acao de gracas (thanksgiving)

This year I have EVERYTHING to be thankful for!

Just to name a few, God has blessed me with:

awesome times of ministry with Warrenton Wesleyan Church;





amazing opportunities & generous hearts in raising support,
and a safe return to Africa to rock out a calling I received in 2003;

special moments with family and friends prior to my departure,
and increased dependence on Him through loneliness and transition;

greater independence through basic (very basic) culinary skills,
and great overall health during the past six months in Africa;

weekend getaways with incredible people to incredible places;

remarkable upsets at the African Games,
and more faith through miraculously approved visa applications;

new family and friends on the field,
and the ability to communicate in Portuguese;

two weeks with my father in Mozambique;





a brotherhood in the form of a basketball team,
and official permission to begin constructing CAM basketball court;

positions of influence in the lives of over seventy young people,
and six more months to live and learn along with them.

God is SO good! I'm overwhelmed by the ways He has chosen to bless me this year. It's like I'm sitting back and watching a dream play out in real life. It's incredible!

Sure, it's not always easy living in Mozambique, but it's ALWAYS rewarding living where God leads. If you feel God calling you to go somewhere, to do something, or to join an area of ministry,
don't hesitate.

God doesn't call everyone to go overseas,
but HE DOES CALL EVERYONE.

"...I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received.
Be completely humble and gentle;
be patient, bearing with one another in love.
Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit
through the bond of peace."
Ephesians 4:1-3

If He calls you to it, He'll lead you through it.


Happy Thanksgiving, Friend!

Power of Purpose: a matter of perspective

History has a way of repeating

- for those who don't learn from the past.

Dirty. That's the first word I use to describe Mozambique.

It's hot. It's sandy. It's sticky. It stinks, literally.
There's trash all over the sides of the streets.

It is also sad, and at the same time, it's scary.

Poverty and crime are proportionately high.
Street corner stop lights host thieves and beggars, alike.

And justice?

A joke!

…long since replaced with corruption and bribes.

During the time I've spent here:
I've been robbed. I've been scared. I've seen death and disease.
And too much at that!

I want to leave.

Why am I here, holding so much resentment?

Why do I stay in spite of it all?

Ten years ago, I asked myself those questions as I grudgingly slumped through our missionary term one day at a time. Mozambique is a tough place to live, and I did not want to be here. My parents were called to Africa, I wasn't.

Growing up, I couldn't think of anything worse than living in Africa as a missionary kid (MK). Our first five years overseas were the darkest of my life. I quickly grew tired of constantly moving, transitioning schools, living cross-culturally, and seemingly meeting people just to turn around and say good-bye. Rotten sick of living in a third world country, I wanted to go home - to the States, to my friends, to stay, and play ball.

People and sports - that's my passion.

They always have been as I recall. Each place I've lived, we've met along the way. The faces have changed with the balls and the nets, but they've always been right there.

At the end of my rope with life overseas, God proved He is faithful. In the middle of a life with so much change, the most special things were maintained. Sport. People. Family. God.

On a hot summer day in 2002, God changed my life with perspective.

He did it by giving me purpose.

Taking what I loved the most, He showed me how to use it for His glory. In my last two years as an MK, I began to see the power of sport reach people beyond the steeple. Basketball attracted communities that would have never otherwise walked through our gates. It was awesome!

People were the target. Sport was the platform.
But the call was to Himself.

God's faithfulness that came to me in the form of sports ministry brought me out of Africa alive, developed in me through university, and has now led me back to the place I received the call - the place I completely despised as a child.

I can't think of anything better than living in Africa as a missionary!

My first life here was dry and thorny, but since I've returned it hasn't stopped blooming! God amazes me daily with His love that is abundant, grace that is humbling, and provision that is ever-present. When I think life can't get better, it does! Serving God is the most rewarding decision a person will ever make.

Mozambique is still dirty, still sad, and still scary.
I am still Phillip - still selfish, still growing.
God is still loving, still speaking, and still faithful!

Same place. Same person. Same God.
Completely different perspective!

That is the power of purpose!

History has a way of repeating
- for those who don't learn from the past,

But God has a way of redeeming the hell of our world for the best!

"Chick-Chick!"

MEET MY PARENTS:

This is Dad. He was raised on a dairy farm in Michigan.

Mom grew up in a Kansas City suburb.

Dad studied in a one-room school house. Mom attended a large public school. While Dad was driving tractors around the farm, Mom was cruising around the neighborhood on her groovy bicycle with a banana seat.

They were born into two different worlds. But both of my parents were brought up in Christian homes. This shared, wholesome upbringing played a key role in bringing them together.

They were kind enough to pass the legacy on to their children.

Dad was a Wesleyan minister. Mom was a loving nurse. With both of them wanting the best for their kids, it makes sense that one of the first things I remember them teaching me was the importance of God's Word. Some of my earliest memories are linked to the massive Bible they kept on the coffee table, including the night they opened it when I first prayed to live for Jesus.

As I got older and learned to read, Mom and Dad encouraged us kids to spend part of each day in personal devotion with God. Although their intentions were pure, I quickly associated Bible reading with the rest of my chores. During weekends, my brother and I would get up early to play video games. I would dread my parents waking up and asking if I had spent my time in the Word. If I hadn't (which was usually the case), I would have to stop playing video games until I read some scripture.

I began reading scripture to get it out of the way.

As legalistic as it might sound, I appreciate my parents' attempt to create in me a sense of respect and dependance on God's Word.

The most effective way they did this was by example.

There was something powerful in seeing Dad dig into the Word each morning. I wanted to be like him. Morning devo's were a huge part of who he was and what he aspired to be. That inspired me to do the same.

I continued reading the Bible -
not to get closer to God, but to be more like Dad.

Digging into a fish like he digs into the Word.

It has taken me a long time to receive this lesson of leaning on scripture from my parents. I am familiar with the Bible. I trust what it says. I believe God still speaks through it. But I have never experienced the sweetness of seeing the Word come to life as I have in these past five months!

Now I read the Bible for I value what it has to say.

My time in Africa has finally allowed me to catch a deeper glimpse into the vastness of God's love. I have become dependent on Him for fulfillment. I have waited on Him, trusting Him to act and speak and move. I have entrusted Him with my greatest dreams.

How has He responded?

He continues to fill me!
As I draw near to Him,
He faithfully draws nearer to me.

He is showing up right on time!
He has yet to be late;
sometimes my schedule's just premature.





He is blessing me beyond belief!
I came to Africa prepared for the worst,
but God hasn't stopped overwhelming me with blessing.

God blessed me this month by giving me two weeks to chill with my father. The pictures of us in this post are from a trip we took to the northern section of Mozambique. He was involved in leadership training, and I tagged along for the ride, moral support, and a little sports ministry with the kids. Coke was the theme if you can't tell. :)

I already miss him.

Praise God for another blessing of an amazing family of supporters and fellow missionaries! Thanks to care packages from friends at home, eager guards to help a brother out, and an awesome missionary's willingness to play along - God gave me a memorable Halloween this year! The guards didn't quite get the pronunciation down, but they had a blast celebrating the day of "Chick-Chick!" (Trick-or-Treat).

Kyla and I trick-or-treating at the guard shack

God cares about the little things and the big things in life. He cares about refreshing reunions with family members you haven't seen for months. He cares about relaxing evenings in a social environment often saturated in stress. God provides them both. He cares about we care about, and He wants to bless us abundantly if we will only give Him the time of day to do it.

If you don't spend regular time in the Bible,
please consider it.

Maybe it will start out like it did for me, like a checklist. Maybe you'll do it to be like someone else you respect. But let me warn you - when you start hearing God speak to you - WOW! You won't want to put it down! You will look forward to that time, you will protect that time, and you will be marked by that time throughout the day and for the rest of your life.

It truly is the Living Word.



No trick!
It's a treat!