The Good Shepherds

There's been so many scandals and criticisms of Pastors and Priests that all that's ever talked about are the failings. The good ones - the ones who truly try to adhere to the teachings - quietly go about their duties. My heart is brimming right now thus I'm creating this thread.

My husband just had surgery last month. Sometime last week we had a heavy snow fall. My husband found that our laneway was already shovelled. He thanked our neighbor.....but the neighbor said it wasn't him. Later in the morning, my husband saw our pastor come with his shovel. It was our pastor who shovelled and he had come back to shovel the snow bank that's been created by the snow plow.

Last night, we had a big snow fall again. Today (Sunday), our pastor came and shovelled our laneway again.

Last summer, this same pastor (and his wife) had also declined the pay raise that was offered to him. May our dear God bless him and his family.

Let this be the thread to talk about our Good Shepherds.

What a lovely idea for a thread, Tosca.

OUR GOOD DEEDS: Pastor visits Jordan to help Syrian refugees

As a world community, we have failed.

At least that's how Grace United Methodist Church pastor Karl Kroger felt when the most recent violence broke out in Syria.

Kroger traveled to the Middle East about five years ago and has felt connected to the area ever since. This summer, the Piedmont man decided to do something, anything, to help those in the conflict area.

Research put him in touch with a school from Bethlehem that was traveling to Jordan to help refugees. They were open to him assisting and he headed to the area in early October.

Kroger spent a week in Mafraq, Jordan, visiting some of the 5,000 Syrian families that have crossed the border there. He and students from Bethlehem Bible School listened to stories of pain and suffering caused by war, delivered supplies ranging from foam mattresses to food and cooking supplies, and prayed with, and for, the refugees.


OUR GOOD DEEDS: Pastor visits Jordan to help Syrian refugees

Missionaries, Preachers smuggling Bibles into dangerous territories


There is truly no greater gift we can give to people than the gift of God's Word in their own language. As we treasure God's Word in our own lives, we naturally want to share it with the world around us! For many the hope of owning their own Bible seems impossible.

In China, Believers often share one copy of the Bible. Each person receives a page, and when they have memorized it, they get back together to exchange their portion of the Bible. In most Muslim countries Christians risk death for sharing copies of God's Word. It is only the truth of God's Word that penetrates the darkness and hopelessness of fear and oppression that reign in these countries.

We believe it is imperative we share this message of hope and love with the world! In countries where Bibles are illegal, this means "smuggling" them into the Christians! We do so with short-term missions teams who volunteer to go over with a team leader. We then carry the Bibles through customs.

It is amazing to see how God literally opens doors to provide safe passage for His Word. It is seldom the same thing twice, but we continually witness miracle after miracle as teams go through with Bibles. Once, a team arrived and customs agents were really going through everything. It was apparent it would take a miracle to get through with the precious cargo. Shortly after arriving the electricity went out and none of the x-ray machines worked. The agents began inspecting everything by hand. Shortly after that, four large tour buses arrived and people started packing the customs office. Agents began to simply wave people through to deal with the confusion. As the team left the building and got to the street, the power came back on!

In another instance, a Japanese man was in front of the team and he spoke no Chinese. The Customs Agent did not know any Japanese. As a result he was having a difficult time understanding what the agent wanted him to do. Instead of putting his bag through the x-ray machine he thought they wanted him to go through the x-ray machine. It created such a distraction with all of the agents laughing and talking amongst themselves that the team was able to simply walk through.

Another time, a team was detained and questioned extensively for over 3 and a half hours. They were asked very personal questions and questions were repeated over and over. They said they would pray quietly as the agents would confer with each other before returning for more interrogation. When they were finished, the baggage inspection people had left and the team was able to pick up their bags and walk out! The luggage was never even looked at.

What is consistent is God's faithfulness. Teams consistently report how they can literally feel the prayer coverage as they cross borders. They consistently report how they sense God's leading, guidance and protection. It is truly His work, and we are always encouraged to see how He prepares a way when there seems to be no way!


Our own copy of the Bible today we have because of Bible smuggling. William Tyndale smuggled pages out in bales of cotton, translating them into the first English language Bibles translated from the Hebrew and Greek. He received much opposition from the Church who did not think "laity" should own the Bible.

It often takes our stepping out in obedience and faith to truly achieve the things God has planned for us. It means being willing to submit and surrender completely to Him. To submit to every authority in our lives, as the Word asks, and to submit to God when God's law and man's law contradict, remaining obedient to Him alone.

Bible Smuggling

tosca1 said:

There's been so many scandals and criticisms of Pastors and Priests that all that's ever talked about are the failings. The good ones - the ones who truly try to adhere to the teachings - quietly go about their duties. My heart is brimming right now thus I'm creating this thread.

My husband just had surgery last month. Sometime last week we had a heavy snow fall. My husband found that our laneway was already shovelled. He thanked our neighbor.....but the neighbor said it wasn't him. Later in the morning, my husband saw our pastor come with his shovel. It was our pastor who shovelled and he had come back to shovel the snow bank that's been created by the snow plow.

Last night, we had a big snow fall again. Today (Sunday), our pastor came and shovelled our laneway again.

Last summer, this same pastor (and his wife) had also declined the pay raise that was offered to him. May our dear God bless him and his family.

Let this be the thread to talk about our Good Shepherds.

Click to expand...

I completely agree with nota bene, this was a great idea for a thread!

I think a lot of us get bombarded with horror stories of sketchy and sometimes just very cruel things that some religious 'leaders' do. There are a lot of good religious leaders out there who actually do care and go out of their way in their actions to try to help others.

There was a priest that my family knew well. He use to find things on the side of the road bring them home with him and use them to make improvements to his home because he either didn't have the money to use on personal things or just refused to use it on himself. He took his mother in and for years took care of her when she developed alzheimers and just the kindness and patience he showed with her radiated off of him and I could never figure out how he could do it especially while still holding gatherings to talk about God outside of Church with the people and then still find time to meet with individuals and try to help and console them with varying life problems and worries.

Not 45 minutes ago I was introduced to the daughter of a colleague's (Lutheran) pastor. I've never met him myself, but I have seen some of the fruits of his work. What I said to the daughter was that I knew her dad has a heart for the ministry. Some denominations say "calling" or "vocation," but whatever term you use, it's a summons.

The Pastor's Cat

Dwight Nelson recently told a true story about the pastor of his church. He had a kitten that climbed up a tree in his backyard and then was afraid to come down. The pastor coaxed, offered warm milk, etc.

The kitty would not come down. The tree was not sturdy enough to climb, so the pastor decided that if he tied a rope to his car and pulled it until the tree bent down, he could then reach up and get the kitten.

That's what he did, all the while checking his progress in the car. He then figured if he went just a little bit further, the tree would be bent sufficiently for him to reach the kitten. But as he moved the car a little further forward, the rope broke.

The tree went 'boing!' and the kitten instantly sailed through the air - out of sight.

The pastor felt terrible. He walked all over the neighborhood asking people if they'd seen a little kitten. No. Nobody had seen a stray kitten.

So he prayed, 'Lord, I just commit this kitten to your keeping,' and went on about his business.

A few days later he was at the grocery store, and met one of his church members. He happened to look into her shopping cart and was amazed to see cat food.

This woman was a cat hater and everyone knew it, so he asked her, 'Why are you buying cat food when you hate cats so much?' She replied, 'You won't believe this,' and then told him how her little girl had been begging her for a cat, but she kept refusing.

Then a few days before, the child had begged again, so the Mom finally told her little girl, 'Well, if God gives you a cat, I'll let you keep it.'

She told the pastor, 'I watched my child go out in the yard, get on her knees, and ask God for a cat. And really, Pastor, you won't believe this, but I saw it with my own eyes. A kitten suddenly came flying out of the blue sky, with its paws outspread, and landed right in front of her.'

Lesson learned... Never underestimate the Power of God and His unique sense of humor.

Note: this story is considered true, but is yet unproven according to our friends at Truth or Fiction:

The Pastor's Cat | Inspire 21

The "Drop-Box Baby" Pastor Lee Jong-Rak of South Korea.
Check out the video, too.



Every year, hundreds of newborn babies are abandoned in the streets of Seoul, South Korea, leaving them helpless and hopeless, because without proper care, their survival is impossible.

That is, if it weren’t for Pastor Lee Jong-Rak, who has made it his life mission to save the lives of as many unwanted and unloved children as possible.

In 1987, Pastor Lee sold his home and nearly all his possessions to give everything he possibly could so his newborn son, Eun-Man, would have a chance at life.

Eun-Man was born with Cerebral Palsy, and doctors gave him a very small probability of living.

Pastor Lee, however, refused to give up, and he gave everything he could to provide life for his son, virtually living in the hospital with him.

He developed a reputation for being a “lover of the unlovable,” so much so that a woman begged Pastor Lee to adopt her disabled daughter, and he did.

Eventually getting a home of his own, Lee, who knew about the hundreds of babies dumped in the streets every year, placed a motion censor drop box for unwanted babies in his wall.

He thought surely nobody would use the box, but they did, time and time again.

Pastor Lee's Story: This Incredible Man Has A Drop Box For Unwanted Babies In South Korea, And It Will Break Your Heart (Video) | Elite Daily

Missionaries Claim Psalm 91 and Escape Death


The village of Wa in northern Ghana is considered the largest village in Africa, around 30,000 people, and it’s one of the most forgotten.

Debbie and Keith spent six years as missionaries in southern Ghana before moving to Wa in August 2001. Many in this predominately Muslim community practiced black magic. The Jaggers saw Wa’s small Christian community in need of training, so they tried to settle in quietly.

Keith Jaggers says, "I was spat upon on the main street of town. I was a Christian, but I was an American. After September 11, the people, instead of just watching as we go by, they would stop and stare. We could feel their anger toward us."

The tensions increased, and two watchmen were hired to guard the Jagger’s home. Then on October 4, two strange things happened. As Keith was fixing a screen door in their home, a nail flew out of the door and grazed his face, nearly hitting his eye. Later that day, Debbie was working in the kitchen when a heavy shelf, firmly secured to the wall, gave way.

Debbie recalls, "It came flying off the wall and hit me on the head. It spun me around and I hit the floor. When I got up, my head hurt so badly that I put my hand on my head and there was blood. I had to have stitches."

The local doctor treated Debbie and asked her if the injury was an accident. She thought he was implying that Keith struck her, but he knew something that the Jaggers didn’t: A group of Muslim men had been in Wa for several days putting voodoo curses on the Jaggers home. When Keith and Debbie went to bed that night, they had no idea that five men were coming to kill them.


"At a quarter to two, we heard this banging on the window and screaming. He screamed, 'Armed robbers are coming! Armed robbers are coming!' I could see two men running across our yard with hoods on," Debbie says.

Keith adds, "They had come over in a military style attack. They weren’t sneaking around."

Keith and Debbie heard the hooded men beating one of their watchmen.

"So I went back into the bedroom to call the police, but it was dead," Shannon says.

Keith recalls, "It was a little bit like watching a movie, like, there’s a sense of disbelief. This couldn’t be happening."

Was it the end of the road?

"We both knew that we were going to die just in the way they were coming," Debbie says. "They were coming through the door with a battering ram. Everything was so intense. We knew that there was a purpose for them coming, and we really believed that we would die."

"We immediately just started to pray, to pray God’s protection on ourselves, on our property, just pray," Keith says.

Once inside, the intruders went from room to room, yelling and ransacking the house. Debbie and Keith hid in the bathroom’s shower stall. They were so overcome by fear that they could hear each other’s heart beat.

Debbie continues, "Then they got to us in the bathroom. He pushed the handle down and opened it very slowly, and then he started to shut it. I thought they’re not going to find us. Then he stopped and reached around and looked behind the door. He said, 'They’re here' -- in English. Just before that we had been praying. I was praying and I just knew that that was it. The Lord said to me, 'Debbie, Psalm 91.' He said, 'You have been with Me in that secret place. Now you just stand in My shadow.'"

The man ordered Keith and Debbie into the hallway.

Keith says, "When we stepped out of that bathroom and into that hall, we stepped into the presence of the Spirit of God."

"The power and the glory of God fell so strong that you could feel the walls rattling. I couldn’t stand up. Keith had to literally hold me up at one point. It was not from fear because fear was gone," Debbie says. "I liked it one time when Keith said, 'It wasn’t the courage we had; it was the absence of fear.' And in the presence of God there was no fear."

The men demanded money. Keith had a one-hundred-dollar bill. He handed it over and said, "In the name of Jesus…"

"I noticed instantly at that moment that he said 'in Jesus' name' that both their heads -- I mean it was in sync, it was simultaneous -- the power of God was so strong there that they backed up from us, and they were the ones who had guns."

The five men went into the living room as Keith and Debbie stayed in the bedroom. The Jaggers waited an hour expecting the terror to continue, but nothing happened. Keith and Debbie heard the men leave the house and drive off in their car. They never returned.

"Psalm 91 became a part of our personality," Keith says. "It is just part of who we are. [Reading from Psalm 91] 'Because he loves me,' says the Lord, 'I will rescue him. I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call upon me and I will answer him. I will be with him in trouble. I will deliver him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.' That’s what keeps us going."

https://www.cbn.com/700club/features/amazing/protection_jaggers072103.aspx

Last month, I drove into work and went into my office when a coworker comes and says "I think your tire blew" and so I went out there thinking it couldnt be as I would have noticed driving into work. but there it was, blown and the crack up the side wall, so no repairing it. Then three minutes later, I get a call from my dad, he is in the VA hospital, they have him prepping for surgery (he didn't have actual surgery for a few days because of the nature of the problem) and so I call Dana and she comes and gets me from work. I decide that the truck will have to wait because it was more than I could deal with at the moment.

We make it up to see my dad a couple days later and he turns out ok. When I get back, I go to change out my tire and my spare is on it. Someone had changed it for me because they knew what I was dealing with it. It turns it out was my buddy Andy.

Its a small thing, but when I was dealing with that level of stress, it was a big thing for me.

Unfortunately, the exemplary ones don't make headlines.

Australian Christian missionary arrested in North Korea


(Reuters) - An Australian man has been arrested while doing missionary work in North Korea, his wife told Reuters on Wednesday, making him the second foreign Christian missionary to be held by the North.

The wife of 75-year-old John Short told Reuters her husband was arrested in Pyongyang, the North Korean capital, on Sunday and had been open about his religious work on his second trip to the isolated country.

"He won't be intimidated by the communists," Karen Short told Reuters from Hong Kong by telephone.

"I'm not upset, we're Christian missionaries and we have tremendous support for what we do," Short's wife said of her husband's arrest.

While North Korea espouses freedom of religion it is ranked as one of the world's most oppressive regimes in terms of freedom of religion. A United Nations report issued on Tuesday cited lack of religious freedom in a state whose human rights abuses it likened to those of Nazi Germany.

Short was making his second trip to North Korea, according to a statement by his family, and was in possession of religious materials that had been translated into Korean.

Australian Christian missionary arrested in North Korea | Reuters

The story of Alba Nubia

After dark, predators rule the streets of Bogota. Alba Nubia loved sports and excelled at running. She had dreams of competing internationally, but without resources, her young life wound up in the streets. After eight years of addiction to drugs and prostitution to survive, both mind and body were so worn and beaten, all she wanted was to leave this world. While languishing on the ground under the bridge she called home, God intervened.

Two missionaries stopped by her side and told her they’d come to introduce her to a friend. Her reply was that all her friends had brought her to the life she had now. One of the missionaries answered, “This friend’s name is Jesus of Nazareth.” At the sound of His name, something inside Alba gave way. Jesus had broken through the crusty exterior of a tough, hard core existence, and taken up residence in her heart. She couldn’t stop her tears, and that marked the beginning of a long road to recovery. Hearts were compassionately moved.

Alba was sponsored for two years of rehabilitation in the United States where she not only healed, but God had unfolded a new dream to her. The need for a safe haven for women in Bogota was staggering. Twenty- two years later, Alba and her associates have helped over five thousand women and their children in the first centre for women Bogota has ever seen, established and operated by Alba. It’s called “New Life for Women” and provides physical aid and spiritual nourishment with hope for a promising future.
Thanks to Alba, thousands more women and their children will have a fighting chance, not just to survive, but to find lasting fulfillment through the love of Christ. Almost all of them become Christians.

http://livingtruth.ca/pdf/articles/HLA/HLA_2.pdf

Time is running out for an American family in South Sudan struggling to rescue 10 orphans from the country, their U.S. friends said Thursday.

The Campbells, a missionary family who set up an orphanage in the South Sudanese city of Malakal, were forced to flee their building when violence reached the city just before Christmas.

They have the paperwork to escape the violence-riven country – but despite their food supplies running low, they have decided to stay in the hope of securing safe passage for the South Sudanese orphans in their care.

Freddie Power is a close friend of the family and president of the North Carolina-based Keeping Hope Alive ministry which is sponsoring them. She told NBC News Thursday that the hopes of getting the orphans out took a serious hit after the local South Sudanese child welfare office was bombed and looted.

Parents Kim and Brad Campbell and their American daughters Katie Talbott, 23, and Cassidy Talbott, 16, have been involved in missionary work since 2008. But last year they sold their house in Omaha, Neb., as well as all of their possessions, and went to the world's youngest nation to set up the orphanage.

Time running out for 'desperate' US missionaries to save South Sudan orphans - World News