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Thursday, 12 June 2008

  • Hoping to get water to these Yezide Kurds

    Yezide Kurds are scattered around the northern mountains of Armenia and other places. In this village, where missionary Nick Puccini has made some great connections, they struggle to find clean water.




    We're strategizing the best response of not only getting them water but helping them filter it, which would help keep them well, etc. This is their only consistent water source, and it's over 1 km from the village.








    The area was absolutely beautiful, looking more like Ireland than what I pictured Armenia looking like...at least before it starts snowing here again. It's hard to imagine we're only 450 miles from Baghdad.


Wednesday, 09 April 2008

  • What would I do if we were starving?

    08 PurposeWhen I'm not traveling, I come home each night to a beautiful wife and a little girl. We'll have a nice meal (April can sure cook) and spend some time together as a family. What if there was no food. What would I do?


    Over the last few years and especially the last few weeks, the world has seen a food emergency like many have never seen before. The price of rice went up 10% last week, and in some parts of the world, they expect the price to rise 250% between now and June. In other parts of the world, crops needed to sustain families for the future have been washed away and the markets are either significantly understocked or overpriced.


    If I came home and had no food for my family what would I do? If I had no food for my family for days or weeks or months, what would I do?


    Would I steal from others in need?

    Would I steal from those who had plenty?

    Would I beg?

    Would I rummage through trash to find scraps?

    Would I go to the media?

    Would I go to friends/family and ask for help?

    If I found food, would I hord it?

    If a food truck came, would I try to be first in line?

    Would I go to church and ask for help?


    What would conversations with my wife be like? Instead of making plans for the weekend, would I resort to offering excuses about not being able to find food that day?

    Would I feel ashamed?

    Would I be depressed?

    Would I feel like a man?

    Would I be suicidal?



    I don't know answers to many of those questions. Some answers I do know...


    I think I would go to family/friends and ask for help.

    I think I would go to the church for help.

    I think I would be ashamed.

    I'd like to think I wouldn't steal or be suicidal or anything, but if someone was hording and I knew they had plenty and my family was starving it would be tough to keep that integrity.

    It would be tough, if we were starving, to not try to rush the food truck.



    What would I do? I honestly don't know.



    People who love Jesus, love their families, are proud of their hard work, and walk in integrity are asking themselves the same questions right now. Right now children are asking fathers if they found food that day. Wives are speaking with husbands about solutions for survival. Some have asked families and friends for help, some have asked the church for help. All are in need, many of them facing needs like never before.


    If it were you, what would you do?



Monday, 03 March 2008

Thursday, 28 February 2008

  • Our first intern turned Missionary Associate

    People often ask me what I like most about leading teams. I battle internally over my answer. Seeing the light turn on in someone's eyes as they receive real and practical help along with hope in Jesus in the midst of great need is hard to beat.

    However, seeing the team members I lead watch that light turn on in the eyes of the one they're helping just might be my favorite part of what I do.


    Meet Shannon. I met Shannon at a conference about a year ago. She was a youth pastor in her home church. She had gotten saved through her church's bus ministry. When she, as a student at Southwestern Assemblies of God University got the opportunity to be the youth pastor, she told her students that she would be there until every one of them graduated. Committment.

    Last year, the youngest of those first students graduated. God was prompting her heart to bust out and do some crazy missions something. What? She felt peace as He told her He'd let her know. We met a year ago. She came up after the service and said this was what God had for her and she was ready to join the team. That was a Saturday, When I called her on Monday, she had told her pastor, found some initial funding sources and was on her way.


    She worked with us in El Salvador, Indianapolis, South Carolina, the Philippines and N. Asia.


    This week she was approved to be a Missionary Associate. She's coming on board full-time.


    If you've met Shannon, you know she's got that light in her eyes as she's watching from a front row seat some good things that God is doing.


    Pray for Shannon! Pray her fundraising will be swift.


    Pray that others will join her.
    Currently Listening
    Upon This Rock (2 CD's)
    see related

Monday, 25 February 2008

  • A blog name, and no...it's not me

    So I've thought about changing the blog address to something that doesn't have "blog" or whatever in the name. I brainstormed, looking up just about everything I could think of. I've always been bad with coming up with names for things (i.e. the "House O' Coffee" at Park Crest back in the mid-90s).


    Anyways, not that I would've used it, but one of the 100+ or whatever addresses I tried is http://www.pastormatt.com/. I immediately remembered that my friend Randy once warned me about that site. If you're wondering, and I'm sure that you are, it's not me. It really isn't me.

    Does anyone know the true Pastor Matt? He sounds like a very nice guy.
    Just wondering. Enjoy that site, and have a swell day.
    Currently Listening
    Only Visiting This Planet [20th Year Anniversary Edition]
    see related

mwilkie

  • Visit mwilkie's Xanga Site
    • Name: Matt
    • Country: United States
    • State: Missouri
    • Metro: Springfield
    • Birthday: 8/25/1972
    • Gender: Male
    • Member Since: 2/10/2002

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