Literature Day at LACS

The Berenstain Bear Family

The Cat in the Hat

Miss Swamp from Miss Nelson Is Missing

Today was Literature Day at Los Angeles Christian School. All of the teachers and  many of the students were dressed as favorite literary characters. (I am enough of a character without dressing up!) I read Bedtime for Frances to the 2nd and 3rd graders. Bob read Dr. DeSoto to another group of students. There were other guest readers and lots of fun activities. It was hard to tell who was having the best time--the students or the teachers!

Lunch at LACS

Yesterday I helped with lunch duty. Here are photos of the lunchroom at LACS (Los Angeles Christian School). Picnic tables. Sunshine. The noise of exuberant children drifting to the sky (instead of bouncing of the walls of a school cafeteria). What treat! Friday is chapel day, and the children are wearing their chapel uniforms.

A Blessed Weekend

What an amazing weekend!

Saturday we attended the 38th Annual Los Angeles Mayor's Prayer Breakfast. We had good food, heard some speeches, listened to the Azusa Pacific University Men's Chorale...and prayed. We were led in times of prayer for the city, the mayor, the city council, and the police department. Francis Chan challenged us to act upon what we heard, to be in awe that the Mighty God, Creator of all things, will listen to our prayers IF we come to Him, the One True God, in humility, repentance, with right motives, and without doubt. The name of Jesus was lifted up. In our day it is unusual for such a public event to be so clearly Christ-focused and for prayers to be made to the Father in the name of His Son. I was convicted in my own heart of the wrong attitude I have toward California and Los Angeles. "As goes California, so goes the nation." In my mind that has been a statement of hopelessness. But God is sovereign over all. If we His people repent, pray, and seek Him, the light of Jesus will shine even more brightly here in LA and beyond!

A highlight for me was getting to meet Rosey Grier and having a brief conversation with him. (See the fuzzy photo above. Bob's arm was still in a sling so it was difficult to keep the iPod steady.)

On Sunday we attended La Iglesia En El Camino (Los Angeles). We have been visiting this church for the past couple of months. They meet right next door to us at the Los Angeles Christian School (a World Impact school). The service is mainly in Spanish. (Many of you are probably thinking, "I didn't know that Bob and Chris spoke Spanish." We don't. :-)  However, the church is moving toward being bilingual. We are given headsets each week, and someone translates the service for us. Yesterday, we even sang a couple of verses of a song in English! We have been lovingly received there. At one point in the service the pastor began talking about a couple who had moved from another state to minister in LA. Bob and I were both wondering what other couple was new to the church from another state.Then the pastor said our names. He asked everyone to extend their hands toward us while he prayed for us. We felt overwhelmed, in a very wonderful way.

We have been blessed!

The Adventure Never Stops!

As many of you already know, Bob had an accident on his bicycle Wednesday. He was riding on a fairly busy street here in LA. There are grooves or ruts near the curbs that are a couple of inches deep. His tires fit perfectly. :-P  He must have turned his wheel somewhat, not realizing he was in that rut. Instead of the bike turning, it (and he) fell over. His right elbow took the brunt of the fall although he hit his head (he WAS wearing a helmet), his right shoulder and wrist, and came down on his left hand. He has a small cut on his right leg, but it really is a miracle that he ended up with only a fractured elbow. Yesterday he saw an orthopedic doctor, Dr. Shin :-), whose report was very encouraging. The doctor feels that in 2 weeks at a follow-up appointment the splint can be removed and physical therapy can begin to restore range of motion. 

We have been surrounded by the love and help of many in our new community of World Impact as well as the prayers of many around the world! We deeply appreciate everyone who has supported us during this time.

Several people have commented, "Someone doesn't want you there." We know that the we are in a spiritual battle. We also know that the Lord Jesus has already conquered death, hell, and the grave. The past couple of months have had their challenges, but we are convinced that the Lord has called us here. We are experiencing His love and protection all around us. And going through an emergency medical situation has enabled us (Bob, really) to experience some of the difficulties of health care in the city. 

So while we have left the comfort of a middle-class lifestyle and its benefits, we are amazed that Jesus left the glories of heaven to live in our environment, love us, teach us, heal us,  and then die for our sins.

"Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
(Philippians 2:5-11 ESV)

May God bless you in your journey!

Re-orientation

I (Bob) have just returned from the east coast where I attended my father’s “home going” service. In his day my dad was a loving father & husband, a dependable provider, an exuberant friend, a pillar in the church, and an innovative Bible teacher. He was most in his element when preparing Bible lessons or planning a family vacations! He loved the Lord and shared the gospel faithfully. He is now promoted to full-time worshiper at throne of the Lamb! While back east I met people who knew my dad in his younger days, and who spoke of his faithfulness and hard work. My prayer now is for my mother who faithfully served alongside dad for 61 years(!), and who stayed by his side 24/7 during his passing. Specifically, I am praying that she will draw close to the Lord at this time, and will find new purpose and an abundance of serving opportunities.

Now back in my L.A. office, I am once more immersed in my orientation to the mission of World Impact and The Urban Ministry Institute of Los Angeles. Chris and I enjoy the “MOTC” class (Missionary Orientation & Training Course) weekly, and I am sitting on the PRACTICING CHRISTIAN LEADERSHIP course as T.A. for one of our excellent course facilitators. During the next quarter (beginning on late March) I will begin teaching my own sections of TUMI classes.

Two priorities seem to be emerging in my work at this early stage: (1) A study of the retention rate of TUMI-LA students, with an investigation into the reasons for student drop out; (2) the need to assist TUMI facilitators with supporting their students who have a range of adult learning challenges.

We continued to be encouraged and humbled by your generous support!

Relocation and Settling In

Even in ideal circumstances it is difficult to leave loved ones behind.  These include not only our immediate family members but all of you receiving this letter who have been encouraging and supportive in so many ways during our transition.  Bob’s father’s condition stabilized and he returned home to begin his recovery from a broken leg.  Bob’s brother-in-law David is currently undergoing intensive radiation for cancer.

On December 28^th we completed our journey to Los Angeles to settle into a staff house on West 20^th street.  Our daughter Rebekah flew out with us, effectively doubling our strength and energy for the task.  Her help was essential as sixteen Taylor University students would soon arrive for their Senior Capstone course.  Bob has led the student trip before but never to Los Angeles and never under these circumstances!  We received additional grace in the form of two eager young men, Byron Siemsen, a World Impact Missionary who developed our L.A. trip agenda, and Jon Cavanagh, Bob’s former student who helped to coordinate this year’s experience.  Our visits to a variety of Los Angeles-area churches and urban ministries were both eye-opening for students and an intensive orientation to our new home base for Bob.

Our new location and way of life brings many adjustments!  At least one of these is easy: since our arrival here we have enjoyed mostly sunny, warm days—a fantastic change from the Midwest.  Other adjustments are more challenging: traffic, crime, noise, dirty air, and the high cost of groceries to name but a few.  Here in the heart of this “city that never sleeps” we are making our home.  Like Abraham we have come in order to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, and we look forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God (Hebrews 11:9-10).

Please pray for our transition and for healing for David and strength for Bob’s sister Belinda. Join us in asking the Lord that all who are touched by this situation to come to know that He is Healer, Sustainer, and Lord. Let us know how we can pray for you.

Christmas “vacation”

Bob:
After submitting my final grades for fall, Chris and I flew from Indy to Fort Lauderdale—a wonderful transition (from 8 degrees & snow to 75 degrees and sun)! Since our upcoming move takes us to the Pacific coast, we had planned to spend time with our daughter Rebekah (TU 2007) and son-in-law Jorge, who serve on the staff of His House Children’s Homes of Miami (www.HHCH.org). We would stay in their Miami Beach apartment from December 16 through 28, a nice respite before “taking the field” in Los Angeles. These plans changed as I spoke by phone with my parents who live in Beaufort, SC, and who view our move to California as remote and foreign. So, the same day we arrived for our Florida respite, I caught a flight to Savannah, where my sister picked me up for the drive to Beaufort. Arriving that night we learned that my father had been admitted to the Beaufort hospital with a broken leg. Dad’s diabetes and heart disease made this a life-threatening condition, so I went directly to the ER where I found him alone, awaiting the doctor. He is also legally blind, but when he realized I was with him he immediately asked for prayer. His condition was listed as unstable and we spent the night together in the ER, as I read the psalms aloud to him and prayed. The next day I napped for a couple of hours before returning to spend another night with him, this time in PCU (one step below ICU). He was mostly unresponsive due to pain medication, and his reduced kidney function concerned the doctors. Over the next few days my mother, sister, and I faced first the possibility of saying goodbye to Dad until Heaven (he’s a believer), and then of how to best arrange for his long-term care. My visit was timely since my mother is elderly and my sister’s husband is facing treatment for stage 4 cancer. Please pray for these two women—my mother and my sister—as they face losing their husbands. It was emotionally difficult for me to leave Beaufort with so much unresolved, but wonderful to be back with Chris, Rebekah, and Jorge, for a few wonderful days prior to our departure.