I want to share from Beej's '05 Peru journal today. In this we see a picture of some of the difficulties, and how Christ was honored through them. The experience did not always see people come to Christ. Many spiritual battles were fought. In his writings, Beej spoke of his own struggles at times, and then of his teams'.

How God worked in my life today:

1st was boys school. I gave testimony, then we had our free day and I bought my Peru bag, pants, and Sublimes...

2nd- Unfocused and angry- finally got focused and darkness started to lift just before sword fight. Then I trip over a cord as I was going out, and though I didn't fall, the music stopped but we kept on going. The climax of my battle was over. 3rd- Then we went to the PdA [Plaza de Armas] for the teacher's convention >1,000+ crowd. As we waited for about an hour, Satan started attacking many members of the team physically (illness) or spiritually (distracted). When the time came to do the drama, we rebuked Satan and let God work through us- we had not [much] left, so we had to rely on Him for strength. Through the darkness, His glory shone. We didn't see any salvations, but God showed up. We learned much about glorifying and worshipping and obeying Him despite circumstances. It's not about us, it's about His glory and He was glorified cuz seeds were planted. [Then he writes in spanish-my imperfect translation follows] Also, I saw a man I led to Christ at the PdA on the 3rd and he waved at me.

I called home.

When I re-read his entries, I can hear his voice, and see all of his routine body language. He was so passionate about serving. The Lord delivered them through many difficult spiritual battles to see great things accomplished for Him.


Beej was a very normal young man who had an extraordinary anointing. As I look back over his life, I can clearly see the times the Lord worked in Him. Of course we believe that God had a plan for Beej's life, and He accomplished that plan. It was His will that was done. We praise Him for His sovereignty.

Deanna was the spiritual leader of our home for the first 14 years. In that time, she prayed very hard that I would step up and take on the role God had for me at home, and in life. During that time, Beej had struggles, was on ritalin, and could not focus well in school (Kindergarten through 2nd grade). He was very intelligent, but did not thrive. I saw in him many attributes of myself that were not flattering.

When I surrendered to the roles God had for me, Beej noticed. He was always watching, and as I look back, I can see he was emulating us. Accepting the mantle of spiritual leader was humbling, and corresponded with a tremeandous move of the Lord in my own life.

Beej had prayed to receive Jesus when he was six, but during this period of spiritual growth in my life, he heard a muslim converts testimony, and felt for the first time, he truly understood what Jesus had done for him. He recounted that as the moment of his salvation.

I am not taking credit for the man of God Beej was. I am simply showing that God used some parallel changes in both of our lives to bring Him glory.

Children do watch and learn from their parents. Boys watch dads more closely. That is a blessing if the father is following Jesus. It is a total frustration, if he is not. In broken homes he will watch mom, and the men who mean the most in his life.

It is important that our children see Jesus in us. We need to be in the Word, in prayer, and they need to see that despite our faults and imperfections, we live a life that is patterned after that of Jesus.

Parenting is a huge responsibility. I believe that after accepting Christ, raising your children to understand this relationship is key in their own belief and development, and is your primary responsibility. When parents act more like the world, their childrens view of Christianity is often that it is unimportant. However, cramming Jesus down their throats, will not go over any better than if you beat the man on the street with your 25 lb Bible, and expect him to get it.

We must model what we want to see in them. Live Jesus as best you can. It's what we are called to do. If we are legitimately doing this, then Christ will be there to help guide you through the difficult times and decisions.

In His Love,

dad