Laron Brown Funeral Services

I just had to stop and write about the funeral for Laron Brown. This young man lost his life at the hand of another last week. From all of the testimonies from friends and family, Laron was a remarkable teen, and his loss was especially tragic.

I would like to express my thanks to my church for everything they did to assist. Not only was this a God honoring and glorifying service, it was also a vivid demonstration of the ministry of those who walk in relationship with Christ. Jesus wept, mourned, reached out, and impacted our world! Yesterday, CBC, through love, and a commitment to "being like Christ", reached out to a new family in our church and the community around us.

A very special thanks to Rev. Purvis, Rev. Bradley, and my dear brother in Christ, Pastor Bobby Morgan. Their assistance, words of encouragement to the family were so instrumental in the movement of the Holy Spirit which became clear when the invitation was given.

To each one who helped and prayed -- THANK YOU!

What an interesting thought -- separation means difference, not distance! This was the thought last night at Prayer Meeting. God asks His people to be separate. He asked that of Israel, and asks it of the Church. This does not mean distance, simply because we are the only method that God has ordained to get the gospel to the world. It does mean DIFFERENCE, as we are to be in the world (distance), but not of the world (difference). One can also apply this thought to redemption, in that while on the cross, Jesus cried out to God the Father, "Why have you forsaken me." Scripture also tells us that Jesus did not take on our sin, but became sin for us. Hence, at the moment Jesus became sin for us in the process of redemption, He had a "difference" --He became that which God could not tolerate. What a powerful, emotional moment, when God the Son, was separated from God the Father because his love for us necessitated a "difference" in order to achieve the finished act of substitution!

Sermon Series on Thankfulness

Last Sunday I started a series of messages on thankfulness. The first text was 2 Cor 9:15 -- thanks for God's indescribable gift. What was profound was that this indescribable gift was God's grace with reference to giving. Now, as I am working on the message for Sunday AM, I am focussed on John 14:15-27. I am looking at the thought of being thankful for the Holy Spirit. It is amazing, that within this text, we are exposed to at least four advantages of the Spirits presence in our lives; He is with us forever, He lives both with and in us, He teaches us, and reminds us of the teaching of Christ. I am sure that there are more characteristics of this wonderful gift of God to us, I just have not rooted them out yet. That, I pray will come as I continue to study and prepare.

Some thoughts on today's message.

This morning, I was preaching from 2 Corinthians 9:1-15. This is a passage dealing with giving. Paul presents gicing as a grace from God, and a gift beyond description! What an interesting thought. Two very important points Paul brings to our attention are first, that in order to experience God's grace in the action of giving, we have to be willing to "take a risk". Just like the farmer who scatters see for a harvest is risking all that he has on the future, so we also have to be willing to risk; trusting that God will provide a rich harvest for our obedience and faith in Him. The second though is that the Scripture tells us that He (God) has provided both the seed to sow (the substance to give). and the bread to eat (the resources for our own existence). Therefore, eerything we have to both give and exist come from Him. He has already predetermined our faithfulness so to speak, with the only hinderance being our faith, and "concern" over our well-being after we give. GOd loves a cheerful giver! What allows us to be cheerful in our giving is that we give with the full knowledge that God has already provided what we are to give, and what we need to live. When we figure that out, we then can in faith give cheerfully, knowing that the "risk" we take is really not a risk at all but a response to the

Monetary Issues in South America

Even though Uruguay, Argentina, and Chile speak the same language, and have the same named currency -- the Peso, all is not easy. Each country has a different exchange rate. With as fast as we have hit these three countries, it is not difficult, but not easy to adjust. Let me illustrate,... In Uruguay the exchange rate is approx 20 Pesos to the dollar. Not to bad, you just multiply dollars by 20 to figure out what you are paying in pesos. Now, you cross the border to Argentina, and magically, they have Pesos too, BUT the Peso is not approx 3 to the american Dollar. Hmmm, so now I am multiplying dollars by 3 to figure things out! My math is sharp with fives and tens, but threes! Oh, yeah, then you cross the border again! Nice border. The Andes separate Argentina and Chile. Once in Chile the magic reappears and the Peso does another transformation. Now we are not 3 to one, or 20 to one,... no, we are approx. 500 to one. Now things get a little interesting. It is easier to go from Pesos to dollars than Dollars to Pesos. For those interested here is the simple, easy, and close formula -- Multiply the amount of Pesos by two and then drop a zero, and add a decimal point! Let me illustrate: A 1,000 Pesos is approx. 2 Dollars. 1,000 times 2 is 2,ooo. dropo a zero is 2oo, add a decimal point is $2.00. A 10,000 Pesos bill is $20.00 10,000 times 2 is 20,000. Drop a zero is 2,000. Add a decimal point is $20.00, and on it goes. Hopefully if I travel without delay sometime about 5am I should be firmly home where is DOllar is a Dollar is a Dollar!

South America Mission Trip Leg 5.2

The bus ride from Temuco to Santiago was wonderful. This was a Comma bus, which means that the seats reclined all the way! The previous bus was a Semi Comma, meaning that it reclined, but not flat. The seats were even wider and more plush. So, all in all, I had a good sleep! We arrived in Santiago a little after 7am, and were meet by one of the missionaries, and transported to a pastor´s breakfast at one of the churches. After breakfast we had a prayer meeting and then off to visit another missionary who is planting a church in one of the upper middle class neighborhoods. His name is Johnny and his wife is Carolina. He is from Northern Ireland, and she is from the Canary Islands. We had a wonderful time seeing what God is doing with them. They renovated a house with an attached bakery. It really looks good. Afterwards we enjoyed an Irish Lunch, and then off to see the Statue of Mary. This statue portrays Mary with her foot on the serpent of Genesis 3. After this we stopped at the shopping area of Santa Lucia.

After shopping we went to teh house of Curtis the missionary who picked us up and has been our guide. After meeting Curtis´family we went to the Bible Institute to greet the students and teachers, and then back to our quarters for the night.

I believe that this will be my last time to write, as tomorrow we will be heading to the GMSA Camp in Chile, and afterwards to the airport for our flight home. I will be leaving Chile at 9pm, arriving in Miami at 7am, and then leaving Miami for Philly at 9:05 am. If all goes well I should be touching down in Philly at 11:55am.

South America Mission Trip Leg 5.1

Today we went south about 2 hours to see the camp. It was overcast and rained so we were not able totally see the volcanoes (I am disappointed). We did go to te lava flow. This is where the last flow made its way to the lake. I picked up rocks for Lori and Anna there. Tonight we will be heading to a church prayer meeting, and then off to the bus terminal for the overnight road trip. It is the same company, so the ride should be enjoyable. When we arrive in Santiago, we will immediately hit the ground running with a pastor´s breakfast, church and camp visits, etc. We will spend Thursday night in Santiago, tour more tomorrow, and then off to the airport for the evening flight back to Miami.

The weather in Temuco has been chilly to say the least! Not really any colder than New Jersey, but the cold is a bone chiller. In addition, the missionaries in Temuco use wood for heat. Sleeping is great, but huddling around the stove in the morning is an art form.