The Conchshell Chronicles
September 2011
The Journal of Seek The Lamb
16 Seconds of Wisdom
by Michael Bagby
At the end of last month, I found myself singing an old Randy Stonehill song “I’m turning 30” as I walked around the Rio Coco Café in Utila. I knew that I was actually turning “30 x 2” on the first of September.
“Hey it just a number!”
“I have a ten year old daughter!”
“I am wiser and still can run and swim like when I was 30” (almost)
My friend Jon called me up on my birthday and asked me “So what wisdom can you pass on to me after 60 years on the planet”
To which I replied to my young friend who has yet to see 50:
“Jon, you are not ready to hear what I have to say, besides it would take 16 hours to tell it all.”
To which Jon replied: “Mike, stop walking around in the cow pastures, clean off your shoes, and give it to me in 16 minutes.”
So we reached a compromise based on the amount of wisdom I had to impart which amazingly coincides with Jon’s attention span: 16 seconds.
(Jon & I & Paul the Apostle share a sarcastic streak at times!)
So here it is: 16 seconds of wisdom from one who has resided on many places on this planet since his parents brought him into the world in 1951:
Know what God has given you, and be diligent to manage it well. Each of us has been given an area of responsibility that we are in charge of. God wants us to lead and manage within the boundaries that He has established for us. When we step outside our boundaries, we are to defer to the proper authority established by Him.
(That took me 16 seconds!)
May I pass on some practical application of this all important principle of life?
I have two churches that I am accountable to: one in Maui and one in Vero Beach. In Maui, Craig and Jason lead Hope Chapel; In Vero, it is Buddy and Larry. These four are long time friends who have been given the responsibility for the running of those churches. I am to defer to them in church matters and serve them in my capacity as a teacher and small group leader.
A few years ago, Craig asked me to speak at the Sunday morning service. He told me that I would have 45 minutes to speak. I responded “What if the Holy Spirit tells me to take more time?” Craig quickly said: “The Holy Spirit already told me that you have 45 minutes to speak.” I thought about it for a moment and concluded that he was right. The Holy Spirit had already given him the plan for that Sunday morning service.
Recently there was an issue of church discipline that prevented me from accomplishing an important task for Rio Coco on time. I was thankful that I could trust my pastors in this matter, even though I didn’t know all the details. There is so much freedom in not second guessing your spiritual leaders in areas where they rule. I trust all these guys, and as my spiritual shepherds, they have my best interest at heart, even if on rare occasions they might make the wrong decision. My role is to follow, period. And give my advice when asked.
May I take this principle a further step?
Husbands, lead your families. You are the one God has given the responsibility for your wife and children. It will be you whom He asks on that final day about what you did with that beautiful woman and children that He gave you. Be diligent to lead in a caring and understanding manner. Tell your wife in private what you need from her to help you lead your family. Set the spiritual and daily agenda for your children and follow through with your decisions. Don’t let past failures keep you from present challenges. In the Kingdom, we have permission to fail on occasion, as long as we learn from our mistakes.
Wives, let your husband lead the family and assist them when you can. When you have something to say about his leadership, speak to him in private, never in front of the kids. He will listen and decide. Devote yourself to the care of your children, and together with your husband, manage your household. Know that he will make occasional mistakes. The bigger error would be to challenge his leadership because he is not perfect.
Children, give honor to your parents. Follow their advice. Conform to their standards as long as you are under their roof. Assist them in the management of the household economy. Care for your home and property as if it was yours. It is!
In ministry, know that God has given the responsibility for that ministry to an individual, or couple, or group of “elders”. If you are the leader of a ministry, lead by example. Be diligent to work it fully, allowing yourself to attend to all the details at least once. Never ask a team member to do something that you have not done yourself. And never give responsibility for a ministry that God as assigned to you to another.
When you volunteer to serve on a ministry team, discern what your leaders are doing, and fit yourself into their plan, and follow. Always play your part on the team. Helpers who come alongside the team with their own agenda will often do more harm than good.
Many problems in families, churches, ministries, and business come from not recognizing your boundaries, and stepping across to pick up something that is not yours. When we recognize what we are individually called to do, then there is so much freedom and stress-free living.
Cursed is he who moves his neighbor’s boundary mark.
Deut 27:17
I don’t have to worry about my finances. God tells me to seek His Kingdom and His righteousness, and He will take care of the rest. That is in His area of responsibility. I don’t have to worry about what strategy my church is using to reach my community, or what is being taught in the Christian Education classes. I just have to follow my pastors. It’s their responsibility. I don’t have to expect that people who walk into my home, or the Rio Coco Café to change their morality or belief system. That is God’s and their responsibility. He gives me my part to reach out to them with love and respect.
I do have to faithfully lead Seek The Lamb, Rio Coco, and my family, and do all I can to make these successful.
That’s It! And that is my 16 Seconds of Wisdom (with application) for you! MB
From Utila to America
By Laura Bagby
A bittersweet departure from Utila, this island off the north coast of Honduras where we arrived at the beginning of June to begin our coffee ministry. Utila is part of the Bay Islands. Bugs began to swarm in the last few days we were on Utila, but the fruit and opportunities were difficult to leave. As I looked on our new dock with our burlap coffee bags providing shading on our last day, I noticed five new “guests” enjoying the breeze and shade. I thought, I have not met them yet nor had the opportunity to get their names or see their faces.
I had to finish off my newly designed jewelry and product display table. We were also talking to some of our “old” timer guests who were visiting us to say good bye….many of them were dive instructors from the dive schools that surround us (there are five!). We thoroughly enjoyed them and their constant visits to us over the course of the two months.
Our team saw the literal transformation of a piece of property on the water with an incredible breezeway for our guest to enjoy. We felt God Himself brought it all into existence with a group of well functioning team members with great attitudes to do His will and pleasure. We continually felt His joy as we saw one completion after another with all of us delighting in the results.
Michael led us in the most incredible group sessions on the Bible that directly impacted and spoke of our intentional moments we were experiencing. It was often revelational and confirming for me. The team was responsive and effective -even our hired worker, Robert got into the Spirit of things and began to find the joy of the Lord in His handiwork which he took more and more pride and creativity in.
The shop truly began to buzz with Life and excitement as people began to flow in. We met people from virtually every country and theme of life. We attracted the high life and low life of the island. It was VERY interesting. I felt continually fascinated by the compassion and insight the Lord gave me for each individual that came through. Each feeling the specialness of a God breathed entity that was now providing them with a bit of home, hospitality, joy, attention and service.
Many came and were actually in awe and really appreciated being in our midst to the point of asking us if they can come to “help” just so they can be around us all more. We had some of our “new” friends volunteering to clean and paint our fences. Ivar and Anna from Holland were on the stairs and we had Israel (from Spain) cleaning another fence & getting a kick out of Moselle who was learning Spanish from him. He ended up cooking some ceviche, ahi (tuna) and patata tortillas….Amazing! He became a disciple and Michael had opportunity to minister the Lord to him before he had to depart back to Spain. So many beautiful people to love and share true Life with!!!!!
Elen is a French girl from Reunion Island in the Indian Ocean who is a dive instructor at Deep Blue next door. She has become a great friend, and had heard about our relationship with our Creator a few times from all these three girls in the photo with her!
What a blast it was for all of us!
Favorite Subject, favorite drink, favorite setting in a favored time of harvest. Nothing more satisfying. It was hard to leave for this reason. We are looking forward to seeing many of our new friends again.
Dustin and Kate will wed on the 18th of September and will return to Utila as da kine “ministry partners”. We are rejoicing over this. Michael will be performing their ceremony in Michigan and we will have the privilege of meeting more spectacular people at the wedding celebration! We are excited. Many of our friends from Maui will be coming for this momentous event.
After our mission’s conference in St Cloud in October, we will head down to Nicaragua to see Tom and Nutie and the rest of our Miskito family. We are looking forward to that as well. Then we will head to Honduras to continue our ministry on Utila….It is good and right to feel the passion and privilege that we do to be able to serve the Lord in the ways that we do.
We are coming into our season of reaping some of what we have sown over these years of obedience and perseverance. He is allowing us more stories to be able to tell of His greatness and wonder. In the past eight weeks, we all agree that what we saw with our eyes and experienced in our hearts, was more “stories” than most people get in a lifetime. The miraculous confounds the mind and the “norms”. It breathes Life, Hope and an undeniable evidence of God fleshed out in us and through us. It never fails to get the attention of even the darkest soul. We have shared stories with many.
We, in Christ, are meant to provoke the world to wonder and by His grace to lead them to the Light of eternity. I love living out stories worth telling! The eternal fun has just begun. Laura
The Bagby Bunch Corner
Laura and I were walking along the eastern shore of Utila one morning, gazing at the mountain range on the mainland 20 miles away– beautiful peaks that soar above the ocean to almost 8000 feet. These are the mountains that I flew over and around from 1987 to 2000 when we lived in La Ceiba. I paused and thanked God for being gracious enough to allow us to begin a work in this country once again, where we have relationships with friends from 20 years ago. The ability to see a vision that God gave in 1995 come to reality is truly humbling, and prompts shouts of worship to the Almighty! We give thanks to Him, and many of you who have been with us since those early refugee days when we began the school project, and others of you who have come aboard to assist in this critical phase of building an evangelism outpost for a generation which doesn’t know about a personal relationship with our Creator.
I Love sleeping in my own bed– especially after two months living in the natural, non- air conditioned, buggy environment of Honduras. Life on this island is like living on Maui 50 years ago. Food items are limited and expensive, and the electricity is the most expensive in the Western Hemisphere (26 cents a kilowatt hour!) As an American I have my right to live in a cool and comfortable environment! On Utila, that translates to multiple jumps into the ocean daily to cool off. However there is incredible underwater scenery when you jump in. We did that in the morning at 6:30 for a morning swim before arriving at the Café at 7:30 for our morning study.
We realized that most of the people walking into the Café were naïve or clueless when it came to understanding the spiritual world. Many had experienced “religion” and most were turned off when it came to the things of God. We so enjoyed our moments of conversation, for me especially with those from Europe and Israel.
We know that some of you have been called to come and participate in these conversations, and discipleship efforts. Consider a time, and let’s begin making a plan. Laura & Michael
Rio Coco Bean Coffee
This Month we are giving away 
Free Coffee
Join the A & M Coffee Club this month and receive a free 12 oz. bag of our Nicaragua Altisimo Coffee.
Incredibly Delicious Coffee Delivered to Your Door Each Month At Fair Trade Prices!
Here are Four Very Good Reasons why you should join the Arielle & Moselle Coffee Club.
1) 10% off our retail prices!
2) Free Delivery for orders over $50!
3) A monthly letter from Arielle and Moselle explaining things you need to know about coffee, life, etc.
4) You may change your order or cancel at any time!
Sign up is simple–
Call Arielle and she will take your order and payment information.
Call Arielle @ 772-766-6033!
Remember, your monthly purchase of Rio Coco Bean Coffee will help us educate
hundreds of children along the Rio Coco in Northeastern Nicaragua.
Go to www.riococobeans.com to order coffee. Click on the "Specials" for tasty coffee at a very good price.
To Make a Donation to Seek The Lamb:
We know that many of you are sponsoring our Miskito Children, supporting a Seek The Lamb Missionary, and helping with the funds for the school project in Nicargua.
Here is a convenient manner to make your donation- through our secure Pay Pal account.
Click here to direct your giving.
And Thanks for taking the time to be with us!
Simply amazing. There is a song by a Spaniard singer that speaks about the legacy of missionaries: "we are small flames, lighted because one day they were brought into Your eternal light which gave us life.. By the very few ones who did not love their lives more than they loved You. Today we are here, and our torch shineth forth. A new vision for a new millennium. A new generation that raises up Christ and joins in prayer, praying for (Spain )....no matter the cost, save our (Spain)...the boats and the nets ready are today." His name is Marcos Vidal. Youtube, google him and you'll find the song....reading this blog made me think of the song again.....Thank you for lighting the way and for keeping the flame shining forth.
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