’s army, clothed in His armor and about His assignment we lose all self identity.  We are covered and you can only see our eyes and our actions.  We no longer live for self but for our Savior.  We are simply the vessel He uses to advance His kingdom.  Count it all joy is much about losing our self focus and focusing on Jesus and others before ourselves.  I am thankful for many of you who have joined us to focus on the Lord and the least through our ministry and especially to join us as a BridgeBuilders 300.  We are now at 135 BridgeBuilders 300’s of people who are praying for my healing and are giving $100 per month to H.I.S. BridgeBuilders.  This is another example of so many who are giving of themselves to be in God’s army to take back our inner cities one soul and one street at a time.  Please pray about joining us as we are almost half way to our goal.  You may join by contacting Mary Anderwald at 972-715-8401 (manderwald@hisbb.org) or Laura Fechner 972-715-8441 (lfechner@hisbb.org).  

Medically, I feel great and am thankful for God’s continued sustenance.  The treatments from Germany are definitely diminishing the side effects from the Tarceva.  I am grateful for each day and this continued journey of counting it all joy as I continue to learn to be clothed in the armor of God and about His agenda and not mine.  Thank you for your love and prayers.

Recently in this new season of my life I have become more burdened than ever before for the souls of men and women.  I realize that there are many who are praying for my healing and daily sustenance and for that I am humbled beyond words.  My heart though, aches deeply for those who do not know Jesus as their Lord and Savior.  Recently, while reading Romans I came across Romans 1:21 “for although they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking and their foolish hearts were darkened.”  It is clear the wisdom of this world would declare that we are more educated, enlightened and enjoying the best time in history, but the word is clear that if we do not honor, praise and prize God as Preeminent Lord of our lives, that we are truly living as lost men and women, with a knowledge of God but not a relationship with Him as Sovereign Lord.  So much of Europe with all their castles speak to the age of kings and castles.  There is no question that in those days the king’s word was law and his seal was the authority of his word.  There can be no in between or half in and half out, either Jesus is King and Lord or He is not.  As I was praying for a dear friend the other day the Lord put a man on my heart who is at our gym, who knows God but has not honored Him as Lord.  He is not his Savior and Lord.  The Spirit of God led me to pray these words, “Lord, before my healing please save this man at the gym.”  Immediately, it became clear that we needed to invite him to lunch to share God’s goodness and grace with him.  He has accepted our invitation and we are looking forward to the opportunity of sharing the gospel with him.  We are each surrounded daily by people who are lost and will one day be separated from God forever.  My prayer is that everyone who reads this blog and prays for me will put as their first priority, to be used by God to pray for and share the good news with those who do not know Jesus as Lord.  What the enemy intended for evil, God can use for good to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.  Please send me messages of witnessing opportunities the Lord is giving you because of your asking Him to put in your path those who need Him as Lord.  In addition I would be honored to pray for people on your heart who need Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior.  If you will send me their names, our BridgeBuilders prayer ministry will join me in praying for their salvation.  It is my joy to know that this cancer can be used to advance the gospel and the gift of eternal life. 

Medically, we went to Dr. Konduri today to get the results of our latest C.T. scan.  Our last scan was done in October.  The scan shows that the bottom tumor in my right lung is basically nondescript or no longer a tumor.  The upper tumor has reduced in size another 20%.  This means that from the beginning of our treatment this tumor has shrunk 90%.  We give God all the praise for this recent report.  The Tarceva will typically work like this for 12-16 months and then the cancer comes back stronger.  We praise God for our treatment in Germany that is boosting my immune system through my own blood and additives that we will be taking for the next 6 months.  It is our prayer that God will use the blood to bring complete healing.  We believe God is able and we commit more than ever to share His good news of His love and healing to anyone who will listen.  We are humbled by the gift of your love and prayers.  Remember – Salvation first.  When you are led to pray for me, ask the Holy Spirit to put someone on your heart who needs the Lord and let us, together, see a harvest of souls that will join us in the work of God and experience the gift of eternal life.  You are a blessing.

We are on our journey back home that has taken us from Germany to Romania then London and Atlanta. The Lord has opened a wide door of opportunity for us. There are few words to express my overwhelming joy at having the chance to return to Romania and the ministry the Lord has prepared for us here.

The people are treasures with a great faith and so few things of the world. We have worked with Pastor Peter from our first trip over 3 years ago where our ministry, H.I.S. BridgeBuilders, was able to give a gift to help construct several small classrooms for the children’s Bible studies. The rooms have been in process for 3 years. Their own men come on the weekend to work on the construction when there is money for supplies. This small, vibrant church voted  not to have air condition or heating so they could invest in their children the Word of God. Their sacrificial, servant hearts humble me every time I am with them.

We were blessed to be able to walk among the people in the Valley of Galati with Bogdon, our city pastor. In the snow and freezing temperatures we were hosted graciously in every house and able to pray with the new believers. As we went in their homes there was no heating and maybe 12 people living in a 2 room home. They opened their doors with no shoes and no socks, but with graciousness and love that only comes from Christ.

By God’s grace we were given funds from several families in Dallas to buy clothing for the children and fire wood for the homes. According to Bogdon, who was once sold drugs and ran a prostitution ring, most of the women in the Valley have been involved in prostitution and the men have stolen and/or dealt drugs. It was amazing though to see how the power of God has changed so many hearts already in the Valley! Now these believers are bringing others to Christ and living a life led by Christ in a sin saturated culture.

Several homes we visited had some very ill people that cannot even see doctors because they do not have papers. A common cold can be their death sentence. I was humbled by God’s undeserved grace of the medical care I have received. I was so moved and we must continue to pray for their healing and restoration. Not only are we going to pray for that, but we are working on enabling these people to receive the testing and care they need. I am grateful for Chris Anderson, our Director of International Missions, and the amazing work that he is doing in Romania as he works with local pastors, businessman, and Serving Him Ministries.

It was a joy to meet up with Allen Hobbs and BJ Woods, who are on the international board, in Bucharest and spend several days with them in the Valley. What a great God we have to allow us the opportunity to go to Romania six months after I was supposed to go, but couldn’t because of the cancer diagnosis! It is evident that God’s timing is perfect as we were able to establish our international foundation, meet the needs of the people in the bitter cold, pray for healing and medical help, and had the opportunity to preach the gospel.

The climax of any day is the opportunity to preach the gospel. Sunday we had the joy of preaching at the Holy Trinity Church in Galati with Pastor Ovi. This is the largest Baptist church in the city and is partnering with us and continues to pray each week for our ministry in the Valley. This is an incredible gift for us to work with this humble pastor and people. When the invitation was given to know Christ there were two older men that came forward to surrender their lives to Christ. A missionary in the worship service said that typically in Romania you will not have older men come forward. So we praise God for He is mighty to save.

Later that day, we went to our house church in the Valley that is hosted by Gina, the wife of the “King of Thieves”. Gina’s husband, one of Bogdon’s friends, is now in prison. This beautiful, heated home that was once the epicenter of drugs in the Valley is now a lighthouse of hope where there Gospel is preached and lives are transformed daily. Truly, by God’s grace we are taking back the Valley one life, family, and house at a time. In every way it is just like the early church in the Book of Acts. When we shared the Gospel at the house church, a lady named Roxanna gave her life to Christ. We challenged the house church to be strong and courageous and believe God for miracles for themselves and their community.

God has clearly opened this door as I was able to go with my sons and this incredible team and once again be used by God. I was humbled and blessed to watch my sons be such a great encouragement to me, the team, and the people of Romania. Thankfully, the ministry in which we serve is not just a city transforming mission, but a generational ministry in which young and old are called together for His glory.  Thank you for all your prayers and love in this season of God’s blessing!

We have been blessed beyond words by your prayers and provision for our medical and ministry needs. There is no way to adequately express our gratitude other than continue to be faithful to the mission God has given us to do. We have been blessed to see this beautiful country of Germany, but there is a great spiritual void among the people. There is an understanding of religion, but not a relationship with God through Jesus Christ and therefore you do not see the joy of knowing Jesus in many of the people.

It was our joy on our first day in Frankfurt to get to witness to Wolde. He is well educated, originally from Ethiopia, and has several children. He shared that he brought his family to Germany so that they could get a good education while he continues to work at the hotel where he is extremely overqualified for the work he does. I loved his servant heart and when he said he was from Ethiopia the Lord kept reminding me of the Ethiopian in the Bible that was traveling and needed the Word of God. We began to talk at length regarding Jesus Christ and the Gospel. When I asked him about why God should let him into heaven, he said, because he has trusted Christ personally as his Lord and Savior.  We rejoiced together that we are brothers in Christ.

The next evening we had dinner at the hotel and our waiter’s name was Mathias. He was recently married and is a young dad with a two year old son. I thanked God for my sons and daughter who know Christ and had a deep burden to share the gospel with Mathias so that he could train his own son up in the ways of the Lord. The next day I returned to the restraunt to see if Mathias was there, but they said he would not be back until Monday. We were leaving Sunday for Heidelberg, so I began to ask God how we could share the gospel with Mathias. The answer to my prayer came quickly. I wrote a note to Mathias with a gospel tract and a small gift for his son and placed it in an envelope. Then I gave it to Wolde to give to Mathias so that he could have the oppurtunity to share the gospel with Mathias. Please pray for Wolde, this amazing Christian servant leader, and for Mathias and his family to come to Christ.

We arrived in Heidelberg on Sunday afternoon and had a wonderful family devotional out of "Streams in the Desert”. It was unbelievable how the Lord was confirming, through our devotional time, every step we have taken to be here in Germany. The clinic and Dr. Kief are wonderful. Monday I went through my first treatment of oxygen/ozone/vitamin C and took my first shots of the vaccine prepared for me using my own blood that I will be taking over the next six months. The shots are filled with antigens and killer cells to work with the Tarceva to help my body naturally kill the cancer. The doctor is very hopeful about our case and shared with us several other cancer patients who are now, by God’s grace, completely cancer free.

While there the first day, I was preoccupied with giving myself the first shot and the treatments and did not pray with the staff. I was very burdened for them and Monday night I asked God to open the door for me to talk with them about the Lord.

This Tuesday morning while receiving my treatments Maya, Dr. Kief’s daughter who manages the clinic, walked into the room and said, “I am very encouraged by you”. I didn’t quite know what she was talking about. She said that she had looked up our website (hisbridgebuilders.com) from a business card that I had dropped when leaving the clinic the day before. She said in Germany we are all either Protestant or Catholic, but that is only on Sunday and other than that there is no Spirit led living through the week. She said that she felt as though she and others were trapped in a Golden Cage in the churches. This struck me as I go to magnificent churches in every town, but there is so little effect on the surrounding community. This is the country of the great reformer, Martin Luther, and now the churches are “golden cages” that have a form of religion inside their walls, but no demonstration of God’s power and grace in the culture. We must all be on guard or during the next generation our own churches may become golden cages unless we break out of our comfort zones and share the hope of Christ with the least and the lost around us. Comfort is a deadly enemy of the Christian, and the prettier and more magnificent the cage the happier we are to stay in it and watch the world around us decay. I am encouraged to pray more now than ever for my own faith to be God’s light and salt to the culture in which I live. Gratefully we had the opportunity to share the gospel with my nurse Christa and Maya and they both shared that they are already Christians. I asked them to prayerfully consider ways that they could use their clinic to help serve the least. Maya told me the next time we meet would be to visit, as she believes the treatments will be used by God in a positive way, and to discuss ways that she could serve in ministry. We thank God for the opportunity to spur one another on in good works.

I feel great and thank God for your prayers. Pray for us as we go back to witness to several shop owners in Heidelberg that we have met over the last couple of days. Pray that we will never be content to just live in our golden cages, but to live by the golden rule to love others more than ourselves. You are in our prayers of thanksgiving.

This year, I am confident, more now than ever, that our circumstances should not dictate our outlook on life.  I am prayerful that we will not look ou,t but up to a loving Creator and Sustainer, who is faithful to meet us at our every point of need.  Interestingly, in our culture of worldliness within the Christian life, we gauge our lives by worldly measures: i.e. money, success, academics, health, relationships and popularity.  These artificial indicators are just like the many tests I went through that said I was healthy, just months before a C.T. scan found the cancer.  The cancer had been there for months and there were still no noticeable signs.  Prayerfully, we will all abandon the artificial diagnosis of spiritual health and ask God to search, try, and show us the true condition of our hearts.  The Apostle Paul amazes me because he continues to go from city to city to share the good news of Jesus Christ with the full knowledge that he would probably be beaten, stoned, thrown in jail, or killed.  Yet, in all these circumstances he counted it all joy that he could serve God and then stay up all night making tents to provide for his physical needs.  Paul was an ordinary man who lived an expectant and exciting life.  This can be ours as we train our minds and hearts, as Paul did, to love God and others more than ourselves.  Even at the height of his ministry, his goal was that he might know God and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His suffering and dying to self.  There are those that would preach simply to know God and His power.  Let me speak from my heart; there can be no resurrection power until we die to self and surrender completely to the Lordship of Christ.  The battle rages daily and can be measured by our responses to difficult circumstances.  When the Lord is leading and I am following,  I am grateful that I only have digestive issues and not a feeding tube, that my hair is thinning and not completely gone, that my skin is dry and burning and not covered in sores, that my cancer is being used by God to advance His kingdom and not my own.  How great is our God!  Let us not waste the difficult circumstance of our life. Let us rejoice like Paul who when he was imprisoned, saw the Lord use that to bring the Imperial Guard to Christ and ultimately those in the house of Caesar.  He is working for our good and the advancement of the Gospel. God’s character never changes!  He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. 

As we depart for Germany, I am expectant and excited about every door the Lord will open for us to be a witness for Him, whether in the airport, on the planes, in the hotels, or in the clinics.  Thank You God for allowing me to be sent out with two of my sons as Your ambassadors.  We rejoice that we will be able to join Bogdan in the streets of Galati, Romania and minister to some of the poorest people in Europe.  We thank God that we will be able to preach in Pastor Ovi’s church about our God who is able to save you, heal you, and help you.  What a great privilege it is to be used by God.  We are expectant and excited about all that God has planned for us as we keep our eyes, our hearts, our minds, and our very lives focused , captivated and surrendered to Jesus Christ.  We love each of you and thank you for your prayers and partnering with us in our ministry.  We thank God for every remembrance of you.

This past week we had the joy of hosting an open house for our neighborhood. It was a true blessing to meet so many of our new neighbors. We are thankful that God has planted us in a new mission field in North Dallas. We rejoice that in our old neighborhood in Plano several families came to know Christ as their Savior and are now serving with us in ministry.

 There were two neighbors who came alone without their husbands. One of their husbands had died of cancer and the other recently had a stroke. Immediately I felt a connection to these two wonderful ladies who have been through so much. It caused me to think about my wife if she were alone during the Holidays. We just began to pray over them and with them in the hallway of our home. When we were done praying, there were tears of thanks that God had brought us together to cast our cares upon Him in prayer. We are so thankful for the opportunity to pray for others that they too would know the peace of God that passes understanding. What a peace God gives when we are obedient to His word.

I marvel at the faith of Mary as she said to the angel, “Let it be to me according to your Word.” Oh that we would all respond by faith to the whisper of the Holy Spirit to reclaim the Christmas season to be about Christ and the Gospel. I am prayerful that we will not be like Zechariah, who was busy in the church about a religious act of worship and not receive by faith God’s Word that He has for us in this Christmas season. Of to be busy, but not fruitful is the plan of the enemy.

We rejoice that God has demonstrated His grace to us in our children this Christmas. Michael and Caitlin, who recently got engaged, gave us their gift on Sunday and it brought Laura and I to tears. They committed together to be BridgeBuilder 300’s and give $100 monthly to the ministry in order to further the gospel to the hurt and the least. What a joy to our hearts as their first Christmas and their first financial decision together is to build God’s Kingdom. Many of you may be deciding what to buy the person who has everything this Christmas season. Why not prayerfully invest in your mission offering, or be a BridgeBuilders 300 in honor of them, and give the give that will keep on giving into eternity. There is so much real need around us here, in Dallas, and around the world. May we prioritize the continuation of the work that Jesus began over two thousand years ago, to go and tell the good news that Jesus came to seek and save the lost.

We will be together on Christmas Day in BonTon with our family in the afternoon. Recently, Phillip Figg mentioned how his son had come to BonTon last Christmas and was knocking on doors to distribute food in the neighborhood. To his surprise, one of the residents was a young lady who worked where he worked part time and was in great need. This past thanksgiving, Phillip’s son called and said that he was bringing a family to their home for Thanksgiving day. It was the same family they ministered to last Christmas. What a blessing! For more information on our Christmas Day Event, please go to our website at www.hisbridgebuilders.org. There you can also find additional information on BridgeBuilders 300.

We (Myself, Michael, and Jonathan) will be leaving January 7^th to go to Germany and Romania. We will have the opportunity to minister and preach in Romania with our ministry there among some of the poorest people in Europe, where only 2-3% of the population are evangelical Christians, but those that are, are rich in faith. We thank God for every remembrance of you and are expecting great things from a great God!

This Christmas more than any other I am very aware of the gift of family. For so many, this is a season of great joy; but for many others it can be the most difficult time of the year. The amazing miracle of Jesus birth and ministry is that all of us who know Him as Savior and Lord are grafted into the family of God. I marvel at the blessing of my own children and how much I love them and am thankful for them, this year especially. I praise God daily for my wife and children. Some evenings, I stay up late and just look at the Christmas tree, the gifts, the stockings, and am reminded to pray for my precious family. I rejoice that I have a hope within me that is not based on my circumstances, but on a savior, Jesus Christ, who is the hope of the world.

One of my dearest friends and brothers in Christ is currently going through a very difficult time financially to start a company in this upside down economy. His soul desire in starting this company is to be able to give more money to ministries. He feels like telling the nay sayers who tell him to quit, “I am sorry, but I have decided to be hopeful.” He is not hopeful in banks or investors, but in a God who loves him and desires to accomplish great things through him for His glory. This man that I call my brother has placed everything he has on the altar to fund his new business so he can give more to ministries. He loves the poor, the orphans, and the widows and calls them God’s POWs. They are his family and he is my brother and Velma’s brother as well. God has knit our hearts together. 

Each Saturday, as my family and many others go to the inner city from north Dallas and have lunch with Velma while doing Bible studies for the community, it is just like the book of Acts. We are gathering house to house, praying, breaking bread, and sharing the Word and there is not a need among the body. Whether it is a former welfare mom, Velma, or a north Dallas millionare, we are all family. I am thankful that we can each do our part to bring the Gospel to the cities in which we live. Amazingly, God has allowed this movement to foster many new relationships between diverse segments of the body of Christ, to demonstrate His love to a lost and dying world. Recently, I received a copy of an incredible video testimony about the “power of family” sharing the relationship that has developed through our ministry between the Murphs and the Yarbroughs. This video was done for us by the Heritage Foundation and we are thankful for this incredible testimony of the power of the gospel to save us and reconcile us to God and each other. You may view this video by going to the following link:

                                                                        Video Testimony

I pray this is an encouragement to all of us, to reach out to those around us and expect great things from a great God this coming year.

Medically, I continue to feel very good and am thankful for your continued prayers. We are planning to go to Germany for medical treatment in early January that will work in conjunction with the Tarceva. By God’s grace and His provision, a family at Prestonwood has provided for our flights and accommodations to allow Michael and Jonathan to go with me. In addition, to going to Germany for treatment, we will be going to Romania to minister with Bogdon, who leads our ministry there, to some of the poorest people in Europe. I am overwhelmed with gratitude for the opportunity that we have to go and serve God’s family in Romania. We will be leaving January 7^th. I will give you further information in our next blog regarding this treatment. We love you and praise God that you are forever part of our eternal family.

P.S. We have already received $13,800 towards our $25,000 matching grant, we are humbled by God’s continued goodness and grace.