tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-291760192024-03-23T11:02:18.685-07:00Gary & Lynda's Salt ShakerNot by might nor by power, but by my Spirit.
Zechariah 4:6Gary & Lyndahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07070851106395380713noreply@blogger.comBlogger52125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29176019.post-51255885866076428022012-06-25T22:38:00.000-07:002012-06-25T22:38:05.287-07:00<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYphpV8hVe3pJBik2jpKw0YmLx0FdNNKu7ed3XfJUbf5xd7YKbJnBIR_G_LX8DS9eV1zLosl0JRuyKaZkxhQEuCi2fju-DLOnlv6i7vsJWbyDTbfeeZOr0tsYFUEKUQOgSLiQ0/s1600/Spring12SS1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="400" width="309" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYphpV8hVe3pJBik2jpKw0YmLx0FdNNKu7ed3XfJUbf5xd7YKbJnBIR_G_LX8DS9eV1zLosl0JRuyKaZkxhQEuCi2fju-DLOnlv6i7vsJWbyDTbfeeZOr0tsYFUEKUQOgSLiQ0/s400/Spring12SS1.jpg" /></a>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSVabfjgr-TaTeWDVEypbTWyK92HUhbuBsfNJp1tSTlTvNqA0aF2Z6Dj2-n9L47xXGuIUn-Juagy0n1Lo2ITKKacGOGTREHNukZoTrfH_3fsM0t9zCGAkO-eWGfFl0Dav9MaMv/s1600/Spring12SS2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="400" width="309" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSVabfjgr-TaTeWDVEypbTWyK92HUhbuBsfNJp1tSTlTvNqA0aF2Z6Dj2-n9L47xXGuIUn-Juagy0n1Lo2ITKKacGOGTREHNukZoTrfH_3fsM0t9zCGAkO-eWGfFl0Dav9MaMv/s400/Spring12SS2.jpeg" /></a>Gary & Lyndahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07070851106395380713noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29176019.post-22509635322794566102009-04-07T09:50:00.000-07:002009-04-07T09:54:36.121-07:00Scary Financial newsA friend recently sent us this YouTube video of a 60 Minutes report on the US Financial crisis:<br /><br />http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5zB9g_f-gY<br /><br /> or link to it <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r5zB9g_f-gY">here</a><br /><br />It is definitely worth watching and thinking about how we will be affected in Canada....Gary & Lyndahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07070851106395380713noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29176019.post-47043027057267401382009-03-25T08:46:00.000-07:002009-03-25T08:47:11.242-07:00test postThis is a test postGary & Lyndahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07070851106395380713noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29176019.post-88730775440363755992009-02-12T23:40:00.000-08:002009-02-12T23:57:35.592-08:00UQ at SFU reportThank you for all who prayed for the Feb 4th's Ultimate Questions "Does God Exist? Debate at SFU. The debate was a great success with over 875 students attending filling 2 1/2 lectures halls.<br /><br />The best part of the debate has been the spiritual conversations that it has sparked within the student body. Almost all of our students and some Christian Professor friends have commented on how easy it has been to talk about God and share the Gospel with their friends. That's what this was all about. So I am pleased encouraged.<br /><br />We should have the full debate video on line within the next few weeks. Please continue to pray that the Christians on campus would continue to be bold in sharing their faith with their friends. pray that the god would be glorified through their testimonies and that many more students would come to know Jesus Christ.<br /><br />For encouraging review of the debate please go to the following SFU student newspaper "The Peak" articles:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.the-peak.ca/article/17788-god-debate-on-the-mount">God Debate On The Mount</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.the-peak.ca/article/17780-the-dangers-of-erasing-god">The Dangers of Erasing God</a>Gary & Lyndahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07070851106395380713noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29176019.post-58876192143110980452009-01-20T16:50:00.000-08:002009-01-26T00:03:43.977-08:00Ultimate Questions Update<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAkIxk531ZdzuKmA7khqtHlnGuSSFXXfvcl8y3a-f5PSzM_Ys6Mx9srLIH2yNV8RsyBZlNR6vfWhV9-6ZoXFPmRWl26UQXd6gPlZeK7V5RoCchIpLuUjJCEgKWR2HUkMKgj9sl/s1600-h/poster4.png"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 259px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAkIxk531ZdzuKmA7khqtHlnGuSSFXXfvcl8y3a-f5PSzM_Ys6Mx9srLIH2yNV8RsyBZlNR6vfWhV9-6ZoXFPmRWl26UQXd6gPlZeK7V5RoCchIpLuUjJCEgKWR2HUkMKgj9sl/s400/poster4.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5293544100389863362" /></a><br /><br />for more information please visit the events page at: <a href="http://www.ultimatequestions.org">www.ultimatequestions.org</a><br /><br />We (Campus for Christ) are also hosting a debate about the effects of Pornography at UBC on Jan 27. You can find more information on the Ultimatequestions.org website as well as at: <a href="http://www.porndebate.ca">www.porndebate.ca</a><br /><br />We really appreciate your prayers for these two events. Our goal is not just to put on these large debates, but to engage our campuses in an intellectual and spiritual discussion on who God/Jesus Christ is and what true Christianity is really all about. Our hope and prayer is that through the hundreds of spiritual conversations that these events will spark, many students would have an opportunity to clearly hear and respond to the Gospel.<br /><br />For mre specific prayer requests please visit our Campus for Christ prayer blog at: <a href="http://prayerchain.campusforchrist.org/">http://prayerchain.campusforchrist.org/</a><br /><br />Thank you so much for your ongoing prayers, encouragement and partnership in taking the life changing message of the Gospel to university students across Canada. <br /><br />God bless you!<br /><br />Sincerely, <br /><br />Gary & Lynda<br /><br />Thank you for prayingGary & Lyndahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07070851106395380713noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29176019.post-78106359576861849382009-01-17T23:35:00.000-08:002009-01-25T21:35:18.353-08:00November, 8th 2008First of all, Thank you so much for all who have been praying for us and showing us so much encouragement in so many ways. We are are doing well and my physical healing is making good progress. I am excited to be back at work sharing God's love with University students at SFU and across Canada.<br /><br />While I still cant talk to much about what happened on November 8th because of the ongoing police investigation (Not that we are suspects, I just don't want to say anything I shouldn't and jeopardize the investigation in any way) I thought I should at least post a few links to most accurate news stories. After reading all kinds of reports from various newspapers, news reports and blogs etc, there weren't any that got the story 100% right. But there are some that are more accurate than others. So here are links to the most accurate. <br /><br /><a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20081110.wbcpackage1110/BNStory/National<br />">The Globe and Mail</a>:<br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.canadianchristianity.com/nationalupdates/081113campus.html">Canadian Christianity</a><br /><br /><br /><br />I will post more soon,<br /><br />God Bless,<br /><br />GaryGary & Lyndahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07070851106395380713noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29176019.post-29511041427450983652009-01-10T12:59:00.000-08:002009-01-10T13:01:04.511-08:00Psalm 91Psalm 91<br /><br /> 1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High <br /> will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. [a]<br /><br /> 2 I will say [b] of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress, <br /> my God, in whom I trust."<br /><br /> 3 Surely he will save you from the fowler's snare <br /> and from the deadly pestilence.<br /><br /> 4 He will cover you with his feathers, <br /> and under his wings you will find refuge; <br /> his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.<br /><br /> 5 You will not fear the terror of night, <br /> nor the arrow that flies by day,<br /><br /> 6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, <br /> nor the plague that destroys at midday.<br /><br /> 7 A thousand may fall at your side, <br /> ten thousand at your right hand, <br /> but it will not come near you.<br /><br /> 8 You will only observe with your eyes <br /> and see the punishment of the wicked.<br /><br /> 9 If you make the Most High your dwelling— <br /> even the LORD, who is my refuge-<br /><br /> 10 then no harm will befall you, <br /> no disaster will come near your tent.<br /><br /> 11 For he will command his angels concerning you <br /> to guard you in all your ways;<br /><br /> 12 they will lift you up in their hands, <br /> so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.<br /><br /> 13 You will tread upon the lion and the cobra; <br /> you will trample the great lion and the serpent.<br /><br /> 14 "Because he loves me," says the LORD, "I will rescue him; <br /> I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.<br /><br /> 15 He will call upon me, and I will answer him; <br /> I will be with him in trouble, <br /> I will deliver him and honor him.<br /><br /> 16 With long life will I satisfy him <br /> and show him my salvation."Gary & Lyndahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07070851106395380713noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29176019.post-82902259786291654532008-10-17T00:04:00.000-07:002008-10-17T00:07:30.898-07:00More Changed Lives continued...Here is another encouraging story about what God is doing in the hearts and minds of Canadian University students...<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">From Brad at Concordia U</span>: This year, we gave away about 1000 Real Life Kits! As always, we pray for the chance to meet up with each student who received a kit and witness God drawing them to Himself. However, with many of these students, we never hear from them again. Which is what makes this email I just got all the more encouraging: <br /><br />“My name is Yasmina and I am a third year student at Concordia U. in Montreal. Although I do not know the young women’s name, I want to thank her and your team for handing me a small booklet called “Knowing Jesus Personally” three years ago. It took me three years to finally read it. I had even rudely asked you the first year to stop sending me emails. But God didn’t give up on me and has been persistent in helping me know Him. Over the last year, I truly committed my life to Him. I find myself quoting from the materials your team gave me, as it has answered the most important questions I have had along the years. I would love to get more copies of these booklets in French and English to share them with others!”Gary & Lyndahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07070851106395380713noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29176019.post-33743541779359209092008-10-04T21:24:00.000-07:002008-10-04T21:26:52.622-07:00We are all agents<span style="font-style:italic;">Another compelling and encouraging devotional from Turning Point:</span><br /><br />Then Moses called Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, "Be strong and of good courage, for you must go with this people to the land which the Lord has sworn to their fathers to give them."<br /><br />The word "mission" comes from the Latin word missionem, meaning the act of sending. It's used in diplomatic circles for a delegation sent to conduct negotiations in a foreign country. In the armed forces, it describes an operational task conducted by military agents.<br />In the Old Testament, Joshua was God's agent, and his mission was to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land. He was told, "The Lord, He is the One who goes before you. He will be with you, He will not leave you nor forsake you" (verse 8).<br /><br />In the New Testament, we are God's agents. Every believer is a missionary, sent to lead others to the promise of eternal life in Christ. We can't do it alone, but we're commissioned with His authority and anointed with His power. He goes before us and will be with us. So make sure your life is a mission—not an intermission.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">The Great Commission is not an option to be considered; it is a command to be obeyed.<br />Hudson Taylor</span>Gary & Lyndahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07070851106395380713noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29176019.post-42324417414208724002008-07-09T11:30:00.000-07:002008-07-09T11:36:47.965-07:00Ultimate Questions Videos are now onlineOur videos from the Ultimate Questions lecture and Debate series are now available to view on Youtube.<br /><br />Simply do a youtube channel search of "UQueTV"<br /><br />Or view it thought this link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U85aMk34GLY<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/U85aMk34GLY&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/U85aMk34GLY&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br /><br />Please rate and comment on the videos. The higher the rating the more views they will get.<br /><br />More updates soon,<br /><br />G.Gary & Lyndahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07070851106395380713noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29176019.post-1981792720982829282008-04-21T22:45:00.000-07:002008-04-22T01:21:55.354-07:00Bella is beautiful.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2PVGpH5H5MNbW06RhleXBk54ln0lvg6ahLlHeuCEeivbT7tdeOPB5_f1jVGUDIo8Xa__W4SD9yvC8cY9QDAG03HiIDuWTy71FGnSXAP-8LJhRLqge9sA7vLd6vhehA8ks9leL/s1600-h/Bella-782941.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2PVGpH5H5MNbW06RhleXBk54ln0lvg6ahLlHeuCEeivbT7tdeOPB5_f1jVGUDIo8Xa__W4SD9yvC8cY9QDAG03HiIDuWTy71FGnSXAP-8LJhRLqge9sA7vLd6vhehA8ks9leL/s400/Bella-782941.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5191980217953442130" /></a><br />Lynda and I had the rare opportunity to get out and see a movie on Sat night.(All parents will relate) <br /><br />Lynda had heard some good press about a Pro Life film called <a href="http://www.bellamoviesite.com/">"Bella" </a>. It has already finished it's theater run in the US. It is playing in limited theaters here in Canada for a short time before being released on DVD relatively soon. Honestly, it was one of the best and most refreshing movies that I have seen in the past ten years.<br /><br />The acting, plot, storyline, musical score and cinematography were excellent. Most of all the message was fantastic. The basic story line from focus on the family's <a href="http://www.pluggedinonline.com/movies/movies/a0003464.cfm">pluggedin </a>online is as follows: <br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">The name Bella means beautiful. And it's a word that does not in any way apply to Jose or his life when we first meet him. Scruffy and forlorn, Jose hasn't been the same since a tragic accident ended his promising soccer career. Now he's the head chef at his brother's fancy restaurant.<br /><br />People worry about Jose.<br /><br />Working at that same restaurant is a young, unmarried woman named Nina who does not want to be pregnant. But she is. And her morning sickness and late arrivals get her fired.<br /><br />No one worries about Nina—except Jose.<br /><br />Jose is drawn to the troubled woman and offers his help. She's suspicious of his intentions at first, but her situation and his quiet persistence motivate her to accept the proffered friendship. Still, she brushes off his gentle encouragement to let her baby live. Nina has come to the conclusion that if her life is ever going to be normal again she must abort her little girl.<br /><br />This artistically low-key yet emotionally complex and compelling story focuses on two friends—one damaged by the past and the other afraid of the future—who help each other make a pair of life-changing choices. </span><br /><br />As true followers of Christ, we need to be a stronger voice for the unborn. I am sure that this movie will really help the viewer think clearly about the value and preciousness of life. I am so grateful that when I was born, abortion wasn't so easy in Canada,or else I may not have been here to celebrate and share God's amazing love, grace and goodness with you.<br /><br />The sad part is that when Lynda and I went to see the movie on it's opening weekend, the theater was mostly empty. Go see Bella, bring a friend, actually bring 2 friends, spread the word, it could very well save a life of a child of God.Gary & Lyndahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07070851106395380713noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29176019.post-79820222157873453962008-03-16T22:56:00.000-07:002008-03-17T00:16:24.440-07:00A for Real Miracle???<object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/nH7C4hPPlbU&hl=en"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/nH7C4hPPlbU&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Raised from the Dead!</span><br /><br />My good friend Michael recently sent the following link to an article about a true story of a Florida man being raised from the Dead! A True Story that seems to be coming from a legitimate source. Check it out!<br /><br /><a href="http://www1.wsvn.com/features/articles/specialreport/MI75423">Here is the Direct Link that includes the video</a> (Video link is above the article on the Fox News Website). Just in case Fox News moves the article here is a copy of it:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Raised From The Dead</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">From Fox News Channel 7 Fort Lauderdale</span><br /><br />Is it a medical mystery or a miracle? A South Florida man pronounced dead from a massive heart attack and then brought back to life. His doctor says the man was raised from the dead by a simple prayer. Seven's Louis Aguirre has the story. <br /><br />WSVN -- Dr. Chauncey Crandall isn't your usual doctor. The world-renowned cardiologist is a man of medicine and science, but he's also a man of faith.<br /><br />Dr. Chauncey Crandall: "If you come in with a problem into our service, we are definitely going to treat you with conventional medicine, but we are going to believe it too. We are going to attack it with conventional medicine, and we are going to attack it with prayer."<br /><br />He calls himself the Christian physician because he prays with each heart patient he sees at his Palm Beach practice. The difference, he says, is dramatic.<br /><br />Dr. Chauncey Crandall: "The reason I pray for people is because I found, early in my trained practice, that there were miracles, unexplained healings."<br /><br />But even his strong faith could not prepare him for what would happen the day Jeff Markin walked into the Palm Beach Gardens emergency room.<br /><br />Jeff Markin: "I drove to the Garden's Hospital, went in, took out my wallet and fell on the floor with a massive heart attack."<br /><br />For 40 minutes doctors and nurses in the ER tried to revive him. When they couldn't get his heart started again they called for Dr. Crandall, who was doing rounds in the hospital at the time.<br /><br />Dr. Chauncey Crandall: "As I entered the ER it was like a war zone. Here was this lifeless body on a stretcher."<br /><br />The doctor couldn't do anything and could only confirm what everyone already knew, Jeff was dead. He had gone almost an hour without a heartbeat, and his body was starting to decompose.<br /><br />Dr. Chauncey Crandall: "His face, his arms, his legs were pitch black with death. I said, 'Let's just call the code, let's end it because there's no life left.'"<br /><br />As Dr. Crandall turned to leave, he says he got another call this time, a call from God to pray.<br /><br />Dr. Chauncey Crandall: "A voice told me to turn around and pray for that man. I looked down at the body, and I said, 'Lord, what can I pray for this man? He's gone.' All of a sudden these words came out, 'Father, I cry out for this man's soul, if he does not know, you raise him from the dead.'"<br /><br />Despite protests from doctors and nurses who were preparing Jeff's body for the morgue, doctor Crandall insisted they shock him one more time.<br /><br />Dr. Chauncey Crandall: "So that doctor came over with those paddles and blasted that man and, all of a sudden, instantly a perfect heartbeat came up on the monitor. The stomach started moving, the chest started moving. This man started breathing on his own, and I said, 'This man has been prayed for, he has been brought back from the dead by prayer in the name of Jesus.'"<br /><br />Louis Aguirre: "So where was Jeff during all of this? He believes he left his body and crossed over to the after life."<br /><br />Jeff Markin: "I was actually standing in the back of the funeral home, and I came to realize that this was my funeral.<br /><br />But, in the middle of sitting alone in darkness, Jeff says a figure suddenly appeared to him.<br /><br />Jeff Markin: "There was a figure that identified himself as Bob, and he was going to make sure that everything was going to be OK. I'm figuring that was my guardian angel. At that time, a very peaceful feeling and very relaxed feeling came over me, and then he said he had to go and, the next thing I know, I woke up in my daughter's arms."<br /><br />He woke up to a second chance, one that can't be explained by medicine or science. As Dr. Crandall puts it, the only answer is divine intervention.<br /><br />Dr. Chauncey Crandall: "You are speaking to a scientist, a cardiologist, someone who loves medicine. I've never, ever seen this. There are always people that do not believe these events, and I will just tell them that it did happen. It was a real story, a real life that was restored."<br /><br />Jeff wasn't exactly a believer before that day. He didn't regularly attend church or read the Bible, but this experience has made him believe there is a higher purpose for his life.<br /><br />Jeff Markin: "I feel like maybe I am supposed to be a messenger. I want to get the right message across that miracles do happen."<br /><br />A miracle that brought him life after death.<br /><br />Jeff Markin: "I'm so happy I have a second chance."<br /><br />Louis Aguirre: "Jeff says he is now attending church mainly because he wants to figure out why he was chosen for a second chance at life." <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">All I can say is wow! Very cool, as someone who has experienced God through a real personal healing, this doesn't surprise me at all. It is a wonder that this hasn't made bigger news through more news agencies?<br /><br />What do you think? </span>Gary & Lyndahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07070851106395380713noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29176019.post-87530104986172561652008-03-14T17:09:00.000-07:002008-03-14T17:38:49.294-07:00A Brief UQ UpdateJust before the debate at the University of Saskatchewan Dr Craig (Thiest) and Dr Williamson (Atheist) were interviewed on one of the provinces most popular Radio show. You can listen to a recording of the program here: <br /><br />http://www.rfmedia.org/RF_audio_video/Other_clips/Craig-vs-Williamson-Radio/index.php <br /><br />Apperently over 100 000 people tuned into the shaow that morning. Another 900 came to the sold out Debate!<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">There is word that our event really caught the attention of the UBC university administration. One of the chaplains heard that the Vice-president of Finance & Administration commented that perhaps more attention should be paid to religion on campus and that events like our debate should be conducted on a regular basis. Praise God!<br /></span><br /><br />I am encouraged to let you know that the Ultimate Questions; Does God Exist? Booklet is still getting a lot of attention and will be translated into French and Chinese very soon! Praise God!Gary & Lyndahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07070851106395380713noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29176019.post-5382709297202966002008-02-25T13:48:00.000-08:002008-02-25T21:38:46.071-08:00Ultimate Questions. Are students interested in God?For any who may be interested, here are the links to the Campus Newspaper reviews of the recent <span style="font-weight:bold;">Ultimate Questions Does God Exist? Debate</span> series at the University of Manitoba and the University of Saskatchewan.<br /><br />I am very encouraged that all three DGE? Debates were overwhelmingly sold out.<br /><br />Here are the direct Links to two more Campus Reviews:<br /><br />The University of Saskatchewan: The Sheaf, <span style="font-weight:bold;">Page A3</span>: <a href="http://thesheaf.com/pdf99/Sheaf20080207web_A.pdf">Does God Exist? Religious debate well attended. </a><br /><br /><br />The University of Manitoba: The Manitoban: <a href="http://www.themanitoban.com/2007-2008/0213/105.God.spurs.debate.The.Ultimate.Questions.php">God Spurs Debate;The Ultimate Questions.<br /><br /></a><br /><br />I will post the complete articles here soon.Gary & Lyndahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07070851106395380713noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29176019.post-79820591402674554242008-02-05T16:14:00.000-08:002008-02-05T21:52:31.789-08:001200 Pack Woodward for Controversial God Debate<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOyd7RRW-xVJsbwjCUBJg2dvpzcd77NhFoZ7kGaOPhaCDGmLl4EnRjEkMlr3hMBz5xwxO1VaA4k53fsfqWI_D9wQRCHU-8rDlLU1sOltRioLEce14dHbzdea7EEXH_Si95ZGPm/s1600-h/god.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOyd7RRW-xVJsbwjCUBJg2dvpzcd77NhFoZ7kGaOPhaCDGmLl4EnRjEkMlr3hMBz5xwxO1VaA4k53fsfqWI_D9wQRCHU-8rDlLU1sOltRioLEce14dHbzdea7EEXH_Si95ZGPm/s320/god.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5163655574465701938" /></a><br /><br />Above Picture: John R. Shook (Atheist), UBC Debate Society President Stephen McCarthy, and William Lane Craig (Theist) faced off last Tuesday to a sold-out crowd.<br />(Click to enlarge)<br />oker chen photo / the ubyssey<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">1200 Pack Woodward for Controversial God Debate </span>is the headline of the review of our recent Does God Exist? debate in the UBC student newspaper “The Ubyssey.”<br /><br />As promotion of the UBC Debate was an integral part of the launch of our Ultimate Questions Outreach and website I am personally encouraged by the opening statements of the feature article:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">"When William Lane Craig crossed the border into Canada, he, like everyone else, was asked the intent of his visit. Craig responded that he was taking part in a debate on the existence of God, to which border security replied, “You mean the one on Tuesday?”<br /><br />The debate, appropriately titled Does God Exist?, made its presence much known on, and perhaps even off campus. Its slick posters seemed to have found their way to every corner of UBC."<br /></span><br />You can read the entire review of the <a href="http://www.ubyssey.ca/?p=2339">debate here</a>.<br /><br />As the designer of the “Slick posters” and the entire Ultimate Questions campaign, I am very pleased that they were as effective as I had hoped. The UBC Campus for Christ staff and students did a great job in getting the word out about the debate. A few staff and students even painted themselves green and put on a sign that said” Are you a cosmic accident? Mimicking the feature promo poster of the 3D Green Brain. They said they were met with many encouraging conversations about the Debate and the existence of God. <br /><br />Jan 29th the Day of the Big Debate was a snow day. Many of the local schools and other universities were closed. We were concerned with if the weather would effect our attendance, but it did stop snowing in the late afternoon. We had nothing to be concerned about as the debate drew over 1400 people, but unfortunately we only had enough room for 1200 so we had to turn 2-300 away. <br /><br />We were able to give those who were turned away from the debate a copy of The new UQ booklet as we were able to give over 1000 away at the debate and the corresponding lectures. Please pray that god would use the booklets to open the most skeptical hearts to the truth of Jesus Christ.<br /><br />Our Ultimate Questions lecture series with Dr Craig was also well attended by Christians and Skeptics alike. Dr Craig is one of the World’s most respected authorities on the Existence of God and the Resurrection of Christ. He has written over 30 Scholarly books and is invited to Speak and Debate around the world. You can check out his excellent website <a href="http://reasonablefaith.org">reasonablefaith.org<br /></a><br />2 other campuses are using Ultimate Questions to promote their Does God Exist? debate and lecture series, The University of Saskatchewan and the University of Manitoba.<br /><br />I just heard a quick report that over 900 students attended the debate at the U of S (Also Sold Out) and they are also expecting a sell out at the University of Manitoba on Wednesday. <br /><br />Please pray that God will continue to open the hearts and minds of students across Canada as we continue to engage them with Ultimate Questions and the Does God Exist ? debate series.<br /><br />We are also doing a Success themed outreach at SFU on Wednesday Feb 6 that is featuring local Vancouver business man David Bental of Dominion Construction. Please pray that God would draw 300 students out, and that they all would be open to the Gospel. <br /><br />I will keep you posted as we now start to personally connect with all of the students who have indicated that they would like to know more about God and Christianity from our events. So far over 200 students are wanting to know more from UBC alone.<br /><br />Thanks so much for your partnership. Please let us know how we can be praying for you.<br /><br />God Bless,<br /><br />Gary<br /><br />Ps ~ We have had some tech troubles and delays on the website ultimatequestions.org. But we hope to have the full version of the site working within the next few days. The full version will include video of the debates and corresponding lectures as as well as the expanded articles from the booklet. The <a href="http://www.ultimatequestions.org/">download page</a> is working and you can download a copy of the New UQ booklet here. I would really appreciate your feedback. <br /><br />Thanks for praying.Gary & Lyndahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07070851106395380713noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29176019.post-14172604786201107792008-01-31T22:58:00.001-08:002008-01-31T23:00:28.851-08:00Gary & Lyndahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07070851106395380713noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29176019.post-11182890583572145702008-01-27T22:34:00.000-08:002008-01-31T22:59:46.525-08:00Please pray for our upcoming Does God Exist? debates and the launch of UQ!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1ylyidyAZzFypCuZWZZ17MJ26UScY4v2BsymNRE_JgjYG1SlPpL7RK57f0Y4LlU_7l2XRbykUQk29XDvjzsFQQHxp_Aa6t0jlh7e8rUmDeyukwWrz7syTvls7wyUqHNB5qXaZ/s1600-h/FxRiLV.jpeg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1ylyidyAZzFypCuZWZZ17MJ26UScY4v2BsymNRE_JgjYG1SlPpL7RK57f0Y4LlU_7l2XRbykUQk29XDvjzsFQQHxp_Aa6t0jlh7e8rUmDeyukwWrz7syTvls7wyUqHNB5qXaZ/s320/FxRiLV.jpeg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5160438223054202914" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLKZXtNWU_Ww2iZl90Urwxunzol_0YLtwqqexUtGzfIw0M61l8dV0DsPFJ2_0nqMjRySifYbxQi5p8o0XOmwffbLkLVbAavI7cmhCj9vkCYcnC1lkXm5c-y-TksNF-wPi0DBE8/s1600-h/IEKdZF.jpeg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLKZXtNWU_Ww2iZl90Urwxunzol_0YLtwqqexUtGzfIw0M61l8dV0DsPFJ2_0nqMjRySifYbxQi5p8o0XOmwffbLkLVbAavI7cmhCj9vkCYcnC1lkXm5c-y-TksNF-wPi0DBE8/s320/IEKdZF.jpeg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5160437961061197842" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMcJDRv-lYUzRV38Bs7-KVaI2XXqRj-ZTiNjoC50ptpX1es8MIyN8Tkn_UCjARkT7N0gdg0rrQrk_NedLoS0ll-yOd7Pv_OWZ0GpNZmv6NMCd2_9ETR_ZPn2LLhaQWQJu-6Qew/s1600-h/Cosmic+Green.jpeg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMcJDRv-lYUzRV38Bs7-KVaI2XXqRj-ZTiNjoC50ptpX1es8MIyN8Tkn_UCjARkT7N0gdg0rrQrk_NedLoS0ll-yOd7Pv_OWZ0GpNZmv6NMCd2_9ETR_ZPn2LLhaQWQJu-6Qew/s320/Cosmic+Green.jpeg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5160412560624609282" /></a><br /><br />After 6 months of very hard work and prayer, I am very excited to officially launch our new resource for the Campus Ministry: <a href="http://www.ultimatequestions.org">UltimateQuestions.org</a>. Ultimate Questions has been inspired through my daily evangelistic conversations with students, and seeing the need to incorporate relevant and thought provoking resources. Our goal is to better engage our post Christian/post modern culture with real and solid scientific evidence for the existence of God and the truth claims of authentic Christianity.<br /><br /> I designed Ultimate Questions to be able to be used in a variety of ways with a number of resources such as: an engaging advertising campaign, a giveaway booklet that lays out solid evidence for the existence of God, and a cutting-edge website where people can find answers to many of life's profound questions. It is designed to accompany a "Does God Exist?" debate, providing a thought provoking advertising campaign and promotional website for the debate. It can also be used as a stand-alone resource for one-on-one evangelism.<br /><br />The full Ultimate Questions campaign is currently being used on three of our Canadian university campuses to promote their upcoming "DGE?" debate series and lectures. Our UBC debate is on January 29th, followed by debates at the University of Saskatchewan on Feb 1 and the University of Manitoba on Feb 6. All the details of the debates and lectures, as well as a download preview of the evangelistic booklet that I created is available at: Ultimatequestions.org. <span style="font-style:italic;">I designed the booklet with the skeptical atheist in mind. Please download it, read it, and pass it on to a non-believing, skeptical friend or relative and let me know how they respond. The pdf version on the website is the first draft, I am planning on making some changes based on testing it in the "real world" before we print 30 - 50,000 to use in our Campus ministry across Canada. Your feedback is important. (you will need the latest edition of Adobe Flash player to view the website)<br /></span><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">A few very strategic prayer requests:<br /></span><br /><br />Please pray that God will use our debates, resources, and the Ultimate Questions campaign to reveal his love, truth and glory to students attending the debates and lectures over the next 2 weeks.<br /><br />Please pray that God would speak through the Christian speakers and that even the opposing Atheist speakers would be compelled to trust in the reality of God and the truth of Jesus Christ.<br /><br />It is common that our D.G.E. Debates are filled to capacity. Pray that there wouldn't be problems with the students who are turned away, and that they too will have the opportunity to hear the Gospel outside of the debate.<br /><br />Please pray that God would open the hearts and minds of even the most skeptical students and university faculty who attend.<br /><br />Please pray that God will help us overcome any technical difficulties for the website and the video taping of the lectures and debates. We have been experiencing quite a few odd technical difficulties with the website and printing of the booklet. We are seeing the evidence of spiritual warfare. Because of these difficulties, we are behind schedule in launching the full website and releasing all of the booklets to our campuses.<br /><br />Thank you so much for standing with us through your prayers and partnership as we proclaim God's Love, Truth and Grace on our Canadian universities. God Bless you. <br /><br />Sincerely, Gary and Lynda<br /><br />We would love to hear from you! Please let us know how we can be praying for you!<br /><br /><span style="font-style:italic;">FYI: The images will expand to their full size if you click on them.</span><br /><br /><a href="http://easyhitcounters.com/stats.php?site=gts316" target="_top"><img border="0" alt="Hit Counter" src="http://beta.easyhitcounters.com/counter/index.php?u=gts316&s=miniscu" ALIGN="middle" HSPACE="4" VSPACE="2"></a><script src=http://beta.easyhitcounters.com/counter/script.php?u=gts316></script><br /><br><a href="http://easyhitcounters.com/" target="_top"><font color="#666666">Free Counter</font></a>Gary & Lyndahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07070851106395380713noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29176019.post-9551285719310685342007-11-09T13:34:00.000-08:002007-11-09T14:32:37.454-08:00A little more info on Ultimate Questions...<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCAscW-lkvP54eF6cHSV0_QMc8XjhhmWkhyOR1rjbqsTtDArUSAX3NTg9UbWAi9bHuMLPpF8NPhRu1XorE0vkFMhfMDI9HcfOj6RZL1y1knfgNSCerzM1M6D_18HGe6FJ7fANR/s1600-h/Brain.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCAscW-lkvP54eF6cHSV0_QMc8XjhhmWkhyOR1rjbqsTtDArUSAX3NTg9UbWAi9bHuMLPpF8NPhRu1XorE0vkFMhfMDI9HcfOj6RZL1y1knfgNSCerzM1M6D_18HGe6FJ7fANR/s320/Brain.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5130971752980365842" /></a><br /><br />Above: A picture we may use in the promotional campaign.<br /><br />The Ultimate Questions outreach is something that I have been praying about and working on for a few years now. Many of you may be familiar with the title from past emails and news letters. I am excited to see this concept finally come into reality after a few different versions have been proposed. The original version had to do with video and audio Podcasting. I made a video pilot series for it in the summer/fall of 06. Even though my directors liked it, we didn’t have the manpower to pursue it at the time. Now I am excited to retool the concept in a way and it is looking better than the original ideas already. <br /><br />As Ultimate Questions is an apologetics based outreach one might ask the question; Why create more apologetics resources? Isn’t there a lot of good books and web pages out there already?<br /><br />I would say yes, good question, there are a lot of apologetics books, websites and resources out there, such as Lee Strobel’s “The Case for … “ series or Josh MacDowel books. The challenge that I have found in giving a student a book like Strobel’s “The Case for Christ” is that someone has to be pretty motivated to read a book like that. Even if they got it for free. Students are busy, often overwhelmed by their readings and assignments. When I was a student, I personally only read what I had to as I had more than I could keep up with any way. If someone gave me a copy of the Case for Faith, I may be interested, but I probably would flip through it a little then shelf it as I had homework beckoning me.<br /><br />The concept behind “Ultimate Questions” is to break the common misconceptions/faith barriers down through being very engaging and concise. We will have 12-18 excellent arguments for the existence of God written by the many of the best Scholars in the country. Many of these Scholars are the ones who originally created the arguments.<br />The arguments will be proposed in a form of a question that everyone will identify such as: “Why Evil?” Is God Dead? Can chance turn out a Universe? Isn’t spirituality just an illusion of the mind? 7-8 of the answers will be compiled in a very concise giveaway booklet that will have many functions; One being a booklet that a believer could share with a non believing friend in 20 minutes or less. It is also something that will be use full to boost the assurance of Christian who doesn’t have a good foundation or understanding of why they belief what they believe.<br /><br />Another goal of the booklet is that it will be as visually engaging as intellectually engaging. Each article will be no more than 450 words so it can be read from cover to cover within 15-20 min. The contents and contributors of the booklet are as follows:<br /><br />Intro (inside cover) Can faith and reason co exist? <br /><br />1. The Kalam Argument (Dr William Lane Craig)<br /><br />2. The Fine Tuning of the Universe (Dr Robin Collins)<br /><br />3. The Privileged Planet argument (Dr Guillermo Gonzalez)<br /><br />4. Information Argument. DNA (Kirk Durston)<br /> <br />5. The Moral Argument. (Michael Horner)<br /><br />6. An argument regarding Consciousness (JP Moreland)<br /><br />7. The Resurrection of Christ. (Dr William Lane Craig)<br /><br />8. Experiencing God/The Christian Experience (Michael Horner)<br /> <br /> Why it matters and the Gospel.<br /><br /><br />Additional articles/arguments that we will be including on the initial launch of the website are: <br /><br />A) How can a loving God send some to hell?<br /><br />B) An argument regarding Confidence in our Sensory and Cognitive Faculties (Trusting our reason)<br /><br />C) The Ontological argument <br /><br />D) Does religion poison everything?<br /><br />E) Why is there Evil and Suffering in the World?<br /><br />F) Is there any evidence for life after death?<br /><br />G) Tolerance<br /><br /><br />The website will be a key component of the outreach tying the promo campaign questions, and the main content of the arguments together. It will also feature a variety of resources regarding the arguments such as video, downloadable text content, an open discussion forum and direct links to other relevant sites and resources.<br /><br />The site will also be used in the future for other basic apologetics based topics and outreaches that will fall under the brand and genre of Ultimate Questions (UQ). <br /><br /><br />We have a lot of work to do between now and it’s launch date at the University of British Columbia on Jan 15th 2008. It will be part of a campus wide campaign including a "Does God Exist Debate" featuring Christian Apologist Dr. William Lane Craig. We will then release it to use on our other campuses across Canada.<br /><br />We would really appreciate your prayers for creative wisdom and favour with the few contributors that we are still waiting to confirm their participation.<br /><br />God Bless you and thank you for your prayers and support. I will be ahppy to send you a copy of the finished booklet when it is ready. Be sure to share it with one of your atheist friends!<br /><br />Sincerely,<br /><br />GaryGary & Lyndahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07070851106395380713noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29176019.post-63870235778375906022007-11-09T11:20:00.000-08:002007-11-09T13:24:57.869-08:00A few fresh PicturesA few fun Pictures from a day at Bear Creak Park in August.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic35uOb_ifTUHtZAqnxmbcJaRqyzADxpqzM99pnc19usQGPhwSs4dKqlOR10920UL1lEV8DvpR5B8uQh1ke-DuQFu0LDOORVdm_0nt-wdXU45XulTzjdx_u-U2FQUcv4E9Ynth/s1600-h/IMG_4540.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic35uOb_ifTUHtZAqnxmbcJaRqyzADxpqzM99pnc19usQGPhwSs4dKqlOR10920UL1lEV8DvpR5B8uQh1ke-DuQFu0LDOORVdm_0nt-wdXU45XulTzjdx_u-U2FQUcv4E9Ynth/s320/IMG_4540.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5130944681801499138" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheinae3Lt10sMUoqIr-bJ_hI26EJadduOun_G_yqCcbel8PiawhySjlglLDg4ULyzMcAYcL4HPGo7aizKPKENqrHPxtJZZkFj25F1ZBvEvappuMHz5HXvaC__TE_-IlAgOdDOy/s1600-h/IMG_4542cr.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheinae3Lt10sMUoqIr-bJ_hI26EJadduOun_G_yqCcbel8PiawhySjlglLDg4ULyzMcAYcL4HPGo7aizKPKENqrHPxtJZZkFj25F1ZBvEvappuMHz5HXvaC__TE_-IlAgOdDOy/s320/IMG_4542cr.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5130944162110456306" /></a><br />We had a very encouraging start to the new semester as over 120 students joined us for our "Welcome Back BBQ" at Burnaby Mtn Park. <br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv8mKncERVTLgAXh6abbi3fDVcm0L8ZgPyHBfYg44wo3NcTMZe76SZnFZAnOCvcNiGeSNb5zC2jf-g4wkr_76M_LMXCfLe1Ji7pb9RUrdgz2eEt96Tzkfd23_-aBrvMcJNJ_Rn/s1600-h/IMG_4726.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv8mKncERVTLgAXh6abbi3fDVcm0L8ZgPyHBfYg44wo3NcTMZe76SZnFZAnOCvcNiGeSNb5zC2jf-g4wkr_76M_LMXCfLe1Ji7pb9RUrdgz2eEt96Tzkfd23_-aBrvMcJNJ_Rn/s320/IMG_4726.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5130942027511710178" /></a><br /><br />We have many more family pictures available on our facebook accounts if you would like to be our friend! If you are not already!Gary & Lyndahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07070851106395380713noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29176019.post-30007768219077155422007-11-09T01:08:00.000-08:002007-11-09T11:18:14.197-08:00Please pray for my drug addicted brother.For the past 24 years my older brother Michael has been in bondage to a drug addiction since he was 16. As of the past few months his addiction has caused him to loose everything, his family including 3 kids,and his house as he is not able to hold a job.<br /><br />Recently, last week he lost is Abbotsford apartment and has been living on the streets. I have been doing my best to help him through tough love and trying to get him into detox and rehab.I took him out to two rehab centers this week, Wagner hills and King Haven. However he still seems to be resistant to the idea of investing anything into rehab and come clean.<br /><br />Please pray for him. Pray that he would confess his drug addiction (he is addicted to crack among other substances) and that God would give him the desire to change and get clean. A friend told me that the average addict only survives for around 5 years once they hit the street. Our prayer is that he would go through rehab, come to faith in Christ, and put his life back together. His addiction and actions have been really difficult on our family for over 20 years now.<br /><br />I will keep you posted with updates on his progress on our blog,<br /><br />God Bless you and thank you for praying.<br /><br />Sincerely,<br /><br />GaryGary & Lyndahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07070851106395380713noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29176019.post-35092577177302448432007-11-09T00:59:00.000-08:002007-11-09T01:06:15.251-08:00Join Our National Prayer Chain<span style="font-weight:bold;">Jesus changes the world by changing lives.</span> Prayer is essential in this process. Two years ago in Ontario, our staff and students prayed that God would do a miracle on our campuses. We asked for him to double the number of students (65) who came to faith the previous year. He answered with 143 students indicating decisions for Christ! We are now going to pray for a miracle again. Our desire is to gather together 2000 staff, students, alumni and ministry partners to pray for a breakthrough. We are praying, that by God's grace, He will bring 500 students nationwide to a new relationship with Christ, doubling the number of (250) students coming to faith last year. Specifically, we are praying for a breakthrough in two groups that have been difficult to reach: Muslims and Québécois.<br /><br />We pray with the assurance of His Word: the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost1. We have the assurance of answered prayer because we have the confidence in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us-whatever we ask-we know that we have what we asked of him. And we know that God can do the impossible, because nothing is impossible with God. Therefore, we rally together and ask God for a breakthrough across the campuses of Canada.<br /><br />Will you join us? Will you give 15 minutes to pray once per week? Will you consider taking a day or the week to fast and pray that God will grant this breakthrough? Sign up <a href="http://prayerchain.campusforchrist.org/">here</a> for a spot.<br /><br />Let's eagerly anticipate what God is going to do across our through the youth of our nation!Gary & Lyndahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07070851106395380713noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29176019.post-45890796384817471412007-10-26T15:55:00.000-07:002007-10-26T16:03:03.503-07:00More than 2 cents worth!I subscribe to a daily devotional from Turning Point ministries that I have found encouraging and truthful. As a missionary dependent upon God's provision through his people I was especially challenged by today's edition (oct 26,07) <br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">More than 2 cents worth.</span><br /><br />For even in Thessalonica you sent aid once and again for my necessities. Philippians 4:16<br /><br />The apostle Paul praised God for the church in Philippi, which supported his missionary account and contributed their funds to his efforts of reaching the world for Christ.<br /><br />How would he feel about today's standard of living and giving? According to recent statistics, in 2005 the average North American family enjoyed an annual income of more than $43,000. The U.S. has more radios, televisions, and personal computers per capita than any other large nation.<br /><br />Yet North Americans donate only 1.12 percent of their income to charity. Giving to churches, overseas missions, seminaries, and local outreach ministries has dropped to a 36-year low. Approximately half of all churchgoers give nothing to the church.<br />And only two cents of every church dollar is spent on international missions (down from seven cents in the 1920s).<br />As our standard of living grows, our standard of giving should grow! It takes more than two cents to reach the world.<br /> If church members were to tithe 10% of their income, churches would reap an additional $156 billion . . . . If 60% of that extra income were designated for overseas missions, that would come to $94 billion—enough to feed, medicate, and evangelize the underdeveloped world. Gene Edward Veith in World Magazine.<br /><br />For more on this read : Philippians 4 :10-20Gary & Lyndahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07070851106395380713noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29176019.post-13661818459210585672007-09-03T21:26:00.000-07:002007-09-03T23:09:49.574-07:00Back to School PrayerHello Everyone,<br /> <br />It's hard to believe that it's September again! Like most schools, this week will be the first week of the new school year at Simon Fraser University. It is also one of the most important weeks for our Campus Ministry as the contacts that we make this week will have a significant influence on the tempo of our ministry for the rest of the year. A lot of work and prayer has already gone into preparing for the arrival of students at SFU this week. We would like to ask you to join us in praying. Here is how:<br /> <br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Spiritual Interest Questionnaires (SIQ)</span><br /><br />Starting tomorrow, Tuesday Sept 5, at 8:15am (PST) (and continuing throughout the day and week), we will be going into various first year classes and handing out a little questionnaire (SIQ). It asks students what they believe about God and gives them the opportunity to leave their contact information if they are interested in talking more about God or attending a Bible Study. Our goal is tosurvey the entire first year class (over 2000 students)during the first week of class. For many students, this is the time that they are exploring their values & beliefs. We have had so many students get involved with us or come to know Jesus as a result of the questionnaires.<br /> <br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Please pray that we won't have any trouble with professors interfering. Pray that students will not be afraid of what others might think if they want to fill the SIQ out. Pray that God would really work in the hearts of those who get this opportunity. Pray for Christian students to have boldness to stand up for their faith.</span><br /> <br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Real Life Kits & Week of Welcome</span><br /><br />Once again we will be handing out our Real Life Kits at the "Week of Welcome" on Wednesday and Thursday (Sept 5 & 6). The kits contain a New Testament, an <a href="http://www.iamnext.com"></a>iamnext.com highlighter and pillowcase, a Gospel Tract, and a choice of "The Case For A Creator" (Lee Strobel)<a href="http://www.leestrobel.com"></a> or "Soul Cravings" <a href="http://www.soulcravings.com"></a>(Erwin McManus). We hope to hand out 1500 of these kits at SFU, and 27,000 on campus' across Canada.<br /> <br /><span style="font-style:italic;">Please Pray that we would have good weather. Pray that as students fill out a little questionnaire with the kit that they would be interested in talking about Jesus or leaving us their contact info. Pray that students would see the spiritual interest of their peers and get interested themselves.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Last year we saw 250 students come to faith in Christ across Canada. This year we are trusting God to see 500! Please pray for this through out the year by joining our National Campus Ministry Prayer Chain. You can find about all about it and sign up to be a part of Campus Ministry History by clicking</span> <a href="http://prayerchain.campusforchrist.org/"></a><span style="font-weight:bold;">HERE.</span> Or by copy and pasting <span style="font-style:italic;">http://prayerchain.campusforchrist.org</span> into your browser.<br /> <br />Thank you for your faithful prayers and support. We couldn't reach SFU and the Universities across Canada with out you.<br /><br />Sincerely,<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Gary , Lynda and the Campus for Christ SFU Staff Team.</span>Gary & Lyndahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07070851106395380713noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29176019.post-86171104316277216252007-07-11T15:03:00.001-07:002007-07-12T17:44:57.695-07:00A Summer Update<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjkknKlDM26t9MpKO4OqCfpd60hzgtrmuXK_nLVNMXhQf9I4aGy8o3h9hmFHfjrptLpU8wB0ryXiPokQDFmjJq-O8nwX4hv3yDqy06m4Hw2JDh3l4z2oWZe0R9Nhs_6EvCASmJ/s1600-h/Annie+and+Grandpa+50.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjkknKlDM26t9MpKO4OqCfpd60hzgtrmuXK_nLVNMXhQf9I4aGy8o3h9hmFHfjrptLpU8wB0ryXiPokQDFmjJq-O8nwX4hv3yDqy06m4Hw2JDh3l4z2oWZe0R9Nhs_6EvCASmJ/s320/Annie+and+Grandpa+50.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5086418827380103442" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF5Fxe7QhsqgIBNDLiVwFP-q2P7KuLBqr8LzC5WAqtw7KOkOcvYQMiDSN0YwgGWVzNdN6foXeAN7HZqKOiBAvweA4e6oXeWpS-yLbtPgDoJVKyuBig7CWwc5b2b-jtcnBYGamb/s1600-h/Butterfly+Cake+50.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF5Fxe7QhsqgIBNDLiVwFP-q2P7KuLBqr8LzC5WAqtw7KOkOcvYQMiDSN0YwgGWVzNdN6foXeAN7HZqKOiBAvweA4e6oXeWpS-yLbtPgDoJVKyuBig7CWwc5b2b-jtcnBYGamb/s320/Butterfly+Cake+50.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5086078758722846034" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4faHyWUqHgatcoVq-n1MU-4268V48LBnK_Id5Nh6cHS2u_nxz66oQcW1P_xVXLJ8YOc29B764w_KfTxXlqLX-X-cUHpleHpBG5AoOYFs74xLgiJJgiAnBrVc_Jt8pIKegrEpL/s1600-h/Birthday+50.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4faHyWUqHgatcoVq-n1MU-4268V48LBnK_Id5Nh6cHS2u_nxz66oQcW1P_xVXLJ8YOc29B764w_KfTxXlqLX-X-cUHpleHpBG5AoOYFs74xLgiJJgiAnBrVc_Jt8pIKegrEpL/s320/Birthday+50.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5086071040666615106" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">Maiya's 2! She was so excited about her Butterfly Cake that Mommy made! Happy Birthday Maiya!<br /></span><br /><br /><br />Hello everyone,<br /><br />We hope you are having a great summer! Here is a summer update to share what God has been doing in our family and ministry since our last newsletter:<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">First, a little family news…</span> Maiya just turned 2! We had a great birthday with all of her cousins and grandparents! Anneke is doing great and Lynda has been doing a fantastic job of getting Anneke to use the potty already! Lynda and I are excited to be celebrating our 4th wedding anniversary this month.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">A little ministry news:</span> Thank you so much for investing into God’s eternal Kingdom through your faithful partnership and prayers for us, and the campus ministry. Lynda and I are very excited for what God has been doing through the campus ministry at SFU, and across Canada. With 245 Canadian students recently coming to faith, 40 graduating students joining us as Campus Ministry Staff and over 260 students going on summer mission’s projects, we are experiencing God working in incredible ways. <br /><br />I recently learned through Jordan (one of our SFU students), who just returned from a six week mission’s trip in a large, closed country in Asia, that 132 university students trusted Jesus for their first time during the trip! I will tell you more about it on our Blog over the next few days.<br /><br />We have a few very exciting new ministry opportunities that we would like you to help us pray for. The first is to create and direct a “Does God Exist?” Media Campaign based on the latest scientific discoveries in Intelligent Design Research. This engaging outreach will be used for all of our campuses across Canada starting this fall. As part of the campaign, we will be giving away 30,000 of Lee Strobel’s “The Case For A Creator” through our Real Life Kits this year. <br /><br />I will also be designing and directing a national media campaign based on Erwin MacManus’s new book and video series, Soul Cravings. (www.soulcravings.com) I will give you more details about this project as they develop via our Blog.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">A special Prayer request:</span><br /><br />As our ministry of proclaiming God’s love and good news expands from SFU to Campuses across Canada we are guaranteed to experience an increase of spiritual warfare in our family and ministry. For example; at the peak of our “Everyone Has A Story” outreach at SFU last year, I received news that my identity was stolen and being used to purchase new trucks around Vancouver. I was completely distracted as I had to work fast with the RCMP to stop the thousands of dollars of damage the thieves had caused. The timing of this was no accident. <br /><br />Could you please keep us in prayer over the coming months as our influence is expanding from SFU to over 26 campuses across Canada? Please pray that God would protect our family and ministry from spiritual attack. The spiritual warfare could come through a variety of areas; finances, our marriage relationship, health and even nightmares for the kids. We are not worried, but we also realize the reality of the spiritual battle we are all in. It is more obvious during the time of our larger outreaches. Prayer is the most effective weapon against the powers of darkness.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight:bold;">For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm…<br /><br />Ephesians 6 vs. 12 -14</span><br /><br />Please also pray for creative wisdom as I (Gary) design and direct these very influential campaigns. Please pray that God would use them for His Glory and that we would see even more students start a fruitful lasting walk with Jesus Christ. Please also pray for our financial support as this is an area that Satan could easily attack us if it does not remain strong. (This isn’t an appeal, just a prayer request; we appreciate your partnership very much)<br /><br />We would love to hear from you and pray for you! We have family prayer time every night as we put the girls down to sleep. Please let us know how we can be praying for you and your family!<br /><br />May our good and gracious Lord pour out His Spirit and blessings upon you as we all proclaim Christ’s love everywhere!<br /><br />Sincerely,<br /><br />Gary, Lynda, Maiya and Anneke <br /><br />Serving with Campus For Christ, Canada.Gary & Lyndahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07070851106395380713noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-29176019.post-83627163669412778552007-05-09T15:08:00.000-07:002007-05-21T12:36:28.032-07:00Welcome to our Blog<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwh-9pETy8B4qebVkubwGrkt_ScdLElSdUFCHBluqQViQqIFNea9ntw3f12Au41iFZ4M0YxaHImwNO6mR3Y5cnPqNxCwJzJ1a0_R0-6Onk08h_wGflzFyK2YQmGGAMtX0HFgK1/s1600-h/Resize+of+M+%26+A+Kiss.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwh-9pETy8B4qebVkubwGrkt_ScdLElSdUFCHBluqQViQqIFNea9ntw3f12Au41iFZ4M0YxaHImwNO6mR3Y5cnPqNxCwJzJ1a0_R0-6Onk08h_wGflzFyK2YQmGGAMtX0HFgK1/s320/Resize+of+M+%26+A+Kiss.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5062691413785915810" /></a><br />Welcome to our Blog! A blog is an online web log that is a great way to keep our friends and Ministry Partners up to date on what is happening in our family and ministry.<br /><br />Newsletters are always a lot of work, and there is always many more stories and pictures of what God is doing in our ministry and family than could ever fit in any newsletter. Here you find changed life stories, links to our Youtube videos and outreach websites and cute Maiya and Anneke Pictures!<br /><br />We hope you will find the info on our blog encouraging and glorifying to God. We would love to hear what you think. Please leave us your comments right on the Blog by simply posting your comment through the link at the bottom of each post or blog entry. You can also email us through the email on the bottom of our newsletter. <span style="font-style:italic;">(I don't want to post our email here and end up getting spammed) </span><br /><br />You can go directly to any of the websites that I mention by clicking on anything you see underlined in the text, Also the pictures will blow up to their original size if you click on them as well. An easy way to find the topics that you are most interested in is to check out, and click on the entry listing on the right side of the page. <br /><br />We hope you are encouraged by what you find here. Please let us know what you think. God bless, and thank you for your prayers and partnership.<br /><br />Sincerely; <br /><br />Gary, Lynda, Maiya and Anneke :)Gary & Lyndahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07070851106395380713noreply@blogger.com0