Even though I’ve been a Christian since I was a teenager I have never felt like I had very much Bible knowledge. I attended Sunday school as a kid, and youth group as a teenager, I read the Bible on my own (primarily the New Testament) but I had never understood, until now, the whole story of God’s love for us.

At this time last year, I was expecting my second child, a girl, due on the 4th of July. Only one trouble, my husband and I did not agree on what to name her. From the moment he saw the ultrasound screen he knew that he wanted her to be called Peyton. I wasn’t so sure, what about Harper? Zoey? Ruby?

I have been accused from time to time of not liking ideas that were not my own to start with. And the name Peyton was not my idea. So I gave LOTS of reasons why it wasn’t a good name for my daughter. 1) Our son’s name is Sawyer and there is a TV show with a character named Peyton Sawyer. Weird. 2) People my mom’s age associate it with a show (or was it a book?) called Peyton Place that I’ve never heard of but they all seem to disapprove. 3) MOST IMPORTANTLY, it means “from the warrior’s village”. This does not fit with the meanings of our own names “God’s gracious gift” and “God is salvation”, nor does it seem very feminine.

However, God had a name picked out for our daughter. And throughout the last month of my preganancy I prayed that he would help my husband and I come to consensus on her name. During my quiet time, I would read my daily devotion. I kept coming across scriptures that dealt with being a soldier of the Lord, or living in the city of the Lord.

2 Timothy 2:3 “Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus.”

Psalm 48:8 “As we have heard, so have we seen in the city of the Lord ALmighty, in the city of our God: God makes her secure forever.”

Exodus 15:3 which says “The Lord is a warrior, the Lord is his name.”

I had several conversations with christian neighboors and friends in which people responded that the meaning of Peyton seemed strong, courageous. After all, if the Lord is a warrior, we do want to be from his village. We want to be with him and not against him.

We still hadn’t decided on a name, but we had stopped “discussing” it. Then I woke up in labor on the morning of July 4th, and after an intense hour and a half, our daughter was born and as I pulled her to me, I thought to myself that she had really fought her way out fast, very warrior like, and I told her “Peyton, you earned your name.”

Through his word, and through the people he has put in my life, God changed my mind about my daughter’s name. And he continues to confirm my choice.

The first time we brought Peyton to church with us Danna preached a sermon on wearing the Armor of God based on Ephesians 6: 10-20.

Most recently, I have been trying to decide between two different summer camps for my son. When I read the registration for for one of them- the focus? You guessed it- wearing the Armor of God.

This experience of God pursuing me through the small but significant decision of naming of my daughter has helped me make reading the Bible a high priority in the midst of a time of life when I have precious little time to myself. It’s also given me a story of how God is at work in my life that I have been able to share with friends and other moms. Participating in God’s Great Pursuit this year has given me a deeper knowledge of the Bible, one that I can share with other people.

Grace is an orphan, who came to our village as the whereabouts of her family is unknown. It is very likely that her parents were killed or they both died of AIDS, as this is the most common thread with the children that come to our village. She was hungry, needed clean clothing, and a roof over her head.

Grace had nobody to love her and teach her. School most definitely was not an option for Grace as there are fees to attend school. Her future looked bleak, until now!

Under “Uganda Children Burden Centre Ministies” “Homes for the orphans” project, Grace was chosen to come to one of the orphan homes where there are other orphans from similar backgrounds that live together as a large family. A widow or single woman raises the children in a loving, Christian family home.

Grace has had a tough time already in her young life. She is adjusting well to her new life, she loves reading. She says, “I thank God for my new family, brothers, and sisters.” Her prayer request is for all her relatives to accept Jesus in their life. Her prayers are being answered and she is able to live in a Christian community that will meet her needs.

Regards
Ronald

As I find myself in Rwanda, I am experiencing a new energy and perspective, which I attribute to the Holy Spirit. Although the first day was rough, since I was flattened by the long trip, I’ve emerged with increasing joy to be here: to talk with Sam about what he’s planting in our garden, and share stories of his time in the village while I was away; to catch up with Kristine (my friend with Mercy Ministries/Le Rucher) and share a re-stocking shopping trip with her; to experience the beginning of the rainy season–which is God’s gift, and NOT to be take for granted, when so many places in Africa, and even in Rwanda, have problems with drought; and to review all the gorgeous photos of my time with my family.

I am grateful to the Lord Jesus for saving me and continuing to shape me in all sorts of ways. I’ll just give one example: Today I went to church (I belong to a Presbyterian church here which has Kinyarwanda language service only) and prayed before I went for a receptive heart and to be able to see God’s presence through all the parts of the service. The first thing that happened was this: As the choir began, the lead singer who started on her own, could not quite seem to find the right key. Ordinarily, this drives me batty, but as I listened, and the keyboardist simply accommodated her by changing with her, I was touched gently by the Holy Spirit, as though he were saying to me, “Look! This is how I am with my children: I accommodate myself to where they are, humbling myself so that they can be encouraged and supported to grow and know me.” To sort of underline this moment, the scripture was Philippians 2:1-11, which describes the way Jesus emptied himself and made himself like us–even unto death.

I am boiling a beet (one large one) from my garden while writing this, planning to share it made into a salad with my friend for lunch tomorrow. She always tells me, about whatever food she is sharing, “It tastes better when you share it.”

Enjoy all the good things God gives us to share!

With love, Jean

In Philippians 1:4-6: it says, I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray for joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

God began a great work through many of you who have partnered with us to pray for our officers and staff by name. We give honor to God for the encouragement, the safety, the wisdom, the strengthening of relationships, the guidance and the comfort your faithful prayers have brought us at Bellevue Police.

Please remember to pray for one of our officers who was recently threatened by a suspect with a knife a couple weeks ago. The officer had to take the life of the suspect. Even though he did what he had to, it is still a lot to go through mentally. Also remember in prayer Lt. Mcomber’s family. Lt McOmber died of cancer a few weeks ago, at age 44, leaving behind a wife and three kids.

One example of God’s guidance and creative handiwork through this program is that of a woman from your church who signed up to pray for a Bellevue Police officer by name didn’t know who he was. Through God’s guidance and through this praying woman’s prayers, the two of them came to meet as he was performing his police duties. The woman realized this officer was the one she had been praying for. The officer, who once had made a commitment to Christ in the past had strayed from that relationship. This woman continued to pray for this officer, they met again, developed a relationship, she brought him back to church, and back into a renewed relationship with Jesus Christ. Now this prayer partner is engaged to marry this police officer to whom she was praying for previously and will continue to pray for her entire life.

Our God is a mighty God, a creative God, and He enjoys directing us and leading us when we are obedient to His guidance. Let each one of us continue to look for ways to serve our God. Let God use you to be a blessing to others. Thank you for being a blessing to us at Bellevue Police dept. by praying for us. We are grateful for your prayers. God is faithful to answer those prayers.

You can sign up to pray for a police offcer by name by going to the web site http://www.bp3.us or just e-mail me at bp3group@msn.com. Thank you.

First of all, you gotta know, I am right brained and completely disorganized. Periodically, my desk drawer crashes to the floor, weighed down by all the papaer clips and pennies and bits of office junk in it. Once, I found a dried orange peel in there, carefully spiraled off in one curly piece, saved for some special occasion of which I have no idea.

And so of course my job here at church requires me to create and maintain timelines, keep others organized, and redesign operational procedures. Every time I manage to be half-ways decent at it, God chuckles. Sometimes, it’s actually a snort. I have heard it.

All through my life, he has immersed me in circumstances for which I have few if any qualifications, and therefore, can’t possibly take credit when the miracle occurs in that I don’t make a complete mess of things. He usually does it without warning, too, since he knows, if given the chance, I’d bolt in the other direction.

As a young child, I was five going on thirty, and had no use at all for the smelly little things called kids. So of course, I’ve been teaching them music now for 26 years, all kinds of kids. Kids in gang-infested schools, kids with disabilities, kids from foster homes, kids with drug addictions from birth, kids with perfect middle class families and all the stresses that go with them. If there’s a kid out there, I’ve probably taught someone just like her, or her brother. And the whole time, I’ve been revelling in absolutely everything childish about them that I could not accept in myself at their age. In fact, they have taught me quite a lot.

I am an extreme introvert and perfectionist; therefore, thirty years ago, God made me a singer, standing in front of the church congregation every Sunday to sing about grace while trying not to fall over from terror. I am prone to deep silences and great melancholia; so God made me a writer and a comic, to use words and humor when I am most amazed by the tenderness of living.

God grins pretty wickedly when I plead that I am not equipped to deal with a circumstance, because most certainly that will be where he plunks me next. I have learned over the years to never let God hear my “absolutely will not do” list, because that’s always going to be the next item on his honey-do list.

I am convinced he is “pulling a McGiver” here. Hey, folks, look what I can do with this paper clip. Look what I can do with this piece of tinfoil. Watch me open this door with a banana peel. Look what I can do with this messed up woman. He really is an insufferable showoff, ready to build his kingdom with gum and shoelaces.

With a God like that, whaddya gonna do?

I had known of Jesus in my head for years. However, I did not know him in my wounded heart. I was certain that I was the living exception to the “rule” I had heard that Jesus died out of love to save us all. The head can be the enemy of the heart!

My 3 year old son died suddenly in 1989. My wife and I were immobilized. FPCB, though large, is a caring & nurturing Christian family. We were surrounded in life’s worse pain with the tender, loving care of a family. My wife and I felt so loved that we joined as new members 3 weeks into our deep mourning. The love at FPCB Sunday school (and Bellevue Christian School)saved our 2 other children from the lie that I once believed.

AND, FPCB and the Holy Spirit gradually saved my soul and restored life to me. I entered, as a client, the Inner Healing Prayer ministry that our church offers. Over 6 months, my 45 year old heart changed; one moment I felt Jesus’ personal love break through into my heart. Then, I BELIEVED that Jesus loved me enough to want to die for me, as well. From the pulpit I heard the Disciplines of prayer and Bible reading. I began reading the Bible and the words came alive! My prayer life expanded; it’s now a daily dialogue with Jesus that I cannot do without.

I have since felt God’s clear call to 3 successive service opportunities. He equipped me to do what did not come naturally for me. The Joy & Intimacy you feel serving our Creator out of loving obedience is indescribable!

This Gift of God’s Grace (see Ephesians 2) is too precious to selfishly keep to your self. Share it, enjoy divine intimacy, enjoy people seeing you as changed!

So on the day before Independence Day, I issued my own declaration of independence from effluvia and sat in the sun, quietly sweating while total strangers solemnly decided that my past thirteen years were worth, collectively, about eight dollars.

The first hour was uneventful. Several Spanish-speaking women gently gathered up two crucifixes, three ceramic pigs, and a rice cooker and paid me two dollars, all in dimes. A young man took five small wooden frames and a wolf calendar from 2006 for seventy five cents. Another woman bought one dollar’s worth of cookie tins and microwavable plates.

And then, Dog Lady appeared. With her grizzled old rottweiler hanging out the car window, she spent the next forty-five minutes telling me about how she found her greatest possession (the rottie) at a g-sale, and total forgiveness for the other dog who she had once tried to save from an abusive owner, and who, in a fit of rage, had bitten not only her trunk and legs but had taken off the tip of her ring finger. Her car interior was matted with fur, her hand was mangled, her current finances made a garage sale an event, her efforts at rescuing had come to nothing, and yet she was radiant with love. For her fine example of unsinkable optimism, she took home two mugs and a book of Snoopy cartoons.

Following her was the Arizonan, meandering up and down the aisles of junk until she laid eyes on a turban shell I had kept from a trip to Seal Beach years ago. The moment she picked it up, her movements took on a reverence reserved for holy reliquaries. She was visibly moved.

Without thinking, I said, “That shell has been waiting for you all morning, Why don’t you just take it?”

When she asked how much, I told her it was free. I would only have gotten a nickel for it at best anyway. She burst into tears and hugged me, as she told me how much she loved the sea, how she had wished to live near it her entire life, and Maple Valley was as close as she had ever come. She had a collection of shells in her bathroom to remind her that somewhere far beyond the boundaries of her daily life was an entire ocean, just waiting for her.

Next, the man with the insane wife. Well, not insane anymore. He had married her, not knowing she had been sold into sexual slavery by her parents for most of her adolescence. When her first child, a girl, turned eleven, the memories came flooding back, and with them, years in and out of hospitals as she struggled for recovery. When I asked him how he had managed to stay with her, he replied, “What else could I do?”

And the very next thing he said was, “You know, it is a great story. On some days, I thought I couldn’t even get out of bed to take care of her. And now, she’s whole again. We’re so grateful for every day, and so is my daughter. That girl’s a beautiful woman now, so kind, sometimes I can’t even believe it myself. Isn’t God amazing!”

For him, two lava lamps and a binder for his daughter’s child who would be a second grader this September. For me, the gift of seeing a completely redeemed life, a man whose every gesture was a celebration. I didn’t cry until he turned his car around and waved at me through the driver’s window all the way down the street.

The day continued with gift after gift. I sold a baseball-memorabilia glass, and the buyer replaced a memory of a day when her whole family went to the Mariners together before her father died. I got twenty-five cents for the ceramic angel that a woman was going to put in her backyard, now that, after the chemo, she had the strength to garden again. A set of plates was the bridge between a mother and her twenty-something son, now moved out. My tickle-me-Elmo, a present from a new father to his baby girl.

All my junk, all my cast-offs, crap really, worth next to nothing, became treasure as it moved away from me, in cars, in vans, on the beds of trucks, on bicycles, by foot. One by one, every item took on a new life and a new clarity.

A garage sale is a great gospel. It doesn’t matter what worth you put on your own stuff; the important thing is to sort through it, pile it up, and plop it out there. Your worthlessness is a treasure – if you let it slip away for pennies, better yet, for free. If you just let God do his tum-te-tum miracles in your gravelly driveway. There are still plenty of loaves and fishes out there, and most of them are sitting in boxes, just waiting to be unpacked.

The garage sale is over. I made a little more money than I expected, but more memories than I could have imagined. And this Sunday morning, sitting by the driveway, someone had left me a gift. A soapstone figure, kneeling in prayer. Someone’s junk, but my blessing. Isn’t that always the way it is?

Since many of you have asked how Jim and I got involved with Sierra Leone, I’d like to give my testimony to explain. We all know many examples from the Bible of how God uses unsuspecting people calling them to do the most unexpected things. Well, in March of 2007 God did just that and the Pelton family has never been the same. It was at that time that God made me aware of the devastating decade long war (1991-2002) in the country of Sierra Leone, West Africa. A war so unthinkable that the movie “Blood Diamonds” was produced. A war that literally devastated an entire country’s infrastructure, displaced millions, killed tens of thousands, and left over 10,000 as amputees, many with multiple amputations. These were not amputations as the result of land mines. These were brutal amputations – the result of bullets and machetes. The war is over, it is safe, but Sierra Leone is now rated the poorest country on earth by the UN Developmental index. It is also home to 21% of the world’s amputees.

This is where I heard God’s voice calling me to go. “This is what I have prepared you to do” is what I heard that day in March 2007 while I prayed to God for confirmation whether this was something I was to get involved with. The voice was clear and direct and there was no doubt in my mind that it was the Holy Spirit. Greatest Goal Ministries USA was born and is now a 501(c)3 organization dedicated to sustainable transformation of the amputees and disabled in Sierra Leone. In less than two years, God has achieved so much.

On October 3, a two week trip is being planned to return to Sierra Leone (GGM’s fourth trip). This mission trip will be open to the congregation. There will be an emphasis on health care, but the trip is not restricted to medical professionals. Please watch The Messenger, the website, and the bulletin for details of meeting dates. We also hope to have another campaign to fill another container to ship out in July. For more information, please contact Lynn or Jim Pelton, lpelton508@comcast.net or jgpelton@comcast.net.

~ Lynn Pelton