Bush Family Missons Update

Dear Family and Friends,

I wanted to take some time, as we get ready to enter a new year, to update you all about our plans for the upcoming year.  First and foremost I wanted to personally thank you for your love and support over the past year as we have prayerfully been seeking ways to serve the Lord more intentionally.  Heather and I feel a strong calling to focus on serving our Lord Jesus in tangible ways.  This can be done in many ways including serving at our Church, delivering meals to those in need, financially supporting others that are taking the Gospel to the entire earth, reaching out to the lost and forgotten of our time, and serving other missionaries with their technology needs in other countries.  Our purpose in all of these things to is bring glory to our Lord.  While God has not completely shown us His plan for our family in 2013, there are three ways you can partner in prayer with us.  Below I have given some details to better help you pray for us.

I have an opportunity to return to Guatemala and serve the missionaries there by fixing their computers.  This trip is planned for the last week in February.  Last year I thoroughly enjoyed serving the missionaries of Guatemala by sharing some of my abilities and talents.  I was one of over 100 volunteers that traveled down there to witness to the missionaries. This short weekend retreat is a way for the missionaries to be rejuvenated and ministered to.  It was an awesome time to connect with many missionaries and get to listen to what they are doing every day to advance the Gospel.  It was awesome.  I am really seeking prayer with regards to this trip.  It does cost about $2000 to go on this trip and certainly that is not a cost the family can bear solely.  To attend this trip I would also need to request and receive time off (some unpaid) from work.  I am praying for God to lead in this matter and send a clear sign whether I should attend this year.  Please lift up this trip and pray for clear direction.

I also have been approached to be on another Kairos Prison Ministry team. The next scheduled Kairos weekend is March 21st though the 24th.  I am prayerfully considering being on this team.  I was greatly touched by the Kairos weekend this past September and would welcome the adventure again.  However there is a vast time commitment for the 7 weeks prior to the trip and having to request time off work as well.  This ministry opportunity would not cost money but a huge time commitment.  Please pray for our family as I consider this. I am needing to make a decision pretty quickly so pray that the Lord gives me(us) a clear answer.

The last thing to be praying for is we are tentatively looking to visit family in Charlotte, NC and spend some time with them. While we are there we are praying and seeking opportunities to serve as a family. Our passion is to not only serve the Lord but instill the same habits and passions in our children's lives as well. Our primary goal is to seek the Lord as a family and serve him however he calls us to.

May the Lord bless you and keep you all safe this new year. Thank you so much for partnering with us in our Ministry Adventures!

What a day!

It does not seem to matter how many times I go through the birthing process, I am blown away every time. I am blown away by how strong my wife is and how lucky I am to be married to her.  She was so strong today and amazing! Going through this process with her now for the fourth time has made me love her even more.  God has blessed me with a help mate for sure.  The way God designed the entire process of child birth is also mind boggling. Anyone who has gone through the birth of a child and does not believe in intelligent design is blind in my humble opinion.  And the joy that has overwhelmed me immediately after seeing each child for the first time is humbling. I am so blessed to have felt that joy four times now.

I believe going through this process has strengthened my understanding of the Love a father has for his child. There is not anything that I would not do to protect my children from harm in this world. I would willingly give my live for any of my four children.  But, would I give their life for someone else? That is exactly what my Heavenly Father did on my behalf. Jesus came to this world as a helpless baby, lived a perfect life and died for my sin. And his heavenly fathered let it happen, all so I could share in this glory.  What a sacrifice! I appreciate just a small amount what God the father must have felt that day 2000+ years ago when He let sinful humans kill His son. I know I could not do that.  But I am so glad He did.  And because of this love we are set free. Wow!

My prayer is that this motivates me to share my Jesus with the whole world.  I pray that I will be so motivated by this love that I will share Him with all that I come in contact with.  I pray that the Holy Spirit will empower me with the desire to not want to leave anybody behind and I will share Jesus with everyone I come in contact with.

My question to you is will you join me in this quest?

Faithfully serving Him,
Gary

Kairos Weekend in Review

Boy, I am just not entirely sure where to start.  God is just amazing and I am blown away each time I am involved with something like this.  The experience of this past weekend is really hard to summarize in words, but I will do my best to do this.

I will admit that when I started this adventure (and it truly was in many senses) I really had no idea what I was getting into.  All I knew is that every time Dean (attends our church and this weekends leader) talked about Kairos he always beamed.  It was evident that he believed in it and was totally committed.  I just really felt this was a great opportunity to take another step on this journey of missions work.  Now that I have come through my first Kairos weekend, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt this was a supernatural experience. It is  one that further confirmed mine and my family's calling to serving ALL of God's children in tangible ways and sharing the Gospel with them. Let me try to recap for you the events of the weekend. In most cases I will not mention names as to protect the integrity of Kairos and not single anyone out.  My point in sharing the following things is not to praise anyone individual person, but rather give God all the glory.

On Thursday we arrived at the Church where we would sleep around 2 pm.  There was a lot of anticipation in the air. I got a chance to chat a little with another first timer and we were both a bit nervous. Not so much about the actual weekend, but rather more so because of the unknown.  We entered the prison and headed to the chapel. I was really in observation mode.  I was just trying to let it all sink in.  We spent some time getting things setup and getting ready for the evening and meeting the residents. Finally the time came for the residents to begin to arrive.  The team formed a tunnel for the residents to walk through. One by one each resident was announced and as they were we all clapped and cheered. This was the first act of Agape (unconditional love) we offered to them. This was part of the overall process of helping them know and feel important.  Each resident was greeted by their Host (a team member) and served coffee, tea, water and cookies.  The host and resident spent some time getting to know each other.  We had a short list of questions to help in this process.  Once all the residents arrived and got settled we spent the rest of the night introducing ourselves to each other. Each team member and resident had their turn.  During this time there was a few residents who caught my ear by their response to why they had signed up for Kairos. I think perhaps the one that spoke the most to me was the one resident who said "I came to Kairos to find out who this God person is."  We did get answers that ranged from coming for the food to getting to know God better.  We finished the evening with prayer and headed back to the church to turn in for the evening.  Upon returning to the church we debriefed a bit and prayed for the next day.  Sometime near 11:30 I went to bed.

Friday morning early (5 am) we were all serenaded to "Oh what a beautiful morning....." by one of the team leaders.  I am not sure many of us were ready to get up, but it was time to get going.  After a brief breakfast which included serval cups of coffee we were on our way.  Once arriving at prison we got processed and got to the chapel and got setup.  The residents began arriving and we had another chance to get to know the residents better. I was able to get some coffee and chat some more with my hostee.  I was beginning to form a relationship and learning more about him.  It was cool to just chat with him and see him open up. At this time the residents were introduced to their table family.  This consisted of 5 other residents and 4 team members. Much of the rest of the weekend was spent with their table families.  I was a member of the worship team so I was not at a table.  This was both a challenge and a blessing.  The challenge was still trying to form relationships and connect to the residents while not partaking in most of the conversation times.  It was difficult for me also cause I tend to fade into the background in times like this.  The blessing was really two fold.  The first is that I could sit back and observe all the tables. This allowed me to observe the events of the weekend as a whole and not be restricted to one table.  The second blessing was that I was able to really concentrate on a couple individuals and get to know them through unstructured events.  It was really cool to see how the Lord directed the weekend and led me to certain residents.  It was neat to be able to let the Lord direct the entire thing.  I think on day 1 one of the first wow moments was when I walked into the storage room for all the cookies and this 10 by 12 room was filled with boxes stacked floor to ceiling containing cookies. It was  the first time during the weekend I felt the presence of the Holy Spirit. The fact that so many people took time to bake cookies and pray over them is so awesome.  You could feel the love in the room.  As the day went on the story of the Kairos weekend began to unfold.  The first talk of the day "Choice" set the stage for the rest of the weekend.  It challenged us all to examine the choices we make. Are we going to react in and emotional response and have to take what we get or are we going to respond with a thought out response and get want we want out of situations?   As the day continued you could sense the Holy Spirit working.  As the day went on the Agape team hung a banner around the room that had all those who signed up to pray for each time slot throughout the weekend.  The banner went around the room four times!  What an awesome testimony and expression of love!  These residents could begin to see that they were loved.  It was also so overwhelming to sense the Holy Spirit.  For me to see so many people were praying, it just energized me.  Several times throughout the weekend I became overcome with emotion when I glanced at the prayer banner. It was one of the most powerful moments for me.  On this day I also got to be a part of a really awesome and eye opening event. I was a part of the cookie delivery team.  In groups of 4 we went to all the cell blocks and delivered two dozen cookies to each resident and worker.  During this time the block was locked down and went door to door delivering the cookies in person to the residents.  What an eye opening experience to see the conditions in which they live.  While it was clean, it was cramped and two men were living in a room intended for one.  It was also amazing to see how the Lord was using cookies to minister to every person there.  It was neat to see how a warm smile, gentle welcome and cookies can go a long way to minister to these folks, many of which experienced unconditional love this day for the first time in a long time.  As the day continued we spent time listening, sharing, eating and socializing.  The events of the day, while scripted, also were influenced by the Holy Spirit. It was evident that the Holy Spirit was at work and working in the hearts of all.  We left for the evening around 8 pm and returned to the church.  This night was filled with many letters being written. Part of the responsibilities for all team members was writing a letter to each resident who attended (36 total).  This is another way to show the residents love.  Many folks had to finish their letters this night and one stayed up all night finishing. During this time there was great fellowshipping going on and an overall sense of the Holy Spirit still working.

On Saturday we arose early again (5 am) and were off to the prison for the second full day (third overall). After the groundwork being laid out the day before, things started getting a little deeper.  The talks were centered  around getting to know God better and Forgiveness.  At the beginning of the day we were given a piece of paper to begin thinking about people we needed to forgive.  We were encouraged to really think about whom we may be harboring anger or hostility towards.  It was interesting to see the residents wrestle with this.  Forgiveness is something really hard to accept and give.  And yet it is absolutely essential to all relationships including those with other people and ultimately with God.  During this day it was also awesome to see some table families began to bond. The concept of table family was an important step for most.  A lot of the residents had some semblance of a broken family life. So it was hard for some to open up. It was hard for them to trust each other. For the most part the residents did not really know each other at the table. They were often from different blocks and different groups.  Also in prison, as in the outside world, it is not easy to trust someone else let alone open up and be vulnerable. In fact a sign of weakness can be particularly troublesome for the residents.  Seeing them open up and be vulnerable to others was an awesome thing to see and moving for sure.  At meal times the residents ate together as tables at ODR (officers dining room).  Because seating was limited not all team members ate there. On Saturday I had the opportunity to eat both meals with the residents.  This was an awesome time to eat with them and strike up some general conversation as well.  I particularly enjoyed this time as with no agenda I could really understand their lives a little better. I also got to ask some more personal questions about life at the prison, family and anything that came up. I also got to share more about my life.  It was a chance for me to tear down some of my walls, deal with some preconceived notions and just be real.  As the night came to a close we had a forgiveness ceremony. At this time each table family and all the group members entered the chapel and put our piece of paper (with people we had to forgive) in a bowl of water. The paper disappeared. This was a very tangible example of what happens when we ask for forgiveness from God. As soon as it is asked for, it is given and forgotten.  In scripture we were reminded that as far as the east is from the west so far has God removed our transgressions from us!  We also had an open mic night where residents could get up and share what they were learning and what the Lord was doing in their life. There were many who shared and a few stuck in my mind the most.  The Lord was moving in the hearts of the residents and in their lives. They were so thankful for the time they had.  They were looking forward to sharing what they learned with others. It was a great ending to an awesome day!  I am just so thankful for what the Lord was doing in these men, our team included.  It is so great to hear from the residents and some that I had wondered what was going on for them, shared some great things. God is so good!

Sunday I arose eager to go and excited to to see the Holy Spirit build on the past days highs and continue His work! More talks were given and further discussion times followed.  The table families all had really bonded by this time.  Something else the table families did at different times was enter into a private prayer time.  They all prayed for each other and to God.  From what I heard it was really moving.  By mid day Sunday the table families all had grown close together.  Each resident was really into the weekend and very much engaged. We continued to hear more talks and do a lot of worship though music.  In the afternoon there was a series of six instructional talks. Part of the followup to these weekends is weekly prayer and share meetings on Thursday nights. During the six instructional talks, the ground work was laid for these weekly meetings.  I had the privilege of giving the talk about sharing joys and concerns with each other.  It was a truly spirit filled and directed time. It was funny as I had my talk prepared for nearly 6 weeks.  However after this weekend I felt led by the spirit to share some different things. About 1/3 of the way through my talk I completely went off script and shared some personal experiences from the weekend including some heart felt love that I could not have possibly prepared myself for prior to the weekend. By this time of the weekend I had a genuine love for these men and wanted nothing but the best for them.   We concluded with a celebration service where outsiders could attend and hear about how God touched these residents life.  Also attending were Kairos graduates from past weekends. It was neat to see the previous graduates there praising the residents from this weekend. Another great visible example of support.

In conclusion I would like to attempt to capture the essence of this weekend and what am taking away. I would say the biggest thing I learned from this weekend is how awesome God is.  He can take a band of brothers who are broken vessels and can use them to reach a group of men that are in such desperate need of Christ's love.  I also learned that the people we went to served can be used by God to minister to us.  Before this Kairos experience, I was not aware of the double standard I often times applied to my life.  I was not aware of how judgmental I was.  I often times had preconceived notions of individuals in my life and those I cam in contact with that influenced how I viewed people and judged them.  It was not till the third training meeting that I truly began to see this.  I am ashamed at how I acted.  I really believe initially that this experience would fit nicely into "My" vision of missions.  I believed I could really do something nice for these residents and bless them.  God used this experience to rock my world.  He broke down so many walls in my life and in the process brought some really amazing men into my life. Some of these men reside in the outside world, and some reside in TCI.  I am so grateful for this experience. The Lord has certainly taught me a lot. He has confirmed my passion for missions and sharing the love and truth of the gospel with those in need. He has confirmed the desire to lead my family in a missions minded and missions centered life!  If I am being honest I have no idea where this will lead. But what I am sure of, is I cannot wait to see where it goes.  I truly believe I am all in at this point.  I am totally committed.  My prayer going forward is that I would not lose sight of this vision or this Kairos experience.  I strongly encourage anyone reading this get involved in Kairos. If it is not Kairos then something else that forces you to get out of your comfort zone and rely totally on the Holy Spirit to guide you through. It is when we are most vulnerable that the Lord really begins to work.   In closing I will leave you with this thought.  Look for opportunities in life that stretch you and force you to move out of your comfort zone and rely totally and completely on God. For when we are weak, He is strong.

Humbly serving Christ,

Gary

Video journal day 3

Another awesome time! The Lord is at work in the lives of all the people at this weekend. I am eager to see tomorrow and how these men are changed.

Overwhelmed and overjoyed

What a powerful day today. The Lord is at work and reaching people for his kingdom. Enjoy the brief video journal below.

Video journal day 1

What an awesome day! The Lord is good for sure. Enjoy this short video diary of today.

The power of prayer...

I have always been a firm believer in prayer.  But this past weekend I took part in a prayer circle that was both the most emotionally draining and uplifting time ever.  What a blessed time it was.

I attended a mini-retreat with other members of my Kairos family as we prepared for our upcoming time in Trumbull Correctional Institute (TCI).  We will be going into the prison starting Thursday afternoon.  We participated in several team building activities.  The first night we all joined in a foot washing ceremony. This type of ceremony is one of the most humbling things one can do. To voluntarily wash another persons feet and allow them to wash yours was truly amazing. Later in the evening we prayed for each participant from TCI.  Each participant has a host (a member of the Kairos team) and this member prayed for them.  We ended the evening with our traditional circle time which included prayer and singing 'Surely the Presence of the Lord is in this Place".  It was a blessed evening.  After many went to bed a small group of us sang worship songs being led by Marcus Troyer. Marcus is the worship team leader. It was an awesome time of corporate worship.

The next morning we woke up early to eat and mingle with other team members.  We then got together and listened to one of the talks that would be given over the weekend. The point of this talk was about the barriers we all put up between us and those around us.  The reading goes on to describe this man whose barriers started small but eventually cut off all contact with the outside world. That was until someone threw a flower over 'the wall'.  The rest of the talk focused on breaking down these barriers.  It was a powerful talk for sure, because we all have barriers.  Undoubtedly this will be a very difficult challenge to overcome with all the residents this weekend. The last part of the weekend was spent in our prayer circle. During this time each team member prayed for all the other team members and we were prayed for by all the other team members.  This time was incredibly powerful. While it was emotionally challenging and draining it was one of the highest points as well.  Many of the concerns for the weekend seemed so much smaller now. While I know it will still be a challenge and the devil is still on the attack I feel much more confident.  Prayer is powerful, powerful indeed.

So as this week goes on and Thursday gets closer, please continue to pray. There are so many details that still need to fall into place for sure. Pray for the leadership team as they make sure these details work out. Pray specifically for the residents of Trumbull Correctional Institute. Pray that the barriers in the way of them hearing the gospel will be broken down.  Pray that even as I write this the residents will feel the tugging on their heart. Pray for the team members for safety, protection and rest. And pray most importantly that the Lord's will be done. It is my desire to see many saved this weekend. I am so excited to see what the Lord is going to do.  What an exciting time for sure!

May God Bless You All!

Gary

To God be the Glory!

As I prepared for another Kairos meeting I must say I was exhausted.  This past week was the first week of School at Marlington (where I work) and being in the Technology department was exhausting.  There was really no major issue just lots and lots and lots of little ones. By the end of the week I was exhausted and coming down with a cold that is presently kicking my butt.  So as I laid in bed friday night I began to wrap my mind around the events of the week. So many times in life when I get busy I tend to put my head down and attempt to get things done.  I focus so intently on my to-do list that I lose sight many times at what really is happening around me.  I tend to focus on one thing that is 'yelling the loudest' to get my attention.  That is what happened to me this week.  Work was obviously yelling the loudest and received a majority of my focus for sure.  So much so, that by the time I reached Friday I realized I had not even truly thought about Kairos prison ministry one bit. This feeling of regret overwhelmed me that night.

But isn't that how things usually go?  I mean no  matter how many blessings we have, or how much you want to focus on 'something for jesus', our mind gets distracted by the everyday stuff of life.  I know for me as the 4 day event for Kairos approaches (11 days away), the stuff of life creeps in takes control of my thoughts and focus.  How easy it is for me to get distracted from what should be my focus.  And that focus is God.  I have been reminded several times this week that we cannot do this thing of life on our own. In fact no matter how hard we try, our heart seeks whatever makes it happy at the moment. We are sinful people and, without God's intervention, will seek the things of this world in an effort to make us happy quickly.  You see, our purpose is to bring God glory. But with out his divine help, we will constantly seek after the things of this world. I have started reading a book called "The Grass is Greener Conspiracy".  The basic premise that our hearts are always seeking what appears to be greener grass on the other side of the fence.  The author's main point is that without God's help, even for the desire to want to glorify Him, we will always look to the next thing of this world to seek happiness.  So it should be not surprise to me that these next 11 days are some of the busiest for my family in quite some time. We have soccer practice, dance practice, awana, visiting friends, birthday's to celebrate and many more.  It would be so easy to focus on how busy we are and not of God.  My prayer is that as the devil ramps up his attacks on my family and all those on the Kairos team, that we would turn our focus to God.  You see, the truth of it is God's work is going to get done.  The question is this.  Are we striving to bring Glory to Him through our everyday life or are we seeking after the treasure of this world?  My prayer is that God would give me the desire to want to Glorify Him with my life so much that I will not even notice the stuff of this world.

Faithfully Serving Him,
Gary

The rope of life......

Heather sent me a link to a video yesterday.  It is a video of a sermon illustration used by Francis Chan (author of Crazy Love) and was really awesome.  Here is the video. Take a moment to watch it and keep reading after that.


Isn't that right to the point! I love reading/watching/listening to Francis Chan cause he holds nothing back.  He gets right to the point and lays it all out there. This is so true. So many of the decisions we face every day we answer based on the red part of the line! We as Christians miss the point. I know I do.  This time of year for me at work is crazy as I have mentioned before. I have worked more hours this week then for two weeks most any other time of the year.  That in itself is not wrong. We are called to work as unto the Lord. The question I need to answer is am I working as unto the Lord or am I working for myself or my boss?  Wow, not that is hitting below the belt for sure.  As I was reminded by Heathers recent blog entry (click here to read it) I work to serve the Lord first and others second. The longer I walk down this journey of life the more I realize that some times it is not what we are doing but rather how we are doing it that matters.  So many times I got stuck on being in the right place or being in the right job that I missed the point.  It is how I live where I am at or how I work in the job I am at that matters. Don't get me wrong, I need to listen the Lord for direction and be open to new things, but I need to live my life as if it is one big worship time to God!

So as I enter into this last weekend before school starts, I need to live my life with eternity in mind. My prayer for everyone is that we can keep the main thing the main thing in our lives and that we can live a life of Worship for God!  Remember to live your life for eternity and not the red part of the rope!

--Gary

Kairos through the eyes of Mom

I'm so excited for Gary.  As I type this he's at work diligently serving the teachers and staff to get as much technology as possible updated and ready for their return.  He's training, working, communicating and helping.  He's being interrupted and adding to his infinite "to-do" list- and he's doing it for the Lord, for our family, and for our community.  Gary's job in some way impacts almost every member of our community.  His job impacts every staff member, every teacher, every student, and by extension every family.  His job impacts not only our community now, but for the future and I"m so very proud of him.  It's an overwhelming job full of frustrations and there is no such thing as "normal" or "caught up".  He handles it so well and even though he does not always get the recognition, I know people appreciate him.  I also know the Lord blesses his diligence and perseverance.  It's hard having a behind-the-scenes job.  He does it well with a joyful spirit and always with the goal of serving people through the Love of Christ.

Matthew 25:43-45

I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’

When I first heard of the Kairos ministry through our church it intrigued me and I immediately thought, Gary would be so good at that.  He doen't realize what an encourager he is, and what a servants heart he has.  I see it in him every day though.  Just this morning he took our youngest daughter to speech therapy allowing me a break from an extra early morning of getting kids ready and running around.  It also gave him some one-on-one time with her.  What a blessing to all of us! Less stress for mommy, more sleep for the other kids, and time with Daddy for our littlest one.  I hope it was a time of blessing for him as well.  But either way, that's Gary- always willing to step in and help where needed and show love in any way he can.  The team building/training meetings have been so good for him.  To have a group of like-minded men and women to worship with, to learn from, and to fellowship with has been wonderful.  It always helps to focus on the Lords work when we can be encouraged by those around us.  I know I feel that every summer when I attend a weekly Bible Study at our church.  Those 6-8 weeknights are one of the highlights of my year.  Gary's experience will go several steps further as he not only is given the chance to worship, fellowship and learn, but also to love and serve, encourage and teach others about Jesus.

While's he's had extra time away from home we've tried to use that time to work hard on our schoolwork (we homeschool).  We've worked on learning some new chores and skills that will help mommy when the new baby comes. I've also tried to really encourage a continuation of the servants heart we were able to put into practice this summer.   Practicing patience, obedience and other character qualities God requires is hard work, but we hope as parents, that this training will pay off for our children as they grow older.   There are many ways to get involved as a family with Kairos beyond prayer.  We're getting our schoolwork done so that we can take some time off in the next two weeks to bake cookies.  We also have some small projects to finish, and we work to find ways to serve daddy when he's home so that he can relax and be refreshed.   I want our home to always be a place he is sad to leave and anxious to come home to.  It's not always that way, but it's one of my (many) goals!

I want to personally thank those of you who have been diligently reading Gary's posts and joining us in prayer for this ministry.  Consider signing up for one or several blocks of time durring the visit weekend to pray so that the entire ministry will be covered.

James 5:16  

Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed.  The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

Please continue to pray for the men and women of the team, and their families. Please also commit to praying for the residents who will be participating in the weekend visit that is only a few weeks away.  This is a huge opportunity for THEM to be loved, encouraged, strengthened and grow in their faith, or even come to a new faith in Jesus Christ.  It is our passion to share the love of Christ, and these men are hungry for love, acceptance, grace, forgiveness and the freedom that Christ gives!  They need discipleship and strength to live out their faith through the rest of their lives. Pray for their families as well.  Each resident has left a family at home and life is hard for them too.  Their lives will be impacted for Christ more and more, the stronger the faith of the residents when they are released.

Most of all I want to impress upon you something God has been teaching me.  This is not a one time, temporary ministry.  I'm not asking you to pray just for the weekend, or just for the cookies, or just for Gary, or me, or the residents.  When we commit to praying for someone or a situation it's not temporary- it's for life.   People are NEVER outside the need of prayer.  The way you pray may change; the frequency, even the passion with which you come before the Father, but the obedient act of prayer should never end.  The team and residents will continue to need prayer for continued discipleship and guidance beyond this big weekend.  There are also other teams and residents of prisons in other cities and states all over the country.

This is so much bigger than Gary or our family or even Gary's team.
You are praying for the work of the Lord.
The furthering of his kingdom.
The strengthening of His people.
The eternal lives of many rest on our prayers.

So when I thank you for your prayers it's not just a flippant "thanks".  It's from the bottom of my heart and with the full knowledge that you are truly partnering with the entire team, furthering God's kingdom and helping bring people to the Lord.
 May God Bless you for your obedience, sacrifice and love.

1 Thessalonians 1:2-3
We always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers. We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

A very long week for sure.... (Kairos Meeting 5)

This past week was very busy for me to say the least. Working for a school district has many advantages but the last two weeks before school starts and the first two weeks of the school year are really rough.  They require lots of patience and also a lot of my time.

As I have been preparing for my first Kairos experience I have had to juggle many things.  But this past week has been the busiest for sure.  As I got to the end of it on Friday night I realized I had not really devoted the time to prayer, writing letters or preparing my talk that I should have. I was also very tired and did not really feel like doing it then. However,  I was reminded of the exciting time last weekend and felt a bit of energy fill my body. So I composed 7 letters (officially putting me more than half way done) and read through my talk outline again. Upon doing this I re-read the scriptures and began to get excited again.

On Saturday morning I woke up and got ready to go. Still feeling groggy I said a quick prayer for energy for the meeting.  Over the next 5 hours we spent time praising God, praying together, practicing talks and getting to know each other better. During the prayer time we learned that the member who got new employment and was worried about being able to take time off right away was granted permission to join us on the weekend in TCI and all the Saturdays leading up to it. Not only that but he could work extra other days and not lose any pay. This was a huge answer to prayer for him and us.  How awesome it was to again be reminded that amongst all the attacks by Satan, God was at work.  During our prayer time a request was brought by a member of the team who is really struggling with employment and seeing and providing for his son.  It broke my heart for him!  He so badly wanted to do the right thing, but was struggling to figure it all out. We prayed for him as a group and rallied around him in support.  I know it will be a hard road ahead for him but he is loved and supported by a God that is bigger than anything this world can throw at him!  He is also loved and supported by a band of brothers (his Kairos Brothers) who want to see him succeed.

As we now take a two week break (as we are not meeting next week) I pray that I keep preparing and do not lose site of the big picture. That is the fact that we are on this planet to love others and reach them for the kingdom of God. While I am focussed on this for our weekend in TCI, I have been challenged to apply this to my daily life as well. This is hard to say the least.  While it is important to get my tasks done at work and be ready for the first day of school in a little over a week, it is not the most important thing. The most important thing is glorifying Jesus by how I serve my family, the church and the people at work.  I need to do all things with an attitude of love and in a way that shares Jesus with them always. This is a hard thing and I am learning to be better at this everyday.

Pray for the Kairos team members as we continue to prepare for our time in TCI and also for our daily lives as we attempt to live out our love for God everyday!

Surely, the presence of the Lord is in this place.... (Kairos meeting day 4)

Having grown up in the church I have sang this song many times before.  If I am being completely honest, while the words of this song are powerful, it was not one of my favorites. I typically prefer more up beat songs with a health dose of electric guitar mixed in.  However since the first Kairos meeting 3 weeks ago, this song has taken on new meaning. We sing 'Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place...' at the conclusion of each meeting. I can tell from my limited experience it is clearly evident that the Lord is working in this ministry. Without fail, every meeting is filled with a healthy dose of worship, prayer, laughter, crying, life altering testimonies and of course the presence of the Lord.

Today a young man who has been looking for full time work for 4 years shared how he was blessed this week to finally get full time employment.  This opportunity came after many months of working part time for minimum wage at the same place.  His hard work and dedication was noticed and rewarded. He was so thankful to see the Lord's provision shortly after learning his family was expecting another child a few weeks ago.  He has been faithfully seeking the Lord for provision and the Lord has seen this a blessed him.  It was an awesome time of sharing and reflection.  It was awesome to see someone so dedicated to Jesus and so on fire for serving Him.

Then at the end we again sang the same ending song and we had another reminder how we surely were in the presence of the Lord. What an awesome time!

Kairos meeting day 3

This week was another great week at our team building meeting. I am beginning to get a much clearer vision of what our weekend in the prison will look like.  I will be serving on the worship team playing drums as well as giving one of the talks on the last day. It is so awesome to take part in a ministry with men and women who are so passionate showing God's love to the residents of the prison. I am honored to be able to play a small part in this upcoming adventure.

It has become more and more evident that the devil is attacking the team members.  Last week three team members shared how the devil was attacking them by bringing life threatening sickness into their family.  This week the devil has continued to attack all the members of this team in various ways. I even woke up one night in a cold sweat with this sick feeling wondering what I had gotten myself into. I realized after a few moments and some time in prayer that the Lord would protect me and the devil was trying every trick in his repertoire to derail me. Please pray for all the members of the team that the Lord would protect us and prepare our hearts. I am also asking for you to add the Kairos team to your regular prayer time. One way ou can pray specifically for me is for my time management.  This is a very busy time of year at work and it is easy to get lost in the work.  You can also pray for my extended family as we have several things going on with various members.

Lastly I wanted to update other ways you can get involved. The two primary ways are by praying and baking cookies. Besides praying in the weeks to come for the preparation of the team we are also seeking prayer throughout the entire time we are in the prison. We are seeking individuals to sign up to pray in 30 minute blocks. If you are interested in partnering with us this way please follow this link (prayer vigil signup) to get involved. Please feel free to sign up for as many time slots as you want.  Your prayer over the next few weeks and those 4 days is so important.  The second way you get involved is by volunteering to bake cookies. Each team member is needing to provide 160 dozen cookies. While in the prison we give 2 dozen cookies to each resident and each employee of the prison.  This is one way for us to show God's love.  I am grateful that my wife and kids are helping bake cookies, but we need help.  Click on this link (baking cookies) to view more details about this.

Thanks in advance for your prayers and all your help.  I am so excited to see the Holy Spirit at work and will blog regularly to keep you posted.

Faithfully Serving Him,
Gary

Kairos meeting day 2

Originally I was not going to be able to make the meeting this week. My father-in-law Tim was getting married and we planned on going up north to help prepare early. Well as things worked out I was able to go to the morning session before we left.

I am so glad I was able to attend after all. The morning started out singing to Jesus. We sang a familiar song This is the Day. It was cool to hear nearly 50 people singing this song. After that we had a time of prayer for three men who are going through some tough times with their wives. It was a blessing to rally around these men and pray for them. Please pray for these three men as they travel the paths the Lord has led them on. They need continual prayer for sure.

We spent the rest of time talking about the acts of Agape love we are going to shower the residents of Trumbull Correctional Institute (TCI) with. I was so excited to learn about these. The main reason I was excited was that my family and friends could partner with me. While you cannot go into the prison with me you can help me prepare for the weekend in September. There are several ways you can get involved. One is by baking cookies. On the weekend before the team goes into the prison, I need to provide 160 dozen cookies. In the weeks to come I will post more information about this and how you can help. But in the mean time get ready to bake. Another way is by making posters of encouragement. These posters will be taken in and hung for the residents to see. The main idea is to show them that people care about them and love them.

The biggest way you can help, though, is to pray. It is so exciting to hear what the Lord has done on the past teams. It is also exciting as I believe He is going to do mighty works on this team as well. But Satan is on the attack and will continue to be. Please pray for the team and the residents of TCI as we lead up to the weekend in September we go in.

Please check back for more updates and information about how you can partner with the Kairos Team.

What a weekend!

One thing in life I truly enjoy is spending time with my family. This weekend was one of those weekends that was such a blessing because of the time that was spent with family. What made this weekend special was how the time was spent with various parts of my family.

It started Saturday morning with my second Kairos team meeting with a Kairos team that is quickly becoming like family. The men and women of this team love the Lord so deeply it is contagious. Not only that but the passion they have for reaching the residents of the Trumbull County Correctional Institution for Jesus Christ is awesome to say the least. I feel so blessed to be a part of this team.

Later in the day we traveled North to take part in my Father-in-law Tim's wedding. It was a festive time where we became part of another family. I believe you can never have too much family. This time was great.

Sunday morning was spent worshipping our Lord with our church family. We were led in worship by Dale Mills and the rest of the worship team. Dale also brought a great message that was challenging and right on point. We then got to eat lunch with my parents and grandpa. It was cool to have 4 generations eating at the same table.

God has blessed us so much. I am so thankful for all my family. But I want it to keep growing. Not necessarily only my biological family but the family of God. It is my desire to keep reaching people for Jesus. Today is a day that will spur me on towards that goal.

Thank you Lord for reminders like you gave me today.

Kairos 22: Meeting Day 1

Today I began the journey towards my first time serving on the Kairos prison ministry team.  Kairos prison ministry is an organization that goes into the prison system over a 4 day period and ministers to the prisoners. During the months that lead up to this time, the team meets weekly to get to know each other and prepare for this event.  This is the first time I am on the team, so it will be a learning experience for sure. What I hope to share over the next few weeks leading up to the actual event is what I am learning along the way.

Today I met a lot of people for the first time.  I have forgotten many of the names but I do remember many of the stories the returning members shared.  The over arching theme throughout was obedience.  Each person who shared mentioned a point at which they had to make a decision. The decision was to either join the team (some times for wrong motives) or not to.  They shared how they chose to follow the Lord's leading and serve on the Kairos team.  What was even more amazing was how the Lord used this ministry to not only impact the prisoners in a mighty way, but impact their lives as well.  There were real stories of change shared today! What I walked away with was a genuine belief the Lord was at work in this group.  That is quite a cool feeling for sure.


So as I continue on this journey I ask that you will pray for the Kairos team. Pray that all the men would be encouraged as they travel this journey. Pray that the Lord will be at work in all of our hearts as well as the prisoners we will minister too in September. Pray that we all will stay focused on the Lord during this time and that we all remain obedient to His calling for our lives. Also pray for our families as this is a huge time commitment for all. Thank you in advance for showering the team with prayer.  Your partnership in this adventure is much appreciated. May God bless you and your family.

Faithfully Serving Him,
Gary Bush

Serving Jesus

As a father there are is nothing that excites me more than seeing my children worship Jesus. Today was a day I smiled a lot.

As a family we try to take part in activities that instill a life of service. One way we are doing this over the summer months is delivering meals for Meals on Wheels. Today the entire family helped out. It was awesome to show the kids how to serve. Each one helped out throughout the route and was looking forward to doing it again.

Tonight we took Grace and Tyler to VBS and when we arrived to pick them up they were singing praises to Jesus with their new friends. What an awesome day!

It is comforting to see them willingly taking part in worship in two very different ways. It is my prayer that these opportunities will build a life long commitment that will be with them for the rest of their days.

Faithfully Serving Him,
The Bush Family

Psalm 70

During my devotions today (Today in the word) I am reading Psalm 70. This is a short Psalm but has a strong reminder from David. David was in obvious distress. Most likely this was written when he was fleeing from those that wished to harm him.  He does spend time asking for what is on his mind, but in the midst of this takes time to pray for others as well as recognize who God is.  God is his strength and the almighty one.

Psalm 70

¹ Hasten, O God, to save me;
    come quickly, Lord, to help me.

² May those who want to take my life 
    be put to shame and confusion;
may all who desire my ruin
    be turned back in disgrace. 
³ May those who say to me, “Aha! Aha!” 
    turn back because of their shame.
⁴ But may all who seek you 
    rejoice and be glad in you;
may those who long for your saving help always say,    “The Lord is great!”

⁵ But as for me, I am poor and needy; 
    come quickly to me, O God.
You are my help and my deliverer; 
    Lord, do not delay.

So many times I tend to 'pray' my list of things. These things are important.  They are requests on behalf of others. They are things in my life I want to see happen.  It is important that I bring these requests to God in prayer for sure. However, I need to recognize who God is and praise Him for who He is.  I think at times I become so focused on the things of life, I lose track of the most important things. The fact that Jesus died so I can approach an almighty God in prayer. Christ broke down the barrier between me and God and provided a life saving salvation that I can never forget.  What an awesome thought.

So as I pray, it is my hope that I will remember the Creator of the Universe and what he has done for me.  I hope that I do not put all my 'things', my laundry list, in front of worshipping him.  He wants to hear my desires and requests, but also desires to be praised.

Surrender

Over the past few weeks I have been really wrestling with the idea of surrender. The Lord has been working on my heart about surrendering all of me to His will and plan for my life. Overall, I thought I was doing a good job. I know I am not perfect, but then who is. I attend church regularly, tithe to church, serve at the church and my family lives a pretty simple life. I do not say these things to receive a pat on the back or to lift myself up, but rather merely for the sake of making a point. Then a few weeks back Heather and I started reading Francis Chan's 'Crazy Love' and doing the study that goes along with it.  Suddenly, I realized not what I was doing but rather what I was not.  I was convicted on several accounts.  I started to realize that while I had surrendered many parts of my life to Christ, I had not surrendered those parts entirely to Him. And, like many, I have sections of my life I have failed to consider surrendering to Him at all.

As the weeks went on, I have continued to wrestle with areas of my life I am holding onto. Then this morning I was reading my daily email from Moody Publications (Today in the Word) and the tile was 'Jesus Sacrificed His Body'. The reading was from John 19:16-37. This is John's account of Jesus's crucifixion.  Jesus was showing the ultimate model for sacrifice.  He not only sacrificed all He had while He was alive but even till death on the cross.  This landed on me like a ton of bricks (or at least like I imagine it would feel like).  One area of my life that I am often reluctant to surrender is my dreams and goals (and the means to reach these).  I so many times see what is needed in the world and decide how I could best be used. I look at my gifts, talents and desires, and think how I can serve God.  Reading Crazy Love has challenged me to look at this differently. Rather than deciding what I WANT to do and asking for a blessing, I believe I need to grow closer to Christ and ask what HE WANTS me to do. I also need to have the faith that He knows best and will lead me to where I need to be.  Sometimes he may even ask me to do what I DO NOT WANT to do for His cause.  This is challenging for sure. I have this ability to convince myself that I have to have the plan figured out before I act.  I believe that can limit God.  Sometimes the Lord only reveals the next step, and even perhaps only enough of the next step to know we should take this step.

So in the next few weeks, I am aiming to trust the Lord more fully. It is my prayer that I can grow closer to him and learn to love Him more openly and freely. It is my prayer that He uses my family to do His will and further His kingdom, even if it is not what I want to do.

--Gary

God is in control....

This morning, for whatever reason, I have been perusing news sites and reading many articles about our economy. It is no surprise to anyone to hear that our economy is not doing so well right now.  Around every corner is another journalist willing to point out what is wrong and how to fix it. There certainly are plenty of people willing to share opinions. Some may be right and some may be wrong, but how do we know what to believe? As Christians we are told to be in the world but not of the world. Where do we turn?

I have been challenged recently to invest time in my most important relationships in my life.  Those relationships include my wife, children, parents, friends and of course God.  After my missions trip in February I was again reminded of the important things in life and quite honestly the most important thing, a saving relationship with Jesus Christ.  I have made a concerted effort to spend more time with family and friends.  But I think more importantly, spend time with God. Cause after all, that is a relationship as well.  So through this time I have been challenged to see the world as if I was looking at it through God's eyes. While I have stumbled for sure, my perspective has changed a great deal.  I read news articles like the ones from this morning a little differently.  While I truly believe our country is heading in the wrong direction and needs to turn its eyes back to God, my focus changes from the poor economy to salvation.  I believe if we would begin to live a life serving God and others we encounter in our everyday life, the issues we struggle with would take care of themselves.  You see, if we made financial decisions based on biblical principles then I know our economy would be better. If we shared Jesus with as many people as possible, how quickly would our society be impacted for our savior Jesus Christ?  If we served others and put others first how quickly would so many of our countries problems take care of themselves?

I by no means have this all figured out. I stumble as much, if not more, as the next person. But if we truly surrendered all we have to God, I believe we would see revival on a much larger and all encompassing scale than we could even imagine.  The coolest part about the entire thing is that God loves us so much He sent his Son for us!  He is in control and wants everyone to know this amazing fact.  So as go through our day today, what are we doing to share that love with those we come in contact with?

Good friends Micah and Kara Mills

As many of you, good friends of ours Micah and Kara Mills have been serving the Lord in Uganda for over a year. We learned earlier this year that they were pregnant and had decided to return to the states for the birth of their second child.  Since that point and time the Lord has been working in their hearts and last week they announced they will not be returning to Africa in November as previously expected. This was an incredibly tough decision for them but they feel the Lord leading them home for an as yet determined amount of time.  In a recent blog entry they explained this decision. Click here to read about their decision.

Please continue to lift them up in your prayers. This is a very bitter sweet transition for them.  Pray especially for the Lord's will for their lives to be revealed to them.

In His Service,

Gary

Guatemala Recap

The past 2 weeks have been quite a blur.  It is hard to believe but 2 weeks ago I began my trip to Guatemala with very few expectations.  The one thing I knew for sure was I would be fixing computers. I have felt for some time the Lord tugging at my heart towards missions and when I had the opportunity to to to Guatemala to fix computers, I jumped at the chance to go.  What I did not know was what the Lord would teach me while I was there.

When I landed with 3 other members of the team we first met Steve Osborn. Steve is a missionary to Guatemala who currently runs a children's home with his wife.  We also met a man named Darby. Darby is a native Guatemalan. He was our driver the first two days.  We stopped for dinner at "Pollo Compero", a local place which was a mix between kentucky fried chicken and pizza hut.  We then made our way to a missionary hosting home. Sort of a bed and breakfast for missionaries.  Here are a few pictures I took the next morning after breakfast.

We then made our way to Panajachal where we would be attending Intermissions 2012 conference to serve as the tech team to fix the missionaries computers. On the way (3+ hour drive) we saw many beautiful sights. I have tried to include a few pictures to give you an idea of how beautiful the countryside is.

Along the way we had a unique opportunity to meet a local who made fresh tortillas. She took some time to share with us the process. The pictures are not the best, but give you a good idea of what we saw.

After we purchased our tortillas we met up with Steve (local missionary) who was delivering some support money to a family. While Steve talked to the Mother, we spent some time with her kids. Below is some pictures of them.

Next we arrived at our hotel. It is very nice and we were certainly blessed. We ate lunch and the  proceeded to our assigned room to set up. Shortly there after we started accepting computers and spent most of the next 48 hours working on computers. Here is a few pictures to help get an idea of what we did.

After 2 days of hard work we then began our ride back to Guatemala city.  We exited the city of Panajachal much the same way we entered, on winding roads into the mountains.  We saw more of the beautiful country side and 3 hours later arrived in Antigua. As we entered the city we drove through the crowd that was gathering for a celebration. Each year during Lent on Sundays the people of Antigua (a largely catholic city) gathered in the square. There was a parade that goes right by the Catholic church there and when the parade ends, the Cardinal of Guatemala gives a speech.  This was truly a unique experience that few get to see.  Below are two pictures that show just how awesome this time was.

Once this celebration was over Roger (a member of our tech team), Steve (local missionary) and I went to a really good local restaraunt and spent the rest of the night getting to know each other. It was the perfect end to an awesome trip. The next morning we woke up at 3:40 am and boarded the bus for the last leg of our trip to the airport.  After a little time in the gift shops, we boarded our plane and 12 hours later I was home safe and sound with Heather and the kids.

This trip was truly a blessing. Thank you to all who supported us not only financially but through prayer. This trip has confirmed for me that the Lord wants our family to be involved in missions.  I am so excited to see what the Lord is going to do in our lives. I am already looking forward to the next trip, but this time as a family.   I hope to take my family to visit Steve and see his mission in Guatemala some day. It would be a blessing to see him again.

Thanks again to everyone! May God bless you this day.

The Bush Family

As the trip approaches...

Well, the day is quickly approaching. The day I (Gary) departs for my missions trip to Guatemala. I wanted to take a little time to share about where I will be going and what I will be doing. I will be traveling to Guatemala on Thursday of this week. I will be joining 4 others to provide technology support at the annual Intermissions for Guatemala conference. Click here to read more about the conference. Each year the missionaries of Guatemala get together at a conference where they gather to get refreshed and refuel for the up coming year.  At this conference people from all over the world (mostly the USA) come to the minister to the missionaries.  My team is a small group of Technology Professionals that will primarily provide maintenance to the machines the missionaries bring. We are planning to do everything from upgrading RAM to running system upgrades. It is a way for us to use our skills to assist the missionaries in the field. Aside from that we hope to be able to give a way a new laptop to a deserving person.

Please pray that the travel for all is uneventful. Also, pray for all that are attending that God will be present and provide healing and a time of rejuvenation. Pray that those attending to provide service will be filled with the holly spirit and be able to minister to all we come in contact with.  Thanks in advance for all the prayers and support!

God Bless,

Gary Bush

While I'm waiting.....

I recently heard the song" While I'm Waiting" By John Walker and the message of the song really hit home for me. So many times in life we have our idea of what God wants us to be doing or quite frankly what we want to be doing. We pray for God to bless our ideas and provide for things in our time table. I know personally I have struggled with this as long as I can remember. My heart is in the right spot and intentions are usually good, but I still miss the point.

The first verse goes likes this:

I'm waiting
I'm waiting on You, Lord
And I am hopeful
I'm waiting on You, Lord
Though it is painful
But patiently I wait

God has been working on my heart recently about things sometimes being painful. I am pretty stubborn, my family will attest to this. Sometimes things are painful when God is molding us to be the person he needs us to be. I am convinced sometimes we are just not ready for God to reveal everything and the are things within us that need changed before he can unveil his plan. But what we do when things are painful and not going exactly the speed we think they aught to is the true measure our faith. Here is the next part of the song that is so eloquently written.

And I will move ahead bold and confident
Taking every step in obedience


The thing I forget is that it is not my job to worry about the details and the entire plan. It is my job to take the next step God has revealed to me and follow him in obedience. The chorus of the song says is better than I can for sure.

While I'm waiting
I will serve You
While I'm waiting
I will worship
While I'm waiting
I will not faint
I'll be running the race
Even while I wait

So as I am waiting, I will continue to serve and worship God. What a great reminder found in this awesome song.

Patiently Waiting,

Gary