A Little Gift Can Make A Big Difference

One of the exciting pieces of news I received while in Kenya was that the Hope Partnership website for giving to their micro-finance loan program was up and running.  It is called bigdent.org.  As you go to this website, you can learn about micro-finance, how it benefits the people living in the Mathare slum, and how you can make a big difference in someone's life.


When you give to help an entrepreneur start a new business, you help that person have dignity and worth as well as help them change their income, their situation - their life.  I strongly encourage you to visit the website, read through their information and program, pick a project that captures your attention, and give!  You'll be glad you did, and more importantly, you'll change the life of an entrepreneur and their family.

The Power of Hope

On this, my fourth trip to Kenya, I am experiencing many familiar sights, sounds, and smells.  Once one has made their initial visit to the Mathare Valley slums, the pure shock that comes from the concentration and level of extreme poverty lessens.  It is still a difficult thing to see and experience, but one is not as shocked by it.

Even with the familiarity that comes with several visits to this location, there are also new things each time I am here.  There are many changes to the physical surroundings – new buildings, new merchants, additions to the centers, the constant changes to the roads in Nairobi – but these are superficial changes that don’t reflect the deeper, more significant changes that are taking place.

The one thing that is constant with each visit is the very strong sense of hope one gets by being involved in the work of Missions of Hope, International.  From seeing and hearing the children in their centers and sensing their hope for the future because of the education they are receiving; to visiting the boarding school at Joska and knowing the hope that comes from the great success with their schooling, meaning they will get to attend a good high school; to visiting a home in the Kosovo community and seeing the homeowners face when the tin is peeled back for their new skylight; to seeing someone who is ill being cared for by a physician or nurse and to receive medications; to sharing the gospel with a resident of the slums and watching them accept Christ; there is a very real sense of hope that one experiences when one is here.

Seeing and knowing the hope that comes from what God is doing in Mathare is very powerful. Hope comes from educating a child and knowing it will make a difference in their life.  Hope comes from instilling Christian principles in the lives of thousands of children and knowing they will someday change their culture.  Hope comes from visitors from America simply providing a sky-light and sharing the Gospel and knowing the encouragement it brings to a home filled with darkness.  Hope comes from offering a free medical clinic and knowing that the medications provided will help the ill overcome their sickness.  Hope comes from seeing another person make Jesus Christ the Lord of their life and knowing the difference that will make in their eternity.

Hope is very powerful, and it’s growing in the slums of Mathare Valley in Nairobi, Kenya.

Greetings from Kenya

It's great to be back in Kenya!  Our team of 6 from FCC joined our partners from CCV on 5 July to begin our journey to Kenya.  On our way here, we got to stop in London for an overnight stay, and we got to visit the city for about 5 hours.  It is such an amazing place.


We arrived safely on 7 July, and made it to the Grace House hotel late in the night.  On Friday, we went to the Pangani Center of Missions of Hope International in the Mathare slum for an orientation, some tea, some lunch, and a brief tour of this part of the slum.


Even though this is my fourth visit and it is less of a shock each time, it is still surprising to see the conditions some 800,000 people live in on a daily basis. Friday night was a good nights sleep, and Saturday found us heading back to Pangani to sort meds for the medical clinic that will take place next week.  We also got to visit a Giraffe Refuge Saturday afternoon.  Sunday we will visit Joska to see the work at the MoHI boarding school.


As the medical team is working next week the rest of us will be doing VBS in the morning and Bring the Light projects in the afternoon.  I will be doing some coach training next week with the MoHI pastors, and I'm really looking forward to that.


Thanks for your continued prayers for our team as we are on this trip!  More to come!  Go to my or the FCC facebook page to view photos of what we've been doing so far.

Accept the Challenge

Early in June, I preached a message on "A Fool and His Money" (listen here by opening the media player) and about the 10/90 Challenge.  What is the 10/90 Challenge?  It is simple: Give 10% of your income for 90 Days and see what happens in your finances. This is the only area of the Christian life where God's asks us to "test Him".

"Will a man rob God?  Yet you rob me."  But you ask, "How do we rob you?"  "In tithes and offerings.  You are under a curse - the whole nation of you - because you are robbing me.  Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house.  Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour our so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.  I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit," says the LORD Almighty.  "Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land," says the LORD Almighty.  Malachi 3:8-12  NIV

Many people want to wait until they can "afford to tithe", but the truth is, the reason they are struggling in their finances is that they are under a curse as Israel was and their "fields" don't produce as they should until they have God's blessing (vs. 10 & 11).

I ended the message by saying, "Learn God's financial principles and live by them; be a wise saver, a cautious debtor, a prudent consumer, and a generous giver.  Don't devour all you have. Be grateful and joyful."

Take the 10/90 Challenge.  Test God in this.  Give 10% of your income for 90 days and see what God does.  If you would like some help, direction, and hope for your personal finances, sign up for our next Financial Peace University class.  It begins in early September and will definitely put you on the road to financial peace.  Register in July for a discount on the price of the class.

A Different Perspective

How often have you heard someone asking the "why" questions when things are not going as planned, or when there has been a major disappointment or setback?  You know the ones - "why is God allowing this to happen?", or "why me?", or "why isn't this going the way I had planned?"  There are many variations to these questions, and I'm sure I've asked most of them at one time or another.  Maybe you have, too.


I've just finished reading a great new book by one of my Coach Trainers, Tony Stoltzfus.  Tony is pretty much the "guru" of Christian Coaching.  His latest book is titled "The Calling Journey" and it focuses on the different stages of life that a leader will find himself in.  You can complete your own calling timeline by visiting this website.  It's a very interesting exercise.


Towards the end of the book, Tony writes "[a new] perspective moves us away from thinking that life just happens to us and we have to endure it, and toward believing 'God is in this - what is he doing?'  This is the 'called according to his purposes' perspective mentioned in Romans 8:28.  When we engage life like someone who is called, where God is in everything, purposefully preparing us, then everything that happens to us ends up working out for good."


When we change our perspective from "why me?" or "why is this happening to me?" to, "where is God in this?" or "what does God want me to learn in this?" that is very powerful!  Instead of asking the why questions, begin to ask the where and what questions.  This idea has impacted me in a big way - it really does change your perspective and your focus, and the outcome.


The next time you are in a situation that isn't going the way you planned, or there is pain or disappointment, try looking at the issue from a different perspective and see how it changes for you.

Random Thoughts for June 9, 2011

First, I want to give you a reminder of how you can help Joplin, MO recover from the devastating tornado a few weeks back.  They have enough clothes, toiletries, and immediate supplies.  The need as they move forward will be money so they can recover and rebuild.  An organization we've worked with before is IDES.  They work through the local churches in the area to distribute money and aid.  If you'd like to give something to the recovery effort, I strongly encourage you to do so through IDES.  FCC-Phoenix is hoping to send a team of workers in late summer to assist in whatever ways are needed.  We believe God gave us the experience of helping in Bogalusa, LA after Hurricane Katrina so we can be a blessing to other recovery/rebuilding efforts as we can.  Stay tuned for more information on this.


This month I complete my life coach training program.  It has been a wonderful experience and I'm so glad I decided to go through this training.  I've learned so much about myself and about the coaching practice, and I've really enjoyed coaching others throughout my training process.  I love coaching and feel it is a big part of the calling God has placed on my heart.


If you're unfamiliar with coaching, it is the art of engaging a person in a conversational process that results in levels of growth and performance they would not have achieved on their own.  One can be coached on any area of life, as long as they want to grow or make progress in that area.  If you'd like to learn more about coaching or being coached, post a comment below.

2 Great Weekends

These last 2 weekends at FCC-Phoenix have been great!  Easter Sunday was a beautiful and great day.  We had a good crowd at the sunrise service; some great breakfast burritos afterwards provided by the Cordova family; great worship services; and great crowds with many new faces!  I hope you were fully able to celebrate our risen Lord that day - "Christ has indeed been raised from the dead..."  I Corinthians 15:20


This last Sunday was our 2nd Baptism Day and Family Fun Fest.  We had 20 baptisms on May 1!  Praise God! It was so encouraging and moving to see so many people respond to God's call on their life, and to make the decision to follow Christ.  We had 1 other baptism earlier in the week, so 21 lives were changed last week by entering the baptistery and coming out with new lives!  Wow.  2 great weekends.  I really hope you were here to experience them.


This Friday (5/6) is the Chik-fil-A Leadercast, and we are one of the valley host sites.  If you'd like to come, you can register here.  May 15 and 22 are the 2 parts of our First Steps class.  In Part 1 we talk about connecting with God and with this church family, and in Part 2 we talk about getting plugged into service here on our campus or in the community.  If you've never been to First Steps, then now's your time.  Sign up here.


We've had some great (and busy) months, and summer is just around the corner.  Make sure you're spending time with God each day and don't let the busyness of life keep you from being with Him.