New plan of attack!

This morning I started a new reading plan.  It is designed to go through the Old Testament once and the New Testament twice in a year.  I have attempted the read the bible in a year thing before, but stalled out through the Old Testament.  I figured this might change things up a bit for me and keep me on the right track.  I am especially feeling convicted due to the fact that my 8 year old son is in 1 Chronicles on his way to reading through the bible.  I was talking to him a couple nights ago about how he is doing in his reading and he asked me if I had caught up to him.  I humbly had to say no.  So, I am now back at it again.

This reading plan take you to 4 books of the bible each day.  2 Old Testament and 2 New Testament.  Right now we are going through a lot of beginnings.  The beginning of the world, the beginning of Jesus's live on earth, the beginning of the disciples journey without Jesus on earth, and the beginning of building the Lord's house in Jerusalem.  What was so awesome about these beginnings is that they all began because God did something.

When it was time to create the earth, God spoke.  When it was time for Jesus to be born, God made Mary with child.  When it was time for the disciples to begin there journey, God had given orders through the Holy Spirit.  When it was time to build the house of the Lord in Jerusalem, God appointed Cyrus and stirred the people to build.  It is pretty apparent that none of these things would not have happened without the sovereign power of the Lord.

I know this might seem pretty basic, especially to the believer.  We have been taught from the time we enter the doors of the church that God is powerful.  That God is the creator of all things.  That we can do all things through Christ who gives us strength.  So, I know that this is no huge revelation.   But, what keeps coming to mind and is impressed on my heart is how often we forget this.  Despite the fact that it is ingrained in us from the beginning of our life with Christ, we tend to forget about the absolute power of God and begin to live our lives based on our own understanding.  We find ourselves in situations that we have no clue which way to turn and instead of drawing on that awesome power, we lean to personal logic and the worlds definition of understanding.

Acts 23-25 spoke to me this morning.  It says, " So they put forward two men, Joseph called Barsabbas ( who was also called Justus), and Matthias.  And they prayed and said, 'You, Lord, who know the hearts of all men, show which one of these two You have chosen to occupy this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.'"  This was Peter speaking and his heart was to truly see direction from the Lord.  How many times are we faced with decisions that we never stop and pray and ask the Lord for direction as Peter did here.  What an example for us to be completely dependent on the Lord for guidance.  I know that I fail at this more often then not and my prayer is that the Lord stirs my heart to seek Him at all times.

My prayer is that God continues to stir me as he stirred Cyrus and the people to build the house of the Lord.  God has given me a house and has blessed me with the awesome responsibility to lead and teach them in the way of the Lord.  I believe the only way that I can do that is to be faithful in my reading and time with God.

I also pray that the Lord is working mightily in your life and I hope to encourage you in your time with the Lord.

BLESSINGS..... Billy

Where do we put our faith?

One of the things that God calmed my heart about while in American Samoa was the possibility of getting sick or getting some sort of infection.  The Lord protected me while on the island and brought me home before anything happened.  When I am in a situation where it is hot and I sweat a lot, I tend to get these little bumps on my skin that appear to be something like an ingrown hair.  I had a few on my arms that I was able to "pop" and they went away.  But, there were a couple that were a little more stubborn.  It started on my right elbow.  After being home a couple of days, I noticed that there was a bump and it was quite red.  It started to get quite sore and after a couple more days, it was also quite big.  There was another one developing on my right forearm as well.  I had bandaged them up with some Neosporin and hoped that they would just go away.  Well they didn't.  By Monday, they were pretty red and huge.  I was so sore that I couldn't straighten my arm out without it hurting pretty good.  After some  convincing from my wife, I know... just don't like to go to the Doctor, I went to the Doctor on Tuesday.  One look at them and she said that bumps were some sort of bacterial infection that entered into the pours of the skin and began to do its magic.  The treatment for this was to slice open a whole in the bump, squeeze out the puss, and let it drain for a couple of days.  She would then put me on a couple of antibiotics to kill the infection.  She said they have been seeing some pretty stubborn skin infections lately and didn't want to take the chance with just one antibiotic.  

So, after the cutting had been done, they bandaged me up and told me to come back in a day or two to get it drained again.  Not really looking forward to that, but I will be there bright and early in the morning to get it done.  Hopefully I was not too graphic in my explanation, but I wanted you to completely understand what was going on...... :) 

After thinking over the past week of events, especially the arm, it got me thinking.  Were do we put our faith and why?  Since my return, God has been speaking to my heart to not just go back to doing things the way I used to just for the sake of doing them.  He has really given me a motivation to search out what He wants me to do and work towards that.  You see, before the blessing of going to American Samoa, I would have been relying a whole lot more on my own understanding and comfort levels than I feel lead to now.  But, He continually showed me on the trip that He is in control and that I need to have joy no matter how things turn out.  Please understand I am not saying this to say that I have some great knowledge or that I am some sort of scholar on the subject, I am just sharing with you a testimony of what God has done in my life.  

So, here I am, looking at the storm of life in front of me and I am thinking, what am I to do next?  There is a pretty big storm out there right now and the waves are bigger than I have ever seen.  I am pretty sure that when they hit the shore the waves will create a lot of damage and dis-pare.  I am going to experience something more devastating than I have ever experienced in my life...... or am I?

I was reminded of a sermon I heard by a friend of mine Matt regarding the power of God.  Forgive me if I get the details wrong, but the message is still the same.  He stated by telling a story of a man who was a champion chess player.  The champion was at an art show one evening with some friends and happened to see a painting with the title "Check Mate".  It was a depiction of a chess game that was about to end and one player had check mate.  Something struck the chess champion odd about the painting.  He know something was wrong, but he couldn't place his finger on it right away.  After contemplating the picture, it finally came to him.  He said, "It is not check mate, the King still has one more move."  You see, this is what the Lord does for us.  When Jonah went into the belly of that large fish, we thought "Check Mate."   But no, the King still had one more move.  When Daniel went into the lions den, the people thought, "Check Mate."  But again, the King still had one more move.  When Shadrach Mishach and Abednego were sent into the blazing hot  furnace, the people also thought it was "Check Mate."  And yet again, the King still had one more move.

What this shows me is that God is bigger and greater than any storm or wave that could ever come my way.  As Jesus showed us in the book of Mark, he has the power to calm the storm and lower the waves.  He also showed us when Jonah was released from the huge fish, when Daniel was not eaten by the lion, and when Shadrach, Mishach and Abednego were not incinerated in the fire.  No matter what storm you are in, what fish has swallowed you, how big the lion is that is looking at you, or how hot the furnace is that you are in, the KING STILL HAS ONE MORE MOVE.  

Now, we don't know that move is, but what we do know is that in Romans 8:28 God's word says, "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose."  You see, God has a plan for me and you.  And no matter what we must put our faith in him in order to get through the things that life throws at us.  

Again, I am no scholar and far from perfect at applying this to my life.  But, God has encouraged me to stay faithful and trust in Him and I hope that  if you are facing some difficult times, that you can take refuge in the fact that God is in control.  Please know, that God still has one more move and that whatever that move is, God knows what is best for you.

One last thing before I go.  I am so blessed to have such a wonderful wife to go through this thing we call life with.  Thank you God for giving me someone who I can grow with and deepen my relationship with you together.  She has supported me greatly through this trip and I know that it took a lot of faith on her part to do that.  Thank you Sara for who you are in Christ and I can't wait to see where God leads us to in this season of life and into the next.

God Bless... until next time... Billy

Getting Adjusted and another Cyclone

Well, I have been back home 4 days and I am finally feeling normal again.  Was having a hard time getting adjusted again.  I had heard people talk about jetlag and to be honest I thought it was a bit overplayed.  But, I am a believer now.  This was my first long trip and I really felt it.  Oh well, at least things are going in the right direction now.

I have been doing my best to try and keep up with what is going on back in American Samoa.  I received an email from Elaine and Larry our incident commanders that are still on the island that there is a cyclone headed their way.  I have been following it throughout the day and finally decided to Skype them and see if I could get through.  I spoke with Larry and he said it hadn't hit them yet, but it looks like it will at 9pm local time (that is 1:00am our time).  The reports are rain and wind around 75 miles per hour.  Please pray for their safety and the safety of all of the people on the island.  We are hoping that this does not create too much damage as you know they are still rebuilding from the tsunami.  A lot of people are still living in the FEMA tents that are not anchored down to anything.  People could lose everything again.

I will be trying to contact them in the morning to see how things are.  I will let you know what I hear.

God Bless and Good Night.... Billy

Sunday and Home!

After last Sunday, I was looking forward to going back again and hopefully experiencing the same kind of worship and praise as last week.  I was not disappointed.  The social worker Roy that we have built a good relationship with invited us to his church and to his home for lunch after the service.  The congregation was a bit larger than we experienced last week, but the heart was the same.  This service was 2.5 hours of complete focus on the Lord and what he is doing in the lives of His people.  The praise was beyond anything I could put into words.  When the singing was done, the pastor asked a few of the men in the congregation to sit next to us to help interpret what he was speaking about.  He brought an awesome gospel message to the people and you could see the Lord at work in their hearts.  He spoke about how we needed complete dependence on Jesus and that He is the only thing good within us.  Jesus is what makes our works good, not of our own doing.  When the service was closing, he provided and opportunity for people to come to the altar and pray.  He made is what the 45 foot wide, 5 rows deep of people who come up to pray and worship God praying with them.  It was an awesome thing to see people crying of for the Lord.

It was a great reminder for us there from the Disaster Relief Team that the work that we were able to accomplish was only by the grace of God.  He provided the means and opportunity and we are thankful for it.

After the service, it was off to Roy's house.  Roy has a catering business with his wife and it showed.  There was enough food to feed and army.  Fried chicken, chicken curry, shrimp, brisket, salad, potato salad, rice, and I know I am forgetting something.  It was all amazing!  Well, I can't speak for the shrimp, but the other guys said it was good.  The best part of the afternoon was getting to know his family.  He is married with 5 kids.  One of them is autistic and his name is Caleb.  If you don't know, my son's name is Caleb, so I took a special liking to him.  He had such a tender heart and love to give you random hugs.  It was fun to watch him interact and get to know us as well.  We were are so thankful for their hospitality and their friendship.  We all will miss him and hope to keep in touch.

After lunch, a couple of us drove around to do a little shopping.  The Queen Victoria had docked and they setup shops for people to buy souvenirs.  We thought we would go check it out before we had to leave.  The shops were okay, but that ship was huge.  I had never been that close to a cruise ship.  You could get lost in one of those things.... :)

Before we left, the church we were staying at wanted to present us with a parting gift.  The people at Happy Valley Baptist Church (in AM Samoa) were amazing.  We started off with another time of praise and worship.  I could sit and listen to them all day.  Their desire to obedient to God's calling is so apparent in the way the show reverence to the Lord.  After another 2.5 hours of praising God, the congregation presented us with a traditional Samoan designed table setting.  They gave testimony on how the Disaster Relief Team had touched their life and were thankful for our arrival.  What a humbling experience to see how we were able to touch their lives knowing that it was God who brought us to American Samoa and God alone who did the work.  I can't say enough about how loving these people were and how at home they made you feel.

After another awesome Sunday, it was time to head to the airport.  Nothing too exciting there other than just getting checked in.  Once we were checked in, we all decided to get a bite to eat being that they were not serving a meal on the plane.  Once the meal was done, it was off to customs.

While standing in line for customs, a surprise came our way.  First, Roy and his wife showed up to wish us off.  To tell you how special this was, it was 10:30 at night and Roy won't even take his own family to the hospital.  He does not do well sending people off, but felt that he wanted to be there to see us go.  They presented all of us with a shell necklace and his contact information which I will be using for sure.  Then we turned around and a couple ladies from Happy Valley were their to wish us well too.  We had just left their service a few hours earlier, but wanted to give us another small gift.  Again, we were so humbled.

Nothing exciting to report about the flight to Hawaii other than it was late and caused us to miss the connecting flight to LA.   Fortunately they had a flight 30 minutes later that was going to San Francisco and we could connect to Phoenix from there.  It put us home a couple hours later, but that was okay with us.  We finally arrived home to see that in all the flight changes, our bags didn't make it.  Not a bit deal other than a few things I brought home to give to the family.

I was so excited to see the family.  I know it was only two weeks, but it is amazing how much they can change so quickly sometimes.  I missed them tremendously.

Well, I have so many things going through my head because of the events over the last two weeks.  I have been unable at this point wrap my mind around the experience.  I am looking forward to spending time with the Lord in reflection and also seeking what He has in store next.  As I believe I stated in another post, I am planning on keeping this blog updated and the Lord leads.  Not sure that will be everyday, but my goal is to keep all updated on what the Lord is doing in our family.  My hope would be that it might be an encouragement to someone and that it may be a tool the Lord can use to move people into service for Him.

GOD IS GOOD..... ALL THE TIME!!!

May God continue to bless you and your families.  Thank you again to all of you who have been following and I hope you are able to continue.  You have been such a blessing to me.

Until next time...... Billy

A Day to see the island.

Since our arrival, we have not had a chance to see much of the island other than where we were working.  So, today we were able to go to parts of the island that we hit the hardest by the tsunami.  As you can see in some of the pictures, there was a lot of damage in some villages.  One village was completely wiped out. It was such a sight to see when on once side you see the beautiful ocean view and then turn around to see the destruction.  It was like a ghost town at times.  No one around and all you see is crumbled buildings.  It was pretty humbling to see the kind of damage that was done.

We wee also able to drive around the mountain areas and see some wonderful views.  See some pictures below of today's adventure.

(Village wiped out - Where the FEMA tents are used to be houses)

(More of the same village)

(Cars in the village)

(The school in the village)

(Inside the school)

(Encyclopedia found in the school)

(Church in the wiped out village - only building standing)

Now for some of the more pleasant sights:

(Starkist cannery is hear)

(The village below had a significant amount of damage)

(Water is falling off of the mountain)

Those are just a few of the things we saw today.  It was a long and amazing day to see all parts of the island. 

Tomorrow (Sunday) is our last day on the island.... or should I say, last planned day on the island.  The flights in and out of Pago Pago tend to not be on time.  Last Sunday the flight scheduled to leave at 11:15pm didn't leave until 3am.  If that happens to us we will miss out connecting flights.  I am not worried about it at all because I know that God has it in His control and we will get home right on His timing.  Just ask for your continued prayers of support and safety.

My goal is to continue on with this blog after I return home.  Not sure how that will go and how often that will be, but that is what I feel lead to do at this time.  So, I should be able to give one more update about Sunday before I go, then it is a day of travel. 

Thank you again and God Bless... Billy

Last official day of work complete... but the work has just begun...

Today was a productive day overall.  We knew that this would be the last day we would be on the job site, so we focused everyones effort on the job Steve and I started and one of the new jobs.  We were hoping to get the first job complete, but were unable to due to materials.  So, a few of us moved to one of the other houses to get some things done.  All in all we had 14 people on the jobs today.  We were able to get a lot accomplished.

One of the greatest things we were able to experience, was getting to know the local workers that were on the job sites.  We had multiple opportunities to share with them about why we are here and spoke about the love of Jesus.  This is where it gets a bit tough because of the culture.  Because the island is respectful of religious customs and most people recognize God, it is hard with the language barrier to completely understand if they have had a conversion.  They say the right things because God is spoke about openly on the island and most of them at one time in their life have attended a church.  You speak about the love of Jesus and their need for salvation and they will nod their head yes.  You are not even sure if they are saying they have a relationship with Him or if they are just acknowledging they understand.  God has given me a peace to understand that it is not our place to reconcile that.  Our job here is to present the Gospel and let God do with it what He will.

In that time we have been able to share with them, we have been able to get to know them pretty well.  Being that this was our last day working with them, they were asking a lot of questions about who the next team will be coming in.  I shared with most of them that we didn't know who they were and they expressed to me that they were going to miss us.  On worker, Soli (not sure of the spelling) said that he really enjoyed working with us and is going to be sad to see us go.  He shook my hand and wished me a safe trip home.  I was amazed by how they truly appeared to be impacted by us.  It was a very humbling experience and it really lifted my spirits about what we have done here.  It is always said that sometimes your greatest testimony can be how you work with people and handle the situations.  That people are always around you watching and that at times you can impact them more by your actions than by your words.

With that being said, I think it is important to go back to the beginning of how we start our days.  We have been getting up and having a devotional time before we go about our day.  Today was my day and I had been seeking the Lord on what it was that he would have me to say.  He lead me to two verses.  The first was Mathew 25:10.  This is the parable of the 10 Virgins who were preparing to meet the bridegroom.  5 of them brought their lamps with oil and the other 5 did not bring their oil.  The verse says, "But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived.  The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet.  And the door was shut."  5 of the virgins were unprepared to meet the bridegroom.  That is what I have felt like everyday has been about while we have been here.  To be prepared when God provides an opportunity to share.  I also needed that encouragement to know that God is in control because later in the chapter in verse 13 he says, "Therefore, keep watch because you do no know the day or the hour."  It reminded me that God is supreme and as long as I am walking with Him daily, he will work through me in any situation and I need to be prepared to do so when He calls.

In that, God also lead me to Philippians 3:11-14.  It says, "Not that I have already attained all of this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.  Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it.  But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and staining towards what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus..  Our job is to bring the Good News to the people we interact with and know that God will handle the rest.  We are to continue to watch and strive to accomplish that Goal.

This reminder was just what I needed at the perfect time.  If I continue to be prepared for God's will and press on to win the prize, God will handle what is necessary for His will to be fulfilled.  I was reminded that we are constantly effecting the lives of people around us and that my faith needs to continue in God to do what He will with that seed.  There was definitely a seed planted with these men and my prayer is that if salvation is not present in their lives, that it will be soon.  As I was singing with our social worker Roy.... He's an on time God.... yes He is!"

So as my brother Ace stated in one of his comments, although we have finished the physical work we will be doing on the island, the work will be just beginning when we leave American Samoa.  The Lord will continue to do with that seed what He wills.

God has been so good and faithful on this trip.  I hope in someway by hearing how He has been working in the almost two weeks of us being here that God has touched your life in some way.  He is an awesome God and worthy to be praised.

My God Bless You... Billy

Two more have arrived

Today was another day of feasting.  First, we were treated to breakfast by the church to say thank you and to send off the Alaskan Team that left.  Then, we were blessed with another bay side lunch.  Today was chicken & rice, hot dogs, and bread fruit.  Good stuff.

Today, two men from North Carolina arrived.  They will be getting into the flow of things so that they can get the other members of their team squared away.  They will be arriving right before we leave on Sunday and continuing on the work we started.  Our prayer for them is that most of the "Red Tape" has been pealed away and that they will be able to get more homes repaired.

I can not believe that we are coming up on the weekend and that we will be heading home in a few days.  These past two weeks have flown by.  It seems like we are just getting into the routine of island life and helping the people of American Samoa and we have to leave.  There is so much to do here and it seems like so little time.  I guess that is why they have scheduled teams through at least May and possibly through the end of the year if there is a need.

Tomorrow will be our last official day we will be working on the houses.  There are some members of our team that will not be coming home to happy campers if some souvenirs are not bought.  Plus, we have really been limited on what we have been able to see on the island.  The hardest area hit was what they call Western Samoa and we haven't been able to get over there to see any of it.  We are also hoping to head to the Eastern part of the island.  We are told that the Eastern side is the most beautiful.  I feel I have seen some pretty awesome things, so it must be pretty amazing.  I would be very content with only seeing what I have seen.

I was looking forward to informing everyone that today was our first day in American Samoa that it didn't rain. Well, that all changed when we were driving to the airport to pick up the gentlemen who came in.  There is a hurricane off the wester coast of American Samoa.  At this time, it doesn't look like we are in any kind of danger, but it will bring us some more rain.  So, it looks like it will have rained every day I was here.  For the most part I like it when it rains because it keeps the sun from coming out and making it more humid.  It is still hot and sticky any way you look at it.

I hope all are well and are looking forward to a great weekend.  May you all be blessed.

Billy