Eyes of Your Understanding

Here is a recent message that I had the privilege to give at Calvary Chapel Port Angeles.   I hope you are blessed and encouraged by it!

http://vimeo.com/104871038

Uniquely Designed

Psalm 33: 1-3 “Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous! For praise from the upright is beautiful. Praise the Lord with the harp; make melody to Him with an instrument of ten strings. Sing to Him a new song; play skillfully with a shout of joy.”

The lyrics were familiar and soothing, “Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so...” Many people, Christians especially, have this song packed away in the recesses of their memory from past children's church services. It's not quite so familiar to me, having heard it for the first time as an adult, but I don't think I've ever heard it sung with such sweetness and beauty as when our new friend Dan led us in worship this morning. As often occurs here at YWAM Discovery Bay, missionaries from various parts of the world stop by for a visit and share their lives and stories with the staff and students. Dan is from a large city in India and has been getting ready to start a Bible study training course with YWAM in Kona, HI. Having completed his Discipleship Training School and School of Worship also in Kona, Dan is growing both in his relationship with Jesus and his ministry skills as was clearly apparent in his music.

In Eph. 1:23 Paul explains that Jesus, “fills all in all.” That is to say, He is working in individual Christians to develop them into uniquely gifted instruments that He can use to reach those who have not come into a relationship with Him and to serve His people, the Church. Each person is valued by God beyond what we can comprehend (check out Eph. 1-3!) and has gifted them with abilities and strengths that are varied and specific to match their personal qualities. Like the mechanisms in a computer each is specifically designed and made to operate in such a way that when put in its correct place produces a functioning productive tool. Likewise, each person is different. Different in gender, in size and shape, with strengths and weakness, possibly in language and nationality, etc. but all are made by God's design and purpose.

The beginning of another Discipleship Training School and Music Ministry Development Seminar is nearly here and we are getting excited to meet the students. It is a time of slight anxiety as the staff is working hard to get everything just right for the schools to go well but also for meeting close to twenty new strangers or should I call them pre-friends! What I always look forward to the most is getting to know them individually and seeing how God has designed them and what purposes He has in store at this season in their lives. Like agates scavenged from the beach, each one will undergo weekly challenges from the instructors and staff which will work to round off those sharp edges. The Word of God will wash and cleanse them and the anointing of the Spirit will work to make each one shine with beauty as they radiate the Lord's love and presence. It is our privilege to be apart of the process and we look forward to seeing the results of His handiwork.

July/Aug Update NEW BEGINNINGS

"See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands, your walls are continually before Me." Isaiah 49:16

“You did what?!”
Yes, I’ve resigned from my position as an appliance repairman with Sears here in Sequim.  I had a go at it and learned a huge amount about the trade and about myself.  I have concluded appliance repair is a challenging field especially residential refrigerators and I really enjoyed doing the work.  What I also found though was the increasing number of hours it required and the amount of stress that I shouldered was way more than I had anticipated.  Without going into all the gory details, I realized I could not continue.  I am relieved, to say the least to be moving on and am excited for the next step in God’s plan.  Though God used me hugely during my time in this job, now that we are in transition, I feel our compass needle is reading true again.

The Next Step
 After meeting with Tag and Deidra Larson, directors of YWAM Discovery Bay, we have prayerfully committed to moving back on base (we lived there for nine months back in ‘09-‘10) to serve in the ministry.  There are a number of areas in which we will be assisting:  Discipleship Training School, School of Music in Missions, general base care taking, and administration.  These responsibilities will keep us busy (mostly Jeremy as Cameron will be home schooling) through the week and likely will include more overseas outreach most likely in Southeast Asia and the Pacific Rim.   We will continue to fellowship at Calvary Chapel Sequim and help out whenever we can while continuing to build our relationship with our supporting churches.

One Step Beyond
God continues to put Australia on our hearts and we are taking another step of faith to see what doors the Lord might open for us by attending the Envision Conference coming this October.  The kids will be staying home this time as we fly to Sydney for a few days for the event and then go on to visit Pastor Dave and Melissa Heitman in Tauranga, New Zealand for the remainder of our time.  We will also visit the Calvary Chapel Bible Institute in nearby Rotorua and hopefully connect with other YWAM ministries while in the country.  We’re intrigued by the possible ministry opportunities in NZ and are excited to reconnect with friends and see some beautiful scenery.       

Prayer Needs

• A smooth transition moving out of our current house and into the base house
• Finances; we are going to be living on full missionary support as no one is paid in YWAM, we’re a little less than half way to our goal of $2000 a month
• Adjusting to the new ministry responsibilities
• Open doors in Australia and/or New Zealand
• Healing for Jeremy’s lower back, seems to have a pinched nerve effecting the left hip and leg.
• Home schooling planning for coming year
  
  
  

Lessons in Adversity

I had the privilege of speaking at Calvary Chapel Port Angeles on Sunday, June 23rd.  It's always a blessing to fellowship with various churches and to see how the Lord is faithfully ministering in people's lives.  This church especially has been dealing with adversity with one of their elders suddenly passing away in a car accident and so I was especially honored to share a message of encouragement and practical application.  Have a listen if you have a few minutes and I pray you'll be encouraged!  Jeremy
Click here to listen to the message at Calvary Port Angeles

The Wingey City

It's pretty cold here in Chicago, not really what I was expecting, in the 30s when the sun goes down.  Seattle was green, blossoming, and pushing 70 on Sunday when I left and I was optimistic that spring was here and the temperatures would be on the rise.  Not so.  We drove through snow flurries from the airport to the hotel and I have had frozen ear lobes every night from walking to and from restaurants.  Wah wah wah, says the local, and they're right, I'm just whining.

In 2Cor. 1:8-11 Paul and his traveling mates have been all over modern day Turkey and Greece and have come up against increasing persecution, discrimination, and flat out hardship.  As he writes to the Believers in the worldly, pagan city of Corinth, he does not hesitate to inform them of their perilous experiences. This really struck me as I studied because at times, I shy away from writing in much detail of mine or my family’s struggles as we prayerfully wait for our next step in missions.  Partly because I feel it’s a personal struggle and not one to burden others with. I don’t want to be seen as “winge”-ing.  But it’s clear that there is great blessing in sharing our struggles as well as our triumphs. Paul is our example by sharing his experiences and then also points out the blessing that they received by the church’s prayer (verse 11).  As a result, there are blessings to share and multiply and the body of Christ functions as a healthy unit.  Pride plays a big part in what we do and do not share.  When we keep it all in, we not only miss out but we rob others of serving Christ by using their gifts.  Also, it’s clear that Paul makes a distinction between whining and honestly sharing a trial or concern, his letter is inspired by the Spirit and is written with real purpose and design, not one word is wasted or out of place. 

So, to start, would you pray for us to continue to hear from the Lord regarding Australia.  Almost every day and sometimes multiple times through the day, He gets our attention and draws us to pray for the nation and the brothers and sisters in the faith who are serving Down Under and I want our hearts to be soft and receptive to hear His voice.  Please pray for consistent and growing faith.  We have days when our faith and confidence in Christ and His promises is enough to feel our feet walking on the steamy sidewalk of some Aussie city and other times when we can’t see past our front door.  Would you pray for Cameron and the kids as they persevere in home schooling and generally keeping up the house while I’m working?  As many of you know I’ve been in training in my new job since January and am having to learn a new career from scratch.  This is a huge challenge and I am jumping in with both feet and often feel over my head.  I am confident though, that in time, it will get easier as I get more training and experience in the field.  I am very thankful for the income and for the potential this job has in opening possible doors in ministry, I just need prayer to keep at it and to stay balanced with my relationship with God, my wife, family, and friends.  As always, thank you for your prayers and support.     Jeremy 

Notes from the Windy City

So, I’m in Chicago for a couple of weeks to get trained by Sears in refrigeration repair.  I am super excited to get some intensive training and I am enjoying getting to know some new people from various parts of the U.S.  I miss the family and am kind of bummed about not getting to properly celebrate Easter but I know there are a lot of people who have it a lot worse, especially those serving in our armed forces.  As I settled into my four hour flight to Chicago from Seattle, I buried my nose into what has turned out to be a very interesting and sobering account of soldiers’ lives on the front lines of war against the Taliban in the craggy, rugged mountains and valleys of Afghanistan.  I managed to get through half of the book before we landed awkwardly on one of the many runways of O’Hare airport.  Though I have never served in the military, I enjoy reading about others who have, especially regarding training and leadership under the chaotic horror of combat.  While in Townsville, I found an old copy of the book, Band of Brothers and devoured it in short order.  It too was a great read with important lessons.  A story that really epitomizes what Jesus said in John 15: 13 “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.”  I am thankful also, for the many stories in the scripture that focus on leadership and many of them depict warfare or have some relation to military service.  In my devotional time today, I was in 2Corinthians 1: 1-11 and saw some of these leadership principles described by Paul as he wrote to this adolescent church.  He related the recent persecutions and trials that he and his traveling companions had experienced as opportunities to encourage the Corinthian Believers to endure the same things.  As I read, it is clear that Paul has lead the way through the battle and is showing courage and fortitude, much like the “Captain of our salvation”, our Lord Jesus.  He says in verse 6-7, by following in his footsteps they are affirming their faith thereby showing the fruit of their salvation.  The battle is certain, when the heat is turned up and the enemy engages us, the true Believers fight to hold their spiritual ground and the leaders rise to the forefront and boldly press forward while firmly but lovingly prodding others along.  May we find our strength in Christ to have victory against our adversary as Paul says in verse 9b, "...that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead, who delivers us from so great a death, and does deliver us; in whom we trust that He will still deliver us..."    Blessings, Jeremy

Step By Step You'll Lead Me

The beautiful Olympic Mountains, our Winter view

Happy 2013 and welcome to Spring!

17 Year Anniversary in Port Townsend

Greetings again from the Botkin Family!  It’s been way too long since out last update and I’ve decided now is the best time write.  Since our return to the States from Australia, we’ve been in prayer and have been patiently waiting for another open door to continue to serve Down Under.  The church plant in Sydney is not progressing very quickly and seems to still be in the prayer and planning stage so, though we are still very interested in taking part, it still seems like it’s a ways off.  We’ve had a few other opportunities but none have materialized as of yet.  

Lollies!

Upon getting settled in here in Sequim, WA. I was blessed for a number of months to be working part-time as an assisting pastor at Calvary Chapel Sequim but the position eventually ran out of funding.  As a result, I’ve been looking diligently for work and God has really come through!  As of January this year I have begun working as an appliance technician for A & E Factory Service, a branch of Sears Holdings.  This is really exciting since they have been training me to work on refrigerators and laundry appliances for the last couple of months and are interested in expanding my training and licensing into the future.  This is both beneficial for our immediate financial needs (enabling us to save more effectively for the mission) and for developing a trade for a potential future visa. 

The neighbors

Yes, it rains in Sequim

With each potential opportunity to serve in Australia we go through a rollercoaster of great rejoicing and excitement and then disappointment.  There are times when we’re perfectly content and at peace with God’s timing and plan but sometimes discouragement weighs on us.  We’re learning to trust in Him solely and not allow our outward circumstances to negatively impact us; God is always faithful to meet our every need.  A few days ago, I was feeling pretty down and was reading in Proverbs when it seemed the Lord pointed me to chapter 30: 25 where it talks about the ants’ wisdom in being prepared for the seasons and I felt that really confirmed our present plan of getting trained in a trade in order to be able to be better equipped to minister in the future.  Even so, if an unforeseen opportunity arises sooner we’re ready to go!  Our savings continues to grow and we are eager knowing that with every contribution our ability to meet our financial goals (plane tickets, insurance, moving costs, etc.) is becoming a reality.  We realize that this is a relatively long period of time of investment for our supporters but be assured that our focus remains on missions and we are continuing to streamline our lives for the calling.  As always we want to say a huge, “Thank You!” for every prayer, word of encouragement, and dollar that has been given to us over these years of support, we are truly humbled and blessed by you.

Sean's new rabbit, Clover

The Botkin Family