Would You Call These Feet Beautiful?

Rom 10:15 .... How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!


Names and faces aren't important in this blog. Romans 10:15 makes it very clear, the heart of this blog is the "feet". This picture was taken while Randy and I were in 8 weeks of training prior to entering the mission field. The feet you see belong to members who shared the same quad we lived in for those 2 months. During that period of time, we became like family. At the completion of the training session and commissioning service, it was time to say a difficult good bye once again.

Each one of us had attended all the classes, completed our assignments, joined in the worship services and we felt we were ready for the mission field. Everyone was anxious to leave for their place of service, but at the same time there was a little dread of leaving that place of peace and security we had called home for 8 weeks.

Since that time, all those beautiful feet have been scattered to the corners of the earth. Each unit or individual sent out to proclaim the gospel and bring glad tidings of good things. We have had the privilege of seeing some of these fellow servants of the Lord at various meetings since our time together in training. It is always a blessing to see them and have a time of sharing our stories. All of us have had very similar experiences of difficult times, joyous times and praises of how God has richly blessed. It's the same determining factor that keeps all these feet on the mission field: You must remember Your Call, Your Commitment...

Rom 10:13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
Rom 10:14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?
Rom 10:15 And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written,...

I am so thankful that Randy and I received the call and made the commitment. Please pray for us as we continue to keep our feet pressed toward the goal.

Consider The Lilies

Mat 6:28 And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
Mat 6:29 And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.

I took this picture early this morning while Randy and I were out prayer walking. When I saw these flowers it brought back precious memories. As a child growing up my parents always had beautiful flowers in our yard. As a matter of fact, we had the same purple flowers that are in this picture, my Mom called them "Sweet Williams".
I remember them being near our bedroom window. At night the breeze would carry their sweet aroma all through the house, it was wonderful.

God's creation is magnificent. As we continued our walk, we passed through the courtyard of an Orthodox Church. The courtyard was full of gorgeous flowers in full bloom. There were benches scattered along the path that meandered through the flowers. It was so tempting to sit down in the cool of the morning and just take in God's handiwork and listen to the birds singing so happily.

Mat 6:30 Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?

I can't even begin to imagine the love my Lord and Savior has for me. He cares for his creation, the birds of the air, the grass and the flowers; but oh, how much more he loves me. Each morning as we prayer walk, I'm thankful for the beautiful creation God has given us to enjoy, however I am much more grateful for his never ending and unconditional love.

The Beautiful Gate

Act 3:1 Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour.
Act 3:2 And a certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple;
Act 3:3 Who seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple asked an alms.
Act 3:4 And Peter, fastening his eyes upon him with John, said, Look on us.
Act 3:5 And he gave heed unto them, expecting to receive something of them.
Act 3:6 Then Peter said, Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.

Randy and I have passed this old gate several times during our prayer walking in the early morning hours. On each occasion we approach the gate, I can't help but spend several seconds gazing at it's beauty. Yes it's old, weathered and starting to show evidence of wear and tear from the elements attacking it constantly, but there is still beauty in the gate. It is one of my favorite sites in the city, not elaborate or elegant; but to my eyes and soul it is lovely. When I am standing at this gate, in my spirit of prayer; it is as though I am in a different location completely. For a short time, I have entered a place of refuge, peace and welcoming.

Act 3:7 And he took him by the right hand, and lifted him up: and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength.
Act 3:8 And he leaping up stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple, walking, and leaping, and praising God.
Act 3:9 And all the people saw him walking and praising God:
Act 3:10 And they knew that it was he which sat for alms at the Beautiful gate of the temple: and they were filled with wonder and amazement at that which had happened unto him.

I doubt that anyone has ever been healed at this gate on this little insignificant street in Galati. If it did happen, there certainly would be many filled with wonder and amazement.

Act 3:12 And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk?
Act 3:13 The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go.

The truth of the matter is the city of Galati is full of wounded, crippled and hurting people. I am not referring to the physical body, but rather to the spiritual condition. They are lost, eternally lost.

As children of God it is our responsibility to pray for the lost of this world. If we do not pray for them, they have no hope for salvation. The lost are in the same condition as the lame man in the scriptures above, he needed "fixed" spiritually and physically. Jesus Christ is the only one who can do that. We must be lifting the lost up in prayer to Our Heavenly Father for their salvation. We can never give up! Each time I pass this old rugged beautiful gate I'll be praying for the lost, please join Randy and me in prayer for the thousands lost in this city.

Marius and Mihai

Today Marius was out with Ene, Mihai and me as we were doing Share Jesus Without Fear on the streets of Galati. Marius tells of a meeting with two older men.

F.A.R.M. Team

We worked with the F.A.R.M. guys this week . That is far and away Roma missions. In the photo the two F.A.R.M. guys are Floin, in the red shirt, and Eni, in the white shirt in front. Eni was here last summer too.
They told Mihai that they were having trouble getting into new homes in the valley, so he started working with them after work. Marius, Unati, Costel, and I joined them on Wednesday and they have several people to visit now.





In this picture we had just finished giving Troy our reports after a couple of hours in zone 4, near the center of town. No more then everyone was done reporting in, then Mihai, Marius, and Unati were at it again Sharing Jesus Without Fear.
We had a good evening and have several visits to be made in this area as well.

Jewish Synagogue in Galati

The Jewish Synagogue


The Star of David on the Jewish Synagogue


Ten Commandments on top of the Jewish Synagogue

Luk 2:25 At that time there was a man named Simeon living in Jerusalem. He was a good, God-fearing man and was waiting for Israel to be saved. The Holy Spirit was with him
Luk 2:26 and had assured him that he would not die before he had seen the Lord's promised Messiah.

We have been told there are only a few men who attend the Synagogue in Galati. One of the men is a former neighbor of Troy's. Most of you are familiar with Sarah, also a former neighbor. As a matter of fact, many of you pray for Sarah on a regular basis. Sarah has lived well up into her 90s, she has lost her sight and has great difficulty hearing now days. A few of you from the team with LWBC visited with Sarah on one or two of your trips. Her health is failing, as to be expected, and there is doubt that she can comprehend what is being said to her. On one of the last visits that she did respond coherently, she made it clear her Messiah had not returned.

Randy and I are asking that you continue to pray for Sarah. The confusion and lack of comprehension she is experiencing is probably due to her age. Even Medical doctors are not sure how much is understood by someone suffering from a coma, this is not the case with Sarah. The Bible tells us that God's word does not return void. Pray that the Holy Spirit would speak to Sarah and that she would respond before it is too late.

Luke 1:18 Now this is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary was engaged to be married to Joseph. But while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant by the Holy Spirit. GNB
Luke 2:23 So they went and lived in town called Nazareth. This fulfilled what was spoken by the prophets concerning the Messiah: "He will be called a Nazarene." GNB

Strait is The Gate and Narrow is The Way

Mat 7:14 Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it KJV

A few weeks ago Randy and I were in Athens, Greece. Even down in the city there are many ruins still standing of the ancient city of Athens. Like so many times, different scenes bring scriptures to my mind. As Randy and I walked past the remains of an entrance to an old ruin, I thought of the gate. Making our way up the narrow street readily reminded me of "narrow is the way". Matthew 7:14 seemed to jump off the page when I looked again at these snap shots.

The heart gripping part of that verse is "and few there be that find it". As children of God, we are given the responsibility to do everything we can to help the lost find their way.

We live among people who are searching for something, they don't know what. They really are clueless as to what can bring them real joy, peace and security in this life. Please pray for Randy and I that we might be a lighthouse, putting forth a bright beam in order to help these precious people find the narrow way.