Greetings to all who actually follow this seemingly forsaken blog. Alicia and I have been quite busy these last few weeks. Most of our time has been spent preparing for the arrival of our child. Well, those preparations have come to an end. On December 4, 2008 at 4:14, we welcomed Ruby Day Crowe into our family. She weighed 8lbs 10oz and measured 20.75″ long. We were astonished by the grace of our Lord through the delivery. Mom and baby are both very healthy and we still marvel that there is a new life living under our roof.
Sometimes I’m amazed by the way Scripture speaks to our current context. Today, while reading through Psalm 94, I thought I was simply reading another record of God’s people asking for the wicked to be served the justice that is due them. Then I worked my way to the last four verses:
Can a corrupt throne be allied with you-
one that brings on misery by its decrees?
They band together against the righteous
and condemn the innocent to death.
It was in this context that I thought about our global political situations. Even in America, there is no alliance between the Supreme God and our corrupt throne. God is NOT on America’s side. When I hear someone say that He is, I get nervous. When I hear that Christians place their hope in a mere man getting elected, again, I get nervous. Where is our hope? Where is our trust? Can we say what the Psalmist does in verse 22?
But the LORD has become my fortress,
and my God the rock in whom I take refuge.
I was greatly blessed by attending Catalyst Conference this year. It was my first time and I can honestly say that I will make every effort to be back in four years (next time we’re home from Japan.) The speakers were amazing. They focused on the meat of the matter in leadership…personal discipline. Andy Stanely started by declaring that the only (yes, only) authority we have to speak into another person’s life is moral authority. If we’re not doing it, people won’t hear us say, “Do it.” He stated a fact that we all know, but refuse to act on; “A reputation is built by 30+ years of hard work, but destroyed by 30 seconds of bad decisions.” Chew on that for a while…
In addition to the speakers, there was fire in the worship. 12,000 people joined together to ascribe vibrant praise to our Father. The crowd was moved by energy that the Spirit bestowed on us as we worshiped Him. I needed this refueling. I needed this focus. One song in particular that rang out to me was “God of this City.” I know that some of you are thinking, “Josh, that’s so last year.” Well, I had never heard it. That might be a result of traveling around our fair denomination for the few months. The Catalyst praise team sang this song after an encouraging message from Steve Furtick, pastor of Elevation Church. His sermon was on the subject of not quitting the task God’s given us. He claimed that God is not a covenant-breaker. He remembers all of the promises He’s given and it’s up to us to persevere.
It was in light of this sermon that the song hit home:
You’re the God of this city
You’re the King of this people
You’re the Lord of this nation
You are…
As we sang the words, I pictured the land that we long for…Japan. I pictured the millions in Tokyo, Sapporo, Osaka, Nagoya and Kyoto. I know that God has plans for Japan. He has plans for the redemtion of the masses and we must hold on to that vision. As I was thinking on this, while singing, the next line broke through:
Greater things have yet to come
Greater things are still to be done
in this city…
Wow…what an encouragement on the fact that God is far from done in our lives and in the lives of those far from Him. There will be a reaping in Japan and we pray that God will allow us to be involved for His glory.
While at Wheaton, we were asked by a professor to recall someone in our lives that truly finished strong. When it was her turn, Alicia began to share about her grandmother, Ethel Hansen. Everyone listened as Alicia told of the immense impact that this dear woman had in her life. She taught Alicia how to trust in, wait for, and pray to our Father in heaven. Being disabled nearly 20 years ago, she was often seen sitting in her living room, though not mindlessly watching TV. No, she would be seen praying. She would often comment that throughout the pain-riddled, sleepless nights she would lie in bed and pray to her only Comfort. Alicia began to cry in the class that day as she shared how blessed she was to have an example of a strong-finisher in her life. She was not someone who only ran the beginning of the race well, but someone who crossed the finish line with more tenacity than she started with.
Ethel “Gram” Hansen crossed that finish line on September 25th (Alicia’s birthday) just before 4:00 PM. I can just imagine how the welcome into her Coach’s arms felt. He had been watching and caring for her from the beginning and had not left her side for a moment, even when the pace became grueling at the end. She is missed dearly, but it’s hard to stay sad when someone finishes so well. It’s hard to cry when someone ran so hard; you just know that the reward outweighs the struggle. As Paul writes, “I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far;” We have that sure hope in finishing strong. May God aid us as we run hard.
Well, it’s that time of year again. Zephyr Hills Church hosted their annual Prayer Summit for World Missions. This conference gets me so excited. Danny Gasperson, pastor of the church, contains an unending fire about God’s desire for the nations and it is impossible to be present without feeling the heat. This year we enjoyed great speakers such as Neil Gilliland, Steve Lytle, Angela Emerick, and Mick Donahue. We started the weekend with hearing from Steve Lytle and then spending time in a concert of prayer. What a blessing it is to sit and be quiet. It’s something we do so little of and yet something we need so badly.
Saturday there were three mission seminars hosted by various missionaries attending the summit. After the seminars, we shared in a fellowship meal. Following the meal, Neil Gilliland led the final service of the summit. There was such a focus in the sermon: “Be still and know that I am God.” We’ve all heard that before, but how still are we? It’s almost like we need noise and commotion to numb the sensitivities of life. His second point was the next (often forgotten) line: “I will be exalted among the nations.” What connection is there between being still, knowing God, and exalting Him among the nations? There are answers in there. I will leave you the task to find them.
Yesterday morning we attended Sherwood Forest FWB in New Bern, NC. It was a special Sunday because we participated in that ancient sacrament of Communion. This week, instead of simply meditating while the articles were being passed out, I opened the Bible to hear from God. He directed my thoughts to the Psalms…Psalm 32 to be exact:
“Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit.”
What powerful words from a man who knew the forgiveness of the Lord. He indeed describes well the blessing of having his sin blotted out.
From this passage the Lord led me to Isaiah 43:11:
“I, even I, am the LORD, and apart from me there is no savior.”
How powerful to combine these redemptive powers of our Lord with the incarnation of His essence in Christ. This connection was made for me yesterday as I flipped a few more pages to Isaiah 53:5:
“But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him.”
How amazing that the truths of Psalm 32 and Isaiah 43:11 are brought to fruition in the person of Christ, as seen in Isaiah 53:5. He shows us the powerful blessing of not having our sin counted against us. He shows us the uniqueness of being the only savior; there is no other. Finally, He shows us that He is the vehicle that will bring us such peace and forgiveness.
Yesterday when I took the sacrament, I truly felt more of the sacrifice of Christ and the marvelous benefits of His love.
Well, I wanted to write just a few lines as an update. We are recovering from a very busy summer and looking to fill up the remaining dates available in the Fall before the Christmas season starts. Hopefully at the turn of the New Year we’ll be hitting the half-way point on our monthly support and can start the last leg of the deputation time. We would love to be in Japan by early summer next year in order to help field side with the short-termers that will be coming over.
There is sure to be a lot of changes and excitement this winter. Alicia is due on December 10th. We are trying not to be overwhelmed by the immensity of what is about to happen, but it’s tough not to be. Everything is going to change and we’re happy for every change that comes along. Please pray for us as we head into this new world of parenting.
There is a lot going on, but I hope to be able to update this more often. Once a month doesn’t quite cut it for me. I would like to be in touch through the blog more than that. Please keep us in your prayers. It seems that we’ve hit a wall in our support. We know that God’s people want to send us. It’s just a matter of connecting and communicating with those people.
Alicia and I have returned from the land of cheese, crêpes, and (great) coffee. It was a wonderful time spent with 9 E-Teamers from 7 states. We spent a week in Nashville preparing for cross-cultural work by studying the Biblical basis for doing missions, learning French songs, enduring team-building exercises, practicing a mime, and growing closer than a family.
After the training week we headed to St. Nazaire for four days. The trip was great for me because I was able to show Alicia where I had spent the summer of 2002. The time went by fast as we practiced new songs with the church choir and performed them in the Fête de la Musique. This festival took place on June 21 in the thousand-year-old city named Guérande. The experience of singing about Christ’s love in such an ancient atmosphere was unforgettable.
From St. Nazaire, we moved on to Nantes and participated in many activities including a children’s festival. Alicia and I were blessed by being able to stay in a French home. Pierre and Annie Castagna hosted us and we will be forever in their debt. They showed us great hospitality and kindess. Their son, Clement was great fun as well. He is a VERY accomplished musician!
The entire experience was a treat. We are now back home and finally beginning to feel settled again. We praise God that His glory was displayed throughout the nations as E-Teams and College Ministries traveled throughout the world. We thank Him for keeping us safe and continuing to change us.
Greetings to everyone!
We are resting on Saturday evening, watching the fireflies and thinking, “Hey it might be time to post again on the blog.” We’ve tried to find a pattern to updating the various places online with information about our ministry. It’s harder than it seems. There’s always the fear that there’s just not that much news, but this is incorrect. There’s always something going on. I guess I just figure most people really don’t care. Well, we’re going to update this blog with information that might be interesting….and might not. Reader beware…
We do want to say a special “Thank You” to Northwest Community Church in Chicago, IL. They have gone above and beyond in true Chicago style by communicating with us concerning our recent anniversary. That may sound like a small thing, but it’s not. Missionaries sometimes focus so much on communicating their ministry and miss out on hearing from the local churches. Northwest is making sure this doesn’t happen. So, THANK YOU to all those who sent cards and made calls this last couple of weeks. You are truly appreciated.
We’ve been traveling pretty much non-stop for the last month. Our tour has taken us to Nashville, Tampa, Asheville and beyond. We’ve seen old friends and made new ones. An example of reunions would be the Kribys and Wainscotts in Tampa, Florida. It was great to see them. We also reconnected with Joel and Wendy Benson. They were very encouraging, as always.
Examples of new friends include Peggy and Sheldon Lance in Asheville, NC. They graciously opened their home for us to stay in. He even let me cut his grass (I love to cut grass.) We also met Randy Stone and his family. They treated us to dinner at their house and we laughed and talked until 12:00PM.
God has surely blessed our travels so far. In the next couple of months we will be traveling to Utah and Idaho for a mission conference. It will definitely be exciting to see that area of the world! After Utah, we will be preparing to take our E-Team to France for the month of June. I can’t tell you how excited we are about that. There is so much that will happen in the lives of the team and the field. Please pray for us as we prepare and as we travel in June.