The Field is the World (Matt. 13:38)

Some of you may be aware of our latest prayer request: Emily's vision. She was diagnosed last month by an optometrist with "Latent Hyperopia," which is, basically farsightedness. The problem is, she has likely had this condition for some time...and during the early years of development, if vision doesn't work too well, the brain tends to shut down input from the bad eye. That's what's happening in Emily's case. The optometrist recommended something called "vision therapy" which is a program of treatment based on, we have discovered in subsequent research, questionable science. This week, we got an appointment with a pediatric ophthalmologist in Orlando who prescribed glasses for her and has informed her that, although she's 20/20 in her right eye, 20/30 in glasses will be the best she can hope for. In his opinion, having just turned 7 last month, she's beyond the point at which patching the good eye and forcing the brain to interpret vis...

Last night, Cindy and I participated in Campus Crusade's first "Virtual Homegroup," a chat based on CCCI President Steve Douglass' small-group study, "Essentials of Spiritual Growth and Multiplication." It was pretty exciting to see how God worked. All the participants were people who had come through our Ministry Response Center, so at one time or another, they had responded to one of our Gospel presentations online. Our study was on assurance of salvation, and we began with the story of Zacchaeus in Luke 19, his genuine repentance, Jesus' statement that salvation had come to him...it was great, because we had at least two in the group who didn't feel assured of their salvation before we began...yet, based on an in-depth study of repentance and receiving Jesus identified that they had done that. Based on that, we could share the Bible's assurance of salvation, and it was very freeing to them. Another participant was able to testify of her spirit...

I have to confess, I have been in this camp. A few short months ago, my idea of an appropriate response to this book and movie was, "Hey. It's fiction, OK?" The latest results at our JesusandDaVinci.com prove how wrong I have been in my dismissal. This is a novel which has sold some 50 million copies, more than any work of fiction in history. The movie and the hype surrounding it will keep it in the public's attention span for some time to come. Something that big deserves more attention than that. At the heart of the controversy is something at the very heart of my calling--communicating Christ to the world. As the public's notoriously short attention span is once again captivated by the person of Jesus, we have an opportunity to share the well-documented truth about him and dispel the poorly-researched tangle of conspiracy theory garbage that the book disingenuously promotes. For some, this will finally register the watershed issue of Jesus' uniqueness and ...

Today we joined Faith Baptist Church of Kissimmee . We've been here for some months without declaring a home church, and it's good to be able to finally make a decision. We haven't missed a Sunday--we've just been observing many area churches carefully to find the right one for us. Our extended time of "deputation," or finding ministry partners, has given us a unique perspective. We've met wonderful, committed christians from many different ethnic and social backgrounds, many different walks of life and many different types of churches. We've also seen and heard some striking examples of what to avoid. It all went into a two-page checklist of questions I posed to our new Pastors. Even after promising myself I would have these meetings, they were still difficult, even uncomfortable, at times...I don't want to ever convey the impression that I feel like I have all areas of my life in order, that I have no struggles! But still, I think one of the many...

Last week and this weekend, I spent precious development time trying to rid myself of unwanted software on my coumputer called " Virtumonde ." Believe it or not, I'm pretty new to viruses and that kind of thing, coming from a background of developing on the Macintosh platform and using the Windows platforms to deliver product on. Well, this was a nasty wake up call to what Windows users have to deal with all the time. Virtumonde is called "Adware" and it's something that has sneaked on to your computer either by being installed along with some kind of trial software, or getting past your computer's defenses on the network. Its job is to watch what you do at all times with your computer, then occasionally pop up advertisements. In my case, most of the time, these advertisements were for anti-virus software. But they kept popping up an installation window for the software and beginning the installation even when I clicked, "no" for "do you w...

We've had time to get a good start here in Florida. All the normal things, like getting the cars registered, getting drivers' licenses, finding all the services, (fun things like that), have been done weeks ago. We switched mobile telephone providers, but kept the same numbers. So glad you can do that now. I've been getting settled back into programming after having been away for more than a year. It was a little frightening at first, how rusty I felt--but it's pretty much all come back to me now. I'm working on a big project--the "Who Is He?" mini-cd . It has 39 language versions of a very complete presentation about who Jesus is, what the Bible predicted about Him, detailed material from Josh McDowall's "Tough Questions, Honest Answers," "A Ready Defense," and Bill Bright's "Jesus and the Intellectual." It also has our "Growing In Christ" automated discipleship site locally on the CD-ROM. My job is to inte...

Well, those of you who received our Christmas letter know about our recent home purchase in Florida. Cindy's family in Aiken, SC helped us make the move down on January 12, staying a few days afterwards to help us get settled. We unpacked some things from boxes that had not been opened since our move from Yorba Linda to Diamond Bar in 2001. We bought some furniture, since we gave away a good deal of ours before leaving California. Luke received his very first "big-boy" bed, a twin-over-full bunk. (So we will have lots of room for those who want to visit.) Cindy's mom, Donna, actually stayed three weeks with us, through February 4. Her and I recently returned to Aiken, where I am following up on a few pledges and making appointments with prospective ministry partners. There's not very much left to raise, but there is a little. Just as when I visited California last year, visiting Aiken after being away for a while is almost surreal. It makes me think of all the won...

I'd like to share something with you that the Lord did last week in our progress. A fellow who was referred to me by a large church in SC told me at our meeting of his excitement for what we were doing. His church, he said would probably never support us, since they have their own denominational missionaries, but that didn't stop him from supporting us personally: he's owner of a chain of restaurants in the Augusta, GA and Aiken, SC areas. A month later, we received a check for $100--and we thought, naturally, that was ongoing. After we returned from our staff conference we realized that we hadn't received any more gifts, So I started calling. When I was finally able to get them, I discovered the gift had been intended as a one-time gift. (And we had already counted it as ongoing, having received the first check). This prompted me to call someone else who was a little behind, also assumed to be a $100/month supporter. Sure enough, they were also one-time givers. We hav...

I thought I'd tell you a little story about how the Lord used frogs to remind us of something we'd been meaning to do. Emily's bedtime prayer really touched us last year after she was allowed to watch a World Vision-type television program while we were living in Florida last year: Dear Jesus: Please let our family help those kids on TV that have nothing. Please give them the biggest cup of water to drink and a potty seat for the kids and one for the Mama too and some toliet paper and let us send Luke's extra toothbrush (he volunteered) and some toothpaste and some soap. Please give them underwear, if they are boys give them underwear ,if they are girls give them panties. Thank you that we have beds and please make a bed to fit in those giving boxes that folds out into a big bed,big enough for the whole family to sleep on and some tools to put the bed together and a soft cushion for the bed. Thankyou for our toys and please give those kids toys and a tv and then have so...

Many of you know that despite the fact that it's necessary for us to continue to build our team of ministry partners, we are actively involved in a part of our ministry: helping to staff the world's first Internet-based Ministry Response Center . It's really a blast--I get to follow up, disciple and answer seeker questions coming in from people from all over the world. Last month, responses came from England , France , Slovenia , Romania , Nigeria , Cameroon , Ethiopia , Tanzania , Zimbabwe , India , Malaysia , The Philippines , New Zealand , and even Pakistan and Algeria . I personally handled 71 responses, (and I'm only one of over 300 volunteers), communicated the Gospel, prayer, doctrine and encouragement with Christians and seekers from all these countries. Helped a believer in Ethiopia get a bible through Campus Crusade's office in Addis Ababa. Helped answer the question, "Where in the Bible does it say I can pray a prayer and be saved" I helped ...

Well, obviously, looking at the situation in New Orleans the last few days, we got off light last year. We knew we did, even then, because we saw damage all around us but experienced none ourselves. Sometimes a crisis, like 9/11, brings out the best in people. As we're seeing in New Orleans, it can also bring out the worst. Jesus taught us how to use pointed examples of our mortality like this as opportunities to share the Gospel. In Luke 13, the Pharisees confronted Jesus about the destruction of the Tower of Siloam, which fell on 18 people in their day, as well as the Galilaeans whose blood Pilate had mingled with the sacrifices. He said, it wasn't that they were worse sinners than everyone else that this had happened to them, but that unless we repent, we will all likewise perish. No one knows the hour of their death, no one expects death when it comes. We expect each moment to be like the last, and we have no real reason to think that way. Life is full of unexpectedness, an...

We've been back home for the past two weeks, and have had to hit the ground running! First, we moved from one side of Aiken to another. Our landlord, who has been such a blessing to us since January by letting us go month-to-month at a very low rate, needed his place again, so the Lord provided another place we were able to get at a 3-month lease just before our CSU trip! One difference is that the new place was unfurnished, and we gave away some furniture before leaving California, stored a lot (most) of it in Florida, and had been staying in a furnished home. So we had to buy a few things in the last couple of weeks just to avoid sitting on crates and using spools (see images) for tables like in college. We also have a new nephew! Our sister-in-law, April Eckburg, gave birth to Scout River Eckburg, 8lbs. 6oz, on Tuesday, Aug. 9th. Both Mom and baby are doing great today, but April suffered internal bleeding following the Caesarean-Section and had to have a second surgery. We'...

Last night we stayed in Mt. Vernon, IL , exactly 500 miles from Salina, KS where we spent the previous night. Today we drove from Mt. Vernon to Calhoun, GA, to make tomorrow's trip a light one of only 236 miles. We were able to purchase the entire CSU conference audio package on MP3 the last evening of the conference. (now that's quick!) So we were able to listen to some of the sessions Cindy missed due to stomach flu. Listening to the conference audio, we heard again the amazing news that as of the conference time, every five seconds someone reads a gospel presentation from one of Campus Crusade's websites! It's exciting to be a part of such a revolution. Our group, WorldLINC , is a part of a larger division called Global Media Outreach , which includes "God Loves the World" , EveryStudent.Com , Starting With God , and "The Life" , among others. Dr. Douglass told the story of a young Canadian lady who was so excited by the individualized contact wit...

This evening we are at a hotel in Salina, KS. We finally have an Internet connection again! During the CSU Staff conference, we stayed in Longmont, CO with dear friends from California who now live there: Mike and Joyce Willis, their kids Andrea, Heidi, Dustin, and Janelle. Afterwards, we drove south to Castle Rock, CO to stay with another couple (also dear friends!) from Calvary in Southern California, Bill and Jana Krummann, with their son Kyle. We visited Colorado Springs' Garden of the Gods and Focus on the Family's HQ on Saturday. I also was able to visit and sing at their church, Community Baptist Church in Franktown, and was able to schedule a support appointment before leaving this afternoon. We have once again seen the Lord do something miraculous. In addition to several other smaller pledges, we saw a special ministry partner commit to a pledge that amounts to about 9% of our annual need! In short, we are now lacking only about $45 per month of having 75% of our goal...

This morning's group session in the arena was once again very introspective. One speaker mentioned a catch-phrase of C.S. Lewis'---that Jesus was the great " Iconoclast ," or breaker of our "small" images of who God is. In Luke 7, people come to Jesus with major problems that no one else could solve. A dying servant, a dead son, a crisis of faith... We were challenged to bring our challenges to the Lord and expect Him to carry them... ...then we were shown a heart-rending film. Several years ago, a son was born, like our daughter Emily, with the umbilical cord wrapped around his neck. Only, unlike in her case, the result was devastating. The doctors told the parents there was no brain activity. He was mostly paralyzed and unable to communicate. The parents refused to believe the diagnosis and approached a university to have them create a computerized means for him to communicate. His first words were, "go, Bruins!" Over a period of years, he convin...

We first arrived at the conference last night--there was a carnival atmosphere for the kids; unfortunately, we didn't know that, and we didn't bring them...but what they don't know won't hurt them, OK? So please help us keep the secret. Anyway, Luke and Emily are staying with Mike and Joyce Willis, friends from Calvary in California. Andrea, the Willis' 7-year-old, was Emily's first friend, and their son Dustin has really hit it off with Luke. We brought gifts for the kids to smooth the introductions. The evening was a great time to "cease driving and know that He is God." We had a good time of praise and worship followed by fellowship with fellow staff members from Orlando and San Clemente. This morning's session, led by Steve Sellers, was a real challenge to confront anything standing in the way with intimacy with God: tradition, mechanical action/busy-ness, unforgiveness, pride... We had two afternoon sessions on developing further intimacy with...

Today we're in Longmont, Colorado, less than an hour away from Ft. Collins, where our National Staff Conference will be taking place the rest of this week. We will be staying the rest of the week with Mike & Joyce Willis here in Longmont. Cindy's looking forward to getting caught up with her good friend Joyce, who left California last November. It's been over 100 degrees through most of Kansas and Colorado. So much for it being much cooler here! Of course, I spent 45 minutes or so yesterday outside in that heat making the kids run around and act crazy while Cindy visited a health-food store to get stuff for Luke. None of us were really sweating, although the kids were a little red-faced. 15 minutes of packing in Aiken the Sunday afternoon we left (after a church presentation) had me dripping wet; and the temperature readout on the truck read 89 dregrees. Humidity makes a big difference! We don't know what to expect for the conference; all the CSU veterans love the ...

This morning, we're leaving from Hays, Kansas. We made it in really late last night, so we're later getting off. Lord willing, this will be the last day of our cross-country expedition. Yesterday, midway through Missouri, we visited what must be the world's largest Western store--the kids loved it. They had stuffed animals of every variety on a ledge near the high ceiling-Giraffe, Wolves, Deer, Lion, Cape Buffalo, Bear, Wildebeest, Sable: just about anything you could name. How exciting! Luke and Emily each got a cowboy belt, which they like to wear outside their shirts. We should arrive in Longmont, CO this afternoon and are looking forward to the long drive being over. Our excitement for yesterday morning was discovering the oil-filler cap had been left off when we had our oil changed. We'd already driven about 800 miles that way. We went to the Ford dealership to get a cap, but when we came out to check, we found the cap under the hood! Praise God we didn't lose ...

This morning, we're in St. Louis, MO. We were able (praise God) to get an antibiotic called in for Luke, so we're hoping his skin will improve dramatically and be better for the rest of our trip. We're also hoping to get on the road earlier so that we can make more progress today. Topeka is only six hours away, and is the next big city; but that makes for a 9 1/2-hour drive on the final day. So we're hoping to make it further into Kansas today: Salina, Hays or Oakley. We're grateful for such a reliable vehicle and for our relative health. Cindy hasn't been feeling too well and Emily has the sniffles, and of course, there's Luke's chronic eczema, but otherwise, we're very well.

We are in Chattanooga this morning, at a hotel with wireless internet. Lotsa things have happened since our last communication. Luke's allergies were confirmed at the Allergist's office--but they were categorized. Since he doesn't go into anaphylactic shock with them (he only gets hives, which aggravate his eczema but aren't life-threatening) we were encouraged to feed him some of the things to which he showed mild reactions. We are beginning the 2nd leg of our journey to Ft. Collins, CO and will need to find a pharmacy at our next stop, St. Louis, to get some oral antibiotic for Luke on the way. His doctor in GA mistakenly filled a prescription for Elidel cream, one we don't use much anymore. We're still praying for a (Divine) appointment at National Jewish Hospital in Denver. It has an 8-week waiting list, but maybe there'll be a cancellation while we're there. We are at 61% in our support-raising. The Lord has been doing some marvelous things. Last we...