Styrofoam Walls

Our fabled Styrofoam Walls

“Pastor”, Olga, our children’s minister pleaded, “We’ve got to put something up on the walls to keep the children from getting splinters in their hands.” “Yeah, but what?” I pondered. “Hmmm, maybe, Styrofoam?” she suggested.

 

It all started with a lack of space, which is a common problem in our church. On Sundays, our children meet in an army surplus tent that we pitched in the church’s front yard. The tent works great, but its roof is supported by a singular, central pole over which the roof canvas is draped. What this means is that inside the tent the ceiling is quite high in the center near the pole, but as you move away from the pole towards the perimeter it sharply slants down to a minimum height of four feet. While four feet is tall enough for a seated individual, the only comfortable spot to stand upright is near the central pole. In other words, standing space is limited, yet is sorely needed. For this reason, Olga, approached me and shared that we needed to prepare another location for the children to conduct Praise and Worship in, a place where they could not only stand, but jump as well.

 

We finally came up with a place for the children’s ministry to conduct Praise and Worship in – the unfinished, unroofed foyer of our future “big” building. The only problem was that the walls were fashioned of squared off logs laden with Grade-A size splinters. It was clear that if we held Praise and Worship for the children in this foyer, they would emerge afterwards looking like bi-pedal porcupines. The only solution was to try to cover the walls with something to keep the splinters at bay. We considered cloth, cardboard, and wallpaper, but due the “no roof” factor, we knew that these materials would be destroyed after the next big rain. It was then that Olga came up with the brilliant plan of sheeting the foyer with panels of Styrofoam that we had planned to use to insulate the church’s attic with. It turned out to be just what the doctor ordered. The snowy white Styrofoam panels did indeed keep the splinters away from the children and vice versa, and rain can’t touch them. It might not look the best, but it’ll do for now! 

When You Wish Upon a Star

 

Here they are ladies and gentlemen – Inga and Meghan Maxey, voted “most lovely” Mother and Child in Khabarovsk! They won this prestigious honor by unanimous vote, and in the process have become fabulous stars in their own domain. Of course, it must be admitted that only three votes were cast, from Diana, Michael, and me, BUT the point is they won hand’s down.

 

It is appropriate that today’s photo pictures Inga along with our daughter Meghan. Inga is the quintessential mother. I have not seen anyone love and cherish their children as much as Inga does – naturally, I am biased in my judgment. From bottles to diapers, from snacks to meals, from mending clothes to washing them, from wiping tears from cherubic cheeks to kissing them, from pushing strollers to carrying groceries, from making up stories to reading them, from playing with toys to repairing them, from correcting to comforting, from disciplining to loving…Inga is the sum of it all. Is she perfect? Not quite, but she’s edging up on it. I love to see the grace of God work in her life. If God can empower one to be a good mother, then empowering one to be a good pastor is a piece of cake in comparison.

 

Inga, thank you for being such a wonderful wife and mother! Your children and husband call you “blessed”. “Many have done well, but you excel them all.” (Proverbs 31:29). God is fulfilling the desires of your heart.

 

We love you!

All Suited Up

I am on a roll with the pictures today. Here is another picture that I just couldn’t help but show you. It portrays Diana with her gymnastics class. This troupe of little girls is just too much! By the way, the reason why there are green spots all over one of the girl’s face is because her mother dabbed an anti-bacterial, iodine-type substance on some scabbed-over chicken pox sores she was recovering from. Unfortunately, this substance, though extremely effective, is pine green in color.

 

Princess Di

 

Inga recently snapped a photo of Diana posing by this beautiful lavender bush, and I realized that it is worthy of its own entry, even without words. Fatherly pride swells my chest as I look at Diana – she has a heart of gold and the looks of a classical Russian ballerina stolen from the stages of a Swan Lake production. Nevertheless, the thing about Diana that blesses me the most is her sincere and very fervent love for Christ. One of her favorite questions to ask strangers is, “Do you know Jesus?” The amazing thing is, neither Inga or I have asked, forced, or even encouraged her to talk about her faith in Jesus – it just comes out of her naturally. Honestly, Diana is an inspiration to me when it comes to sharing the Good News. 

 

In Search of the Ideal Pocket Knife

If you’re like me, you don’t like to carry much in your pockets. I don’t even like to carry a wallet. The thing is none of my pants, even jeans, look right with a big bulge protruding from mid-thigh as if I had a quadriceps hernia. Even though I love knives, few of them are designed to ride comfortably in one’s pocket without creating an unsightly protuberance. The unfortunate thing is that most knives which are small enough to not create a problem in the pocket, are much too small to be of use. Unless you only need a knife to cut pieces of twine with, these smaller knives just don’t hack it. The good news is that after much searching I have found what I consider to be the ultimate pocket knife – the SOG Access Card.

 

The Card is not only easy to carry in your pocket; it is large enough to do just about any task the average man might face. This knife is called the “Card” for a reason: it is roughly the shape of a credit card and almost as thin. Its ingenious slim-line design allows it to sport a 2.7” blade of incredibly high quality Seki-Japan steel without being bulky. The blade fixes with an Arc-Lock mechanism which is durable and solid; actually, it’s the best locking mechanism I’ve come across. As an additional bonus, the knife sports a toothpick, tweezers, and eye-glasses screwdriver. Laugh, if you will, but the toothpick and screwdriver come in as handy as the blade itself. Oh, and did I mention that it only weighs 2 ounces?!? For reasons you can imagine it is easier to carry the flat, credit card dimensioned “Card” than the average “margarine stick” shaped cutter, and that makes it the ideal pocket knife.

 

No, I am not an SOG salesman, I pastor a church, but I am sold on the Card. It has served me well for two years and counting. If you want to get an affordable gift for your dad, brother, boss, or for yourself, then consider this sweet little treat.

 

If you Google “SOG Access Card” you’ll find lots of online shops you can purchase the “Card” at for around $40.00

 

Need a good pocket knife? Look no further… the Card has arrived!

 

 

 

Happy Birthday Meghan!

One year ago, our precious bundle of joy, Meghan Elizabeth Maxey, entered into this world. Meghan was special from the start. For one thing, she had to stay in the hospital with her mommy a few extra days till her very high bilirubin levels went down to normal. While Meghan reclined under ultra-violet lights in a plexi-glass box under the tender care of Inga perched in a nearby rocking chair, Diana, Michael, and I battled a strong case of “I’m missing you” syndrome till the doctors finally let Meghan and mommy come home. From that day on, Meghan soared.

 

The first Sunday of her life, Meghan was in church and she has rarely missed a service since then. God has blessed her with vibrant health and a healthy appetite. Her food of choice is pureed sweet potatoes, with formula a close second. Meghan always has a ready smile and truly is joyful, though for some unexplained reason she never once slept through the night till she was nine months old. Praise God, she has now kissed insomnia goodbye and sleeps like a baby (not surprisingly) clear through the night till morn. The extra energy from sound sleeping has enabled her to develop her crawling skills to an almost supernatural level and she is just on the verge of walking. In fact, she has taken some independent steps already, but so far, they are few and far between. I think the excitement of her first birthday party may instill an intense desire for bipedal activity which will finally spur her towards mobile freedom.

 

“But what is her first word?” you urge. Well, her first word would be “Na-na”. This word is amazingly rich in depth and meaning. Apparently it can be used to describe both the Columbia space shuttle and a long-whiskered roach and everything in between. For instance, I am referred to as “Na-na” and so are Inga, Diana and Michael. The amazing thing about “Na-na” is that it can be a noun, verb, adjective, gerund, adverb and pronoun depending on the context. It is such a versatile word, that whole bundles of thoughts can be relayed by simply saying “Na-na” half a dozen times. In fact, according to Meghan it is the only truly necessary word for any and every purpose. I have to admit that I am slightly jealous.

 

In closing, I want to address Meghan personally and tell her how much I love her and adore her. She is a gift from heaven, the apple of my eye. When she was born, she made her already rich daddy positively wealthy. After a long day’s work, there’s nothing like being greeted at the front door by a rapidly crawling baby girl, making a beeline straight for me before finally clutching on to the hem of my trousers, pulling herself upright arm over arm, trouser handful after handful, and at last uttering the word, “Na-na!” with a broad smile spread over her cherubic face.

 

Meghan, your family loves you!

 

Happy Birthday!

Cherry on Top

When I was little, my favorite part of an ice cream Sundae was the ruby red Maraschino cherry perched atop a glistening mound of whipped cream. I would gingerly remove the cherry from its ensconced position in the fluff, set it carefully aside on a napkin, and proceed to eat the ice cream. Only when the ice cream was consumed would I turn my undivided attention to the cherry – my juvenile theory was “save the best to last”.

 

Aside from the fundamentally important construction project quintuplet I penned about in the previous post, there is yet another summer project for Fountain of Life Church that is a little like the cherry snuggled in whipped cream. Early spring of this year, we dreamed up the idea of building a fantastic playground for our church kids. We planned to buy state-of-the-art playground equipment and place it all on an injury-free rubberized surface. Accordingly, we found a local company that specializes in installing playgrounds and they offered to put one in for us for the cost of $10,000. By faith, we set a goal make our dream reality before winter sets in.

 

One fine day, I received an email from the children’s pastor, Vicki Jesseph, of Victory Church in Bartlesville, Oklahoma which is very dear to our hearts. Vicki mentioned that she had read one of our newsletter articles about our playground project, and she had decided that the children of their church would spend several months raising money towards this project.

 

A month or two later, we received another email from Vicki and its contents overwhelmed us. The children of Victory Church had raised $2,600 towards our playground project! We were completely amazed and grateful beyond words. It is simply astounding that the children of Victory Church were able to raise such a large offering. They have sown bountifully and they shall reap bountifully.

 

Now, we only have $7,400 left to go before a beautiful playground will be strategically placed on our church’s property. And just like a luscious Maraschino cherry, we believe it will be a blessing not only to our church kids but be a wholesome enticement to many unsaved kids as well.

Top Five

This summer we set a goal for “Fountain of Life Church” to complete five crucial projects:

 

1) Build an addition on to the front of the church.

2) Enclose our property with a security fence.

3) Dig a well so we’ll have a source of water.

4) Install an air conditioner.

5) Install a gas furnace.

 

…collectively known as the “fundamental five”.

 

After careful calculation, we estimate that the price tag for these five projects will be $25,600.00. I have phenomenal news to share about God’s provision concerning the “fundamental five”! Let me tell you, God is FAITHFUL!

 

Just recently, we received a generous offering from a church in Singapore for the amount of $10,000.00 towards our addition. This timely and bountiful offering has taken a big bite out of the grand total that we need for all five projects and is more than half what we need to build the addition. We only lack about $6,000.00 before this crucial project (the addition) becomes history, in a good sense of the word.

 

Amazingly, our church was able to raise the money to buy itself an air conditioner, which I wrote an article on just a few days ago. It thrilled my soul to see our congregation rise to the challenge and give by faith. That purchase allows us to cross of one of the “fundamental five” and reduces our grand total needed by $1,250.00.

 

Of the $25,600 that we need to wipe out our five major projects only $14,200.00 remains. Yes, I know that 14.2k is not a small sum, but you know, our Daddy is rich. And He has promised to meet all our needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus!

 

At a glance…

 

1) Addition – $15,600 has been reduced to $5,600.00

2) Fence – $4,300

3) Gas Furnace – $1,300

4) Water well – $3,000

5) Air conditioner – $1,250 paid in full.

 

Amount left to go: $ 14,200.00

 

We thank God for what He has done and for what He is going to do.

Hello Kitty

 

 

                        Deborah

 

Lately, we have been combating an infestation of vermin at the church. Thankfully, we seem to have gained the upper hand and are prevailing. Probably the biggest contributor to our success is an extermination firm that we hired to poison the beasties. It looks like their poison is doing the trick. Apparently, their particular brand of poison not only kills its rodent victim, but first it creates an unquenchable thirst in the “little gnawer” which makes it frantically search for a source of water. This is helpful since it generally facilitates the rodent leaving the building and running outside, making a beeline for the nearest puddle of water. The point being that the rodent will most likely expire outside, rather than inside the walls of your building where its corpse could release a stench of decay.  

 

As delightfully inventive as this poison is, I am still of the persuasion that nothing can quite beat a good Mouser for rodent termination. We used to have a great mouser at the church, but he passed away due to an untimely case of heart worms. Since then, we have been in search of another cat with similar hunting skills. Several helpful souls from the church attempted to assist us by donating their unwanted house pets, but not one of those fat boys lasted more than a day outside. I was almost ready to give up hope that we’d find another good mouser, when it happened…

 

I went into our large, unfinished building to check something out, when all of a sudden I heard a faint mewing issuing forth from under a pile of lumber. I crept forward to detect who was making the noise when all of a sudden a furry, black little head popped out from under the boards and gazed at me with yellow eyes. It was a KITTEN! I could hardly believe it. Some how or another, a little kitten made its way to our church and established its residence right in our midst.

 

A week has passed and Deborah, the name I chose for her after ancient Israel’s valorous judge, has remained. Every time I look at her she reminds me of God’s provision. I couldn’t prove it, but I wouldn’t be surprised if she didn’t come to us via Angel Express.

LG to the rescue

Judging by the soft-boiled faces, flushed rosy pink, wreathed with damp hair, and covered with a thin sheen of sweat the Sunday morning congregation was over-cooked beyond the point of being able to receive the message I was sharing. Forty to fifty people stuffed in a little room combined with sky-high temperatures and near 100% humidity spelled doom for my beautiful sermon. When push comes to shove, no matter how wonderful the message is too much heat can turn even the most dedicated believer into a limp vegetable, whose only thoughts are ice-cold lemonade and sprinklers. After the service, a large number of people told me I was a hero for being able to preach in such conditions. When I got home and peeled off my dress shirt I saw why they called me a hero – my baby blue shirt had turned a deep navy from perspiration. It was then and there that I made a decision that no matter the cost, we had to invest in an air-conditioner for the church. My reasoning was simple: no air-conditioner, no congregation; get air-conditioner, retain congregation.

 

Our church administrator, Sveta Malcheva, spent all day Tuesday making calls trying to find a good buy on air-conditioners. Her hard work and perseverance paid off and we found an excellent quality unit made by LG for a reasonable price. After we paid for the unit, it was delivered and installed the very next day with no hassle. This is a miracle in and of itself, since it is not unusual to have to wait at least a month for an air-conditioner to be installed after purchase due to the high volume of sales in the summer season. As the first cool breeze begin to stream forth from our new mechanical marvel and lightly caress my forehead and cheeks, I couldn’t help but expel a loud, “Praise the Lord!” As the church building began to cool down, it was obvious that our lives would never be the same again in a VERY good sense.

 

 

 

                                      

            Outside                                                          Inside