Received a good letter from a friend of mine...thought you might like it. Here goes...
DCD
Rev. Devonshire,
Thanks for the recent post on your blog about our leaders. My wife and I can truly say where would we be without our leaders. They have stood right by our side every step of the way. While in Hinesville we saw the love of our leaders. Rev. Jones came by several times. He helped us so much. Rev. Ashmore came by three different times and each time we would fellowship until the early morning hours. Often times he would share different events that he had gone through in the ministry that would be of help. Rev. Olson has always been right behind us. He has truly been an examply of a man of God. How can I put into words the help of our pastor! He came to see us. He paid for his plane ticket, paid for his motel, paid for his meals, gave us the offering and showed his love to the members of our church.
We have recently started a new work in Korea. I can say it would not have been possible without the family of God. Once again the organization has shown us the same love as they have helped us start this brand new work. They have saved us so many battles and hard experiences by keeping us in the right direction. There are so many things I could say about the family of God but it is really difficult to put them into words.
Bro. Scriven
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Friday, August 11, 2006
Quick pics
Someone requested some recent photos of my pretty preg. wife...so here they be. Also threw one in of the kids swimming in the beautiful pristine waters of the river during rainy season, and then finally of my faithful cohort Rev. Gaudario.
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Follow @ddevonshire
Thursday, August 10, 2006
Pregnant in the Philippines and Dangerous Cultural Beliefs
What is the difference between a 9 month pregnant lady and a model? Nothing....if the husband knows what is good for him! My wife has been experiencing some difficult days in her pregnancy and so one of the church members gave me some advice for her:
1. Don’t drink cold water
2. Don't eat anything salty
Well, today was the day to see the doctor and so we had to ask about this out of curiosity more than anything. The Doc. told us it was a common belief among the Filipinos that a pregnant woman should stay away from cold water, but it was really only a superstition. Interesting....Now the dangerous one...There is another superstition that says you can identify the gender of the child by the beauty of the mother. If the mother looks more beautiful during the pregnancy it is going to be a girl, and if she looks ugly, then it will be a boy. I can only imagine that the fellow that came up with this idea, was single, or divorced shortly afterwards. Honey, do you think it will be a boy or a girl??? Well...ah...You think it is going to be a boy! Don't you? (wife begins crying) "You think I am ugly!!" Well we do know it is going to be a boy, but my wife is still beautiful (really) and I do know what is good for me..... Follow @ddevonshire
1. Don’t drink cold water
2. Don't eat anything salty
Well, today was the day to see the doctor and so we had to ask about this out of curiosity more than anything. The Doc. told us it was a common belief among the Filipinos that a pregnant woman should stay away from cold water, but it was really only a superstition. Interesting....Now the dangerous one...There is another superstition that says you can identify the gender of the child by the beauty of the mother. If the mother looks more beautiful during the pregnancy it is going to be a girl, and if she looks ugly, then it will be a boy. I can only imagine that the fellow that came up with this idea, was single, or divorced shortly afterwards. Honey, do you think it will be a boy or a girl??? Well...ah...You think it is going to be a boy! Don't you? (wife begins crying) "You think I am ugly!!" Well we do know it is going to be a boy, but my wife is still beautiful (really) and I do know what is good for me..... Follow @ddevonshire
Language Love Affairs
I have shared with you before how I have faced off with some fierce friends pointing their fingers at me and speaking in what was to me an unintelligible language, only to find out they were complimenting me, and then again how I was inviting their family in a less then flattering way. Well the more I learn, the more I look back and realize I made some serious mistakes. As I was praying today, endeavoring to pray in Tagalog, I thought of how Rev. Gaudario and I once visited a lady, she was experiencing some serious family problems and was in tears, I wanted to comfort her and so in Tagalog, I said to her "God loves you." Only problem is, now that I know a little better, I realized what I really said to her was "God, I love you!"
Honey, (Sis. Devonshire) I know you will read this, but you are the only lady I love that way!!
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Honey, (Sis. Devonshire) I know you will read this, but you are the only lady I love that way!!
Follow @ddevonshire
Tuesday, August 08, 2006
Monday, August 07, 2006
Meyer About Paul
F. B. Meyer said the following about the apostle Paul....
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- You must know that this man loved to save men. It was the passion of his life.
- Send him to Philippi, and he will not be there a day before he has turned the devil out of the poor demoniac girl.
- Let him be put in jail, and before midnight he will have baptized his jailor.
- Send him to Athens, and though he is all alone, he will gather a congregation upon Mars' Hill within a week or two.
- Put him alongside of Aquila and Priscilla at the bench, and he will make tents and talk to them in such good wise that they will become Christians.
- Stand him before his judge, and the latter will cry: "Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian!"
- Let him go to Rome, tied to a Roman sentry, and he will speak to these men, one after another, in such fashion that the whole Prefer-tan camp will be infused with the love of God.
- His passion was to save men. I do not believe that if he were alive to-day, he would be in a street car, or a railway car, or on board a steamer without buttonholing some man and speaking to him about his soul and his Savior. The whole passion of the man was to save some....
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Friday, August 04, 2006
A Fight, An Adventure, A Damsel
I must admit...I resemble that comment! I read it recently, you know the one that said "Every man is looking for a fight to win, an adventure to explore and a damsel to rescue". Now, I have already rescued my damsel, from the grips of Earthquake burgers and the Mall surveying jobs, but I count this Christian life as a fight, a fight to win, and certainly an adventure.
Even more so in the Philippines. I admit it, I like having to wade across the river to visit some people that came out to church, because there is just no other way to get to their house. It's fun. I like traipsing out to a far away barrio and having to climb the hills and walk through the mud to find the family that came out to church. I love seeing the surprised look on their faces! I love being able to communicate in their language, no, not fluently yet, but what they call "Baroque (spelling?) Tagalog" meaning, caveman. ie..."You go here, Me come" Well I hope it is a little more polished than that, but how they love being spoken to in their language! Perhaps because many of them are so shy, or embarrassed about their English skills. Usually they are very forgiving of my mistakes. That, the language learning, is also an adventure!
The food? Truly an adventure! "What is that?" is a common question when it comes to food here! Yet I have tasted some wonderful things here, and also wondered why more folks didn't die from the unsanitary conditions...How about this picture: Lechon (or Litson) Baboy (roasted pig) seasoned with diesel fumes! I took this picture from my car, so you see these pigs are being roasted on a very busy, smoke filled street. (Click the picture for a larger view)
The storms? Perhaps there is a caveat to this one, I like the storms, when I am on the inside and dry, and they are not interrupting any church activity. Yet even when driving, when my little Mitsubishi Lancer becomes an All-Terrain, flood-fording ferry...it is an adventure! Now, when the sidecar is not on the motorcycle...after all.... it is a big dirt bike, you almost look for an opportunity to find an impassable situation and tell yourself "I am on a mission from God! I have got to get there!" YEA....hehehe
I love the Philippines! Follow @ddevonshire
Even more so in the Philippines. I admit it, I like having to wade across the river to visit some people that came out to church, because there is just no other way to get to their house. It's fun. I like traipsing out to a far away barrio and having to climb the hills and walk through the mud to find the family that came out to church. I love seeing the surprised look on their faces! I love being able to communicate in their language, no, not fluently yet, but what they call "Baroque (spelling?) Tagalog" meaning, caveman. ie..."You go here, Me come" Well I hope it is a little more polished than that, but how they love being spoken to in their language! Perhaps because many of them are so shy, or embarrassed about their English skills. Usually they are very forgiving of my mistakes. That, the language learning, is also an adventure!
The food? Truly an adventure! "What is that?" is a common question when it comes to food here! Yet I have tasted some wonderful things here, and also wondered why more folks didn't die from the unsanitary conditions...How about this picture: Lechon (or Litson) Baboy (roasted pig) seasoned with diesel fumes! I took this picture from my car, so you see these pigs are being roasted on a very busy, smoke filled street. (Click the picture for a larger view)
The storms? Perhaps there is a caveat to this one, I like the storms, when I am on the inside and dry, and they are not interrupting any church activity. Yet even when driving, when my little Mitsubishi Lancer becomes an All-Terrain, flood-fording ferry...it is an adventure! Now, when the sidecar is not on the motorcycle...after all.... it is a big dirt bike, you almost look for an opportunity to find an impassable situation and tell yourself "I am on a mission from God! I have got to get there!" YEA....hehehe
I love the Philippines! Follow @ddevonshire
Thursday, August 03, 2006
Rev. Gandy's Comment
Rev. Gandy left this as a comment and I thought it too good to just get buried in the comments,
so I made it an individual post.
DCD
Thank God for our leaders! It always saddens my heart to hear that people have spoken bad about our Pastor and leaders. Truly, Pastor is a great man of God. I have had the opportunity to see Pastor do many things to help men and women through the years that no one else knows about.
He has helped, financially and spiritually. When one speaks ill of him it just lets me know that they do not really know him. I have been with him when no one else is around and he is a Christian then and he is a Christian when he is around a lot of people.
I could speak of many things of how he has been a blessing to me and my wife through the years. Whether the church I pastored was small or large, he came to see us to help and encourage us. In many organizations if the church cannot provide a big offering the leader does not visit. THIS IS NOT TRUE with the leaders of NTCC!!
Our leaders and overseer's care for us and love us and have only one desire and that is to help the preachers and to see men and women reached for the glory of God!
I am thankful for Pastor and Sister Davis.
Also, Rev. and Sister Olson who have shown me nothing but the love and kindness of our Savior. Rev. and Sister Johnson who have always had a special place in my heart. Rev. Johnson is a very humble man. Rev. and Sister Kekel, how can I comment and display my love for them in such a short space. What an inspiration they are!
Rev. and Sister Ashmore, well, what can I say? Just being with them is a blast, and I am challenged continually by his preaching and life. Rev. and Sister DiFrancesco. One thing that I think of him are the words..."Always Faithul." He and his wife are special and I count it a priviledge to call them my friend.
Rev. and Sister Tieman, Rev. and Sister L.D. Jones, and Rev. and Sister Kinson as they labor assisting Rev. Johnson are men and women who love God and carry love in their hearts for Jesus and his work.
All of our leaders work many hours and strive to be a blessing to all of our works. Thank the Lord that they have answered the call and have a laid self down and taken up the call of the cross.
I also want to add that I consider many who are not on the General Board as leaders in our organization. Each and every pastor, minister, preachers wife who have laid down self and answered the call is held high in my estimation. I could list some names but some may be offende if I did not list theirs. Let it suffice to say that there are many that I respect greatly.
I love the leaders of our organization and realize that without NTCC I probably would be in hell. I love the family of God and always look forward to seeing them at conference.
I am going to sign my name, and I know that if one of the fault finders read this, they will just say that.."There he goes again...He is just a org yes man....He is just one of those company men etc..."
Well....I am not a yes man, I am a Christian. As far as being a company man.....YES I AM!!!!
God Bless all of the faithul Brethren.
Bro. Gandy
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so I made it an individual post.
DCD
Thank God for our leaders! It always saddens my heart to hear that people have spoken bad about our Pastor and leaders. Truly, Pastor is a great man of God. I have had the opportunity to see Pastor do many things to help men and women through the years that no one else knows about.
He has helped, financially and spiritually. When one speaks ill of him it just lets me know that they do not really know him. I have been with him when no one else is around and he is a Christian then and he is a Christian when he is around a lot of people.
I could speak of many things of how he has been a blessing to me and my wife through the years. Whether the church I pastored was small or large, he came to see us to help and encourage us. In many organizations if the church cannot provide a big offering the leader does not visit. THIS IS NOT TRUE with the leaders of NTCC!!
Our leaders and overseer's care for us and love us and have only one desire and that is to help the preachers and to see men and women reached for the glory of God!
I am thankful for Pastor and Sister Davis.
Also, Rev. and Sister Olson who have shown me nothing but the love and kindness of our Savior. Rev. and Sister Johnson who have always had a special place in my heart. Rev. Johnson is a very humble man. Rev. and Sister Kekel, how can I comment and display my love for them in such a short space. What an inspiration they are!
Rev. and Sister Ashmore, well, what can I say? Just being with them is a blast, and I am challenged continually by his preaching and life. Rev. and Sister DiFrancesco. One thing that I think of him are the words..."Always Faithul." He and his wife are special and I count it a priviledge to call them my friend.
Rev. and Sister Tieman, Rev. and Sister L.D. Jones, and Rev. and Sister Kinson as they labor assisting Rev. Johnson are men and women who love God and carry love in their hearts for Jesus and his work.
All of our leaders work many hours and strive to be a blessing to all of our works. Thank the Lord that they have answered the call and have a laid self down and taken up the call of the cross.
I also want to add that I consider many who are not on the General Board as leaders in our organization. Each and every pastor, minister, preachers wife who have laid down self and answered the call is held high in my estimation. I could list some names but some may be offende if I did not list theirs. Let it suffice to say that there are many that I respect greatly.
I love the leaders of our organization and realize that without NTCC I probably would be in hell. I love the family of God and always look forward to seeing them at conference.
I am going to sign my name, and I know that if one of the fault finders read this, they will just say that.."There he goes again...He is just a org yes man....He is just one of those company men etc..."
Well....I am not a yes man, I am a Christian. As far as being a company man.....YES I AM!!!!
God Bless all of the faithul Brethren.
Bro. Gandy
Follow @ddevonshire
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
My Leaders
We have so much to be thankful for! I am especially thankful that God has brought me to an organization that has the leadership that it does. I have heard horror stories of other groups where the leaders didn't care about the people and were self centered. I am glad to be able to say, that is certainly not the case with New Testament Christian Churches of America. I have a pastor that has visited me in every church that I have pastored (10 different churches) and as my wife has said "Every time he comes, good things happen!" That is true.
My pastor has through all the years that I have known him, shown true Christian love to me and my wife. Many times when we were struggling he came to help. Sometimes with wise counsel, sometimes with an offering, always with love. I know He has a real relationship with God, because God has revealed things to him, that noone else knew about.
I distinctly remember one night there were some serious problems. I was outside the church and looked to heaven and prayed. "I need help." The next day pastor flew into the city. I didn't call him. He came to help! Thank the Lord for Pastor R. W. Davis.
Rev. Olson has also shown me true love through the years. He has brought me into his home and let me stay with him. He has prayed for me and visited me and shown me the tenderness of Christ. His counsel has been always on track and I am thankful for him.
I can go on....Rev. Johnson's love and hard work, Rev. and Sis. Kekel's teaching, preaching and chracter building, Rev. Ashmore, Rev. Jones, Rev. Kinson, Rev. Tieman all have helped and inspired, and I am glad to be in a group that cares!
Also see: "Our Leaders" NTCC Good News Site
Follow @ddevonshire
My pastor has through all the years that I have known him, shown true Christian love to me and my wife. Many times when we were struggling he came to help. Sometimes with wise counsel, sometimes with an offering, always with love. I know He has a real relationship with God, because God has revealed things to him, that noone else knew about.
I distinctly remember one night there were some serious problems. I was outside the church and looked to heaven and prayed. "I need help." The next day pastor flew into the city. I didn't call him. He came to help! Thank the Lord for Pastor R. W. Davis.
Rev. Olson has also shown me true love through the years. He has brought me into his home and let me stay with him. He has prayed for me and visited me and shown me the tenderness of Christ. His counsel has been always on track and I am thankful for him.
I can go on....Rev. Johnson's love and hard work, Rev. and Sis. Kekel's teaching, preaching and chracter building, Rev. Ashmore, Rev. Jones, Rev. Kinson, Rev. Tieman all have helped and inspired, and I am glad to be in a group that cares!
Also see: "Our Leaders" NTCC Good News Site
Follow @ddevonshire
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