Monday, December 29, 2008

Hello from the white tundra!

So if you're anywehere near Seattle, you've probably been stuck at home in the snow like me. I realize that I have been remiss in doing any blog entries lately, but I've been busy, with cocoa and snow and kids! That line from that Christmas carol "mom and dad can hardly wait for school to start again" really rings true this year. Snow is great, but when the kids are inside all day every day it gets a bit old.

I want to let you know that I havent forgot about the blog. I've just been taking a break. I am going to be into fullforce blogging after the first of the year.

I do want to take a moment to remind you that now is the time to be making some decisions for what you are going to accomplish this year. Thursday is right around the corner.

More than likely, you're thinking this week about the year gone by and how you either did what you set out to do, or failed again. 2009 can be your year of victory! Set it in your mind now to get it done for 2009. there is no reason why you cant accomplish everything that you want to accomplish. Trust that God can do it through you.

I am interested to hear what your hopes are. Send me an email. I will pray and believe with you.

Here's to a great 2009!

matt

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Can I get a Hand?

Yesterday our church went to go an pick up the toys that we will be distributing for Toys for Tots. It was quite interesting. The pick up point was not very well organized from my perspective.

We got there and there were about 2 dozen people milling around waiting for their turn to get their presents. Basically, there was a loading dock, and a guy with a clipboard and a pallet jack. He'd call an organization name, and then they were supposed to pull up to the dock, and he would bring out their pallet or two of toys.

Seems simple, right? Wrong. People were at the dock that hadn't had their name called, people were trying to get their name farther up on the list, people were getting angry, and not really having a very festive spirit.

Let me remind you that it was about 24 degrees yesterday. So we're standing there watching all this happen and we decide to start helping some of these people load up their toys figuring it would help the process. It did, to a point. we were on that dock for more than an hour helping people load up. People that showed up thought we worked for the organization we were working so much.

The neatest thing happened in the midst of all that. People who did not know each other, who were not the from the same backgrounds began to help one another. Everyone started to pitch in. It was awesome to see!

Are you a helpful person? Do you pitch in when there is a need somewhere or do you stand around and let someone else do the work? The bible says that "faith without works is dead". Meaning, that even if you say you are a Christian, its not enough to just say it, you have to show it by your actions. Easier said that done, but one easy way to do it is to help out someone who needs help. Carry a box, mow a lawn, stay late or come early to help. All of us need a hand here or there, so if we can be that person to someone its a blessing.

Help someone out today. Be a helpful person and help someone who looks like they don't need it. You'll bless them in the process.

here's to helping
matt

Monday, December 15, 2008

Four Things That Rob Us of Our Joy

The Bible teaches that the Joy of the Lord is our Strength. Meaning, that during tough times, we can still have Joy even though there may be things that are going on around us that are not that wonderful. During this Christmas, you may not be that joyful. Maybe you're not where you want to be, or you have bad memories about things from past Christmases. Its real easy to not have Joy during this time of year.

I want to share with you 4 things that can rob you of your joy.

1. Circumstances. Things just happen to go wrong. These are the things that you can't really change, but seem to happen inevitably. You lose a job, a relationship isn't going well, you just can't seem to get ahead etc. These circumstances have a way of stealing your joy. There was guy in the Bible named Paul who knew about circumstance, he was in prison and was beaten and tortured. But do you know what? He still served God. He still had joy in the midst of those times because he knew that the circumstance was temporary but his relationship with God was eternal.

2. People. For some reason other people have a way of stealing your joy. Family members, or co-workers or someone who cuts you off on the freeway. Whatever it is, somehow we allow other people to steal our joy. DON'T LET THEM! I love the expression "don't let people rent space in your head". Just because someone else is not well adjusted and chooses to take their pain out on you doesn't mean that you have to let them.

3. Things. 10 years ago I didn't have a cell phone, and do you know what? I got by just fine. But now, its become a necessity, or at least I've made it one. Whats the point? Things, that is the stuff we have that we don't really need, or the stuff we don't have that we don't really need, has a way of consuming our minds if we let it. Something breaks, something gets stolen, or we don't have the thing that we want. Things are just that: things. Let them stay that way. You can replace a thing you cant replace a person.

4. worry. And what do we worry about? circumstance, people and things. Jesus said we can't add even an hour to our lives by worry. He takes care of the birds of the fields, how much more will he take care of us? Give up worry today. Let the Lord take that burden and move on. Life is alot easier when you're not clinging to worrying about things you can't change.

Be blessed today. If you're in the Seattle area STAY WARM! Its cold out there today!

matt

Friday, December 12, 2008

Let it snow let it snow let it snow

Am I the only one who loves snow? I understand its wet and cold and all that, but man, I love that stuff.

Here in Seattle we're facing a "winter storm" for this weekend. Usually that means go out and buy some chains, salt, and a snow shovel and then sit back and watch it rain. They never forecast the snow right around here. Usually when they say it wont, it does and when they say it will, it usually never does.

Never the less, I still believe! I went out last night and bought some toboggans for the kids and I am expectantly waiting for it to snow. I can't wait to slide in it, toss snowballs, watch the kids play and run. There's something just so magical about snow at Christmas time!

I can hear the cynics right now: "whats the use of getting excited, its not even snowing yet" or "how often have we got our hopes up and nothing happened". What is interesting is that its usually those same cynical people who love to pop other hope balloons that you may be carrying around.

It happens even in Christian circles. You may be excited about something that the Lord is doing in your life, or expectantly waiting for a prayer to be answered, whatever. And inevitably someone comes along and sees you excited about something and they come along and "Pop"! They just take away all that joy you just had for whatever it was you were hoping for.

Why do they have to be that way? Do they think that they are helping someone out by "keeping it real" or "just letting it all hang out"? I like to hope. I like to dream. I like to expect great and exciting things to happen. Even if it doesn't, its sometimes just as exciting to visualize it happening. I refuse to let people dictate my happiness and what they think should happen. Just because they don't get excited doesn't mean that i cant get excited right?

Are you a person who pops balloons? Stop. Are you a person who is afraid to get excited about something that may happen? Get excited! Have faith that God will do it and wait, with a spirit of expectancy!You'll be amazed at what could happen when you do this.

God's best to you today! Have a spirit of expectancy!

matt

Wednesday, December 10, 2008

One Year Ago

I celebrated a milestone this week. Its been one full year since I've went full time in the ministry. It went FAST. I really can't believe that it went by so quickly.

I have a natural tendency to reflect on things. And this is no different. As I look back on the past year, there are some really great things that happened, and some things I would have changed, but more than anything I can see that God has been faithful through it all. He's made it happen.

Thinking back to that first week I remember that I had all these great plans on how I was going to spend my week, things to get accomplished, and projects to undertake. Coming from a corporate job, into the ministry I was used to having tasks, and reports and the like. Naturally, I set up my week that way. I put different scales to grade myself on, set up a day by day calendar. Set up hour by hour plans. It was beautiful. I really thought that it would help the plan that God had put in my heart.

I'll let you know, it worked for about a day. Apparently the ministry cannot be confined to a schedule, or a spreadsheet. Usually my days never end up how I expected them. I always have a plan for what I want to get accomplished for the day, but usually it never ends up that way. Go figure. For some reason God in His infinite wisdom chose to throw my plans into to the wind and make sure that I was following His plans.

This doesn't sit well with someone who likes things to go a certain way. It was frustrating at times. But what I have learned is that God knows what He is doing. He has a plan. Its my job to implement His plan, not Him implementing mine. I may have some 'task' that needs to be accomplished, but He needs someone to be ministered to. I may have a 'project' that I want to work on, but he may need me to just sit and be still. Its frustrating at times, but I have learned to trust that He knows whats going on, even if it doesn't fit into my ideas of how it should be.

I'm sure there is some area of your life where you're sticking too much to the plan and not enough to the Lord. Ask God what area you can let go a bit of and let Him move. And then sit back and watch what he will do. Watch how he can move without your plan or actions, but move in spite of your plans or actions. He's God you know. All seeing, all knowing, all loving. He'll never let you down.

Hope you're having a great week.
blessings,
matt

Monday, December 8, 2008

2nd times a charm

I wanted to share with you what we did this weekend. Its probably not that 'spiritually insightful' but it was fun. That's whats fun about this blog, since I'm the one that writes it, I can pretty much write whatever I want. Fun.

So Saturday night Crystal and I were invited to go to a company Christmas party. It was for the company that a couple of guys from our church work for, and is also the company the church rents its space from.

I initially wasn't that excited about going to the party, but as I was getting ready I began to realize what a privilege it was to be invited to go to a party for a company that I wasn't a part of. In addition, they had asked me to do the invocation and bless the food. What an honor.

When we got there, there must have been about 250 or so people in the ball room, there were hors'dourves and the like. It was real nice.

Now whats interesting is that I rarely get nervous about public speaking. Its what I do! come on! I preach 3 times a week! Well, when I got called up to do the prayer, all those eyes started to burn me as I was looking at them.

In most jobs, there are very clear parameters to see whether or not you are being successful at your job. If you're a firefighter, put out the fire. If you you're a mechanic, fix the car, and if you're a pastor, you better know how to pray. Its part of the job description.

To be honest, I thought it was a great prayer. I asked the Lord to bless the company, the president of the company, the time we had together for the night. It was an awesome prayer! People clapped when I was done. "good job matt" I thought to myself as I was walking back to the table. "you sure prayed that prayer". Then, I sat down.

God bless my wife. She leans over to me, and in my ear ever so softly says "honey, you forgot to bless the food". MAN! WHAT KIND OF PASTOR FORGETS TO BLESS THE FOOD?? So, clearly. I failed at my calling Saturday night. I was called upon to bless the food and I failed. Scores of people at risk for food poisoning and the crud because i did not invoke the blessings of our Lord upon the potatoes and prime rib! I should have turned in my credentials at the end of the night.

I redeemed myself last night. Another Christmas party, another prayer, and I delivered! Man. I got to tell you, I slept a whole lot better last night knowing the food was blessed.

So the lesson for the day is don't worry about your mess ups. the Lord will give you a chance to redeem yourself!

Happy praying
matt

Thursday, December 4, 2008

The Power of Proper Priorities

Priorities. We all have them. We talk about them, we schedule them, we focus on them. Or do we? I think that alot of people have professed priorities that do not match up with how they actually live their lives.

People will say, " I really want to lose some weight" or " I want to get out of debt" or "I want to improve my relationship with my spouse" but when you begin to really examine their actions, alot of times their actions don't match up with their stated priorities.

Let me give you an example from weight loss. Someone may say that they want to lose weight, but they eat too much food that is bad for them, or just too much food. They may say they want to exercise more, but never schedule the time to do it. They TALK about it, but never DO anything about it. From their actions it is evident that what they really want is to eat calorie rich food, and not exercise. As the old adage goes, "actions speak louder than words".

Merely talking about something does not make it so. Its the DOING it that makes it so. I guarantee that there are areas of all our lives where there is a disconnect with what we profess and how we live it out in our daily lives. The key is, put actions behind your words.

My point? What is the number one stated priority in your life? Does it match up with how you spend your time and resources? Looking at your checkbook is an easy way to determine where you are placing your priorities. There's no hiding what you value when you look at where you spend.

I meet alot of people who claim that they are Christian and they want God's best for their life, but the actions don't match up. I like that statement that says "the road to Hell is paved with good intentions". Its even more impactful for the Christian. If you say that your relationship with God is your number one priority. Live like it. Focus on it. Put your energy into it. Its amazing how much growth you can see in an area of your life if you match up the action part with the intention part.

Get em straight.

matt

Monday, December 1, 2008

Did you miss the blog?

Hey! Thanks for giving me the week off. I didn't get a full week off, but I did get to relax a bit so it was nice. I got some emails about the blog not being up, but I figured you'd be OK without the blog.

This blog has been fun. I try to be transparent on it, because I don't think that its nearly as insightful if I'm never allowing myself to be transparent.

Here's some transparency for you: I get really annoyed with my neighbors who have messy yards. I know it may seem trivial, but I really do. I'm that guy who looks out his window at what my neighbors are doing and wonders when they are going to clean up whatever mess they are making.

I have a neighbor who had a heap of stuff in his driveway for about a month. Some wood scraps, and other miscellaneous things. It irked me. I would walk by it on the way to walk my dog, and i would spend time on my walking playing out the different ways that i could confront my neighbor about his eyesore of a driveway.

After about a month of this, it really began to annoy me. Every time I drove by I would look and get upset. My other neighbors approached me and told me that they had voted me to go and talk to him, which is great, except I don't really like confrontation.

I'm sure I'm not the only one that sees things that need to be confronted and have a hard time confronting them. Its painful. you don't know how the other person will respond, or if its going to have the desired outcome. It can be nerve-racking going through all the different scenarios in your head. But somethings need to be confronted head on.

I know there is probably some people who have a 'live and let live' mentality, but I don't think that works in relationships. Not in a marriage, or a church, or on your street. If you live with or near someone what you do effects those other people. And, sometimes, when people are allowing their freedom to infringe on your ability to enjoy your freedom, they should be confronted, lovingly.

Is there someone in your life that needs to be confronted? Something that they are doing that you have let go on too long? There is nothing wrong with loving confrontations, if they're done in the right way. Don't be afraid to talk to the person, ask some questions, and share your point. what they do with it is up to them. You did your part.

Here's to hoping the confrontation you need to do isn't towards me
matt

ps. i talked to the neighbor last night. he cleaned his driveway this morning.

Tuesday, November 25, 2008

What to write.....

I usually figure out some fantastic story or something to write on my blog. I havent taken much time off lately, so my plan for this week was to do as little as possible.

So... here's the short blog for the week of t-day. I'll get back on it next week.

Be thankful.

Be thankful for what you do have and what you dont have. Hug your family longer than they want you to. Give more than you're used to. Listen more than you talk. Smile often.

I pray you have a great thanksgiving. I'm sure you have a ton to be thankful for if you spend a few minutes to think about it.

blessings
matt

Friday, November 21, 2008

Out of Place

Currently, our church is partnering with the para-church ministry Young Life. Young Life is a ministry that goes into schools and shares the message of the Gospel. They do this through their Young Life "club" events that happen every other week or so, with other fun events.

Anyway, my youth leader and I go down to the Jr. high and High School almost every week to have lunch with the kids from our church, and also hang out a bit with their friends.

Being back in the Jr. High feels like I'm back in Jr. High. I feel so out of place. Mind you, I'm 6 foot 5 so I probably don't really "blend in" with these kids, but in addition to that, I find that its difficult to connect with them on a real level. I can't figure out if I'm not asking the right questions, or if they just don't like me, but it seems as though my attempts to connect are not going that well.

We've been going there all year and part of last year also. I'm getting to know some kids. Its nice. I'll be honest with you. Most days, I feel like quitting going to the schools. Its uncomfortable for me, I feel out of place, I don't feel like I'm making much of a difference. When you feel that way for an extended amount of time, usually you will pack it up, because hey, its not doing much.

But alas, there is this person named Jesus that I work for that has called me to this work. Therefore, I must not give up. I may feel like giving up, because its not meeting my expectations, but I must not give up, because it was He who called ME to this work, not the opposite.

I'm sure there is areas of your life where you feel like quitting. I'll tell you- Join the club. Most of us feel like quitting things alot of the times. But when you quit, you never really realize the full benefits of the experience, because you never saw it through. My guy James and I are in this for the long haul. If it means going through Jr. high all over again to please the Lord, I'll do it. It may not be the funnest part of my week, or the most comfortable, or to me the most fruitful, but I have to rest on the fact of He who called Me.

It make take a while, or it may never meet my expectations, but I know that there is an audience of one who is pleased. I know he likes that we are at least trying to share his love. Attempting great things. Using what limited gifts we have. That's enough for me.

Be encouraged today. Don't worry that things may not be going at the pace that you think that they should.

Someone reading this today is thinking about 'throwing in the towel'.

Don't give up. If He called you to it, He'll be the one to sustain you in it.

blessings,
matt

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

A Lesson... brought to you by Trix

Trix is part of this balanced breakfast....we've all heard that before right? I had an interesting interaction with my kids this morning, I thought you might find humorous.

I'd like to take this opportunity, before sharing, to use this forum to declare that when I was a child, I NEVER got sugar cereal. I was raised on corn flakes, cheerios, and rice crispies. Mind you, my brother and I would shovel spoonfuls of sugar on the cereal anyway, but we never had the "fun" sugar cereals when we were kids. Yes. I'm bitter about it. My mom reads this blog, so Mom, I love you, but any psychological missteps I may have in my life are due to the fact that I lived a deprived life without good sugary cereal that had good toys in the box and enough sugar to rot the teeth out of my head. There, I said my piece, lets move on.

This morning my little angel daughter faith fluttered her little angel wings into the kitchen and asked me to pour her a bowl of cereal (Trix). Me, being the wonderful provider that I am went to the pantry, grabbed a box and began to pour.

My other child, the Angel Gabriel, who was putting on his little angel wings for the day in the other room, used his subsonic hearing to recognize that there was a bowl of cereal being poured in the kitchen. Before I could even get the milk poured on it, Gabe runs out in the kitchen and asks "who's box are you pouring from"? "what"? I asked, " Mommy bought us our own box, don't give Faith my cereal"

My little angels then proceeded to both grab the bowl of cereal, scream and yell at who's bowl was who's, who's box yadda yadda yadda ITS CEREAL! I had a good mind to take it all away. "I NEVER GOT SUGAR CEREAL WHEN I WAS A KID" I said. "YOU BETTER WATCH IT, OR YOU'LL GET NOTHING". These kids were digging their heels in. This bowl of Trix began to become their "Alamo" a last stand if you will.

I was quite amazed at the fight that ensued from a bowl of Trix. It all ended up OK, i had to pour some cereal from another box. But it got me to think about that bible story about Jacob and Esau when they were fighting over a bowl of porridge. Esau was willing to give up his inheritance for a bowl of soup. Not a great idea, but its what happened.

Sometimes we're like my kids and Jacob and Esau. We find the smallest thing to cling onto that becomes our complete focus in life. We find this one thing, this one interaction and it consumes all of who we are and what we're about. We get angry and fight and the like.

Don't get so mad about little stuff that doesn't matter. Its OK if you don't get that parking spot, the big piece of chicken, the last piece of the pie. Its not that big of a deal. There is more than enough to go around. God knows you. Where you are at. What you need. He wants to bless you. Don't go and try to steal someone else's blessing just because you're worried you wont get yours. There is more than enough Trix to go around.

be blessed
matt

Friday, November 14, 2008

Home Owners Association

I went to my first homeowners association meeting last night. It was quite an experience. I live in a development in Covington Washington that has close to 1000 houses in the development. I had never been to a meeting before, but because there has been an uptick in graffiti and gang activity in our development, I wanted to go and speak and listen to whats been going on in our neighborhood.

There must have been about 30 or so people in this meeting. There is a board of 9 that run the association. The guest speaker for the night was the Chief of Police. He spent some time talking about crime, and budgets and the like. He talked about efforts by our police to effectively police our community and the limits of what they could do.

Then, it got real interesting. The board opened it up for people to speak, and I said my piece, which was basically that if we wanted our neighborhood to be nicer, we need to enforce the standards for yard cleanliness and get people to clean up graffiti as soon as possible and the like. I asked the board president what we could do as homeowners to help, and then it started.

The people at this meeting began to verbally attack the board president. People started to interrupt each other, raise their voices, walk out, yell. It was crazy! The president got defensive, the people got irate and nothing got accomplished. Nothing. Its no wonder our development is in the state it is.

Civility is a lost art. People no longer can share an opposing idea without raising their voice, attacking, or getting overly emotional about the whole thing. I understand that when there is a shooting on your street that it raises concerns about your safety, but if you can't even talk about it with some civility there is no way you can fix nothing.

The bible says in James chapter 3 that If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man. Relationships hinge on our ability to speak to people in a way that doesn't create animosity or contempt. We need to be people that watch what we say and how we say. We have an opportunity to be a blessing to people, even those with whom we oppose, and must remember to speak in a way that we are never at fault.

Watch what you say and how you say it. You'll notice you're life is a bit easier.

Blessings
matt

Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Burn the ships

There is a story from the 1500s about an explorer who reached the shores of the coast of south America. Apparently the trip was quite difficult and was full of peril and near death experiences. What got these explorers through this experience was their personal faith in God, and that he had called them to go and explore and affect the world.

How it must have felt to reach those stable shores after toiling in the ocean! I think of how I feel after being on an airplane how good it feels to be on solid ground, or how it feels to get out of a car after a long road trip. These guys were out at sea for months, and finally reached their destination.

Well, as the story goes, the people's excitement of the destination soon wore off and they began to prod the captain that they should return from where they came. They didn't like the new place, it was too hard, it was too this, or too that. They wanted to go back to where they came from. The captain's reply was quite simple: Burn the ships. We're never going back. We came this far by faith, and we will continue by faith.

That's a real strong statement, but people today could learn some hard lessons from "burn the ships". So many times people work so hard to get to a place in their lives and when they arrive they find that it doesn't meet their expectations, so they want to go back to things being the old way. You cant have both ways, either the Lord led you to this place, or He did not. If He did, HE WILL SUSTAIN YOU! Don't think back or look back at the place you've come from. Charge forward by faith and burn the ships that represent your escape route from your current condition. By faith you can endure and allow the Lord to see you through whatever place you may be in.

BURN THE SHIPS!

matt

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Quite a night

I'm sure if that unless you were in a coma, or locked in a basement that last night we elected a new President of the United States. Very historic night for America. It will be very interesting to see what the next 4 years hold for us as a nation.

Last night I think what struck me the most is the level of adoration that people have placed on their candidates. Conversely, it also struck me the level of disdain they have for their opponents. Watching the returns come in, and seeing the 'victory' rallies and the acceptance speeches, I seriously got a sense that there are a lot of people who have pinned all of their hopes and dreams on weather or not their candidate got into office or not.

I think that happens a lot with people on a much lower level. People seem to think that if they only had the right job, house, friend, spouse or car (this list could continue) they wouldn't be as sad, angry, lonely, frustrated, (this list also could continue). Basically, people seem to think that there is some sort of tangible external 'thing' or person that can solve all of their problems and make all their wrongs right. Its quite sad, because the reality is that even if those 'things' provide any sort of satisfaction or sense of completeness, those feelings are usually temporary and eventually forgotten.

The good news is that God always satisfies. His love always endures. His hope is eternal and his mercy everlasting. If you're looking for hope, look no further than the King of Kings. He's got a fantastic domestic and international policy. He has a economic plan that will bless you, a health care plan that is out of this world, and a strong national defense. Put your hope in him today. He's the one who never fails, never bows to lobbyists, or allows pork in his spending bills.

He's still God. He's still on the throne. His administration lasts for ever.

Be blessed today.
Pastor Matt

Monday, November 3, 2008

Been a few days

Sorry its been a few days since I've written on the blog. I guess after the flying experience I had a hard time coming back down to the ground.

Did you know my brother works for a closet company? He works for California Closets. They are a real high end closet company. My brother is a designer for them. Usually his closets run between 3k and 10K. They are really nice closets, but I don't have one. I go the "shelf and rod" route.

The sales tag line for CC is "simplify your life". Basically, their sales premise is that when you start your day with a nice organized closet, it makes the day go a whole lot better. With their closets, you know where everything is, and are supposed to have a simpler life because you are not as frazzled in the morning as you're trying to find matching socks as you're whisking out the door.

I can't afford a 10K closet, but I want my life simplified too. I've been praying to God asking him to simplify my life. Boil it down, get back to basics, all those things. Life, even in the church can become very confusing and lacking direction, so I don't want to be headed in the wrong direction.

I want to share with you what the Lord has been sharing with me. Are you ready? He shared with me a simple phrase from his word: "Jesus Christ and Him crucified". Man. That will preach for years wont it?

The phrase "Jesus Christ and him Crucified" encompasses the essence of the Christian walk. The focus of our desire, the impetus for change, the encouragement for weary souls, the hope of all nations. Simplified. One single phrase.

Have you been allowing yourself to be pulled in the wrong direction spiritually? focusing on things you shouldn't and worrying about things that don't matter? Simplify your life today. Realize that the God who created you sent a Savior to save you from yourself. Your life's meaning and calling can be found in the simple phrase: "Jesus Christ and Him crucified".

Remind yourself of that today. As you work remember that the essence of the Christian walk is found in the cross. Don't allow people or circumstances to pull you away from that. It will help keep you focused.

Missed you. Have a great week. Be blessed. Stay dry.

matt

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Not a Typical day off

Have you ever been afraid of something? Maybe afraid isn't the best word. What I'm talking about here, is have you ever had something that you were afraid to do and when you thought about it, it literally gave you anxious feelings in your body?

To me, the thought of flying an airplane is just that. The thought of sitting in a cockpit, and having my hands on the controls utterly terrifies me. The mere thought of it makes me have to get a drink of water.

I've done a lot of things in my life. Somethings that other people may think are hard or scary, but nothing in the world can compare to the thought of flying a plane.

I don't know why that is. Maybe its because its so foreign to me, or because I don't trust planes or whatever. People who fly planes are algorithmic arithmatic Rhoades scholars who are friends with Stephen Hawkings. Tall preacher types with large foreheads do not fly planes.

Until yesterday. Yes. I flew a plane yesterday. I wasn't expecting it to happen, but a friend called me yesterday to see if I could go on a flight with him at 5pm. I never expected that when I went that he would let me fly. I really didn't expect that when we were on the runway that he would tell me to put my hands on the yoke and be the one to pull back and get us up in the air. I WAS FLYING AN AIRPLANE!!!!!!! Screaming, yelling school boy excitement as I lofted into the air. WOW WOW WOW. Its almost unexplainable what it feels like. It was awesome. One of the best experiences of my life. It was great.

Before yesterday, I wouldn't believe you if you told me that I could overcome my fear by simply doing it. I was 3000 ft closer to the heavens yesterday and the Lord was there with me. Surveying the beauty of his creation and soaring over the Puget Sound I was fully aware of the fact that with God, you don't have to fear anything. No person, no problem, no fear. We're the ones who hold ourselves back from experiencing God's best for us. We're the ones who put limits on God. Not him on us. There is no limit to what He can do with us if we'll let him.

Don't be afraid to try something you are afraid of. Its rewarding. It gives you a great sense of accomplishment and awareness of God's ability to empower you.

God Bless you today.
matt

Monday, October 27, 2008

That was some gooood preachin'

I heard a really good message yesterday.. wait... it was the message I preached yesterday.

Preaching is an interesting thing. There are times when I preach and I think "wow. that was some good preaching" and I get zero feedback. There are other times when I think "wow. i really tanked that one" and people tell me what a great message it was. Its not why I preach, but its a part of being a preacher that you may not know.

Why am I telling you all this? Because I really think that yesterday's message at church was powerful. Not necessarily because I spoke it, but it was more the direction that the Holy Spirit took it yesterday. It really was a bare-bones Gospel message, and I have to tell you, it encouraging to hear the Gospel, time and time again. I never get tired of it. Forgiveness of Sins, hope for the lost, reconciliation.

I think sometimes Christian people forget the basic truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ- Jesus came to reconsile man to God. It is what Jesus did for us on the cross that makes that possible.

When we go through trial and tribulations, its easy to begin the process of self-depreciating thoughts and actions because of the effects of the current situation we're in. Usually we spend alot of time thinking and worrying and wondering instead of spending time abiding in the Lord. Do you realize that it doesnt matter what you are going through, that God is there in the midst of it?

When you were an alien to God, and not in his family, He called you to Him through his love. How much more love does He have for you now that you are his son or daughter? He doesn't pull away during these times, he pulls you in closer. Reflect on that truth when you're going through it. Abide in His love. Rest in His glory. He's got all you need babay!

Don't let the world confuse the basic truths of God's word. Its love. Lots and lots of love. For you and for others. The bible says if we dont love, we dont know God, so walk in that today and go out and love someone!

Have a blessed day. I will.

matt

Friday, October 24, 2008

I promise I'm not reaching

I promise you that I am not reaching for some sort of spiritual meaning in the seemingly benign things that go on during my life.

The reality is that the stuff that I can share here can usually only be limited to such interactions seeing how I cant really share the inner-workings of church politics or interactions that I have with my parishoners. Its kind of a no-no to share personal information about your parishoners on the web. For some reason they seem to frown on it. Go figure (obviously I'm joking here).

Before I share with you an insight for today, I want to be completely clear- I have not decided to run a marathon yet. I am in the "thinking about it" phase. Meaning, I'm thinking about it. I'm at about 60 percent there. Its a big deal to make that decision, so I'm still working up the courage to make the commitment.

That being said, I was on my walk this morning with my dog and my wife thought it well that we should do a bit of joggin in the midst of our walk. I got to tell you. Joggin in 37 degree weather isn't the funnest thing. Even the slightest increase in respirations burns your chest and throat. I honestly didnt even run that much. I just increased my speed a bit more from a fast walk. But it hurt.

Whats the application? Increased activity on the human body brings a painful response. Its like that with most things. Including spiritual things.

When you take one step closer to God, the devil comes at you with all he has to try to discourage you and keep you from growing. Like physical activity, spiritual activities are very important to your personal well being, but when you do them, they dont usually make you feel better right away.

Getting less sleep to get up in the morning to pray is a drag until you get used to it. After that period, you get used to the decreased sleep, and you begin to long for the time of prayer, because you realize what an improvement it makes in your spiritual life.

I hope running will do that for me... eventually I'm sure.

push yourself. go past your comfort zone. be willing to do something that doesnt make you 'feel' good immediately and watch how it will help you improve in the long run. Get up and pray. Go to church. Call a friend. Read your bible. Go for a walk.

God has a wonderful plan for your life. Believe it. His word declares it.

Blessings
matt

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Interruptions

I'm enjoying writing the blog so far. Looking forward to it in fact.

I had some great plans to today to spend some time in prayer reflecting and supplicating before the Lord almighty to recieve some sort of cosmic revelation to share with you today.

Its not going to happen. I just got a call from someone who needs me to come by for a visit.

Such is life isnt it? we plan our days, our weeks and the like and expect that everything will go as planned, but God in his infinite wisdom likes to 'shake things up'.

Be obedient to that in your own life. Allow the Lord to interrupt your plans and what you think is best for you. He uses interruptions to help us realize that he's the one, not us, and that we are to be obedient to what he asks us to do. Its rarely convenient, but its always within His plans.

Be blessed with that today. Allow those interruptions of the day that truly are divine appts, for you to be able to bless someone else.

God's best to you today. Enjoy that sunshine!


matt

Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Monday- Typical Pastor Day off

Mondays are usually my day off. I dont like taking days off. I get bored real easy. I like to be real busy, working on something, producing. there is a certain satisfaction when you get into bed at night and you've got something to show for your day.

But alas, even the Lord Almighty rested, so I try to set aside mondays as a day when I do next to nothing. just relax and rest and do real pastorly recharging activities, like watching television.

Crystal went to some baby store yesterday (not for us- for those who were wondering) so i had the tv all to my self. I must tell you. There are few small victories you get as a husband. Getting the remote all to yourself is a wonderful thing.

So I watched a show on the Discovery channel about "big fix" or somethign like that. Basically they do some huge fix job that takes a lot of people and resources and its huge and all that.

The show yesterday was about a cruise ship. Big huge luxurious ship. To run this ships power it takes about 24 million dollars a year, so they wanted to put in a new generator that would cut its power needs by about 40%. It was a very big ordeal when you watched the show. They had to cut a gigantic hole in the side of the ship (below the waterline) and re-route a bunch of pipes. This new generator weighed 60 tons. Not an easy fix.

It took them 24 hours a day for 3 weeks to do this fix. It worked. Its going to take a while to recoup the cost, but in the long run. Its a good deal.

I'm sure you're seeing the spiritual application already: God wants to do work in our hearts and sometimes its a 'big fix' that may seem daunting. Although its a huge task that takes a lot of time, is real messy and involved, its worth every bit. Let God do the work. he'll make you better and you'll be better because of it.

Ask the Lord what fix you need in your heart today. What area of your heart that you're not letting the Holy Spirit do its work.

You're more valuable than any cruise ship. And you've got more power in the Holy Spirit than any generator.

Be blessed to day. Let the Lord do a "Big Fix" in your heart today.

matt

ps. if you think its unGodly to watch TV disregard this post.

Friday, October 17, 2008

God is Good

I want to share something with you that happened today. Actually it happened earlier this week.

Another Pastor from Auburn called me out of the blue and wanted to come down to our church and pray with Crystal and I.

I'm sure for you its quite normal for pastors to get together and pray, but to be honest, pastors dont get together alot to pray. I'm sure its for a number of reasons, but I think its mostly becasue alot of pastors see other churches as 'competition'. Its really not good to have that mindset, but in all acuality alot of pastors do have that mindset.

So he called, and we met with him today, and it appears as though he's going through a few bumps at his church, and the Lord layed it on his heart to call us as come and pray for our church to prosper and grow! PRAISE GOD!

I dont think that most people have this mentality when something goes sideways in thier life, and its this: I've got to worry about my life, my circumstance, not anyone else right now. This should not be so. Its during times of crisis and uncertainty that we have the greatest opportunity to bless someone else. In some ways, its like giving the devil a blackeye! We were very blessed by him and his prayers. it was great.


So go and bless someone today in spite of your circumstance.

On another note. I got a new pair of slippers today! Seems like a small blessing, but to me its huge. i've been looking for this specific Dr. Scholls memory foam slippers, and today i found them! man, I can't wait to watch some football in these bad boys!

blessings
matt

ps. throw a few comments. i'd like to see who's on this blog thing.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

New Phase of the Blog

I'm not sure how many people are still reading this blog, but I've recieved some feedback from people that they enjoyed reading my thoughts, so I'm going to make an attempt to continue to do the blog.

So where to start? The easiest place is with the idea of this blog itself. A few people had encouraged me in the past to do a blog, and I was reluctant to do so. I'll be honest. It mostly because I didnt think that anyone would read it, or get much out of it. Apparently based on feedback the Lord is able to work some sort of Holy Spirit translation through my spelling errors and rambling thoughts to bring glory to his name. Praise God.

There's a sermon in there somewhere. Alot of times we as people think that what we do and say doesnt have much of an effect on people, when it really does. Each of us has a mission, a calling if you will to reach out to those within our sphere of influence and impact them with the Love of Christ. Its hard, becasue usually we feel as though our attempts, or lack thereof, are either not recieved well, or not wanted, when in actuality, we will never truly know the impact we have on other people. I guess we'll know when we get to heaven, but either way, I think it brings God glory when we do our best to share the love of the Lord.

God bless you today. Again, I humbly pray that this blog will be blessing to you in some way.

More later

pastor matt

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Bye Bye Ghana

We're leaving today. I havent packed yet, I wanted to write my final blog first.

First off, thank you to everyone who has been praying for us while we were here and reading this blog. I pray that it has been a blessing to you reading it.

its natural that as I'm about to go home that my mind would be transistioning to trying to process this experience. Its difficult to process while I am here, Im sure that more will come to me as the days pass.

First to say, this has been an amazing experience. I have been to bosnia, egypt, austraila and other places, and I must say that this has been the most pleasurable of all of them. Australia was nice, but it was really alot like america, so it wasnt as culturally significant.

here in Ghana, you are in a foriegn country, with different customs and people, but everything is in english and people speak english. What has been most exciting, is how NICE the people are. Overly nice and accepting. Its been great.

So, at this point, what can I take home from this experience

1. There are other Christians all over the world, and when you meet them, you can feel the immediate spiritual connection because they love the same Lord that you do.

2. God moves on all people in all areas. Sometimes Americans have the ablity to become very focused on their own surroundings, forgetting that God is doing miracuous things all over the world.

3. People who have less thirst for God more. To see the people here in the villages worshipping the Lord in spite of their circumstance can frustrate you when you think of the people of american who live so much better than these people and still find ways to complain. Most of us still eat 3 times a day

4. God blesses obedience. I really didnt know what to expect when i came here, but God did move. not only in the services, but in my own heart. I am challenged by the people in Ghana's thirst for God.

5. Jesus still saves. We were at a home group last night full of Lebanese people who were realativley new converts. I have met adult people who were atheist, buddhist, and musilm who have come to know the saving grace of Our Lord Jesus Christ. I think sometimes Christians 'write people off' because they dont think God can affect these people, but I have learned that when you pray and believe God moves on peoples hearts. its awesome!

6. You can live without TV. I havent watched a lick since I've been here. Havent missed it at all. My life has actually been easier without it.

7. You can live without a cell phone.

8. you can live without AC

9. You can live on peanut butter and crackers for quite a few meals.

10. you can make lifelong friends in 14 days.

Love you all. Hope to talk to you when we get back. thanks again for the prayers. Say one more as we fly home tonight.

God Bless
matt and corb (and pastor ong in 1 more week)

Sunday, October 5, 2008

3 services. One day

Whew. This has been a long day.

we got up early to go and get church set up for today. (some of you old school FVC people will remember those days of lugging stuff into the school- this place has about 40 stairs you have to go up.. we were blessed).

Elim has 3 services on Sunday. The first two are in english, and the final one is in Chinese.

There were about 75 people at the first service, and easily about 150 at the second. It was powerful!

Its funny how God works. As I was leaving for Ghana, Crystal told me to preach on communion, and I wasn't really thinking thats what i should preach on. Its a great message to preach, but its more of a teaching than a preaching. I was struggling with what to preach, and lo and behold, it was communion sunday today! After speaking with Pastor Ong, it became clear that communion was what i was to speak on today.

It went quite well. I think it was well recieved, which is not of much value except that I felt as though that was what the Lord would have me to speak on today.

This church is so great. There are people from literally all over the world that attend this church. People from all denominations, races, and countries in one room all praising God. The Christian Church has been divided too long. It was great to be in the same room worshipping with pentecostals and mennonites. Only in Ghana would this happen.

We met a girl from SPU (our alma mater) today at church. She is here as a school teacher. It was great to be able to connect with another american that is so close to where we are from. She was from Monroe Washington.

The chinese church was an experience. I preached through an interpreter again. I dont think that the chinese church really got my humor. I would tell a joke, but they would just look at me. Thats okay, I thought it was funny.

The trip is winding down. We have two more days here in country before beginning our travel home. Its quite sad acutally. We've made some great friendships here very quickly. Its great to be able to make those kind of connections with people. The people here are so wonderful, so loving, so accepting. Its a pure joy to be here. I am sad to leave.

we'll still post over the next few days before we go. I'm sure we'll have a few more adventures.

God bless you.
matt and corbett

Saturday, October 4, 2008

Still Alive

we're still alive, but busy doing a lot that is not of much to report. yesterday was an errand day, not much going on. Picked up some stuff to bring home and did a bit of shopping.

We're working towards Sunday's meeting. I'm going to preach 3 services. 2 in english, and one through a Chinese interpreter. Should be good.

We went out to eat last night at a Lebanese restaurant. wow. they sure did serve up some chow. Lots of it, and it was great.


Hope you're doing well. Post more after Sunday.

Love you all
matt and corb.

Thursday, October 2, 2008

Nice Cold Fanta Orange

Its still screaming hot here. Almost feels like its getting hotter maybe. Perhaps its the intermittant storms, or the absolute fire of the Holy Ghost, but it is HOT.

Sorry i didnt write yesterday.. I think its been a few days since I've writtten. We've just been really busy.

Yesterday we spent the morning driving around Accra running errands. Not really much more to talk about that experience in that it was similar to other days around Accra. I am still amazed at the driving that happens here. Total and complete chaos, yet no one seems to ever get in a wreck. No one gets mad at people cutting in line, or cutting someone off. Quite refreshing in fact. Americans seem to get really angry while driving for seemingly small things. In Ghana, you force your way in, honk your horn, and the guy you just did it do doesn't raise a concern at all. I'm going to bring that back with me to the US. Not the part about not getting mad, the part about doing what I want on the road and using my horn more often.

Another thing that I am going to bring back to the US is what they do in Ghanian churches in the villages. Church is hot, and long, so after the song service, the ushers walk around the church and if you fall asleep, they crack you on your head with a small switch. What a great idea! I think I may market this item to area churches. We'll call it the "victory stick" with an infomerical and everything.. what do you think? Great idea eh?

So last night we went up to visit a village church. It took us about 1.5 hours to get to there because of traffic, but what took even longer was the roads. Folks, we have unmaintained logging roads that are better than alot of main roads here. Pot holes galore, unfinished roads, deep crevasses from rains. Its crazy. If i lived here I'd have to get a 4X4.

So we got the the church last night (late), but still there. Probably about 125 people were at church. And like before SINGING THEIR HEARTS OUT. Its amazing to watch the Ghanians worship. Our churches can really learn alot from it. They sing, and dance and have the time of their lives. Americans are too concerned with what people think or how they may be percieved. It appears that the Ghanians are not concerned with it at all. They WORSHIP and it is very evident.

I had the opportunity to preach again through an interpreter. Its quite a different experience, but it was still cool. There is a clear immediate spiritual connection that we have with the people here through Jesus Christ. Its awesome. I spoke on what Faith can do in your life from the Book of Daniel. It appeared to be well recieved by the feedback I got from the church. The best part- after preaching in this windowless concrete church they blessed us right after with ice cold soda pop in a glass bottle. I dont think I have had a more refreshing beverage in my entire life. Ice Cold Orange Fanta in a bottle at 900 at night in 80 degree heat goes down real nice. Man it was good. What a blessing.

The people here are the same as the people in the US in that they have problems, but they are just different kinds of problems. We pray for a different job, house, or things. They pray for a meal for work, for the health of their family. You can see the love of God in their eyes as much as you can in the US, it just their needs are much different. Its a priveledge (sp?) to be here and meet these people. They are so welcoming and warm hearted. Its great.

So we're driving home last night and I asked Pastor Ong what we were going to do today, and he says "oh yea, you're going to preach to all my pastors in the morning. Not too much, just about 45 mins or so". Sweet. Great opportunity, very short notice. So I had from when we got home at about 11 to when we got up at 7 to go the next morning to prepare a few thought for a dozen pastors.

God showed up. The message to the pastors went over very well and they were blessed. I've never spoke to a group of pastors before so it was a new experience, but one that was fun. What was great is that it was the first message I've been able to preach here without an interpreter. Praise the Lord it went well.

God is moving here. He's impacting peoples lives and filling them with the power of the Holy Spirit. Its great to be a part of what God is doing here in Ghana. I thank him every day for this opportunity. Its a blessing.

God's best to you. Hope you are all doing well. I would love to get some questions or comments from some of you we haven't heard from. I'm using krachunis at gmail.com while I am here if you want to write me or corb.

Love you all. Can't wait to get home wednesday.

matt and corb.

Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Hanging on the tro tro

http://s403.photobucket.com/albums/pp114/koochfive/Ghana08/



From this point on, please go to the above address to see pictures from ghana. For some reason, this computer I am on has problems with us uploading pictures to the site. I figure that people want to see more than one or two pictures, so please use that address to find them.



Sorry I didn't write in the blog yesterday. The day kind of got away from us, and by the time i got home, i was real tired.



We went to Makola Market yesterday. It was, needless to say, and experience like no other. Maokola is the outdoor market in downtown accra. It is is the busiest, crowdiest, most aromatic (both positive and negative) place i have ever been to in my entire life.



we took a cab down there- the "walk by faith not by sight" cab. Quite interesting. the cabbie thought it well to text while he was driving us there. Mind you, there are no stop signs or lights and potholes everywhere. I encouraged him to stop in my own special Matt way, and oddly enough he stopped and kept both hands at 10 and 2.



He dropped us off just outside the market and we walked on the side of the road towards the more populated area. I wish i could adequatley describe what this was like. Picture a sidewalk covered with merchants selling everything from soap to cow hoofs as thick as you can see, and then picture 2 heavy streams of people walking opposite directions on the same side of the street next to the curb, between the curb and cars. That was us. Car zooming by on one side, and no escape on the other. I think corb and I were the only ones who were apprehensive as people were weaving in and out and running between cars. THERE WAS SO MANY PEOPLE IT WAS CRAZY.



every where we went they called us "white man" and "broonie" and wanted to touch us and talk to us. They were selling shoes and belts and soap and chicken heads. SHOPS and SHOPS and PEOPLE and PEOPLE EVERYWHERE. It was like trying to push your way to the front of the line at an amusement park. Hot sweaty people everywhere. Trash on the walkways, water and other stuff oozing about. Pungent smells coming at you from all directions. And hotter than a texas outhouse on summer afternoon. Words honestly cant describe this. We must have walked for a good 2 hours and it never ended. we weaved through small corridors and walkways. Inside and outside, across streets, through traffic. It was mesmerizing. Then, to top it all off, our friend Kumi who was with us says, "you should come when its busy" ARE YOU KIDDING ME? I cant even imagine.



While we were there we ate fresh coconut from a street vendor. He cracks it open, you drink the juice and then eat the inside. Quite good for about 30 cents. Then we ate some fried bread thing that girls carry around in boxes on the top of thier heads. it was good.



We visited a memorial to President Kwame who was the president that got Ghana thier independence 50 years ago. It was where he made the declaration of independence, and it is where he is buried. While we were there, we happened to meet the Secretary of State for Papau New Guinea. Of course I asked for a picture and we got one. Pretty cool.



We rode back to the house in a small bus they call a "tro tro". Small bus that seats about 10 people comfortably that they jam about 25 people into. Its hot and sweaty. Part of the experience they say. We went down to the market in the "walk by faith" cab and came home in the "in Jesus Name" Tro Tro.



To end the day, Kumi thought it well to have the tro tro drop us off on the opposite side of the freeway from our house, so we got to run across a 4 lane freeway. Another first.



After getting home, we went to a Lebanese Lifegroup from the church. it was great. had some lebanese food and fellowship. The meeting was awesome! 6 people gave their life to the Lord.



The people here are awesome. Very accepting, and loving. Not thinking about moving here yet, but the people here make you want to stay.



Pray you're doing well. Pray for us. We have another lifegroup tonight, and then I am going to preach tomorrow at a village church. Pray for the power of the Holy Spirit to Fall.



God bless you all.



Matt and Corb

Sunday, September 28, 2008

Just another day in Ghana

Not really. You know that last thing that you would expect on a sunday morning when a pastor from Ghana picks you up for church that his first question would be "so did you watch the presidental election debate last night on CNN"? Its utterly amazing how connected these people are with America. I would say that most americans dont think about foreigners that often, but it is clear that these people pay very close attention to what we are doing.

Anyway, so the pastor of the Domi Elim Christian Center picked corbett and I up for church this morning. Its about a half hour drive from where we are staying. It was way different than america. There is actually traffic problems on Sunday because people are on their way to church. This nation is very open to Christianity. They have businesses named things like "Jesus King of Glory Hair Saloon" (yes, saloon not salon). "holy ghost fire dumptruck svcs" and "by the grace of God cement blocks' Its quite amusing. Pastor says they sometimes take it to the extreme. he once saw a "holy ghost drinking pub" We're still looking for it so we can take a picture.

The Domi church was an experience. 125+ people in a concrete building with a metal corrugated roof all praising God as loud as you can possibly imagine. It was honestly deafening how loud it was, but boy were they praisin the LORD! It was awesome. They sang some songs we knew like "as the deer' and some other hymn that escapes me right now. Nevertheless, the spirit of the Lord was in that place. They worshipped for a good hour. No AC or nothing, just praising God.

The pastor gave me a good introduction, and then I was able to preach a great message to the people through an interpreter. Different experience than normal, but the spirit of God was moving. Before I began my message, i reminded them that we are family in Christ Jesus. That we would be spending eternity together. You should have seen the smiles. we had an immediate connection. It was so great.

So the preaching went well, and then the Lord led me to do an altar call to pray over people to renew their faith. Loads of people came forward, but there was one guy that really touched my spirit.

Now understand, by this time the worship team was back up at the front of the church, and were playing LOUD- not Faith and Victory Loud, I'm talking like Faith and Victory Turned up all the way would be almost as loud kind of loud. So, I'm screaming in this young mans ear "WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM JESUS TODAY?" he said something, but i couldn't hear him, so i repeated it, "WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM JESUS TODAY?" he said "I WANT TO BE SMARTER IN SCHOOL". Wow. No xbox, no new house, no I want a car. I want to be smarter in school. Amen we prayed over that guy in Jesus name for the renewing of his mind and it was powerful.

God is moving here. Its quite different than in the states in that the people here serve the Lord with no reservations. They are hungry for the word and excited to serve God with Vigor and enthusiasm. its unlike anything I've ever seen. Its very encouraging.

Corb and I were able to go out into the city a bit today. the people here are so nice. They love to talk to us cause we are "aboonie" which is akin to "gringo" i think, but its not bad. Their real nice. We met these guys and talked to them for like 10 mins about politics and stuff. It was surreal. Great experience.

Tomorrow we dont have anything to do until the night, so the plan is to go to the huge main outdoor market in Accra. It should be sweet.

God Bless you all. Thanks for the prayers. The picture today shoudl be the guys we met in the market.

Thanks to the people who wrote comments. Its nice to know that we're blessing you with these posts.
ps. the picture tonight isnt working for some reason.. i'm frustrated, so i'm going to try it again tomorrow. We coudl post the pics on another site, but they are all 2mb and we dont have a way to shrink them down...

Saturday, September 27, 2008

Praise the Lord


Today was fantastic. Pastor Ong had the whole worship team from the international church come to the missionary house for worship practice. What they do is get their whole worship team together once a month to worship. It was awesome. After about an hour of praise and worship I was able to minister to the whole worship team. It was a powerful time of prayer and anointing.


For the evening, we attended the Elim youth group that had about 25 kids show up tonight. I have to tell you.. those kids can WORSHIP. It was powerful! People may think that being a missionary would hurt your family, but if these MKs (missionary kids) are any indication, the impact is positive. These kids were on FIRE for the Lord.


I preached a message about being crucified with Christ and then we had the opportunity to minister to these kids and pray for them. We led one young man in prayer and it was really awesome.


The Kid: I want you guys to pray with me

us: are you saved?

The Kid: I dont know

Us: have you ever asked Jesus into your heart?

The Kid: I did a few years ago, but i really didnt mean it

Us: Do you want to pray today and mean it?

The Kid: Yes, i want to start living for Jesus Christ


POWERFUL! Corb and I prayed with kids to be called into the minsitry and for them to deepen their relationship with Christ. It was so great.


We've only been here a few days, and do you know what is so cool? We are already building friendships. Its remarkable how quickly you can become friends with other people who worship the Lord with you and love one another. Its been great to become a part of this family so quickly.


We're getting ready to bed down. we have 2 services to go to tomorrow. Please continue to pray for us as we minister. We feel your prayers. God is beginning to do miraculous things here, we cant wait to see how He moves.


Here are pictures for today. One of me and corb on the road in front of the house we are staying at and one of me preaching on the porch to the youth group.


Love you all. Leave some comments on the blog. We'd love to answer any questions or at least know people are reading this thing.


Matt and Corb

Friday, September 26, 2008

Welcome To Ghana


"Welcome to Ghana" thats a phrase they use alot around here. I guess it means something akin to "murphy's law' in the sense that there is only so much that you can control. Why am I telling you this? because apparently for some reason this technology is not working well with us. So, you're going to be waiting a day or so for us to get some pics up on this blog. The computer is not cooperating tonight.


Beautiful day today. We met with Pastor Raymond from the Ghanian Church today. I am going to be preaching at his church this sunday, so i think that he wanted to check me out before I got there sunday. I think i passed the test, or at least he and I connected well. I am excited at the prospect of preaching at a church where there are about 150 people that are all from Ghana. It will be a great experience.


Corbett and I have been struggling a bit with the "why' that we're here. Its interesting. When God calls you to something, or somewhere you inevitably start to make up how it will look in your mind. (wow- as I was typing some pictures magically appeared in my blog.. so it looks like you'll see some-welcome to Ghana!). What God calls you to do usually does not work out the way that you have planned it in your own mind. I guess i figured that we would come here and be doing street ministry and casting out the demons of Ghana in televised crusades or something. It is very clear that we have a mission here to minister to the missionaries that are here, and the Ghanians that support them. Like most people in ministry, they get bogged down and lose vision. When someone comes in from the outside, they are able to rejuvinate them with a fresh anointing because they are not in their situation. We are seeing God begin to move in the midst of these relationships. There are meetings coming up over the next few days. We are excited to see how they turn out.
So the picture- these are four guys who work for the church. 2 of them live full time at the ministry house, the other two kind of come and go. This is what is cool- here, in Ghana when you get saved, you choose a Christian Name, so these guys usually pic a name that will mean something powerful and very American. Their names are- Kennedy Kumi, Daniel Gates (after bill), Evans Walton( after sam walton) and get this, Abraham Lincoln. How awesome is that?
The people here dont have much material possessions, but where they are living in abundance is in the Joy of serving the Lord and living for His Glory. Its actually quite humbling to see someone who has nothing, live with such joy and a servants heart. There are alot of people who are very spoiled that would be devastated to live as these people live. They minister to us. They put God first and really dont seem to care about what they dont have, because they have eachother and to them, its all they need.
God bless you all. More tomorrow.
Matt, Corb and Pastor Ong.

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Umm yea, so its still hot

praise the Lord. Today was glorious. Got about 10 hrs sleep last night which was awesome. I really dont think i'm feeling the effects of any jet lag.

Today was really a recuperation day, in that there wasn't much planned. We woke up to about 85 degree weather and spent some time fellowshipping with the missionaries that we are staying with, and thier full time workers, yes missionaries here have full time paid staff to assist them. It may seem odd to you, but i guess culturally, the locals expect that if you are here as a missionary you should support the local economy by having paid staff. Mind you, its not that much. The full time driver/personal assistant makes 100USD a month. not a ton of money considering what this guy does. His name is Kumi, and he is a really great guy. he loves the Lord, but the reality is that for a HS educated man here, there is next to nothing as far as jobs are concerned, so he is pleased to have this job.

Kumi took us to the local market, which was just like an american market, except very expensive. One box of rice crispies was about 6 dollars. Can of nuts, 12 dollars, so it looks like the bulk of Corb an I's food is going to consist of peanut butter and crackers, peanut butter and cookies, and peanut butter and ramen. Which is fine.

You would be amazed at how many people there are around the city. Most of whom are walking or riding a bicycle. Every street has people selling everything from clocks to socks. You can get bootleg dvds here also. 42, (I'm being serious here) movies on one DVD. They have one you can buy that have every Arnold and Sly movie on the same disc. The country is quite divided in that it is very clear that there are those that are haves, and have-nots. Not a real solid middle class. It is great that their culture is such that even though i may look different than about 99 percent of whom i have met, they are all real nice and polite. I've already met some very nice people.

I did find out some interesting information today that might excite some of you. Apparently the Freshman Senator from the State of Illinois has a slight following here. They have songs about him written on the radio and T-shirts with his face on it. Quite interesting. I haven't really seen much George Bush or John McCain items, but I can only assume that they are either in the planning stages, or they have already sold out. Either way, quite interesting.

Tonight we went to a home fellowship group. There were about 14 people there that were literally from all over the world. South Africa, Kenya, Jamaica. It was cool. This should make you laugh- i had been there about 15 mins when this lady Estelle showed up and introduced herself to me and said "I know your wife, I've seen her on Facebook"! I wont go into the long explanation how, as much as it made me laugh to think that even on the other side of the planet, the power of Facebook continues to amaze me. Go figure.

The meeting was awesome. We had time of praise and worship and a lesson from the book of proverbs about the proper friendships that we should have. It was refreshing to fellowship with some other Christians from another country. They sang the same songs, had the same spirit and the same struggles we all deal with. Only with God can you walk into a room of strangers and be instant family because of the common bond of Christ. It was fantastic.

Well, i'm going to shut it down for the night. I'll try to get some pictures up tomorrow.

Remember: God is faithful. He will never give you more than you can handle.

ps. dont get mad about my spelling-im not speeel chekkin

Wednesday, September 24, 2008

WE ARE HERE

Okay, so now I know why they call it "Africa Hot" This is a muggy sticky hot. Think Missouri on Steroids.

Just wanted to drop a line and let you know that the connection is up and that we are here in GHANA. We left seattle and flew to Amsterdam. Uneventful flight, except we had a nice movie viewer in the back of the seat in front of us, so we watched some movies.

When we got to amsterdam, it was morning, so of course we got some breakfast, at the place of all places, MC DONALDS. I know, leave it to me to go around the world to go eat at MCD. It was different though, you get a croissant with your breakfast.

Got into ghana a few hours ago. Kumi was there to meet us, and was very excited.

I've been up for about 33 hrs, so I'm going to go to bed, but wanted to send at least one before I go to bed.

God's hand has been with us. No problems to report. Our spirits are high and we are excited to start to minister. Please remember to pray for us.

God Bless you

matt and corb and pastor ong.

Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Today is the Day!

so... here we go! Its been quite a few months in the planning, and the day of departure has finally arrived. I slept great last night, which to me seemed odd, since I'm typically not a good sleeper the night before a big trip. I've got everything packed. You know, important stuff like malaria pills and bug spray. I went to walmart last night and bought a webcam, so it looks like i'll be able to 'skype' with the family while I am there, we'll see. If you have skype, send me your address and I'll try to call you. if you want to email me while I am there, use krachunis at gmail.com (you'll have to type that into your email program)

What I am reminded of most today is the scripture from Matthew 28: therefore go! Its not easy to go, its so counter-cultural to leave where we are at to go somewhere that we've never been to minister to someone we've never met. But somehow, in God's infinate wisdom he knew that missions are important to the people that will recieve the word, and to those who are willing to go.

I'm excited to see how He will move on this trip. Please pray for Pastor Ong, Corb and I. Pray for the people in Ghana.

We leave from SeaTac today at about 1255. Pray for a safe trip.

Much love to you all. keep looking for updates -matt

Tuesday, September 9, 2008

OK So its sinking in.

I'm going to Ghana in 2 weeks. Its sinking in a bit. Since I was deployed twice while in the Army, it kinda feels like that. Maybe a little PTSD or something. Last time I left my family is was for a year in Egypt. I know it wont be that long, I guess what makes this so different is that I wont have my M16 or the might of the US Military in my back pocket. The good news is that I have the creator of the Universe on my side. I've got John 3:16 which packs a much bigger wallop.

Its going to be good. God is going to use this as a defining moment in my life I'm sure.

Its kinda like that quote from the movie Armageddon when Owen Wilson is about to be launched into space. He says something like "its like I'm 90 percent excited and 10 percent scared, or maybe its the other way around.. I guess thats what makes it so intense!". I'm not sure which is which, but I am feeling it at this point.

More to come. Pray for Corb, Pastor Ong and I as we travel.

much love
matt

Saturday, August 30, 2008

They're BACK

Wow. That was amazing. I sent the Passports to the Ghana Embassy Wednesday morning and they came back to me this morning. Wow. I can't even get a postcard to lynnwood and back that fast.

I know this seems like a real boring blog post, but there isnt much going on. My friends Jay and Shelly gave me some old cell phones to take to Ghana... so thats some new news!

Stay on this blog- there will be a lot more coming...

bless you
matt

Tuesday, August 26, 2008

Getting the Visas ready

I'm sending out the visas today. In quadruplicate to the Ghananian embassy. Hope they get back in time. I guess now would be a good time to give the background story on this mission trip. About 2 years ago I met Pastors Daniel and Connie Ong when they were visiting the US from Ghana. They came to visit our church one Sunday, and I found he was a pastor, so I asked him to preach that next Wednesday! He did, and of course did a great job.



From there Pastor Ong and I built somewhat of a friendship, and then he and Connie returned to the US to plant a church in Renton Washington. While Pastor Ong was a missionary in Ghana, he planted 7 churches. Since he is the overseer, it is important for him to go back and visit yearly.



About 6 months ago, Pastor Ong asked me to go with him to Ghana, and I just thought he was being funny, but he was being serious. He kept prodding me to go, so finally I agreed. While there I will be given the opportunity to preach and minister at a few of his churches. It will be a great opportunity.



The neatest part is that my college roomate Corbett Stubbert will be going on this trip also. Corbett and I were having breakfast and when I told him about the trip, he immediately said that he felt as though God wanted him to go on this trip to support me and this mission. Praise the Lord! So while we're there, Corbett and I both will be ministering to the people of Ghana!


My brother asked me this week what I hoped to get out of this trip. I would say a few things:

1. A refreshing of the Holy Spirt

2. A heart for missions

3. Learning from Pastor Ong

My hope is to keep this blog updated while there with pictures and the like. It should be a fantastic trip. We will be there from about the 22 of Sep to the 8th of October. Please pray for us and our travels. And check back on this blog for updates.

Friday, August 22, 2008

First day of the blog

so... its the first day of the blog. I'm just setting it up to see how it works... this will be a good thing.