A few of my favorite things...

Happy 50th Anniversary to Gramp and Gram!  Go here for pictures.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~


...coffee...

...USA and Colombia...

...my Christian family...

...the Bible...

...a "meard"...

...shoes...

...good sisters...

...little prayers...

...violin, piano, guitar...

...a handsome smile...

...a little lobster...

...and last but certainly not least...chocolate.

Posted by Kimberly!

A family worthy of our prayer and service in Peru!

 Some months ago Colombia's national pastor Jimmy Ramirez received an e-mail from a minister in Peru named Luis.  Pastor Luis wanted to know if he could become a part of the Christian Nation Church.  After some weeks of discussion and prayer we felt clear to make the trip to Peru to get to know this pastor and his dear family.  This post outlines our observances and plan of action with them, as God wills.

Luis & Navidad and their children

 
They reminded me of some of the fiery holiness church people I know:
*Earnest preaching.
*Earnest singing.
*Pioneer mentality -- digging out new works.

Luis & his wife visiting before the first service of a new work they are opening an hour away.  More on this in a later post.

*Very careful in external standards and not afraid to talk about it.
*Strong on giving clear fiery testimony of what God did when he saved them.
These are all things that I want our people to be exposed to.
Observances:
*They feel alone and very lonely.
*Children and wife need others of like minded faith to show they care.
*They have some precious children with a lot of potential, the daughter especially seems to have a very good heart.
*They want to work with us.
Other points:
*They have some points where they need instruction in doctrine.
*We do not know each other well yet.
*Serving Peru and them will take more money.  But God will provide for us to do what He wants.
Course of action:
*We left good holiness books and asked that they read them, and then if they still want to be a part of our church to let us know and we might be able to work from there.

Pastor Luis & family receiving a bunch of holiness books we brought them.

 
*Pastor Jimmy reminded me that others here in Colombia also had a lot of blind spots but that as we have worked together, God is opening eyes and changing people in so many ways.  Dress issues, Jewelry, Keeping the Lord's Day holy, Opinion on Tongues, Music, etc.  Pastor Luis is already in agreement with us on most doctrinal issues.  When he read our church doctrine and manual he said that this is what he has preached for many years and because he believes this way he has to work alone there in Peru.
*As God wills, we plan to continue trips to Peru to help encourage them (and other worthy contacts), support them in the right paths, serve them however possible, and encourage their children that they are not alone and to continue in the old paths.
*They are doing a good work and we want to serve God's servants.

Soon in a future post I want to show more pictures of their work and what we did with them while there in Peru.
Stay tuned,
Phillip

Musicians: Feeding God's Sheep

*Reposted from first post on 1/13/08*

Church music is not about performance. Church music is not about performers. Church music is not about liking the music. Church music is about Christ! Church music is about the message of Christ. If we will lift up Christ, he will draw all men to himself. The Holy Spirit will break the "loaves and fish" of our music ministry and will feed a hungry multitude.

The reason some Church musicians are incessantly searching for new gimmicks in church music is that they are not filled with the Holy Spirit. Therefore, they cannot feed. A Christian must be filled before he or she can feed God's sheep! Rather than throwing away our time-honored styles for church music, we as church musicians must experience spiritual renewal.

-Selected from Church Music Matters: A Music Philosophy in Christian Perspective by Garen L. Wolf I

A refreshing time in a Peruvian home

A missionary friend graciously encouraged me to look up Marco while in Lima, Peru and gave me his phone number.  Marco years ago attended a Pilgrim church as a boy.  I spoke with Marco and Sabrina (his wife) by phone before meeting them in person, and after just talking to them, I told Pastor Jimmy, "I can tell that this is a very dear couple."  When I meet them in person I was not disappointed.

Jimmy, Marco and his family, and I

They invited us into their home twice for meals while we were in Lima.  They also asked us to have a worship service while we were in their home.  What a very precious family we found them to be!  Although I don't know that it would happen, I found myself thinking that it would be nice if God would allow us to live in Peru just long enough to be able to have some time to work with and teach this hungry couple.  They were filled with questions on how to have a Godly home.  They spoke of their desire to have a lot of children.  They have daily family prayer and Bible time.  Marco shared that he wanted to get involved in the ministry.  I saw love and order in their home.

Eating a delicious breakfast of fish, rice, and a spicy salad.

This is an ancient Peruvian sweet drink made with seeds which grow only between 3,000 and 4,000 meters altitude in the Andes.  I forget the name but it was delicious and they said that it is very nutritious.

This is Marco's dad, Marcos.

With the Presidential elections that Sunday morning the government forbade the churches to have services.  So we had a service that morning in the home before going to Pastor Luis' church that evening for a formal service.  (I plan to post on that soon.)

Pastor Jimmy preaching.

Marco invited several to their house for the service and we gathered and sang and prayed together.

They sang with gusto and attentively listened to the preaching.

Then after I led the singing of some hymns Jimmy preached while they listened attentively; one was crying while he was preaching.

Pastor Jimmy preaching; God really helped him.

We also gave them some good books on holiness to read.  Marco was happy and looked forward to reading them, for he wants to theologically prepare himself.  Twice Marco told me that the next time we are in Lima to please stay at his house.  (Speaking of their house, they've built it little by little while they live in it.  This isn't easy, but it avoids going into debt.)  The Lord willing, we hope to continue to reach out to this hungry couple in future trips to Peru.  Please pray for Marco and Sabrina and their children Marcos and Paloma.          

A tribute to my 2 special dads! Plus a challenge to us dads.

*This post was first posted on my blog on 6/16/07 and re-posted today with some minor changes.  The last paragraph was first published several years ago in our mission newsletter Dickinson Update.  Our mission newsletter is free to all who want it.*

My father-in-law Edgar A. Bryan and I discussing something in Canada.

I do not claim to have all the answers when it comes to fathering. But number one, the Word of God is a never failing source of wisdom for us fathers. Number two, I have two delightful examples for me to happily follow. I am so blessed to have a wonderful father-in-law. I couldn't have married a wife with a better dad. He is disciplined. He is conscientious. He studies the Word of God and is a thinker.  He is prayerful and sober.  He inspires me to be a better Christian.  And he treats me like his own son.
I know my blood dad even better (I have known him for 37 years) and I am not in the least bit disappointed by his life. I have seen him go through the fire many times and he is always coming through as pure gold. He loves God's Word, he loves to obey God, and he loves us too.  He is as steady as a rock and is harder than a rock when it comes to work -- he has always done the work of three men.  Please pray for my dad; he has been feeling sick and weak.  Thinking about my Daddy makes me want to draw closer to Jesus and seek His face more.  I wrote more here about what my dad did right.

My father Bud (Phillip Dean) Dickinson, Noah, and I having a special time together in Arizona.

Over and over I am challenged and convicted to be a better man by watching the lives of my two holy dads. They are ever learners, they use wisdom, are great husbands and grandfathers, have class, are Godly, and are delightful to be around.  Thank you, God, you could not have given me better dads, nor dads with whom I would have been happier. I am blessed, satisfied, and thankful. I treasure the friendship of my fathers and honor both of you from my heart.
Perhaps one of the greatest sacrifices for me in being a missionary (if I could say that such an honor from God is a sacrifice) is that knowing that God is still giving my dear fathers (and mothers) life and I and my family are not able to be around to enjoy and learn from these great lives.  God comforts me with the hope that they might live until after we have to come home the USA again someday and with the even greater Hope of Heaven.  Praise God for this precious hope and promise to us who believe God's promises.  Heaven -- where we will never again have to part and will always joy in being together. 

Noah and I playing in a park in Colombia

Elijah and I sharing a snow cone in a park in Colombia

Raising Godly children is a Spiritual exercise.  Aside from God we have not the wisdom, and then all is lost. But God cannot give wisdom unless we delightfully do all of His will. Yet it takes more than 2 works of grace and a prayer for wisdom to be a success. Through DESIRE a man separates himself, seeks, and intermeddles with all wisdom. (Proverbs 18:1)  One would not build a house without first pursuing knowledge. But it takes a PASSION for seeking and applying wisdom to raise up Godly foundations. God knew that Abraham had this. "I know that he will command his children after him." (Genesis 18:19)  Hours. No, years, dad who had long yearned for an Isaac, spent time talking, teaching, and training.  He must have lived Deuteronomy 6:5,7. Dad, flee all other interests except to take God up on His promise (Proverbs 22:6), give your time, and TRAIN them!  Seek out what this means and do it.  In this we will see revival and our missionary activity prosper. When the hearts of Fathers turn to the children the curse will lift. -Mal 4:6
-Phillip

New Tab: What in the world do we do in South America?

Elijah, Sarah, & Noah w / an alpaca in Bogota, 2010

Some wanted to know what we do here.  So we've added a tab here on this website giving a rundown of our missionary responsibilities.  I kept it brief but interesting with fun pictures.  Click on the tab "Our Part Of 'Go Ye...'" located at the top of this blog.  Always feel free to download the pictures for use in asking your church to pray for us.  (most of the pics enlarge when double clicked)  Thank you taking the time to educate yourself on how to pray for us. 

We are done, Done, DONE with our room!!

Sarah and I have worked on our room for FOREVER. But now we are DONE!!  So our room is interesting and colorful (because we have been in Latin America half of our lives), but we like it!  It is a mix of Colombian / American decor.

Our dresser.

Thank you Daddy for painting our mirror white!

We had fun shopping for our room.

This desk is not just any desk,

It's colorful and fun.

Like its owner, our sweet Sarah,

Who brings joy to everyone.

~written by Daddy and Mommy~

(Sarah wrote the following)

Thank you, Daddy and Mommy, for writing this poem for me; you are so SWEET   B-)

                                                                   

 Sarah's pencil holder.

Kimberly's desk.

Kimberly's bed.

Sarah's bed.

Our Grandma (& Grandpa) Dickinson bought us these lamps from IKEA.  Thank you!

When we got our curtains mommy said, "The style now is to have curtains that pop. Yours explode!"

Our chairs that our sweet parents bought us.

Kimberly and Sarah

Caught in a sobering incident in Lima, Peru

A lot of these pictures I am showing you are of the beautiful side of Lima.  For we found Lima to be a clean city and historical Lima to be beautiful as you see here and in the previous post.  We were impressed at how polite and kind many of the Peruvians were.

These two pictures were taken from the Plaza Militar or Plaza de las Flores pictured in the previous post.  It reminded me of Cartegena, Colombia. 

But Lima, Peru also had her sad side and poor sections too; I may share photos of that later.  I was told somewhat jokingly by a missionary friend that it is said that the thieves there in Lima can steal your socks off of you without even removing your shoes and that even the police and cats walk the streets in groups of twos and threes.
We were there on the last days of their Presidential elections. The two candidates were Keiko Fujimori, a woman who aligned herself as a conservative and had Rudy Giuliani (former mayor of New York) as her special security advisor.  She had also turned in her father years ago for corruption when he was the President.  The other candidate was Ollama Humala a Communist running with the Communist party.  On Saturday night we got caught in a Communist demonstration for Humala which somewhat shook me.  We were walking back to our hotel and we heard shouting and honking as a sea of people flooding the street and sidewalks rushed toward us shouting, beating "drums," and waving red flags and other flags going to the plaza near our hotel.  When the wave of people hit us, they pushed us with them and then I understood the real danger of getting trampled by a mass of people.  With Jimmy following me, I had to struggle to get to a metal kiosk on the sidewalk to stand behind where we were protected from the oncoming river of people.  The thunderous noise and emotion of the multitudes (the majority were youths) yelling, chanting, and banging and honking were tremendous and filled that part of the city and I saw how youths are enchanted with the promises of a Communist utopia.  I wanted a picture of when we were being nearly swept away, but I didn't dare for fear of angering the mob.  But after things had calmed down a lot and the main mass of people had already past, Jimmy took this picture of the stragglers later and captured a not-very-happy look on this man's face.     

More stragglers later.  By now we had reached the door of our hotel.

The next day was Sunday and election day.  Keiko lost and Humala won.  So Peru now has a Communist President who has promised to "get rid of the corruption."  I ask a taxi driver if there were a lot of corruption to get rid of and he said, "I don't know of a lot of corruption."  Many think that Peru could turn out to be another Venezuela with Hugo Chavez.  God sets up and takes down kings, and will use this for the good of His kingdom.  But depending how things go there, in the future we may loose opportunities for entering this precious, needy country for ministry there.  Please help us pray for Peru, her new president, and for the building up of God's holy Church there.
Thanks,
Phillip

Arriving in Lima, Peru

Praise the Lord!  Our trip into Peru was a success!  Lord willing I will be putting up some posts about the trip.  We'll start with this post and include some neat pictures of historic Lima.  The only good pictures we took of the Andes were from the plane since we didn't get very far out of Lima. 
~In this picture you see the snow capped Andes in June with some blue lakes beyond them.~   

~More snow capped Andean mountains in the distance.~

~Here we are descending toward Lima, so you see the Pacific.  Lima is a coastal city of about 9 million people in the greater metropolitan area.  We saw the ocean a few times, but only from a distance, because we stayed too busy.~

~One of the government buildings in historic Lima.  The Peruvian flag reminded me of the Canadian flag but in place of a maple leaf was some type of a coat of arms.~

~This plaza was a half a block from our first hotel.  The next day we went looking for another hotel and found one closer to our points of ministry to save on transportation costs.~ 

~Plaza Militar (Military Plaza) or Plaza de las Flores (Plaza of the Flowers) from a distance.  Actually I was trying to get a picture of the ever present three wheeled motorcycle cargo hauler.  I'm sure that that isn't really the name, but it's what I'm calling it for you.  Here a lady is getting a ride, but I noticed them hauling lots of bags of potatoes.  From what I am told, Peru is the origin of potatoes in the world and has hundreds of varieties. I believe it, for we saw a lot of cheap but delicious potatoes there.  And around Lima, the Andean foothills reminded me of the smooth rolling hilly mountains of Idaho, where we in the USA grow our own potatoes.~

~This was the  hotel room that we ended up with -- two beds, a closet, a table, what they called a "sanitary hygienic room," and a nice window -- simple but clean and economic.  It was just like God to give us a hotel at the intersection of the two roads which would take us directly to our different contacts with only one bus each.  Pastor Jimmy and I had some great talks about the Lord and some good times of prayer at this hotel.  It was here we tried to prepare for preaching too.~   

Soon I will try to post more of the ministry side of our trip as well as try to articulate more of the immediate blessings that has come from this trip.  Thank you for praying for the trip.  Stay tuned for more, Phillip