moldme :: Mark Bond

Philippines - Valley of Death

2012-01-14T23:00:00.001-06:00

Today was a hard, sad day. We went into the worst areas of destruction and walked what I can only describe as the valley of the shadow of death. The smell of the mud is like none I have ever breathed. We walked land that once housed hundreds if not thousands of people. Family units of 7-8 people living in homes equal the size of an E-Z-Up 8’x8’ pop-up tent. Something we tailgate with. “Squatters” had built these homes; the name given to those that would see enough space to gather scraps from a construction site and build a “home”. The local government actually gave this land to the squatters. Of course, they officially warned them that living here was dangerous. Much like the warnings given in tiny print on cigarette packages for the potential danger of cancer. For squatters, this was the life. They had the river. The river coming in was their water supply and the river going out to sea was their sewage system. This river that brought them life, ultimately brought their death.

Them not escaping the storm was not done out of ignoring the forecast. They weren’t staying in their homes to protect what they had. Most simply didn’t know. Those with televisions would have heard that Sendong was a category 3 typhoon and would be coming onto land in Mindanao and would be directly hitting Cagayan De Oro. But as mentioned before, typhoons never do this. They always approach the land, and then follow up the coast to the north. Settling down for the night on December 17, many went to bed like they had the many nights before.

The rain began to fall, but the amounts of rain that were falling were like none other. The river was no longer obedient to the boundaries it had known all its life. At first, the water piling up in the floors would be confused for the rain coming from the sky and not the out-of-control river. Seeing that things were getting chaotic, some decided to start to evacuate. Stories are told that as they were leaving, they realized the magnitude of this storm. Some families separated. Mothers and fathers went back to the house to gather a few personal items, things that seemed valuable at the time. Around midnight, it all broke loose.

Large 36” boulders were carried through the rushing river like feathers in the air, but struck like a wrecking ball for anything in its path. Multiply this wrecking ball by thousands and the homes built by squatters didn’t have a chance. Nor did the thousands who were sleeping, salvaging or scurrying to higher ground. Families running together were swept away into the liquid debris. These waters remained at insane levels until high tide ended. As the waters returned to their path of least resistance, what was left was a stew of death.

This was the ground we walked today.

The numbers we hear on CNN regarding this tragedy only reflect the number of people identified people who are “countable”. You see, most the squatters are people without birth records. If they were born without records (which is not uncommon) they are not a statistic. They will never be counted, even if recovered, on this side of eternity. Jesus knows their names.

Four Clif Bars

2012-01-13T23:00:00.002-06:00

We woke up and had breakfast with Ruel this morning. He is such an intelligent man. A native of the city and a graduate from Xavier University here in Cagayan, he also has his doctorate and is a very highly respected psychotherapist. He’s a very humble man, full of joy of the Lord and is living right in the center of where God has placed him.

Following our morning briefing and making plans for the day, we headed out to a second day of medical outreach. This time, the supplies were taken to another small church on a different part of the city. This church was located right between the mountain area where many live and the river valley.

The place was rather full already upon arrival, but the crowd kept coming once all our vehicles rolled in. The same process as yesterday took place today with Q&A of symptoms, blood pressure checks, temperature checks, and then medicines given. People had walked with their sick children 2-3 miles to seek medicines. Their fevers and sickness come as a result of living in the bacteria infested mud, and they have no clean water. Everything you can imagine that is still buried under feet of mud is contaminating the water that they drink. No amount of medicine taken with this water will provide help. This is day 27 without clean water.

As the small church building was filling up, I stepped outside to play with the kids. When packing for this trip, I brought a lot of Clif Bars as I wasn’t sure what my protein options would be in the Philippines. This morning, I threw 4 in my camera bag to refill from the last couple of days. I decided to start cutting them up into nickel size pieces and share with my friends. Filipinos children like Clif Bars. Especially the chocolate chip ones. I’ve already restocked my bag for next time.

By the end of the day, two large water containers with fresh water had been located and delivered. We could do this a hundred times over around the city.

Philippines - Cagayan de Oro Relief Work

2012-01-12T23:00:00.003-06:00

[I WILL UPDATE THE BLOG WITH PICTURES WHEN I GET BETTER INTERNET SERVICE]

Manila to Cagayan de Oro

The city is a horrible place to try and sleep. I’m even staying in a 4-star hotel in a bed with air conditioning. To observe the chaos of constant honking and traffic navigation during the day from the street level is nothing compared to observing it at night from 7 floors up in your hotel window. Let’s put it this way, vehicles with lights have an advantage. Nevertheless, the bicycles, scooters, vehicles with non-working lights, still participate in the dance. And they all continue to use any method of audible notice that they are going to be weaving in and out.

The glass in our window might as well have been tissue paper. All night long, the noise of traffic and the banter of all the people on the street was difficult to sleep through. Even though my body was exhausted, it was hard to sleep more than 30-45 minutes at a time. I got about 5 cycles of those and called that good.

Waking up, Lynn and I had a nice omelet breakfast in our hotel as soon as it opened at 6am. We “checked out” of our room prior to having breakfast because part of the process is a room inventory before you pay to leave. So we let them do that while we ate our meal.

A driver took us to the Manila airport for our morning domestic flight to Cagayan De Oro. The flight was supposed to leave at 9:30am, so we arrived about 7:30. Upon arrival, we went through the Filipino version of TSA security. I put my bags through a scanner without taking anything out. I didn’t remove anything from my pockets. When I was hand checked by the security officer, he called me sir (like every other Filipino) and asked if that was just a phone and wallet. I said, “Yes” – and that was sufficient.

Once in the terminal, we learned our flight was a few hours delayed, but we could show our boarding pass and receive a free lunch for the inconvenience. Lynn headed to the VIP lounge for Philippine Airlines as he’s a Frequent Flyer and I found the laptop charging station and soaked up some WiFi and FaceTime conversations with friends. I got to talk with Jeremy Weldon, Matt Johnson, Pam Wert, Mark Christian, Scott Ensminger, Megan Gariss, Tom Michael, and more. It was an absolutely amazing way to start the day. Lynn and I eventually got our free lunch. We both chose the beef steak (probably 1.5oz of SALTY meat in broth, some questionable noodles in a small ziplock bag and a pile of rice with more salty broth on it. I drank a lot of bottled water.

Our flight finally took off from Manila and carried us on the 75-minute journey to the southern island of Mindanao. The coastal city of Cagayan De Oro, meaning the City of Golden Friendship was a site to behold from the air. Rivers cut up the land throughout the city. It was these rivers that were the dreadful place to be on December 17, 2011. The perfect storm reportedly dropped upwards of 25 inches of rain fell and the ocean high tide prevented that water flowing through these natural tributaries. Those who fell victim to this crisis were the poorest of the poor, homeless squatters who put up any kind of building material along the river banks to live. The attraction of this area is due to having a place to take their garbage and sewage. But on this night, without any warning system, it became the worst place on earth to be.

Typhoons that approach the Philippines typically take northern turn and head up the coast. Locals say this storm was unique to park over Cagayan De Oro and dump its fury. Because of the typical storm mentality of tracking to the north, most people ignored the little warning they had. It was the week before Christmas. Many were already celebrating the holiday and thought this storm would do as all the others do and just move on. Simply put, they didn’t heed the warning that a level 3 Typhoon was coming right at them, because they hear this all too often and the storms always track north. This sounds all too familiar of the night of graduation in Joplin, MO on May 22, 2011 and the warnings given in our city.

Ruel (Roo – el), local director of Christians’ Haven, was at the airport to pick us up. As we drove away, Ruel explained to us what has happened in his world the last 26 days. My heart and emotions took me back to the journey the Lord had taken me through a little over 6 months ago. Lynn shared the parallels of what my role was in disaster relief following the Joplin tornado. As Lynn formally introduced us, he had me share with Ruel the emotions I felt during those days. I shared about the guilt of being a survivor, the exhaustion, the trauma of living around all the death, the overwhelming amount of communication that piles up deeper than the debris itself, the days of longing for relief efforts to transition from being reactionary to intentional. We lived thousands of miles apart and understood each other completely. Only Jesus could do that. In those 2 minutes, Ruel and I caught up on years of friendship we had never had.

Immediately upon leaving, we were headed to our first place of ministry for the day. Ruel apologized that we would not be checking into our hotel until about 9pm that night. I smiled and thought to myself, “the last place I want to be is in a hotel right now”. I recall the days of those coming in to help in Joplin. There was so much to DO in that hour. While you wanted to let the visitors have an experience of what your town had gone through, taking the tour of the carnage seemed like a waste of time when people needed supplies now. Nevertheless, I learned as a visitor the overwhelming perspective you gain when you truly take it all in. We saw the massive destruction that the high water carrying debris and mud did to his city and it invigorated my heart for why the Lord had us here.

We arrived at a small church building that had been turned into a Crisis Distribution Center. Leading up to today, they had distributed food and clothing and all the while starting conversations that might lead to some emotional healing. On this day, $1,000 in medicines arrived that had been purchased out of contributions made to Christians’ Haven Typhoon Relief Fund. You have no idea how far $1000 US dollars goes in the Philippines. Boxes…and boxes. Big boxes. Enough to fill the back of a pickup truck two boxes two boxes deep. If you were part of giving to that fund, thank you. If you are reading this and want to respond, you can do that right here.

On the same day the meds arrived, some young doctors from Manila who saw the call for help on a Facebook post by Ruel. Like a well-oiled machine, the local CH college students created a simple triage center. I was so overwhelmed to watch the Lord’s redeeming story play out right in front of me. These college students were once orphans and street kids in the Philippines. Through CH, they were rescued, restored and were now returning to help those who needed it most in their city. They weren’t following a plan they were told to execute. They were creating the plan, walking those in need through the system, and executing it with much love in the Name of Jesus.

A waiting area was established and one by one, about 250 young and old went through checks like blood pressure, temperature, and basic Q&A. Based on the doctor’s evaluation, they were given the meds they needed to recover or prevent.

This was a lot to take in and simply walk into. Feeling torn and reluctant about breaking out my camera, I decided capturing these moments would be a Kingdom win for the Church to see. Little did I know what the Lord wanted to do with my flash and lens. With amazement, the kids started smiling when I would take their picture and then show them the playback screen. Smiles turned to posing. Posing turned to smiles. Smiles turned to giggles, high fives, fist bumps, and laughter. I was informed later that night that in the 26 days across the 25 distribution centers there had been no laughter. Truth be told, there was nothing to smile about. But for some reason, Jesus used a funny looking white guy from the other side of the world with a camera to infuse some laughter into a very serious situation. Those smiles will forever be sacred to me. One small girl named “Sweet” captured my heart and I will be praying for her for days to come.

After some final high fives all around, we carried out the boxes of meds to the truck and headed back to the Christians’ Haven Campus House. Upon entering, I observed a banquet table with seats for 25 people with food from one end to the other. The most beautiful presentation of fresh mango, pineapple, papaya, rice, stir-fry, rice noodles, dumplings, and more filled the table from one end to the other. It didn’t take long for everyone to find a seat, bless the food, and dig in to one of the best meals I’ve had in a long time. Eating that mango was a near spiritual experience for me. God makes good fruit. This generous expression of hospitality was humbling.

Following that wonderful meal, everyone gathered to the family room area of the home. The CH college students had set up a video projector and screen and began a meeting just giving everyone an overview of where they had been, what had been accomplished and what the Lord had been doing in the last 26 days since Sendong had hit. A couple picture slide shows of very real images were hard to see. Like a father holding his daughter’s mud-covered, lifeless body; real. Much like Joplin, the early days of the disaster are very hard to comprehend for those that were not physically there. I hope to get a copy of these slideshows as well as the individual pictures that made them up.

The meeting went on to debrief the day of the first medical clinic. They did some critical analysis of what went well, what could have gone better, and how they would improve the system for the next one. I sat back thinking to myself what a wonderful job they had just done taking care of 250 people and they were looking for improvement. They discussed things like making sure someone from the local area was in a leadership presence at the center to make sure those being treated were actually from that area and not double dipping or hoarding resources. They wished they had a database system to track those receiving aid to make sure the moneys being spent on supplies were being evenly distributed to everyone. Again, I sat back and smiled at their diligence and remembered the similar conversations being had at debriefings at The Bridge.

The meeting closed by the students organizing themselves into three groups in preparation for a supplies drop that would be taking place within the hour at one of the Relief Center temporary housing areas. Three separate bags contained things like clothing, food, and school supplies that would be taken this night. The night drop was necessary because it provided the best chance of being able to distribute to only the people who lived in this area.

This was actually an overflow “housing” area from one that had been initially established, but quickly became overcrowded. This overflow housed about 2,000 people that had moved into an outdoor covered basketball court. This court, near one of the rivers, at one time had 10 feet of water on it (up to the goal itself). About 10 inches of settled mud still caked much of the concrete where it hadn’t been removed from the court. This was their new home. Salvaged pieces of “you name it” made up homes. The government provided them with 3 port-a-potties for 2,000 people to share as well as a pop-up easy tent with a security guard.

We arrived and started carrying supplies in. One of the college students grabbed a bullhorn and started giving instructions. Specifically about lining up for the first distribution of the packaged food beginning with the youngest people first. This hurt to watch. Like many scenes I had observed on CNN of relief work where people were lining up, I watched and prayed that there was enough. I looked at the boxes and then the crowds and doubted. Then it began. Small 6”x6” boxes that we would take half a sandwich home from the restaurant was their meal tonight, complete with an orange. As the first ones to receive moved out of the way and the others kept moving forward with great anticipation, my heart just broke. The “survivor-guilt” kicked in and my feast from just hours ago was being played back in my head. Orange peel remnants now litter the dirty basketball court like flower petals scattered for a bride’s aisle. Come quickly, Lord Jesus.

The peels didn’t lay there long. As the college students had brought dustpans and brooms to clean up the mess they had given out. True respectful servants. This process was repeated two more times with clothing and some basic school supplies as classes will be resuming very soon.

After some mingling and relationship-building conversations, we all loaded up. The college students went back to the campus house and we were taken to the hotel we would be staying in for the next few nights. Exhausted from travel, I thought I would be ready to put my feet up for the first time in almost 48 hours. However, riding up the elevator and walking into a room with two beds made just perfect was not as attractive as I reflected on the day.

Philippines - Travel Day #2 in Manila

2012-01-11T05:24:00.005-06:00

San Francisco to Manila

Huge. The plane is huge. I’m awestruck. Just looking at it from the outside window was impressive, but the inside is overwhelming. Upstairs, downstairs. I’m in row 95. Ninety five! Lynn knew the configuration of the plane, so he requested the back of the plane so that we could take advantage of where it tapers down to two seats in our section. No one else to let in and out all night long. Our row has 2 seats, then 5, then 2 more. Lynn gave me the window seat. I’ve been staring out of it most of the night. I’m writing this entry about 8 hours into the flight. We have 3.5 more hours until we refuel in Guam. We’ll have to wait there (on the plane) for about 90 minutes, then we’ll take off and complete the journey to Manila in another 3 hours. So, that puts me about halfway there on the clock.

I had hoped to sleep, but a couple of factors have kept me up. First, I’m cold. This plane is freezing. I’m wearing two shirts (a polo and a long sleeve golf pullover). They handed out this little packet of supplies for each seat that included an eyemask, toothbrush/toothpaste, socks, headphones, a blanket, and a pillow. That thin little blanket has become a good friend.

Second, the first two hours of the flight I felt like I was in a concrete mixer. The back of the plane was shaking left to right like crazy. I wasn’t nervous out of safety, but it sure wasn’t a comforting “momma-rocking-the-baby-to-sleep” feeling either. I’ve listened to a lot of music and had some fun thoughts. Thoughts like, “there is absolutely nothing below me but water in every direction as far as I could see”. That made me think about how the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters in Genesis. No matter the power that keeps this plane in the air and the force that I can hear being generated by the many engines hanging on the wings, the power of the Lord just hovers. Other thoughts brought smiles when I heard a couple of babies cry onboard. While some might have been disturbed by the noise, I was rejoicing over the reminder of what the Lord has called me to do within His Kingdom.

For a long portion of the flight, the clouds were brilliant being illuminated by the moon. And those clouds were below us. Way below us. The upper curtain of the night was a canopy of stars. Simply breathtaking. The wing of the plane caught just enough light to ruin a perfect picture.

The further we fly away from the States, the earlier we arrive into the Philippine night sky. As I type this, it’s bedtime in Manila, 10:15pm. Back home, it’s 8:15am. My body wants to function on that timezone still. I’ll adjust.

I hope we get some food soon. I’m hungry and its time to take my morning medicine (or bedtime medicine on this side of the globe). Lynn just woke up. Every flight, he’s slipped into the unconscious with ease. I’m a little envious.

The fuel stop in Guam was just a tease. We landed, stayed on the plane for an hour and then took off again for 3 more hours of flight. Landing in Manila at 5:30 was too early to see the city from the air, but the lights of a city of 18,000,000 people are rather impressive.

###

A Day in Manila

Lynn, got me through the immigration process with ease. I guess the rule of thumb is just check “no” on everything and you’re good. Don’t tell the bad guys that info. After getting my passport stamped, we waited for our baggage. Even at 5:45 in the morning, when an 757 unloads 700 people who have multiple bags it takes a while to find yours. To say I was a little nervous that my bag wasn’t showing up since the last time I had seen it was 36 hours earlier in Kansas City is an understatement. Finally, Lynn’s tiny little brown bag and my oversized roller duffel appeared. I need to learn to pack much lighter. Next was customs, which again, simply check no and don’t declare anything and you move very quickly.

After getting a driver, we headed to our hotel. My only foreign country experience of driving was simply crossing the border into Mexico and observing Juarez traffic. This is absolutely insane. Lanes mean nothing. And when there is a gap, look out because motorcycles, bikes, horses, anything that might fit between will try to fit. If it doesn’t fit, you will move and let them through. Oh, and you can make a right hand turn from whatever lane you are currently driving in. The other cars will honk, but they will stop. Didn’t observe any flying fingers or shouting. This is just their version of normal.

We arrived at the hotel at 7:30am and tried to check in but there wasn’t a room ready. We were told 45 minutes, but Lynn knew that could mean 2 hours. He knows this place so well, so we went to Starbucks, then to a local café called FlapJacks for breakfast. An egg omelet with a bunch of veggies was wonderful after airline food and backpack snacks for the last day and a half.

The area we’re staying in Manila is very strange. It’s very diverse between the educated and the uneducated, the wealthy and the poor, the businessman and the beggar. And they simply coexist. One side of the street is a four level mall with a beautiful outdoor courtyard fountain. Security Guards pat down everyone (except Americans) who enter. Shops like Starbucks, Häagen-Dazs, Krispy Kreme, and Italian Restaurant, a French Crepe Bistro line the lower level and have guards inside all of them. Then, from the outdoor courtyard, you look across the street to people selling all kinds of junk, handing out papers promoting government-licensed brothels just upstairs.

Tonight, we’re back in this area mentioned above for dinner at a T.G.I.Fridays and some more WiFi at FlapJacks. The college students all paraded through from the classes being over and the prostitutes move into the street area. Same ages of people. One group is enthusiastically pursuing their future and walking through another group of people that are living out theirs night by night. However, because this is a shameless culture, they simply coexist.

I honestly can’t tell you how many times Lynn and I were approached to buy everything from cell phone chargers to Cialis on the street. The only other US Citizens I’ve observed have all been 50-60 year old American men walking around with Filipina women.

Breaking my heart are the children that come up and ask for coins. When observing Lynn, he seemed so insensitive and cold to the ask. When I learned more about the system and how all of this works, my heart still breaks for these little children who are being used.

Today, we visited a few areas to do some filming for Christian’s Haven. Those places include US Embassy, Risal Park, Fort Santiago, San Agustin Church, the Mall of Asia, the Manila American Cemetery and Memorial. This filming will assist future groups understand the culture they are encountering when coming on a trip in the future. We learned a few things today along this journey. One, filming at a US Embassy is a bad idea. Don’t do this. Second, check emails and US Travel info before visiting sites in Manila. Turns out there was a major terrorist threat for the area. Good news is, everything went fine. Even better news is we depart Manila tomorrow morning.

So we’ve soaked up all the WiFi our eyes can take for tonight. It’s about time to head back to the hotel and enjoy a bed for the first time since Monday morning about 4:45am. I’m thinking I’ll rise tomorrow on this time zone. We depart by plane tomorrow morning for Cagayan de Oro to begin relief work. We're not completely sure what the Lord will have us doing, but we're going to be rested and ready to be His hands and feet. Your prayers are appreciated.

Philippines - Travel Day #1

2012-01-09T21:53:00.001-06:00

Joplin to Kansas City

The night of rest was good. I didn’t use my CPAP machine overnight because I wanted to pack it up, and being a little tired today wasn’t a bad thing either. I’d like to crash hard (well, maybe that isn’t a great expression – more like sleep well) on the final flight of the day over the big pond.

I woke up about 4:30am and read through Philippians. Finally getting out of bed around 5am, I enjoyed taking my final USA shower for many days. Rachel awoke with me and we got to spend a few minutes making breakfast together before the kids woke up.

While finishing up my first post on the blog for the day, Rachel woke the kids up. Javan came right to me and crawled up on my lap. He said, “well, today’s your trip, huh?” I told him it was and that I was excited to come home and tell him all the things that Jesus is doing in the

Philippines. With his sad, dramatic voice, he told me he didn’t want me to go. But then quickly remembered that today was his day for Show & Tell at preschool.

So he was off my lap and on to finding that special thing to take to school.

I got to cuddle with all three on the couch next to Rachel as the kids took turns on my lap and in my arms. Sacred moments.

Lynn arrived right at 6:00am. Quick hugs, kisses and goodbyes. The bags walked out the door and into the car.

Betsy drove us up 69 Hwy through Kansas up to Kansas City International. We arrived right at 9:00am. There was no line at the American Airlines counter. Really? On a Monday morning? Amazing. My bag was 2.5 pounds over the baggage limit, so Lynn moved my boots to his bag. That dropped me 8 pounds.

At the ticket counter, we were thrilled to learn that we could be checked through all the way to Manila. That means we don’t touch bags again until tomorrow! And we have boarding passes for all the flights for today. No more lines and our seats are assigned all the way through. Amazing.

A Starbucks caught our eyes and seemed to be screaming our names. So while our phones and

computer topped of on some charging, we sipped and drew some house expansion plans for our house. Lots of fun ideas that mean we might not have to buy a bigger house! Amazing.

After an hour, we went through security. The security agent at the gate questioned if my passport was me with a smirk. I told him that was me 6 years and 200 pounds ago. I showed him a more current I.D. from my Missouri Issued Conceal & Carry Permit. He smiled again and let me through. That was kind of fun.

We only waited about 30 minutes inside the gate before boarding began. A few quick text messages went out and the phone quickly became an iPod.

###

Kansas City to Chicago

Once on the plane, Lynn barely could keep awake through the instructions from the flight attendant. Who knew he could actually wind down and be silent! I hope this doesn’t come back to bite me at midnight when we are side by side for 14 hours!

Jesus, thank you for all your favor this morning. I mentioned to Lynn that everyone we encountered with the airlines has been so joyful today. Who knew a Monday morning could be so good for so many people. Also, thank you for making people who are smart enough to invent Bose Noise Canceling headphones.

We arrived in Chicago 15 minutes early, but ended up sitting on the tarmac waiting to exit for 20 minutes. It’s a blessing we arrived early as our connecting flight to San Francisco was a pretty tight time frame. We had just enough time to use the restroom and grab some awesome fresh salads to take on the plane. Grilled chicken, tomatoes, red onion, bell pepper, cucumbers, beets, chick peas, broccoli, mushrooms, olives on dark greens.

###

Chicago to San Francisco

Both flights have been full, but being down all this weight makes that a non-issue. I am learning that I need to improve my posture and sit on a different part of my backside instead of so much pressure on my tailbone. Ugh…only 24 more hours of traveling to go – dear Jesus help me sleep tonight and resist the Starbucks kiosks in San Francisco!

The salad was wonderful and I was able to drink a few glasses of water when the flight attendants offer. I need more water today. I’ll need to buy some and drink as much as I can before the next flight and hopefully nature will run it through before the big flight.

I got busted for the first time with using my phone beyond the point that the airline wanted me to. By busted, I mean I was firmly instructed to shut my phone off. I showed them it was on airplane mode and I was firmly instructed to shut my phone off.

This leg also included some Blue Diamond Bold Almonds with Wasabi & Soy Sauce! YUM! Thank you, sis. I might need to hit that flight attendant light soon for some more water.

Lynn continues to sleep. I’m growing more concerned that he will be a chatter box on the longest leg. No worries, I’ve already thanked Jesus once today for the Bose Noise Canceling Headphones. I’ll be sure and thank him again .

With a sleeping traveling partner, I’ve been able to do some reading. Really, I’ve done a lot more digging…hold that thought:

The pilot just mentioned that we are passing over Denver, CO. He didn’t have to mention that at all, but I’m so thankful he did. The Lord reminds me all the time that His ways are not my ways and His thoughts are not my thoughts. Amazing!

So I have been reading and processing The Spirit of Adoption by Randy Bollander. If you have an inkling of a thought that the Lord might want to expand your family in His story of adoption and you’re not sure about following through, don’t read this book. Chapters 3 & 4 just made me a mess. Maybe I am thankful Lynn is sleeping. I love how the emotion of the Lord rooted in truth is so much more satisfying and timeless than the emotion of a story that is dramatized and orchestrated by man to produce only a temporary fix. I’m learning that the more I give and surrender to His will and ways that He truly does give back in greater measure. I don’t give to get, but I simply obey and receive what a Good Father has.

###

Five Hours in San Francisco

I’m not sure where all that time went. The last four hours flew by in comparison to the flight from Chicago to San Francisco. It was nice to have a good meal and get all the devices recharged before the big leg of this trip.

Lynn got me through International Security like a pro and I was able to Facetime with my sweet family just before their bedtime. That was so special. Those conversations that you really don’t want to end but know they have to aren’t easy at all. He’ll give us more.

We board the 757 in one hour and take off 45 minutes after that. We should arrive in Manila about 3:30pm (CST) on Tuesday.

Here We Go to the Mountains

2012-01-09T05:36:00.006-06:00

The bags are packed and Lynn Ragsdale will be arriving at my house in 22 minutes to pick me up and the adventure begins. Well, that's not completely accurate. A few months ago, in my prayer time, the Lord was really impressing on me the concept of withdrawal and abiding. I heard the month of January and spending time in the mountains with Him. I also knew it was for more than a weekend getaway. It's was all journaled and was shared with a few close friends.

I started making plans about October for this withdrawal to go to Colorado. Books to read, portions of Scripture I would want to memorize, networking with friends and ministries with who I could stay for a few weeks.

I should have known. "If it's the Lord's will, it's the Lord's problem" my pastor always says.

I believe it.

As January was getting closer and closer, my plans that I had attempted to create were failing. Life was getting extremely busy for a major project to launch in February at work. Asking for the time away was becoming a fear as I just didn't see how I could be gone that long.

December 16th changed all of that. And, now, January the 9th, the One who's name is Faithful and True continues the work that He started.

The goodbyes are still bittersweet. Javan just told me he really didn't want me to leave, but was quickly distracted by the fact that today was his Show & Tell day at preschool. Everything is okay now.

I am full of great joy to Show and Tell you all the things that the Lord is doing around the world. I'm thrilled that the moon is full right now and the light of the same sun is being reflected on the other side of this dirt ball.

I might not be doing much reading and not one of my flights stops in Colorado, but the overflow of what Jesus has been teaching me will be shared wearing some boots and walking in the mountains of the Philippines.

Thank you, Jesus for your voice and your provision!

Clay in His Hands,
Mark Douglas

PHILIPPINES :: God Is Able

2011-12-28T19:23:00.003-06:00

Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.

Ephesians 3:20-21

Because of the love of Jesus expressed through the generosity of so many, all my travel expenses are covered. Thank you to everyone who responded so quickly. Thank you, Jesus!

Because of that, all additional dollars that come in for this trip will go directly into aiding those that we come into contact with and through the continuing ministry of Christians' Haven. We are asking the Lord that He will provide $10,000 to take into the area with us. This money will be used to make repairs to the Christians' Haven campus and to provide aid to an ever-increasing number of people.

The greatest needs are in the city where the campus of Christians' Haven is ministering. They are trying to respond and care for a city that just increased by thousands in the number of newly homeless people. The Filipino government is reporting that 143,000 people were directly impacted by this storm. The city of Cagayan De Oro and Illigan are coastal and were caught between the flash flooding from mountain rivers and the storm surge from the ocean. At this time more than 1400 are confirmed dead and many, many more are missing. There could be significantly more dead and just not reported as entire villages and neighborhoods disappeared in the flood waters.

As Americans we are used to rapid response from our government. That is sadly not the case in the Philippines. The government there is normally slow to respond and lacks adequate resources for such a calamity as this. Christians' Haven will be working to feed and care for basic needs of people in distress and making Jesus famous as we serve in His name. In the Philippines, it is the role of neighbors to help neighbors. Christians’ Haven desperately needs your help as we ask “who is our neighbor?”

The Christians' Haven campus and children were saved by the grace of God and the great wall that surrounds the campus. That very wall that provided safety has received damage from the floods. It must rebuild it rapidly.

We've also been asked to bring vitamins. They are in short supply and with shortages of healthy foods they are in great demand. Some of the contributions sent will be used to purchase as many vitamins as we can take with us to distribute.

If you want to give toward these needs, contributions can be made to Christians’ Haven for “Typhoon Relief” by any of these methods:

by paying electronically through the “Donate Now” link on christianshaven.com
by contributing at any US Bank to “Christians’ Haven Typhoon Relief Fund”
by mailing to Christians’ Haven, P.O. Box 369, Webb City, MO 64870

Regardless of your ability to financially support this cause, I urge you to pray for the ministry of Christians' Haven often as they struggle through this very chaotic and painful time.

This song is a reminder to me of the faithfulness of God that He will never leave and His power never fails. As you pray for the people of the Philippines, would you ask the One who is Able to continue to do is overwhelming work in their lives. He can, because He is able.

God is Able

Philippines Crisis Trip :: Support Appeal

2011-12-26T21:55:00.023-06:00

[This need has been UPDATED here.]

Friday evening, December 16, I was wrapping up an evening on Facebook. A friend of mine sent me an email with a subject line "Urgent Prayer Request". Capturing my attention, I began to read:

"I have just received word from the Philippines that a major typhoon has hit the island of Mindanao. This is highly unusual for our region and so preparations may not have been as good as in other regions of the Philippines. The report is that heavy flooding has occurred from the enormous amounts of rainfall and also from a major flood surge from the ocean.

I have been unable to contact any of our people there either in Cagayan De Oro where our Campus House is located or at the Tuod Campus where our other staff and children live. It has been impossible to get cell phone calls through and that is our only communication means.

At this point we know that there has been major flooding and wind damage in the area. Roads are washed out and transportation is as limited as communication.

Please begin praying right now for our kids, our staff, and our island. I will update you as soon as I can get more definitive word on damage."

After surviving a summer of chaos that began on May 22, 2011 in Joplin, MO, I began to experience emotions that I thought I had worked through. But this time for a people and a country I didn't know much about.

As the night continued and more news surfaced around the world, I watched videos, observed pictures, and read the increasing number of lives lost. But unlike other tragedies, this one gripped a part of my heart that was forced to spring into action.

I could share so many details for you to see the Lord preparing me for this Here and Now moment in my life. Some of you have journeyed with me in some of those details. If you want to hear more about these specifics, I'd be happy to share more later. However, because of some urgency, I'm going to get to the point of this post:

The Lord has opened the door, allowing me to be flying to the Philippines on January 9, 2012 and to be there for 11 days. By faith, I am going to assist the ministry of Christians' Haven that has been, and continues to make the name of Jesus famous in this part of the world. Lord willing, I will spend a couple of days in Manila, and then the remaining time on the island of Mindanao. The itinerary includes doing relief work, street ministry, as well as teaching and training to local church Pastors. I know the Lord has prepared me spiritually, physically, mentally, and emotionally for this overseas adventure.

How can you help?

1) Prayer: I know this is my greatest need. I am needing people who will pray for me and my family on a daily basis leading up and through this trip.

2) Financially: It took time to gather specific needs and facts to see what the best opportunity to serve would be. That turned out to be a blessing as the cost to travel has decreased from nearly $9,000 to about $2,000 by delaying departure through the Christmas travel dates. In the next week, I am asking friends and family if they would consider giving to this effort financially. I said yes to this trip on faith and I am confident the Lord will provide the resources and more. Typically, an ask made for an overseas missions trip would would be well written and have a response cards and more. I simply don't have time to pull all of that together as I leave the country two weeks from this very hour of writing. So, if you are willing to give, would you send whatever amount you can sacrifice to:

Christians’ Haven Typhoon Relief
MEMO: Mark Bond
P.O. Box 369
Webb City, MO 64870

I am thankful for so many who have invested and sown seeds in me over the years. I hope that you have seen the fruit of your investment that only Jesus can produce. My singular prayer for this trip is that the seeds that are planted will produce a harvest that no one would ever imagine. Jesus can do that. Thank you for considering partnering in this adventure!

If you decide to partner in one of these two areas, would you let me know? I would love to send updates to you about this trip as it approaches and follow up upon my return.

Clay in His Hands,

Mark Bond

John 4:34-38

Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work. Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest! And he who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, that both he who sows and he who reaps may rejoice together. For in this the saying is true: ‘One sows and another reaps.’ I sent you to reap that for which you have not labored; others have labored, and you have entered into their labors.”

Weight Lifting Worship & Locker Room Prayer

2011-12-13T07:30:00.003-06:00

I had an opportunity to work out with a new friend I've made at the gym today. Joe is a really good guy. I don't know much about him, but that will come with time. A mutual friend introduced us a few weeks ago and usually works out with us. But, today, that mutual friend had a big final exam to take and needed to sleep in. So it was leg day for Joe and myself.

We started in on my least favorite muscle group in the gym. About halfway through our routine, my workout made a transition into a worship opportunity in my mind. I wasn't listening to music or carrying my guitar around the gym with me. But I was finding joy in being obedient to what the Lord has made me aware of being surrendered to. So, on I went with Joe and we finished the 45 minute session with some lunges.

Joe was done, but I thought I'd walk a mile on the treadmill before heading out, but I wanted my headphones and phone. When I went to the locker to get those, I just thought I needed to type out a prayer for today. So I did. I've journaled quite a bit, but I've never sat sat down in the locker room and processed what was in my head into a word document on my cell phone. I sent the prayer to a friend as encouragement for their day. Here's a portion of that prayer that maybe the Lord would want to hear from you:

Dad - I surrender this day to you. It was Yours before the first bird chipped or the darkness was pierced by the morning rays. But my flesh wants this day to be mine. Not that You need my permission or authority, but I acknowledge that this day is Yours.

While I've been resting, You've been anticipating that much more of Your Glory to be displayed on the earth on Tuesday. (You probably smirk at my concept of time). And for some reason, that only Your Grace knows, You choose to display Your glory with my life.

Dad, purify my heart to be a vessel that could contain Your glory. Remove all the kindling of me that I place on my alter that is but a spark in comparison to your consuming fire. Burn it, consume it in a flash...with a puff of smoke.

May You glory in what I eat, glory in what I say, glory in what paperwork I do, glory in sharing Your heart with someone that needs to hear it, and glory in my mundane.

Peirce my heart and alert my mind if I should have any thought that is not worthy of the calling you've placed for my life. Your Word tells me that You know the plans that You have for me (heh...why wouldn't You), but then You encourage me that those plans are full of hope & a future. Help me live for that day, and not this one.

Your son,
Mark Douglas

Some advice I gave

2008-04-03T22:45:00.004-05:00

A friend wrote me about a change in ministry opportunity and asked my opinion on what he should do. Here was my reply:

Things are really going well. We survived a very icy winter down here and have avoided much of the cold/flu stuff. Ministry-wise, things are going really well. We are making some really tough decisions right now concerning some major building renovations and it is forcing us to get to the nitty-gritty of our philosophy of ministry. We have to invest in what we value...and when you have 7 departments all trying to state why their area has value, it's tough to get anything done really well. It's a great leadership learning experience for me!

Yeah, I got your message a while back and have been praying about your opportunity. In my 11 years of ministry (including 2 moves), I've come to really believe and trust that generally God's will is not as specific as we try and make it. Don't get me wrong...I know there are promptings of the Holy Spirit to act then and there. And I also believe that God does have plans and purposes for us. However, from what I read in Scripture about and specifically in Paul's journeys, I see him making choices where he would go and sometimes even how long he would stay.

I think the greater question you have to ask is where can I be most effective for the Kingdom and making Jesus famous. That doesn't mean I have to work in a mega church or be in a city to accomplish that. My dad was never in a town over 5000 people in his life. But I look back through his records of ministry and see hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of souls that he got to introduce to Jesus Christ. And for him, it was in the small town where he knew many people and could share Jesus in the everyday. And Dad knew that when crisis came (not if, but when) all those conversations and connections that he had with people would give them a reason to come to him to find answers to their problems. And the answer was always the same...Jesus.

So, my friend and brother - I pray that God opens your eyes and heart to see how He can use you to do what He's wired you to do with the greatest Kingdom impact as possible. You just have to sort out where that is. You've only got so many breaths to take and days to make Jesus famous.

I love ya, bro!
-Mark

A Bag of Chips

2008-01-30T23:51:00.002-06:00

Shearer's Buffalo Wing Bleu Cheese Kettle Cooked Extra Crunchy Potato Chips to be exact. I found them at Big Lots for $1.70. They aren't bad. Actually, they are pretty good...but man, are they hot! I'm into spicy stuff. This will rip your tongue apart and just as you suck air into your mouth thinking that will extinguish the blaze, you find yourself really wanting to put your hand in the bag and pull out the next chip and do it all over again. If I had to complain about this bag of chips it would be that the Bleu Cheese hits you too hard too fast and the only thing that lingers is the vinegary heat. All in all, it's a good chip.

I love the staff at the church where I work. Simply put, we have a lot of fun together. We enjoy doing absolutely stupid stuff and laughing out loud as we make fun of each other. Someone gets pranked at least every other day and more often than not, everyone else is in on it. Beyond the friendships, it's a great collection of people that are really good at what they do.

After 10 years of ministry, I'm truly understanding that building a good team is really hard. Building a great team is even harder. What I absolutely love about the staff I get to work with is how the lines of departments are starting mix like flavors. We are making hires of people that are gifted in multiple areas and can be seen in several areas of the church rather than sporting a title or role. We aren't hiring round pegs to put fill holes. We are starting to see some really cool results from this and there are some things on the horizon that keep me up with so much excitement I can't sleep.

Mixing flavors puts Youth Minsters, Small Group Ministers, and Worship Leaders on the Preaching Team so that different connections can be made by the body. Mixing flavors lets students see the heart of the Senior Minister so they have ownership that they are a vital part of the body. Mixing flavors means making excellent decisions when building a great team. Because when people head home, in all the flavors they encountered on a Sunday, we hope that they simply tasted Jesus.

One Big Sonic Slush

2007-12-11T15:01:00.001-06:00

So, my family and I are living in a hotel. The room is 20' x 15' = 300 sq feet. In this room is a full size refrigerator, cook top stove, dishwasher, sink, 37" plasma TV, 2 double beds, a closet containing an ironing board, a bathroom with a sink, toilet, tub & shower. Two adults and three small children. This isn't a social experiment on the breaking point of my sanity. This is a week long winter storm that is beyond frustrating.

Saturday night, we all went to bed in our warm home with the pending storm on it's way. About 1:30,not only did the rain start, but with it came thunder and lightning. It rained and rained and the temp was already at 30 degrees. Thankfully, the ground temperature never caught up to the air temperature. We received a massive amount of rain...and it hasn't quit. It's weird to hear the NOAA weather radio talk about a winter storm warning containing flash flooding.

I headed to church on Sunday about 6:00 AM to find a cold, dark building. We scrambled to find a generator to run a portable sound system. Our worship center slowly awakened with light from random pillar

candles and a set of wedding candelabras complete with an arch. We ended up scrapping the sound system and had two acoustic guitars, communion, and some preaching. No nursery, children's programing, or teen programing. Come one come all to "Big Church".
All in all, we were down about 1900 on Sunday, but the 200 that made to one of our three services had a memorable experience. As people entered the building, they couldn't believe we still had church without power or heat. It was rather awesome. How much more "in the moment' could you be considering the birth story of Jesus.

Just as first service began, Rachel called to tell me we lost power at home around 6:30. Another staff member and I grabbed a phone book to find us some hotel rooms. Knowing the magnitude of the storm and the forecast for the rest of the week, we knew it could take a while to restore power. We picked a hotel near the hospital and hoped that we were on the same power grid as them thinking that it would be a priority for uptime.

The trees and power lines didn't fair as well as the roads with the temperature. The word "warzone" is used on the news and by many people around the hotel. I've never been in a warzone, and being that our country is at war, I feel that those words are an overstatement. Nevertheless, we are in a disaster area. The sounds of trees breaking are as frequent as spring time birds chirping, though not as soothing to hear. The roads are cluttered with limbs.

Because the roads are wet, but not icy, people are out and about. Mind you, traffic lights aren't working, but people are out. I believe when a major storm of this magnitude is pending, news channels should be required to play a 15 minute loop of how to drive without traffic lights. It is an absolute free for all. The four-way stop concept is gone. You'll see a string of 3-4 cars just take off (from all directions). Once the middle of the intersection is full of cars, they all slow down and creep through to the direction they need to. Once it clears, the next round beings.

In that 15 minute news loops, they should also include reminders to the general dense of the population: When the power goes out, gas pumps, ATMs and credit card machines don't work. Fist fights are breaking out at gas stations over powdered donuts and loaves of bread. You won't be able to buy a chainsaw or a geneartor for 500 miles around the city. When the power does return, most gas stations that are open, are only taking cash as their satellite uplinks are iced over to run credit cards. Chaos.

Good news, both Starbucks are still open. The drive through will take you about 25 minutes from order to pickup, but you can still get your hot "necessities".

Today, we went back up to the house to check on it. We cleaned out the fridge and freezer and what we salvaged, we brought back to the hotel to refreeze or eat. Nothing like an ice storm to clean out and deep clean that appliance. We stepped out into the garage and the storm damage from last year quickly was remembered as our garage ceiling had fallen in and insulation was all over. Thankfully, the 5-year warranty by the construction company will be utilized, however, I'm sure we'll be low on the priority list since it is out of their pocket.

So, no power at home and more nasty is in the forecast. We've made friends with all the front desk clerks and we're here until we get power restored at home.

As I drove back to the hotel, I noticed Sonic's bright LED sign attempting to entice those passing by with 1/2 price drinks from 2-4 with a picture of a 44oz slush. I'm sure they aren't getting too may people paying out anything for an icy drink.

REVOLUTION

2007-10-31T22:09:00.002-05:00

We're just wrapped up a sermon series here at CCO. I was challenged by someone to blog about our series design so that others in the Creative Arts could share our ideas. Here it goes. Click on the pictures for larger detailed images.

The series aim was to get people into their gifted areas of service. The take-home was that love is our motivation as we have been loved first. After a friend of mine posted some pictures of his business trip to Las Vegas, I learned there was a club near the Cirque Theater in the Mirage Hotel & Casino called REVOLUTION. On the outside of the club, you can see these giant letters spelling
REVOLUTION, but once you enter all you clearly see is the word LOVE.

We decided to build our stage design around this textual prop, but take it a little further. First, we made our graphic design for the series. Next, we went to Lowe's and purchased two 4'x8' sheets of 3" insulation foam board. After tracing out the letters with the help of a video projector, they were cut out with a jig saw. The foam cuts great with a jig saw, but you will have tiny shavings everywhere. Do this outside if possible. If you have a jig saw with a Shop-Vac attachment, that would be even better. The letters were painted red and black like the logo. Be sure and never use spray paint on the foam. The aerosol will eat the foam. If you have plenty of time, one or two layers of Kills primer will keep the wording printed on the foam from showing through your color.We really wanted to let 'LOVE' move, so we purchased a sign motor from a local electrical supply company that rotates at 1 RPM ($75).

Actually, it isn't motor, rather a gear (as there isn't a good way to keep a motor properly cooled with that much electrical resistance). After taking measurements based on our letter size, we cut and painted some 1x4s to put our letters on. They were attached to the boards with 10-minute drying epoxy. The boards had to be 3 layers thick in order to span the 16' word yet leave a space for the LOVE part to rotate. Bible College math came in very handy here! After figuring out where the balance point was on EVOL, we mounted the motor. The long word was placed on concrete blocks that we covered with black material. The motor was plugged into a dimmer channel so we could control the rotation from front of house. Timing the word to stop in it's proper location came with a learning curve.

We back lit the word with some milky Plexiglases panels we built last year. We've used these for several different sets in different configurations. Because we're limited on power on our stage with dimmer packs, we opted to use some small halogen shop lights. We covered the metal frame with gel sheets. They gave a nice glow without major hot spots. The gels lasted all 6 weeks running 5 hours straight each Sunday.

During the countdown clock before each service started, we played David Crowder Band's "Revolutionary Love" while LOVE spun around.

When You're Here, You're Family

2007-10-27T21:05:00.001-05:00

Rachel and the kids made a grandparents tour this week. Their plan wasn't intentional in leaving me stranded in Joplin. I was supposed to be in San Diego for a week as of Wednesday. The purpose of my trip was to get away from the office and do some major planning for my department at church. Some changes are coming for my department and I want to be prepared as much as possible. I have family in San Diego that extended an invite to visit, so I thought a good place to do some thinking and planning might be on the beach. However a small brush fire changed those plans.

So the family went on their way to see grandparents and I stayed back so I would actually do some planning. The next best place I could think of besides the beach was Panera Bread. I'd been there for lunch a couple of times for meetings. I'd noticed people who "set up camp" in a corner or on one of the nice leather chairs or love seats. I thought I would try endless coffee, high speed internet, a comfy chair and the aroma of bread baking as my work environment! Four lunches and two dinners later, I've become part of the Panera Bread family.

It is an interesting environment. I've met Greg, a district manager for a major bank who is in the area each Thursday and Friday. Colson is a non-traditional student at Missouri Southern that spends the days working on papers and such taking advantage of the WiFi and free soda refills. Tonight, there are three girls doing a Bible Study over by the fireplace and a lady in her 30s showing some older people (I'm guessing they could be her parents) pictures of a recent vacation on her laptop. (I recall the days of setting up the portable screen and slide projector in our living room and watching my parent's slides of their years in Puerto Rico as missionaries).

What is amazing to me is the investment that places like Panera and Starbucks put into their environment to keep people around. And more than that, they've arranged the place to work in community. On a Friday or Saturday night, most places are eager to serve you your meal, present you your check and get you out the door to reseat that table about seven or eight times that night.

Does the church really put time, energy, and resources into creating spaces for community? I believe too often we are guilty of trying to empty seats and parking spaces so the next service can start and usually with less than 5-10 minutes to spare. Is it any wonder that we have churches that are full of pew sitters and bystanders? People are herded in and out because we are on a schedule. We squeeze into announcements about getting plugged into a small group so you can experience community, but once they step out the door and fight the congested hallways to grab their kids, the last place they want to go is check out the resource center to find out more info about community. And so they don't. But they'll be back next Sunday for their sixty two minutes and the next week and the next. Kind of like the hurried dining experience at a restaurant like Olive Garden who claims "when you're here, you're family". I've always been confused about that...when I leave, am I no longer family?

I need to go pick up my bagel pack for the greenroom in the morning. The work crew just cheered because it's 9:00 PM and they can start cleaning up. The song "Closing Time" was just sung by one of the girls. She actually sang the lyrics, "you don't have to go home, but you can't stay here". Sounds like a good benediction for some churches.

Iced Caf con Leche :: Refreshing

2007-09-06T17:02:00.001-05:00

We have a family blog that serves the purpose of keeping family and friends updated on all the happenings of the five of us. However, I've recently been challenged to intentionally spend more time being personally creative. In previous positions in churches that I've worked, I had a weekly opportunity to think about and craft a meditation or segue for the worship service. Many commented to me over the years of my ability to see Jesus in the everyday and to share that in story. My intent is that this becomes a place for me to share such stories and to see how God puts his divine fingerprints on everything. Mold me.

I love coffee. There are many on this planet that love it more than I do. These connoisseurs take their roasting and brewing to a whole new level complete with popcorn poppers and heat shrink guns and the occasional modified bread machine. Yet, there are also many who think that Folgers is still the best part of waking up. I am somewhere in the middle and probably lean a little to the crazed fanatic side.

The summer brought about a whole new opportunity for coffee. While some insist on hot and black all-year round, I need temperature variety. The last few months, I've been starting my morning and evening with an Ice Caf con Leche. What once was a weekly pick me up from Starbucks has become an at-home pursuit of the perfect recipe. So far, I've come up with the following:

1. 12 brewed cups of Don Quijote from The Roasterie brewed strong in my Mr. Coffee showering brewer.

2. Chill this brew in the refrigerator in a clean milk jug for 24 hours.

3. Fill a 20oz glass with 1/3 of ice (I prefer crushed).

4. Fill with milk until ice is covered

5. Add a touch of flavored syrup (I prefer sugar free vanilla)

6. Fill the remaining of the glass with chilled coffee.

7. Mix and enjoy with a straw.

This isn't rocket science...it's iced coffee with milk. It isn't complicated to make, but it is convenient to run through the drive thru. Starbucks and recently, McDonald's will create this beverage for their customers for about $3.19. Calculated out, I have about $0.30 each in my morning and evening routine.

Recently, I've been stretched with some of the same issues within the church. For many, the church has made the educational process for a growing Christian into an expensive drive thru experience. The incredible substance of the Word has been complied into expensive marketing packaging to be redistributed to those in search of convenience. What's even more frustrating is the amount of this stuff that is used for it's 6-8 week purpose, then moved down to the massive curriculum storage room also known as the church library. All the while hoping that the UPS man arrives before the end of the week so that Sunday can happen.

What if a marketing campaign swept the country that challenged leadership teams, small group leaders, and Sunday School teachers to take a book and walk through it together. Stop by that church library and find a commentary or bring your computer to and use the WiFi to pull up an online commentary and walk through a book together. Will it be messy - yes. Will it be a nice packaged 45 minute session - probably not. But I'm reminded of a couple old sayings,

"Give a man a fish and you'll feed him for a day. Teach him how to fish and you'll feed him for a lifetime."
:: Confucius
or
"Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him— you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ."
:: 1 Peter 2:2-5