Finishing and Beginning

In two days Suzanne and I will conclude our ministry at East Vancouver Community Church. There will be our closing service, a potluck dinner and farewell time. This days are a time of reflection accompanied by some feelings of satisfaction about progress that was made, as well as some feelings of disappointment over some of the goals and plans that were incomplete or unstarted. Yet, with the perspective of one of the older generation, that's little different than most things in life.

Next week we'll begin our new focus on international ministry. Isaiah 55:4-5 says,

Listen to me, my people;

hear me, my nation:

The law will go out from me;

my justice will become a light to the nations.

My righteousness draws near speedily,

my salvation is on the way,

and my arm will bring justice to the nations.

The islands will look to me 

and wait in hope for my arm. (NIV)

Since God's challenge to us in 2011 to move to "the Islands," Suzanne and I have had a passion to see Japanese men and women, girls and boys hear the Good News of Christ and choose to follow Him. Our plan is to use our home in Vancouver, Washington as a base from which we will first, travel to Japan and South Korea training and coaching national workers to rapidly make more disciples who will repeat that process. Second, we will work domestically to improve our knowledge and skills so that we can coach our international partners to a greater harvest of souls.

Pray with us - and for us - as we move into this new phase of our walk with Christ. In 2007 our friend Darrell Willis called this "Bob and Suzanne's excellent adventure." It has been that for the last 10 years. I believe is will continue to be an "excellent adventure" in Christ.

"I Lied!"

Note: This was originally written in the fall of 2008 after our arrival in Central Asia. The first picture is a view of the mountains outside the school window. The second is a fall display in a local church.

"I Lied!" That was the statement I made many years ago to my future father-in-law after I made a statement that was in error. I was speaking about something and made a comment that I discovered was incorrect and followed that up by my stark confession. His response was, "Did you mean to lie? Or, did you just make a mistake?" Wow! That gave me something to think about. Actually, it taught me a fundamental truth about life. There are errors we make in our life that are unintentional that have an entirely different impact and import than those things we might do intentionally.

Well, "I didn't lie!" I did make some inaccurate statements about the city we live in. I had said that it was about the same elevation as Spokane - 1900 ft. I was wrong. It's about 1900 meters which makes it closer 5500 feet. Anyway we're on the edge of some majestic mountains

Closing Service at Colbert

Note: This was originally written in mid-August, 2008 following our closing service at Colbert Chapel.

The day finally came. Even though we're confident in God's call and direction, experiencing our final service as pastor and wife at Colbert Chapel wasn't something that we looked forward to. The preparation for the service was difficult. What songs to sing? What scriptures to read? What would God have said? All these were questions that had to be answered before the service. Certainly they should be asked every week we prepare for leading God's people into the presence of the Most High. This Sunday, however, would be different. There wouldn't be another Sunday or another service to say things that were unsaid. There wouldn't be another opportunity to sing that special song that set the mood for approaching the throne room.

My concern for months has been that Suzanne's and my departure wouldn't be the focus of the serivce. I told her a few days ago that if I was preparing a farewell service I would do it one way. However, I was preparing a worship service and my desire was to point to Jesus - not his servant. Well, the congregational leadership had a couple other ideas. They presented Suzanne and me with a financial gift for our ministry. The goal was $5000 and they exceeded it. PTL! I know what it took for that to happen. It wasn't easy and we are humbled by their generosity. They also gave us a digital picture frame. It will come in handy showing pictures at presentations, but also at our new home in Asia. They also gave opportunity for people to share memories. It was a thrill to hear testimonies to God's faithfulness. It was humbling to be part of that. It led to a prayer time when the congregation gathered round us to pray over us for the next years. There was a lot of sniffling. It was very special to be surrounded by so many who cared so much. PTL!

It's now time to put most of our energy in moving forward to Asia. We have some things to finish here before we leave. We have to finish our sorting and storing, disposing and packing in the next five days. We drive to Portland on Saturday. We're scheduled to share in a church in Portland before we leave the States on August 25th. It is coming very soon and there is much to do.

One last thing: God has been very good in these last months. Some could possibly attribute all that has occured to chance. We prefer to attribute it to the hand of God. We were reminded today that we are also in a spiritual battle for the souls of people. The enemy won't stand idly by and allow God's servants to take his territory. We may be seeing the first salvo of his counterattack in what is occuring in our co-worker's life. She has just discovered a serious medical situation that may prevent her from joining her family in our country for a month or more. Pray for her that God will show his sovereignty and mercy in her life.

It is clear that Suzanne and I aren't alone in this. We have many people standing behind us in Colbert and Spokane. We also have others, literally around the world, standing behind (and with) us in this task. God is good - all the time.

We're Back!

It's apparent that I've not kept up with this blog! Wow - I didn't realize it had been quite this long since we had posted. Of course, we haven't encouraged people to read this blog for a long time. My intention is to get back into this and use Wandering Warrens as another communication tool about our international ministry. God is doing some great things in Japan and we owe it to Him to let those things be known.

Stay tuned for more information!