November 20, 2008
Written by Kim Rhodes…
Last week some friends of ours from Student Life World (the guys do some camps for them in the summer) were in Haiti. They were there with fiming with Compassion International in many of their projects. Next summer they will dedicate one of their camp locations in Orange Beach, Alabama to focus fully on Haiti. This location will host 10 events and allow them to speak of the needs of children there in Haiti to an audience of 15,000+. Dave and I are so excited about that. Dave will actually be speaking at one of their camps that will feature Haiti.
So while in Haiti our friend Roger was able to stop by and see our Son Frankie. We have just begun the 2 year wait to bring him home. It’s been amazing that some of our friends have been able to already have contact with Frankie’s life. Here are some pics of his time with him. Dave and I can’t wait to get down there ourselves sometime in the next year!
Here is Roger with Frankie. We sent this quilt down to him.
I’m not sure he knew what to think of Roger. 
November 19, 2008
The fall season of Engage is over, but Engage has decided to team up with David Walker for a special bonus Engage on December 8 to premiere David’s new CD called Closer than Angels. The CD drops Dec. 1, so this will be one of your first chances to get it. That night, David will be playing songs from the CD live and sharing the stories behind some of the songs.
We on the Wayfarer team love working with David, and we couldn’t be more excited about this new project. He has played several of the songs off the new CD at Engage, and they’re powerful. We’re 100 percent behind David in this project, and we’re looking forward to hearing the songs live with you. So plan to join us Monday, December 8, at 7:30 p.m. at the Handlebar. There’s no charge to come, and you will have the opportunity to buy Closer than Angels.
Watch the blog for a Q&A with David coming soon! Until the premiere, you can find out more at David’s blog or on his myspace page.
November 18, 2008
We closed the On the Verge series by coming to the verge of giving in. As Chris Brooks led us through the moments in which sin seems too tempting or too enticing or too irresistable, we realized that the thought that it will never be me isn’t true. Instead, we discovered that sinful lust is about misplaced trust, and Chris used Scripture to implore us to get out before we give in. As we sat underneath these truths, we discovered that wholeness is always there for us. Chris led us through this topic by looking at the story of David and Bathsheba from 2 Samuel 11, and we all responded by reading together David’s prayer of confession from Psalm 51.
You can listen to Chris’ message if you missed it (or if you want to hear it again) on the Engage site or the podcast. And you can stay in touch during Engage’s offseason at EngageGod.org, via our Facebook page, or by joining the Engage email or text-message list.
Don’t forget to check this blog for daily updates about what’s happening with Engage and Wayfarer and exclusives about the spring season of Engage, which will begin February 2, 2009 — as well as the bonus Engage coming in December to premiere David Walker’s new CD. Thanks for being a part of Engage’s fall season!
November 17, 2008
In the second half of the On the Verge series, Engage has spoken into those moments when we’re on the verge of giving up and those moments when we’re on the verge of giving out. As we close the On the Verge series this Monday, we’re going to turn from those moments when our will and our strength collapse to those moments when we are on the verge of giving in to sin. This is an important topic, and we’ll see together what God says to us on the verge of these catastrophic moments. So join us at Engage this Monday (Nov. 17) at the Handlebar at 7:30 p.m.
This is your last chance to join us for Engage this fall. Our spring season will commence in February. Until then, check this blog as well as www.engagegod.org for the latest Engage news. We’ll also be keeping in touch via our Facebook group, so join that if you haven’t already.
We hope to see at Engage tonight! And don’t forget to check the blog after Engage for a review of the night and a place to post comments about what you experienced at Engage.
November 14, 2008
Kim Rhodes writes: Crazy things happen around here all the time. For example, last month Dawn came to me and asked if I could mail Michael York a package. That was a first. When I dropped it off at the UPS store I wanted to tell them “this is going to Michael York!”
For those of you that don’t know, Dawn is working on the “Word of Promise” project with Thomas Nelson. The New Testament has been in stores and they are currently working on the Old Testament to be released in October of 09. Michael York (who you probably know from the Austin Powers movies among hundreds of other credits) is the narrator for both testaments It’s funny because I’ll come into work and any random day ask Dawn who she has been talking with. Michael York, Richard Dreyfuss, Martin Jarvis, Marcia Gay Harden, Gary Sinise, and Stacy Keach. Just to name a few.
The New Testament has been in stores and they are currently working on the Old Testament to be released in October of 09. This week Michael sent Dawn this picture of who he just delivered a copy of the Word of Promise to:
Michael is delivering the Word of Promise to the pope. So now if you’re playing the six degrees of Kevin Bacon game, you know how to connect Dawn Sherill to Pope Benedict. Wow!
November 13, 2008
But wait, aren’t the Rhodes already here?
The big news this week is that Dave’s parents, David SR. and Debbie are heading to the upstate. Dave’s parents have been pastoring a church in Rockledge, FL for the last 22 years. Dave’s dad just got a job at Spartanburg Community Church - one of Wayfarer’s partner churches. How did this all happen? We are still asking ourselves the same thing. Here is what Kim shared last week on her blog about the news in the Rhodes household.
“It’s early this morning and I was stirred awake. Ever have those times? Times where you are so tired but you awake so alert and can’t do anything else but get up. It’s always in those moments I’ll slip away in a quite house and ask God what he wants to whisper to me.
This morning I begin praying for a house for Dave’s parents that we will be looking at this morning for them as they make their way here today. A house that seems to be a fairy tail ending. And I sit in awe as I think about their story and how good God has been to them.
Was it September when this all happened? I can’t remember. Dave’s dad is a pastor of a church in Rockledge FL. He has been there for 22 years. His whole life he has been serving God. He is an amazing man. He gets up each day and gives every bit of himself away. He’s a hard worker and life has been hard on him. Life has been rewarding for him but hard. NOTHING has ever come easy. Since I haveknow him all he has ever wanted to do was to serve God the best that he could. He once told me that if God never had anything else for him that he would be fulfilled if he did not get to live out his dreams but if his 2 sons would.
Well this past August they were making a trip to see us. They try and come 2-3 times a year. Before leaving one day at their office Dave’s mom had printed out some papers and on a random header was a church staffing listing for a position at Spartanburg Community Church. Now they have looked for jobs before when things at the church were not going well but things were going very well and they were not looking for anything. They called us and asked if we knew this church. We did. They are one of the churches in Spartanburg that support Wayfarer.
A few calls were made. And then, since they were in the area visiting us, they were able to meet with the pastor of the church, some elders. The conversations went well. You see Dave’s dad has an interesting dynamic to him. He is older. He is a grandpa…. he is a pastor….. and he has a 6 year old daughter. He understands what it is like to pastor a church for 20 years. He understands what it’s like to be a grandpa and older. He understands what it is like to be raising a child in today’s world. He is very diverse and the position they wanted him for is to be an associate that does a lot with helping families grow spiritually etc.
So how does this story unfold.? Only in what God can do.
- They were offered a job. Out of more than 200 possibly potential people interested in the position he got offered the job.
- They sold their house in FL for their asking price in 2 weeks. (That does not happen in FL if any of you are from there. Houses are not selling. Houses are not selling at asking prices. The first person to look at the house is buying it.)
- On his last Sunday at his church in FL last week, one of the couples who founded the church who lives about 2 hrs from the church, woke up that morning and felt they needed to go attend Dave’s dad’s church. They did not know it was his last Sunday.
- Yesterday, there has been a house found here in the area that they are looking at. My friend Courntey called me and said she saw this house. The house just dropped 30,000.00. It has everything Debbie has ever dreamed of and it’s almost a house that is being given away. It’s huge, It’s new, It does not seem like this could be happening for them….. but I think it is…. The house is theirs.
I was stirred awake this morning because I have spent the last month watching the wonderful blessings of God unfold in someone elses life and just when I begin to think that there is no way that could happen, it does and it unfolds.
I am so happy for them. I am thrilled about their new journey. I’m excited that they will be living close to us. That my kids will be able to have a relationship with them that is no longer distant. Spartanburg Community church is going to be richly blessed. They just hired a man that will work harder than anyone they’veseen and will give his life away. I’m sure there will be many hurdles of many sorts to come but for now I just want to publicly thank God for being so good to his people. For being so good to our family. NEVER… I mean NEVER in a million years would I ever have thought that my parents and now Dave’s parents would be living in community with us. NEVER!”
November 12, 2008
The Wayfarer team is hard at work spreading the word about the first-ever Wayfarer Camp at Anderson University, which is coming up June 19-22, 2009. The camp team of Chad Norris, David Reichley, Kim Rhodes, and Wendy Norris have been making phone calls, sending out invitations, and registering churches as we seek to let people know about this new venture.
Yesterday, Chad Norris and David Reichley went with our awesome partners from Anderson to the South Carolina State Baptist Convention in Columbia. We also announced camp at Engage this Monday, and members of the Engage communtiy are taking 50 invitations to the youth ministers at their home churches to let them know about Wayfarer Camp.
We’re excited about how the plan for camp is coming together, and we’re excited about the six churches who have already committed to coming to Wayfarer Camp at Anderson University this summer. We still have spaces open, so if you want to bring a group to Wayfarer Camp — or if you know a church that might want to — let us know soon so that we can include them! For more details on Wayfarer Camp at Anderson University, visit www.wayfarercamp.com.
November 11, 2008
Monday at Engage, we all came to the verge of giving out. And in these moments marked by fatigue, stress, and overwhelming obstacles, one key word came into focus — help.
In a moment when no else else expected help, Daniel sought it from God, and God came through. Dave took us to Daniel 2 so that we could examine this story and discover that sometimes we can do more by doing less. As we stop trying to stack up chairs so that we measure up to someone’s impossible standard, we discover that God is active in stepping into our lives so that we don’t have to burn out or give out.
As always, we’d love to hear how God is stepping in to help you in those moments when you’re on the verge of giving out. And if you need to listen to the message again (or share it with a friend), you can listen online or via podcast.
November 10, 2008
Sometimes in life, we’re on the verge of giving up. We don’t want to try anymore, and so we just pack it in. But sometimes, despite our continued efforts and consistent desires, we come to the verge of giving out. Whether it’s fatigue, the end of our skills and abilities, or just overwhelming circumstances, we can feel our knees about to buckle, and we know we’re not going to be able to hold on much longer.
This week, Engage speaks into these moments when we’re on the verge of giving out. You won’t want to miss what promises to be an encouragaing and challenging night. So join us tonight, Nov. 10, at the Handlebar at 7:30 p.m. for Engage.
November 7, 2008
Chris and the family are on their way today to Doublehead Retreat in AL to be with Brentwood Baptist Church, Brentwood TN. and their singles group. We’ve partnered with Brentwood in the past and they love having Chris come in and partner with them.
So please pray for Chris and their group this weekend that they would have a great time encountering God together along with lots of fellowship.
