Wednesday, April 18, 2012

After washing clothes and packing, we waited for a UPS package delivery but it did not come by 3:00 pm so we left for Grasonville on Eastern Shore, about 75 minutes away.  It was a very nice drive over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge.  After getting there, we filled up with gas that cost about $40 and discovered the car gets about 36 mpg.  WOW.  I’m still thinking in metric, though.  This is way cheaper than what we pay in Japan which is about $7 per gallon roughly. 

We are at the Eastern Shore Baptist Church for a missions conference.  Dr. Creed is preaching this week.  Edwin and Mary Beard are also here as church planters in Annapolis.  Henry taught them in high school---many moons ago.  Their son is with them. 

Henry showed some photos of our work that are not in the presentation—pictures I have not seen in years. 

Tuesday, April 17, 2012

Today we went over to the County Courthouse and took care of some items for Matthew so he could get his car registered.  It was the first time to this courthouse which has that courthous-ey feel to it.  The people we saw were very helpful, which is a great thing.

This evening the Gills had a cookout in the backyard while the dogs ran in circles and tried to beg food from us. 

We then went over to Peter’s place.  Nice basement apartment. Clean.  We had to take the shoes off at the door.  Must be that Japanese influence. 

Monday, April 16, 2012

On our way back to Clinton, we stopped by Mrs. Owens’ home near Frederick.  She and her husband started Sound of the Word, a literature/tape ministry to missionaries.  Her husband had passed away about two years ago and had turned the ministry over to the Veenstras.  Mrs. Owens is about 87 and spry, witty and just fun to be with.  She tried to get Sara to talk and would make comments about her to see Sara’s reaction.  She did smile and say a few words.  We met her son and then prayed with them before leaving.  Gracious, wonderful Christians.

Traffic was backed up merging from 270 onto the Beltway so it took us until about 6:00 pm to get back to Clinton.  We were met by Peter and Joe.  Mr. Ercole who lives down the street, has a car for sale Joe wanted to see.  He and Henry took a spin around the block and Joe has decided to buy it.  It is a good deal—63,000 miles, about 6 years old, compact and great gas mileage.  Now he will apply for the loan at the credit union and go from there. 

Sunday, April 15, 2012 Tax Day

We drove about  30 minutes to Mannington, WVA, where the Calvary Baptist Church is.  It is an older building, but recent remodeling has brightened the interior.  The platform is now a beautiful blond wood floor and it really looks bright in there.  Henry spoke in Sunday School on the 9 nails and a boat sermon from last week.  It was good the second time around.  :-) 

Pastor Bowman preached the morning service.  He used to be an evangelist and preaches like one.  Really good.  John 11:40—Death is Coming.  Many people today do not allow their children to see death as in going to a funeral.  It does not prepare them for that event.  Death is a part of life. 

Here Lazarus was in the tomb.  Jesus told them to take away the stone.  There was a desperate plea from Martha, saying, “by now he stinketh.”  She did not tell Jesus anything He did not know.  In this verse Jesus tells here to “trust me…if you believe God, you will see the Glory of God.” 

Matt. 11:28-30; Heb. 4:5.  Ex. 33:8-14.  There is a rest to the people of God. Phil. 4:6.  Be careful for nothing.  When you are in the valley, your faith is on the summit. Ps. 18:2.  When in the valley, don’t tie a knot and hang on.  Let go of that knot and stand on the Solid Rock of Christ.  John 11:40. 

Pastor Bowman

After service we were taken to a terrific Italian Restaurant for lunch.  The servings were way too big, not like the small portions we get in Japan.  Delicious.  Sara had to take her portion home. 

Henry’s former roommate from back in 1980-83, Ken Jamerson, goes to this church.  He has not changed much at all.  Still single, still memorizing scripture, still out of the ordinary.

Henry preached the evening service after showing our DVD presentation.  My notes:

Looking Ahead to Looking Back  Matthew 25:14.

We are given talents by the Master.  How did the men in this portion of scripture use them? We have a responsibility we have been given.  The 1 talent guy was making excuses for not increasing his talent.  These excuses were, I might make a mistake, doubting my ability; a misconception of inability to do something.  Why did he get the talent unless the Master thought he could use it?  Go in the strength of Christ.  There is the excuse of fear.  He called the Master a liar because he did not believe the Master.  There is the misconception of the value of a soul. 

Saturday, April 14, 2012

We drove over to Mt. Airy to see our nephew Joe and family and Henry’s sister Caroline.  Their boy Scott is 5 and Rachel is about 2.  Their huge back yard could fit our entire church property on it easily with room to spare.  While the little ones played in the sandbox with Sara, we adults sat on the swing and around a table and just talked.  Joe and Lindsey and family were going hiking at Great Falls, so they left 11:30.  The rest of us went over to Burger King for lunch—delicious. 

We visited the Veenstra family hear Frederick.  They now do the Sound of the Word literature ministry to missionaries.  We have received a monthly mailing for several years now and it is always good to get the envelope in the mail.  They are a terrific family.

 Rachel, Scott and Lindsey

We then drove over to Fairmont, West Virginia, to Pastor Lee Bowman’s church for a meeting there Sunday. The roads wound through the hills of Western Maryland where we saw some beautiful purple trees in bloom.  It was a wonderful drive up and down the mountains.  West Virginia is beautiful country—almost heaven as the old song goes.

The Bowmans took us to dinner at a Chinese Restaurant.  This place was buffet style and had at least 8 tables of food to choose from.  I always opt for sweet and sour and took a stab at the frog legs—taste like chicken, really, good, too.   After this delicious meal we drove back to the hotel in Fairmont.

Friday, April 13, 2012

We went to a Michael’s Craft Store where Sara got herself a new cross stitch kit.   After this visit, we went to the Antietam Battle Field where the bloodiest day in American history took place.  Over 23,000 men died on that one day.  We will be doing a study of the Civil War soon.

The service tonight again was preached by Dr. Vineyard. My notes:

2 Corinthians 8:1-3  regarding faith promise giving

1) give in spite of poverty

2) it is a test of love

3) give according to our ability v.9

4) stewardship of God's money

The second service notes:

Psalm 40:8

The Will of God isn't always pleasant.

The Will of God is never impossible

The Will of God isn't for the faint hearted

Doing the Will of God  is the result of inward law

Doing the Will of God is the result of praying and asking God to show His will

Those who do God's will have a special relationship with God.  Matthew 11

Follow Christ, the perfect example.  He did the will of God.

Wholehearted dedication is required to do the will of God.

Thursday, April 12, 2012

We went up to Frederick again to hear Dr. Jim Vineyard speak at the church there.  His message tonight was “Don’t Forget the Jew.”   Here are my somewhat disjointed notes:

Christians owe the Jews a debt of gratitude for the scriptures, the family unit and the humanity of Jesus Christ. Rom 3:1; Romans 9, 10; 11:1, Gal. 3-4.  The lesson we learn from Abraham is that he believed God,  Heb. 11:8.

Romans 4—remember the people you owe and pay your debt.  Gen. 12. We owe the Jews by being a blessing to the Jews.

1)   Call to Abraham – Gen. 11:27; 12:1.

2)   Carnality of Abraham  Gen. 1:10.  He endangered Sarah.

Our carnal traits cannot keep us from serving God.  Focus on God.

3)    Life is full of challenges.

Wednesday, April 11, 2012

 We were able to attend our home church’s Wednesday Prayer Meeting this week.

This message was on Boldness in the life of a believer  Acts 4:13

1)   A boldness that was a result of being with Christ.  Peter and John had walked with Christ.  They had seen the miracles of Christ and they had seen the resurrected Savior.  Do I spend time with Jesus?

2)   A boldness that was revealed by trials.  Peter had gone through the struggles of forsaking Christ. Now the disciples are following Christ’s commission.  Now the disciples are focused on the souls of men.  This is a confidence-building process.

3)   A boldness that was resting in God’s promises.  These disciples feared God more than ma.  They spoke the truth from their hearts.  They praised God for His mighty works.  1 Cor. 1:27  God uses the weak things to confound the wise.

Tuesday, April 10, 2012

This morning Henry and I took the Metro into DC to go to the Kirby Center for Constitutional Studies and Citizenship to attend a lecture.  (  thekirbycenter.org  ) This is an extension of Hillsdale College in Michigan.  The college founded in 1844 and does not take federal monies and emphasizes the founding principles of our country.  The building itself was built in 1890 on the back side of the Senate office buildings.  It has a beautiful, wooded, old-library feel to the place. 

http://www.hillsdalefirstfridays.com/Hillsdale/Microsite/may6_microsite.aspx

This page is for signing up for the webcast, but it will notify you when the webcast is online.

The lecture was given by Professor Paul Rahe ( Ricochet.com  ) on the topic of Obamacare’s Assault on Religious Liberty.  He nailed it step-by-step how this administration and FDR’s in particular have circumvented the Constitution in order to change our civil society. There has been a massive shift of power from the individual family and community to central government.  The Catholic church for decades has endorsed social programs and now it’s coming back to bite them.  Morals have not been taught by the churches, of all stripes, for years and years.  The consequences are obvious now. 

One must ask, “How did we cope before________?” The answer is we looked to family when needs arose. Some are awakening to the train wreck that is ahead.  Let us pray it is not too late for the USA.

me standing in front of the Capitol Plaza Apartments
at 35 E Street NW Washington, DC.  This was my
first and second apartments after high school when
I moved to DC to work for the FBI. 

Union Station 

The flags out front of Union Station

Monday, April 9, 2012

We left the hotel about 9:00 a.m. and drove back to Glendale to the church.  Henry was asked to play the piano at the funeral for one of the faithful members.  It was a packed crowd, so Sara and I gave up our seats and helped out with the lunch preparations.  There could have been about 150 in the auditorium.  The nursery was moved to another building and chairs set up in there for church people.  Pastor preached a gospel salvation message.  Henry observed there was little reaction or response.

We left there about 1:00 p.m. and returned to Clinton to wash clothes and get ready for the next trip.

Sunday April 8, 2012

Resurrection Sunday

We were at the Frederick Baptist Temple this morning. Henry taught Sunday School with a resurrection theme= 9 nails and a boat—Noah.  Four nails and a furnace.  Shadrach and company.  One nail and Christ on the cross.  There is a Japanese saying about a protruding nail will be hammered down.  It was all about the protruding nail which is God.  He always stands out and makes people make a decision. 

Easter egg hunt for the kids

The choir at Frederick.

A very unique mail box at the John Deere shop. 

Isn't she adorable?

Henry talking to one of his former high school students, now 43.

Saturday, April 7, 2012

This morning I started at 8:00 a.m. making rolled sushi, salad style, and tempura shrimp.  It took two hours even though I did not make that much.  It was peeling and de-veining shrimp that took longest.  We got to FIBC about 11:00 a.m. in time for lunch.  There was way too much food—lots of rice dishes, black bean soup, jerk chicken, meatball subs and a pasta salad, among other things

The service this afternoon was about being committed to the cause.  Understand the great commission 1 John 5:11.  God makes all grace to abound  2 Cor. 12:9.  Get a vision and embark to do it. 

The three missionaries sang a special.

 Pastor Pat Creed said their faith promise giving was up to $30,000.  

We drove over to Frederick for our meeting tomorrow.  On the way we found Sisto Machine Shop, but got there about 5:30.  It was already closed and the owners were leaving.  Mr. Sisto was going to open the shop just for us, but we told him we would come back next week.  He lost the lease on the building, so is selling everything at reduced prices, then he will retire.  Check this out:  http://www.sistosquilting.com/

Friday, April 6, 2012

We went to a store so I could get the fixings for rolled sushi. At the store there were all sorts of imported goods from fresh veges to rices to canned and bottled goods.  I found a 5 lb. bag of sushi rice and bought some small shrimp to tempura fry for Saturday’s lunch at FIBC. 

This evenings service the Pape’s showed their DVD and Mrs. Pape sang a special called “Bury My Heart on the Mission Field”.

Pastor Creed preached on when God pulls back the curtain on missions.  A) grace of God in giving.  The church in Philippi begged to be involved.  They gave to their power and beyond their power 2 Cor. 8:5.  B) They realized the need of the hour. 2 Cor. 9:7-8—the need of world wide evangelization.

Here is a thought from Pastor Creed:   What is the color of a soul?

Wednesday April 4, 2012

Today Henry and I went to the library to connect to the internet.  However, I did not get the blog written then.  Anyway after getting somewhat caught up, I walked back to the house.  Wildwood Estates is an older neighborhood of brick homes with basements and wide streets and beautiful trees.  I’d like to live here if possible, but the house prices are about $400,000; about 10 times the original cost.  Maybe, someday.

 One of the new homes across from the FIBC in Glendale.

The plum trees are really beautiful.

We went to Faith Independent Baptist Church in Glendale for our first Missions Conference.  The Rick Dove family is in  Costa Rica and the Pape family are on deputation to the Dominican Republic.  Ricky gave his testimony, and Pastor Mike Creed from our home church preached about the four areas of giving.

The first point was every Christian needs to tithe, Genesis 14:18-20, Hebrews 7:4.  The second was giving with a willing heart—stewardship giving as a need arises.  The third is alms giving or benevolence giving in secret, Matthew 6:1-3.  The fourth is faith giving, 2 Corinthians 8.  Don’t tip God, but give obediently. 

After service we talked until nearly 9:00 p.m. with folks then headed home.

Thursday, April 5, 2012

Tonight Pastor Creed preached on the Other side of Obedience.  1) we must be obedient to God’s plan. Acts 1:8. Can I trust God to do what He says?  Can He trust me to do what He asks?  Obedience is not temporary.  2)  Must be obedient to God’s command.  3) Obey regardless of Satanic activity 2 Tim. 3:12. They...shall suffer persecution. 4)  Understanding there is fruit in the future.   God is faithful.

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

This morning we mozied over to the church to get our new prayer cards and we talked with some folks while there.   Then we went down to the bank to make a deposit and the on to the voting precinct.  I told the lady that checked my registration that it was the first time in 20 years I had voted in person, explaining we are missionaries in Japan.  She praised the Lord and was appreciative of our service.  Then I voted on the electronic machines.  It was a good feeling to have performed a civic duty.

Later in the day I went with Mary so she could vote at a different precinct.  There were few people voting there also.  While Mary voted, I talked with the man who was the greeter, a really nice older gentleman.  I mentioned that we’ve come a long way from paper ballots and he agreed.  The electronic machines could easily be programmed to record something different that voters intended.  Mary came over and we found out he was a member of the AME church and has great grandchildren.  He commented on my nearly white hair or “crown of glory.”  We invited him to our church’s Easter drama this Saturday and he was interested in going.  

While we were out Anna Gill called and asked if she and Sara could go with Peter and Joe to get ice cream from Miller’s Farm.  After we call got back to the house, Mary made some pasta and meatballs.  Matthew came over after work and we all ate and talked.  Hugs all around.  Joe said he had found a car to buy, so Henry drove him over to the place and they put a deposit on it.  Joe was going to get a loan from the credit union for the balance.  It is a 2000 Volvo with under 100,000 miles and total cost will be $6100.  Good deal.

April 2 landing

We arrived in Toronto about 4:30 p.m. local time.  After getting our luggage, we went through pre-customs clearance for the USA.  There must have been at least 100 people in line as it slowly snaked to the Customs officials.  Just 6 windows were open out of 12.  That took over 30 minutes. We were cleared and went on to wait at the gate. 

While we waited there was a huge sealed aquarium on the second floor.  It had floating plastic squares near as I could tell, that were moved about by bubbling water.

The flight had maybe 30 passengers tops, so we pulled back from the gate about 20 minutes early.  We landed at Reagan National Airport about 10:00 p.m., ahead of schedule. Then after getting our luggage we got on a shuttle to get the rental car.  We got to the Gill’s house about midnight.  The end of a very long day.