Hillcrest Basketball is now mid-season and we are out of the King Town Tournament. The girls were 3-2 and the boys were 2-2. In our pool the teams were very evenly matched and we had 3 of our games within 4 points. One team we beat by 3, then lost one by 4, and lost one by 3. Heart breakers but great games and it was fun to see the team respond in the crunch. Unfortunately we did not get the wins but we played extremely hard and in the end it came down to inexperience and making bad mistakes. Turn overs, turn overs, turn overs.
Janna and I are also playing in this same tournament with Indonesian teams and both of our Indonesian teams are moving into the playoffs. The girls into the semi-finals and the boys into the quarter finals. Should be interesting. It is fun to once again play on teams with refs and the crowd and the whole bit. It has been awhile.
In all of this basketball it has been hard to find time for family and so we need prayer during this time. Satan just seems to use any thing that he can to get in between couples. As Janna and I prayed last night together we just prayed that all the marriages (in our families especially) would just remain focused on God and his love. May God fill us this Sunday and may He richly bless all of you as you serve Him.
Saturday, March 07, 2009
Friday, February 27, 2009
Tournament
We are in full swing of Basketball season now as we are entered into a tournament. Our HIS team has played one game so far and won 46-43 a great game. Today we play again. Now I am also playing on an Indonesian team and we have also played one game and lost. The team that I play for has quite the individual mindset of if I get the ball I must shoot. I will try to talk to them about it before our next game. Janna is also playing on an Indonesian team and their team won.
We are having lots of fun with Mom and Dad Epp although really we have not done anything out of the ordinary with them. Seems like life is just too busy with Basketball and everything else that we are trying to do here.
God continues to be good to us as we seek Him in our lives. We feel so blessed to be in the families that we are in and are excited about the direction that each one of them are heading. Thank you all once again for being part of our lives and continuing to bless us so that we in turn can be a blessing to others. May God be with you all and speak clearly to you today. Seek Him.
We are having lots of fun with Mom and Dad Epp although really we have not done anything out of the ordinary with them. Seems like life is just too busy with Basketball and everything else that we are trying to do here.
God continues to be good to us as we seek Him in our lives. We feel so blessed to be in the families that we are in and are excited about the direction that each one of them are heading. Thank you all once again for being part of our lives and continuing to bless us so that we in turn can be a blessing to others. May God be with you all and speak clearly to you today. Seek Him.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Basketball is in full swing...
Basketball is currently in full swing which means that I am busy, busy, busy. This year I have a team at HIS which is eager to learn and improving by leaps and bounds each practice. I am thoroughly enjoying this season thus far and am looking forward to how we can continue to improve throughout this season. I am also continuing to be involved in basketball at our church. Now I have not been practicing with them lately due to my ankle. My ankle has been bothering me for the past 2 months and I am still not quite sure exactly what has happened. My Dad and I went for a motorbike ride while he was here and I had a little accident in which the bike hit my right leg. Now I did not really think that anything that serious happened. But now I am wondering if I twisted my ankle. Then also the doctor here thought that I had gout and so I started on the medication and the major pain went away. Now it just feels as though my ankle is twisted. Well that is my story and I am sticking to it. Combination of things.
Today in church our pastor spoke on something that I have been thinking about for a while now. For a while I was getting confused in all the little details of the Christian life. I tried to ask myself what is the basis of what I am trying to accomplish in this life. I shared with my parents while they were here that I am trying to break it down to Love the Lord, and Love your neighbor. Today our pastor spoke on this exact topic. He read the passage out of Matt 22 where Jesus broke all the commandments down to those two things. This is not that easy to love your neighbor, often my mind goes to love those who are easy to love. But this is not true. Love everyone! When Jesus shared this with his disciples he meant everyone. The next question is how do I love them. Here in Papua I am realizing that I need to care for people and their needs. One of our OE speakers spoke on the fact that if you are helping the least of these you are helping HIM. I am also realizing that relationship is key to Love. To love someone means to spend time, energy, and effort in order to show them that you care for them. This does not mean ohhhh wait but NBA is on TV, I can not spend time with you now. Die to self, stretch yourself, and love others. Amazing a short statement for Jesus to make and so hard for me to follow. Love the Lord, Love others.
The second passage that he spoke on today was out of Matt 28. Go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them. Our pastor is big on the fact that God speaks to us each time we are in church and if you do not do something about it within 48 hours then you will forget. The Lord is calling us to DO something about what he is saying. Love is an action word, then in Matt 28 he says GO find a student, share with them, help them out. GO, DO something about it. This does not mean that you necessarily travel and make disciples this means where you are, GO. The pastor challenged us to find someone to befriend and share what God is teaching you. That sounds possible to me. Here we go this week is it, within 48 hours if we have not done anything about it we will forget. GO DO. Lets turn this world upsidedown for Christ. What an awesome idea!
This week a bball tournament starts in a town about half an hour from here. I am playing on one team and coaching another team. Pray that through this opportunity that I have I can practice this idea of meeting someone new to share with. Darren wanting to follow Christ with all my heart from Papua OUT!
Today in church our pastor spoke on something that I have been thinking about for a while now. For a while I was getting confused in all the little details of the Christian life. I tried to ask myself what is the basis of what I am trying to accomplish in this life. I shared with my parents while they were here that I am trying to break it down to Love the Lord, and Love your neighbor. Today our pastor spoke on this exact topic. He read the passage out of Matt 22 where Jesus broke all the commandments down to those two things. This is not that easy to love your neighbor, often my mind goes to love those who are easy to love. But this is not true. Love everyone! When Jesus shared this with his disciples he meant everyone. The next question is how do I love them. Here in Papua I am realizing that I need to care for people and their needs. One of our OE speakers spoke on the fact that if you are helping the least of these you are helping HIM. I am also realizing that relationship is key to Love. To love someone means to spend time, energy, and effort in order to show them that you care for them. This does not mean ohhhh wait but NBA is on TV, I can not spend time with you now. Die to self, stretch yourself, and love others. Amazing a short statement for Jesus to make and so hard for me to follow. Love the Lord, Love others.
The second passage that he spoke on today was out of Matt 28. Go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them. Our pastor is big on the fact that God speaks to us each time we are in church and if you do not do something about it within 48 hours then you will forget. The Lord is calling us to DO something about what he is saying. Love is an action word, then in Matt 28 he says GO find a student, share with them, help them out. GO, DO something about it. This does not mean that you necessarily travel and make disciples this means where you are, GO. The pastor challenged us to find someone to befriend and share what God is teaching you. That sounds possible to me. Here we go this week is it, within 48 hours if we have not done anything about it we will forget. GO DO. Lets turn this world upsidedown for Christ. What an awesome idea!
This week a bball tournament starts in a town about half an hour from here. I am playing on one team and coaching another team. Pray that through this opportunity that I have I can practice this idea of meeting someone new to share with. Darren wanting to follow Christ with all my heart from Papua OUT!
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Outdoor Education
I realize that it has been a long time since I have made an entry into here and I am sorry about that. I have been in the interior of Papua with the high school on what we call OE. Outdoor Education is one of the highlights of the year for all high school students. Our high school goes interior for two weeks and works along side a missionary in a village. This year we helped the missionary couple with their hydro plant, airstrip, painting some buildings. Then we were also involved helping a doctor and dentist do medical clinics in the area. This was a powerful time as our students got to check patients, pull teeth, and learn about what the different medical problems are in the region.
The village we went into this year is named Ibele. We had the privilege of listening to a missionary who had lived in Ibele in the 1970's. He was the main speaker and he spoke on the ABC's of Christian Character. Great listening to him and being inspired as well. Amazing work that is going on in Ibele. We were so blessed to be a part of it for two weeks.
During the two weeks the high school is put into 8 different groups each with a leader. The 8 groups then hike or get helicoptered in to different small villages that surround the "mission station". This year my group got to go into Hiberak which was about a 2.5 hour hike up the mountain from the main village. Here we spend 3 nights in the Honai's (traditional huts) spending time with the people, showing the Jesus film, building a toilet, kids clubs, medical, and anything else that we can find time to do with the people. This OE I had a unique experience. On Sunday we were asked to sing in front of the church which is not that out of the ordinary and then 10 minutes before they asked me to share with them. Many of the villagers did not speak Indonesian but some of them understood it so I spoke for about 25 minutes in Indonesian and then the pastor came and explained to the people what I had said for those who did not understand. Amazing experience of God stretching me. The church had memorized the passage in Matthew about where your treasure is there your heart will be also and so I began my message sharing about that for a while. Then the day before in Kids Clubs we had shown them the story of the son who leaves his father and then eats with pigs and then decides to come home. I talked about the grace that God has for us if we confess our sins. Anyway it was a stretching time for me.
This past week has been me trying to recover from the two weeks sleeping on boards with a mosquito net and trying to be a leader on this years OE. The person who runs OE asked me last year if I would be willing to take on a larger role in the leadership of this program and I said that I would. So last year she was working with me so that one day I will take it over from her. So last year I helped out and this year we really did work side by side in the planning. This is an incredible amount of work and I can not believe that she has done it all this time by herself. I really enjoy working along side someone else and so hopefully it will stay this way for years to come.
Today I write this not yet fully recovered. Today also Janna's parents are coming which we are really looking forward to. Must run class is starting.
The village we went into this year is named Ibele. We had the privilege of listening to a missionary who had lived in Ibele in the 1970's. He was the main speaker and he spoke on the ABC's of Christian Character. Great listening to him and being inspired as well. Amazing work that is going on in Ibele. We were so blessed to be a part of it for two weeks.
During the two weeks the high school is put into 8 different groups each with a leader. The 8 groups then hike or get helicoptered in to different small villages that surround the "mission station". This year my group got to go into Hiberak which was about a 2.5 hour hike up the mountain from the main village. Here we spend 3 nights in the Honai's (traditional huts) spending time with the people, showing the Jesus film, building a toilet, kids clubs, medical, and anything else that we can find time to do with the people. This OE I had a unique experience. On Sunday we were asked to sing in front of the church which is not that out of the ordinary and then 10 minutes before they asked me to share with them. Many of the villagers did not speak Indonesian but some of them understood it so I spoke for about 25 minutes in Indonesian and then the pastor came and explained to the people what I had said for those who did not understand. Amazing experience of God stretching me. The church had memorized the passage in Matthew about where your treasure is there your heart will be also and so I began my message sharing about that for a while. Then the day before in Kids Clubs we had shown them the story of the son who leaves his father and then eats with pigs and then decides to come home. I talked about the grace that God has for us if we confess our sins. Anyway it was a stretching time for me.
This past week has been me trying to recover from the two weeks sleeping on boards with a mosquito net and trying to be a leader on this years OE. The person who runs OE asked me last year if I would be willing to take on a larger role in the leadership of this program and I said that I would. So last year she was working with me so that one day I will take it over from her. So last year I helped out and this year we really did work side by side in the planning. This is an incredible amount of work and I can not believe that she has done it all this time by herself. I really enjoy working along side someone else and so hopefully it will stay this way for years to come.
Today I write this not yet fully recovered. Today also Janna's parents are coming which we are really looking forward to. Must run class is starting.
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