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Journey Church Restoration from Jarrod Kinman on Vimeo.

Yesterday in the message the point was made to research and rely upon the Scriptures.  A book that I found helpful in that cause has been Lee Strobel's Case For Christ.  In it he interviews leading scholars in his quest to see if the New Testament record is reliable and if there are any external evidences for Christ.

Many of the guys Stobel interviews have written the text books for the Bible classes I have taken over the years.  The interview style used in the book is both engaging and easier to follow than some of the text books I have read!

You may want to consider picking a copy of this book up for yourself.

Joe

Wow! Again an amazing day! When we went to visit the family on Monday Carmena told us that when we came back today, she would make us lunch! Boy was that a lunch! Home made carne asada, guacamole, types of salsa, and tortillas! I told Carmena that the next time I have Carne Asada, I would be dissapointed! We took one of our friends from the beach so that he could be our translater. We were able to communicate a lot better!  Today Mikayla went down with us and they were all excited to see her! It was an amazing day! We learned a lot about the family since we had a translater to communicate for us! The kids are just a huge part of my life and I love every last one of them! That whole family has impacted my life so much and I feel a lot more grateful for what I have considering the conditions they are living in! I truly feel like they are family! When we were talking to Carmena, she told us that when Kati, the oldest daughter, had her Quinceañera, she wanted us to be down there! What an honor! Yet again it was hard saying goodbye but we all knew that we would see them again! I can't wait until this summer to go on the next mission! These people truly have impacted my life TREMENDOUSLY!

Ginny Tippery

Some of our peeps are down in Mexico for spring break.. here is how they are spending it!  So proud of these young women and their heart for God and people!  Way to go!!!

Hey Joe! Megan and I wanted to post a blog on the website! We went to visit Migueal and Carmena today and wanted to share our experience! Please post this on the website! Thank you!

Wow! What an amazing way to spend the day! When we came down, we told our parents that we needed to go and see the family! Today was that day! We left the house about 10:30 am and hit the dirt roads that led to the house of Miguel, Carmena, and their 7 children (the house that we built on the mission) When we arrived at the house no one was home except for Jorge and Angel. They told us that the rest of the family was somewhere. We had a hard time communicating but within 15 minutes Megan, Angel, Doug and I (Ginny) were in the truck and Angel was giving us directions to find the rest of the family. When we arrived we realized that he took us to the bus station, where Miguel was leaving to go to work. They immediately recognized Megan and I and came running with huge smiles! What a great welcome! We talked for a little bit and then Doug and Angel were back in the car to go get everyone else! Megan and I stayed at the bus station with the family. (Amazing how there is so much talk about the drug wars down here but Megan and I stayed with the family feeling completely safe!) When the rest of our clan came, Miguel was able to talk for about 5 minutes and then he had to leave to go to work. It was hard seeing the way the kids reacted when their dad had to leave. We almost started crying with them. We all piled back into the cars and went back to their house! We spent about 3 hours with them and told them we would be back on Thursday with Mikayla Cappello, one of the other girls that went on the mission with us. Carmena told us that she would make us all Carne Asada, Guacamole, and Tortillas for dinner. I asked her if she needed help paying for the ingredients knowing that my family would help and thinking that i could give her my 20 dollars for souviners to help buy the stuff to make dinner. She told us that we only needed to go and eat and we didn't need to help at all because it was her thanks for EVERYTHING! When we finally said goodbye, I told them that I would be back in 3 days and that we would bring a translater so that we could communicate better! It was overall an amazing day and a great way to spend a day of our vacation! Next time we come down, we will have to visit 2 families considering that we are going on the mission again in July! We drove away waving and blowing kisses! We knew that we would see each other again so there were no tears of sadness but a warm heart and a smile on our face!

 

Megan and Ginny

Yesterday in the message I referenced a book.  Here is a link to it on Amazon.

Here are some of the guidelines that are unpacked in the book:

- Examine the immediate context: the passage as a whole, the book as a whole.

- Identify figurative language and determine its literal meaning.

- Analyzing the structure of the basic unit of thought, the sentence.

- Base your study on the historical, physical, and cultural setting.

If you are a teacher this book is a must!  If you are a student of the Bible or need help in reading it for understanding then buy it now! 

Hope you find it helpful,

Joe

In good times people are generous out of their excess, in times like today, people are generous out of their poverty.  The dollar amount might be the same, but the sacrifice, meaningfulness, and reward for it is greater!

This week we helped many families who live within miles of our office.  They are not strangers on the streets of a distant city, but friends and familiar faces from around the corner.  The pantry, AOK fund, and individuals in our church are living out their faith.  I am excited for them for it is truly better to give than to receive.

If you would like to get in on the blessing please contact us at the office for pantry needs and other items we could help facilitate in your name.

On the journey with you,

Joe