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rashi7
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Birthday: 9/11/1981
Interests: you, me, & God. worship. leadership. counseling. hospitality. missional church. incarnational living. father to the fatherless. voice to the voiceless. raising a generation of devoted followers of Christ. snow. outdoors. adventures. authentic relationships.
Expertise: John 15:7 // If you remain in Me and My words remain in you, ask whatever you wish and it will be given you.
Message: message meEmail: email me
Member Since:
9/25/2002
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| Dear Friend,
So how do you plan to spend your Christmas and News Years this year? I'll be going to the Philippines this winter for 3 weeks - December 12th - January 2nd.
Why the Philippines?
The short answer is, I met this incredible missionary family at Fuller. Never have I met someone so passionate about the gospel. They're the kind of people that you read in books - they sold everything they had, went to a foreign land, and waited on God. The end result was this missionary building an orphanage for young Filipino girls (think education, sex trafficking, poverty, etc.), and also a center to train indigenous pastors with the vision to "plant churches where there are no churches."
When I say, "where there are no churches", I'm talking deep in the jungle (hiking 6-8 hrs), the marginalized of the marginalized. I pause to share quick story. On one excursion to a local village, a bone-thin man approached my friend as asked him a heartfelt question - "Do I have a soul?" This question is significant because in these people's view, White People are the pinnacle of humanity, then it's the rich Filipinos in the city, then the poor people, then its him and his village. Their self perception was so bad that they thought that being so lowly, they must not have a soul. My friend assured him of his soul-fulness and began to share the love of Christ with him. This man, overcome with tears, exclaimed, "Nobody has ever told me this! This is such great news. Would you please come to my house and tell this everybody because nobody in my village knows this!" So they went with food and supplies and to this village where almost every family accepted Jesus Christ. Now there is a church in this village. We will be going there again...
What will I be doing in the Philippines?
The mission is simple. We're going to go to the Orphanage and the location of every Church plant led by these local pastors, 7 to be exact. The villages that they are in are so impoverished that it is not uncommon to have only 1 of 15 huts have fire going to cook food. In fact, the last time my friend saw this, he found out that the only hut with fire was a place with 3 men roasting 2 sparrows they caught. That was it.
We will be bringing 100 lbs sacks of RICE, Chicken, Pigs (for Christmas celebration and gifts to the villages), and clothes and supplies. Basically, we'll be feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, and sharing the love of Jesus Christ with these people. We'll be encouraging the brothers and sisters who are persevering in the faith. The other exciting thing is that my friend and his family will be announcing that they will be moving back to the Philippines permanently to live among the Kili tribe in remote area of the northern Philippines. The Christians there have been praying for years to have more Christian pastor come and train their people so this will be an answer to their prayers!
Would you Partner with Me?
There are a couple ways you can partner with me.
1) Prayer Partners - I covet your prayers.
- Please pray for Spiritual Guidance and Covering - That we may be led by the Holy Spirit is all that we do; for Spiritual Authority - warfare and power encounters is common place in these areas; and whenever we do the work of God, we can anticipate the enemy that wars against us.
- Please pray for Life Protection - A couple of the locations we will be going to is run by the NPA Terrorist organization.
- Please pray for Health - We will be hiking 6-8 hrs on some days; also the food will be very "indigenous" (ant eggs, wild boar, balut, etc.), safe water is not easily accesible.
- Please pray for Travel Mercies - Many days we will be driving, rafting, hiking, flying to remote locations, and it will take a toll physically.
2) Financial Partners - We will be the physical extension of your gift. You generosity is guaranteed to change lives of many. This time, I did not feel led to directly raise support for myself. If you would like to give more specifically, here's what we need that will directly bless the villages and people:
- (7) Rice Sack - 100 lbs , $35 each = $245
- (70) Chickens - $1 per Chicken = $70
- (2) Pig - $125 each = $250
- (150) Can Sardines - $2 each $300
There are other things we doing as well - Building a Church ($2k), Starting a Goat Breeding Business ($200), as well as having the flexibility to do what the Lord leads us to (last year, a man had an eye transplant that cured him of blindness. Another infant girl almost died from pneumonia but was saved by a generous donation.) God is moving! Be a part of his Kingdom work!
If you would like to Pledge a certain amount, I simply ask that you email, message, or call me. Buy a Sack of Rice (the cost of a steak meal can feed 15 families for a couple months), or get some friends together and sponsor a pig that could literally bring Christmas joy to an entire village. (* A pledge is a simple commitment to donate a specific amount. I can pick it up before I leave or when I return from my trip.)
If you would like to know more about this mission endeavor, I'd love to send you a detailed mission newsletter and also talk about it with you. Your prayer support is what I need the most. I look forward to sharing with you all that God has and is doing in the beautiful land of the Philippines.
LOVE * PHILIPPINES.
Your friend,
Daniel Ra
danielra@gmail.com
P.S. Please feel free to pass this on to anybody that you think would be interested.
P.S.S. I leave next Friday, 12/12
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| S: Luke 22:15-16
15 And he said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. 16 For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God.”
O: The Passover is the ritual of remembering God’s grace over the Israelites during their captivity in Egypt. It is highly symbolic of Jesus to take part in this as His final meal before being apprehended by His accusers. Moreover, Jesus declares that He will not eat this again until the “fulfillment in the KOG.” This signifies the grace that is here and now in Jesus, and perfect grace that is to come when the KOG is fully ushered in to this world.
A: Jesus gives me grace to live today, and gives me hope for the future. Today, I walk knowing that His grace abides with me.
P: Lord, I walk in full confidence knowing that You go before me. Amen.
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| S: Luke 21:14-15
14 But make up your mind not to worry beforehand how you will defend yourselves.
15 For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict.
O: Jesus talks about a time when there will be great destruction and conflict in the world. Additionally, He warns us that there will be persecution for following the Lord. What is striking is how he challenges his followers to ‘make up your mind’ beforehand. There is a sense of counting the cost to follow Jesus and to have faith in His provision and protection.
A: The NY Times report that Ossetia/Georgia is on the brink of “all-out war.” It’s further evidence of the decay of society. Yet I often feel like these are issues that are so far-removed from my current circumstances. This passage is reminding of me of the impending day where my faith in Christ will be tested. I am challenged to resolve in my heart my commitment to following Jesus. I also am convicted that God is reassuring me that He will provide in times of trouble. I am tempted to take matters into my own hands, but Jesus is reminding me to trust in Him and He will protect me.
P: Lord, I have decided to follow You! Amen.
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| S: Luke 20:4,25,35
4 John’s baptism — was it from heaven, or from men?”
25 “Caesar’s,” they replied. He said to them, “Then give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.”
35 But those who are considered worthy of taking part in that age and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage,
O: There is a theme in this chapter – the contrast between Heaven’s ways and Men’s ways. People think in terms of taxes and marriage. But Jesus shows that these matters are mortal issues that is below what heaven really stands for. Like a sparrow pecking at a lion, if they are not careful, they will eventually be swallowed up by their consumption of worldly things.
A: I don’t fully understand the implications of this chapter. But one thing God is convicting my heart is to be careful not to try to straddle both worlds, of heaven and earth. I can easily try to rationalize heavenly things with earthly ideas, but this will never measure up. There is a way that God thinks and acts that will always be beyond my human comprehension. I must seek to align myself with Him.
P: Lord, Your ways are higher than my ways. Your thoughts are higher than my thoughts. Amen.
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S: Luke 19:7-10
7All the people saw this and began to mutter, "He has gone to be the guest of a 'sinner.' " 8But
Zacchaeus stood up and said to the Lord, "Look, Lord! Here and now I
give half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anybody
out of anything, I will pay back four times the amount." 9Jesus said to him, "Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. 10For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost."
O: Why does Zacchaeus offer to give up so much of his wealth? My
inclination is to assume that Zacchaeus was trying to show off to the
people that were muttering, or to impress Jesus of how honored he was
to have Him at his home. If this is the case, then why would Jesus say
"salvation has come to this house" unless Zacchaeus conversion was
genuine? When one welcomes the living Christ into their own home or
life, one is naturally convicted to align his or her life with the ways
of Christ. Also, I noticed how Zacchaeus was able to separate himself
from the judgment of the world (he climbed up a tree for goodness
sakes). It didn't matter what the others said. He was fixated on
meeting Jesus!
A: This passage frustrates me, mainly because I know that in my own
heart, I do respond with such conviction that Zacchaeus had when Christ
invited him into a relationship. Z comes to a fork in the road: either
continue to live out his worldly tax-collector
ways, or give it completely over to God. But there is no middle
ground or room for compromise. He gave up the majority of his wealth.
To follow Jesus was a costly decision, and yet he does it with such
gratitude. There isn't a hint of withholding from God. He is committed.
I think if we only knew what we were getting into when decide to follow
Christ, our lives would look radically different.
P: Lord, I want to live my life in utter abandon like Zacchaeus who gave all he had to follow you. Amen.
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