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 Something wonderful happens during Missions Class at VBS each year! The kids settle into the knowledge that we serve a God who is big enough to reach the whole world AND that we get to be a part of His mission. How refreshing it is to see the children’s response -  pure enthusiasm! 

 I often need reminders to live life “on mission,” with pure enthusiasm. As I teach the children in the VBS Missions Class, they teach me just as much. Similarly, as we go outside our “box” to share Christ with the world, we grow and learn in the process. I love how MCC’s missions logo captures this God-designed process.

 This year VBS kids will focus on the idea that we can support missionaries in their work. We don’t need to feel limited by money or our ability to travel. We will:

• Pray for missionaries by name. 
• Pack a box for Operation Christmas Child. 
• Share encouraging scriptures.
• Send greeting cards. 
• Create friendship banners.
• Pool our small donations to make a big impact.

 The children will contribute toward a water project that will be life-changing for the Serrudos Family of Bolivia. You can read about them in the FH update below:

RUNNING AND SAFE WATER FOR THE SERRUDOS IN VILLA MARGARITA

 Two years ago, Juana and Romulo rented a room to live with their children Esteban, Denis and Nayely. They could not get anything bigger because during the quarantine their incomes were too low. This situation forced them to build a room and a kitchen in a land lot that they bought before. 

 Even though they improved their situation and they did not need to pay rent any more, the Serrudos did not have access to water, as well as their neighbors. They had to walk about half an  hour to a small water source every time they needed it. Usually the water they get is dirty, but it is their only available source.

 The water that they have access to is not enough for all they need to do like washing laundry, take showers and cook. Even more now that the family have a 4-month-old new member. The water containers that they use now are not good to store water. The water tank that they have is not big enough to keep all the water they need in a week.  

In the end of June FH will start building a water system for the Serrudo’s neighborhood.  Thanks to your support this family would have access to safe water at home and better  housing with a laundry sink with running water for their daily needs.

Thanks a lot the the VBS children and their teachers at MCC!!

As Father’s day approaches I find myself reminiscing about my father and the man he was. He was not just funny but hilarious with a dry sense of humor, a passion for creationism (we went on many fossil hunts), a love for inventing contraptions, and a heart for Jesus. He taught me what a strong work ethic was by saying, “don’t wait to be told what to do but find something” or quoting his father’s advice, “I never really suffer except by my own fault.” To me, my father was a small town man, small town church deacon, and small business owner who loved his family. It wasn’t until his passing at age 47 from cancer that I understood he was not “just” those things. He was a man that walked in integrity and because of that, he had a tremendous impact on those he contacted. It was through losing my dad God taught me many great things through the heartache.

One being the truth of Matthew 5:13 where Jesus tells us to be salt, so that we may bring flavor to this dark world. It was so obvious to me when over 500 people showed up to dad’s funeral, a good part were not church goers but they showed up because they saw something different in my father, a genuine caring for them (salt). They showed up and they heard the gospel there they had the opportunity to understand why dad was the way he was. When dad’s constructions friends continued to trust me to do their projects purely because I was my father’s son. Proverbs 20:7 came to life for me, “The just man walketh in his integrity: his children are blessed after him.” It was then that I realized how critical it is for us fathers to be men of integrity.

The last lesson I’ll share is exactly what Pastor Frank shared with us a couple of weeks ago. Sometimes when the plan goes awry that is the plan. Isaiah 55:8-9 says, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts. When tragedy strikes, we can sometimes focus on the loss and miss out on the new thing God is doing. Losing dad was hard, but our family has been blessed in many different ways. I now have a wonderful step dad who also loves Jesus, and with him came three hilarious stepbrothers.

This Father’s day I challenge us fathers to show our children how to live a Godly life, to be the salt to those around us and live with a twinkle in our eye up until our final days because we know we have a better home to go to. By doing this we will never know how big of an impact we can make on this lost world, but God does. Whether you had an amazing father or not, does not limit your ability to become one or to experience the joy of having one. We are ALL given an opportunity to have a relationship with the perfect father, our Heavenly Father and as His children we experience what a perfect Father’s unconditional love is. Romans 8:15 makes clear that through our Faith in Jesus we are adopted as children to God and cry out, “Abba, Father.” Happy Father’s Day!

Two weeks ago, I preached about Community from the last chapter of Colossians.  That we need to live life together in community.  I encouraged folks to discover that community, if they didn’t already have it.  One method of developing community is to serve together.  Vacation Bible School is a great opportunity to serve the larger community (the children and families of the East Mountains) with a community of volunteers (from MCC).  Here are two examples of folks joining in VBS. 

“I had no idea.”

As I enter my ninth year leading VBS, that line is etched in the front of my mind.  Several years ago, it was uttered by a male volunteer following his first VBS experience.  His wife was heavily involved, his children had attended, and his church had hosted Vacation Bible School for many, many years. We made a point of recruiting and involving men who didn’t typically serve in VBS to volunteer for a morning and placed them in a teaching role.  Over the course of a morning, he taught the lesson to several large groups of children, about 100 kids in total. That was his first experience participating in the VBS community. He did a great job that morning, but the larger impact was on him. He enjoyed connecting with the children and the other volunteers; he enjoyed serving together. He sees the impact that VBS has on everyone involved.

“If you can use us…”

Many years ago, I made our yearly request for VBS volunteers/workers/decorators, and after service that morning, an older couple approached me.  They were willing to help, but didn’t have the energy to keep up with a bunch of kids.  “If you can use us…, somewhere, we would like to help.”  I don’t even remember where they served that year, but the kids loved them.  This couple was able to share their faith in Christ, able to enjoy the energy of the children, and were able to bundle their talents with the rest of the VBS community to build up the body of Christ.  They have found a place to serve, to share, to belong.  Each year, I am approached. “Can you use us?”  And the answer is always, “YES!”

Vacation Bible School is upon us!  It begins in just over 2 weeks.  And the VBS community is incomplete.  We need your help.  You can be a part of the kid groups, traveling through the activities during the mornings.  You can be a part of the Music/Dance team. (Imagine that for a minute:  How would kids respond to (insert a name here.  I usually think of Dan Cravens or Rob Powell) as a dancer in that group? With a grass skirt, sunglasses and a smile.) You can help with set up in the mornings, or snacks, or preschool.  You could support and encourage parents with coffee and donuts after they drop off their kids.  You could come for Wednesday workdays.  You can donate snacks or food or supplies.  You could be a greeter as families arrive.  There is a place in the VBS community of servers for you.

Join us to serve the East Mountain community, to share the Gospel, and to grow this community of believers.  Contact myself (pbrouse@hotmail.com ) or Nicole (nicolebarker1973@gmail.com)to find out where you can help, or sign up here ( www.mountainchristianchurch.org ).

Norman Mclean chronicled a family passion for fishing in southwest Montana along with a moving story about his family’s personal tragedy in the classic book, A River Runs Through It. The book was made into the most famous fly-fishing movie ever made with the same title. Recently, John Mclean, chronicled his family’s love affair with the Blackfoot River in Montana in a book called Home Waters. Although I have not read the latest book, and I doubt I will, the original book and the following film of the same name continue to be a personal favorite of mine.

Recently, I had a chance to go to Montana and try out a couple of the trout streams in the area near Bozeman. One of the rivers, the Gallatin, was the location for the fly-fishing scenes in the movie. As such, I made it a goal to at least cast a line in the river.

Patti and I headed up the Gallatin Canyon between Bozeman and West Yellowstone. Right off the bat, I was surprised to the see the volume of traffic leading up the canyon. Nowhere in the movie was this much traffic depicted although given the time period of the early 1920’s in southwest Montana that is likely to be expected. Nevertheless, I was almost stunned by the heavy traffic leading back and forth between the two communities right next to the river.

I got out and rigged up my fly rod. I would have about two hours to fish the river and I was not dismayed but still eager with excitement. Very few river canyons can display the scenic beauty of this area even with the traffic along the highway.

When I got to the water, I was immediately impressed with the size of the river. The volume of water flowing down the canyon, the width of the river, and how fast it was flowing were all on a different scale than the streams and rivers I normally fish in New Mexico. In fact, I made it a point to avoid such waters just for that reason given I prefer the smaller waters that are more isolated with few people.

After stepping into the river, it became apparent this was going to be a challenge. Not only was it a large volume of fast flowing water, but was fraught with huge boulders and rocks with steep drop-offs. Wading the river was going to be a huge challenge. I began casting to holding spots at the edge of the river where I could easily access them.

After about 30 minutes, I had still not caught a fish and the challenge of wading in the river to access the holding spots was beginning to get to me. I looked up ahead to see a steady stream of rafts coming down the river. It was a large group of tourists being led down the river by a local guiding company. Knowing it best to let them pass and stop casting, I stood on a large boulder holding my fly rod by my side. One by one the rafts passed within 20 yards of me and we exchanged casual conversation. They were obviously having a great time and I was happy for them.

Finally, after about an hour and 45 minutes of fishing, I landed a single trout. By that time, I had expected Patti to be back to pick me up so I made my way to the parking lot to meet her.

As we drove back to Bozeman, I expressed my frustration at fishing the river. This was the movie portrayal of the Mclean family river. Their Home Waters. Yet, my experience on the river was disappointing. Although it was not the exact river, the Blackfoot held that honor, it still represented the river that had encouraged so many to take up the sport of fly fishing. My own journey with fly fishing began about a year before the movie came out, but the story line and the Mclean family passion for fly fishing, no doubt increased my interest in the art of fly fishing. Many of the scenes in the movie, I had watched time and time again as they were such powerful representations of what fly fishing was about. I could totally relate to the family love of fly fishing and trout streams in beautiful places.

My time on the water in another trout stream in the area was much more successful, yet no more than my home waters of New Mexico. Yet, while I had promised my experience on the Gallatin was only to say I cast a fly on the river, my expectations were subtly something much more. I walked off the river disappointed and exhausted. My home waters would always be somewhere on a stream in the mountains of Northern New Mexico and not in Southwest Montana.

One of the most quotable lines from the book is as follows:

“Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it. The river was cut by the world's great flood and runs over rocks from the basement of time. On some of the rocks are timeless raindrops. Under the rocks are the words, and some of the words are theirs.
I am haunted by waters.”
? Norman Maclean, A River Runs Through it and Other Stories

Although the quote refers to the family tragedies that intertwined with the rivers the family fished, it no doubt has implications for my time on the waters of southwest Montana. I cannot relate to the personal tragedy described in the book, yet there is no doubt I was haunted by the waters of the Gallatin River that day. Although I will likely make the trek to Montana again, never again will I fish that river as it no longer holds meaning to me. My home waters will always be the clear, cold mountain streams of Northern New Mexico which I have literally spent thousands of days in pursuit of brown and Rio Grande Cut Trout.

In John 4:10, Christ says, If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water. Living water in this verse is much more than the physical characteristic of water we drink for that continues to leave us thirsty after some time. So for further clarification we look to Psalm 36:9 which states, For with you is the fountain of life, in your light we see light. This verse depicts fresh and cleansing water that quenches the thirst of the spiritually needy.

John 4:14 goes on to say, But whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.

Christ makes it clear that it is in him that we are saved from our spiritual thirst. The word of God and our trust in Him can forever satisfy our thirst. Nothing else can quench our thirst or satisfy our needs. Christ the incarnate deity, who chose to die so that we may have life is the living water that can forever change our lives and make us wholly sanctified. No other selfish ambition or sense of false security brought on by wealth, fame or achievements can provide that lasting gift of grace. Like my false impression with a river in Montana, those things merely lead to disappointment, a lack of joy and in the end hold no value when it comes to the promise of eternal life. The fountain of life is putting our full trust in the One who saves. 

On March 31, 2022 I was admitted to Albuquerque’s Heart Hospital for bypass surgery.  Because of a shortage of beds in ICU, I remained in a hallway in triage for hours and then into a room in ER.  Finally about midnight they moved me to a room in ICU. 

My nurse was Katy.  I don’t remember how it came up, but I told her if I didn’t make it I was good, because I know where I am going and it is a much better place than where I am.  She responded, “So, you have it all figured out, have you?”  I said, “Yes, I do.”  She then left the room.  A little later she came to check on me, and I asked if she was very busy or if she had time to talk.  She said things were slow and she could talk for a while.  I reminded her of her earlier comment and asked if she would like it all figured out too.  She said she would.  I asked if she believed in heaven and hell.  She said as a nurse she has seen a lot of both good and bad, and she believes in both heaven and hell.  I asked her if she were to die, did she know where she would go, and she said no.  Finally, I asked if she would like to know, and she said yes. 

I gave her a Gideon New Testament and had her turn to inside the back cover which contains gospel verses and God’s plan of salvation.  I had her read each verse out loud and tell me what it meant to her, which she did.  It was obvious she was deep in thought as she read, and I knew the Holy Spirit was working on her heart.  I asked her if she wanted Jesus as her Lord and Savior, her sins forgiven, and to know that she would spend eternity with God in heaven.  She told me she did, so I directed her to the sinners’prayer.  She looked at it for several minutes, and then handed the Testament back to me.  I told her to keep it, as my gift to her.

She shared with me that she had said the sinner's prayer. Then, with tears in her eyes she told me that as a nurse she had helped a lot of people, but I was the first patient that showed concern for her.  I thank God that He was able to use me to lead Katy to His Son.  I never saw Katy again, but I pray God will follow up on her decision and help her grow in the faith.