Live from Urbana - Update 3

We are coming to the end of another day, the second last, here at Urbana. This is a place of non-stop action. I just want to remind you that you can watch or listen to so much of it on Urbana.org. I plan to myself after it's all over.

Here in the main evening session, we just finished hearing from Rick Warren. He believes that this generation, the young people, will be the/a "reformation generation." I'm not exactly sure what it means, but it has to do with "whatever it takes", missions and The Peace Plan (thepeaceplan.com).

I spent the afternoon hanging out with hundreds of young people who want to use business for missions (one of my main interests). It was pretty cool meeting people and getting acquainted with organizations that want to see the workplace transformed for justice and missions and more. Research Christian enterprise on the web sometime.

Add to this a collectively missed lunch (for prayer and fasting), an offering for missions, a big choir, videos, more speakers and much more; and you have another day at Urbana 06.

Thanks for your prayers.
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Sent from my mobile phone.

Live from Urbana 2

Urbana is going great, and the first thing I want to say is that I just found out from my friend Dave that *you* can watch everything at Urbana.org. "It's almost like being there," he said.

Besides being a participant here, I am also an exhibitor for OM. As such, it has been a tremendous privilege for me to help students who are willing to begin their missions journey.

As I type this, I am in the general session, and we just 'heard' a prayer spoken in sign language by a deaf student. I am now watching live Urbana theater. Ah, and now the MC is giving announcements. I love this guy.

Yesterday I went to a really cool seminar about slums given by a guy who spent seven years living in slums in India and elsewhere. May sound cool, but one brutal reality of this is sickness--frequent and not pleasant. I encourage you to learn about slums on the web. The statistics are more staggering than I thought.

I went to another seminar this afternoon on reaching the Hip Hip culture by the main guy in the Cross Movement rap group. I thought often of my friend Shawn, Dave Sutherland, Phill Tremblay and others during this totally biblical, powerful presentation.

Every morning we listen to a Bible teacher: Ajith from Sri Lanka. Very solid teaching. It reminds me of the aliveness of the Word.

I want to encourage you especially to watch last night's (Friday) messages. Dynamite from two people of African descent.

As I sign off, Kay Warren, wife of Rick Warren (author of The Purpose-Driven Life) is up front now, speaking about her broken heart for those who have or are affected by AIDS.

Dang. I was just about to press send when they put up an unexpected video satellite message from Bono (of the rock band U2). It was to us here at Urbana, and it was a call to turn our faith into action by being more involved in advocating for victims of AIDS, malaria and poverty; and to join the 1.org campaign.

I will write another update tomorrow night. Until then, be in prayer, and may we all be expecting God to be working in our lives as we re-surrender to Him.

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Sent from my mobile phone.

Live from Urbana

I'm writing this on my mobile phone from my seat here in a crowd of 22,000 at the first morning session of Urbana (www.urbana.org). This is my first daily update on this prayer blog of this 5-day missions conference. My goal is that you would pray. Pray that God would move in hearts and minds here at Urbana. Pray especially that people would gain a burden for the forgotten and unreached people of the world and respond with excuseless action. Amen.
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Sent from my mobile phone.

Are you ready for Divine Appointments this Christmas?

If we look positively at Christmas, despite what it has become in the West, we will be more effective. Here are some suggestions:

-Pray in advance for the people you will be seeing this Christmas who you don't normally see. This is a rare opportunity. Without changing who you are, seek to be Christ to these people. Perhaps, like me, you don't care enough for some of these people, or maybe don't even like some of them. Maybe Great Aunt Bertha gets on your nerves. ... Pray in advance! :)

-Use discussions about Christmas to talk about Christ. Look out for them. Don't miss them.

-Enjoy your Christmas. Have fun! Have a good attitude. Take joy in how kids love Christmas. Make the Christmas of those around you brighter.

-Beware too-high expectations when it comes to gifts and people making much of you. Don't expect much in the way of gifts, or you may be disappointed and experience a Christmas of self-pity. Don't let it happen. Be others-oriented, and you will have a better Christmas.

-Think about watching "The Nativity" in a theatre. I am planning to do this, and know people who have seen it who really liked it. (Let me know if you've seen it, and what you think.)

-Remember those who get forgotten at Christmas. Christmas is one of the happiest times of year for some, and one of the saddest times of year for others. Remember especially those who are away from family or who recently lost a loved one.

-Don't be small-minded. Don't waste too much time complaining about how people say "Season's Greeetings" instead of "Merry Christmas." I recently had to endure a whole sermon of this. If your view of the eternal revolution that is Christianity is to whine about little things like this, you (as is too often true of me) have forgotten that we have much bigger things to talk about. Life is short, and people need Christ, and He's asked us to take Him to them.

Have big vision - for Christmas and beyond.

Merry Christmas!

Or as they say here in England, Happy Christmas! :)

WORLD-CHANGER Christmas Gifts

worldchangergifts.com links to this page. You can also download a PDF document version here.

Have you bought all your Christmas presents? Don't know what to get some people?

Here's what I suggest you do:
(1) get a pen and paper and write a list of the people you need to give Christmas presents to.
(2) for the people who you can't think what to get and who you think would like a Christmas World-Changer, choose one of these.
(3) Finally, tell your gift recipient in a card how what you 'got' them will change the world. Feel free to mention the link to this page: worldchangergifts.com.

$5. A mosquito bednet for a child in Congo.
Malaria kills 3,000 people a day, many of them children. The thing is, people shouldn't die from malaria because it's preventable and treatable. The problem is that the people who die from it are too poor for either the prevention or the cure. So how about buying a mosquito net for a child in Africa so that he or she can sleep in peace, and live. Go to www.bednetsforkids.org to buy a $5 bednet now.

$20. 10 New Testaments for the Arab World.
We read about the Arab world in the news all the time, and perhaps we take the time to pray, but do we help practically? What are we doing to reach the world's 1.3 billion Muslims? Through George Verwer's Special Projects, you can release 10 New Testaments into the Arab World for $20. Imagine what God could do. Give your gift through your local OM office, denoting "George Verwer Special Projects - NTs for Arab World" (OM Canada, OM USA, OM UK, Other Countries).

$36. Six months of education for a poor child in Pakistan.
According to the Asian Human Rights Commission, "Pakistan offers worse conditions for children than any other country in South Asia. ... About 23 million children in Pakistan have never been to school." I recommend this World-Changer because I know the people who run this charity, Starfish Asia. It's just a simple operation run by trusted national workers in Pakistan - hence the much-lower-than-average price. Buy this World-Changer by writing a cheque to "Starfish Asia Fund," putting "$36 World-Changer Education" on the memo line, and sending it to: The Starfish Asia Fund; 32 Beck Lane; Beckenham, Kent BR3 4RE; UK.

The following three World-Changers are courtesy the Ahola family in Vino Nuevo, Uruguay. They are missionaries who work among the poor. Make cheques payable to Westgate Chapel, with "Vino Nuevo" and the World-Changer you're buying on the memo line. Send to: Attn Carolyn Jones; Westgate Chapel; 22901 Edmonds Way; Edmonds, WA 98020; USA.

$5. A food package for underprivileged pensioners in Uruguay.
The golden years aren't so golden for these government-housing pensioners in Uruguay. But the Ahola family will brighten up the lives of some of them with a package of edible staples and goodies. Buy enough for two couples for $10.

$40. 100 meals for people on the streets in South America.
The global economy is doing better than ever, and we still have millions of people living in slums. What's our problem? $40 buys you 100 meals for extremely poor people in Vino Nuevo, Uruguay.

$40. One month of life skills training for boys coming off drugs.
When we talk about street kids in Toronto and most Western cities, we usually mean young adults. But in most Third World nations, street kids are street kids. Four years old, six years old, 10, 12... Many of them orphans, they don't know how to cope. Some of the ones that survive turn to drugs, crippling their lives even further. The Ahola family help some of these boys by taking them off the street and teaching them what they need to survive in a healthier way. Help one boy get back on his feet with a month's worth of life skills training for $40.

The following are available courtesy the Barhams (my parents :)) in Zambia, or the Jalals in an undisclosed Muslim Nation (for security reasons). Here's how to give towards these World-Changers. Canadians: MSC (send a cheque payable to MSC Canada, with "Barhams in Zambia" or "Jalals in Special Areas" and the World-Changer you're buying on the memo line: MSC Canada; 509 - 3950 14th Avenue; Markham, Ontario; Canada L3R 0A9); Americans: CMML; Brits: Echoes. (100% of funds will go to these World-Changers, not to the full-time workers' living expenses.)

$100. A bike for an evangelist in Zambia.
One of my parents' ministries in Zambia is helping people to study the Bible through Emmaus Bible correspondence courses. These make their way into the remotest villages of the Luapula province not through the mail system, but through people - evangelists who do what it takes to get the courses there and back. Most of these evangelists work part-time in their own gardens and fields to support themselves and have very little money. So to help them with all their traveling, evangelists who distribute a certain number of Bible courses qualify to receive a free bicycle. Would you like to buy this World-Changer for $100?

$10. 10 bike tires for seed-sowers in Zambia.
This follows from the previous World-Changer. Guess what happens when you ride a bike through the bush for hours and hours and hours? Well, the tires eventually wear out. Buy 10 replacement World-Changer tires for $10.

$20. 1,000 AIDS Tracts.
40 million people are infected with HIV/AIDS, and 20 million have died from it. Thankfully, AIDS is starting to get some of the exposure and funding it deserves. But how are we fighting it? While some scoff at the idea of fighting AIDS through the encouragement of marital faithfulness and abstinence, others employ this strategy because they believe it is the right way and because they have seen it work (eg, the nation of Uganda). For $20, print this message 1,000 times in the form of a tract that will reach young people in the thick of the epidemic.

$15. 50 cold drinks for 50 streetgirls.
Why cold drinks? Because this is what is served to these 50 girls who make their living on the streets when they come to Mansa Mission every week. They come because they know they are loved unconditionally here, and because they hope they can escape this life. They receive ministry from the Word of God, and learn new skills--like sewing and crocheting--that could help them begin anew.

$50. A sewing machine for local Zambian women to sew clothes for widows and orphans.
There is a group of women in Mansa, Zambia called the "Dorcas group." There are just a handful of them, but they have decided to take James 1:27 literally by giving their time to sewing clothes for local widows and orphans. This group is in need of more sewing machines, so if you would like to buy one, give someone this $50 World-Changer as a gift this Christmas.

$25. 20 litres of fuel for a Christan bookvan in the Muslim World.
In a country that is 99% Muslim, these young men risk their lives every time they step into their bookvan loaded with Bibles and Christian literature and drive into their city of 15 million people. And although they've been threatened countless times, they keep doing it; and people keep taking their tracts and buying the books and Bibles they display from their "bookstore on wheels." Be part of the action through $25-worth of fuel for this bookvan for God.

$25. 5 Bibles for the Muslim World.
"How many Bibles do you have? Two, three, four, five, six...?", asks Brother Andrew of Open Doors ministries. "Why should I have two Bibles when some people don't even have one?" A challenging question, especially when you consider that millions of people haven't even heard the Gospel. In fact, many have not heard the name Jesus. So here is one of my favourite World-Changers: 5 Bibles for the Muslim world. $25 that will change someone's world.

(Feel free to tell others about this. The PDF document is here and worldchangergifts.com links to this page.)

Thrilling Group Prayer

This morning the OM team in Southeast London had our monthly prayer morning. While I have before experienced prayer meetings that were boring and dull (I was always at least partly to blame), this one was the opposite. It was thrilling and deeply fulfilling and unifying. And as we touched the world through our intercession, we remembered things that needed to be remembered, our vision and creativity expanded, and I believe we got a little bit more of an understanding of God's heart for the world. I for one got fired up, and I believe that "fire" was the Holy Spirit.

Action point: If you're not part of a dynamic prayer group, I encourage you to join or start one. If you don't know what to pray for, start with those who receive the least prayer. Do your part; then let the Holy Spirit make it exciting.
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Sent from my mobile phone.

Direct from a soldier in Iraq

Got this from one of my closest friends today. He is a soldier in Iraq:

"As you saw on the news, I trust, an F-16 fighter jet went down in Anbar province about a week ago. My buddy was the team leader for the QRF (quick reaction force) for that event, but for whatever reason his choppers were turned around two minutes from the crash site. AF special forces didn't get in until 7 hours after the crash and were unable to find the pilot. About 3 days later, after no success, my Company was sent in to do a house-to-house search, stop all vehicles, and question everyone in the area to try to find the pilot. We choppered in with another unit, secured the crash site, and walked and walked and walked. Checked every house, vehicle, well, and gravel pit to no avail. The pilot has since been confirmed dead due to evidence on the crash site that has been analyzed, so our search was called off, and here I am back at FOB Kalsu. The plane was not shot down, it appears to have been a result of mechanical issue s or pilot error. Please pray for the family of Maj. Troy Gilbert in this difficult time."

Lord, we pray for Iraq. We pray that in the strife and mess and chaos, you will work as only you can. Be with the soldiers from the States, Britain and elsewhere; and grant peace to the Iraqi people - primarily through a knowledge of yourself. Help us at home to do what we should do--whether it be prayer, correspondence, or something else--and may we be reminded of the spiritual war that rages all around us, and be people who are available and active for Kingdom duty. Amen.

Ifimuti

Thought y'all might be interested in this excerpt from my parents' (missionaries in Zambia) most recent family letter. My mum writing:

"Monday was the streetgirl [prostitute] outreach into Mansa East area. There had been 46 girls (not counting small babies) the previous week and it was so noisy at the meeting that I decided to write Bemba signs that said "Be quiet" and "Keep the children quiet" to hold up if neccessary. I asked Amon to attach them to sticks, which in Bemba is the same word for big trees (ifimuti). Well, he went out and nailed them to the trees on the mission property!

"At morning tea time there was quite some discussion among the workers about the new rules for quiet and discipline at Mansa Mission! They were all relieved when I explained that the signs were to take to the street girl meetings. Anyway, the meeting went well. There were 65 present."

Please remember this ministry in your prayers. Many of the streetgirls have HIV/AIDS.

"I just caught fire. I was hot as a pistol."

Everyone go see the "Autistic Water Boy" video at Shawn Cuthill's site. YouTube is taking over.

Urbana: $175 offer still open

For those who: (A) I know well or (B) visit this blog regularly; we are still offering a $175 scholarship for anyone who needs financial assistance to go to Urbana. ($100 cash, $75 referral credit.)

About 10 have taken advantage of this offer so far. How will God use Urbana to change their lives? Will someone in some unreached village receive Christ who otherwise wouldn't have? The possibilities are exciting.

If you would like to join me in helping send people to Urbana--it is being done personally, outside of OM--please let me know. One individual has helped so far. When I asked him how much he was thinking, the amount he gave me was, amazingly, almost exactly the amount needed for the girl who needed help at the time.