Uganda Team Update

Hi everyone,

It's another beautiful evening in Jinja, Uganda. It's been busy. We spent the day at Amani Baby Cottage. Karen Jensen and I spent most of the morning clearing out two over grown garden areas to prepare for the planting of tomatoes, onions and cabbage. It's went well but we had to continually fight off the chickens who wanted the seeds as fast as we tried to get them in the ground. Although challenging, we did get the garden planted. 

After a lunch of boiled potatoes, rice, minched meat (similar to hamburger) and greens prepared by Mama Cook, we all spent time with the babies. I'm not sure I mentioned there are 63 babies at the cottage ranging in age from 0 - 4, so there are lots of little ones to hold. I held, played and fed Noah. I wasn't sure of his exact age but I know he was round 6 months old

Tha cottage is working on volunteer quarters upstairs from the main living facility for the children. We're hoping to help work on this  because they're in need of housing for the young ladies that come to Amani to donate time. I say this because most of the help that comes to Africa are young women who specifically want to work with the children. A young man did show up today about 5 days before his team to help with construction. Although I don't consider myself a carpenter, I can clean and paint  There's myself, David Jensen and Tom Hansen and the rest of the team are women so the three of us are hoping for some more manual labor.

We had dinner in Jinja which turned out to be a near three hour experience. I was the last to receive my meal which, as I said, was about three hours later. Oh well. We're told Jinja time is an entirely different way of time keeping. I did get to eat on the run. 

Tomorrow we're back to Amani for another work day. 

It's a little humid but otherwise beautiful weather. It's very tropical and our fruit each morning is fresh bananas and pineapple which is great. 

I hope all is well in Grand Junction and thanks again for your prayers. I'll look forward to sharing the next day's events. 

Michael

Update from Uganda

An update from our Uganda mission team was just sent to me.  Thanks to Belinda Russel for passing it along.

Karen Jensen's Update from Africa! All is well on our journey so far! Team dynamics are good and no sickness from food or water! Went to the baby cottage and a sidewalk Sunday school with about 300 kids! Many tears and very emotional for all. We realize how privileged we are!!! Thanks for prayers and your support for Dave and I! We have photos of Dave playing the African drum at a village!! Love and hugs from the beautiful continent of Africa!

Keep praying for our team in Africa, as well as for the New York City team.  I'm going to drop-in for a visit with the NYC team later this week.  Brooklyn, here I come!

Solo Dei gloria,

Travis 

Meet the Interns!

One of the ministries which drew Jill and I to FPC is our commitment to developing new leaders through our internship program.  This summer, we'll have the privilege of serving alongside of five amazing young people.  Two of our interns - Bailey and Kyanna - will focus on children's ministries.  The other three - Erik, Karen, and Jordan - will devote their time to youth ministries.

Our staff met these interns for the first time this past Thursday and got to hear some of their stories: how they came to Grand Junction, what they hope to learn this summer, and most of all - how they came to trust the trustworthiness of Christ.  I felt proud, impressed, and excited for the summer ahead as I listened to each of them share.  These folks are mature, devoted disciples of Jesus Christ, and they're excited to grow with us this summer at FPC.

Tomorrow - Sunday, June 2 - you'll be able to meet the interns on the patio (just outside of Fellowship Hall) in between our worship services.  Muffins and Starbucks coffee will be provided, so come on by and meet our intern team!

Solo Dei gloria,

Travis

Mission Partnership Update: Reaching the University

This week's blog post comes from Andrew Marais, one of our mission elders.  FPC is moving forward with an exciting new ministry partnership which we hope and pray will bring the fragrance of Christ into our local university, CMU.

I am sharing a story which makes me happy.

During the middle of last year the Christ Center Board considered the state of campus ministry and concluded that there was a need to create a new campus ministry with broader impact and appeal at CMU.  The thinking was that the Christ Center would have to create that presence on campus.

After a conversation with Tom the focus shifted to InterVarsity, an international student ministry founded in England in the late 1800’s.

[For more information, check out intervarsity.org]

Teri Edwards (Christ Center) did homework and started calling the Regional Director of that organization.  To make a long story short, the organization decided to come to Grand Junction during October of last year for a “chapter planting” training session on our campus with 14 of their interns (prospective campus ministers).  During that training visit, a few amazing things happened.  One of the interns fell in love with our campus.  Tom and Travis both made time to visit with the Regional Director and made him feel welcome and supported here.  There was a lot of excitement in three camps: InterVarsity, the Christ Center, and a number of First Pres. people.

A month later, the Mission Team added an amount of $5,000 to its 2013 budget in the form of support for a new campus ministry at CMU.  The Team did this in faith since InterVarsity had not yet committed to come to CMU.  In fact, another campus in Wyoming was their first priority for a new chapter at that time.  In December Session approved those funds.  The monies would be held back pending an InterVarsity decision to plant a chapter on our campus.

All of that has now come to pass.  Will Kuhlman will be the new InterVarsity campus minister at CMU this fall.  Will is a recent grad of the Colorado School of Mines who will be giving up an engineering career and a great deal of money (new engineers earn $80,000 plus) in order to serve students and God on our campus.

I have a strong sense that this would not have happened if Tom did not play a part in identifying InterVarsity, if we as a church had not been so encouraging towards the visiting Regional Director, if we had not stepped out in faith to make available a substantial amount in support, etc.  I am not saying we are so great, just that we were obedient to the calling of the Holy Spirit and stepped out on a limb.

It was about 8 months from the time the need for a strong new campus ministry was identified, to the time InterVarsity made the commitment to come.  CMU went from not being on the InterVarsity radar screen, to the first choice for their next chapter plant.  God does not always work so slowly after all.

I think back to a time, a few years ago, when Debe Colby was the Mission Elder and when First Pres. took the lead in the faith community by becoming the first major church to donate a significant amount to the Christ Center building fund.  I think of just last year when we decided to adopt an orphanage in Uganda in a big way, and of how [the stewardship and finance team] “found” the money which enabled us to help with the roof over their new facility.  There are so many organizations on the receiving end of our passion for showing the love of Christ.

I am encouraged to be part of a body of believers who can take risk, move boldly (with both human and financial resources) and who can provide leadership in the local faith community by helping in places near and far where spiritual hunger (and just plain hunger) is rampant - all to the glory of God.

- Andrew Marais, mission elder at FPC

 

Love and Truth

Love without truth is sentimentality; it supports and affirms us but keeps us in denial about our flaws. - Tim Keller

Jesus told his disciples - people whom he loved - that the truth which God entrusted to them in His Son would set them free (John 14).  In order to be able to love, we must be willing to move toward truth in our relationships.  This requires us, ultimately, to step back from a consumerist approach to relationships (I'm in this marriage/dating relationship/friendship/etc. to get what I want and to get out when I'm satisfied) and instead come forward with a way of relating to people that Dallas Willard described as "agape love."  Willard wrote that Jesus perfectly modeled this kind of love, which is characterized by seeking the flourishing of the object (person) upon which it is directed.

I still have to slow down and think about Willard's definition when it crosses my mind.  Do I live like I want other people to flourish?  How about my wife?  My son?  Our small group?  Or am I content to live with the kind of "sentimentality" Tim Keller describes?  I think Keller is absolutely correct in his statement that sentimental love keeps good stuff flowing - support and affirmation - but does not (and actually cannot) seek the flourishing of the object upon which it is directed.  Flourishing happens when sin is confronted and brokenness is repaired - which are tasks which Jesus came precisely to do.  

A pastor friend of mine and I were talking recently, and we came to the conclusion that embracing the gospel of Jesus Christ - that people are broken and incapable of living fully in relationship with God without Jesus' saving grace - is the only thing that truly rights the wrongs in our hearts, and therefore has the power to right the wrongs of our world.  The gospel is the beating heart behind any  lasting change that truly matters.  The gospel is love with truth, and it is the message that embraces the flaws of anyone who stumbles toward Jesus and invites them into wholeness.

Shalom,

Travis

TED link from Sunday and a tribute to Dallas Willard

Some of you may be familiar with the life and ministry of Dr. Dallas Willard.  He passed away this week at the age of 77, and he leaves behind a legacy of thoughtful Christian scholarship and engagement with our culture unlike anyone else with whom I'm familiar.  John Ortberg, an author and pastor in California, befriended Willard over many years, and he wrote a moving tribute to Willard for Christianitytoday.com, which you'll find below.

http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2013/may-web-only/man-from-another-time-zone.html

Ortberg gives honor to Willard's life and legacy more beautifully that I ever could.  My personal experiences of Willard's work focuses primarily on a book he wrote in 2011 called Knowing Christ Today.  If you've been around FPC for a while, you'll probably remember the title because I mention in often.  Actually, I've probably used it more than any other resource (except the Bible :) ) in my sermons.   

Knowing Christ Today had a tremendous impact on my life because it taught me about the reliability of what Willard calls "spiritual knowledge."  In an interview with Ken Myers, Willard talked about how spiritual knowledge - understanding what is good and true based on the spiritual revelation of Jesus Christ - has been degraded in public conversation.  Genuine spiritual knowledge has been reduced to the categories of sincere belief, conviction, or disciplined feelings impacted by a social group.  But Willard pushed back against that notion - quite brilliantly and accessibly - in Knowing Christ Today.  It's a challenging work to tackle, but that was Willard's M.O.  Reading Dallas Willard is always a costly exercise, but one which always produced an abundance of gifts and insights for those willing to try.

After I learned of his death, I felt a great sense of loss but also a sense of responsibility.  Dallas Willard's work impacted my life, and I hope that his thoughtful Christian scholarship will be available to generations of Christians (and those unsure of their faith) for years to come.

 Solo Dei gloria,

Travis

PS -

For those of you who were in worship last Sunday, you might recall a clip from a TED talk which was shared during my sermon.  Here's the link to the talk:

http://www.ted.com/talks/brene_brown_on_vulnerability.html

We'll continue to show parts of this talk throughout the sermon series, and we'll also have it available in Fellowship Hall after each worship service.

Guest Blogger: Cindi Brower

Today's blog post is from Cindi Brower, director of senior adults and women's ministries at FPC.  She's also a returning team member for our mission trip to Uganda later this summer.  Her post is part of an email-chain discussion which the team is sharing in preparation for their mission to the Amani Baby Cottage in June.

Colorado never ceases to amaze me how quickly we can shift from winter directly into summer. What happened to spring?  I guess I missed that day! :). Living in Colorado teaches us...to never separate your clothes into seasons (no packing away your winter sweater because as soon as you do you will need them!); be willing to share this beautiful state with the many out-of-towners who want to bask in its beauty; and don't get too settled into a routine. Flexibility is a must to live here.  All things that I was reminded of this past week as I worked through our [mission team] devotional. Flexibility is at the top of the list for a successful mission trip, and we must be willing to include others in our mission journey in order to receive the fullest blessing possible while letting others be blessed as well. 

When I first read [one of the devotions] regarding taking others along, I was a little reluctant to do the whole "support" letter thing.  But, I remembered my kids doing the same and how important it was for them to build a strong prayer support for their journey. Was I above that?  Certainly not!  So I swallowed my pride and put together a letter (emphasizing prayer support more than financial) sending it to family members and out-of-state friends. The letter even found its way (thanks to a dear friend) into the hands of the mission team at my former church who is interested in financial support as well as the much desired prayer support. I now feel confident that I am not going on this trip with 11 others but many more as they lift me (and you!) in prayer and anticipate hearing about the amazing work as we become the hands and feet of Jesus. 

In great anticipation!

Cindi B