Gone Global

2007-08-17T16:24:00.000-05:00

You are being redirected to the new globalinnes.com

If nothing happens, click here.

2007-08-16T11:50:00.000-05:00

Earthquake Update #4

We just had yet another aftershock. They are so frightening.

No new news from our churches since the last update. Once all our churches have been confirmed safe, our National Leadership will determine how we can best offer assistance.

The US Geological Survey has re-evaluated the quake as an 8.0 o the scale.

Below is an article from www.reliefweb.int that sums up the current situation well:

SITUATION

1. At 11:40:58 PM (Greenwich time) 6:34:56 PM local time, an earthquake measuring 7.9 degrees in the Richter scale struck in the Department of Ica. The epicenter was 25 miles (61 kilometers) westnorthwest of Chincha Alta, Peru, and 90 miles (161 kilometers) south-southeast of Lima, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. The epicenter was 30.2 km depth (18.8 miles). The town nearest to the epicentre is Chincha Alta.

2. Several aftershocks have been registered and continue. The effects were also strongly felt in the capital, Lima.

3. According to preliminary reports, the numbers of reported dead and injured have been increasing, with the latest reports of 450 killed and 1,000 injured according to the Peruvian Civil Defence System - Instituto Nacional de Defensa Civil -Civil Defense Agency - INDECI).

4. Electricity and communications have been cut off in several regions rendering searches and assessments difficult.

5. The earthquake caused buildings to shake and hundreds of people to run out into the streets after. There are unofficial reports of damages in the provinces of Ica, Chincha, Canete, and Pisco. The INDECI reports that 337 houses collapsed, 2 hotels destroyed, and 2 health centres affected (preliminary assessment). Reports also refer to some damage to the historic centre of Lima

6. All flights from the international airport in Lima have been temporarily suspended.

7. As a preventative measure, a tsunami warning was issued for Chile, Colombia Ecuador and Peru by the Hawaii Institute of Geophysics

NATIONAL RESPONSE

8. The Peruvian Government has declared the state of emergency in the Department of Ica and Cañete province. The President of Peru made in a statement confirmed that all national authorities were on high alert to respond to the situation and that all health services and centres must be on red alert, requesting all doctors to make themselves available and for all services to be free of charge for those who may need it

9. INDECI is currently setting up a situation room to respond to the emergency. An INDECI Assessment Team has been deployed to the provinces of Ica and Chincha. An aerial assessment is planned for August 16.

10. A local team of 40 firemen with USAR capabilities is being deployed to Ica. The Ministry of Health has deployed medical teams to the Ica Department in support to the local hospitals.

INTERNATIONAL RESPONSE

11. The Resident Coordinator’s Office in Lima has activated an Emergency Operations Centre and is holding a meeting of the UN Disaster Management Team.

12. The UN is in close contact with the Government of Peru and has offered support and assistance, including possibly an UN Disaster assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) Team and the mobilization of Search and Rescue Teams. The UNDMT is awaiting feedback from the Government.

13. Emergency cash grants were released by UNDP (USD 100,000) and OCHA (USD 100,000)

14. The Peruvian Red Cross (PRC) has mobilised a National Intervention Team to the region of the epicentre to assess needs and damages caused to infrastructure. The Regional Representation of the IFRC in Lima is directly supporting the PRC, and both are closely coordinating with INDECI, OCHA and Partner National Societies. IFRC already had staff in the country working on a response to the cold wave, who are being re-allocated temporarily to provide response support.

15. Funds from the IFRC's Disaster Relief Emergency Fund (DREF) are being made available to support the response if needed.

16. The Pan American Disaster Response Unit (PADRU) in Panama is on standby to send tents, blankets, jerry cans and other provisions by plane if needs are confirmed.

17. The Chilean and Colombian Red Cross have offered their support to the National Society in Peru if needed.

18. Spain has also offered assistance and sent a rescue team of 15 rescuers and four sniffer dogs.

19. Oxfam deployed a team to Pisco and Chincha to assess most urgent needs of the affected population.

20. OCHA continues to closely monitor the situation, including through the Regional Office in Panama, and remains in contact, with the Resident Coordinator and will provide further updates on the situation.

21. This situation report together with further information on ongoing emergencies is also available on the OSOCC Internet Website http://www.unocha.org/vosocc and on the OCHA Internet Website http://www.reliefweb.int/.

2007-08-16T09:26:00.000-05:00

Earthquake Update #3

(From Jarvis Ferguson)

From updating news, the earthquake was about 7.9 with epicenter south of Lima about 95 miles. As of the moment, we've had about 10 afterquakes that have measured about 5.0 on the scale. As to the city of Lima where we live, there is little damage except for a few adobe walls and buildings.

The zone affected to our south which includes the cities of Pisco, Chincha and surrounding villages has been heavily damaged, up to 70% destoyed, including hospitals. The main highway to the zone, The Panamericana, has been heavily damaged as well, so it is difficult to get aid to the area at this moment. Hundreds of deaths and injuries are being reported and updated.

The Wesleyan Church, which started in northern Peru 103 years ago, as yet does not have congregations in the area, although family members do live in the area.

I recently heard via telephone from our National Superintendent, Godofredo Mezones, who lives in the north. We are trying to communicate with our other pastors to see how their congregations in Lima and the mountains nearby are doing. Once communication is established, they will be looking at how the church can best respond.

For those in Texas and Louisiana, Kayleen Rosenquist, who is ministering in the Amazon, called this morning from Tamshiyacu to see how we are and to let us know she is OK.

Our pastors in Cusco, Jose and Cecil de Ita, are also doing well there. They felt the movement, but experienced no damage.

*Also, keep Dena in prayer, she is running a high fever this morning.

2007-08-16T07:09:00.000-05:00

Earthquake Update #2

As most know from our communications last night or the news this morning, Peru was hit by it's strongest earthquake in 30 years, last night.

The 7.9 magnitude quake hit shortly after supper time and currently appears to have killed hundreds and injured thousands. Thousands of people are homeless outside of Lima and families still trying to communicate with their loved ones. Many slept in parks, public squares and their cars in fear of aftershocks last night, a decision that, with the current winter temperatures may heighten the death toll.

Again, we are fine. We felt the quake very strongly. I was upstairs with Shaylee ad Dena was downstairs feeding Micaiah. We grabbed the kids and got into doorway where we rode out the almost 2 minutes of shaking.

We will do our best to keep our friends and supporters updated as well as post any relevant information regarding if and how the North American Church, and idividuals, can participate in relief efforts.

We will be contacting our National Superintendent for the Wesleyan Church this morning in prayer that our churches and members are safe.

Elliott

2007-08-15T19:36:00.000-05:00

Earthquake Update

As you may have seen on the news, Peru has been hit a magnitude 7.5 earthquake. We are all fine, if not slightly shaken (pardon the ill timed pun). There appears to be no damage to our house or neighboring buildings and we have received word that our mentors, Jarvis and Sue are safe and sound.

Please keep Peru in prayer as the nation recovers.

Sincerely,
Elliott, Dena, Micaiah and Shaylee Innes

2007-08-10T09:00:00.001-05:00

New Fish Bowl Devotional Available
Click Here

2007-08-09T12:22:00.000-05:00

Ok mom, here are your pictures.

2007-08-06T09:39:00.000-05:00

Here Fishy, Fishy, Fishy

Matthew 5:14-16

I went to college in Atlantic Canada where the people are french and the winters are hard. I think it’s for this reason (the cold thing, not the french thing) that my Bible College had “the fish bowl”.

The fish bowl was basically a breezeway that was built onto the front of the girls dorm to (presumably) protect the ladies from the wind and snow as they were getting their keys out.

It’s true purpose though, was as a location to meet, talk and after a nice dinner at one of the 3 retaraunts in town (McDonalds, KFC or Tim Hortons), to stand in and whisper sweet nothings.

Many first kisses, I love you’s, heartfelt admiration, bitter fights and disagreements, ugly breakups and even proposals have happened in the fish bowl.

However, it was just that. A fishbowl. It is a room enclosed by 4 glass walls. Whatever happens in the confines of the fishbowl are 100% public. Every first kiss and breakup are available for the entire campus to be a part of. In the fishbowl you work on your relationship knowing that at any moment the eyes of 230 people could be staring at your intimate moment, or even walk right into the fishbowl and stop whatever it is that has begun.

I don’t think we’re ever suppose to leave the fishbowl. At college we chose when we would go and stand in the fishbowl. At the time we may not have felt we had much choice because it seemed there was nowhere else to go, but the truth is, we chose that to be the place for first kisses and last words. We chose when we would allow others to see the intimate times of our relationship.

In our journey with Christ, we don’t have that choice. The Bible is pretty clear that we live in a fishbowl, that every aspect about our faith is open for the world to observe, poke and probe.

If we are truly a city on a hill, our faith will not be a drunk in an alley. It will be open for examination and not hidden, profoundly private. The world will see whether or not we are being real with our creator and ourselves or if we are just faking it and have a surface level, “Jesus love me, this I know” sort of faith.

Throughout many Latin American countries, governments have come to the slums and poverty stricken neighbourhoods, especially on the coasts, heralding a love for the poor and offered to paint their houses bright colors of blues, greens, reds and pinks.

The result has been simple, tourists coming in on cruise ships now look at the mountains surrounding the cities and take picture, gawking at how pretty all those small, colorful houses look. But if the tourist would think for a moment, and even take a moment to approach these “cities on the hill”, they would find that the children in those homes are still hungry, the fathers still come home in alcohol induced fits of rage and the water is not safe to drink. All that happens to these “cities” has been an external facelift.

In the fishbowl, a facelift faith isn’t going to work. In the fishbowl, the world will be able to witness our most intimate moments with God. They will see when we struggle with questions or triumph in victory. And at any moment another follower is able to walk into the picture and come alongside us, already knowing how we need their help, because they’ve seen us in the fishbowl, they’ve seen our pain and our joy.

The fishbowl is not a bad place. It’s by watching us struggle and triumph that the world will see that this faith is more than just following ancient, dead words, but it is alive and changing people, and in the end “they will give honor to God” (2 Pet. 2:12).

These “Fishbowl Devotions” are my questions and studies, open to the world to question and comment and grow me in my faith.

I couldn't resist:

2007-07-31T08:32:00.000-05:00

Mac Programs I Love

I must admit, I'm a Mac. I was a PC, but when my 2 yr old PC bit the dust last October, I opted for a Macbook. My logic was the insane reliability of their hardware and I decided I would get Mac with an Intel chip and run Windows.

It took me a few months to get my hands on a copy of Windows XP to install on the Mac and by then, I didn't want to. Mac had won me over.

So here, for my Mac lovin' friends, is a list of Mac Programs I love:

ieatbrainz: Compares the acoustical signature of your itunes library with that of an online database and gives you the correct song name, album, artist and composer. Great for getting rid of typos or problems like your computer listing "Dave Matthews Band" and "Dave Matthew's Band" as two different artists.
iPhoto Buddy: Creates multiple iPhoto libraries so that your pics don't get so cluttered. At one point I had about 3,000 pictures in one library and it would take almost 3 minutes to open the program. With iPhoto buddy, I have separated my pics into 4 different libraries and they open as a snap.
Quicksilver: I have not quite been evangelized to all of the glory of quicksilver, but to be able to open programs, folders and files in less time than it would take me to say "spotlight" is a time saver.
Audio Hijack Pro: One of the few programs on this list that you have to pay for, it takes my one complaint about my Macbook and throws it out the window. The speakers on the Macbook are awkwardly placed and very quiet. Audio Hijack allows me to crank the volume higher than the system would normally. This is a life saver when trying to watch a movie without headphones or external speakers attached.
Gmail notifier: A simple program, but it was the deal breaker to get me to switch to Gmail. Let's me know when I get a new email (and also when my gCal has new appointments coming up).
VLC: A media player that plays almost any format.
Skype: I love Macs built in video chat program iChat, and as far as I know, so do the other 3 people on the planet that use it. So because of a lack of users, I am forced to use another program to communicate, via video with the outside world (ie: grandparents). Skype is easy to use, has decent video and audio quality and has also been a huge help when I have been traveling with my Mac and gotten stuck in airports overnight. For pennies, you can use Skype to call land line phones from your computer.
Adium: I have friends that use almost any Instant Messaging program imaginable: GoogleTalk, MSN Messenger, Yahoo Messenger, AOL Instant Messenger, and so on. Adium let's me have all of those contacts, and communicate with all of them in one program. I just long for the day the add Skype and video support.
Facebook Sync: Just what it sounds like. Merges your Facebook friends and their contact info such as email, address, etc. into your Mac's address book. Great program to use, especially when people won't reply to your Plaxo request ;). This program is very much a BETA program. It works, but it is not pretty.
iWork: I am slowly moving from Microsoft Office to Mac's own iWork programs for my word processing and presentation needs. The end result from these programs look slicker and more professional. The presentation software, Keynote, puts PowerPoint to shame on many levels. But true assimilation cannot take place until they come out with a spreadsheet program to replace Excel. Come and come quickly!

What are your Mac programs you love?

2007-07-30T06:14:00.001-05:00

Babies, In-Laws and Youth... Oh My!

It's a quarter after six in the morning and Shaylee has been fussing since 4am so I thought I would go ahead, make some coffee and sit in my office with her until she decides to head back to sleep. At least this way Dena can get some sleep.

Things have been busy here the last couple of weeks:

New babies are a lot of work

I am so thankful for this amazing little pack of joy that God has given us. we had been concerned before the birth thinking, "Wow, 2 kids... this is going to be hard work." And guess what? It is! But we are handling it well thanks to a lot of prayers, Dena's mom's non-stop help and the fact that both are children are young enough that they won't remember how stupid we were as we tried to figure out how to do this 4-person family thing.

I have preached the last 2 weeks

This has been a blessing as I love to preach, but on the same token it's being a trying time because 1. I've been trying to do it and make sure I still get to spend adequate time with all members of my family (something more difficult now than last month) and 2. Even though I have ended up preaching with a translator both times, it's different to write a sermon and have to have a non-native english speaker in mind. It's amazing how many idioms and phrases don't translate, and even after I thought I had edited it pretty good, my translators would often stop me during our run through and say, "What does that mean."
On a side note, I preached in english the first time on purpose, the second time I tried to write my message in Spanish but at 8:30pm, Saturday night, my friend and I realized that we'd be working into the wee hours of Sunday morning if we continued trying to correct it... instead we just opted to have me preach it in English with translation at the Church.

We are making major changes in the youth ministries we are involved in (logos at the top of the post are the logos for the 2 groups)

Dena is taking somewhat of a "maternity leave" from the youth groups in general, but has actually managed to sit in on some of the meetings we have had over the last week as we (youth leaders of both groups, senior pastor, Dena and I) are making some pretty big changes to the way the youth ministry at our local church operates. After being here 6 months, it appeared to Dena and I that part of what was lacking in the groups were commitment. If something "better" showed itself at the last minute, the youth had no problem ditching the youth meeting to do that. For that reason we are going to be working with the core members of each group developing "student leaders" (I use the term "student" loosely as some of our youth are actually professional Dr's or Architects due to the Latin view of "Youth"). The overall leadership for the group will be broken down into two "teams" the "Leadership Team", which will be those that have been appointed by the church to lead the group and will be available for teaching as well as to provide oversight, vision, counsel and discipleship to the "student leaders"; and the "Direction Team", which is just that, a team of 5 youth (plus 1 for ever 5 new members as the ministry grows) and 1 member of the Leadership Team, that will basically do just as the name states, give direction to the group. This team will determine, through the guidance of the LT and Holy Spirit, the purpose, values and form that the ministry will follow. They will decide on schedules, speakers, special events, decor and ambiance, flow of the youth service/meeting as well as outreach and other ministries which the youth will be a part of.
Our goal is twofold. 1. To develop our youth into leaders that will be able to guide the church in the years to come, and 2. To encourage the youth to realize that they do not have to wait for the "years to come" in order to serve Christ and His church.

Visit from the Mother-in-Law

First let me say, if you have any good mother-in-law jokes, I would LOVE to have them. Secondly, it has been awesome having my mil, Lydia here these last couple of weeks. Dena and I actually sit in bed at night talking about, "How will we do this when she leaves?" She has been a life saver these last couple of weeks as I have been couped u in the office so much writing sermons or working on the youth changes. THANKS MOM!

Shaylee's dedication

We had Shaylee dedicated at church yesterday. It was a beautiful time and a thrill t be able to do it with Grandma here. Pics soon!

This week seems a little calmer and I am hoping that tomorrow we can take mom to the coast and eat at "Mangos" (maybe just my favorite restaurant of all time) and then some other time in the week I will hopefully find time to head over to our mentors house and hang out withj their son Joel and play some "Guitar Hero".

Oh, and see new pics below.

2007-07-25T16:08:00.001-05:00

TEV (The Elliott Version)

I have decided to use Psalm 96 as a text for this Sunday and after spending most of my day today reading and re-reading it, as well as reading others opinions and thoughts, I have come up with the following paraphrase (You can read it in the NIV here):

Paraphrase of Psalm 96:

Oh, that everybody would sing! Sing, anew! Sing in honor of Him!
Oh, that they would never stop worshiping him for delivering them from what was old and dead!

Go and tell about his glory, where He has not yet been glorified!
Go and share the incredible truth of Him, because he is awesome and deserves every bit of praise that we can muster, because he deserves our respect and holy fear.

Go because everything to which the world has attributed value is trash, because the One who created the heavens stands with splendor and majesty. Strength and magnificence surround Him.

All families of creation, lay upon Him all the magnificence and power that he deserves!
All families of creation, offer your lives to Him! Come and worship Him in all His beauty.

Now you, go and tell about His sovereignty to the ends of the earth.
Tell of the Kingdom that is eternal, never changing, tell of the King that rules with integrity.

Let all of creation, from the sea to the sky, once again praise Him as they were meant to.

Let everything worship as He returns to restore everything with fairness and truth.

2007-07-24T18:55:00.000-05:00

Sermon Prep

I'm preaching on missions again this Sunday to wrap up our local church's Month o' Missions. I'm not expecting a lot of people because it's the 29th of July, which is the day after the 28th, which is independence day here in Peru, so it'll be like having church on the July 4th weekend. A lot of families will be traveling.

That said, I want to take a fairly infomral approach and maybe just answer some general questions about missions.

I don't make random grabs for comments often, but today I am. Help me write my sermon.

What questions do you have about missions? Anything goes from raising support to biblical foundations thereof. Fire away and I'll be sure to post the final product when I am done.

Thanks,
Ell

2007-07-23T07:02:00.000-05:00

The sermon went well yesterday. The funniest thing being that my translator and I looked like we had gone shopping for corresponding outfits but hadn't eve talked about what we'd be wearing.

I'm just getting ready to head out to a breakfast meeting with some folks who are taking over an english speaking youth ministry at the "Union International Church" here in Lima. It's a non-denom church for expats.

They asked if I would help with their ministry and I explained I could not commit on a regular basis but would be happy to help them with special events, etc. This morning is sort of a brain storming session on thier fall (for us, spring) activities, and to give the youth leaders some basic pointers as they are new to ym (haha... fresh meat ;) )

Anyway, Mom has been asking me if my camera is broken so here are some new pics.

2007-07-21T15:49:00.000-05:00

*below is my manuscript from a message I will be sharing tomorrow to wrap up our local church's mission month. Please keep me and my translator in prayer as we share this word. The scripture is in Spanish so you'll have to find the verses on your own (biblegateway.com). And please not that I correct grammar on the fly, not in my manuscripts.

Abram Today

He is recognized among the most significant men in history by 3 of the world’s largest religions.

In the Jewish scriptures, our “Old Testament”, he is mentioned 40 times.

In the Islamic holy book, the Koran he is only behind the prophet Muhammad in importance.

In the Christian New Testament, he is referred to 75 times. Paul used him as the finest example of a man who is justified before God by faith apart from works (Romans 4). James referred to him as a man who demonstrated his faith to men by his works (James 2:21-23). The writer to the Hebrews pointed to him as an illustration of a man who walked by faith, devoting more space to him than any other individual in chapter eleven (Hebrews 11:8-19).

This man was Abraham. And understanding his calling from God, the covenant that he made with the Creator and the faith that it took is key in understanding the Bible as a whole and living our lives as people who truly desire to see God’s plans come to pass in this world.

I wish we had enough time to really examine every aspect of the life of Abraham, but unfortunately we don’t, so this morning, let’s focus in on the covenant, or agreement that was made between God and Abraham, actually called Abram at this point, and the events surrounding that.

We’ll be starting in Genesis 12.

This here is one of the key passages in all of scripture, without which we have an incomplete picture of God and his relation to us, his creation. It is the thread that ties the rest of the Old Testament together and also a prime passage showing the global nature of God’s ultimate plan of salvation.

Let’s read this together

1 El Señor le dijo a Abram: «Deja tu tierra, tus parientes y la casa de tu padre, y vete a la tierra que te mostraré.

2 »Haré de ti una nación grande,
y te bendeciré;
haré famoso tu *nombre,
y serás una bendición.
3 Bendeciré a los que te bendigan
y maldeciré a los que te maldigan;
¡por medio de ti serán bendecidas
todas las familias de la tierra!»
4 Abram partió, tal como el Señor se lo había ordenado, y Lot se fue con él. Abram tenía setenta y cinco años cuando salió de Jarán. 5 Al encaminarse hacia la tierra de Canaán, Abram se llevó a su esposa Saray, a su sobrino Lot, a toda la gente que habían adquirido en Jarán, y todos los bienes que habían acumulado. Cuando llegaron a Canaán,6 Abram atravesó toda esa región hasta llegar a Siquén, donde se encuentra la encina sagrada de Moré. En aquella época, los cananeos vivían en esa región.7 Allí el Señor se le apareció a Abram y le dijo: «Yo le daré esta tierra a tu descendencia.» Entonces Abram erigió un altar al Señor, porque se le había aparecido.

Now, Abram was living the dream life. He had plenty of money, tons of possessions, people who waited on him and served him, a loving wife and a great job as the owner of a large number of livestock. Not only was Abram rich, with lots of things and people who worked for him, but he lived in Ur, a great city. It was a wealthy city, known for its craftsmanship, technology and science. It was the New York City of Abram’s day.

But something interrupts his dream life. Something happens that cannot be ignored. God speaks. In v.1 we see God says to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you.”

Now, I want you to consider how Abram probably felt about this. He’d worked his whole life to build the life he now had. He was in his 70’s and had worked hard to get to where he was. He had his stuff, his staff, his wife and his city. He was comfortable. And now he had to make a choice, and it is the same choice that we as individuals and as a church have to make today.

Will we be obedient and go where God has prepared for us to go? Or would we rather be comfortable, and stay put, accepting where we are in our lives as sufficient?

The truth is friends, when we are obedient to God, we will not be comfortable.

Just like Abram and Sarah, when walking in obedience, we most likely will not know what comes next.

They knew Ur. They liked Ur. They had friends in Ur. They had family in Ur. Leaving, or going rather, meant more than just setting up their home in another place. It meant sacrifice, and sacrifice is never comfortable. It meant turning their backs on their families and friends. It meant having to deal with the criticism they received when their family asked, “Where will you go?” and only being able to respond, “Well, we’re not sure, but God said he’d show us.”

It meant not knowing whether or not they would have enough supplies to feed their servants and animals after they left Ur and while they were waiting for God to show them where they were going.

But we don’t like not knowing what will happen next. We go to conferences and received a minute by minute detail about what will be happening and at what time. When we’re watching TV we even get little reminders throughout the commercials about what show is “up next”.

But when we are obedient to God, we will most likely not know what is next. We won’t know how things will happen in our lives, or in the life of our church, we just have to trust, we just have to have faith that it will happen.

Jesus himself didn’t know what would happen from one day to the next in his ministry. In Luke 9:57-62 Jesus is explaining this very thing to the people who want to follow him. And note, he does not explain what great happiness waits for them if they follow him. He doesn’t tell them about fame, wealth or liberation from political powers, instead he tells them that it’s going to be rough.

57 Iban por el camino cuando alguien le dijo:

—Te seguiré a dondequiera que vayas.
58 —Las zorras tienen madrigueras y las aves tienen nidos —le respondió Jesús—, pero el Hijo del hombre no tiene dónde recostar la cabeza.
59 A otro le dijo:

—Sígueme.

—Señor —le contestó—, primero déjame ir a enterrar a mi padre.
60 —Deja que los muertos entierren a sus propios muertos, pero tú ve y proclama el reino de Dios —le replicó Jesús.
61 Otro afirmó:

—Te seguiré, Señor; pero primero déjame despedirme de mi familia.
62 Jesús le respondió:

—Nadie que mire atrás después de poner la mano en el arado es apto para el reino de Dios.

In other words, “Being obedient to my call means you will not be comfortable, you have to sacrifice everything that you have and know and live a life where you may not even know where you will sleep one night to the next.”

Will we be obedient and go where God has prepared for us to go? Or would we rather be comfortable?

This month, we, both as individuals and as a church, have been challenged. We have been brought face to face with the call of God for all of us, personally and corporately, to be involved in missions in one way or another.

Friends, our obedience here will not be easy. It will come at a price. We may not know how will work things out financially or with whatever resources God is asking us to provide in missions, but if we are to be obedient, we cannot be concerned with the how of things. We cannot be concerned with being comfortable or knowing how we will do what God is asking us to do.

We must simply be ready and willing to obediently sacrifice the things we are being asked to give up for the sake of answering God’s voice.

But this is not the only thing that characterizes obedience.

We must also be willing to recognize something else about obedience. Just as it was with Abram, when we are obedient, we may never see the fruit of our obedience.

V. 2 says:
"I will make you into a great nation
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.

In Chapter 15 God clarifies, telling the childless Abram, "Look up at the heavens and count the stars—if indeed you can count them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be."
And then clarifies the geographical boundaries regarding the land that he would give to Abram in v. 18, explaining the vast amount of property he would posses.

Some 70 years later, Now called Abraham, he stood on the edge of the land that God had promised him. He had acquired some of it, but not all. Even when his wife died, he was forced to pay for a plot of land to bury her. Hardly the “Great Nation” that God had promised.

I can just imagine the temptation Abraham must have faced at the end of his life to look backand see God’s promises as empty words.

“I’ve been obedient and this is what I have. I have wandered in the desert a good portion of my life, and own a small fraction the lands that God promised me. I have two sons after God has promised me more children than there are stars in the sky. If this is what obedience brings, why bother?”

And I think that we as Christians also look at where we are in the midst of our journey and think, “If this is obedience, why bother?” We look at the plight of AIDS in Africa, or the persecuted church in China, or child trafficking in southeast Asia and think, if after 2,000 years of Christianity being present on this earth and after 2,000 years of at least some people being obedient to Christ, this has been the result, why bother?”

Because eventually, Abraham’s descendants were more numerous than sand on the beach. Because eventually those descendants did occupy the land that God had promised Abraham, because eventually the greatest blessing the nations have ever known, came through his descendants in the form of Jesus Christ.

Abram’s obedience paid off. No, Abram never did see the full effects of his obedience in his lifetime, but in the end, the world is different, in the end the world has the opportunity to live a reunited and resurrected life with God, because of one man’s obedience.

We live in a consumer driven world. Constantly we are seeing more “free trade agreements” popping up, more consumer products coming into the market, more services being offered. The bottom line is we live in a world that wants to see an immediate return on our investments. When we buy something, we want to see the product now. We get indignant if we have to wait. That’s why this idea may be hard for us to grasp.

When we are obedient to God’s calling on our lives, whether it be in missions, in other forms of ministry, or even in our jobs or family lives, we cannot expect to immediately see the effects.

This is why it is so hard for a church to put missions as a priority. When we invest our time, money and resources into ministry in our own neighborhood, we see the immediate results. More children come to our programs, youth ministries become popular among students and young adults, more people come on a Sunday Morning. We see people’s lives changing as they begin their journey with the Lord. I am in no saying that any of that is bad, I’m simply saying that we have to be willing to give up the need to physically see the results if we are to be obedient.

When we support missions, we may never see those who benefit from our support until we meet them one day in Heaven. When we step out in faith and put missions as a priority, we must trust that the work being done is making a difference in the lives of those around us, even when we don’t see it.

Almost two weeks ago my son, Micaiah’s, life had a huge change. You see from the first day he arrived he has been the center of our universe. Everything revolved around him from when we got up in the morning, to when we ate our meals, to when we had to be home from visiting friends to how late we could be out at church events.

Then, came Shaylee. Now he is coming to realize that he has to share the spotlight with someone else. He is having to realize that this life is not just about him and his wants, but there are other people to consider.

You know. When we walk in obedience with God, this is something else that happens. Just like Micaiah, we come to realize that, unlike what we have though, our life, is not about us. We don’t exist for us to simply get ahead, or make money, or be happy. When we are obedient to God we realize that we actually are here for the opposite reason, to help others to get ahead, to help others live their life to their fullest potential, so that they too can then help others to live to their potential, and that is how the cycle works.

This was true in Abram’s life because When we are obedient the focus is taken off of ourselves and put onto others.

God had said in v. 2 and 3 that he would make Abram into a great nation, make his name great and bless him as a result of his obedience, but then he gave his reason. He explained that he would do all this so that “all the peoples of the earth will be blessed through you.”

It’s not about you. It’s not about us. We should not be obedient to God’s call on us to be involved in missions simply because of what we may get for it.

I have heard many people encourage churches to support missions by explaining, “I know of a church that never had any money and only 20 people coming a week to it, but when they started giving to missions they grew to 1,000 and now have more money than thy know what to do with.”

Now please understand, I do believe that when we are obedient, God will bless us. I believe that because I have experienced that in my own life. BUT, that blessing should not, and cannot be what drives us or motivates us to obedience.

Such blessing only occurs so that the greater blessing, that of blessing all the people of the earth, will grow.

Allow me to illustrate this from the gospels. In Matthew 25 Jesus illustrates blessing like this:

14 »El reino de los cielos es como un hombre que, yéndose lejos, llamó a sus siervos[e] y les entregó sus bienes.

15 A uno dio cinco talentos,[f] a otro dos y a otro uno, a cada uno conforme a su capacidad; y luego se fue lejos.

16 El que recibió cinco talentos fue y negoció con ellos, y ganó otros cinco talentos.

17 Asimismo el que recibió dos, ganó también otros dos.

18 Pero el que recibió uno hizo un hoyo en la tierra y escondió el dinero de su señor.

19 »Después de mucho tiempo regresó el señor de aquellos siervos y arregló cuentas con ellos.

20 Se acercó el que había recibido cinco talentos y trajo otros cinco talentos, diciendo: "Señor, cinco talentos me entregaste; aquí tienes, he ganado otros cinco talentos sobre ellos".

21 Su señor le dijo: "Bien, buen siervo y fiel; sobre poco has sido fiel, sobre mucho te pondré.[g] Entra en el gozo de tu señor".

22 Se acercó también el que había recibido dos talentos y dijo: "Señor, dos talentos me entregaste; aquí tienes, he ganado otros dos talentos sobre ellos".

23 Su señor le dijo: "Bien, buen siervo y fiel; sobre poco has sido fiel, sobre mucho te pondré. Entra en el gozo de tu señor".

24 Pero acercándose también el que había recibido un talento, dijo: "Señor, te conocía que eres hombre duro, que siegas donde no sembraste y recoges donde no esparciste;

25 por lo cual tuve miedo, y fui y escondí tu talento en la tierra; aquí tienes lo que es tuyo".

26 Respondiendo su señor, le dijo: "Siervo malo y negligente, sabías que siego donde no sembré y que recojo donde no esparcí.

27 Por tanto, debías haber dado mi dinero a los banqueros y, al venir yo, hubiera recibido lo que es mío con los intereses.

28 Quitadle, pues, el talento y dadlo al que tiene diez talentos,

29 porque al que tiene, le será dado y tendrá más; y al que no tiene, aun lo que tiene le será quitado.[h]

30 Y al siervo inútil echadlo en las tinieblas de afuera; allí será el lloro y el crujir de dientes".[i]

Every blessing that we have comes from God. James says in James 1:17: “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights,”

Just as the man who had doubled the number of talents he had received, was then given charge over even more, Abram was blessed with a great nation and much more so that he could in turn use those blessings to bless others.

As I said, when we are obedient, we will be blessed, but not as a form of reward.

I have a dog. Some of you have met her, and if you have, I apologize. She is a huge, crazy ball of energy that lives her little life by her own rules. But when she does something right, I try to always have a small dog treat or snack in my pocket to give her. I reward her obedience because it ensures more obedience in the future.

This is not why God blesses us. We are not his dogs, we are his children. We are blessed in our lives with money, friends, jobs, family or whatever resources we have so that we can in turn be a blessing to other people. When we are obedient to God in our lives, we will be blessed even more, but that is simply so we can turn around and be an even bigger blessing on those around us and those around the world.

If you look back at this parable of Jesus, you’ll notice something. The owner did give the servants the talents. He did not say, here, what was my money is now yours to invest and use. No, he entrusts his money to his servants, in essence he loans out what is his so that what he has can grow.

That is also the case with God. These blessings that Abram received, these blessings that we have, the blessings that we as a church have, are not our blessings. At best, they are on loan from God.

Anyone who says, “I don’t have enough money to support missions.” Is not understanding the concept of blessing. We don’t have any money, it all belongs to God, he has just chosen to entrust us with some of it, in hopes that we make wise decisions with it.

And of course we also have the ultimate blessing. You see, we have Christ, a descendant of Abram himself, has come, died on the cross and was resurrected so that we may have a relationship, a friendship with the creator of the universe, so that we can experience this restoration that is promised to us throughout the Bible.

But even this blessing cannot stop at us. It cannot stop at our salvation, our relationship, our restoration. We must now take this blessing and in turn bless every family on the earth, every nation by taking to them the amazing truth of Jesus Christ and what he has done for them. We must bless the nations by bringing to them the same restoration that has been brought to our lives, and to our church.

So again, we have a choice. It’s comfortable to focus on us. It doesn’t take nearly as much energy and whatever we do have we can use for our own desires. But when we are obedient to God, the comfort fades, as does the focus on ourselves. The blessings will no doubt abound, but not for us, not for our happiness or for us to use to get ahead. We will be blessed so that as a result all of the nations of the world will be blessed.

When we are obedient, we may not be comfortable, we may never see the full effect of our obedience, and we will no longer be focused on our selves.

But here is the most basic principle. Unfortunately, it’s often overlooked. When we are obedient, we will never be just standing still.

V. 4 begins with a few short words that truly prove that Abram was obedient to God. “So Abram left, as the Lord had told him.” “Abram partió, tal como el Señor se lo había ordenado”
Obedience does not happen when you receive a call from God. Obedience does not happen when we let those around us know that we plan on being obedient and following the plan or call that God has given us. Obedience does not happen when we have a mission conference and have preachers talk about missions for an entire month. Obedience happens when we take action.

Obedience happens when, instead of simply talking about all the great things that could be done in Africa, or China, or Australia, we refuse to simply sit back and be comfortable and actually hand over the money it will take to get things done.

Obedience happens when instead of simply saying you will pray for missions on a daily basis, you get serious about setting aside a time each and every day to actually go to battle and pray for those who are on the mission field and the needs of those around the world.

Obedience happens when you quit the job you are in and stop being so concerned about what your family will think because you have been called to go as a missionary to another country. Obedience happens when you do this and announce it to the world and to God that I will go.

Read with me in John 12:15-17.

Obedience is what Jesus wanted from Peter when he appeared to Simon Peter and other disciples for a post-resurrection breakfast by the lake.

15 Cuando terminaron de desayunar, Jesús le preguntó a Simón Pedro:

—Simón, hijo de Juan, ¿me amas más que éstos?

—Sí, Señor, tú sabes que te quiero —contestó Pedro.

—Apacienta mis corderos —le dijo Jesús.
16 Y volvió a preguntarle:

—Simón, hijo de Juan, ¿me amas?

—Sí, Señor, tú sabes que te quiero.

—Cuida de mis ovejas.
17 Por tercera vez Jesús le preguntó:

—Simón, hijo de Juan, ¿me quieres?

A Pedro le dolió que por tercera vez Jesús le hubiera preguntado: «¿Me quieres?» Así que le dijo:

—Señor, tú lo sabes todo; tú sabes que te quiero.

—Apacienta mis ovejas —le dijo Jesús—. 18 De veras te aseguro que cuando eras más joven te vestías tú mismo e ibas adonde querías; pero cuando seas viejo, extenderás las manos y otro te vestirá y te llevará adonde no quieras ir.
19 Esto dijo Jesús para dar a entender la clase de muerte con que Pedro glorificaría a Dios. Después de eso añadió:

—¡Sígueme!”

Our salvation is not dependant on our actions. Jesus does not offer his gift of reconciliation to us because we have done something or will do something.

But obedience is something else. Obedience requires action. It was not enough for Jesus to hear the words from Peter’s mouth, “Yes Lord, I love you.” In order to be obedient, in order to follow him as Jesus instructs him to do at the end of the verses we have just read, action was required.

It is not enough for us to sit here and sing songs and say, “Lord, we love the world. Lord, we value missions.” Because Jesus response is simple, “So love them. Don’t just say you love them, don’t just say you value missions, get moving. Do something to love them, do something to value those who the world has said are of no value… Feed my sheep!”

I hope that 5 years from now, we do not look back at the month of missions in 2007 and say, “That was the year we had some good messages.” Or “That was the year we had some great times of worship.”

I pray that 5 years from now we will look back and say that after the month of missions in 2007, after, like Abram, we heard from God, we did something. We did more than just talk, we did more than just sing, we did more than just thought about how nice it would be to be part of what God is doing around the world. I pray that we will say “That was when we got serious about being obedient to God! That was when we decided not be concerned with ourselves and our own comfort. That was when we decided that even if we never see the results with our own eyes, we will be obedient to God in missions. In all areas of our lives and whatever blessing that he has given us and asks us to use for his glory, we will use it, and whatever he asks us to sacrifice, we will sacrifice, and whatever he asks us to do we will do…

And wherever he asks us to go, as individuals, as a church, we will go.

That is what I pray happens as a result of what God has done in our hearts and in the heart of our church over the last month.

2007-07-17T08:04:00.000-05:00

Here is the official birth announcement that will be sent out to supporters over email.

2007-07-15T16:23:00.000-05:00

I realize that, although pictures have been abounding (and as there are grandparents and such still lurking in the shadow of the blogosphere, they will continue to abound), words have been short and few.

Here's the news:

The baby, (Shaylee Ann) is great. She's healthy, already establishing a feeding schedule and even let mom get a "good" night's sleep last night. I swear (as you'll see in the pics below) she gets more gorgeous every day. She has a perfect round little face and smoky eyes (that may actually be blue, despite what I said in an earlier now seem more blue than brown or green).

Dena is full of energy and needs to continually be told to rest. She just wants to do everything, but has been taking it easy and spending a good amount of time relaxing and bonding with Shaylee.

Micaiah is doing great. He loves his new little sister and as of yet has not called her a dog... this is extraordinary as he calls everything, lamps, birds, toys, his own father, "DOG". He went over to Sue and Jarvis's house yesterday afternoon and will probably stay there till tomorrow morning because...

I am sick. Yes... again. It hit the day after Shaylee's birth and I was hoping it was just exhaustion, but it has turned out to be parasites (again). It's nothing at all serious but it causes me to have a constant neck ache and frequent trips to ye ol' baño (think of the video game Pong. I am the ball and the paddles are the couch and the restroom). I got a good rest last night and hopefully get another good night's sleep tonight.

Lydia (aka, Dena's Mom/My mother in law/Grandma Meanie) arrives Tuesday night and we are very much looking forward to the company (*cough~~and the help~~cough*). It's always fun to have her around, Micaiah loves her, Dena is always ecstatic to have her mom around, and she's an amazing cook (*cough~~and the help~~cough*).

That's about it for now. Enjoy the pics.

2007-07-13T17:58:00.000-05:00

More baby pics to apease the grandparents

2007-07-11T14:45:00.000-05:00

Baby Blog
Update #6
2:45pm, July 11, 2007

First Bath pics.

2007-07-11T10:59:00.000-05:00

Baby Blog
Update #6
11:00am, July 11, 2007

Don't have much time, Dena wants to shower before the Doctor comes over to check her and needs me to watch Shaylee.

Here are a few more pics.

Everything is super, she is a milk guzzling machine and slept 4 hours solid last night.

2007-07-10T22:07:00.000-05:00

Baby Blog
Update #5
10:29pm

Shaylee Ann Innes was welcomed into the world this evening at 6:56pm. Yes, you'll notice that was very shortly after my last post. With the Doctor's supervision, I (Elliott) caught and handed her to he mommy after just 2 pushes!

Shaylee was born in our home, a natural, water birth. She is slightly more than 8 lbs and is 54 cm in length (I am to tired to do that calculation into inches).

Micaiah gave his little sister good night kisses on his way to bed tonight and was thrilled to see her.

We now will try and sleep. Micaiah will be up at 7 and Shaylee will no doubt be up 7 times before that.

Thank you for your prayers! God has entrusted us with an amazing part of his creation to our care this evening.

2007-07-10T18:13:00.000-05:00

Baby Blog
Update #4
6:13pm

Stronger contractions, just called the Dr again to come and stay with us till the baby is out.

2007-07-10T15:44:00.000-05:00

Baby Blog
Update #3
3:45pm

Well, we are definitely in labour. Contractions started at about 12:30 while we were out grocery shopping. We came home, ate some Chinese food with Jarvis and Sue and then played with Micaiah for a few. After the initial exam, Dena is still biologically very early in the labour and the Dr. said that on average we have another 7 hours or so to go, but really there is no way to tell. We'll see the Dr. again when the contractions become more intense and closer together.

Dena is resting and in good spirits. She was up and chatting until about a half hour ago and is now lying down and letting things progress.

On a prideful (humbly proud of course) note. Last night I said these words, "By midnight tomorrow we'll have the baby." And look what happened. I called it, oh yeah, give it up.

2007-07-10T10:54:00.000-05:00

BABY BLOG
Update #2
10:38am

Well, we are still waiting for contractions. I talked to the Doctor at around 8:30 and she is willing to wait as long as 48 hours before inducing from the time the water breaks, but her normal practice is 24 hours. We'll see as things progress if that is necessary, here's hoping it won't be. The biggest factor in inducing within any time frame is fear of infection and there are a number of things we can do that will prevent that from happening. Many women have gone as long as 2 weeks or longer after their water broke, but I doubt we'd be that extreme.

As far as how Dena is doing... she has been outside sweeping the patio and now just came in to ask if I approved of her vacuuming the hallway. LOL. When she's done that we'll get her showered and dressed and head out to do groceries... who knows what might trigger the contractions. It's just exciting knowing that the birth is so soon. With Micaiah, we waiting 3 weeks after the due date and tried everything to get him out. With the new baby, yesterday was the first due date we had and had been given tomorrow and the 12th as well. At least we know that the anticipation is about to be realized.

I guess that's it for now. Micaiah is still hanging out at Uncle Jarvis and Aunt Sue's house and will come home early afternoon.

Stay tuned.

2007-07-10T07:37:00.000-05:00

BABY BLOG

No baby yet. But here's the skinny.

Last night they finished our floors (faithful readers will know what I am talking about). Basically, they finished the last coat of varnish at 9:30 last night. I then left to go to our friends house (Sue and Jarvis) to spend the night with Dena and away from the fumes.

After climbing into the separate twin beds in the guest room we settled in for a long winters nap. At 12:40 the light flashed on and Dena was motioning for me to put on my hearing aids. Turned out her water had broken! Yippee!

After waiting another couple of hours, sharing now, one twin bed (cramped! Can you say, "The baby is a cover hog?"), our friend, Sue, drove us home so we could be in our own comfy bed when contractions started.

Long story short, it's 7:45am and no contractions yet. Dena is downstairs talking to Grandma Meanie (her mom... someday I'll explain the name... it's really quite endearing) on the phone and she insisted on making her own breakfast.

So as I have time throughout the day I'll try to blog. No promises, but I think this would be a neat record of the birth.

Please keep praying and we'll keep you up to date.

2007-07-10T01:43:00.000-05:00

IT'S 1:43AM AND DENA'S WATER BROKE ABOUT AN HOUR AGO!!! I'LL UPDATE SOON.

2007-07-09T07:14:00.000-05:00

Due Dates and Randomness

Housekeeping:

Today is the first of 3 due dates we received. The others are the 11th and 12th of July, so stay tuned and check back often to see when the little one arrives.
The floor is "almost" done. The worker is suppose to be here at 7am to put another layer of varnish down... it's 7:19... but I understand that sometimes the public transportation is unreliable, so he gets slack for that.
Dena's internship with BBC is officially done tomorrow! Yipee! (Yes we are aware that it's cutting it close with the baby)
The worker just arrived!

10 Random things I Like:
(Be sure to click the mystery links)

Coke from glass bottles-It simply tastes better. It must have some chemical reaction when it touches plastic. I also prefer glass drinking glasses over plastic any day!
Peanut butter on my sausage patties-Not really something I get to induldge in when I am here in Peru, but when home in Canada or the States, I smother my breakfast sausage patties with the nutty goodness. I implore you, don't knock it till you try it.
That I am Canadian-When Peruvians find out I'm Canadian they react like they just found an onion ring in their fries, kind of like, "Hey that's a neat little surprise!"
90's rock-I've been listening to some songs from my Jr. and Sr. High years recently and I just love the nostalgia that inevitably follows. Shout out for "Runaway Train" by Soul Asylum.
Plain Cheerios-Again, another thing I can't get here, but it is just the best cereal out there. No, I don't put sugar on it. Just straight up Cheerios and milk, it prepares me for my day almost as much as coffee.
Journey-Despite their recent influx of popularity because of the song "Don't Stop Believing" being on the finale of Sopranos (or so I've heard), I am a long time fan of this 80's hair band.
That my son goes into a comatose like state at the sight of Sponge Bob Square Pants-Great after a long day... besides, I like Sponge Bob too.
Balloons-I know some people have a fear of them, but I just love balloons... If I could just find a way to work them into our home decorating, I think I would be exceptionally happy all the time.
Butter on my steak-Sort of in the same category of Peanut Butter on my sausage, it just makes it taste even richer and satisfying.
Great Big Sea-A Canadian Folk Rock Band from Newfoundland. When I feel like I am getting distant from my Maritimer roots, I just listen to some Great Big Sea and I am a happy man.

2007-07-05T10:51:00.000-05:00

Cultural Frustrations, Spiritual Growth and Some Special Time with Micaiah

Cultural Frustrations

Shortly after arriving in Peru, our floor on the first floor of our home (we have been blessed with an awesome house) started coming up due to humidity. After a couple of attempts to repair spots where it was coming up we finally cave and decided to have a professional come in. Here's what has happened:

Entire wood floor torn up on the promise that they will be done in a week.
The floor people realize our problem is poor concrete.
Concrete people take up 5 cm. of concrete and put 5 cm of new concrete down.
Concrete people tell us tat this adds 4 days to the initial week.
Floor people assure us that it won't and they will be here to lay the floor in 2 days.
2 days comes and the floor people tell us they want to wait 2 more days to let the concrete dry more.
2 more days pass and the floor people tell us they want to wait another week.
We tell the floor people that we are having a baby in a few ays and if they wait another week they can't come back for a month and will not get money for a month.
The floor people say they will come the next day.
The floor poeple don't show up.
Dena calls the floor people ad very politely tells them if they don't come today they shouldn't bother to come back.
They are coming this afternoon... I hope.

Spiritual Growth

I feel like I am growing in my spiritual life lately more than normal. I know I have a relationship I need to try and correct, but other than that I feel like I have really been learning and getting guidance in a lot of situations form the Lord.

I am also very happy with a meeting we had yesterday about the Young Adult group we work with. There are some big changes coming there that will not be easy and at first, probably not very attractive, but we think that we will see some awesome things happen as a result. More on that after we meet with the Pastor.

Some Special Time with Micaiah

2007-07-03T09:03:00.000-05:00

Hilarious!

2007-06-29T16:01:00.000-05:00

No. I am not dead, or in the hospital.

I am in fact very much alive.

And very much tired.

Dengue drains you of energy real fast.

Not good when:

You are getting ready for your second baby.
Your wife is working 40 hour weeks.
Your floor has been torn up by workers and now have a slab of cement instead of a living room and dining room.
Your bedroom is being painted.
Your new baby's room is being painted.
You are having new lighting installed throughout the house.
You are trying to train a very stupid puppy... but she is just so darn cute!
You are trying to reflect on progress in ministry and evaluate what needs to change after 6 months in your new ministry position.
You have mountains of organizing, work and house tasks to do but want to go to bed when your 1 year old goes down.
You procrastinate your organizing, work and house tasks by blogging.

2007-06-15T20:31:00.000-05:00

And the Sickness is.....

Well, it's been confirmed by the Tropical Disease Unit in Lima, Peru. I've got Dengue Fever. The good news is it is does not appear to be the most sever form... they actually called it "Classic". I will have some more tests tommorow (most probably) to rule out a hospital stay, so for now I just take lots of fluids and treat the symptoms.

I should be sick for another week or less, then weak for about a month... not to bad huh?

I'm in pain and my throat hurts a lot, but my wife is taking good care of me.

PS: Thought I'd do a self shot here to get some extra pity.

2007-06-14T08:39:00.000-05:00

Updated June 14, 2007 @ 5:45pm

You may have noticed I haven't posted in a few days, or maybe you haven't based on the number of comments I have been receiving, but anyway. The reason is because since Monday morning I have been confined to my bed. It's only with the help of some pretty strong muscle relaxants that I have found my way downstairs to my office in order to update this.

The short story is that Monday morning at around 11 I started to ache... a lot. By noon I was in bed and by 12:30 I was shaking uncontrollably under a comforter, a goose down duvet, and 2 llama blankets. I had a killer headache and was nauseous. Curious, I checked online for these symptoms and guess what came up? As I had recently been on the Amazon, all my symptoms matched up to Malaria. That night a Doctor who is in our Youth Group (again, youth here is about 13 till you are married) came to check on me and comforted me by telling me, "It may not be Malaria, it might be Yellow Fever."... Thanks Doc.

I received my tests back yesterday and I am clear, no Malaria or Yellow Fever, though I still feel like something that's been scraped off someone's sneaker, run over by a Mac Truck, repeatedly dunked into a vat of acid and trampled by the entire Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.

That said, sorry nothing to awesomely insightful today.

I think I need to go back to bed.

Update:
Well, we just found out that one of our team members from the Amazon trip is in the hospital with Dengue Fever. To find out more about this viral disease, click here. The thing that really stinks is my symptoms are more in line with this than anything.

Prayers are appreciated. Today has been really rough and I have had a lot of pain.

2007-06-08T17:18:00.000-05:00

These Slide Shows were up briefly last week, but I had to take them down because they were messing up my template. Hopefully that is fixed now and you can enjoy these pictures, worth thousands upon thousands of words.

2007-06-06T09:49:00.000-05:00

Having Church

“The perfect church service,would be one we were almost unaware of.
Our attention would have been on God.”
~C.S. Lewis

"Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf."
~1 Corinthians 10:17

Heat does not begin to explain the sensation we felt as we began to dig the post holes for the new church. It was only 8:00 in the morning but it already felt like the sun would do quick work of our sunscreen and send us back to our families crisper than the skin on last Thanksgiving's bird. As we continued we saw a man who looked familiar walking from the center of the village towards our job site. He was dressed in work clothes. Jeans, a tshirt, a ball cap to protect his eyes from the punishment of the sun. He approached the foreman and asked what he could do to help. Then we realized who this was. It was the pastor of the Presbyterian Church in town. He had left his own work for the day to cross denominational lines and help build a church for a different sect. Some would say, he was batting for the other team that day.

On the other side of the lot, Stan sawed a board. He had arrived before the rest of the team and went to work doing whatever he could. In his late seventies, retired from the Car Sales business, he has decided not to spend his retirement sitting in a rocking chair or playing canasta, but rather to travel thousands of miles, to a place where he doesn't understand the language or the culture and give of himself to help build a church for people he will never meet.

As the morning grew on, we began to see a crowd gather around the site. Children began to walk up to us and peer inquisitively at the tools and work we were doing. Building the church meant lifting 1,000 lb walls and a man with a chainsaw cutting the trusses. We began to realize that if these children remained under foot for the next few days, we would have a very dangerous situation on our hands. If a wall slipped from it's brace or the man with the chainsaw missed his mark, we could have a tragedy. Genie had been on a mission team to the Amazon three years before. A Speech Therapist from Dallas, it was truly beautiful to watch her round up the children and spend the following days playing with them. Learning the Spanish words for animals and teaching the group of 10-20 children that clung to her, the English words. In her broken Spanish she would tell them about Jesus. That Jesus loved them, that Jesus was the reason that we were there.

Cassie, a 14 year old from Louisiana, saw her God through new eyes, through the eyes of those free from the distractions I talked about in my last post. She saw her Faith as more than a religion but as a global force bringing freedom and hope to the world.

Lisa, a nurse from Alexandria, treated a baby with flee bites all over her body and a man whose hand was attacked by a piranha.

When someone approached the Pastor from the Prespyterian Church and asked him, "Why have you left your work to help us build this church today?" He replied, "We are one people with a very large work." He saw that "Church" was more than the evening service, was more than the songs we sing or words we preach. It is more than the four walls that were lifted into place in Tamshiyacu last week. Church is believers who are glorifying God, not simply with hymns and special music. Not with great homiletics. Church is what took place last week. We had church when the Pastor of a different denomination worked to built another persons church, when the car salesman picked up a saw beside an 18 year old Peruvian boy and showed him how to cut a straight line, when the mother of a baby with bites on her stomach and back was treated with compassion and respect, regardless of her financial position, marriage status or ethnic background.

We had church last week along the Amazon.

2007-06-04T10:36:00.000-05:00

Distractions

Soon silence will have passed into legend. Man has turned his back on silence. Day after day he invents machines and devices that increase noise and distract humanity from the essence of life, contemplation, meditation...tooting, howling, screeching, booming, crashing, whistling, grinding, and trilling bolster his ego. His anxiety subsides. His inhuman void spreads monstrously like a gray vegetation.
~Jean Arp

Our hearts ache, but we always have joy. We are poor, but we give spiritual riches to others. We own nothing, and yet we have everything. ~2 Corinthians 1:10

As I stood by the door of the church in the 200 person village of Shato, Perú, I watched as families, guided only by voices and the faint light of an old flashlight, navigated their dugout canoes up the Amazon towards the riverbank. It was no later than 7:00 but it could have been midnight and we would not have known the difference. With no electricity to use light bulbs and no clocks hung on the walls or placed strategically around us, time began to take on a whole new meaning to us.

We lit candles and brought in kerosene lanterns made from old tin cans and set them around the room, giving off just enough light that we could see Lucy, our Peruvian friend, and missionary on the Amazon, as she led the people who had literally traveled miles to be in the service that night. There was no sound system, just the natural volume of her passionate voice. There were no instruments, jut the chorus of a people that desperately wanted to meet with their God that night. There was no PowerPoint or hymnals, people had learned the songs young, memorized them, the words of praise and adoration ingrained in their memories, engraved on their hearts. This was church. it was not a production. No one talked about programs or bulletins. There were no talks of building projects or insufficient parking. It was not focused on the seeker, the believer, the post-modern, the modern, the youth, the children, the sinner or the saint. It was focused on the one who had created the jungle around them. People did not come to find out how to be more ethical, make better business decisions or find the Five Steps to Familial Friendliness. The came to meet with God. They came with one mind. They came with one need, they came with one song.

And now I sit here. Sipping a coffee at Starbucks. In a city of 8 million people. Cars running past outside, honking, yelling, spewing exhaust. My laptop in front of me. My cellphone beside me. My house with four walls and a roof a mere taxi drive away. I got here an hour ago to begin reflecting on my trip but was distracted by other things for 45 minutes. I needed to check my emails, order my coffee, check out who did what on facebook, check out cnn.com, etc. How quickly I am forgetting what it was to live without the distractions I have invited into my life?

And that is what a lot of what we live with is. Distractions. We have become so addicted to the things that we think make our lives easier that we miss out on all the incredible things God has for us. We miss out on the way we were intended to live, in communion with God through his creation. When you strip away all these things that make life so "liveable", the cars, the big houses, the fast food, the grocery stores, the technology, what are we left with. Nature, creation, the dirt and grass and trees. And we feel called to it. As Rob Bell (Mars Hill Community) pointed out in a recent message: We turn on the TV and we see commercials for that great car that, if we buy it, will take us from our concrete jungle, into the open country. We'll throw the skis we never use and the kayak we don't own, into our gas guzzling SUV and drive where? Into nature. It's what we yearn for. It's how God created us. To be in a place whithout distractions. A place where, like those in the service at Shato, we won't care about such trivial things as the toys we have, the money we have, the size of the church we go to or even what time of day it is. A place where we are free to see God for who he really is, not distracted by the things he can get us.

We talked a lot this trip about how, in many ways, there is great benefit to living as they do in Shato. They don't worry about credit card debt. They aren't concerned about mortgage payments, or home owners comities telling them to clean up their yards. Is it possible for us to live without those distractions? Is it possible to get to a point where those things, which now distract us, simply become things that are there? Is it possible for us to reorganize our priorities to a point where instead of these things distracting us from God, we will have to pry our thoughts away from God in order to focus on these things for just enough time that it takes to deal with them and then have our hearts and minds race back to God, where it's almost as if God is our distraction from these things?

My prayer is this:

Lord, I'm so distracted. Even as I write this I am thinking about what needs to be done next. Help me to focus more on you. Take away the distractions that keep me from becoming everything that you want me to be. Amen.

2007-05-27T22:01:00.000-05:00

The waters of the Amazon, Satalite Internet and the Dream Team

(Sorry spell check is not working)

First off, how cool is it that even though I am sitting in the village of Tamshiyacu, a medium sized village on the Amazon River in Northern Peru, that for less than I would pay for a candy bar I can use satalite internet to update the very peop
el who sent me to Peru on what is happening?

What do a 72 year old retired, car dealership owner; a 32 year old second generation American-Latino and a 14 year old science nerd have in common? They are all part of what I am affectionately calling the Dream Team. I am so impressed with the mission team I am currently with working in a town on the Amazon river. There´s really not even much I can explain to tell you why the team works so well, but it just gels. It is such a great opprtunity to be around so many people (13 on the team in total) that are so excited about getting out of their own culture and comfort and seeing what life and faith is like in another corner of the globe.

That said, our experience thus far has gone as follows-

Team arrived Friday night at 1am. Micaiah slept through the 7 people staying at our house getting settled.
Had a team breakfast at our house and then some team building exceriscises
Flew to Iquitos from Lima Sat afternoon... good flight, all our luggage arrived safely...
Spent the night last night in Iquitos at theWesleyan Ministry Center. Aslo got to participate in their Sat night youth service. The pastor spoke a great message on conuing to grow. I was able translate most of the message for some of the team!
This morning traveled an hour up river to Tamshiyacu. Did not see any snakes... thank God almighty!
Spent most of our day settling in here,
had a dedication service at the site of the church we will be helping build.

Some highlights for me are, first of all, language. I have never felt so encouraged about my calling as a missionary or with my language skills. Granted the accent here is different and I am still missing some things, I am still understanding mountains more than I have normally been understanding. I have been translating constantly for the team as they begin to build relationships with kids they want to play games with, men from the church or just people we meet on the street. To top it all of, tonight at the dedication service, Jarvis, my mentor, gave a message in Spanish and I understood the whole thing! I have never understood a sermon in Spanish, the pace is different, the vocabulary shifts and I just haven´t been able to follow, but tonight I did. Sorry if I sound cocky, but I am pretty darn proud!

On a slightly different note, I definately have seen life different than I have seen anywhere else. People live not paycheck to paycheck, but day to day. The thing that happened today that I will most likely think about more than anything was seeing a little girl who was maybe 6 years old carrying around a child Micaiah´s age (1 year, 3 months) for literally hours. When I started talking to her she explained that the baby was her cousin, but both her mother and her aunt worked all day every day and so she takes care of that baby every day. Wow. What responsibility to be thrown at a 6 year old.

There is so much more but I should run for now. I hope to get more blogs up later this week, but if not, I will write soon.

Please pray for-

Health on the team, team members often get sick on the Amazon and cannot work
Leadership as we make desicions about future work in this area
Safety as we begin work on the new church tommorow
Openess in the hearts and minds of the team. I think most of them realize that they will leave having been more affected by the people and the Holy SPirit than they could possibly have affected the village
Dena and Micaiah as they go through this week without dad

2007-05-25T09:14:00.000-05:00

Stop hassling the Hoff!

But first: Housekeeping:

I leave tommorow. I'm going to try to write a couple of blogs today and have Dena post them while I am gone, so keep your eyes open for new installments.
I'll even try to post an update while I am in the jungle.
Had a good lunch with aft mentioned people yesterday. A plan to develop a Youth Ministry Leadership Training Program in Peru keeps truckin along and gaining momentum.

And now:

I know I have blogged about this in the past... the distant past. And I realize that this really has no relevance to missions whatsoever. But this blog (as an entity, not this specific post) is 1 part updating on ministry and 1 part me staying connected with the outside world.

That said, why are we so obsessed with celebrities?

Hasselhoff gets drunk and eats a sandwich (I think?) off the floor and the world is glued to their TV's criticizing the man for being under the influence, but we don't bat an eye to the alcoholism that is tearing families and communities apart in our town.

Britney Spears has a breakdown and gos to rehab and we call her a bad mom, but we hardly bat an eye to the physical child abuse that happens in our own neighborhood.

It's almost as though, as a collective species, we would rather watch Entertainment Tonight than write a letter to our government about the crisis in Darfur, would rather read the tabloids that judge and destroy the lives of celebrities than whatever scriptures we claim guide our life, which in most cases teach love, acceptance, peace and tolerance.

Why can't we stop obsessing over the lives of those we cannot affect, and focus on the lives around us that we have been given the opportunity and responsibility to impact?

What have we become?

2007-05-24T09:00:00.000-05:00

Amazon Plans, Cap'n Crunch with Crunch Berries and the Best 4 Year Adventure I Could Have Asked For

First some housekeeping details (aka: general updates)

Still preparing for the Amazon trip

Bob Ellis from San Antonio, TX (Go Aggies!), and leader of the team, arrived last night at around midnight, I'll be lunching today with him, Jarvis (my mentor), and Pastor Godofredo (Nat'l Superintendent of Peru) to chat and discuss the TX/LA partnership with Peru.

I've started my Malaria meds (yipee)
We have a dog... some mornings I wish we didn't... nuf said.

And now onto the meat of this blog.

I have a ton to do in the next 3 days before heading to the piranha infested waters of the Amazon, but today I wanted to take a few minutes to explain something to the blogosphere. I am the luckiest man alive. I really am. Don't even try to argue.

As I type, my wife of four years-today, is getting ready to run to the grocery store to buy Cap'n Crunch with Crunch Berries... why? Because that's the kind of person she is. She know I love them.

This morning, not knowing she had eaten the last of the box yesterday, I mentioned how I was looking forward to some for breakfast. Without missing a beat she insisted she get up, get the baby ready and run to get more. How amazing is that? You may think it's not much, but it's the things like that make me think I am the luckiest man alive.

The last 4 years have been amazing. I can still remember how nervous I was that morning getting to the church, and how overcome I felt when she stepped down that aisle. I knew my life would take me places I never would have dreamt, simply because I would have Dena at my side.

And it has.

In 4 years we have gone from New Brunswick and found ourselves ministering in Nova Scotia, Ontario, Maine, Illiois, Iowa, Indiana, Texas, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic and Peru.

We are missionaries, a dream which I had before meeting Dena, but often wondered if it would be realized. We have a son who daily stops us in our tracks by learning another brilliant thing, like how to say "dog towel" (don't ask), and a new baby that will be just as marvelous, on the way.

Not a day goes by where she doesn't encourage me, challenge me, comfort me, cherish me and teach me. Not a minute goes by where I do not feel her love.

Thank you Dena, for changing my life.

2007-05-22T22:56:00.000-05:00

Websites I Love:

Facebook and Gmail

I'm including these together simply because they don't need much description. They are both great sites. Fun to use, easy and in my opinion, essential. Facebook connects you with friends and gives you a place to brag about how cute your kids are or what you ate for breakfast, Gmail is the easiest and best functioning email client available.

Get Fuzzy

You haven't lived until you have spend some time with Bucky, Satchel, and Rob.

Pearls Before Swine

No, it's not Whitey's blog (though that's a good read too), this is another great comic strip about a bunch of animals with personalities that you can't tear yourself away from.

Relevant Magazine

A pomo/emerging targeted media group aimed at tackling the issues that face believers today. Goes way beyond "5 steps to a Happy Sunday School Class" and deals with topics that actually affect us day by day. Be sure to check out the slices for quick and fun reads or get involved in one of the many discussion board threads. But above all, subscribe to the podcast... it is simply AMAZING!

Macworld

Next to Get Fuzzy, Facebook and Gmail, the only other site I check on a daily basis almost without fail. If you have been caught up in this whimsical cult of mac ownership, you understand why reading about the latest Mac news would be such an exciting thing.

BibleGateway

Because of this website, I've not prepared a sermon with a physical Bible in front of me since college. It includes searchable copies of hundreds of versions at your fingertips (not to mention in dozens of languages), as well as public domain commentaries and other resources.

Matt Rose's Blog

Often interesting, if not entertaining blog complete with a list of blogs from college classmates who I forgot existed.

EMQ Online

The holy grail of missiology journals. Subscription based ($15 a year) but worth every penny.

Digg

A site I am just getting into. Has interesting stories that may not make it onto the typical news outlets, as well as a healthy heap of tech and Mac related news.

Wikipedia

Because sometimes it's fun to learn.

Websites I Hate:

MySpace

In the words of Matt Rose (see above), "MySpace is great for stalking people." but not much else.

MSN and Hotmail, and any other Microsoft based website

Microsoft can make a decent operating system, but is lousy at the whole internet thing. It just feels awkward to use these sites. Maybe it's because I love Macs so much and I just feel like I am in bed with the enemy, but something just doesn;t gel right with them.

Church Websites

I don't have a link here, simply because to list them individually would be tiresome. I have seen only a small handful (seriously... I think I can count 5) of church websites that I actually think were well thought out and informative. The rest seem to fall into one of two categories: 1. The Board asked a 13 year old with MS Frontpage on his home PC to design it over the course of a weekend. or 2. The church spent between $2,000-$4,000 developing a website that would be "seeker friendly" and hasn't been updated since March of 2005

Yarmouth, Nova Scotia

My home town, which I love, has a website that looks like something the poorly drawn seagull in the title dragged out to sea to die.

World's Worst Website

I debated putting this one in here because I understand it's a spoof. It looks like this guy designed Yarmouth's website. But to spend more than 1.21 seconds on this site leaves you with a feeling of dread and despair.

mp3.com

A website that has been around as long as I have used the net. You seem to get directed to it anytime your try to search for mp3's online but in reality it is cumbersome to use and impossible to find any bands that are the least bit mainstream (I like some indy, but need something to pull me back to reality once in a while).

There are others.

Feel free to list your favorite and most hated websites.

2007-05-21T21:29:00.000-05:00

I've seen the light! (Updated on Tuesday with link under #5)

I've come to a realization as to how hard it is to find the time to do an actual newsletter to our friends and supporters from the field (though we hope to send oe out early July), and also realized that to post a 5 minute video blog or podcast takes about an hour, so I thought I would take another stab at the whole traditional blogging deal, which I can do when I find myself with 5 or so free minutes.

So to bring you up to date, in true blogger form here are some quick updates.

Yes, Dena is pregnant, both her and the new baby are doing great. Micaiah thinks that mom's feat of eating a basketball is pretty cool and it makes a fun toy to slap and play with.
We're on Facebook (Elliott)(Dena)
We are helping with both the "adolescent" youth ministry and the "young adult" youth ministry at the local church in Lima. The adolescent group recently adopted a café model and was renamed "Café 296". It's pretty rad. I'll try to post some pics about that in the coming weeks.
I (Elliott) leave for a week on the Amazon River with a team from Texas this Saturday. I need to remember to get my Malaria meds!
We just got back from Ecuador, where we went to get some paperwork processed. It was great and Micaiah almost got eaten by an iguana... not really. You can read more about that on Dena's Blog, "This Little Piggy"
Micaiah is walking... almost running... always screaming.
We're entering winter... which is actually quite nice after almost a year and a half of perpetual summer.
HC Wilson, my old "boss" from the Atlantic District of the Wesleyan Church resigned.
HC Wilson accepted the position as Director of Global Partners... which means my "old boss" is my "new boss".
I have realized I am horrible at keeping in touch with people.
Micaiah and I went to Canada for 10 days. It was refreshing and fun to see so much fam...
Dena stayed in Peru to work on her BBC internship.
Dena's Dad, Jeff, was diagnosed with cancer in his throat.
After radiation treatment, he beat it!
He hasn't had a cigarette in almost 3 months! (He had been smoking since he was 11!)
I'm struggling with Spanish, but every week I feel a small improvement.
Dena and I have both preached in Spanish!
I have been asked to preach the entire month of July at our local church...
The baby comes in July, so that might not work.
I recently finished "Blue Like Jazz" and found it very refreshing.
I'm currently reading:

We are People of Influence (John Maxwell)
Sex God (Rob Bell) [Don't judge the book by it's title]
Dare to Discipline (Dobson)
They Like Jesus, But Not The Church (Dan Kimball)

"Someone" spilled a little juice on my keyboard when we were in Ecuador and now some keyssssssss sticcccck.
A friend from Costa Rica is coming and staying at the house with Dena while I am on the Amazon.
I am getting ordained in October at JIBACAM (Latin America Mission Conference)
I have really been trying to figure out how to start my Masters Degree.
Our 4th anniversary is Thursday.

That's all for now folks.

2007-05-20T09:46:00.000-05:00

Don't touch that dial. New posts coming soon!

2007-01-24T23:56:00.000-06:00

Episode #4

Elliott clarifies.

Episode 4

Add to My Profile | More Videos

2007-01-24T13:23:00.000-06:00

Episode #2

Elliott speaks to the teens group in Lima.

Got iTunes? Subscribe to this podcast and have it delivered to your computer as soon as a new episode becomes available.

Episode #2

2007-01-20T11:44:00.000-06:00

Vlog/Podcast #1
Elliott and Dena arrive in Peru and begin youth ministry.

Podcast Jan. 20, 2007

2007-01-12T05:53:00.000-06:00

We Made It!

Well, we made it!

I am currently sitting in my office in Lima, Peru, and surprisingly, everything seems to be coming together as far as settling in.

We arrived almost two whole weeks ago (sorry for the lack of update), and have since been spending time learning about the ministry in Peru, Argentina and Chile as well as getting our home set up.

Micaiah handled the move well, but unfortunately seems to have chosen this transition to transition himself out of his second nap... Other than that he is growing and learning and enjoying playing with the new puppy (see last post).

Tommorow night I (and perhaps Dena) will spend some time at the youth ministry in the local Wesleyan Church where we have been asked to help out. Though GP has outlined certained cultural and language learning things that will be a very heavy emphasis, it looks more and more like one of our main ministroes will be working with the youth nation-wide.

That's about all I have time for right now, but stay tuned for more updates shortly.

Thanks again to everyone who has made this ministry possible through prayers, finances and the occasional swift kick in the pants (you know who you are dad).

2007-01-05T09:23:00.000-06:00

Rambita

Add to My Profile | More Videos

2006-12-29T15:19:00.001-06:00

2006-12-24T23:36:00.000-06:00

Christmas Photos

No, we haven't totally dropped off the face of the earth but December has been busy preparing for the move as well as some much appreciated vacation time with Dena's fam on the coast. Check out some pics bellow.

PS: Merry Christmas!

2006-12-03T09:12:00.000-06:00

New Baby On The Way

Yes, that's right! For those of you who have not checked my wife's blog, we are expecting (again). The baby is due July 9, 2007 and will be born in Lima, Peru.

God is so awesome! We are so thankful for this surprising, yet incredible gift!

2006-11-25T09:33:00.000-06:00

Micaiah 2006

2006-11-20T08:32:00.000-06:00

Everything I Needed To Know About Youth Ministry I Learned From Jack Black

On the prompting of a friend (AJ), I recently rented the movie "School of Rock". I'd rented it before, but AJ challenged me to watch it again, this time with youth ministry in mind, and watching for parallels. If you've never seen it, you can see a summary of the movie by clicking here. I gotta say, though there are defiantly some parts that have absolutely no relevance, there are definitely some similarities. I will list them below:

1. You gotta stick it to the man.
Jack Black's character is a wannabe rocker who seems o have the philosophy of rock down to a science. The most important thing about Rock: Stick it to the man.

At first I was tempted to draw a parallel between "the man" and the influences that secular culture has on teens and young adults today. Culture, or "the man", tries to entice them, to enslave them with weeknight events, sports, ipods and such, enslaving them to it's corporate and individual driven chains. As Youth workers, our task must be to teach young people how to rebel against "the man" and think for themselves, expressing themselves through their true liberty as rockers, or in this case, Christ Followers.

Of course then my wife mentioned, "Maybe the man is actually the Senior Pastor who you have to sneak around and "convince" that your "methods" of youth ministry are legit." Interesting thought.

2. Help the kids find their place in "The Band".
It's true that God has given each person special gifts and abilities. Some people could preach to thousands, while others really serve God best by having some friends over for supper and just hanging out with them. Jack helps each of the kids find where they fit in "the Band" and then goes a step further to encourage them and even challenge them when they don't think they can do it. Furthermore, when a kid thinks that they can do more, Jack always gives them a chance and never lets them simply be comfortable in mediocrity.

3. They gotta make the music their own.
At one point in the movie, we see the lead guitarist playing a song and he is doing it absolutely perfect, exactly how Jack had taught it to him. And Jack stops him. He explains that Rock is not about playing it perfectly, you've gotta own the music.

With youth, I've seen to many kids that simply try to mimic the faith of their parents, their friends, or even their youth pastor. This is a huge mistake, because when these kids make it out into the real world (or the stage of life?), they fall flat on their face because they have never taken he time to really examine what it means to be a disciple. They may have played the role beautifully, but they never took the time to make it their own. We need to encourage teens and young adults to take their faith serious. Yes, faith is a community thing, and your faith will affect those around you and vice versa, but let's encourage our young people to go ahead an question their faith. Allow the kids to stand up when you are teaching and say, "Prove it!" "Where d you see that?' "How does that apply to me?"

4. Let the kids play their own song.
Yes, you are the youth leader. You are the teacher who has some capacity of training or life experience, but that doesn't mean that every single thing in the group needs to be done or planned by you. In the movie, Jack has written a song that he plans to have the kids perform at the "Battle for the Bands", but at the last minute he switches it up and tells the kids to do a song that one of them had written.

In other words, Jack realizes when it's time to step back and let the kids take some leadership (not complete mind you). He realizes that at some point, the kids arrive at a place where they know what is relevant to the "Rock Culture" even more then their teacher. In youth ministry, let the kids take some measure of control, form a "leadership team" or something like that which will allow the kids to have some say in how things are done in their ministry.

5. It's not about you.
You would think that this would be pretty obvious, but I have met to many students at Bible College studying youth ministry, or even Youth Pastors in the field, who are where they are basically because they want to relive their teen years. I'll even admit, I was one of those. I started in youth ministry in order to try and reassure myself that I was "hip and cool".

In SOR, Jack starts off teaching these kids about Rock and Roll so he can enter them in battle of the bands and win the grand prize, with plans to just take the money and run. He had no plans to invest in these kids, he just wanted to use them to "make it" himself.

Even though it might not be as blatantly evil with some youth workers, we need to be on guard that our focus is not on "making it" in youth ministry, but rather, on building the kids up and helping them to make it in life and when all is said and done, teach them how to truly stick it to the man!

2006-11-19T09:15:00.000-06:00

Year in Review

Well, the year is coming to a close rather quickly and because I'm gonna be pretty busy from now until we leave for Peru on the 30th of December, I thought I would put up a year in review slide show.

Some of the pics have captions, some don't, but here are some of the highlights from my year:

1. Birth of Micaiah
2. My Mom coming to visit
3. Visiting Family in Illinois
4. Seeing my Dad meet Micaiah
5. Dena's Mom's visit
6. Dena's Dad's visit
7. Dena's Grandmother's visit
8. Working with the International youth group
9. Working with the IYG Guys Bible Study
10. IYG Guys Bible Study retreat in the mountains
11. IYG Campout with AJ Thomas
12. Preforming my first wedding for my best friend, Michelle
13. And lots of other stuff....

2006-11-18T07:30:00.000-06:00

Tom-Kat

First off, let me just say, Tom Cruise has had some great movies. Top Gun, Mission Impossible... um... well... I guess that might be it... oh and Jerry McGuire (however I got so sick of people saying "show me the money" for the next 5 years that I secretly wanted to give Cruise a lobotomy). And as far as Katie Holmes, with the exception of the week I was stuck in bed in High School with no cable and forced to watch Dawson's Creek reruns, I'm afraid I think she's just another puppy dog face in a sea of dogs... oh, well, that may not have come out the way I meant it.

But this is my thought: Why do we seem to (sobeit, subconsciously maybe) hate our lives so much that we are obsessed with the lives of people that we will most likely never meet. I mean, why is it that single mothers of four have no problem neglecting their own children, but will flock to the television to catch a fuzzy glimpse of TomKat's baby Suri?

Is it simply disenchantments with our current condition? Is it a sense of "If only I had (insert regret here), that could have been me with all that money, marrying that hot celebrity."

The most confusing thing perhaps is that this celebrity addiction seems to go beyond the realm of trailer trash (I lived in a trailer for part of my childhood, so I am allowed to use this term) into seemingly committed Christ Disciples. Is it that they want to escape from their life for something more exciting? If so is this the fault of themselves? Is it the fault of those who have pureed the gospel to the point that it is about as exciting as liquefied spam and made the xian life to seem totally devoid of adventure, and instead just a long list of rules and requirements? Both?

Anyway, that's it for now. I was just taking a minute to blog this morning during a commercial, but now I need to get back to the E! Channel's coverage from Italy.

PS: Here's a quick explanation for those of you who don't understand the religion of this High Priest of Sceintology. And who better to explain it then Stephen Colbert!

2006-11-17T19:23:00.000-06:00

1. FIRST NAME? Elliott
2. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? My Uncle Ellison, but he thought his name was to feminine, so I ended up as Elliott.
3. WHEN DID YOU LAST CRY? In May when my Dad saw Micaiah for the first (and so far only) time.
4. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? Depends on how focused I am, if I'm in a hurry it's just chicken scratch.
5. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE LUNCHMEAT? Corn Beef.
6. KIDS? Micaiah and...
7. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? Maybe... depends on my mood when I first met me...
8. DO YOU HAVE A JOURNAL? Yeah, I only write though when I am really contemplating something or when I get ito a poetry writing mood.
9. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? Yeah, probably more then I should.
10. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? yeah
11. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? Would love to.
12. WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE CEREAL? Coooooooookie Crisp.
13. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? I wear sandals and crocs, so I don't have to worry about it.
14. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? Not like, "Hey, I think I could birth a baby strong, but Iyeah, I'm buff."
15. RED OR PINK? Red.
16. WHAT IS YOUR LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? My impatience. I can't even wait for my hair to grow before I cut it.
17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? Mom, Dad and the Pabsts Fam.
18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? Um, I'm putting it on my blog so I don't care.
19. WHAT COLOR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Pajama pants with the "One Up" mushroom from Mario brothers and bare feet.
20. LAST THING YOU ATE? Chili-Mac. It's an awesome comfort food Dena makes with Mac and Cheese, hamburger, corn and tomato paste... awesome.
21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? Dogs barking across the street...
22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOR WOULD YOU BE? Black or blue.
23. FAVORITE SMELL? Cost Rican Coffee in the morning.
24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? My Mother in Law. We invited her down here a week before she was suppose to come (for xmas) in order to help take care of Micaiah while we pack.
25. THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE YOU ARE ATTRACTED TO? Confidence.
26. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? Yeah.
27. FAVORITE DRINK? Coffee
28. FAVORITE SPORT? Um... Hockey, it's the only sport worth watching... well, besides sumo wrestling.
29. EYE COLOR? Azul
30. HAT SIZE? Dunno... big
31. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? no
32. FAVORITE FOOD? Mexican or Italian.
33. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDING? Scary movies where the good guys win.
34. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED AT THE MOVIES? Nacho Libre.
35. WHAT COLOR SHIRT ARE U WEARING? Yellow Santa Cruz vintage tshirt
36. HUGS OR KISSES? Kisses from my hot hot hot wife
37. FAVORITE DESSERT? Anything with coffee in it.
38. WHO IS LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Stephen Harper
39. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Probably someone from the IYG
40. WHAT BOOKS ARE YOU READING? Just finished Velvet Elvis and Rainbow 6. About to start Faces of Protestantism in Latin America.
41. WHAT'S ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? Mouse pads are a tool of oppression instituted by "the man" in order to sell foam mats with pictures of kittens on them in an effort to strip humanity of all things masculine.
42. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON TV LAST NIGHT? My Name is Earl and The Office... I love Jim's constant tormenting Dwight.
43. FAVORITE SOUNDS? Micaiah's laugh when I really get him going, oh, and the theme song from The Office.
44. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? TRS.
45. THE FURTHEST YOU'VE BEEN FROM HOME? Russia or Albania.
46. WHAT'S YOUR SPECIAL TALENT? I can fit a tenis ball in my mouth and close my mouth around it.
47. WHEN AND WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Listowel, ON, 1981
48. IN A PREVIOUS LIFE, WHAT WERE YOU? A politician, but not the crooked kind.
49. IF YOU WERE TO PURSUE ANOTHER DEGREE, WHAT WOULD IT BE? MA in theology, missiology, apologetics or something to do with youth ministry.
50. IF YOU HAD TO CHANGE YOUR NAME, WHAT WOULD IT BE? Something snazzy like Skippy or Charlie.

2006-10-30T08:29:00.000-06:00

Faith

Hebrews 11:6 says, "And it is impossible to please God without faith. Anyone who wants to come to him must believe that God exists and that he rewards those who sincerely seek him."

Why is it that so many of us know this in our minds, know this as such a foundation's element of the life of a Christ follower, yet with our hearts and our actions, still try to please God with our actions. How many of us have even gotten involved in ministries because we thought it was our "Christian duty" and we thought that if we did this for God, then he'd be happy with us and smiling at us.

The longer I live for Christ (9 years as of Oct. 27) the more I realize that this theme of grace that I've seen popping up in my life over the last few years is not something that God has been trying to teach and then will let me lay it aside. Rather grace and faith are what these whole 9 years and what the rest of my eternity will be about.

For 9 years I have have been trying to live in such a way that it would please God, even when I have preached on the issue of grace, I have secretly believed that that action was pleasing God. But I will never please God on my own merit. We will never please God on our own merit. No amount of degrees, mission trips, languages learned, ministries worked with, dollars given to the poor or other spiritual notches in our belts will make God happy with us for the simple reason that if we have already decided to live as a disciple HE IS ALREADY PLEASED. He adores us, he believes in us and he wants us to draw closer to him. That is what will lead us to a fuller life. Faith. Because a life of faith will be used to minister to others, will be used to change lives and ultimately history itself.

2006-10-10T17:21:00.000-05:00

Article from Special Edition of "Go Therefore, The Innes Family Missions Update"

Photos (From top down): Elliott & Starkey Hearing Aids' Owner & CEO, Bill Austin; Mark McCarthy; Elliott @ Starkey's World Headquarters in Eden Prarie, Minesota

As most of you know, I have had a hearing problem most of my life and have been wearing hearing aids since fifth grade. Early last week my hearing aids succumbed to the humidity of Costa Rica. One of them stopped working completely, and the other continued to operate at a very sub-par level.

As you can imagine, this created quite a problem for my current situation, studying Spanish. It is difficult to attend classes and have conversations when you can hear less than 50% of what’s going on. Repairing the aids was of course an option, and I began the lengthy process, but Dena and I agreed this was simply a band-aid for the problem, as the humidity here and in Peru, Argentina and Chile, would no doubt just continue to destroy the insides of the aids. For this reason, we began appealing to various sources for the purchase of hearing aids that would be resistant to sweat and humidity. The cost for such a model was approximately $3,000 and we were quick to receive responses that no help was available.

Last Wednesday morning, I sat at my desk praying and considering what to do. I couldn’t think of any other options and then I remembered the name of a hearing aid company that a friend of mine had mentioned: Starkey Hearing Aids. I went online only to find that they do in fact fit people with hearing aids at no cost when the need is great, but there were still many things to consider: 1. There were no Starkey dealers in Costa Rica; 2. I expected that any appeal for hearing aids would require a lengthy application and approval process, taking up precious time that should be spent studying Spanish; and 3. I assumed the aids they could offer me would be older hearing aids that people had donated after getting new aids and therefore, they would not be great quality.

I called the number on their website anyway. A gentleman, Mark McCarthy, answered and within moments of explaining my situation assured me they would be willing to help in some way. The problem was that they had no dealers in Costa Rica and they did not know how to get the aids fitted and adjusted for my need. This problem was solved by the generosity of the Atlantic District of the Wesleyan Church, who agreed on very short notice, to purchase my ticket to fly to Starkey’s World Headquarters the next day! Not only that, but I was informed the aids I received would not be used donations, but rather Starkey’s newest in the canal hearing aids, made with technology that is literally years ahead of other hearing aids.

Within 48 hours of my phone call to Starkey, I was in Minneapolis, and on Friday I was fitted by the owner and CEO of the company, Dr. Bill Austin, and his team of amazing hearing professionals, with my new hearing aids! Dr. Austin is the man responsible for fitting people such as Billy Graham, Mother Teresa, Supreme Court Justices and countless celebrities with their hearing aids.

While in Minnesota, Starkey treated me like gold and cared for all my expenses. I also learned a great deal about their work around the world. To date more than 70,000 hearing aids have been distributed world wide at a cost of millions of dollars to the hearing aid manufacturer. I have no doubt this company has a desire, not to make money, but to make a difference in the lives of people who are hard of hearing all across the globe.

I thank God for answering prayer in the way He does, and blessing me with such a life changing opportunity. I agree with Dena’s grandmother, who said when she heard about all this: “Why is it we are so surprised when God takes care of us, just as He’s promised to do?”

I also would like to publicly thank The Starkey Hearing Aid Foundation for giving me the gift of hearing and for all their work to fulfill our common goal, “so that the world may hear”.

2006-10-09T08:36:00.000-05:00

Well, I'm back. It was a whirlwind tour from San Jose to Mineapolis for about 72 hours and it was amazing!

I'll be posting an extensive story on the web soon and sending it out to all our supporters, but for now, those who keep up with the blog can be the first to see the difference.

First of let me say that I am hearing great! This is A-1 technology and it works beautifully. Second of all, they are the first pair of in the canal aids I've had. I've included some pics below and will post more about the trip later.

Before

After

Before

After

2006-10-05T11:57:00.000-05:00

I’m writing this en route to Minnesota. I never imagined that I would be getting on a plane this morning at 6:30 in order to head to the states. I didn’t think I would be bak in the states until sometime in 2008 or 2009, but alas, God has other plans. Last week, my hearing aids succumbed to the incredible humidity in Costa Rica and decided they had had enough. With one completely not working and the other struggling like tiny tim without his crutch, I appealed to various sources for the purchase of new hearing aids, ones that would not have such a problem with humidity. And all this needed to happen FAST. After all, with less then 50% hearing, it wasn’t exactly conddusive to language leearrning,

Yesterrday morning, as I sat at my desk, grappling with the rejection of 2 of my requests for funds, I began surfing the net and camee to a site a friend had told me about. The Starkey Foundation. The Starkey Foundation is part of Starkey Hearing Aids and to date has fit some 70,000 people with cost free hearing aids. From theeir site, it appeared they woork primarrily with nationals around the worlld, but I thoought I may as well contact them, evenn if my chances were slim.

Needless to say, my conversation was fruitful. Mark McCarthy, Assistant to the CEO, at the Starkey Foundation immediatly told me they could give me aidss, but he didn’t know how I would get fitted for themm. Thanks to the generousity of the Atlantic District of the Wesleyan Church, this morning I am on my way to Minneapolis to be fitted for these hearing aids and will return to Costa Rica on Sunday.

As if all this were not enough, it gets better. Until now, hearring technology has only allowed me to wear behind the ear hearing aids as a resullt of the degree of my loss. Tonight I willl be getting in the ear, digital hearing aids, made with technology so new that I will be arriving with 125 audolgists who are some of the first to be trained on it.

Thank you everyone who was praying about my hearing aids and please continue to pray that I would be a good witness this weekend as I interact with those involved.

2006-10-03T10:12:00.000-05:00

Last night was a true milestone for me here in Costa Rica. Let me start off by saying that this has been a frustrating past few days, and last night was a big part of what I needed to relax and stay focused.

Last night, on her request, I snuck away as Dena was getting Micaiah ready for bed and took a taxi downtown. I walked amongst the crowd, weaving in and out of the Ticos who were out for a leisurely stroll down the national boulevard and then as the crowd parted, almost as clouds to reveal a beautifully sunset, I saw what I had come to see. Wendy's. My lady in red!

With a small in my heart and a growl in my belly I ordered my regular: 2 Jr Bacon Cheeseburgers, large fry, medium coke and a frosty... oh sweet glorious forsty!

If it hadn't been for the guy with the lotto tickets outside screaming at my to buy his product, I could have been back home in Yarmouth, hanging with the Landers after youth group.

I was grateful for the nostalgia and after licking the foil my hamburgers came on to be sure I left no cheese behind, I headed back into the street. After walking a few more minutes I turned into the large department store se llama "Universal". It hit me like a slap in the face with a ttwelve pound Tuna. I had to stand adjusting my hearing aid for a minute, (only one as the other one is broken) because I was sure that I heard something that just couldn't be. But as I strained to hear over screaming children and frantic customers, I realized my sub-par ears were in fact not playing tricks on my, I was hearing Christmas carols. My fears were confirmed after turning a corner and seeing 1/4 of the lower floor taken up by Christmas decorations. Dancing Santas, fake tress and oh yes, the ultimate symbol that Christmas is upon us. I saw a store clerk giving a demonstration of TMX Elmo. If it would not have been culturally incorrect, I'd have thrown my arms up and ran from the store screaming about the upcoming apocalypse, but instead I purchased a small toy for Micaiah (dump truck ...argh argh argh) and walked quickly back to the taxi... ok, so I stopped at Wendy's and got another frosty on my way out, but so what!

So that was my evening.

On another note, you can all be praying for me. As I mentioned above my hearing aids have begun to surrender to the climate of Costa Rica and have virtually been destroyed by the constant humidity and rain. This week I am actually only using 1 aid as the other is being repaired, and even the one I have works only sporadically. As you can imagine, this does not lend itself well to language learning. So I have applied to various areas for assistance in purchasing water resistant hearing aids. This will require approx. $3,000 in aid, so please start praying! For now I am doing my best trying to not let this setback keep me from advancing in my language learning, but believe me... it's difficult!

2006-09-26T09:12:00.000-05:00

Car Troubles, Guns and God

This last Sunday morning, 9 young guys from the youth group Bible Study that I lead, and myself left for a day long mountain retreat with God. I had nothing on the agenda, except for the teens to do whatever it was that would result in them connecting with God and learning from him. First off, let me just say, 9 teen guys, leaving at 6:30 in the morning defines the word "comatose". I'm not even sure if they were all awake by the time we piled into the van and S.U.V. and headed to the hills.

But this I know, the guys in the van I was driving (I had borrowed it from another youth leader) woke up when we broke down. We were definitely up in the mountains and about three minutes earlier I had heard a squeal from under the hood which was followed by a complete loss of power to the vehicle. After confirming there were no cats, dogs or iguanas hidden under the hood, I resigned myself to the fact that we weren't going anywhere. About that time the other car we were traveling with noticed we weren't behind them and they returned to our aid.

And this is why I love my guys from the youth group: While myself and the other youth leader worked on the van and called for reinforcements, the teens got out the guitars and started the retreat on the side of the road in front of a cow pasture. Regardless of what was keeping us from our final destination, nothing was keeping these young men from meeting with God. When they finished their time of worship, they moved off to different parts of the shoulder and began a time of silence with the Lord.

Within an hour, our backup arrived in the form of the main youth leader for our group, affectionately titled, "Cap'n Fun". He and his wife took our place on the side of the road waiting for a tow truck to bring them the hour or so back to San Jose, and gave us their S.U.V. to make it the rest of the way.

We made it to the campground where we had planned to hold the retreat and everyone scattered, anxious to get back to their solitude with God.

Throughout the day, I would quietly make my way around the camp to check in with everyone, and every time I would start talking with another guy, I would hear more incredible things about what God was doing in their lives that day. They all were convicted, encouraged and comforted within hours of arriving.

Our retreat ended with a time of worship, testimony and communion where the guys shared with each other what God had been telling them. It's amazing what happens when we take ourselves out of our routine and say “God, speak to me”.

On the way back out, the S.U.V. was really struggling up the mountain and eventually, what I dreaded, actually happened. It stopped. I would put on the gas, and nothing would happen. Having now broken two cars in one day, I sent the guys in my car running ahead to find the other group.

Shortly after they had left, as I was sitting thinking about all that had happened that day, a car puled off and asked if everything was alright. I explained in my best Spanish that I thought something had happened to the four wheel drive. They told me they'd have a look and as they were pulling over to park, I saw it. By "it", I mean a gun. One of the men had moved it from the car door to a holster and at the same time my heart had moved from my chest to my throat. Interestingly enough I wasn't scared, really more bewildered. Of course this would happen. Gringo with a nice car broken down on the side of the road in the mountains. This is the scenario the travel guides warn about. I was sure I was about to be robbed at gun point.

As the men got out I asked them, "Ustedes son policias?" (Are you Police). The answer was yes and they showed me their badges. While my heart rate returned to normal, one of them miraculously got the car working.

As I drove further up the hill, looking for the guys I had sent running ahead, I was ecstatic. What a day! And as I pulled around a curve in the road, I saw the guys jumping and screaming in excitement. When they piled into the car they explained that after walking for for 25 minutes they had stopped to pray that God would get the car working. Immediately after saying "Amen", I had driven around the corner.

God was definitely in control, and I am so thankful for the day and all of it's events. In the retreat we saw our focus brought back to the heart of worship, while on the road to and from the retreat, we were reminded that God will take any situation and use it for His glory, whether it is listening to His children worshiping by a broken van, or answering a prayer on the side of a mountain road.

2006-09-18T17:37:00.000-05:00

What a day and I haven't even started my homework.

Today, different things have happened that have caused me to contemplate things in life.

First of all, my faith. I am so grateful for all that Christ has done in my life. It doesn't seem to matter how often I run from his will or spit in his face with my actions, he is always there, arms open, ready for my return.

I don't understand why he has blessed me like he has. I don't deserve the life, family and ministry he has given me. I don't deserve to have had this radical change that he brought into my life, even if sometimes I do look back over my shoulder... I look forward to the day that looking back will not happen anymore.

I'm so amazed that he uses me to teach teens about his word, and beyond that, they actually listen and dig what I have to say! How incredible!

I am also so grateful for my family. Both for my family back in Canada and the U.S., but especially for Dena and Micaiah. Each day I wake up an see there faces, I am reminded that I am not doing this missions thing alone, rather God has supplied me with this awesome ministry team. I hope that I will never take them forgranted or think that my ministry in a church or with a certain group is more important than my ministry in my home.

I've been thinking on a few other things, but I think that's all I'll put for now.

2006-09-17T11:36:00.000-05:00

Keely update and lifechurch.tv

So here's the latest on our little friend Keely who has been in the hospital. Her breathing is almost back to normal, but not totally there. The doctor's said that they think she may be able to go home at some point today. Thanks for your prayers, but please keep on praying.

On another note, Dena and I went to church this morning. We didn't have to walk anywhere, didn't bring Micaiah or have to hire a sitter, heck we didn't even shower before we went.

We went to www.lifechurch.tv. Now, I am in no way advocating giving up on going to real one on one church, but I gotta say, this was a neat experience. Bassically what happens, is this church in Oklahoma City has a number of Satelite churches that it beams it's live service to and well, someone decided, let's make an internet campus. So you log on, click on a link and bam, you experience the entire service, complete with your own internet campus pastor that comes on and talks when the "announcements" are being given at the physical church.

The music was dead on, but even better was the power in the message. pastor Craig preached the second sermon in his "disciple"sermon, challenging us to not just be Christians in the sense that we believe in Christ, but rather we should be Disciples that will follow the will of Christ, even when we don't understand it or think it makes sense.

Great experience. If your sick one sunday, traveling, or just don't feel like you can gather the energy to make it out the door, check this out.

Oh, and before and after the message, the open "lobby chat" where you get to meet other people from around the world that logged on to catch church.

Anyway. I spent the last 2 days solid preparing a message I preached last night on all four gospels and acts... intense. So today I am gonna veg!

2006-09-16T10:10:00.000-05:00

Keely Update

This is an update we recieved late last night from Keely's Aunt Janna (Note: We did not go to Illinois):

Here's the scoop:

When I arrived at the hospital, I found the situation more serious than I had even realized. My mom said she had about 7 doctors at the first hospital all huddled around her, testing, poking and becoming afraid themselves. They called for a team of specialists to come from the other hospital to meet them and when they arrived the first doctors greeted them by saying, "Glad to see you!" Anyway...it looked pretty grim at times and some seemed surprised that she made it to the second hospital!!! Sooo.....A BIG PRAISE THE LORD and thank you for praying her through!!! Thank you, Lord for your mercies!!

She was in Intensive Care for most of the afternoon with breathing aids and monitors. The doctors say that she has asthma and an attack was probably triggered by her cold. She is on a nebulizer now and steroids. She will most likely have to continue with medications on a regular basis.

By early evening she was taken out of intensive care and put into a regular room where she is still being monitored. Her breathing is not normal yet, but it no longer appears to be life threatening.

The blessing/tear jerker of the day: watching Keely laying in bed, hooked up and trying to sing along to "Jesus Loves Me" while wearing a breathing mask.

love to all,

2006-09-15T10:11:00.000-05:00

Those of you who are "friends" of mine on MySpace have already heard this. But for the rest of you: This morning Dena and I recieved a phone call that shook us quite a bit. The daughter of one of Dena's best friends, a three year old little angel named Keely was rushed to the hospital at 4 this morning and was having trouble breathing. She's now in the ICU and is in great need of prayers. Apparently at one point this morning she stopped breathing all together.

Please petition the King that He would help Keely, and keep both her and her fam calm through all this. I'll keep you guys updated in my blog.

2006-09-13T04:24:00.000-05:00

Okay, so I know I don't get all worked up about the "motherland" very often, but this morning I couldn't sleep and ran across this article on www.cbc.ca. I couldn't help but post it here.

What will Canada look like in the year 2020? To encourage a debate about the major challenges Canada will face in the coming decades, the Dominion Institute and the Toronto Star have invited 20 leading thinkers to write about an issue or event that they think could transform the country by 2020.

By George Elliott Clarke

The strangest truth about Canada, as many Americans and other observers are now recognizing in this momentous year, 2020, now that the "Great White North" is dissolving, is that Canadians had always been ambivalent about their country.

And not only the French-speaking ones (whose ambivalence — or actual enmity — was most loudly articulated), but everyone: Aboriginal people rightly discontented with their powerlessness and their poverty; immigrants who often, generations after arrival and settlement, felt strong emotional and psychological ties to homelands that many had never seen; "Westerners" jealous of "Eastern" political dominance; "East Coasters" resentful of "Central" Canadian financial clout; and "Northerners" alienated from "imperial" Ottawa and the "South."

True: Canada had always been a peculiar place — a North American wilderness whose actual head-of-state was located overseas (and seldom visited), with two official languages spoken, really, unilingually (depending on geography), and the slightly weird practice of stamping, on the reverse of the monarch's face, the images of animals its heavily citified population never saw.

Bizarrely, too, Canadians were always looking outside the country — to Britain, France, the United States or to China, India, and the Caribbean — for their cultural support, for a reflection of "themselves" and even for respect.

It is now clear that Canadians, in general, never had faith in the decision of their Yankee and "Habitant" ancestors who rejected the American Revolution and set about creating — in truth — a deliberately reactionary country (even though this winter-influenced state had to accept social spending, government programs and a national police force).

The big surprise for most outsiders is that, after Quebec voted for clear independence last year, the "Rest of Canada" so quickly splintered into regional entities, too.

Of course, the rich Western provinces, whose raw resources and water are so appealing to the United States, have found it relatively easy to coalesce, setting up a government headquartered in Calgary.

Although now independent, Quebec finds it necessary to maintain a close economic and semi-political union with Ontario.

(How ironic that the originating cause of Canadian Confederation — the union of colonial Ontario and Quebec — is once again a de facto reality. They should call it "Canada II”).

Most observers of the collapse of Canada had written off the "Atlantic Provinces" — Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland (especially after Quebec annexed Labrador as part of its settlement with Canada) — but that supposition was based on a deep ignorance of history.

Canada's first "separatists" — way back in 1867 — were Nova Scotians. Long before the Bloc Québécois ever entered Parliament, Nova Scotia returned 19 anti-Confederation MPs in the first federal election.

During the Meech Lake Crisis in 1990 and the second Quebec referendum in 1995, Nova Scotian leaders had mused publicly that, if Quebec left Canada, they would try to join the United States.

The lure of the Atlantic seaboard

Many scoffed at this suggestion back then, but now it is coming to be. And why not?

First, there are strong cultural and familial ties between New England and Atlantic Canada. No one there forgets that when Halifax, N.S., suffered, in 1917, the biggest man-made explosion before the A-bombing of Hiroshima, Japan, the first medical help on the scene came from Massachusetts.

Second, there are sound economic reasons for the formation of "Atlantica" as the new nation — and economic union with northeastern New England and upstate New York — is to be called. Together, Atlantica and its main partners in the northeastern US, comprise some 12 million people and an economy that is, respectably, the 20th largest on Earth.

Already, many Atlantica businesses — led by Irving Oil, McCain Foods, Sobeys, Moosehead Breweries, and the new, state-owned Atlantic Petrol — are expanding rapidly throughout New England.

At the same time, increased trade with China, India, the West Indies and Europe is leading to record-breaking container-shipping tonnage for the ice-free, deep-water ports of Halifax and Saint John, N.B.

Also crucial to the developing success of the former East Coast of the former Canada is an expanded commitment to higher education and to immigration — interests that have always been part and parcel of Atlantica.

Atlantica reborn

During Confederation, a common joke was the greatest East Coast export was "brains." Two of Canada's Big Banks — the Royal Bank and the Bank of Nova Scotia — were started in Nova Scotia, a province that also boasted ten respected universities, including six in the capital, Halifax.

(Back in 2005, Halifax's Dalhousie University's medical school outranked Harvard's, and it was the only Canadian one to crack the top 10 list.)

John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the United States, and his brother, Robert, a senator for New York, both received honorary doctorates in, respectively, 1956 and 1967, from the University of New Brunswick-Fredericton, a city whose provincial art gallery hosts a Dali.

The Atlantic provinces of Canada always were highly sophisticated in terms of post-secondary education, just as Atlantica is now.

But expanding immigration is where the incoming government is concentrating its energies.

One reason why the United States dominated the 20th century economically and culturally is because, generally, it welcomed immigrants, especially those from Europe.

However, since "9/11/01" and the expansion of the non-Anglo (and nonwhite) population, Americans have so restricted immigration that the nation is becoming less open to innovation, experiment and the world.

Atlantica is intent on avoiding this mistake. The new government is planning to streamline acceptance of foreign accreditation of medical, engineering and science professionals, while ensuring that newcomers are security screened enough to satisfy wary Americans.

If it succeeds, it may serve to help America once again welcome "aliens" and enjoy the benefits of their creativity and productivity.

(Then again, for much of the last century, the first part of Canada that most immigrants saw was Halifax, even if they refused to settle there.)

Ingenious development

One far-sighted and ingenious development, tied to education and immigration, is the introduction of compulsory Chinese, Hindi or Spanish in Atlantica's universities. Students who graduate with one of these trade-important tongues (along with, of course, English or French) enjoy the first pick of civil service careers — that is, if they do not accept the lucrative offers of the private sector.

The primary challenge for Atlantica will be to improve communication and transportation around its constituent parts and also into the United States. If it can do that, the day may come when Quebec or other ex-Canadian provinces will be seeking to join it.

Then again, prior to Canadian Confederation, during the days of sail, Britain's Maritime colonies — Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick — enjoyed relatively high prosperity. They were sites of risk-taking and entrepreneurial activity.

There is every reason to expect Atlantica will restore that "Golden Age."

A native of Nova Scotia, George Elliott Clarke is the E.J. Pratt Professor of Canadian Literature at the University of Toronto. His latest book is Black (Raincoast-Polestar), a collection of poetry.

2006-09-11T10:37:00.000-05:00

I just wrote a crazy long blog asking you guys to be praying about different things, and then of course, I closed my browser by mistake. Shucks!

By the way, check out my wife's foray into the world of blogging, click here.

Anyway, basically, I wanted to ask those who fall across this blog to be praying for the following:

Dena is taking an INTENSE translation class this trimester and has a ton of homework.
Both of us as we need to be finding more time to spend just with each other. We have been very busy and not been able to do a lot of dates.
Pray for me as I am preparing for our international youth group october campout. AJ Thomas http://thejonnysmithregime.blogspot.com has graciously agreed to come and be the speaker and I think that will just be incredible, but I still have some logistical things to work out. (btw, the pic on this blog is from a recent youth night)
Also, pray for me as I continue a Bible Study on Romans with some guys from the Youth Group. We are diving head in to examine the enitre book over the course of 16 weeks.
And finally, pray for me as I prepare 3 messages wrapping up the youth groups "walk through the bibe". We decided we would teach from Gen-Rev over 4 weeks. the next two weeks I need to give an overview of the entire NT and then the third week I will teach apologetically on how we know the Bible is authoritative and accurate.

Thanks guys!

2006-09-08T12:07:00.000-05:00

I, Dena, am blogging this time, because Elliott has been quite busy, and I am getting anxious to post these pics of Micaiah eating. On Aug 10th he began his foray into the world of solids with rice cereal (brown organic rice, of course) . I have chosen to make all his food, which so far, is going well. The first spoonful was readily accepted, although accompanied by a puzzled look. By the third bite he was using his whole body to lunge for the spoon! The next food on his menu was avocado, which he loves. Next he added carrots, then bananas to his repertoire. And recently, he sampled broccoli, which he could not get enough of. I hope he holds on to his good eating habits for years to come. In the meantime he looks really cute making a huge mess. I have had to switch him from his highchair to his carseat to eat, because that way I can harness him in and better keep him in one place. He has started to talk to me lately as he eats. He says such profound things as “ga ga” and “fumphss”(spraying food everywhere). He even smacks his lips together and says “ma ma ma”. He is such a sweetie. I love him, and I love being a mommy!

2006-08-08T16:04:00.000-05:00

Wow! I've really gotten rotten at keeping this thing up to date. Are people even still reading it. I suppose that doesn't even matter as I have tried to make this a spot, not just to communicate what's happening, but also just to chronicle my life and thoughts.

Lots has happened since my last post but I won't bore you with all the details, I'll just try to pick up as if I'd not had yet another hiatus from the blog world.

About a month ago, the lady who normally cares for Micaiah in the morning while we are at school was rushed to the hospital with some stomach problems. The surgery that followed her resulted in what her doctors expected would be a 2-3 month recovery. With great sympathy for our friend, we found ourselves in quite a pickle... that was, "...and what of Micaiah?" We needed someone to care for him while we were at Language School and we needed it fast. Well, on Saturday the call went out and by Tuesday, our answer had arrived... in other words, on Saturday we called Dena's Grandmother in Texas and on Tuesday, picked her up from the airport. Great Grandmother (or GeeGee as she is referred to here) to the rescue. She has been a saint and a blessing over the last 3 weeks and we will be just heartbroken to see her leave on Thursday, not to mention, Micaiah will surely miss his playtime pal. Bellow are some pics from her time here. On Sunday, we went out into the countryside, many of these pictures at at the La Paz Waterfall.

Other notable things include the fact that I have finally gotten our summer Video Postcard online. You can download it on the news and pics section of www.globalinnes.com. Hopefully this will be a seasonal thing we do to keep in touch with people back in Canada and the U.S.

This trimester is quickly coming to a close. Next trimester Dena will be taking a Translation class which will be a wonderful skill for translating bible study resources from English to Spanish for those we will be working with in Peru, Argentina and Chile.
I have opted to take the FARO program. This is a Spanish program based on the LAMP method for learning new languages. I will spend less time in a classroom and more time out in the community conversing with native speakers. I imagine this will be extremely beneficial.

That's it for now. Hope to write more soon.

2006-06-26T08:07:00.000-05:00

What a great week!

Last weekend we took care of 3 little girls while their parents went away for their "second honeymoon." Our friends, Ivan and Kristy, renewed their vows at the institute a couple weeks ago and went away for the weekend. This meant that my first dad day was with not one, but four kids in my care... whew! What a rush!

Becuase we had been taking care of the girls on fathers day, Dena took me out on Wednesday to dinner and a movie. This was our first date since before Micaiah and it was great!

We had dinner at the Inca Grill. A Peruvian place with a very nice filet mignion. The atmosphere made us long to get to our final destination.

Then we went to a movie theater like no other. Leather lazyboy recliners for seats, full waiter service, sushi service... you name it. It's different going to a movie place with furniture that's more comfortable then home.

Youth group is going great! This weekend I was able to minister to a teen who's parents recently seperated and are now trying to reconcile... sound farmiliar? My parents reconciled after 12 years of being apart... geee... I wonder if God brought me to this group for a reason?

Micaiah is doing great! Rolling over and sleeping through the night. He's even almost to the point where we can lay him down in his crib for a nap and he doesn't cry, just falls asleep.

Last week was spiritual emphasis week and if I had missed playing bass before, I'm good now. Last week I played bass for 8 services. Thanks Jeremy for the gift! It's being used, that's for sure!

Also, we got our webcam up and running so anyone tha wants to see our amazing little guy in realtime can either use skype and contact us with username: globalinnes or on msn with email: missions@globalinnes.com.

That's about it for now, gotta get ready for a two test day!

2006-06-16T16:19:00.000-05:00

I'm back!

As you may have noticed I took a little but of heitus from blogging. I'm not even really sure why. It wasn't like one of those moments where I decided I need to distance myself from technology, or people... I guess I've just been so wrapped up in what's been happening in the real world that I forgot about the techno world. But have no fear!!! *Trumpets Sound* I HAVE RETURNED!

To get you up to date I will post in true blogger form, the last several weeks in bulletted and picture form!

* Mothers Day Weekend we flew up to Chicago and surprised Dena's family with a visit from the new baby! Dena's Mom and Stepdad were the only ones that knew this was happening. It was so cool to see the faces of everyone when we walked into the house. We were honestly worried that Dee's grandparents might have some sort of heart attack. This was a great time reconnecting with family and friends.

* When we were home, a couple of friends hosted a get together of some of our friends so we could see people! Seeing my guys Jeremy and John was definatlely a highlight and I am so thankful for their love and accountability!
* My Dad also got to meet Micaiah for the first time. He drove 8 hours one way to spend time with Kai and they both absolutley fell in love with each other. Seeing my Dad with Kai was probably one of the most incredible days of my life, but having to leave was probably one of the hardest... more on that in another post.

* The following weekend, Pastor to Missionaries Jim and Jeanette Vermalyia came to Costa Rica to check in and make sure we hadn't gone crazy or something ;) We had a great time at the beach with them and the Knox family (the other Wesleyan family studying Spanish here)
* We are now in our Second Trimester at ILE. Dena is loving her classes of Cultural Anthropology and Grammar and I am... well... surviving in my Grammar and Conversation classes.
* World cup fever hit hard here last week as Costa Rica and Germany started of the compitition. It was a national holiday here so people could watch the game. Our entire school met up in the chapel to watch the game on the projector. To bad CR didn't win, but the fought hard!
* I've started working with an incredible youth ministry here. I feel like I am back in my element. It is the International Youth Group that reaches out to Missionary Kids as well as other. This is an excerpt from an email I sent my friend about the group: "Ages 11-19 and NO cliques! Not even between the ages. It’s mostly Missionary Kids, and that common bond seems to overshadow any other differences that would be clique causing in NA. It’s built on youth leadership and has an adult leader and 7 teens that make decisions (sorta like a board). Saturday I lead a team of teens on a construction service project, performing various tasks at a home for abandoned children outside of San Jose. What a great experience and joy to be able to serve these children."
*This last week Micaiah learned to roll over all by himself! WOW! He is just growing so fast. I love it! Soon we'll be able to have real Saturday morning wrestling matches and I will teach him to fish and all that fun dad and son stuff;)

That's it for now, but check back often.

2006-05-01T10:00:00.000-05:00

I have been studying what humility truly means and I keep coming back to meekness. Meekness is a quality that seems lost on our culture. Do we practice meekness? Is it a quality one can atain? Has it been improperly translated in many bible translations as "weak" or "humble"? What do you think meekness is?

2006-05-01T08:03:00.000-05:00

I originally posted this on a new blog called really a ragamuffin, but did not seem to get many hits. To those who have already read/heard this... sorry. For others, please let me know your thoughts.

Having graduated from Bible College, become a licensed minister in a holiness-evangelical denomination, and come to the mission field, I have noticed one thing about most Christians (yes, even fellow ministers and missionaries) that stands out above all other characteristics. Often, we don't really think God is real.

I've often said, and even taught, the importance of being real with others, how we have to try to tear away these fake personas we wear when we go to church, meet with accountability partners, "fellowship" with others, and most importantly, the fake self we tend to put on when we approach our relationship with God. I've often said, that when we are real about who we are, we will encounter God on a real level.

However, over the last few months I have realized how stupid that idea is. I've realized that we can never truly be "real", we can never truly get rid of the masks we wear, without the help of a real God. It's only after the illumination of Christ shines on us, that we'll really be able to see who we are. Ragamuffins. We are all derilicts, nobody's, screw ups, jerks, liars, cheaters, theifs and murderers. No wonder we feel like we need to put on an act when we are around others! But we don't see this. Just look at the way we treat others, the way we get caught up in ridiculous petty things or hold grudges for years on end. We don't see who we are, we don't love like Jesus, because we don't have a real concept of God.

Where our generation is missing something is here: We don't know the real God. Many of us, instead of ever really experiencing God, have just sat through sermons, classes and seminars about how we are suppose to act. Instead of taking the advice of Christ from Matthew 6:33, "...seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you", we seek first the things that we think we're suppose to know about God and then from that we construct our ideas about the kingdom and his righteousness. The problem for many of us, is that we have spent our entire lives creating God, instead of seeking him and then we're confused when the idol that we have made doesn't seem to answer our cries for help, or comfort us in our darkest valleys.

One of my favorite verses in the entire Bible is Jer. 29:11, "'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'" but just a line away lies one of the most neglected truths in all of God's Word. Jer. 29:13, continuing his declaration from 29:11, God says "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."

Could it be that the reason we have to spend so much time trying to fake each other out and convince the world that a relationship with God is worth it, is because we don't know the real God? Could it be that if we would just take time to seek God with all our heart and mind, that we would realize the true significance of the work of the Cross? Could it be that by knowing the real God, we would then be able to be our real selves and people would see and crave such reality, that such reality would revolutionise the way we do Church, the way we do life? I don't think that when we are real about who we are, we will encounter God on a real level, I think that when we encounter God on a real level, only then can we be real about who we really are.

What do you think?

2006-04-22T20:50:00.000-05:00

www.reallyaragamuffin.blogspot.com

2006-04-17T15:31:00.000-05:00

Ok, so the top ten week blogs didn't come together like I wanted. Oh well.

Today I started back at school after having a week off for what they call "Holy Week" here. What an awesome time to just relax and really get to spend time as "Dad." There is no greater feeling in the world the picking Micaiah up out of his crib in the morning and just starring at him. What's just incredible is that for about 10 minutes after he wakes up in the morning, all he does is smile. So we just sit there and look at each other.

I've also learned something else this week... I LOVE to cook! Dena made supper one night this week and I carried the torch the rest of the nights. And one of my motivitaions... The Food Network... They have great ideas!

That's all for now, we're about to go for a walk before I hunker down for some homework and then we have company comming for my Chicken Tetrazzini (sp?).

2006-04-11T12:43:00.000-05:00

Top Ten Pics on the Net
(Think you've got something better? Email it to me and I will post it here. elliott@globalinnes.com)

10. Ouch

9. Toilet Seat Solution

8. Outreach

7. Look Closely

6. Help!

5. God's Wrath

4. How?

3. So Fitting For Easter

2. Bad Parenting
1. Ooooh! Now I get it!

2006-04-10T10:12:00.000-05:00

So this is Holy Week! I'm so thankful that Costa Rica pays such attention to the weeek leading up to the death and ressurection of Christ! We actually have this week off of classes and most stores are closed during this time. A lot of Ticos use this time to go to the beach, but we decided to just stay home and veg.

Today will begin my week of 10. An idea sparked by Liz. S., a friend from Bethany. So the next few blogs willl be sort of my compilation of top ten lists about life and other stuff. Some will be from my own brain, some will be just fun top tens from the net. Todays being:

TOP TEN REJECTED EASTER DRAMAS THIS YEAR
By Dave Tippett (Recieeved Via Mikey's Funnies)

10. Gigantic, super-loud fireworks explosions signal resurrection of Prince of Peace

9. The guy who lost his ear to Peter sells it on eBay

8. Angels swing from piano wire and, for the most part, make it down to the Tomb

7. Guys in metal skirts hurt, too: The Roman's Story

6. Our elderly and near-sighted ushers will wash your feet throughout the first act

5. It's the Jets (disciples) vs. the Sharks (Pharisees) in "West Bank Story"!!

4. Last Supper Dinner Theater

3. Stone rolled away and down the aisle

2. Orange construction barrels impede triumphant entry into Jerusalem

1. Aslan the Lion eats evil temple merchants

2006-04-06T08:21:00.000-05:00

Happy 1 month to my Baby Boy! I'm in shock that a month has already gone by and Dena and I actually were lamenting last night that he'll be walking before we know it... *Sob*

Woke up this morning to check on Micaiah and wouldn't you know it, he got ME a one month birthday present! After changing my "present" we brought him into bed with mom and dad and sang happy birthday. To which he smiled! He has just started smiling in response to things over the last few days! How awesome is that!

Anyway, today should be a pretty light day. I have a test in one class that will take about 113 seconds and then two more classes, neither with any homework.

One cool piece of info though is that our friends from the school are coming by our apt building today to sign the lease for the apartment directly above us! We are sad to see our current neighbor's leave, but really excited about our new friends moving in. The new couple is about 7 months pregnant (see spiritual warfare blog) and more or less our age. It's gonna be crazy come June and we'll have 2 screaming babies (not that Kai cries much) in the apartment.

That's about it for now. We're definitely looking forward to the week off next week. I'm going to veg, get caught up on some paperwork, and hopeful start a week long blog series on sumthin.

2006-04-04T18:57:00.000-05:00

Well, today went well. And as expected, I'm exausted. I was talking with a prof after preaching this morning and I told him that there seems to be nothing that drains my energy like preaching. I don't know why that is, but I doknow that it's a common feeling among preachers that they need te afternoon to relax after they've preached.

I spoke to the student body of the Language School on our view of Grace and how it relates to spiritual warfare. The premise being, if Satan ccan pevert our understtanding of Grace to a point that we feel we need to do stuff (read spiritual books, spend time with our kids, read the bible, etc), even good stuff, in order to be loved by God and in order to be effective missionaris, then Satann has won. My one point was "Just Love Jesus." I've recently begun re-reading the Ragamuffin Gospel by Brennan Manning and God has been reminding me that Grace is the backbone of our faith.

Well, I'm off to grill a couple burgers, watch Scrubs and hit the sack early. By the way, we also did some familly pics today, thought you might like em :)

2006-04-04T08:11:00.000-05:00

Quick note to ask those of you that read this blog this morning to keep me in prayer this morning. I will be preaching at the language school chapel service on the role our view of Grace plays in Spiritual Warefare.

Thanks!

2006-04-02T20:33:00.000-05:00

Top 5 Reasons I Think I Am Learning Spanish:

When we went to Denny's (YES! WE HAVE ONE! PTL!) the other morning, I found myself speaking in Spanglish and not even realizing it.
I can talk to Taxi drivers beyond just telling them where to go.
I got in the high 90's on 2 tests this week
Our Landlord has stopped asking to talk to Dena every time he comes over.
I ordered takeout over the phone the other day and the correct order actuallly made it to our house!

Top 5 Reasons I Wonder If I Am Not Learning Spanish:

Even after I thought I confirmed with a Taxi driver a price for a 2 way trip, he tried to charge me the agreed amount for 1 way.
I still make stupid mistakes, like using the verb for "to be" that means permanantly rather then temporarily. For example: "Soy hambre!" (I am forever hungry) instead of "Tengo hambre!" (I'm hungry )
I still don't know some basic vocab words like "stay".
I sometimes want to put my head between a door and doorframe and close the door repeatedly instead of going to phonetics class.
I can't think of a fifth reason, but this is my blog and I don't have to write a fifth if I don't want to.

By the way, more pics of Kai have been requested. Here they are :)

More bathtime fun... this time with Grandma Ryberg (Dena's Mom)

Spendng some goood awake time in his crib

With Grandma Ryberg at the National Theater of Costa Rica

Helping Daddy with homework... after all, Micaiah is a Costa Rican

2006-04-01T21:38:00.000-06:00

I tried to send this email out to our supporters and churches that we know will pray about it... but the email won't send. I personally think that this is because "somone" does not want this information to get out:

Dear Friends, Family and Churches throughout North America,
Greetings in the awesome and supreme name of Jesus Christ who gives us power, comfort and assurance to bring us through any trial.

I am writing to mobilize an awesome prayer team that you either are already a part of or are able to join. As you know, we are currently studying at the Spanish Language in San Jose Costa Rica along with 200 or so other students, most of whom are missionaries throughout the Spanish speaking world. It should be no surprise that we are all facing tremendous amounts of Spiritual Warfare.

For the last 2 months, we have been amazed at the number of students that began to fall ill and needed to stay home from class. Though frustrating, this was not all that bad and we continued as we had been. But this week, a good friend of ours was taken to the hospital and admitted to the ICU with a blood clot in her heart. The clot has now moved to her lungs and another clot has been found in her knee. She has a husband and 2 young boys. Another girl, Karri, is a young single girl, late this week, was found to have a blood clot in her thigh. In yet another incident, a friend of Dena's named Lisa, has been put on bed rest after beginning to have contractions not even 7 months into her pregnancy.

And finally, I just received word that the language school was robbed this week. The thieves took cheques and forged $40,000 worth of checks at various banks in San Jose. I don't have all the details on this theft but know one thing for sure: Satan is on the defensive. He recognizes the power that resides in the hearts of the students here in San Jose and is willing to stop at nothing to keep us from being further equipped to do the work of Christ in the world.

Friends, pray! Pray that God will heal those in the hospital and home with illnesses and infirmities! Pray that God will provide for the school to continue it's work! PRAY that each of us enrolled will take seriously our responsibilities as warriors for the Light, that we remain pure and are clothed in the full armor of God! Pray against the attacks happening here and pray that the work that Satan is so desperately trying to hinder, will change lives and empower churches to show the true Jesus Christ to the nations!

Thank you for taking the time to help us defend ourselves through prayer and for taking the time to bring this to the awareness of your local church!

In Prayer and Battle,
Elliott & Dena Innes
Missionaries to Latin America
Global Partners/Wesleyan World Missions
www.globalinnes.com

2006-03-25T09:22:00.000-06:00

Been a while huh?

Many times blogs begin with "sorry I haven't written in a while...." But, well, I have the best excuse of em all. Micaiah. I am still in awe that God has given us such an awesome gift.

He is growing like crazy and is behaving like an angel (most of the time). He sleeps an average of 6 or 7 hours a night, normally in 2 chunks. And let me tell you, it was so great to have my mom here to help for 2 weeks! The baby shares the guest room with visitors and so my mom took care of Kai unless he needed to eat in the night! *Trumpets sound and chorus of "hallelujah" plays*. My mom left on Wednesday after a great visit. She is now convinced that she was created to live in a warm climate. In three weeks, she got more of a tan then we have from living here for 3 months. One of the highlights of my time with mom was last Saturday. We spent the day traveling ALL over Costa Rica. We started out at a coffee plantation, went to a volcano, hummingbird gallery, cloud forest (forest that is at such a high altitude it is above the clouds), rain forest hike, and river safari near Nicaragua. It was so cool to be able to spend some quality time with my mom in that regard. Unfortunately, Dena and Micaiah stayed home, but had lots of visitors. But the most incredible thing about our day around the country was the opportunity that God gave me to share the gospel with our tour guide over lunch. For more on that,you'll have to read our April-May issue of the newsletter that will be available this week to download from www.globalinnes.com/news.htm.

So, with my mom gone, we had about 48 hours to adjust to life with just the three of us and then (just in the nick of time), Dena's mom came in last night. She is estatic to be able to spend time with her first grandson and this morning must have spent 2 hours just starring at him... it was so cute! And this afternoon, Dena, her mom (Lydia) and Kai head off to a baby shower that has been planned by a friend of ours from School.

Mentioning school, it's going good. I am amazed how much easier it is to understand Spanish grammar now that I have a personal tutor! We are flying through the lessons, covering what other classes take 2 weeks to go over in 2 days!

I think that's it for now, we are heading to the fruit market in a few, but I knew that I needed to take a minute and let all my friends around the world know what's happening with us. And of course, I have to put some new pics of Kai on the blog (see below).

Daddy succesfully changes his first REALLY dirty diaper all bby himself

Receiving a congratulatory visit from the National superintendent of Costa Rica for the Wesleyan Church

Kai's first full emersion bath. He LOVED it... and got to play with a toy Great Grandmother gave him.

Daddy and Micaiah making faces at each other

2006-03-12T10:08:00.000-06:00

I'm noticing that there's less time for blogging when you have a newborn... Go figure ;)

Yesterday Kai had his first appointment at the Pediatricians where he recieved an great checkup. We have a very healthy little boy.

I'm sorry I can't write much right now, but here are some pics to hold you over till I get a few extra minutes to explain the joys of being a dad.

"Dad and I, just chillin'."

"Grandmama Innes spending quality time with me."

"Aint I cute?"

"Mommy, Daddy & Me."

"Yes! Bathtime!"

"My first Dr's appointment with Dr. Max"

"Mommy dressing me after the Dr's appointment."

"Daddy wearing a snuggly."

2006-03-09T07:43:00.000-06:00

I was so focused on getting pictures online last night I forgot to explain two things. First of all Micaiah is pronounced mi-KAI-a (sort of like Malachai). For short we'll call him "Kai", not Mickey or Mic (though my brother already informed us, "I'm gonna call him Mickey.")

Micaiah is a Hebrew name. He was an Old Testemant prophet (you can find the story in 1 Kings 22) and the name means "Who is like YAHWEH." We could think of no greater desire for our son then to want him to grow to be like his Heavenly Father. His middle names are to honor two very important people in our lives. Douglas is after Pastor Doug Tatton, who first had Dena and I do ministry together in Havelock, N.B. and showed us a great model of ministry, hospitality and a godly family. Crichton is the middle name of my father, Brian William Crichton Innes. My Dad has been one of the greatest influence in my life and I pray that Micaiah will grow up to be like his Grandad in many ways.

2006-03-08T16:12:00.000-06:00

Micaiah Douglas Crichton Innes
March 6, 2006
10:58PM CST
3.93 kg (8 lbs 11 oz)
53.3 cm (21 in)

He's a he! Micaiah came after 10 hours of labouring and was born with all ten fingers, ten toes, a full head of hair, under water (we had a water birth) and absolutely drug free! (Good work Mommy Dena!) This means no epidural! Micaiah's mom is pretty tough! I can definitely understand now why it's called labor, but it was an incredible experience.

The pics are late getting up because we ended up staying in the hospital for 48 hours instead of the typical 24. Nothing was wrong, but the Dr. noted that Dena is O- and Micaiah is O+ (blood type) and apparently that leads to an increased risk of jaundice. But after the extra day we can say with absolute assurance that Micaiah has nothing wrong.

Our hospital staff was great and it was a blessing to be able to experience this side of this beautiful culture.

But enough of that, I'll let you get to the real reason you checked this blog: PICTURES!

Mommy the morning we left for the hospital (otherwise known as "before")

Leaving for the hospital... not sure we had enough stuff

In Costa Rica you get fingerprinted instead of getting a bracelet

Mommy Dena, my mom, and I waited for the Doc to show up to start induction

The magical adjustable bed... like a roller coaster, only entirely different

Moments after birth. Mommy did such a good job

Only a few hours old

Grandma Karen meets Micaiah

"Oh, so that's what a messy diaper looks like... HELP, GRANDMA!"

Proud pappy

At the end of a VERY long day

Big happy family

Leaving the hospital room

Heading home

Home sweet home

2006-03-06T06:16:00.000-06:00

And awaaaay we go. It's 6:15 on Monday and we are up and running. Finishing packing, getting breakfast ready and of course and some point we need to stop and sing happy birthday to the belly. Today is the day of my child's entry into this earth.

Thank you, for everyone of you who have prayed for us and the baby over the last nine months. It's been so rewarding to go to Dr's appointments and repeatedly hear the baby described at wonderful, excellent and perfect (a good Wesleyan... haha). Your prayers have been very appreciated.

The induction process begins at 8:00am ct. Please remember to continue praying and lift Dena, Baby and I up in that hour and throughout the day. I'll be sure to blog with pics and a name as soon as I can after things settle down.

We love you and thank God for every person that stumbles across my ramblings on the net.

2006-03-04T11:36:00.000-06:00

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. So here's about 3,000 of em. I took my Mom to the Feria (fruit and veggie market) this morning. She LOVED it!

I forgot the camera, but we took some pics when we got home:

The spoils of war (or the market... whatever)... the flowers are from our Landlords family, they brought them for Mom when she arrived.

Mom making freshly squeezed orange juice.

Me making our Breakfast Smoothy with Mango, Pineapple, Bannanas, Strawberries, Blackberries, and Orange Juice.

2006-03-03T17:38:00.000-06:00

Pregnancy Update #2:
*Disclaimer: For those that have no patience (or time) and just want to know info about the baby, scroll down to the bottom, but if you really love us, you'll read the whole blog.

What a day we've had! We left this morning for our Doctor's appointment, and got to his office with my mom about 20 minutes before the appointment. After sitting there for a few, I noticed that the light wasn't on in the doc's office and decided that I would go and check out what was going on with the nurse. Just as I got to the desk, Dena was informered that the Doc was on the phone for her. Turns out he was at the hospital delivering his second baby of the day.

We rescheduled for early this afternoon and went over to the mall for a few hours to just look around and grab some lunch. And what a lunch! We each had tico style lunches including Chicken, quasadilla's and soup. Wow! Awesome! Below are some pics.

Anyway, after walking around we wandered into a baby store (go figure). I never knew that baby stores could be dangerous, but I was wrong. While looking at crib bedding, I pulled one off the shelf and when I did, about 5 or 6 other sets came flying of the shelf above my head and hit me like a ton of bricks. After picking myself up off the floor, I think my mom felt bad for me because she bought us some of the bedding ;)

And here is the news that everyone is waiting for. When we did get to the Doc's office and waited another hour for him to show up, he told us that even if she seemed ready, he was hoping he wasn't going to have to induce. He had delivered 3 babies in 12 hours and wanted to go home and sleep. But what he found was that Dena is ready to pop. In the end he told us that he expects to see us this weekend, but just in case we have made an appointment for 8am Monday morning for an induction. So there it is. By Monday (maybe Tuesday if the baby is really stubborn) we will be parents.

I guess all that's left is to say "Stay Tuned!"

2006-03-03T07:03:00.000-06:00

Pregnancy Update:

You know the saying, no news is good news... try telling that to a father who's waiting and I'm not sure what the reaction would be. We have beeen waiting since our last Dr's appointment but received, NO NEWS from baby as to its arrival.

So we had been told by the Dr. that if the baby hadn't come by yesterday, today we would indice. Well, we called the doc yesterday afternoon and he decided that instead of inducing, he wants to see us this morning and do some exams to determine whether or not we should induce now or WAIT TILL WEDNESDAY!?!?!

After hearing this news, I did what any father to be would do when told that the baby he thought he'd see the next day may not be seen till Wednesday. I sat on my bed, watched Seinfeld DVD's and ate Canadian chocolate that my mom brought.... but I'm okay now.

On a nonpregnancy note: My mom is so cute! She's just like a little child here. Even now we are all sitting outside on our patio and she just looked up, jumped up and down and squealed, "There's not a cloud in the sky!" She absolutely loves it in Costa Rica. The people, the beauty and the food. I have to constantly be watching to make sure she doesn't fall in Gringo Traps (open manhole covers) because she''s constantly looking around at birds, flowers and mountains. Maybe I'll try to get her to blog something about her first thoughts.

2006-03-02T07:09:00.000-06:00

Congrats Whitey! I wanted to take this blogortunity to welcome Whitey (Robin White) to the family unit that is Global Partners. Whitey has been "oriented" at the Wesleyan World Headquarters" in the last couple weeks as one of our new (and improved?) missionaries. Whitey seems to be headed to Japan once he's finished raising the team of prayer and financial supporters he needs! How awesome?!

I know this may seem like a shameless infomercial but, I went to school with Whitey and was motivated and encouraged by his passion for Christ, his drive for evangelism and his devotion to a life of worship. if you want to get plugged in with Whitey, email him at japancanada@gmail.com or check out his blog and website at www.robinwhite.ca.

2006-03-01T06:20:00.000-06:00

Hey hey. No new news on the baby front, except that my mom will be here for the birth. She arrives at SJO (the airport here) at 2:30 today. I can't wait! I have seen a few fellow bloggers blog about the most influential people in their lives and have noticed in many an absence of parents from their list. If I were to blog such a list, and maybe I will sometime soon, both my parents would be near the top. When I was in high school, it was just my mom and I. We became friends instead of just mom and son. Yeah, she still asked me to clean my room and stuff, but we spent a lot of time just hanging out at Wendy's or Tim Hortons.

That's all for now. Please keep mom in prayer as she will be here for 3 weeks. Pray for her adjustment to a new culture and also as she learns (or is it built in?) to be a grandmother starting this weekend.

2006-02-26T17:48:00.000-06:00

Well, crisis averted. I'm back up and blogging, but really with nothing to report. We were really hoping and somewhat expecting that the baby wouldd come last night, but to no avail. Dena even took Castor Oil. That was an experience we both hope to soon forget.

This weekend has been nice and relaxing. Yesterday I went to the Large Feria in downtown San Jose and got our fruit and of course, fresh flowers. I gotta have the fresh one's, my mom comes this week! Yeah! Anyway. That's really all the news there is. I will post a more meaningful blog next time.

2006-02-25T06:28:00.000-06:00

I never thought that i would be blogging on my palm, but hey, that's what I'm doing. This is just a quick note though to let everyone know that our computer decided to stop working for us last night! Argh! I'm going to try to get it into a repair shop ASAP, but I don't know how fast that will happen. In the meantime, I will post a blog when the baby comes, using my palm pilot, but pics might be a day or two late in coming.

It's funny, I've been reading about simplicity and wonder if this is God teaching me a lesson. I have also wondered if this is God's way of saying, "Yes, everyone is important and deserves to know when the baby arrives, BUT the baby is your priority and deserves your full attention." Maybe the moral is that I may not be able to give my baby full attention if I'm concerned with getting online to post pics. Anyway, just a thought.

2006-02-24T08:32:00.000-06:00

Book Review:
The Great Divorce
By C.S. Lewis
Genre: Fiction/Fantasy

Lewis is by far one of the greatest story tellers of the 20^th century. “The Chronicles of Narnia” have been an awesome encouragement to my life, and his book, “Mere Christianity” was a great tool in grounding my life in Christ.

The Great Divorce is another example of his great ability to capture the minds and emotion of his reader. This book was nothing that I expected. From all I had heard of it in the past, I expected a sort of theological discourse but instead was brought face to face with an anecdote of a man who experiences heaven and hell in a very trippy sort of way. This book challenges our current thoughts about the afterlife, partially by suggesting that perhaps in the end, those that end up in heaven will look back over their entire life, including earth and say that all of life had been heaven. The hardships will be seen simply as vessels for drawing us closer to God. And those that choose hell will find themselves looking back at the pleasures their sin brought them in their earthly life and realize that there was really no pleasure at all, rather just hell from the first day of their life.

The book can be summed up in the following quote from its pages: "There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, 'Thy will be done,' and those to whom God says, in the end, 'Thy will be done.'"

Though I’m sure that I didn’t understand half of the depth of this book I recommend it to anyone who wants an entertaining and challenging read.

Overall Rating (out of 5):

(Why this icon? Because Satchel is the star of Get Fuzzy, my favorite comic strip… I read it every day)

0 Satchel: Um... didn't read it
1 Satchel: What a waste of trees
2 Satchels: The author maybe wanted to write a good book, but it just didn't happen.
3 Satchels: Thought provoking and possibly even mildly entertaining.
4 Satchels: Great book!
5 Satchels: Instant Favorite!!!

2006-02-24T07:47:00.000-06:00

True bulleted blogger blog:

Last night I dreamt that Dena and I were going to be on "Larry King Live". Something about promoting missions... I don't know why I dreamt that... I really don't like the show.
Our Dr's appointment was good. Dena's body is definitely getting ready for labor but the Doc did say if we don't have the baby by next Thursday, we'll induce on Friday. Though this doesn't excite us (the induction part), it's comforting to know that at the very latest we will see our baby in 1 week!
My Mom comes in just a few days! The 1st of March to be exact. The original plan was that that would give us some time alone with the baby before she came... so much for that idea. Anyway, we can't wait to see ya Mom!
I finished "The Great Divorce" by C.S. Lewis yesterday. It was nothing like I expected. So far I would have to describe it as trippy. I need to think a little more about it and will blog a review soon.
The language school has moved me from my grammar class in the morning to private tutoring in the afternoon. That's why I'm blogging at 7:53 in the morning :) The reason was so that I could have individualized attention with my hearing problem. I'm not doing bad in grammar but we thought it best to make the switch before my hearing really became an issue. (For those that don't know I have a moderate-severe bi-lateral hearing problem and wear 2 hearing aids... so if you see me on the street (likely huh?) and yell for my attention, don't expect me to notice)
I've started reading Keith Drury's "With Unveiled Faces"

2006-02-23T07:02:00.000-06:00

Quick note to just let people know.

We have ANOTHER Dr's appointment today. We are not concerned about the babies health or anything like that, but please, pray that this baby comes soon... I don't think we can wait much longer before we burst! And because we're going all natural, induction is definately not an option at this point. Thanks!

2006-02-22T15:33:00.000-06:00

Book Review:
Above All
By Brennan Manning
Genre: Theology/Inspirational

Three years ago when I was in Albania, God allowed me to glimpse at what true faith in Him means. I got the book "The Ragamuffin Gospel", and read the book, cover to cover in a matter of hours. Brennan Manning, having come from a life of searching for God's approval revealed to me that God's grace has nothing to do with our actions. It's a mantra that we preach and chant time after time in Church and in Ministry, but sadly don't seem to understand. My Mother in Law is bringing that book for me to read again when she comes at the end of March, but for now, Manning has gripped my life with another work.

During our 1 hour break this morning, I saw "Above All" in the student lounge and sat down to leaf through it. As the bell rang 1 hour later I closed the book, having just finished the entire volume and having met with the living God.

Based on the Michael W. Smith song, "Above All", Manning explores what it truly meant to have the God of the universe suffer and die and think of me the whole time. Addressing issues like: Our distorted view of Jesus, and the transforming presence of the risen Lord. The first part focuses on the "who" of Christ: His position, His true person and His worth. The second focuses on the "heart" of Christ: His love for me, His humiliation and His effect on my life.

Perhaps the most impacting issue for me though was "The Distorted View of Jesus." I was going to talk in depth about this, but have decided that God is not through teaching me on this issue, but I commit to blogging about this soon. Suffice for now to say that history shows man twisting Christ to fit his desires, predjudices and preferences, the question posed to me is, "Do I know the true Christ, or a distorted creation of theological discourse?"

I urge you to get your hands on any of Mannings writings!

Overall Rating (out of 5):

(Why this icon? Because Satchel is the star of Get Fuzzy, my favorite comic strip… I read it every day)

2006-02-22T15:19:00.000-06:00

Book Review:
Abduction
By Robin Cook
Genre: Fiction... maybe sciency fiction...

For years, people have been telling me, “You’ve got to read Robin Cook!”

So when I found this book on one of the shelves in the Student Lounge at ILE (Instituto de Lenguaje Español) I expected to find myself in the midst of a sort of ER meets 24 (TV shows for those of you who don’t know) sort of story line. Boy was I wrong. I have a tendency to pick up books that are an authors “experimental foray” into a new genre.

Abduction begins like any novel I’ve read in the last few years, outlining the main character’s strengths and flaws and then introducing the female that is assumed will become the love interest of the main character. Something which in retrospect I realize did not occur.

Without giving to much away, the book starts out with the characters drilling into a huge underwater mountain in the Atlantic Ocean in search for fossil records and other geological stuff that I couldn’t care less about, but takes a very unexpected turn when 5 characters are “abducted” to a civilization that exists under the crust of the earth and has done so for millions and millions of years. As the 5 adjust to the seemingly utopian confines of this new culture they must decide, do they attempt to assimilate into their new surroundings or attempt an impossible escape. The book ends with a twist that leaves you dissatisfied, but in a good way… That make sense?

Things the book makes you think about:

Culture Shock
The destiny if a society lacking morals
Genetic engineering
Accepting a reality that is different then your own “constructed” beliefs
The violent history and current existence of mankind

Overall rating(out of 5):

(Why this icon? Because Satchel is the star of Get Fuzzy, my favorite comic strip… I read it every day)

0 Satchel: Um... didn't read it
1 Satchel: What a waste of trees
2 Satchels: The author maybe wanted to write a good book, but it just didn't happen.
3 Satchels: Thought provoking and possibly even mildly entertaining
4 Satchels: Great book!
5 Satchels: Intsant Favorite!!!

2006-02-21T19:58:00.000-06:00

It's amazing how a pregnancy changes the way that others look at you. No longer am I greeted with, "Hey Ell, how are ya?" But rather a long list of pregnancy related greetings... I swear there's gotta be a website these people draw from.

I really can't wait for my baby to be born, but it will also be nice to go back to the normal, "Hey Ell."... For now though here are my responses I wish I had the guts to give to the most common greetings:

Q. "No baby yet?"
A. "Yes, we had the baby in the last 18 hours, I was up all night listening to my wife scream, but I still thought, "Hey, I should go to classes today."
Q. "Is she having Braxton Hicks contractions?" (and "other" questions that could be labeled as: personal)
A. There's no right way to answer these questions (or worse the other personal questions). People should just know, if you've just met someone, don't ask them about body functions!
Q. Shouldn't you be at the Hospital?"
A. "Shouldn't you stop talking now?"
Q. "How's Dena feeling?"
A. "Like she has a 9 and a half pound watermelon floating around in her body that has grown limbs and maybe, just maybe could pop out all Alien-like at a moment's notice... and how are you feeling?"

*I appreciate all my friends at ILE who are keeping tabs on the pregnancy, I love you, respect your advice and want you to know, these responses are not directed at you but rather those "casual aquiantences" that wouldn't know me from a hole in the wall if my wife wasn't walking around about to burst.

Anyway, with that out of the way, here's what else has been happening in our lives:

Dena's been sick, but is feeling much better now, thanks for your prayers.
Had Haley and Annie over for supper last night. They are the girls who will watch our place when we go the hospital to have the baby.

It's Spiritual Emphasis Week at the language school which means three things. 1. No homework this week! 2. LOTS of homework next week. 3. My Geek Squad that we've trained to run PowerPoint for Chapel have started their positions... THANKS GUYS! YOU'RE AMAZING!
I've posted some pics from Spiritual Emphasis Week below.
There has been a slight increase in violence around the language school. The School has hired a firm to work security that has armed guards and there have been a few muggings and even a car stolen near the school... Don't worry, we are extremely safe, just pray that God will bring tranquility to the situation.
Did I mention I want my baby?

2006-02-19T10:44:00.000-06:00

Ok, short blog. Just a quick note to the media because I am in another country and I keep hearing about one, and only one thing when I check the news sites and turn on the TV:

I don't care that Cheney shot a guy by mistake!
I care that babies are being killed by the people that should be carring for them.
I care about the fact that millions of people die everyday from hunger.
I care about advances in medicine.
I care about the growth of democracy and religious freedom around the world.
I care about free speech, even if I'm offended by what people say.
I don't care that some guy, somewhere got grazed by some birdshot by a guy who wasn't paying attention.

Media guys, newsflash, this isn't Junior High, we don't want to hear about accidents, or who beat up who on the playground, this is life, start focusing on WORLD EVENTS THAT AFFECT OUR LIVES, not some accident!

2006-02-18T19:39:00.000-06:00

Pregnancy Update:

I want my baby!!!!