Ministry Leaders

Surprisingly, we should be “looking for the Darkness.” We are to be the light that shines into it.

One of our young Pastors at Lake Avenue Church, Walter Alexander, challenged us this morning with this admonition: “Bring your light to shine in the darkness. It is all around us.”

It was so beautiful. The coffee parchment replicated a checkerboard on the drying flats, 2.5 centimeters thick. The furrows were perfectly aligned and glistening gold in the hot Laotian sunlight. 25 tons of coffee parchment—what is left after the cherry pulp is removed—were spread like a shimmering, undulating carpet across 2.5 acres of drying flats. What a sight!

I’m in our hotel lobby in Pakse, Laos. Our Business for Missions project is now 6 years in the making, or should I say growing! This is the first year, finally, that the product and the processing mills are ready. It is harvest time for coffee growers and processors. We have the best equipment, our coffee cherries are ripening nicely, and the farmers have a lot of product they want to sell to us. What could be better?

Distributing family heirlooms and keepsakes, proceeds of a sale, the wealth of a nation, or historically the booty of war has always been difficult. During our recent Presidential campaign, President Obama’s comments about redistributing wealth created grist for the political mill. Issues regarding how money is distributed flash across the screen of history regularly. From Adam Smith’s "The Wealth of Nations" to the Marxist view of a communist society … all have a basis in the perception of who gets what, and when.

“Won’t that couple ever talk to each other?” Judy asked. We were having dinner at a local Pasadena eatery and there was another couple in our line of sight. Young, attractive and definitely not connected. How did we know?

1. No talking
2. No eye contact
3. No physical contact

He gave all he had to “prepare the way”!

I’ve had some interesting conversations with a variety of people since my last post. Apparently integrity is an issue many of us think about. The honesty with courage aspect, taking action on our knowledge, is a bigger challenge than even I suggested. Fear (of many kinds) and “not wanting to get involved” are the two “talking points” that come up.

In our 21^st Century western culture we are so concerned about being “politically correct” that we are willing to set “action” aside—even when we know it is the “right thing to do.”

One of our staff recently wrote a blog comment describing Integrity as being Honesty with Courage. Bethany Palmer (Envoy's President) and I have been reflecting and discussing the application of this startling description for the past week. WOW! The addition of “courage” to the obvious “honesty” description is an important one. Let’s take a look at some of implications of this definition.

I'm sitting in my living room, taking this picture and trying to decide whether to be sad or happy! And yes, it is a choice.

Today is moving day. The last couple of weeks have been "in preparation” for this move. Judy has done a great job of organizing, per usual. Her 4 categories of “what goes where” are:

My friend and I left the restaurant where we had lunch and he pointed to The Cheese Store of Pasadena. “I wonder how anybody can make a go of a cheese shop?” he asked. “Let’s take a look and find out” I said.

As we entered, I quickly reflected on my heritage, Dutch. They make great cheese, so I asked the smiling clerk behind the counter “Do you have any great Gouda Cheese?” “Oh yes” she said “it is special and I’ll get it out right now.” I nodded to my friend and we both smiled. Right now!

Last week there was an Asian night fair set up around City Hall in Pasadena, CA. Judy and I decided to check it out.

The long lines in front of a few food stalls confused us. Simultaneously, we experienced a terrible odor—It smelled like a number of animals with horribly active dysentery had congregated in one place. (That was the nicest way I could think of to communicate the terrible, awful smell!)

As I was expressing my olfactory response, a woman sidled up to us and said, “Stinky Tofu.” “What is that?” “The smell is Stinky Tofu" she said, “It tastes great ... you should try some” and she moved on. I looked at Judy and then read the sign on the food stall with the longest line. Yup, “Stinky Tofu.”