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Archive for the ‘Friends’ Category

Last night as I was getting ready to close down the computer for the night I received a Skype call.  I almost didn’t catch it because I had the sound turned way down, but the program flashed in the lower right corner and I saw it.  Chuck Johnston in Taiwan was calling. We’ve had each other on Skype for some time now, but had never taken the time to do much more than type “Hi!”.  Well, it was a real blessing to hear from him.  I’ve known of the Johnstons in Taiwan for some time, more than a couple decades and studied with their kids in college.  In fact, one of my boyhood “cousins” from Brasil married one of the Johnston daughters.

We talked for a while and caught up on a few things, traded blog addresses and other ‘net stuff.  And as we were talking it came out that we live thirteen time zones apart.  WOW!  That’s a LONG ways out there, to say the least.  And yet, even though we work in different parts of the globe with different styles of ministry – we’re still brothers in Christ!  What a joy to know that others are proclaiming the gospel all around the globe, working with people in places I’d never thought of going to, teaching people to serve God, creating a better world for all of us to live in.

I thank God for the Johnstons and their long time ministry in Taiwan.  I thank God for all the people who have given up their lives to serve Him in far off places.   I thank God for giving each of us special talents and abilities and the desire to serve Him in different parts of the harvest field.

Over the past several months we’ve been busier than a one armed paper hanger with a dollar watch and the seven year itch. We’ve logged over 30,000 miles as we visit our supporters around the US of A. We’ve been from Florida to Washington and weathered both heat and cold. We’ve been to large gatherings and small get-togethers. We’ve seen loved ones, friends and supporters and handed out a pile of DVD’s about the work God is doing in Pereira. Yep, we’ve been busy! Today I’m taking time to sit down and write a bit. Why? Well, because I miss it. This little piece of cyber space is a great place for me to get away to and sort out my thoughts. Sometimes I just need a “sounding board”, something to help me sort something out.

Today? Well, I don’t know what to think. A lot has to happen over the next month and I’m looking forward to seeing how God works things out. Scared? Yeah, but not terrified. Scared like you are when you KNOW you can do it – but there’s still an element of risk. In this case it’s because we know that God can do it – but we don’t yet know how. There’s some anticipation as well, kind of like waiting for a special gift. You know it’s wonderful, but you don’t know what it is.

God’s in control. Of that we have no doubt. We only want to get going – in His paths – and to strike out for the other side of this wild ride He’s had us on for our whole lives. As we look back in time we see how time after time He was there – holding our hands, keeping us from falling. But learning to trust Him? That’s been the tough one because we’re to independant.

Oh how I pray that I can pass this faith to my children, and on to others as well. TRUST IN GOD, ALL WILL BE WELL!

A friend sent me a link to where I could download the tracks from a CD that he helped make some years ago. If you happen upon a copy of “The Hollands – A Few More Seasons”, snap it up. It’s good ol’ fashioned Bluegrass. Good music. Good vocals. Good stuff all together. Such music isn’t easy to find down here and I’m very grateful to him for sharing it with me.