tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-292540492024-03-21T05:21:17.625-07:00THE JOURNEY SO FARDurandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03668149965050793130noreply@blogger.comBlogger84125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29254049.post-64960544546104503362007-07-11T08:31:00.000-07:002007-07-11T08:34:42.163-07:00Making it easier!Now to keep up with the Robinsons and CreativeWorks there's only one place to go<br /><br /><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.gemcreativeworks.org">http://www.gemcreativeworks.org</a><br /><br />I'm no longer blogging here... so<br /><br />PLEASE TAKE 30 seconds to do the following: <br /></span></span><ol><li><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">click on the link above to go to our site, </span></span></li><li><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">scroll down the right hand column to where you see "GET THE FEED" </span></span></li><li><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Submit your email address to us, and you'll automatically be notified when there are updates. </span></span></li></ol><span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Couldn't be simpler.<br /><br />Thanks. See you there.<br /></span></span>Durandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03668149965050793130noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29254049.post-73378083458094023662007-07-02T23:04:00.000-07:002007-07-03T13:35:14.506-07:00iPhone Intercession<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9oVrqhSSmxcBEzdBHkL2v0vsRN7GEvx_5OApPnQuLdW89Gq8uqVJ2jE2fptix0vRzaqKOSCwZszGMn-ATwZFTiqVhcY1W31Z7UuI4BSdDwTwCXXXq_kgQZos8om0E9BqPozfS/s1600-h/iphoneintercession.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9oVrqhSSmxcBEzdBHkL2v0vsRN7GEvx_5OApPnQuLdW89Gq8uqVJ2jE2fptix0vRzaqKOSCwZszGMn-ATwZFTiqVhcY1W31Z7UuI4BSdDwTwCXXXq_kgQZos8om0E9BqPozfS/s320/iphoneintercession.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5082977358133023426" border="0" /></a><br /><p>First of all, no, I didn't pray for an iPhone. (Tempted? Yes.) I may be an Apple addict, but I've still got some self restraint.</p> <p>The functionality of phones continue to merge with other gadgets for surfing the web, listening to music, watching videos and even making phone calls.</p> <p>Here's another one. SMS (or short message service) for sending text messages from phone to phone has been around for a while. But one church I know actually has harnessed the little feature in a simple but highly effective way.</p> <p>Have a prayer coordinator from your group send out one text message or SMS per day as a prayer reminder to other group members sometime in the morning. Receiving the message does several things.</p> <ul><li>It reminds you that you're part of a community, even if you're not physically together.</li><li>It helps you keep in touch with each other's needs and concerns.</li><li>It brings everyone together around at the feet of our Father.</li><li>It helps you depend on God for the needs of others.</li></ul> <p>And all for the price of a text message.</p> <p>Small groups, accountability partners, youth groups and even entire congregations (small ones anyway) often feel the disruption of summer. This little idea could not only help your community during the summer months, but during the hustle and bustle of your lives all year long.</p> <p>Thanks to the folks at the <a href="http://www.journeycommunity.blogspot.com/" mce_href="http://www.journeycommunity.blogspot.com/" title="The Journey">Journey</a> in Blackrock, County Dublin, Ireland for demonstrating this to me.</p> <p>Durand</p>Durandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03668149965050793130noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29254049.post-49696078621875036372007-06-30T07:39:00.000-07:002007-07-03T07:44:14.189-07:00Grace: the key to missional church<p>I’ve got admit, I’ve been struggling to balance all that I’m reading these days relating to the church. I’ve watched a lot of adjectives get attached to “Church” through the years. “Seeker”. “High Impact”. “Purpose-driven”. “Simple”. “Emerging”. I could do this for hours…</p> <p>But the one that’s caught my attention lately is “missional”. I’m a missionary, for crying out loud. Of course I’d notice. But it’s taken me longer to catch the sense.</p> <p>You see, in most of the what I’ve read and heard, people dive straight into discussing the mission of the church for today and what it ought to be doing. But I listened to a short interview with Craig Van Gelder from Luther Seminary that helped me understand how becoming a missional church begins with God’s mission, not the mission of the church.</p> <p>The church is really about God’s mission, God’s purpose, God’s activity. It’s about understanding what God’s purposes are from the wisdom of Scripture and then understanding what God is doing and wants to do through discernment of the times by means his Spirit. Then you can brace yourself to dive into ministry, and probably in directions you may not have anticipated.</p> <p>I confess. I’m an over 50 year-old male born and raised in North America. Cut me and I tend to bleed pragmatism. It would be easy for me to jump to the “action points” and “preferred outcomes”. I can live for months on the adrenaline of one decent “accomplishment.” But what we do as a church comes out of who we are as a church.</p> <p>Grace defines who we are. Believers are both recipients and instruments of grace. Churches must reflect an utter sense of submission to God’s authority, dependence on God’s power, and commitment to God’s purposes and mission.</p> <p>Christians are intended to engage the world for the spread of the Gospel and for good of the world, but by first consecrating themselves to God and what he in his grace is doing. He’s created the church as a community of those who know and wish to extend God’s offer of grace.</p> <p>To whom much is given, much is required.</p> <p>NDR</p> <p><a tip="" href="http://www.allelon.org/resources/netcasts/aroxburgh_cvangelder.cfm"><strong>LINK TO THE INTERVIEW WITH DR. VAN GELDER</strong><br /></a></p>Durandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03668149965050793130noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29254049.post-33849354592148591612007-06-29T07:34:00.000-07:002007-07-03T07:44:39.714-07:00S.O.S. Moms! (Surviving our summer)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyp0Za0KJwa_G2YLn2OL5MPtsuvnYEn4dPbw3xsYJHqpw-WUat85ULIA41gKGl_XkgiQG3EWfygJGopnU9AaaxEgjgCfMsL9q_RV8vl75YP1LONk4Kq8KOhYIYqxv8atQCqYDQ/s1600-h/summerscream.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyp0Za0KJwa_G2YLn2OL5MPtsuvnYEn4dPbw3xsYJHqpw-WUat85ULIA41gKGl_XkgiQG3EWfygJGopnU9AaaxEgjgCfMsL9q_RV8vl75YP1LONk4Kq8KOhYIYqxv8atQCqYDQ/s200/summerscream.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5082979591516017394" border="0" /></a>Lots of churches host a weekly morning for moms with preschool kids during the school year. But it’s tough to keep something together during the summer.<br /><br />And now it’s the end of school. Moms are bracing for the invasion of time and space… their time and space. There’s got to be some kind of plan of counter-attack! And hopefully moms want to enjoy their kids during the summer; not just survive them.<br /><br />One idea is to be proactive by offering a 4-week series of mornings called S.O.S. Moms (Surviving Our Summer!) Invite a balance of mothers from the community and a couple from your church. Small is good (like 5-6 moms.) Set it up with a couple of minders (babysitters) who can care for the children in the back garden with an hour of games followed by an hour of moms and kids together with some snacks.<br /><br />During the four weeks, focus each time on a different subject. Week one could be “Summer Outings” where someone creative talks about dozens of things in the area you might never have thought of doing together with your children. Then encourage the attendees to make a date with at least one other mom in the room to do an activity together.<br /><br />The second week, focus on “Summer Rainy Day activities” with a similar approach. The third week, focus on “books for kids” and plan a library outing or a book swap. The last week’s focus is on “really loving your children” where you can look at what the Bible says about the “tough love” of discipline or other biblical principles for helping raise children. Include your personal testimony of the difference knowing Christ has made in your being able to really love your children.<br /><br />The goal of the activity is to get people acquainted around a common need and encourage friendships to develop between individuals during the week as the summer marches on.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.mops.org/">MOPS or Mothers of Preschoolers</a> is a great resource for mothers all year round. It’s a good way to get to know other women in the neighborhood.<br /><br />NDRDurandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03668149965050793130noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29254049.post-52419671780143984532007-06-28T07:30:00.000-07:002007-07-03T07:44:54.252-07:00Idea: Make a ministry team blog<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifDbw-Rv1fohA5zDRiBdEDdEXWoTUpS3ZLc2cEmze36mtaKNsW-5vYIRuCQSoxz86hOiOBITHjVb4fpzbzdOEq4HZU8xgJZMGnu_iM3wHwPQdlyl3rXaKGi3_NnekQpUX-BbK5/s1600-h/Zach.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifDbw-Rv1fohA5zDRiBdEDdEXWoTUpS3ZLc2cEmze36mtaKNsW-5vYIRuCQSoxz86hOiOBITHjVb4fpzbzdOEq4HZU8xgJZMGnu_iM3wHwPQdlyl3rXaKGi3_NnekQpUX-BbK5/s200/Zach.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5082978479119487714" border="0" /></a><br />Going on a trip with a group from your church this summer? Consider keeping a team blog, complete with photos. It’s a great way to get everyone behind you in prayer. You don’t even need a computer along with you. All you need is a free blog account and a cell phone that does email with a camera built in.<br /><br />Almost all the free blog services (like Blogger and WordPress) offer you the option to upload text and photos through the email feature on your cellphone. That means you don’t even have to bring your computer to the beach (or the worksite.)<br /><br />Make it a team effort. Have a team reporter to collect stories, a team photographer to snap the shots, and everyone contributing ideas. You can even start the blog during the prep stage to use as a prayer guide and support development tool if people need to raise funds for the project.<br /><br />If you’ve promoted the blog you’ll have some devoted readers (and prayers) from your first posting. Who knows? You might even peak someone’s interest who’d never considered a ministry trip before who’ll sign up for the next one.<br /><br />NDRDurandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03668149965050793130noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29254049.post-75124903813247973422007-06-27T00:10:00.000-07:002007-07-03T07:43:24.282-07:00Beyond blogging<p>I've really enjoyed the last several years of keeping a blog (probably more than you've enjoyed me keeping one). It's been a good place to keep a record of what's going on in life and ministry. It's also motivated others to pray and get involved in ministry.</p> <p>But I realized over the past couple of years that when working with one group in a specific area to help meet a ministry need creatively that others might have benefited from the process we took to find a solution.</p> <p>And so I'm adding two new dimensions to the blog. One is a regular dose of ideas that could be of use to others in helping their church experience greater intimacy with God, community with believers and influence in the world around them.</p> <p><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_iNsj3hPrFGum7u8eqfowjMhdw4IwMXYO7n4614YjhsZ0VSl7-1EskfkOcC6EEw0untV0CA-h6ejoQp8bshTdQzg8LQ7PQwH4zZCdfYOLot-GyBkNtI-6J0yhV7C1I3dCzcQl/s1600-h/Imagine-Logosmall.gif"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_iNsj3hPrFGum7u8eqfowjMhdw4IwMXYO7n4614YjhsZ0VSl7-1EskfkOcC6EEw0untV0CA-h6ejoQp8bshTdQzg8LQ7PQwH4zZCdfYOLot-GyBkNtI-6J0yhV7C1I3dCzcQl/s400/Imagine-Logosmall.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5081381176487137970" border="0" /></a>And starting in the fall, I'll be adding a regular podcast (kind of an internet radio show for you newbies to this kind of stuff) where we'll be talking with other creative ministry folks looking for ways to help small churches with big ideas.</p> <p>One thing I've been exploring is which form the blog should take. I've been on Blogger for over 3 years now. (<a href="http://journey-so-far.blogspot.com/" mce_href="http://journey-so-far.blogspot.com" title="The Journey So Far">http://journey-so-far.blogspot.com</a>) I've also used iWeb which is great for good looking sites, but kind of clunky on the blog side of things. That's what I've done our current CreativeWorks website with. (<a href="http://www.gemcreativeworks.org/">http://www.gemcreativeworks.org</a>)<br /></p><p>I've explored just becoming handier with Dreamweaver, but I don't think I'll live that long. And I've also got a WordPress version in beta form (<a href="http://www.gemcreativeworks.org/wordpress" mce_href="http://www.gemcreativeworks.org/wordpress" title="CreativeWorks (WordPress) Beta">http://www.gemcreativeworks.org/wordpress</a>) which is not quite as pretty or flexible, but way easier to post with. Best of all it's opensource. That means I can help churches set up a pretty powerful web presence for free regardless of whether or not they've been blessed to own a Mac.</p> <p>If you're into this kind of stuff, I'd like to hear about what your thoughts on blog hosting are, especially as it might relate to having volunteers be responsible in a church for keeping up web content, calendars, posting sermons, etc.</p>Durandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03668149965050793130noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29254049.post-86385968597083132242007-06-22T09:39:00.000-07:002007-06-22T10:29:26.158-07:00In His good time<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk06nBVu1Zhi-aSJ1N1kG57kC0F6pxhZU_wOK9fK3W07nuTXlYhqWtcBZBkAGBA9HNxphUeLLjD3HovQ1m-mHhfHqqPOacpU87QYeOCkRZC73n6a5YFMvWoJqhkx1jvV20pMvj/s1600-h/house.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk06nBVu1Zhi-aSJ1N1kG57kC0F6pxhZU_wOK9fK3W07nuTXlYhqWtcBZBkAGBA9HNxphUeLLjD3HovQ1m-mHhfHqqPOacpU87QYeOCkRZC73n6a5YFMvWoJqhkx1jvV20pMvj/s400/house.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5078942051384312610" border="0" /></a><br />Many of you know we're in Germany, but we're working toward moving back to Ireland. The big obstacle at this point is the sale of our home here in Germany.<br /><br />It doesn't keep us from working. We've got plenty of projects going that we can do from either place, but we'd love to get the move behind us. And we'd like to start digging into relationships there in Ireland.<br /><br />One of the main things slowing down the sale is that there are houses for sale in the next village over (Kandern). Usually there aren't places available there, but this summer there happen to be several houses for sale. And because people like to walk to do their shopping, our village (a little over 2000 yards away) becomes less desirable. Doesn't seem far to us, but then again, we're Americans.<br /><br />So we wait.<br /><br />We know God will see it sold when it's time. In Belgium, no one was looking at our place in a dead market, but at the right time He sent one person to look at the house. It only takes one.<br /><br />Pray with us, will you? Thanks.<br /><br />DurandDurandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03668149965050793130noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29254049.post-18492737238149043832007-06-18T13:49:00.000-07:002007-06-22T00:00:29.703-07:00The Best for Last<span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">(Here's Matthias with a new Polish friend. The photo has nothing to do with the story, but it's one of my favorites of the tour.)</span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn5Afb3h0jdyjwRM1h_jW_-1QKvZw76jl0M_TO3sclGeAMquIeVjwxa5SYAvdhR-WuKSTEgTbCux2YjSlx4ERAxG4_aKx-9UCgcynAdJ5v2_abTQV35Qmtlygz8CGHTfGsAUf4/s1600-h/MattandFriend.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgn5Afb3h0jdyjwRM1h_jW_-1QKvZw76jl0M_TO3sclGeAMquIeVjwxa5SYAvdhR-WuKSTEgTbCux2YjSlx4ERAxG4_aKx-9UCgcynAdJ5v2_abTQV35Qmtlygz8CGHTfGsAUf4/s400/MattandFriend.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5078252296816444162" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Tour journal, part 6.<br /></span>As we prepared for our last concert Monday morning, I told Chris I felt somehow that this one was the main reason we came to Poland. In a high security prison, we were given the chance to play and share the gospel with over one hundred inmates.<br /><br />I explained that a lot of people realize that God exists, but they just don't like him. Thinking about God as the big judge in the sky reminds them of their guilt and moral failure. But perhaps the most liberating thing they could ever learn is that God is both just and loving.<br /><br />I told them a story about judge that was required to take a case involving one of his dearest personal friends. I asked the inmates whether they thought the judge would be a just judge or be a loving friend. I heard prisoners discussing among themselves what they thought would happen.<br /><br />When they learned that the judge had declared his friend guilty, they thought the story was over. But I continued, explaining that the judge had personally paid the friend's debt at great personal cost before declaring his verdict, thus providing his friend with the chance to go free. And then I asked again if the judge had been just or loving. He'd done both and done them fully.<br /><br />We finished the concert, one of the inmates asked the warden if he could ask the band a question. At first we thought through broken translation that he'd asked how long we'd been forgiven. We told him how long we'd been believers. He tried again, and this time the translation came through something like "how often do you ask for forgiveness" and we told them we asked daily. Finally, he got the real meaning of his question through. "How long does it take to be forgiven?"<br /><br />I almost lost it right there. With joy we explained that when God sees that with a sincere heart we repent of our sins and ask for forgiveness, it happens immediately. He smiled, in English said thank you and sat down. The director got up and thanked us for singing music that talked about the things that were on our hearts, because these are also the kinds of things the prisoners think about. Then all the prisoners were escorted to their cells. Pastor Chris told me that local pastors would be coming to the prison to follow up.Durandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03668149965050793130noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29254049.post-34966101231917134262007-06-17T13:36:00.000-07:002007-06-21T23:52:59.161-07:00Warsaw Weekend<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhnbH00kGE-MNORCeZTSNtxN9I0OWuolzNtQr9Z44KPWTDJ2Ufg6czPhyIuFjpkWlXmSS95JUtSo0gfqPJV-2eUHJgaTUGg4_yxIquAQFuZnaR8Qp0C4U7gokCirWq0I3_Yrlo/s1600-h/newmembers.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjhnbH00kGE-MNORCeZTSNtxN9I0OWuolzNtQr9Z44KPWTDJ2Ufg6czPhyIuFjpkWlXmSS95JUtSo0gfqPJV-2eUHJgaTUGg4_yxIquAQFuZnaR8Qp0C4U7gokCirWq0I3_Yrlo/s400/newmembers.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5078248976806724306" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);"><br />Tour journal, part 5. </span><br />Back in Warsaw The pastor wanted us to be part of a turning point weekend in the life of their church. An all day "new members" seminar was being offered for people to be challenged about becoming active members of the church. The church has had many visitors since moving into a permanent facility at a local trade school last October. A luncheon was offered to be followed by a 6 hour seminar on what it means to be part of the church from the Bible.<br /><br />The pastor had hoped that as many as 100 people would come. But earlier in the week they'd counted over 150, and by Saturday, 250 people came. Evangelism, discipleship, baptism, accountability were just some of the things discussed from the Scriptures. The climax of the day was a period of reflection as people considered signing a pledge <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj00jN2wHIUm4PWfrgjtKnOz9Ar-R_nfw6ciBAtVsfP5SVjiZHa9c-wtNnAdZ06eus_vBIXCjGmjn9UTaWPworMjFfjgpb5aowO-VQCc_9TEDqMtH-_lx09CGGmM8UIsEAceyxG/s1600-h/communion.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj00jN2wHIUm4PWfrgjtKnOz9Ar-R_nfw6ciBAtVsfP5SVjiZHa9c-wtNnAdZ06eus_vBIXCjGmjn9UTaWPworMjFfjgpb5aowO-VQCc_9TEDqMtH-_lx09CGGmM8UIsEAceyxG/s200/communion.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5078250454275474162" border="0" /></a>to identify with this church in active membership. Chris has asked us to sing several songs during this time of commitment. What a privilege.<br /><br />The following morning I was asked to sing during communion at the worship service before we hopped in the car and headed south for a Sunday evening concert about 3 hours away. We sang for a Methodist church planning to do distribution of wheelchairs in the area beginning Monday.Durandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03668149965050793130noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29254049.post-8069440148243493272007-06-15T13:18:00.000-07:002007-06-22T01:07:56.556-07:00Friday in Bydgoszcz ("bidgosh")<span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 153); font-weight: bold;font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-style: italic;">Here is the "Wheels" team fitting a new chair for a young Polish girl.</span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCZ1zc6IZO-aIIqs61RZyxpXH9KjQDFBHOAL-tbEI6piD7QMGqjwbUYC9kamWHdVNj_QAxBW9AU7p2Gthok1tf7K3OJwOJFbpXi_GwQQQcrAayZpU85sLjw0P7n_XfOZZq4t5w/s1600-h/newwheels.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 281px; height: 211px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCZ1zc6IZO-aIIqs61RZyxpXH9KjQDFBHOAL-tbEI6piD7QMGqjwbUYC9kamWHdVNj_QAxBW9AU7p2Gthok1tf7K3OJwOJFbpXi_GwQQQcrAayZpU85sLjw0P7n_XfOZZq4t5w/s400/newwheels.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5078244729084068482" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Tour journal, part 4. </span>Friday was a huge day. We had an almost 4 hour drive over some pretty dangerous stretches of worn-out, narrow, two-lane highway to a town in the north of Poland. There Joni and Friends had been distributing wheelchairs for two days, the biggest in the history of their Polish ministry. Unfortunately the church had little experience in doing public outreach and did little to publicize the concert that followed the distribution.<br /><br />About half the crowd came from a center for disabled young adults and youth who'd received wheelchairs the day before. The center had never heard of the church but found out about the wheelchair distribution.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiNTkupbg_mNp0DuJ80IW3iJJxs3M_9TgxMwBUflE3d_2sGc-mmA1E65on0q-kJC44Lh0HLWFCMRxgamBb1f2dq1trsU2gu2eH78GJOL4YbSCyXS_SgcuTYZpdLemIJEWryL2e/s1600-h/newfriends.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiNTkupbg_mNp0DuJ80IW3iJJxs3M_9TgxMwBUflE3d_2sGc-mmA1E65on0q-kJC44Lh0HLWFCMRxgamBb1f2dq1trsU2gu2eH78GJOL4YbSCyXS_SgcuTYZpdLemIJEWryL2e/s400/newfriends.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5078245261660013202" border="0" /></a>As I sat down with the young people after the concert I began talking to one of the assistants accompanying the group. I thanked him for his service acknowledging the labor of love he we was giving for this special group of people. I began to discuss with him about God's love and about what he'd heard during the concert. At one point I told him I'd pray for him and he asked me to pray for those he cared for as well. There was a great connection through the use of my translator with him. I believe God will draw him back to this group. He was impressed by their service, their friendliness and about their faith.<br /><br />We ended our time by grabbing a quick sandwich with the pastor and the translators before making another 4 hour drive back to Warsaw. We hit the pillow around midnight tired but glad for the day.Durandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03668149965050793130noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29254049.post-50345228757209038412007-06-14T13:08:00.000-07:002007-06-22T00:02:53.570-07:00Thursday with the girls<span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic; color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Ruth and our translator Agnes (right) with some of the girls</span></span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTkw80L8nN47pJgxV3emZ2dQQOHlLYfMNZ1HdolB2UqdK9TnRycPk9Bnl5xtPhWybnlpkXwYmj0DoYcuvy2ff-AxcvWU0PP3auwpw1AG1eO-FrKBII6UFcLPrMQUhVXWnwfeur/s1600-h/Girlshome.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTkw80L8nN47pJgxV3emZ2dQQOHlLYfMNZ1HdolB2UqdK9TnRycPk9Bnl5xtPhWybnlpkXwYmj0DoYcuvy2ff-AxcvWU0PP3auwpw1AG1eO-FrKBII6UFcLPrMQUhVXWnwfeur/s400/Girlshome.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5078412679485211410" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Tour journal, part 3. </span>Thursday we were back in Warsaw. God has placed a few believers in strategic places in the prison system around Poland and Pastor Chris has kept the church involved in serving and sharing with those in prison. We gave an afternoon concert to a juvenile correctional center for girls (15-18 and a few older). Our translator was a young woman 22 years old who's been visiting the girls there over the past couple of years. We were allowed to share hope in life with Christ to them freely.<br /><br />As I sang "Only Plea", they read the words in Polish some began to cry. The words of the first chorus were too familiar.<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">"I'm guilty, guilty as I can be. I struggle and fight, but evil's got a hold on me. Like an outlaw I run from the things that I've done, longing to be free. But guilty is my only plea."</span><br /><br />As he saw the girls moved, even Pastor Chris started to cry. I'm so thankful they could hear the second chorus of hope for those who hear God's call on their life.<br /><span style="font-style: italic;"><br />"Forgiven, I hear you callin' out to me. Death I deserve, mercy is all I</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> see. When you died in my place you removed every trace of the guilt that would not let me be. When guilty was my only plea."<br /><br /></span>The assistant director of the center thanked us publicly saying they'd needed this kind of afternoon for a long time. After the concert, one crowd of girls surrounded Marj, while a second crowd surrounded Ruth giving opportunities to love them and share individually about hope in Christ with them. I felt for them. These girls are separated from their moms and were hungry for love and attention. About an hour and a half after the concert, we finally packed up and left for home, but our translator stayed to have supper with the girls and continue conversations. <span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 51, 153);"> </span></span><br /><span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold; color: rgb(51, 51, 153);"><br /></span></span>Durandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03668149965050793130noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29254049.post-44101433805414348042007-06-13T12:52:00.000-07:002007-06-22T00:05:24.363-07:00Wednesday in Wyszkow<span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Tour journal, part 2. </span>This afternoon we headed for Wiszkow. We arrived at a cinema that evidently only plays films on the weekends. The hall was actually quite nice with seating for about 150. As we were setting up the pastor explained that two years ago there had been a different director over all the theaters in town who was very sympathetic to the church and put in extra publicity with announcements in the media.<br /><br />This time there was none. Only a few posters around town. Obviously we were headed for a small crowd. In the end there were only about 20 people. Added to that there were significant thunder storms beginning about an hour before the concert that knocked out power a couple of times, including right after our first song. (At least it wasn't during the song.)<br /><br />We struggled to keep our concentration as difficulties with monitors meant that two of us played the entire concert playing dependent on the little bit of sound we could hear from what came back to the stage from the back of the hall. To be honest it was one of the most difficult and disappointing performances I've been a part of.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);font-size:85%;" ><span style="font-weight: bold;">Russ and Marj sharing with people after the concert. </span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFLyKN7WJRO0Mg61vjYoIu0UHA0XX8Am4z8YqebOEhnAATPWkNMln7NIYaewfGTgasaYAaSEraMsF_qtDjh8pTYHNf154mItxB7bcLe7s7cd6EQRDS5FglSlkOONouegFFfqzv/s1600-h/russandmarj.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFLyKN7WJRO0Mg61vjYoIu0UHA0XX8Am4z8YqebOEhnAATPWkNMln7NIYaewfGTgasaYAaSEraMsF_qtDjh8pTYHNf154mItxB7bcLe7s7cd6EQRDS5FglSlkOONouegFFfqzv/s400/russandmarj.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5078238174963974738" border="0" /></a><br />But amazingly, the audience was so appreciative they asked for an encore. I told them they may not have been the biggest group I'd ever played for, but they were certainly one of the kindest. After we finished most of the group stayed to talk. Some were young men who'd known someone from the church and decided to come. The conversations lasted for at least half an hour.<br /><br />The pastor, over supper expressed his gratitude for the wonderful encouragement the evening had been. Two years ago after the Verna Law concert the church had experienced some growth, but the acceptance of Poland to the European Union meant the loss of some of these members who opted to move to other European countries for better jobs. The church is back to the 15 or so members in a big town of about 40,000 people.<br /><br />He thanked us for our tenacity to share the Gospel and for the encouragement we were to do the same.Durandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03668149965050793130noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29254049.post-6175246457247643242007-06-12T12:47:00.000-07:002007-06-22T00:10:17.683-07:00"Chin Dobreh"<span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Tour journal, part 1</span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRNRMHDxodXPd_xiaBwS91SuDwvnZDMopd0v1itYCDm7mL95XEaoLqpIV-4iI_fmH6ZW3cxMmxRnG4MKbswaFbnwPMaE39rE1z8Km17EYROXJPqZIOUlvVD3utyrpm6-zQLz3L/s1600-h/KZYSZTOFMARIOLA.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRNRMHDxodXPd_xiaBwS91SuDwvnZDMopd0v1itYCDm7mL95XEaoLqpIV-4iI_fmH6ZW3cxMmxRnG4MKbswaFbnwPMaE39rE1z8Km17EYROXJPqZIOUlvVD3utyrpm6-zQLz3L/s400/KZYSZTOFMARIOLA.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5078240610210431586" border="0" /></a>(Phonetically that's how you say "hello" in Polish.) That's because we arrived last night in Poland with Carton Jaune after two days of travel. Krzysztov (call him Chris) and Mariola Zareba are our hosts for the next week. "Chris" is the pastor of a growing church in Warsaw, and his wife Mariola is the director for the "Wheels to the World" program for Poland.<br /><br />This morning (yes, you read "morning") Chris had arranged our our first concert. His church here in Warsaw uses an auditorium 7 days a week that's on a technical college campus. Today we had the chance to play to the entire student body (about 200 18-20 year old guys working toward their certification in to be auto and truck mechanics.) The translator said they were unusually attentive and enjoyed the program. For us it was a chance to honor the Lord and advance the relationship this church has with the school.<br /><br />Elsewhere in the building wheel chair distribution had already begun as families came to receive their chair, have a doctor determine the best adjustment, and have a wheel chair mechanic do the fitting. The final step in receiving the chair was a chance to sit down with a counselor and be given prayer, a Bible and an opportunity to hear the Gospel.<br /><br />Tomorrow, both the wheelchair and the music teams head north to the city where I brought the Verna Law Band two years ago. The work continues with a small church plant. We'll be in a new venue, but as I met with the pastor today, the same enthusiasm as last time was already evident.<br /><br />We've been going non-stop since last Wednesday between rehearsals and travel. Today we actually had the afternoon to rest and won't leave until noon tomorrow. Pray for God to work.Durandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03668149965050793130noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29254049.post-59972871637821820582007-06-02T10:37:00.000-07:002007-06-21T23:44:44.649-07:00A look at Carton Jaune<div style="text-align: left;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9wnUWqTwexzru95Rd9nj1babhUSHI457glQBPyJ9qyKh6q2PwPNbfz3EsMnqO1S7Ys66Z90oqRVqA-9_MinpFHwzUEVgQljvGqw2zMmECYYE3_KvWnc4zbgJ2cuQyzVtKykQU/s1600-h/cartonjaunepostersm.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9wnUWqTwexzru95Rd9nj1babhUSHI457glQBPyJ9qyKh6q2PwPNbfz3EsMnqO1S7Ys66Z90oqRVqA-9_MinpFHwzUEVgQljvGqw2zMmECYYE3_KvWnc4zbgJ2cuQyzVtKykQU/s400/cartonjaunepostersm.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5071521694403596578" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Threw this poster together yesterday, not knowing the Polish team wanted to do specific advertising about the band. Well, at least it's got the right information and people on it.<br /><br />From left to right, Marj (sound and A/V) and Russ (guitar/keys/voice) Speiser, Matt Keller (lead guitar/voice) me (guitar/bass/voice) and Ruth (keys/voice) Robinson.</div>Durandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03668149965050793130noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29254049.post-74393065429714327542007-05-30T04:20:00.000-07:002007-05-30T04:29:43.226-07:00Where in the World are Durand and Ruth?Just for clarification's sake, some of you are wondering if we're still in Germany or if we've moved to Ireland already.<br /><br />The answer: Germany.<br /><br />We've got projects going at the moment that are equally handled either place, plus there's a fair bit for the summer months we can do more easily from here in Germany, so there's not a lot of pressure to move immediately. (Except that we'd like to get through the transition ASAP!)<br /><br />We've no nibbles on our house yet, which means we can't do anything about finding a new place yet either. So be praying for a buyer in June, making it feasible to be moving by the summer's end.<br /><br />Hope your summer plans are coming together as well. We officially have three daughters and one son-in-law employed for the summer months and are grateful to the Lord for his provision.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8xN38RdcC2mbfX-crWTlFiJlgs5V0S893byiIENjUleNHNU1_So7F2HzVOLacX9HMSAxJtNOI5KFbVjyfioJcHoJRzfksFgKMWUK0KjcuMG9kqpuwHBKhhT_m_IK7cYCCTGjI/s1600-h/subpage_logo.gif"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8xN38RdcC2mbfX-crWTlFiJlgs5V0S893byiIENjUleNHNU1_So7F2HzVOLacX9HMSAxJtNOI5KFbVjyfioJcHoJRzfksFgKMWUK0KjcuMG9kqpuwHBKhhT_m_IK7cYCCTGjI/s200/subpage_logo.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5070314357621854450" border="0" /></a>We've got a week of music preparation left before heading for Poland. Should be exciting. If you don't know Joni and Friends, the association we're partnering with there, <a href="http://www.joniandfriends.org/">here's a link.</a>Durandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03668149965050793130noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29254049.post-68888629456383137332007-05-24T05:48:00.000-07:002007-05-24T06:15:27.676-07:00Music for the disabled: Carton Jaune in PolandJune 10th the acoustic music group Carton Jaune will be collaborating with Joni & Friends and their "Wheels for the World" program by providing music at gatherings where wheel chairs will be distributed to people with disabilities. The band hopes to attract many to seven days of music and testimony and service. Krzystov Zareba will be ending each of these gatherings with a clear explanation of the hope found in a relationship with Jesus Christ. His wife Mariola is the national president of Joni and Friends.<br /><br />Carton Jaune has been playing together since 1998, when their first self-titled album was released. Russ Speiser and Durand Robinson form the core of this songwriting duo. This tour they will be accompanied by the swiss guitarist Matthias Keller and keyboardist Ruth Robinson Marj Speiser will be providing the sound and visual support for the band.<br /><br />Look for regular updates on this beginning June 7th!<br /><br />And pray!Durandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03668149965050793130noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29254049.post-72162778511848561832007-05-16T07:34:00.000-07:002007-05-16T08:00:52.619-07:00Three, two, one... touchdown-takeoff!<div style="text-align: left;"><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBEMmIeUNNWX-e_URPbzjKuZbxVc3TrnuVdQ0ieyCtuozxPg-OlAbM96FbhnlaPMBsW42dR0I8bxFBjhzHDXQZ0tobJal05yXSfJpSx6WZVt7Aa-lPXPmc-wkFFOtUBFOPAcs7/s1600-h/connexion.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBEMmIeUNNWX-e_URPbzjKuZbxVc3TrnuVdQ0ieyCtuozxPg-OlAbM96FbhnlaPMBsW42dR0I8bxFBjhzHDXQZ0tobJal05yXSfJpSx6WZVt7Aa-lPXPmc-wkFFOtUBFOPAcs7/s200/connexion.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5065172444249919698" border="0" /></a>Ruth and I are trying to land and take off at the same time. It's kind of interesting.<br /><br /></div>On the one had being in Germany means moving ahead with the work. It's been good to reconnect here in Germany. I got a chance to play at an outreach done in partnership with "Connexion", an outreach/coffee house to German youth.<br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br />I also worked with the Kandern Evangelical church to provide music for a special outreach week they were hosting.<br /><br />Ruth's already been to Barcelona and back for a week of training on the use of mapping software she and the eMRG group have to provide churches with visual help in understanding their regions.<br /><br />Friday I head to Brussels for an arts conference called Imagine, where I'll get a chance to meet dozens of Christians from the arts world, and getting a chance to stretch the vision of how creativity and ministry can work together.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj24XllbP1rCvomGCBw28AZLmkYkjgekIeRrmzjCNqdZBj_S-oefs-6PPuVyWSn4whdzVGlbD02_qvH4v_nOULKTwOva4vOUPvlwSkOIZPgULULKYUM3yMyBKetgbM_dhvbHqH8/s1600-h/me.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj24XllbP1rCvomGCBw28AZLmkYkjgekIeRrmzjCNqdZBj_S-oefs-6PPuVyWSn4whdzVGlbD02_qvH4v_nOULKTwOva4vOUPvlwSkOIZPgULULKYUM3yMyBKetgbM_dhvbHqH8/s200/me.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5065172607458676962" border="0" /></a><br />And then next week is the big push to pull together the music for a week long outreach we'll be doing in Warsaw with Polish church planter Kzrystof Zareba. Our original band Carton Jaune will be performing at special events to promote the needs of the disabled with "Joni and Friends" and sharing the Gospel each night in the surrounding bedroom communities of Warsaw where there are currently NO witnessing fellowships.<br /><br />OK, that's the landing part.<br /><br />But we're also preparing for our move to Ireland by going through all our stuff, selling off a lot of our furniture, and have put our house on the market so we can move as soon as possible. We've gotten word that one of the couples we've been talking with about GEM has been asked to attend the candidate orientation in a couple of weeks and are also in conversation via email with others, especially artists, feeling the call to serve.<br /><br />Keep us in your prayers.<br /><br /></div>Durandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03668149965050793130noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29254049.post-5059788607662146812007-05-09T01:15:00.000-07:002007-05-10T01:29:28.214-07:00Anna's birthday!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-GdT4T8pHxJ2nS7rb5iu5w-AKWoMN91NidI7VRSwVrYziiVtlVu6L1s8QPla0gh66eXtEFZKVCB37o2qexaUmWUCfMDzdy28_ILETZW0Z778ikXDYNDwDsr6g5oTO8hf8EAda/s1600-h/birthdaygrad.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-GdT4T8pHxJ2nS7rb5iu5w-AKWoMN91NidI7VRSwVrYziiVtlVu6L1s8QPla0gh66eXtEFZKVCB37o2qexaUmWUCfMDzdy28_ILETZW0Z778ikXDYNDwDsr6g5oTO8hf8EAda/s200/birthdaygrad.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5062845852130949298" border="0" /></a><br />It's kind of a birthday and graduation announcement all in one. Anna's finishing up her degree at Metro State this summer! I'm always amazed at this little lady. And a birthday as well. (Don't worry I won't tell them you're 22.)<br /><br />Oops.<br /><br />This picture was taken as she was being inducted into the Key Club in Denver. Yep... she's a keeper.<br /><br />DadDurandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03668149965050793130noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29254049.post-87028640113383086282007-05-08T07:50:00.000-07:002007-05-08T07:56:35.660-07:00LostWe've been on a desert island for the last couple of weeks and will be for months to come. Well, maybe it's not quite that bad, but for a blogger without internet at his house it can feel a bit like being cut off from the world. I'll work toward a decent post this week.<br /><br />Sorry for the silence.<br /><br />DurandDurandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03668149965050793130noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29254049.post-75769945467443603022007-05-02T06:24:00.000-07:002007-05-02T06:30:25.845-07:00Prayer Postcard for April-May 2007<span style="font-weight: bold;">Sunday- </span>Praise God for you and the others who've committed to pray and give as our ministry partners. We're thankful to have had enough pledged support to return to Germany. Pray for the remaining few hundred dollars ($400) left to be committed for the additional cost of serving in Dublin.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Monday-</span> Praise for opportunities to serve local churches in their outreach efforts this summer. Pray for us as we serve with churches in Germany, France and Poland, and for our worship ministry at the GEM conference in Hungary.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Tuesday-</span> Praise for the advances we're making with Imagin'Air. Pray for the revision team as we make our final changes on the curriculum and for the teams that will be reaching children this summer in Romania.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Wednesday-</span> Praise for a helpful real estate agent in Germany to help us sell our home. Pray for a quick sale at a price that will enable us to relocate in south Dublin where we lived before. Pray also for our house hunting trip in late May.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Thursday- </span>Praise that Ruth was able to complete the European Believers Report 2007 on schedule. This report, which covers 46 countries of Europe, is a compilation of estimates of the<br />numbers/percentages of Believers (followers of Christ as opposed to “cultural Christians”). Most of the data was supplied by GEM colleagues. You can view the report by <a href="http://www.emrgnet.eu/wordpress/data/europelevel/">clicking here</a>. <span style="font-weight: bold;">Friday- </span>Praise for a good start on the recording of my music. Special thanks to Jimmy Dominy for his help. Pray as he begins working on the arrangements with volunteer musicians from the Atlanta music community to add to the 10 basic tracks. We’re shooting for a fall release.<br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Saturday- </span>Praise for an amazing year to be with family and friends in the US. Thanks to all who helped us along the way. Pray for our family as we readjust to the distance from one another once again. Pray also for good summer employment for all 4 of our students. And a special word of congratulations for Anna as she graduates this summer! (Her birthday<br />is on May 9th!) Send her an email to my address and I'll forward it on to her.<br /><br />Serving the Lord with you,<br />DurandDurandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03668149965050793130noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29254049.post-32891868546211211652007-05-02T06:11:00.000-07:002007-05-02T06:31:12.641-07:00Yes, we're alive and wellSome folks thought we hopped on the plane to Europe and hijacked it toward Jupiter or some far away planet never again to be heard from. NOT TRUE.<br /><br />We're actually in Germany and are back at our old house for the moment. Since there's no internet there, I've realized my idea of roughing it now includes no broadband. But with only a couple of months planned here before heading to Ireland, the cost of a new broadband contract means I'll get on line a few times a week to do more than email.<br /><br />We're glad to be back, but it's a little bit strange. The girls are fine back in the US, but as we go through the boxes to prepare for a move, we find a million things to remind us of them. And as well, being in Germany while really heading for Ireland feels more like a long lay-over than being back home.<br /><br />This week I had the chance to play for an outreach at the Connexion Cafe, a youth hangout sponsored by the local German evangelical church. Then this weekend I'll be playing in a different venue for the same church as they're doing a week-long series of meetings for the town of Kandern to help explain the Gospel. This week-end I'm brushing off my almost non-existent German because I've got to sing two of the four songs "auf Deutsch" (in German.)<br /><br />All in all, we're really amazed at how well God has cleared the way for this return to Ireland. It'll be great to look back when we finally arrive.<br /><br />More to come another day.Durandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03668149965050793130noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29254049.post-78273101694920422192007-04-10T05:14:00.000-07:002007-04-10T05:19:21.292-07:00Family tour<span style="font-weight: bold;">Tues-Wed: South Texas</span><br />Ruth got a chance to visit with her brother Dave and two of her sisters from California. It had been a long time since Ruth and Dave were together and we're really glad she had some sisters willing to help make it possible.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Thurs-Fri: Wheaton, Illinois</span><br />While Ruth was flying I was driving to Wheaton. We got to spend some wonderful time with Laura and her friends. We also spent some time with LeRoy and Gwen, two friends from grad school days that live all of two blocks from Laura's dorm. We attended services both evenings with Laura's church and took the time to catch up during the days. She'll be spending the summer in New Jersey with her friend Grace and her family. She'll be working with a florist and hopefully some other part time job. (By the way, if you dial Ruth's US cell phone number you'll be in for a surprise. Laura's got it now. Call Durand's cell if you want to talk to Ruth.)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Sat.-Sun: St. Paul, Minnesota</span><br />Saturday morning, bright and early, we headed up to St. Paul and to Emilie's new apartment. It's wonderful. She and Angela from BFA have really made themselves a home for the year. They love to entertain, and we loved being entertained. We had an Easter Brunch, because the church they attend has services in the afternoon. Then Sunday evening we were 7 people for an impromptu Easter meal. I was especially glad to reconnect with Harley Schreck, a prof from Bethel and now family friend. (Emilie lived with Harley's family for a semester.) We're actually hoping to do something together in Europe next year.<br /><br />It was good to catch up with all our girls. Most of all though, Ruth and I just enjoyed hugging and kissing them and celebrating the way God is taking care of them. All three (four with Matt) are healthy, in good living situations with wonderful friends and working hard at things they love. I suppose leaving under different conditions would have been harder. Thank God for his care.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Mon-Tues:</span> Interstates 94-90-39-74-65 from St. Paul to Birmingham<br />Now we're headed back to Birmingham to pack up, say goodbye to our family there and then head for the Atlanta airport on Friday. There are still loose ends to care for, but the journey so far has been a year well worth it. Thanks for your prayers and encouragement.<br /><br />DurandDurandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03668149965050793130noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29254049.post-33362739488880682322007-03-28T13:19:00.000-07:002007-03-28T13:27:39.711-07:00Meeting up with Josh Wilson<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZJW2GsC8wHd4ELsNl5ZTRsxETgn1kS-4PsCkFFXrwWUobfuV1I2phm77HSUiUNql4MrcsPK_34f3IK0WTgXLYhX_LSAUoUgA9K5Y6AcBaHZOSQ35Ontz-xY90oogGBF-l3mBz/s1600-h/Denver+reunion.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZJW2GsC8wHd4ELsNl5ZTRsxETgn1kS-4PsCkFFXrwWUobfuV1I2phm77HSUiUNql4MrcsPK_34f3IK0WTgXLYhX_LSAUoUgA9K5Y6AcBaHZOSQ35Ontz-xY90oogGBF-l3mBz/s200/Denver+reunion.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5047072933517805426" border="0" /></a>Anna's busy working today... morning meeting for church, coffee with a friend, then writing (on a screenplay no less) for the afternoon until she heads for school, then a leadership team meeting this evening.<br /><br />We're not bored though. We've got their car and have been catching up on email, trying to renew our driver's licenses, and meeting up with Josh Wilson for lunch. Josh is also a film school student, as well as a talented musician and sound technician.<br /><br />In fact, he's got a film short he's made on a local Christian artist in the running for national showing on television. If you want to support his chances, you can go to the website and vote for his video. It's a fascinating video anyway. <a href="http://www.currenttv.com/watch/15701315?s1=newVids&list=newVidsByAssignmentDesk&filterone=&filtertwo=&sid=15701315&fr=0">Click here if you want to see it.</a><br /><br />DurandDurandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03668149965050793130noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29254049.post-40340089267416178012007-03-27T15:23:00.000-07:002007-03-27T16:21:33.695-07:00Making the most of the timeOK, so we're busy. But with only a few weeks left before returning to Europe (that's right...weeks!) we're trying to make the most of the time.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">New Orleans:</span><br />Backing up to almost two weeks ago, we reconnected with our two partnering churches in the New Orleans area. It was encouraging and heart-breaking at the same time, seeing the devastation still left from Katrina, but realizing that the churches there are really taking on the challenge of bringing hope to the area, both physically and spiritually. If you feel compelled to <a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK_dw9pxphl8o5mdvqYZOwEAzge-31uc7MMCLLQbYP920h7zUV2_6SZJmlDGigIBWoHLFoRPrABph6ZqYjMnJLPHgSFEok2y1zcoifhAhSY8jj6sd3NscbSLO8P-k-DYwJJaPy/s1600-h/French+Quarter.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK_dw9pxphl8o5mdvqYZOwEAzge-31uc7MMCLLQbYP920h7zUV2_6SZJmlDGigIBWoHLFoRPrABph6ZqYjMnJLPHgSFEok2y1zcoifhAhSY8jj6sd3NscbSLO8P-k-DYwJJaPy/s200/French+Quarter.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5046741087164647202" border="0" /></a>help these churches in any way, please go to their websites and learn how.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.fbcnola.org/">Fellowship Bible Church, Metairie, LA </a><br /><a href="http://faithbibleslidell.com/">Faith Bible Church, Slidell, LA </a><br /><br />(PS. We also got a chance to revisit the French Quarter, and have a coffee and beignet before heading out of the area!)<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggai1tx6vQ_vG-1XCB_2m4FtR_p57FolwKWZUt17PImyQ9ENxKkU6pXac5amojGDZdo9WtheX-veZiC9OCBmtNo_Jz5MoZDpOXBLQjcG8dDCogkkEIICvMzLiDzhUUSUFqMln1/s1600-h/Hodges.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggai1tx6vQ_vG-1XCB_2m4FtR_p57FolwKWZUt17PImyQ9ENxKkU6pXac5amojGDZdo9WtheX-veZiC9OCBmtNo_Jz5MoZDpOXBLQjcG8dDCogkkEIICvMzLiDzhUUSUFqMln1/s200/Hodges.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5046743131569080114" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Pensacola:</span><br />On our way back to Birmingham, we spent half a day with <a href="http://www.garyandbeth.org/">Gary</a><a href="http://www.garyandbeth.org/"> and Beth Hodges</a>, future coworkers with us in Ireland who are still raising support to head to Europe. They are gifted musicians, but more than that; they are skilled worship leaders and trainers for others desiring to help the church experience intimacy with God in worship. Read a little bit about them on their blog by <a href="http://www.garyandbeth.org/">clicking here.</a><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjosQpNic5fCs5-nRqM4xf_gmZrjReFEIdJZujVEws6PXbETMe43XbMPiTHgUNkmnyW9c1dIbRlOhaTGcA9r6w1C6ld_BtOl-Ibci0dbGZqTmWY8SUAKrspDRU06AwVT4oeygZo/s1600-h/Jimmy&Durand.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjosQpNic5fCs5-nRqM4xf_gmZrjReFEIdJZujVEws6PXbETMe43XbMPiTHgUNkmnyW9c1dIbRlOhaTGcA9r6w1C6ld_BtOl-Ibci0dbGZqTmWY8SUAKrspDRU06AwVT4oeygZo/s200/Jimmy&Durand.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5046746052146841410" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Atlanta:</span><br />While Ruth stayed in Birmingham to finish her article for the coming Hope for Europe publication, I went to spend 2+ days in my good friend Jimmy Dominy's basement, affectionately known as Juke Joint Jimmy's to begin recording a 10-song CD to be released later this year. Talk about fun. The big problem was balancing the non-stop guitar playing and singing with trying not to fall asleep from all the food Jimmy's wife Kricky kept feeding me!<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibjHt6dnlsXmdxaMyUEKCaP3pyayZ6xT6_9UNUzdDNIWXD-HHZXn_O_AQ0NQhtMSfpIEc5xc4CViohpROJ4Orm87D0WPCosJpJExpUtVd2x9Q2UP9AWM4zJJHh1yIGbUeCPRZ4/s1600-h/Vocals.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibjHt6dnlsXmdxaMyUEKCaP3pyayZ6xT6_9UNUzdDNIWXD-HHZXn_O_AQ0NQhtMSfpIEc5xc4CViohpROJ4Orm87D0WPCosJpJExpUtVd2x9Q2UP9AWM4zJJHh1yIGbUeCPRZ4/s200/Vocals.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5046746314139846482" border="0" /></a>What a joy to finally start this project that has been on my heart for over 7 years. Of course most of the music still needed to be written 7 years ago... so maybe the timing was perfect. Thanks so much Jimmy. I'm encouraged like I've not been in years. Also thanks in advance to the Fellowship Bible Church worship gang in Roswell. I'm sure Jimmy will be dragging most of you down to the basement sooner than later to add to the music.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNDMYqNbcp3kDTv0Xw_MNFSzExyqltqynFfIxl0JMyYWRrL1yzOsE9Xhh0pLftOKpp_BjlblSpqk7W4_ryVV-4P_0Mc5CpqRm2g0NH8ZDK8nceVc4FxXxe0yBwv_snI7NQ96ph/s1600-h/Anna&Ruth.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgNDMYqNbcp3kDTv0Xw_MNFSzExyqltqynFfIxl0JMyYWRrL1yzOsE9Xhh0pLftOKpp_BjlblSpqk7W4_ryVV-4P_0Mc5CpqRm2g0NH8ZDK8nceVc4FxXxe0yBwv_snI7NQ96ph/s200/Anna&Ruth.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5046746619082524514" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Denver:</span><br />Monday (yesterday), Ruth and I used our frequent flyer miles to come see Anna and Matthew. It's good to say hello and will be hard to say goodbye. God's grace is what makes both possible.<br /><br />We're planning on celebrating her graduation a bit early on Thursday, since she's only got 4 credits to do this summer to finish officially. She's an amazing young lady and we're as proud of her as ever.<br /><br />DurandDurandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03668149965050793130noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29254049.post-70820777710851860712007-03-23T05:16:00.000-07:002007-03-23T05:34:39.323-07:00Emilie is TWENTY!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtmuqcA_A5YOzj0p5Y9WZgpSlbS6oMxZQFk0DeuXKTrggeaG6RWg9fcYNyD0qPbe1xTJhss3TP4FmxB_oMZci6nKdLMLH4SS9qRyI3oi6onZypWg4ACN-lFHGIvi-QN_9LBqFJ/s1600-h/Emilie's-20th.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgtmuqcA_A5YOzj0p5Y9WZgpSlbS6oMxZQFk0DeuXKTrggeaG6RWg9fcYNyD0qPbe1xTJhss3TP4FmxB_oMZci6nKdLMLH4SS9qRyI3oi6onZypWg4ACN-lFHGIvi-QN_9LBqFJ/s200/Emilie's-20th.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5045094157767989442" border="0" /></a>In case you don't know us very well, we've got three daughters. Emilie is going to art school way up in the frozen north but it never seems to change the warmth she brings to everyone around her!<br /><br />My "no more a teenager" daughter is 20 years old today and will be the proud recipient of the Birthday Bunny Badge. If you know her, send her a little greeting today!<br /><br />Love you, dear daughter!<br /><br />DadDurandhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03668149965050793130noreply@blogger.com0