Heavenhigh

Sunday and Monday

Sundays are always busy, there is worship at the school and the teachers are also assigned to preach from time to time. One of the teachers Christi, teaches the students’ children for Sunday School. Often there is reason to worship in one of the area churches for preaching requests and or special services. This week we worshiped with the students and due to the teaching load I do not think we will as much opportunity to visit other areas. Besides worship services, Sunday is also a day to greet friends and neighbors, and we had about 8 greeters from different area come to visit. A good time to catch up. We praise God!

Monday is also a busy day, I have two classes and Gremar teaches healthy living to the women students. Monday is also market day in Warari and we can only get there in the afternoon at the hottest time of the day. I wish you could experience the market with us. This time I was able to take some pictures but only with permission from the persons being taken.

I bought a nice piece already cooked and spiced.

Dave, I thought you might appreciate his soldering irons.

God’s Call

I have started the Methods of Preaching class and the first thing we are discussing is God’s call to the preacher. We are looking at four passages one of which is Isaiah 6: 1-10. If only we had that vision and we could see God, feel the temple shaking, smell the smoke and hear: “whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”. I dare say that not anyone of us have seen or heard it and yet we must have heard it; my students heard a call or they would not be in this school. God’s call will become clearer as we go through the other three passages. 1Peter2:9-10 “but you are a chosen people”, belonging to our God. Why choose us? Why these students in my class? Why am I teaching here? Why? So “that you (we) may declare the praises of Him who called you (us)out of darkness into His wonderful light”. God’s call is about His mercy to us. Ephesians 4:10-12: God calls us to “one hope, one faith, one Lord, one baptism, one God the Father of us all”and then he equips us to serve Him. He gave apostles, and now gives us prophets, pastors, evangelists, teachers, and church leaders. We all are prophets, priests and kings. As in God’s call to Isaiah so God’s call to all of us has a purpose; “so that the body of Christ may be built up”,in “Unity, in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God”. In other words; “maturity, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of God”. That seems to us to be an unattainable goal but in Christ we attain it. Praise God! When God calls and He calls all of us in many different ways and to many different tasks. He calls so that we glorify him. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 gives us the basis for our call and task;God’s Word. “All scripture is God breathed”. We begin with ourselves because the Word is “useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness” for all of us. “So that the man/woman of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” We hear the call of Jesus in our hearts by the power of the Holy Spirit and by the power of his Word we are “thoroughly equipped for every good work”.

Our abode for the next four months

During our time here we will be staying on the Bible School compound in Matt and Laura’s house. It is much smaller than the Mai Hula house where we stayed last time but it is much more (geselig) cozy. We are really enjoying it. There is lots of foliage that has been planted, thanks to Dave and Jan Dykgraaf who lived here before the Lansers. The porch is a great place to receive guests and we spend a lot of our time there. We have a solar system, along with the school generator, two hours a night, and we pay students to bring us water from the hand pump to a holding tank. This water is then pumped up while the generator is on up to a holding tank that gravity feeds the house. I should build a solar hot water heater but in the dry season, which we are in, cold water washing is preferred for the most part. If not, Gremar heats her water up on the gas stove and uses a bucket.

One wonders how bougainvillea can be so bright and fresh in 100 degree heat.

The porch is a good place to sit and work.

The yard is fenced in to keep out the cows and goats

Here not only the Fulani have cattle — Here many people keep cattle as well as the Fulani tribe.

Thankfully Gremar did not forget how to bake bread.

I started teaching on Monday; I teach two classes a day for two days and one class on Wednesdays and Fridays. Gremar is teaching Healthy Living to the student wives one day a week. Thursdays, will be spent with the pastors and evangelists and Gremar with their wives for continuing education. We will be using the Timothy Leadership Training material, Biblical Preaching and Stewardship recently translated into Hausa.

This well and hand pump profides water for our compound, for the banana plot and for the surounding compounds. — This well and hand pump provides water for our compound, for the banana plot, and for the surrounding compounds.

Dormitory for the students and their families.

I was talking with Pastor James Yarima this morning, every day people are turning to Christ. This fact makes the Bible School indispensable for training leaders. What a privilege to be a part of it, if only for a little while! We thank God.

Travel to Acre

Wow! The time just flies by! Wednesday Case and I arrived in Jos about 1130, having left Abuja at 0630, they put us up in Abuja,in a very nice apt. that a Christian business man rents out to our mission free of charge. No mosquitoes, TV, hot water what else could we wish for. The afternoon we spent getting $ exchanged, copies of passports, hearing where it would not be good area to be in Jos and we settled in the guesthouse. Had supper at Strydhorsts and had a great visit. Thursday we put the Hausa – English manuals together for the two courses that we will teach here, 50 copies of each, and brought it to the AG compound where they could print it, and it would be ready by 4 PM on Fri. Well only part of it was finished and about 5 pages had turned around going from ch 1 to ch 5 then 4 etc.So we took a copy home and went there sat at 0900 to help collate it all, and the young man was terrific, and by noon we had the majority of the copies. The rest will be coming with others on Wed. We packed and shopped and packed again and by Sat nite the pickup was fully loaded. We left this morning at 0630 and we arrived at Acre at the school at 4 PM, We had no hassles, we chose Sun since the people that stop you for all the credentials etc are usually not there. It was a long trip, but went very well, It was 100 degrees when we arrived, and now it’s 930 PM and it’s a comfortable 84. We brought everything in the house, the students wives brought buckets of water to fill up our tank. Case got all the solar stuff working, I cleaned the kitchen a bit, we had trouble getting the fridge working since where the gas goes in was all plugged until we found a needle to clean it out and presto, Case put it together and it is getting cooler. Many students, and of course the principal Jolly and Elizabeth , and the teacher Hezron and his wife Christy and their little boy Joshua all came to greet. It’s good to be here, and we thank God for our good health and the opportunity to serve Him here. Love you all so much, it’s quite nice to have internet in the house, and not have to drive 4 miles and sit in the car! Praise the Lord

God is Good

We thank God that we had great flights from Grand Rapids to Toronto, to Frankfort, to Abuja; we made all our connections, got a little sleep, and the food was good on the airplane. It started out a little rocky for Gremar, you know how she hates to fly. When she saw that 18 passenger Beech turbo prop that was to take us to Toronto she said: No way! She was ready to back out right then and there. All the time she was settling into her seat; “this is the last time” she said. I think she was really scared. For my part, not only was I ready to ride I wish I was flying the thing. The deicing procedure only added to her fear but as we departed and settled into the flight she calmed down. We arrived in Abuja cleared customs and were meet by Christopher. We have a long history; he was my assistant in the hanger at Takum in the seventies. He is now the main driver mechanic for the mission in Jos. We stayed at the Peniel Apartments; very nice, air, power all night, water, and a comfortable bed. We stopped for omelets along side the road on the way to Jos and we arrived safely at about noon. We are now settled in at Mountain View Guest House working on the manuals I will need for the courses I will be teaching; Stewardship, and Biblical Preaching. We hope to leave for Warari Bible School in Niger State on Sunday. Continue to pray for safety and that God prepares the way for us.

New Community Church Commissioning Service

This Sunday the people of New Community Church, Newaygo sent us off with God’s blessings. We thank God for a community that is committed to pray for us, encourage us, and support us as we partner together to serve God in Newaygo, West Africa, and where ever God calls. We are blessed! Praise God!

P1010034 — "they placed their hands on them and sent them off" Acts 13:1-3

Nigeria 2011

You may support this ministry at http://www.crwm.org/donate or down load this brochure. Thank You.

“live a life worthy of God’s Call”

10/31/10 9:30 AM, Grant CRC , I Thess. 2:1-12

God speaks to us: “Live a life Worthy of God’s Call”

INTRODUCTION: Paul; begins by claiming his trip to Thessalonica as a success. We read the account of his visit in (Acts 17) and we see that he spent only three weeks with them. This church has been here for 0ver 100 yrs but If you had only three weeks to present the gospel to your neighbor what would you do? How would you do it? What would you say? This question comes to mind. How effective, how successful is our ministry? How successful by God’s standards is our sojourn here at Grant CRC and on the street where you live? On the street where I live? Not just for pastors but for all of you together because we are in this together. Amen. What is important in this passage is what Paul said to them, and secondly, equally important is how they lived among them. Paul and Silas wanted to start a church turning people from paganism to Jesus Christ. That is our purpose here: turning people from secularism and from superficial religion to a deep personal relationship in Jesus Christ. We should be a church of new beginnings; because Jesus isn’t interested in our failures or our short comings or in our sin except to turn us from that bondage of sin and brokenness to a new life in Jesus Christ. He accepts us no matter what our situation is as long as we are seeking to move closer to him. That means bridging a cultural gap, a psychological gap, it means becoming like Jesus by identifying with the broken, sharing our lives with them, loving them and accepting them as Jesus did. He became like us so that we could be like him. Amen. Paul and Silas were men approved by God and I believe that not only are pastors approved to speak about Jesus but all of us are people approved by God. That is why God brings us to this church and why the church exists in the world. Amen!

I. Pure motives.

A. We speak as men approved by God

There must have been others going around promoting religion or new ideas because Paul makes a big point of not trying to deceive them or trick them for unjust gain but they came as men approved by God. That goes on today, turn on your TV. Listen to some, not all televangelists but some. It is no wonder many people are turned off by the church.

B. Not trying to please men.

No. Paul says our motives are pure we are not trying to please men. We did not come to you with flattery or to tell you what you want to hear. Along with Paul we say: No, we are approved by God and we bring you the Word of God. Nothing but the word of God.

C. But God who tests our hearts

1. Paul and us as well say what is pleasing to God. We speak God’s Word, and more obviously we live God’s Word. God is the one who tests our motives, our words, and our actions because he tests our hearts.

2. Paul and Silas clarify their motives and now they turn to relate how they lived among them. It is instructive for us because we struggle with how to relate meaningfully to non Christians and with people who do not attend church.

II. Gentle among you

A. Not a burden

1. We where gentle among you; Lesson #1 gentleness, a fruit of the Spirit. Paul is speaking of the financial burden but I think it is more than that given the example he gives of a mother and a father.

We need to be gentle with people who fall into sin. 1/3 of the couples in America living together are not married. Many are single parent households. Drugs and alcohol, and deviant sexual behavior are rampant and we also find it in the Christian community.

2. Should we be righteously angry about all that? Yes! We should be but condemnation gets us no where. We as Christians need to be the examples for people to follow; we are the light, the salt, and the guide. And we cannot be that example unless we develop a relationship with the person or family God wants us to influence. Paul and Silas were facing what we are facing; Living as Christians in a broken world. How did they do it?

B. Like a mother’s love

1. We treated you “like a mother caring for her children; we loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel but our lives as well because you has become so dear to us”That is a direct quote v.8.

2. So now we have two principles of relating to our neighbors, Gentleness and love. In short sharing our lives with those around us.

C. Our toil and hardship

We worked day and night Paul tells them, “While we preached the gospel of God to you”. There we have a third principle; hard work and perseverance, let’s call it faithfulness. Be faithful! Keep praying for that person God put on your heart keep looking for ways to influence that person. That neighbor! That co worker!

III. Righteous among you

A. Like a Father

Paul says we shared our lives and we lived among you as holy, righteous, and blameless. We were like a father dealing with his children. This whole evangelistic event in Thessalonica is rooted in parental love. The principle of love, “love your neighbor as yourself” keeps coming up and now we add a fourth principle, live holy lives.

B. Encouraging

When we share our lives with others it must be based on parental love, because like a father we are to encourage those around us, not discourage by concentrating on faults but to encourage change, to encourage repentance, to encourage with the Word of God. We encourage people at New Community by hanging in there with them though the indiscretions, past the sin, and the shortcomings and encouraging people to move closer to Jesus by reading his Word as the answer to these problems. The word of God! Is the answer. Amen

C. Live a life worthy

Paul acts like a father; he says we encourage you to live lives worthy of God” the one who calls all of us. Paul and Silas exemplified living worthy of God’s call and they shared it with those who before they came did not know what that meant. God wants you to not only live a life worthy of God but to share it as well.

CONCLUSION: Paul thanks God because the Thessalonians accepted his words as the Words of God. By this passage we see the Word of God at work in the hearts of Paul and Silas and the Thessalonians and today we see his Word at work in our hearts and in our fellow church members. These are the principles we need to practice if we are to be that example of a life worthy of God’s call on us. Generally: Share the Gospel and your life because people you get to know are dear to you. That means: One: gentleness with those overwhelmed with life, and overwhelmed with sin. Two: faithfulness; hard work and perseverance. Three: Live holy lives; righteous and blameless. Four: encouragement; concentrate on salvation and the life that is worthy of God and the quality of life that only God can give us. Fifth: Love; love God with all your heart and your neighbor as yourself. Practice parental love, that deep caring for loved ones with your neighbors. I put Love last but in fact it comes first. Principle, 1-4 do not function outside of that kind of love.

This is the bottom line. It is not so much cultural separation from non Christians, It is not our church buildings with its steeple that prevents people from coming, It is not our worship services or our programs or the lack there off that keeps people away. It is our hearts; we need to change our hearts so that we delight in presenting not only the Gospel but share our very lives as well, to all people God places in our path. It is a mater of changing our hearts.

Ukraine Biblical Preaching conference

I arrived in Ukraine Sept 15th after 24 hr. of travel and two stops on the way; Cincinnati and Paris France. Flying over Ukraine is like any other place in Europe; Farms’ villages rivers and a few bigger cities. Once on the ground however things change fast. I was told we did not need a visa but I worried about it to no avail. Sure enough here was a “None Visa” line. They are building a new terminal and they do need it. The line was long but when I got up to the booth and presented my passport and filled customs slip, I was told to go ahead no questions asked and no luggage checked. Migel (Michel) was standing in the crowd holding a sign with my name and I was glad to see him.

P1010005 — The church at Living Hope Church Camp

P1010003 — Our meetings where held here at the church

We have been in Kyliv village for two days but with jet lag it seems like forever. We hope that tomorrow will be better in terms of sleeping and feeling rested. The food is great, not really very different except that we had pasta with a sharp cheese mix for breakfast. Usually we have soup for lunch followed by a rice dish and hot tee, bread and cheese and some kind of baloney with almost every meal. Tonight we had potatoes for the first time and chicken. Hey, we are not suffering.

It is in some ways a second world country particularly away from the capital Kiev but that belies the character of the people. The Pastors are great people very friendly and open. This is obviously an eastern culture, people are very musical, out going .very expressive in speech. Every one gets to talk and not necessarily on the subject at hand. Everyone wants to talk as well.

P1010065 — The church service in Voronykive village. I preached a short sermon along with five pastors who also had short messages

Our lectures and messages have been accepted well with a lot of good comments. These are very intelligent people but given the history of seventy years of oppression there was little opportunity for training yet the church survived and is now growing. Seminaries are allowed so people do have the opportunity to train more today than in the pastThey are intelligent, friendly and open and very musical.

Yesterday we visited Kiev it is for the most part a modern city with good public transportation.

P1010016 — St. Andrews, Eastren Orthadox Church

P1010020 — Photos do not do justice to this magnificent building.

In the village I feel very much at home; that may be our European or African background but I could see myself living here with little difficulty.

On The Road Agian

We are on the way to Seattle via Las Vegas. We thought it would be nice to fly to Las Vegas and rent a van to drive to Seattle with all the paraphernalia for Becky’s wedding, including all the vases and stem wrapping material for the flowers Tina planned to arrange for Jack and Becky. It turned out that driving our Honda Insite back and forth from Vegas costs about half of flying. So we are driving again, I say again because we have driven across the country close to 10 times. We never tire of driving; we live in a beautiful county, beautiful in so many ways. We cannot post every picture but we hope to share some unusual shots and some of our experiences. To be involved and to officiate at your own daughters wedding is a privilege few experience and Gremar and I are thankful.

Brave or foolish? Jumping from the Snake River Bridge

We could not believe these kids jumping off the bridge; risky and foolish perhaps but what a blast! O, to be young again. I wish Icould have made a better video but it was great to watch. This happened on our trip from Vegas to Seattle in Twin Falls, Idaho. We also made a detour to see the horses at Vantage, Washington.

Vantage WA. Horses — These horses are amazing

Horses, Vantage — There are 16 horses, they are life size.

The monument is not complete, it was to have a man standing with a basket releasing the horses. It is titled: “Grandfather releases the horses”. The horses are in full gallop they remind me of life escaping from the womb and never slowing down. That is life for us as we serve God, there is no slowing down.

Nineteen years ago Gremar and I came back from Zillah just having passed my ordination exam, we stopped at Vantage and we sat on the deck of a restaurant overlooking the bridge and in sight of the horses. It was a completion of four years of hard work for us both and the completion of a 40 yr. aspiration to become ordained. We thanked God that all was right with the world for us. Praise God! It was great to relive that moment on this trip. Since jack is from Arlington Washington and his family all live there Jack and Beck decided to have their wedding there.