Last Monday Amy and I celebrated 25 years of marriage.  It's hard to grasp how fast those years have gone by.  The Lord has been so good to us and helped us at every point along the way.  He has blessed us with six kids that all love Him and it was a huge joy to have each one of them with us over our anniversary week.  Javen and Cullen and our Colombian "hijo" Juanes came from Iowa and we had a good mix of ministry and fun while they were here in California.  On one occasion we went surfing at the beach and then later that afternoon we held an open air meeting in the main square.  Another time we did prayer in the park followed by a visit to the golden gate bridge.  It was a great couple of days filled with campfires and singing and evangelism and beaches and Bible readings.  We thank the Lord for His many blessings!  

One Sunday afternoon Juanes and I went out to play some park basketball.... The courts were crowded with several teams waiting to play.  The winning team always stays on the blacktop and you have to bet at least $5 to participate.... Juanes and I weren't willing to bet so it was difficult to get in the game.  Finally after about an hour of waiting and getting to know some of the guys, one of the teams needed some extra players and they put the money in the pot for us.  We got kinda lucky, and our team ripped off six games straight and we held court until it was dark.  As soon as the last game ended they started giving out the money for our winnings.  I quickly called everyone over and as they gathered around I preached a short gospel message. About 30 guys listened intently..... and then they were shocked as we tried to distribute our winnings amongst them..... No one wanted to take it... It was a great opportunity to preach on how God offers a free gift of eternal life to each one of us but you have to RECEIVE IT!  I took my money and I put it in the hands of one of the guys and I said: "Please accept this free gift as if from Jesus Himself.  He loves you."  Juanes then preached a short thought on how, he and I "had gotten into the game with a debt so to speak... much like how we all have a spiritual debt before God that we cannot pay and now the big question is: Will you receive or reject what Christ has done on your behalf?"  

One of the guys responded: "We've never had this kinda thing happen at our court before... Could you guys come back every Sunday and play with us and share something from the Bible?" When our mini gospel-meeting ended we had some fantastic conversations with several individuals.  We thank the Lord for these great opportunities!                       

Missions quote for the day by Kurt Von Schleicher: "Our God of grace often gives us a second chance, but there is no second chance to harvest a ripe crop."

Micah for the Tuttle's