Living Hope Happenings

Things are finally hopping with regard to the Faces of Hope release, as well as several other Living Hope initiatives. Click here to view a trailer for a new documentary on Living Hope, and read on below for excerpts from a letter that Chairman John Thomas sent to supporters this week. At some point I expect the book will be available to order online, but if you would like me to bring you one from the event detailed below, email me at allnoch19@gmail.com for details. Now here’s John’s letter:

We have some great news! We finally have scheduled the next Living Hope Partners Conference: Wednesday, April 25 and Thursday, April 26 at Brentwood Baptist Church in Brentwood, Tennessee. In addition to the conference, Michael W. Smith and Tommy Walker, two of the USA’s great worship leaders, will lead an evening of worship on April 26. Michael will speak about Living Hope and encourage attendees to get involved. There also will be special video messages from Casting Crowns and Jars of Clay, and will release our first-ever Living Hope/Masiphumelele Choir CD, which has been wonderfully produced for us by Brentwood Baptist Church. It includes never-before heard tracks by Michael W Smith, Jars of Clay and Casting Crowns. The latter’s well-known "If We Are The Body" has been remixed with backing vocals by the Masi Choir. And a wonderful coffee table book called Faces of Hope will be released. It has been authored by Al Allnoch, a former Living Hope volunteer who is a writer by profession. The book is filled with stories of people whose lives have been touched by Living Hope.

The Partners Conference will feature updates on what the Lord is doing in Cape Town and further afield through Living Hope Ministries. It is planning together with you as to how best reach the areas in which God has placed us. For those leading teams to Living Hope in the coming year, this is a valuable time of understanding the role your team can play. If you have never been to Living Hope, then this is a great opportunity for you to learn more about the ministry.

We also want to update you in detail on our DAD program and the position of our Life Skills workers. We will also be sharing with you about another massive funding cut we are going to be experiencing  at the end of September. The U.S. Administration in Washington has decided to cut the budget to South Africa and this is going to hurt our Health Care Center (Living Care) very badly. We are going to need about $32,000 per month to replace this in order to keep the Health Care Center open.
 
Here are the details of the Partners Conference:

Wednesday, April 25

5 pm-9 pm: Dinner and Ministry Update

Thursday, April 26

8.30 am-5 pm: Partners Conference (Ministry updates, discussion, breakout sessions; lunch, teas and snacks included, followed by dinner)
 

7 pm-9 pm: Living Hope Worship Evening/Benefit with Michael W. Smith and Tommy Walker

I am going to do everything possible to try and make it possible for you to personally greet Michael W Smith as one of our valued partners.

Cost:  $100 per person. Includes all meals, Faces of Hope book and Living Hope/ Masi Choir CD (book and CD cost = $35)

To register, please contact Dora Pop at dpop@brentwoodbaptist.com.
 

May the Lord richly bless you.  I trust you will do all you can to plan to be with us.  It will be a phenomenal time.

John V. Thomas
Chairperson: Living Hope Trust  

Bringing Hope, Breaking Despair

Cape Town, South Africa is one of the most beautiful cities in the world – especially in a panoramic image such as this one. Up close, however, the picture isn’t always so pretty. Poverty, crime, disease and a general sense of hopelessness permeate certain segments of this windswept peninsula at the southwestern tip of Africa. It’s in this environment that Living Hope pursues its mission of “bringing hope, breaking despair.”

After many months and numerous delays, Faces of Hope, a book about the work and people of Living Hope, is now in production. Here’s what Richard Stearns, president of World Vision U.S., and author of The Hole in Our Gospel, has to say about it:

“In Faces of Hope we meet just a few of the thousands of people whose lives have been touched and changed by one pastor and his congregation on who chose not to walk by “the beggar laid at their gate” but stopped, instead, to minister Christ’s love to him. Living Hope is showing people the love of Christ and bringing the Good News to the poor. But this is not a story about just one church – it’s a story about any local church that earnestly desires to be God’s agent of change. This could be the story of your church.”

                                                                                                 

Stay tuned – I’ll share more details soon on the official release, along with how you can order copies.

Eternal Investments

I wrote last month about Gary Levi, who has been diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor. A few weeks ago, a group of Harris County High School students honored Gary. For years this humble man has invested in the lives of these young people by praying for them and befriending them. On many mornings, Gary and his brother Allen wait at the high school doors and personally greet the students. No one has asked them to do this. They are simply responding to God’s call to love people. This is what Jesus is all about: Love in action.  

His Name Is Earl

And he’s my new housemate. He reminds me a lot of Marley, the yellow lab immortalized in John Grogan's 2005 bestseller, Marley and Me.

“A person can learn a lot from a dog, even a loopy one like ours. Marley taught me about living each day with unbridled exuberance and joy, about seizing the moment and following your heart. He taught me to appreciate the simple things - a walk in the woods, a fresh snowfall, a nap in a shaft of winter sunlight. And as he grew old and achy, he taught me about optimism in the face of adversity. Mostly, he taught me about friendship and selflessness and, above all else, unwavering loyalty.”

Longing for Home

Since moving to west-central Georgia four months ago, I've had the privilege of attending a men's fellowship group known as the Front Porch Gang. Every Thursday morning, anywhere from 15 to 30 guys gather at the home of a lawyer-turned-musician named Allen Levi. Allen's house sits on a hill, with the view from said front porch sweeping across a pretty little valley. That view alone is worth the effort to get up early and make the 20-minute drive to Allen's house.
 

In addition to prayer and Bible study, these gatherings typically include a lot of joking around and light-hearted conversation. Lately, however, the mood has been more somber. That's because Allen's brother, Gary, recently was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor. But as Gary himself has reminded us, both in writing and in person, his illness is really a gift and a blessing, rather than a time for lamenting what soon could be a life cut short. If our earthly lives are all have hope for, then the latter view certainly would make sense. But as a follower of Jesus Christ, Gary has a hope built on the living God, the one who overcame death and promises to give eternal life to all who put their faith in Him.
 

The following is excerpted from an email Gary sent the Front Porch Gang. If you know Jesus as your Savior, be encouraged. If you don't, then give some thought to what he has to say about life and death. Gary has received the eternal life that Jesus offers, hence the assurance that shines through his words. Jesus' offer is there for you too: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16). What you do with that offer is literally a life-and-death matter.
 

Many of you are praying for my healing. Thank you. I am praying for His will, that He will use this for His glory and honor, and that He will draw us all closer to Himself. Selfishly, a part of me is praying to go home. Like yourself, perhaps, I am tired of the struggles in this life, the fight with self and the flesh. Everyday it seems that I am more and more aware of my need and my weakness. I long to see Him face to face, with a glorified mind, soul and body and to be as He is. I'm not sure what will happen but I know the One Who does and I rejoice in the fact that He rejoices in doing me good.
 

It may seem strange, but I am excited about the possibility of going home soon. My brother wrote a song with the title, "the first of us to go." We both long to go to our eternal home. I have often felt as Paul did when he wrote that he longed to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far. While I struggle with the thought of leaving loved ones that are dear to my heart, I hope that, in each one of us, there is a longing to be with Christ, a longing for home, a longing to be with the One Who loves us more than we can imagine and a desire to be in that place where we will be able to love Him back perfectly. 

Life has been good to me in this fallen world, largely because of ones like you, but I know that there is something better and I want to fall asleep and wake up there. What a task and blessing I have now of thanking all of you who have enriched my life by allowing me to see Christ more clearly through your walk. 

Let's continue to press on and obey Him until He returns. Your life enriches mine and I am blessed by our paths having crossed. My life and times, like yours, are in His hands. If He chooses to keep me here, I pray that I will love Him more and more, fight for His honor, glory and Kingdom. And if He chooses to take me home, I will praise Him until you arrive.

Do Something Now!

The Christian faith is worthless if it does not spur its adherent to action. James, brother of Jesus, said as much: “What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead” (James 2:14-17).

I love what the Passion 268Generation is doing in this regard. Inspired by the words of Isaiah 26:8 – “Your name and Your renown are the desire of our souls” – Passion ministers to college-age students with the aim of spreading God’s glory throughout the earth. Since 2007, Passion’s Do Something Now initiative has generated nearly $5 million for causes such as child trafficking, clean water, medical care and much more.

It astounds me when I hear critics and skeptics of Christianity claim the world would be better off without it. Slaves freed, the hungry fed, the sick healed, wells dug – how is our world not a better place because of Christians putting their love into action like this?

This is a cause worth getting on board with – and it’s not just for college students. Check it out at http://dosomethingnow.com.

Georgia on my Mind

Last month I posted that I was starting a new job on Hilton Head Island. In ending that post I said, “Where God leads, I will follow.” Now, less than two months later, He has lead me to pack up and move again. Starting April 18, I’ll begin work as a copywriter in the marketing department at Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain, Georgia. I’m really excited about the job and the location.

Life has been full of uncertainty since I returned from Africa in December, as I wondered where I would work and live. Looking back, if I’ve learned one thing over the past three months, it’s this: Quit trying to figure out what God is up to and just live for Him – one day at a time.

“So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (Matthew 6:31-34).