tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-69115226617472522032024-03-13T04:29:07.668-07:00Bielby Family BlogServing students from Taiwan and China as faith missionaries. The Bielbys just relocated from Taipei, Taiwan to Mahomet, Illinois to focus on serving Asian students at the University of Illinois. Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6911522661747252203.post-15410749601357735812014-03-03T08:01:00.001-08:002014-03-03T08:12:23.630-08:00Mandarin Vineyard ChurchSeveral of our friends are involved in leading this wonderful new regular meeting in Champaign, Illinois. The message and the worship set were both inspiring. We also heard a very interesting testimony from someone who had come to know Jesus in the past 18 months here. <br />
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David Bielbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09979973651706611686noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6911522661747252203.post-28140871989470645302013-12-18T22:32:00.004-08:002013-12-18T22:32:55.584-08:00We are just finding out about a young Christian man we knew in Taiwan and his passing away. We're shocked and saddened. Our love goes out to his friends during this difficult time. It's hard to think about such a young man leaving this earth so early in his life.
Yet, we don't grieve as those who have no real hope. We know that for all who know Christ we shall be reunited again. Can you imagine the feeling he must have had as he entered into the very presence of the Lord? As he heard heavenly worship songs resonating through him and all those around him in worship to our Father? As he smelled the aroma of Christ mixed with the aromatic fragrance of the intercession of the saints rising. What an amazing experience for him! And his service at Aroma Church will not be forgotten on earth or in heaven.
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6911522661747252203.post-77641371902242065792013-12-12T12:32:00.003-08:002013-12-12T12:32:45.111-08:00Worship at Internationals Christmas DinnerDavid Bielby will be leading a short worship set Sunday evening (Dec 15, 2013) at The Vineyard Church in Urbana (1500 N. Lincoln Ave). If you are in the area, please stop by.<div>
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Also, funds for an upcoming multi-city trip to China are now being encouraged. $1,300 is needed for that trip in the next six weeks. Contributions can be designated at The Vineyard Church site <a href="http://urbana.thevineyardchurch.us/">Give to Bielby's China trip for 2014</a> you can set up a free account there (if you don't have one already) and use checks or debit/cc's to give. Please select the Taiwan/Bielby fund or we will not receive the funds. You can also designate checks or cash in the offering plates during worship services at the Vineyard sites throughout central Illinois or mail a check into The Vineyard Church 1500 N. Lincoln Ave. Urbana, IL 61801</div>
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Gifts may qualify for tax deductions depending on your situation.</div>
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Additional funds received if any, will be used to help the Bielbys overall ministry to Asians.</div>
David Bielbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09979973651706611686noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6911522661747252203.post-53104040333195449042013-11-14T11:52:00.000-08:002013-11-14T12:03:41.726-08:00Coaching & Preaching Services Available<b>Our key strengths include </b><br />
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<b>Ideas/Principle Approach</b></div>
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Principle tools we use in assessing and ministering to a local church leadership team include our spiritual gifts by the leading of the Holy Spirit, Natural Church Development annual assessment and coaching process (a test plus team meetings with your local team), Leadership assessment and development tools and coaching. </div>
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We use the 8 gauges of healthy churches to help leaders get a reading on what is their greatest barrier for church to effective grow through evangelism. We have seen consistent application of these principles turn around many churches in a variety of communities in 6 states and 2 nations. Our skills include cross cultural communication with some understanding of Slavic and Chinese cultures.</div>
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The aspects we can measure and help you track are:</div>
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<b><br /></b><b>Leadership</b><b>Ministry</b><b>Evangelism</b><b>Worship </b><b>Administration</b><b>Spirituality</b><b>Small Groups</b><b>Relationships</b></h4>
Preaching the gospel: Helping pastors preach the Old Testament in a way that strengthens your members faith in Jesus:<br />
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Teaching: The gospel of grace. Christ in Genesis. Finding your ministry in the body of Christ. The art of discerning and handling prophetic words. Breakthrough in Kingdom Missions. What is kingdom leadership and how do we grow in it?<br />
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Coaching: We have experience in all 8 qualities of NCD. Our specialties include Ministry. We can provide spiritual gift counselor training and the implementation of a congregation-wide approach to identify and place people into ministries. Keys to implementation as well as a wide range of tasks required to effectively release your members into a ministry that fits who God created them to be.</div>
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Our approach has a strong tilt towards helping you ask the right questions in the presence of the Holy Spirit so that you discover (and therefore own) an organic and unique approach to strengthening your work. We do not typically recommend models because models tend to not fit unless they are customize-able. We do typically recommend tools when asked or when we feel it is helpful.</div>
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We use our learner strengths to grow in knowledge that can help you and to also gain a deeper understanding of the principles at work in your ministry so that we can draw them out more effectively. We are growing in our understanding of Asian and American cultural bridges. We also have some familiarity with popular and effective Asian tools and bi-lingual training issues and cross-cultural gaps when transferring concepts.</div>
David Bielbyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09979973651706611686noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6911522661747252203.post-71131568420922470612013-10-06T21:36:00.000-07:002013-10-06T21:36:53.403-07:00God's Provision and a spark of faith multiplying!Do you remember the story of how Jesus healed James Kaufman of a weakened arm condition in 2010? And then again in 2012 the Lord healed his other arm of the exact same condition, each time after I prayed a simple prayer of faith in Jesus' name? Well here is his photo and my other friend Dela-Corlley from West Africa who was there and witnessed both healings. So more has happened.
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After hearing Randy Clark teach on sharing testimonies of healings to help people put their faith in Jesus before you pray for them, I have shared this story about James many times. A young man was healed after hearing this story when I prayed for his nasal septum damage. He was instantly healed and his surgeon cancelled his surgery. Well the story continues.
Tonight, October 6, 2013, I received my old Ford van back the one James started working on in 2012. He had replaced the engine in his spare time! So on the way home I felt the Spirit prompting me to stop at a McDonald's in LeRoy to get a coke. I resisted that idea. But continuing to feel the Lord speaking to me I finally yielded and drove to the McDonald's, which was still open. When I got inside I saw a man who struck me as a real live hillbilly. He had his son with him (I don't mean anything derogatory by the nickname hillbilly-I don't know how else to describe him). So I went by him to get my drink and said hello. He started talking to me. Before we knew it I was sharing with him about how I got my old van back on the road thanks to the generous labor of my friend James. Then the Spirit prompted me to share the healing story with this man, right at the fountain machine in the McDonald's of LeRoy, Illinois. So there I was telling a glory story about how Jesus heals people today. The next thing I knew this man said to me, 'That is my exact same problem. My shoulder hurts. Can you touch it?' I offered to put my hand on it and pray for him. After I prayed a very short, one sentence prayer, he stood there with a smile on his face. So I asked him to try out his shoulder and see if it was better. He began moving it in a circular motion trying to see if it still had a pop sound. He suddenly smiled and said there was no more pop in his shoulder. Then he said it felt better. Then he started smiling really big and he threw both arms around me and hugged me. Mind you, I'm a hugger. He hugged me about twice as long as I would hug someone. Still it was really good. I told him that Jesus loves him and wants to be close to him. He thanked me and inquired about the church I attend so I shared with him that we attend the Vineyard in Urbana. After he heard we lived in Champaign county he gave me another hug and asked God to give me safe travels. It's just wonderful to see God healing people in a McDonald's restaurant while we are going about our every day life. It's also comforting to know that God really did lead me to get that coke at that particular restaurant at the time He did. Look at who was standing around waiting for a touch from God!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6911522661747252203.post-32490005364613468172013-09-30T20:31:00.001-07:002013-09-30T20:31:34.018-07:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-q9Bl3WR1T2g/UkpBgD5ScMI/AAAAAAAABzQ/CaHm900l-NA/s1600/Daniel+Chen+Welcome+Back+Party.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-q9Bl3WR1T2g/UkpBgD5ScMI/AAAAAAAABzQ/CaHm900l-NA/s400/Daniel+Chen+Welcome+Back+Party.JPG" /></a></div>
Shortly after we decided to return from Taipei to live in Illinois, our co-worker, Daniel, was recalled to come back to Illinois by his boss. So he is now here for a little over 3 months. Here's a snapshot of his welcome home party hosted by the Eglis. What a great time we all had together. His return was like a confirmation to me.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6911522661747252203.post-7691594522538204672013-09-16T09:39:00.003-07:002013-09-16T09:40:05.292-07:00My First Holy Spirit Night service in Urbana
Yesterday we had a very full day. After Chinese lessons before the worship service, I then had a chance to hear Dan Paxton tell his story in Urbana. Before they went into worship I ducked into the Chinese Fellowship meeting to hear Ray Lu speak (no translation :)). After eating lunch with the people there I was invited to a Visiting Scholar’s Lunch where we heard a lesson on Genesis 1 by Steve and Ruth Wegman. That was interesting. During the morning and lunch time activities I had a chance to meet many Chinese scholars and PhD candidates. They were all very kind to me, making me feel like my Chinese was good and that I was welcome to join their lunch activities. I felt it was very significant.
Finally I made it to Lowe’s where they cut up a 4x8 sheet of plywood for me. The shelf pieces were just a tad too long, so I will have to hand sand them a tiny bit. No big deal. But some hope that I will be able to get a few shelves built before my books arrive. With just five minutes to rest we turned around and went to the School of Kingdom Ministry. After an hour of teaching there we had a chance to attend the Holy Spirit Night. This event had some talking, but was mainly an extended worship set by the Vineyard worship band. It lasted about 2 hours. Then afterwards we talked for a long time. Turned out a homeless young man was left waiting around for a ride to the library. We ended up dropping him off at Super 8 where he got a room for $35. I think Amy and Johanna gave him the cash to check in. By the time we got home David was feeling sick and I was so tired I could barely get into bed. All this on a day where I was supposed to be on vacation.
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<b>So let me share the part of my day that remained on my mind the next morning when I got up.
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During the Holy Spirit Night at The Vineyard Church in Urbana I had a revelation during the first song they did. I saw a fountain shooting up about 15 feet into the air...right at the center of the front and center aisle. As I worshipped the Lord I noticed this fountain continuing to shoot a lot of water. It resembled the Summer Palace fountains in St. Petersburg, except this fountain was a stronger and wider stream of water (about 15” in diameter).
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-G4AMYZ6yRz8/UjczUbC2ewI/AAAAAAAABy8/piQRZ0OJHyA/s1600/Fountains+Summer+Palace.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-G4AMYZ6yRz8/UjczUbC2ewI/AAAAAAAABy8/piQRZ0OJHyA/s320/Fountains+Summer+Palace.jpg" /></a></div>September 16, 2013 Journal Entry
As I looked at the fountain, I had a growing sense that the Lord was moving on the Holy Spirit Night more than I had seen in other meetings in quite awhile. I was encouraged and began to wonder what it was about. The water continued to shoot up into the air (this was all in a vision while I was awake and while I was worshipping the Lord).
Somewhere early in the worship time I decided to move over to the area where the fountain was. I stood immediately behind it because a young lady was standing right in front of it...as she moved away I stepped directly into the flow of the water. Slowly I could feel the Lord refreshing my spirit. It was not as powerful as I thought it would be, but it was transforming.
Then a song began by one of the leaders named Kyle. As he started a new song (all of them were totally new up to this point), I saw two angels flying across the sanctuary. They started from the other side and they slowly flew through the air, about 25 feet in the air or so...flying across the front over the ministry area. They each had two torches that were lit and burning brightly. As they slowly flew I thought to myself, if this song is from the Lord something about fire will come up as they open up this song. Sure enough, a theme that could relate to fire developed. I could really sense the presence of the Lord in that song.
Then I noticed that the angels were holding a banner (perhaps about 8 feet long and 3 feet tall or so), however I could not make out what it said on it. I kept thinking it might have something to do with the Kingdom of God or the gospel, but I just could not make it out.Then one of the angels, the second one, looked at me and could tell I was seeing them. He smiled at me and continued flying.
As the song continued I realized we had torches in the hands of two angels flying above a powerful fountain. It was quite a spectacular encounter. And the banner continued to intrigue me. Still I pressed on to worship the Lord.
Then sometime after that another song started and the angels with the banner left. But the fountain continued to stream water. I’m not sure when it happened, but the band did a Jeremy Riddle song, cannot remember the one they did. But it was the first song they did where they did not write it. At the precise moment that the electric guitarist did his power strokes three additional fountains on each side of the center fountain suddenly did quick bursts of water into the air. I was surprised and totally loved it. That didn’t happen a lot, just a few times. Then it stopped.
The first fountain continued to shoot water up...and by this time I had moved directly onto it. I was standing in the middle of the fountain. Just hungering for more of God.
Several times I thought of the old song I wrote in the early 90’s called “The Lord is a fountain of living water”. The song was written after a Friday Night Worship meeting much like the Holy Spirit Night, except it was in Olathe, Kansas. Not knowing that the Lord calls Himself a fountain of living waters, the Holy Spirit gave me this verse by revelation (He spoke the reference to me) one morning many months after I had already written the song. I was totally encouraged by that.
Jeremiah 2:13
13 “For My people have committed two evils:
They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters,
And hewn themselves cisterns—broken cisterns that can hold no water.
Also, this verse comes to me as I write about the encounter. “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,” Isaiah 55:10 ESV
The lyrics to the song I wrote are:
The Lord is a fountain of living waters.
The Lord is a fountain of everlasting life
gushing forth within my soul, His Spirit overflows my banks.
gushing forth within my soul, His Spirit overflows my banks.
And I drink from the fountain of life, I bury my face in you Lord.
Yes, I drink from the fountain of life that refreshes the heart of this saint.
For a year or two the Holy Spirit moved powerfully on us when I led this song in worship.
As I worshipped and experienced all these things, last night I realized that the fountain represented the fresh revelation being released from the new songs. That the new songs were revelatory songs. That God had inspired them and that He was moving powerfully through them. And after standing in the fountain I was seeing, after several songs, I felt the Lord doing something to me. The fountain of life that had been in me years ago was being restored. I was being reactivated. The fountain I had been looking and and then had been standing in, was now being implanted into me! I suddenly had a fountain of living waters bursting up within my soul. And it was powerful.
After the service we were hanging around talking. Someone named Tamara came up to us and asked if Amy and I would pray for her. As I began to pray for her I immediately saw a vision of a train. I remembered my own train story and thought to myself, this lady has a calling to do something with missions and training. Amy got the word professor. And she asked her about it. Tamara (Tam) said she was nicknamed ‘professor’ and that was her license plate. We both feel she was called to do some sort of training for people who are called to missions. Then she shared with us that she had a long time desire to train missionaries in nutrition, which was her field.
I would not normally share the fountain story, but the worship leader for the entire evening heard about it from the only person I shared some of this with. He asked me to write it down, and so here it is.
My final thoughts: The Lord truly is a fountain of living waters. He truly wants to fill you with an overflowing presence of His Spirit. And Jesus himself declared this in John 7 when he said to us:
Living Water
37Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. 38"He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.'" 39But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
We are thirsty for the Lord. And because of the finished work of the cross, we have full access to the Spirit of God. So come and drink freely.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6911522661747252203.post-80541798520065717812013-09-04T12:03:00.001-07:002013-09-04T12:34:25.593-07:00Our flag is the glorious gospel of Christ!The last month I was in Taipei I shared the core concepts of the glorious gospel whenever I could. The Lord Jesus confirmed His gospel with decisions to follow Jesus, three baptisms on my last week-end there, two healings (one of an elderly lady who walked with a cain in pain, but all her pain left her that day), and then the very first Sunday we arrived in Urbana one of our friends from Taipei, who just moved to Urbana to do a Masters/PhD track in Chemistry asked me to baptize her! Overflow from Taipei back to Urbana! How awesome!
Through faith in the blood of Christ on the cross we have access to God's presence. And so we can come boldly before God and do Psalm 46:10a. This verse says "Be still and know that I am God!" I interpret this as experiencing God! In His presence we set aside our guards, we drop our defenses and we welcome Him into our spirit. As we are transformed from glory to glory in His presence we intensify as a portal of His presence and glory and love. Here are some lyrics from my meditations on this verse. "Be still and feel my holy fire. Be still and see my beaming love. Be still and see my beams of radiant love. Let them overwhelm you like the waves of a mighty ocean--know Me!
I let my soul open to You! My heart welcomes Your holy fire. My eyes drink in your beams of love--You overwhelm me like the waves, like the waves of a mighty ocean when they crash suddenly on the shore."
Did we mention that Amy and I are now grandparents? Our daughter Hosanna gave birth to our very first grandchild on August 21. We are so excited about baby Ellianna! She's beautiful, happy and clearly (in our opinion) the finest grandchild God ever made!
As some of you have heard me say for a few decades now, the Lord visited me in 1992 and called me to preach the gospel. As we stepped out by faith, sold our home in Olathe, Kansas, gave up our business and pursued the Lord the first days of 1995 we have seen God lead us and guide us from point to point on this journey. Sometimes the roads were paved with exciting divine provision, sometimes we wondered how God was going to provide. We have never been let down by the Lord yet, even though we have walked through the valley of the shadow of death and come through it. Our lives are a testimony to God's faithfulness to those who put their trust in the work of the cross. We are now in a transition season. Here's what we feel God is saying to us. Focus on Asians in Champaign/Urbana, learn from leaders at The Vineyard Church, gleaning their best qualities to enhance what we already have from the Lord, pursue a grad degree so that I can train ministers in an accredited undergrad setting. Amy is praying about substitute teaching. We will take the next few weeks to pray through these things and make sure we're on track while we rest up from the stress of moving and resetting our ministry focus from Taipei to East Central Illinois. We deeply appreciate your standing with us by faith. You can continue supporting us through same methods available the past three years. Please check to make sure your contributions are still being sent. A few have dropped off inadvertently. Giving links are found on this website just below the youtube videos I have displayed for you to view. If you have trouble finding them, please write me. <a href="Bielby Family Site">http://vbitaiwan.blogspot.com/</a>
<b>Stories of how God moved since we last wrote you:
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This past June, when we arrived in the USA, Candis Laesch generously loaned her Saturn to us. It was our means of transportation since then. A few days ago I was contacted by Jim Egli at The Vineyard Church. He said a Honda Accord that was being donated to the church might be available for us to use. I expressed interest. Then a week or so later he contacted me to let me know that the car had come through and would be given to us! About 60 minutes later we heard from Candis that she would need her vehicle back by the week-end! Literally the same week that we returned Candis' car we were given a car by the church. I am getting it tagged and licensed this week as we prepare it to use. So right when we needed a car, the Holy Spirit moved to provide one for us! See the photo of the car we were given.
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6911522661747252203.post-41631400904201001342013-08-25T07:40:00.001-07:002013-08-25T08:41:56.575-07:00Funniest Water Baptism I Ever Participated InSo about 3 years ago I saw a water baptism in southern Taiwan where a young man was not put all the way under the water when he was baptized. So after he had dried off a discussion unfolded...and the leaders decided to call the boy back up and re baptize him! So I made it my aim to always put someone all the way under the water.
Sure enough in 2012 I did a baptism for my Chinese teacher. She did not tell me she was concerned about getting her hair wet. I was concerned about making sure it was wet. So when I baptized her she kept her forehead out of the water. Instant concern swept across my heart and I reached up and put my hand across her forehead and pushed her whole head under the water. Later she said to me, "I thought 'what is Pastor Dave doing?'" So I explained everything. We now laugh about it quite often.
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<b>But I continue to try to make sure everyone goes all the way under. </b>
A Taiwanese missionary who has come back from Africa to serve in Taipei was helping me baptize a 17 year old young man today. His name is Moses. As we were baptizing Moses I noticed his hands were trembling and he seemed nervous. Plus he was not exactly a little boy....so I determined to give him a strong pull back into the water. Well the lady missionary who was on the other side of me had no idea I was going to do that because I didn't think to tell her. So as Moses fell backwards to be baptized, I gave Moses a big pull down into the water to make sure he went all the way under. The speed of Moses' plunge into the water caught my poor friend off guard. Before I realized what was happening she went completely under the water along with Moses....head and all. I held my breath in horror as she came up for air. Then she and everyone else broke out in laughter. I wonder if Moses knew why at first. I guess that baptism was what we call a 2 for 1 deal. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6911522661747252203.post-31044296620500724762013-08-16T23:42:00.000-07:002013-08-16T23:43:05.204-07:00Learning to Trust God When Things Don't Go As You PlanSo I was running late to a men's BBQ at a friends house in Taipei..so to make sure I go there I carefully studied google maps. I figured out which bus to take...what stop to go to. How to spell the bus stop in pinyin...and how to pronounce it correctly. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eq3rJiI1pUw/Ug8awBaAEXI/AAAAAAAAAhU/5lwo4JRO-xg/s1600/1171532_10151722091913449_1092021705_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eq3rJiI1pUw/Ug8awBaAEXI/AAAAAAAAAhU/5lwo4JRO-xg/s320/1171532_10151722091913449_1092021705_o.jpg" /></a></div>
Then I left. All was well. I got on the right bus. After going the correct number of stops I noticed my bus stop was not there. So I asked someone. They said we passed it. So I got off the bus...went to the stop on the other side of the road to go back. The next driver pulled up and said to me that I needed to go to the stop on the other side of the road. Knowing that was wrong, and knowing I was already late...I decided to call the host. No answer.
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So after awhile I decided to just go home. On the way home my wife messaged me asking me to hangout with her before she went to sleep for the night. So when I got home I set up google hangout and we talked. During that call, an urgent request from a friend who was in ICU came in. So my next call was to ICU. A friend who needed pastoral care in the middle of the night in Central Illinois. I believe the Lord redirected my steps in Taipei on a rainy afternoon so that I would be able to pray for, comfort and encourage my friend in ICU in Bloomington, Illinois. Now isn't it just like God to get ahold of someone to meet us when we are upset and beside ourselves?
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One take away I have: when an ordinary task seems to not go right, stop and ask the Lord what you should do. And be ready for a surprise need to pop up. Also, don't hold your own plans so tightly or lean on your own understanding so closely. God may want to use you in a way that you don't know about yet. So be happy while you are being re-routed if necessary. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6911522661747252203.post-68539761589949432782013-08-04T05:23:00.001-07:002013-08-04T05:53:52.171-07:00Transition Story<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Transition Story</span></div>
<b id="docs-internal-guid-3c6e0394-4943-c6ca-a3c3-daeaa15e596c" style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Over the last several years the State of Illinois has been sinking into financial debt because of over spending in a number of areas. As a result, the University of Illinois in Urbana has not been receiving all the funds they are due when in State residents attend their courses. So, a few years ago the University made a decision to allow a higher percentage of foreign students to attend. As a result there has been a dramatic influx of Asian students, particularly students from China and Taiwan. These students typically pay about 2 to 2 ½ times what Illinois residents pay because they do not get any special breaks. This is allowing the University to move into the black financially. It also has created the second largest international student body in all of the USA. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">About three weeks ago I spoke at Victory Christian Center in Bloomington Illinois. The morning I was planning to speak there I had a dream. In my dream Amy Oun, someone who used to attend our church in B/N walked up to me after I had finished the first two points of my sermon. She said, “Follow me.” And we went outside the building right in the middle of the sermon. Then she gently turned my face towards her and looked deep into my eyes and said, “This is very important. You have an opportunity to greatly increase the impact of your ministry between now and August 29.” Then I woke up. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I wondered what August 29th was all about.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Later that day we flew out west and then the following day we went to Anaheim. During the Pastors conference our son attended the youth meetings for Pastors Kids (PKs). If you write him he will send you a copy of what happened to him during one of the meetings. Suffice it to say this, when they were asking the Holy Spirit to fall on the youth and speak to them about their destiny he had a very dramatic experience. His spirit was taken to heaven and Jesus spoke to him. One of the things that he was told was that it was not yet his time for Taiwan and that he must go to Urbana. The entire account is quite powerful.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">When he shared that with Amy and I we were quite stunned. About the same time we had a brief exchange with one of our leaders at Urbana about the glorious gospel. That encouraging exchange impacted my heart. So we began to pray about Urbana. Finally after the conference we shared it with some of our leaders from Urbana. As we processed things we became convinced that we should explore going to Urbana. As we talked to them, the leader there in charge of training asked me if I would be able to teach their VBI class on Church Health. As we talked about it he shared with me later on that it would be necessary for me to be there when the class started. I asked him when that was. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">He said, “August 29th.” That’s when I realized it was the same date in my dream from a few weeks before. Now I knew what opportunity was going to end on August 29.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">So we are planning to go back to Urbana. I will teach a class on Church Health in their system and we will start to reach out to the students there. Interestingly enough, one of our contacts here in Taipei, a young lady named HuiHui, is moving to Urbana to work on graduate training and plans to be there for the next five years. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We’re not sure how long we will be in Urbana, but we believe that the Holy Spirit is leading us to go there at this time. So we asked the Lord where we should live. We all felt led to rent a place. Then we asked Him how much. Amy, Johanna and David all heard $1200/month. I heard $1100. I told the family that I was the Dad and that my figure was the final word. They agreed. A friend prophesied in detail about the place and what it would look like. They found a place that fit the description given and that they felt good about in a little town called Mahomet (just 10 minutes from Urbana). It was listed for $1200. Before they talked about money, the agent showing the property offered to reduce the rent to $1100. So, we decided that was exactly what the Lord was saying. Something listed for 1200 we would get for 1100.</span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">We are planning to continue living by faith. We feel the Holy Spirit spoke very clearly to us, Proverbs 3:5-6. So we are asking you to continue as our partners, not as missionaries in Taipei anymore but as missionaries to the Asian students in Urbana. </span></div>
<b style="font-weight: normal;"><br /><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span></b>
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<div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.15; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I once again say to the Lord, we are like nickels in your pocket. Spend us as you please. I ask that we make the most impact for the Kingdom of God as possible. We feel that associating with the leaders and congregation in Urbana will be a huge blessing for us. They have so much we can learn from them about. We also feel that it gives us a very good place where we can model how to do church for those we disciple, train and deploy. We’re not sure how long the Holy Spirit will have us in Urbana, but for now it’s going to be our home.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Thank you.</span><br />
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6911522661747252203.post-56847251653181103552012-08-04T06:45:00.001-07:002012-08-04T06:51:56.228-07:00Instantly healedWhen I was a boy I listened with great interest to stories of how God moved on the mission field. It seemed that when missionaries when to foreign countries that God was with them in a special way. A pastor even told me that spiritual gifts were given primarily for use on the mission field, but not so much here in the USA. My home country, overlaid with a scientific mind-set that tended to deny supernatural reality, seemed to be a place of void of the power of God being demonstrated in a practical way. All that has been changing over the years. And this story is an example.<br />
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In about 2008, while pastoring in Bloomington/Normal, I met James Kaufman. He became a friend of mine. During those days he attended Grace Lifegroup faithfully. In 2010 as I was wrapping up my final days leading Grace Lifegroup, and my final days pastoring the Vineyard in B/N, James developed weakness in his left arm. He was unable to lift with that arm. Since he worked on cars and was a general handyman, this directly affected his ability to earn a living. One night after we finished praying together, he asked if we would pray for his left arm. So we prayed a simple prayer 'I command healing into this arm in Jesus' name'. He was instantly healed.<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ggSFPtnqoS0/UB0mzXemPgI/AAAAAAAAAII/F1kMB-XPBd4/s1600/251884_10151003790593449_1959573650_n+(2).jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ggSFPtnqoS0/UB0mzXemPgI/AAAAAAAAAII/F1kMB-XPBd4/s320/251884_10151003790593449_1959573650_n+(2).jpg" width="240" /></a>This summer I went to his home where he has our old van in storage. I went to help him drop the motor from it. He complained that his right arm was developing the same problem he used to have with his left arm. He then said to me, 'you healed my left arm, now do the same for my right arm'. I had forgotten about the healing in 2010, but as he talked I remembered the whole thing. I remembered how I was irritated in my heart that he waited to ask for prayer until after we were done praying. I remembered how short my prayer was, and I realized I had not really given God much glory through the whole thing. I felt the sting of a good rebuke as he challenged me to heal him.<br />
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James was on top of the engine of my van, reaching behind it to try to loosen a mounting bolt. So I just put my hand on his right shoulder and I said, 'Be healed in Jesus' name'. A few seconds later I asked him to try to lift that arm to see if he was healed. He climbed out of the van and lifted his arm repeatedly. A smile came across his face and he announced that he was completely healed. After posting this on FB, he came back a few weeks later to note that his arm was still working great!<br />
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Then we shared with Ron, who was a friend of James and a witness to all this. I invited Ron to come back to Jesus. Ron's eyes were wide as he had been listening to James complain about his arm for a couple days at least. Although to my knowledge Ron has not yet come back to Jesus, he did witness the power of God through Jesus' name heal his friend. We give all glory for these two healings in James' life. And we share this with you so that you know God is moving here in the USA.<br />
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Now for you my Christian friends, we invite you to ask God where He is working right now around you and join in as the Holy Spirit leads. Don't be afraid. We also invite you to pray for our work in Asia to multiply.<br />
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3Constitution Trail, Bloomington, IL 61701, USA40.473591419684062 -88.99063110351562540.425278419684062 -89.069595103515624 40.521904419684063 -88.911667103515626tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6911522661747252203.post-21401070876762488132012-04-15T09:23:00.001-07:002012-04-15T16:13:11.789-07:00Finding Your Godspot<span id="internal-source-marker_0.6862368769943714"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Our current project in Asia at Oasis in Tianmu, Taipei City</b></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">I've been functioning as a coach at Oasis during the last 10 weeks as we have been exploring new ministry options God has opened up for us in Taipei. This is part of what we've been able to do during that time. In about 8 weeks we've been able to present, prepare and roll-out this project in cooperation with staff and volunteers at the church. It should be running on it's own without our supervision soon. Initial reaction from the congregation and staff has been very positive.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Finding Your “Godspot” at Oasis</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">As we’ve been saying in the worship services recently at Oasis, some exciting opportunities are unfolding. Using the best tools on the market, we have crafted a custom process at Oasis that we are currently setting up at the new Godspot Station. This is a place by the sound booth in the sanctuary where you can sign up to meet with a Godspot Counselor (we’re training four of them </span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">this week and next week). The Godspot Counselors are specially trained to help you identify and confirm your spiritual gifts. They also are familiar with the ministries at Oasis that we’ve taken a lot of time to define. The goal of meeting with a Godspot Counselor is to help you not only know what your spiritual gifts are, but to help you identify and connect with at least one ministry at Oasis where you can use your spiritual gifts to encourage others. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">The process is a fluid one that should be regularly refined as time goes on. That’s normal, but in the beginning as we get things rolling, more changes and work will have to be done until we all get the hang of it. So if you questions, please ask them because odds are more people are thinking the same thing. Questions give us a chance to clarify things and help everyone move forward with unity. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Our hope is that everyone in the church will know their spiritual gifts, and that others around them will know their spiritual gifts as well. In addition, we want to help you do ministry that we all agree you are specially gifted by the Holy Spirit to do. And so as we discover what everyones spiritual gifts are, then we can start to deploy teachers and coaches to help everyone mature in the use of their spiritual gifts. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Can you imagine what will happen if everyone at Oasis is able to take their place and feel fully empowered to do ministry using what they’ve personally received from God as gifts to do? Oasis can truly then change the world!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">How to start? You can start by giving your contact information to the office. Just sign up on the clipboards at the back of the church in the sanctuary. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;"><b>Some Tools</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-size: 15px; white-space: pre-wrap;">We have a spiritual gifts to ministry index in English and Chinese. We also have a ministry to spiritual gifts index in both languages. At the same time we have a complete ministry description for over 30 ministries at Oasis. By this time next week that may exceed 40. We also have assessment tools, like a spiritual gifts test and <i>other assorted tools</i> in English and Chinese. In development is a grid to help the Godspot Counselors more quickly match spiritual gifts to potential ministries.</span></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;"></span><b><br /><span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">Some published goals for Oasis’ Finding Your Godspot 2012.</span></b><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">By April 22 four Godspot Counselors successfully complete their training. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">By September 1 we have finished assessing and confirming spiritual gifts for 75 people 13 years old and up in Oasis.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 15px; font-weight: normal; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: pre-wrap;">By September 1 we have placed a minimum of 56 people 13 years old and up in ministries that we all agree are their Godspot ministries!</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0Tianmu, Taipei City, Taiwan25.1156965 121.534145725.101319 121.5144047 25.130073999999997 121.55388669999999