Day #30 & 31 - "The Journey Home" (Ottawa, On)

Sunday / Monday - May 2-3

I just rolled into Ottawa safe and sound. It’s Monday night. I just arrived at the Church Office to unload a few things. There’s just happens to be a Trustees ‘ meeting. I said hello and gave them a mega quick update.

Anyways, this will indeed be my last official blog – well at least for this “journey”. I will forget “writing” the trip recap as mentioned in my last blog. Rather – I’ll be giving it “live” this coming Sunday at Sequoia. So make sure you come to our Sunday Mother’s Day Service. The message will be this: “What Kind Of Life Should I Be Living?”

After a great church service yesterday at FBC Montgomery I made the long two-day trek back to Ottawa. But I’ve got to tell you – it was either highly coincidental or Pastor Jay planned it that way. The message was unbelievable – ie with all kinds of themes that coincidentally affirmed what I was doing and how I have been living in this last month! The themes were like – trust and obey; follow the Lord with all your heart (not your mind) even if it doesn’t make sense (ie Proverbs 3:5-6); what true faith is all about (ie Hebrews 11); because we are always at different “crossroads” of life and the question will be how we make those decisions and whom do we trust in; etc. Anyways – you had to be there. And Anna did a solo during the service. Wow. That girl makes me cry every time she sings. She is sure anointed! God was speaking and affirming!

So I drove 14 hours yesterday making it all the way near Winchester Virginia. I had to stop at 0200 for a few hours of sleep. I stopped at an Hess Fuel / Trucker / RV Centre. I don’t know how anybody sleeps well at a place like that because you constantly hear semis pulling in and out. And then the major rainfall of this morning made sure I did not sleep long.

But somehow all the bad weather was kept away from the Interstates as I was driving – well except for a 10-minute torrential downpour in Wilkes-Barre (going through the mountains) this afternoon. Even the sun came out at the end of the day. So I rolled into Ottawa at about 1930.

Well as I close, “The Journey Home” was safe and sound! Thanks for praying. But there’s another “Journey Home” that I am preparing for! Near Syracuse, I stopped for a “celebration lunch / supper” all by myself! As I left, I was caught in a funeral procession. I took this picture.

It reminded me of the “dash story” in the “One Month To Live” book I read while on this trip. And the thought came to my mind of some of the things I would want written on my tombstone as the epitaph of my life:

- “He Lived with Purpose and He Loved with Passion!”

- “He truly lived by faith – always trying to please God!”

- “He was willing to totally trust God – even if it meant risking failure!”

- “At least he tried” … (still working on this one)

- And yes … “How He Loved His Wife (his Buddy)”

So really – as I close this one-month “Luke 11 ASK Road Tour” journey – what’s your journey? How are you preparing “The Journey Home”? Are you living fullout for God and after His purposes? Are you living the life that God wants you to live? What will be your legacy? What will be your Kingdom impact? Don’t let people have to make up things to say at your funeral. You live out right now what people will say of you on your final car ride towards “The Journey Home”.

I know I am sure trying to live by faith, trusting and obeying God, my Heavenly Father, waiting for Him to say – “this is my son, whom I love and in whom I am well pleased – well done my faithful Ricky”!

Day #29 - "The Last Blog" (Montgomery, Al)

Saturday May 1st

Well folks – this is it! This will probably be my last daily blog – unless I finish off with a recap of the one-month Luke 11 ASK Road Tour when I get home.

It’s Saturday night. I am in Montgomery Alabama for my final day of this road trip. I’ll go to church tomorrow and then start heading my home. I hope on pulling into Ottawa sometime Monday night if all goes well with the travelling. I hear the weather is supposed to be bad for the next few days. Pray that the Lord clears the weather and it’s not windy. Actually, it’s kind of tiring and stressful to drive the RV when it’s RV – you really get bounced around with the wind.

Anyways today was another of those awesome days. I was in meetings back-to-back x3 from 0630 to 1730. So there’s way too much to share. Great meetings and great support from some key people here in Montgomery as to how they want to help us in this crucial turning and defining point for the ECMC, and thus for our CNBC in Canada.

One of those meetings though was with a couple from Alabama (near Birmingham) who read the article that appeared in the Alabama Baptist Newspaper. They wanted to talk “church planting” and possibly how they could be involved in Canada because of a calling they had a number of years ago. We’ll see where the Lord leads with that.

Well as I close for tonight, I am anxious to get on the road back home. But I need a good night sleep because knowing me I know I will try to drive it all the way non-stop. I did do Texas to Ontario one-year non-stop. I know – that was crazy but my wife was there with me to share a little bit of the driving.

I have so many things to recap from this trip – the lessons learned; the highlights; the people; the divine appointments; the daily signs; living as if I had “one-month to live” (ref the book); God’s provision; God’s affirmation; God’s validation; prayer; radical faith; the prayer support of our Sequoia Church Family back home as well as their incredible encouragement – I mean the list does go on. That’s what I will be thinking about as I hit the sack.

So thanks. God bless you. See you next Sunday at Sequoia. Those in the USA – as Arnold would say – “I’ll be back”! Thanks for all your support and belief in what God wants to be doing and is doing in changing lives in Ottawa through Sequoia Church and now throughout Eastern Canada through the Eastern Canada Mission Centre!

For His Glory!

Because of the great Harvest!

In Jesus’ name!

Hebrews 11:1,6

Day #28 - "Rick Is A Wimp!" (Bay Minette & Prattville, Al)

Friday April 30th

“Rick Is A Wimp – Jesus Is Awesome!”

You know I have been thinking while I have been on this one-month road tour – imagine when Jesus did is 40-day walk tour in the desert! I mean He did not have the comfort of an RV. He walked all the time. And though I have been fasting, it’s really been more a partial fast. I have been starving in the last week. I have also been really tired. I have been with a lot of people – sharing, telling the stories – you know – “Asking, Seeking, Knocking”.

But Jesus is truly amazing and surely is no wimp. I mean 40-day journey of fasting and praying – while being tempted, though no giving into temptation. I go to bed and I pray. I got up and I pray. I drive many hours and I pray. I have been praying a lot and spending a lot of time with Jesus. It’s been an interesting month and it’s coming to a close. Only two days to go and most likely Sunday after church at FBC Montgomery I will start making the 24-hour drive back.

All that to say – no matter what we’ve been through or what we are going through, Jesus understands our situation. He’s experienced many of the things we have experienced and in even more incredible ways – ie like His 40-day journey in the desert versus my 30-day journey in Southern USA – BIG difference. So again – I am amazed at Jesus. “Rick Is A Wimp – Jesus Is Awesome”.

BTW: I did my final driving to Bay Minette this morning after a couple of hours rest at a trucker rest stop. Then after presenting the ECMC Vision to about 15 folks I made my way to Prattville to see my dear friends, Harold & Helen. I am parked in their driveway right now and am about to hit the sack. I have been exhausted all day and I need to be up at 0500 tomorrow for a 0630 meeting.

So good night folks … only 2 more days of blogging perhaps – unless I blog on my days of driving back home. I’ll see how the Lord leads.

Thank you so much to all those of have been faithful in reading this on a daily basis and praying. I so appreciate you!

Day #27 - "Kingdom Investors" (Alpharetta, Ga)

Thursday April 29th

Today was one of those days that so much happened, there’s too much to write about. And today is one of those very affirming days and one that will prove to be one of highlights of this one-month Luke 11 ASK Road Tour!

I was in Alpharetta (north of Atlanta) most of the day. I had 3 key meetings. Tonight I need to make my way to Bay Minette Alabama for an ECMC Vision Presentation to a group of people, that my friend Cindy organized to come together at her cousin’s restaurant tomorrow morning.

I am presently taking a break right now at Panera Bread – where there is free wifi. I am trying to get this blog up before moving on. I am at the halfway point of my journey today. I am presently in Montgomery Al. It was a 2-3 hour drive from Atlanta, well perhaps a tad more because of all the traffic.

I have another 2-3 hour drive to Bay Minette (with is South from Montgomery – almost near Mobile Al). So here’s the quick recap on this awesome God-day!

Meeting #1 – 89.1 Faith FM

I had a telephone conference call with Bob & Mark this morning to discuss the real possibilities and implementation strategy to my “North to Canada” daily 2-minute radio ministry. This will help us tell the stories of Canada, increase advocacy and hopefully leverage Kingdom resources of all kinds to help move forward God’s vision for the Eastern Canada Mission Centre for 50% of Canada’s Population and the most unreached people group in North America. Much more to follow on this – but now is the time to really make this happen!

Meeting #2 – The National Christian Foundation

Then I met my new friend Lewis at the NCF. I was impressed by the fact that this man served the Lord for about 40-50 years as a pastor / in ministry. And though he is now 75 years of age, he is still serving the Lord – this time with the NCF.

In a nutshell, NCF is a ministry to help godly men and women invest their money through this Foundation and in return leverage charitable giving and Kingdom investments to help 100s if not 1000s of ministries. NCF will typically write cheques on a daily basis totaling $1-2M! They are in fact the biggest “mission organization” in the world!

But I was also impressed by the stories of the many “Kingdom Investors”. Now I don’t know their names or who they are, and that’s ok (for their privacy and trust in the NCF), but I simply know generic stories of incredible godly men and women who live very humbly, and yet give their wealth away to advance the Kingdom of God. I mean I heard truly remarkable stories.

Now one of the really cool things that came out of this meeting with Lewis was his suggestion that we set-up “an account” at NCF for the ECMC. That way, any Kingdom Investors who want to give to Canada, can simply go through NCF and they in turn, would directly send it to the ECMC. But the minimal amount to get an account set-up is $10K. Wouldn’t you believe it – that is exactly what one Kingdom Investor told me on this trip that the Lord had laid on his heart to give to the ECMC!

So a new process is about to be put in place. This will incredibly streamline the process of giving – ie versus folks in the USA giving to the North American Mission Board, then to the Canadian National Baptist Convention, then to the ECMC in Ottawa. More to follow on this but perhaps this was a key process to be put in place first in order to pave the way for God to unleash the $16M for Eastern Canada!

Meeting #3 – North American Mission Board

My final meeting today was with my good friend Richard, the Interim President at NAMB. Richard has been following the development of Sequoia almost since its inception. He was so impressed today by how Sequoia is willing to build the Mission Centre first before its own “church facility”. I mean really – this has hardly ever been seen before! But even more impressed was he with the vision, strategic plans, organizational structure, logistics, 3-year budget plans and other deliverables of the ECMC (church planting; assessment and on-going leadership development, coaching and mentoring through inSPIRE; the Upper Room Strategy; etc). Richard was also very affirming in relation to the scope of this God-size vision and how it is needed in Eastern Canada. He told me not to quit or give up. God is indeed up to something with this is “strategic, faith-based and local church cutting-edge initiative”! The bottom line is this – we have a great advocate in Richard!

Final Thoughts …

Of course there are things that were shared today that I simply cannot share publicly in this blog. But I will say this – I feel more affirmed today than ever! God is in this vision! The ECMC will be a “prototype”, as many have actually told me before, of things to come. The year 2010 is indeed a must “turning point year” for many – for Canada, and even here in the USA among many of its entities, ie NAMB, SBC, etc

But for sure this crazy one-month step of faith is speaking loud and clear to many. Convictions are often proven by the radical steps of faith we are willing to take – even to the point of being willing to risk failure. There is so much more I could say about today – but I got to get back on the road.

Thanks for praying! God is being glorified! A new day is dawning! We are standing in the gap!

Day #26 - "Oasis At Twin Lakes" (Alpharetta, Ga)

Wednesday April 28th

Well after sleeping at an Interstate Rest Stop just outside of Atlanta last night – I was too tired to drive all the way through – I made my way this morning to Alpharetta Georgia (North of Atlanta). I had some really good meetings at the North American Mission Board. The folks I met with, they really understand this “needed turning point” for Canada and they will try to do whatever they can to help us.

Then I had an option – sleep in the RV in the parking lot of the NAMB or find an RV park not far from Alpharetta. Well I found this “Oasis at Twin Lakes” just 8 miles from NAMB!

That’s where I sat and just enjoyed the view, the Lord and of course reviewed in my mind the crazy journey of this last month. There’s lot to say about today but I will let this picture speak for itself!

Good night!

Day #25 - "Service Station On-Site" (Augusta, Ga)

Tuesday April 27th

Well today was a full day! I got up and drove close to 3 hours for my next meeting – this one was in South Carolina. I met with Dr Richard Blackaby. We had a great time of reconnecting. I sure appreciated his insights both from a Canadian and American perspective.

I then drove back to Augusta Georgia in the hopes of attending my last night with Dr Bob Pitman. But I found out only 5 minutes away from the church parking lot that I had a flat tire. From a connection at church just before the evening service began, we got a mobile tire service to come right where I was parked.

Well would you know it – couldn’t find a problem with the tire! It simply had no air and was knocked off somehow from its rim. But it didn’t need to be replacedc. So the guy just re-check everything to make sure all was in order.

As soon as I’ve finished typing this and uploading it, I need to make a 2 ½ hr treck to Atlanta. I’d rather drive late at night then in early morning traffic. I need to be there for morning meetings at the North American Mission Board.

Well I am excited about my final remaining days on this Luke 11 ASK Road Trip but I’ve got to tell you that I am anxious to start making the long journey back home to my family.

Thanks for praying again. Please pray big time for these remaining days and final meetings.

Please pray for no more problems with the RV! J That would be good!

Day #24 - "The God Of The 11-Hour!" (Augusta, Ga)

Monday April 26th

What an incredible day today has been and it’s not even finished yet! It’s 16:30 as I write this blog. God is the most amazing sovereign God – well He’s the only one! He’s the mastermind networker! But I’ve also just connected with Dan in San Diego who is also a great “Mr Networker” himself!

But first let me reassure everyone in Canada – no I am not caught up in a Tornado – though that would not surprise most of you! Many of you know that somehow when I travel I was get caught up in some kind of adventure – ie Hurricane in Hawaii; Hurricane in Dominican Republic; the Denver Spring Blizzard of 2005; and Tornado in Alabama a few years ago. So thanks for your concern and emails – but yes, I am safe and no I am not in any tornados this time, though they have struck again in the South!

Back to Dan! Brian at FBC Montgomery gave me Dan’s contact a while ago. I called Dan in San Diego today. He is incredibly well connected. He’s into church planting. He’s into “regional strategies”. He totally understands what I am trying to do for Eastern Canada and totally gets the vision and need for an Eastern Canada Mission Centre. He gave me lots of contacts to follow-up with – contacts whom should really be able to help me in pushing the cause of the ECMC. I mean lots of key contacts he gave me. He has even offered to arrange a series of meetings with folks I could go to in San Diego and share the vision with.

But even check this out – how cool God is!

I am still here at West Acres Baptist Church. They have a Bible Spring Conference with Speaker & Evangelist Dr Bob Pitman. He’s really a great teacher BTW and really funny with his stories. Anyways, I am enjoying hearing from him and most importantly from the Word.

Check this out – today at lunch he’s speaking from Psalm 37:25. He makes his entire message from one verse alone. Wow – can he ever squeeze a lot and an entire message from one verse. But that’s not the message I want to share. As he was sharing the message, I missed which verse he said his message was from. I knew it was Psalm 37. So I started reading the entire Psalm figuring I would eventually realize where he was preaching from.

Then I get to Psalm 37:4 …

“Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart”.

I am saying in my heart and mind – “ok Lord, You know the reason for this one-month trip – in fact You put me on this trip – so please answer / fulfill the purposes of this trip – please give me the desires of my heart.”

Then I read Psalm 37:5-6 …

“Commit your way to the Lord; trust in Him and He will do this: He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn and the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.”

Wow I said to myself! I mean this one-month crazy Luke 11 ASK Road Trip was all about committing my ways to the Lord – trusting Him in greater ways like I have never done before (ie since 1994 leaving my career and pension after 13 years of service in the military to go Seminary to eventually plant a church) and now leaving being Lead Pastor after another 16 years of service, but now in the ministry to spear-head this ECMC vision. Look at what Psalm 37:5-6 says again. It’s as if the Lord was affirming me saying … “Rick … you are right in what you are doing and I will bring justice to your cause of the ECMC and make it shine like the noonday sun”!

Wow – I had a “moment” with the Lord as Dr Bob Pitman was preaching (Sorry Brother Bob!). But then I caught on pretty quick to his message.

Oh – as if that was not enough, I did read the next verse in Psalm 37:7 …

“Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him”.

Did you know that that is one of the 4 verses my ECMC Administrative Assistant printed for me and placed on the ceiling over my bed in the RV so I could pray over these verses every night before going to bed while on this one-month road trip! How cool is that!

Well God is the “God of the 11-Hour”! I think He is pulling some big things in this final week of this trip. I think my call with Dan was one of them. Please pray for the other key meetings I am having during this final week here in the Atlanta Georgia area and then back in Alabama.

It is so good when you hear God’s voice personally talking to you and affirming you like this. I’ve got to believe these are not just coincidences! Time will tell!

Till tomorrow …