2011 LINK™ CA Vision Discovery Team Update #3

Is this LINK™ newsletter not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. 2011 CA Vision Discovery Mission Team Update #3 Dear Friends and Family, It has been a long and wonderful first day here in Niger. The theme of the day is interruptions. Here in Niger, we are learning that agendas and the general sense of time are paced not by electronic alarms and appointment reminders, but by relationship.   Today, we were introduced to Pastor Terah. Terah is a striking man looking much younger in years than his wisdom in his eyes and few grey hairs betray. He is a thin man of medium height with a dark chiseled features and the kind of eyes that smile at you even before his mouth moves. He is from Nigeria and has lived here for almost twenty years. We spoke of ministry and the clinic God called him to build. We learned of his fathers call to faith by a Lutheran missionary doctor in Nigeria and the way that God has called he and his family to to the same here. He spoke of his wife Rose, the head nurse of the clinic. It is not an exaggeration to say that the presence of God was felt as we spoke. Terah loves God and trusts him with each step of family and ministry. We shared story after story about God's work in us and through us. We learned about giving from Terah and we learned about trust.  What struck us most was his gentle unimposing spirit, shaped by years of service and trust in God. He deeply cares for those he serves. This has been our experience of Niger... one faithful servant after another.   First was Rekia, a pastor's wife we visited this morning in one of the impoverished neighborhoods of Niamey. She runs the Karitegui sewing center which teaches young women to make and mend clothes, offering them hope in a brighter future through a trade. Children herded around her as she proudly showed us the new preschool her church has started to provide children with an education.   Next we met Bargo, from Burkina Faso, who runs the Banifondou School. Here he leads a team of teachers and over nine hundred students in one of the most excellent education programs in the area. It was deeply moving to see many of the children raise their hands as he asked who would like us to pray for their parents.   We visited the Kamna NGO, lead by Pastor Kader, which focuses on bringing aid to those in need in the name of God. They have done significant work in fighting malnutrition among the poorest of the poor. In there storehouse we saw thousands of operation Christmas Child boxes, like those we filled this Advent, ready to be delivered through the local churches.    We were warmly greeted by the pastoral leaders that make up the executive council of the national Assemblies of God Church in Niger.  We also attended an evening revival meeting put on by churches in the area.     It was a great day full of wonderful interruptions. We can truly say that we met heroes of the faith today. We are all well and being stretched in our listening and understanding. Please continue to pray that our eyes and hearts will be open to what God is up to here in Niger and how he is inviting us to join in his work here.    With love, The 2011 LINK™ California Vision Discovery Mission The LINK™/Effective Ministries, Inc. 2550 Gaskins Road Henrico, VA 23238 Local: 804.726.LINK (5465) Toll-free: 866.421.LINK (5465) www.linkniger.com www.effectiveministries.org This email was sent to jking27.jking3703@blogger.com by contact@linkniger.com. You are receiving this email because you, a friend, or a family member are currently traveling with the LINK™ to Niger, Africa and have requested receiving email updates regarding the team's activities and/or because of your affiliation with the LINK™. If you no longer wish to receive these newsletters, you may unsubscribe here: Remove jking27.jking3703@blogger.com from this list.  Copyright (c) 2009 The LINK™/Effective Ministries, Inc. All rights reserved. Forward this email to a friend.

2011 LINK™ CA Vision Discovery Team Update #2

Is this LINK™ newsletter not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. 2011 CA Vision Discovery Mission Team Update #2 Dear Friends and Family, We arrived in Niamey, Niger at 5pm (8am CA time). Three airplanes and four airports have taken their toll. Our team was weary from 27 hours of travel but we are all in good spirits and health. Lenny and Roland have untapped energy resources even when the rest of us are dragging our feet. At the Niamey airport, we were met by the LINK™ team and driven to the bible school, which will be our home for the next week. We will arise to the beautiful sound of Lenny’s singing voice for a long day of visiting various ministries going on here in Niger.  Please pray for continued health, safety, and for God to give us a vision for how Radiant Church in CA can be helpful to this mission in Niger.   The 2011 LINK™ California Vision Discovery Mission The LINK™/Effective Ministries, Inc. 2550 Gaskins Road Henrico, VA 23238 Local: 804.726.LINK (5465) Toll-free: 866.421.LINK (5465) www.linkniger.com www.effectiveministries.org This email was sent to jking27.jking3703@blogger.com by contact@linkniger.com. You are receiving this email because you, a friend, or a family member are currently traveling with the LINK™ to Niger, Africa and have requested receiving email updates regarding the team's activities and/or because of your affiliation with the LINK™. If you no longer wish to receive these newsletters, you may unsubscribe here: Remove jking27.jking3703@blogger.com from this list.  Copyright (c) 2009 The LINK™/Effective Ministries, Inc. All rights reserved. Forward this email to a friend.

2011 LINK™ CA Vision Discovery Team Updates

Is this LINK™ newsletter not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. 2011 CA Vision Discovery Mission Team Update #1 Dear Friends and Family, The 2011 LINK™ California Vision Discovery Mission Team departed for Niger this morning at 7:10 a.m.  You may track their flights on Air France website.  They are traveling on Flight AF8701 from Cincinnati to Paris and Flight AF548 from Paris to Niamey, Niger.  We will keep you apprised of their mission these seven days.   Sincerely, The LINK™/Effective Ministries, Inc. Staff The LINK™/Effective Ministries, Inc. 2550 Gaskins Road Henrico, VA 23238 Local: 804.726.LINK (5465) Toll-free: 866.421.LINK (5465) www.linkniger.com www.effectiveministries.org This email was sent to krystalepp@gmail.com by contact@linkniger.com. You are receiving this email because you, a friend, or a family member are currently traveling with the LINK™ to Niger, Africa and have requested receiving email updates regarding the team's activities and/or because of your affiliation with the LINK™. If you no longer wish to receive these newsletters, you may unsubscribe here: Remove krystalepp@gmail.com from this list.  Copyright (c) 2009 The LINK™/Effective Ministries, Inc. All rights reserved. Forward this email to a friend.

What Goes Around... (Genesis 35-37)

Then they got Joseph’s robe, slaughtered a goat and dipped the robe in the blood. They took the ornate robe back to their father and said, “We found this. Examine it to see whether it is your son’s robe.” He recognized it and said, “It is my son’s robe! Some ferocious animal has devoured him. Joseph has surely been torn to pieces.” Then Jacob tore his clothes, put on sackcloth and mourned for his son many days. 
Genesis 37:31-34


U2 has this great song called Grace (See the video I Attached). In it there is this line, "Grace, she's Got the time to talk... she travels outside of karma." We live in a world that understands Hammurabi (Eye for and Eye) far better than Jesus (Turn the other Cheek). Its just human nature, we want revenge, we want to be right, we want it our way. Jesus talks about this in the Gospel of Matthew...   


“You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.' But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well.
Matthew 5:38-40


If there was ever anyone who deserved what "comes around" it was Jacob. He spent much of his life swindling others and his children, especially the older ones, knew it. While God met Jacob, wrestled with him, and renamed him Israel, his family dynamics had already been set on their path. Much like sexuality in todays culture, Jacob had abandoned God's design for the family. God didn't destroy him for it, but the consequences of multiple wives and concubines (servants plus...) almost did. They jockeyed for position. Their children feuded and plotted. Joseph was the casualty. Sure, he was probably jumping the gun and a little arrogant with his dreams, but did that deserve slavery or attempted murder?  


Jesus invites us to break the cycle, to invest in a power far greater than karma. God has this amazing way of taking circumstances created by our own selfish and sinful choices and using them for the good. This story, is the beginning of one of the greatest examples of Grace in the Old Testament. 


Maybe there are some rough spots in our past that threaten us today... Maybe there are some wounds that urge us to seek "eye for an eye" justice. To this Jesus says, "the pain and insult stop with me."  The rhythms of Grace keep us from becoming like Joseph's brothers and hold us firm when we feel like we've been thrown in the pit. May we people people of Grace and not karma.


In Jesus' Name,
Amen

A New Name (Genesis 32-34)

So Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him till daybreak. When the man saw that he could not overpower him, he touched the socket of Jacob’s hip so that his hip was wrenched as he wrestled with the man. ²⁶ Then the man said, “Let me go, for it is daybreak.” But Jacob replied, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” The man asked him, “What is your name?” “Jacob,” he answered. Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.”

Genesis 32: 24-28

Have you ever wrestled with God? Maybe a struggle in your life, a situation that seemed unjust, or a character fault we might not want to admit. Jacob wrestled his whole life with his name. Jacob means "heal catcher" roughly equal to "liar." That is exactly what Jacob was. He lied and cheated his brother, his father, his uncle... etc. He could never own up to his name. In fact he falsified his identity to everyone, never claiming his own name until that moment, a wrestling match with God. God is great at wrestling... 

I wonder if God  wrestles with me in a similar way I wrestle with Gabriel, my three year old son? There are times when I let him maneuver me, hold me and even pin me. Giving it his all, he pushes and pulls thinking that the advantage is his and with just a little more effort he might bring me to the ground. But I know, that at any time I can turn the tables. Even when Gabe gets frustrated, maybe even angry, I take joy in watching him learn his own limits, growing in strength in his little arms , but also his spirit.   

When Jacob wrestled with God, he was forced to own up to his name. When we wrestle with God, maybe he is allowing us to maneuver him, waiting for us to learn our limits and understand the condition of our heart. A few years ago, I was invited by a pastor to take a retreat praying on this very story. The group was asked to spend the day in solitude and ask God to show us our new name. I spent the day thinking about my family and my son who was about to enter the world... God brought me to psalm 1 and in my soul I heard; "You are a tree." I realized in that moment that God was inviting me to be a safe place for my family and for those I serve. 

What is God inviting you to reflect on in your wrestling with him? What is your name? What is the name God want to give you?

In Jesus' Name

Amen