DOGGIE WALKERS

I live in a Condo, one in a large number of identical, status quo and politically correct condos. From my kitchen window I can see the street and walk ways. Green lawns, trees and bushes;

I have it all.

The only people action I see is dog walkers. People out walking their dogs ... and from time to time dogs out walking their owners. I walk the bay a couple of times a week and there I see more dog walkers.

Then there are the professional dog walkers taking up to six ... repeat, six dogs at a time. Chihuahuas to Dobermans old and young. These serious dog walkers and dogs generally walk slowly with a group of frustrated dogs on tangled leashes.

Oh yes! Professional walkers with their white rubber gloves and large doggie bags ... waiting for, and hoping for, the inevitable.

Now there are types. Dog types, people types and combination types.

Humans seem to want to get on with the walk while their "best friend" on the other hand ... well, he is interested in sniffing. Sniffing the grass, Sniffing the sidewalk. Sniffing the trees and bushes. Every dog is sniff oriented ... ranging from the short quick hurried sniffs to the long and thoughtful sniff.

The long thoughtful sniffer is most often jerked into reality by his owner

Some committed dog walkers are out for the walk, literally dragging their poor mutt behind ... sad and sniffless!

I notice many of the dogs today, unlike their owners, are de-balled, de-clawed, and de-flee-d ... but still happy as if they had good sense!

Doggie walk! Yipee. Sniff time! Pee time!

Yesterday I saw a sad sight. A very determined dog walker was leading his dog ... now I'm talking leading! His little dog was obviously a “has been” ... that is, he was once a male.

One thing a male or former male dog just has to do is pee on things. I mean it's in him and it's gotta get out! If something is pee-able, he will pee on it.

Sad sight ... nothing more pathetic than a dog on three legs, rear leg held high being dragged while peeing. He was hopping along on his three little legs peeing irresponsibly everywhere. Peeing in places no dog had ever pee'd on before!

Canine humiliation! Thoughtless canine cruelty!

THOSE HELD IN THE BLACK HOLE OF HELL

Admittedly we go where few go and reach down into pockets of filth! Human Jetsam! Interacting with those living in urine and vomit splashed alleys among scattered needles, bottles and old plastic sacks of paint and contact-cement.

People that come alive at night.

A smelly, dirty collection of people that no one wants to associate with, and for good reason. Who wants to invest in losers? Who wants to sow seeds in this weed patch? ... and who wants to support people who do?

Why do we go to this undeserving segment of society?

Why?

For God's sake! As Christians our light and ministry of love is meant to penetrate the darkness through the credibility earned by association with these people.

In the dark, where lights belong!

We aren't always accepted. We aren't always loved. Love and respect are earned and it isn't always easy.

And more than that, it takes time.

One thing for sure, Christians are not called to be a light seated corporally forming a candelabra of incredible divine wattage under a cross.

Indeed there needs to be a time for "church"; there is a time for worship, for meetings and Bible study" BUT there is a time that we Christians should simply BE THE CHURCH; His people scattered like salt among the world ... scattered like lights in the darkness.

God's random, yet Divine method. A method that still puzzles Theologians.

Sounds a little like the Believers back in the Antioch days. in those days Believers didn't hide in a building waiting for "seekers" ... somehow they were taught that the Church was them. (Acts 26:28)

The world could see the difference because it was obvious. And our name "Christian" began.

It's time again, that the world sees Christians in action.

I FOUND A SON I DIDN'T KNOW I HAD.

Sometimes you become a father and don't even know it ... now that doesn't sound right does it?

Follow me on this.

I saw Oskar walking up the narrow street in Grupo Mexico and pulled over to say "Hi." He smiled, came over to the car leaned into the window ... and we talked.

He wanted to thank me for being his father image and for the attention I had given him. I was the male he targeted. In his early life he had many "step-fathers" as his mother had many boyfriends. Who his actual father was, he didn't know.

When I first met young Oskar he was living on a dry hillside in a little one room shed of squalor. Small, no windows, and, of course trash. He was taking care of his little brother who stood there looking at me. His pampers were loaded and he was dirt from head to toe.

But Oskar was just a kid himself on "little brother" duty.

We became friends. He went to our Bible Club and came to camp.

One night I became his doctor. I remember that one well.

I was the last car left. We had finished our Bible Club program and I saw that the doors were locked, generator off, lights out. It was very dark as I began to pull out and head for home.

A few neighborhood teens, gang members, stopped me and they were holding young Oskar. It was dark but by my lights I could see Oskar bleeding and crying a bit.

"Hey, von" one teen yelled. "Oskars hurt!"

It seemed that he was running around in the dark with some of his friends and caught his eye-lid on the barbed-wire and it cut the eyelid completely across and the top part of his eyelid was just hanging.

Oh boy! What do you do in a situation like that? Take him to the Mexican Red Cross? Those intern doctors would ruin the kids eyelid. He really needed a specialist. A plastic surgeon. No way at that time of night to get a specialist in Tijuana!

Time for a quick prayer and common sense.

I grabbed a flashlight, tube of Neo-Sporin, some Kleenex and we went to Oskar's house. He was twelve, a Mexican and he didn't cry much.

Oskar's mother opened the door and looked a bit startled. "Where'd his bed" we asked. Oskar's bed was an old door in the corner with a blanket over it. We laid the boy down. I found another blanket and fashioned it like a pillow and told him to just relax and close is eyes. His mother was holding the candle.

(No electricity in all of Grupo Mexico at that time. )

Wetting some Kleenex I carefully washed around the bad eye and very carefully pushed his torn eyelid up to butt against his top eyelid. Held it for a short time. It stayed there. It held! PTL!

I told his mother to stay there and watch all night while he slept, in case he would move around or place his hand to his eye as he slept. It was not to be touched, his head was not to move!

As I look back ...

I hadn't washed my hands. The water was Tijuana tap water. No gloves. No antibiotics. Candle light.

Just God.

I left with a prayer that Oskar's eyelid would heal. Driving home I fought my doubts.

It worked! Today you can't even see a scar.

Oskar's a Christian. He has a wife and son and a small business there in Groupo and still has that wonderful smile.

Nice to stop and get thanked by a "son" I didn't know I had.

ORPHAN'S SHOES

Last night at the orphanage I sat on the bed while Gabriel, four, was putting on his pajamas. I grabbed his bare foot and tickled it, he laughed and pulled it away.

I tried helping him put on his socks, but he pulled his foot away and said "I can do it!" and he slowly and sloppily put both of his socks on ... four year old style.

Then he handed me his shoe.  Now that was a challenge he couldn't muster. And I found out why. His shoelaces were all knotted up, and it took a while for me to un-knot the shoe laces.

He watched me rather impatiently.

Then it was time to get his foot and sloppy sock into this small shoe. Force balanced with patience.  Indeed this was a double challenge. His foot just didn't want to go into the very small shoe, I stretched the shoe and widened it, pulled the tongue up and finally forced his foot into it. The second shoe seemed to go on a bit easier ... then I re-tied both shoe laces. He stood up, looked at me, smiled and he was off ... doing things a four-year old boy in P.J's does!

PEPE IS GETTING A NEW BODY!

Here he is sitting happily in "his new body" a card-board prototype!

Oh, how I wish I could give him a real new body ... hopefully God will give him his new body in the future. (Pray for this.)

This is a cardboard mock-up body ... hopefully, little by little, we'll turn it into a cute little car (Blue) with lights and a horn. (He steers it by push-buttons.) This card-board body will sit on his little moveable platform.

I just wanted to see how it fit him.

He likes his MP ... moveable platform. It fits a small boy in a small room. He can spin it in a circle, and that helps.

I first met Pepe about eight years ago, in Zona Norte. Hortensia took me to visit him. Their home (or room) was almost as small as baby Pepe. Just one small, dark room.

When I saw the baby, I knew there was something terribly wrong ... but we could do nothing about it.

I remember when he was about seven ... when the doctors told him he would never walk. No, he would never play football. He would never be a normal boy.

He was depressed for days.

But Pepe bounced back.

I remember him learning how to slowly write and draw. Ever so slowly. But he persisted.

I remember when he excitedly told me he won a dance contest in school ... Dance contest? "Yeah, watch," and he jerked around and beat his legs to the rhythm of the dance music.

I guess dance is just how you look at it.

And the time he told me he could run? Run? "Yeah, watch me" ... and he rolled fast across the floor ... and popped up with a big smile.

Yesterday he didn't want us to carry him into his bedroom, there was about a nine inch step up to the bedroom ... "watch! I'll get up myself" ... and he did!

Pepe hasn't a lot of body ... but he has a lot of guts.

And a big smile!

P.S. Here are a video of Pepe playing in his cart ...

TOO MUCH OF A GOOD THING?

If I'm trying to compensate my failure to DO THE WORD, by reading and studying even more of The Word, am I not deceiving myself and placing myself in jeopardy of Divine judgment?

If I know the word, yet fail to act on what I know ... how is knowing more and yet doing less, going to benefit His Kingdom? It isn't.

Isn't it strange that His mandate can some how get to the head and even to the heart ... yet never filter down to the feet?

Am I not condemning myself by gaining more knowledge that I fail to act on? Will I indeed be judged by that very knowledge?

Can I compare knowledge to fuel? What's the reason to store fuel if I don't intend to use it?

There was more than one reason God said to the Israelites, "Don't store the manna!"

Eat and share.

More schooling, more degrees, more study, more and more knowledge.

Libraries and bookstores are full of Bibles and great Christian books, yet the streets show no sign of God.

Bookstores and libraries and are full of Bibles and great Christian literature and DVD's, a mega-potential of light! Yet the streets are still full of darkness.

Churches, it seems, are on every corner, yet the streets are still void of hope.

Christianity is spelled out on the streets, by "doers of the Word."

It seems the physical dimension of Spiritual Christianity, is woe-fully missing the streets of life.

Wasn't Jesus a man of the streets?

The Church started when it spilled out on the street, or am I missing something?

Was not "Christian" actually coined on the street, by the people in the streets of Antioch as they watched Believers doing the Word?

Believers doing God's Word outside.

"Be doers of the Word, not "knowers" only" ... Jesus brother James spelled it out in his short book. "James 1:22"

Divine perversion?

Could perversion be knowing more and more of the truth, benefiting from that truth and loving the Truth Giver ... yet unwilling to exercise that truth outside ...

• Knowing Love, yet not doing love?
• Knowing compassion, yet not doing compassion?
• Knowing grace, yet not expressing it?
• Knowing forgiveness, yet not forgiving?

Therefor, the challenge today is getting our feet to the street! After all what are my feet there for?

THE ECHO OF STATUS QUO

Many, if not most of the Christian leaders today seem to be content to take Christianity as it is, for what it is, and worse, for where it is.

Is today's level of Christianity worth building on? ...

Planning, building and working on the existing sand of Status Quo. Seldom does anyone question where Christianity should be, or for that matter where the Church should be ... or could be.

The truthful answers to these questions are uncomfortable indeed.

I feel we have done a great disservice to true Christianity by accepting "Status Quo" as our norm and working from there.

It seems that we're quietly adapting to reality by changing our definition of heat and remaking our spiritual thermometers; It's much easier scratching out the old Biblical increments and changing them so that tepid reads hot?

If indeed, Godly "hot", is an un-reachable goal why not change the increments to read more realistically.

It seems the Churches have already re-set their thermostats to comfort! The temperature most want.

How many times have I've heard "Don't with the church thermostat!!!"

Good question. Why keep stretching toward the call, if I'm never going to attain to it?

Lets be realistic and adjust to lukewarm reality ... as we look around we can find loads of cold Believers, and warm ones too, and the "lukewarm".

But let's be honest where are there any hot Believers today? Where are the Believers with a burning passion for God? Where are the Believers who are out doing it?

The movers and shakers!

Where are the lighted Believers who are recklessly running into darkness to illuminate the truth?

Believers are doers of the Word! I want to be out there doing it to the max, until God says ... "Time up!" May I be hot ... until my body turns cold. You don't find thermostats in ... caskets!

NOW I'M A MAN

Every kid grows up wanting to be an adult. Kids consciously and sub-consciously study the behavior of adults. I remember little girls in my neighborhood dressing up like "Mamas" trying to walk in a pair of mother's big shoes, with mama's dress and sometimes jewelry. Boy's dressed up like "Daddies" finding father's shoes and coat a little too big, but ... Oh! And a lunch pail.(Daddy went to work.) Of course that was way back when there were homes, Mama's and Daddies and you even knew who they were.

Today it's so different.

Have you ever thought about this ... If a kid actually acts like an adult, before he is an adult, he is castigated and on occasion imprisoned. This creates a rather frustrating and confusing environment for teen wannabe adults.

It reeks of hypocrisy.

Wow! At the magic age we can enjoy the vices and drugs reserved for adults and not feel guilty.

Until then ... mom and dad will say ... "Honey, your too young to use the "F-word," next year it will be O. K., you'll be eighteen". "You know better Bobbie, no beer or whisky, your really too young, wait a few years, remember your father and I are adults". "Johnnie, you know you're not to be looking at porno, you're simply too young, you'll enjoy it more as adult." "Bruce, what are these condoms doing in your pants? ... remember your only twelve. Now be careful "

Adult language, adult toys, adult shoes, adult videos, adult games, porn, all off limits to a long line of impatient wannabe adults.

Especially the years of teens standing there full of hormones with their tongues hanging out ... ready for adulthood; and mature vices.

Mom and Dad handle it something like this: "Now Jeanie, when you get older you'll learn to use vice ... well ... responsibly, until that time you'll just have to wait. Sorry honey."

Being adult today pretty well centers around what we used to call vises. Immorality!

Vice in our world is the starting increment of adulthood. Vice becomes legal at the magical age of eighteen.

It seems too much to ask for us Christian adults to display a maturity as a virtuous end. Adult behavior that would highlight wisdom, character, honor, loyalty, humility ... Oh and lest I forget, modesty. (The other day I saw a fourteen year old girl in a bathing suit that would make a stripper blush!)

I can hear the kids now ...

Wow! I'm eighteen and now I can open the adult door and enjoy all the vices! Life become the trinity of alcohol, sex and party.

We're doing a great job with our kids!

ME, MYSELF AND I

Well, my body and I got of to a bad start this morning. I thought we were going out for exercise but my body simply said "No!"

From time to time my body and I have our disagreements. The direction we take tends to be a matter of who out shouts who. My body seemed more determined then ever.

It seems the more years we spend together, the more diverse our thinking. Sometimes I think we're becoming strangers.

"What do you mean no?" I asked my body. "Well," my body replied, "I'm simply too old to do what you're asking of me! Von it's time you realized how dumb this is! You don't see other 80 year olds out exercising, walking in a cold wind, doing push-ups and chin-ups; that's just plain nuts!" My body continued on it's tirade passionately pushing the virtues of a more sedentary goal.

"For example, look around at other 80 year old bodies, they're sitting in a big warm comfortable chair watching T. V. and munching chips. That's what I want to do at this age. It's only reasonable"

"Von, think retirement!"

My body had a point, and I was duly tempted. "What's wrong with doing what everyone else does? Give in. Give up!

But TA-DA!!!

I Pushed my feelings aside, and countered with a reasonable argument. "Hey body! Look at what these "couch potatoes" look like. Bald, bloated and fat! Contented and constipated!"

I won.

I followed my body out the door and we did our thing!

DOES THIS PHOTO ELICIT PITY:

The older I get the more I think of pity or compassion as an emotion that is gradually fading away from our Christian ethic. I wonder if this is true or maybe just my observation. Is compassion or the willingness to pity seen as a weakness or maybe an irresponsible emotion in the black and white world of reality?

Maybe it's that the ability or tendency to pity tends to makes me vulnerable to an action or giving I really don't want to commit to?

Can the ability to emote become calloused in time or because of experience? Am I protecting myself against compassion ... against pity? Have I, in time, developed a defense mechanism against pity and the obligation it may present?

I struggle with compassion, it doesn't come natural to me.

We have to admit Jesus, our example, was quite literally "moved" by His compassion. That is His actions were often the result of pitying.

His teaching on the Good Samaritan highlighted a lesson on compassion to a small crowd of pitiless religious professionals; the smart Academics of the day.

Would it be right to expect true Christians to have pity and compassion as their strength rather than their weakness?

Compassion; the God given ability to empathize with the conditions or feelings of others less fortunate.

Compassion; love in action. True compassion demands some kind of involvement.

Is compassion missing as the driving force of ministry? Should compassion be the heart of ministry? Is it possible to have a calling initiated and driven by compassion for others?

*Today, as in most days I'll drive past beggars. In my world there are many. I drive past the homeless without a concern; I in my comfortable car give them but a glance, looking at them simply as everyday objects; a visible part of a society gone wrong! I don't want to connect with their pitiable condition; for which I really can do nothing about? I can use one of a hundred good excuses ... responsible reasons why I can't afford them pity or give them a prayer ... or a coin.

By driving past them I am doing nothing wrong; but then I'm not doing right either.

It's a fact that there is someone watching from above ... and He's keeping score.

The Book of Life is but one of many in God's Library!

The History of my life and your life is being written each day.

*To be honest, above my sun visor in my SUV, I have a pocket full of dollar bills, just for such occasions.

LEARNING TO LIVE WITH VIOLENCE!

Common sense says: Kids raised in violence, whether actual violence or vicarious violence ... will perpetrate violence. Violent scenarios, violent environments become an attractive and exciting world for disoriented male children.

A perverted world.

Three powerful influencing screens are responsible for much of this; TV screen, big screen and tiny screens; all packaged to sell violence to eager young male buyers. Violent, exciting and attractive male actors and man images have become vicarious mentors to these confused “man hungry” young boys.

Most boys will grow up to be male ... too few will become men.

Boys that are born to be true men, often end up as angry and disillusioned male primates ... candidates for escaping reality.

This kind of kid grows up to become a smart and dangerous social predator.

To this predator violence ends up becoming a purpose ending in an exciting, though short, way of life.

Add dangerous drugs to the equation and you have an intense violence that is hungry for blood, anguish and pain.

Death ultimately becomes a high! And the 'trinity-creed' below becomes a reality!

As one good looking teen told me ... "I'm going to live fast, die young and make a good looking corpse!"

Unfortunately, society, instead of changing this scenario, has for the most part decided to live with it ... too many single moms unwittingly donate their son's to the Devil and his short term agenda. Heartbreak indeed.

Leave your kid alone, looking and interacting with the screen long enough and ... to know what your kid is looking at is to know what he's becoming.

YES SIR!

This evening it was interesting watching our President as he inspected the Texas border. He really got close to Mexico! Here is our President taking a look for himself to see, indeed, how effective his border guards are. Meeting with the top officers and supervisors, asking good questions, "checking with the troops!" "Petting the dogs."

"I want to see for myself!" "I want to know what's going on!"

I well remember when I was in the Army how the inspections went. Oh yeah! Whenever a general or big-wig would come to see the troops, we would get the word in advance and we would start to work getting everything clean and shiny, I mean CLEAN and I mean SHINY! Then, when the big occasion came, we would stand in formation ... waiting for the big-wig's to inspect us. Some times it would be a General, or sometimes a Senator or Congressman.

They would walk down the line of us soldiers and from time to time question us about the conditions we were living under. "Soldier, how is the food here?" "GREAT SIR!"

Could we tell them the truth? No way! Of course not! Not with our Sergeant looking at us.

Did our dear Leaders see the truth? No. Did they hear the truth? No. Did they see what they wanted? Yes. Did they hear what they wanted? Of course.

Just another expensive exercise in political futility. Just a game. Even us lowly soldiers knew the game ... and we fall for it every time!

WHAT WE NEVER TALK ABOUT!

There are three things my Christian brothers and sisters don't seem to know. Three important facts: (1) That Satan is the god of this world (I JOHN 5:19) & (EPH 2:2), (2) that we have an enemy and (3) we're in a war (EPH 6:12). Blissfully ignorant? Intentionally ignorant? ... I don't know, but ignorant we are!

It seems the American saints never talk about Satan or his strategy. Books or preaching; I don't hear of our enemy or warfare. If I didn't know my Bible and work the darkness, I guess I would be blissfully ignorant too.

The Bible tells us of Satan, his position and strategies. In fact our Bible warns us against being ignorant of his strategies (II COR 2 :11). Be alert the Bible says ... (I PET 5:8) ... Pray against Satan? I don't think so.

For some reason we keep this Biblical doctrine under wraps. I wonder what the reason could be? Speaking of the Devil, his demons, and demon possession just isn't ... well, politically correct for the church today.

We don't want to be seen as extremist ... yet few there are who are “extreme” on this subject.

One day when I Was talking with a “man of God”, I mentioned Satan ... he tensed up saying he felt that we shouldn't give the Devil “free advertisement.”

In the old days we used to sing a hymn, “Onward Christian Soldiers.” I tended to keep mum on that one ... it was just another song we shouldn't sing unless we believed it. Indeed where are the soldiers? Where is the enemy? Where is the war? What is our weapon? Just another inside the church-hymn.

It's apparent Satan has a different strategy for different cultures. The strategy he is using in affluent America is working well.

Like the hypnotic cobra, he has hypnotized the church.

We are kept in ignorance.

What have you heard about the war lately?

A ELEVEN-YEAR-OLD'S DOCTRINE ON PAPER

Monday morning I was sitting on Robert's bed at the orphanage and he was showing me some of his drawings.

He pulled out a page and gave it to me.

I was fascinated as I studied it. Robert is nine years old, and for some reason decided to visualize the doctrine he was taught. I studied the drawing as he watched, asking questions.

The large hand on the upper right is our Lord's nail scarred and bleeding hand with blood dripping down. Little things with wings flying up toward His hand are actually Christians dying and brought up into heaven.

Climbing the hard path up the right side of the mountains were pilgrims climbing some real hard areas. Christian pilgrims haven't an easy road.

Under the large mountain are the two different roads taking you two different directions. Decision please.

On the left are those non-believers on their pilgrimage trying to find God, they were met by lightening, fire and brimstone ... finally ending in flaming hell.

On the top of the mountain is glory of God and the cross of Jesus Christ.

~ Roberto

WALKING THE DOG

Every time I see someone walking their dog or dogs, I feel happy inside. Why? One or two more adults that have opted to have a pet rather than a child. Cheers! They'll love their little fuzzy four legged being they can hold, love and spoil rotten.

A little ball of loveable fuzz that will remain a controllable pet and never grow up to be a dysfunctional adult. Kid's need parenting, pets don't. Kids take a long haul commitment, pets don't. Kids need a mature family of two ... pets don't.

Most of us don't connect social problems, drugs, crime and killing ... with poor parenting of children who grow up to be problems ... almost as if they were two entirely different things. As adults today become more selfish and dysfunctional, I'm for them having more pets!

If a pet lover would rather pick up poop from their dog than change the pampers of a child ... so be it.

Buy a dog, man's best friend.

Pets are loyal and forgiving. They don't say "no!" nor do they sass you. Pets will never cause a scandal and they eat less food; pets medical services, though high, are nothing compared to a child's medical bills. It makes sense.

Coming from a lifetime working with boys here and in Mexico has convinced me that more adult couples should invest their love in pets rather then create babies they are unable or unwilling to parent properly.

Many making an eternal mistake!

It's easy to make a baby but it's quite another thing raising the child to become a healthy mature man or woman ... in Tijuana, I see more than my share of hungry unloved dogs running the streets, the heartbreak compounds when I also see hungry, unloved kids running those same streets.

Yesterday I asked a street boy about his mother ... he looked at me and said "I don't even remember her."

Bastards are the result of a man and woman simply breeding.

I used to think breeding was a term used for animals and limited to animals. The world in which I work has proven otherwise, breeding continues to grow and cause pain in the human race.

Suggestion, and I'm serious.

If you don't want to pay the price of being a good parent. Buy a doll, or get a pet, but, for the baby's sake, don't bring another human life, an eternal life, in this world unless you both know how to raise it right.

Tip! Good parenting is learned, not by books but by being successfully parented, if you don't know how to parent, in my opinion, don't try! We don't need another adult problem.

COMPASSION AND RESPONSIBILITY

There is an ongoing struggle in the true Christian's life between being "responsible" (The mind.) and showing compassion (The heart.)

Well, maybe I should say, there should be a struggle; in most cases there is no room for struggle in our formally educated minds ... reason and education trump compassion, as a deciding factor.

Compassion, mercy, grace ... not that important. You wouldn't want to base your life's decision on that weak trinity.

Being responsible is thinking wisely; making wise decisions. Compassion, on the other hand is but an emotion. A dangerous emotion, An uncomfortable emotion. Let's be responsible!

I've heard too much of this secular "responsible" babble.

At a prayer breakfast, I was talking about our ministry to the poor in Mexico with a Christian leader of my church. "Von, why do you go down and feed those people? They'll just multiply like rats." To this "man of god" ,I was wasting time and money ... I wasn't acting responsible.

I was visiting a missionary friend of mine in Bolivia working with a jungle tribe. This tribe was the last of it's kind. There were only seven people left. Through the years the rest of the tribe died off by warfare and disease. This missionary family was willing to invest ten or more years to learn the language and give these people the Gospel and a Bible and prepare them for the dominant society. When a Christian friend of mine listened to me talk of this man and his calling. He said, von, what a waste! Seven people? When he could stay here and preach to hundreds or thousands? My Christian brother saw this man as irresponsible in his decision.

We just can't conceive that God has a very different approach to reaching and converting man. He has a different scale and different increments. He has a different "method" ... His method is successful with permanent results. His way can't be improved.

I've heard all my life ... be responsible, make responsible decisions. Get your education first, be responsible. "Von, you're too big for your little church, move up, reach more people. ". .that would be seen as responsible Christian counsel

A missionary pastor in my church once said "von, we need to invest in church planters. Only missionaries that plant churches." What about missionaries who are called by almighty God to other missionary ministries? I.e. Sorry, God, we just don't see your Divine call as worthy of our support!

Let the man you called get his support somewhere else!

I see today's Christian's tending to make judgments based on secular judgments. Using secular increments. Being politically correct. That's today's 'responsible' way.

There is an apparent struggle with some, very few ... of us. A secular balance vs. a Divine balance ...

I note in the Gospels that Jesus seemed to be guided by love, mercy and compassion. He didn't seem to act responsibly. I see Him as not very efficient either, but always effective.

As I see it, Jesus acted on compassion.

My call, was a call of compassion! And that may not seem responsible to some, but so be it! My call is from God not man ... even well meaning "responsible" brothers.

If I am to err, and err I will, may it be on the side of Compassion and forgiveness.

DRIVING TIJUANA AT NIGHT

Every now and then there will be a mayhem Tijuana traffic knot. (A Mexican stand-off!) Night time vehicular mayhem formed by a sudden intersection created by two separate two lane roads (= four lanes) narrowing into two lanes.

It's tired time ... Night time; no signs, no lights, no love, no cops ... and no rules!

We all just want to get across the border and back home.

Yep! A "Mexican Standoff" where nice guys don't win.

Last night I had to drive into and thru one of those Tijuana Traffic Knots, and it wasn't pretty.

Four lanes of cars slowly and miraculously cramming into two lanes forming a constantly changing knot of eight or nine crafty and bullish drivers hitting at you from every side ... this forms the heart of the cram. Each determined driver is pushing the limit. Many of us actually working within a three or four inch margin.

We're all trying to gain and maintain a permanent place in line.

Cars with their side mirrors pulled in indicate an unusual determination.

A heavy old car and bluff is the name of the game. The stuff these winners are made of.

Add some alcohol and drugs and you can have a rather explosive traffic cocktail.

Timid losers finally pull off and go back thirty cars to start again, dreading the growing cram intersection ahead.

We could call this, automotive poker ... however there are no rules to this game.

An interesting point you learn fast, no eye contact with any other driver. You slowly follow, within inches, the vehicle in front of you ... letting no one even think of cutting in. All of us slowly and deliberately forging ahead.

I'll be honest, a nighttime challenge like this for an eighty year old can stress this old man out. Each Tijuana traffic jam knotted like this, leaves you sweating ... for there is no mercy!

SKATEBOARDS

America has had a ongoing thing about skateboards or skate carts for years. Today's skateboards are just that, a small board with four plastic wheels. In our day skateboards were just for kids. It's a little different now; today's skateboards are for kids forty and under.

Seems strange to me to see grown men zooming down the street on their skateboard. Whoopee!

What's so great about skateboards? Us old-timers invented them years ago.

All of us kids had 'em. We made our own ... a lot cheaper that way. Materials needed: One old fashioned metal clamp-on skate, a two and a half foot wooden 2X4, a small wooden fruit box ... some nails. And a lot of vision.

Our skateboards were rather simple to make. One half of a metal clamp-on skate with it's two metal wheels was nailed to the front of the board and the other two wheels were nailed to the back. On the front of our wooden skateboard we nailed the wooden box and on top of the box we nailed two handles. Stand with one foot on the board, lean over and take hold of the handles then scoot down the sidewalk with other foot. To steer we just leaned one way or the other.

Yeah, we were proud of our skateboards. I even had brakes on mine.

Of course our skateboards were different than today's slick agile and quiet boards, ours were more of a one-leg power vehicle built for our neighborhood sidewalk freeway system. They were loud and noisy ... just the way boys like them.

We shared our tools as money was tight.

We put everything we had into these skateboards; our money, our skill and even our reputation! Yep, we made it ourselves ... and you could be sure, it was made In The USA!

DIGNITY

Driving in Tijuana I slowed down in back of a line of slowing cars, then came to a stop. As I was waiting, a rather disheveled man approached me ... he was selling "chiclets" little boxes of gums.

I rolled down my window, grabbed a dollar from my sun visor and handed it to the man. Lots of beggars "selling" chiclets. This man appeared to me to be another beggar.

He took my dollar ... and offered me the gum.

I said "no thanks" and smiled. He said, "No, take it. It's yours." I replied, "No, I don't need any gum."

He said," Well, you bought it, it's yours." I smiled and said "thanks" and took the package of gums, "I'll give them to my kids."

He smiled, and went on to the next car to sell his gum.

I took this man to be just another beggar; he was really a salesman. When I realized I was wrong, I smiled and took the gums.

This man was poor indeed, but he was a salesman with his small micro-business. He had his dignity ... and who was I to strip him of that?

THE BOOGIE-MAN OF DARK!

If your house is well lit; on a dark night, walk over to your door to the outside, and open it.

Look closely and you will observe a profound truth.

When you opened the door to the outside, the light shined right out the doorway ... the darkness didn't prevent the light from shining out, nor did the darkness project back into your room.

Why?

Light trumps dark! Light always trumps dark.

Dark has no power. Light has power, light is power, light is energy.

Darkness is simply a paper tiger, by that I mean dark is simply the absence of light.

Light reveals truth while darkness covers truth. We, by our nature, prefer the dark. (John 3:19)

Light and darkness cannot co-exist at the same time, light dominates!

The standard of truth is comfortably hidden by darkness.

I'm called to be a light. (Matt.5:14) I'm called to shine in darkness. By my new nature I'm called to illuminate ... I do not fear darkness because it holds no power over me.

Conversely

Those in darkness are held bondage to their very darkness because they can't see truth. To them, light, like the truth it reveals, is painful and costly ... and they can say, "Walk in the dark as I am in the dark and we will have fellowship one with the other!"

The purpose of light is to conquer dark as ... We walk in The Light. (I John 1:5-7)