A Bad Story

On March 27, 2009 I rec'd an e-mail from a Justin Clark. He wrote to tell me and several others, including the President and Vice-president of OCI, that he couldn't believe we would have a certain worker at EVI. He told of his adultery when married to his first wife etc. (I actually talked to the first wife. She said her husband never committed adultery when they were together.) I sensed that Justin was not who he said he was so I asked him to call me. I figured if he was true he would call. If he had assumed a different name then he couldn't call because I would recognize his/her voice. He didn't call, he is too close.

In the meantime, I shared the defaming e-mail with Justin's target. In retrospect, I probably should have deleted it, but than again, how do we ever get to the bottom of things like this if they are not ferreted out. The victim decided to hire a private investigator and for $600 they promised to find the person. Soon, they claimed to have the person, but they can't tell us who it is because if they did they would be fined $10,000. What we must do now is hire a lawyer to supeona?? Yahoo and everyone down the line and press charges. Apparently, it is someone on EVI.

Our victim wanted to do just that, but wouldn't do it without my permission. I couldn't give my permission because the Bible says we don't bring a brother to court. (Now what?)

I believe the Lord gave me a plan. I called everyone at EVI to come to a meeting. I told them what happened and I asked the guilty party to come forward. If no guilty party would come forward within a week, then I would have to deduce that no one at EVI is guilty of this crime. This would free our supposed victim to press charges and carry through with the court action. No one came forward, as expected, but I made a strong appeal based on six principals.

(I would like to share these without going into details.)

1. The person who sent the e-mail does not realize the sinfulness of sin. Do you think Achan was planning a defeat for Israel when he stole the accursed thing, the goodly Babylonian garment? No. Likewise, the writer of the e-mail doesn't realize he is bringing the frown or God on EVI.

A year ago, nearly the same thing happened to one of our young ladies. Someone tampered with her e-mails and sent it to me. It told of her sexual exploits. Not pretty. It doesn't matter whether any of it was true or false. The intention was to corrupt my mind against her. (There is a sick mind behind these intrigues.)

2. "The displeasure of God," according to ST 1, 224, "will rest upon a people or a nation until the transgressor is searched out and punished." 

We are weak enough as an institution without having this kind of nonsense going on among us. I am determined to seek them out as God leads. He led Joshua, didn't He? He can lead me also. 

3. 5T 157:1 "If the presence of one Achan was sufficient to weaken the whole camp of Israel, can we be surprised at the little success which attends our efforts when every church and almost every family has its Achan?" Serious!

4. Confession is hard in the best of times, but have you ever thought what the alternative will bring?  Would someone throw away their salvation for fear of coming forward when they have sinned? Millions do! But it is INSANITY in the highest sense. 

PP 497:4 "Achan acknowledged his guilt, but when it was too late for the confession to benefit himself. 

Confession will come, of this I am certain, but what a tragedy when it must be forced from an unrepentant individual. "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:9.  If the person came forward, we would forgive. No one is trying to rid EVI of anyone, but we can't have sin like this on the loose among us.

5. Numbers 32:23 "Be sure your sins will find you out." I didn't write this. God inspired Moses to set this warning out. We won't get away with anything. To think so is to work against ourselves.  It is all a matter of when, not if. And, another thing: "God is not mocked, what we sow, we will also reap." Gal 6:7-8. What we do to others will be done to us. Matt 7:2. (Obidiah 1:15.)

6. Now there is good news in all of this: 1 Kings 14:7-8 "Go tell Jeroboam, thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Forasmuch  as I exalted  thee from among the people, and made thee prince over my people Israel. And rent the kingdom away from the house of David and gave it thee: and yet thou hast not been as my servant  David , who kept my commandments, and who followed me with all his heart, to do that only which was right in mine eyes."

This was written about David after his death. Did David do "only" that which was right in God's sight? How could God say such a thing? The reason is, God forgot. Notice Jer. 31:34 "I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sins no more." He chose to forget David's failures, specifically because David repented fully.

So with this I made a strong appeal that the person come forward. One mistake, or even many mistakes do not make the eternal punishment worth it. Like God, I would forget, we all would. I believe that, but pride will not let the individual off easy. 

In the end, this kind of stuff destroys my courage. How long should I stay in an institution where there are people willing to destroy each other? I wears my strength away. Bad story!

Taking Risks

Here we are, we've managed to survive another week unscathed. 

Last Thursday and Friday I fasted on water. That wasn't so bad, but my brother, Robert, had told me of a new cure-all he'd discovered and I decided to try it. (There isn't anything wrong with me. I shouldn't be trying to fix what isn't broken. I nearly broke it.) The potion is  pretty potent. I started with one drop on Thursday morning. I graduated to two drops on Thursday evening. On Friday morning, after having fasted since Wednesday evening, I though I would take three drops. I squeezed the bottle, one-e-e drop, two-o-o-o drops and when I went for three the bottle squirted. I don't know how much it squirted, but I thought, it will be okay. Well, it wasn't okay. I had to drive to DayStar Academy sick as a dog. Today, I still have diarrhea, one week later. 

I was invited to speak at a Camp Meeting in Russia in August. Can't go! I have a speaking engagement in Spokane at the same time. I don't think I would go anyway, except that I have gotten word that my Russian translator, Olga Martinemko, 32 just found out she has vaginal cancer third stage. She has only been my translator on two trips, but I have no better friend at that end of the world. She is a strong leader, doing many month-long schools all over the former USSR. I haven't seen her in at least three years, but I feel like I should do something for her. So, I'm going to try to raise money to bring her to EVI for a free session. She is in the hospital now, taking radiation. (A mutual friend tells me she lost 22 lbs.)  If it isn't too much for you to whisper a prayer for her, I know she'd appreciate it. 

May 23,

I was at DayStar for the graduation and board meeting. The Saturday night firefall was better than I've ever seen it. Every year, someone climbs the Perriott Mesa and builds a fire. After dark on the Sabbath of graduation they throw the fire off of a cliff, 1,500 ft. above the school. Sometimes, it is quite spectacular. (I slept longer hours than usual and took a two hour nap in the afternoon.)

May 24,

I did something I have always wanted to do. Though still a little weak for being sick, I climb the Perriott Mesa. It is only 1,500 ft. elevation, but I tell you the truth, it was the most difficult climb I've ever attempted. We were about eight people, half were very young, teens, including Jerry Harris' daughter Heidi. The other half was in their forties, and then there was me, 61. We had to help all the girls and at least one of the men up. I'm sure I could make it alone, but not without lots of scary moments. On our way back down, we met Dr. Wilson from Monument Valley on his way up alone. Dr. Wilson is 78 years old. He made it too. I was impressed. It seems like I was forever hanging over 1,000 ft. cliffs wondering where to get another hand or toe hold. At the end of the day, I was ecstatic for having done it. Now I can see what climbers feel when the conquer fear and mountain. 

I'm impressed with DayStar Academy. You know, Fountainview has a real classic thing going for them over there in Canada, but I like the rough and tumble, practical, cowboy western feel of DayStar Academy. 

May 25,

The board meeting was a pleasant experience. These folks haven't had a stipend for five months, but no one is complaining. Godliness with contentment is great gain. They have needs, however. They need two good teachers, a Registrar and a farm hand. Any takers? 

May 26, 

I got to talk with my Lover today. She is doing well, still working on papers for her land. She doesn't have a bird, like I would, when things go slow in Africa. Imagine all the birds she would have otherwise. I prep'd a special sermon today. (I might tell you about it in a couple of days.)

May 27,

There is good news and bad news: The good news is, ASI sent Janet a check for $17,500 and they sent EVI one for $10,000 for the farm. The bad news is, Dr. Iris Paul has kidney cancer. It is metastecized??? into other places. We voted at EVI to offer her a free Lifestyle session if she will accept it. She is selling her house and moving in with her daughter in CA.

May 28,

In our last Lifestyle session we had a man with cancer who was in such pain that he couldn't stand it. He decided to leave early on account of it. He drove home to Arizona, wrote us a beautiful letter of thanks and committed suicide. He shot himself outside the emergency unit of the local hospital.

Today, we put an extension ladder in the forks of our Bobcat and hoisted it to the top of the highest peak of our church. I took the risk of climbing up there to change a light bulb. That was actually every bit as scary as climbing Perriott. So, here is today's quizz: How many Eden Valley-ites does it take to change a light bulb? Three, if they have a Bobcat. 

I'll try to tell you a bad story in a day or two.  

Everyday Bore

To help myself forward with this blogging business, I started a little book. I leave the book on my pillow every day. At night, before I go to bed I write what happened during the day. Generally, this is pretty boring stuff, but I've noticed that when my kids talk about their everyday happenings, I am truly interested. For whatever reason, people who love you are just interested in what's happening. So, that's the experiment. Today you get the common, everyday, boring stuff. 

We'll start with last Sabbath. Ben Trajillo preached. I love Ben. He is straight talking. For the first time in a long time I haven't had to preach in three Sabbaths in a row. Unheard of, but a great rest. The whole church (80 people) came over to our cafeteria to eat lunch. Amazingly, we fed each one. After lunch I took our Lifestyle Guests to Lily Lake. The day was perfect. We walked around the lake, and climbed a small mountain. Lovely. In the evening, a young (18-22) Amish girl came to give us a concert on her harp. Not only did she play exceptionally well, but her music selections were pure. Her dress and demeanor were pure. Her countenance was pure. You couldn't miss that this young woman had an eye single to God's glory. That is so refreshing. Do people see that in me when they mix with me? That's what I want.

Sunday: 

I had to drive my friend Felix to the airport. Oh me, I wish I didn't have so many friends. He is an artist. He did a bronze replica of the Ten Commandments to give to 3ABN on behalf of Eden Valley. The piece looks good except that he divided the commandments five and five on the two tablets. It should have been four and six. I had to tell him he needed to fix that mistake or not give it to 3ABN in Eden Valley's name. If he wants to take the hit, he can give it in his own name.

I got a treat on Sunday. My brother Robert showed up. He helped my cut the grass in our cemetery. (Trudy Long was buried there this week.) Afterward we went to the restaurant. It was a very pleasant visit. I wish we had more time together.

Monday:

I finally got to talk to my Lover in Africa. She was sweltering in a little room in the YMCA in Dar. All is well, except that her accountant wants to charge $600 to do her books. (Too much.) I spent time with a man from the City Water Works dept. We are thinking of perhaps putting EVI on city water.  A pretty lady came by also wanting to exchange lectures (her lecturing our lifestyle patients) for a place to live. Sorry! We do all our own lecturing. 

When Rob came by, he told me of another magic potion. Apparently, it cures nearly everything. Isn't it amazing! I have cure-alls coming out of my ears. (No wonder I am so healthy.)

Tuesday:

Leonard Smith, our new accountant, showed up with his first load of furniture. I really enjoyed his company. He is a good conversationalist. His wife more. One lifestyle guest told me that he had been to four lifestyle centers and that EVI had the most spiritual people. I thanked God for the compliment and for blinding their eyes. Actually, I'm proud of my staff. In many respects, the man was right. Some people scoff at Christianity. Others rant against it. Few have ever seen the real thing face to face and they wouldn't give themselves the chance to see it for fear they found it to be true. One day, the Lord will glorify Himself through His people in a mighty way. I'd like to be used that way, wouldn't you? Jesus means everything to me.

Wednesday:

I preached a strong sermon to my staff. The sermon was a good stand-alone talk, but there were some in the audience who are privy to what is going on, and they caught the gist and intention of the message. They thought I was pretty bold. (I may tell you more someday.)

We unloaded Len's truck and while he put dead bolts on his doors I went to lunch with Bill Bosko and Kevin Hogfeldt. I don't like being invited by my Vice-chairman and Vice-president to lunch. You've got to know they intend to drill something into you. They did. It wasn't too bad. I think I drive business people crazy. My approach to leadership is too soft for them. They can see that things would go so much better if they could knock some sense into my head. I'm too soft, but my head, oh my head, it is so hard. I appreciate their trying. Little by little, something will get through. Maybe. (Maybe not.)

Tragedy. One of my lifestyle guest left discouraged. This so rarely happens that it when it does it leaves us sad to the core. His PSA went up while he was with us. It should have gone down. I can think of two other times that happened, and it happened to similar people. It appears like pessimists draw negative results to themselves. I believe in the power of positive thinking based on God's promises. Our poor man is expecting to die now and can't seem to see the hope that is so sure in Christ. I feel bad. Maybe I'll write him and try to speak hope to him.

Thursday: 

It's today. I'm fasting for two days. I hate fasting, but I have cause. I sat through several hours of Executive Committee deliberations this morning. Yuk! After Exc. Comm. I am always left with the dirty work of telling people their request was denied, or worse. Today wasn't so bad. 

That's it for now. Honor Him and He will honor you. 

The Power of Peace

I promise to get back to regular blogging just as soon as I am past being too busy. Boy, I don't know when that is going to be. In any case, life isn't boring. I wish it was and most of what is happening is too touchy to put on a public medium. Sorry!

The weather is beautiful. Our lifestyle center is full again. The people are out-of-this-world wonderful. One lady gave a testimony this morning saying that she is pain free for the first time in eleven years. She claims God told her to come to EVI to get a new start spiritually as well and physically. (I could hardly keep from crying. She couldn't.) 

We seem to be succeeding well at our Lifestyle Center, but I can't tell whether the farm will do as well this year. Everything looks good, but somehow everything looked good last year also. It didn't end up to be as good as it promised in appearance. 

It is evident by Jason's blog that my wife made it to Africa safely. I haven't been able to talk to her, however. 

I wrote an article for you: (I wish I knew how to cut and paste it in this format. I can't, so I must type it out again. Bummer.)

The Power of Peace

"To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me on my throne." Rev. 3:21. Wonderful promise, but flanked by a formidable qualifier.

Overcoming isn't easy. I know, I've often wept failing under its crushing demands.

For a while, I thoroughly enjoyed following Jesus; but something crept in to effectively destroy the joy I once had in the Lord. Religion began to mean getting the victory, being perfect--like Jesus. Suddenly, heaven seemed beyond my reach. The harder I tried to be pure and perfect, the deeper I sank into sin until I despaired of ever meeting so high a standard.

(I believe this is where thousands leave the church, or simply accept defeat as inevitable.)

Is defeat inevitable? No! So why the discouragement or the complacency? It appears that because the Bible emphasizes the blessedness of obedience, we naturally focus on obedience as an effort to gain the promised blessing. Take Isaiah 48:18, 22 for instance: "O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments then had thy peace been as a river... There is no peace saith the Lord to the wicked." The wicked mentioned here are the disobedient. Logically then, to have the promised peace we must obey; and yes, it is true that victorious people do have peace--but do they get peace by obeying? No. Peace is not the child of obedience, obedience is the child of peace.

In the book, Steps to Christ, page 49:2, we read of an individual who struggles with all his powers to overcome sin in his life. The more he fights, the weaker he becomes until all he longs for is rest from this incessant turmoil. At this point in the narrative, we would expect the author of the book to say, "It is victory that is needed." But this isn't the song she sings. She says, in the very next sentence, "It is peace you need--heaven's forgiveness and peace in the soul." "This (peace)," according to MH 512:0, "will impart to the worker a power that nothing else can give."

But here's the problem. "The believer," according to 1Sm 395:0, "is not called upon to make is peace with God." (The only way I know to make peace with God is to bring my life into harmony with His will, i.e. to quit sinning.) But the believer is not called upon to do that. The quotation goes on to say, "He never has nor ever can do this. He is to accept Christ as his peace." So when the Bible says, in Isaiah 32:17, that "the work of righteousness is peace, it isn't pointing to our righteousnesses, we don't have any. It points to the righteousness of Christ. The effect of receiving His justifying righteousness brings a sense of peace that carries with it a power that nothing else can give.

In James 3:18 we read, "The fruit of righteousness is sown in peace of them that make peace." Do you see it, friends? The fruit of right-doing is sown in the soil of peace because right-doing (i.e. obedience) can grow in no other medium. Don't try to obey hoping to find peace for your soul. Find peace through Christ's forgiveness and that peace will give you power to obey. 

Korean Trip

Wednesday, I returned from Korea and crawled into bed at 10:00 P.M. At 1:30 A.M. I was fully awake. I worked through about forty e-mails, had a workout and spend an hour with Jesus. Yesterday, I didn't get to bed until 9:00 P.M. and at 1:00 A. M., here I am, can't sleep. I don't mind, seeing I can devote a little time to you, but I am not very efficient the rest of the day. (I doubt my brain is working even now.)

An Aside

I had a little accident yesterday. Bill, my farm manager and VP, called me to come help put the plastic on the big greenhouse. All went well, until I had to pick my battered body off of the ground. It goes to show how fast anything can happen. Bill was up a ladder fastening the plastic down and I was directly below him holding on to the plastic so the wind wouldn't blow it away. The brace holding the ladder upright broke and Bill's two hundred and fifty pound frame came crashing down on me ladder first. At first, I though I was pretty banged up. My head hurt, I took a direct blow on the shoulder, my thumb was sprained and my forearm was scraped like I had fallen off of a bicycle on pavement, all wounds superficial, thank God. I think, however, that Bill got the worst of it. I suspect, by the limp and the pain he is feeling, that he has a hairline fracture in the lower leg. He thinks he'd have a broken leg if I hadn't broken his fall. For my part, I thank God I saw it coming. I might have been crowned good. We'll recover. 

Korea: I often wonder why God organizes these adventuresome jaunts for me. My unmistakable nothingness makes it amazing to me. I never feel like I am worth the price of a ticket. Isn't God gracious? 

In Korea, I preached three times at a convention highlighting Supporting Ministries. I had the sense that the people didn't expect much from our little delegation. (Markus Yaudas, Don and Rumiko Johnson and I.) That is always a blessing. When God works where it isn't expected the element of surprise works wonders.  It is all of grace. There were about ninety people there. I can see already that the attendance will double next year. The impact was tangible.

After I preached the sermon The Power of Peace, the master of ceremonies, a great singer, both he and his wife, dug up a scripture song on peace. John 14:27. He asked me to sing it. If I didn't turn every shade of red, I don't know why.  Preaching is one thing, but singing, even if I could, is so stressful that I usually choke on the first three words, but I was trapped. Can you see my insecurity? Why am I so self concerned. If I don't sing well, that would be pretty normal, don't you think? Would the people send me out of town on a rail? However, it seemed to me to be immature to refuse no matter how I (or my kids) view my singing abilities. So, I sang with all I could put into it. (My back was to the audience, which helps a lot, by the way. I was seated on the front row, and the singer brought the mike to me there. I didn't turn around. Good plan.) And you know, I survived it, even the audience survived it. Now the horse is out of the barn. If you need special music, let my know. I don't come cheap, but then again how much can you pay for real quality?  (Kidding, just kidding. I won't charge that much.)

No beds in Korea. At least, I didn't see any. No chairs in bedrooms in Korea. No shoes in house either. The floors are heated, which at first blush feels so good. But then, sleeping on a hot floor on a thin mat makes you feel like an egg in a frying pan. You throw off the blanket and freeze on one side and fry on the other.  The food was mostly good, but Korea is the only place where I found some dishes totally disgusting. Seaweed, for instance. You can't chew it down, and it tastes like fish, ten days old. At one time, someone served a sweet bean soup with these little balls kinda floating in it. The beans were okay, but the balls were like slimy, soaked in lie bubble gum. That is how things are, when the host goes out of her way to serve a special treat, it usually turns out to be too foreign for the lucky recipient.  On our last day, we ate at the Eden Valley Vegetarian restaurant, in Seoul. The food there was exceptionally good. 

The country is mountainous and rocks are strewn from aft to fore. The people are as rugged as the country side, but very loving in their bossy ways. The whole trip was an adventure. We visited several projects in way out places, in the freezing rain. The number of people influenced by Self-supporting Work in its past heyday was astounding, but the original work has lost its first love. We spent hours in meetings and long discussions, trying to re-organize so as to plant a seed of life in the dying ministries. Time will tell whether we succeeded to any degree. 

Just one more thing. I was given the privilege of preaching to the lifestyle guests at our main institution, Gilead Valley. Better than that, I anointed a young man from L.A. who is dying of cancer. He is very spiritual and ready for any eventuality, but his poor mother tore at my soul. Her only son, her baby is dying. He was given three weeks to live, three months ago. At the LSC's in Korea they don't do treatments. They feed and exercise people and teach them a new way of thinking and living. What I saw was that God uses that too. It seems to fall short of the mark, but because they are doing what they know, God's blessings attend their efforts. What a lesson to people who won't act unless they feel they've got their act together. The LSC was full up. So much so that we had to stay in a motel at a discount. The original price is $80 per night. No bed, no chair and hot floor. Go figure! At another home LSC, the young lady who ran it does it all on a donation basis. Her place is always full also. Do you think God will let her fail? The Bible emphasizes giving at your own expense. The promise is, "it shall be given unto you, pressed down, shaken together, and overflowing." I love it! God's reality trumps our temporal reality if we will believe it. 

So ends another adventure. Where to next, Lord? 

Driven to Minister

I'm back. It's been so long that I could hardly get myself back to it. Life can be so busy. Let me try to give you a thumbnail sketch of what our last month was like. 

Firstly, Janet and I went to the OCI Retreat in Uchee Pines, Alabama. The retreat was held in their new lifestyle center, a beautiful, very modern building. I guess there were more than 200 people assembled. The messages were good and the mission reports were great. It is amazing to see what the Lord is doing, especially with the youth. The Spirit of Prophecy says that with an army of youth rightly trained the work would be finished in no time. I was strongly impressed that this prophecy is being fulfilled right now. I wish I could transport you back to the meetings so you could listen in. (They will be on the OCI Website eventually.) There are three or four youth groups mobilizing hundreds, perhaps thousands of young people to enter nearly every enterable place on the globe. These young people are solid, conservative, energetic missionaries. I was blown away. 

Janet and I were also given the opportunity to share what God is doing in our respective institutions. Besides that I had the privilege of preaching at the eleven o'clock service Sabbath morning.  I preached a sermon that I had shared with my people at Eden Valley a week or two prior to the OCI Retreat. It had been okay at EVI, but I was not impressed that it would be good enough for the assembled missionaries at Uchee. I agonized over the message I was to give. I prayed and tweaked and prayed some more. The sermon came forth with great power, teaching me again the value of prayer and what the Holy Spirit can do when He is called upon. Oh, I wish I always felt so needy, and was always so prayerful. 

From the OCI Retreat we returned to EVI for one day and left by car for Washington State the next day. In Cashmere, WA, (Angie's church) I did a week-of-prayer on "True Success." (The series may be downloaded from the Cashmere Church website.) I had, and I trust others had, a great time. Vanessa (little Ange) took me up to the top of a different mountain every day but one. On that day Steve and I worked on their mud room grinding the floors getting them ready for tiling. We returned from WA through storm of sleet and snow and wind and 250 miles extension to our trip to circumvent the greater parts of the storms. 

All is well at EVI. We start a Gardening Seminar in two days. Steve Meyers and Widmar McConell have teamed up to give us five days of intensive teachings. This seminar also marks the beginning of a three month course on agriculture for maybe six or more students. (We expect approximately 50 students for the seminar.) The weather heading into it is horrible. We've had three snow storms in the last two weeks and it is still storming. I pray the Lord overrules the Devil's intentions. 

At the same time, we are starting a new Lifestyle Session with 18 guests. (We can only handle 16, but the demand is great since having so much 3ABN exposure.) On top of all that, a 3ABN film crew will come and film our whole healing process for the purpose of showing EVI's approach to natural remedies on television. We are busy, happy and blessed.  

Soon, I'll attempt to post the highlights of the sermon I preached at the retreat. 

Busy; so Busy.

Too busy. Yesterday, Sunday March 1, we invited Bill and Sarah Bosko for lunch with our mutual friend Lee Neville. (Lee will be graduating from Southern in May with a BA in Wellness Management and we are interested in him for a leadership role in our lifestyle center.) We didn't know it at first, but we were celebrating Bill's thirty-fifth birthday. For once, he was caught by surprise. 

Unfortunately,  in the very middle of our preparations I remembered that Janet and I had been invited to lunch by Jack and Trudy Long, at the same hour. Is your life ever like that? We are so busy, we don't have a moment to to ourselves. It doesn't matter how I plan my day, God has a different agenda and it almost always involves people interfering with the direction I am pursuing. Never mind, I am learning to yield my complaints to Jesus. 

Eden Valley hosted a seminar on doing Bible work by Karen Lewis of the Rocky Mountain Conference this weekend. It was excellent. This woman is anointed of the Spirit. You would all be blessed if you invited her to do this seminar in your church. I invited her one year ago after I heard her speak at an ASI Mid-America meeting in Minnesota. We are determined to do more for the salvation of souls than ever before. 

In the meantime, I am giving Bible Studies to fifteen year old Jared Glenrdange. I am teaching Jedidias Garrido how to prepare sermons. Brent Waggoner wants the same studies, and I have devotions with all our lifestyle guests every day, preach on Wednesday prayer meeting, and on Sabbath. It's amazing that I still have anything to say to anyone. I'll be preaching at the OCI Retreat at the eleven o'clock service. I'll do a Week-of-Prayer in Cashmere, WA, after the OCI Retreat, and in April I need to do a week of meetings in South Korea. Lord help me, I wasn't suppose to travel this year. (My board will fire me. Oh, wishful thinking, who would inspire my board so wonderfully?)

I hope you all read Reina Stark Hosier's blog last week. I think it is called Parents Part 1 and 2. It touched my heart. We never know what influence we have on each other. Reina was special from the beginning and if we had realized all she was going through, I think we would have taken her to Africa with us. God knows. Now I pray for her daily. She has turned out beautifully for having had such a rough start in life.

Our Lifestyle session if full again for March. Nine of the fifteen people are from 3ABN. They are turning out to be such a blessing to us.  I don't know if we will lose our shirts doing this, but I am convinced that it is all worth the sacrifice. I hope not to wear my staff down to a frazzle, is all. 

The movie "Gifted Hands" is about Dr. Ben Carson. Worth viewing. We did this week. I only wish Seventh-day Adventists were mentioned. What is the point of highlighting a man's remarkable abilities and even demonstrating that he was super religious if God's denominated people are not pointed out?  True, God blesses more than just SDA's, but in the end of time, SDA's will not be just another denomination. God will use us all mightily and we need to bring attention to that fact now.

Bill Bosko, our farm manager and vice-president, is choosing not to come with me to the OCI Retreat. I appreciate the sacrifice. So many things could go wrong with the greenhouses and the farm at this critical time that we would never forgive ourselves if we failed due to our own negligence. I should take someone else. Who should that be?

Blessings to all.