Good Service, Good News

My brother, David, called me yesterday afternoon to tell me about the funeral service for Bro. Tommy Starrett. He said it was a very positive and upbeat service. Over 600 people were in attendance. About half of those were church members. The other 300 were people whose lives Tommy had impacted outside the walls of our church. To me, their is no greater tribute to a man's life than that. Please continue to pray for Starrett and Tinsley families. Also, pray for our Pastor, Ken Rhoades, as he leads our church family through this difficult situation. I am confident that God has a plan through all of this.

I realize that our last few post have been rather solemn and serious, so I also want to include a bit of exciting news today. During our phone conversation yesterday, David also told me that he gave his girlfriend, Brittany, an engagement ring. Apparently she took it. They have been talking about getting married for several months, but David didn't want to make any concrete plans until he had properly proposed and given her a ring. I'm very excited for them both. Pray for them as they begin to make plans for a life together. Have a great day!

Danny

Remembering Tommy

Today the life of my friend Tommy Starrett will be remembered during his funeral service at our home church in Sulphur Springs, Texas. If you read Krista's post on Monday then you are aware of the circumstances surrounding his homegoing.

I first met Tommy when I was in the seventh grade. Because of the lack of pastoral leadership at the small country church that we attended, my parents decided that it was time to find a more stable place where we could grow spiritually as a family. They were especially interested in finding a church with a thriving children's and youth ministry. After visiting several churches in the area, they decided that we would move our church membership to Central Baptist Church. At that time, the Junior High Sunday School class was meeting in a small portable building located at the back the current elementary Sunday School Building. Tommy was the Junior High Sunday teacher. Though, I can't honestly say that I remember a single lesson that he taught, I did learn a lot from him. I never got the feeling that teaching us was a chore, but rather something he got to do. He was always upbeat and excited, especially while he lead the music. When we repeated a chorus he would always yell, "Sing It One More Time." We would all yell it out right along with him.

Even after I entered the High School Youth group, Tommy continued to have an impact on my life. He always set a good example to follow. Tommy was also a great singer of southern gospel songs and an integral part of the music ministry of Central. I loved to hear him sing specials in church services. If my memory serves me correctly, Tommy sang at both my grandmother's and my grandfather's funerals, not to mention at countless others. On Sunday, when we found out about Tommy's passing, I said to Krista, "Tommy has sang at so many funerals. Who is worthy to sing at his?" My aunt Sandy put it best when she said, "Beulah Land" (one of the songs that he sang speaking about heaven) never meant so much to him as it does now." I really couldn't agree more.

Half way through my internship on the staff of Central, Don Baier resigned and Tommy took over the responsibility of Music Director on a volunteer basis. Not to discredit Don but, because of Tommy's leadership, the music program never missed a beat. (By the way, I am convinced that God will raise up someone in Tommy's absence to do the same thing!) Tommy kept his full-time job as manager of a Farm and Ranch supply store while leading the music ministry at church for over a year before joining the church staff full-time. In his life-time, Tommy did more actual ministry as a laymen than as a "professional" minister and he was more qualified to minister to people than many who hold high Theological degrees. He was genuine and he was faithful. Every Saturday night at Central there is a prayer meeting for the Sunday services. Before Tommy ever began leading the music (even in a lay capacity), he was faithful to attend that meeting. To my shame he was more faithful than me as a staff member.

By this world's standard, Tommy was a good man. He was loved by those in the church and respected by those in the community. More important than being a good person, Tommy was made righteous by God (2 Corinthians 5:21). That was evident by the life he led. As Krista said, "Everyone always talks about how good a person is after they die, but Tommy really was a Godly man." He was loved and he will be greatly missed. I am not sad for Tommy, though. When he closed his eyes the last time here on earth, the first thing he saw when he opened them again was Heaven and His Savior (and mine). As all of us do, Tommy entered this world according to God's will and timetable and exited it in the same manner. I fully believe that God has a plan for those who were left behind (both for the Starrett and Tinsley families as well as for the Central Baptist Church family). God makes no mistakes. Everything that is done, is done according to his perfect will.

I realize, that this post is quite a bit longer than most, but honestly it could have been much longer. For those of you who knew Tommy, feel free to post your thoughts as a comment to this post. I would be interested in hearing the way others remember him. God bless.

Danny

A Godly Man

A great man and friend of ours died Saturday night from complications of a car accident that happened last Wednesday. Everyone back home (Sulphur Springs, TX) is shocked as we are here in Austria. It just didn't seem like he was that bad. God definitely had other...better plans for Tommy. Just hurts that we can't still have him around here on earth. Danny said as much as we miss him and just can't hardly comprehend what has happened in the last 2 days, Tommy has been rewarded! He was a Godly man, faithful husband, awesome dad, great staff member, a hard worker, the list could go on.

I can't hardly express how much the Starrett family has meant and does mean to us. Our hearts are broken, Danny & I haven't hurt this much in a long time. Please pray for Angi and their kids, Eric (Jr. at BBC and engaged), Jason (Sr. in H.S), and Whitney (14). Our church I know will be a great encouragement to Angi and their extended families in this very hard time, pray for strength and comfort.

Krista

Pray Ye Therefore

Yesterday morning, Eric Lantrip and I had the opportunity to meet and discuss the ministry here in Austria. We talked about goals, strategy and things of that nature. It was a valuable time to reevaluate what we are doing, as well as to look to the future. One of our goals is to establish a national network of conservative (theologically) churches in Austria. In order for this to happen, though, we need more workers. At an approximate ratio of 1,364,115.2 Austrians to each full-time adult BBFI worker, we are significantly outnumbered. "Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest" (Matthew 9:38). If you look at that verse of Scripture in its context you will notice that the same people that Jesus asked to pray became the very answer to the prayer. There are many who read this blog regularly as well as those who only stop by occasionally. Either way, if you are reading this you obviously have some kind of interest in our lives and/or the ministry here. Have you ever considered joining in Austria. It would save you the trouble of having to check up on us through the web. Plus, we could really use the help. Please pray for more workers here. And who knows, maybe you are the answer to that prayer. There is no greater work than serving the Lord. Have a great day!

Danny

What manners!

It's been a trying day in the world of parenting. Nathan has been struggling with obeying. I don't know how many times we have to tell him to not pull the DVD's off the shelf (and not pull them out of their case) or stay in bed during naptime or bedtime. He is definitely trying to figure out which of our buttons to push (he's pretty good at it too). Tonight after being punished for getting into trouble, Nathan told his Daddy "Thank you". My goodness, how can you look him in the eyes and stay firm when he is just smiling at you and thanked you?!?!?! He is really a great kid on the good AND the bad days.

Krista

Role Reversal

This week has been somewhat of an adjustment for our family. Since Krista is now a full-time German student, I am staying home to take care of Nathan. Though I strongly encouraged (if not pushed) her to study the language full-time for at least one semester, I have to admit I struggling a little in my new role. It has helped me to understand what she goes through on a normal day. Being a mom is a whole lot harder than it looks. My biggest struggle has been trying to balance between looking after Nathan and giving him the attention he deserves and doing the ministry work I need to be getting done, such as personal Bible study and sermon preparation. I'm sure I will get the hang of it eventually. Just in case I don't you might pray for me.

The change has been difficult on Krista as well. She is realizing that being a full-time language student is not as easy as it seems. Now she understands why I would come home from class totally exhausted though I really not put forth any physical exertion. The mental strain is immense. I think this time has caused both of us to appreciate so each other so much more. It is an invaluable experience that few couples have the opportunity to endure. Pray that we can in fact, endure it. Have a great day!

Danny

1000 Hits

I'm amazed that we have already had 1000 hits to this blog since we started it in December. Honestly I'm amazed that people find the mundane happenings of our everyday lives worthy of reading. We do see it as a great privilege to be able to share with you though. One of my main goals with this blog is to show you that we are normal people (though some who really know us may disagree). But seriously, as ministers in Austria we are no more spiritual than most who fill a seat in church every Sunday morning. In fact, there are many who are without a doubt much more spiritual than us. Though spirituality is very important I think being available is equally important. There are many Christians who are equally or more qualified to do what we are doing here. One of our family's favorite quotes is: "God does not call the qualified, he qualifies the called." If you will answer the call, God will give you the tools you need to do the job. Now that I've taken away any chance for excuses, what is keeping you from serving Him today? I'll leave you think about that until our next post. Have a challenged day!

Danny

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas

This morning we woke up to snow fall, again. Our yard was just beginning to melt. Thankfully it doesn't look like it is going to hang around very long. We are all ready for spring to arrive, especially Nate. He is so active. It has killed him to be cooped in the house all winter.

Krista is at her German course this morning. She seems to be enjoying it so far. She has already met a good friend and she really likes her teacher a lot.

While Krista is at school, Nate and I are hanging out at home. He is about to eat lunch and go down for his nap. While he is napping I'm going to work on my sermon for Sunday. God has put Matthew 13:24-30 and Matthew 13:36-43 on my heart concerning the wheat and the tares. Well that's all I have for today. Have a good one!

Danny

The Claw

Nathan's vocabulary is slowly starting to grow. Honestly the boy talks non-stop (I have no idea who he gets that from, ha ha), we just can't make out what he is saying. A few days ago, while I was changing his diaper I understood a new phrase that he says. Out of nowhere he said, "Da Clough!" That is his version of "The Claw" which is a game I play with him. I curl up my fingers and stare at my hand as if I have no control over it and say, "Oh no, the Claw." Then I tickle him until he can no longer stand it. I got it from a movie that came out while I was in college. You may have seen it. It was just so funny to hear him say it though and I don't think I had said it to him for a few weeks, but he had obviously picked it up and remembered it. Who knows he may have been saying it all along without our understanding. Now he says it all the time. It is so awesome to watch him learn new things. If you have kids I'm sure you can relate. Have a great day!

Danny

Need a laugh?

In our 19 months here in Graz, I have yet to really embarrass myself (which isn't that easy). But it was only a matter of time and today was the time. In my Deutsch course today we were playing a game where we put our hands in a bag and had to guess what we were holding, say it in German (naturally), and THEN pull it out to see if we were right. It came to me and of course all the good stuff that I really knew was already taken (cell phones, keys, pencils, etc.). As I put my hand in I feel around and I feel an ERASER. I had a moment of panic, then suddenly I remembered what it's called in German (or so I thought). I confidently say "Es ist ein Gummi" for the whole class to hear. My teacher looks at me rather weird and tells me to pull the item out of the bag. When she sees it and looking rather relieved, she says, "Das ist ein Radiergummi". Everyone is politely giggling and looking at me. I think, "Ok, so I forgot the 'radier' part." A girl next to me who speaks English whispers to me, "A gummi is a condom." Ok, that explains a lot.

Have a less embarrassing day than me!

Krista

Home Missions Planning

Yesterday Eric Lantrip and I had the opportunity to attend an Austrian Home Missions planning meeting in Linz. It was great to meet with Pastors and Church Planters to strategize on ministry. One of the main topics of discussion was starting new churches. Currently, there are only about 20 Baptist Churches in Austria. We talked about how we could see that number grow without hurting the existing churches. Of the 20 churches, few are what you would call strong churches. Many churches here face limitations in membership, leadership and finances. It is our personal goal to help strengthen existing churches as well as see new churches started. Please pray for us as we seek God's will on how to best accomplish this task. Have a great day!

Danny

Classes

Tomorrow I'll go to the University and find out what my test results are from last week. I will then get my class schedule and begin on Thursday. I know this will be good for me, but I am not looking forward to going to class 5 days a week. However, this is the best time, because after this semester I will have 2 kids at home and it would be much harder to attend school full time. I am praying that my morning (all day actually) sickness will quickly fade. It really affects my day.

Danny was out of town today at a conference which he will probably write about tomorrow. Danny left before Nathan woke up. This confused Nathan so he kept looking for Danny all day. I keep our bedroom door closed so he doesn't get into trouble and he was just so sure that his Daddy was in there and made me open the door so he could check it out himself. He wasn't too thrilled when he didn't find his Daddy. It was really cute.

Have a good week!

Krista

And Then There Were Two

Last night after the Persian Bible Study, we invited the Browns and Lantrips (the other two families we work with) over for dinner and a goodbye party. This morning the Browns left to go back to the States for about a six month furlough. While they are back they will be reporting to many of their supporting churches on the work being done here. Also, both Curt and Melinda will be graduating this Spring from Louisiana Baptist University with Masters of Divinity degrees (they completed the program through distance education). While the Browns are gone the Lantrips and ourselves will try to hold down the fort here in Austria. Eric and I will split teaching duties in the Persian ministry and we also hope to begin at least one new Persian small group (possibly more). Please pray for all of us in the Browns' absence.

Also, please continue to pray for direction in the lives of Krista and me. We are coming to the end of our first stage of life in Austria. Up to this point our main focus has been on learning German. Though we still have a long way to go in that area, we are nearing the point where our focus will shift more heavily onto ministry. Pray that we will be sensitive to God's leading concerning our futures here. Have a blessed day!

Danny

Web Editing

Last week I asked Eric Lantrip to show me how he edits and publishes our A-Team website (http://ateamonline.info/index.htm). After a quick crash course I felt I had learned enough and decided to give it a try. I started out by just trying to update a few pictures. No big deal, right. After making the updates and publishing the pages a I asked Eric to take a look on his computer to make sure it looked ok. (He uses a PC. I use a Mac!) A little while later I got a phone call from him saying tour home page was completely messed up in his web browser (it looked fine in mine). After two days of both of us working on it exstensively, we finally figured it out this morning. Free Tip: Always check the margin settings! Now everything should be back to normal, You can check it out by clicking on the A-Team Online link under "Links" in the left column of this page or by copying the address above into your web browser. Eric just updated the "What's New" page and there are a few new pictures. Give it a look. Have a great weekend.

Danny

Mister Independent

Nate is beginning to want to do more and more things by himself. For example, he won't eat unless he can hold his fork himself. Also, if we let him talk on the phone, he has to hold it with no help. Yesterday morning he even made a phone call by himself. I was in the kitchen getting him breakfast. When I came around the corner I saw him sitting quietly in the recliner in the living room. I thought how nice, he is just sitting there being good rather than pulling all the DVDs off the shelf. As I got closer I realized that he had our VoIP phone (internet phone) in his hand. When I took it away from him, I noticed that he had made a 30 second call to Krista's brother in Missouri. It was around 7:00 AM here which made it around midnight Matt's time. Thankfully he was still awake studying. I realize it only gets more interesting from this point, especially with #2 on the way. Have a great one!

Danny