Category Archives: Be A Friend

Life events and kingdom activity demonstrating and enjoying friendship, and service to the King.

Happy 90th Dad!

August 19th, Fred Bell, Dad, the patriarch of our family celebrated his 90th birthday with family and friends at a reception held a few days earlier at his church, First Baptist Church, Harrison, AR. It was a lovely event with much fellowship and relationship experienced and expressed.

Interspersed with all the hugs and best wishes were a couple presentations. One of those was a citation presented by a Commissioner of the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission honoring Dad for the significant and lifetime role he played in restoring Arkansas wildlife from their post-depression danger levels to the numbers we enjoy today. Many success stories were mentioned including black bear and elk, which Dad had a major role in reintroducing and protecting.

There was also a citation presented by State Senator Randy Laverty, retired, authored by the Arkansas House of Representatives honoring Dad for service to the State of Arkansas. Randy who was in Dad’s Boy Scout troop growing up said, “ Fred Bell was probably the most respected man in Newton County.”

Your family certainly thinks so Dad! Your three children were there, your six grand kids from all around the country. And five great grandchildren, some very recent! 🙂 We’re proud of you, the life you’ve lived in front of us and your peers, and we’re glad to call you Dad! We love you!!

HAPPY 90TH BIRTHDAY!!!

For photos click here.

“How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season and its leaf does not wither; and in whatever he does, he prospers.” (Psalm 1:1–3)

““Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord and whose trust is the Lord.” (Jeremiah 17:7)

“The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; indeed, my heritage is beautiful to me.” (Psalm 16:6)

In the Rockies with Friends

August 7th, about noon, a good friend called and asked if I wanted to go ride motorcycles in Colorado for a week. I said, “Sounds fun and I’ve always wanted to do that! When would we leave?” “Tomorrow” he replied. 🙂

After a little nervous laughter, I tell him, “My 39th anniversary is in a couple days and I have a mountain lodge booked with dinner reservations, how do you think that would work out for me?”

After just a moment of silence, but not really missing a beat, he replies, “OK, we’ll leave Monday.”

I can’t believe I’m seriously considering this on such short notice, but I tell him to let me check my calendar for the week and I’ll call him back. My wife reminds me I have Dad’s 90th birthday party the day after we’d return, but other than that the calendar is remarkably clear!?

So? I call him back and say, “Let’s do it!” It’s a brother thing, a friendship thing, a celebrate the beauty of the earth thing. It’s something I’ve wanted to do for many years, but never slowed to free up the time. Because everyone else I know is too busy to consider such a thing, I moved it to the “maybe someday” list?

But not Steve! He realizes life is short and to be lived and enjoyed, a gift from a magnificent Creator and Father, Who likes to give His kids good gifts, and likes it when they take time to notice it and enjoy it.

I asked Steve, “Can I ask my brother Gene? It’s been on my bucket list to take a long motorcycle ride with him.” “Sure,” is his reply.

I’ll write a little more later. I’ve got to check the air in my tires, wash my bike, and pack!

Did I mention that I like adventure too? When is the last time you did something for the first time? We get so conformed by our culture. We’re not suppose to conform, but to be “transformed by the renewing of our minds.” That’s what the Scripture says. This, for me is another step in the right direction. To get outside, out doors, experience the beauty of creation, meditate and think random thoughts for awhile. To listen to the still, small, spiritual voice of a mighty Creator while enjoying his creation. Should be a Rocky Mountain high experience for sure!

I may need a motorcycle jacket, and yes Colby, even a helmet, for a 1200 mile ride where it can be cold in the mountains and warm in the valleys. Plan for rain. Pack light. Get to crackin’!

Gene said yes too! We leave Sunday after church!

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Well, we did it! 1280 miles in four days of motorcycle riding. Plus twelve hours of fellowship and sharing while driving out there and back in our pickups with trailers. Amazingly beautiful, restful, relational, and spiritual! Thank you Lord for such an experience, and for great brothers to share it with. Amen.

For photos click here! 🙂

“The generous man will be prosperous,And he who waters will himself be watered.” (Proverbs 11:25)

“The earth is the Lord’s, and all it contains,The world, and those who dwell in it.” (Psalm 24:1)

“Who establishes the mountains by His strength,Being girded with might;” (Psalm 65:6)

Nicaragua… Who Knew?

Last week I was in Nicaragua with some friends, old and new, on a mission trip and an adventure!

I went with a group from Grace Community Church, Fort Smith, AR, on a mission to La Flor Village, Nicaragua, July 14-21, under the leadership of Ken Duncan, and in cooperation with El Porvenir, an NGO with a 20+ year history of helping the poor villages of Nicaragua with clean water and health related issues. Our task was finishing the job of installing efficient wood cooking stoves with chimneys in 17 village homes, as well as sharing love, hugs, our faith, and our lives with the children and people of the village. It was a great week, and a joy to get to know all who served the people of La Flor Village and the King.

Click here for some photos of our mission.

While there is no way to see the whole world or volunteer for every opportunity that comes along, I do pray you are asking the Lord to guide you in ways you can be involved in people’s lives, discipling and serving others. He will lead you if it’s your heart’s desire and you ask. You’ll find yourself enjoying the relationships that follow and storing up treasure in heaven, real treasure for a real eternity. The Bible teaches us, and Jesus taught us by rising from the dead that people are eternal, and not the stuff we spend much time and energy accumulating.

This was the group’s second time in the village. And there’s a chance we might be returning next year. A pastor of a thirty member congregation asked us to come back and help them build a church building on land they own. They are presently meeting in his home and others that are scarcely large enough to hold that many folks. Let me know if you’re interested in helping and going next year!

I learned Nicaragua is the largest country in Central America, and also the poorest due to nearly two centuries of dictatorships, civil wars and natural calamities. The average income per person is $1,028 (2% of USA). They are about 6 million people with 60% living in urban communities making it the most sparsely populated country in Central America. 75% of the population is less than 30 years old, and 35% is less than 15 years old, making it a very youth filled nation. They have a Pacific and Atlantic coast with mountains in the middle, the highest being 7300′, and there are eight active volcanoes! It’s very U.S. friendly these days with businesses and tourists beginning to pour in. And if you haven’t heard, the Chinese are about to start building a canal across the country much larger than the current Panama Canal. That will be a game changer hopefully of benefit for them, and certainly the world economy. The most important thing I came away saying about the country is that the people are warm and friendly, engaging and precious.

Spiritually speaking, possibly due to the poverty and suffering, many have and are turning to Christ. Operation World reports, “Evangelical growth is high and sustained amid the upheaval. Evangelicals grew from 2.2% in 1960 to 29.8% in 2010. This is more than a 40-fold numeric increase in 50 years, with no sign of such growth abating.” Who knew? I don’t think I saw that on CNN, did you?

Indeed, while people talk politics, war, corruption, and how to humanly solve the world’s problems, it seemed to our little troop that the Lord is quietly, consistently sending people to help the poor and needy, the downcast and afflicted, to help lift people up. That’s always been His Way and His Heart. The experience was a joy for us!

While It Is Day

Sharing Thai Experiences on the Patio with Friends

“Do all the good you can. By all the means you can. In all the ways you can. In all the places you can. At all the times you can. To all the people you can. As long as ever you can.”― John Wesley

“We must work the works of Him who sent Me as long as it is day; night is coming when no one can work.” (John 9:4) Jesus

The quote and verse came to me as I was considering the work of two special friends and their young family who spent the last two years in Thailand, from where they have just returned for some needed rest, refreshment and recharging. They are soon headed back!

Alex, Brook, and their three children visited our church last Sunday to share with our community what they experienced in Thailand and what they sense the Lord is doing there. It was a great time as they shared openly from their hearts, something any listener appreciates.

They returned to our city and our patio three days later to share more of their experiences with 25 friends invited for that purpose. Challenging, courageous, inspiring, thought provoking, and beautiful is how I would summarize their story.

There isn’t time or space to recreate it here, and I couldn’t anyway, but it serves as a reminder to be about the King’s business, in your realm, wherever He’s planted you.

And it’s a chance for me to introduce you to friends Alex and Brook. If you’re looking for a place to sow into the kingdom of God some prayers, money, friendship, communication? Their lives are good soil. They’re heading back to Thailand for the next chapter of adventure to make disciples of Jesus, and to serve His people there soon. Here’s a link to their webpage if you wish can learn more or contribute.

“Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.” (Colossians 3:1)

“… give to charity; make yourselves … an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near nor moth destroys.” (Luke 12:33)

Who is the Greatest?

Generations…Sowing into Eternity

“At that time the disciples came to Jesus and said, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”And He called a child to Himself and set him before them,and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:1–3)

I donated three and a half days last week, along with 25 adults and some of their children from 4 different churches to host a week-long summer camp for 25 foster kids. It was a rewarding and beautiful event on several accounts.

First the kids! Matthew 25:40 says, “If you’ve done it to the least of these, you’ve done it unto me.” The kids are the main thing, and will always be the main thing, about this camp, which just completed it’s 10th year under the vision and leadership of friends Curtis & Paula Michlitsch and their ministry “Matthew Eighteen.”

Canoeing is a Big Hit

Second, it’s a clear directive from the King to His disciples to declare His faithfulness to the next generation. “… He commanded our fathers that they should teach them to their children, that the generation to come might know, even the children yet to be born, that they may arise and tell them to their children, that they should put their confidence in God…” (Psalm 78:5–7) “And even when I am old and gray, O God, do not forsake me until I declare Your strength to this generation, Your power to all who are to come.” (Psalm 71:18)

Beautiful And Delicious

Third, it’s wonderful when different churches and denominations work together in kingdom events and activities. We are each a part of the body of Christ. I met a guy named Brad who I didn’t know. He was ordinary but powerful with the kids, and delivered one of the best teachings before lunch one day that I’ve ever heard in any camp, anywhere; the kids hanging on his every word. Come to find out, we’re going on the same mission trip to Nicaragua in July!? I look forward to getting to know him even better.

Fourth, volunteerism. The camp shows how a non-professional staff of average adults can come together because they are willing and make a huge difference in the lives of these little ones, who get many hugs, smiles, pats on the head, and much affirmation for a whole week of

Hours of Swinging

romping about outdoors in a safe, healthy environment, punctuated with worship services designed for them, teaching times, serving one another, and some excellent food! Thanks, chef Michael Brown and the kitchen staff, for your care and excellence in serving these little ones, who are children of the King.

You know I started out this article thinking, “If you’ve done it to the least of these, you’ve done it unto Me.” You will recognize those as Jesus words when telling the telling story about the sheep and the goats. The emphasis of that story is on us, and our service to others, and to the King. And, do we really know Him? Or does He know us?

While that’s not wrong, the message of Matthew Eighteen is a little different but the same.

Dads and Big Brothers Needed and Appreciated

“And whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me.” (Matthew 18:5) As we study these little ones and become like them, they will lead us to be spiritually like God wants us to be and to approach Him. “He called a child to Himself and set him before them, and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:1–3)

A picture is worth a thousand words!! Enjoy!!!

Blessings in His Name

“The King will answer and say to them, ‘Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me.” (Matthew 25:40)

Camp Director!

See you next year! Father’s Day!

Delightful Young Ladies

We Have Seen … God Speaks with Man

Friends sharing life and what they know of God

Friends share life and what they know of God…

“We have heard His voice …We have seen today that God speaks with man.” Deuteronomy 5:24

What is God saying in this hour? To you personally? To His bride, the Church? Can you know? Can anyone know? Does He speak? Do we hear?

Some of you reading these questions would be able to respond right away with what you’ve heard recently, or what you believe is on God’s heart from what you’ve read, or heard from the mouths of His followers.

Some of you would say, “You’re kidding, right?” “No one can hear the voice of God, or know what’s on His heart or mind.”

I’m going to leave those two positions with you to ponder or decide, and blow right past them to what I’ve heard lately and believe to be on God’s heart and mind.

My Good Friend Luke Now In Seminary

In so doing I’m going to point you to some recent books that have made their way into my life through friends, as well as some that have come recently onto the national scene. I’ll also launch a new web page I’ll probably entitle “Kingdom Resources,” or something creative like that. 🙂

These books speak loudly on their own, and easily stand alone. But I’ve learned when books come to me like this in the same season of time, and I hear other believers talking about them, sharing common insights, and I read the same Bible stories and passages stressing the same points from my daily reading scheduled a year in advance; I get it. This is what God is saying. This is what’s on His heart. At least for me and my friends, where we live, and love , and serve.

When I sense He’s speaking in such a fashion. I get more and more quiet in my spirit. I try to listen more intently, to see if He will say more? Or impress me with some activity or action in concert with what I’ve heard? To be obedient to His leading; to be a part of what He’s saying or doing; nothing brings me more joy!

So what are the books? 🙂

The Insanity of God by Nik Ripken

Risk Is Right, Better to Lose Your Life Than to Waste It by John Piper

The Freedom of Self-Forgetfulness, The Path to True Christian Joy by Timothy Keller

They Share What They Hear God Saying and See God Doing

I encourage you to read these books, now, in this season. Perhaps in this order! Don’t let the size of the first one dissuade you! He’s a great story teller, and you won’t be able to put it down. The second two are very short, easy to read, and weighty; the way men like them. All three are books men would like, because of the message.

What is God saying through these books and His other methods of speaking? Things about sacrifice, courage, serving, discipleship, the next generation, freedom, persecution, faithfulness, knowing God, joy, and more. Read and listen. Enjoy what God by His Spirit will make known to you. His words are truth and they are life. Amen.

“Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; for You I wait all the day.” Psalm 25:5

“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.” John 14:6

Brian’s Song

My best friend finished his earth race in the early morning hours of Friday, May 2nd. His home going wasn’t completely unexpected because he had lung cancer, and barring supernatural healing the prognosis for long term recovery was not good. There was thankfully time to talk, enjoy each other’s company, share our faith on an even deeper level, leave nothing unsaid, perhaps even grieve the possible loss and absence to some extent? But there is still a void, a numbness, a surreal quietness in my spirit, as I long to reconnect with his spirit, or listen to what the Spirit might impress me about his home going, or earth life in general.

Dwayne, Charles, Brian at quarterly friendship visit

In short, I’m OK with it because I’m so certain of Brian’s faith in God, and in God’s faithfulness to Brian, as to all of the family of God. I believe in God’s goodness. I believe in God’s power to heal and save. I believe in eternity as promised and spelled out in God’s Word. I believe in the vapor of an earth life, also spelled out in the Bible. I believe in the love of God and the sovereignty of God. Brian and I both believed and said many times, “We believe God’s plan for us is better than our plans for us.” So why wouldn’t I be fine with what happened to Brian, and will eventually happen to me? I am. At peace.

Bobby, Brian, Dwayne at Subiaco Retreat

The book of Job was one of our favorites together, with the greatest man of the east making the deeply felt, beautiful confession, “Even thought He slay me, yet will I trust Him.” We also noted what it cost Job to see his vision and revelation of God. And what a beautiful revelation it was! Recorded for us and for eternity in Holy Writ.

We would often sense and discuss the deep truths of Solomon too, the wisest man who lived, inspired by the Spirit of God, writing things like, “The day of one’s death is better than the day of one’s birth.” “The house of mourning is better than the house of feasting.” And, “A man has no authority over the day of his death.” Or Paul, as he spoke by the Spirit on Mars Hill, “God chooses where men should live, and their times.”

Accomplished Fighter Pilot 30 Years Married to Kathy

Accomplished Fighter Pilot with Scott
30 Years Married to Kathy

Still there is a sense in me, that a mighty one has fallen, along the lines of David’s lament for Saul and Jonathan when they fell in battle. Or in the sense of Isaiah’s prophecy, ““For behold, the Lord God of hosts is going to remove from Jerusalem and Judah Both supply and support, the whole supply of bread And the whole supply of water; The mighty man and the warrior, The judge and the prophet, The diviner and the elder,” (Isaiah 3:1–2)

I rejoice for him, and for heaven. He’s pain free, and experiencing what we can’t even imagine. The Psalmist says, “Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of His godly ones.” And, “… as it is written: “What no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived”— the things God has prepared for those who love him—” (1 Corinthians 2:9)

All that said, I miss him.

Brain, always the warrior, with Dwayne

Please take a moment to contemplate your own mortality, and your prospects for eternity. That’s what times like this are best for. And it’s the main thing Brian always talked about to those he loved. And he loved most everyone. 🙂

If you want to read the eulogy I gave at his home going service you can click here. If you want to read what others have said of him, or say something yourself, you can click here.

My prayer is that you have a friend like Brian Douglas Fields. If you don’t, start praying for one, or seeking one by being friendly, and keeping your eyes and heart open.

The Lord’s grace abound to you and yours. Amen.

Dwayne

Job 13:15 NJKV, Ecc 7:1,2 NKJV, Ecc 8:8 NASB, Acts 17:26 NASB, 2 Sam 1:25 NASB, Ps 116:15 NASB

GOD’S NOT DEAD AND NEITHER AM I…Happy Easter!

I’ve been feeling the need and desire to communicate with you, friends old and new, but I’ve had a lot on my plate the last few days. If this title seems a bit dramatic to you, it seems apropos to me for at least three reasons. [1] It’s Easter. He is risen. And as first century Christians used to echo, “He is risen indeed!” Witness an empty tomb and His life giving Spirit empowering millions of believers around the globe, giving Him credit and praise at this very moment. [2] Our home group went to see the movie, “God’s Not Dead,” two weeks ago, and it impacted me a great deal. It was well done, and moved very quickly. I encourage you to go see it, and take a friend or friends, believing or unbelieving. The issues and presentation speak to our times and to all times. [3] I crashed our new plane crash a couple weeks ago Friday. I told some of my friends as I encountered them in the days following, “It started out to be one of the worse days of my life. But if you walk away from a plane crash without a scratch, how can you not say it was one of the best days of your life?”

So I apologize for the drama in the title, but can you see how it might fit?

I always get quiet, introspective, joyful, and mystified during passion week and Easter. Who doesn’t welcome the warm reprieve from winter and new life bursting all about? But the promise of new spiritual life, and freedom from sin is the best of all! That someone Who could do so, paid the price for my sin, and then lives with me to give me power over sin and death–what could be more astounding? What could be more joyful? The God of the second chance? Indeed! The words of the angels to the women who came to the tomb that first Easter morning still echo through the millennia, “Why do you seek the living among the dead?” “He is not here. He is risen, just as He said.”

So, what does that mean to you? What does it mean to me? Well I’m very aware, given the events of the last weeks, that I’ve been given a second chance. A chance to live more life on this side of eternity. I should make it count! And I want too.

But more than that, it says that because He’s alive, and I have His power working in me, I can hope to overcome any problem, any set back, any adversity. And you can too, if you know Him and His resurrection power. Hope. Power. Life. That’s what it says, and that is what I wish for you, dear reader and friend. He does too. It was His idea, and He Who paid the price — showing us the way, and raising us to walk in newness of life.

“Today is the first day of the rest of your life,” doesn’t sound like a cliché to me at the moment. It sounds like the truth. May we all grasp this new life, with the adventure and promise it holds, if He holds us.

An eighty-two year old woman was baptized in our church this morning. New life!

A dentist friend and his sweet wife asked us to their home for lunch today. Before the meal he read this to his guests and family. New life!

A friend down the ally from us and his dear wife asked us and thirteen other neighbors, believers and perhaps unbelievers, to a seder celebrating passover a few days ago. It was a beautiful, delicious, spiritual, and happy experience to retell and remember the 3500 year old story of Abraham’s descendant’s freedom from slavery and friendship with God. Also one that would culminate in the passover Lamb of Calvary, and many new friends worldwide. New life!

I received a blog from a dear friend in east Arkansas this week about passover and what it means to a Christ follower. New life!

And I received an Easter email today from a new and dear friend from Georgia. Please forgive the self-serving nature of this one. But his insights are more inspirational and insightful than my small contribution. New life!

May you come to experience new life in full measure! That’s the real meaning of Easter. And that’s my prayer for you.

Happy Easter!!

Dwayne

PS I intended to tell the story of the plane crash for friends who are interested and haven’t heard. But this writ has reached it’s permitted length. I’ll report on the accident soon.

Cuba for Christ…Who Knew?

Taxis in Havana

I just returned from a week long mission trip to Cuba sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with Rick Bonfim Ministries in support of the Methodist Church of Cuba. We were forty people of all walks and ages – pastors, airline pilots, business people, working and retired, and a special group of 15 University of Georgia students who are part of the UGA Wesley Fellowship Foundation. We conducted seminars at a conference of 840 Cuban missionaries, and split into smaller teams visiting 19 churches around and between Santa Clara and Havana, worshipping and praying for the church members. Cuba is an 1100 km island with 11 million people. God is alive and well in Cuba, where we met missionaries from all over the island; happy, joyful, expectant people thrilled to receive us. We came to be a blessing, but we were the ones blessed, hopefully carrying the fire back to the US. [As reported by Art Druckenmiller]

My Friend Art

I quoted Art, and new and dear friend made on this trip, because I can’t say it better than he did. I’m grateful for his summary, and to know him. In fact I’d have to say I met 39 new and dear friends on this trip. It would seem that we each were invited personally by the Holy Spirit. There was no strife, only camaraderie and fellowship in service to the King. It started out that way, and only got better till we left the island for home.

The Methodist Bishop of Cuba addressed our group one morning and excitedly told us they have 400 churches, but 1000 new church plants! This fact was underscored by our mission that Art described above. 840 missionaries (We might call them church planters.) had traveled from all over the island, some for 11 hours or more and were camping at a large church campground with a big auditorium. There our teachers taught them the Word in four or five groups each morning, with translators, followed by ministry times where we prayed for them without translators as they hurriedly lined up expectantly for the prayer.

Missionaries at Camp Canaan

By the tens and hundreds they came forward. Prayer times were sometimes as long as the teaching times it seemed. It was humbling to minister to people who were more familiar perhaps and intimate with the Holy Spirit than many of us were. But everyone of us did minister, in obedience and faith, faith that God would hear and act on our prayers. There were many signs He did, indeed. 🙂

Group Ministry Time

During the first four days, I’d say we went to bed at midnight and were up at six, eating breakfast at a hotel in Santa Clara where we stayed, and spending the rest of the day at the camp, except for a 2-3 hour much needed, after-noon break at the hotel, followed by getting back on the vans and heading to 19 different local churches in the evenings.

Toward the end of our time we returned to Havana, and ministered one night in churches there. In Havana the pace slowed as we had Bible studies, and worship times ourselves, for personal spiritual renewal and times with the Lord.

On Walking Tour Havana

We spent one afternoon as tourists taking a walking tour of Havana, and ended up going to a beach about twenty minutes away for relaxation and enjoying the island.

The Cuban people were warm and friendly. We fell in love with their warmth, humility, and charm. The family of God is the family of God wherever you find them. They were a treasure to us, and hopefully we were a refreshment to them.

A Little Cuban Beach Time

I feel blessed of the Lord to have made the trip and to know them, along with our team; both of which I will treasure for eternity.

My look was limited to the Methodist Church on the island, but this move of God is being poured out in many of the churches, as reported in “Operation World,” 7th Edition 2010, showing about 15% of the population “Evangelicals” or “Charismatics,” with a growth rate of 4% annually.

Colorful Adventure!

The Cuban Church’s motto I’m told is, “Cuba for Christ in Ten Years!” May it be so. Pray for the church in Cuba and go if you get the chance! Following the Lord is a continual adventure!

[Photos!]

The Highs of Friendship

Jim & Dwayne from the heights of Waynapicchu

Friendship can take a person to new heights on their earth pilgrimage, as well as make the trip worth while!

I’ve believed that as long as I can remember, with my parents modeling it for me and my siblings. I’ve experienced it for myself in every chapter of life. And I recently experienced it in the heights of the Andes, the center of the ancient Inca Empire.

Ken! Yes…

I joined two long-time friends who flew fighters with me in the military for more than twenty years on a friendship and life adventure to Peru. We flew as captains for American Airlines too, making the travel considerably easier and cheaper. 🙂 We are also Brothers in Christ, each attending different churches in our city. Friends! For three decades now! What a blessing!

Peru? The exotic Machu Picchu, picturesque and mysterious, was our adventure destination. And what a joyful experience it proved to be. To experience travel and places of unusual beauty with friends makes the whole experience more meaningful for everyone and something you share in your hearts for the rest of your life… and eternity. The laughter, the vistas, the experiences, the meals shared, the new friends met and made along the way, and experiencing it together is food for the soul and joy to the spirit. It’s the way God intended life to be! A double gift to us.

Friends old and new! The joy of the journey!

Contemplating and enjoying with friends the beauty of His creation, and the mystery of His involvement with His creatures everywhere on the globe spells relationship with His sons and daughters. It’s beautiful and enjoyable. I think it pleases God too — to watch us and to Be a part of it.

Friendship! It’s worth it! Enjoy friendship today, and every chance you get! Be proactive at making and enjoying friends! At planning and carving out special times, and setting aside your agenda when opportunities present themselves … to help another, share a meal, have coffee, or go on adventures great or small.

Dwayne at the entrance to the famous Incan ruins

Dwayne near the entrance to the famous Incan ruin of Machu Picchu

One of my travel friends has a plaque over the door to his cabin on the White River of Arkansas. “Faith, Family, Friends.” That says it all. It’s what matters now and for eternity.

Among other things, Machu Picchu showed us that wherever men are found, God has “set eternity in their heart.”

The wonder of Machu Picchu? And the wonder of Friendship? To be continued…

“He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.” (Ecclesiastes 3:11)

[A Few Photos]

[Many more photos! :)]

A Friend of the King

David and His Mighty Men