October 5 – 19, 2009 — Australia: I was in transit for over 30 hours arriving at Sydney’s International airport on Wednesday morning, October 7. We lose a day traveling west, since we cross the international dateline. I was graciously hosted by Gerard and Lorraine Schockman for my time in Australia. Lorraine is a professional mentor and consultant for over two dozen clients. She works with business people in New South Wales (NSW) and Queensland helping them in every arena of their lives, including their marriages, their family, as well as their businesses. On Friday and Saturday evening the mentorees from NSW gathered for a time of teaching by Lorraine and me about Christ’s Kingdom in the marketplace. (During my time in Australia I was able to be involved with nearly every one of these “mentorees” on a personal level.) Often, we were meeting, working with and/or fellowshipping with them from early morning to late night. On Sunday October 11, I spoke and ministered at the English speaking service of a Korean Church named Harvest. I had ministered at the church and met John Lee the pastor during my last trip to Australia in 2007. I shared with the church a familiar message to most of you on “The Waiting Father” from Luke 15. The message and the ministry afterwards were very well received. The remainder of the afternoon was spent fellowshipping with John and his new wife Sheila. On Tuesday, October 13 we flew to Queensland and were hosted by Jim and Cora Taylor. We spent personal time with several of the Queensland couples and that evening we meet with the entire group, repeating the teaching we had shared in NSW. On Wednesday we continued meeting personally with the leaders of the Queensland group, and then flew back to NSW Wednesday night. Personal meetings kept us busy until Friday, when we went to a retreat center on the banks of the Pacific that is owned and operated by the Salvation Army. It is a huge and beautiful site with a splendid view of the ocean. The mentorees from both NSW and from Queensland all gathered for a weekend of fellowship, worship, as well as teaching and ministry. There was also time for a number of the mentorees to share their personal journeys with Christ through issues as varied as struggles with cancer, business failures and family breakdowns. All who spoke credited Lorraine with helping them through these times. One of the highlights of the seminar weekend for me was that Lorraine’s family (Gerard, Shane and Sarah) were the worship team. After serving communion on Sunday noon, Shane took me to the airport to catch my flight home. After catching a standby flight in San Francisco, I was able to arrive at my home by Sunday evening – having gained a day because of recrossing the international dateline. It was a wonderful experience being with these folks, and I felt enriched and blessed to be involved in their walk with our Father God. By the way, while in Queensland I reached the ripe “young” age of 68, but I don’t feel a day over 80.

October 22 – 26, 2009 – England: I only had a couple of days to unpack, catch up and then repack before Kathy and I were bound for England. We took the “red eye” flight leaving Washington Dulles International on Wednesday night October 21. We arrived on Thursday morning and then took a four hour bus trip from London Heathrow to Plymouth. Yes, this is the place from which the pilgrims left for America almost four centuries ago (1620).  (Kathy and I visited the site from which the Mayflower departed.) We arrived at our hotel mid-afternoon with just enough time to freshen up and then head for the first meeting. We were there to attend the Church of the Nations European Leaders Conference. As most of you are aware, under the counsel of Dan Wolfe and others that I respect, I became apostolically aligned to Tony Fitzgerald in August of 2009. Tony is the founder and one of the six members of the apostolic council that leads Church of the Nations (COTN). Thursday night and Friday were set aside for the apostolic team to address leaders. On Friday night the main conference began. It was a full schedule of meetings and workshops, beginning around 9:00 AM and ending after 10:00 PM each night. The conference focused on personal preparedness for the near future advancement of the Kingdom of God. Kathy and I met and fellowshipped with a number of people during the conference, many of whom recognized me from the photo on my manual, Sonship: The Path to Fatherhood. I was pleasantly surprised with how many folks had read the manual. Kathy, who simply adores England, was totally in  her element. I half expected her to stay in England, and let me return to America. One of the highlights of Kathy’s trip was a prayer walk through the city, which the leader gave detailed background of the city’s history. The highlight for me was simply becoming more acquainted with the COTN network, especially the apostolic leaders. We remained in Plymouth after the final meeting on Sunday, and then caught a bus early Monday morning back to London Heathrow. I had a bit of intestinal problems which began on Sunday, but made the trip without any embarrassing incidents. We arrived home on Monday night, and since then I have been attempting to catch up on everything both here in Stafford, and throughout my relationships around the world.

Today, October 29, 2009 – Stafford, Virginia: The leadership group here at Harvest made up of Dennis and Lauralee Harding, Bill and Melody Bannister and Jeff and Linda Ellenwood have done a great job of caring for the church while I have traveled. We are pursuing a course that involves redefining who we are as a church. We are committed to the idea of “being church” as opposed to “doing church.” We are looking carefully at the practical implications and implementation of our vision statement, which I believe God gave to me several years ago. It is the acrostic: REAP. (Reaching the lost; Equipping the saints; Advancing the Kingdom; Preparing a people.) To date we have been committed to helping two widows with cleaning, sprucing up and repairing their homes. Our desire is to impact our local area, without simply becoming another “service organization.” We’d love to hear any thoughts you might have regarding this.

Calendar for 2009

November 10 – 13 – Dayton, Tennessee: I will be meeting Dick and Caroline Burton at the National Association of Christian Athletes football tournament at Fort Bluff. Dick’s football team is a annual competitor invited to this competition. His son Josh is a starting lineman, and his daughter Rebecca has been a member of the cheerleading squad. The players on this team are either from private schools or home schooled students.

November 13 – 17 – Cullowhee, North Carolina: After the conclusion of the tournament on Friday, I will drive to Cullowhee, North Carolina to be with Ken and Dana Jenkins and Covenant Christian Church for the weekend. Ken is the senior pastor, succeeding Tom Gamble who retired last year. The church is a vibrant body of believers, having a powerful influence on the campus of West Carolina University through their outreach called Campus Rock. Ken founded Campus Rock over a decade ago, and has raised up a qualified group of leaders led by George and Mary Oliver.

December 1 – 4 – Park City, Utah: Kathy and I will fly to Utah to meet with David and Jennifer Price in their recently purchased home on the outskirts of Park City. David and Jennifer have related to me, since I met them at language school in Guatemala. They served as missionaries in Mexico, and were the persons responsible for connecting me to Chuy and Maria Ortega in Zacatecas. David now owns a successful window cleaning business in Park City, and the family remains closely related to Kathy and me.

December 4 – 7 – Hamilton, Montana: From Park City, Utah Kathy and I will fly to Montana to be with Bill and Sue Peddie. Bill pastors a Four-Square Church in Corvallis, Montana, and his son James leads at campus outreach at Montana University in Missoula. James and his wife Jill served as missionaries in Thailand prior to Jill’s current struggle with cancer. Sue is Kathy’s sister. We are trusting God that we can be some measure of strength and encouragement to the entire Peddie family. Please take a moment as you finish this update to lift Jill up in your prayers.