AS A KID SEES IT

It was Pizza night and I had just finished eating a slice of pizza at La Roca's small orphanage in Zona Norte, when Victor came over to me and thanked me for his glasses. He didn't have his glasses on at the time. His thanks threw me off guard. Glasses? Then I remembered; some weeks ago several of the kids in the orphanage needed glasses and Pepe, the Director, asked for our help. Victor, about eleven, was really happy because now he could see the blackboard in his school classroom. Hopefully grades will improve accordingly.

No one prompted him to thank me. It was sincere. It was spontaneous and, well, it was Victor, a cute little boy that appreciated his new glasses. Several of the kids now have their glasses. They look very intellectual, and well ... pretty cool!

Often I've mentioned that I get the thanks you deserve; not that I mind ... but so grateful for you who make it possible.

In the "little-things department" I might mention the five teeth Pepe gave me; each wrapped in a small piece of paper and closed with scotch tape. The younger kids save their teeth until I return because I give them a dollar for their tooth. (Mexico has a tooth-mouse ... but these days he's very poor!) Later that evening little Freddy came up to me with a big smile and handed me a very small bloody-tooth.

He finally got it out!

WHERE THE RUBBER MEETS THE ROAD

Do you ever wonder what happens to your old tires? Almost everywhere you look in my world you will see tires. I don't mean tires on cars but old tires from old cars. Well used American tires. In these barrios of the poor, tires may form the foundation of a house or tires placed on the roof that keep it from blowing away. Many tires create walls or fences.

The most difficult tires to negotiate are old tires that form stairs. Up and down the hillsides tire stairs become a common essential. Dusty in the summer and slippery in the winter.

When we go to visit a family, their shanty is often perched high on the side of a hill with a long line of tire stairs leading to the doorway. Of course when you go up, then you have to come back down and that's the hard part. (Click Photo Above)

Flexible stairs with no handrail is getting a little dangerous for this old man. Stairs like these look daunting when you're in the eighties ... thanks for your prayers for me.

Take another look at these stairs; imagine bringing a load of groceries or gallons of water up to your house, or worse, a heavy tank of propane.

Our ministry is going to the people rather than having them come to us, consequently these conditions become a norm to us. However meeting people where they are; meeting them in their homes we know the truth about what's going on in these houses and communities. We know where the needs are ... and how to direct your giving.

JESUS CHECKS IT OUT

Things were falling apart in Jesus world. A year ago he had quit school to help his mother scavenge metal, cardboard and glass to eke out a living for his five brothers and sisters. The police are searching for his step-father and when caught, he'll be in for a long time.

Pedrigal, the boy's barrio, is as tough as they get. Jesus, 13, and his mother want him to get an education. They talked to me about getting Jesus into an orphanage. One less mouth to feed yet one less kid to help scrounge trash; In their lives a major decision.

I held him by his shoulders, looked him in the eye and asked, "Are you serious about this Jesus?" "Si Pastor von." "Jesus I want you and your mother to think on this a few days and I'll be back to take you to an orphanage, so you can check it out."

He gave me a big hug, which I wasn't expecting from a "cool" thirteen year old boy.

Yesterday we dropped by and he was ready to check the orphanage out. He got into the back seat of my car. I don't think he had ever been in a nice car like mine, he sure checked it all out. I gave him a pair of sunglasses so he could look cool.

Children of Promise Orphanage has a great collection of kids;

Julian and Jesus checked it all out.

"Lets go back so you and your mom can make this decision. Then let us know what you decide." We returned him to his downstairs shack, promising him that we'll be back in a couple of days for his decision.

If he goes, it will be the best decision for him;

For us it will mean more help for her and the other four kids as they struggle for food. Indeed life is a struggle for so many of our people.

A QUIET DEATH

"Von, there's a family that wants you to visit them."

So we headed a few blocks down the road to see them. We walked carefully through the small front yard while Philip's mother, Alecia, held on to their Pit Bull guard dog. We filed into the open door to their small two-room shanty. Philip, a tall good looking sixteen year-old walked into the room along with Paul his thirteen year-old brother. They are not in school.

Alecia attends two of Spectrum's big food give-away days every month. She has to travel quite a distance for the few vegetables she gets. They are very poor. Her husband brings very little money home. Alecias trying to feed the family of eight a better diet. On the stove she had a small pot of vegetables cooking and some corn tortillas on the table.

The evening meal.

Her son Philip, as young as he is, is a serious diabetic! He has to have two insulin shots a day. Also he cannot hear .. it's been a year now without hearing.

Well, as we talked we found that the free insulin Philip was getting from the General Hospital was no longer available, and they had no money to buy more. I sat at the table holding the two empty bottles while trying to explain to Alecia what would happen if he doesn't get his shots on time ... disorientation; an insulin coma and death. I hope I scared her.

We left the family some money both for Philip's insulin and food for all.

In my travels I always ask the Lord to get the money to the right needs, and this was yesterdays answer.

BRIAN'S TOP

I gave Brian a new plastic top! I haven't seen someone so happy in years! He actually jumped up and down in joy.

Just a little $1.20 plastic top!

Brian, his little sister and brother are road-workers ... that is, they have one shovel between them and they fill up chuck-holes in the long winding road that leads to barrio Ijido ... Lets face it, great potential ... the dirt road is nothing BUT chuck-holes. The little girl holds out a can hoping for someone to donate a few pesos.

They know my car and run out to meet me. I generally give them a chocolate bar and sometimes a dollar.

The whole family of seven, including mother, work in two different locations, filling holes and looking for donations. That's their work. That's their living. Indeed they are dirt poor.

I've met their mother and the kids. I've been to their small, rather stark house. One big bed. Roof leaks when it rains.

Brian is only 13. He's not in school, he has to work the road. Money comes hard. Mom's seven months pregnant and not able to work the road for a while.

So now it's up to Brian and his brother and sisters to keep the family in food. (Anyone want to help on food, shoes and schooling?)

Brian was bare-foot and wearing old torn and dirty pants.

But that top! That little top, made it all worth while.

Life is great when you're a kid ... and get a top!

THE TRINITY OF TENSE; PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE

As much as we would like to re-live the past or even alter the past we can't. The past is locked by Divine decree. Every minute that passes forms into a fixed history. The past does not vanish it simply appears again as history.

As much as we would like to know the future, we can't; it too is locked tight. We can predict, but never know for sure.

We are forced to live in the now ... the moving present. The fluid in-between of past and future. The measured ticking of twenty-four hours is the sound of the simple span of now.

What I do now won't alter the past, but it will alter my future and can alter the greater future.

The future is always coming at its consistent, divinely measured speed; whether we like it or not.

I need the simple skill of seeing and taking the opportunities presented me to build the future I want.

Lord, I need your wisdom.

ENERGY

Let's face it, music carries with it a unique energy. Today people are not only attracted to energy and hungry for energy, but we are actually addicted to energy . . in any form, in any way we can get it.

There is platform energy. "Entertainment energy" is another form of transferable energy. Singers, bands, groups ... secular music is a great example of a popular source of what I call, platform energy. Dynamic personalities, dynamic beat, add to the projected energy. (Lyrics? No way!)

Good question: Why do you or I like the music and musical groups we like? What do we get from the music? For an example, why do we prefer a live outdoor concert to a simple CD or DVD? Could it be projected energy?

The transfer of energy from the platform to the seat ... the performers to the hearer. A growing phenomena. We love it and we pay big bucks for it!

A truly vicarious experience; a vicarious transfer of energy by music ... by beat.

This is true even in listening to speakers or preachers. Why do we prefer a moving dynamic speaker to a statue like academic speaker. Of course the content is important ... but "dynamic" satisfies an inner energy hunger. The dynamic speaker transfers energy to his audience. He's a giver, we're takers. He's there to give we're there to take.

We travel miles simply to get a charge, by a big name charger.

Caution! The medium of secular "energy" music, can be caught by the Church ... misunderstood and misused. Caution! Culture can invade and corrupt the simplicity of honest worship in our Lord's Church. Synthetic man made energy vs God's Holy energy.

Have I a point here?

Man made energy is less expensive and sadly ... often more to our liking.

THERMOSTATS

We all know about thermostats. There are thermostats in cars, homes and of course Churches have thermostats too. Temperature controllers. Ah man's technology!

Our church was small, and we had a lot to learn ... one lesson was where to locate the thermostat. Well, at first our Sanctuary thermostat was available to all and we never gave it much thought.

The location and thermostat soon became a tricky problem, we found everyone seemed to have a different opinion on what was a comfortable temperature.

A couple of ladies with "hot flashes" thought it was always too warm so they felt a liberty to cool the ambient temperature down ... and they did. It was too cool for old Richard and Florence, so they warmed it up a bit. For skinny people it seemed always too cool and for heaver people it always seemed too warm. They all took a turn at adjusting our thermostat.

It seemed we all had a different idea of what the temperature of the Church should be.

We had to re-think the thermostat issue.

I think you can see where I'm going here ...

A long time ago the Lord checked on the temperature of His Laodicean Church. Their thermostat was set at "Tepid" ... or lukewarm! ... and they were all perfectly comfortable

The Lord's reaction to their setting? "You have become comfortably lukewarm" ... continue in this temperature and "I will vomit you out of my mouth!" (Rev: 3:16)

I was thinking about tepid, lukewarm, and even vomit! They all have one thing in common ... they're each the temperature of flesh! The temperature of man.

There are plenty of Churches today who's thermometer is set at that comfortable flesh setting everyone enjoys ... lukewarm!

Even thinking about Holy fire bothers us.

It's no secret that God's desired temperature for His Church is Red Hot! Fire hot! After all, His Church started in flames (Acts: 1:1-4)

Isn't it time we let the Lord re-set the thermostat in His

Churches ... and learn to enjoy a new Holy heat wave!

Amen?

GOTCHA!

What is it you and I cant live with or can't live without? The answer is simple;

Its gravity!

Gravity binds us to earth and that's fortunate as there would be countless multitudes of us floundering in space along with rocks boulders and space junk, Gravity's job is to pin us to earth and for sure, gravity is determined to plant us there too.

Today, at 84, it seems a gallon of water weighs more than it did when I was twenty. Gravity power seems to increase the older we get. We may fight gravity for a while but the victor will ultimately be ... gravity.

Who of us will escape its influence alive?

As the years slowly pass, our bodies gradually show the effect of the 24/7 gentle and constant pull of gravity. From jowls and skin that hangs, to bulging varicose veins, even boobs; as we age everything starts to hang!  The body slumps into that old man 'S' shape.

At home we sit quietly in our easy chair; each day finding it more difficult to get the old body up and going. 

Ah Gravity, indeed you'll get the last laugh.

LITTLE ONE EYE

Osvoldo is too little to lose an eye. He was only two. But he did, and they called on us for help, and we helped on his surgery and new eye. The family of six were so thankful. Teresa particularly.

The months have passed now and the father lost his job; things got worse inside their one room shack and he just couldn't take it, so from alcohol it went to drugs and then to hard drugs. Soon he sold the big bed that several of them slept in, then it was the little T.V then their propane stove ... what's next? What's left? Now they are all sleeping on the floor and mom's cooking outside using the paper and wood she finds as fuel. No schooling for the kids any more. Teresa's shy, she didn't ask us for help. How would you walk away from a situation like that?

Does this paragraph of text above frustrate you?

The story, which is much more than just text; frustrates us too! Do we get this family another bed? Will he sell it too? A new stove? Will he sell it? How do we help? One thing for sure ... they need food! And schooling.

We always appreciate your prayers as we enter situations like this. We need ... Compassion! Understanding, Wisdom! ... and yes, money!

Dust

Our young Church was a small group of people and just starting to grow; we held our meetings in a neighborhood house. Mr. and Mrs. Stringer's home hosted the Church. Their living room was the sanctuary while the bedrooms and back-yard played their part as the Sunday School areas.

One afternoon I was sitting in the Rosenberger's home talking with Eileen while nonchalantly doodling/fingering in the dust on the magazine table in front of me. When I realized what I was doing I became embarrassed. Admittedly their home always looked a little unorganized and a bit dusty ... it looked like it was lived in.

Eileen worked as part time secretary at an aircraft company. Bob her husband was a mechanic. They had two young children; one of their children was handicapped. Both Eileen and Bob were super active in our church. Eileen was the church secretary, a Sunday school teacher, Choir director, church pianist, a youth sponsor and my secretary as Youth Worker. Bob was active in other areas including teaching a Sunday-School class. On special church occasions, like a Church work-day, Eileen and Bob would be in charge of preparing the food for all workers.

Did the family suffer for its dedication? No, the Rosenberger family was healthy and happy. The kids? They turned out fine.

That dust on the table taught me a lesson in priorities.

Bob and Eileen had their priorities right and their priorities didn't include a super neat and clean house here on earth.

FIVE DOGS AND A MAN

I've seen some dumb things in my life, this must fit into the top five. A few days ago I drove slowly past a man taking five dogs for a walk. Five very different dogs. He was actually trying to take all five dogs, each with a leash, on one walk. Not one of the dogs seemed to be a follower.

Watching this canine circus was worth slowing down.

Here was a guy actually trying to walk these dogs of different sizes and agendas in one direction. You could tell the man was being pulled ahead by a large and determined lead dog, the man was stumbling a bit; the larger dog was strong and the leash tight! Now as luck would have it the last dog was a small white poodle with the longest leash. Follower he was but not a willing follower! The poor little thing was being dragged along at the lead dog's speed. The other three dogs were busy with their own agendas excitedly sniffing and peeing in the bushes. As I watched in my rear view mirror, the poor man was being engulfed in a web of intertwining leashes. Each leash teaching a different lesson.

Up until that time I thought herding cats was the impossible task.

DON'T WORRY PAPA, I WON'T DIE

Both father and mother were hugging and kissing little Maribel before she was wheeled into the Operating Room. As she was being prepared to go in, they saw a young man being wheeled out; his face was covered. He died during surgery and he was the doctor's first patient that morning; Maribel was next. When Maribel and her mother and father saw the corpse being wheeled out with his face covered, her father broke down in tears. Maribel the was next surgery, and the little girl was due for a critical six-hour operation.

Even though she was a little scared, Maribel looked at her father and said "Don't cry Papa, I won't die, I promise you I'll wake up. You can look in my eyes when I come out, they'll be open, I'll be awake, I promise you ... don't cry!"

With that she was wheeled into surgery.

Hortensia visited her today in Intensive Care where Maribel told her the whole story. She even asked her father to read her little "Yellow Book," a book of kids devotionals that Hortensia gave her in the Thursday Bible Studies.

Hortensia met the doctors too. They told her how thrilled they were that things went so well. Her heart is still on the wrong side but they hooked up vessels and veins and rearranged things so that she will be able to walk to school and even run. She won't have to ride her mother piggy-back any more!

Praise God, the doctors, and all of you who prayed!

We're happy too. The Doctors told Hortensia that the Hospital cost and the doctors fee would have run the family about $50,000.00 and the intensive care room she is in is costing about $3,000.00 a day! Money this family couldn't possibly pay.

We invested about $1,000.00 in keeping her Government Social Security monthly insurance payments up, as her father was out of work. The gamble paid off big time!

Maribel now has a new life!

PROMISES, PROMISES, ALWAYS PROMISES

In my ministry through the years I've met more than my share of promisors, and believed their promises ... I'm not looking for promises anymore but performance. May I meet more Christian performers!


My word is the foundation stone of my character as your word, as a believer, is the foundation stone of your character.

I learned early in life, a lesson from my non-believing father.

He was from Germany. He was aristocracy. He was a German Baron. He was a man! The word "von" is a title; and in a name, means aristocracy. He was trained as a youth to be a "gentleman."

One day I remember him complaining at having to sign for something in the bank. "Why can't they simply take my word for it?," he asked me. "In Germany we had a gentleman's agreement, we would give our word and shake hands on it. If it was ten dollars or fifty thousand dollars, it was the same. Our word was our word!"

I never forgot that.

He was not a Christian, but he was radical about his word. I appreciated that. He had an integrity about him.

He didn't make excuses, because he didn't have to ... he kept his word. He taught me that reasons were OK ... but excuses were unacceptable!

We would assume that if some in the secular world held such high standards, why those of us calling ourselves Christians wouldn't hold ourselves to the same or higher standards.

As the Scripture says; "Let your yes be yes and your no be no." Simple as that! (But then again, that's only Scripture.)

Solution? Think before putting mouth in gear!

Disappointments come as the result of unrealistic expectations. It's a shame that too often we find ourselves disappointed by believing our brother's promises.

"Let your yes be yes and your no be no!" Matt 5:37

A LITTLE CHRISTMAS LIGHT WENT OUT

Wednesday night, after our activity, little ten year old Mida came to me with her cute smile and presented me with a copy of her school grades. All A's and B's! I give the kids that do well in school a little reward, so I pulled out a few dollars and handed her the reward, her smile widened; she said "thank you" and rushed out in the darkness to her home to show her mom. It was just a part of the cold nights activity and I didn't think much about it, but that was the last time I would ever see Mida again.

Yesterday, Christmas Eve night, I met with the family around her little table top memorial.

Friday night the family and Kevin their cousin and his mother jumped into their old beat up car and headed south for Christmas with their relatives. About an hour into the trip the front tire blew out and the car ended up rolling down the canyon. Miraculously no one was hurt bad, but where was little Mida? The accident had taken her life.

When a child dies it's so sad. When a child dies near Christmas it makes the picture even darker. Family devastated.

All we could do is express our condolences.

We found the family hadn't eaten for a while, they were tired and were just going to go to bed. I had enough in my pocket to buy them all a chicken dinner, which they were happy to have.

Every Christmas Eve we cruse the cold black night through Tijuana's back country simply looking for opportunities to share, sometimes candy, sometimes blankets, in some places toys and in other places ... well, chicken dinner!

I'M JUST A LOSER

For the past few weeks, people by the thousands walked through the little forests of trees that suddenly appeared December. Everyone looking for that special tree that would do justice to the families Christmas. The special tree selected would be taken home, placed in the proper spot and adorned with shiny ornaments of color and love. Indeed, for a short time, an exalted part of the family.

But look at the difference a day makes.

On Christmas day I stopped by several of these little forests and looked at the remaining trees. A lonely spot indeed. I stood there giving it some thought.

These were the misfits, the rejected! These are the trees that stood there day after day hoping to be chosen. They tried but somehow they didn't make the grade. Didn't sell. There will be no burst of colorful glory for them. They lay unneeded and unloved.

Even though I'm far from a 'treehugger' and trees have no emotion; I couldn't help but feel sorry for the losers.

Trees are one thing; people quite another! God feels for the losers and rejected ... that's where His people enter the picture.

We might wrap that lesson into a New Years resolution.

THE DOCTRINE OF JESUS INCOGNITO

I drove to the market so that I could quickly pick up a few things for my missionary friends in Venezuela. They love tortillas, sauce and magazines. I was leaving for Venezuela the next day. I also had to speak to some teachers in Mexico that afternoon. (My subject was God's Love (I Cor 13) So I had a lot on my plate and time was ticking.

I pulled into the parking lot, parked, and quickly entered the market; in no time I was back out walking across the lot back to my car ... on a collision course with an older man on his walker. He was short, balding and had a sweet face.

The stranger stopped me. Looking up at me with a smile, "Pardon me, he said ... I'm a little tired and wondered if you could give me a ride to my house; it's just a couple of blocks down the street." He turned and pointed toward his house; the opposite direction that I was going.

Oh boy! How inconvenient! I looked at my watch and then ...

Looking at him, I did my best to explain that I really would like to help him out but that I was in hurry and going the opposite direction. I'm sorry I replied ... He interrupted and said "No problem, I'll just wait here and someone will help me out." He smiled.

I turned to head toward my car when suddenly, like a slap on the face, I got the message!

"VON! What are you doing?"

I turned again to the stranger and smiled telling him it would be "no problem; I'll take you." Of course he hesitated and said he understood I was in a hurry and didn't want to be a bother.

Well, we began walking to my car, ever so slowly! I opened the car door and got him in the seat, folded his walker up and placed that in the car.

As we drove through the parking lot he directed me to his house a short distance away. I pulled over, parked and helped him out and helped place him on his walker facing him toward his home.

He started walking, then stopped, turned around and said "Thank you so much! God Bless you" ... and gave me a wink!

I'll never forget his thanks and even more the wink he gave me! I feel to this day it was a Divine moment."

"In that you have done it to the least of these, you have done it unto me." Matt 25:40

Jesus Incognito.

MY OH MY, WHAT'S WRONG?

The pundits, like chickens, are cackling again. The school shooting in Connecticut this morning seems to puzzle them! Why do these things happen? Why does it seem violence is increasing? What oh what should we do?

The questions themselves tend to prove how dumb these intellectuals are ... they cant see the forest for the trees.

These media pundits might take a look at the most popular movies, most popular games, and hot Internet subjects. With too many male teens today ... prison dress is lauded, bad is good, evil is hot, skull and cross-bones a popular symbol! Killing, murder, robbing, gang rape ... just simple perverted fun! Ah, Gangdom, that's where the real men hang.

Guns? Remember, weapons are male, guns are macho! Guns kill, and killing is male.

Fantasies tend to develop into reality; evil fantasies are no different.

Isn't it apparent that the increasing evil we are ingesting will play out real-time in our society? "Apparently" not!

Fueling young disoriented minds with evil will bring evil ... (Simple logic!) and deeper than that, is the fact that most of our young people have no real purpose or honorable goal.

Speaking of evil goals. I'll bet somewhere in America there are several perverted teens making plans to top today's shootings and make a name for themselves.

God left the stage long ago ... we pretty well deserve the show we have! Pull the curtain ... next act to follow!

HEAD FIRST

We all knew Francisco. A neat little kid who always came to our big shower days and regularly attended our Bible Club. A tragic thing happened a few months ago. An accident threw him into a telephone pole head first, crushing his skull. His father took him to the Red Cross more dead than alive, where they quickly started surgery.

The Doctors told his family that while they were operating on him, he actually died twice on the table. As a result of his accident he has lost an eye, the full movement of his right arm and has a large ugly dent (depression) in his skull, where only thin skin covers his brain. Thank God for a real miracle, his mind is O.K.

Francisco is now a twenty year old. When I first saw him I couldn't recognize him until I asked him to turn his head.

His family contacted us few weeks ago to ask for help in getting a plate put into Francisco's skull. We know them to be honest and very poor. (Father goes to the cemeteries and sings for funerals getting a little money from tips.) The estimated cost of the operation at the General Hospital would run over $1,000 dollars. Very inexpensive by our standards but an impossible cost for them. Tijuana's General Hospital is inexpensive, but for years has a very bad reputation

We said we would help if they could come up with most of the money. They begged and borrowed all the money they could from friends and relatives and came up with about $600.

Today we assured them that we would help make it happen. Francisco gave me an especially tight hug for his "Christmas present."

He wants to be normal so bad.

He's a little afraid of the coming surgery and for good reason. Recently Tijuana's General Hospital has been rocked by a scandal. They have been accused of letting some of their patients die then selling their body parts to more affluent Hospitals in Mexico.

Francisco and his family would appreciate your prayers.

LATE NIGHT TIJUANA CIRCUS

Sunday night I was in Tijuana teaching the little kids at an orphanage by the beach, the teens were into a major soccer game on T.V.

Sunday was to be a long night getting back home; Alas, I never made it!

You see Sunday night, the XOLOS, a popular Tijuana football team, won the country's Championship and I was blissfully unaware of what was about to happen.

The XOLOS won and the TOLUCAS lost, so what?

Well, here’s what!

Upon the XOLOS winning; every Mexican in Tijuana that had a car that ran, got in his car, rolled down the windows, packed his car with friends and beer, and headed out to the road with flags flowing ... driving nowhere, just honking horns, waving flags. People standing on the sides of the cars, on the hood and on the roof! Screaming and exchanging beers. Colorful. Noisy. (Some people were in Pajamas.)

Tijuana’s four lane roads quickly became five lane roads ... stoplights were optional ... all the cars forming a giant and real long parking lot. A cop at every corner sending everyone back around. Not only are cops crooked here but they are also incompetent.

Thousands who didn't have a car were on the streets waving their flags. And me, I just wanted to get across the border.

No one knew where they were going or apparently cared. After about an hour of this craziness and noise, I slowly cut in and worked my way to the right and close to a hotel, then darted in their driveway.

Free!

I got out of my car; tired, "old", in my dirty work clothes and wearing flip-flops, and ever so slightly "pissed-off" ... and to make matters worse, it was a classy four-star Marriott Hotel. Well, $115.00 later my car was safely parked and I was in a quiet room for the night.

I returned home this morning with a light pocketbook, better attitude and in a somewhat sane environment.

Home-alone! Ahhh ...