Imperial Beach -- my Nature Fix

i've been feeling homesick for GOD's nature for a couple weeks...my heart feeling little sharp jabs like a pin cushion.

i would see a fiery patch of late afternoon sky in between the roof tops...and wistfully imagine how that orange patch might look stretched out over unobstructed horizon.

Or a sunrise with blushing clouds through a dusty glass window...and i would press my nose to the glass to see what's beyond the neighbors' roofs.

Or a glowing sickle moon hanging in an already dark sky after a Zumba class...and i would remember other moonlit skies in the bush.

And i would feel compelled to be physically embraced by GOD's nature. So i finally decided to make time to be comforted -- to encourage myself in the LORD, through His creation...

By the tang of the ocean breeze...by the sight of waves foaming and curling...and eddies rippling.

i talked to fishermen on the pier, practicing my Tagalog with a wrinkled old man from San Narcisso, the little town just after Castillejos in Zambales, where i was born. i spoke rusty Spanish with another old man, who was using a net with mussels for bait. He had three (myself and a married couple, Indians from the Navajo tribe visiting from Arizona) as rapt audience each time he pulled up the net, twice with fish.

Then i checked out the "mussel farm" -- the fisherman's ready bait.

i took this photo of the sitting seagull, posing for me like a sitting duck (i like taking pictures of reflections...and i like reflecting at the beach).

Before i became a CHRISTian, i loved His marvelous handiwork, calling it Mother Nature, as if it were itself a god to be worshiped. Today, of course, i worship the Creator, and stand amazed at all His creation.

Here's a gift from above by way of the sea...though i did re-arrange it a little for this photo-op.

And another...someone else had drawn this, but i knew SPIRIT made me notice it so that my heart may be uplifted. And for me, the bottom line always -- it was from GOD.

This is usually how i put myself in the picture...and this is how i want all else in my life to be -- mere shadows compared to JESUS.

LIFE! In Lagiloa -- BUSH Living in Taveuni

Typical Fijian farmhouse -- bure -- made with corrugated iron and timber from nearby hardwood trees found around the farm. During sunny days, the middle four "windows" are propped up with strong branches and i get a 360-degree view of my garden -- my flowers, vegetables and fruit trees; the surrounding farm -- dalo (taro) and kava plants; the ever changing skies; colorful parrots, various doves, diving swifts, loud mynas and wild chickens flying around...yes, chickens do fly!

i painted leaves typically found around the farm -- except kava leaves...hmm...

Temporary clothesline for river-washed laundry...which took some time to dry because of the chilly weather, accompanied with fog...not unusual in the mountainous bush.

Visiting family from Naselesele Village, enjoying solitude and bush life for a week. The four kids had a ball -- playing in the river, romping around in the woods, helping me pull weeds! (The tin drum at the right is for catching rain water -- for washing dishes, muddy hands and feet, and gumboots.)

Path to the freshwater pool...from the bure to the pool takes around five minutes...more, if muddied by heavy rains.

Way to the fresh-water pool, past a neighbor's kava farm, inundated with Impatience flowers.

Fresh-water pool used for drinking water, bathing and washing clothes, even as a source for tasty prawns.

And even for snorkeling fun for neighbor's kids!

i like to drink my coffee and read my Bible surrounded by these Impatience flowers.

This is where i sit to watch the sun come up, shining through the trees, hearing birds chirping, roosters crowing -- offering prayers, reading my Bible, journaling in my Oswald Chambers' My Utmost for His Highest book. (The Snoopy kite is from The ShoppE at Rose's.)

Trees are "ringed" at the base to kill them, for some provide too much shade for the dalo to grow well. The ringed trees eventually die and dry up...that's when farmers have to watch out for falling trees during stormy weathers. The sound of falling timber is loud in the bush.

Planks cut from one of the giant trees which abound around the farm, used for flooring for the porch.

The grass was planted piece by piece and took less than two months to become lawn. Do you know that saying, Somebody's junk is somebody else's treasure. Well, here's my saying akin to that...What may be obnoxious weed at the farm is beautiful green lawn for my garden.

The LORD is my Shepherd, i shall not be in want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures,
He leads me beside quiet waters,
He restores my soul.
He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake.
Even though i walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death,
i will fear no evil, for You are with me.
(Psalm 23:1-4)

The ShoppE at ROSE's

Why shop at Ross when you can shoppe at Rose's?

In today's economy, who doesn't want to save a buck or two or three or more? Who doesn't appreciate a "win-win" situation?

In today's society, who hasn't seen a neighbor in need? Whose conscience hasn't been pricked by the excess of material blessings, while many around us are obviously less advantaged?

At Midway's ShoppE at Rose's and at Kathy Garzon's Second-Step Home, the needs of others are considered. In the second chapter of the Book of James, it is written, "What's the use of saying you have faith if you don't prove it by your actions? That kind of faith can't save anyone. Suppose you see a brother or sister who needs food or clothing, and you say, "Well, good-bye and GOD bless you; stay warm and eat well" -- but then you don't give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do? So you see, it isn't enough just to have faith. Faith that doesn't show itself by good deeds is no faith at all -- it is dead and useless...Just as the body is dead without a spirit, so also faith is dead without good deeds."

At Rose's -- good deeds abound. Through Midway's kindhearted and generous givers and because of smart shoppers -- all funds earned from this ministry (the "baby" of Midway's young-at-heart "mother hen," Pat Baize) -- have provided for such diverse good works as:

• helping orphanages in China, Mexico, Cambodia and Ecuador with clothing, school uniforms, washers and dryers, food, high chairs, beds and "half" of a pick-up truck
• providing motorcycles for two national pastors in the Philippines to enable them to minister to remote tribes...also providing these same families with a gas cook stove and medical care
• making Bibles available to troops deployed in Iraq
• buying Turkish-language Bibles for missionaries to distribute
• helping teens and young adults raise funds to go on mission trips
• contributing toward a well for clean drinking water in Kenya
• helping Second-Step Home with clothing and household items
• providing funds for a pastor's seminar in Nepal
• assisting a church plant in an inner city area of San Diego
• sending funds to provide a car for Filipino missionaries serving in India; car repairs for missionaries traveling on deputation; several computers; guitar to Kenya; mattress and box springs for missionaries in Sweden; washer and dryer for a missionary family (with four children) in Germany; optometrist visit and new glasses for an 8-year old daughter of missionaries in Mexico; travel expenses back to the US for two missionaries to be with their dying parents; moving expenses in Cambodia, Bolivia, Australia and Iraq; emergency assistance for a missionary who had been shot and needed to move (fast!)


• surprise CHRISTmas offering for nearly two dozen missionary families for whom things were very tight
• funds for the children of Naselesele village -- used to buy children's backpacks for each village family, crabnets for a couple women who each had four school children, shoes for a couple kids, funds for a couple widows, Fijian-language Bibles. (This is but a very short list of all the many, many good works accomplished through the ShoppE at Rose's.)

From the "mother hen's" own words: Odd things some of them...and not always glamorous. But Rose's strive to meet needs and make missionaries' lives easier by providing practical help and encouragement. We particularly like to meet needs that would fall under the radar of other mission groups. We are blessed with a great group of dedicated workers, generous donators and avid shoppers who make all this happen! Never underestimate the power of "little ol' ladies"!!! (Hmm...i would rather say "mature young 'uns"!)

This CHRISTmas, with the hustle and bustle of preparing for the celebration of JESUS' traditional birthday of December 25, we can all take part in the joyful "win-win" situation of helping others in need by shopping at The ShoppE at Rose's, confident that all the monies received will be put to good use conscientiously and with GODly integrity. Your hard earned dollars go a long way at Rose's as you shop for your loved ones because of fantastic low prices for practical and unique items which fill all the nooks and crannies of this most unusual shop.

As James wrote -- faith without good works is dead. So when the giving and receiving of the CHRISTmas season has passed and all the turkey and ham and apples pies and chocolates have gone to the gut and hips -- remember that like the EverReady Bunny commercial, your dollars keep on going...morphing into practical and unusual material aid to those in need all over the world.

It really is so much better to give than to receive, whether to give plenty or but the little we can afford. GOD searches our hearts and sees our genuine desire to help and bless others for His sake. And our GOD is a good Father Who blesses 100-fold those who allow themselves to be His instruments of blessings to those in need of a helping hand.

GOD Himself has said He loves a cheerful giver! (II Corinthians 9:7) And to give in the spirit of CHRIST, agape -- is to give in deed, indeed!

Flip Flops Aplenty!

These flip flops will be part of our WOW (World Outreach Week) -- "Soles for Souls -- a missions ministry to help those devastated by the flooding caused by four successive typhoons in the Philippines. Also those in need in Kenya and China. Rubber sandals may not seem much, but every little bit helps.

Along with flip flops, the missionaries from the Philippines have specifically asked for canned meat (Spam!) and can openers; from Kenya, flip flops, kid scissors, construction paper, finger paints; and from China, money offerings to buy an electronic keyboard for their worship music. Beyond and above these material gifts, our desire and prayer at Midway Church is first and foremost that these people in need will turn to GOD during their need. He is the only one who can truly comfort those who mourn.

i bought mainly small sizes so that these would specifically go to children...and i hope the personal touch will bring smiles to their faces.

If you are interested in helping families in need of material assistance, please contact Midway. Every gift from the heart will make a difference...and it is indeed GOD's will to love in deed.

The Privileged Minority

Homeless abode...Munich, Germany.

Children happy with their homemade toys...Taveuni, Fiji.

Man at work...Cuzco, Peru.

Those of us in the US of A are part of the privileged minority. No matter if we earn minimum wage, live in a rented room, ride a bus or the trolley to work, or bring a sack lunch to save money instead of going out to a restaurant with the rest of the gang...

Raul and Ruben, street children -- "my orphans" -- Cuzco, Peru.

We are part of the privileged minority when we can finish secondary school without paying for our education, if we even own one phone or TV or car (let alone 2 or 3 or more in one family), have computers and laptops and libraries and Walmarts and Starbucks and Pizzahut... And...and...and...

Peruvian mother with her twins...sewing to support her sons.

As CHRISTians, what are we going to do about it? As a believer, what are you going to do about it? As a fully devoted follower of JESUS CHRIST, what am i going to do about it?

But the poor will always be around, JESUS Himself said...So what then is more important? What is even of a higher priority?

Mother with four children, selling hand-puppets to tourists...Peru.

This: to share the privilege of knowing GOD.

But how can one know GOD, for He is beyond human comprehension, way beyond the grasp of the finite mind, no matter how high the IQ. How can the finite know the infinite? It's like asking the man born blind -- do you know light?

Outhouse of my childhood home...Philippines.

The only way to know GOD is to know JESUS, the Person. When one knows JESUS, He knows GOD Himself. GOD accomplished His will through Moses and Abraham and David, as He did through His prophets and kings and judges as recorded in the Old Testament -- but did they have a personal, one-on-one relationship with Him? Moses did. GOD spoke with him as a friend...and Moses wrote that GOD has promised that One would come after him. The nation of Israel looked to the promise -- and that promise, that hope, did not become reality until GOD Himself became manifest in the flesh, as JESUS, the CHRIST, Son of Man.

Naselesele Village kids...Taveuni, Fiji.

Most people may believe that they know GOD because they have accepted certain information about Him through hearsay at schools, or from church-going, or from the media; or have read enough of the Scriptures (Old or New Testament) to get a deep enough understanding of Who He is...but unless the Holy SPIRIT is in the person, the Holy Scriptures will remain a mystery to him/her. Only by the indwelling Holy SPIRIT of GOD will the reader receive true revelation of what the Word of GOD is all about -- and the Holy Scriptures is all about CHRIST JESUS.

Little girl in Western garb...Peru.JESUS gives to anyone who believes in Him the gracious privilege of knowing GOD, the Father of all, Creator and Sustainer of all. And because as born-again CHRISTians (whether of this or that denomination -- Methodist, Baptist, Seventh Day Adventist, Assembly of GOD, Pentecostal...), we can never ever give enough or do enough to thank GOD for His gift of grace, salvation through CHRIST -- so the most important work is to share the Word of Truth -- JESUS. For In CHRIST, is GOD Himself, by the indwelling Holy SPIRIT. Whoever has CHRIST abiding in him/her, also has the Almighty Father of all Creation, by His Holy SPIRIT.

So the poor will be with us always...it is the love of CHRIST working through us which will cause us to reach out to them and help them in material ways if need be. But even in more dire straits than the poor of the poorest third-world country are the lost souls who don't know GOD. Whether they be millionaires or blue-collar workers, without CHRIST, they are destitute indeed.

My Cuzco orphans...dessert and goodbyes.They may have all the material comforts at their disposal, or they may be in debt up to their ears, or merely eking out a living, or even begging for a hand out -- without peace with GOD, their Creator, they are living in poverty -- living with unquenchable thirst, gnawing hunger, living in a famine that only GOD Himself can satisfy.

Hired Launderess...Philippines.

Man is spirit clothed in flesh...GOD is SPIRIT, and spirit finds true life only by abiding in the SPIRIT. True love and communion is experienced only when spirit bows down to SPIRIT, the SPIRIT of GOD. And the Way is by the blood of CHRIST...by His Cross alone can a person come to the gracious privilege of knowing GOD. There is no other way.

Flowers of the LORD

Psalm 103:15-17
Our days on earth are like grass;

like wildflowers, we bloom and die,

The wind blows, and we are gone --

as though we had never been here.

But the love of the LORD

remains forever with those who fear Him. Job 14:2
Like a flower, we blossom for a moment and then wither.

Like the shadow of a passing cloud, we quickly disappear.

Isaiah 40:7-8
The grass withers, the flower fades,

Because the breath of the LORD blows upon it;

Surely the people are grass.

The grass withers, the flower fades,

But the word of our God stands forever.

James 1:10-11
...but the rich in his humiliation,

because as a flower of the field

he will pass away.

For no sooner has the sun risen

with a burning heat than it withers the grass;

its flower falls, and its beautiful appearance perishes

So the rich man also will fade away in his pursuits.1 Peter 1:24
All flesh is as grass,

And all the glory of man as the flower of the grass.
The grass withers, and its flower falls away,

But the word of the LORD endures forever.