Partners United Thru Christ International Newsletter
September - October 2004

Inside...
Dear Partners
Money Matters
Romanian Youth Camp
Spiritually Mis-Matched with Your In-Laws
Hungry for More
Growing in Christ
When Soldiers Come Home

Dear Partners,

Occasionally people ask, “To what do you attribute the success of your marriage?” Of course, we know God has been the key factor. He has worked so beautifully in both Dorothy and me. I would also like to share a key that helped us avoid many conflicts.

Dorothy learned after studying Ephesians 5:22 “Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord,” that God had given her a key-position in our relationship – that of my advisor. In other words she would be a very important person of influence in my life. The President of the USA has many advisors, people of influence. His wife also has much influence on him. After receiving in-put from all his advisors, the President then makes a decision.

Dorothy has always known that I would consider her in-put and would make decisions that I felt were best for our family. Many times, far to numerous to count during our 40 years of marriage, I made decisions contrary to Dorothy’s advice. However, she always supported my decision, even when she didn’t agree. She believed that was part of submitting, putting her trust in God to guide me. If I was wrong, she believed God would show me and if she was wrong, she believed God would correct her.

Often my decisions were wrong. Dorothy would then say, “Well, lets see what we can do to remedy or make the best of the situation”. Dorothy didn’t criticize me or say “I told you so”. Rather she encouraged me and worked along side me, helping me to be successful and to make “lemonade” out of the lemon I created.

Ephesians 4: 29-32 “Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander by put away from you, along with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.” and Hebrews 3:13 “But encourage one another day after day, as long as it is still called Today, lest any one of you be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.” teach us that we are to be careful of how we treat one another. We are to encourage one another continually even when mistakes are made.

Dorothy, through her example, has taught and encouraged me to be an encourager as well. It is so easy to be critical and it takes effort and dying to the impulses to criticize, to be an encourager. Because of Dorothy’s understanding of the influential position she held in my life and the roles she lived, hundreds of conflicts were avoided and instead of walls being built between us, we actually drew closer together.

God is so good. He has blessed us with and through each other.

In His Love,

Paul

MONEY MATTERS

Wasn’t it Benjamin Franklin who said, “A penny saved is a penny earned.”? To many of us, the spare change we have sitting around seems more of a bother than a windfall.

But don’t overlook the power of the piggy bank as a painless way to start a saving plan.

There’s an estimated $8 billion dollars in change lying around in the U.S. Assume, starting at age 35, that each evening you put that day’s loose change in a piggy bank. Say, on average, you feed your piggy 50 cents a day and also throw in an extra dollar every month. At the end on three months, you’ll have around $50 to invest. You could put this money in a Roth IRA, Coverdell Education Savings Account, or other plan that would grow tax free, or at least tax-deferred.

If your contributions average a 4% annual return, then at age 70, you’d have a retirement fund from your piggy bank of around $15,000. If every day, you also add a dollar bill, you’d have around $42,000 in hand at age 70. All from spare change. Nice piggy…

If you know someone trying to save for college or retirement, share this tip with them.

And if you’ve already accumulated a healthy nest egg, now is the time to build your CD ladder.

While interest rates are predicted to rise, no one knows how fast or how far.

That’s why a CD ladder makes sense. Like dollar-cost averaging in the equities market, CD ladders shield you from having to make interest rate predictions by distributing maturity dates. As each CD matures, it is replaced with one having the longest maturity. For example, an investor might begin by purchasing CDs with 12, 24, and 36 month maturities. As the 12 month CD matures, it is replaced with a new 36-month term CD.

From then on, a CD matures every 12 months and is replaced with a new 36-month term CD. This helps keep the average maturity constant, without wild swings in yield, since 1/3 of the funds are never more than 12 months from maturity. At the same time, you enjoy the higher rates that come from investing in 3-year CDs.

How to Own Your Home Sooner
A simple way to pay off your mortgage more quickly.

If you have a mortgage, you’ve probably received mailings promising to save you thousands of dollars and pay your loan off more quickly by switching to “bi-weekly mortgage payments.”

How does it work? By making what amounts to half a payment every two weeks instead of once a month, you end up making 26 half payments (the equivalent of 13 whole payments) in a year. You can do the same thing without locking yourself into a contractual fee agreement with a middleman.

Just add a little principal to your payment each month, or make an extra payment in one lump sum once a year. Even an extra $50 or $100 can make a big difference toward paying your loan off years ahead of schedule.

(Information received from Washington Federal Bank.)

ROMANIAN YOUTH CAMP

My beloved in Christ,

What a day! Indeed this the day that the Lord has made to rejoice and be glad in it.

Around 150 youth from different village churches had gathered in Vrani today to celebrate Christ as Lord and Savior. We met at the entrance of the village, and with the band playing and us singing, we entered the village and walked to the church, and for more than 3 hours we expressed our gratitude for the salvation through Christ and praised the Lord through songs and poems. I am sure that a book of remembrance was written before the Lord for us. The lunch was served at the cultural hall, and the fellowship was great.

Thank you for your love in action, prayers and support. Thank you for supporting the summer camp and for this youth rally. This rally was the crown of the summer camp. Praise the Lord.

Love,
Ileana Pincu

SPIRITUALLY MIS-MATCHED WITH YOUR IN-LAWS
by Christy Barrit

Are you and your spouse Christ-followers, but your in-laws aren’t? If so, here are 8 things to keeping mind.

1. Pray before visiting them. Ask God for opportunities – and the right words- to speak about Christ.
   
   
2. Be authentic. People can identify a fraud from miles away. Even as you try to set an example, above all be real.
   
   
3. Anticipate moments of weakness. After you’ve been around your other half’s family for a while, you’ll learn to read when uncomfortable situations might arise. Be prepared for these moments so you won’t be caught off guard.
   
   
4. Show respect, even if they don’t deserve it. Take into account where they’ve come from and the standards by which they’ve been raised.
   
   
5. Get personal. Don’t let your relationship exist simply on a shallow level, surmising that you have nothing in common.
   
   
6. Look for opportunities. When an acquaintance of my in-laws became sick, I was amazed at how few people were there to support his family. My mother-in-law noticed this also. I shared with her how impressed I was when my father passed away that the church stepped in to take care of my family. This seemed to give my mother-in-law something to think about.
   
   
7. Celebrate their good qualities. Whenever you feel discouraged, remind yourself of your in-laws’ good qualities. By remembering their good qualities, you take a positive step toward developing strong relationships.
   
   
8. Above all, show love. If your in-laws don’t believe in God, you obviously want them to change and come to know Christ. By showing them love, they’ll see Christ’s infinite love through you.

HUNGRY FOR MORE

“Please, Sir, may I have more?”

“It’s not enough!” “I’m still hungry”

“Don’t hold back– I need more!”

Are these the catchwords for a decadent culture of consumerism? Maybe. But, properly understood, they ought also to express the heart of Christians whose God wants to give more and delights in our outstretched hands.

Consider: The believer doesn’t merely stand in grace but grows in grace; he doesn’t merely know God but increases in the knowledge of God (2 Peter 3:18). Paul thanks God for the love of the Thessalonians but he prays that they would abound in love for one another, adding, “…we urge you to excel still more” (1 Thess. 1:3,3:12, 4;10). John Piper calls this a “holy discontentment… the increased appetite of those who have tasted and seen that the Lord is good.”

The book of Acts sparkle with “the more.” The word of God increased, and the number of disciples multiplied greatly (Acts 6:7); “the church multiplied” ( Acts 9:31); “the word increase and multiplied” (Acts 12:24, 19:20). Paul says that the Christian giver will see God increase the harvest of his righteousness (2 Cor. 9:10), and Paul himself presses forward so that he may lay hold of the fullness of Christ (Phil. 3:12).

What is your attitude towards what God has to offer? Are you content with what you have and understand of God? Or are you hungry for more? Jesus told us in Matthew 5: 6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.” We want to challenge you to tell God you are hungry and thirst for more of Him and you will see Him increase your understand as you read His word and as you spend time alone with Him. God loves you very much and wants to bless you. We believe God has more to give us than we can ever receive in this lifetime. So get alone with the Lord and pour out your heart to Him and then be ready to receive all that He has for you at this time.

GROWING IN CHRIST

In order to be a child of God, we have to change; that’s what Jesus said. We have to admit we can’t get there the way we are and be willing to humble ourselves and change….

Remember that God’s love for you is absolutely steadfast, and unlike humans. He does not give or take away His love based on your performance or your qualifications. It will not take God by surprise when you discover an area in you life that is less than what it should be. He knows it already, and even knowing all there is to know about you, His love and concern for you have not budged one inch.

Mary Whelchel in How to Thrive from 9 to 5

WHEN SOLDIERS COME HOME
By Robby Booth with Chaplains Don Eubank and Larry Pundt

The five most difficult issues faced by deployed soldiers when they return home – and what each of us can do to help them.

With 297,000 soldiers having already been deployed to the war zone, the church is faced with a needed opportunity to minister to them and their families. This need is most critical on their return to the United States, when they face complicated issues of their past, present and future.

What can you and your church do to minister to our servicemen and women and their families? There are things each one of us can do to come alongside them, not only during their deployment, but also on their return home. It starts with understanding the difficult issues and unique needs they grapple with. Let’s look at just a few.

1. Readjusting to family dynamics. The young soldier faces a pressing challenge in becoming part of the family again. His wife has become the active decision-maker. The kids have adjusted to Dad not being there and getting their direction from Mom. There may be a period of time when the soldier and his family don’t know how to respond and react to each other.
   
   Soldiers need time to get reacquainted. After a long separation, even close family members can feel a bit like strangers. Adults change. Kids grew. Seasoned, caring friends or pastors in a local church body can lend a listening ear and be there to help the family walk through their concerns.
   
   
2. Reuniting after separation. Separation and absence should be taken seriously. A soldier needs to know he was really missed. His children and spouse need to know he really missed them. Often, the soldier receives far less mail than he sends. Wives are overloaded with managing the household. Children are busy with friends and school.
   
   A church family can help immensely when it comes to the separation a soldier and his or her family experience. Send cards and letters to the soldiers of families in the church and in the community. Special prayer in church as well as honoring our soldiers and their families on days such as Memorial Day, Armed Forces Day and Veterans Day go miles to bring support.
   
   Kids are important, too. Their feelings, wishes, dreams, hopes and hurts are just as real as Dad’s and Mom’s. So are their tears. The reunion process can be even more helpful to the children than the soldier. Children must be given some time for recognition, care and value.
   
   The soldier, his spouse and their church can help build positive memories from this very tough separation. The church can go miles in helping build positive memories in a wonderful reunion experience, helping offset the painful memories that accompany war and separation. This can be a portion of a church service, or a separate gathering.
   
   
3. Dealing with unusual stresses. The war in Iraq has provided stresses unique to our soldiers today. As reported in Newsweek, in a “normal” war, 10 percent of an army’s forces would be in front-line combat roles; the others would have support duties and be far from harm’s way. In Iraq, all U.S. forces are effectively in combat roles.
   
   Additionally, the war began in late March 2003. Many of the soldiers who were deployed a year ago are returning home. But deployment will not be “over” for many of these troops. Many of them will find themselves rotating back to the States for a limited time of rest and recuperation. Others will return only to find they have orders for “Permanent Change of Station” and will move from one base to another. In many cases, these soldiers will move and face redeployment within weeks.
   
   Somehow, the family must learn how to turn challenging experiences into learning experiences. Difficult experiences should not be denied or kept secret. Oftentimes, the soldier attempts to carry his pain in silence, resulting in outbursts of anger, withdrawal and destructive behavior. This imploding can be helped if a caring friend is willing to walk with the family through their concerns.
   
   
4. Addressing marriage or family problems. The disconnect of deployment often magnifies issues in a marriage. Pastors, mentors, elders or confidants may need to work with the couple and their family to help them through their problems to a clear goal of health.
   
   
5. Establishing deeper friendships. New relationships often form during deployments that don’t fit in well when the soldier returns. The soldier has developed strong relationships with those he was with in rough situations. These bonds are often stronger than those experienced in the past. Back home, his family also has faced the temporary loss of relationship and formed new friendships. Church members can offer soldiers and their families’ relationships of loyalty and commitment.

The harvest is ready, and chaplains are serving with excellence on ripe fields both at home and abroad. Pray for our chaplains and their families as they serve the Lord, but don’t stop there. Look around for soldiers and families you can serve in your church and community.