Building a House on THE Rock

Tonight Lisa and I set off to observe one aspect of Teen Challenge ministry here in Lisbon. For those of you who are like me and not aware of the exactly what the organization called Teen Challenge does, let me share with you what I have learned so far.

Teen Challenge has been around for close to 50 years. They ministry primarily to people who suffer from addictive problems, such as, drug addicts and alcholics. They setup their own rehab centers and programs. Through volunteers and staff they also reach out into the drug communitites and shelters to invite them to a "coffe house." Seeking to lead them to Christ, get them into rehab, and eventually help them to transition back into family and society. That is the goal. Teen Challenge has 5 of these rehab centers in the greater Lisbon area and seems to have a great ministry setup here in Portugal.

So let me share with you a little about tonight. We met up with 4 other people and drove to what was at one time the worst drug Gehtto in Lisbon. Our group was made up of: Rhicardo (former addict, now a staff counselor at one of the rehab centers), Pedro & another man (nearing the completion of their rehab program), Cynthia (never an addict but touched by the addiction of someone very close to her), Lisa & I. I think a motley crew at best.

As we are driving I am told that we will pull up by an area where addicts hang out to sell and do drugs, that we will pull up and they will just start coming to the van. Well, that's just the way it happened. Truly no sooner had we stopped then people were standing around the van. Teen Challenge realizes that as Christ taught us through His life and ministry, often we must first meet a felt need before we can meet a spiritual one. In that spirit we had brought sandwiches, soup and tea for these people and they came out of the woodwork to receive it. Yes many of them ate and then left quickly, but they did not go far. Standing by the van we saw deals going down across the street. I stood there so sad that "nothing was being done about this," yet that's exactly what we were doing...trying to DO something about it. We had met their felt need and were trying to invite them to the coffee house in hopes that we might be able to meet their spiritual need.

Cynthia had told us on the way that there was a young man that was supposed to come back to the coffee house with us. He had told her he would previously, she was just praying that he would keep his word. The time then came for us to back up and head to the coffee house. No one had agreed to come with us, this man Cynthia had told us about had come for food earlier but then disappeared. We waited, we looked for him, we waited some more. Finally sadly we piled into the van and started to drive away, suddenly this man was running down the sidewalk, flagging us down. We stopped and picked him up, then headed to the coffee house.

Enroute to the coffee house we cruised a section of the city that a group on foot was to have traveled. This area was known for as a high prostitution area, driving by we could see them standing alone the road and down side roads - my heart ached for them, caught in a world so difficult to be freed from. Continuing on we stopped at the coffee house, as we entered it seemed quite full. Lisa and I sat down at a table with two ladies and were observers the remainder of the night.

At the coffee house they sing a couple of worship songs and have a message as well as having counselors stationed at every table. As we sat there the place began to fill, by the time worship was starting there must have been over 30 people. People invited off the street and people from a local shelter as well as staff and volunteers.

Tonight's message was about the two men that built their houses, one on the rock and one on the sand. I listened as Cynthia translated for me to a man who had been freed from an 11 year drug addiction and was now preaching to these people. His message was simple but truth and the way that he challenges the listeners was great. I sat there both excited to hear him at work and wondering how effective is something like this. Well at the end 2 people prayed to follow Christ, one of them was the man we had brought that almost missed the van.

Many times we sit and play the what if game. What if this had been different, I never would have made that mistake. As I think back over tonight I am playing the What if game, but from the opposite point of view. What if we hadn't waited, what if he had missed the van...I really don't want to answer those questions, and I really don't know if he will seek help for his addiction. I don't really know what will happen with him in the future, but what I do know is that instead of playing the what if game maybe we should all try to seize every moment, serve others felt needs, following Christ's example and pray that others with see Christ through our lives, our love, our actions and then maybe one day they will begin to build their house on the ROCK.

Tonight I was touched, I was convicted. I pray that going forward I will seize each moment, each opportunity to point people to the ROCK knowing that He is our only good foundation.

Prayer Points & Schedule

-This week has been a Leadership Seminar for the GEM team which we will finish up tomorrow.

-The EDGE kids have one more week of their language classes. Please pray that they will finish well and be able to continue some of the relationships into the future.

-Next Tuesday & Wednesday the GEM team will be doing some team building and planning for the year. Please pray for increased trust among the team and that plans are formed for the year we will have guidance, that we would not make these plans for US but rather for what God has in store for this ministry.

-Next Thursday, August 31st I will be flying back to Wisconsin to attending my brother Jeremy's wedding. It will be a SHORT weekend trip. Please pray for safe travel, for lots of energy (Jetlag would be a killer), and quality time with my family.

-September 4th we will begin a church planting class. This class is one I am very excited about, but it begins the day I return from my brother's wedding. Please pray for the class and those that will be participating (GEM & EDGE), for my jetlag in returning to Portugal, and for those teaching the class.

-September 18th is when the GEM team will begin their language classes. Please begin praying for the friendships we will develop and for each of our abilities to grasp the language.

Thank you in advance for your prayers! It is amazing to see the doors the Lord is opening as you bathe this ministry in prayer.

They sleep, but they do not snore

After a long week of sessions, early mornings and late nights we were assigned an early departure time.

We were the short straws elected to leave the hotel in Sopron, Hungary at 4:30 am to travel the 90 minutes to Vienna, Austria to catch our plane home. At that hour of the morning we were quite early and had time for a nice nap before heading through security and boading the plane. One interesting fact about the Vienna airport is that most gates have their own security. While it speeds up your time through security, I found it quite interesting considering the current state of security in other parts of the world.

The Conference

This conference was amazing. I walked into it not knowing what to expect, hoping for good things, but not understanding how I would fit. Well let me share just a couple of ways that the Lord worked through this week-long conference.

First, GEM had brought in an amazing speaker named Emerson. He spoke on Male/Female communication, primarily in the marriage application but the truths were applicable accross the board. The message that he was giving us throughout the week God used to convict, challenge, encourage, and heal so many people - so many marriages. The interesting thing was that I too felt challenged and encouraged by this message. It was so biblical and so simple, Love & Respect. I found myself wondering how I could have missed it for so long. I strongly encourage anyone reading this to check out his book (Love & Respect) or other material on the website, loveandrespect.com. While it is focused on the marriage relationship, we all could use a little help when communicating with the opposite sex - I firmly believe that this provides that help.

Second, I had the opportunity to meet many missionaries from all over Europe. It was so exciting to get to know them and hear about their ministries. I was truly blessed to meet a couple by the name of John & Holly Carden. They serve the Lord in Serbia, a country with less than 50 missionaries working. I was so overwhelmed by the need in Serbia. Its population being comparible to that of the Czech Republic, however the Czech Republic has over 400 missionaries working within its boarders compared to Serbia's 50. Astounding I know. John & Holly's heart for the Serbians, for ministry and for the Lord encouraged me so much. I truly count it a priviledge to have met them and to have been invited to hear about their ministry.

One aspect of their ministry is planning camps for youth in their area of Serbia. Please pray for this ministry, for the students who attend and for John & Holly. Please also pray for guidance. John & Holly have invited myself, Lisa, Bobb & Bri to help with a camp they will be doing in April. We all would love to see the Lord use us in a broader way here in Europe but know that there are many details yet to be worked out. Your prayers for the Lord's work in Serbia as well as our parts in the camp for April are greatly appreciated!

While I cannot begin to due justice to what the Lord did last week, I hope that you have been able to grasp a glimmer of what I experienced. Thank you for praying for the conference, I know that many lives have been changed for the better.

The Promised Land

Three weary travelers in front of the promised land.

 

Vienna, Austria

Mid-week they planned a half-day tour of Vienna, Austria for us. I was excited to see the city but, I am bit embarrassed to say, a little disappointed with the tour. Most of the tour was on the bus driving, Bro I tried to take as many pictures as possible for you! I would love to be able to spend sometime in this city and truly experience some of its history and culture. One treasure I did find however, was the Starbucks. Man, when are we going to get one of those in Portugal!?! 

Sopron, Hungary

Our air travels took us through Germany and then into Vienna, Austria where we traveled by van about 90 minutes to our hotel in Sopron, Hungary. We arrived late Friday evening to a late dinner and then settling in. Saturday a group of us headed into Sopron to see the town. It was a cute town but our sight-seeing was cut short when it started to rain and we were without umbrellas.

The conference was to start that evening so we headed back to the hotel, with a few goodies in hand, to dry off and get ready for the evenings activities.

 

EnRouTe tO AnNUaL CoNFerEnce

Friday morning bright and early Cec, Lisa and myself hopped on a bus and headed for the main Bus/Metro station in Lisbon. Where we promptly caught a cab and headed for the airport. Timing was good because the Landers family arrived shortly after and the Crew headed for the Lufthansa check-in.

The day before I had been pondering the thought...this is kind of like flying from state to state in the US, only we are actually flying to another country. I wondered if the same "3 hour" rule applied here. Well rule or no rule we weren't 3 hours early but since Ron and his family had just arrived I thought NO BIGGY! That was until I arrived at the ticket line for check-in.

We waited in line for at least an hour. Fourtnately this was no DIA and I was not another hour from getting through security and arriving at my gate! We managed to get through security and find the gate with time to spare. I and 2 others were happy for the time to spare as you can see. Our stomachs were telling us we needed a little American grub and we answered it.

After safely arriving at the airport, silencing my stomachs jungle cry, and boarding the plane I was able to sit quietly and think about the events of the coming week. I was not really sure what to expect. This was to be a week long conference where many GEM missionaries gather from all over Europe. Here I am, a 1 year'er who has no idea what the future holds beyond that - How am I going to fit? What could I glean?

Well I decided there were many things I was excited about: to see another country, hear more about GEM, learn & grow, but most of all - I was excited about meeting new people and hearing about their ministries. Little did I know just how powerful this conference would be. 

The GEM Crew

From left to right:
Cec, Kris, Lisa, Ron, Terence (in front), Heidi, Bri, and Bobb

So this is my CREW, let me introduce them to you.

Cec - is one of my fabulous roommates who has blessed me during these past two months. She unfortunately is only here for the short-term and will be heading back to the states the end of September. She is a woman of prayer and tremendously optimistic. She will be greatly missed when she returns to the states.

Kris - arrived in Portugal in June and is Ron's assistant. She is a career worker with GEM and currently is focused on learning the language. She has an eye for detail and is no wide-eyed newcomer to the ins and outs of Portugal as she has been here previously for a year stint. I have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know Kris and look forward to this year with her.

Lisa - is "that girl Lisa" to my friends back home. She is literally my roommate as we share a room in our 3 bedroom house. It is cozy but nice for late night chats. She has a tremendous passion for Jesus and a desire to share Him with those around her. Lisa has a heart for missions and signed up for this year in Portugal with the intent to possibly become career with GEM in the future. She is not yet sure where but I know the Lord is at work and will lead her where she needs to go.

Ron - is our supervisor here in Portugal and has been running this internship since 1996. He and his wife Linda have been involved in ministry here in Portugal for almost 20 years now and have two great daughters named Andreia and Olivia. Ron is passionate about relationships and helping to improve character of Christian Leaders. He also plays tennis, so I am hoping to get in a game sometime and see how I measure up.

Terence - is an extremely passionate guy that is devoted to serving the Lord. He is participating in this ministry here in Portugal for one year. After finishing this year he plans to head to Romania for a 5 year committment and help with a form of Youth Ministry there. He has the heart of a servant and is always willing to jump in and help in any way he can.

Me - I am gal who loves the Lord and wants to live life to bring Him honor. Currently the Lord has really been working on me in the area of prayer and leadership. He is encouraging me to spend more time talking to Him in prayer - and its working! He is also teaching me that there are many different facets of leadership and reminding me that I do not know them all.

Bobb & Bri - are graduates of Moody Bible Institute, so you know they are cool! They really have been such a joy to get to know. They love people and have a passion for discipleship. They too are career with GEM, however they do not yet know where they will be working in Europe for the long-term.

 

The EDGE "Kids"

From left to right:
Debra, Dan, Amy, Sarah, Bethany Daisha, Melissa, and Carla

The EDGE students are part of a 6 month study abroad/internship program through Grace University in Omaha, NE. They arrived in early June and will be taking a full semester course load in addition to their ministry experience here. Currently, during the month of August, they are all enrolled in an intensive month long language class. While studying this month they have begun to reach out to their classmates and build relationships. Many of these classmates came to our Cafe Concert in early August and have continued friendships with the EDGE "kids" since then. They are all gifted people and a wonderful addition to this years team. They will all be greatly missed when the return to the US in late November.

 

The Enghedi House Explained

Reflections from my roommate Lisa on our purpose and reasoning for naming our Home here in Portugal. She speaks for all of us, and does it beautifully.

Welcome to our home, Enghedi! En Gedi, located in eastern Israel is known for its refreshing pools and natural springs. In 1 Samuel 24 we see it is one of the places that David finds refuge from Saul. As much as the waters of En Gedi could only provide temporal refreshment to David, he longed for the living water that refreshes both body and soul. In Psalm 63:1 David writes, "O God, you are my God, earnestly I see you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water." We here athe Enghedi House have found that we desire and long for something more than we ourselves can satisfy. So we've taken Jesus up on his offer found in John 7:37-38, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." As we build relationships with university students and individuals, our hope and prayer is that our home might be a place where they feel welcomed, refreshed, and experience Jesus. We wanted to give our home a name that reflected our desire and EnGhedi it is! Our prayer and hope for those who visit the Enghedi house is that they leave having "tasted and seen that the Lord is good" and seek Him to fill their heart's longing.

Fun Times at the Enghedi House

My roommates and I all hope to use our home as a place to entertain and reach out to those around us. A place where people will feel refreshed. We have thus named it the Enghedi House, which I will try to elaborate on a bit later.

Our first opportunity to entertain was when we realized a team member's birthday was coming. Terence, or Big T as I like to call him, tried to keep it quiet. However, when we found out it enabled us to host a dessert birthday party where everyone was able to enjoy our back patio, while Heidi's Hip-Hop-A-Hipity-Hop-Party Mix played in the background with the wonderful fragrance of grapes turning overhead.

This wonderful evening ended with a rip-roaring game of Crainium - with each team making up the items for the other team resulting in the birthday boy doing a little dance as he hummed a song from the good 'ole days. Good times, good times.

 

Big T's Birthday Party

A couple of weeks ago we threw a birthday party at our home for Terence. He is a member of the GEM team and is planning to serve in Romania for a 5 year term after his time here in Portugal. It was his 24th birthday and we all had a ton of fun.

As I have grown acustomed to, I do not call people by their real names...well at least I try not to - I have now dubbed Terence "Big T." Most of the team came, it was pretty much the best birthday party EVER! I was able to supply the party mix with my ipod - thanks to whomever gave me the veggie tales Cheese burger song - Big T loves veggie tales and was excited I played the song for him.

God is Dead...or is He?

Originally posted August 10th:

Last night my roommate Lisa & I met two 20 something Portuguese young men. Their names were Louis (Lou-ish) and Nuno (New-no). They both were graduates of university in the field philosophy and were very open to "practicing" their english with us. We sat with them for quite sometime at the empty table in the picture. We talked about Portuguese culture, travel and many other trivial things. They shared their plans for the future, to do NOTHING and drink lots of beer while doing it. But then for some reason Nuno made a statement. He said, "God is dead." I have no idea where it came from or why he said it but when I heard those words come from the man sitting next to me, I began to ask myself, "what does that statement really mean?" It is one I have heard before, and is one that gives such a clear picture to the darkness of Europe.

I wrestled with that question again today and began to realize that I must first forget everything I have learned from the bible and His realness in my own life. What does that leave me? Nothing. So I turned to philosophy and logic for answers. I mean if Nuno believes that God is dead by implication God must have been alive at one point. If God was at one time living, why is He now dead? What happened? How did He die?

These questions did not lead me to answer, instead they led to more questions. Is God dead because, like other religious icons, they are human like us and humanity dies? Or maybe it is more subjective than that. Maybe God is dead because we have deemed Him irrelevent to my life or the world around me, and is therefore of no use to me, could this be why God is dead? Yep, still only questions. No answers.

God is so real to me, so relevent to the manner in which I live my life. I cherish the gift of His love letter and the times I can see His hands of love and protection in my life. It breaks my heart to hear those words spoken - "God is dead!" I want to look at them and tell them, "No my friend He is not dead but died, died and rose again!" But you see that is not how things are done here in Europe.

The darkness of this continent and the coldness to the things of God astound me when I try to take it all in, Europe's rejection of God. But God never asked me to take on the burdens of Europe. He asked me to live a life surrendered to Him, demonstrating His love through my life. So what does that mean here in Portugal when those around me say "God is dead."? Its one person at a time, one conversation at a time. Conversation by conversation the darkness of Europe will not look so daunting an obstacle.

Though Lisa and I did not share the beauty of the name of Jesus with Louis and Nuno, we did start that conversation. A conversation that Lord willing will continue into the future when one day we might share the work that Jesus did in their behalf on the cross. Yes He did die, but He is not dead - HE IS ALIVE! 

mY ROoMiEs

Yes, yes - I know I have been delinquent but here it is, a picture of me and my roommates. I have truly been blessed as I have wonderful roommates including my Portuguese roommate Andreia who unfortunately is not in the picture.

Cec in the middle was living in Omaha, NE before coming to Portugal. She will be here for a shorter term than Lisa or I. Please be praying for her finances as she may need to return to the states in September. Lisa and I both feel there would be a great hole without her here and are praying the Lord sees fit to bless her and enable her to stay longer.

Lisa was living in Palm Springs, CA before coming to Portugal. She is my actual roommate and while our room is small we are enjoying each other. Lisa is also Sammy's mommy :) and has vowed not to adopt anymore stray dogs. Also, for those of you in the Young Adults - No I have not establish dominance yet, but everything seems to be going just fine:)

Answered Prayer

Praise God! He certainly does answer prayer! Tonight was our cafe concert. Bryan did a a great job and it was awesome to hear see that the EDGE kids had invited so many people. All together we had around 30 people attend tonight, over half a dozen of those were unbelieving students from the university.

As I sat at the cafe sipping a cup of coffee (nothing like starbucks, but still good) I looked around and there were so many good conversations going on around me. That is what I prayed for, good conversations and the possibility of ongoing relationships. And that is exactly what the Lord provided tonight.

The foundation has been laid, pray that opportunities will come to plant the seeds - hoping that someday they might be part of His harvest.

Brian's Song

This past week The EDGE kids (the college part of our team) began their language studies. We have planned several infomal get togethers for them to invite university students to. While we have not seen any turn out yet from the university one member of our team has made a connection with a 20 something Portuguese guy. He has hung out several times with our team or members of the team. He is asking a lot of questions but needs prayer that he will be open to hearing about Christ.

While none of our plans have yet seen any connections with university students I am hopeful that tomorrow night may be different. We have the priviledge of have a College student with us for two weeks, he is a talented musician and will be playing a small concert at a cafe near the university. We are hoping that through personal invitations, flyers and foot traffic people will drop by and listen to Brian's music.

My prayer is this will open the door for conversations and possibly open the door for continuing relationships with some in attendance. Please pray that God will be honored through this event. That Brian will be used to share Christ and open doors for many on the team to have good conversations. And also that there might be some doors opened for ongoing relationships with some attending.

Concert is scheduled to begin about 6pm here - Portuguese time that will probably be more like 7pm :)
That is around lunch time for many in the states, please lift us up in prayer. Thank you!

An Invitation to Fast & Pray

For any unfamiliar with the spiritual purpose of fasting please let me share from my own experience and understanding. As I read through the scriptures I see that a discipline of fasting is practiced by many seeking to grow closer to God. It is very often closely tied to prayer in its practice. As I read through the life of Jesus, I see that these were disciplines He practiced often and put great value in. Through my own experience I can see that abstaining from something (food) and spending that time in prayer opens up my mind and my heart to communicate with God. It is really the act of sacrificing & dedicating something, in this case our time, to Him.

This is what I am inviting you to participate in. The team of people serving here has set aside Tuesday evenings to Fast & Pray for this ministry. By fasting we are choosing to set aside that time for us to spend in prayer with God. Please feel no pressure to participate, please join us as you feel lead.

This would also include the manner in which you participate. For some that may be setting aside a different time (as your schedule allows) for fasting & prayer, while others it might only be a commitment to a time of prayer on Tuesdays. However the Lord is leading you, I know He will honor His children and their commitments. While I have tried to keep this simple and communicate clearly, I hope that if there are still questions you will serch the scriptures yourself to better understand.

For those wishing to participate, I will try to send out points for focused prayer through email, this may not be on a weekly basis but I will try to keep you apprised of the prayer needs. Here are just a few areas for this next week.

- Internship ministry opportunities
- Team harmony, effectiveness, growth – both personal & spiritual
- Team health
- Language Studies (The EDGE group begins Aug. 3 & the one year interns begin Sept. 18)
- Preparation of the hearts of students we will come into contact with
- Friday evening – this is our first activity for reaching out to students, pray that we will be proactively inviting people to this activity, that people will be interested in joining us, that we will have good conversations and the Lord will open doors for us to invite them to our Saturday activity
- Saturday afternoon – this is only our second activity, pray that we will again be proactively inviting people, that people will be interested, that we will have good conversations, that some of the relationships started on Friday will be continued through this activity, that the Lord will begin a work in students hearts to open the door to conversations about spiritual things.

Thank you again for your prayers! I am so excited to see how the Lord uses the participation in His spiritual disciplines to connect His children & further His ministry to those that do not claim His name.

"For where two or three come together in my name, there I am with them." Matthew 18:20