Alternative to the Holidays

I want to start out saying that I am not trying to be preachy or anything. I have just had this on my heart and wanted to share my feelings openly.

A couple of years ago, a dear friend of mine invited me to research a few articles he had read on the origins of some of our favorite holidays. Truthfully, it really didn't surprise me to find out that there are some deep and direct idolatrous roots in most of them. I had never been a fan of using bunnies, eggs and chocolate to celebrate Jesus's resurrection. But I did really enjoy the tree, the lights and the presents associated with his birth.

But to be honest with myself, the worst sin the Israelites committed over and over to truly incur God's wrath to its fullest, was the sin of idolatry. I felt very convicted and our family made some changes in what we do in certain times of the year. In doing so, we completely got rid of all our Christmas stuff and ceased to do anything that is traditionally associated with Christmas. This included asking our other family to abstain from giving gifts to our children.

My parents still wanted to do something for the kids and hit on a great idea. They gave my kids a catalog from Samaritans Purse and allowed the kids to select an item of a certain value to be donated on their behalf. The kids loved that even more than presents! And how much further can food in an empty belly go than some toy that will be discarded from boredom or break?

So this year, we will be doing the same thing. I encourage you to think about this for yourselves. Instead of buying pretty lights, buy some chickens for some kids in Africa. Or buy some rice for starving kids in Asia. The list is about endless of something that can be done for ETERNAL value. Remember Jesus's words: "...for I was hungry and you gave me something to eat..." Matthew 25:31-46

We're also going to go a step further this year. All the time we would have spent getting a tree, putting up lights, shopping for presents, etc, we will be spending with a charity like Big Brothers, Big Sisters spending time with kids who just need someone to give them attention. Kids don't need toys. Kids don't need presents. Kids need food, love and attention. And those mostly come pretty cheap.

There are many ways to give these things to those who do not have them. Together, we can make this season last an eternity for others.

Missions Awareness Banquet

On November 6, we held a banquet to inform our friends and family in the area of what God was leading us to do in Ecuador. It was a very lovely evening!

Plans leading up to the event went very smoothly. We could see God's hand at every turn as he provided for all the details. It was my first time organizing an event like that and with God's help, it went off very well. First Baptist Church of Temple Terrace offered the use of their facility which was beautiful. They set up and took down all the tables and chairs, so all we had to do was minor cleanup of the stuff we brought. They have a very nice facility that was very conducive to this type of event.

Friends of ours offered to cater the event for about cost. They are great cooks and did a good job. We had grilled chicken, salad, rice, beans, veggies and tres leches cake for desert. After dinner, we moved into a stage area for the presentation. Mitch York, a great friend of ours and missions supporter, was MC. Brian Behal, MAF recruiter was near us that week and was able to come and set up a display, answer questions about MAF and give a history of what MAF does and what the program in Ecuador is all about.

I spoke about our family, our path to this point and what we will be doing in Ecuador for the foreseeable future. There were so many details that I wanted to share, but it would have gotten very long winded! I kept it as brief and concise as possible with the hopes of getting to spend more time in the coming months discussing things in smaller group settings when possible.

My Aunt Pat, Mom and sister, Marianne helped out tremendously by making the center pieces. they made little dioramas of jungle airstrip scenery with airplanes and different details on them. They were great! All the kids who helped with the serving got to take one home if they wished. They also made these little miniature crates that served as donation boxes.

It was such a great night. We had 103 people in attendance and have received about $6500 in donations! We had put out a list of our estimated expenses to get through our next step in training, our trip to Ecuador and other incidentals like Visas and Passports. This amount slightly more than covers all those expenses! Praise God for his timely and precise provision!

We are so grateful to the support and encouragement that was shown to us that evening. It is a reminder that God indeed has us work together as a body and that it is not possible to do it on our own. It was symbolic of a wedding for us. We stood before witnesses to tell what God was doing in our lives and others took a part in that work. We now feel even more responsible to live our lives and handle ourselves in a manner that would be pleasing not only to God, but to those who are standing with us. We are simply members of a team that God has put together to carry out a facet of the work to further HIS kingdom, for HIS glory and HIS honor.