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A master carpenter who worked for the same builder for nearly 50 years announced he wanted to retire. The builder told him how much he appreciated his work. He gave the carpenter a $5,000 bonus and asked him if he would build just one more house. The builder owned a magnificent lot with a spectacular view, and he wanted to build a dream home.
The carpenter was bitterly disappointed at the small bonus, but his last building fee would help him buy a small cottage, so he agreed to build the dream house.
The carpenter prided himself on his uncompromising commitment to quality, but his resentment caused him to cut corners, ignore details, and accept shoddy workmanship from other workers. He even looked the other way when some of them substituted cheaper materials and pocketed the difference.
When the house was finished, the builder shook the carpenter’s hand, and with a huge smile gave him an envelope with a thank-you card and a folded piece of paper. The carpenter was disdainful – until he unfolded the paper and found the deed to the house he had just built.
The carpenter was ashamed that he had misjudged his old friend and betrayed his own values, and he was remorseful that the house he would live in for the rest of his life was made so carelessly.
Our character is the house we live in and it’s built piece by piece by our daily choices. Deceit, irresponsibility, and disrespect are just like shoddy workmanship. Whenever we put in less than our best and ignore our potential for excellence, we create a future full of creaky floors, leaky roofs, and crumbling foundations.
from http://www.chractercounts.org/
Monday, February 28, 2011
Saturday, February 26, 2011
~Featured Missionary and Country of the Week - Dan/Debbie Barkley
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Dan and Debbie Barkley
Region(s): South America
Field(s): Chile
Poster: download PDF
Website: click here to visit
Bio: Dan and Debbie Barkley have always loved the work of God. He was a member of the International Youth Corps in 1973 and 1974. After pastoring for several years in southern Indiana, the Barkleys returned to Richmond, Indiana, to work with Endtime Ministries (EM) and traveled extensively in the U.S. teaching prophecy. He designed and laidout the ministry’s internationally known Endtime magazine. His greatest achievement while at EM was the website, possibly one of the most visited sites of its kind in the world, receiving as many as two million hits per day. She served as tour coordinator and head of bookkeeping at EM and handled the accounting for the Richmond church. The Barkleys labored in Argentina as associates in missions before being appointed as missionaries to Chile in March 2004. He serves as an advisor to the national board and is active in leadership development and in seminars throughout Chile.
Chile
Republic of Chile/República de Chile
Area Coordinator: Joseph A. Bir
Superintendent/President: Juan Rios Caballero
Population: 16,400,000
Area: 292,135 sq. mi.
Capital: Santiago
Languages: Spanish
Religions: Roman Catholic, 89%; Protestant, 11%
Chile, a narrow land some 100 to 250 miles wide, occupies 2,650 miles of South America’s Pacific coast. Chile’s length almost equals the width of the United States. Northern Chile contains the Atacama Desert. Central Chile has agricultural land. Southern Chile has forests and grazing land. The Andes, which include some of the world’s highest peaks, form Chile’s eastern boundary. The James Dotsons planted the UPC in Chile in 1964. The church has 2,650 constituents, 56 ministers, and 36 churches and preaching points. The United Pentecostal Church of Chile is under the leadership of a national president along with the national board. These officials are freely elected by the ministerial body. A new Bible school endeavor has opened the possibilities for future development throughout the country with 10 extensions. The Bible school is under the direction of Pablo and Rosario Rios.
Region(s): South America
Field(s): Chile
Poster: download PDF
Website: click here to visit
Bio: Dan and Debbie Barkley have always loved the work of God. He was a member of the International Youth Corps in 1973 and 1974. After pastoring for several years in southern Indiana, the Barkleys returned to Richmond, Indiana, to work with Endtime Ministries (EM) and traveled extensively in the U.S. teaching prophecy. He designed and laidout the ministry’s internationally known Endtime magazine. His greatest achievement while at EM was the website, possibly one of the most visited sites of its kind in the world, receiving as many as two million hits per day. She served as tour coordinator and head of bookkeeping at EM and handled the accounting for the Richmond church. The Barkleys labored in Argentina as associates in missions before being appointed as missionaries to Chile in March 2004. He serves as an advisor to the national board and is active in leadership development and in seminars throughout Chile.
Republic of Chile/República de Chile
Area Coordinator: Joseph A. Bir
Superintendent/President: Juan Rios Caballero
Population: 16,400,000
Area: 292,135 sq. mi.
Capital: Santiago
Languages: Spanish
Religions: Roman Catholic, 89%; Protestant, 11%
Chile, a narrow land some 100 to 250 miles wide, occupies 2,650 miles of South America’s Pacific coast. Chile’s length almost equals the width of the United States. Northern Chile contains the Atacama Desert. Central Chile has agricultural land. Southern Chile has forests and grazing land. The Andes, which include some of the world’s highest peaks, form Chile’s eastern boundary. The James Dotsons planted the UPC in Chile in 1964. The church has 2,650 constituents, 56 ministers, and 36 churches and preaching points. The United Pentecostal Church of Chile is under the leadership of a national president along with the national board. These officials are freely elected by the ministerial body. A new Bible school endeavor has opened the possibilities for future development throughout the country with 10 extensions. The Bible school is under the direction of Pablo and Rosario Rios.
Friday, February 25, 2011
~Finland On Fire - Finland's Intercessor Team - Feb. 25th, 2011
Finland's Intercessor Team
Prayer Focus
The Mark Alphin Family-UPCI Missionaries, FINLAND
God is on the Move!
It has been some time since we have sent a prayer update. However, we knew that many were already praying about our residence situation, so we decided to wait until we had something new upon which to focus unified prayer.
Since our arrival in Helsinki, we have felt the hand of God orchestrating every situation in our lives. While not all has happened as we would have preferred, we can look back and see God's wisdom and leading in each circumstance. We have made friends in such unusual ways that it could only be of God!
Juhani had begun seeking the Lord on his own. Through personal study - and the assistance of an Apostolic in a Internet chat room - he received a revelation of baptism according to Acts 2:38. Never underestimate the power of your words! Bro. Smith of North Carolina spoke "life" and planted seed in Juhani's mind and spirit that was cultivated by God. On February 19, 2011, Mark had the privilege of baptizing Juhani in the precious name of Jesus Christ, and we look forward to the day when he will receive the precious gift of God's Holy Spirit!
Juhani is the first Finn to be baptized under our ministry, and that will always be a special memory for us. The circumstances surrounding his conversion confirm that we are working in tandem with God to see His vision for Finland come to pass. God is speaking to us daily during prayer and letting us know that He is in control. Continue to pray - God has said that a "breaking in the Spirit" will happen soon, that something great will arise within this country.
We are thankful for your prevailing prayers - they are working!
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Our Testimonies
We have already made friends in the Helsinki area, enabling us to show God's love while having relationships that fill the "empty holes in our hearts" that exist due to absent stateside family and friends. He truly does all things well!
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AIM couple for the city of Tampere
We will soon begin making regular trips to the city of Tampere. Currently, there are three contacts living there, and we expect this number to grow. Tampere is about three hours northwest of Kerava, and while we are willing to make this journey, we know that a constant leadership presence would be good. If God has ever spoken to you about missions work, we ask that you consider praying about helping us in Tampere, Finland. City of Tampere website
Prayer focus:
(1) That God would speak to someone; that their hearts would be ready and willing to listen - and accept - His calling
(2) Current contacts are both male and female, necessitating the need for a couple
(3) That AIM finances and arrangements could be fulfilled quickly and easily
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Language Studies
We are working on study arrangements that will help us learn the Finnish language. While we understand that it is a difficult one to grasp, we also know that God is able to help us. We had been looking at the learning process with some dread. However, God has changed our mindset and we are now considering the task with great expectation and excitement.
Prayer focus: clarity of mind
(1) Prior to studies beginning, that we would grasp new "random" words quickly
(2) Once studies begin, that we would easily remember everything learned
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"Community Presence"
We want to be a spiritual light in the community.
Prayer focus:
(1) Wisdom in how we approach people in shops, etc.
(2) Fruits of the Spirit to be evident in our lives - that people can tell we are "different," not just "Americans"
(3) Always ready with a kind word for those we meet - Finns are quiet and it is not normal for "random conversation" to occur. However, we are finding that God is enabling us to speak in such a way that they are immediately accepting of us. We need this trend to grow even more!
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Healing for Nat Gourley
Bro. Nat Gourley is husband to Diana, secretary to Bryan Abernathy in the Foreign Missions Division. Last week, while eating dinner during a family visit in Tennessee, he suffered a heart attack; he has been hospitalized since that time. Bro. Gourley has already undergone one surgery but needs another. His situation is different than most, as while most have three main arteries, he only has two. The problem has been compounded in that he contracted pneumonia following the initial surgery. He remains in critical condition and needs a miracle. However, we all know a miracle-working God! We also ask that you pray for his wife, Diana, his children, and their families.
Prayer focus:
(1) Peace of God to cover all involved
(2) That the doctors would have wisdom to perform their tasks
(3) Strength to build in Nat Gourley
(4) God's will to be done: either clearing of pneumonia symptoms so that needed surgery can be performed, or a miraculous touch so that surgery is not needed
(Included with permission of Sis. Diana Gourley)
We appreciate your prayers for Finland, and we know that God does, too.
To our North American prayer partners: this morning during prayer, God gave Glenda a "mind's eye view" of the North American continent from one coast to the other. Intercessory prayers for a revival spirit to sweep over it went forth. God is doing a great work, and it is only going to grow and expand in the future. Prevail in prayer for your communities - God sees your tears and hears your cries. He will certainly respond!
"Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy. He who goes forth and weeps, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him." (Psalm 126:5-6)
May you experience great blessing from the hand of the Almighty as you seek His face!
For Souls,
Mark, Glenda, Miranda, and Candace
"Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain: that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, He may give it you." (John 15:16)
Thursday, February 24, 2011
~EARTHQUAKE!...in New Zealand
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*The information is this article is from Feb. 23rd, 2011 the day after the earthquake.
Police imposed a nightly curfew in some areas of Christchurch, New Zealand’s second-largest city, amid concerns more buildings may collapse following the magnitude 6.3 earthquake that killed at least 75 people.
Members of the public who enter an area within the city center’s four main avenues after 6:30 p.m. local time will be arrested, according to the New Zealand Police website. Christchurch’s tallest building, the Grand Chancellor Hotel, is unstable and appears to be moving, police said. Workers have stopped searching the remains of the collapsed Canterbury Television building because of safety concerns.
Fifty-five victims have been named with another 20 recovered and awaiting identification, New Zealand Prime Minister John Key told reporters today. Rescuers are digging through wreckage left by yesterday’s temblor, the nation’s deadliest in 80 years. Television images show one side of the 26-story Chancellor cracking and sagging.
“Today, all New Zealanders grieve for you, Christchurch,” Key said in Wellington as he prepared to board a plane for the wrecked city. “Many people have lost their lives. Families have lost their cherished loved ones. Mates have lost their mates.”
New Zealand declared a national state of emergency to coordinate help from outside the Christchurch region, according to the Civil Defense Department’s website. While people continue to present themselves at triage centers and hospitals, confirmed numbers of injured weren’t available.
*The information is this article is from Feb. 23rd, 2011 the day after the earthquake.
Members of the public who enter an area within the city center’s four main avenues after 6:30 p.m. local time will be arrested, according to the New Zealand Police website. Christchurch’s tallest building, the Grand Chancellor Hotel, is unstable and appears to be moving, police said. Workers have stopped searching the remains of the collapsed Canterbury Television building because of safety concerns.
“Today, all New Zealanders grieve for you, Christchurch,” Key said in Wellington as he prepared to board a plane for the wrecked city. “Many people have lost their lives. Families have lost their cherished loved ones. Mates have lost their mates.”
New Zealand declared a national state of emergency to coordinate help from outside the Christchurch region, according to the Civil Defense Department’s website. While people continue to present themselves at triage centers and hospitals, confirmed numbers of injured weren’t available.
~The Ten Commandments of How to Get Along With People
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1. Keep skid chains on your tongue; always say less than you think. Cultivate a low, persuasive voice. How you say it often counts more than what you say.
2. Make promises sparingly and keep them faithfully, no matter what it costs you.
3. Never let an opportunity pass to say a kind and encouraging thing to or about somebody. Praise good work done, regardless of who did it. If criticism is needed, criticize helpfully, never spitefully.
4. Be interested in others; interested in their pursuits, their welfare, their homes and their families. Make merry with those who rejoice; with those who weep, mourn. Let everyone you meet, however humble, feel that you regard him as one of importance.
5. Be cheerful. Keep the corners of your mouth turned up. Hide your pains, worries and disappointments under a smile. Laugh at good stories and learn to tell them.
6. Preserve an open mind on all debatable questions. Discuss, but don't argue. It is a mark of superior minds to disagree and yet to be friendly.
7. Let your virtues, if you have any, speak for themselves, and refuse to talk of another's vices. Discourage gossip. Make it a rule to say nothing of another unless it is something good.
8. Be careful of another's feelings. Wit and humor at the other fellow's expense are rarely worth the effort, and may hurt where least expected.
9. Pay no attention to ill-natured remarks about you. Simply live that nobody will believe them. Disordered nerves and a bad digestion are a common cause of backbiting.
10. Don't be too anxious about your dues. "Do your work, be patient and keep your disposition sweet, forgot self, and you will be rewarded."
**The Ten Commandments of How to Get Along With People - Author unknown
1. Keep skid chains on your tongue; always say less than you think. Cultivate a low, persuasive voice. How you say it often counts more than what you say.
2. Make promises sparingly and keep them faithfully, no matter what it costs you.
3. Never let an opportunity pass to say a kind and encouraging thing to or about somebody. Praise good work done, regardless of who did it. If criticism is needed, criticize helpfully, never spitefully.
4. Be interested in others; interested in their pursuits, their welfare, their homes and their families. Make merry with those who rejoice; with those who weep, mourn. Let everyone you meet, however humble, feel that you regard him as one of importance.
5. Be cheerful. Keep the corners of your mouth turned up. Hide your pains, worries and disappointments under a smile. Laugh at good stories and learn to tell them.
6. Preserve an open mind on all debatable questions. Discuss, but don't argue. It is a mark of superior minds to disagree and yet to be friendly.
7. Let your virtues, if you have any, speak for themselves, and refuse to talk of another's vices. Discourage gossip. Make it a rule to say nothing of another unless it is something good.
8. Be careful of another's feelings. Wit and humor at the other fellow's expense are rarely worth the effort, and may hurt where least expected.
9. Pay no attention to ill-natured remarks about you. Simply live that nobody will believe them. Disordered nerves and a bad digestion are a common cause of backbiting.
10. Don't be too anxious about your dues. "Do your work, be patient and keep your disposition sweet, forgot self, and you will be rewarded."
**The Ten Commandments of How to Get Along With People - Author unknown
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
~Meltdown in the Mediterranean
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The plane ride home from Tripoli, Libya, to Malta late last June took just thirty three minutes, and covered about two hundred forty miles.
In our four day visit to this Land of Sand and more Sand, with its lovely people, my wife and I were able to meet and witness to Libyan (one with whom we have maintained contact), Dutch, Italian and American people.
During the days, we toured, as tourists, among wonderful cultural, historical, and natural sites that abound in Libya. We took in sights and smells both ancient and modern: all the colors and aromas of the souks, the Roman Ruins of Leptis Magna and Sabratha, and the bleak but beautiful desert that begins the vast Sahara, three hours south of Tripoli.
Early each day and late at night, back in our hotel room, we held our daily devotions, Bible reading and prayer. We sought His Spirit of Intercession; that He would remove the obstacles that prohibit freedom of faith in this tormented country.
Just eight months since our visit, revolution is beginning. The tyrannical dictatorship of Colonel Mohamar Ghaddifi is teetering. Today in Malta, two Libyan jet fighter pilots, flew into the international airport here and surrendered themselves as defectors, claiming they did not wish to fire on civilians.
The Mediterranean Island of Malta, the closest European State to Libya, is moving quickly to evacuate hundreds of its national workers to safety.
We have a lot of questions. Can democracy gain a foot hold in this Arab country? Will freedom to choose faith in Jesus Christ become a reality? Will people be able to come and go freely, with easily obtained visas, and be able to deliver Godʼs life changing message?
The burden is real, and souls hang in the balance. Libya has five and a half million people, Tunisia has ten million; Algeria and Morocco have over thirty million each. Will we weep; will we intercede?
Names withheld for security reasons - please continue to PRAY for all our missionaries, and in particular those missionaries in the Mediterranean and Middle East Regions.
21 February, 2011
The plane ride home from Tripoli, Libya, to Malta late last June took just thirty three minutes, and covered about two hundred forty miles.
During the days, we toured, as tourists, among wonderful cultural, historical, and natural sites that abound in Libya. We took in sights and smells both ancient and modern: all the colors and aromas of the souks, the Roman Ruins of Leptis Magna and Sabratha, and the bleak but beautiful desert that begins the vast Sahara, three hours south of Tripoli.
Early each day and late at night, back in our hotel room, we held our daily devotions, Bible reading and prayer. We sought His Spirit of Intercession; that He would remove the obstacles that prohibit freedom of faith in this tormented country.
Just eight months since our visit, revolution is beginning. The tyrannical dictatorship of Colonel Mohamar Ghaddifi is teetering. Today in Malta, two Libyan jet fighter pilots, flew into the international airport here and surrendered themselves as defectors, claiming they did not wish to fire on civilians.
The Mediterranean Island of Malta, the closest European State to Libya, is moving quickly to evacuate hundreds of its national workers to safety.
We have a lot of questions. Can democracy gain a foot hold in this Arab country? Will freedom to choose faith in Jesus Christ become a reality? Will people be able to come and go freely, with easily obtained visas, and be able to deliver Godʼs life changing message?
Names withheld for security reasons - please continue to PRAY for all our missionaries, and in particular those missionaries in the Mediterranean and Middle East Regions.
Monday, February 21, 2011
~News from Estonia - Nate and Ingunn Turner
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Just yesterday an orphanage for handicapped children in Estonia burned down, killing 10, mostly wheelchair-bound children. (See Modesto Bee article: http://www.modbee.com/2011/02/20/1565183/report-10-children-killed-in-orphanage.html) With this weighing heavy on our hearts, we offer a way to help children in Estonia for UPCI churches. Below is the information explaining our project for remodeling our building, which will house a church, children's center for mostly underprivileged kids, and shelter for crisis pregnancies and homeless people. We will also use it for a Bible school and training center for northeastern Estonia.
-----
Attached is a video of our new property!
We're praising God for property finally purchased for the work in Estonia. Our national minister, Vadim, is working hard to knock out walls, put up drywall, hang a drop ceiling, install ventilation ducts and replace the pipes and wiring from this soviet-era building. Just a few years ago he could have fixed things up with less effort, but now has to cooperate with western quality building codes that are part of Estonia's newer membership in the European Union. He has now used up the funding he and the church had been able to save and what we were able to raise on deputation and was considering using his credit card to pay the upcoming bill for the electricity and ventilation project when I visited him a week ago. I told him not to do that and that I would see if any churches in America might be able to help him finish the project. I will call him this week with any news I have. The remaining $11,180 is due on about April 10.
He is our only licensed minister in Estonia and last year baptized 27 in Jesus' name and prayed 23 through to the Holy Ghost. At this time he has about 135 people in 4 cities and villages attending weekly services. The people are poor and I was impressed with the funds that they'd been able to save, themselves.
I've received permission from Foreign Missions to raise building funds from the field, and if there's anything you all can do to help, you can send it to Foreign Missions Division with the following designation: 103.FA.033215.21.2101.1.43696. If you decide to do something and it's not too much trouble, could you e-mail me to let me know what you decide? It would be a great encouragement to Vadim.
Blessings to you, and thanks for your consideration. We love you folks & appreciate you!
Nate & Ingunn Turner
Missionaries to the Republic of Estonia
If there is any way you can help support this worthy project please send your offering to Foreign Missions and reference the
above account number.
Thank you,
Jerry E. Powell/WD Foreign Mission's DepartmentNote! The Turners did not request this be posted on the Blog. I asked and received permission to post this information.
**A thought for your consideration - we teach and preach to the members of our churches to be faithful in their tithes and offerings even in difficult and lean financial times, encouraging them to believe and trust God to meet their needs, and we should knowing that the Lord is our provider. By the same token in setting the example we should keep our PIM and other financial commitments and obligations. The Missionaries are counting on YOU!
Thanks to all you pastors and churches who are faithful in your giving! Without YOU the missionaries would not be able to reach a lost world.
Just yesterday an orphanage for handicapped children in Estonia burned down, killing 10, mostly wheelchair-bound children. (See Modesto Bee article: http://www.modbee.com/2011/02/20/1565183/report-10-children-killed-in-orphanage.html) With this weighing heavy on our hearts, we offer a way to help children in Estonia for UPCI churches. Below is the information explaining our project for remodeling our building, which will house a church, children's center for mostly underprivileged kids, and shelter for crisis pregnancies and homeless people. We will also use it for a Bible school and training center for northeastern Estonia.
-----
Attached is a video of our new property!
We're praising God for property finally purchased for the work in Estonia. Our national minister, Vadim, is working hard to knock out walls, put up drywall, hang a drop ceiling, install ventilation ducts and replace the pipes and wiring from this soviet-era building. Just a few years ago he could have fixed things up with less effort, but now has to cooperate with western quality building codes that are part of Estonia's newer membership in the European Union. He has now used up the funding he and the church had been able to save and what we were able to raise on deputation and was considering using his credit card to pay the upcoming bill for the electricity and ventilation project when I visited him a week ago. I told him not to do that and that I would see if any churches in America might be able to help him finish the project. I will call him this week with any news I have. The remaining $11,180 is due on about April 10.
He is our only licensed minister in Estonia and last year baptized 27 in Jesus' name and prayed 23 through to the Holy Ghost. At this time he has about 135 people in 4 cities and villages attending weekly services. The people are poor and I was impressed with the funds that they'd been able to save, themselves.
I've received permission from Foreign Missions to raise building funds from the field, and if there's anything you all can do to help, you can send it to Foreign Missions Division with the following designation: 103.FA.033215.21.2101.1.43696. If you decide to do something and it's not too much trouble, could you e-mail me to let me know what you decide? It would be a great encouragement to Vadim.
Blessings to you, and thanks for your consideration. We love you folks & appreciate you!
Nate & Ingunn Turner
Missionaries to the Republic of Estonia
If there is any way you can help support this worthy project please send your offering to Foreign Missions and reference the
above account number.
Thank you,
Jerry E. Powell/WD Foreign Mission's DepartmentNote! The Turners did not request this be posted on the Blog. I asked and received permission to post this information.
**A thought for your consideration - we teach and preach to the members of our churches to be faithful in their tithes and offerings even in difficult and lean financial times, encouraging them to believe and trust God to meet their needs, and we should knowing that the Lord is our provider. By the same token in setting the example we should keep our PIM and other financial commitments and obligations. The Missionaries are counting on YOU!
Thanks to all you pastors and churches who are faithful in your giving! Without YOU the missionaries would not be able to reach a lost world.
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