The Mission Buffet

I know people who call this type of post a smorgasboard, the variety post, or even something like the daily potpourri, but for those of us in Las Vegas, we'll call it The Mission Buffet! I have dug up a few interesting articles from around the web and some other places that I have found to especially thought provoking. Enjoy! The first article is from a good friend, Dennis McFadden. A former pastor, he now is Executive Director of a large Baptist Retirement Center in Alhambra, CA. Don't let the title scare you away. If you have ever wondered about whether the concept of Santa could co exist with Jesus, read this! The Scale for Measuring Society's Slide Down Secularism's Slippery Slope. by Dennis McFadden OK, I confess. I am a Christmas fanatic. I love the sights, the sounds, the smells, and (yes) even maintain a tradition of day-after-Thanksgiving shopping at 4:00 a.m. This year, we were visiting our second and fourth children and their families in the Ozarks and my fifth child and I still made it to five stores between 4:00 a.m. and 9:00 a.m. Friday morning. (Read more) Next up we have a little political item, cerca 1992! Certainly a thought provoking article recalling the candidacy of Ross Perot. Check it out and see what you think. Was Ross Perot Right? by David Sirota “Ross Perot was fiercely against NAFTA. Knowing what we know now, was Ross Perot right?” That’s what CNN’s Wolf Blitzer asked Hillary Clinton at last week’s Democratic presidential debate. It was a straightforward query about a Clinton administration trade policy that polls show the public now hates, and it was appropriately directed to a candidate who has previously praised NAFTA. (Read more) This story should concern you. If it was 1945 and we were reading that after routing the Nazi Party from Germany, they had somehow reconstituted and were in control of over 50% of Germany, our efforts there would have been called failure. The implications of this article are chilling in they are indeed true as many are reporting from around the world. Afghanistan Falling into Hands of Taliban by RIchard Norton-Taylor The Taliban has a permanent presence in 54% of Afghanistan and the country is in serious danger of falling into Taliban hands, according to a report by an independent thinktank with long experience in the area. (Read more) Finally, here's a little sports item from one of my favorite writers, Gene Wojciechowski. Here's why I like the guy. He's smart. How many other sportswriters do you know who could somehow work North Korean leader Kim Jung Il into a story about college football? Three College Football Myths to Stay Away From by Gene Wojciechowski The only people who love college football more than me are Bebes Maisel, Joe Paterno and the Auburn fans who TP'd Toomer's Corner [pictured here] after a sixth consecutive Iron Bowl win against Bama. (Read more) technorati tags: Ross Perot, Santa, Jesus, Taliban, Afghanistan

Happy Anniversary AIL Ministry

Fifteen years ago this weekend, Grady Martine, Paul Lathrop, my wife Chelle, and I led a Short Term Mission trip to the village of La Mision, Baja California, about 60 miles south of the US/Mexico border crossing in San Ysidro. It was the first mission trip by a new mission organization, Adventures in Life Ministry. Grady and I founded Adventures in Life because we believed that if people got out of their comfort zones and served people, God could and would do incredible things in their lives. And we were right. We have seen the evidence of that time and time again over the years as Adventures in Life has grown. As the years have passed, Grady and Paul are now working together in central Los Angeles ministry, called Central City Community Outreach, and remain connected to AIL. Paul still serves on our board and without him we could not have grown to where we are today. And yet even as there is change, some things remain the same. Tomorrow, I will leave for Mexico again. As I have countless times over the last fifteen years to help a group of people connect with and serve their brothers and sisters in Christ in Mexico. We will be in a town south of Ensenada called Camalu. Most of the people in this area are from Oaxaca, one of the poorest states in Mexico. Here is a link to some of the churches that are prevalent in the home state of the people of Camalu. Please pray for us and the group that will serving with us. They are from a small church in Las Vegas, called Grace Valley. technorati tags: Oaxaca Mission, Adventures in Life, Mexico Ministry

Flooding in Mexico

No this is not a Katrina post. This will be much worse as the government of Mexico has nowhere near the resources of the United States to deal with something like this. This is short recap of what is happening right now in Tabasco, Mexico, just east of one of the areas where I work and serve in Oaxaca with Adventures in Life. Like Oaxaca, the population is majority indigenous, rural, and poor. The last week or so has brought constant rain to the state leaving 80 percent of the state under water. Depending on where you live in the state capital, Villahermosa, [pictured above] the water is between 6 and 19 feet deep inn the entire city. President Felipe Calderon has called out the military to help, activating the entire air force to evacuate victims and ferry supplies from other parts of the country. There is not one road into or out of the capital that is now passable and the waters are continuing to rise. Busses have been mobilized to ferry survivors to safer places, and anyone with a boat is being asked to help out as well, yet over 800,000 have been affected. Calderon said the the other day the flood was of biblical proportions. Tabasco Governor, Andres Granier predicted that the entire agricultural crop of Tabasco had been lost, ensuring more poverty in an area where people live on subsistence farming. Even in an area normally besieged by floods, the intensity of this years flooding of the Grijalva River caught people by surprise. And yet in all of this, faced with the loss of everything, where do people turn to try and understand and move on. I was moved by this picture. Just a woman praying for God's help. I have seen entire villages wiped out in Mexico. And I have seen what God can bring out of a tragedy like this. But God calls us in the book of James to be more than people of prayer. He calls us to be people of action. So please, contact the Red Cross and send a donation to tangibly show our support to our neighbors to the south. For more info on the floods, check out some of these excellent articles and their accompanying videos. LA Times Rueters UK BBC technorati tags: Mexico floods, Mexico, Tabasco

Gordon's Ducks Get Some Love

Gordon e mailed me the other day asking for a little love for his beloved Oregon Ducks, now that they have beat everyone in sight with the exception of that little team from CAL. Well Gordon, this is your week. They made the Mission Top Five! Now just tell your boys not to screw it up and maybe they can move up a notch or two in the next poll. Last time they were on ESPN Gameday, we all saw how that panned out. Lose this week and you'll be known as just another PAC 10 pretender, just like USC. The Mission Top 5 (W-L) (Computer Ranking is in the brackets)* 1. Ohio St. (9-0) (3) – Stewart Mandel on SI.com had an interesting observation about the Ohio St. win over Penn St. It was similar in all facets from buildup to result to quality of the opponent as the Iowa game last year. While I won’t go that far, the Ohio St. defense still hasn’t really been tested, and it won’t be this week either. 2. Arizona St. (8-0) (7) – The Sun Devils earned some more respect last week, but with the quarterback ailing this week, a win at Autzen just doesn’t seem to be in the cards. 3. LSU (7-1) (1) – The Saban Bowl this week marks the Tigers last big game until the SEC Title Game. Win this one and it’s on to Atlanta. Lose and it’s root for Auburn and hope for a victory in the three-way tiebreaker. 4. Boston College (8-0) (8) – Matt Ryan was great in the end, but there is one big problems left on the schedule. Schizophrenic Clemson who could kill this team by 30 or lose by 40 to them on any given day. 5. Oregon (7-1) (5) – College Gameday visits Oregon for the second time this year. Ducks fans hope it goes better than the last visit (loss to Cal). (*thanks to Shadow Sports for their rankings. for the complete top 25, visit the blog. also, you know the rules, take all you want, just give us credit!)