Living the Mystery Fully Alive! - A blog by Gary Black

The great Judge

Thu, 4 Mar 2010 00:00:00 GMT

This good...

A mother's heart

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

I was fixing our printer today and as I was testing it... this printed off. Tyler is a few months away from being 19 now, not living at home and is well on his journey; re-establishing old relationships, finding the balance in honoring his parents - he will be headed to New Zealand to play Rugby this fall. He is truly a real man!

Life is short, and as your kids start leaving home, you realize you have but a breath with them... here is a piece of Lisa's heart; she wrote this on the night of his 18th birthday.

Tonight I threw an 18^th birthday party for my son, Tyler...Through out the evening Tyler would put his arms around me, kiss me on the forehead, and say, "thank you for all this mom, this is a great party." Tyler is no small, feeble boy; he is 6'3 and 180 lb of solid muscle. His kisses, hugs and appreciation is literally air to my lungs. Tyler is not my biological son; he is technically my "step-son". He was eight years old when he entered my life, this of course was not his choice, he was heartbroken over the end of his parent's marriage, but he was always a perfect gentleman to me. Tyler was and is a strong, solid man. He took it upon him self the responsibility to protect his dad, his birth mom, and his brothers and strangely enough...me. My heart broke over Tyler's pain, and I vowed to never add to it, but to love him, support him, and be a true mother to him. Raising these three boys I began to understand how adoptive moms felt when they would say to their adopted children "you did not grow in my belly, but you grew in my HEART". Tyler indeed has grown deeply in my heart, I can not imagine loving him more, and I have never had to face my own fears more intently...Until now, Tyler has been with his dad, his brothers, his sisters and me...He has been safe...

Tonight the revelation of what "18" means by the worlds standard hit me hard as I washed the remaining food residue off my platters, I began to weep. Not, because I don't trust him, not because I am not confidant that we have not done all we could do to prepare him for the next season of his life. My tears did not represent anything other than grief over the ending of an era...our little boy was now a "man", and our everyday influence on his life was coming to an end. Now is the beginning of a great test, for him, and for us. Would he remember all the scripture his dad read over him every morning before he left for school? Would he remember all the camping trips we took by the lake, the boat, the stories around the campfire, the laughing until we cried? Would he think of all the long drives in the mountains every time he hears Tim McGraw or Bon Jovi, and picture all 8 of us singing every word? Would he remember Africa, the death, the pain, the beauty, the way we leaned on each other in a deeper way, because we were all we had there? Would he remember back to school shopping, Christmas Eve with the house busting with friends and family, and all the tears, praying and crying together as a family? Will he raise his family like we have raised him? The test is here, the time is now. How much pain awaits him, how much joy will fill his soul? It is all unknown, the chapters have yet to be written, and so all I can do is wait, trust, pray, believe....and be a mom. I will watch him walk out his journey, make mistakes, get bumped and bruised, turn away, and turn back...just like we all do. This much I KNOW, I will BE HERE, with open arms, loving him, and doing in all I can to not add to his pain, but to be a safe place for him to fall, no matter what. He keeps growing in my heart, every morning when I see his sweet smile, and everyday I am more aware, just how blessed I am to be his mom, or his step- mom, or just his fathers wife...the title does not matter to me, all that matters his my sweet and amazing boy, everyday I have had with him is nothing less than an extravagant gift, and every moment I spend is his presence I am more compelled to do be a true mother, and love him even more than I did the day before, with no expectations from him, except that he will be true to his self, and be the man of God he was created to be...and that is enough!

Enemies of Goodness:

Tue, 9 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

It is no use either saying that if there is a God of that sort--- an impersonal absolute goodness--- then you do not like Him and are not going to bother about Him. For the trouble is that one part of you is on His side and really agrees with his disapproval of human greed and trickery and exploitation.

You may want Him to make an exception in your own case, to let you off this one time; but you know at bottom that unless the power behind the world really and unalterably detests that sort of behavior, then He cannot be good. On the other hand, we know that if their does not exist an absolute goodness it must hate most of what we do. This is a terrible fix we are in.

If the universe is not governed by an absolute goodness, then all of our efforts are in the long run hopeless. But, if it is, then we are making ourselves enemies to that goodness every day, and are not in the least likely to do any better tomorrow, and so our case is hopeless again. We cannot do without it, and we cannot do with it. God is the only comfort, He is also the supreme terror; the thing we most need and the thing we most want to hide from.

He is our only possible ally, and we have made ourselves His enemies. Some people talk as if meeting the gaze of absolute goodness would be fun. They need to think again. They are still only playing with religion.

Goodness is either the great safety or the great danger--- according to the way you react to it. And we have reacted the wrong way...

C.S. Lewis - from Mere Christianity

1892 J.R.R Tolken, Lewis's long time friend, colleauge, and fellow inkling (a group of friends who met regularly from about 1930 to 1963 to share writings, good conversation, and the odd pint), is born in Bloemfontein, South Africa

Haiti: How Does the Church Respond?

Thu, 21 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

I've been following Seth Barnes's blog about what's happening in Haiti. It's devastating; here's what he just posted:

Last night on a Skype call from near the Haitian border, we heard the tragic story of a mother with three children. Her three year-old had her crushed leg amputated at the hip. But even as she clings to life, her mother has to take her on the hard ride back to Port-au-Prince to search for her two siblings who are still lost and possibly dead in the rubble.

She represents the hundreds of thousands, still in a state of shock, trying to cope with the trauma. They desperately and urgently need our help. And we have to ask, how does the Church respond?

AIM is mobilizing the Church to respond to this disaster with integrity and boldness. Here's how we can join what the Lord is doing in the nation of Haiti:

Pray. We need to cover Haiti in prayer. Pray for the people, the AIM missionaries in the Dominican Republic close to the border, and the mission teams being sent out.

Give. A great way to make an impact in Haiti is to donate to the Haiti Relief Fund. You can give through AIM by clicking here. These donations are tax-deductible and will be stewarded well; I can vouch for that! This money is being directly sent to people on the ground who are using it to for supplies and food.

Go. AIM will soon be sending mission trips into Haiti. This week, though, a group of World Racers is headed into the midst of the chaotic situation as forerunners for coming teams. They're going to identify key ministry contacts and set up logistics for coming teams. For more about their trips and other opportunities to go, visit the Haiti blog.

Share. Tell the stories. Get the word out. Let's believe that the Lord WILL transform this land for His glory.

For more on how AIM is responding to Haiti, read this report from Seth: AIM's Plans to Help Haiti.

Haiti

Sat, 16 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

From Seth Barnes blog:

I talked to our country director, Miguel Shaul. He just returned from Port-au-Prince with this report:

Miguel passed by a school that was full of students at the time of the earthquake that completely collapsed, killing most of the students. He said the stench was unbearable.

They had turned the large cement slab in front of the school into a triage center for the living right next to that place of death because there was no more space to put them.

A pickup truck with four crushed but living people showed up. There was no room for them there. The man driving it said, "Where else can I take them?"

There was a woman crying beside the body of her sister who couldn't get treatment and had just died.

A mass of people is fleeing Port-au-Prince. It was hard to move. People are being tended for medical needs all along the way from the capital to the D.R. border. The capital is becoming like a war zone.

Last night, for example, according to unconfirmed reports, there were five D.R. police officers there to keep the peace who were murdered. The tension between the two nations is going to be exacerbated. It is possible that missionaries going in could be killed. We as a ministry will not be sending groups in until we have better assessed the security situation.

Miguel describes the situation as "on a knife's edge." But he adds that this can push the country to a place of dependence on God. The pastors are saying that people are turning to God in an unprecedented way.

If you'd like to get regular updates about Haiti, subscribe to the Haiti Updates Blog.

Our Daughter Alexis

Tue, 12 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

As most of you know, our oldest is at our G42 leadership school in Spain... (Suffering for Jesus on the Mediterranean Sea)! Here is here blog and what is already going on in her life...

You can sign up for her blog here (she is worth it!): http://allienoelle.blogspot.com/

My biological father passed away when I was four years old. It was a tragic loss making it hard to cope with everyday life. It was just my mom, my sister, and me for five years. When tragedy, loss, or desperation strike a house hold, it is natural for people to run to a comfort zone. People always are looking for a god to rely on, whether it is Christ Almighty or an idol.

Growing up, missing a father, I grew an attachment to food. At a young age I was gorging to fill the void in my heart. This 'Food god' became a habit for years to come. When my parents would confront me on this issue, I was quick to deny it, or become offended. As I grew older i ran to food every time something made me uncomfortable or sad. Finally I hit a wall, I did not want to be a slave to that god anymore. I was unhappy, unhealthy, and even more depressed than I started out.

Sunday night i cried out to heaven and hell "I DO NOT WANT TO DO THIS ANYMORE'. It was then when i realized that this was more than an addiction, it was a demonic stronghold. Admitting that to myself was the first sign of redemption, I had been lying to myself for years because i didn't want to be the girl who had the 'eating disorder'.

Coming to G42 Leadership Academy was not an attempt to find myself, it is to prepare myself and set the bar for my journey ahead. In this experience I want to be completely real with myself and those around me. When this revelation came to me Sunday night i had planned to tell my best friend, Alaina, and my mentor, Stephanie.

During class that morning, we were talking about being full in the Holy Spirit and shutting down strongholds. We began going around being honest and open about what we were dealing with and how to be 'full' anyway. Sure enough my heart began pounding like crazy and my face became hot. I did not want to share this with 20 people i had only met a week ago, I didn't even like to share it with myself. I heard God say clearly to confess it with my mouth and declare it gone.

So I told everyone about this stronghold that had taken over my life, my voice shaking and face turning red. I ended with, "but I'm done, so i am saying right now to Heaven and Hell that this has no more control over me and i am free." The moment i said that, I literally felt a heaviness lifted off of me; Demon gone. It's amazing the authority you have in the Lord, Amen.

The people i had confessed this to supported me and loved on me. Of course, right after i felt vulnerable and naked, regretting telling everyone. After the class, people came up to me thanking me for sharing and being honest, which shut the enemy down once again. This is not hard to share now because I AM DELIVERED IN THE NAME OF JESUS and will never deal with that again. Thank you Jesus, Praise Jesus. This Demon has lied to me, abused me, and manipulated me for 14 years, and I am free.

Merry Christmas from the BlackTribe!

Thu, 24 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Merry Christmas!

I know that saying, "Merry Christmas" is not politically correct, but... for those of us that still believe , for those of us that still have faith in America, our dreams and traditions - for those of us that want to bring hope to our neighbors, our family and the poor of the earth - I say, Merry Christmas!!

As Lisa and I council young married couples and listen to their struggles - as we listen to our friends going thru financial troubles, some of them destitution - one of our spiritual kids mother just took her life this week - as we struggle with our own family's issues - (some pretty major ones this Christmas)!

We all get to stop these next two days and remember one thing... A man took all of our burdens, all of our sin, all our triumphs and all of our confusion and placed it on a cross.

If you believe or not; if you insist on saying Happy Holidays and not Merry Christmas - it doesn't change what this man did and what He will do for you - This man, Jesus, was born and died for you, period. He didn't die for you because He needed you to perform; He didn't die for you to be perfect or go to church - He died for you with one thing on His mind... just you.

You are loved and sought after by the greatest man whoever walked the earth - He is desperately in love with you and your family - and all you have to do in return is say "Yes" I believe. That is all He asks...

So, Merry Christmas, and even happy holidays from the BlackTribe!

URGENT: Stop Sex Trafficking Now!

Wed, 16 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

This is from Tom Davis blog today - this is where we need to put our energy, period.

As you read this letter there are over 2 million children forced into prostitution and sex slavery.

      This can be prevented and we can do something about it. These girls need our help and there isn't time to waste.

      Right now, pimps and prostitution rings are targeting our precious, young girls. They wait for them to leave the protection of the orphanage, and then offer them a "job."

     Many of the girls simply disappear: never heard from again by their friends. But sometimes you glimpse this horror.

     Like the girl who was flung from the cab of a truck once her "client" was finished with her. She was paralyzed, never to walk again.

     Or the young woman the police found in a ditch on the side of a busy road. Killed at the truck stop where she worked as a prostitute.

These were kids that could have been helped by our programs.

One of these stories is too many...2 million children is unfathomable. This is a direct result of evil having its way on the earth.

As Peter tells us, "Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." I Peter 5:8

We can't let him continue to destroy lives. You can stop this, and help reclaim a child's future.

HopeChest stops sex trafficking before it starts. In Russia, we are taking girls into residential living centers and community centers to actively protect them from the commercial sex trade. We identify girls early, while still in the orphanage.

       Our staff form meaningful relationships to role model what successful living looks like. And when that girl leaves the orphanage, she knows exactly where to go for help--to HopeChest. She is not alone.

       Amongst our girls, there is no sex trafficking. In fact, our transitional living homes have a 90%+ rate of helping girls find true independent life. This is the reality of God's Kingdom in action.

      Right now these girls need you. Please go to http://www.HopeChestPartners.org and click the GIVE button to make a gift today.

You can make a gift in honor of a special person this Christmas. Perhaps you will honor someone who mentored you as we are helping these young women?

Help us stop sex trafficking now by reaching more girls in Russia today and into 2010.

5 life lessons

Wed, 2 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Seth Barnes blogged this today; if you have not read Adam's Return by Richard Rohr - I strongly recommend you do; both women and men; my daughters know who they want to marry and my sons are learning about initiation.

Gary Black and his family have been on a fascinating journey these past three years. At some point, I hope that he'll be able to share it with you. He's learned some great lessons (helped along the way by Richard Rohr) along the way that have cost a lot. We all get to learn these, or get bloodied and bruised because we couldn't learn them.

1. Life is hard

Being a Christian is not supposed to be easy all the time. We are going to suffer, get hurt, fall down. All great spirituality is about what we do with our pain. Embracing pain and learning from it will make you conscious, awake, and alert. God comes in and wounds our wounds and then starts to heal them...and we should embrace it, not turn and run the other direction when things are hard.

2. You're not that important

Either we are made by another or self-made, but all of us are transformed by people that are already transformed, and we can't do something until we see other people do it. Though our souls need meaning as much as our bodies need food, we can't give meaning.

3. It's not about you

Life is not about you but you are about life. You are about a universal and eternal pattern, and you don't have to figure it all out. We should be satisfied with being a part and only a part of the bigger picture.

4. You are not in control

You just get to BE, even if you can't wrap head around it. Everybody tells you to take control of your life and it sounds so godly and spiritual, but our bodies, souls, and especially our failures teach us that we are not in control. All God wants is the "yes" in our spirit - allow ourselves to be used despite the evidence against us. When we realize we're not in control we begin to care about other stuff, and become part of the huge mystery that helps change the world.

5. You are going to die

The most courageous thing you'll ever do is accept that you're just yourself, but we must die to self-image and small egos in order to become our real selves.

If these themes seem to hit you where it counts and you'd like to dive deeper in exploring them, I recommend reading Max Lucado's It's Not About Me.

Lex's Support Letter

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Spain Newsletter

I am so excited to share with you what God is doing in my life. i just graduated this past May and i felt God calling me to take time to learn his word and live in community with other followers. My passion for God and missions truly began when my family moved to Africa in 2006. I feel in love with with the people and reached a spiritual maturity level that i had never encountered before. At the time, the Leadership Academy in Spain was talked about, but not up and running yet. However, i was so excited for what might happen there. When i knew i was moving back to the states i had planned to graduate high school then take a year to experience God and find myself.

Around May the school year had been winding down and i had decided to just stay in Colorado and work for a year. It was comfortable, but i didn't really know what to do with my life or where it was going. After a lunch date with my Dad i had decided Spain. In that conversation my dad had challenged me to dig deeper and gain a stronger knowledge of God and life. I went home that night and prayed about moving yet again to a foreign land. This meant giving up a lot, but after a few days God told me to go.

Which brings me to now. it is so exciting to here about all the amazing, life changing things going on in Spain that i soon get to be a part of. I feel like this year is going to be a growing year for me. It's going to be a six-month long internship, costing all together about $8,000. I'd like to ask for your help as I step out in obedience. By praying for me as I prepare and go to Spain, you will have a direct impact on my ministry. Prayer is so important in life and this project is no exception.

In addition, will you consider supporting me financially? i would like if people began to support me monthly starting in January. I need to buy my ticket ASAP, so, if you would like to help with that, we can do that now!! The term starts the beginning of January. Please know that all financial support is sincerely appreciated. Please send contributions G42 or AIM and a statement of your giving will be mailed to you at the end of the year. I am also willing, for those of you locally, to work for support. Dog-sitting, housecleaning, car washing, etc. Just let me know if you'd like to take up that offer.

I look forward to what God will do in my life through this experience. Your support and prayers mean a great deal to me. Thank you for sharing in this opportunity with me to influence the lives of many people, not just in Spain, but my life and the lives of the rest of the group.

Thank You for your Time,

Alexis

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world." -James 1:27

Thank You for Donating
Go Here to donate and help me to get more discipleship, more life and more of the Lord!

Click on 'Intern Support' and give all your billing info. Once they have all your information they will ask you to review. Make sure you type in 'Alexis Black' under Intern's name. Contact me if you any trouble billing.
-or-
If you would rather pay by check, make checks payable to G42 and mail to:
G42, Inc. P.O. Box 17419 Fountain Hills, AZ 85269

You can pay once, or give monthly, both are equally appreciated. I will be in touch!
-Alexis

Report on the move of Holy Spirit at IHOP going on right now (sent to about 50 leaders from Mike Bickle's inbox)

Sat, 14 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

I cannot confrim or deny what is happening in KC; but, I recieved this email from Mike Bickle tonight... if you are near IHOP of just want to go jump in the river here you go!

A short overview of what is happening at IHOP for a few leaders in light of inquiries and phone calls about what the Holy Spirit is doing at IHOP

On November 4, on the last day of IHOP's monthly Global Bridegroom Fast, a move of the Holy Spirit began to stir during IHOPU's student chapel as students testified of receiving deliverance from self-hatred, shame, and depression. Students began to experience supernatural joy at the revelation of God's love for them. A powerful spirit of joy rested on many the next day at the IHOPU student-led 6am prayer meeting and the Spirit continued to move throughout the week in our classes and during the faculty meetings.

Then, on November 11, at a 9am class of first year students, the Spirit continued to move with physical healings and deliverance with a spirit of joy. That class on November 11 continued for more than 15 hours. The word spread quickly and over 2,000 people spontaneously gathered to the auditorium from all over the Kansas City area as deliverance and physical healings increased. The meeting continued well past midnight. The leadership of IHOPU recognized that the Spirit was moving and therefore, they canceled all classes for the next few days so that we could gather to receive all that the Spirit wanted to do.

We recognize the Holy Spirit is awakening our students and many others. In each of these meetings, many people are being set free from addictions, shame, depression, demonic activity, and every sort of emotional pain. We are also witnessing an increase of physical healings, as God is touching and restoring bodies inside the building as well as those watching via webstream. Moreover, we greatly rejoice as we are seeing lost souls being added to the Kingdom of God during these meetings. We are also receiving many testimonies and reports that this move of the Spirit is spreading to other churches and prayer rooms that are joining with us each night via the webstream.

What started during our IHOPU student chapel on November 4 continues until today. Visitors are pouring in from many places with some driving over 1,200 miles overnight to participate in these meetings. Consequently, we have moved the Prayer Room to our FSM sanctuary from 6pm to midnight each night from November 12 to 22. We will continue to extend these nightly meetings beyond this as the Holy Spirit leads us. We earnestly pray that the spiritual awakening will continue as our nation is in a desperate need for another great awakening in this hour.

Throughout history, college and university campuses in our nation have been an epicenter and a catalyst for spiritual awakening. From the 1700s onward, our nation has witnessed multiple moves of the Holy Spirit that have touched and awakened students on college campuses, including Princeton University, Yale University, Asbury College, Wheaton College, and more than a dozen other college campuses. These spiritual awakenings often progressed beyond the campuses and resulted in a great number of souls being added to the Kingdom of God. History also attests to a strong correlation between spiritual awakening and missionary movements. We pray that this spiritual awakening that is touching IHOPU and the rest of our IHOP Missions Base will break out all over our nation in different cities.

To join with us via the webstream, visit us at www.ihop.org/watch

Pain upon Pain

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

I received messages late last night; we all need to be thankful today and give our prayers and money... life is hard and it is all relative, but... our lives are not like this.

Seth Barnes Blogged it well:

Nsoko, Swaziland is the most pain-filled place on earth I know. In a country where 45% of adults have the HIV virus, the people of Nsoko have an infection rate that, astonishingly, is twice that - 90%. Visit their homes and you can't help but encounter the pain. Skeletal women with hollow eyes wasting away in corners. Frightened children left to cope by themselves. And our people, Pastor Gift and Philile are right in the middle of it. Every day they're comforting someone, burying someone, taking someone to the hospital. They touch and consecrate the remorseless pain of their neighbors.

Last night I received a message from Pastor Gift that a windstorm had blown through and crumpled the roof of our community center and had demolished many homes (report here). It leaves you shaking your head and asking, "How much more can a person take?"

All of us experience pain. Pain as a one-off at worst results in post-traumatic shock syndrome. It's the repeated pain - the pain upon pain that is senseless or abusive - that dulls the senses and sends us scuttling for safe places. We have no words for it. At a minimum it seems unfair. With Job we shake an angry fist at the God who set this whole thing up. We ask "why?" and our voice echoes unanswered off the walls.

I know a family that this year said goodbye to their father, a victim of cancer. Left behind are a mother and daughter also battling with cancer, while the other two daughters cope with devastating pain of their own. Pain upon pain. It's more than anyone should bear. What do we say in the face of such monstrous realities?

Some of you know what I mean. You've had your fill and the cup of your pain is running over. It's a thundering migraine that won't go away, a thumb in your eye when you're already beat down and gasping for breath. You've lost your job and suffer the humiliation of getting turned down for the hundredth time. Many of us know couples who, having lost their child then find that the pain of the loss causes them to lose their marriage.

Horatio Spafford's life gives us perhaps the best answer to this question of pain upon pain. He lost his son to an early death, his business in the Chicago fire, and all four of his daughters drowned when a ship went down. Later, passing by that spot, he wrote the famous hymn "It is Well With My Soul." But that's not the end of the story. Later, he and his wife moved to Jerusalem and founded a ministry to the poor. The ministry later became the subject of a Nobel Prize-winning book.

I remember one of the last times I was in Nsoko sitting in the dirt with a Swazi woman who had lost her whole family. We visited the graves of her family members and sang "It is Well With My Soul" with her. And in sharing her grief, we honored it, for a moment transforming it to something holy - a sacrifice to a God who, despite appearances to the contrary, still cared, shining hope into a place sandblasted by pain.

What else can we who follow Jesus do except that - join our brothers and sisters in their distress and honor the pain that has no explanation and the God who won't give one? It is the response of Jesus' disciples to his death and it is the sacred pathway God still gives us to journey. In Nsoko this morning, that is what Pastor Gift and his staff will be doing. Half a world away, we can join him through our prayers and through our giving. Some of us may even hum Horatio's Spafford's hymn as a way of consecrating this awful fight to bring light into the darkness.

The Remnant is shaping a nation...

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

As most of you know the Lord made it very clear to Lisa, the kids and me the reason He moved us to Africa for a season was so that He would give us a remnant or prophets in hiding, in Swaziland. For 14 months we cultivated relationships, fought the government, washed, clothed and fed thousands of orphans.... and... we built strategic relationships with the royal family. Then, seemingly out of know where, God gave us pastor Gift and his family, gogo Elizabeth and a bunch of white South African farmers; the remnant was found! And they were found in a desolate, forgotten place called Nsoko.

(I believe there is a "Remnant" in every nation; a group of people/prophets that have not bowed their knee to the norm, to the religious, to compromise; these are the people that God is hiding until an appointed time to shape and change a nation) Jer 23:3 and 1Kings 19:18

This report may not seem like much too many of you, but, it is life, tears and makes all the suffering, fighting and confusion at times all worth it! (We still need staff; so, please read and ask)

Nsoko Center Executive Report

November 11, 2009

Having returned from the AIM/CHC vision trip a couple weeks ago it is appropriate for me to submit an update on the ministries, the staff, and the ongoing management of the Nsoko Center.

Nsoko Ministry Overview

Pastor Gift is excelling at leading the ministry efforts in Nsoko. He is responsive to leadership here in Gainesville. He communicates well. He does a great job directing the visiting AIM teams to productive contribution to the overall ministry there. He is working on a leadership development training for some emerging leaders there.

Clinic - the clinic is open and functioning. 50 children were chosen from among the surrounding care points to receive the free medical treatment. The clinic is selling vouchers at the Nsoko Spar for the community to come be seen. Vouchers cost R100. This may need to be addressed as I didn't think we were providing a for profit clinic - we are covering the electricity costs for the clinic and since there are aircons in the building this will be a considerable added cost to our monthly budget for the center.

Church - When I attended church there were around 20 Swazi's attending. It is meeting in the community building (which we are using as a dorm see below) since the roof structure does not provide shelter in bad weather.

Community Building - We've converted the community building in to a dorm for the visiting teams. Since the RLMT in June there have been teams staying there almost constantly from RLMT, STM, WR and soon Novas. This has been helpful in several areas - it has benefits of keeping the team in the ministry setting 24/7 which has upsides and downsides. The other helpful part if the teams are paying a pppn fee to stay in the housing and we are using these funds to cover maintenance of the center as well as make improvements.

Womens Meeting - Philile is leading the women's ministry every Tuesday afternoon. This seems to be going well as several women attend. Philile is very busy with school.

HIV/AIDS Support Group - I did not witness this meeting this time but there were around 50 people in the meeting in July when I was there. Since the group is growing but also people within the group are dying there is a need for trained counselors. I suggest this be part of the leadership development piece we do in Nsoko.

Soccer Team - I wish you could have been there the Sunday I was there. Here is a report I have the donor for the soccer uniforms: I wish I had a video of one of the most moving scenes yet in Africa for me. We were having church (Morgan you can picture this) and the soccer team pulled up in the back of two pick-ups (picture like 30 people in the back of two Toyota trucks) singing and chanting in the rain. They had just won a match with a goal in the last 5 seconds and were returning to the Nsoko center in victory! They danced and sang outside the community building/center for some time - church just ended and we joined the celebration. Wow - it was awesome and Gift was in tears.

Gift tells me two of the guys on the team have offers to play at the next level in South Africa. God is bringing meaning to the lives of the men on this team - they are undefeated and tied for first place in their league.

Foster Home - I am working on a blog to explain this ministry. Basically there are 4 young boys and a 14 year old pregnant girl with no place to live. Gift has put them up with a nearby gogo. We are providing food for the homestead and working on donors to keep it going and add school fees and medical care.

Building Projects - All funds for this have come from team funds.

1. We are almost finished adding showers to the back of the community building for team use.

2. We will be adding another water tower and tank and upgrading the system there to save the wear and tear on the well pump.

3. The septic system for the community building was not installed correctly. We will have to do it over. Sewage back-up is a problem.

4. We hope to soon build walls under the metal roof structure to make it the new community center/church. We will also build two rooms behind it one being an office and another a storage room.

5. This coming summer there is a returning RLMT member with his construction company father and brothers who want to fund and build another house or two like Gifts. I am working on a good floor plan that will allow maximum flexibility for use there. These will be temporary staff house and intern housing making it easier for people to some serve for several months at a time. It will also be an income generator for the center as people will pay rent.

Staff Update

As I said Gift is doing a great job. But he needs help. Visiting people like Traci Vansumeren have been a huge help. We have a Novas team of 8 coming the end of November. I will be using them like staff there under Gift's direction.

Facilities Manager - We are in need of a person who can keep things fixed and manage upcoming projects.

Administrator - We need someone to manage the finances, reconciling funds and keeping the ministry on budget.

TIP (Talent Improvement Program) - This is Gift's idea for a leadership development program. As we get funding we will be adding Swazi staff similar to the D-Team in Manzini but they will be part of a 2 year leadership development program where they serve as staff as well as get intentional leadership development training.

Give to Nsoko here; this nation will be, is being changed day-by-day... thank you everybody.

Our anniversary today... priceless

Wed, 4 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

This is from my daughter Alexis; it has been a very hard season of life this past year, but... our God has been faithful; all of our kids blessed us today on our 9th anniversary, but this was particularly special.

Alexis Black

Journalism

Nov. 4, 2009

Inverted Pyramid Tales

Everything was set. Wedding Cake and decorations streaming white all around the Castle. I put on my small ivory dress, delicately beaded. I look in the mirror, my hair is elegantly twisted into a bun and a small tiara sits on my head. Every girl dreams of their wedding day; the white lace, ribbons, and dresses lure us in and cause us to fantasize on the far-off future. My mother was a widow, with two small girls. After five years of being alone she was marrying the man of all of our dreams. Gary Black was tall, handsome, and a perfect gentleman. He was the exact man to father me and my sister. I loved my daddy, but November 4, 2000 i fell in love with another man. When my mom said her 'I do's' that day, we were protected, loved, and fathered. I was that day i realized that i would only love one more man after this. I walked down the aisle, dressed head to toe in white just like a princess; I was the flower girl and i married into a family. Next time i walk down the aisle i will be madly in love again; dressed in white, like a princess. I will be the bride and i will marry a man that holds the same same morals, protection, and love that my dad has provided to our family. November 4, 2009, my parents have been married for almost a decade today, and i can't wait to have what they have.

Knock Knock

Sun, 18 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Watch and Learn; We have a choice.

The beginning

Sun, 11 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

We started the World Race wanting it to be the beginning for many - we are taking those that will jump off and wanting to go even further... will you start here?

Steal the Hunt

Sat, 10 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Not sure how many of you were shocked with President Obama receiving the Nobel Peace Prize... I was appalled.

We are teaching a generation that you don't have to earn anything; you just can show up and demand. What damages our kids is when we "Steal the hunt" from them. This generation is so spoiled, so celebrated, that they have turned out to be just like the Israelites in the desert! Provision never runs out, their shoes never ware, and the wonder around complaining, wondering why nothing works?

I have coached football, softball, others for 10 years; I am raising 6 kids, who are all great competitors and given my life for the past 20 to the next generation - if we do not make them earn it, fight for it - if we keep giving trophies for just participation; we will loose another generation to complacency and victims... warriors and over comers are born out of adversity and making it work anyway; when we hand it to them we steal away the very thing that will make them great!

Seth Barns Blog: watch the video
Can I get a Nobel Prize too? I had a great thought back in 1981. I thought, "Ronald Reagan is in a perfect position to negotiate a major reduction in the nuclear warhead stockpile based on the fact that he is a hardliner and can negotiate from a position of strength." I can't remember, but I may even have written him a letter telling him that. And then, would you believe it, that's what happened. I think I deserve a prize.

Prizes and trophies used to mean something. They distinguished those who, because of their achievement, stood out from the crowd. Of course we all need encouragement and cheering is important, but now legions of soccer moms and dads cheer their little Johnny through a season and at the end hold an awards ceremony. Everybody's name is called and one by one they come up to the front to get their trophy.

The trophies mean nothing. Of course the kids don't know it. They've not been around long enough to know that life doesn't work that way, that in order for there to be good, there must be bad, that the bell curve is a law of nature. But over time, disappointment will dawn on them by degrees as they feel the harshness of life with no awards ceremony at the end. When their bosses fire them for nonperformance, they'll start to wake up and get a chiropractic adjustment of their value system.

For years we've had grade-inflation in our schools. But even as our grade averages have gone up, our test scores have gone down. And now we're eating a politically correct Brunswick stew of values where everyone's a winner.

We parents have become addicted to enabling. As they get older, we have a hard time quitting our cheerleader-in-chief roles. We want to attach a thousand little booster rockets to our 25 year-old who still lives in the basement. But inadvertently we stunt his growth by not allowing him to feel the affects of his lack of performance.

Just for a second I'd like to ask a few questions: Can there be justice in a society where every action is celebrated and there are no losers? Where do the warriors go when the ones who kept the peace were the people who thought great thoughts without having to back those thoughts with action?

And what will become of the value of courage when it becomes the same as thinking noble thoughts?

The video below illustrates my point (thanks, Mike).

Out of the mouth of ...

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Please; Be the "Church"

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT

As we all know and believe; I hope... is that everything is built around the local Church. What does that mean, the local Church? Well... many trying to build one will tell you it's about bringing people in and counting the noses that attend, but... is it really about attendance and how many people we can get to come to a building?

Tonight I sat at a sports bar with one of the parents from my 12 year olds baseball team. He is the GM of the many of the strip bars in our city. That's right; he runs the stripper clubs in Colorado Springs... he should go to hell right now, right? I have to tell you, my wife and I love this man and his wife dearly...they don't speak Christian-ese but they are more pure in their hearts, and more Kingdom in their living than most people we know, they are just raw and real...

I don't know if you have watched much live baseball - or for that matter, much TV baseball. But, it's pretty boring! Hours of waiting, and sitting, but, when the players are 12, and it's your kid; you celebrate.

Well... we love sitting with the "un-churched" parents of our baseball team. We talk about orphans, widows and our experiences around the world and their eyes light up! Question after question; they are so intrigued that it makes baseball fun!! (Don't tell the boys that)!

Tonight this "Baseball stripper dad" shared with me how he held his 28 year old brother in his arms as he died of AIDS; he said, "don't talk to me about God, he killed my brother" of course, I asked, "how did God, kill you brother?"

"As my brother was dying, I asked our Priest; are you the one who raped him when he was little, and now you refuse to do his funeral because he his gay"!!!!!! He said, "The priest looked down and would not answer; my mom slapped me and my brother was not buried by our church - I hate God".

Of course, as an "ambassador in Chains" I asked him if it was God that did this or man?

We wept, we prayed; we had "Church" in a sports bar tonight. It was Relationship; not right or wrong; but... life and death... I prayed death off of him and he gave me life... we gathered together, just the two of us, and, we had "Church".

Sunday morning; get your family up and, please, go to church; tomorrow morning, please, get up and be the church.

Relative

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT

I am in the middle of one of the largest battles of my life; I pray, I cry out, I wonder why; most of the time... then... I am reminded... (From Morgan Mckeown; one of my favorite people in the world)!

I got the news yesterday that Maswane (pictured at left) has died. At 19 her life here on earth is over, stolen by AIDS. She desired to tell her story and let the truth be known, that's why I'm writing.

Our first day in Swaziland Pastor Gift told us about Maswane and asked if we would be willing to go pray with her. When she was five years old she was raped which is how she contracted HIV. She was raped again when she was seven and has never once consented to sex with a man. One of the men who raped her has died, and the other is free, he escaped to South Africa. Her virginity as well as her life has been brutally ripped away.

We pulled our van up to her families compound. As I ducked from the bright day into the round stick building, it took a second to pick out figures in the dim light. The smell of rotting flesh and smoke permeated the air; soaked into everything, burnt my eyes and saturated my clothing. Maswane was too sick to sit up, she was on a one inch thick mattress and lay shivering under a light blanket.

She was wrecked by AIDS, her skin cracked and calcified, open sores all over her frail, bed ridden body. In place of what once was smooth dark skin she had charred dry scales. It was one of the hardest things I have ever seen. Nineteen years old and dying by no fault of her own.

Soon after we entered she started whaling in agony, her piercing screams filled the hut. Seeing her writhe in pain and hearing her tortured scream was heart wrenching. We all started to pray and she was visibility calmed, her body stopped shaking and slowly uncurled while her breath deepened again.

As we prayed I felt God saying, "This is my beautiful daughter, see how lovely she is!" Then God reminded me that there would be no tears or pain in heaven, and that he had prepared a beautiful place for her.

Maswane labored to tell her story, to be known and to make known the evil that has robbed her life. Despite that evil, her spirit was strong and her beauty captivating. She fought to shine the light of exposure in a horribly dark place.

Some of my teammates and I got to go back to visit with her and to deliver a new thicker mattress and some warm blankets. We sat with her for a few hours, and filmed everything, her story, her spirit, her hopes and dreams, her truth and reality. She loved the camera and understood how exposing the truth was the key to bringing change to future generations in Swaziland.

Some day I'll get to see Maswane in heaven, we will get to laugh, dance and run. We will get to talk with no language barrier and maybe she will show me around the beautiful place that God prepared for her.

I love this generation; we do have hope!

Tue, 8 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT

ALBERTINE

I am sitting still
I think of Angelique
Her mother's voice over me
And the bullets in the wall where it fell silent

And on a thousandth hill
I think of Albertine
There in her eyes what I don't see
With my own

Rwanda

CHORUS
Now that I have seen
I am responsible
Faith without deeds is dead
Now that I have held you
In my own arms
I cannot let go til you are

I am on a plane
Across a distant sea
But I carry you in me
And in the dust on, the dust on my feet

Rwanda

CHORUS

Bridge
And I'll tell the world
I will tell them where I've been
I will keep my word
I will tell them, Albertine

CHORUS

I am on a stage
A thousand eyes on me
I will tell them, Albertine
I will tell them, Albertine

When life doesn't work:

Thu, 3 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT

We have all heard the great "sayings" that are parents told thru the years... "What doesn't kill you can only make you stronger" or "when life gives you lemons, make lemonade"! But... what do we do when those amazing life changing statements don't work?!

What happens to us when these great "Ideas" don't work? When religion, or Dali Lama, or Buddha, or Hinduism or Mormonism or any izm doesn't work?? What about when God or Jesus doesn't work, what do we do?

In my life I have seen some amazing things... as a child I actually watched my mom pray for a lady; this women had a leg inches shorter then the her other leg - as my mother prayed, her leg grew to equal to the other; I watched this with my own eyes!

I have watched skin cancer fall off of people as others prayed; I have witnessed eyes that were blind, see - I have watched as deaf people have heard; I have talked to demons, many times; I have watched the presence of God, or something, come in a room of thousands and NO one could move - for hours, really!

But, more often... I have seen people die when you don't think they should; I have seen and lived in poverty beyond the human mind - I have prayed for thousands that never see an answer or at least an answer they want. I have seen deaf ears, stay deaf, and blind eyes stay blind - both physically and spiritually... I have seen dead people stay dead.

So, what do we do when life doesn't work? Do we get ticked off and isolate ourselves? Maybe? Do we become bitter and angry and understand people just do not get us? Do we do what I have done and made their mantra the new great country song; "God is great, beer is good and people are crazy"?! (A lot of truth, but, we are all crazy)

Or... do we keep getting up. Do we continue to believe anyway; do we understand that we will probably never get over ourselves and never get fully "Healed", and, are we ok with that?

Paul, in the New Testament, cried out 3 times to get healed, and never was. Most likely, either will you! Can you live with that or just keep yelling, cussing, blaming God and others? You are broken; thank God! You do not have what you deserve; thank God! And, you probably never will - if you do, no one could trust you or believe you - thank God!!

If things aren't working out, then...

Always give life. If you are not giving life, you will feel dead. Your spouse or friends will not, cannot, respect you; and, you will feel all alone and want to die. Welcome to the crowd; and a good crowd it is...

Desperation Band

Mon, 31 Aug 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Proud of you guys; Everything changes after this...

From Barnes blog; you need to see this...

Thu, 13 Aug 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The tidal wave of relativism that has swept through our culture has created a lot of victims. It says, "Truth is relative, so don't cram your opinion down my throat."

The problem is, Jesus wasn't a relativist and it is impossible to be his follower and to have this easy-come, easy-go view of truth. When you're on an airplane, it has a flight plan that takes you a certain way into the airport. The pilot doesn't have the luxury of multiple options. And when Jesus said, "No man comes unto the Father but by me," he didn't leave the door open to other options.

Following Jesus isn't for everyone, but if it's a way that you have found hope (and if you haven't, that's fine, please just be honest about it), then passivity and relativism isn't an option for you. Jesus said: "Go into all the world and make disciples." We who follow him need to do what he said.

That's the missionary imperative. Past generations understood it, but it seems that few young Christians today do. They don't have a sense of urgency, they don't seem to grasp the world's pain or it's need for hope. The generational ethos is that everything is optional. And I'm not saying they have to change, I'm just saying, "Don't call yourself a Jesus-follower when you're not at least prepared to do what he asked his disciples to do."

Jesus said, "if you are lukewarm, I will spit you out of my mouth." I guess that means you're either in or you're out. I've devoted my life to finding and sending those who are all-in. If you're one, I'll gladly serve you in this way. People around the world are much needier than we here in this rich suburban bubble called America. It's not complicated, we need to go to where they are and speak the language of their heart.

Katie Rowland captured our team's experience in Mozambique living out this imperative in this excellent video.

How Will They Hear? 3 Minute from Discover The Journey on Vimeo.

Lets Celebrate 10 years with them!

Wed, 12 Aug 2009 00:00:00 GMT

As you know, I believe Africa has to help and restore Africa; missionaries need to go and serve the people of Africa, but... our "Western Christianity" has not helped, and in-fact, has hurt the progress of the Church there.

Pastor Gift is an African that understands this very well - he has taken up the responsibility for his people, for his home, and he and his family are giving their lives away every day.

Everyday Gift and Philile minister to the dying; they minister and empower the orphans of Swaziland; they do it when no one else is watching - day after day...

I received this letter from Pastor Gift a few days ago. I thought a few of us could help make this 10^th anniversary a very special one.

Pastor Gary

Greetings! So far you are the only ones who wanted to know what this surprise entails. Here it goes:

My wife 's greatest wish is to fly. She has never been on an airplane before and it would be a treat of a life time for her to fly. She would love me for it. Embarrassingly, I have been all over Southern Africa but Cape Town. I have always wanted to go to Cape Town and I know my wife would love it.

I am saving some money but this dream is not possible without any kind of help. If we were to go it would look like this:

We would leave Swaziland on the 11th of September, our anniversary day and by coincidence a Friday. Drive to Joburg and fly to CPT same day. Stay the weekend and fly to JHB on Sunday and drive to Swazi. The cheapest ticket sales for 2 people are 2, 704 ZAR including tax and everything excluding accommodation. The ones from Southern Airways on the same weekend are 3, 760 ZAR on the same weekend.

If this fails, we can just fly to JHB, honestly not interesting, and stay with friends there and take public back to Swazi. This sounds wow! However, she deserves more then this for sticking with me all this past 10 years. I am open to other suggestions though, you know me guys and you are married longer then me.

Love you all

Gift

Here is all we need to do; go to; www.pastorgift.myadventures.org hit the support button on the left; the exchange rate is around 7.5 to 1 right now; so, $800 gets them tickets and accommodations to celebrate 10 years of life! Thanks for this - it's kind of a no-brainer!

Past the test...

Fri, 7 Aug 2009 00:00:00 GMT

I wrote about a month ago that I "Blew up" or canceled our g42 church here in Colorado Springs... the issue was over wanting community without authority.

Matthew 8 verses 5-18 - Jesus tests the centurion on his faith and his "Understanding" of authority - the centurion comes to Jesus and tells him "my servant lies at home paralyzed and in terrible suffering" here is the test - Jesus says, "I will go and heal him"

One of my frustrations and heart cry for this generation is that they will actually pay the price and go do it themselves! We have made it way too easy on our children; we are expected to pay for cars, sports, college. We give trophies and medals for nothing; other than inhaling and exhaling, not for excelling. Because of the lack of fathering from the past few generations, the church has taken the message of fathering a generation and made into co-dependency and being their friend instead of their parent. What this generation needs to put down the x-box, stop running to one mission program to another and pick up the sword of authority and do something!

As you know the centurion says to the Lord; "just say the word and my servant will be healed. For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one to go and he goes; and that one to come and he comes. I say to my servant do this and he does it." It says in verse 10, "When Jesus heard this he was astonished"!

The centurion passed the test! I am a man under authority, so I have authority! Authority over my sin, over those that want to be better - not manipulation, not control - just, I know who you are, I know I don't fully get it, but... I have faith.

I was having a drink today with one of our guys here that is in ministry and was a part of our "g42" church. He shared a sin issue with me and he wasn't sure what to do... I told him that he had just put his sin, "Under Authority" and now he was covered. When that sin raises its ugly head; call me, we will pray and it will not control you. He was set free today.

That is all authority is... I have controlled and manipulated thru the years in my "Authority positions" now, all I want is to cover and help create faith in those that get it.

Empowering Parents; Seth Barnes

Wed, 29 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Seth Barnes, the President of AIM and the World Race, is empowering the parents of the young people that decide to jump off and go serve the world. Sometimes it is very hard to let our children venture out - especially with how the world is today, but... I/we believe that if the Lord has placed it in their hearts to go; He will be faithful to see them thru - not just to see them thru, but to see them come "Fully Alive"!

Here is his first blog to the parents - If you are a WR parent or if your son/daughter is feeling a call to the nations - you can log onto:
Userid: wrfamily@theworldrace.org
Pwd: family

His blog, with a little help from my wife a couple years back while we were living in Africa:

Gary and Lisa Black were coaches of the A, B, C and D squads. They know how to celebrate the successes that Racers have. They set a good precedent for the coaches who followed. They loved the Racers like they were their own children. They hugged them and confronted them equally well. Their Racers sensed their safety and began pouring their hearts out to them.

One of the things I particularly like about Lisa is the way she is a cheerleader for her children's kingdom destinies. Many parents carry on over their child's smallest accomplishment in the sports or academic arena (in Little League everyone gets a trophy). Contrast that with Lisa, who sent her then 16 year-old son Tyler around Africa with mission teams for weeks at a time. To give you a closer look at what I'm talking about, here's a note she wrote him:

My dear son,

What an amazing experience, one you will never forget! I cannot even imagine walking around a foreign country alone at your age! You are fearless, I love that about you! I said to your dad while you were traveling alone that I never worry about you in those situations, you are so smart and brave, but I would be in near panic over any of the rest of the kids....that is a long journey!

I can tell your grandparents are so thrilled to have you, I know you are loving seeing them again. I love your spirit and your encouragement, you are right where you are meant to be and although your absence is heavily felt, we are happy for you. I think God is preparing me for when you all go off on your own, I will miss you all so much, but I will never stand in the way of your life, your dreams, or your inheritance, I promise!"

If you're Tyler, what does that do for you? Man, if that's me hearing my mom cheering me on like that, I think I could walk on water. Our kids need us to not only believe the best about them, but to liberally, even sloppily slather on the praise. Yes, it needs to be sincere, but realizing that the first 30 years are identity-forming years, we as parents need to give them a strong foundation of righteous self-confidence.

Many people comment on what a fantastic, mature young man Tyler is. That didn't happen by accident. His parents focused him on seeking first the kingdom and when he took risks in going for it, they didn't worry or wring their hands, but saw him as a young Braveheart in the making.

What do we as WR parents take away from Lisa's example? For one thing, let me encourage you to use every opportunity to speak life into them. Comment on all their blogs. Write them encouraging notes, but don't hover. Let them go through their experience with enough space to grow. And purpose to spend special times praying for them together as parents. This year can take your prayer life to a whole new level.

You've done the hard part in sending them out. Your Racer is on his or her way to becoming a world changer - a spiritual weapon of mass destruction. Use this opportunity to cheer them on to the greatness that God is wanting to realize in them!

BlackTribe Update, July - 2009

Wed, 29 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT

We have been back from Swaziland just over a year now... what a year it has been! For our blended family of 10 years, it has been in our two most challenging years.

Because we travel internationally as much as we do and work with the poor, orphans and an emerging generation, I thought we would adjust back to American life with a breeze. I was wrong. Let me say, if you are living over seas as a family, or thinking of it; please make sure you sit with people that have done it on both sides and get the WHOLE story.

We did not re-enter properly and it has been a very valuable and hard season for all 8 of us.

The blessing has been watching the kids loose themselves, and then, find who they are again thru the process... most of our six have adjusted now and are back flying in their gifting and life!

Alexis Noelle just returned from a mission's trip to Nicaragua and is headed over to Spain this October to our G42 Leadership School; she is 18 and out the door!

Tyler started playing Rugby over in Africa and was just named the National Player of the Year for the U.S. 19 and under Rugby association... he has one last season left and will be headed to England to play semi-pro while they pay for his University - he is very excited to say the least!

Emily is in dance and enjoying the American life! She wants to get back with us to Swaziland very soon as she does miss the kids; we try to get over every few months...

Michael was named in the top 15 National Rugby Players of the year for the 17 and unders and has just started two-a-days for football; at almost 16, his integrity and love of life will carry him very far!

Caleb went undefeated and won the Gold Crown Basketball Championship and just pitched his team to the Global World Series Championships in Baseball - he is VERY 12 right now, but has an amazing tender heart for the Lord.

And then there is our almost 7 year old Noah. He does NOT miss the orphans at all! He does miss Swaziland and Cape Town, but, the orphans pulled at his blond hair and messed with him constantly... he is the only one not looking forward to the next trip to Africa!

Lisa and I are learning how to be Americans all over again and strengthening our marriage and family - she was very ill for the past year, but, the Lord has healed her and she is feeling as good as ever; we never did find the parasite or viral infection; thank God for miracles.

I am working on Oil and Gas contracts and some very large Energy projects with our Russian partners. We really believe a season is coming soon for major release of finance for the Kingdom of God! The dream that is becoming a reality is that our foundation will fund "Kingdom" projects; we are not interested in good programs - we want to find young people and the like that have experienced the nations and God's heart and help them birth businesses, orphanages, community, Church's and sustainable life all over the planet.

Our first Children's Village in Nsoko is moving along at a rapid pace as many teams are in and out of there all the time. Pastor Gift is in his gift and is watching the Garden of Eden coming to life right before his eyes!

If you would still like to continue to support what we are doing and help bring life to barren places for orphans, widows and the fatherless - you can donate directly thru Every Tribe International - (ETI) mail directly to us at 13849, Windy Oaks Rd, CO Springs, CO 80921 (just put ETI on the check for a write off) We continue to support and sustain family's and individuals in Africa and the more help, the more we can do.

And/or give directly to the Children's village in Nsoko here.

We have all heard it; "it's not about the destination, it's about the journey - that means more to us every day... we are grateful for all of you.

Gary, Lisa, Tyler, Alexis, Emily, Michael, Caleb, Noah

Pure and Faultless

Tue, 28 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT

One of the things that scares me about a lot of us "Christians" is when we get into tirades about Hollywood or some actor that is doing something that we don't agree with.

The world is supposed to act like the world and we are supposed to act like Jesus! I trust I have made my point, but... I am very happy to elaborate if asked!!

My friend and brother, Tom Davis, has done this right; he has issued an opportunity for us to display our encounters with Orphans that have changed our lives; please read below and respond... the only "Pure and Faultless religion is to look after orphans" (James 1:27) give us your stories, please.

Last weekend, Warner Bros. released a new horror movie entitled Orphan. The basic premise of the film involves a family who adopt an older child who then wreaks homicidal havoc in their family and home. The stereotype of the "troubled older orphan adoption" forms the basis of this film. (See: The True "Horror.").

After my initial blog post, I participated in a radio interview with my friend and and Executive Director of the Christian Alliance for Orphans, Jedd Medefind. We were asked to discuss the release of the movie from the perspective of Christian adoption and orphan care.

While in the middle of this interview, it became apparent to me that this is exactly the opportunity to defend the cause of the orphan. But instead of cursing the darkness, let's put the truth on display.

I have challenged my blog readers and now all of HopeChest's donors to write 500 positive blog posts about how an orphan has impacted and changed your life. Post this on your own blog so that when people search for the movie, they are flooded with positive messages about adoption and orphan care.

Just finish this sentence: "Warner Bros. new horror movie Orphan proclaims that it must be hard to love an adopted child as much as your own. Let me tell you about how an orphan changed my life..."

This is the heart of defending orphans. Help push back the darkness and deceit here by holding up as an example the powerful love that adoption and orphan care can unleash.

Here's how you can defend the orphan:

Write a "positive protest post" on your blog that references the movie, Orphan.
Focus on your orphan care or adoption story that is positive, redeeming, and full of love.
Put the link to your story on my blog post.
Send out an e-mail, Facebook message, or tweet to get others to do the same on their blogs.

If you don't have a blog, post your story on the Christian Alliance for Orphans Site: Orphans Deserve Better.

Thank you for joining us in a "positive protest" to show the world that orphan ministry is both life-giving and transformative. Thank you in advance for sharing your stories with the world.

Sincerely,

Tom Davis

CEO, Children's HopeChest

Tom Davis Blog on movie

Fri, 24 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT

July 24, 2009

The True "Horror"

Today marks the release of Orphan, or as the Washington Post referred to it, as a:

"depraved, worthless piece of filth...a high-gloss horror show about a well-meaning couple who bring home a 9-year-old girl to join their family, only to discover, way too late, that she's a homicidal psychopath."

The widespread criticism of Orphan is showing up in both the mainstream media (New York Times, New York Times 2) and also in Christian news sources as well. (See Orphans Deserve Better)

The true horror, as pointed out by the Orphans Deserve Better site, is not the Hollywood over-hyped stereotype of an adoption gone homicidially off the rails. There's ample evidence on both sides of the older orphan adoption discussion, and I think all would agree that this movie doesn't help the 150 million children without families.

That's the real horror.

If you want a good horror story about orphans, I've got plenty that will turn your stomach and wrench your heart. Imagine, for a moment, the impact that the film's producers could have had by investing the film's budget in cleaning up some of the real horrors facing orphaned kids today.

Now that's a film I'd pay to see.