Getting back to school can mean getting a newsletter out is difficult, but what a month August was!

A little background as to why: As most of you know, we’re with YWAM (Youth With A Mission) and have been ever since we hit the mission field…for training in ’99 and then as staff in 2000. YWAM is one of the most diverse organizations in the world…let alone among missionary organizations. Though diverse, there are more and less “traditional” paths of involvement with YWAM. I think our wanderings have been almost completely non-traditional! Additionally, since 2004, we’ve been somewhat isolated from other YWAM staff since our activities take place outside of a YWAM base or a gathered YWAM “training” school. While we’re not “isolated” in the general sense of the word, we are with respect to YWAM, and this can affect the sense of belonging that we feel.

This month, however, literally half of my time was spent on a YWAM base. These were two different 1-week gatherings and each had a main speaker for the event. For the first event, the main speaker was the man who actually founded YWAM France. For the second gathering, it was the man who was over YWAM for the French-speaking world before YWAM France existed. Hearing both of these speakers, and participating in the worship leading for both events (and a whole lot of conversations with God too!) certainly made an impact on me, how I understand our connection with YWAM, and YWAM’s deep connection with France and the French-speaking world. This was hugely significant and your prayers about these two different events and our involvement in them is greatly appreciated.

One of the basic values of YWAM is the ability and necessity of every Christian to actively hear God’s voice and obey it. In our journey and search for the geographic destination in France that God had planned for us, we often were actively asking and listening for direction…often under the “duress” of calendar milestones, after which we would be homeless or without clear purpose. God always came through. Since arriving here in Alsace, our destination and our home, the question of where to go has been laid to rest and the question of what TO do has gradually morphed into what NOT to do as our “options”, “abilities” and “spheres of influence” have gradually increased. At some point the question of where we should put our “hand to the plow” became, at least for me, a question of time management based on my personality and level of energy. My personal time with the Lord has been rich in revelation about who He is and how He works in my life and in history, but the “hard work” to daily hear His voice and make decisions (formerly because I HAD to) was gathering dust.

These two weeks, reinforced by a book I’m currently reading about the history of YWAM France and re-listening to some of the messages, have helped me to dust off this vital part of my relationship with my Heavenly Papa with a desire to put it into immediate practice. This is something that has surfaced in our marriage as well with a marked increase in our desire to pray together. We hear a LOT better when we listen together.

So this has been a very key month!

Some other notable things with respect to this month and your prayers:

• The family YWAM family camp was much more of a blessing than we had anticipated. We were incredibly blessed to be able to do a car swap with some friends for the week: their late-model mini-van with A/C and cruise control for our ’98 small station-wagon + 100 euros. (I think we came out ahead in the deal!!!) We had good weather and a sweet time together as a family. It was a huge blessing on several levels to have Olivia play piano as we lead worship for the family camp…a harbinger of the future I hope!

• I did manage to get to some good milestones in IT for the school, though the construction did not advance significantly. The current target is usability for one new classroom by the end of October.

• The progress in the renovation of our house seems to be mired down again, but we do believe we’ve made progress and it’s certainly been an area where we’re learning how God works and how we need to position ourselves and our faith.

• You’ve prayed several times over the last few years about a certain Alana Smith from Arkansas whom God had called to France and to our community of faith here in Alsace. During this incredible month, she received a 3-year visa to stay and work in France and extra missionary support in the form of airline tickets paid for by a company whenever she needs to fly home. This is the culmination of several years of pray and is a fabulous breakthrough miracle showing how nothing is impossible with God!

• Rusty and Janet – Now that Alana is safe and sound in her new home, we’re hungry for more! Our dear friends Rusty and Janet Richards also have a call to come and join this family of faith. They need the same miracle that Alana just received. Please pray for Rusty and Janet’s long-term visa to stay and work in France to come through quickly!

• Hufschmitt Family – At the very end of August, a family in our church suffered the sudden, tragic death of their 20-year-old son. This family serves with us in the worship ministry thier loss has struck our whole church family. I believe we’ve already seen God’s incredible grace in the midst of this process of shock and grieving, notably at the funeral on Saturday and during the regular Sunday service yesterday. Please pray for the consolation of the Hufschmitt family at this time.

• School Work – Back to school time for Collège-Daniel signals a flurry of activity to put things in place for the coming year. I’ve done much in the IT area, but much remains to be done before we can enter into the rhythm of the school year. Angela, for her part, has taken on the administration of the cleaning of the school facilities, accomplished with a (sometimes reluctant) volunteer army of parents. This is a responsibility that is simultaneously tremendously satisfying to the part of Angela that loves to clean, arrange and decorate and tremendously challenging to the part that doesn’t like to deal with conflict, make phone calls and be forced to always express herself in French. Please pray for grace for both of us to move forward in our responsibilities and keep “breathing” in and out the Holy Spirit in the face of each challenge. We really want to carry out these responsibilities in God’s grace and discernment, not relying simply on our own abilities and experience.

• SOZO – With everyone finally back from their diverse summer breaks, our church is poised to officially start the inner healing ministry, “SOZO”, for which Angela has received training and in which she’ll be participating. Please pray for step-by-step discernment for the pace of activity to begin with and a real Holy Spirit flow within the team as they begin to minister.

• House Work – As mentioned, this project seems to have been slowed down again with some recent confusing communication with our carpenter friend. Additionally, between Angela and me, we have differing approaches and perspectives with respect to how to advance the project. These are wonderful opportunities to further learn how to come into unity as a couple (let the reader understand! ) We’re currently in the process of reading a wonderful book by Craig Hill and Earl Pitts entitled WEALTH, RICHES AND MONEY that is helping to reshape the way we understand God and His provision. Please pray that this occasion will become an opportunity to realign ourselves with God’s plans, purposes and provision for our family and our house.

Thank you!
David

Getting back to school can mean getting a newsletter out is difficult, but what a month August was!

A little background as to why: As most of you know, we’re with YWAM (Youth With A Mission) and have been ever since we hit the mission field…for training in ’99 and then as staff in 2000. YWAM is one of the most diverse organizations in the world…let alone among missionary organizations. Though diverse, there are more and less “traditional” paths of involvement with YWAM. I think our wanderings have been almost completely non-traditional! Additionally, since 2004, we’ve been somewhat isolated from other YWAM staff since our activities take place outside of a YWAM base or a gathered YWAM “training” school. While we’re not “isolated” in the general sense of the word, we are with respect to YWAM, and this can affect the sense of belonging that we feel.

This month, however, literally half of my time was spent on a YWAM base. These were two different 1-week gatherings and each had a main speaker for the event. For the first event, the main speaker was the man who actually founded YWAM France. For the second gathering, it was the man who was over YWAM for the French-speaking world before YWAM France existed. Hearing both of these speakers, and participating in the worship leading for both events (and a whole lot of conversations with God too!) certainly made an impact on me, how I understand our connection with YWAM, and YWAM’s deep connection with France and the French-speaking world. This was hugely significant and your prayers about these two different events and our involvement in them is greatly appreciated.

One of the basic values of YWAM is the ability and necessity of every Christian to actively hear God’s voice and obey it. In our journey and search for the geographic destination in France that God had planned for us, we often were actively asking and listening for direction…often under the “duress” of calendar milestones, after which we would be homeless or without clear purpose. God always came through. Since arriving here in Alsace, our destination and our home, the question of where to go has been laid to rest and the question of what TO do has gradually morphed into what NOT to do as our “options”, “abilities” and “spheres of influence” have gradually increased. At some point the question of where we should put our “hand to the plow” became, at least for me, a question of time management based on my personality and level of energy. My personal time with the Lord has been rich in revelation about who He is and how He works in my life and in history, but the “hard work” to daily hear His voice and make decisions (formerly because I HAD to) was gathering dust.

These two weeks, reinforced by a book I’m currently reading about the history of YWAM France and re-listening to some of the messages, have helped me to dust off this vital part of my relationship with my Heavenly Papa with a desire to put it into immediate practice. This is something that has surfaced in our marriage as well with a marked increase in our desire to pray together. We hear a LOT better when we listen together.

So this has been a very key month!

Some other notable things with respect to this month and your prayers:

• The family YWAM family camp was much more of a blessing than we had anticipated. We were incredibly blessed to be able to do a car swap with some friends for the week: their late-model mini-van with A/C and cruise control for our ’98 small station-wagon + 100 euros. (I think we came out ahead in the deal!!!) We had good weather and a sweet time together as a family. It was a huge blessing on several levels to have Olivia play piano as we lead worship for the family camp…a harbinger of the future I hope!

• I did manage to get to some good milestones in IT for the school, though the construction did not advance significantly. The current target is usability for one new classroom by the end of October.

• The progress in the renovation of our house seems to be mired down again, but we do believe we’ve made progress and it’s certainly been an area where we’re learning how God works and how we need to position ourselves and our faith.

• You’ve prayed several times over the last few years about a certain Alana Smith from Arkansas whom God had called to France and to our community of faith here in Alsace. During this incredible month, she received a 3-year visa to stay and work in France and extra missionary support in the form of airline tickets paid for by a company whenever she needs to fly home. This is the culmination of several years of pray and is a fabulous breakthrough miracle showing how nothing is impossible with God!

• Rusty and Janet – Now that Alana is safe and sound in her new home, we’re hungry for more! Our dear friends Rusty and Janet Richards also have a call to come and join this family of faith. They need the same miracle that Alana just received. Please pray for Rusty and Janet’s long-term visa to stay and work in France to come through quickly!

• Hufschmitt Family – At the very end of August, a family in our church suffered the sudden, tragic death of their 20-year-old son. This family serves with us in the worship ministry thier loss has struck our whole church family. I believe we’ve already seen God’s incredible grace in the midst of this process of shock and grieving, notably at the funeral on Saturday and during the regular Sunday service yesterday. Please pray for the consolation of the Hufschmitt family at this time.

• School Work – Back to school time for Collège-Daniel signals a flurry of activity to put things in place for the coming year. I’ve done much in the IT area, but much remains to be done before we can enter into the rhythm of the school year. Angela, for her part, has taken on the administration of the cleaning of the school facilities, accomplished with a (sometimes reluctant) volunteer army of parents. This is a responsibility that is simultaneously tremendously satisfying to the part of Angela that loves to clean, arrange and decorate and tremendously challenging to the part that doesn’t like to deal with conflict, make phone calls and be forced to always express herself in French. Please pray for grace for both of us to move forward in our responsibilities and keep “breathing” in and out the Holy Spirit in the face of each challenge. We really want to carry out these responsibilities in God’s grace and discernment, not relying simply on our own abilities and experience.

• SOZO – With everyone finally back from their diverse summer breaks, our church is poised to officially start the inner healing ministry, “SOZO”, for which Angela has received training and in which she’ll be participating. Please pray for step-by-step discernment for the pace of activity to begin with and a real Holy Spirit flow within the team as they begin to minister.

• House Work – As mentioned, this project seems to have been slowed down again with some recent confusing communication with our carpenter friend. Additionally, between Angela and me, we have differing approaches and perspectives with respect to how to advance the project. These are wonderful opportunities to further learn how to come into unity as a couple (let the reader understand! ) We’re currently in the process of reading a wonderful book by Craig Hill and Earl Pitts entitled WEALTH, RICHES AND MONEY that is helping to reshape the way we understand God and His provision. Please pray that this occasion will become an opportunity to realign ourselves with God’s plans, purposes and provision for our family and our house.

Thank you!
David

Getting back to school can mean getting a newsletter out is difficult, but what a month August was!

A little background as to why: As most of you know, we’re with YWAM (Youth With A Mission) and have been ever since we hit the mission field…for training in ’99 and then as staff in 2000. YWAM is one of the most diverse organizations in the world…let alone among missionary organizations. Though diverse, there are more and less “traditional” paths of involvement with YWAM. I think our wanderings have been almost completely non-traditional! Additionally, since 2004, we’ve been somewhat isolated from other YWAM staff since our activities take place outside of a YWAM base or a gathered YWAM “training” school. While we’re not “isolated” in the general sense of the word, we are with respect to YWAM, and this can affect the sense of belonging that we feel.

This month, however, literally half of my time was spent on a YWAM base. These were two different 1-week gatherings and each had a main speaker for the event. For the first event, the main speaker was the man who actually founded YWAM France. For the second gathering, it was the man who was over YWAM for the French-speaking world before YWAM France existed. Hearing both of these speakers, and participating in the worship leading for both events (and a whole lot of conversations with God too!) certainly made an impact on me, how I understand our connection with YWAM, and YWAM’s deep connection with France and the French-speaking world. This was hugely significant and your prayers about these two different events and our involvement in them is greatly appreciated.

One of the basic values of YWAM is the ability and necessity of every Christian to actively hear God’s voice and obey it. In our journey and search for the geographic destination in France that God had planned for us, we often were actively asking and listening for direction…often under the “duress” of calendar milestones, after which we would be homeless or without clear purpose. God always came through. Since arriving here in Alsace, our destination and our home, the question of where to go has been laid to rest and the question of what TO do has gradually morphed into what NOT to do as our “options”, “abilities” and “spheres of influence” have gradually increased. At some point the question of where we should put our “hand to the plow” became, at least for me, a question of time management based on my personality and level of energy. My personal time with the Lord has been rich in revelation about who He is and how He works in my life and in history, but the “hard work” to daily hear His voice and make decisions (formerly because I HAD to) was gathering dust.

These two weeks, reinforced by a book I’m currently reading about the history of YWAM France and re-listening to some of the messages, have helped me to dust off this vital part of my relationship with my Heavenly Papa with a desire to put it into immediate practice. This is something that has surfaced in our marriage as well with a marked increase in our desire to pray together. We hear a LOT better when we listen together.

So this has been a very key month!

Some other notable things with respect to this month and your prayers:

• The family YWAM family camp was much more of a blessing than we had anticipated. We were incredibly blessed to be able to do a car swap with some friends for the week: their late-model mini-van with A/C and cruise control for our ’98 small station-wagon + 100 euros. (I think we came out ahead in the deal!!!) We had good weather and a sweet time together as a family. It was a huge blessing on several levels to have Olivia play piano as we lead worship for the family camp…a harbinger of the future I hope!

• I did manage to get to some good milestones in IT for the school, though the construction did not advance significantly. The current target is usability for one new classroom by the end of October.

• The progress in the renovation of our house seems to be mired down again, but we do believe we’ve made progress and it’s certainly been an area where we’re learning how God works and how we need to position ourselves and our faith.

• You’ve prayed several times over the last few years about a certain Alana Smith from Arkansas whom God had called to France and to our community of faith here in Alsace. During this incredible month, she received a 3-year visa to stay and work in France and extra missionary support in the form of airline tickets paid for by a company whenever she needs to fly home. This is the culmination of several years of pray and is a fabulous breakthrough miracle showing how nothing is impossible with God!

• Rusty and Janet – Now that Alana is safe and sound in her new home, we’re hungry for more! Our dear friends Rusty and Janet Richards also have a call to come and join this family of faith. They need the same miracle that Alana just received. Please pray for Rusty and Janet’s long-term visa to stay and work in France to come through quickly!

• Hufschmitt Family – At the very end of August, a family in our church suffered the sudden, tragic death of their 20-year-old son. This family serves with us in the worship ministry thier loss has struck our whole church family. I believe we’ve already seen God’s incredible grace in the midst of this process of shock and grieving, notably at the funeral on Saturday and during the regular Sunday service yesterday. Please pray for the consolation of the Hufschmitt family at this time.

• School Work – Back to school time for Collège-Daniel signals a flurry of activity to put things in place for the coming year. I’ve done much in the IT area, but much remains to be done before we can enter into the rhythm of the school year. Angela, for her part, has taken on the administration of the cleaning of the school facilities, accomplished with a (sometimes reluctant) volunteer army of parents. This is a responsibility that is simultaneously tremendously satisfying to the part of Angela that loves to clean, arrange and decorate and tremendously challenging to the part that doesn’t like to deal with conflict, make phone calls and be forced to always express herself in French. Please pray for grace for both of us to move forward in our responsibilities and keep “breathing” in and out the Holy Spirit in the face of each challenge. We really want to carry out these responsibilities in God’s grace and discernment, not relying simply on our own abilities and experience.

• SOZO – With everyone finally back from their diverse summer breaks, our church is poised to officially start the inner healing ministry, “SOZO”, for which Angela has received training and in which she’ll be participating. Please pray for step-by-step discernment for the pace of activity to begin with and a real Holy Spirit flow within the team as they begin to minister.

• House Work – As mentioned, this project seems to have been slowed down again with some recent confusing communication with our carpenter friend. Additionally, between Angela and me, we have differing approaches and perspectives with respect to how to advance the project. These are wonderful opportunities to further learn how to come into unity as a couple (let the reader understand! ) We’re currently in the process of reading a wonderful book by Craig Hill and Earl Pitts entitled WEALTH, RICHES AND MONEY that is helping to reshape the way we understand God and His provision. Please pray that this occasion will become an opportunity to realign ourselves with God’s plans, purposes and provision for our family and our house.

Thank you!
David

Some feedback about last month’s requests:

• School Work – The construction work went well and the team from Canada was great! They kept a blog about the prep for their trip and for part of the trip (didn’t get finished as of this writing). Check it out here: http://saymissions.blogspot.com/. Noah seemed to really enjoy his time with them. Meanwhile, I managed to make some significant changes to our firewall and web filtering structure at school. I’m pleased with what’s been accomplished. It positions us better for managing several things in the school’s computer network.

• Church Work Week – What a cool week! In the mornings we worshiped and in the afternoons we worked. We led worship 3 of the 5 mornings and really felt bathed in the presence of God each morning. We were with another couple consistently and a handful of different people each day. This couple we were with are tremendous worshipers and really model the different ways people can enter into God’s presence. Very freeing! For the work part, I was finally able to clean and repair a significant quantity of audio cables from the school fete. This was a growing pile of soldering and testing work that I don’t enjoy and at which I’m not very good. But, I succeeded in getting all that knocked out and others made good progress in installing a couple of toilets and doors near our worship hall. It wasn’t a huge army of people but it felt good to make progress on different fronts and to work and worship together with others.

• Olivia’s Stateside Trip – I imagine that Angela will write more about this and I’m sure that the impact of this trip on Olivia will be seen gradually over a long time. She had a rich time with family connections. She re-connected with America and that part of her identity. She had tons of experiences to solidify her confidence and ability to independently navigate in the wider world. Best of all she’s back safe and sound and really glad to be home!

• Family Camp Prep – Many more ideas have been solidified and this week is the final planning/rehearsing week.

• Family Camp – With Olivia home, we finally bring our prep together this week. The camp starts Sunday evening the 8th. You can see info about the camp here: http://www.intouchcamps.net/?p=65. We are taking a friend of Olivia’s with us as well. One concern we have is us all getting there in our car and how hot it might be. We can only barely fit 5 and we have no A/C and it’s a 5-hour car ride. We’ve tried borrowing a car from a friend but can’t be insured for it. Renting is out of our price range at the moment. Please pray for a solution for the car or a big dose of grace to handle the trip! Pray for our prep time this week and especially the grace to help families worship together next week!

• School Work – The construction work that was advanced by the Canadian team still needs some finishing touches to be ready for the first day of school. Additionally, I have some annual tasks remaining to prepare the computers and network for the school year. Please pray for the finances and volunteers for the school to get the construction work further along so that facilities will be usable at the beginning of September. Pray also that in the 3rd week of August, I can finish the annual prep as that’s my only window to do so.

• Back to School Prep – Noah returns to BFA the 23rd and Olivia the following week. Angela has a lot to do to get both those kids ready and also has a short window in which to do it when we return from camp. Additionally I’ll have the car the last week of August so her mobility will depend on coordinating car usage with others. Please pray for Angela’s strength and logistical grace to get the kids ready for this next school year.

• YWAM National Conference – The last week in August I return to where we’re having the family camp to attend the annual YWAM France Staff Conference. I’ll be helping a friend lead worship as well this year. This is a time when the Lord often gives vision or a message to the ministry as a whole and a time where relationships are knit together. Please pray for the Spirit to move during this gathering of YWAM France staff and that our hearts would be attentive to His direction for the ministry. Pray for the worship times to be instrumental in softening our hearts and bringing us into deeper intimacy with the Lord.

• House Work – The long saga of our house and the need for renovation of many different parts and how it involves our neighbors has been a repeated topic in these prayer bulletins. I’m happy to say that we finally have plans and a rough estimate, drawn up by a carpenter friend of ours, for how to move forward in correcting the problem with our toilet (and thus, our neighbors…this search of our site will give you the gory details) and shifting things in a way that opens up our house to more possibilities…especially in our huge unfinished attic. It isn’t everything that needs to be done, but it’s the first time that things have gone past talk and good ideas. I was also able to do some computer work for this guy in exchange for the plans. At this point, we need a more detailed step-by-step work plan and solid material estimates. With that we can convene a small team of friends, led by this carpenter, to actually plan when to do this work (I’d like to see it happen in the next 6 months). At that point, we’ll need to come up with the money for the materials and can probably pay our carpenter friend in installments for his labor…and hopefully contribute our own efforts as well. I hope this team meeting could happen this month or in September. Please pray for our friend to have the time to complete the detailed estimate and also for the finances to begin to acquire the material.

Thank you!
David

I’ve been using Notepad++ for some time now and have sort of a love-dislike relationship with it because it’s very powerful…but some things, notably macros don’t exactly work like I’d want them too…and sometimes, I really think they’re buggy.

Today, I needed to take a list of e-mails and, for each email take the part before the ‘@’ and copy it at the of the line with a tab in between.

So, to start with I have a list of emails like this:

lkjshdflkhsf@lkjhsdf.com
oiuyeruyq@iuywer.com
nbxvnxbv@mnbcx.com

At the end I need lines like this:

lkjshdflkhsf@lkjhsdf.com[TAB]lkjshdflkhsf
oiuyeruyq@iuywer.com[TAB]oiuyeruyq
nbxvnxbv@mnbcx.com[TAB]nbxvnxbv

If you’ve ever had to move contacts from one piece of software to another you may have come across this problem to create an import file for the destination. If Notepad++ macros worked in every situation, I’d have been able to use them, but they would simply “malfunction” on me and not allow me to accomplish this. So I played with regular expressions and became aware of how you can “tag” parts of your search expression and then refer to those tagged portions of text in your replacement string to allow you to move things around and copy things. Really good regex info can be found on the Notepad++ wiki here: http://sourceforge.net/apps/mediawiki/notepad-plus/index.php?title=Regular_Expressions.

So to accomplish this I was able to use the Notepad++ Search/Replace dialog in “regular expression” mode like this:

In the image, you can see that in the FIND expression, you have two sections in parentheses. This is how you tag a portion of a string, by putting the expression within parentheses. For the first piece, it tags the part between the beginning of the line, signified by the “^” (caret) character and the “@”, signified by itself. The “dot asterisk” means:

• dot = any character
• asterisk = zero or more times

I’ve shaded that yellow. Then the second section that I’ve tagged is between the “@” and the end of the line, signified by the “$” (dollar sign). I’ve shaded it orange.

Now, in the replacement, you can refer to these tagged areas by “\1″, “\2″, “\3″, etc….simply the order in which they appear gives them an ordinal number. You can then refer to them in the replacement string several times if you wish.

I’m still quite the noob in regular expressions and much more can be done with them. But, I found this particular example to be something that I can definitely build on in the future and hope that you can too.

At any rate, recently two messages of his were posted at Bethel Church in fairly rapid succession (Bill must have been traveling a lot!) and they really struck me. The first one is on the 5-fold ministry from Ephesians 4:11 and the second was on Fatherhood, which he gave on Father’s Day. For me these two messages really dovetailed together with things that God’s been speaking to me about.

Several times this spring, I’ve heard extended teaching on spiritual parents/children and about the generational transfer of inheritance. Tied with that is the honoring of our preceding generation and succeeding generations. Tied with that is honoring the special graces that God has placed on each individual person. Tied with that is receiving God’s unique graces through each other. This may be one of the key messages that God is emphasizing in the Body of Christ right now. It certainly is one of the messages that is being emphasized to me and in our community of faith here in France.

There is a sense that God desires to pour out a special “grace”, “anointing”, “blessing” (pick your pregnant term) on His Body in order to impact our society more significantly. The amount of this impartation is what is in the balance. The amount needed to really facilitate change and advance God’s Kingdom is more than individuals can handle…it would crush them. Picture someone with no foundation in their life winning the lottery. We see it over and over again with the real lotteries and with young professional sports “first-round-draft-picks”. The enormous blessing becomes a curse. Lives of promise become a parody of success at best and end tragically at worst.

God NEEDS to pour out an enormous blessing on His Church in order for them to be the Kingdom agents He called them to be (way back even in Genesis 1:28!) How does He do it and not crush us? He needs to pour out His blessing “corporately.” This is not of course meaning on a “business.” In fact if you look at the word “corporately”, you see the Latin root “corp-”, which means “body”.

Sum it up:

• God has chosen to draw the world to Him as a loving Father, King of all Creation, to live in loving, family relationship with benevolent stewardship of His Creation
• God has chosen to use His Son Jesus as the perfect image of the Father and the only way into relationship with the Father
• Jesus’ body on earth is the Church…agents of His Kingdom and His image-bearers in Creation
• His Body on earth is His principal agency of connection between the spiritual and physical realms…those who are tasked with bringing Heaven to earth
• Jesus put His Spirit in us, the spark of life that gives us the possibility to live and function as members of One Body and to be coordinated with the Head…Jesus

At this point then, we’re only “saved individuals” with simply a potential to be effective agents of God’s transforming power in Creation. It’s a pretty good deal, but it’s not enough. The kind of power we need to wield in order to affect the changes needed in Creation is simply too much for us as individuals. God desires to pour out His power, but He’s made us in such a way that we’re unable to effectively carry His power as individuals. He values family and relationship too much to allow us to simply “do tasks” and be rewarded for it…as individuals.

As a corporate body, however…

As a family, however…

That’s another story and that’s where these two teachings by Kris Valloten come in. I encourage you to learn about the “authority structures” that facilitate the impartations of grace that we need in his teaching on the 5-fold ministry and the “family structures” that establish love in our hearts and honor for one another that cause us to flow together as more than an a well-oiled machine or an organization, but an organism…a body…a family. When this occurs, we become vessels ready for God’s poured-out blessing, His anointing, His transforming power. We, as a body, as a family, are then positioned to live as transforming agents of our Father’s Kingdom…our destiny all along.

Fatherhood (mp3 24Mb) (link to watch as video on Bethel’s site – free registration required)

The role of the 5-fold ministry (mp3 26Mb) (link to watch as video on Bethel’s site – free registration required)

Del.icio.us : 5-fold ministry, Bethel Church, Kris Valloten, generational transfer, honor, inheritance, spiritual parents
Technorati : 5-fold ministry, Bethel Church, Kris Valloten, generational transfer, honor, inheritance, spiritual parents

Some feedback about last month’s requests:

• School Festival – Well the school festival/carnival (can’t think of a great translation for this great event that combines a school “open house”, good food, a show put on by the students, booths of games, sporting competitions, an evening worship concert, dancing late into the night, etc. – “end-of-year-blowout-celebration”) happened under sunny skies and was a beautiful time of teamwork and display of the richness of life and the blessings of the Lord. Angela manned a stand where she introduced the French to “Smoothies” – a big hit! Even the sound reinforcement went smoothly (from a sound perspective). BUT, though I had a great team and we enjoyed ourselves, it ended up being the kind of effort that I “feared”. My role transitioned from more “doing” to “leading” which is valuable and important for me right now, but the complexity also jumped a notch this year, so even though I rarely had to be at the mixing console, my level of activity was not really diminished any. This has engendered some good follow-up discussions with our leadership about how to raise up additional capable people and about how to deal with our equipment needs.

• Summer Planning – Already deep into Noah and Olivia’s schedules! Noah’s in the middle of two weeks of volunteer construction work at our school with a great group of Canadians who’ve come to help our school as a short-term missions trip. Olivia, meanwhile, has been in the States for about a week now and having a fabulous experience!

• Olivia’s Class Trip – This was a really great trip for Olivia’s class. They went to Dresden and learned much about what they were really capable of with different challenging actives, such as volunteering at a ministry there that welcomes troubled youth to come in and hang out in a positive and safe environment. These were 8th graders from a French school connecting with 18-20 year old German young adults…in German, of course! They also learned much about breaking cultural stereo-types and bridging cultural gaps. This is HUGE in the region of Alsace where cultural mistrust runs deep. There is such a heart among the people with whom we work/minister to see a new direction, a new vision sown into these kids with respect to the scars that Europe has born over centuries of war and division. It’s exciting to see concrete steps like this being taken.

• Health – Other than a bit of a heat wave the last couple of weeks that’s sapped our natural energy, we’re all doing fine health-wise. Thank you Lord!

• Family Camp Prep – I can’t say we’re all set, but we’re starting to get the picture together for what we’ll be doing for the worship at this camp. The momentum is building!

• School Work – As I mentioned, Noah’s working with a great team of volunteers doing work at our Christian school. They finish up this coming weekend. They are working on some new classrooms, new toilets and replacing some rotted flooring. There will still be much to do after they’ve left but they will have seriously moved us forward. In the meantime, I’m also working on the school’s IT infrastructure…the annual summer task of making big changes that I can’t make during the school year. Please pray for the construction team that they would be safe in their work and see the Lord work in their midst. Several shared that they decided to come on this “missions trip” because they wanted to draw closer to the Lord. Pray for their spirits to be stimulated by the Holy Spirit within them as they serve. Pray for Noah’s time with them as well. Finally, pray that they could get one classroom basically ready to be used in September. As for what I’m working on, please pray for insight on how to make complex new systems work correctly and how to implement the changes in the most effective way.

• Olivia’s Trip – Olivia’s in the States now and this weekend she travels to Kansas City to participate in the “Awakening Teen Camp” at the International House of Prayer there. Before she leaves she continues to connect with our family in the States. We’re so grateful for how the trip has gone so far and are excited for what God will do in her and through her in the next 3 weeks. At the end of the trip she’ll board a plane in Chicago and travel non-stop by herself to Frankfurt where we’ll meet her. Please pray for her traveling safety in the States and coming home on the 28th of July. Pray for her family connection time and her connection with her country of birth that she left at 4 years old! Finally, pray for her two camp weeks for a deep deposit from the Lord and precious connections with others (she’s going by herself).

• Church Work – In addition to work needed on the school, there is work needed on our church. The week of the 19th, some folks at church are planning a week of practical work to move us forward in some of the smaller renovation issues. Each morning will begin with 2 hours of worship, then a shared meal, then a long afternoon to “git ‘er done!” We’ll be doing the worship on M-W-F for this week. Please pray for an exceptional turnout to really spur on the momentum of progress in this activity. Pray that this practical investment would be multiplied in terms of the down-payment needed to buy our building (and finish the rest of the renovation). Please pray for safety in the practical work. Pray for real freedom in the worship.

• Family Camp Prep – As mentioned last month, we’re leading worship in August for a YWAM Family Camp. We still have much to do to prepare. Please pray for inspiration for Angela about the direction of these family worship times and our ability as a family to come together and model “family worship.”

Thank you!
David

Olivia is head-over-heels in love with Tim Burton’s latest film Alice in Wonderland. She’s seen it in English and in French in the theater and David and I finally watched it with her, albeit on a small screen, this weekend. Considering what Olivia is living right now, I completely understand her reaction. And I’m compelled to fill all of you in, especially now that she has starred in a film of her own!

In case you haven’t seen it or read the books, the film is a combination of both books about Alice by Lewis Carroll, but with more of an actual plot than the original stories. I’d call it an improvement, but then I’m not a big fan of fantasy literature. In this movie still, you see Alice, looking more like Joan of Arc, facing her greatest fear. If I think of Olivia and take this image further, I see the White Queen resembling the Holy Spirit and the Mad Hatter as Jesus, standing with her. (Great spiritual armor too!)
And that pretty much sums up Olivia’s last few months as an 8th grader. Up until now, she’s been enjoying her role as the baby of the family and it was easy to treat her that way. But this spring, the French school system demanded that she stare adulthood in the face. Dealing with one fear after another in quick succession has been exhausting and exhilarating, but God made sure she had a real spiritual breakthrough with Him in order to get through it all in one piece!

The first hurdle was a test of her piano-playing called “Fin du Premier Cycle” that is taken after achieving a certain level on your instrument. After 6 years of study, this was the first time her playing had ever been judged, so you can imagine the stress. She received the equivalent of a “B” and I would call that a fair assessment, considering how much she’s struggled this year with her teacher and her classical pieces. Her final recital was last week and it was a beautiful performance, closing this chapter of her training. From here on out, her focus will be improvisational worship-leading, which she has already gotten a taste of in the context of our monthly tabernacles. Have a peek here!

The next hurdle was “The Stage” (pronounced with a French “ah.”) This is when all the 14-16 yr. olds in France must descend on businesses who agree to let them observe the workplace for 3 days. They are taught to write a formal letter of inquiry to 5 businesses of interest and await a positive response. The stress started when all of Olivia’s contacts refused her request (and her self-esteem took a dive when all her other friends got several affirmative replies!) This meant we had to start cold-calling at the last minute, and frankly, calling a French stranger on the phone makes all 3 of us quiver in our boots. But God had mercy on us – Olivia reluctantly agreed to consider the local Christian radio station since she knew a classmate had gotten accepted by them but ended up choosing another option instead. I had a friend who did translation for the director of the station and she gave us his personal e-mail. So in the nick of time, Olivia was taken on, and it turned out to be a dream internship, where she was showered with attention by the employees and learned all the secrets of radio. She has to do this again next year, but now she’s looking forward to it!

Now about her screen debut: Our school decided to enter a Christian short-film festival this spring that had to be based on the 10 commandments. The script was conceived by the 8-10 yr olds and Olivia’s classmates were the primary actors. The theme was “Thou shalt have no other gods before Me,” illustrated through the parable of the banquet in Luke 14:15-20, and they needed to cast a rich man and his wife. Apparently, all the girls were extremely reluctant to be seen on screen as the wife of a boy in their class, except for Olivia. The film won third place – the “love at first sight” award by the judges, partly because this was the only one of the top 12 finalists that was done by students! They spent 3 days shooting for an 8 min. film and happily, the only French is the introduction of the story in the first minute, so read the parable, be prepared to put it in a modern day context and and enjoy a taste of our school and local surroundings!

Her final hurdle will happen this summer when she flies to America without us. Our friend Alana (Olivia’s activities also get good press on her blog) will accompany her almost to Indianapolis, and then she will take a direct flight home alone from Chicago one month later. As if that is not scary enough, she will also travel to Kansas City during that time to attend a 2-week camp where she won’t know a single soul. Of course, time with her sister after 18 months apart and with grandparents after 4-6 yrs apart will be a fabulous recompense for conquering the fear of a month’s separation and international travel. (I just wish I could surgically attach her passport to her body for safe-keeping!) Prayers on her behalf during the month of July would be much appreciated!

In summary, I think this quote from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland sums up Olivia’s life quite nicely right now:

“…so many out-of-the-way things had happened lately, that Alice had begun to think that very few things indeed were really impossible.”

Love from a proud mama,

Angela

PS: My trip to Paris was wonderful in every way and the escape I needed!!

Some feedback about last month’s requests:

• Summer Plans – Olivia’s summer plans are shaping up nicely, but not without a good deal of logistical running-around on Angela’s part to get a 14-year-old ready to travel alone internationally. The technological miracle that is international flight seems to pale in comparison to what is necessary logistically/bureaucratically! Noah will be home for the summer and the Lord is getting us excited for the extra time with just him during the 1 month that Olivia’s gone. Not sure we’ve ever had that privilege! Kind of cool!

• Tabernacle/Business Investment/Seminar Weekend/Head Cold – The last two weeks of May were a whirlwind! I spent several days with my business client and friend near the beautiful French Alps in what was a profound time of heart connection, concrete business advancement and Holy Spirit presence in the midst of a significant family trial they are currently walking through. Hard on the heels of those days was our 4-hour worship tabernacle (literally from the train, to the house and straight away to church where I arrived late). I had not been able to participate in the planning of this tabernacle because of my absence on business. This meant I arrived with no initial responsibilities or worries…what freedom for a person like me! Combine that with a deep gratitude to the Lord for the previous days and a ultra-profound appreciation for my “family of faith” here and I was propelled into a worship that belied my physical fatigue. The next morning began an intense 2 1/2 day seminar on identity at church (seven 3 1/2-hour sessions!) for which I frequently was in the technical rotation. On Monday afternoon my body quit and I got my first cold in about 9 months and it hit me HARD. Then Angela got it a few days later. We’re both just now coming out of that.

• France en Feu – Angela’s time in Paris was a huge blessing in every way!

• Provision – Our school’s provision situation remains a challenge, though I know of a recent gift from the States and a recent fund-raiser for the elementary school class trip was a huge success. I’ll take those as the first drips from a well that’s being uncapped!

• Sozo – The visit from the UK leaders was very good. Or church leadership team all received personal ministry times that impacted them and they have given the approval to launch the ministry in the church. What a blessing this will be!

• School Festival – The last Saturday in June, our school will have it’s annual carnival to celebrate the year, raise money and awareness of the school, and mostly demonstrate that our good God offers another way to live. It is typically a time when significant new connections are made for the school and old relationships are renewed in a sort of homecoming. The effort to pull this off is an amazing thing and beautiful to behold. That being said, my role as sound technician for this event is one that weighs on me in a more-or-less negative way. When it comes to expending energy, I’m much more of a distance runner than a sprinter (though I was a pretty awful distance runner in my youth!) and this event is like a four-day heavy sprint with a strong lean at the tape. It sort of makes me think of those intense 400 and 800 meter track and field races where it always looked to me as if they handed every contestant a heavy refrigerator to run with somewhere between the 3rd and 4th turn! (the 3 track and field fans among you will understand.) I’d just as soon watch from the stands! I’ve let people know that I’d prefer to not do it this year. I’m working on documenting the responsibility to help pass it off to others. At the moment however, we lack available and qualified “others.” My eyes of faith need glasses! Please pray for those qualified “others” to materialize, for my abilities to effectively coach them and for God to receive the glory at a school festival that celebrates His goodness in a way that many are drawn to Him.

• Summer Planning – This month we’ll have Noah home from the 11th on and we’ll be getting Olivia ready for her trip to the States. Please pray for ability to create a healthy routine for Noah and fear-free logistics for Olivia’s trip.

• Olivia’s Class Trip – Olivia’s class of 18 14 yr. olds will take a train to Dresden, Germany, her teacher’s home town, and stay June 12-19th. Please pray for protection in every way and that the class would be a blessing to the city, the foster home where they will serve, and to each other.

• Health – We’re on the mend from these heavy colds/flu. Thank you Lord! Please pray for Angela and me for complete restoration of strength in our bodies.

• Family Camp Prep – We’re leading worship in August for a YWAM Family Camp and we would like Olivia to participate in the leading. As she’s gone in July, we’d like to get some prep in before she leaves. Please pray for inspiration for Angela about the direction of these family worship times and our ability as a family to come together and model “family worship.”

Thank you!
David