I have had a heck of a time finding the pictures that I've been looking for and so this is all I can muster for today.  I'll see if I can find the others in time and maybe post those later.  For now I'll talk about these four and let it go at that.  I found out we are going to be recording this afternoon so my afternoon and evening is shot now.  The first picture is a shot of Lovely and I on the bus in Davao.  If I remember right we were heading to the town of General Santos.  I've had a lot of unusual experiences on the bus...including being robbed!  The last three pictures here go back further in time before I was married and to a time I lived in India.  The first picture here shows our mission team that visited India.  At my side is Pastor Samuel Rajiah.  His humor and fiery personality carried  me through many trials.  It was here that I first stand on my own and learn to preach and minister to people.  This you could say was my crucible experience.  I went through life and death with these people and came home forty pounds lighter and with a broken mind and spirit.  I suffered flashbacks and terrible emotional problems after this trip but it ended up being the making of me in the long run.  The next picture here shows me and the associate Pastor who's name is Charles.  He was a remarkable man with an amazing story.  He had come out of gang lifestyle and had suffered a terrible stab wound which he believe had been healed by God and since had committed to life in the ministry.  Other man in this picture next to me is Rajan our beloved driver.  He was a fiery young man whose grasp of English wasn't the best but we had many interesting conversations where I attempted to speak some Tamil and he worked on his English!  Ah, this last one does fill me with some good memories.  We and some students from the Pastor's bible school decided to go to the beach and find some fishermen that would sell us their freshly caught fish.  It was raining cats and dogs but we didn't care one bit!  We got some wonderful fish and not far from this spot ate in a jungle area that was so very beautiful .  India forever changed my life and it has long been my desire to return there.  Madras was where I stayed and there's a piece of me that died there but at the same time because I died I was born all over again to be the person I am today.  The pictures tell it all.  Please check them out.

Since the download on SkyDrive is limited to five pictures at one time I thought I'd go ahead and start sharing some of the pictures I was digging through here lately and talk about what's going on in them.  The goofy picture really did bring a smile to my face at first and then kind of a tear to my eye because the people in that picture are not at all the same people that they used to be.  It can be very painful sometimes but at the same time it's good to look back and remember the miracle it took for God to do what He did in the first place to make it all happen.  Since He did that for sure He can move today and in the future.  We were on a little island taking a much needed break and we didn't have a whole lot to do because there was no TV or much anything else.  It was all about the beaches...even our food had to be brought in and we had to conserve that.  We all bought some swimming goggles to snorkel in the beautiful ocean there but had to have a goofy picture to let off some steam...my gosh it was fun!  There's another picture that shows me and my interpreter preaching in a little village...so many showed up and it was a most amazing experience.  My mom and Rose and Julie are also sitting behind me.  Days like that made me feel so alive!  Now I'm looking at the picture of me slogging through the mud to get to a remote village.  The guy helping me along passed away a few years back (my heart still aches over that).  The young man behind me since has walked his own way and I've not seen him in many, many years now.  I move on now to a picture of me and Andy preaching in yet another neepa hut.  My Gosh we looked young then!  I look at me and my friend and interpreter now as we stand in the next picture and I wonder now how I could have been so many years now without him.  He's married and has moved onto other things now.  His father is the one who passed away of cancer in that other picture.  It's like looking back on another world.  Ah, the last one makes me hungry!  That's my dear friend RD and my wife and the now deceased Pastor Andayan and clear over on the end is my mother in law.  Lovely looked like she was just a kid...well, I guess we both were.  There's nothing in all the world like lechen!  Roast pig is a delicacy not to be missed.  This was a special occasion and we were going to enjoy it near midnight because it takes some time to cook...oh, it's worth the wait!  Please see the pictures...they're worth a thousand words!

The weather sits with a bit of snow after a regular blizzard earlier.  The temperature is now at nine below zero.  I can hardly believe that it actually happened!  It doesn't look good for the whole week but you never know.  Winter has a way of grabbing hold and giving a good dose of cold and snow before it starts to ease up a little.  The next couple of months are known here for having some pretty good sized storms and I don't expect this year to be any different.  Outside in spite of it all I sense the winds of change blowing.  The State of the Union Address is being given and it feels like the winds of change too.  The next president of the United States is likely out there in that room and it just blows me away.  I have a sense that this country is in the hands of God.  There are people that misunderstand the heat of the moments before an election and think that we're on the brink of collapse but lately more than ever I've been comforted by American history.  We've always had debate before an election and sometimes this can be very bitter.  George Washington himself knew what it was like to be fighting both a war against those that would destroy our country and face the lack of confidence that came from his fellow Americans.  This is not new nor will it be the last time but I know that I know our enemies are mistaken if they feel that we are on the way out.  I honestly believe that we have been underestimated by many in the world today.  I know that in spite of the various things that shake our nation we will not break nor give into to those that would see us destroyed.  Much like the winter storm I'm seeing outside my doors, it will pass and in the end the storm will be gone and we'll still be standing strong.  God bless the United States of America!

P.S.  I'm putting a few pictures in my folder and a short video that shows the snow really falling today.  The pictures were neither here nor there to me but I kind of liked the video.

I've been working on adjusting my attitude about the weather outside.  Today I was determined post some pictures I've taken and go walk and see it outside with my own eyes.  It is quite beautiful you know!  I expected to find an endless snow dune sea out there but actually the placement of the dunes was quite selective and so I had to work it to get out of the backyard because the gates were drifted in.  The snow plow came by again and cleared it everywhere except on the sidewalks where I would normally walk.  The sky was crystal clear and the wind had finally ceased.  They say that it will be back tomorrow but for now I'm going to thank God for every moment of this calm day!  I got home and started to read the bible in Exodus where it talks about how the people of Israel are beginning to have trouble because the leader of the country didn't remember the great things that Joseph did for them to deliver them from a seven year famine.  What I like about this whole thing is actually found in verse 12 where it says in chapter one that the more the children of Israel were persecuted the more they thrived.  I could hear God speaking to me in this today for sure!  Nothing can keep us from the love of God, not the Devil, not the world and God Himself won't.  The whole problem is we can do a whole lot to ignore the awareness of His love.  Attitude is so important!  I'm not talking about just positive thinking I'm talking about thinking that's in line with what God says about us.  He never says one discouraging thing nor does he feel disgusted or disappointed with us.  Sometimes I am tempted to think that God must walk in a lot of wishful thinking!  The truth is it isn't wishful thinking...it's His ever enduring faith in us that we'll achieve all He's called us to be.  He can see the here and now and never be disappointed because He has faith in all that He's invested in us.  On a small scale today beyond all this terrible cold there's nothing that winter can do to make it be cold forever.  Soon enough it will lose it's iron grip on the weather and we'll see the beauty of spring roll around again.  This is how it is in life.  There are seasons to everything.  Nothing beautiful and good should ever be taken for granted nor should the mundane or difficult be despised because even these things have a good purpose if we love Him.  I'm encouraged by it today!  Please look at my pictures today!

I always remember the anniversary where my wife made a cake for me which is not all that unusual I suppose.  She brought it to our favorite Chinese restaurant and we got a private table in the back.  We know the owner of the place well and she's always been good to us.  My wife had been really funny about me holding the cake which I didn't think of too much at the time but then we came to the end of the meal and she presented the cake there.  It was funny because the owner of the restaurant came there and took great interest in what we were doing.  Once again I didn't think much of it until I started to cut the cake and it wouldn't cut!  I thought there must be nuts inside it or something!  Much to my surprise there was a Glock 37 .45 automatic in it!  I've always wanted one.  My dad and I used to shoot a six shooter .22 when I was a kid and it was great fun.  Truth was I knew nothing about owning an automatic.  Hunting is common place in our state but it's never been my thing.  I had read in our paper about a course that a guy came in and taught.  He's from West Virginia and is ex-military and teaches police sniping and various anti-terror classes.  For whatever the reason he likes to come to Montana several times and teach his courses.  I decided to enroll and get the ammo and equipment I'd need and do this.  It was way out of the ordinary for me to do this so I thought I'd try it and be challenged.  Pat is a great teacher and though it got very cold out there I couldn't lose interest in what he taught.  We learned many different things from reloading and tactical firing while moving and from many different positions.  This was stuff that taught far more than just how to hold a gun and how to conceal it.  I had a mind set when I was done that totally changed my life.  I went on from there to be one out of only two that got a concealed weapons permit.  I had to go through a lot at the police station to get this and I figure after that I will keep renewing the permit just so it won't ever go to waste.  You beyond all of these things I think of all the dangerous situations I've been in with no weapon at all to use.  God has always been there.  He's always defended me and my family.  More than being about having a weapon to protect myself this was about me learning to be responsible with what I have and carrying through with this.  Discipline is an important tool.  Pat mentions how important mindset is in combat.  This is valid to me.  God offers us so much but how easy it is to take it for granted.  The weapons of our warfare aren't carnal yet Jesus told his disciples to carry a sword when they go out in Luke chapter 22: 6.  I don't really believe that this is a call to take up arms but rather it stresses the danger of the hour that was as Christians live in.  This is a deadly struggle we are in.  We can surrender to weaknesses and become far less than we are meant to be or take up faith and go far beyond what we ever would have otherwise dared hope for.  I've seen a lot in my travels, I've seen war and death but always in the middle of it all there's the hope that only Christ can bring.  All of the most dangerous situations in my life have been faced without a single weapon you could see but I was never alone.  There's one who stands with us in every situation.  I believe in God and His ability to bring us through this life.  The greatest battle of all is for our faith.  Everything bad wants to rob us of that.  I choose not to surrender faith in the face of adversity.  The bible says that without faith it's impossible to please Him (Hebrews 11:6).  Imagine the power there is in that?  Such a simple thing faith but without that how can we believe in God whom we have not seen and take our first step into a larger (and better) world?  If you want to see some pictures of my in training please look at the pictures I have in my file on the my pictures link on the right of my page.  I also included this link to my instructor's web page.  My pictures are there too and there's more info:   www.pgpft.com

Lately there has been  a dark cloud over our heads for some reason.  I was listening to a Joel Osteen podcast that where he said that the difficulty of our circumstance can be directly linked to the greatness of the plan of God for our lives.  Sometimes it's not even a direct circumstance that you can put your finger on that's bothering you.  I've been a very spiritually oriented person for my whole life and sometimes there are things out there that are bothering me that don't have much to do with what I can see or understand.  It's times like this where the struggle to maintain perspective and faith can be most difficult.  Today I found a scripture that reminded me of the ministry of every Christian:  the ministry of reconciliation.  There can never be happiness in a life lived only for ourselves.  Today in a world where selfishness is not the exception but the rule I found this scripture in 2nd Corinthians chapter five powerful in bringing me some focus.  Verse fifteen mentions the sacrifice of Christ and how He died once for all and how we that believe this fact should no longer live a life unto ourselves but unto the one who died for us...that one being Christ.  How ironic that as human beings we endlessly strive for personal happiness but that can only be found by forgetting ourselves and embracing the good we can do for our fellow man.  Many think that religion is the way to repress what you really are.  I do not believe this to be the case at all.  Let me explain myself in saying that when I say religion here I'm not talking about empty adherence to rules and regulation in an empty hope to become "good enough".  I'm talking about a relationship with Jesus Christ.  Reconciliation is defined most easily by recognizing the root word:  reconcile.  This speaks of going back to the way it was meant to be.  Some say there are other religions older than Christianity and that may be so, however the worship and relationship with the one true God began with the first man Adam therefore this is the oldest relationship with God that man has ever known.  Reconciliation is all about returning to that place where we can walk and talk with God without that mess sin creates.  It is not about following a rule book based on our understanding of the bible but rather find that deep faith that God has already given us to accept the sacrifice of Jesus Christ as all sufficient so that we can stand in the very presence of God without fear and without the endless rounds of punishment we heap on ourselves for sins both real and perceived.  The most awesome gift you can offer another human being is that of acceptance.  I always remember when I first accepted Jesus Christ into my heart and had the sense that though I was so young He had been waiting for me.  How could it be that the creator of the universe, God Almighty Himself had been waiting for an average person in a little city in Montana?  Well, you see He knew me before I was ever born as He's always known you!  There's little in life that's as satisfying as agreeing with God!  I am stunned at the power of the simple ministry of extending this same acceptance to a fellow human being.  Not for what we can get out of it but because this, this is what we are meant to do!  You can spend a lot of time being condemning and nurturing a false sense of superiority but it will never bring you an ounce of real satisfaction.  You can spend your life in massive rebellion of all that you perceive Christ is about.  You can laugh at Jesus if you want to but the funniest thing He's ever done was keep on loving this stubborn and rebellious world while their hate for Him just goes on.  Through all of this He is never bitter nor does He return hate for hate but rather He remains open to all.  He is utterly perfect in His love.  Man, I want a piece of that!

You know as a minister it's the law that I don't endorse candidates from behind the pulpit.  Sometimes this can be frustrating to me because I closely watch what's going on and really want to share what I feel.  Lately I have found that God has really dealt with me in such a way that I feel really liberated from the usual torment that I have during an election year.  Fact is in the long run who but God can really know who the best candidate will be?  I do believe we have the right and responsibility to vote according to our convictions but after the ballots are caste there's little we can do accept wait and when the dust settles we have got to find a way to support who's in office the best we can.  There's a lot of unreasonable and uneducated arguments out there that sound a lot more like a bunch of rabid fascists throwing firebrands out there that doesn't help anyone make a good decision.  Saying that one side or the other is filled with oil men or whatever always makes me laugh because which politician do you know that isn't likely richer than you?  Who is really the candidate of the people?  Lot's of these politicians have the luxury of condemning the guy currently in office and saying they'll bring changes that will sweep us into an age of prosperity and peace but just like everyone else it's a different story when you're behind the desk at the white house.  True reformers are few and generally they're hard to recognize until after they get in office and many times the full reality of the reforms made in office are not recognized until much later.  What's my point here?  I will pray for our country and believe that as a nation we'll make the right choice and even beyond that I'll believe that whoever gets elected will be used by God to do what's best for our country one way or another.  I guess I believe that if America really wants a change it's going to have to do better than demonizing one side or another and making those that don't agree feel like they're idiots.  I was reading in Matthew chapter 24 and it speaks of the end times but it hit me differently this time than the other times I've read it.  This chapter speaks of things that will be happening but what struck me more was what Jesus tells us to do.  Verse four he says not to be deceived.  I believe that the best way to be free of deception is to be open to change that God brings our way.  The bible is God's word...not mine.  Nobody has a monopoly on the truth except God.  The bible says that you deceive yourself if you say you've got no sin in you....in other words if you can't recognize that you're wrong sometimes you're deceived.  Good advice to remember when voting or when you're just plain living life.  The guy or gal you don't agree with just might be right or at least have a point...nobody I know of is always totally right except God.  Next it says in verse six not to be troubled.  We can spend a lot of time fretting over things.  Here's some examples:  endlessly hand wringing over what Clinton did wrong while in office or what president Bush has or has not done but in the end that's all here say and doesn't solve a thing.  I've wasted more time than I care to admit on pining away at losses or being angry about things....it's just not productive.  We can make some huge mistakes nationally by being angry and not really learning from our mistakes.  Everyone touts change but we need to ask ourselves what we really want to change to.  The last verse I like here is verse fourteen which says he that endures to the end will be saved.  Not everything goes our way but to endure...really endure by not allowing bitterness to make us hate our president and other people in our country is the only way to really be saved if you will.  I refuse to spend my time hating who's in office no matter who wins this election and I refuse to be a small minded bigot toward those that do not agree with me.  We are such hypocrites in this country.  Call someone of another race a racial slur and you're a bigot but devalue the intelligence of those that don't agree with you politically and somehow you're likely to receive applause on web sites that do nothing but spread misinformation and hate.  I'm neither republican nor democrat...I'm a Christian and an American.  I will vote with my convictions but should the candidate I vote for not make it I will not waste myself on stupid, pointless hatred.  Nobody likes war but I believe that if we were in office we'd see it's not so easy to pass the flash judgments we pass as civilians....my friends in the military always tell me that and I agree.  If we really want what's best for our country we may have to be a little more willing to make peace on a personal level before we ever see it come around globally.  Barack or Clinton?  Huckabee or Guliani?  I don't know...do you honestly?  I'll vote the best I can and then I'll let God decide the rest.

Well, there were a lot of things that I was hoping for in 2008 but but I can't say I really expected us to have a trip to Washington DC and North Carolina to open up for the first week of March.  This story actually began quite a while ago and to understand the importance of it you must know who Anne Logan is in our lives.  My wife and I were married in the Philippines.  She is the cousin of my interpreter there.  I was sure the moment I saw her that she absolutely was the woman I'd spend my life with.  The problem with this whole scenario was the fact that I was totally ignorant of how tough it is to get someone from a country like the Philippines to the United States...even though this was pre-9/11.  Were married and spent a long time trying in vain to get out of the Philippines.  We were in Davao City when we found out we were expecting our first baby.  The conditions of the local hospitals was anything but what I was used to and I wanted to bring my wife to a hospital here where she could have the best care possible.  We traveled to Manila and tried to get Lovely's paperwork in order (yes, her name is Lovely!).  We actually ran across some real problems with things because of mistakes on Lovely's birth certificate and because the particular interviewer there didn't much like us nor did he like Christians and told us that he would make a trip to the US impossible.  We reported this to the Consulate General but they would rather deny than help.  We desperately contacted home in the hopes that we could get some help and thus our situation was presented to Mrs. Anne Logan.  She knew people that knew people....people in government who for her sake opted to help us out of that situation.  I never forget the day when we went into the embassy and they looked at some paperwork and then at us and said:  "We don't know who you know but we don't do things like this."  We were granted access to the United States and our first baby was born in America....but it was a very close thing.  My relative in the Philippines who is now dead happened to be a colonel in the Philippine Army and his personal doctor granted us a pass to fly here...these things brought us out of that nation.  We owe a lot to Mrs. Logan.  She visited us last year and we talked of going to visit her in North Carolina.  The specter of financial lack raised it's ugly head as it has so many times in the past.  Then just last week all of that broke loose.  I've seen God do things quick but this was exceptional.  Now as it turns out there are people that are paying to bring us there and we get to stop in Washington DC for three days before we drive down there!  Washington has been a life long dream for us.  I thought we may get to see a bit before driving on but this is a couple days!  I'm still in shock!  I sit here and honestly I wonder who am I to get such favor from God and man?  The simple fact is God is the provision and for Him this is no big deal.  Why would He do this for us?  Well, the truth is we are firm believers in God and we believe that Christ sacrificed it all for us that we might be able to accept what he did and now call God our heavenly Father.  Think of the most amazing natural dad you could have and then multiply that by however much you want and then you get a vague concept of what God is.  Grace is defined as:  unmerited (or undeserved) favor...that sums it up nicely I think.  I've taught in many prisons, many tiny villages, many huge cities.  I've had the privilege of being introduced with some wonderful people and having them call me friend.  All of this is what grace is all about.  Sometimes it's big and flashy, other times it's that little bit extra to make it through another day.  This is a wonderful thing for us but you know what?  Grace is available to all.  It's a universal gift offered by God to those that will dare to believe that the bible really means what it says.  Christ really did come to this earth.  He really did die for us and it's really true that if you believe that and call on His name you'll be saved.  The complexities can come after that but this first step is the first footstep into destiny.