Bob the bat-our new pet?

Here is how I met our new pet(?), Bob the bat. The other day I went to turn on the downstairs light (for those who don't know, our basement is ancient, maybe older than the country). Right next to the switch was a sleeping bat, whom I have named Bob (nothing against any Bob,my college roommate, it just alliterates).

On our property we have found skunks, deer, oppossum, raccooons, turtles, lots of ticks, and even several snakes. We used to have lots of bats outside before the neighboring houses were built, but never indoors.

This raised lots of questions- how did Bob get in? Does he have relatives who are here, or coming in too? How do we get rid of Bob (thanks for the many good, humorous, and ridiculous suggestions we received!).

But the saga ended when I came home at night ready to move Bob out. He had already gone. Since we have no idea how he got in, we have no idea how he got out. Did one of you warn him?

Now our question is- will Bob return? Stay tuned.

Christina is back from the Philippines

We are so proud of our daughter Christina. She just returned from 10 weeks working in an orphanage in the Philippines. The orphanage is Happy Horizons Childrens' Ranch (www.hhcr.org), which takes in kids from severe poverty and abuse. She had a great experience, made a difference in the lives of some children, and came back with a lot more confidence and anointing. She is looking improved healthwise, too- I admire her for rising to this challenge with her health. If you want more information, email her at christina.jasko at my.wheaton.edu.

Rick Warren- General council #7

I left the General Council before Friday night, so my time in Orlando ended with hearing Rick Warren. He spoke on "what's in your hand", and "growing your church." It was truly outstanding, though I have heard it before at his minister's school (which I highly recommend). Rick is a very humble guy, and has great insights. I never knew that his great-grandfather was converted through Charles Spurgeon, and sent as an evangelist to America. He and his church are also doing a huge amount to minister to AIDS victims in Africa. Rick said he is now writing a followup book for pastors to Purpose Driven Life- I look forward to it!

Fine arts festival- General council #6

Once again I was blown away by the youth in the Fine Arts Festival. This is a time where students compete with others who have won in their state competitions in about 50 areas of music, drama, preaching, art, etc. The first time everyone comes they are shocked by how good they are- the best kids in music in each category are American Idol level, some are future professionals. About ten thousand people are involved in the total competition. It is pretty challenging to sit before a large room packed with people and three judges (who are nicer than American Idol, but just as tough in their written evaluations).

We are proud to have two youth this year make it to the nationals, and one to make the final ten (out of about 80) in the guitar solo category. Congratulations, Vic Davi and Dave Rosen!

Young adults- General Council #5

At the General Council, a number of ministries hosted informational lunches and dinners. One of the best was the Young Adult lunch. They had a very healthy salad (of course), with an incredibly caloric and delicious dessert! But during the lunch several people ministering among young adults shared ideas on reaching young adults (ya). I heard two keys to this- food and fellowship. First is the principle, feed them, and they will come. Second is that ya are hungry for fellowship and community, and want to belong, so you need to create a community for them. It was encouraging to hear of the growth of this ministry in our church, the Assemblies of God, and the larger body of Christ. We are on the right track!

Spiritual inferiority-General council #4

One of the challenges of a convention like this is not to feel spiritually inferior. You hear stories of miracles, stories from huge church pastors (both Ed Young and Rick Warren are here, with about 20,000 in their churches every Sunday), incredible messages, and ministries which are incredible. You meet pastors who are light years ahead of you in their thinking, accomplishments, and churches.

I guess I seem more confident than I am. These conventions do make me feel inferior, and insignificant at times. But God reminds me that I need to just be faithful to what He has called me to, and not to compare myself to others.

Pastor Jules- General council #3

Sometimes I feel like I have neither suffered nor done anything for God. Today we heard a Pastor Jules from Baghdad, Iraq speak on having a dream. (I preached nearly the same message last Saturday at a church dinner). But what was amazing about him was his life story and suffering. He started a church while Hussein was still in power, and was constantly harassed. His church even met on buses, which they rented and then held services on while they traveled. He was imprisoned and tortured, and given a death sentence, but released when the last Iraq war happened.

Their church has grown to about a thousand today. Pastor Jules has had 3 car bombs go off in front of his home, and buried many members killed by the violence. One of his deacons was just shot in her car. These are not random, by the way, but targeted killings of Christians by Muslims. Pretty much every week some members of his church leave the country for their safety and freedom of worship.

Pray for Pastor Jules. We received an offering at the end of the service for them to buy land for a building. He is committed to staying in Baghdad regardless of the safety threats to him.

Dr, George Wood- General council #2

Today Dr. George Wood was reelected as the general superintendent of the US Assemblies of God. I am blown away by his visionary leadership. One of his five main goals is to raise up a younger generation of leaders, which is happening. All of a sudden, most of the ministers here look younger than me! The report is that 35% of the US AG attendance is under 25, which bodes a bright future for us. He is also pushing for the aggressive planting of new churches in the US.
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George gave an incredible message on “The Life of Leah” tonight. (It is probably present on the AG web site, www.ag.org, and well worth a visit). He traced her life, a life I have never heard taught or preached on. Leah dealt with rejection from her father, husband, and sister, yet was blessed by God with four sons key to the purposes of God. Dr. Wood drew from her life that we can only see the true impact of our life through the lens of eternity.

A small cog in a very big wheel- General council #1

The thing that always amazes me at the Assemblies of God General Councils is how huge they are. For those of you who don’t know, this is the bi-annual business meeting for just the USAG. It is a combination of worship rallies, ministry presentations, business, elections, ministry updates, meeting old friends (some of whom I am looking for but will never see here due to the large numbers of people ), and church product presentations. The day I came in, about 19,000 people registered alone, and there were many the next day. Reading the name tags and church van signs, there are people here from many places I have never heard of-places where God is working.

We tend to forget the size of the church in the northeast, where we are few, and have little cultural influence. Events like this are good to broaden our perspective.