As we head into our sixth month since moving to LA, nothing describes our experience better than the relationship of a shepherd and his sheep. We, of course, are the sheep... oftentimes helpless, and not infrequently wondering—if not wandering—in our struggle to keep up. And GOD is our Shepherd. He’s the One that guides us with His staff… gently tapping--sometimes rapping--us first on this side, and then on the other, trying to keep us headed in the right direction.
I thought of this on Sunday as we joined Pastor Roger and the ensemble here in Upland at the Mountain View Mennonite Church and sang:
“A faithful Shepherd is my Lord, who doth great plenty me accord, who leadeth me to pastures green, gives me to drink of waters unseen.
“A faithful Shepherd is my Lord… a faithful Shepherd is…. my Lord!”
And if you can appreciate the cadences in those lines of the song, they have a way of lifting your heart right into the strength of the Shepherd's arms... even as you sing.
What else can account for the PRESENCE we feel in the midst of homesickness sometimes? Where else does that POWER come from when we’re tempted to grow weary? And Who else to thank for the PLENTY that comes our way... especially when the transmission went out of our van? Just as we thank Him for His faithful Shepherding, so we want to thank each of you who have faithfully called, or written (by letter, email, facebook, or text messaging), or even knocked on our door. THANKS FOR BEING AN INVIGORATION TO OUR SPIRITS! And thank you particularly for your part of the plenty!! We still feel lonely at times, but our Shepherd is with us. Sometimes we still lack strength. Then power comes. And it seems sometimes we still worry about our expenses (our van has even had more issues ... this time with the engine). But our Shepherd is the same. Faithful!
The song goes on to reflect in specific detail:
“With loving hands He giveth bread, His gentle Spirit calms my dread; With health my body He endows, with blessings all my labor crowns.
“A faithful Shepherd is my Lord… a faithful Shepherd is…. my Lord!”
More often than not, my closing thoughts to the Lord as I fall off to sleep at night go something like this: “Lord, You know how vast the fields of opportunity are amidst these massive multitudes of people.” I find myself reminding the Lord: “First of all, there are the homeless, then there are the thousands of square-blocks of inner-city homes with car-lined, narrow streets and people everywhere. Even children running around in areas not safe for the police. Yet they are there—the children. They don't have a choice! And yes, there are the gangs and bullies who hold these places hostage to their whims. Then there are all the ordinary people too... regular Americans and hardworking Hispanics. Lord, they need You too. Even the Christians are often confused, strung out, and distracted. Lord, You know how very ripe the harvest is! Yet, You also know how small we are, and how little we can do. So, just take our little bit and put it exactly where you want it to be. I'm not going to worry about it Lord! I'm trusting in You. Just lead us along one step at a time.” Then I fall asleep.
I struggle to embrace the final stanza, but it really is true! Fearless trusting brings joyful laughing.
“On pathways narrow with Him I go, I shun not hardships, fear no foe. He is my Rod, He is my Staff. True joy affords—my soul doth laugh,
“A faithful Shepherd is my Lord… a faithful Shepherd is…. my Lord!”
Speaking of the homeless. In the wee hours of this past Sunday morning as I stirred around in the back of my truck trying to find just the right book, I heard a knocking on my windshield. I looked up and saw the bushy-headed face of a homeless man beckoning for my attention. We were near downtown Fullerton. I stuck my head around the door and asked him what he wanted.
“Just a blanket,” he said… “just a blanket.”
“Oh,” I said. “I’m sorry. I don’t have a blanket. All I have are some books.”
“I want to lie down,” he went on, “but I need something to cover me up… if I just had a blanket, I’d be fine. But thanks anyway.”
I went back to my rummaging among the books. But later I thought, “Why didn’t I give that man a hug?” I didn’t have a blanket, but I did have a hug! If only I’d given him a hug.” I could have done like the disciple Peter when he said to the crippled man who had asked for money. He said, “Silver and gold have I none. But such as I have I’ll give you. In the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, ‘Rise up and walk.’” I could have said, “You know sir, I don’t have a blanket. But I do have a hug. In the Name of Jesus Christ, I'll give you a hug?” I think it would have warmed at least his soul.
There are lots of homeless folks in these parts. And it bothers me when I get used to seeing them. A while back I spotted a fellow as I was rounding the corner of an intersection in Glendora. He was sitting in his wheelchair on the sidewalk, next to the curb. He had no legs, and his arms had no elbows. I thought, “I’m NOT going to pass him off as ‘just another homeless man.’” I turned into the nearest parking lot, got out of my truck, and walked back to him… digging in my pocket as I went. When I got to him, I offered him five dollars. But he objected, saying, “Are you sure? Are you sure?” (I’d never had a homeless man object to money before.) He went on to say—looking up at the sign just outside the Jack-In-The-Box fastfood restaurant as he spoke,
“Why don’t you just get me two tacos like those up there on the sign?”
“Of course,” I said. “I’ll get you those tacos, and a drink. But I still want you to have the five dollars.”
Tears filled my eyes as I went to get the tacos. “There’s something very special about that man,” I thought. “I’m not just going to give him the food. Since it’s lunchtime, I’m going to eat with him too.”
He seemed quite informed and well-read as we visited together there on the sidewalk. I gave him a little Bible Promise Book and talked with him about how true Christianity is not a religion, but a relationship with a person… and that Person is Jesus. I learned from him about perseverance and contentment.
You can imagine how I felt a week or so later when listening to news on the radio about how a homeless man in Glendora was struck by a car and killed while trying to cross the street in his wheelchair. Was this the same man? I was so glad I had spent at least 30 minutes of my life with him.
And then there was the morning in West Covina some time ago when Christopher and I were installing a new book display in the Wal-Mart. We had just walked in the front doors of the store when all of a sudden there was a big raucous as five or six policemen took down a man who not only had shoplifted, but had threatened a department manager with these words, “I feel like killing everyone in here.” He had a backpack on and so the manager took no chances by calling in the cops. It was a horrible scene! The man cussed and screamed at the top of his lungs and fought like a wild panther. It was all the officers could do to hold him down... one of them kneeling right on his neck.
All I could do was sit there and weep. There are so many hurting, troubled, angry people! Some filled with drugs. Most filled with depression. And many are filled with demons.
Who will help them? And how?
Pray with us about that,
Ernest
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Saturday, August 9, 2008
The Earthquake
Dear Prayer Partners,
Yes! It was a rather earth-shaking experience... especially for Rachel, Kristi, and Christopher, who were in our home just 25 miles north of the epicenter.
They said it sounded like a big truck driving by or an airplane overhead, but it just kept getting louder. Then the whole house began to shake and make creaking sounds. There was hollering and praying and Rachel was trying to remember what they were supposed to do. They ran to the dining room table and were about to crawl under when it all stopped just as suddenly as it started. The chandeliers and the hummingbird feeder outside kept swinging for awhile longer. I give them all credit for handling the situation very well!
Marcel and I are quite disappointed we didn't get to feel it at all because were were driving in the Choice Books servicing van in-between stores. The van kinda shakes and rumbles along anyway and so we noticed nothing. But at every stop, folks detailed how they had experienced the quake... so we knew it had been all around us. One fellow had been driving down the I-10 freeway and he said it made his car swerve, but I think you'd have had to be going highway speeds for that effect.
Carita felt it in Fontana where she was working. She was the only one close to a TV so she got all of the immediate reports. Asher heard it, but did not feel it in Pasadena where he was working. He said it sounded like thunder off in the distance.
Cell phone service was jammed within minutes, and I couldn't get through to Rachel on the landline for quite a while too. And she had been trying to get through to me. We had our XM radio with us, so Marcel immediately tuned to Fox News where we were assured there were no reported damages or injuries. So we just went about our day, finished our routes, and got everyone's stories when we arrived home.
Tinker, our cat, achieved a full Mohawk during the episode and kept it for several minutes afterward. And our dog Caspian barked and growled his way through and seemed edgy the rest of the day. He was convinced that the reflection he saw in the fireplace glass was to blame for it all.
It reminds us that we do indeed live in earthquake country and that they come with absolutely no warning. According to seismiologists, southern California is due for a megaquake any time within the next thirty years. It could be tomorrow, next week, or twenty years from now.
It also reminds us similarly of how imminent the Lord's return is. God's Word makes clear that He too will come without warning, as a thief in the night, and the only way to be ready is to prepare beforehand. Just as we are learning and doing all we can to be prepared for the next earthquake, so we are doing all we can to prepare for the Lord's return, and to help as many others as we can to get ready too. That's why we're here on this earth, and that's why we are here in Los Angeles.
Thanks again for your prayers!
Ernest
Yes! It was a rather earth-shaking experience... especially for Rachel, Kristi, and Christopher, who were in our home just 25 miles north of the epicenter.
They said it sounded like a big truck driving by or an airplane overhead, but it just kept getting louder. Then the whole house began to shake and make creaking sounds. There was hollering and praying and Rachel was trying to remember what they were supposed to do. They ran to the dining room table and were about to crawl under when it all stopped just as suddenly as it started. The chandeliers and the hummingbird feeder outside kept swinging for awhile longer. I give them all credit for handling the situation very well!
Marcel and I are quite disappointed we didn't get to feel it at all because were were driving in the Choice Books servicing van in-between stores. The van kinda shakes and rumbles along anyway and so we noticed nothing. But at every stop, folks detailed how they had experienced the quake... so we knew it had been all around us. One fellow had been driving down the I-10 freeway and he said it made his car swerve, but I think you'd have had to be going highway speeds for that effect.
Carita felt it in Fontana where she was working. She was the only one close to a TV so she got all of the immediate reports. Asher heard it, but did not feel it in Pasadena where he was working. He said it sounded like thunder off in the distance.
Cell phone service was jammed within minutes, and I couldn't get through to Rachel on the landline for quite a while too. And she had been trying to get through to me. We had our XM radio with us, so Marcel immediately tuned to Fox News where we were assured there were no reported damages or injuries. So we just went about our day, finished our routes, and got everyone's stories when we arrived home.
Tinker, our cat, achieved a full Mohawk during the episode and kept it for several minutes afterward. And our dog Caspian barked and growled his way through and seemed edgy the rest of the day. He was convinced that the reflection he saw in the fireplace glass was to blame for it all.
It reminds us that we do indeed live in earthquake country and that they come with absolutely no warning. According to seismiologists, southern California is due for a megaquake any time within the next thirty years. It could be tomorrow, next week, or twenty years from now.
It also reminds us similarly of how imminent the Lord's return is. God's Word makes clear that He too will come without warning, as a thief in the night, and the only way to be ready is to prepare beforehand. Just as we are learning and doing all we can to be prepared for the next earthquake, so we are doing all we can to prepare for the Lord's return, and to help as many others as we can to get ready too. That's why we're here on this earth, and that's why we are here in Los Angeles.
Thanks again for your prayers!
Ernest
Monday, July 14, 2008
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Prayer... The Most Precious Thing
Dear Prayer Partners,
A number of you have made specific mention of the fact that you pray for us, in various ways, at different times of the day, etc. Thank you! It’s the most precious thing you can do. And be assured! Your prayers make a difference in our lives. A big difference!!
The other week Rachel and I were struggling through a major communication issue we had been working on for several days. All of a sudden, it seemed as though God just threw His blanket of peace over us and settled both of our hearts. It wasn’t like we suddenly struck on some great, strategic insight or that I decided to wear her pink hearing aids and she had decided to wear my blue ones—although we know that always works too. It was inexplicable. It came from a dimension outside ourselves… from something beyond us. It’s called grace… God’s grace. His divine enablement, making it possible for us to be what we can’t be of ourselves, and to function in ways we can’t achieve on our own.
Rachel said the other day, “I like the new ‘us’.” Me too.
It should have come as no surprise that I received this email from a dear brother who is in the process of hiking the Appalachian Trail with his boys. Here’s what he said:
“Yesterday (June 21), as I was praying, you came to my mind and I prayed long and hard for you. I prayed that God would give you strength for the journey, and grace to do the ministry He has called you to. I just wanted you to know that you are not forgotten. Your ministry is being prayed for as I hike the 2000 plus miles. We have 260 down and 1740 or so to go.”
Wow! I immediately knew where that extra boost of grace from the Lord had come from. This brother didn’t have a clue as to what our need was at that given juncture. But God did! And His grace was appropriated precisely in the way we needed it! So please, when God nudges you to pray for us, don’t hesitate. Just do it! We can’t survive without it!!
Speaking of surviving… Christopher, has turned into a real gardener down here. By typical LA standards, the house we ended up with here in Upland has a fairly nice-sized back yard with a strip of open soil along the one side for flowers (Kristi) and some vegetables and tea (Christopher). Today as he and I were spending some father/son time together, he was telling me about his strategy for watering the garden. He said, he likes to help his plants SURVIVE during the day (the direct ultraviolet rays down here are incredible), and REVIVE at night. I thought that was pretty good. Sounds like a good strategy for us as mortals too. In the hot, scorching sun of everyday spiritual labor, we need the water of faithful prayer to SURVIVE. And at night, in the quietness of our devotional time—drinking in the Word of God, we are REVIVED!
Soon after we first arrived here in southern California, our faith was tested in the area of my health. God was there for us! I had surgery, and I survived. Then, as I’ve just described above, our faith has been tested in the area of our marriage. Again, God is faithful, and we are thriving!
Yet another area God has allowed our faith to be tested in is in the area of our vehicles. About a month ago we were making plans to meet with Jaime, a former gang member from Hollywood who is now a born-again Christian. In an effort to understand the gang-culture mindset, this guy was going to show us how to read graffiti, interpret some of the inter-gang lingo, and hopefully meet some of the locals. But the day before we were to meet, the transmission went out on our minivan, a 2001 Ford WindStar. So we had to cancel the appointment. The next week we decided just to take Marcel’s little old 1981 Honda Accord. That day the boys and I got within six miles of our destination when the alternator went out and the car died in the middle of five lanes of traffic (thankfully, traffic was near a standstill at the time). Thanks to AAA and PepBoys, we were able to get it fixed yet that day, but again, we had to cancel our appointment with Jaime.
These incidents felt not only like a test of our faith, but perhaps as an attack upon our goal of contact with Jaime and evangelistic insight into gang activity. We wondered, “What can all this mean?” We were prepared to keep the minivan parked in our driveway until we had the finances to pay for it. But then, another brother heard about what had happened and called to encourage us to go ahead and get it fixed, trusting the Lord to provide for covering the cost of $2,500 for the local Ford Motor dealership to install a remanufactured one.
From a financial perspective, it obviously feels different being in VS work now as compared to having owned our own business in Minnesota. Back then we could simply take on some extra projects, work extra hours, or in other ways manage the ebb and flow of our finances. But now most of our expenses are being paid for by others and we live on an allowance. We feel very unworthy of the support others give us! We want to be faithful, first of all to the Lord, but also to you who have invested in His kingdom here. We know God “owns the cattle on a thousand hills,” and His resources are unlimited. We are trusting in Him!
Rachel and I have been involved in ministry for all of our adult lives. Over the years, we have often felt the opposition of particular circumstances, particular mindsets, and even particular people. We have often simply chalked this up as being “just life.” However, we are becoming more and more aware of the fact that when you are truly enlisted in the army of the Lord—as we all should be—you are immediately set in direct opposition to Satan. He is an enemy! And he will use whatever circumstances, mindsets, or people he can to oppose you. In hindsight, we now believe this has always been true for us too, but we have come to feel it here in some very tangible ways.
Keep praying for us!
Ernest
A number of you have made specific mention of the fact that you pray for us, in various ways, at different times of the day, etc. Thank you! It’s the most precious thing you can do. And be assured! Your prayers make a difference in our lives. A big difference!!
The other week Rachel and I were struggling through a major communication issue we had been working on for several days. All of a sudden, it seemed as though God just threw His blanket of peace over us and settled both of our hearts. It wasn’t like we suddenly struck on some great, strategic insight or that I decided to wear her pink hearing aids and she had decided to wear my blue ones—although we know that always works too. It was inexplicable. It came from a dimension outside ourselves… from something beyond us. It’s called grace… God’s grace. His divine enablement, making it possible for us to be what we can’t be of ourselves, and to function in ways we can’t achieve on our own.
Rachel said the other day, “I like the new ‘us’.” Me too.
It should have come as no surprise that I received this email from a dear brother who is in the process of hiking the Appalachian Trail with his boys. Here’s what he said:
“Yesterday (June 21), as I was praying, you came to my mind and I prayed long and hard for you. I prayed that God would give you strength for the journey, and grace to do the ministry He has called you to. I just wanted you to know that you are not forgotten. Your ministry is being prayed for as I hike the 2000 plus miles. We have 260 down and 1740 or so to go.”
Wow! I immediately knew where that extra boost of grace from the Lord had come from. This brother didn’t have a clue as to what our need was at that given juncture. But God did! And His grace was appropriated precisely in the way we needed it! So please, when God nudges you to pray for us, don’t hesitate. Just do it! We can’t survive without it!!
Speaking of surviving… Christopher, has turned into a real gardener down here. By typical LA standards, the house we ended up with here in Upland has a fairly nice-sized back yard with a strip of open soil along the one side for flowers (Kristi) and some vegetables and tea (Christopher). Today as he and I were spending some father/son time together, he was telling me about his strategy for watering the garden. He said, he likes to help his plants SURVIVE during the day (the direct ultraviolet rays down here are incredible), and REVIVE at night. I thought that was pretty good. Sounds like a good strategy for us as mortals too. In the hot, scorching sun of everyday spiritual labor, we need the water of faithful prayer to SURVIVE. And at night, in the quietness of our devotional time—drinking in the Word of God, we are REVIVED!
Soon after we first arrived here in southern California, our faith was tested in the area of my health. God was there for us! I had surgery, and I survived. Then, as I’ve just described above, our faith has been tested in the area of our marriage. Again, God is faithful, and we are thriving!
Yet another area God has allowed our faith to be tested in is in the area of our vehicles. About a month ago we were making plans to meet with Jaime, a former gang member from Hollywood who is now a born-again Christian. In an effort to understand the gang-culture mindset, this guy was going to show us how to read graffiti, interpret some of the inter-gang lingo, and hopefully meet some of the locals. But the day before we were to meet, the transmission went out on our minivan, a 2001 Ford WindStar. So we had to cancel the appointment. The next week we decided just to take Marcel’s little old 1981 Honda Accord. That day the boys and I got within six miles of our destination when the alternator went out and the car died in the middle of five lanes of traffic (thankfully, traffic was near a standstill at the time). Thanks to AAA and PepBoys, we were able to get it fixed yet that day, but again, we had to cancel our appointment with Jaime.
These incidents felt not only like a test of our faith, but perhaps as an attack upon our goal of contact with Jaime and evangelistic insight into gang activity. We wondered, “What can all this mean?” We were prepared to keep the minivan parked in our driveway until we had the finances to pay for it. But then, another brother heard about what had happened and called to encourage us to go ahead and get it fixed, trusting the Lord to provide for covering the cost of $2,500 for the local Ford Motor dealership to install a remanufactured one.
From a financial perspective, it obviously feels different being in VS work now as compared to having owned our own business in Minnesota. Back then we could simply take on some extra projects, work extra hours, or in other ways manage the ebb and flow of our finances. But now most of our expenses are being paid for by others and we live on an allowance. We feel very unworthy of the support others give us! We want to be faithful, first of all to the Lord, but also to you who have invested in His kingdom here. We know God “owns the cattle on a thousand hills,” and His resources are unlimited. We are trusting in Him!
Rachel and I have been involved in ministry for all of our adult lives. Over the years, we have often felt the opposition of particular circumstances, particular mindsets, and even particular people. We have often simply chalked this up as being “just life.” However, we are becoming more and more aware of the fact that when you are truly enlisted in the army of the Lord—as we all should be—you are immediately set in direct opposition to Satan. He is an enemy! And he will use whatever circumstances, mindsets, or people he can to oppose you. In hindsight, we now believe this has always been true for us too, but we have come to feel it here in some very tangible ways.
Keep praying for us!
Ernest
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