Yabuki Breeze Blog

Today was a special day for Jonathan, C-6 and myself. We were able to do something a little different and I think we all came away with a smile. Andrea, a member of our church small group, has been a part of the ministry of  Mission Arlington for many years, since she was 19. In fact, while she currently runs the mission’s clinic, she has also personally ministered at a particular apartment church the whole time. She has become a regular part of the community of that apartment. Now her and her family and another member of our small group, Leslie, continue to go to the apartment every week to touch the lives of the kids and their families.

Today, we got to be part of a community “carnival” at that apartment. We played sports with the kids. There was face painting, manicures and pedicures for the girls, arts and crafts for the smaller kids. There also was a baskeball hoop and all kinds of sports equipment. There was lots of food and wonderful fun.

My job was to go around taking pictures of everyone especially the families. Many of the families have very few pictures of them and so taking their picture is a very special thing. One little boy was having so much fun, he kept asking me to take his picture over and over again in funny poses. This will further the long term ministry of the apartment church as Andrea will be bringing these pictures for the families to take as a special gift. It made me very proud to see my kids getting into it and “making sacrifices” to do it. Jonathan was playing football with little Joshua (Understand Jonathan hates football… this was a image sacrifice in a big way) C-6 played with the kids though she cried a bit too because they didn’t want to play with her doing the stuff she wanted to do… Of course that is normal and you should have seen her before we went, we wanted so bad to go.

The people from the church were incredible. A couple of teenage girls were doing the manicures and pedicures… It kind of reminded me of Jesus washing the disciple’s feet. Some of the teenage boys were playing all kinds of stuff with the kids. Seeing some of the guys painting bag “pumpkins” and some of the gals face painting and shaving ice. It was really really special. Anyway, it seemed that everyone came away with a big smile.

Tags: apartment, church, Fielder Road Baptist Church, Kids

I’m am waiting at the airport after an incredible 5 days in California. One of the special part of our ministry is our interaction with the people, churches and organizations that make what we do possible though their time, prayers and financial gifts. We can’t do it without them. One of many favorite supporters is Calvary Church of Santa Ana, one of the churches we consider home around the country.
While Calvary is one of our most faithful supporters in prayer and financially, it is how they take care of us personally that is most special. They have their children regularly correspond with our kids, we get birthday cards, they regularly send building and support teams to different fields.
This week underscores their care for us.

Every year the church has a 2 week missions conference. This is fairly common. What makes it special is that during that time all the missionaries are treated to a three day retreat with all the missionaries present.

From the general director of a mission agency to the young campus minister all are lavished with the same care and sense of special value by MOST of the staff and pastors. These are busy guys and yet they take the time to listen and care. It is incredibly fun and by the end we have gotten to know some incredible people, have prayed, cried, learned about the going on of the church, etc.

The missionaries there are truly incredible and have done amazing things with the Lord. Pioneering Christian presence in new countries, saving countless lives, helping headhunters adjust to a new world, leading missions organizations with thousands of ministers. Yikes! Still we all have many things in common and the same Lord who makes it all this possible.

And to know there are literally hundreds of people praying for you and caring for you. It’s hard to keep a dry eye.

Tags: calvary, church, Prayer

Huge guys, breaking things… does that sound like fun to you. To many who came to our church from last Thursday to Sunday, it really was. Team Impact came to Arlington this week. They visited many schools sharing a positive message about life and strength. But the best part of their time here was at our Church where hundreds and hundreds of kids and their parents were exposed to their brand of muscular Christianity as they shared their physical power and their faith. I don’t know how many hot water bottles they blew up, bats they broke, diet 7-ups cans they burst or telephone books they tore but it was incredible. They also tore through walls of ice, busted countless boards and… you can imagine to kids T-8′s age… honestly even at my age. It was really fun to watch.

I had the special honor of being a decision counselor as the Team challenged people to get themselves right with God. I was really touched by the stories of the kids that I talked with. They really understood what was going on. It was very much energizing for me and reminded me about how fun it is to do the sort of stuff that we do. It was a real change of pace… but what a blessing from God.

Tags: church

One of the hardest things about being a parent is allowing your kids to make decisions and do things on their own, allowing them more freedom to make choices and live with their consequences. Sometimes you see wisdom and maturity beyond your expectations, sometimes you aren’t sure… but trust the Lord anyway. This week there were two examples of this in our family revolving around our son J-11. J-11 is an amazing kid with amazing gifts and talents (all our kids are like that… ) that he is just learning about.

Yesterday I sat in on a gathering of 70 somethings where Jonathan and the rest of the Amaraillo kids shared about their experiences on the mission trip. The videos and the sharing were incredible and really brought out how amazingly God used these 11 and 12 years old. I was so proud of Lisa and Jonathan. J-11 was so touched by the neediness of the kids they served. He also had the opportunity to share about leading his best friend to Christ the day after the mission trip at church and how it was the training for the mission trip that made it possible. I remember tha day so well… he was running late in rendezvousing with us and I was getting irritated and sent T-8 to the library to see what was going on… When T-8 told us, asking for further instruction, I couldn’t believe it… I was really humbled… and yet J-11… our quiet J-11 was doing this amazing thing… My prayer throughout the trip was that God will show J-11 his power through an experience like this and he did it right in front of our eyes. Back at the banquet for sexagenarians, one of the ladies said she was specifically praying for Jonathan(they passed out wristband before the trip as reminders) and how touched she was by what he shared… Wow!! God was using my Son… I was so proud of J-11 but more reminded of God’s faithfulness. Our son is growing up.

Earlier in the week, I was reminded of the same things in a different way. J-11 has been a Boy Scout for the last year and a half. He learned a lot about himself and what it takes to be a proactive leader through this experience. It was fun watching him grow after almost every camping trip. He also seemed to have a good time with the guys in the troop… He also had the privilege of leading some of his peers in his first few months of scouting.  The only thing he consistently voiced was that he really disliked camping and the monthly camping was difficult for him and he wanted to leave the scouts.

The Boy Scouts rank system is built into two major sections. The first three ranks teach the boys the basics of scouting. The latter three ranks teach the boys more advanced skills and how to lead. I told Jonathan that it was important to at least finish the first half to get the basics. So, if once he finished this first class rank, he still felt the same way he had the freedom to leave, provided he found some other similar activities to replace it.

J-11 completed his First Class Rank this week. According to J-11, Monday marked the last meeting he planned on being a part of. (may we can convince him to go to the awards ceremony to get his badge) I was saddened some… I was really enjoying the experience and loved seeing his growth through the experience and the friends he was making. Still, I respect and feel like I need to honor his decision and his right to choose. This really marks an important time in our relationship as he seems to be making the first steps toward the independence of manhood and adulthood. Wow!

Tags: church, Missions, scouts