It is truly amazing how many people, even during a time where people cannot be together, want to be together. We are made to be around people. We are made for relationships. We are made to help people and love on people. We are made to offer grace, mercy, an d peace to people. We had the opportunity to serve at the Dream Center in Burlington on Saturday. People showed up in droves.

The Dream Center does a “Love My City” event where everything donated goes out for free. Their event also feeds those who come as well. Over the past few weeks during the COVID-19 lockdown the Dream Center was able to feed over 19,000 people. It is amazing what they have been able to do. God is moving in and through this ministry. We were able to help with the “Love My City” event. We were able to set up for the giveaway, serve food, and share Jesus. I know that people’s lives were changed as we all served. For all of you who took part, thank you. For all of you who prayed for us, thank you. We look forward to many more opportunities with the Dream Center. 

"For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me."           Matthew 25:35-36

Thank you TLC. 

I want to take a moment and thank everyone who took the time to come and pack for Feed the Hunger at the Airport Campus The Lambs Chapel over the past few weeks. At a time when Feed the Hunger was needing the help on restocking you stepped up. It is truly amazing that 255 people packed over 50,000 meals. I know that after each session these meals were prayed for and I also know that many of the meals are staying right here in the Alamance County area to help feed those needing help during this COVID-19 crisis. You have literally been the hands and feet of Jesus to Alamance county and surrounding states. You have served by feeding the hungry (Matthew 25:35). I cannot thank you enough for your tremendous support of Feed the Hunger and their efforts. The Lambs Chapel has such a big heart for missions, and I am glad that each one who participated were able to get out of the house for a little bit and actually get to talk to someone face to face. Again, thank you so much and we look forward too many opportunities to work and serve together in the future. Feed the Hunger is still holding Pack-a-Thons in the Burlington area. If you want to continue to help click here. 

The Lambs Chapel partners with many organizations that share the Gospel across the globe. With Open Eyes is one of the greatest organizations in the world right now sharing the Good News of the Gospel. We partner with them in several ways and several countries such as, India and Africa. Over the past several weeks, With Open Eyes have been feeding their 1005 mobile messages and families throughout India and Africa. We at The Lambs Chapel have been a part of all that is going on with With Open Eyes. Take some time to go to their website and checkout some of their videos to see all that they are doing. God is uses With Open Eyes to share the Good News of the Gospel and plant churches all across the world. 

I know that many of you are sitting at home and the kids are trying to eat you out of the house. I am sure by know that you are trying to find innovative ideas that will help you keep your children occupied for at least a minute. I have posted some interactive maps and things that can be done with your children that will bring to light the idea of missions. I know that in a day and time that we cannot get close to one another we still have many opportunities to share the name of Jesus and be prayer warriors for our missionaries. To be honest, every Christian is a missionary. Some of our greatest missionaries are some of our frontline workers, such as policeman, emergency medical professionals, nurses, doctors, cna's, medical assistants, lab technicians, MOM's and DAD's and the list could go on and on. Everyone is essential to sharing the good news of the gospel. As a mom or a dad you have the greatest audience. Take time to click on some of the links and see how they may help you explain missions, pray for missionaries, and share Jesus around the world. https://www.tlcalive.com/missions/kids-under-construction

Have you forgotten God? 

What a question. When I was reading this morning, this question sparked my interest. More like hurt me a little, a lot. My initial reaction was, “No, I haven’t forgotten God, I’m a missions pastor. I’m all about God.” Take this test and ask yourself: “Have I forgotten God?” Let Him speak to your heart. Let God have full reign on your mind for a moment. Let God remind you of things you once did for Him. Let Him show you where you were once on fire and now you are just an ember or maybe just smoke from where the ember used to be. Let Him show you how the water of this world has quenched the fire of your soul that the water of the Word could bring back to life. 

“Have you forgotten God?” Wow! This rings. It stings. It hurts. During this time of uncertainty, we cannot afford to forget God. We cannot afford to leave behind the One who not only claims to be the Savior of the world, but who is the Savior of the world. It is very important to stay close to God through His Word all of the time, but especially during times of struggle, heartache, uncertainty, hurt, disease, unemployment, brokenness and any other thing that has started to deteriorate your thinking of who God is. God’s Word is how we cannot forget who God is and what He has done for us. 

My prayer is that you will be reminded and challenged to read more, pray more, seek more about the One true God. I pray that if you have forgotten God, if only for a brief second, that you will remember that He is: Your song (Exodus 15:2), your Strong Deliverer (Psalm 140:7), your Hiding Place (Psalm 32:7), your Hope (Psalm 25:5) your Strength when you are weak (II Corinthians 12:10), your Helper (Psalm 118:7), your Comforter in sorrow (Jerimiah 8:18), your Confidence when you are unsure (Psalm 71:5), your Comfort when you are hurt (Isaiah 66:13), your Advocate (Job 16:19), your Stronghold (Psalm 144:2), your Sin bearer (Isaiah 43:25), your Rock (Psalm 42:9), your Savior (Psalm 18:46).

Our Savior is still on His throne. He is not surprised about anything that is going on. Jesus is who He says He is and is going to do what He says He will do. “Be strong and of good courage. Do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9).

“The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make His face shine upon you, and be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace.” (Numbers 6:24-26) 

Be encouraged that God is still God and you are still His child and He wants to bless you!

Many of you have been asking how you can get involved in efforts of COVID-19. I had a call with Samaritan's Purse this morning and one of the things that was stressed more than any other thing was PRAYER! The above picture is the New York City Field Hospital in operation in Central Park. The field hospital is working directly with Mount Sinai Hospital in New York. The Field hospital houses 68 beds. There are 60 beds that are for respiratory care and 8 beds that are for ICU patients with ventilators. This field hospital is the same set up as the one in Cremona, Italy. Samaritans Purse has almost 100 doctors, nurses, support staff on staff for this field hospital in New York. Some of the positive reports from New York are that there are people finally recovering and walking out of the hospital alive and well. As well as many coming to faith in Jesus Christ. The miracles that are taking place are way bigger than an organization. Samaritan's Purse saw red-tape cut into as they set up their hospital in only 5 days with running water and power from New York. The normal time frame to get permits to have running water and power in Central Park is about a year. God is good and is moving in one fo the largest cities in the world. 

How can you help? Samaritan's Purse needs your prayers. Not only does Samaritan's Purse need your help, but every hospital in the world needs our help through prayer. Every frontline worker and every person on the planet needs our prayers.

I know you are sitting at home right now trying to figure out what to do and how to help in this time of crisis. Sometimes we just feel helpless, but there is a way we can help and stay safe at the same time. For the next few weeks please stand with us and pray for all that is going on in the world during this crisis time. Click on this link http://www.24-7prayer.com/signup/20a0ec and sign up to pray in one of the time slots. In the settings tab you can choose one of 3 options: Samaritan's Purse, COVID-19 General, or Gospel to the Nations. This will color code your hour box with what you are praying for and allow other to see it as well.  After signing up you will receive an email that reminds you to pray one hour before your time to pray. I would love to see us as a church fill every hour with prayer in Jesus Name! 

This is not and exhaustive list of prayer concerns, only reminders. 

Pray for Samaritan's Purse and their 2 field hospitals and hospital staff. Pray for doors to continue to open for the Gospel to go out as they minister to people and have opportunities to heal physically and spiritually. Pray for the Good News of the Gospel to go out to all Nations during this crisis. Pray for hope and encouragement for all of our Frontline workers. Pray for every parent that has found themselves at home trying to figure out life for the next few weeks. 

You do not have to sign up to pray on the site. You can pray whenever and wherever you are. The sign up is just a tool to help us stay focused on what God is calling us to do. Let's stand in the gap as the church deployed and pray like never before. It is truly amazing what God can do if we pray. His word tells us in II Chronicles 7:14 "If my people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land."

You ever wondered about the faithfulness of our God? I am sure that during this time of change there is a struggle on some front within your faith system. I can say this because I know from experience that my faith system has been rocked. The faith system of believing God for who He is and for doing what He says He will do is still in place, but I have to be honest, I shook a little as I started to see things unravel from the so called normal of life. My faith in the normal was shaken and really it needed it. I say normal life because it was going to Starbucks and sitting down and meeting with God for a few hours before heading to the office was normal for me. One Executive order changed just one part of my normal and rocked my world. How would I ever meet God again? How would He know where I moved too? Will I ever get to go back and sit in a Starbucks again? These may seem like ridiculous questions, but I am sure you have places that are the same for you. Some of you loved going out and sitting at a restaurant to eat and not having to clean up after yourselves or your children. Now you find yourself doing the work that you have never done before and wonder if you will ever get to eat out in peace again. It may be that you are missing getting together with your church family and wonder if you will ever see them again. It may be that you are pleading with God to let your children go back to school because you were not meant to teach algebra and geometry to 6^thgraders. Wherever you find yourself, you must keep in mind that even if your faith in the world and normalcy has failed that God is still faithful now and will be forever and ever. 

Take these words to heart from one of my most favorite songs, “Faithful Now” by Vertical Worship.  

I am holding on to faith
'Cause I know You'll make a way
I don't always understand, I don't always get to see
But I will believe it, I will believe it

You make mountains move
You make giants fall
You use songs of praise
To shake prison walls
I will speak to my fear, I will preach to my doubt
You were faithful then, You'll be faithful now

Source: Musixmatch

Songwriters: Mia Fieldes / Jonathan Lindley Smith / Eddie Hoagland / Hank Bentley

Faithful Now lyrics © So Essential Tunes, All Essential Music, Be Essential Songs

I want to leave you with a prayer that I have been praying and singing for several weeks now. I pray that the Lord bless you and keep you and make His face shine upon you. I pray that He is gracious to you and gives you peace. I pray that there is a peace that passes all understanding within your heart and that as normal begins to change in the world we realize that normal never changes with our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ. He is faithful now and will be faithful forever. 

We may be stuck in Honduras, but we are still serving and seeking what God would have us do-- and you should too!

Believers in JESUS:

We are here for such a time as this. (Esther 4:14) Not only are we here for this appointed time, We have literally been moved out the church and dispersed into the world. Believers, it is time for you to shine bright. It is time for all of the church to realize going online for service is not a bad thing, but a way to minister to the world for this appointed time. OUR MINISTRY HAS INCREASED because of this minor set-back not decreased. We are the church whether in the building or not. We are the church moving and breathing across the land in places that need Jesus. Do not get bogged down in the news of darkness. Stay focused on the truth of the word and be the church where you are. 

It is amazing what God can do if we have a willing heart to follow Him anywhere. Gene Wray has this heart. Gene was a local lawbreaking citizen when God got a hold of his heart and took his hard heart and molded it into a heart for Jesus. 

Gene went from living for himself to living for Jesus and decided he would follow Jesus wherever He led. Vietnam was Gene's stop. Gene has been in Vietnam for several years. Gene and his wife Hong have been preaching and teaching Jesus in Vietnam in what we call The Lambs Chapel Vietnam Campus. 

Over the past few years the idea of church has changed for Gene and Hong. After the police shut their church down, they started carrying the gospel throughout the villages and jungles on foot. They have helped countless people with food, clothing, and physical needs. They visit the jails and offer juice and share the good news of Jesus. They also work with those that live along the flooding plains near the river by helping them rebuild their homes. As they rebuild homes they also start the rebuilding process of their spiritual lives as well. Gene also teaches English to all ages of children and weaves the Gospel in as he teaches. 

It is not uncommon to get a call from Gene late in the evening or early morning to ask a question or to make us aware of something we need to pray for. Gene and Hong are growing in their faith and God is changing countless lives through all they do. Gene describes it as abnormal, but what can we say, everything I read in Scripture was abnormal. 

Prayer Time
Pray for their ministry to continue to grow as they build and rebuild homes and lives. 
Pray God would open up the opportunity for the church to be opened back up so that others can be discipled and can hear the gospel. 
Pray for Gene, Hong, and John's health and for them to have strength and endurance to finish the race that is set before them.  
Pray that Gene, Hong, and John would find favor with everyone they meet, and that God would establish the work of their hands. (Psalm 90:17) 

Check out Gene Wray and all he does on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/The-Lambs-Chapel-Vietnam-759901557472561/