So far we’ve had a wonderful weekend. The weather has been absolutely beautiful and we enjoyed a morning of playing football and riding toys yesterday morning. I cooked chocolate chip pancakes and sausage for breakfast which the kids amazingly ate up 
. Leslie got to get out with “the girls” (her mom, sister and sister-in-law) for a little bit, which was fun for her but wore her out.
Nannie continues about status quo. It’s hard to think about.
I thought I would write something on missions (or share something I wrote to a church missions committee chairman recently), since I do this every day. This is actually a modified version. My thought is I would have it to use again in the future if I put it on my blog, but it also might encourage others. Or someone out there might write something really provocative and tell me I’ve made no sense. Either way, this is in response to a missions committee chairman who had asked for some suggestions for his church. They had recently asked families to adopt missionaries, and wanted to make a great impact and maintain the momentum.
This is a great idea and I hope that it is going well so far. Here are some of my initial thoughts about how to keep people involved:
1) Promote it! – Folks won’t maintain the momentum or awareness on their own. They need to continually hear about it and see it, from the pulpit, in the bulletin, in small groups, etc… People are busy these days, and even though their hearts are in the right place, their minds are often distracted by a million other things. Instead of simply continually reminding them, you could suggest things such as the following:
a. How to pray – use this document (particularly the second page) to suggest weekly or bi-weekly ways they can pray specifically for their missionary family (there are 34 items, to which you could add others). You could email/mail a note every other week, and rather than say, “pray for your missionary,” you can say, “pray for your missionary, specifically for their understanding the differences between themselves and others on their team.”) You could elaborate more to spur their thoughts to deeper concern and prayer. Bottom line is that prayer is one of the key ways to minister through and to missions so modeling prayer, creating a prayer book, praying in worship services, planning a time of prayer emphasis, praying for the persecuted church, teaching people to pray, etc…are all great ways to move people from wanting to pray to actually praying.
b. Country Fact Sheet – either encourage folks to find or send families a “fact sheet” about a country; use a website like Operation World (or you can use the book by the same title) to email/mail people facts that will spur prayer and develop understanding
c. Missionary Fact Sheet – this could be something very simple that you put together (or get help from us to put it together) that is either specific about a missionary or very general about missionaries (such as issues facing “Third Culture Kids” or the struggles of learning a new language); sharing some such facts as are on this website in a bulletin sidebar, can remind people about language differences, and thus how to pray more specifically for a missionary
2) Story telling – I would suggest that it not just be “remember to contact your missionary family,” but use ways that would encourage (and thus motivate), such as story telling. One way is to have one family each month or so, give a report of what is going on. This could be on a Sunday morning, in a SS class or small group, or some other public format. They will thus inform the church of the work of the missionary, but will also share ideas they’ve come up with to minister to the missionary. It will motivate others to do this and keep the church aware of how they can pray. (e.g. The Jones, Browns and Smiths have adopted the Johnson family; they learn the Johnsons are using teaching English as a second language as a ministry to connect with unbelievers and share the Gospel; one way they do this is with American magazines, but they have trouble getting them regularly where they are; so the Jones, Browns and Smiths decide to start collecting the magazines they get and ship them together over to the Johnsons – when they tell this story to the church, others get ideas of what they can do and they learn about the Johnsons’ English ministry and how folks are coming to Christ through it)
3) Report it – when good things happen, tell everyone. You may get an email from a missionary telling you how much this has meant to them, or you become aware of something creative a family has done. When you do, report it.
4) Connect – as you mentioned, when missionaries come to the US, allow them to have some meaningful “connection” time with the church body; but also consider connecting through 2-week trips. Any 2-week trip that the church might take should definitely go to one of these 7 places, not to another place. Furthermore, the church should send the pastor annually or every other year, to visit one of these families. And he should come back and report. This is often where missionaries praise the church for their meaningful ministry to them (to the pastor when he visits). But then when these 2-week teams come back, or the pastor returns, they are all a resource to the adopting family for ways to minister (e.g. we noticed they love Reese’s cups and they can’t get them there; their computer is really old and they could use a new one; the kids love reading Hardy Boys books but only have 10 of them; etc…). Remember to consider the uniqueness of your church for connecting; that is, have folks brainstorm as to how they can uniquely connect with the field. Consider the attached Partnership Case Study as a guide for how churches can use their unique skills, assets, etc… to make a big impact on the field.
5) Read – provide a “book nook” of missionary biographies and relevant missiological books that will prompt prayer, and acts of thoughtfulness; you can see a list of recommended reading here; reading will prompt a lot of good acts and keep people mindful; it may even be good to read books together, for as many people who will participate
I wouldn’t expect every missionary to be as well taken care of as everyone else. There will be variety in the care given, based on the participation. I guess I wouldn’t make that the measure of success. Instead, I would consider any meaningful connection with the field a success. I would bet that over time it will grow.
One of the things we’re seeing is that churches want more meaningful connections to the field. Many churches (especially larger ones) are trying to become their own sending agency in an attempt to accomplish this. But this extreme isn’t necessary (or very efficient). What you’ve described is a wonderful way to make that kind of meaningful connection, and better serve your missionaries. I think what you’ll see over time is a greater desire on your peoples’ part to give more and to go more. And given enough time, I think you’ll see future missionaries grow up out of this work.
It’s not untypical to get an email each Friday from my Dad that simply says, “It’s Friday!” There’s a lot of good about a Friday, and today is an example. Leslie seemed to have a pretty good day, as did the kids. We celebrated tonight with popcorn and a movie. I had to do a gas and grocery store run, but got a chance to see a few minutes of the Hermie movie with the kids and Les. I got a kick out of two of the characters, voiced by none other than Rick & Bubba (morning radio show hosts in Birmingham that I miss listening to).
Some friends from church brought us a wonderful dinner, which always takes a load off us. We came home to a beautifully clean house thanks to Cindy. During dinner we recounted so many blessings that we have experienced recently. I am especially thankful for how relaxed a clean house makes Leslie. She went to bed shortly after the kids, to watch some TV. I found her sleeping soundly shortly thereafter. Thank you Lord!
It was a good week for the kids too. McGrooter did not get his clip moved at all this week, which we were all thankful for. The teacher moves students clips when they do not follow directions. So many moves and they lose recess and such. Aggie is showing such responsibility at home, making her lunch, bathing herself, and even helping her siblings. Tonight when the Munch got hurt, Aggie went and got her a band-aid and put it on. The Munch regularly brightens my day, especially when I see her happily greet her teachers each morning when I drop her off at school. I think it makes them happy too to have a child who is happy every morning.
This morning I heard a funny song that I thought many moms would enjoy. Here is the video:
The girls were up last night. It seems like we can’t catch a break when it comes to sleep. We’re all worn out, especially Leslie. Please pray that everyone will sleep through the night, that pain won’t wake up Leslie, and that the kids will stay in bed. It probably sounds petty, and I know this isn’t abnormal, but the compounding of everything sure adds up and we’re longing for strength.
Today was a downward day for Leslie. Overall I think she’s making progress but it feels more like three steps forward and two steps back. It’s progress, but slow. She was really worn out and is still struggling from the effects of radiation. I think the emotional exhaustion is bearing its weight on her as well. We’re all ready for this to be over, as silly as that probably sounds. Who wouldn’t be?
She still manages to do a lot for our family. Tonight she cooked a yummy dinner of eggs and broccoli wrapped in a tortilla. The kids scarfed it up which is always a blessing. She then read with the kids, helped McGrooter with his homework, and went through flash cards of sight words and math problems. She continues to amaze me.
I’m still learning how to be understanding and compassionate. I’m such a man when it comes to this, still thinking there is something I have to fix. I need to learn that I don’t need to say anything more than, “I’m sorry and I love you.” I think this is true for so many people when they hurt. This is true for me too. In times like this I don’t want to hear instruction or a solution. Those things often seem to demean my pain. And so I need to show more compassion like this to her.
Leslie’s grandmother is back in the nursing home, but they have called in hospice. There really seems to be no improvement for Nannie. They are just trying to make her comfortable. Please continue to pray for Nannie and Poppie. I know he is beyond exhausted.
Pray too the kids would sleep through the night. We have not had an uninteruppted night of sleep in a long time.
Today, Leslie returned to work for half a day. She had a good weekend, but this morning was pretty rough. She ended up making it through work but came home exhausted. When she called I was able to leave work, due to a very gracious boss, to go home and help. It was a blessing as she was able to rest.
I’ve been thinking a lot about my prayer life lately as I observe my children. When they ask something of me there is such a sincerity on their part. There really is no fear. But they often don’t know what they are asking for, nor what is best for them. But they still ask. And with many things, they ask again and again. A good example as of late is their request for a dog. They really want one. Munchkin wants one so badly that she asks almost daily. She even pretends to be a dog, removing all but her underpants and going around on all fours barking at us until we acknowledge her. If we call her by name, she corrects us, “I’m a dog,” or, “I’m Cheyanne” (the name of Wil & Kristin’s dog). It’s funny because they have no idea about what is involved in caring for a dog. They don’t understand the difference between breeds, the costs, the potential barking at night, or vet bills. All they know is that they want a dog.
I’m a lot like my kids in terms of my wants. I want my wife to be healthy, my kids to enjoy these years (having time to enjoy life with me, rather than being frustrated by me as I struggle with all that’s being juggled), financial freedom, a return to pastoral ministry. But right now, so many of my wants elude me. And I find myself not asking for these things the way my kids ask me. I come fearfully, afraid I’m praying the wrong things, or thinking I haven’t earned them. I try to qualify everything. Rather than coming as a child, full of trust and persistence, I come with little faith and with little regularity. And I’m also like my kids in that I don’t know what is best for me. Much like they are not ready to care for a dog, I am not who God wants me to be yet. But this doesn’t mean I have to earn the right. Thankfully, it doesn’t work that way. Just like I am preparing my kids for greater responsibility, and greater challenges, God is preparing me for the same. And just like I’ll know (or will hopefully know) the right time for my kids to have a dog, God does know the right time to grant me many things that I want for our lives. And He also knows the things that I don’t need (even if I am completely convinced that I do need them).
And so I am learning, and being challenged, to pray like my kids pray, to come boldly to the throne of grace in the same way they come boldly to me. And just like my kids ask permission for so many things (or at least I wish they would), I need to pray, “God, is this your will?” Just think, if we prayed that before every financial decision we made, or before every conversation we had, or before every time we sought justice for some wrong that had been done to us. Recently, we were eating out and Leslie had taken the girls to the bathroom (no small endeavor). When she returned, I could tell she was frustrated. She recounted to me that a lady had repeatedly jerked on the door handle to get in. When they finished, the lady glared at her. As we walked out, I saw the lady and could tell she was telling her partner what had happened (and she was visibly angry. I, filled with lots of self-righteousness, made a comment (loud enough for her to hear) to the effect that people with kids just don’t understand. I so wanted justice. I wanted to go back in and tell her that my wife has colon cancer. I wanted her to know she was wrong. But if only I had prayed, “God, is this your will?”, I would have been convicted to keep my mouth shut. Justice is God’s job, not mine. Once again, I lived according to my own wisdom and my own strength. And of course, in that very limited wisdom (or you might call it foolishness) and strength, I was able to accomplish nothing.
This is a trite example in some ways, but it shows me how I really fail on a daily basis to walk by faith (and thus pray without ceasing). I cut back in front of the person who just cut me off on the highway because I walk according to the flesh. If I prayed for them I’d probably show a lot more grace. And I’d leave justice to God. Furthermore, I don’t even account for the burdens others are carrying. How many times in the past few months have I done things on the highway that offended others because my mind was bogged down with our situation, or because I was so tired? But if I was talking with my Father the way my kids interact with me, I would more than likely remember in these situations how I should act.
Tonight as I stepped into the garage to get something out of my office, I was overcome by God’s presence. I stopped and realized, “God is with me. He’s right here!” I prayed a prayer of thanksgiving for a dozen things right then because I was suddenly aware of how good God is. And then I thought, “this is true all of the time, God is always this close.” I wondered, “what if I talked to Him like this without ceasing?” I know I’d suddenly watch the stress meter go down, as I did in this moment. I know I’d see Him working in ways that I am so often blind to. And I know I’d sin a lot less.
And so my desire is to be, like my children, a jabber-mouth of sorts (no comments please, I know that I am already). What I mean is that I want to really pray without ceasing. I want to move through my life with the conversation of a child, asking boldly, thanking heartfeltly (is that a word?), and doing so continually. I need not wait until I get “the dog.” Just like I tell my kids, “we have a lot to be thankful for,” I want them to appreciate how God has blessed us, but I know that won’t stop the desire to be blessed further. I’m speaking in terms of material things for illustration, but that is not what I am getting at. Just like I want my kids to be thankful for their dad, not for what their dad gives them or what I do for them, I also want to be content in who my Father is. Prayer is such a key to this. So I will keep praying, thanking and asking, with trust and frankness, on and on…just like my kids!
Dad always says chicken soup is Jewish penicillin. I think I’m going to order some hot and sour or other chicken-based soup tonight because I still feel horrible. The kids have done really well today. Leslie has been “cat herding” them to clean their rooms and straighten the house in general. I can actually see the floor in their rooms, so that’s an improvement. I managed to carry out the trash and compost, and spray for some ants before I had to come back in and sit down. My head was pounding and I felt like I’d just done some kind of long, manual labor. Leslie has been ten times as productive as me these past 2 days. 
She really amazes me with her strength. I know she’s not feeling near 100%, but she’s been caring for me and the kids like has nothing to complain about.
I’ve been down with something since Wednesday night. I’m hoping it’s just a sinus infection and that I can get over it quickly. But I’m pretty zapped from whatever it is.
We were able to celebrate (kind of) Leslie’s birthday Wednesday evening before I started feeling bad. It wasn’t much of a celebration as she wasn’t feeling great, her dad was at the hospital with her grandmother, her grandfather was home sick, and her brother was working. We’ll have a postponed party for Leslie once she is feeling better.
The kids seem to be feeling better, they’re all still coughing and such. I’m just praying Leslie doesn’t get any of it. If we just had the basement finished she could kick me down there to stay away from her until I’m better. Oh please don’t throw me in the briar patch! 
I apologize for not posting in several days. We’re still here! Leslie continues to improve some since finishing radiation, but is still having a rough time with her health. We’re also dealing with three sick little ones. McGrooter has bronchitis, Aggie has an ear infection, and Munchkin has something in between. All three are on antibiotics. Last night the two oldest had us up at different hours of the night. We need some sleep!
Tomorrow we celebrate Leslie’s 35th birthday! She’s more thankful than ever for another birthday and isn’t complaining at all about being another year older. I had hoped to celebrate big, but she is still not feeling up to it, so those plans are deferred.
Some have recently asked about the Care Calendar. You can find more information by clicking here.
Leslie’s grandmother is still in the hospital. She was slipping in and out of a coma, and was unresponsive for several days. But yesterday she responded for the first time and since has been alert, although is not making sense with her words. So please pray for her and Poppie. The tests have still not revealed anything. Pray too for Leslie’s parents as they help care for Nannie, but are also helping us.
Tomorrow is the end of round one for Leslie! She will endure her last chemo pills and final radiation zapping. We are so glad!! She will then have a break of at least three weeks before starting round two, which will consist of liquid chemotherapy.
Today was a good day for Leslie. She seemed more upbeat and to have more strength than in quite a while. However, her grandmother is back in the hospital. Leslie went upstairs to see her after her radiation treatment and, ironically, she is in the same room Leslie was in after her surgery. Nannie is in a lot of pain so please pray for her quick recovery.
On a lighter note, my friend, Van, has a great post here that will at least make you smile.
