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

Melanie might need your prayers...=)

As she...
Puts up with all of us! (Silly Elijah dressed himself up like this! =) And...

As she eats all of the new recipes we try on her. =)
("Tropical fusion salad with spicy tortilla ribbons" from Taste of Home! Apr/May 2010.)

We are loving having Melanie here with us! She is being a blessing! Please do pray that God will help her as she ministers for Him here in Colombia. =)
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Thank you for praying for our Colombian paper work.  You can read an update on my blog.

Short post w/ Peru picture & prayer request.

This picture goes with the next post below about our surprise meeting with the Bryon Flings while in Lima, Peru.  What a blessing!  You never know who you'll meet up with and where.

Bryon & Michelle Fling w/son, Pastor Luis & family, Pastor Jimmy, & I in Lima, Peru

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 
I'm back from Peru.  God blessed this trip tremendously!  I expect to see fruit from this trip as well as go back in the future as God would will.  I do hope to post more news and pictures of our trip here in the future.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~  ~~ ~ ~ ~ 
But for now please pray, for today (along with church and going by the airport to pick up Melanie Smith) we plan to work some more downtown on our Colombian visas.  Having this paperwork in order is important.
Thanks so much, Phillip

A "chance meeting" or a miracle?

Before leaving for Peru Phillip had told me that one couple he WANTED to see while there was Bryon and Michele Fling who are missionaries in Peru! 
Here is a paragraph that Phillip sent to me from Peru last Friday.

Dearest Heather and children,
Luis and his family took us to find an ATM and a closer hotel in Lima, Peru.  As we were crossing a parking lot (as a short cut that Bro. Luis never uses) we saw another beautiful holiness family.  I instantly recognized Bryon and Michelle Fling after not seeing them for 9 years.  They instantly recognized me and I yelled with delight.  Heather, I was hoping to contact them to see them while here in Lima.  But they don´t even live in Lima as I had thought, but 12 whole hours away in Chiclayo where they are the directors of the Bible School there.  They just¨"happened" to be in Lima. They came to complete their adoption papers with their new little boy (another miracle).  Out of a city of nearly 9 million people what chance is there of several from a different country meeting up with another holiness family who live a day´s drive away.  Pastor Jimmy and Pastor Luis and his family were delighted to get to know them.  They were to leave Lima by bus in a couple of hours or so but we visited in the parking lot for a good while.

Much, Much Love,
Phillip

Isn't that JUST LIKE OUR JESUS to help Phillip and the Flings meet up?  God is Awesome!!!!

~Come before His presence with Singing...~

I love it that our children like to help in the church in any way they can.  We love singing together, playing together, and worshipping God together using the talents He has given us....for HIS GLORY!
~Jimmy, Sarah, and Gaby singing the hymns in church.~

Psalm 100:2 says,
"Serve the Lord with gladness: Come before His presence with singing!"
The church here in Colombia...believes in and practices the "Come before His presence with SINGING" part! ~Here...Bro. Jimmy, Kimberly, and I singing (and I'm playing) during our 45-60 min. song service.  Yes, you read that right!  We normally WORSHIP God by singing about 10 hymns, then someone reads Scripture, then we  sing about 5 more hymns...All this time we are STANDING! =) (Well, they are...for I get to sit down and play the piano.=) ~

~Bro. Jimmy, Kimberly, Natalie, and Sis. Farly singing.~

~Kimberly and Sarah playing their violins, and yours truly at the piano during a song service.~

May God help us all to WORSHIP HIM for who HE IS!!  Have a wonderful LORD'S DAY tomorrow. =)

 

Please pray for our trip to Peru

First let me ask for you to pray for a serious unspoken request here.  Thank you.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Tomorrow Pastor Jimmy and I are travelling to Peru for 4 days.  We will be with Pastor Luis and his precious family and will be working with and preaching with him.  We so need your prayers for protection, blessing, and wisdom...

Pastor Luis and his family

We'll be in Lima, the capital city of nearly 9 million people.  I hope to give you an update later of how the trip went.   Thanks,  Phillip
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"Though we live in a reading age and a reading community, yet the preaching of the Gospel is the form in which human agency has been and still is most efficaciously employed for the spiritual movement of men."   ~Daniel Webster, American statesman, orator, 1782-1852~

The Foundations Of The Sabbath In The Word Of God

**Reposted from my original on 7/14/07.**

~Here's an excellent address on the Christian Sabbath by B.B. Warfield delivered at the Fourteenth International Lord's Day Congress held in Oakland, California, July 27-August 1, 1915, published in Sunday the World's Rest Day. 1916. A side benefit is that this helps answer the question, "What part of the Old Testament ought I obey as a Gentile?"  This will Biblically answer questions one may have over the Lord's Day or what many still call the Christian Sabbath...why the change from Saturday to Sunday, its application to us New Testament believers, etc.  This is not only Reformed theology but from my understanding of our Methodist Theology it is also what John Wesley, Adam Clarke, Thomas Ralston, and others of their Methodist contemporaries believed the Bible taught.  Non-observance of the Lord's Day as well as Saturday observance is something that has always been rejected by the Church worldwide until only recently.  Happy Reading to you truth seekers, Phillip Dickinson~

I am to speak to you today, not of the usefulness or of the blessedness of the Sabbath, but of its obligation. And I am to speak to you of its obligation, not as that obligation naturally arises out of its usefulness or blessedness, but as it is immediately imposed by God in his Word. You naturally dwell on the joy of the Sabbath. This is the day of gladness and triumph, on which the Lord broke the bonds of the grave, abolishing death and bringing life and immortality to light. As naturally you dwell on the value of the Sabbath. This is the day on which the tired body rests from its appointed labor; on which the worn spirit finds opportunity for recuperation; an oasis in the desert of earthly cares, when we can escape for a moment from the treadmill toil of daily life and, at leisure from ourselves, refresh our souls in God. I am to recall your minds—it may seem somewhat brusquely —to the contemplation of the duty of the Sabbath; and to ask you to let them rest for a moment on the bald notion of authority. I do not admit that, in so doing, I am asking you to lower your eyes. Rather, I conceive myself to be inviting you to raise them; to raise them to the very pinnacle of the pinnacle. After all is said, there is no greater word than "ought." And there is no higher reason for keeping the Sabbath than that I ought to keep it; that I owe it to God the Lord to keep it in accordance with his command.

It may nevertheless require some little effort to withdraw our thoughts even for a moment from the utility of the Sabbath and fix them on its bare obligation. Since Proudhon taught the world the natural value of the Sabbath, its supernatural origin and sanction have, in wide circles, passed perhaps somewhat out of sight. In its abounding usefulness to man, it may seem so obviously man's day that we may easily forget that it was for two thousand years before it was discovered to be man's day already the Lord's day; and, stretching back from that, from the creation of the world God's day. The Sabbath is undoubtedly rooted in nature; in our human nature and in the nature of the created universe. Unbroken toil is not good for us; the recurrence of a day of rest is of advantage to us, physically, mentally, spiritually. But had we been left to find this out for ourselves, we should probably have waited very long for it. Certainly Proudhon tardily learned it from observation, not of pure nature, but of the Sabbath rest ordained by God. We are told on the highest authority that "the Sabbath was made for man." Man needs it. It blesses his life. But man apparently would never have had it, had it not been "made" for him; made for him by him who from the beginning of the world has known all his works, and, knowing man, has made for him from the beginning of the world the day of rest which he needs. He who needed no rest, in the greatness of his condescension, rested from the work which he had creatively made, that by his example he might woo man to his needed rest.

To finish reading click here.

Colombian Oranges

One of the many blessings of living in Colombia is all the WONDERFUL inexpensive fruit and veggies we get to enjoy! Like these yummy juice oranges. And with those we made this...

yummy Orange Julius!!

Orange Julius Drink
Yields: 4 servings
6 oz. (3/4 cup) orange juice
1 cup milk
1 t. vanilla
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/3 cup water
Fill rest of blender with ice (about a tray and a 1/2)
Blend until ice is slivered.

~My Birthday gift~

Thanks, Grandpa and Grandma, for the birthday money you sent me. This is the skateboard that I got with your gift! I'm having fun with my skateboard. I like to take my skateboard to the park, and I like to jump on it!

Jesus helped me get a lot of schoolwork done and these shoes were my prize! (Plus I needed new tennis shoes anyway.)

God's Beautiful Grace Blessing Us

**Reposted from origional post on 7/12/07.**
~My Sweetheart and my oldest son. What does this pic (taken June, 2007) have to do with this post? Maybe nothing; but I like it.  Actually they are great blessings in my life.~

God is the origin and spring of all benefits man receives. He benefits the sweaty one toiling in the sunny field with a cooling flower laden breeze. And the drug addict weeping to be forgiven He blesses with a new life.

God's unmerited favor is called His grace. All we have gone astray and turned to our own sinful ways. God could leave us and never turn back, letting us face the wages of our sin without hope. But God's grace lovingly influences man in order form man into His image. By grace God reconciles man, constrains him from sin, and cleanses him from all unrighteousness through the blood of Jesus Christ.

Countless moral failures have proven God's forgiving grace as they became sterling tools in the hand of God. Anointed myriads have testified to God's deliverance from an old life of sin and demonstrated God's grace working in their exemplary new life. Notice a cowardly Peter transformed into the bold, Spirit filled preacher. And see a rabid Saul become the gifted Paul. Grace also rested on Timothy through his Godly upbringing. And grace was upon John banished on the island and permitted him the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Yes, God's grace crowned thousands of believers suffering in the Roman Coliseum and covered the others fleeing the demonic Roman emperors. And God by grace preserved a remnant in the midst of a corrupt church. Grace gifted William Tyndale to spread the Word of God in the common tongue and then answered his dying prayer at the stake to open the king's eyes. Just one year later, the king ordered the printing and distribution of Tyndale's Bibles. It was even God's grace allowing Gutenberg the brilliant idea of a printing press which printed such Bibles.

Grace lifted Luther from a damnable righteousness of works to the saving righteousness which is of faith. Later grace led Wesley with Luther's preface on Romans to believe, to be strangely warmed, and to be sent out in apostolic power. God's grace has raised up multitudes from spiritual death to preach with a living and vibrant faith. One was that ruthless slaver, Newton, who has now successfully preached to millions with "Amazing Grace." Grace has elevated other wretches from crying in their beer in despair to weeping behind the sacred desk with love and compassion.

Innumerable others have been delivered from a plethora of sins, pride, levity, hatred, lust, impertinence, ungratefulness, and a glut of sin's fruits such as pornography, drunkenness, sodomy, riotousness, and divers more. God's grace is abundant, for where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.

God in His grace blesses all, but His children benefit infinitely more. For of His fullness have all we received, and grace for grace. So we then, as workers together with Him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain. Avail yourselves of God's grace and with resolve share it to all. Grace be with you all. Amen.
               * By Phillip Dickinson, first published in "Dickinson Update," our missionary newsletter.*

There's a Wideness in God's Mercy

**Reposted from its original post 7/11/07.**
~Sadly I realized that we do not have many pictures of us during family altar. But I did find this one of us having family altar with the Joseph Smith family in Indiana in our '04 deputation. We love them; what a pleasant time we had with them!~
A couple days ago in family altar we sang the following hymn. We are singing through the hymnbook, working our way through 2 catechisms, reading Scripture, praying, and at times discussing whatever is important during our times of family altar. God made this song so precious to us. I got choked up and we sang some of the verses several times. Enjoy.

There's a wideness in God's mercy Like the wideness of the sea;
There's a kindness in His justice Which is more than liberty.

There is welcome for the sinner, And more graces for the good;
There is mercy with the Saviour; There is healing in His blood.

For the love of God is broader Than the measure of man's mind;
And the heart of the Eternal Is most wonderfully kind.

If our love were but more simple, We should take Him at His Word;
And our lives would be all sun-shine In the sweetness of our Lord.
          ~Words by Frederick W. Faber, for more verses and music go here. ~
*Update: The pic was before Elijah and Mary came along.  Presently in family altar our family is memorizing Scripture, I'm commenting on verses, and we are sometimes reading a short vignette of a great Christian (more often an old Methodist/Wesleyan/Holiness one) along with singing.  We try to have time together both AM and PM.*

Elijah: Our little fix-it man

Elijah has a little toy that lights up and plays music when you press a button.  The other day Elijah brought it to us and said, "It doesn't work."  So I tried it out and sure enough it didn't work, so I said to the family, "This toy is broken."  Elijah who has just turned three promptly disappeared.  And by the time I realized it, he had already run upstairs, recovered the correct screwdriver -- a Phillips screwdriver, and had the battery cover unscrewed, had taken it off of his toy, and had removed the batteries.  

Elijah loves to "fix" things and tries to figure out how things work.  I quickly grabbed the camera and took several pics of him "working" on the toy.

Noah had to help him put the batteries back in correctly, and amazingly it started working again.  It looks like he takes after his Grandpa Dickinson.  He is also so funny because he loves to be in charge.  He is happiest when he is pointing and barking orders to keep things happening. 

   It is amazing how each of our children are completely different.  We so need God's wisdom in leading them to perfect love for Christ in order for God to channel their interests and abilities for God's will and for His glory.
~ Phillip Dickinson 

~Our family ministry day~

~Last Tuesday our family decided to take a family trip up to visit the ACE school in Paraiso where Jimmy and Farly are giving their lives to educate these dear children. Our first 2 years here in Colombia we had a church in Paraiso. So, our children have A LOT of memories riding the buses an hour up the mountain to church and bouncing back down in a bus. =)  Here we are on a mountain in Paraiso overlooking Bogota.~

~Bro. Jimmy is introducing the students to us.~

~Some of the students.  A lot of these children have only one parent or no parents who can care for them.  (Some of them have parents, but they are out of the home a lot of the time.)  Some of these kids have to cook their own meals, get themselves ready each day, etc.~

~We bought a yogurt and a roll to give to each child.  Kimberly and Sarah are passing them out.~

~Edgar was up there working on the computers.~

~One of the students enjoying his snack.~

~Bro. Jimmy asked Phillip to give a devotional.  He tried to challenge these students with stories of young people in the Bible that didn't look like they had much hope, but God used them in a mighty way.  (Daniel, Esther, the 3 Hebrew children, Joseph, and Moses [after he was taken from his parents].)~

~Sis. Farly surprised us and had made "Rice with chicken" (Arroz con pollo) for our lunch.  It was delicious!~

~Kimberly teaching the students English.  Jimmy and Farly teach the students a lot of the principles of English but they wanted Kimberly to go over the pronunciation of English.~

~Phillip snapped this picture as we were leaving the school.~

~Our kids going home on the bus.~

~We adults going home on the bouncy bus.  It was a profitable day and we enjoyed getting to see the students.  We are praying for these dear children...(and for Jimmy and Farly as they minister to them)...could you join us?  These children know of sadness like we have never known...but Jesus loves them and can use their lives for Him!~

~By Heather~

How to bring freedoms to a people.

About two years ago I was becoming more and more uptight over what I considered political tyranny both in our dear USA as well as around the world.  By tyranny I means such things as us increasingly becoming a police state, the infringing of privacy rights, injustices of the powerful against the weak, etc, etc.  God helped me to get over being uptight about all this with this verse.

"For the rod of the wicked shall not rest upon the lot of the righteous..."  Psalm 125:3a

The "rod of the wicked"  equals tyranny.
The lot [or inheritance] of the righteous will not have this resting upon them.  So I began to see the best way that I can serve my country and this world is to convert the people to Christ.  Get them righteous and the tyranny of the wicked will fall off of them.

Over and over we see God judging wicked nations with tyranny; so reads history and the Bible.  And over and over we see freedoms coming to righteous people.  So I could join every political revolution in the book, but as long as we as a people are wicked, all my campaigns will be in vain, for I will be fighting against God's judgment.  But get the people seeking God and God will liberate the people in His time.  I'm not being a fatalist, but rather saying that the best use of my time as a Christian (who has found true freedom) is to be about kingdom work  -- God's kingdom.

~Phillip Dickinson