Rio Coco News
This month will be a busy time for us all in Nicaragua as we continue our finishing work on the Waspam Center, and construction on the apartment for Nutie & Tom. We have builders traveling from Indiana and Hawaii to do the work.
July is also the time for our annual Project Ezra Teacher Conference. It is our time to gather our teachers for a week of training and just spending time together. Every year, this is a time to encourage our staff of over 60 and train them for specific educational tasks. This year, due to the challenges of Colombian drug traffickers passing through our school district, and the discovery of very pointed campaign of witchcraft against Seek The Lamb, our efforts have been to better equip our teachers in their spiritual work. We are spending more time helping them understand what the Bible says about the pertinent issues of life on the Rio Coco. What are God’s principles for parenting my children? How do I live in community with my neighbors? What does God say about managing my economy?
Along with more understanding of the issues, we are helping them in their teaching and communication of the Bible to their students. We are fortunate to have an experienced leadership team in Truman, Augusto, Onofre and Danilo. These four have all spent time studying in Israel, and have become good communicators of the Gospel in their culture. In addition, Tom and Nutie Keogh are provide specific training to our leadership team on how to approach “cultural issues” within the Miskito community.
We have a great opportunity to encourage and equip this month. God is doing a great work, and much of it is because of the prayers and support of many of you.
Pray for these events this month, please! MB
Lamb Bleatings by Laura
This afternoon Moselle and I were discussing her Mugly Doll Co. because she wanted to open an Etsy account to further sales. I find this both inspirational and frightening all at once. She is nine and has more motivation than most people I know. But, like I said, she is nine and often her skill level may not have reached the maturity level she projects. Thus, when she shows me her work, I have made comments to “improve” some of the little issues and imperfections that are obvious. At the same time, I rather enjoy (as do many of our close friends who are placing orders) the issues and imperfections that make her work unique and roughly“handcrafted” by a nine year old.
In our discussion, we began to talk about how we could cover up some of the blunders or even accentuate them to make them look like scars….the creative process is a fun one, isn’t it? Then, after thinking it all through, I told Moselle that perhaps the Mugly Doll Co. should have a message that declares acceptance and love despite the issues and imperfections. Afterall, God does that for us, doesn’t He? He loves and accepts us as we are and as we read this morning (2 Timothy 2:13), “…If we are faithless, He remains faithful; for He cannot deny Himself.” We decided that that was a good message for her company to propagate…..the message of love and acceptance …how God did it for us and how we should be willing to give it to others. With all of our issues, imperfections, hang ups, misbehavior, and ugliness, He loves us anyway. I am happy that my little CEO, president, owner, manager (read her flyer…you will understand..) kind of person is still open to suggestions…..If not, it could get frightening and ugly all at once…..So long as she remembers, she is nine, our child and under our care. Again, we are reminded of how important it is to know our role and the position that God has us playing. Seems to be a theme around this joint these days….
God does accomplish His work among us through our efforts together as a team, but unless there is understanding that is based on love, the dynamics begin to break down and we become less effective. True power is motivated by a heart of love and divine initiative. In our lives, we have established relationships among us which declare the power of God because of the love and commitment we share. The Bible proposes that the world will know us by the love we have one for the other. Religion is dead. Jesus hated the religious because they had no life …..only rules.
People crave Life and at the core of every heart lies the desire to be loved and accepted. The trait crosses over every cultural and national barrier among the human race. It is common to man of every kind no matter what language, creed, nationality, religion, or political background. Love, the common bond that hopes all things, believes all things, and endures all things. Love, that magical eternal ingredient which the bible declares, “never fails” . God Himself is described as Love which acts out in genuine, pure, unadulterated motives that reach out and attract naturally without much effort. God gives us this gift first and to the degree we receive what He has given freely, we are able to then give it out to others with as much bigness as we have opened ourselves up to Him. He is a boundless God and has held nothing back from us. There is total safety and security with Him. His love inspires. It is what motivates and inspires me to do what I do to be more like Him. The eternal gift I have received so freely causes me to want to give it out because of its sweetness and freedom in my life.
My own issues, fears, hurts, insecurities and imperfections prevent me from the kind of “boundlessness” God has offered to me. My treasure is finding out what gets in the way of my ability to love and enjoy freely as God has loved and enjoyed me so boundlessly and without condition. He is unconditional with His love. I am not, but desire to be because my effectiveness rests in my ability to be like Him in this way. His Love is the power that needs to work within me and be let out without me getting in the way. My anger, my issues, my way, my thoughts, my being, my walls, my life, my agenda, my time….etc limit me in His Life being manifested through me and in me. His power is perfected in my weakness if I am willing to let go of my weakness and my life in exchange for His. Every time, it is a choice.
I have been asking Jesus, “at what point does my anger become sin?” The Bible says, “be angry, but do not sin….do not let the sun go down on your anger…..the anger of a man does not achieve the righteousness of God.” First, it is obvious that anger will be in the human element in relationships. Unavoidable. Yet sin happens the moment I decide to have my way, using my weakness, or my judgment to interfere with God’s unconditional love & acceptance for that person. Sin is when I put up that invisible wall that silently says, “I am going to protect myself from you and limit myself from my interaction.” Fear takes over which lacks trust which then lacks perfect love….the very element that casts out fear. It is the age old divisive tactic the enemy uses amongst the body of Christ to divide and conquer. If we don’t have love…..”How will they know we are His disciples?” And if we don’t have life at our Party, “Why would they want to come? If we keep putting up our walls, how can Christ be the head of a body that is disjointed and disconnected? How can a disconnected body be appealing to anyone?”
I tell my kids all the time, we bring the “Party” if we have hearts that desire to bless and give and not consume and take. With Christ, we are the party full of His life & love working in us and through us. If we are being His loving disciples then the world will have something to be attracted to and provoked by. There is so much power in divine relationships based on love and non negotiable commitment to one another. The world longs to see that kind of healthiness in lives. They are drawn to that kind of life & acceptance.
We are preparing to have “life giving parties” full of His presence and love on the island of Utila where we know people from all over the world with all walks of life will be drawn to come and be touched and healed by God through our lives & the ultimate friendship drink (Rio Coco coffee).
But in the meantime, we find ourselves often in the middle of the same kind of activity right where we are with whoever we are with……I overheard Moselle (on the phone) inviting Olivia to our house…Olivia asked, “Why, what are you doing?”
She said, “Well, you know, the usual………it’s a party…..you know how we are…..Come….”
I told Olivia, “Yea, things started to develop…..as we went along.” I realized that that’s how it often works in our lives, “As we move along in life…..things develop and happen and it all gets bigger than we could have ever imagined it and God forbid if we could actually handle it ourselves without Him”. His will and ways are so much more than ours and we NEED Him and His power, love and grace. Without it, there is no party at all. Laura
Do I Get Out of The Car?
Last month we spent some days in cool Montana for a speaking engagement at Real Life Christian Church near Bozeman and to attend the wedding of our dear friends Kirsten and David Nickisch, our Seek The Lamb teammates. It was rainy and cold many days. But then the sun came out and it was glorious!
On Sunday afternoon, Laura and I went for a drive up the Gallatin River canyon. There is a peak which protrudes above the river that I have observed many times driving along the river. We saw the sign to this peak, “Storm Castle” and turned onto a bumpy dirt road. After a few miles, we came to the trailhead for Storm Castle, and parked the car. Yes, the peak was there, far above us. I wanted to take some photos, so we opened the doors and climbed out. It was a gorgeous day! After a few photos, we saw a couple with their dogs walking down the trail. “Was it a nice hike?” I asked. With nods and smiles, they both said “”Yes!” “How long does it take to get to the top?” I asked. “Oh, about an hour,” they said. Their dogs looked tired.
I looked at Laura. I was suffering from a very sore Achilles tendon that was a side-effect of an antibiotic I am taking for an inflamed prostate. I suggested to my mate: “Let’s just walk up the trail a ways and get a few photos.” She nodded, and off we went; Slowly and Gingerly on the right foot. With Snow capped mountains in view, blue skies above us, and cool temperature, how could we resist?
After 15 minutes, we came to a “viewing stop” above the Gallatin River. Nice! A few more photos. The tendon is tender, but holding on. We decide to proceed for a few more minutes. Soon we are walking across a meadow, with more mountains to the east. Bright flowers dotted the trail. We kept walking. Then we entered a forest as we snaked up the mountainside. It was then that we heard a very strange calling sound originating from a dark shape on the rocks above us. “It’s a bear!” Laura shouted. Whoa! I suddenly realized that we were in the Rocky Mountains in Montana, which is the native habitat of the grizzly bear, the largest land-based mammal. We didn’t have a pistol or “bear spray”. Grizzlies are dangerous. We stopped. We watched the dark shape hop over the rock and onto the path in front of us. He entered a sunlit place, and we saw the spread of black tail feathers that identified this animal as a rather large wild turkey. He ran up the trail and disappeared into a thicket. We looked at each other and with a laugh, continued bravely ahead…
Soon, we came out of the forest, and could see Storm Castle peaking out above the rocks in front of us. We had walked almost an hour, and it was much closer. The tendon was sore but still good, and we pressed on with more enthusiasm, now committed to going all the way to the top. We entered a steep slope strewn with rocks that made my careful walking even more careful. The views were getting even more spectacular. The trail was now zig-zaging up the mountain, very steep now. But it seemed that we were even more energized by the challenge. Finally we zigged the last zag, and entered a flat wooded area covered by delicate yellow alpine flora. Just a few more yards now and we would be at the rock outcropping at the top.
“Be Careful!” Laura shouted as we ascended the rocks, and I climbed close to the edge of the vertical dropoff. “Don’t drop the baby!” I teased, reminding her of former times when she had spoken the obvious. We both stopped and took in the panorama of snow capped mountains, blue sky, white clouds, and a tiny river in the canyon below. We were speechless. Now it was time to sit and contemplate, and sip on the water I carried in my pack. God’s Creation is very thought provoking, especially when viewed from the top (7200’).
It took us 1+45 to get to the top. It was about 3 to 4 miles. As we sat there, we both realized that we:
1) had not planned to come on this hike;
2) almost did not get out of the car;
3) just intended to walk a few minutes for photos;
4) were very glad that we made it to the top.
5) accomplished something extraordinary because we got inspired and pressed on.
After a half hour of photos and pondering, we packed up and began the descent. As we walked down, we asked each other: “What if we had stayed in the car?” We would have missed some excellent cardio exercise, incredible scenery, moments with each other and our Creator alone in His Creation, delicate flowers along the trail, and a sense of being just where we needed to be!
Then we compared our decision to get out of the car to many of our decisions these past decades to “get out of our comfortable car and venture out into God’s adventure.” Like Laura agreeing to marry me in 1988, and moving to a refugee village where there was no electricity, no running water, and only a few others who spoke English. And she had to fly in a flimsy airplane which was tossed around by the wind, inducing reverse peristalsis (that’s a nice phrase for “projectile puking”) on literally every flight. Laura has always been willing to get out of the car, even if it is going to cost her something, like comfort, or identity, or a personal agenda. She is totally given over to the adventure that awaits us as we step outside that vehicle wherein everything is as we like it.
How about even that first decision I made in 1984 to help with the Miskito Indian relief project and then to decide to travel to Honduras to help distribute the supplies? I could have stayed in Maui and prayed for the Miskito refugees. Yet I felt God calling me to step out for more of an experience with Him. Those first decisions to “Get Out of the Car” set a trend that has taken us to many places, where God has used us in so many ways that we could not even have imagined.
While on the descent from Storm Castle, we discussed the reasons why we often don’t step out into God’s Adventure.
Fear of the Grizzlies or other very real issues: That’s were faith comes in. If God is calling you, He will take care of the safety issues, and provide all your needs.
Soreness of my body or other reasons to feel incapable: I have realized again and again that God’s strength is sufficient for us to go the distance with Him. The more we walked up to the peak, the more energized we felt!
Accepting Mediocrity: I am naturally inclined to sit in a comfortable cool place and vegetate. Having realized that, I have learned to ignore that very real feeling when I sense God inviting me to go with Him to the High Places of this life. He has not designed me to accept less than the best.
I have to cultivate a willingness to “step out of the car”. It often doesn’t come naturally. This is a discipline that does lead to great rewards in this life, as well as the life to come.
Step out of your car today! Watch what God does! MB
Utila Coffeehouse Church
We are taking the next steps in our outreach on Utila, one of the Bay Islands in Honduras. We plan to spend the month of August setting up the coffee ministry.
Utila is a dive mecca for many young Europeans, Australians, North Americans, and Israelis. These “adventurers” are searching, and we have the answers. It has been made clear that our “coffee ministry” is the key to building relationships that will lead to discipleship, which will lead to these believers returning home to began ministry.
Call us if you want to come help in August!
The Bagby Bunch Corner
The hot weather is here, and it has been heating up in the spiritual realm as we make preparations for our time in Nicaragua and Honduras this summer. The enemy must not like what we are planning as we are experiencing a “higher than normal” level of opposition as we work through the details of a new ministry in Honduras, and a new focus on spiritual training for all our teachers along the Rio Coco. I have been studying and teaching on the Book of Acts these past months here in Florida, and it seems that such opposition and hardships are to be considered “normal” when you are involved in the work of the Kingdom. This week I felt a lot like Paul and Silas who in Acts 16 had their clothes torn off, were beaten with sticks, and then thrown inside a jail with their feet in stocks. Yet soon after, God miraculously intervened, freed Paul and Silas, and people began to get saved in Philippi.
We too are seeing God’s miraculous intervention, and details are being sorted out according to His plans. I am awaiting further miracles, expecting them, as we are facing some definite obstacles. “Lord please let us operate within Your means and provide us all that we need!” is our prayer. He has the plan, and we cannot afford to walk in our own steps.
I am really looking forward to spending concentrated time this month with our Project Ezra teachers. This is my time to give to them, as well as to our leaders. I have so many long term relationships with our staff, many of whom I have known since they were 5 and 6 years old. Please pray that God will give me the words that they need to hear, and I can really help them grasp some needed Biblical concepts. We are on such a good track with our leaders, especially with the full time presence of Tom & Nutie.
Utila? We have some general concepts, but God is now giving us very specific direction for our outreach there. Pray for many conversations with these young international searchers. Pray for many salvations. Pray that God will send us the ministry team. This is an adventure right out of our 1980’s ministry playbook– which actually didn’t exist– it was just a step by step walk with the King who definitely knew what He wanted to accomplish. Laura & Michael
Random Notes
Utila Ministry Manual– Join Us!
We are launching a study on the Book of Acts which will be via an email study of what has become the ministry manual for our outreach on Utila. We will read significant passages in each chapter and discuss the principles. Already we are benefitting from timeless principles we are discovering. If you would like to participate with us over these next months, simply e-mail us (lambagby@cs.com) and we will place you on the “roster”. It’s our way of giving back to you.
2011 Israel Trip
We are planning our next study tour to Israel in February of 2011 with our friend Dr. Randy Smith,. Many of our friends have joined us for a life changing experience with one of the best! Our focus will be understanding Biblical culture and how that helps our study of The Word. Please call Christian Travel Study Programs at 888-880-8538 for more details.
Rio Coco Bean Coffee
Our new web site is in service and awaiting your order. We will accommodate your church or Bible study group so that you can serve our 100% Humanic Coffee Ò. Please join us at www.riococobeans.com
You live on in each new day.^
Posted by: ferrari mobile | April 02, 2011 at 12:48 AM