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Life is full of safety nets: life insurance, car insurance, social security, health insurance, airbags, yellow paint on curbs, brakes, seat belts, sunscreen, safety harnesses, flu shots, Christian radio “safe for whole the family”, anti virus protection, security alarm services…the list could go on and on. These are generally good and practical ways to go about life. But in this video, Francis Chan’s balance beam illustration reminds us that we need to also take risk for a fulfilling Christian life. We need to have courage and boldness. We can’t just hang on for heaven. We need to walk the balance beam of life and not cling to it as life gets hard.
How can I live a courageous life? By turning to the Bible for some insight, I ran across a few ideas in scripture:
1. God is with us but we still have to do the work. Do not be discouraged!
I Chronicles 28:20 “David also said to Solomon his son, “Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you…”
2. Have courage, but not with reckless abandon (be on your guard) with faith and love
1 Corinthians 16:13-14 “Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be men of courage; be strong. Do everything in love”
3. Ordinary people like us can have courage, and through our courage people will see Jesus
Acts 4:13 “When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.”
4. Speak boldly, which was part of a prayer. How often do we pray to speak God’s word with boldness?
Acts 4:29 “Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness.”
Let’s all pray for courage and boldness as we walk the balance beam this week. Pray for your family and friends, your minister, missionaries, and even yourself to have the courage to live out the Christian life.
by Ben Simms, Lifeline’s Executive Vice President and President Lifeline-Canada
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 Praises
Cuba
- Completed another great leadership seminar in Cuba last week. It is amazing to see the movement of the Spirit throughout the churches there. God’s kingdom is advancing despite the obstacles because His people remain open, willing and obedient.
- In a country where the church cannot own property and personal ownership has just recently been made available, the ministry in Cuba recently purchased a third home within a block of the main house. A neighbor recently approached Eduardo, the lead pastor in Cuba, out of the blue about selling their home. A team from the US just happened to be with him when he looked at it. The next week, an individual contacted Eduardo to say the Lord had told her to buy that house for them and that the money was on the way. Only God can do that.
El Salvador
- Details are coming together to allow us to send some additional food to El Salvador. In the past, the churches there have used this to express God’s love to the people.
Haiti
- Thank you and thank you again! You know who you are. We are about to take possession of the Isuzu box truck in Haiti, thanks to your prayers, donations, and as a result of selling a couple of old vehicles.
- Praises for people continuing to respond to the Homes For Haiti plea to “trash the tents” and get people out of those deadly tents in Haiti.
Honduras
- Awesome women’s trip to Honduras! It was a great group of women! The Ladies Day in Honduras was also amazing. The ladies decorated the church and classroom and even served a sit-down meal for approximately 400 women.
- The girls at the Omoa Children’s Home received some of the donated peanut butter, and are grateful to all who made this possible The girls baked delicious buckeyes and peanut butter cookies!
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Darwyn, Lifeline’s Director of Schools in Honduras, and several others had the opportunity to visit and share with the children in Zapotal, a community near San Pedro Sula which is similar to Ocotillo.
USA
- New churches are exploring short-term opportunities for their people. Pray for the conviction of those who feel this calling.
- The DeVoes are thankful for good health and good reports on exams. They are also thankful for the amazingly successful 4 work teams back-to-back they led and are now home for the holidays.
Photos:
Top set – father and daughter are baptized and the new (2008) vehicle for El Salvador
Bottom set – the girls at the Omoa Children’s Home bake peanut butter cookies; Darwyn with some of the children in Zapotal
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Prayer Requests
- Last week, Andy Sims met with Cuban officials and obtained specific steps that will enable Lifeline to have ongoing approval to ship containers of food there. We’ve already received approval from the US government. After working for years to get through the red tape created by the embargo, this is the closest we have ever been. Please pray that this is the final hurdle so that a container of food can arrive very soon.
- Erik Alvarado from Gonzales Christian Church (Honduras) was recently baptized. Please pray for him and for his new life in Jesus. (see photo on right)
- There are opportunities to travel on next year’s MEET trips. Pray that God will move on the hearts of those who are asked and open doors so they might travel to Haiti or Honduras as they seek “next steps” for their congregations.
- Pray for Dawn Springer’s surgery on her hand this week; there are multiple breaks. Dawn in the principal at Red Sands Christian School at the Navajo ministry in Arizona.
- Pray for the Navajo ministry in Arizona: that we would have favor with the Navajo Council and people and that God would lead a Navajo minister to us.
- Pray for Lifeline’s donated house in Indiana house to sell; it is on the market.
- Pray for a great International Conference on Missions in Kansas City this week. Ben, JD, Andy, Keith, Christi, Brian and Barb will be representing Lifeline. Pray that we’ll get to see many Lifeline supporters and connect new churches to ministry opportunities, along with networking with other missionaries and mission groups.
- We need more churches to host Child Sponsorship Drives. Pray that this Christmas will be a time of connecting to those who have such great need. Contact Erma@Lifeline.org if you are interested in hosting a drive.
- Eduardo, the lead pastor in Cuba, will have surgery this week to remove a fatty tumor from his back. Pray that the surgery goes well, that no malignancy is found, and for complete healing.
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 People, Programs or Projects: Harvest of Talents
by Audra Norman, work team participant and volunteer
The season of harvest is a wonderful time of year for so many reasons! Colors change, farmers in the fields, high school football kicks in to high gear, and the body of Christ comes alive at Grinnell Christian Church in Grinnell, Iowa! It’s this time of year that we particularly look forward to after working so hard all year round preparing for Harvest of Talents.
Originally, Harvest of Talents began at Lincoln Christian Church in Lincoln, Illinois almost 30 years ago. They believed from the beginning that they could, as a church and community, make a difference for world hunger. So birthed from that dream was an event that encompassed so many different avenues of creativity and talent that they decided to name the event Harvest of Talents.
When the country of Haiti was devastated by Hurricane Dean in 2007, the idea was to replicate a similar event at Grinnell Christian Church to help support Lifeline in their relief efforts to help the people of Haiti. With the event being such a success the first year, raising over $7,000, it was quickly decided to make Harvest of Talents an annual event with all proceeds going to support Lifeline.
Harvest of Talents is just that…a harvest of the talents of God’s people, and it’s all for sale! There is nothing store bought about this! The committee finds people who are willing to donate a talent of some kind to be auctioned or sold to raise money for Lifeline. In just 6 years, Harvest of Talents in Grinnell has raised over $87,000 for Lifeline! We have been blessed to gift Lifeline with relief supplies after hurricanes and earthquakes, eye equipment for their Eye Clinic, a Nissan truck to help deliver relief and home building materials, a playground for the new Children’s Home in Grand Goave and finances to help continue the building process of the Children’s Home.
We love working with Lifeline as they help give us an idea of a specific goal each year to work towards. We have found that our body of believers and community can relate to that and find it more tangible to know what they are giving to specifically. In conjunction with Harvest of Talents, are the Poweshiek and Jasper Counties area-wide peanut butter and shoe drive spearheaded by Phyllis Van Es.
Also in conjunction with Harvest of Talents is First Fruits. We created this program so that our community farmers can be a part of Harvest of Talents even while they are in their combines in the fields. Farmers can donate any amount of bushel toward Harvest of Talents as their “first fruits” and it will specifically get put toward building a home for a needy family in Haiti. First Fruits has built 2 homes so far, with now a third on the way all because they designate some soy, corn or grain toward Harvest of Talents! It’s so easy and the farmers feel and know that they are giving to a worthy cause. A few of our farmers were able to see these 2 homes in Haiti firsthand this past July, and it meant so much to them to know that their grain and their work harvesting it made a kingdom difference in the lives of several Haitians!
A day at Harvest of Talents is truly a beautiful picture of what the body of Christ looks like and how it operates. We have people using their gifts and serving in so many different areas, to first give God glory and then using them to help raise money for a great cause. We have people volunteering in every aspect whether in the kitchen or for the H.O.T. Trot 5k or the Kiddie Korner. People donate food for breakfast and lunch, they help us decorate and price items, they make crafts and baked goods to sell, they face paint and play instruments, clean tables and greet people at the door. There is something for everyone at Harvest of Talents! It’s truly a great day to fellowship with family and friends!
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There are many reasons why Harvest of Talents is a blessing. First we feel that we bring God honor and glory when we use the gifts and talents that he’s given us. He wants us to use them for him. Secondly, we feel that if we can create an event that is fun for the whole family to participate in – all while bringing awareness to a need greater than our own – then we are doing a good thing! There are good charities everywhere, but after seeing firsthand what Lifeline has done and is doing for the country and people of Haiti, we believe wholeheartedly that the funds we are raising is going to an incredible cause! It’s what motivates us to do what we do year in and year out.
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The day begins with the H.O.T. Trot 5k/3k and Kids Fun Run 1k. Runners and walkers come in from all over Iowa to take on the hilly streets of Grinnell. The winners are awarded with medals, H.O.T. Bucks and free lunches. Then the doors of the gym are opened to a transformed nostalgic boutique filled with quality crafts and baked goods. You can literally find something for everyone on your holiday shopping list! Coffee cake and Haitian coffee from Berea Bean Roasting Company are served in the morning, while children gear up for the Kids’ Cake Make-n-Take. They have fun decorating cakes and then tasting their treat when it’s done. Facepainting, Henna, Pumpkin Carving, and a Sports Trivia Contest fill the morning with activity all while the lunch crowd rolls in. Our famous chili and autumn cheese soup with cornbread and dessert satisfy people from all over the community. And as they finish up their lunch we begin to prepare for the LIVE Auction at 12:30pm. There are so many wonderful things in the auction from hand-made crafts to beautiful gift baskets to services offered by different people. For example, you might be bidding on some smoked/bbq meat donated 3 times a year, or an Italian dinner for 2, or a band playing music for one event in the year. The variety is endless. As the day comes to an end we hear people saying, “already…it just got started!” We do wish it would last longer, and we hope as it grows that maybe it will just so we can serve more people with our talents!
Many from Grinnell traveled to Haiti in July 2013 and got to see firsthand how Harvest of Talents has benefitted Lifeline. When the playground arrived, it came full circle for many in Grinnell that their dollars were being well spent and going to help bring smiles to so many children that may have never played on a playground before! Our hope is that other churches can catch the “harvest” spirit like we have and duplicate an event similar to ours so that they too can experience the love and excitement we do while hosting Harvest of Talents, and hopefully benefit Lifeline with their proceeds as well!
If you or anyone you know would be interested in learning how to host an event like Harvest of Talents please let us know. We’d be happy to send you information on doing so! You can connect with us on Facebook, at our website or drop us an email.
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