Love in the trenches

  And the King will say, "I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the lest of these my brothers and sisters, you where doing it for me!"

Mathew 25:40

What is ministry?  What does it look like?

A ditch is not the first thing that may come to mind when you say you are involved in ministry.  A shovel, pipe, pry-bar and some sweat equity are not usually tools associated with sharing the Gospel of Christ.  But if you read the New Testament closely you will see these would be the tools most likely for Jesus to have used.  Christ spoke to those in need where they where.  He talked fishing to fishermen, planting to the farmers, and even about debts to tax collectors.  Christ comes to people in need where they are.  He does not wait for someone to bring them to church.  He doesn't depend on organizations to meet there needs.  He loves them now.  Listens to there needs, and helps to meet those needs. 

Sometimes the physical need was meet as a means to introduce the Gospel and yet others the physical need was used a tool to open there hearts to the Gospel.  Christ was about feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, and healing the sick.  Should we as His followers not be doing the same.  Look around your city and I would imagine you can quickly identify a need if you look with your heart and not just your eyes. 

Christ came that through His perfect life, voluntary death in our place on the cross, and His resurrection we may be saved to glorify God the father.  It is simple to understand, simple to explain, but hard for us to share.  Why?  We are afraid of conflict maybe.  Afraid we won't know what to say, or even afraid we are not good enough.

We are called to make disciple's in the book of Acts.  Not some of us, all of us.  Give your life to ministry in the name of Christ and see what might happen.  Whether serving in a nursing home playing games with some senior saints.  Cutting firewood for those in poor health, serving in a soup kitchen to share the food of life.  The opportunities are endless, and the reward of being in Gods will is unexplainable. 

What did you get for Christmas?

                                                         What did you get for Christmas?
In our youth we may have called our best friend on Christmas day and asked "What did you get?".   Even as an adult the question has been asked hundred of times over the last few days "Did you have a good Christmas?.  Our immediate thoughts may turn to what we received or even what we where able to give to our children.  These are not bad things, it is blessed to give and receive.  We give because of our love of for others and in some cases because of the love that Christ has shown us.  God is pleased to see His people giving,  right? 

I think the question I have seen this year is more, what have you seen this Christmas.  Many of us may have spent our first Christmas without a loved one.  Or struggled through this season without the security of a job.  You see when we look back on life there will be very few things that we count as valuable.  What we will hold dear are memories.  Memories of family around a tree, or friends at the table, serving together for the cause of Christ. 

The things I am most thankful for this Christmas are memories of this year.  A year in which we have seen lost souls come to Christ.  A year that has seen families in Tennessee pull together in the aftermath of tornado's to love as Christ loved.  A smile on one of the saints at the Brian center as she received a pair of socks for Christmas.  A young boy who just wanted a Christmas tree for Christmas.   Hundreds of families smiling as they are provided food for the next few days.  A family who's mom is sick and unable to feed them move into a home where food and education are guaranteed.  Christ has truly blessed the Carpenter's Heart over the last 12 months.

These last months have seen the land be paid off, grading completed, water brought to the property, foundation completed, and the block structure complete to the roof.  There where over 300 families feed, over 200 salvation's, 4 baptism's, two baby christening's, beds bought, a child provided with a wheelchair, a debt paid for a refrigerator and all this occurred in a third world country. 

In Tennessee there where 4 families that received some help with things from clean-up after the tornado's to hanging insulation, siding, roofing , and building decks.  All those are things that will one day fade but the love and bond of those involved will never disappear.

We saw over 100 new shoes distributed and many children received backpacks here in northern Buncombe Co and Madison.  Teachers and children alike have seen the stress of going back to school eased as we shared that Christ provides for our needs. 

This year has seen a family receive a simple wheelchair ramp built to ease the burden of access to there house. 

Over the last several months there have been many smiles and even some laughter as members have spent time with the wonderful family of friends at the Brian Center.  Christmas was a time of carolling and handing out over 130 pairs of socks and cards.  Even more than that was time spent talking to dear friends and brothers and sisters in Christ. 

What a year God has blessed us with!!  The things that have been done this year have nothing to do with the people of this ministry, but occur through the power of the Lord.  Christ has blessed this year.  It is always good to reflect on what God has done, but we want to focus on what is ahead as well.  The reason the rear view mirror is smaller than the windshield is to make sure you are always going forward.  We feel God is still calling this ministry to serve, share, and love. 

We want to thank you for the many prayers, the wonderful words, and the financial support that so many have given to allow God to complete His work over the last year.  We want to encourage anyone who may read this to get involved in what God is doing either here or elsewhere.  There are many opportunities for every age and ability to serve the Lord.  We are always seeking volunteers to pray, serve, and love in the name of Christ.

We are planning on continuing all of the ministries listed above into 2012.  To do so we will need prayer warriors, volunteers, and funds.  If you feel led to help in any of these areas we would love to plug you in and get you going to serve the Lord.  You may email us at thecarpentersheart@yahoo.com   or find us on Facebook.  If you would like to make an end of the year tax deductible donation you may do so through pay pal at www.carpentersheart.org  You may also make checks out to the Carpenters heart and mail them to PO Box 1220 Weaverville NC 28787.  Remember 100% of all money given will go directly to the mission field and sharing the love of Christ. 

Thank you for your support.  May God bless you and keep you.  Help us eat this elephant one bite at a time.

Seeking to Serve: How do you eat an elephant

Seeking to Serve: How do you eat an elephant: James 1 : 27 Pure religion and undefiled before God the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep...

How do you eat an elephant

James 1 : 27
Pure religion and undefiled before God the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.

What does that mean in todays terms?

We can reason in our minds that we could never make a difference, that the problems are far greater than we could ever take on ourselves.  The large numbers of children without parents in the world is an issue for governments to take on, not individuals, right?

Matthew 17: 20
Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If you have the faith as a grain of a mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.


The lasting saying from the trip in November will be "How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time."

On day one of the work at the orphanage there was a pile of dirt that was going to have to be moved by hand and spread throughout the interior of several rooms.  The dirt had the consistency of play-doogh, and the shovels we had just bought seemed to break like toothpicks.  The work was, to say the least discouragingly slow.  As the day progressed one of the team members made the statement that we where eating an elephant.  We laughed until he explained that the only way to do it was simply one bite at a time.  What a statement,  one bite at  a time.

Since God has given us this project their have been days where we have been overwhelmed.  Their has been times of frustration.  Days that we just felt to small to make a difference.  It is on those days I pray that we all realize it is not us who will make a difference, but Christ alone.  You see in the parable of the mustard seed the truth isn't that you just need faith.  The truth is you need faith in Christ and His power to do all things to bring glory to the Father.  As the dirt pile disappeared as the day went on, God was reaffirming that we are on the right path with this project.

From the blessing of seeing a family rescued from a hillside shack, to seeing God raise walls from a corn field.  The little bites only seem little to those on the outside looking in.  You see to the 250 families that received food, or the families who are no longer sleeping on the floor, to the new brothers and sisters in Christ who are no longer headed to eternal suffering there where some very big bites taken out of the elephant.

You see we can't fix the hurts of all the orphans in the world, but it isn't our job.  God calls each and every one of us to minister as He has gifted us.  For some it means building.  For others it may be singing.  Yet others will teach.  Whatever your spiritual gift may be, use it for the glory of the Lord.  As we celebrated Thanksgiving I wondered why has God given so much to my family, and the only response I can think of is that God gave to us to give to others.

We are just around $5,000 short of finishing the block work on the orphanage site.  God truly has blessed this year to see so much of the elephant be eaten away, yet there is more to do.  If you have been blessed by God this year would you consider a donation to this project.  God may not have called you to Honduras, but that doesn't mean He isn't calling you to take a bite.  Pray for this project and the leadership team to stay in the center of Gods will.  Give if you can to this project, every day spent in construction is a day that we are unable to feed the hungry, cloth the naked, and care for the fatherless.

Help us move this mountain and make a difference in the lives of those in Honduras.   Donate today through check @ PO Box 1220, Weaverville NC, 28787 or online via paypal @ www.carpentersheart.org.

Seeking to Serve: Beans, rice and flour for Christ.

Seeking to Serve: Beans, rice and flour for Christ.: What can a couple hundred pounds of rice, beans, and flour do to advance the kingdom of Christ? ...

Beans, rice and flour for Christ.

What can a couple hundred pounds of rice, beans, and flour do to advance the kingdom of Christ?

                                                     James 2 : 15
 "Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes or daily food.  If one of you say to him  Go, I wish you well ; keep warm and fed, but does nothing about the physical needs, what good is it?"  NIV

On November 4th a team of 36 Americans and five Hondurans followed Christ's example to feed His people.  For a week the Carpenter's Heart was allowed to serve Christ simply by handing out a four day supply of food for a family of four to over 250 families.  You may wonder why food, or what good is a week of food?  Simply put, it is what Christ called us to do.

You see all throughout the gospels Christ show us the way to demonstrate true love.  Meet physical needs as an example of the love we have in our hearts for a person.  After we have shown our love in an outward example we can then tell of the reason for our love.  In the same way that Christ came to the world and met physical needs through miracles before He paid the final price for our greatest need, we can do the same as we point to Him.

IN a country the size of Tennessee, there are 7.8 million people living in mostly rural farming communities struggling to survive.  Over 50% of this population lives below the poverty level of less than 745 dollars per year(US).  over 80 percent of the poorest population leave in the mountain's with less than 40% having access to safe drinking water.  To us a week of food doesn't sound like much, but imagine being in the shoes of a 15 year old girl.  Abandoned to care for your 3 younger siblings in a 5 X 5 house on the side of a rain drenched mountain.  As you lay down each night on the dirty floor you pray that you can protect your family and maybe give them a hot meal.  You awake to the reality that you must go to the river to get dirty water and hope that no one will hurt your siblings or even worse take what you may have while you are gone.  You pull a bucket of somewhat clean water and return home to hungry brothers and sisters.  Crime is all around and starvation is a reality you know to well.

This is why Christ fed the hungry, clothed the poor, and loved the hurting.  We are called to do the same.  You have herd and read over the last few years that we are raising money to build an orphanage, but we want you to understand that this is more than an orphanage.  This will be a ministry center that is already  glorifying Christ.  Just last week two of the local residents that are helping build this home came to know the Lord while working with a group from Enon Baptist in Marshall NC.  This is just one of hundreds of stories of what God is doing through this ministry.

Last week while visiting a village around the work site we where amazed to see over 100 families come from the mountains to get a few simple gifts and here the Gospel.  Thanks to the prayers and support of so many this team of 36 was allowed to love on people in the name of Jesus.  It has an eternal impact not only on those who received the food but even more those who where able to share in the giving. 

This building can not be built fast enough.  There are many more families that are hungry, more children without clothes, and most importantly there are children without parents or a home.  We pray that as Thanksgiving approaches you consider giving to complete this project and allow the real work to begin.  Block, mortar, and steel are the necessities of the building but just as Christ described the church as the people this project is the same.  The sooner the structure is in place, the sooner lives can be changed.  Not just food or education but the hope for eternal salvation.

Help make the dream of  daily meals and the security of a family a reality for children just like these.  Your donations will further the  kingdom of Christ as we all show the love first showed us.

                                                                      Luke 11: 11-13
If  a son shall ask bread any of you that is father, will he give him a stone?   Or if he asks a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent?  Or if he shall ask and egg, will he offer a scorpion. If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto children; how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?

What will you give?

Why go to Honduras?

In less than two weeks 36 men, women, and young adults will board a plane from Atlanta and head towards San Pedro Sula Honduras.  Many may ask why leave?  Why risk your family and there safety?  Why not just send money?  Why not someone else?

The simple answer is, God commanded us all to go and make disciple's of all nations.  In a time where there is pain and suffering next door, why go a world away?  The love of Christ was not withheld from anyone due to proximity, color, or economic background.  Plan and simple the Gospel of Grace was given to all so that the Glory of God will be known to all.  As followers of Christ this group seeks to show love to those who are without love.  To help feed those without food, and cover those without clothes.  In James it clearly spells out the works that faith will produce when it is truly alive. 

From November 4th - 12th this group will have many opportunities both planned and unplanned to minister in love.  From holding a abandoned child, to mixing concrete for a house of hope, cooking rice for the hungry, but most importantly a smile and simply sharing some time with a creation of Christ.  You see this trip is about realizing that each and every person is a beautiful creation of the Father.  That we are all worthy of love no matter how much money we may or may not have, the color of our skin, the language we speak.  God calls us simply to love as He loves us. 

Missions are not about the flight, or about the work.  Missions in its simplest definition is loving others where they are and just how they are because Christ loved them first.  What is important to the master should be important to the servant. 

Please pray that this team from 8 different churches, and with a 50 year difference from young to old.  Pray not for safety or comfort.  Pray that each and every member of team will be open to the moving of the Holy Spirit.  Pray for the the hearts and minds of those we may meet to be open and ready to hear the Gospel.  Pray for the needs of those in Honduras.  Remember to lift up the translators as they convey Gods message from one language to the other.   Lastly please pray that not only in Honduras but wherever we may be that we glorify God by our words, service, and actions.

If you would like to give to this trip there is still time to make a donation to be used for ministry to orphans and the hungry.  We will be visiting two orphanage's who are in need of supplies as well as several villages that are struggling to find enough food to survive.  You may make a donation via pay pal at www.carpentersheart.org or mail your checks to PO box 1220, Weaverville, NC 28787 with Nov trip in memo section.    For more infoyou may also call Andy @828-775-6646