Nov/Dec UPDATE!

Season's greeting to all of you! We pray you all had a wonderful time giving thanks last weekend. I think that probably my most special moment, besides being with family, was when McKenzie brought home her Thanksgiving book she had made at school. It was filled with 5 pages of things she was thankful for. On the first page she wrote, " I am thankful to be a christian because God is on my side!"... along with a picture of her and God. I stopped as I read the first page and thought, WOW Lord how many hands helped her with this book and got to hear a tiny bit about Your goodness and a little girls heart! My prayer for all of us as we enter this time of year where Christ should be the most awaited event is that we would give someone a little glimpse of Christ goodness this Christmas!
Thank you to those of you who prayed for me as I finished my training in October. It truly has been an incredible journey from it's beginning 2 1/2 years ago. The path God lead me on has been life changing. A few of the nuggets I've learned are: Always be open handed with the Lord as he is redirecting your life and taking your faith to greater levels through it. Secondly He also calls us to put on our armor everyday whether that means putting down our fears or stepping out in faith. The Lord also reminded me that life will go by in a blink of an eye so take every opportunity to share my faith, stop and take time for a cuddle with one of my precious babies and to minister out of the gifts God has given me despite my weaknesses. A key verse I have taken on these past few years is 2 Corinthians 12:9...

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

When we first arrived in Portland we told God that we would take all the opportunities that He opened to us. It has been amazing to see all of the teaching, training and discipling that Tim has literally had opened to him here with the Berean Way. In the midst of all this, an opportunity opened for Tim to do some training in Glasgow! We were so blessed to be able to meet in Scotland at the end of my trip. Tim did leadership training with the Re-Hope team (and other friends) and then we just met with everyone under the sun, err, I mean rain!

Our time in Scotland was wonderful!!! The first few days were a bit surreal, but once I could get my feet under me I was pleasantly surprised at how good it felt to be back. We were able to visit with all our friends and team mates. I was able to go to the kids school and see all the mum's I knew, I even helped in one of my kids old classes (with our favorite teacher). I saw all my kids' old friends and could not believe how many of them remembered and loved them still. We were blessed to see Re Hope in their new building, visit our closest friends homes, have coffee with people we had discipled and see those who we had ministered to. It was so important that Tim and I were able to meet and experience it together though we really missed the kids not being there. I think the best part was being there and it feeling good NOT sad... it was a true blessing to visit a huge piece of our lives and to see just how much ministry is still happening even from a far.

It has been a very busy fall between settling into a new role, Tim starting school part-time, Sam and Suzannah visiting, kids getting set up in another new school and our trips overseas. BUT even in all the craziness of planting roots God continues to confirm this has been His plan along. Thank you for walking our journey with us as we seek to be all He asks of us... truly our motto as a family is to simply share the love of Jesus through our lives, all 6 of us! From the village pastors in India to praying for my kids with Mom's In Touch to my kids sharing about Jesus in their school... may He continue to use us were we are.

Merry Christmas to you and your families!

Much love,
Britany

pictures AND prayers

Well, after the last few updates ALL the requests have been for more pictures SO, in light of our busy schedules I thought I might share some pictures and some prayer requests!



October is a big month for birthdays and this year we were able to have a party with old friends and family... it was great fun! Celtin and McKenzie were able to eat their share of the cake though!!


Once again the McDonald clan has found the local zoo... not quite as close as the one in San Diego BUT with all the beauty that comes with the Northwest!



We were due for a new family pic and Chase makes seven... why don't we just call this shot, "The Trouble Makers!"




The past month has been a whirlwind that started with a miracle. A little over a month ago we decided that, if God would make it happen, we would like to have Sam and his family come from India to connect with supporters and communicate a clearer picture of the work being done by The Berean Way in India. We prayed like crazy and God did what seemed impossible... He pulled together a passport, three visas and several thousand dollars in less than a month to make it happen! It was a powerful and beneficial time for us as an organization as board members, supporters and key leaders were able to meet Sam and his family. On their 3 week trip we were able to sort through some of the next steps in India AND give Sam's family faces for the names of supporters and prayer warriors. Praise God for this time.

PRAYER REQUESTS:

1 - Pray for Britany as she is traveling for the next 15 days (but who's counting). She is participating in the final training experience with the Women Of Influence in Austria this week. Pray especially for her travel - as many of you know Britany HATES to fly and she has 8 legs to her journey! She will not only be participating but also sharing her story and would appreciate your prayers as she shares. Pray also for me... I will be Mr. Mom alone for the first 5 days until MY mom comes and helps... thank you mom!

2 - Pray for me as I prepare and teach over the next few weeks. I will be teaching at a STM conference on the 24th in Portland (leadership/discipleship), doing leadership training on the 28th-5th in Glasgow AND again at a youth pastor conference in Portland on the 7th. It has been a pretty incredible fall... I prayed that God would open doors and they seem to keep opening.

3 - Pray also for me tomorrow (Oct 18th)... I have my first midterm in over 10 years and I am a bit nervous - its for Greek!

Thank you SO much for all your support and prayers!
Blessings,
The McDonald clan

and so it begins... again!

An update from Britany.


Hey everyone... Well, our transition to Portland has been nothing short of amazing. Everywhere we turn the Lord opens another door for putting down roots. As you can see from our faces our first day of school was filled with smiles (as where last year 4 out of 6 of us were crying as we left each other). Can you also see all those green trees around us... Tim and I have officially decided that we love the cooler, wetter climates. Yes I do know the rain has yet to start in Oregon, so I will let you all know soon how it is going.

Well after 8 years out of the housing market we are "back in the game", thanks to our friend Dave Hopkins. It took a lot of hunting to find a house that was close to work (Jeff & Erin), not too big, with a yard, a place for Tim to finally have an office, on the cheaper side but not a total fixer upper (still not the right season for that) and 200 years of history... o.k., I guess we had to compromise on something! We love our semi fixer upper and could not have gotten all the pieces to fit if the Lord had not led the way. What a wonderful God we serve who knows the perfect spot to place his children. So the cleaning begins... as you can see we have all pitched in!


So we begin setting up ministry life again, although God continues to blow us out of the water. Tim has had one connection after another come along his path. He has had several opportunities to speak/teach and more to come, just what loves to do. He is also developing all the materials for the discipleship training that The Berean Way will be doing. Tim has also started school again after years of the Lord prompting him to get more training. He is taking the slow track to getting his MDiv to be more equipped to teach/disciple people all over the world. Some of the most exciting recent news is that Sam Apollos and his family are here in America as of today for a few weeks. Sam is the director for the Berean Way in India and we are so excited to see all that God is going to do while Sam and his family are here. If you meet them and hear their story your life will be changed and blessed at the same time.

Where am I in all this? Well, I'm doing what I do best which is to get everyone settled. As Tim wrote back in January I pulled back from the daily job of missions because our family needed it. So with a lot of prayer I'm going to get involved in Mom's in touch, volunteering at our kids school, being apart of the team that hosts Berean Way events and volunteering to teach a 3's class for Womens Bible study at our church. I'm thrilled for this season ahead as God really has lead me to these places of service. I have also had the privilege of finishing up a training piece for 18 of us women in CRM. Some of the seasoned leadership women have taken on passing their "nuggets of wisdom" to us younger ladies ~ what a honor it has been to be poured into by these amazing women. Please be praying for our last time together starting October 17th -23rd.

Well, as you can see, we have begun to settle and a new season of life for the McDonald Clan has begun.We would love to hear from you when you have the chance. Many thanks for all your words of encouragement, prayers and financial support! You are amazing.

blessings,
Britany and the McDonald clan

Settling and Running

Settling and running... those are the two words I would use to describe this last month.

It has been very exciting to get our feet on the ground in Portland and begin the process of settling into a rhythm for our family. We have been painting rooms (something we have not done in our 14 years of marriage), unpacking boxes (some that have been packed for almost 8 years) and hosting (family and friends from Oregon, Washington, Alberta, North Carolina and Scotland). We even had the opportunity to attend two weddings of very dear friends - one from Portland and one from Scotland (It was such a blessing to be able to lead worship at one of them). Every step has made it feel more like home. Of course, in a lot of ways, Portland IS home to Britany and I, which has created a strange mixture of the old and the new.


We have had the amazing opportunity to reconnect with so many people (and there are still many we have still not yet seen). Yet, at the same time, we come to Portland with a new vision and the new ministry we are joining with a new set of eyes - new opportunities! Everything feels new... and so we have hit the ground running. We have been eager to meet with new and old friends to ask the question... Lord, what do you have for us here? And who do you want to join us in that work? The common response time and time again has been discipleship - which is so near to my heart and passions that I know it cannot be an accident.


My new job description describes my role like this:

The Director of Discipleship will be responsible for the discipleship branch of The Berean Way – which is found within the Equip and Duplicate mandate. This will include the development/writing/teaching of resources and material for discipleship, discipleship training and leadership development among Berean Way volunteers and indigenous Pastors (in India, Uganda, etc). In addition to basic discipleship development, the DD will also focus on pre-trip and post-trip equipping and leadership development for Berean Way volunteers.

Secondary responsibilities may include (but are not limited to): expanding the relational base of the Berean Way through meetings – for prayer and financial interest, teaching (when given the opportunity) locally and internationally – to generate interest and increase exposure, modeling the mandates of Teach, Equip and Duplicate in everyday life – for integrity of mission and authenticity of message.

So far, since we've been in Portland, this has looked like... getting to know the ministry, meeting with potential volunteers, developing/writing discipleship training material (and tools) and helping strategize and plan for our upcoming trips this next year. It has been pretty exciting to see how much people have been anticipating our involvement here with The Berean Way.

Our most pressing prayer requests are:

1 - That God would bring the right people for our upcoming trips to Uganda, India and potentially Nicaragua. People with a passion for prayer, discipleship and God's Word. We are looking for people to be a part of a 16 session discipleship training that overlaps the trip on both sides AND for people to support those doing the training.
2 - That our kids would have a smooth transition into their new school. They are fairly excited (as excited as kids get to go to school) but very nervous. Pray especially for Duncan as he navigates his new Individualized Education Plan.
3 - Balance. That we would figure out a way to balance all the new relationships with all the old... and that we would BE the people God has called us to be in this place.

grace and peace,
Tim

a place to settle

A lot has happened since our June update.

We have packed up all our earthly possessions and sent them off with our friend Scott.

We have said MANY sad goodbyes to friends and coworkers.

We have driven from sunny Golden Hill, San Diego to SUNNY Portland (including a stop off at our friends Jason and Megan).

We have said MANY hellos to old friends, family and supporters.

We have bought and moved into a home in Tigard thanks to our friend's Dave and Patti.

We have left 8 years of formal ministry with NieuCommunities (though we are excited to continue with NC in a less formal way) and have been seconded to The Berean Way.

And, we have laughed, cried, pondered, sighed, missed, hugged, borrowed, bugged, talked, walked, stayed, played and prayed along the way. We seem to be a family that is on the move but looking for a place to settle... God willing, this will be that place (for a while).

For those of you who may be getting this update and wondering what is going on I encourage you to check out these updates to help "fill in the gaps".

One special prayer request... Thursday the 23rd The Berean Way is hosting an event in Portland to raise awareness of the ministries work and funds for upcoming trips. Please be praying for those coming, for the Spirits work and God's provision.

As always, thank you for your prayers and support as we move in this new direction... we are excited to see what God is going to do!

intermittent...

As these next several weeks unfold (packing, moving, unpacking, etc.) and it becomes harder and harder to stop and take time to update I thought this might be a good time to repost my first entry... the beginning of the story of this BLOG... why it exists... really, why I exist... awaken us.

awaken us… Lord

awaken us from our slumber

too long have we slept.
too long have we looked upon a darkened, dieing, hopeless world and lazily looked to the horizon for Your coming… or was that our T.V. set?

Awaken us Lord to the hunger that is within.

Stir your children of light from their comfortable seats… that we would know the feeling of Your armor again… the feeling of your sword.

Fan the fire of passion for Your Name… Your Fame… that we might feel the coursing fire flooding through our souls… like rivers… like springs of life.

Let us sleep no longer!
Let us waken from the night in search of our Beloved.
Let us throw ourselves against the gates of injustice… the gates of poverty… the gates of darkness… the gates of hell. Until we can no longer stand AND YET we stand!

AWAKEN US LORD!

Move us to the edges… gather us to the corners… take us OUTSIDE THE CAMP…

AWAKEN US LORD!

Awaken hearts that are broken for the broken hearted. Lives that are lived for the lost.

AWAKEN US LORD!

The night is far gone; the day is at hand.

Even so. Amen.

timothy mark mcdonald

"de-churched"

Hey guys,
I haven't had a lot of extra time to write lately BUT I stumbled across this clip on Desiring God that is really good... thought I would share it!
Thanks for your thoughts and prayers...

interesting...

I've thought this idea before... it is interesting that they actually have a fancy word for it!

home...

Kinda feels like we were just here...

Over the course of the last couple weeks we have been undoing what we have spent the last 8 months doing... creating a home. All the pictures, plates and papers that we brought out to make our "temporary" place feel like home are going back in the boxes they came in. We've got piles of boxes all over the house (and in the garage) and our home is beginning to get that rental feel again.

Home... it feels a bit like a surreal idea to us. Partially, it feels like we are moving home OR at least closer to it. We are so excited to move back to Portland and have in fact (God willing) bought a house... a home. Not only closer to friends, we are also closer to Canada and family - there is a lot of excitement in our home right now. On the other hand, it feels like we are leaving what we have known for the past 8 years (the family of NieuCommunities) and trudging off into a new unknown... kind of like leaving home. There are so many things that feel unknown, unfamiliar... it is a strange tension.

This morning I was reading in Acts 2 where Peter was speaking to the crowd and he refers back to a passage from Psalm 16 that goes like this:

You have made known to me the path of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

I love the hope of this verse... the promise of REAL home. It was a powerful encouragement to a discouraged King David, the incredible motivation that got Jesus through the cross and a picture of God's best for each and every one of us. A picture that we, the McDonald clan, need right now as we walk through this next transition.

The Details:

Now that CRM has given us the "green light", we will be moving to Portland July 10th to begin working with The Berean Way (Check out their webpage if you haven't already). Jeff has just recently returned from India where he had an amazing time of connecting with Pastors there - I would encourage you to read about it here. We are so excited but in need of your prayers as we try to get everything done before our move date.

A part of what we are looking at doing with The Berean Way is the development of the discipleship base for the trips. We desire not only to go to India (and the nations) to teach, equip and duplicate, but to do it with increasing excellence, boldness and power in our local communities and churches. To allow our experiences with our couragous brothers and sisters in Christ around the world to shape us... transform us... unite us. As Paul puts it in his amazing letter to Titus, that we would be like Jesus, "...bringing [HIS] salvation for all people, training... to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works." (Titus 2:11-14)

Friends... we are that people... we are His possession... it is time to be a part of awakening that zeal!

Please be praying for us as we move... especially for Duncan, Celtin, McKenzie and Hallie.

Special thanks to Peter Schrock for the photo's!

are you a... christian?

Psalm 1:1-3

Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
but his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night.
He is like a tree planted by streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he prospers.

I heard the question from behind and, at first, it sounded more like a statement than a question. It had a bit of an edge...

"Are you a... christian?"

I was sitting in Starbucks getting some work done and the young Latino man asked the question again... this time nodding at the bible laying on the table. He had that tough guy look (the one that is usually accompanied by "tats" and "tude")... a look that we are used to seeing in our neighborhood. I nodded and said, "you bet" a bit unsure as to the intent OR what was going to happen next.

"How long?"

A bit surprised by the follow up question, I smiled and said, "a long time." Then he got a bit giddy (yeah I know, I didn't see it coming either) and said, "I have only been one for a little while... but the Bible man... that is where it's at! I have read it through cover to cover in a sitting... it's changed my life!"

Now, I'm not sure if I misunderstood him OR if he was just saying that he read it through really fast but I will say this... it has been a LONG time since I have seen that kind of excitement for the scriptures. We chatted a bit more and he told me that he was still trying to "figure it all out" but that the bible was helping him "make sense of it all".

This weekend our pastor said that we all run the risk of becoming too dependent on the Sunday preacher instead of going daily to the bible ourselves... allowing the Spirit to teach us.

This young man was a great reminder to me today of the amazing gift we have been given. May he teach us all how to love the scriptures... so that we can "make sense of it all."

Please be praying for RE:hope

The following is from Brian Ingrahams BLOG as of this morning... please join us in praying

Well, it is time to pray hard. Time to pray for me. This church. This mission.

After two years of living with two weeks notice we have received our official and final two weeks notice. We must completely leave our church building and hand in the keys in no more than 13 days from today. Meaning, we will have church in our building tomorrow and next week then we must be leaving.
I am sure many will feel shock and grief at this. No doubt you may have many questions that I have NO answers to. Why? What will happen? Where do we go? I have no answers for these questions at all. I do know it is time to pull together.
First of all, we need a MASSIVE prayer covering. If you could commit at least 30 minutes a day to specifically praying for me and our church situation for these next 20 days we NEED it.

Secondly, if you are local and have ideas on places we could go either short or long term please send me the details. Find out how much, how long we can be there, how soon we can move in, is there place for our stuff, where is it located… ? Then send me all that data via email as soon as possible. (brian-at-rehope-dot-co-dot-uk)

Thirdly, if you live locally you are also very welcome to join us Monday morning at 9am at the church for prayer and planning over this quick and unexpected change.

If you are wondering how I am feeling? I am confident that “The One Who Leads” sees and knows and cares about our situation. I am confident that the One who began this work will be faithful. No doubt this moment is not my favourite of all time, and I would love to stay where we are forever. There is shock and grief. However, I do find myself grinning at the unknown, sure that God will lead us, and what seems horrible in the moment we will look back upon as important, pivotal and amazing for our future.

I have been looking ahead at the passage for our final Sunday in the building, 8 days from now, and it could not be more perfect. God has set us up for His final message to us in this great building as we get ready to enter our second exodus from the same place.

Father, lead us clearly through the unknown.

Our little ballerina

busy...

I've been VERY busy lately traveling to and fro but thought I might direct you to The Berean Ways blog so that you might hear more about the ministry that we are going to be working with. Jeff is currently in India making plans for our next trip this fall... he has GREAT pictures and stories!

Blessings!
Tim

from heaven...

John 3:27

...John replied, "A man can receive only what is given him from heaven..."

It is amazing how easy it is to begin to think we are God.

I know we would NEVER say it that way... but we behave like it. It's really subtle. In fact, it often sneaks up on us when we aren't looking.

These past few weeks Britany and I have begun (again) the process of looking for a home in Portland. House hunting is one of those love/hate things. It is really fun to look at all the possibilities and ask "what if" questions BUT it can also become a bit consuming and overhelming when you have a deadline and confused expectations. You suddenly find yourself trying to create the "perfect" home scenario... looking to meet all your needs and expectations. Nothing is good enough. Every option doesn't quite fit your expectations completely. And anxiety begins to build in your soul. Why can't I figure this out?!

Then you remember Jesus saying somthing like, "...don't be anxious..." (why is this such a hard thing to remember) and you realize God's in control... not you.

As I read this passage this morning in John I was reminded of this powerful truth... everything thing we recieve comes from God... not from me. I'm not God. Nor do I want to be... to big of a job. But God know's what I need even before I ask, His plans are trustworthy... and His provision perfect.

Lord, give me the grace to rest in Your provision... the courage to trust when I don't see the way... and the faith to stand and believe instead of trying to take the reigns. Amen.

pray for us... May 1/09

Colossians 4:2-3

Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. At the same time, pray also for us...

A number of you have asked how you can be praying for us through these next few months. Well, I'm GLAD you asked! Please be praying for these four big things:

First, for all the details of another transition. Having just walked through an international move it kind of feels like this should be WAY easier but there are still so many pieces it is overwhelming. Please pray for wisdom as we navigate our children through this move... new school, friends and community... again!

Second, for leaving well. Though we have only been in San Diego for a short spell this team has been our family for much longer. Please pray for good goodbyes. Also be praying for us as we navigate releasing our work here and beginning our new work in Portland. It is vital that we honor both ministries in this time.

Third, for our home search. Once again we are looking for a house to move into... but we are praying all the same prayers. We are looking to be close to the school, close to our team(Jeff and Erin), and with the "right" price tag. This is big for us because we are trying VERY hard to get our monthly expenses down AND we are hopeful because it is a buyers market (as you all know).

Fourth, for our finances. So much has changed in the last year with the economy and the shift in the dollar that we are in the place of most missionaries (and non-missionaries for that matter) - trying to make every penny count. Please continue to hold our finances up to God as you think of us... we are confident in His provision!

Thank you again for all your prayers and encouragement. Our strength is truly renewed as we call upon the Lord together with you our friends and family. We have so much to be thankful for... including all of you!

grace and peace,
Tim

A word from our sponsor... :)

Hi friends,
As we begin the process of laying out our next steps for you all I wanted to include a note (below) that has been written from Jeff AND encourage you to go to his website and see more about what The Berean Way does. Thank you for ALL of your encouraging words... it has been amazing, confirming and humbling... we have the best friends, supporters and family anyone could ask for!


On behalf of the Berean Way, I am so excited to announce the addition of Tim & Britany McDonald to our ministry family.

Tim will oversee the newly formed position of Discipleship Coordinator where he will be responsible for overseeing all discipleship activities both in-country and overseas. This will include our extensive pre-trip training programs, developing all training & discipleship materials and managing the team's adjustment back home.

As the ministry has grown, our needs have greatly increased. My passion has always been the Bible and to provide methods to understand and apply its teachings. The other half of our ministry is discipleship. We have been praying for years, that God will send us the right person to lead this most important aspect. Tim is the answer to our prayers! I believe God has given him the passion, the experience and the relational skills to take this ministry to the next level of effectiveness.

Tim and I first started working together a decade ago to form a new ministry to provide opportunities for training future leaders to train future leaders. The two main sections of this ministry were Bible study and Discipleship.

Well, God lead us into different directions (post-church Scotland & unreached tribal villages of India & Uganda) for awhile. However, we discovered is that we were both striving to improve that concept that we had originally started when we served together in the youth group many years ago. Ten years later, we find ourselves joining forces once again to take that same ministry and expand it throughout the unreached areas of the world.

The possibilities are endless and I believe God will use our individual experiences, our relationship, our vision and our passion to make a tremendous difference in both the world we live in and unreached areas that we are yet to discover.

Because of you, many people have been impacted for eternity. I invite you to continue your support with the McDonalds and continue seeing the great work God is doing throughout the world. Praise God and to Him be all the glory! Jeff Valdes, President

{For I am} confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus. Phil 1:6

the journey...

John 21:21-22

When Peter saw him, he said to Jesus, "Lord, what about this man?" Jesus said to him, "If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!"

It has been an amazing journey these last 8 years... much like a trail on a hillside that you can't quite see around. Oh, you move forward in confidence because of the God you serve but in your heart you know that anything is possible just around the corner. I guess that is the challenge of James - continually living a life of faith filled movement WHILE living and speaking humble statements of, "if God wills". It feels like the consistent lesson of these last couple of years has been, "you follow Me!" Wherever I say to go, whatever I call you to do... "you follow Me!" Don't worry about what others will say or what others are doing... "you follow Me!" Don't worry about how I will care for your needs (because I will!)... "you follow Me!"

And that's what we are going to do.

As most of you know, the past couple of years have been bumpy for us. After a tough season and de-commissioning of the Glasgow site, Britany and I have been in an extended season of processing the past, present and future (all the while carrying on with missionary life). This has included MANY conversations with mentors, family, co-workers, counselors and LOTS of prayer. In the midst of all this God has clearly confirmed that He led us from Scotland to San Diego for a season of learning and listening AND to walk alongside Rob & Laurie and help them shape this new site. Though we always knew San Diego was not a permanent move for us, this fall God began doing something in our hearts that seemed confusing yet powerfully true... He was remaking our calling.

So a couple weeks ago we sat down with Rob and Laurie again and shared what we feel is the beginning of a new vision for us and our family. It is a vision that includes moving this summer to a new destination (Portland, OR) and a change to our ministry focus (The Berean Way). But we are hopeful that this new focus will involve a strong relationship with NieuCommunities and CRM. It has been a difficult process/decision because we love this ministry and the people. Honestly, if God had told us in Glasgow, "Move your family of six to San Diego for one year then I'll be moving you on," we probably would have never done it. But we're so thankful that God didn't reveal it then because we know that this is right where we are supposed to be and with the right people to work through this next step in our journey. In many ways it feels like we have been experiencing what NieuCommunities seeks to do with all those we apprentice.

So what are the pieces to this new calling? Well, there are a number of them but the two most closely tied to our mission are:

1. Teaching, encouraging, feeding and praying with indigenous church leaders in hard to reach places (like the barefoot pastors in India). As many of you know, I have been working alongside my brother-in-law's ministry called The Berean Way for the last couple years. This ministry has significantly impacted who I am... and in the process, what I wish to do.

2. One of the great features of The Berean Way is that it takes "short-termers" into these difficult settings as well and gives them a taste of God's power "in the field"... forcing people to wrestle with themselves. We believe that we can leverage these experiences with the leaders who go on these trips and help them craft their own discipling communities and expressions amongst their neighbors. It is this piece that I hope will have strong ties to what we have been doing with NieuCommunities and CRM.

Rob Yackley (my boss) has written a brief note on our behalf:

Tim and Britany are great friends and trusted colleagues. They have been around from the beginning and have given so much to NieuCommunities. I'll always be grateful for that. We will miss them dearly here in San Diego, but we also want to see them serving from a place of strength. We will certainly feel their loss, but we also have a sense of release that feels healthy and right too.

We're looking forward to seeing what God will assemble up in Portland and we're hopeful that the community they form there will be part of the NieuCommunities family.

Peace
Rob

We are SO excited to see what God is going to do but we are also a little afraid and a little unsure - and that's OK. We are feeling that sensation of faith (being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see) filling our hearts... and that feels good. Would you pray for us as we begin this new journey? In the next days I will post some more specific prayers requests BUT, for now, pray for courage to follow Him as He calls.

Thank you all for your support and prayers!
grace and peace,
The McDonald clan

good perspective...

I saw this clip on Desiring God blog page... it is worth taking a look at!

The latest!

^{Matthew 28:5-10}

...the angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you." So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. And behold, Jesus met them and said, "Greetings!" And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid; go and tell...

Where does the time go?

It seems like it was only yesterday that we were enjoying Christmas with a house full of family and yet here we are with Easter now officially behind us! Because we enjoyed our service with our community on Good Friday and The Rock on Saturday night, we were able to spend Sunday as a family hiking in the hills around San Diego... we spent time praying and imagining that the hills we were walking were just like those Jesus and His followers walked those many centuries ago. I pray you all had a AMAZING Easter together with those you love!

The passage in Matthew is an amazing (if not confusing) piece of scripture. Earthquakes, angelic beings rolling away stones, terrified guards passed out on the ground and... misinformation?! Have you ever wondered why the angels (messengers from God) would tell the women that Jesus would meet them with the disciples when Jesus himself KNEW that He would see them on the path? Did the angels have the wrong update in their iphones?

I have a theory... Jesus couldn't wait.

So excited to see those that he cared about... those He knew were afraid and confused... he rewrote the plan. Does that effect God's sovereignty? No, not if He knew he was going to do it in the first place. But isn't that missleading... Once again, No, because God loves to grab each and every moment to teach us how love works.

Britany and I have been in a season of Jesus rewriting plans. It has been difficult and confusing AND just like the women in the story we have experienced some fear... and joy. BUT, that IS the process of life and understanding the mission that Jesus calls us to.

Would you PLEASE be praying for us as we walk through big questions. It is our goal in the next week to give more details... but for now, pray for wisdom, the Spirits guidance and increased faith.

Thank you all!

Road Trip

Hi friends,

As many of you know our community occasionally does short term experiences and invites friends and potential apprentices to join us for an experience. We call these times Road Trips. Recently we had one of those experiences. This time though we were able to spend a portion of our "Road Trip" actually ON a road trip to Ensenada Mexico. SO, Duncan, Celtin, McKenzie and I were able to spend the weekend working at an orphanage and talking with another community down there doing many of the same things... it was pretty cool! There are some great pictures and thoughts about it on the NC San Diego blog.

Check it out!

kids + Passion story = great questions!

Matthew 27:32-54

As they went out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. They compelled this man to carry his cross. And when they came to a place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull), they offered him wine to drink, mixed with gall, but when he tasted it, he would not drink it. And when they had crucified him, they divided his garments among them by casting lots. Then they sat down and kept watch over him there. And over his head they put the charge against him, which read, "This is Jesus, the King of the Jews." Then two robbers were crucified with him, one on the right and one on the left. And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads and saying, "You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross." So also the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him, saying, "He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him. For he said, 'I am the Son of God.'" And the robbers who were crucified with him also reviled him in the same way.

Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, they offered him wine to drink, mixed with "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?" that is, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" And some of the bystanders, hearing it, said, "This man is calling Elijah." And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine, and put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink. But the others said, "Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him." And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.

And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many. When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, of God!" "Truly this was the Son of God!"

Questions from today's reading:

Why was Jesus so tired?

Why didn't Jesus drink? How would he have drank from a stick?

What was Jesus a King over? What did He conquer? What does "conquer" mean?

How dark was it? Like night? What could they see?

Was Jesus allowed to say "My God"? Why did he feel alone? Why was he sad? Where did God go? How did God turn away?

Was the curtain as big as our house? Did God use scissors?

Was John there? Did the disciples die too? Was Moses there? (Not sure where this one came from... there was also some chatter about cutting peoples ears off.)

PRAY... follow up!

Here is a follow up from your prayers... THANK YOU!

Dear Tim & family,

thank you for your prayers for us,

we were warned and sent out of the police custody, and we were all forced by authories to get out of the town on the next day, We arrived here at ... on the saturday. All of our 8 peoples names were in the news papers all the 4 districts, and english papers also. They framed a news liked this religious vigorous group came from ... to disrupt the religious harmony in the local people

please pray for the pastor ..., who is the local pastor could not able to live in the town any more and he has to vacate the rented house, this week, we are going back on the tuesday to help him to shift the house to different town.

Again Thank you, for the prayers, all the charges framed against us were dropped and we have given a written note signed at the police station that we will not come back and preach the christian religion, any more at ...

thank you for all you prayers

with love in CHRIST
SAM

PRAY!

Acts 4:29

Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness.

I was wondering if you might be able to find a moment today to pray for my good friend (and brother) Sam. I got an email from him this am saying that he had just gotten out of jail. Sam the Indian and an evangelist/teacher who I have mentioned on this blog before. He is married and has 1 son. Him and 7 others were arrested for preaching the gospel. Though they have been released on bail there is a group of people trying to get them arrested again and they have had to be "evacuated".

Please be praying for:
- favor from the officials
- protection from false accusations
- courage for Sam and his wife

Pray also that the peace and comfort of Jesus would be with all of them.

Mighty God who hears all things and knows the plans of men's hearts - I pray first that Your name would be shown to be great among all people and all nations of this earth through Your children. Guide Sam this morning with all wisdom. Give him courage and love from Your Spirit. Protect him, his family and his friends. Grant him favor with the officials AND with the people around him... turn his enemies into brothers. Make Your name great in this situation and guard Your servant from evil. We love you Lord. Amen.

daily...

Luke 9:23

And he said to all, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me...

I am not sure if it is because I have been struggling to find a good rhythm this last while OR if it is just a new step in my faith journey BUT I have been thinking a lot lately about daily "followership". Having grown up in a tradition that encouraged "daily devotions" I know of the deep value of the "blessed man" from Psalm 1 who delights in the Law of the Lord and meditates on it day and night... whose life yields fruit in season AND whose leaves never wither. I have experienced the transformative power of personal prayer AND watched in amazement as God as moved mountains in the lives people. And, as time has gone on, I have begun to see how the mission of God is more than just an idea... but a lifestyle... more than just words... but power.

BUT

In the midst of all of this it can still be tough to simply get up each day and lay my old self down, pick up my cross and follow Jesus. Yet it is SO essential.

It seems as if each day I am given a choice again
...to center on Jesus OR to center on me!
...to die to myself OR live for myself!
...to follow my Savior OR lead my own little personal rebellion.

The truth is, what we do daily defines who we are... and who we are becoming.

wandering eyes...

2 Chronicles 16:9

For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him.

Luke 15:4,8,20

What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it?

Or what woman, having ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and seek diligently until she finds it?

But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.

I know that this is not usually what we think of when we say the phrase "wandering eyes", but I have been struck lately while reading the scriptures by how engaged God is in our reality. God is a people watcher. It seems is if on every level God is ACTIVELY seeking... those whose hearts are fully committed and those who are lost... those whose stares are fixed on Him and those whose stares are fixed on the ground... daring, hoping, to glance up into His face. Much like a holy version of J.R.R. Tolkien's "great eye" it seems to continuously be searching.

Searching for:
...passionately committed hearts.
...fragile lost (often foolish) wanderers.
...something (or one) with inherent cherished value.
...broken children willing to risk a humbled trek towards home.

Thank You Lord for being a God who searches... for being a God who engages. We are humbled by Your careful eye... and Your loving embrace.

awaken us... again & again

As a reminder to myself and those who may occasionally come across my ideas, I take this opportunity to return to the beginning of the story of this BLOG... why it exists... really, why I exist. And so I resubmit my poem (and my first entry)... awaken us.

awaken us… Lord

awaken us from our slumber

too long have we slept.
too long have we looked upon a darkened, dieing, hopeless world and lazily looked to the horizon for Your coming… or was that our T.V. set?

Awaken us Lord to the hunger that is within.

Stir your children of light from their comfortable seats… that we would know the feeling of Your armor again… the feeling of your sword.

Fan the fire of passion for Your Name… Your Fame… that we might feel the coursing fire flooding through our souls… like rivers… like springs of life.

Let us sleep no longer!
Let us waken from the night in search of our Beloved.
Let us throw ourselves against the gates of injustice… the gates of poverty… the gates of darkness… the gates of hell. Until we can no longer stand AND YET we stand!

AWAKEN US LORD!

Move us to the edges… gather us to the corners… take us OUTSIDE THE CAMP…

AWAKEN US LORD!

Awaken hearts that are broken for the broken hearted. Lives that are lived for the lost.

AWAKEN US LORD!

The night is far gone; the day is at hand.

Even so. Amen.

timothy mark mcdonald

on dogma...

"A man who stands for nothing will fall for anything." MALCOLM X

I recently read a quote from J.C. Ryle that was particularly powerful on Tim Challies blog. Now normally I would just forward you on to his blog BUT in this case I thought I would include it below. Partially this is because I am a little unsure of the use of the word dogma (though accurate it seems to carry more baggage than it's worth today) BUT mostly I have included it because the heart of this message is as true today as it has ever been.

In fact, I feel this war inside my own head... I wonder how many of you could relate?

[Dislike of dogma] is an epidemic which is just now doing great harm, and specially among young people.... It produces what I must venture to call...a "jelly-fish" Christianity in the land: that is, a Christianity without bone, or muscle, or power. A jelly-fish...is a pretty and graceful object when it floats in the sea, contracting and expanding like a little, delicate, transparent umbrella. Yet the same jelly-fish, when cast on the shore, is a mere helpless lump, without capacity for movement, self-defense, or self-preservation. Alas! It is a vivid type of much of the religion of this day, of which the leading principle is, "No dogma, no distinct tenets, no positive doctrine." We have hundreds of "jelly-fish" clergymen, who seem not to have a single bone in their body of divinity. They have not definite opinions; they belong to no school or party; they are so afraid of "extreme views" that they have no views at all. We have thousands of "jelly-fish" sermons preached every year, sermons without an edge, or a point, or a corner, smooth as billiard balls, awakening no sinner, and edifying no saint. We have Legions of "jelly-fish" young men annually turned out from our Universities, armed with a few scraps of second-hand philosophy, who think it a mark of cleverness and intellect to have no decided opinions about anything in religion, and to be utterly unable to make up their minds as to what is Christian truth. They live apparently in a state of suspense, like Mohamet's fabled coffin, hanging between heaven and earth...and last, and worst of all, we have myriads of "jelly-fish" worshippers-respectable Church-going people, who have no distinct and definite views about any point in theology. They cannot discern things that differ, any more than color-blind people can distinguish colors. They think everybody is right and nobody wrong, everything is true and nothing is false, all sermons are good and none are bad, every clergyman is sound and no clergyman is unsound. They are "tossed to and fro, like children, by every wind of doctrine"; often carried away by any new excitement and sensational movement; ever ready for new things, because they have no firm grasp on the old; and utterly unable to "render a reason of the hope that is in them." ...Never was it so important for laymen to hold systematic views of truth, and for ordained ministers to "enunciate dogma" very clearly and distinctly in their teaching.

Our most recent Update!

Hey everyone,

Well, here we are well into March and it seems that time is flying.

We haven't yet got all the snags worked out with our newsletters but it looks as if we will soon be moving to a digital newsletter that will both save on postage/trees but time as well... we appreciate your patience in this process.

After a very busy Christmas with all of Britany's family in town January and February have been months of questions asked and new experiences. As we mentioned a few updates back, Britany has now "officially" stepped back from her weekly nieucommunities responsibilities to focus on getting her energy back, getting our family into a healthy rhythm and on being a "good" missionary to our neighborhood. It has been a great step forward for us as a family and I think we are heading down a more sustainable pathway for ministry. I have begun working with a few local ministries and it feels like we are diving in. All of this ministry and connecting is of course the preliminary for our primary work of nieucommunities - the equipping and sending of missional leaders worldwide for the sake of the Kingdom of God. It looks as if we will be officially launching the training this fall as we already have a group of interested young leaders.

As many of you know, due to visa issues, I was unable to go to India this February with The Berean Way. This was very difficult for me personally but I have trusted God with His timing knowing that He is in control and knows what's best for me and my family. As I have been looking at increasing my involvement in this ministry, missing this trip has created many questions about my heart for the hard to reach places like India (as they say, absence makes the heart grow fonder).

I am increasingly convinced (and compelled) that our time on earth is short and that there are still many who need to hear about the person of Jesus Christ AND the hope of the good news of the Kingdom of God. And, I am convinced that this message is best spoken by THEIR neighbors, families or friends. With the Berean Way I can teach/preach, encourage and duplicate in the hardest of places... looking into the eyes of these men and women who walk forward in the face of persecution and help them live/preach the gospel in their VERY unreached neighborhoods.

But I have another love - the Church. I have a deep conviction that the church know and become what Christ has called us to become. It is a desire to see the Body of Christ live to its fullest God inspired potential. I believe that the Church is God's instrument on the earth for good and that we have a calling to steward... a calling that goes way beyond our own comfort and security. With nieucommunities I am able to challenge, disciple and equip the next generation of church and mission leaders for the global mission of the Church. Often I feel a tension between the two callings... it is a tension that literally keeps me up at night. Which is where you all come in.

Would you pray for us?
We need your prayers (and God's guidance) in navigating this changing world. We are trying to be the people/missionaries that God has called us to be (including making wise choices with our family life) in this generation... for this generation. Pray that we would step forward with faith and courage. Pray that we would speak boldly as we should. Pray for open doors and ready hearts.

...the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. (Romans 13:11-12)

grace and peace,
Tim McDonald (and the clan)

the crowing rooster

Mark 14:72

...And he broke down an wept.

I have always enjoyed reading through the life of the apostle Peter. I find a lot of comfort in watching how he walked with Jesus. He seems to have made as many mistakes as he had successes... and though some of his successes where amazing and dramatic so much of his life seems filled with "good intentions" gone awry. This ordinary fisherman seemed to have a heart to do the right thing but often found himself running in the wrong direction. He would open his mouth when he shouldn't AND he would remain silent when he shouldn't. He would run in swords raised when he shouldn't AND run away when he shouldn't. Though seemingly not a very "religious" man he would often make religious mistakes (even late in life). He would show tremendous courage (at the wrong time) and tremendous fear mere moments later. He would confuse the spoken word of Christ and even be called "satan" by Jesus himself. And, in an ultimate act of fear, he would deny Jesus publicly 3 times in a row... just as Jesus had predicted.

Yet...

He walk on water.

He spoke the first confession of Christ.

He was called a rock on which the Church would be built.

He open the gospel to the gentile world... through the courageous word of his testimony.

And though he would deny Jesus on one day he would eventually deny himself and take up his cross and follow Jesus unto death.

There have been so many times in my life when I have represented everything that Jesus is NOT. Times where I have trudged ahead and found myself walking down a different path than Jesus with a foot in my mouth... and usually more than a bit confused. You see, like Peter, I have all these good intentions and (I think) a heart to do what Jesus wants me to do BUT, also like Peter, I find a battle between courage and fear within me. There have been times when I have spoken courageously only to find out that I am missing the bigger picture... and there have been times when I should have spoken but was too afraid.

And I have wept.

in Mexico

This weekend our community spent a few days "south of the boarder" at a home in a small village called Porvenir. It was a beautiful area with rocky mountains and long valleys. The village was simple... filled with dusty roads and shacks... and awesome taco stands! It was a time for us as a community to hear each others stories and share symbol time-lines.

For those of you who are wondering, a symbol time-line is a pictorial version of your life... your great moments and your hardest moments... your successes and your failures. It helps you identify God's hand in your life experiences and gain a clearer picture of where God is leading you. It is a great tool for hearing others stories BUT it is also a great tool for remembering who you are. If you have never sat down and thought through your story AND put it to paper... I strongly encourage you to do it!