Can you see the family resemblence?

Gulf Coast Outreach

How many teenagers do you know who will give up a week of their summer vacation, a week of video games, the pool, friends, sleeping in, and jobs, to volunteer to re-roof a building in 104-degree weather? Well, I know about 250 who did just that.

Every week the Mission Adventures Gulf Coast Outreach hosts about 200 kids from all over the country who come to Lake Charles, Louisiana, to serve the victims of Hurricane Katrina. I was there last week, staffing this outreach. There were about 25o of us altogether, and we stayed in a former grocery store converted into a church. We packed the place out, sleeping on mattresses on the floor, taking showers outside in our swimming suits with a hose, and working in one of the worst neighborhoods of the city. There was quite a contrast. Our first full day, Monday, rain flooded the area, with over 5 inches in a 24-hour period. We toured the hurricane-devastated areas from our vehicles, and wore trash bags as rain coats when we went outside. Just days later, the temperatures reached into the 100s as we stood on top of the roof of a church nailing in new shingles.

The church we roofed actually used to be the house of the pastor. He grew up in that house, and sold drugs out of it. He surrendered his life to Christ, gave up the drugs, became a pastor, and converted his house into a church. This church is located in a very poor neighborhood, and he has a small congregation, so he was very happy to have a bunch of kids come and fix up his church for free.

The week also included a program every morning and evening with teaching, worship, and skits, all meant to focus the hearts of the teenagers on Christ. At the end of the week we put on a Hope Festival for everyone in the neighborhood in which we had worked. It included games, music, free food, and the Gospel message shared by the pastor of the church we worked on. It was a wonderful week, and it gets me excited for the Mission Adventures program we will have here in July.

Summer schedule

This Sunday I leave for Lake Charles, LA, for one week to help host a wave of Mission Adventures. There will be about 250 young people there that week. We will be serving the needs of people who are still rebuilding after last summer's hurricanes, as well as sharing the hope of the Gospel. I will return on Sunday the 25th.

When I get back I will begin to prepare to host a youth group here June 30th and July 1st for Mission Exposure, a weekend event in which the youth are made aware of the worldwide need for the gospel and challenged to respond in a way to meet those needs.

July 5th, 6th, and 7th we will host a Missions Camp for kids ages 7-12 from a nearby church.

July 14th and 15th we will host two more youth groups for another Mission Exposure weekend.

Then beginning July 17th we will have a youth group here for Mission Adventures. For 4 days they will receive training, followed by 6 days of ministry locally.

That is my schedule for the next seven weeks, and I am busy preparing and planning for all of it right now. Please keep these things in mind and in your prayers, that God will use me and the others on staff to effectively serve and impact the young people in these groups.

Iraq and the War on Terror

I would like to take a moment and recognize the news of the death of al-Zarqawi, the leader of al-Qaida forces in Iraq. In case you haven't heard, he was killed during a U.S. led air strike. It seems a significant victory for U.S. forces. But what will it really accomplish? Maybe a younger, more zealous extremist will take his place, and only step up the intensity of the attacks. As al-Zarqawi is being made to look by his followers as a martyr, and not, in reality, a casualty of war, it will embolden and impassion the terrorists to a higher level of fervor. Or, will his death cause discouragement and confusion among the ranks of our enemies? I would certainly hope for the second option, but only time will tell the outcome of his death.

I strongly believe, however, that a military war is not the solution to this problem of terrorism that our country and the whole world is facing. Don't get me wrong, I don't oppose the war in Iraq - our government is doing the best they know how to do. The true solution is not political freedom, but spiritual freedom. If every Muslim man and woman believed in Jesus Christ and truly followed him, we would not be facing this issue of terrorism and the war in Iraq. While our government has taken a stand by invading Iraq, so the Church must take a stand and start sending it's forces into these dark areas armed with the Light and the Truth of the Gospel.