The Heavens Declare....

"God's glory is on tour in the skies, God-craft on exhibit across the horizon."
Psalm 19: 1 The Message

Here is the view out of my office window this morning. My inadequate photography skills and simple camera don't capture the majesty, but you get the idea. What an incredible and blessed start to this day!

Best Friends - Morning of Day Two

Hmmmm.........

Best Friends - Day One

(Click on photo to enlarge.) Today was our first day at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab, Utah and a meaningful day it was! The ranch is everything we expected it to be. The facility itself is outstanding. The dedicated staff is excellent! This place is an authentic sanctuary for all of these animals. It is the largest "no kill" sanctuary in the United States.

Our day was spent in orientation ensuring we understood the rules and boundaries for our behaviors. For good reason there is more concern about us than there is with the animals! We started our day with puppy socialization. Before Best Friends started this training 35% of adopted puppies were returned to the ranch. Now, they have had only one puppy returned in over three years! Wow! Next Joyce and I swept dog runs for a few hours. Next was more socialization time with a select group of dogs. Following lunch we participated in a training seminar.

We then picked a canine guest for a sleep over tonight! It appears to be working! Say Hello to a wonderful lab mix they named Synergy. Sounds like a "new age" metaphysical name don't you think. Should we decide to keep her, her name will instantly be changed to Faith or Hope. Why? She is ten years old and has been at Best Friends eight of those years without being adopted. That is both Faith and Hope! She is very sweet, well-mannered, and smart. We'll see what tomorrow brings.....

Best Burgers - And Rings!

A block and a half from our one star hotel was this dive called Hodad's! This funky place is celebrating its 40th anniversary and continues to serve amazing, burgers, rings, and shakes! At 1:30 PM, the line to get in extended a full city block. Nobody was complaining. They all understood this was the price of entry. I ordered a double meat and cheese burger. Should have stayed with a single. Such sweet misery!

International Model A Day

Joyce wanted to take a long walk on Harbor Island Drive this morning. It was a rare break and opportunity for us so we made the most of it. It was a beautiful morning and a great time to walk, talk, and take in the beautiful water and sights. All of a sudden I noticed a parade of restored Model A Fords passing us. There were over 50 of these beauties headed for the parking lot at the end of Harbor Drive. The whole group parked and took group photos of the owners and cars. What great fun to be in the right place at the right time. They were honking their oooga horns and strutting their stuff. They were mechanically and cosmetically perfect. What a hoot!

The One Star Hotel

You have heard of five star hotels, but have you ever chosen to stay in a one star hotel. As we planned this trip to San Diego we decided to find an inexpensive place on the beach. It is one of those times when things look great on the website but weren't quite the same when we signed in! When we checked in and opened the door to our room it had not been cleaned. Thankfully no one was still in the room! The night manager was very nice, and gave us an "upgraded room" for the same low price. The upgrade was that we had a sliding door onto the main street of Ocean Beach. The space was tight, smelled musty, and the water was like we treat in developing countries. The noise from the street was loud. Should we stay or look for another place? We crashed for the night and decided to see how we felt in the morning.

The next morning the whole place begin to grow on us. The early morning surfers, the people of the street, the unique junk shops and the local crowd became our friends. We didn't fit with our age and non-surfing clothes, but no matter. Two days later we have become friends with the locals, have experienced great local food, and have a new love for the beach. While we didn't know we picked a one star hotel, we wouldn't hesitate to stay here again. Friday night and all day Saturday were worth the price of admission. What a hoot! We love this one star place!

First Snow

Here it is Monday, September 21, 2009, and the leaves on the Aspen trees are just starting to turn their brilliant gold. Mother Nature has her ways of helping them along. As I pulled into my parking space early this morning, a herd of over twenty Elk were bugling nearby. It is this sweet but eerie sound like nothing else in the world. Shortly thereafter, the snow started to fall and is still falling lightly. Winter has announced its emminent arrival and has blessed us with an appetizer. Temperatures will be back in the high 70's and low 80's by Thursday, but Winter has let us know it is on its way.

An Amazing Life - Julia Klassen

On Friday we celebrated the life and homecoming of my dear friend and mother-in-law, Julia Klassen. She was 89 going on 29. It was my privilege to preside at her commital. The following are excerpts from my comments:

"Because we love her so much and because she is such a huge part of our lives, there is sadness, loss, and grief over her passing. To say that we will miss her is to understate the size and legacy of her life. There will be a void in our lives from this point forward that no one else can fill. We will reach for her physically and she will not be there. We will speak her name and she will not answer. We will expect to hear her beautiful voice and spirit that have been silenced. All this will be hard.

The void will be partially filled by all the love she gave to each of us and the stories of her life that we will tell for years. This is as it should be.

This is a day of celebration from two perspectives. We were blessed to be loved and cared for by this amazing woman and her amazing life. Mom would not want to us to grieve for long. She would want us to celebrate and party in her honor. Let's not disappoint her.

Second, she is now safe in the arms of the Jesus she loves and serves. What a great day! She has no pain. She is free to dance like we know she can. She and her husband Elmer are reunited! They have some catching up to do, but there is no shortage of time. What a reunion! What great joy!"

I am blessed to have the world's best mother-in-law. While I miss her, I will see her again! Amazing!

Mapastepec - Anticipation

What a great day! The 50,000 people in Mapastepec all know a great new solution for safe, affordable water has come to town! The Baptist church hosting the system continues to work tirelessly spreading the word to their community. They ran health and hygiene training classes for six hours! They conducted classes for everyone from adults to toddlers. The classes were full of excited and grateful people. These were best organized and most effective classes I have experienced to date. Well done!

When we arrived at the church we were told the three radio stations in town wanted to interview us. Mario Avendano, our National Director and I were hustled to all three stations. If you don't think that bringing water to a community like this is needed or appreciated, you should have been with us. It was exciting and great fun. At two of the interviews, people showed up at the radio stations to learn more.

Amazing! We are expecting record crowds and a major party at today's inauguration.

Mapastepec, Mexico

This is a very exciting day! I am in the Mexico City Airport catching a flight to Tapachula later this evening. Tomorrow we will drive to the community of Mapastepec to visit our newest water system. On Friday we will inaugurate the system at the local Baptist Church in the center of the city. We are excited about this for several reasons. As you can see by the map, Mapastepec is about a four hour drive from our office in Tuxtla. Moving out of the city is a first for us. The other first is that we are installing this system with five satellite distribution points at nearby Compassion Projects. This is also a first! The Compassion children will receive free water and the surrounding communities can purchase water. We believe this expansion of our current model is replicable in similar communities in all three countries. I can't wait to share more of this story with you in the next couple of days as we hit the streets big time in Mapastepec.

80 Million Gallons Distributed!

Wow! HWI hits another significant milestone. One day in late July, as thousands of people across three countries were purchasing our water, we hit 80 million gallons! What a great achievement!

We congratulate our Church Partners who serve their customers in such a meaningful way every day that they come back day after day.

Roughly right, this translates to over 31,500 gallons per day over 6.5 years! We give God all praise for how he continues to bless the work of this, His ministry.

We are counting the days until we hit 100 million gallons! There will be a countdown and a celebration when we achieve that milestone. Thanks to all of you who make this minstry possible! We appreciate you!

Paul Skiles - A Giant of Faith and More

For over two years, it has been on my heart to visit the most influential person of my spiritual life and journey. On Friday, July 31, I was able to achieve this goal. Here you see Paul Skiles with his beautiful wife Maxine. Their daughter Paula took this photo. While I am physically taller than Paul, there is no way I can measure up to his stature as a leader and a man of faith. The integrity and consistency of his obedience and faithfulness are unmatched.

Paul Skiles gave himself and his talents and gifts unconditionally to all of us who were teenagers in the mid-1950's in the Northern California District of the Church of the Nazarene. He was an amazing musician, trombone player, arranger, and leader of the best youth choir that ever was. That is a fact! Because of Paul, we were all part of something so special and meaningful that we can never forget it. Over 50 years later we would all do it over and over again. Further, he was an incredible athlete and softball player. He is also an incredible husband and father. Most important, he loved us unconditionally and gave us everything he had for many years. As many know, he went on to accomplish many great things.

We had the privilege of visiting together for a couple of hours. It was such great fun and blessing. Tons of stories, experiences, laughs, and memories. What a privilege! Most important, I had the privilege of sharing with Paul his influence on my life and how much his prayers and love contributed to my spiritual life and development. What a great time we had! I hope to have more times like this with Paul and his family in the days ahead. But if that can't happen, I will treasure this experience forever. Thank you my friend for who you have always been to me. I am so grateful for you!

My Amazing Wife and Marcus

My wife Joyce is amazing in so many ways! In June she completed the Avon Breast Cancer Walk of 26 miles. Many of you made this possible for her. Two weeks ago, she was with me in Mexico for our National Conference shown here with her friend Nahun, manager of our water system in Jiqipilas. They are Buds! But most important there is Marcus.

Over nine years ago Joyce entered into a mentoring relationship Crystal, Marcus's mother. Crystal is a troubled lady who has brought crises on herself throughout these years, including giving birth two sons out of wedlock. Joyce has stood by her through it all, supporting her and providing guidance while being a friend. Crystal has made many promises to her two sons which she has never kept. The boys are now in the custody of their grandfather in Colorado, while their mom is in Kentucky. One of those promises was that Marcus could go to Elitch Gardens on his eighth birthday. Joyce was determined that this young man would not suffer another in the long line of disappointments and failures of his mother. Joyce kept the mother's promise and spent yesterday taking Marcus on the rides and buying him souvenirs at the amusement park. She also had a birthday cake made with this name on it. This smart, good-looking young dude was blown away. He will never forget what Amazing Joyce has done for him. Honey, I am so proud of you for this act of love and generosity. You are "simply the best"! Wow!

Street Dogs

I've never met a dog I didn't like. I have met many that didn't like me -usually Chihuahas. When we go to countries, I take constant grief over the fact that I befriend all dogs - Dirty, diseased, friendly, unfriendly, lost, and found. Most street dogs are unsocialized and not approachable. Others are reasonably social but have never been petted, scratched, loved, or cared for. Sad - very sad.

Last week we were in Chiapas, Mexico and toured a drug and rehab facility led and managed by one of our church partners. I found Chico the pit bull chained to this shed. The comments from my comprades were, "Ed, be careful." Chico had a sweet friendly face. We made eye contact and he seemed cool. Every step I took toward him his tail wagged harder. Hmmm...friend or foe? Still approaching I whispered sweet nothings along the way. Slowly I extended my hand to Chico. He responded with a huge lick. Next he was up on my arm soaking up the love and craving more. "Love me, love me, love me" he begged. Yes, I let him lick my face. This big guy keeps order around the rehab center. He does his job very well. But like alot of us, inside he is a marshmellow. I wouldn't have missed this relationship for anything. Chico and I have a thing goin' on!

Mexico National Conference

This great group of men, excluding the Gringo, produced another outstanding National Conference here in Tuxtla. From left to right: Alberto Barrita, Sebastian Ovando, Mario Avendano, and Gabriel Valdiviezo. A key member of the team Althea Sidaway is missing from this photo.

The phrase, "You had to be there." fits describing this event. There were great presentations and testimonies. As always, there was unity in the room. One hundred percent of exisiting systems attended and particpated along several pen!ding Church Partners. Our donors and guests were excited by what they experienced. Congratulations to Mario and his incredible Mexico team

Anticipation!

We pulled into our hotel after a long day of travel to Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas, Mexico. It was very hot, we were tired, ready to unpack, cool down, and rest. As we entered the parking lot we were greeted by this huge banner announcing our conference. The banner faces the main street of Tuxtla and makes a huge impression.

Instantly I forgot about the heat and fatigue and was very energized. How exciting! The Second National Conference ADU Mexico! My heart rate accelerated and my eyes filled with tears remembering God's annointing of the 2008 conference and anticipating what will take place tomorrow.

In the center of the banner you see the words Fisica, Social, and Espiritual highlighting the transformation our Church Partners provide their communities each day. Physical, social, and spritual transformation that is achieved by providing safe, affordable, water where it is needed most!

Tomorrow over 125 people from our churches come together for six hours of celebration, learning, and rejevenation for this ministry. I'm pumped. There will be hundreds of hugs and handshakes. God will be celebrated and honored by these incredible people. WOW!

Because of this banner the people of Tuxtla know that ADU is in the house! "To God be the Glory!"

Guerrillas of Grace

I love this concept and book of prayers brought to us in 1984 by Ted Yoder. This post is comprised of direct quotes from this book.

"The Old Testament prophets can easily be conceived as guerrillas doing battle with the established powers of their day. Jesus was the pre-eminent guerilla of grace: he confronted repressive institututions and liberated captive minds and hearts with his words and his life. The early Christians rallied to Paul's battle cry: "We are not contending against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, against the world rulers of this present darkness..."

There are some characteristics of guerillas that give particular relevance to the use of that image to desribe Christians.

By any of our usual measures, guerrillas are a weaker force set against a superior, more organized power, a power which exerts both subtle and blatant pressures to conform. Guerillas are engaged in the battle to regain some territory, or some part of life, for a higher purpose, a truer cause. Doesn't "guerrilla" desribe the contemporary church in many developing countries?

It is also important to note that guerrillas usually work in groups. The point is that both grace and guerrilla are relational terms.

Guerrillas are never quite so desperate as they are confident. They believe they are fighting on the winning side, in spite of any and all appearances to the contrary.

Guerrillas are willing to give their lives, if necessary, because they believe the cause for which they struggle, and which struggles in them, will finally prevail. "

I want to be a "Guerrilla of Grace".

Spiritual Warfare

This request for prayer was sent to our staff and Board of Directors moments ago. We now invite all of you to join us in this effort.

As many of you know we continue to experience continual attacks on this ministry by the Ministry of Health in the Dominican Republic. Recently the MOH shut down ten of our systems and they remain closed today. This has been a difficult dynamic to manage and resolve. The irrationality, unreasonable demands, and inconsistent requirements of the MOH power structure add complexity to the situation. They wreak havoc for our Church Partners, our staff, and most concerning, for our National Director, Juan Jose Gomez. Let there be no doubt that is an ongoing attack of the Evil One on this ministry in this country.

Moments ago I spoke with JJ Gomez regarding a proposal and action plan he will present to the Ministry of Health tomorrow morning. Tomorrow JJ will:

1. Address all identified issues - real and imagined.


2. Attempt to get many systems reopened and serving their communities.


3. Attempt to gain agreement and commitment on the qualification of future systems.

We need a large volume of effectual, fervent prayer from now through noon tomorrow that

1. The Evil One would be defeated.


2. JJ would experience the power and presence of the Holy Spirit and our prayers.


3. The heads and hearts of MOH officials would be opened and reasonable.


4. Resolution of issues would be achieved.


5. Agreement can be reached on the requirements for future systems.

We know our God is able and that prayer is the powerful weapon in spiritual warfare. Please join us now in fighting this important battle. Thank you for helping us fight the good fight of faith!

Team Gloria

This weekend a long awaited goal was achieved! Team Gloria, comprised of:

Casey Biggers, my niece
Cheryl Page, my daughter
Ruth Ann Moore, my sister-in-law, and
Joyce Anderson, MY FANTASTIC WIFE,

achieved a long-awaited goal! After months of training and fund-raising they completed the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer in the Rocky Mountains. They called themselves "Team Gloria" honoring my sister-in-law, Gloria Harris, who is a breast cancer survivor. She also happens to be Joyce and Ruth Ann's younger sister. Casey and Cheryl walked 39 miles in the two days. Ruth Ann and Joyce walked 26 miles. Fantastic! We are totally proud of each of you for who you are and what you have accomplished.

This was such a beautiful and meaningful event plus a great time for our family to honor Gloria. There were lots of laughs, lots of blisters and sore muscles, and lots of tears of joy and love! As a result, it looks as though they will do it again in 2010 adding more family members! We will be there to cheer them on!

Transformation - Father's Day 2009

At Healing Waters we are passionate about physical, social, and spiritual transformation for the people and communities we serve. On this Father's Day 2009, it seems appropriate to share a transformation story of a different sort. What people often forget is that transformation is not an instantaneous result. It requires patience, perseverance, purpose, and passion.

My friend Ron Worthington understands what is required for authentic transformation. Ron rescued this 1949 Farmall Cub tractor from his Dad's place. It had been used by both his Dad and Grandad for many years. Ron had many pleasant memories being raised with this tractor and his dad teaching him to use it. It seemed a shame to see it in such poor condition. The transformation process began in 2007 and was just completed. This was a labor of love. Ron would tell you it was worth it all and that the thoughts and memories that were part of the process will last forever. This beauty has new life and will be part of this family for many generations to come.

Our labor of love is to bring about transformation of even greater magnitude to the people and communities we serve. We provide the means, God takes care of the transformation. What a privilege! What a legacy!