Mid - Terms are Over!

Thank you for your patience through my recent "Planned Avoidance" on the blog. It was a much needed break, especially for my studies and for spending extra time with my family. In the following posts I will attempt to get you back up to speed as to what our family has been doing during the last four weeks.


Mid terms are done and graded. Thank the Lord for His Grace through this intense time of study and testing. I did ok on all of my tests and was pleased overall with what I have been learning so far in my first semester.

My grammar test was the hardest.

My phonetics test was surprisingly shorter than I thought it would be. But that's the genius of the learning process, the teacher always makes you study more than you are tested over.

A random phonetic quiz:*
What Spanish letter is a
velar, voiceless stop?
*This quiz is only for non-RGBI language school participants.
Anyone who has attended RGBI in the past,
or currently attending RGBI, will not have their comments posted.
The answer will be posted in the next post.

My conversation test was the shortest. Just 10 minutes "talking" in Spanish with my professor over key concepts and vocabulary.

Bottom line...grades are not the main thing, learning is. My classmates have been a great group to learn with and we all have developed deeper friendships during this semester. I feel many of them will be life long friends in the ministry that will stay connected with our family via technology (Facebook, emails, or Skype).

The Life of Riley

When I was young, I had no fears
While playing outside with my toy gun.
But I sit at my desk shedding linguistical tears,
Realizing the struggle has only begun.

Yesterday, my son fell asleep amidst his blocks.
While I was doing the same in my chair.
Up real late studying and not lookin' at clocks,
Meanwhile my kids are in bed without a care.

The sad thing is that they will learn faster,
Earning them stickers with a cute little smiley
I only get sticky notes that say "See Me After".
Oh to have the Life of Riley!

Spr. - Sum. 08 Prayer Card

Hard copies are being printed and will
be mailed to individual supporters
and supporting churches.

We are willing to send you a copy
if you request one.

Thanks for praying for our family!

Fill In the B_______

In attempts to memorize a recent dialog for class, I wrote out the entire thing on my white board and started erasing two words at a time, leaving only the first letter of each word. As you can see from the picture below...there were a lot of fill in the blanks.


The Lord has been working in my life lately about several things, one of them being trusting in Him for the unknown, the future, the many "fill in the blanks". My (sinful) bent desires to know all the "fill in the blanks" ahead of time, so I can think about them. Plan them out. Google them. Chart them. Edit them. Work on communicating them. Read a book about them.

Here is the growing list of "fill in the blanks" concerning our family and ministry:

1. We will be at full support by ____________ (date).

2. We will have a total of _______ (#) supporting churches.

3. Our shipping costs will be _________ ($).

4. We will arrive in Chile on __________ (date).

5. Our five plane tickets will cost _________ ($).

6. We will be living in ___________ (city) during our mentorship time.

7. Our children will go to school at ___________ (type of schooling - home, private, public).

8. I will be able to speak Spanish well enough to minister by __________ (date).

9. _____________ (name) and ______________ (name) will be serving with us on the church planting team.

10. We will attempt to plant a church in the ______________ neighborhood in __________ (city).

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I am grateful for a co-worker who challenged me with the following: "David, sometimes we just have to live today without an answer." I will go on record here and confess that I daily wrestle with this inner battle (trusting vs. over-thinking). Pray that I will do the former and not the later.

"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths."

Proverbs 3:5-6

Preparing My Heart for Easter

The Power of the Cross

Oh, to see the dawn
Of the darkest day:
Christ on the road to Calvary.
Tried by sinful men,
Torn and beaten, then
Nailed to a cross of wood.

Chorus:
This, the pow’r of the cross:
Christ became sin for us;
Took the blame, bore the wrath—
We stand forgiven at the cross.

Oh, to see the pain
Written on Your face,
Bearing the awesome weight of sin.
Ev’ry bitter thought,
Ev’ry evil deed
Crowning Your bloodstained brow.

Now the daylight flees;
Now the ground beneath
Quakes as its Maker bows His head.
Curtain torn in two,
Dead are raised to life;
“Finished!” the vict’ry cry.

Oh, to see my name
Written in the wounds,
For through Your suffering I am free.
Death is crushed to death;
Life is mine to live,
Won through Your selfless love.

Final Chorus:
This, the pow’r of the cross:
Son of God—slain for us.
What a love! What a cost!
We stand forgiven at the cross.

Words by Keith Getty & Stuart Townend
© 2005 Thankyou Music.

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In Christ Alone

In Christ alone my hope is found;
He is my light, my strength, my song;
This cornerstone, this solid ground,
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My comforter, my all in all—
Here in the love of Christ I stand.

In Christ alone, Who took on flesh,
Fullness of God in helpless babe!
This gift of love and righteousness,
Scorned by the ones He came to save.
Till on that cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied;
For ev'ry sin on Him was laid—
Here in the death of Christ I live.


There in the ground His body lay,
Light of the world by darkness slain;
Then bursting forth in glorious day,
Up from the grave He rose again!
And as He stands in victory,
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me;
For I am His and He is mine—
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death—
This is the pow'r of Christ in me;
From life's first cry to final breath,
Jesus commands my destiny.
No pow'r of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
Till He returns or calls me home—
Here in the pow'r of Christ I'll stand.

Words by Keith Getty & Stuart Townend
Copyright © 2001 Kingsway Thankyou Music
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"And if Christ has not been raised,
then our preaching is in vain
and your faith is in vain."

I Corinthians 15:14

Planned Avoidance

For the next three weeks (or so) I will be suspending posting on our blog for (but not limited to) the following reasons:

-Mid-terms are coming up next week

-Planning to spend some extra time with my children (and wife) during the next few weekends

-I am starting to work on several new sermons & power points in preparation for this summer's speaking opportunities

-Clearing my schedule for Easter week for more time for reading and personal study

-I need to catch up on emails, thank you notes, and other correspondence

-Hopefully a few extra hours of sleep

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I will remind you to continue to pray for our family during the month of March (use this list or the list on the right side-bar).

Note: While I will not be posting on the blog, I will be doing some updating and adding several things on the right side-bar. Keep your eye out for those updates in the next few days.

15 Ways to Help Third Culture Kids

*The following taken from an article written by Tia who volunteers at Desiring God in the International Outreach department.
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Third Culture Kids (TCKs) are children who grow up in a culture other than their parents’. Their “home” culture is the first culture; their “host” culture, the second. And they live in the middle, the “third” culture. TCKs include children of missionaries or other international workers. They face unique struggles in their lives of transition. It’s our privilege as the body of Christ to provide care for them as they join with their parents in God’s call on their lives to be overseas.

Here are 15 ideas from the TCK Advocate at Frontiers on how to love TCKs:

1. Begin a relationship with one—or with a whole family of TCKs. Commit to keeping in touch with them. Many people are in TCK’s lives for only a short time. The long-term people are few and greatly appreciated. Be one of those long-term people.

2. Seek them out when they are “home” visiting your country. Make it a priority to spend time with them when they come back.

3. Learn their names. This may seem small, but many people only know their parents’ names; it is significant to them when people remember their names as well.

4. Listen to them. Ask meaningful questions about their lives.

5. Introduce your kids to them. Encourage them to exchange pictures with each other and send cards and emails to each other when they are apart.

6. Go visit them in their country!

7. Invite a college-age TCK whose parents are overseas to live with you.

8. Invite TCKs who are in your area without their parents to come over for holidays and school breaks. They may need an adopted family. Communicate with their parents and encourage them in their relationship with their parents.

9. Learn about what it’s like to grow up as a TCK. Visit websites like TC Kid or MisLinks.

10. Pray for the TCKs when you pray for their parents. Pray Scripture for the children. Read some suggestions on how to pray for them.

11. Encourage families as they make decisions for educating their children overseas. Many families choose to use local schools so their child can be a part of the culture. Be encouraging and pray that their children will shine for Jesus in their schools. Some find that boarding school is the best option for their children. Other families desire to homeschool their children. Consider sharing your resources with them or visiting a homeschooling fair on their behalf.

12. Consider giving them your frequent flyer miles to help with transportation to and from their two countries.

13. Send quality paperback books to TCKs overseas. Books can be like best friends and will be re-read and shared with others.

14. Don’t be surprised if TCKs do not seem to appreciate your culture like you do. TCKs often feel overwhelmed by all the excesses in American culture. For example, they may feel surprised by the size of grocery stores, how often people eat out, the high cost of entertainment and how often people “splurge,” the lack of modest clothing even in the church, the sensuality in TV shows and movies, and how much people eat in one sitting.

15. Get advice right from the source—ask TCKs what makes them feel loved and supported.

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I am sure that there are many more creative ways to interact with missionary kids. Make it a goal this year to connect with a missionary family and get to know them in a deeper way.

Thanks Wikipedia for the Discouragement

Mid-terms are next week.

Just a time when one needs encouragement right?

Well Wikipedia came up short on encouragement I needed...

It states that, "

The Spanish spoken in Chile is notoriously difficult for foreigners to understand due to the dropping of final syllables and 's' sounds, the very soft pronunciation of some consonants, and the high levels of slang employed, particularly in Santiago and the surrounding areas.

Chileans also tend to speak much faster than natives of neighboring countries. These factors all contribute to newly arrived visitors to the country, even proficient Spanish speakers, hearing no more than indecipherable mumbles in early encounters with locals.

-For more on Chilean Spanish go to Wikipedia

I Will Set My Hope in God to Learn This Language!

Praying for Third Culture Kids

We have asked you to pray specifically for one thing for our family each day during the month of March. I wanted to add the following article after reading it online today. Please use this as a template to pray through for our children and other MK children that you know and support.
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"Surrendering to God's call to missions calls for sacrifice and adjustment. This is especially true of the children of the missionaries. They have to face the task of leaving their homes and going to another culture or being separated from parents in order to attend boarding school. Sometimes the children are grown and see their parents move to the mission field, often being separated by thousands of miles. The children of missionaries also need the prayers of believers. The children of missionaries are vulnerable and open to the attacks of Satan, and they need prayer support. The following are prayer requests that you can pray for the children of missionaries. You can use these or adapt them."

¨ Pray that the children will have a personal and growing relationship with Jesus Christ (John 3:15-16, 15:4-5; 2 Peter 3:18).

¨ Pray that the children will be content in any situation that they find themselves in (Philippians 4:11-13).

¨ Plead that the children will have a loving and open relationship with their parents (Ephesians 6:4).

¨ Call on God to enable the children to develop godly friendships that will encourage them and help them grow in Christ (Proverbs 17:17, 27:17).

¨ Pray that the children will learn the language of the land they are living in and will be able to communicate with the people (Jeremiah 29).

¨ Pray the children will have opportunities to minister in their situation (Matthew 20:28).

¨ Pray that God would enable the parents and children to work through any difficulties that they are having (Ephesians 6:1-4).

¨ Plead that the children will be protected from loneliness and discouragement (Hebrews 13:5).

¨ Pray that the children will have clear guidance as to what is the will of God for their life (Psalm 23:3).

You can also pray for God's work of grace in the MK's life. The following prayer guide can help you do this.

Salvation: "Lord, do your work in _______________'s heart. Enable him/her to understand and trust in the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory (John 6:44; 2 Timothy 2:10).

Growth: "I pray that _________________ may grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18)."

Love for God's Word: "Father, I pray that You will create in __________________ a hunger for the Word of God. May he/she find Your Word more precious than much pure gold and sweeter than honey from the comb (Psalm 19:10)."

Love: "Father, grant that ______________ will learn to live a life of love for God and others through the Spirit who lives in him/her and pours out the love of God in his her heart (Romans 5:5)."

Purity: "Create in ______________ a pure heart, O God, and cause that purity to be shown in his/her actions (Psalm 51:10)."

Faith: "I ask that faith will take root and grow in _____________'s so that by faith he/she may receive what is promised to him/her (Luke 17:5-6; Hebrews 11:1-40)."

A Servant's Heart: "O God, create a servant's heart in ______________ that he/she may serve wholeheartedly as if they were serving the Lord and not men (Ephesians 6:7)."

Hope: "I pray that You, the God of hope, would cause hope to overflow in ______________'s life (Romans 15:13)."

Humility: "God, please cultivate in ________________ the ability to have true humility before You and to show true humility before all (Titus 3:2; 1 Peter 5:5).

Compassion: "O Lord, please clothe _______________ with the virtue of compassion (Colossians 3:12)."

Honesty and integrity: "May honesty and integrity be my __________________'s virtue and their protection (Psalm 25:21)."

Self-control: "Father, help __________________ not to be like the many others around him/her, but enable him/her to be alert and self-controlled in all that he/she does (1 Thessalonians 5:16)."

Justice: "God, help _________________ to love justice as You do and act justly in all that he/she does (Psalm 11:7; Micah 6:8)."

Faithfulness: "Let love and faithfulness never leave ______________, but bind these twin virtues around his/her neck and write them on the tablet of his/her heart (Proverbs 3:31)."

Courage: "Enable ________________ to always be strong and courageous in his/her character and his/her actions (Deuteronomy 31:6)."

Mercy: "Let _________________ always be merciful as his/her Father is merciful (Luke 6:36)."

Respect for self, others, and authority: "Lord, enable _______________ to show proper respect to everyone as Your Word commands (1 Peter 2:17)."

Biblical self-esteem: "God, help __________________ to develop a strong sense of self-esteem that is rooted in the righteousness of Jesus and the realization that he/she is God's workmanship, created in Christ (Ephesians 2:10)."

Perseverance: "God, teach _______________ perseverance, especially to run the race with perseverance the race marked out for him/her (Hebrews 12:1)."

Joy: "Let _____________ be filled with joy given by the Holy Spirit (1 Thessalonians 1:6)."

Peace-loving: "Lord, enable _________________ to make every effort to do what leads to peace (Romans 14:19)."

Responsibility: "Grant that __________________ will learn responsibility because each one should carry his/her own load (Galatians 6:5)."

Generosity: "Enable _______________ to be generous and willing to give, laying up treasure for himself/herself as a firm foundation for the coming age (1 Timothy 6:18-19)."

Kindness: "Lord, cause ________________ to be kind to others at all times (1 Thessalonians 5:15)."

Willingness and ability to work: "Lord, teach __________________ the value of work and cause him/her to work with all his/her heart to You and not to men (Colossians 3:23)."

Passion for God: "Lord, please create a passion in _________________'s heart to know You and love You (Psalm 63:8)."

Prayerfulness: "God, grant that _________________'s life would be characterized by prayer. Enable him/her to pray in the spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests (Ephesians 6:18)."

Gratitude: "Grant that _________________ will always be overflowing with thankfulness and will always give thanks to You for all things through the name of the Lord Jesus Christ (Ephesians 5:20; Colossians 2:7)."

Self-discipline: "God, I ask that ________________ will acquire a disciplined and prudent life, doing what is right, just, and fair (Proverbs 1:3)."

A Heart for Missions: "Father, create a desire in ______________ to see Your glory declared among the nations, to see Your marvelous deeds among all peoples (Psalm 96:3)."

Contentment: "Lord, teach ___________________ the secret of being content in any and every situation through Him who gives strength (Philippians 4:12-13).

Adjustment: "Father, I pray that You will enable _______________ to adjust to where he/she is living. Enable him/her to deal with where home is. Give him/her the strength to do this (Philippians 4:12-13).

Insight: "Lord, I ask that ________________ will see the advantages of living in and knowing more than one culture (Philippians 4:12-13).

Identity: "Father, I pray that _________________ will be able to adapt to other American children. ___________________'s life and lifestyle will be different from those that have lived in only once culture. Grant ______________ the wisdom and grace to develop friendships with other American children (Philippians 4:12-13).

(source: www.kingdompraying.com)
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Come back tomorrow for 15 Practical Ways to Serve Third Culture Kids.