God Works in Mysterious Ways...

God works in mysterious ways! At least we can’t always figure Him out. That’s why we have to trust Him!

Just about a year ago, Doug was in the middle of Barnes and Noble’s bookstore, when he got a phone call asking him to go to Dubai, UAE to train Christian children’s workers. WOW! training Christian children’s workers in the Middle East?!

Those who’ve been reading this blog know that that trip took place last October. Look down through the entries - you’ll find his account.

While in Dubai, Doug was sought by the Newark Star Ledger newspaper for an article that was to feature the popularity of ventriloquism in entertainment today. The Star Ledger is NJ’s largest daily paper and the 19th largest “local” paper in the nation. Doug was going to be the “gospel” vent in the article. Some of the top names in ventriloquism were interviewed and the article was scheduled for the last weekend in November, ’07. It sounded like a wonderful opportunity.

The interview went well, and Doug was free to speak the gospel, and interweave his faith in the answers he gave. The journalist was positive and encouraging - even to the point of coming to Rutherford Bible Chapel Sunday School to catch DigDag in action. Photos were shot, emails were answered and the facts were all checked and confirmed.

Just a few days before publication, the journalist informed us that the article would indeed be printed, but that Doug would not be featured - he should have an article all his own!

That article then became part of a series called “I am New Jersey”, highlighting people who have “made a difference in the state of New Jersey” according to the paper.

All along, the one thing that remained our concern was that the Lord would be lifted up. As Doug Horley, one of our Dubai friends, wrote in his popular kids’ chorus, “We want to see Jesus lifted high - a banner that flies across the land.”

Well, the article has finally been published, and we’re including a link here for you to read it for yourself. Just click your mouse on the blue line, and you'll be linked to the article. In the printed paper, it was a full page and a half! So, when God says, “Wait, I want ALL the world to see...” then we guess that’s what He means!

Please enjoy the article, and praise God with us!

http://blog.nj.com/iamnj/2008/04/doug_nearpass.html

Lee & Doug

Movin' on up...

Back in the early 60's, Mom had two placards on the wall of her "work area" in the basement. One was a picture of a bunch of cave men sitting around a campfire with the caption, "Next week we gotta get organized!" The other was a bunch of colonials gathered in what appeared to be Freedom Hall in Philadelphia with the caption, "OK! Now that we're organized, what're we gonna do?!"

Well, now that we're organized, we have plans and options!

Yesterday we met with Dad's medical staff and support team. It seems that he's now ready to move on! His progress has been good, and he's ready to progress out of Hamilton Place. We're so thankful for the many prayers of faithful friends like you, who've been praying for his recovery. He's not up to the level of mobility that he was a month ago, but then again, he's not likely to attain that level. But praise the Lord, he's made good progress and has reached a level of mobility that can be maintained outside of the constant medical care at Hamilton.

The question remains now: Where should he go? The level of assistance he needs is still a bit more than Mom can provide, yet, not enough to keep him in a medical facility. Right now, we'd appreciate your prayers - especially through the next week or so, as we weigh the options before us. The Lord has given us a wonderful, caring staff of professionals who are assisting and counseling Mom and Dad through this period of decision, but we know that He has also given His Spirit to guide, direct and lead. We pray that as we listen to the facts presented to us, we'll be sensitive to the Spirit's hand as He guides us along, and the result will be best for Mom and Dad together.

Right now, the information we have is too tentative to post, so we ask that you bear with us in love when we seem vague in our explanations, here on the blog. We'll let you know what we can as soon as we're able.

In the mean time, both Mom and Dad want to thank you for your many prayers, notes and comments of care. It's a joy to know that the "family" reaches so far!

Keep checking back here for more details. We'll post 'em as we get 'em!

May the Lord bless each of you and keep His arms tight around you!

In His arms,

Lee & Doug

Flying here and there....

Last weekend (March 28 & 29) we took a trip to Minneapolis, Minnesota for the Twin Cities Regional Puppetry Festival with One Way Street, Inc. where Lee was responsible for handling the sales of all the ministry resources you see pictured, and Doug taught classes in basic ventriloquism, creating unique voices and developing puppet characters. In addition, Doug judged a puppetry competition, MC’ed a creative ministries competition, and delivered the closing challenge to the participants.

Actually, our trip started on Friday, when we were chauffeured to the airort by our dear friend Chloe Burke. Chloe is 4 years old, so she brought her mom, Lori, to drive. We introduced her to “Peepers” which turn your hand into a puppet, and a new friend was born! What a joy to be cared for by these loving friends. Lori is in our small group at church, and works with Lee on Kingdom Kids.

The Minneapolis area seems to be a pocket full of creative people. This festival always seems to have people who are particularly interested in good puppetry and good ministry. We renewed some friendships with creative friends we’ve known over the years, such as Bram Jarvis, the creator of the blacklight fish puppets we used last summer at VBS (see blog entry for August, ’07).

We also got to spend some time with Lisa Laird, an excellent ventriloquist from Orange City, Iowa. Lisa and her husband Alan, head the “Laird Legacy” of outstanding puppeteers and vents. I’ll get their website for you - you really should look them up. Lisa won a gold medal in the Creative Ministries competition, and taught a class on making “foam ball” puppets (We’re tellin ya - - ya gotta look up their site!).

This particular festival started in “recovery mode”, as a clerical error had sent all of the resources that were to be sold at our resource table (Lee’s domain) to Pittsburgh, instead of Minneapolis. A midnight run requiring the driving skills of KJ Schmidt and Dale VonSeggen brought the materials to Minneapolis by Friday, but eliminated the time required to set up the stage for Friday night’s theme performance. Ahhhh - the simplicity of ventriloquism! Doug stepped in with a vent performance reflecting the theme, “Planned with a Purpose”, using the simpler set up of a vent stand and a 9 foot grand piano!

Regional festivals begin at supper time on Friday nights and go at 110 mph until they roll to a stop at about the same time on Saturday. They offer anywhere from 5 to 8 classes for each of the three workshop periods, and still have time for three performances, devotions and shopping for new resources.

After the festival, the staff packed and cleaned up all that was left, and headed out for dinner. A stop at the Mall of America proved that retail in the US is thriving! 2 hour waits for a table!! We opted to leave, and headed back to the Chili’s by our hotel. A delightful dinner later, we were all tired, and headed back to our rooms for the night. It’s hard to imagine we’ve only been here since Friday!

As we’re writing this post, we’re 35,000 feet above the US - somewhere over one of the Great Lakes, and the ice floes are fascinating. By tomorrow, we’ll be back to our daily chores and business. next weekend it happens all over again, as Lee heads to Virginia to see Chrissy, Todd, Sam and Dylan, and Doug heads to Brooksville, Florida for the Tampa Bay Area regional Puppetry Festival. Maybe we should just get our mail delivered to the baggage claim at Newark Airport!

Thanks for checking in - we’ll have more news for you shortly!

God be with you, and thanks for all your prayers and cares.

In His arms,

Doug and Lee