Driving early in the morning (Sunday) through the mountains of Virginia.
“the earth is full of the goodness of the LORD.”
(Psalms 33:5)
Archive for September, 2008
Sunrise in the Mountains of Virginia
Tuesday, September 30th, 2008A Family Picture in Maine
Monday, September 29th, 2008
We pulled off at a scenic overlook and took some pictures. Here's a family picture we took (using the tripod). We're probably less than an hour from the Canadian border now!
Eight States in Thirteen Hours
Sunday, September 28th, 2008We thought you would enjoy “traveling” with us today state sign by state sign. We were able to get a picture of each state “welcome” sign.
West Virginia
Maryland
Pennsylvania
New York
Connecticut
Massachusetts
New Hampshire (being dark made it hard to get the last 2 photos)
Maine
We’re less than an hour out from Freeport.
Sarah for the rest
An Unusual Meeting
Sunday, September 28th, 2008We were about to exit for a quick rest stop, and one of my sisters asked me if she needed her hair fixed (after resting this afternoon). I said that no, it was okay, and anyway, we weren’t going to see anyone we know. Upon coming out of the very busy rest stop, a family hurried after us. Come to find out, this was a family who had e-mailed us a few weeks ago and had invited us to stop by their home in Maine as we passed through. We didn’t have time, so we had had to decline the kind offer. About an hour before our stop, a fifteen-passenger van had passed us, and the parents waved at us, and seemed like they knew us. They took the next rest area, but we didn’t. We were shocked when we both ended up at the same stop about an hour later, and to find this was the family who had invited us to stay at their home! What a blessing to spend a few minutes chatting with the family.
The family who had invited us to stay at their home, and we met at a rest stop!
Sarah for the rest of the family
Still Driving
Sunday, September 28th, 2008We are driving through heavy traffic this evening. We are now in Massachusetts, and we just came through a slow down.
It was interesting to watch the "sea" of vehicles part to allow the ambulance to go through.
Thank you for your prayers for our safety. We have had a couple of close calls today, but the Lord has protected, and it’s not even raining right now!
Serving Jesus,
Sarah
Charlottesville Report and Heading North
Sunday, September 28th, 2008Yesterday completed our fourth, out of seven, weekend conference. Each one has its own special characteristics and uniqueness.
We arrived safely in Charlottesville early Friday afternoon. The coordinators provided dinner for us before hand, which was delicious. After Dad opened the evening with prayer, he began with asking how many families had driven over an hour, and about 50% of those there raised their hands. He progressively went up and was at 5 hours, and still two families had driven at least that far.
John with a few helpers.
Sarah and a friend.
Sisters
Watching her little sister during a session.
Saturday morning we planned to arrive at the church around 8, but we found a slight issue with our windshield wipers after we began driving.
Working on the windshield wiper blade.
So we stopped briefly, took care of it, and were on our way. When we came to the church, we were all surprised that it was locked! Our coordinator made a quick trip to someone’s house to pick up the key, and we did a whirlwind 15-minute set up in each of the four rooms 
.
A mom provided lunch for us, and had it all set up when the lunch break came, and that was a blessing. We can talk as a family for quite awhile after a conference, sharing the different conversations we had with others. Our hearts are overwhelmed by the working of our Lord Jesus in the lives of those attending.
I saw this little girl showing her million-dollar bill tract to the little boy. Christopher gives some tracts out to the children after his Evangelism session, and I enjoy seeing the children walking around with their tracts.
A mommy and her little one
John talking with some people after the conference.
We’re headed north today—we’ll be stopping for the night in Freeport, Maine, which is about a 700 mile drive. We will likely be driving through rain most of the day, although Hurricane Kyle will not directly hit where we’ll be tonight. There will be wind and rain, and the rain adds an interesting dimension to being in the bus, since we have leaks . Dad refers to Uriah as a metal tent. This has become even more real now that it leaks–truly, a metal tent complete with leaks. We’ll be driving to Prince Edward Island tomorrow.
We're starting to see signs of fall, and we're enjoying it. The fog was very pretty this morning as we drove out of Charlottesville.
Only for Jesus,
Sarah for the rest
Round Up Yer Cows, Boys!
Friday, September 26th, 2008We were blessed to spend a day on a farm with some friends. It was a restful time, although it did include an exciting “round up” of the cows. The three calves needed vaccinations, so our boys helped their boys herd the cows. Everyone had a good time, that is except for the calves.
The cows are coming soon.
Here they come!
The cows ran the other direction, so the guys were talking amongst themselves about a new plan.
Mary and Anna -- we watched the action from outside the fence!
Making progress!!
Here they come! Finally!
A not so happy cow.
"Run!" Although the cows had gone most of the way up through the chute, they were turning, and when one of the family's sons saw the look on the cows faces, he was prompted to urge the boys to run! Sure enough, the cows soon were trying to make another exit.
Yep, here they come.
Getting the cows back up the chute.
This cute little dog was getting in the way of the cow herding, so Mary held her.
Success! Joseph held this calf while the shot was given.
John and two of their boys.
Three of the family's children.
Playing music together.
This little guy was diligently following along in his Bible during our family Bible time.
What is Anna doing? Dumping a cupful of water out the windows (see below).
We’re very grateful for our new windows, and the amount of air they let in. However, we’ve also found that when the windows were installed, they didn’t seal them well. So, we’re having significant amounts of water inside the bus due to the heavy rain. Some of the children put cups or soda cans underneath the leaks, and then they empty them out as they fill up.
One of the "water catchers."
We’re on to Charlottesville, Virginia for a weekend conference. Thank you for your continued prayers!
Serving Jesus,
Sarah for the rest
Huntsville Sunset
Thursday, September 25th, 2008
Uriah, standing by as the sun sets behind the church in Huntsville, Alabama, on Monday night during the conference.
Continuing On Our Way
Thursday, September 25th, 2008Our conference went well in Panama City. The coordinator prepared a wonderful Mexican dinner for us beforehand (and then sent us away with the leftovers!). There was a great group of people who attended from the local area and from the surrounding area. We are grateful for all the work that each conference coordinator puts into their conference.
A girl came to me before the conference and shared how the Moodys have encouraged her to have her personal time in the Bible. What a blessing!
Little boy at the conference.
We drove 700 miles yesterday to a family’s home to spend today.
Pretty lake (I think it was in South Carolina)
We are enjoying our refrigerator! Here Mom is getting dinner out of the fridge.
Anna
We did get lost on our way to our friends’ home, and at one point, we had to turn around, which is no small feat with Uriah, so two of the boys were out of the bus helping Dad, and several of us had our windows/screens open and were watching both sides of the bus. We took the below picture when we were lost and waiting for the father of the family to come lead us to their house!
Lost -- but not for long!
Only for Jesus,
Sarah for the rest
Florida Lovebugs
Wednesday, September 24th, 2008Driving through the Florida Panhandle at this time of the year in a large-profile vehicle that has a big windshield is messy, thanks to the little bugs that look somewhat similar to Kansas fireflies, but, unlike fireflies, these bugs are active during the day.
Uriah, covered with Florida lovebugs!
I guess what is odd about the lovebugs is that they tend to "stick" to the vehicle, unlike other bugs that hit the bus, leave a slight impression, and then drop off.
Whenever we stop for diesel we always work at cleaning the front of the bus!
Thank you for your prayers as we travel!
In Christ,
Christopher
Christopher
On to Florida
Tuesday, September 23rd, 2008It’s a sunny day, and a nice breeze is blowing through the bus. Joseph is practicing his mandolin, several are taking naps, and two of us are on laptops, while the rest are enjoying some good conversation.
We listened in to the nursing home church Sunday morning via cell phone. After that, we sang a few hymns and then discussed in length more on what Nathan had preached on. We had a restful Sunday, and the day ended with a birthday party for Jesse. Since Jesse has a September birthday, it seems the last few years we’ve been on-the-road. My aunt and uncle wanted to bless Jesse and have a party for him, and we had a quiet evening on their back deck.
Jesse
Birthday party on Uncle Rob and Aunt Tami's deck.
The rest of us Sunday night.
Yesterday passed quickly, with everyone busy with miscellaneous projects. We had our family time in God’s Word right after breakfast. Jesse and John washed Uriah, who badly needed a good “bath”. Dad worked on some wiring things on the bus, others did school, work, etc.
Jesse washing Uriah.
We greatly enjoyed our time with Uncle Rob and Aunt Tami. We had originally planned to drive from Memphis to their house on Sunday, but we realized we could make the four hour drive yet Saturday evening. We aren’t able to spend much time with them since they live out-of-state, so we are grateful for these opportunities. It’s not a small thing to have nine people descend upon your house. We had a good time of fellowship with them, and Mom and Aunt Tami had some special sister time talking. Mom was able to catch up on laundry, and Aunt Tami helped with much of the ironing.
Mom and Aunt Tami.
Lindsay Lane Baptist Church was very gracious to open their doors to the conference. We enjoyed seeing some familiar faces at this conference, as well as meeting in person several families we had only known through occasional e-mails. I met three young ladies who are faithful blog readers (see picture below) . We were also grateful for all the loading up help last night; it makes that process much smoother.
Three young ladies who enjoy reading the blog.
Jesse talking with a group after the conference.
This sweet lady and I have interacted over the years, and it was a delight to see her.
Mary is a great help at the book tables.
We have a little less than 400 miles to drive today, and then we’ll be doing a conference in Panama City, Florida, our southern most point on this trip. Within a week, we’ll be going to our most northern point .
Thank you for your prayers!
Joyfully His,
Sarah for the rest
Early Morning Event and The Conferences
Saturday, September 20th, 2008It was 1:30 a.m., and many of the Maxwells were outside their hotel rooms, coughing and choking. If you were watching, you would have wondered what was happening?! Well, we were waiting for our “Sani-Guard” to dissolve from the air. Since we’ve thought that some of the colds/flu we catch on the road are possibly from the hotel rooms we stay in, we invested in some “Sani-Guard” spray bottles to try using on this trip. You place the bottle in the room, press the trigger to set the spray off, and hurry out, leaving it for at least 15 minutes before re-entering the room. So far, we’ve been able to just drop our luggage in the room and go to the church, but this time, we needed to go into the rooms soon because it was bedtime. We waited 15 minutes, but the air smelled quite strongly of, well, something that was hard to describe (chemicals?!!). It was almost 2 a.m. before we finally were settled and going to sleep .
The Jonesboro conference went very well. The coordinators had provided a homemade dinner, which was delicious. The children had some time to practice music before the session. Except for occasional practice in the bus, we haven’t been able to do much. Hearts were receptive to the message, and we enjoyed our fellowship time with those who attended. Many people helped us pack up afterward, which was another blessing. We had decided to drive to our hotel in Millington, TN (outside of Memphis) yet that night, and we were all very tired by the time we arrived around 1 a.m., thus the story at the beginning of the post .
Set up went smoothly for the Memphis conference. Joseph, John, Anna, Jesse, and Mary are incredible with their teamwork of the book tables and music set up. We had a few snags in our music session, namely our sound going out in the middle of a song (What happened? We found that one of us had accidentally tripped the cord to the speaker). One mom said she enjoyed watching how we interacted and worked through the issues .
Such a CUTE little girl! Her daddy was watching her in the back of Building a Vision last night.
My sweet mama.
Christopher and Jesse bring things in this morning.
I saw these two little ones in the back of a session. The girl was trying to "draw", and the baby was interested in whatever she had.
John helping to pack up.
One family had found an abandoned kitten at their hotel either last night or this morning. Here is another girl holding their kitten.
Anna packing up the book tables.
The curvy road leaving Millington on our way to Huntsville!
Several families drove 4+ hours to come to the conference. Thank you for making such an effort to attend! The group who hosted this weekend graciously provided all of our food. They even sent us away with dinner (pizza). That turned out as a wonderful blessing, because we started out our drive to Huntsville on extremely twisty tree-lined roads, on which some of us can feel not-so-well with empty stomachs (or being tired).
We will be spending a few days with my mom’s sister, and then we’ll be doing our next conference near Huntsville, Alabama, Monday evening!
Serving Jesus,
Sarah for all the rest
Number of Firsts
Thursday, September 18th, 2008We just finished a refreshing day and a half on our “spur of the moment” stop in Star City, Arkansas. This stop held a number of “firsts” for us. We’ve never driven 8 hours (500 miles) on a conference day: but we started out a little before 8 a.m. and pulled in around 4 p.m. The church had two guest houses to stay in, and after we arrived, we had our family Bible time, and then we walked down to the church for dinner. Let me give a bit of background, though. Many people own small businesses in the church, and this group of businesses is clustered together in one area and called “The Country Village.” As we walked around over that day and a half, it reminded me of a little mountain town: pine trees, the style of the buildings, lettering on the signs, and then to top it off, pretty blue skies and cooler temperatures.
We went down to the fellowship hall, and we were delighted with the warm welcome. Dinner was delicious, and we enjoyed talking with our new friends.
After dinner, Daddy shared to the whole group that evening, and I could tell my daddy was listening to the Holy Spirit’s leading as he preached. After the service was through, the Pastor announced that we would all be meeting again at 6:30 a.m.! Yes, 6:30. That was another first for us . Dad shared with the men the session Feed My Sheep while Mom gave Managers of Their Homes. When those were through, everyone ate at the bakery: Dad said he’s never had such a delicious cinnamon roll, and I agree!
The day was spent visiting with our new friends, looking around in the stores, lunch at the BBQ, a Ladies’ meeting where Mom shared with the women, more visiting, and a delicious dinner at the steakhouse. We were all very, very blessed by our time with this sweet church.
Another first was making such an impromptu stop . Dad had felt the Lord’s leading to do it, and we had the free day and a half.
We’re looking forward to Jonesboro tonight and the Memphis conference this weekend.
Sarah for the rest
Driving Through Scenic Arkansas to Star City
Tuesday, September 16th, 2008
We've been driving through scenic Arkansas, and we're enjoying the ride and beautiful weather.
We’re looking forward to tonight’s conference in Star City.
Sarah for all the rest
New conference added for this Tuesday night, Star City, Arkansas!
Sunday, September 14th, 2008I dialed into our voicemail at home Friday afternoon, and one message was from a pastor in Arkansas. Dad called him back, and they had a wonderful chat together. The pastor requested that we come and do a conference for them this coming week. Well, we did have a free evening (this Tuesday, the 16th), and so after checking GoogleMaps, and some prayer, Dad said “yes”! Star City is about an hour and twenty minutes south of Little Rock, and forty minutes from Pine Bluff: we’re excited to be able to go there.
Since this is “spur of the moment”, we’re not totally sure what sessions will be given. The conference is open to anyone who would like to attend. For more details, please see this link. Life on the road is an adventure .
Serving Jesus,
Sarah for the rest
Ambassadors: Quick to Seek Direction
Sunday, September 14th, 2008(This is the fifth in a series of entries drawing analogies between experiences that Ambassador Joseph Grew shared about in his book Ten Years in Japan and practical aspects of being an ambassador for Jesus Christ, and is continued from the previous post regarding the Diplomatic League situation)
Following the situation that arose when Ambassador Grew politely declined to sign the German Ambassador’s Diplomatic League speech (due to the United States not having diplomatic relations with Germany at that time), the German Ambassador asked if they could have a meeting. The German Ambassador wanted to talk things through.
Instead of drawing upon his experience and skill as an Ambassador in order to decide the proper course of action, Ambassador Grew cabled his authorities at the State Department to seek direction. (to be continued)
An Ambassador’s job is not to be a decision maker, but rather to follow the directions that he receives from his authorities in the country he represents.
Jesus, despite being fully God and man, spent many hours during the course of His time on earth in prayer. For example, before selecting his twelve disciples, Jesus spent the entire night in prayer! Luke 6:12-13, “And it came to pass in those days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God. And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named apostles.”
All through the three years of His ministry the disciples sought Jesus’ counsel, guidance, and direction. Once, Peter sought Jesus’ counsel (Luke 22:49, “Lord, shall we smite with the sword?”) but didn’t wait for a response (John 18:10, “Then Simon Peter having a sword drew it, and smote the high priest’s servant, and cut off his right ear.”) and was rebuked by the Lord Jesus (Matthew 26:52, “Then said Jesus unto him, ‘Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.’”).
When we, as ambassadors for the Lord Jesus Christ, are faced with a situation do we rely upon our own wisdom to “make the call”? I know from personal experience that it seems as if the areas where I feel myself to be wise and believe I have much experience are the areas in which I don’t tend to rely upon the guidance and direction of the Lord. And in those areas where I believe myself to be weak and have little experience are the areas in which I am quick to seek His guidance. Might that be some of what Paul was referring to when he said, “for when I am weak, then am I strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:10)?
Are we, as ambassadors for Jesus, proud of our “decision-making abilities,” or do we with humble hearts continually seek His direction?
In Christ,
Christopher
Oklahoma City Conference
Sunday, September 14th, 2008We were very blessed by the conference here in Oklahoma City. We are grateful to the First Baptist Church of Moore for letting us use their facilities.
Our trip down here was thankfully uneventful except for having to load up and drive through a lot rain. It was hard to leave everyone at home, and we are already missing them!
We have been enjoying the bus greatly on this trip! With all the extra organizational work, it has made loading and unloading the bus a lot easier. Another thing we have enjoyed is the ability to have our family Bible time at any time of the day! The new bus windows are working out very well: it is such a blessing to be able to open the windows. Unlike the old ones that were supposed to be only opened for emergencies, these we can have open always.
Sweet little girl and her brother at the conference Saturday.
We needed to move conference rooms due to different circumstances so we arrived earlier than usual Saturday morning. Jesse diligently took many loads to facilitate the move. Saturday we were grateful for the lunch provided by a family that attended the conference. Dad ended the conference with the Christ Led Family session. It was the perfect finale to the conference.
We always enjoy seeing the little children at the conferences.
Dad talking with a few fathers after a session.
A little boy and his brother.
Mom and son--probably reviewing the son's notes from a session.
Christ-Led Family Session
Today we had church as a family, but we missed our dear elderly friends at home. Nathan and Melanie have kindly stepped in and are taking care of church.
Anna for the rest of the family
We’re On the Road!
Friday, September 12th, 2008After a jam-packed Thursday full of trip preparations (and for some of us early into this morning ), we are happily off for Oklahoma City! Everyone pitched in yesterday for all that needed to be done. Some of the boys worked on the bus, others worked on compiling more Chore books and MOTH books, another WalMart run was made, lots of organizing was done in the bus, many boxes loaded into the bays, and numerous other things.
Mary and Anna compiling books.
There was much work to be done!
Mary helped Dad as his errand girl.
John and Jesse loading the bus.
Joseph and Dad working on the bus.
Isn't she cute?!!
Nathan and Melanie had us over for a delicious dinner, which was a wonderful treat, and we had family Bible time together after that.
We did have a bit of excitement around midnight: Christopher and Joseph were finishing up something on the bus, and a few of us were working in the basement. Suddenly, the lights all flickered, then they went out, then came back on briefly, and then everything went pitch dark! You realize this is not a good time to be without electricity in the midst of trip preparations! We were very grateful when the lights came back on within a minute. Christopher and Joseph, on the other hand, who were at the front of new the house, saw a strange, odd light suddenly appear from a power pole, and a noise, which sounded like a giant electric arc, before everything went totally black. They were also happy to have the electricity come on so quickly.
Hanging clothes ready to go!
Mom ready to hand a set of clothes to someone who will take them out to the bus.
Praying in the bus before we left (two of the boys weren't in the bus yet).
Grandma and Grandad waving good-bye--they are going to take care of the ministry at home while we're away, and Honey (notice her stuffed toy?!).
Thank you to everyone who is praying for our family; we are so grateful. The Lord blessed in all of the trip preparations, and we are grateful to have embarked on this trip!
Sarah for the family
36 Hours and Counting Down…
Wednesday, September 10th, 2008Life continues in a busy swirl as we prepare to leave: thank you for your prayers! We are so blessed by them! Here’s today in pictures.
The boys built shelves to go right next to the refrigerator. The shelves look wonderful, and they will be so nice to keep things organized.
Mom worked in the bus for awhile today. I love you, Mom!
Anna took this photo while we were in the bus today.
Jesse with the new shelves.
Joseph was working on the headlights.
When I came over to take pictures, there was John--on the bus roof! He was doing some caulking.
There were yards to be mowed. . .
And there was weedeating (or, if you prefer, weedwacking) to do. . .
Mom and Mary did our WalMart shopping this evening!
I think we're set now!
Another busy day ahead of us tomorrow .
Sarah for all the rest
Trip Preparations (In Pictures)
Tuesday, September 9th, 2008
Honey needed a bath, so Mary gave her one outside.
When you consider 5 weeks on the road, that's a lot of vitamins!
Last minute sewing to be finished--we are finishing the hems for some matching jumpers.
It was a beautiful day today, and Joseph was working on shelves for the bus.
Mom and Anna went SAMS shopping.
Please be in prayer as we continue to get ready for this trip. Two days left!
“Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass” (Psalms 37:5).
Sarah for all the rest
Abigail Hope 1.11 Update
Monday, September 8th, 2008I think I need to begin this with an apology for my lack of communication. Days have slipped into weeks and weeks into months.
Abigail is three and a half months old!
Melanie and Abigail
Short story is that Melanie and I love being parents. We thought this was something that God was giving us with Susannah, but that wasn’t the case. Then, as Abigail struggled so much with reflux and colic for the first few months, we felt challenged, stretched, and discouraged. Recently, I heard a phrase in Pilgrim’s Progress (audio book), something like, “Before the sweet, the bitter, For to make the sweet, sweeter.” (Not a perfect quote. I’m going from memory.) This is what we are now experiencing, the sweet joys of parenthood.
Abigail
Abigail has become quite vocal. She’s also more alert and frequently smiles easily. She’s just beginning to be able to tell the difference between her mom/dad and others. So far, she’s frequently content with either Mom or Dad, but I know that might change. Her reflux is much better, she’s not colicky anymore, and she sleeps through the night! Wow, what changes!
Melanie and I are enjoying this new phase in life and see it as a gift from God. I’m sitting downstairs typing this as I hear Melanie visiting with a friend upstairs, recounting our hospital story. It almost seems like two different lives, and yet God so faithfully led through the previous eighteen months. We rejoice in His goodness, a goodness that is just as true now as it was a year ago.
Nathan
Uncle Joseph and Abigail
Uncle Christopher and Abigail
Uncle John and Abigail
Safely Home — Conference Report
Monday, September 8th, 2008We are home safely after our quick weekend trip to Jefferson City, Missouri. The drive went smoothly, and before going to the church, we dropped off our bags at a cabin someone graciously let us stay in. After getting to the driveway for the cabin, it was determined that Uriah wouldn’t make it over the cattle guards, and since the family had offered to “ferry” (aka – drive their vehicles down to the cabin) us and our luggage down to the cabin, we went for that option.
Set up went quite smoothly, especially since it’s been several months since our last conference. It dawned on me Friday night that we have 7 weekend conferences right in a row—I knew our trip was 5 weeks and 16 stops (including Jefferson City), but I didn’t realize that translated into 7 weekends .
We had a delicious Mexican dinner provided for us before we started the conference Friday evening. Our music time went well—and we enjoyed sharing with those attending. Saturday went by quickly, and in between the sessions, we were each blessed by our conversations with other families. We found out that one family came all the way from Nebraska for the conference—they drove farther than we did!
Dad and Mom
Little ones always brighten the day. One young boy asked me how many miles we were going on this next trip, and I told him that it would be eight thousand (!!). A few minutes later, he was talking to John, and this four-year-old informed him that we would be going a quarter of the way across the world .
The little girl had showed Dad some pictures she had drawn. Dad was encouraging her to keep practicing, and he showed her the drawings from the Schools book.
Mom talking with a lady after a session.
We were grateful for the “loading out” help two families gave us, and we were on the road around 5 p.m., with a break outside of Columbia for dinner. It’s hard to believe Friday starts the beginning of the five week trip—we’re all excited and looking forward to what the Lord will do in these next weeks.
This is the newly added text on the back of Uriah!
We would appreciate prayer as we prepare for the big trip! More pictures coming on that this week!
The instruments were carried in Saturday evening, and here is a portion of them!
Only for Jesus,
Sarah for the rest
Ambassadors: Willing to Take a Stand for Right
Monday, September 8th, 2008(This is the fourth in a series of entries drawing analogies between experiences that Ambassador Joseph Grew shared about in his book Ten Years in Japan and practical aspects of being an ambassador for Jesus Christ.)
Ambassador Grew writes about an incident he had with the German Ambassador. Apparently there was some type of a diplomatic league that the various Ambassadors were all generally a part of. Different members of the League would make speeches at their gatherings. Before making a speech, it was the custom to send their speech around to the other Ambassadors for them to review and approve
When the German Ambassador sent his speech around, Ambassador Grew was faced with a dilemma. If he were to approve of the speech, he felt it would also be approving of the German country – something that he couldn’t do (the United States did not have diplomatic relations with Germany at that time). But he also knew that refusing to sign the speech would cause a “situation.”
Ambassador Grew was willing to take a stand for what was right and decided to graciously refuse to sign the speech. He included a note to the German Ambassador explaining that, due to the relations between their countries, he was not able to sign the speech, but that he hoped the German Ambassador would not take the refusal personally.
This, of course, caused a reaction of sorts from the German Ambassador, who was well aware of the situation between their countries but didn’t feel signing the League’s speech would be an approval of the German nation. He requested a meeting with Ambassador Grew… (to be continued)
What good is an Ambassador who is simply looking to be popular? What good is an Ambassador who is not willing to represent his country by standing for what is right?
Are we, as Ambassadors for Jesus Christ and His Kingdom, willing to take a stand — even when it will be an unpopular one? And, are we willing to take that stand even when we know it will cause a “situation”?
Jesus warned us as His disciples that following Him would be unpopular:
John 15:18-19. “If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.”
The unpopular stands (for right) that Jesus calls us to may even involve our family or extended family. Jesus, the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6), shared in Matthew 10:35-37: “For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man’s foes shall be they of his own household. He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.”
Are we willing to graciously and with love stand for right, or do we cave in to pressure? Because an Ambassador is expected to represent his nation even when doing so results in animosity from those he is living nearby.
Driving in the fog on the way to the conference this morning…
Saturday, September 6th, 2008
The Lord Jesus blessed the Jefferson City conference last night and today — we’ll post an update next…
On the road for the Jefferson City Conference!
Friday, September 5th, 2008It’s been a busy last few days as we prepared to leave for our first weekend conference. We were able to get most of the bus loaded last night, which was a blessing.
- Jesse loading the bus.
- Joseph loading boxes last night.
This morning, there were more last minute details to finish such as hanging the clothes bar and loading all of our miscellaneous gear. Mom and I have felt some relief knowing we’ll be home for several more days before our 5 week trip—there is still quite a bit to be done. Mom said she had a momentary thought, “We don’t have our passports!” and then she remembered we haven’t left on the “real” trip yet . As we pulled away from the house, Christopher made sure we all had our conference clothes, because the clothes bar was quite empty—when we leave on this next trip, it’ll be FULL!
Uriah out front this morning.
Prayer time before we left.
We would appreciate prayer for this weekend: for our hearts as we share, and for those attending. We are looking forward to meeting some of you!
Sarah for all the rest