Long Obedience in the Same Direction

Eugene Peterson wrote a book by the title Long Obedience in the Same Direction. This past week, I saw this on full display.

I was with a missions team in Santiago, Chile, working on a children's center. This project has taken over eight years now, and it looks like it might be another five, depending on resources and volunteer teams; however, the missionaries are not giving up because of the significant impact this place will have on children and families in this city for generations to come.

 

One evening, a couple of us went to meet the missionary legend, Paul Hoff. Paul has trained thousands of pastors and leaders in South America through his teaching and writing. For over an hour, we sat and listened to his stories of giving his life to Jesus at age 5, his early years of learning to read the scriptures while working on his family farm in Minnesota, his obedience to the Lord in becoming a missionary, and his vision to start an independent Bible school in Chile to serve the Pentecostal movement.  He is still faithfully serving the Lord at age 94, and serving the school he founded over 40 years ago. This is a life well lived.

I have to admit, sometimes I feel like giving up when things do not happen as I had planned or as quick as I wanted. But then I am reminded by my missionary friends, God is still in control, and I have to keep moving forward. I am also reminded that my calling is more than about me, and the works God has asked me to be part of will live on far past my time here on earth.  

Galatians 6:9 says, "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."

Keep moving. Keep serving. Keep loving. Keep laughing. Keep obeying.

Keith

Exhausting and Exhilarating

On Monday, April 23rd, 10:00 PM, I arrived home in Virginia; back from a two week trip to Buenos Aires, Argentina, where Esther and I taught at the beautiful campus of Instituto Biblico Rio de La Plata (IBRP), Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Esther and I taught over 30 hours and preached 7 times. We taught discipleship, generosity, family life, church leadership, evangelism, coaching, and music (Esther only). Most of our down time was spend in preparing for the next thing they asked us to do. However, we were able to spend a day in town with Rocky and Sherry Grams, our missionaries and hosts. They are very special people to Centerpointe Church. 

It was an amazing trip filled with ministry and encouragement. You can review our video highlights here: 

Esther and I were introduced in every setting, and Rocky tells the students of the gift we gave in 2013 of $100,000, which paid to complete the dormitory that now houses many of the students. That gift goes down as a watershed moment for Centerpointe Church, the school, and thousands of future pastors, evangelist, missionaries, and teachers who will live in those dorms; growing, learning, and developing as leaders. This is a humbling experience because I am receiving thanks on behalf of our people's generosity. I did not make this decision alone; the entire membership gave out of the generosity of their hearts.

I remember someone saying at the time, “We could keep this for our building in the future which will add to our church; or we could give it to IBRP and it will be used immediately to complete their project and those students will reach multiple thousands around the world.” That statement was not only a statement of faith, but it has proven to be a prophetic word.

The school has over 300 resident students and another 500 that come on Saturdays to be trained for Christian leadership. They are sending missionaries around the world and and leaders all throughout Latin America. Romi is now in Paraguay, Aby is in Brasil, Gomez is in Peru, Romi is in Turquia, Adrian is in Espana, Betu is in Colombia, Cony is in Thailand, and the list goes on. Several students we met this week are heading to the northern countries of Africa. This is a place of calling as well as preparation.

The best words I have for this place are "passion" and "hunger." The students, pastors, and professors, are passionate for God, His Work, and His Word. They are also hungry for a new wave of revival in Argentina. 

Thank you Rocky and Sherry for one incredible trip.

I can't wait to go back!

Soooooooo Goooooood

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Going Public

In March, I was more than excited to baptize Sean and Dana. These men took the next step in following Jesus: making it public. Each of their stories is unique, but both speak to the transforming power of Jesus Christ. This is why we do what we do. We share the message of Jesus and He changes lives.

It is my prayer that in 2017, we will see MANY people become followers of Jesus and take the next step by making it public

I Saw Bold

Over the last couple of weeks, I saw what bold looks like.

I visited a single young lady (my daughter) living in a gospel-restricted area of the world. She fell in love with a people and country that threatens those who do not believe the same way they do. This young lady's calling led her to live among the people and demonstrate the love of God. She is living with others who are called to make a difference by reaching out to the broken and hurting of that country and bringing the hope and deliverance that only Jesus brings.

In the same country there is a community of believers that live bold for Jesus. They sing loudly of God's grace and preach God's Word, even though every day, their way of life is threatened, yet they stand firm in their faith.

Shortly after that, I saw the Fairfax County School Board look directly into the face of hundreds of frustrated parents and dismiss their voice. The arrogance of that board was unbelievable as they gave into political correctness and a governmental ungodly agenda. However, there was one who stood up to her peers and spoke with passion and reason, her name is Elizabeth Schultz. At the end of the meeting, the majority voted to move forward with their agenda, but Elizabeth stood her ground and demonstrated a strength of heart like few others.

In the same week, I saw bold again. This time it was found in the students of Freedom High School along with some friends from other schools. Early in the year, the students of Edge Club and The Fellowship of Christian Athletes joined together to pray for their schools. In prayer, God put it on their hearts to hold an event where they could invite their friends and share the message of Jesus' love. They called it "Culture Shift". Their prayer is to see their culture shift to loving God and loving each other. With only a little guidance from pastors and leaders, they used the Freedom High School auditorium and almost two hundred of their friends attended. They boldly worshiped God, shared stories about God, prayed for those who were sick and hurting and invited their friends to receive Jesus. They held nothing back. At the end of the night, many students were drawn to the love of God and proclaimed Jesus as Lord of their lives. There are no words to describe how proud I am as a parent and a pastor of these young people.

Recently we have heard how Christians are losing their influence in this culture. However, if what I have seen over the last three weeks is any indication, signs of a great spiritual awakening are all around us.

Many years ago God said to Joshua, "Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go."
 
May the Lord help us. We need more BOLD. 

If I Had The Guts...

Last night I spoke to our Pulse youth group and asked them to complete this sentence: "If I had the guts, I would...." Here are some responses:

- cliff jumping into water
- sacrifice my life for others (3x)
- talk to a girl I like
- run for political office
- hold a snake
- jump off a moving train
- send the songs I have written to a Christian recording company
- touch a spider
- ask a girl out who is out of my league
- ride a roller-coaster
- tell people how I feel
- apologize to a friend who hurt me
- talk to a guy I like without being awkward
- swim with sharks
- sky diving (3x)
- stand up to a teacher I hate
- go bungee jumping
- kiss the girl I like
- travel around the world
- tell everyone about Jesus

We spoke on what it means to live boldly and read Acts 4 together. Afterwards, we had a great time of prayer together. Please join me in praying for our students as they take a stand for Jesus in their schools. May God raise up a generation that is not ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation.

Psalm 46

As a pastor, I have used Psalm 46 quite often, especially at funerals and times of crises, but this passage took on new meaning for me in October of 2001 while going on a missions trip to El Salvador. I went with a team from our church to build two of the one hundred forty-four Assemblies of God churches that were completely destroyed in the earthquakes in January and February of the same year. What took the churches years to build was totally destroyed in a matter of seconds.

While we were there we saw what it means for the earth to give away. On one of our trips, we drove past a set of mountains that were once a single mountain. The mountain just split into two as the top of the mountain turned into a mud slide.

We also had the opportunity to bring relief to a refugee camp by bringing clothes and food. Thousands of precious people, who once had homes, were now living in tin shacks and dependent upon whoever would come and bring food and clothing. They were completely dependent on the generosity of others. When speaking to the pastors and missionaries living their, I was amazed and inspired by their courage and confidence. Although everything was lost, their faith remained strong. They understood that the only thing on this earth that we can really trust is God. Everything here may fail, but our God is our Strong Tower.

Sometimes the mountains in our lives seem to split open. The things we thought were safe are destroyed. You may feel like life as you know it is falling apart, but the God of Jacob is your fortress. He is the place you can run to for hope.

May the Holy Spirit remind you of God's presence today.

Kristi's Missions Trip to Costa Rica

Dear Friends and Family, 
March 29, 2010 

I hope you are all doing well. I know for me, this year has been a great journey with God. He has blessed me abundantly with an amazing youth group and church. I have grown so much and have been given so many opportunities to share God’s amazing love everywhere I go. 

This summer, I will be going to Costa Rica with my youth group (Remix Student Ministries) from July 16-23. I am excited to spread God’s love through games, drama, music, teaching, and more. We will be going into the local schools daily. 

There are two ways you could partner with me. The first of course is prayer. Please pray for safety and unity for our team. Also pray that God would use us in a powerful way. Secondly is finances. This trip is going to cost about $1,400. This will cover food, transportation, housing and project money. Any amount would be a great blessing and much appreciated.

Thank you for your consideration. 

His Servant,

                                                 

~Kristi Edwards

You can donate online through the following link:

HTTPS://www.easytithe.com/f/?k=9TEJX2VKJ6IPOKWO

Pray for Sudan

We have dear friends in Sudan that really need our prayers. From January 9th through the 15th, the people of Sudan will vote on a referendum that will determine the future of the nation. If the South secedes, the current president of Sudan promised to rewrite the constitution to insure Islam is the only religion and form of law in the North. This, of course, has significant implications for our friends.

Please pray for the following things:

• Peace and safety for the Sudanese people 
• Fair and free voting and counting 
• God’s peace to be in the hearts of the believers of Sudan 
• God’s grace and protection for our friends who continue working in the face of potentially tighter laws in the North 
• Wisdom, compassion, and integrity to be exercised by the leadership of Sudan (North and South)

Missionary to Morgantown

Our Trinity missions team just returned from wild and wonderful West Virginia. We served alongside pastor Johnny and Maria Whitehair - missionaries and pastors. One morning, Johnny was driving our team leader, Craig Bell, and me to different job sites. As we would leave one place he would say, "Hey, do we have just ten more minutes?" Of course we had no choice, we were stuck in a truck with him. He then would take us to another house that needed repair, or show us another ministry that needed laborers. The need is so great and the laborers are so few.

One morning, Craig and I found ourselves in the truck again and heard the familiar question. We answer, "Sure, why not? But please, just ten minutes. We have things to do..."

Johnny then took us to West Virginia University, home to 29,000 college students. He took us to a place on the campus which overlooks Westover, a small town across the river from Morgantown. From that vantage point you can see clearly the school we were working on which will one day be a church. "We need a cross on that school so the students can see it. And when they do, they will be reminded that there is a God and there is always hope."

Pastor Johnny reminds me of another that looked out over a city and was moved with compassion. The scripture tells us that Jesus was moved to the point of pain when he looked out over Jerusalem and saw the people as lost and hurting. He then called the disciples to pray for laborers in the ripened harvest field.

Johnny has caught the heart of Jesus for his community. He reaches out to everyone in need. He feeds the hungry, gives rides to those going to work, gives away hundreds of bikes to kids, preaches and teaches, ect, etc.. His vision goes way beyond his ability and provision. But isn't that just like God? If Johnny could do it on his own, then he wouldn't need God.

We are praying with you Pastor Johnny - "Lord, send forth laborers into this harvest field."

For pictures of our trip, visit www.trinitymissions.smugmug.com

Serving Together,
Keith