Last week at our Midtown Gathering, I had the chance to meet a young lady from Haiti.  Her father is a pastor.  She attends PSU.  Her brother is a junior in high school in Port au Prince.  Their house was destroyed and their church was destroyed.  They are sleeping outside in their lawn and having church wherever people can gather.  It wasn’t on our initial list of places to help, but you were so generous that we will be able to help her family.  I just want to say thank you to the Calvary community — in the last two weeks you have given over $18,000 to help give Haiti Hope.  Your money has…

1. – Gone to pastors who have lost homes.
2. – Helped with medical relief.
3. – Sent 100,000 meals.
4. – Given compassion to kids in a Haitian orphanage.

UPCOMING OPPORTUNITIES TO HELP

1) Through our partnership with GAIN (Global Aid Network) sometime in February (likely the last weekend) we will have an opportunity to give some more hands on aid.  GAIN will be looking for a team to come down and help pack meals of bean and rice which will go to Haiti.

2) Through contacts we are currently researching we are hoping to be able to offer the opportunity for a handful of people to go to Haiti.  This will likely not happen till March at the earliest.

As we get clarity on what we can do, we will give you more information, meanwhile continue to pray!  The video below will give you some sense of what one portion of our money is helping accomplish through our own network of churches called Converge.

If you have been hanging out at Calvary the last two weeks, you know that we started a new teaching series — Leave a Mark: Stories of the Untamed Jesus. So I’ve been thinking for awhile about the ways in which we leave a mark on the world — or the way the world leaves a mark on us.  For example watch the video below from our time in Myanmar.

Now say with me, “Wow. That’s gonna leave a mark!”

So here are a few questions to ask yourself —

1. 1) How is the world leaving it’s mark on me?
2. 2) How is Jesus leaving his mark on me?
3. 3) How am I leaving my mark on the world?

If you haven’t had a chance to join us the last few weeks, you can click one of these links to listen to the first two Leave a Mark talks.   Stories of the Untamed Jesus or 

I’m looking forward to the series.  Hope you can join us!

Since last week’s earthquake in Haiti, I keep thinking of this Jesus-story.  It’s recorded in John 9.  It seems that Jesus and his disciples were walking together and on the way from one ministry stop to another, they saw a blind man.  He had been blind from birth.  The disciples looked and asked Jesus a question, “Rabbi,” they asked, “why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents’ sins?”  How did Jesus respond?  “Neither,” Jesus said, “it wasn’t because of his sin or his parent’s sin.  This happened so the power of God could be seen in him.”

Now that brings all sorts of questions to my mind.  Like what am I willing to sacrifice so that the power of God can be seen in me?

But that story also leads me to Haiti’s hope.  Pat Robertson (a Christian tv guy) suggested last week, that maybe this earthquake came because of the sins Haiti and her parents.  (Pat Robertson on Haiti)  Now to be fair to Pat, he has sent substantial aid to Haiti, but here is my hope.  My hope and prayer is that this earthquake happened “so the power of God could be seen” in that place.

So let me challenge you to be a part of God’s power and God’s heart being seen in that place by giving generously and sacrificially.  At Calvary we are collecting money to help GAIN (Global Aid Network) send 500,000 meals to Haiti — 10 cents a meal.  If you would like to help us out, you can send a check with “Haiti’s Hope” in the memo to

Calvary Office Center
1100 Boal Avenue
Boalsburg, PA 16827

Meanwhile join us — and them — in prayer.

Just a bit of history.  Mary is the main mom at Agape Orphanage.  When we go to Myanmar we come like grandparents.  You know what I mean?  We bring presents and candy.  We don’t discipline, we just play.  We make sure that for one week the kids have fun.  But Mary is mom to 100 plus kids.  She loves and disciplines and prays and models the love of Christ.  Mary is the main mom at Agape Orphanage.  She is a mom whose heart has been softened and expanded by God through good times and hard.

She started Agape Orphanage with her husband.  Not long after they started the orphanage — about 11 years ago — he died from malaria.  He got sick on Sunday, was in the hospital by Monday night and Tuesday morning he died.  That was in June.  In July her 11 month old son got pneumonia and within a month he had died.  She was left with a daughter and an orphanage.  I’m not saying she didn’t struggle or that she doesn’t grieve.  In fact even today when she talks about it there are tears.  But she didn’t quit following God’s call to serve kids.  In fact, in many ways I see her as the heart of Agape Orphanage.

This time when we were there Mary was sick.  She has been sick for some time.  She was in the hospital for surgery in July, but since then her recovery has been slow.  While we were there she was rarely with the children, and you could tell the the slightest efforts tired her and brought pain.  Sometimes in our country we have the mistaken assumption that we can handle our physical difficulties without God — we have incredible medical options available.  In Myanmar, if you are sick, you are fairly certain that you need God’s intervention.

So I would simply ask that you would join with Mary friends, families and all the kids at Agape to pray for Mary.

This weekend as I was walking through some of our gatherings at Calvary, I was amazed by the number of new babies.  So many new babies, beautiful babies have been added to our calvary family in the last few months.  I love watching families — I especially watch the fathers — with their new babies.  There is just this look in their eyes.

So it was kind of cool to get this picture of the newest “baby” addition to the calvary family.  Those of you who follow Stac’s (our Midtown Gathering Pastor) blog or are friends on fb have already seen this but I thought it was worth passing on.  So everyone meet Annabelle — and take a look at the look on Stac’s face!  (By the way, Lynn says she has Kim’s eyes.)  For more on the story go to Stac’s blog at Stac’s Place.

I don’t know, what it is about watching Lynn and Sarah, and Katy, and Jacob, and Josh –my children — playing with kids in Myanmar.  I think I could do it all day.

Maybe it’s the smiles, I love seeing my family happy.  It doesn’t take Myanmar to get my family happy, but when we are in Myanmar they are happy. And at times the laughter goes gut-hurt hard and long.

Maybe it’s just being together — I love that.  Being together without the interruption of tv, texting, or xbox.

Maybe I love seeing their hearts grabbed by Jesus in the face of someone in need.  There were so many tears the last night we left the orphanage, it was like a death.  Their hearts were seriously grabbed.

Maybe it’s knowing that I am providing them with an experience that will shape their hearts for the long haul.  I believe that.  I believe that whenever we journey out of our comfort zone to serve others, God shapes our hearts.

Maybe I love the fact that they are leaving a mark on the world — doing something significant.  Don’t we all want to leave a mark, leave the world better than we found it.  Every time we serve others, we dip our lives into significance.  I love that.

But if there is one thing I love, I think when I watch my family playing with kids in Myanmar I feel God’s smile.  You’re right, you don’t have to go to Myanmar to feel God’s smile.  It happens when you are doing something you love and in the process you serve someone else, you leave the mark of Jesus on them.  Those moments might be different for each one of us, but my suggestion would be find something you love doing that can be used to leave the mark of Jesus on others and then do it.  No matter what it costs, do it.  You may find that it becomes the one thing you love as well.

They say that a picture is worth a 1000 words, so I’ll try to keep this blog to less than 10,000 words.  But just so you know it would be fairly easy to go over 100k on this one — if you include the pictures.  It seems like just yesterday that we got back from Myanmar — but three letters are branded on my heart — ftk.  With some regularity those three letters were spoken amongst the members of our team while we were in Myanmar.

Wrestling with a bit of intestinal yuck — it’s okay, it’s ftk.  Tired of eating rice for breakfast, lunch and dinner — hey it’s ftk.  Nai Nai just peed on you again — no problem, it’s ftk.  Abraham jumped on your back and almost tripped you down the stairs —  hey it’s ftk.  Wish you had a bathroom without cockroaches the size of small rats — hey no problem, it’s ftk.

And what words came to mind whenever we said those three letters?  Ftk — for the kids.  I tell you, there are few things more powerful than to see Jesus in the face of a child who has lost her parents, and has little hope for the future — other than the hope of Jesus and the people who follow him.  Perhaps the one thing more powerful is to see Jesus in the face of those kids — smiling.

Sometimes people ask me, why do you go?  Why not just send them money? Because as much as they need the money, it’s ftk and the kids want presence over presents.

Why go when you might be throwing up sick on a 15 hour plane trip? Because when you touch down and you have your feet on the ground the only thing that brings a smile to your face is bringing to mind a name like Glory, or Susannah, or Rhonda, or Elizabeth or Jacob, or Joshua, or Moses, or Nai Nai, or Abraham, or Grace and then thinking ftk.

Why go when you could’ve taken a great vacation to Hawaii or bought a bunch of stuff for your house? Because it’s ftk’s, not just the ones in Myanmar, but our own.  We want them to know that the beauty of Jesus in the face of a child in need can exceed the beauty of Hawaii.  We want serving experiences to shape their hearts more than stuff shapes their hearts.

The first time I went to Myanmar, I went to see.  Having seen, the second time I went to Myanmar, I went to serve.  Having served, the third time I went to Myanmar, I went because I wanted my family to see and serve.  The fourth time, we went because we have friends in Myanmar, friends we care about and ultimately, it’s ftk.

This is my first blog post since getting back from Myanmar.  I am sure I will have more posts on our trip and our experiences over the coming weeks — it was God-awe-full!  But for the moment I want to share something that a friend of mine — in Haiti — wrote yesterday.  Those of you from Calvary know Louima, you know his heart for worship and his heart for his home country of Haiti.  In years past he has combined those two passions by putting on music/worship camps in Haiti.  I didn’t realize it, but he was in country during the earthquake.  Below is a note he posted on facebook.

My Haiti, Poor and Cherished Haiti
Yesterday at 6:01pm
I was simply sitting in a North Haiti Music Camp planning session in the village of Haut-Limbe when the rumbling and shaking began. I got out of my chair, secured a lamp, and headed for the door. It lasted about a minute but I couldn’t be sure. I seriously thought that there was an earthquake in the northern part of Haiti but somehow the UCNH campus was spared. We resumed our meeting but three minutes later we felt an after shock that lasted about 15 seconds. That’s when I knew that we were in trouble. I said to my colleagues, “if the after shock was that strong and lengthy, then the mother quake was of significant proportions and could cause great damage.” That was such an understatement. We simply adjourned the meeting and headed to the TV to get some information. That’s when I heard the alarming news which brought me back to the place of my childhood.

The victim of the massive 7.0 earthquake, Port-au-Prince, is my hometown. A hometown is a place that is full of memories of former days which provide a person with proverbial “legs” to stand on. Port-au-Prince gave me a center where my school education took place from elementary to secondary school in Haiti. It gave me a loving family that withstood the test of time, toil, trials, and tribulations. It gave me friends from church and school who taught me so much about life and honesty. It provided a taste for beauty through a beautiful presidential palace, the Champs de Mars, a clean downtown, a gorgeous cathedral, the Sylvio Cator stadium, the beautiful UEBH campus that housed the Bible School where my father received his training, the beautiful fireworks extravaganza of the New Year’s celebrations, the beautiful concerts of the Sainte Trinite school, and so many more.

Yet, beauty gradually left Port-au-Prince as a series of natural disasters, selfish acts, and coup d’etats depleted its most basic resources. I must admit that I also contributed to that because I began despising the shanty homes, the increasing dirtiness of the streets, the ever-growing population. So in my humanitarian efforts, I focused all my attention on other parts of Haiti. Had my sister and her family lived elsewhere, I probably would not think of PAP.

This tragedy has revived in my heart my first love for my hometown. It has unearthed in me an understanding of what Port-au-Prince truly represents to and for Haiti. Whatever affects PAP affects the whole country. Everything goes through there before it can reach anywhere else. It is both the pride and shame of the country. There isn’t a soul in Haiti who is not affected by the earthquake. There will be a parent, a son, a daughter, a niece or nephew, a teacher, a student, a friend, a co-worker who lives there. There will be a connection through a church, a school, an organization, at least something linking any Haitian to Port-au-Prince. Other services come from PAP to help different cities in Haiti like fuel, electricity, food, transportation, medical supplies, office supplies, musical instruments, school supplies, construction equipment, you name it it’s there.

Such a catastrophe further cripples Haiti because not only is PAP incapable of supporting itself, it can’t meet the needs of the rest of the country. Haiti needs help, there is no question about it. I will not sit back and watch outsiders help my fellow countrymen and do nothing. I want to help rebuild Port-au-Prince. With God’s help and the assistance of bold and willing individuals, we can make a difference that lasts.

To that end, NHMC and I are partnering with Haiti Hope Fund to collect funds that will go to help the people of Port-au-Prince.

This weekend we will give those of you at Calvary an opportunity to give to the Haiti Hope Fund and another outreach we are connected to called GAIN.  We will do our part to give a little hope.

We worshiped today — Burmese style.  The building was filled with Buddhists — they had to sit through every word I said, TWICE, in order to be fed — children from 4 different orphanges, and pastors, missionaries, and 18 people about to be baptized.

First we did the baptisms, one whole family turned in their Buddhist robes this week and decided to become followers of Jesus.  I’ll tell their story later.  One 81 year old man followed Jesus in Baptism, followed by children, men and women.  It was glorious.

Then we had church.  I preached on “The God Who Loves to Bless Us,” Calvary Bible School students sang, and we celebrated communion.  And of course there was prayer — I love listening to them pray — it is a holy, beautiful cacophony of prayer, with such urgency and desperation.  Before the three hour worship gathering was done, we had an ordination service, so far I have had the privilege of ordaining 3 pastors in Myanmar, they consider themselves part of the Calvary team.  They are young men of God who take their calling so seriously, it was an honor to be a part of that moment.

Then we spent the afternoon playing with the children — which I am convinced is, in and of itself, an act of worship.

I will tell you this.  God is up to something in Myanmar.

I can’t tell you what a thrill it is to know that we (Calvary) have a part in building God’s kingdom around the world.  As my day ends here, the first worship gathering at Calvary will just be getting started.  From one side of the world to the other, we will be lifting up Jesus and tell God thank you.

May your day be as full and fun as mine has been.

Sunrise in Yangon

This morning I woke up early – time change stuff, I’m not an early morning person – the sun was just coming up over Yangon.  The city is pretty dark at night, for a city of over 1 million, one indication of the poverty is the darkness of the city at night.  But as the sun was peeking over the horizon, I could see the city waking up.

A few cars were driving.  A man was outside his home washing the dust off the windows of his car.  Over to my right, there is a Buddhist temple or school of some sort.  A large room was lit, the only room for miles that I could see filled with light.  Inside I could see a man kneeling, his head bobbing up and down to the Buddha.

The words from a song that God birthed in a band while they played in a bar in Bangkok, came to my mind.

You’re the God of this City

You’re the King of these people

You’re the Lord of this nation you are.

You’re the light in this darkness you are.

You’re the  hope to the hopeless

You’re the peace to the restless, you are.

There is no one like our God

Greater things have yet to come

Greater things are still to be done in this city.

Lord may it be so.