R.L. Loeffelbein, a physics teacher at Washington University in St. Louis was about to give a student a zero for the student’s answer to an examination problem. The student claimed he should receive a perfect score, if the system were not so set up against the student. Instructor and student agreed to submit to an impartial arbiter, Dr. Alexander Calandra, who tells the story.
The examination problem was: “Show how it is possible to determine the height of a tall building with the aid of a barometer.”
Many times people think that every problem has one and only one solution. That is true if the problem is 1 + 1 or how to get to heaven (the answer is Jesus Christ, email me if you want to know how I came to this solution) but life’s problems aren’t that simple and neither are their solutions. This is probably one of the reasons I love doing computer consulting. I love to see what people need software, website or computer hardware to do, and I think of all the different ways that that can be done. Then I go through those different solutions to see which ones I actually know how to do (or someone on the team can do), which one is most efficient, which one is the most flexible for future enhancements, etc. to determine the best solution. All of them will work but usually there’s one that’s the best to solve our problem.
And that’s what I get to do with eDOT. I get to help different ministries find technology solutions so that they can help us with a problem that all Christians are called to answer. The problem of fulfilling the Great Commission of “Therfore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” (NIV Matthew 28:19-20)
If you would like to partner with us on this adventure, please email me and we can talk about all the different ways.
Yesterday was a good day. Herbert Alexander Roes graduated from Trinity UMC Preschool. (Most of you know him as Alex) I always wondered about those mothers that have a hard time sending their kids off to kindergarten for the first time and I think I have an idea now how they feel. I did get a little emotional as I thought about how fast Alex is growing up. I thought about how much he talks now (which is continuous) compared to the gurgling noises he made when we brought him home from the hospital. I thought about how much he enjoys being with other kids; being the socialite of our family (takes after his grandmother).
At the end of the summer, Alex will be starting Kindergarten but the question is where. Will it be here in the States or in a true Kindergarten (Kinder is German for “Children” and Garten is “Garden) in Germany? We are in God’s hands. We know its His timing and not ours but our desire is for Alex to start Kindergarten at the beginning of the school year in Germany (1st week of September). Kindergarten in Germany will be a true experience for Alex. He will be attending a German Kindergarten which means that the teacher and the students will all speak German. Being the talkative 5 year old, we expect him to get momentarily frustrated with not being able to talk to the others so he will then get determined to learn the German language (even today, he came into our room saying something and then telling us that that was German for “to eat”. It wasn’t the right word - essen - but it was funny to hear him try). Then soon, Alex will be translating for us as we are sure he is going to learn German faster than both of us combined.
Yesterday as Krista and I were going through all of our things in the garage (we were taking to much stuff to Germany so we pulled items out that we have decided not to take) and two gentlemen from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints came by in their white shirts and ties. They were very friendly and even offered to help us as we were moving around some larger furniture. Then they asked me if I was a Christian.
This quickly took me back to when I worked security at a local amusement park. Yearly, a Christian denomination would rent out the park completely for two days. So for two days, I was continuously approached and asked “Are you a Christian?” and when I answered “Yes”, they would respond “Are you sure you are a born-again Christian?” To which I would respond, “Yes, I have a personal relationship with God the Father because of the grace given through Jesus’ work on the cross. And I have the Holy Spirit.” I would throw the last part in there just in case. (I was 18 yrs old at the time)
Being one of the only “outspoken” Christians on my security team (in other words, everybody on the team knew I was a Christian mainly because I didn’t drink beer at the partys), they would come up to me after those days and complain about how rude people were, how they would surround them and shove Bible tracs into their hands and bug them asking if they wanted to accept Jesus into their heart. Ironically, these days were also the highest volume of shop lifting, line breaking, and ejections from the park for security to handle. These two days were the biggest anti-witness of Jesus Christ to my fellow security guards and I didn’t know how to respond to them as I felt like they did. Not about God, but about these God followers.
My question is this: Does this method of witnessing work? Both the Mormons and these fellow Christians approach you and make you question what you believe.
I do believe we are called to ask people if they believe or not in Jesus Christ but are we called to do it in a confronting manner? I know some come to an understanding of Jesus Christ through this method but was it because God had already softened their heart or because they were called to question what they believe? But how many more are confronted and this is just yet one more thing that they can hold as an excuse not to listen to the Good News of Jesus. How should we ask the question to a person?
I know what I believe, but I leave these questions to you. Feel free to leave a comment.
We are dependant upon God’s timing. It’s an easy statement to say. There, I just did. It’s also an easy statement to logically think about: If God is creator of the universe then He is creator of time and therefore everything would happen within His timing. But it’s not always an easy statement to live. This is where God has us right now. Living in the statement that it is His timing and not ours for when we are to leave for Germany and honestly, my heart is torn.
On one side, I want to be able to make plans and know that they will come to be. I want to be able to answer my son and others when they say “When are we/you leaving?” (Actually, Alex’s question is more of “When are we getting a puppy?” as he knows we are going to buy him one in Germany) I want to know if I can make 4th of July plans with my family or will we be frantically finishing our packing then. Its a little bit of life in limbo as we don’t know what is in the immediate future but we do know that the future has us in Germany.
On the other side, I am so thankful that it is God’s timing and not our own that we live in. In God’s timing, the people we are going to meet in Europe - He is preparing for our arrival. In God’s timing, God is preparing us for living a life as missionaries. In God’s timing, He is allowing us the time to enjoy being with our friends and families before making the move across the pond.
The really cool thing about God’s timing for us is that He has put in place a way for Him to reveal His timing. Its a kind of clock really but its not a sun dial or a round face with a spring; its those that are joining us in our ministry i.e. YA’LL (there’s my southern again) As people come on board with our ministry by praying for us and committing to financially support us, the hands on God’s clock move. Many people don’t understand why some missionaries have to raise supporters but it’s a very Biblical thing that God put into place. Paul is an example as the first missionary and while there were a few times that he worked to support himself, most of the time his needs were met by the churches and they were pleased to do so (2 Corinthians 8-9).
Please pray with us as we meet with people asking them if they are called to be a part of this ministry. Be with us as we watch God’s clock move bringing us closer to the move to Europe.
I was messing around with some video software I have last night and found this old clip of Alex (I think Alex was two or three then) talking about his Aunt Gina one day. So I made it into a little video for you to enjoy.
Yesterday was a good day. Herbert Alexander Roes graduated from Trinity UMC Preschool. (Most of you know him as Alex) I always wondered about those mothers that have a hard time sending their kids off to kindergarten for the first time and I think I have an idea now how they feel. I did get a little emotional as I thought about how fast Alex is growing up. I thought about how much he talks now (which is continuous) compared to the gurgling noises he made when we brought him home from the hospital. I thought about how much he enjoys being with other kids; being the socialite of our family (takes after his grandmother). 
Yesterday as Krista and I were going through all of our things in the garage (we were taking to much stuff to Germany so we pulled items out that we have decided not to take) and two gentlemen from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints came by in their white shirts and ties. They were very friendly and even offered to help us as we were moving around some larger furniture. Then they asked me if I was a Christian. 
We are dependant upon God’s timing. It’s an easy statement to say. There, I just did. It’s also an easy statement to logically think about: If God is creator of the universe then He is creator of time and therefore everything would happen within His timing. But it’s not always an easy statement to live. This is where God has us right now. Living in the statement that it is His timing and not ours for when we are to leave for Germany and honestly, my heart is torn.
