Solar Power

Maybe this doesn't seem like a post that belongs in a missionary blog, but it's just something that I've had on my mind a lot recently: I think solar energy could be put to use even for cars. I've been trying to get the attention of car makers and solar panel manufacturers, but it's hard to get anybody to take me seriously.

Could not solar panels be incorporated into the body of a car? And couldn't the car run on a battery large enough to hold 12 or more hours of charge? I know this might not be a good solution for places like Seattle, where the sun seldom shines, or Fairbanks, where the days are very short during the winter. But we don't all buy the same kind of cars, anyway.

More good news from Botswana

Since May of 2006 we have been trying to get Assembly Bible College registered with the federal government of Botswana. "Registration" is similar to what we would call "accreditation" here in the U.S. The application was submitted in December of 2006, and yesterday we got this e-mail from our colleague Pat Mahar in Botswana:

Two members of the Tertiary Committee stopped by the Bible School yesterday and delivered a Draft Registration Certificate (which is temporary, of course). We are now offical and legal! PTL!! Of course, we have to start meeting the recommendations that they've given us. The new kitchen is the first big pressing issue. We are well on our way...

Thought you'd like to rejoice too.

Pat

Pictures

I posted pictures on facebook of friends we've been connecting with as we travel. Most are in Oregon, but a few scattered throughout the country. Here's the link:

http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=1994&l=28369&id=1463262232

Behavior matters

Behavior matters, though. My righteousness is not based on my behavior, but still my behavior matters. Jesus tells me in Matthew that I should let my light shine before men so that they may see my good works and glorify my Father in heaven. So, you see, my good works are the light by which my friends and acquaintences see the Father; if I shine my light brightly, they get a clear, honest picture of Him. If my light is dim or if it goes out, they can't see the Father at all or they get such a dim view of Him that they disapprove!

So I guess what I'm trying to say is, my righteousness does not depend on my behavior, but somebody else's salvation may depend on my behavior.

My righteousness or His?

A lot of Americans assume they know what the Bible teaches about righteousness, but I wonder how many really do.

I think most Americans assume the Bible teaches that we have to be good, avoid sex and alcohol and beating your wife. They think the message of the Bible is, if you're good enough, God will declare you righteous and you get to go to heaven. But that's not it.

What the Bible does teach is that every human being that has ever lived has fallen short of "good enough" to go to heaven. But since God really wants us to go to heaven, He fixed it so that we could go to heaven because of Jesus' righteousness and not because of our own. The main message of the Bible is not "what I have to do for God so that He will love me" but "what God did for me because He loves me."

Who moved Sunday?

Who put Sunday at the end of the week? You know, in South Africa you can hardly find ANY calendar that has Sunday at the beginning of the week: they all start with Monday. Here in the U.S., almost all the monthly calendars have Sunday at the beginning. But I kind of like to use those weekly planners and I can't find a one that has Sunday as the first day. And many of them even cram Saturday and Sunday together at the end of the week; as missionaries, Sunday is our busiest day and that's the day where we need the biggest square for writing stuff in.

This is not a religious dogma for me: it's just a matter of avoiding confusion. My eyes are used to seeing Tuesday in that third square, you know, and Saturday in the last square. Whose idea was it to change the order of the days of the week?

Books

Chuck and I are reading a book called "Visoneering" by Andy Stanley, son of Charles Stanley. It's great! It's old enough you might be able to get it at the public library. . .no need buying every book you might ever want to read if the library has them.

Something else I highly recommend is the series by Alexander McCall-Smith called "The #1 Ladies' Detective Agency." The first book in the series is named (co-incidentally) The #1 Ladies' Detective Agency! The whole series is set in Botswana, as a matter of fact, right in Tlokweng mostly, and that's where our Bible College is. McCall-Smith is a British man who taught at the University of Botswana for several years. The books are down-to-earth and light-hearted; an outsiders view of Botswana, to be sure, but still a valid view.