Luke 2:11

"For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord."

On my last trip to Southeast Asia a villager was asked "Have you ever heard of Jesus?" The man responded with hesitance, "I haven't seem him today, maybe he is visiting the next village?"

Today there is an estimated 6.64 billion people on planet Earth. Of those, approximately 2.68 billion have never heard of Jesus. They have never had anyone explain the Gospel to them in their own language, in the context of their culture. They have limited information, or none at all as to "The Savior... Christ the Lord." Many of those 2.68 billion "unreached or least reached" people live in an area referred to as the 10/40 Window.

"The core of the unreached people of our world live in a rectangular-shaped window Often called The Resistant Belt, the window extends from West Africa to East Asia, from ten degrees north to forty degrees north of the equator. If we are serious about providing a valid opportunity for every person to experience the truth and saving power of Jesus Christ, we cannot ignore the compelling reality of The 10/40 Window regions and its billions of impoverished souls." Luis Bush, International Director of the AD2000

10/40 Window designated by the red area on map.

I'm always asked, "Why go to Thailand or Myanmar, or any country in Southeast Asia when there is so much to be done here?" My response to that question is usually, why are so many staying here, when there are thousands who are perishing daily without eternal hope or knowledge of the One True God who created them?

Man's beautiful treasures...

Decorations gathered together to celebrate Christmas!

God's beautiful treasures...
Villagers from Myanmar gathered together to hear the true story behind the celebration of Christmas for the first time!

Singapore - No room at the Inn?

Myanmar-No Inn with a room!

Holiday decorations in Singapore

Holiday decorations in Myanmar

Elegant vs Simple

The gift of Christmas is Salvation through Jesus Christ. It is offered to ALL mankind, wealthy and sophisticated, poor or uneducated. That is the beauty of Christmas!

To hear or read more about the ultimate Christmas Gift, check this link http://www.jesus2020.com/jesus.html or scroll up to the column on the right, Kathy's Lost and Found. Merry Christmas and much love to you all. Many blessings, Kathy

As you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to Me...

Christmas dinner for some of us will be a lavish event with all the trimmings. For others, it will be a very simple meal. A special thank you to all those who helped make Christmas a little more enjoyable for the men and women who are incarcerated at the Mendocino County Jail.

For the past 11 years I have been involved with the local Jail Ministry. Every week a small team of volunteers head there for an evening (approx. 3 hours) of Bible study and prayer with prisoners. There is also a second team of volunteers, who work with the troubled teenagers who are in Juvenile Hall.

Though the years we have all witnessed many transformed lives! We have had the privilege of sharing the gospel with hundreds of men and women, both young and old. I think my team mates would agree that this this work has been extremely rewarding and humbling. God has allowed us to develop strong, trusting relationships with the correctional officers and the inmates.

Not everyone is as excited about hanging out at the Jail on a Saturday night as we are - so we had to think of some other creative ways for our church family to participate in this ministry. One of those ideas is our Christmas Cookie Delivery! Every year about this time we deliver homemade Christmas goodies to every person who is incarcerated in the Mendocino County Jail.

First, we enlist all our favorite "bakers" from church.
We will need lots and lots of homemade cookies!

Then we collect, sort and bag all the cookies. This is the hard part for us , because those delicious cookies smell so yummy we are tempted to eat them all ourselves!

Next we assemble individual bags (Our Sunday School children have done a great job decorating them with fun pictures and stickers) Each bag contains: 6 assorted homemade cookies, a gospel story, calender, assorted candy bars, 3 blank Christmas cards with stamped envelopes so prisoners can write to their loved ones ....and last of all....a candy cane!

Bernice is putting the finishing touches on these bags. We are just about ready to load them up for tonight's delivery. Hope they all fit in our cars!

Mendocino County Jail!
Although there are many locked gates, tall fences, security cameras and barb-wire, the love of Jesus still makes it's way through to those inside. Tonight it is cold, clear and beautiful....a perfect night for a Christmas delivery!


Have you ever been inside a Jail? Well, come on in.... Chaplain Gerry allowed me to take a few pictures. Usually taking any pictures around this facility would be a big NO-NO. Gerry is a good hearted man with a generous spirit. His work at the Jail is not very glamorous, but he does an excellent job.


We'll be heading down these corridors soon to deliver our treats. Since we have already been cleared through security we will be handing the bags out directly to each inmate.


Lucy and the Chaplain Gerry review a few details before we begin. Lucy joined the Jail team about a year ago and has loved very minute. At first she was very hesitant. "I've never done anything like this before, maybe I'm too old. Even though I resisted the idea at first, the Holy Spirit kept drawing me to this ministry. God challenged me to SERVE BEYOND MY COMFORT ZONE" Lucy was willing to step out in faith and has had no regrets ever since!


All the cookie bags are "check in"- We're clean, no contraban!

We feel so blessed to be a part of what God is doing here! Tonight's visit will be a surprise for the guards and the inmates, a pleasant break from their evening routine. We wish you could come in with us to see all the faces of women and men. Receiving special "home made treats" can be quit an emotional experience for most of them. Some inmates will break into tears as we hug them and hand them their small bags. The smells and sight of Christmas goodies usually trigger many personal memories. We have seen God soften many hardened hearts through the years.




The members from First Baptist, St. Mary's and Calvary Baptist, all worked together to bless the staff and inmates. It is a privilege to be an extension of God's love to others. We work as ONE body, to glorify the King of Kings who was born to bring salvation to all.

"For I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me. Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me." Matthew 25

Lausanne Covenant -Section 6. Church and Evangelism

Section 6. THE CHURCH AND EVANGELISM

We affirm that Christ sends his redeemed people into the world as the Father sent him, and that this calls for a similar deep and costly penetration of the world. We need to break out of our ecclesiastical ghettos and permeate non-Christian society. In the Church's mission of sacrificial service evangelism is primary. World evangelization requires the whole Church to take the whole gospel to the whole world. The Church is at the very centre of God's cosmic purpose and is his appointed means of spreading the gospel. But a church which preaches the cross must itself be marked by the cross. It becomes a stumbling block to evangelism when it betrays the gospel or lacks a living faith in God, a genuine love for people, or scrupulous honesty in all things including promotion and finance. The church is the community of God's people rather than an institution, and must not be identified with any particular culture, social or political system, or human ideology.

(John 17:18; 20:21; Matt. 28:19,20; Acts 1:8; 20:27; Eph. 1:9,10; 3:9-11; Gal. 6:14,17; II Cor. 6:3,4; II Tim. 2:19-21; Phil. 1:27)

Lausanne Covenant -Section 14. The Power of the Holy Spirit

Section 14. THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

We believe in the power of the Holy Spirit. The Father sent his Spirit to bear witness to his Son; without his witness ours is futile. Conviction of sin, faith in Christ, new birth and Christian growth are all his work. Further, the Holy Spirit is a missionary spirit; thus evangelism should arise spontaneously from a Spirit-filled church. A church that is not a missionary church is contradicting itself and quenching the Spirit. Worldwide evangelization will become a realistic possibility only when the Spirit renews the Church in truth and wisdom, faith, holiness, love and power. We therefore call upon all Christians to pray for such a visitation of the sovereign Spirit of God that all his fruit may appear in all his people and that all his gifts may enrich the body of Christ. Only then will the whole church become a fit instrument in his hands, that the whole earth may hear his voice.

(I Cor. 2:4; John 15:26;27; 16:8-11; I Cor. 12:3; John 3:6-8; II Cor. 3:18; John 7:37-39; I Thess. 5:19; Acts 1:8; Psa. 85:4-7; 67:1-3; Gal. 5:22,23; I Cor. 12:4-31; Rom. 12:3-8)

Those are powerful, and convicting words!

How many Christian leaders would be willing to sign their names to such documents today, as they did at the Lausanne conference back in 1974? The original conference brought together 150 Christian leaders from around the world to Lausanne Switzerland. The committee was headed by Billy Graham. The drafting committee for the document was chaired by John Stott. It was during this gathering that the Lausanne Covenant was writte and adopted by 2,300 evangelicals. The Covenant consists of an Introduction, 15 points and a Conclusion which can be read in it's entirety by going to this link.

http://www.lausanne.org/lausanne-1974/lausanne-covenant.html

Jesus said Go!

After watching Mission 2008- You can click on the individual photos, move them around and view them again more closely. Alright, let's Go! This was my second time to Myanmar to help with free medical, dental and vision clinics. As usual, it was humbling and an amazingly fruitful time, These trips are intense, with very little down time to rest, but worth every once of energy! In a matter of a few weeks we traveled may long miles to multiple locations. We treated 1,738 patients and witnessed 544 conversions! Every villager who arrives for treatment was presented with the gospel before we administered care. This was usually done in groups of 10 so, in their own language. Since most Buddhists we worked with had no idea who Jesus was, or what Christians believe, we made it a priority to unfold that information to all that attended. We found the general population very receptive and eager to hear this good news. (I'm pretty sure their "open-ness" to God's truths had to do with the amount of time the local Believers spend in prayer and fasting before we arrived!) For those interested in hearing more, I will be sharing these adventures with my home church in the near future-so keep a look out for times and dates. If you have any questions about the group I traveled with, contact me at klb@pacific.net. Do to security, I am unable to post that information on this site. Thank you for your prayers! To God be the glory, great things He has done.

My moon

Tomorrow will be the "official" full moon, but to me, tonight's moon is just as enchanting and magnificent, don't you think? The night before a full moon, is my moon...

“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands”

This beautiful statement is from the Bible-Psalm 19:1.

"The universe reveals the majesty of its Creator. Of course, God’s glory can be seen in many different aspects of creation—not just the heavens. Consider the magnificent intricacy of a living cell, the complexity and the amazing diversity of life on earth, and the mathematical precision of the laws of physics and chemistry. These are all indicative of the incomprehensible creativity, intelligence, and power of the Creator." Quote by Dr. Jason Lisle