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We received another update from our team in the DR! It is truly amazing to read and hear about the work that God is doing through our partners in the Dominican. The lives of families are changing, homes are being built, children are getting help and becoming healthier, filters are being put into homes and God is being introduced to those who need Him! Keep praying for the work that is being done and the families that are being touched. These stories are cool – God is working through us to reach the lost! "For the construction team things are right on schedule.  The roof on the house was completed yesterday.  The "mud" for the walls is almost complete as well.  There is one more wall to complete this morning then they will pour the floor.  We'll paint on Friday!  The relationships continue to grow between the Ridge Point team and the Dominican team. A couple of God sightings from the team last night are how the woman who is going to live in the house has been on the site every day helping to carry water, concrete and participate in whatever way she can!  It has been a great motivation for the team to be able to work with the person who will be living in the house they are building. There is also a young man who is mentally handicapped who has been "helping."  The team shared last night how God has used this young man to remind them that while building the house is very important, that it has been a good reminder to slow down and spend time teaching him some of the things they are doing! The medical team has completed the physicals on the children in the school.  One of the wonderful things that we have noticed is that the children who are in the school are noticeably healthier than the children they have seen who are not part of the school.  We need to let the child sponsors know that their investment in the next generation is bearing much fruit.  The children in this school are bright eyed, well dressed, they are healthy AND in an environment that cares for them and introduces them to the truth of the Gospel!  Praise God! On another note though, yesterday afternoon in the medical clinic, reality hit the team pretty hard.  A Haitian woman brought in an infant around 9 months old who weighed about 8 pounds.  The mother was pretty disoriented from her own malnourishment and according to the Dr's assessment the infant may not live.  The mother was given some nourishment to give the baby and was asked to bring the baby back on Friday.  We pray the baby lives until tomorrow as we are arranging for someone in the community to educate the mother and help her get the nutrition she needs for this little baby girl!  Because she is Haitian it is difficult for her to get the medical treatment in the local hospitals.  Thank God our team could provide some help and comfort for her and her baby! Another person we are caring for is Matilda who is 90 years of age and was discovered to have pneumonia.  She will be back in clinic Friday as well!  We gave her antibiotics and some food.   Matilda is afraid to take pills so we gave her an injection and the Dr. was so gentle with her.  I am grateful that we could care for her because this situation is life threatening for a woman of her age.   She needs more medicine tomorrow. Today the medical team is assessing the clinic setup to see if we can improve the organization and distribution of the medicines, etc.  They will visit the hospital and pick up medicines in a local pharmacy who is partnering with us to provide some medicines for people who will visit the clinic on Friday!  Thank you for praying with us for the malnourished baby and for Matilda.  At each end of the age spectrum, we continue to bring Jesus to those we are allowed to touch!”  How cool is that?  God is working all across our globe!  Below are some pictures from Aguas Negra.  These are families that had filters installed into their homes - this is such a huge thing for the people in DR - praise God for clean water!  You can find this blog, as well as all of Pastor Jim's blog, on his blog page HERE!

I was so excited to receive an email this morning from our group in the Dominican Republic.  A small group of willing and serving hearts flew out last week to help serve and fix what is broken in the DR.  This group is bringing God’s Kingdom to the lives of many as well as transforming their own hearts into those of humble servants.  Lisa Mathews, our Groups Pastor at RP, updates us on the work that is being done.  Read below to see how God is working through our Pointers to bring the Kingdom of God to those in the DR! “The construction project of building a house for one of the teachers in the school is WAY ahead of schedule!  It is unheard of here to see a house go up so quickly, but this construction team already has the walls up and is getting ready to set things up for the roof!  We plan to dedicate the house on Saturday so the teacher and her children can move in immediately!!  The Dominican team is working well with the Ridge Point team, the tools are here and it is a beautiful thing to see things come together!  The medical team is deep in their work as well.  Yesterday, we had planned to do the children’s physicals, but when we got to the clinic it was already full with people who had heard that an American Doctor was going to be there.  We quickly got set up and began to see these patients.  Again, the teamwork was amazing.  We had nurses performing triage and getting the information, and then they were able to see the Dr.  I was able to join in and help with translation and prescribing medicines!  It was a wonderful day.  We saw 54 patients in one day!  It was everything from “grippe” to pneumonia to just some that wanted a touch from the Dr.  For many that came, this is the only access they will have to health care.   But more importantly, each person was invited to join community and our primary message to them was to introduce them Jesus!  One patient that we saw said he was suicidal and depressed.  We were able to connect him to the community where we know he will find the support he needs to address his addiction to alcohol!  The team is doing well!  You can see the "wheels turning" in each member as they each experience God leading them to consider what this means for them when they return to their lives back home.  We have had intentional time to debrief and connect the dots between what the Bible tells us and how we are the "Living Word."  I am humbled to be able to watch this transformation taking place right before me! Our leaders, Dan and Faith, are great and their passion is contagious!  We have some on our team who have "the missionary bug" and I would not be surprised to see a couple of them here for longer periods of time in the future!  I have stayed behind this morning because I have been asked to speak to the women of the community tonight.  Kristi will join me as will Mary Leeuw one of our nurses.  We hope to present a holistic message for the women discussing the spiritual, emotional and physical issues that women may face.  My goal is to lead them to understand more who they are in Christ Jesus!  That he has formed them for a purpose!  Thank you for praying for us and providing this opportunity for the team!  What a humbling privilege to be allowed to participate in this experience!  Todo la Gloria a Dios!" Check back soon for pictures and videos of the trip.  God is doing amazing things across our globe – keep praying! Check out this blog, as well as all of Pastor Jim's blogs, HERE!

I would like to share with you the work some of our Pointers did a few weeks ago.  What an awesome way to show discipleship in the cold, winter season!  Below is the story from one of the volunteers followed by some pictures - how cool is this!?! "On the morning of Saturday, January 8, 2011, the thermometer registered a chilly 8 degrees and there were several inches of snow on the ground.  But that didn't stop a group of Ridge Point volunteers from tackling a project they had promised to undertake - building a wheelchair ramp at the home of a South Holland gentleman named Jack.  Jack attends Ridge Point every Sunday with some friends - they always sit at a high table on the upper level and enjoy the services together.  Jack's friend Charlie had mentioned the need for a ramp at Jack's home.  Plans were put in motion by the Connections and Care office.  Even though winter had set in, Chuck, the ramp project "foreman", was confident the ramp could be built so long as a blizzard didn't set in.  Volunteers came forward readily and the date of January 8 was set.  The weather forecasters predicted a foot of snow, but January 8 dawned with beautiful sunshine and no wind.  Fortified by donuts, coffee, and pizza, the team of seven volunteer members of two Ridge Point small groups (six men and one brave woman!) worked tirelessly from 9 AM until 2 PM, completing the deck in one day. Jack, whose nickname is Bubba, watched from the front porch, thrilled to see the ramp materialize before his eyes.  He had spent the better part of the week in the hospital, due to complications of a weak heart, diabetes and recurring vertigo.  Jack had just returned home on Thursday, but he stayed on his porch most of the morning.  He told the volunteers of his years in the racing industry and showed them pictures of himself with Bobby Labonte and other racing legends.  He and his wife invited the volunteers inside when it was time for pizza lunch, but the volunteers instead "picnicked" outdoors, some sitting on the newly constructed ramp.  Jack has repeatedly described the ramp as ‘a beautiful piece of art!’”   Please keep Jack in your prayers as he faces many health struggles and will be using a wheelchair to get around once the weather improves.  Praise God for the volunteers who were the hands and feet of Jesus on a chilly January morning! Also, check out this week's eNews from Pastor Jim here: Another Victim of the Great Blizzard

I am torn once again. I can’t wait to see all of you and the whole Ridge Point Family, but I feel as though there is so much need here and that more needs to be done. Again, I have had a great trip and am filled with joy as I have seen God using some of the most faithful followers of Jesus that I know “fix what’s broken” in the lives of the poorest of the poor. Yet, I am so saddened to know I am leaving millions in oppressive and impoverished situations seeking for a bit of hope – a glimmer to move them to the next day. I am so proud of all of you! Because of your generosity, there is hope being delivered to a rural village called Chubiluma, Zambia. The road to get there turned us all into bobble heads as we bounced our way to meet with some of the 21 pastors we partner with in this town where 95% of the people are unemployed. God has used you to remodel a clinic so that in the midst of poverty and hunger, health care can be delivered by the few government employed health care professionals that visit there and, more importantly, health care professionals from other countries that our Zambian Partner, Jubilee Center, brings to this community. I have posted a couple videos on YouTube there are so cool. (View them here!)  The people of Chubiluma wanted me to thank all of you and I said, “You can thank them yourself” and I got out my video camera. You will love it when the local nurse, the “volunteer youth pastor” for the community that Ridge Point helps empower through Jubilee, and Lawrence Temfwe from Jubilee convey their love and appreciation. Watch the videos! I am in Johannesburg and Cathy and I board our 17 hour flight to Atlanta in 3 hours. I miss all of you and can’t wait to see you. Again, I am so proud of all of you. You are making a real difference in your neighborhood locally and globally! Way to go!!!! View this blog, as well as all of Pastor Jim's Blogs, at his Blog Spot Page.

Greeting from Ndola! We have moved north to the “copper belt” city of Ndola, Zambia to train church leaders here. Ndola is also where all the children live who are sponsored or adopted by Ridge Pointers. These children and their host families receive $25.00 a month – every cent giving – from generous Pointers so they can remain with families from their churches after they become vulnerable because of the death of a parent or because they were abandoned for another reason. While I have been teaching leaders, Cathy has been able to visit some of the homes where these kids live.
 
Cathy visited the home of Janie today. Janie is sponsored by Debra – a Pointer. Both of Janie’s parents have died and she is living with her elderly grandparents. When Janie went to live with her Grandparents they were Muslim. After Janie’s pastor met with her Grandparents and told them how his church was being empowered by Debra to sponsor Janie, her Grandpa wanted to know more about the church and Jesus. Janie’s Grandpa told the pastor he had never seen such generosity in his religion and wanted to follow Jesus and join Janie’s church. Pastor Nixon led Grandpa and Grandma to Jesus.
 
Janie is very active in her church. She has attended and been mentored by the women of the church as she has grown in her faith. As she has grown and attended a children’s ministry called AWANA she has been recognized as a young leader. Now, as a teenager, she is leading an AWANA group and is part of a team that is in charge of 85 children. As she has felt the love of Jesus through Debra and experienced Christian community the Spirit has used her to multiply the effect of the Gospel.
 
Mentoring one child has resulted in a pastor being able to share the love of Jesus, a family following Jesus, and other children being given the chance to learn about Jesus. All of this happened because one Pointer answered the call of God to invest in one life and to make sure one young lady had a home, an education, and a safe place to grow and be. Does sponsoring and adopting a child in Zambia make a difference?  
 
Love you all – Keep praying as these leaders keep learning and we get to see more kids who keep growing!
 
Jim

It is another wonderful morning in Zambia. We’ve slept well, I’m having my Starbucks Via instant coffee and instant Quaker Oatmeal, and then we are off for our last day of training in Lusaka, Zambia before moving to Ndola. Our time here in Lusaka – in George Township – has been wonderful and sad. The pastors and leaders love to learn and are eager to lead their little churches in a manner that brings the eternal hope of Jesus to their poor communities. They are increasingly active in “fixing what is broken” so that the effects of malnutrition, disease, pollution, and joblessness can be alleviated if even a little bit.  These men and women are my heroes.  Yesterday we visited a site where a local church repaired a drainage ditch and a bridge. Before they used hand tools and their bare hands to dig, clean up refuse, make cement blocks, lay footings, and create a wall so the rainy season storms would not flood homes and isolate people – the water would pool up and the absence of a bridge closed the only road to thousands of homes. Pastor Tembo and his church “pestered” the City officials until they were given a small amount of money for cement and they went to work. After two weeks of work, the bridge was complete, the ditch was cleaned out, the water flowed freely, the water pools where mosquitoes breed (malaria borne by the bugs kills more people than HIV/AIDS in Zambia) dried up. This church did exactly what Jesus did - they saw an injustice and fixed it. This is only one of many stories of how these local churches are being vibrant and vital agents of change and hope. Thanks for all you do to empower, serve, and encourage them. Because of your faithfulness through Ridge Point we are part of the solution for the poorest of the poor here in Zambia. Love you all! For all of Pastor Jim's blog posts visit here blog here:  http://jimliskeridgepoint.blogspot.com/

Yesterday morning, as I prepared for my day, I read and contemplated Proverbs 19. Solomon writes about God’s concern for the poor and how He rewards those who care for the poor and does not advance those who neglect the poor. I began to pray and ask God how this Scripture can apply to the church leaders I was about to teach. None of the pastors at the training receive a salary from their church on a regular basis. When the offering has some money in it the leaders take out what is needed to pay “the bills” – usually a small electric bill and a land “tax,” what is needed to help the desperate is then spent. If there is anything left, the Pastor receives it and I have seen many of these men and women then give it to others they see have needs. The ones tithing and giving are poor. The ones leading them are poor. The ones receiving help are poor. Do you see the irony? If one has never been to a developing country – what we used to know as third world – I am not sure the word poor is defined correctly. I didn’t understand until I saw it and smelled it and experienced it.  What America, Canada, or Europe defines as poverty is not even close to what I am touching and feeling in Zambia right now. What North America and Europe defines as the “have nots” are literally wealthy compared to the children living in huts who no longer have mothers and fathers. What some call poor are wealthy compared to the ones in our world who have no hope – none. No rescue mission. No Social services. No aid to dependent children. No welfare, workfare, or job fair – it is truly unfair. View all of Pastor Jim's Blogs here:  http://jimliskeridgepoint.blogspot.com/

HIX/AIDS Care Volunteers:  It takes hundreds of faithful local church volunteers to care for the vulnerable children and HIV/AIDS suffers in Lusaka. To say thank you we gave them new Bibles. They sing to say thank you. This is cool! Check out the video at Ridge Point's YouTube page here: http://www.youtube.com/jimliske

Events of recent days have brought out the best and the worst of many people. As I read the comments and listen to the news casts I have been both thrilled and disheartened at how people are reacting to a tragedy and human suffering. In the wake of the shootings in Tuscan - in the aftermath of behavior stemming from the “broken” mind a delusional person - and the assault of a Federal leader, some have reacted like Jesus and some have missed the point.

In The Apostle Peter’s first letter, to the new Jesus’ followers in Asia, he points them to Jesus’ actions when He was arrested and accused as the example to follow in our communication – especially in times of distress.  The Peter who writes – “do not retaliate or be defensive” - is the same young man who cut off the ear of the guard trying to arrest Jesus. This Peter is the same guy who swore he didn’t know Jesus when confronted while Jesus was on trial before His death. This is the same man who dejectedly “went back to fishing” after Jesus was crucified and led all the other Disciples there until Jesus showed up to call him back. The one writing these words is the same angry, fearful, struggling Peter.
 
‘To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example that you should follow in his steps. "He committed no sin and no deceit was found in his mouth." When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. "He himself bore our sins" in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; "by his wounds you have been healed." For "you were like sheep going astray," but now you have returned to the Shepherd and the Overseer of your souls.’ (Peter to the Jesus Followers in Asia Minor who were being martyred - 1 Peter 2:21-25)
 
How different would our world be if we all determined that we were no longer going to be defensive or caustic in our communication? What would life be like if we refused to blame, slander, snipe, or gossip? Would you like to live in a world where we allowed the Holy Heavenly Father to make the final judgments and corrections? What if we focused on loving God, our neighbor, enemy, and self? Can you imagine a world where we were rushing to forgive and not accuse?
 
I can – it is called the Kingdom of Heaven and it is here among us right now and is experienced in the heart and mind of those following Jesus and filled with the Holy Spirit. There is no need to defend yourself – Jesus is doing that for you. There is no need to retaliate – Jesus is doing that for you. Don’t talk back or argue – Jesus has made truth known and you are already validated. If you are a Follower of Jesus you are already on the right side of truth and hope. Stop fighting – you have arrived.
 
My mother used to say that “if you are right you don’t have to argue." Way to go mom! You were the right one! (Isn’t it funny how your parents get smarter as you get older?) That is the way I want to be and I want to follow leaders who are that way too. That is how we can find the hope and peace we are designed to enjoy together.
 
Pray for the families of those who died needlessly because someone needed to “retaliate.” Pray for those recovering from wounds inflicted by a troubled mind. Pray for our leaders as they set the pace as “peace-makers.” Pray for our culture that we might become people who do not defend but who are “quick to listen and slow to speak – slow to become angry.”
 
 
For more of my posts, check out my Blog:  jimliskeridgepoint.blogspot.com/

What just happened?!?

That was my thought when I found out that God had moved in the hearts of Pointers on the main campus to adopt 180 families in Pullman so that they could be valued this Christmas and into 2011. We had prepared for 100 and asked God to do something really cool – and He reminded us that our cool is much smaller than His.

That outpouring of generosity came on the heels of watching 190 big boxes of food go out of our main campus doors to be delivered by Pointers to families in Hamilton/Holland/Zeeland/Hudsonville that also needed encouragement moving into 2011. The families giving and the people receiving participated in the two sides of the Gospel – giving and receiving a gift. This too was an act of generosity as the food was donated and the results of the actions will be relationships where people will be valued.

Also in the closing weeks of the year something really cool happened at our Moran Park Campus on 22nd and River in Holland. The faith community there decided to put a bulletin board up so that those who had needs could write them on a slip of paper and post them and those who could meet needs could go to the board and take the ones they were called to take action on. It is cool. Dozens of acts of kindness and generosity have taken place – but more importantly dozens of acts of love have been executed. That’s church.

As I write, a team of GVSU students are in Comayagua, Honduras serving the “least of these” in the orphanages and churches we partner with there. They will spend their week loving the kids and being the image of a God who cares and of Jesus who came to them. They will serve to better their living conditions, teach, and just “be” – spending time and attention that communicates that those they are loving have value and matter to us and to Jesus. These students are spending their own resources to reveal the Gospel.

I don’t have space to write about Mosaic – a rising movement of families adopting orphans in Michigan and around the world and families providing foster care for children and families in crisis. I could also write paragraphs about addicts and felons recovering and re-entering society. Marriages have found healing and hearts have been mended. In all these situations people have found a relationship with Jesus. There is so much … God did miracles in 2010!

What will happen next?!?

I am anxious to sit at my desk in 2012 and write this same article so I can reflect on what God will do in the next 12 months as you and I just listen to the Spirit and follow His leadership. I want to write about how you and I spontaneously followed the Spirit’s leadership to give our time and attention to those in our homes and neighborhoods who God knows feel undervalued and ignored or run over by the world they live in. I want to write about random acts of kindness that we engage in just because it is what Jesus would do. I know I will write about how you and I were able to show people Jesus and then tell them about Him because our actions of love and grace are so peculiar and odd in a world of self-focus and speed.

“For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord's people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen.” (The Apostle Paul in Ephesians 3:14-21). 

That was Paul’s prayer for his friends and it in mine for all of you – my friends.

Happy New Year!
Jim

View this blog, as well as all Pastor Jim's Blogs, at his Blog Page: http://jimliskeridgepoint.blogspot.com/