At this time, I am still trying to finish the "Ethiopia Mission Manifesto,"( or whatever I am going to call it later on...) my report containing precious and privileged details about our trip, for my gracious sponsors and precious prayer partners to look through. The thing is, I am having a hard time, at this writing, concentrating for even 30 minutes on it. Life has sucked me back in, and perhaps with a vengeance! Going back to work was coated with a plethora of demands, not HUGE, but the surprises are still there- (not that I am surprised..:-) People accusing me of stuff, redundant disciplinary procedures, and clients who may have wanted to quit on me because they thought I was going to DIE, or leave the United States for good- stuff that I can only expect to surface while I am busy with a missionary trip- the devils way of saying "welcome back...punk." Ha!
Well, I am still going to love everyone, and that is final. "Whatever..." seems to be the key word of this day and age. But I just dislike to use it as much as I dislike bully "supervisors."
Well anyway, I am just venting, but I will soon have this Journal ready, and I would like your prayer for my protection as I complete this and more work of Gods kingdom on earth in practice. The devil and the world have a thick hold on the city where I live.. and that is one of the first observations I realize over again when I come back home from a mission trip. It was 10 days in this case, of mostly total surrendering and concentration on God, and doing His work, and being around mature Christian believers- what a blessing! They have all been instrumental in the blessings I received resulting from this trip- Gods love at work. I take no credit for having done anything good on this trip or any trip to any third world country for that matter. I can only stand there, and watch Gods power change lives, and move mountains, and decimate strongholds of despair, fear, anger, envy, bitterness, and strife- mouths are open, and God wants to feed people. That is the beautiful take away here, among many, many other things.
"Brother... you know, we cannot do without Him, and He cannot do without us." ~George Cutting (to Watchman Nee)
Monday, March 29, 2010
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Spiritual Warfare - Part I
I am completely drained and devoid of what to write here. But I keep getting this feeling of urgency that I need to give something more here. I don't know what to say, there is so much to do , and give, and prepare and plan. No, not really just the traveling, that is just, fill a suitcase and get over there early... Logistics are easy, comparatively. I am talking about the whole thing, the whole picture here. There is always anxiety with change, but when shall I factor that in? There are career goals to establish daily and set up to fulfillment, quotas, deadlines, and pessimistic people daily, wherever you go. There are people waiting for mail from me, and God is still waiting for His chats with me too.. MAN! What is going down? Three to four hours of sleep nightly, and zombie daze until two or three thirty in the afternoon when I awake from a semi irregular napping or is it a trance... after I finish with my chaotic work mornings at the health Club from 5:00 am then until afternoon and sometimes later... If I am not careful. There are bills to pay, Products to buy and others to review... business people and websites to control... and there is traffic, emailing, dishes, bathroom and sinks being refinished, so I can't sleep in my home for two days, taking showers at the gym instead of home, and sleeping in my car, and progress... all in the name...of progress... Hah! Did I mention that there's writing to do? And people- people to care about the whole time along the way- including when they are trying to cut me off from BEHIND me on the road... MAN! Is it always the same raised Takoma Pickup, or a Beamer!?
Well, I am sure I left a few peeves out here, I just can't think of some of them right now... But it was well worth it! Satan is always behind despair, fear, and anxiety, there is no other antagonist of worry. It is 6:41 pm Thursday evening and I am still trying to figure out all the thank you letters for all the people who made a way for us to send 12 missionaries over to Africa next week. I am so amazed to be on this team. Just trying not to get too used to it or cozy since all of the details of the trip will not be available to us until they are actually occurring, except for a limited few things on a need to know basis, and no guarantee of their accuracy... but that doesn't worry me at all, really... just getting enough protein while I am there ;-) I don't want to come back all scrawny looking like a cancer patient like the last times I was there, not to mention that I will have to be taking mefloquine (Quinine derivative) meds for anti-malaria for four weeks after I return.. Bummer... (This stuff is hilarious! Read what it says on the bottle prescription: "Call your doctor immediately if you experience mood changes such as new or worsening feelings of sadness, depression, or fear." Excellent! Lol! Well, I 'll pop that pill ASAP then! lol Sounds fun!- Who wants to join me? ;-D)
Well, I am almost finished venting, of which you are now the honored (and hopefully grateful) recipient :-) We will now explore the topic of this letter Spiritual Warfare... in Ten words not my own: "I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me."
And now here is some encouragement for you, my treasured prayer warrior in fellowship:
"...For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ..." 2Cor 10:2-5.
Your prayers are of infinite value. I appreciate all of your donations and gifts of those who have and are still helping us in going. That finite support is how every thing else has been made possible, when it comes with your infinite and cherished help from above. It is not like us asking God gets him to do anything that needs to be done, since he is already doing it, and everything else at once, with perfect balance and in harmony with love. I think it is that when we pray, an atmosphere of Gods love and light drifts into our frequency and intermingles with all spiritual forces down here on earth, making certain noxious and fallow disharmonious soul and mental vapors and putrefied (or putrefying ) inter and intra-spiritual rifts impossible to cohabitate with in the same area as those whose prayers are cast forth. So as I said, your prayers are of infinite value, i.e, they do not lose value, or force, or momentum. Believe me, friend, each prayer is an individual thing, and it exists forever. God does not forget, and His ears and His eyes have wings we do not usually see, called angels. (? :-0) When we go to a spiritually rich (or poor) place like Africa, we will be enabled to grow in ways that will be hard to translate over into this LA culture. Your prayers here inviting and cultivating that spiritual presence of Gods Comfort are incalculably valuable- for when we come back, there is a shocking horror when we realize just how painful the air is here to breathe, how abrasive the L.A. lifestyle really is all over again, and how bummed and dumb the mind becomes ever so quickly as we are tempted to sink back into our lives, and our jobs, our simple habits, and our mundane pathways to obscurity... Delving deeper, and deeper... into that hypnotic and tranquilizing state of "me-me" all over again.... Please pray for us, friend, and pray for this city, and pray for the lives that we are going to Ethiopia to heal, that they will heal us back, so that we can bring more courage next, and the Good News of Rescue from death and darkness will be felt and heard.
"Remember me always..."
-Christ
Adam F. Martin
PS.
Thanks to everyone who is participating on this mission through much needed prayer and the sharing of their vital finances, we are sending out 12 missionaries including myself into this field Wednesday, March 10th.
Well, I am sure I left a few peeves out here, I just can't think of some of them right now... But it was well worth it! Satan is always behind despair, fear, and anxiety, there is no other antagonist of worry. It is 6:41 pm Thursday evening and I am still trying to figure out all the thank you letters for all the people who made a way for us to send 12 missionaries over to Africa next week. I am so amazed to be on this team. Just trying not to get too used to it or cozy since all of the details of the trip will not be available to us until they are actually occurring, except for a limited few things on a need to know basis, and no guarantee of their accuracy... but that doesn't worry me at all, really... just getting enough protein while I am there ;-) I don't want to come back all scrawny looking like a cancer patient like the last times I was there, not to mention that I will have to be taking mefloquine (Quinine derivative) meds for anti-malaria for four weeks after I return.. Bummer... (This stuff is hilarious! Read what it says on the bottle prescription: "Call your doctor immediately if you experience mood changes such as new or worsening feelings of sadness, depression, or fear." Excellent! Lol! Well, I 'll pop that pill ASAP then! lol Sounds fun!- Who wants to join me? ;-D)
Well, I am almost finished venting, of which you are now the honored (and hopefully grateful) recipient :-) We will now explore the topic of this letter Spiritual Warfare... in Ten words not my own: "I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me."
And now here is some encouragement for you, my treasured prayer warrior in fellowship:
"...For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh, for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. We are destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and we are taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ..." 2Cor 10:2-5.
Your prayers are of infinite value. I appreciate all of your donations and gifts of those who have and are still helping us in going. That finite support is how every thing else has been made possible, when it comes with your infinite and cherished help from above. It is not like us asking God gets him to do anything that needs to be done, since he is already doing it, and everything else at once, with perfect balance and in harmony with love. I think it is that when we pray, an atmosphere of Gods love and light drifts into our frequency and intermingles with all spiritual forces down here on earth, making certain noxious and fallow disharmonious soul and mental vapors and putrefied (or putrefying ) inter and intra-spiritual rifts impossible to cohabitate with in the same area as those whose prayers are cast forth. So as I said, your prayers are of infinite value, i.e, they do not lose value, or force, or momentum. Believe me, friend, each prayer is an individual thing, and it exists forever. God does not forget, and His ears and His eyes have wings we do not usually see, called angels. (? :-0) When we go to a spiritually rich (or poor) place like Africa, we will be enabled to grow in ways that will be hard to translate over into this LA culture. Your prayers here inviting and cultivating that spiritual presence of Gods Comfort are incalculably valuable- for when we come back, there is a shocking horror when we realize just how painful the air is here to breathe, how abrasive the L.A. lifestyle really is all over again, and how bummed and dumb the mind becomes ever so quickly as we are tempted to sink back into our lives, and our jobs, our simple habits, and our mundane pathways to obscurity... Delving deeper, and deeper... into that hypnotic and tranquilizing state of "me-me" all over again.... Please pray for us, friend, and pray for this city, and pray for the lives that we are going to Ethiopia to heal, that they will heal us back, so that we can bring more courage next, and the Good News of Rescue from death and darkness will be felt and heard.
"Remember me always..."
-Christ
Adam F. Martin
PS.
Thanks to everyone who is participating on this mission through much needed prayer and the sharing of their vital finances, we are sending out 12 missionaries including myself into this field Wednesday, March 10th.
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