Antigua

The only sound church on Antigua is in the small village of Liberta, so named because it was the first settlement of the newly liberated slaves. On the map, it is between All Saints and Tyrells.

Attendance is in the 60's, with a good mix of ages and lots of children. They don't have a "full-time preacher" but several of the men take turns--Milton, Hilroy, and others. Yes, they've had their problems (as all churches do) but things are looking better than they have in some years. Transportation is a problem so a couple of the brethren have vans and pick up those who need it.

Tol

Going "backwards"

A larger congregation where a friend preaches recently decided to "swarm" rather than build a new building, so about 70 left, including the preacher. The next time I saw him I playfully chided him about his decision. I told him, "You've got this all wrong. You're supposed to go from a small church to a larger church, not vice versa. What will this do for your "career"?" We both laughed because obviously he's not too concerned about his "career". I know an older preacher who recently left a self supporting church to work with a church that is not and never has been, but needs a good solid man to work with them. Their former preacher is leaving to dedicate himself to the work in India.

What's wrong with these preachers? Don't they know what this can do to their "careers"? I believe they know very well and realize that their career is not simply to preach the Word, but to preach where it is needed the most. Preachers are just like everybody else--sometimes our emphasis is on the wrong thing, money and the things of this world. There is a world dying in sin out there and many of us are busy in the office and working with our "number", forgetting those whom we need to reach out to.

How many Christians are not willing to make the sacrifices to really serve the Lord? They may attend most, if not all, services, give money to the Lord, but their real emphasis is on the things of this world. A friend was telling Dana and I that her Bible class of 4 students frequently had 1 or 2 in attendance, occasionally 3 but never all 4. I don't know why, but I doubt these families were missing services for something sinful, but the fact is they missed a great many. Why? Again, I don't know all the circumstances, but obviously Bible class is not a high priority.

Being a Christian requires to go "backwards", at least as far as the world is concerned. Our Lord said as much. When you read the beatitudes it is clear that His idea of what a person should be is diametrically opposed to what the world thinks. Yet He says such "losers" will be truly happy, not only in heaven but here on earth.

So which way are you going, forward or backward?

Tol

"If I had known"

I have a friend who is will be donating a kidney to another friend next week. This decision was made several years ago--when he had to have a kidney transplant he would do it. As the actual surgery has neared and more details have come out the donor told someone, "If I had known all this involved I might not have done it."

Many of us can look back and say "If I had only known". Many of us put off surgery for many years, only to after it's all done, say "If I had know it would be this much better I would have done it long ago". I know several who now wish they had become a Christian much earlier in life. There is much truth in the idea presented in several popular songs--"I hope you dance" and "The Rose"--that we should make the attempt since we don't know how it will out. You don't know until you try.

But on the other side I believe the Lord protects us from the future, knowing that many times we wouldn't know what to do with it. If you had told Dana and I that we would lose 2 houses and everything in them, I don't know if we could have faced it, but we have. If parents knew they had a genetic disease that they would pass on to their children, would they have children? And yet, not knowing, they do and they all make it. Like the Apostle Paul who was able to overcome his thorn in the flesh, with the Lord's help, we too can overcome the obstacles in our lives with His help.

At times we tend to not do anything for fear of doing something wrong. How mad do you get when the car in front of you can't seem to make a decision--changing lanes, slowing down to 10 miles an hour, etc.? Everything about their actions says they don't know what to do, so they do nothing. My favorite refrain in such situations is "Do something, even if it's wrong". We don't know the future so once we have gathered the facts that we can and prayed for guidance we need to take action.

Tol

Are children's classes important?

This is the "classroom" for the kids at El Mamon near Santo Domingo. No, it's not much, but this church is not rich and the rest of the building is about the same. The important thing is that they built it. In most churches outside this country there are no children's classes. As a result most churches lose their teenagers--maybe half are baptized and even remain active until they get married, go to college, or otherwise move out of the family home. It is sad to meet young men who are leading singing, prayer, even preaching a little and 2-3 years later come back to find them gone.

But that is beginning to change as churches realize that children are the church of the future. Both of the churches we visited in San Isidro were working on a classroom. Vacation Bible school in Dominica had almost as many kids as are enrolled in the village school.

How seriously do you take children's classes? Are they just something you have to do to keep the kids occupied so their parents can have study? Having children in a classroom for 30 minutes does not necessarily teaching them and does not guarantee their learning. Remember, children are the church of the future.

Tol

3 years in Valencia

July 2003 was the beginning of the church in Valencia, State Carabobo, Venezuela. During the first month services were held 3 times a day Monday through Friday so by the end of that time the church consisted of 6 new members plus Nino and Chela. A couple of months later Gustavo, pictured to the left moved with his family and Nino moved back to Barinas. Since that time 22 have been baptized in all--8 have fallen away and 5 have moved away, so with Gustavo's family of 5 they number 12-14. Most of this growth has occurred in the last 6 months so things are progressing.

Another exciting development is the beginning of a second church in another area of Valencia, a city of 1.5 million people. A few months ago a man showed up with his wife and son at services. It turns out he was a Christian but had fallen away. In fact, he had taught some 20 others and the whole church had been scattered--some back to the world, some to the denominations. Out of this group of Gypsys (Roma I think they call themselves) a church has begun meeting again, 14-17 in number. They are excited about serving God and thankful that Gustavo is there to teach and encourage them. The downtown church meets Sunday morning while the other meets Sunday afternoon. One meets on Wed. night while the other meets on Thur. night.

Are there any prospects for growth in other countries? I don't know many places where you can go from 0 to 28, with only 5 moving in, in 3 years.

Tol

Grenada--the Spice Island

Grenada is another undeveloped island--like St. Vincent and Dominica. There is tourism there but spices, particularly the nutmeg is a big industry. Nutmeg produces several different spices--nutmeg, allspice and mace. Cinnamon, cloves, and West Indian Bay leaf grow there as well.

There are 2 churches in Grenada that receive us readily--St. Georges and Mt. Granby. Godfrey Edwards preaches for the church in St. Georges, the capital, but works as a policeman to support himself. This group is small--less than 20.

Mt. Granby is inland from Gouyave. On the map it is between Mt. St. Catherine & Gouyave. I don't know what the altitude is but it's uphill the whole way. When I was much younger we walked up each morning (about 45 minutes) worked all day in the village then they drove us down after the evening open air preaching--it was dark you know. The church here is about the same size, but fluctuates more because there are more young people who are emigrating off island, or moving to St. Georges, etc. for work or study.

There is presently no full-time preacher there, but there may be soon. Please pray that all may work out for this to happen.

Tol

All is well

I had a stent done last Tuesday and all went well--that artery was blocked 95 %. The worst part of it is the recovery--I had to lay on my back and not move one leg for 12 hours so my back is giving me more problems than anything. But I thank our God that all went well and I should be back to normal by next Tuesday.

I thank you for your prayers. I should be back now to more consistently blogging.

Tol

It's a great world we live in

On Tuesday I'm scheduled for an angiogram and probably 1 or more stents. If they have to do a stent I'll have to stay until Wed. morning, otherwise I'll go home Tues. afternoon. What advances medical science has made. I had a stent done 4 years ago and it took about 15 minutes and in 2 days I felt 100 % better.

At times like these I guess I really reflect on the advances that have been made. I remember a preacher (Roy Foutz, for those who also may remember him) who was nearly blind because of retina tears in both eyes. I too have had retina tears in both eyes but thanks to advances made after he passed away I still see--in fact my new lens from removing cataracts have given me pretty good vision.

Things that used to be life threatening are not as much anymore. There is always some risk when you're dealing with the heart, but stents are done routinely in most hospitals day in and day out. Recovery time is minimal. Maybe the human body can live forever??

No, there are limits on how long the body can continue to function. In spite of the medical advances (and I'm very thankful for them) we must all still die and that's not a bad thing, really. As beautiful as this world is and as convenient as it is today, heaven is still so much more that it is beyond our imagination.

Tol

Who are we working for anyway?

In 2 Corinthians the Apostle Paul addresses a situation common to most of us at one time or another--a lack of appreciation of our efforts. It may be that no one seems to notice all that you do for the Lord. Or even worse, after all you have done for "the church" a person or group of people oppose you, cricize you, etc.

When you feel like you are in this situation first realize that you're not alone. Our Lord was rejected by the very multitudes that He had healed, taught, and fed. Paul was constantly followed and persecuted by not only the Jews but also judaizing teachers, who both tried to turn Paul's converts away from Paul (and Jesus). Apparently in Corinth they met with some success. Remember Jesus warned the apostles specifically (and you and I as well) that the world would hate them. Worldly brethren will reject you if you are not worldly. Some will reject you because of envy or jealousy--Phil. 1 records Paul's mention of some who preach out of envy.

Or you may be like Elijah, who thought he was the only one left in Israel when it was not the case. 7000 had not bowed their knees to Baal. Sometimes the perception that nobody cares is just that--a perception, but not the truth. Although you may not know it others are probably working for the Lord as well.

But with all that said does what men think of you really matter? We are not working for men but rather for God and God takes notice of all that we do. Does no one seem to appreciate your efforts? God does! And that's what it's all about, isn't it?

Tol