Welcome to the newest section of The Boston Project's website – Staff Blogs! Our staff now has the ability to publish a personal blog. How often they choose to post is up to them, but be sure to check back often!
Click on their name to go to their blog page, or click on the title of an entry to go directly to that entry. You can also view this page arranged by staff person.
August 28, 2010
August 25, 2010
Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked.
- 2 Corinthians 5:1-3
I remember as a teenager in High School complaining to my mentor Manny Daphnis about not feeling comfortable whenever I'm in school. His response to that was, "David, you're just passing through. This is not our home." This revelation hit me so hard that till' this day it stays with me. This is why I started off with the question, "Do you feel comfortable?" The question is irrelevant to us as Christians because this is not our, "home sweet home," therefore we will never feel like we arrived until that glorious day when we meet our savior and here Him say, "Well done, thy good and faithful servant." Till then, we need to remember to glorify God in all that we do and know that we are just passing through ☺. Blessings!
Praise Adonai,
David Rameau
Recently, I have been examining myself for things that I want to do in the future. The difficult thing about that is that I need to be in tuned with what God would have me to do. I want to tell God what I want to do and have His Spirit follow, than hear what He would have me do and follow His Spirit. It's been rough, but awesome at the same time. Why rough? Because it means that I have to be so close to Him that I could distinguish His voice in the midst of chaos; and consistently seek His face when things get so called 'busy.' I simply say all of this to show you that I too struggle and to tell you the good news which is we don't have to worry. All we need to do is.... "Be still and know that [He] is God" (Psalm 46) And then we will remember that He was and is still in control. God Bless You!
Praise Him in the storm,
David Rameau
August 18, 2010
"As the deer pants for streams of water,
so my soul longs for you, O God." - Psalms 42:1
A year ago I was in the hospital with a virus around my heart. I hadn't thought much about it this past year until I reached my birthday mid-August when I was filled with tremendous gratitude for life. I didn't quite know how to express it to others, so I made awkward jokes by saying "Praise God, I'm still alive."
I truly thank God for life. Our hearts continue to burn for our children, neighbors, and youth to experience the life Jesus Christ has for them. I praise God for the preservation of physical life as two of our young people were hit this week by a car that drove recklessly onto our street. The spiritual battle over our children and teenagers is so clear - like night and day; and we, along with many of our staff, are compelled by Christ to engage in the battle. This summer we were blessed with a gifted summer staff that did a superb job leading our outreach ministries. They spent time with over 400 children and teenagers.
As summer draws to a close, we will go on vacation as many families do. I appreciate Jesus' example of withdrawing to lonely or quiet places in the midst of his ministry as a time to reconnect with God the Father. We are not as tired as in some years. However, we feel the need for family time away mostly to play and be together. Pray for us during this time of refreshment. We also sense that this upcoming academic year may look a bit different for us, and we are asking God for some clarity around this inner nudging.
We can never say it enough - THANK YOU - for your ongoing encouragement, prayer, and financial support of us through The Boston Project Ministries. PS. If you don't receive our monthly email prayer updates, we'd love to send them to you. Let us know (paul@tbpm.org).
August 10, 2010
I'm not one to get super involved with the latest Christian trend. My observation is that most trends have some nuggets of Truth that attract us to them. This spring, we began praying part of the prayer of Jabez (I Chronicles 4:10) for our work through The Boston Project. We asked God to "enlarge our territory" by naming streets where we longed for new or deeper relationships.
Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, "Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain." And God granted his request.
Little did I expect to see the EXPLOSION in numerical growth with our neighborhood youth ministries this summer. We have had over 100 unique children come to our afternoon park programs, 100+ teenagers have attended our teen cafes, and just last night we had 100-120 come to our Big Event (closing celebration for our summer programs). Numerical growth isn't the end goal, but it represents more opportunities to share the Good News with others.
I'm excited as I look towards the school year and think about the opportunities our staff and volunteers will have to invest in many more lives. We hope you will join us! - paul
August 1, 2010
- God's Transforming Work: We have been thrilled to see God touching the hearts of children and teens, some who outwardly appear the toughest of youth. We praise God for the unexpected smile we see, the sidewalk conversation about who God has made them, and their own growing convictions about caring for one another and our community.
- The Spot - Teen Cafe: One of Paul's joys this summer is to host an anti-violence teen cafe Thursday nights. This cafe is an entry point for us to get to know new youth. We have had over 75 teenagers attend in the past 3 weeks, most of whom are unchurched. Pray for fruitful relationships to grow.
- Our Family: Amongst all God's activity, we are mindful of making sure our daughters are doing well. Pray for continued time together alone as a family (a challenge living in a ministry house). Pray for a summer vacation spot for us in late August.
- Finishing the Summer Strong: We are at the point in the summer where tiredness is a daily norm. Pray for God's strength for all our staff (Galations 6:9).
- God's Provision / Fall Strategy: We praise God that we are on target with our personal fundraising goal. Thank You! At the same time, our General Fund which pays other staff, our health insurance, and operating expenses is seriously behind (33% or $17,405). Pray for God's generous provision. Ask God for wisdom regarding a fall strategy with our changing staff capacity and new opportunities.
July 13, 2010
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him."
-John 3:16-17
Have you ever hated someone before? Do you currently hate someone now? You see, I would not be surprised if you were to answer, "yes" to both of those questions. I would be impressed if you answered "no". The reason why I say this is because that would mean you chose to love. It's easy to hate people or find reasons to justify your negative feelings towards them. But, to love, that takes a child of God. Do you consider yourself to be a child of God? If so, let us love as Jesus Christ taught us to love in the verse above. He loved those who loved Him and loved those who hated Him.
I implore you my brothers and sisters of the Faith, choose love today. I challenge you to love those who irk you and speak ill of you. Let your light shine. I know you are not able to do this alone and you've probably failed miserably trying to do so. I know I have at times. It's always when I try to love on my own accord; with my own power and strength. Allow Jesus into the areas of your heart you've tried to block him away from or harden. Once you've surrendered all of you to Him, He will begin to use you in ways you could not imagine. So, with that being said, go and love in Jesus' name.
To my brothers and sisters who have yet to know the Lord I want you to know that God loves you. Yes, that's right. He's not waiting on you to accept Him before He loves you. He has already made up his mind, He loves you and He's hoping someday you say, "I love you too." Till then, remember you are loved, because God chose love and God is Love.
July 5, 2010
James 1:5-8
If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.
But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind.
That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord;
he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does.
Growing up as a child I was a rebel. From second grade all the way through 5th grade is when I experienced some of my worst years. The reason why I say this is because as I was acting up during these years, I heard it all. "You will not amount to anything. You need to be placed in a special-ed class. You're tossing your future away. College is clearly not going to be part of your future. You're a mess."
Unfortunately, I began to believe all this stuff. And I believed it because the people who said it were not merely speaking words, but were speaking them to me with conviction. In other words, because they believed it, I believed it. It took me awhile to notice that what they believed was false.
You see, it's not enough to have the right words to say to the youth. It's not enough to tell them they will succeed when you believe that they will fail. It's not enough to pray for them to be saved when in your heart of hearts you feel all hope is lost for them. It's not enough.
Just as I was able to tell when my teachers were being serious and meant what they were saying, our youth today have a "belief detector" that's twenty times stronger and they know when you mean what you say and when you're just talking in the air. According to scripture it's called being double-minded. Our youth today identify it as being a hypocrite.
I know that my youth are hearing "You are more than a conqueror. You're headed for success. You have a bright and hopeful future ahead of you." They are hearing this and it's not said with doubt, but conviction. Why? Because I know the Truth; God has a plan for their lives (Jer. 29:11). And I believe they shall attain it in Jesus' name.
P.S. I will be blogging once a week. If what I have written has blessed you in any way let me know so that I could remain motivated ☺. You could email me at: david@tbpm.org Blessings!
May 19, 2010
God blesses a mess. It blows my mind when I think of God's unconditional love. He does not ask us to come to Him when we have our act all together. He says, "Come as you are." That's crazy. I think a lot of times we forget the other piece to coming to Him as you are. He loves us too much to leave us the way we are. He's willing to invest so much time into our lives. In us! If we just let him. A lot of times we become discouraged and disappointed with ourselves that we begin to despise who we are. Praise be to God that He loves us for who we are and who we are not. It's easy to say that He loves us when things are going well. But, it becomes very difficult to remember when we are going through our trials and tribulations.
Beloveds, we need to remember that as we live our life that trusting God is the best thing we could ever do. He loves us more than anyone or anything; and promises to finish the good work He has started in you (Philippians 1:6).
Where do I begin!? First of all, we want to thank all of you for your support. We would not be able to do what we do without you. Our arrival into Haiti was an experience. As we got off the plane we were greeted by one of the missionary camp workers who drove us to Gran-Goave, Haiti. I cannot begin to describe that car ride. Many of the streets had piles of rubble to the sides of them, because there was no place to dispose of them. Buildings that have collapsed have now become a gravesite, due to the bodies buried underneath it. Mindy and I did what we could while we were there, but the help the Haitian people need is beyond a week visit. After seeing many of the damages the earthquake has done, and looking at the current state of Haiti, we became overwhelmed. It was the word of God that helped us through it. The scripture that brought us comfort was 1 Corinthians 12:4-12. Haiti needs a lot of help and it is possible to help them, if we all play our parts. While in Newburyport, we happen to see an art exhibit and there was a lady selling her paintings to help the relief in Haiti. Praise God! Here is a woman utilizing what God has gifted her with. This is what we need to learn as a Church. There is no gift to small or insignificant that God cannot use. If we all focus on our part, then the puzzle pieces will come together and we will see the completion of the big picture.
It could become devastating when you see a lot of things happen and you cannot fix it all. Through all of these situations, I learn not to focus on whole problem, but the part God has gifted you to address. Trying to tackle the problem solo is not a wise thing to do. We are not asked to do everything ourselves, instead we are asked to play our role in the body. Scripture is clear; we cannot afford to bury our talents (Matt. 25:25-28). I would go as far as to say that the biggest tragedy is to have an individual not playing their part. Why? Some of you may ask, because that means the body will always be dysfunctional. I leave you with the words from Hezekiah Walker's song, "I need you, you need me. We're all apart of God's body."
- Answered Prayers: We want to share a couple of updates: School environment & choices - after a positive meeting with the school principal and action steps, we have decided that Cady and Grace will remain at their current Boston Public School. Pennsylvania visit - great time with family and friends at Kingsley Community Church (our first supporting church since 1996). Summer Staff - we have an all-star summer staff team coming together. Almost all positions have been filled.
- Supporting Our Staff / Fellow Missionaries: Studies indicate that one of the main reasons missionaries leave their work is because of interpersonal conflicts with other missionaries. Pray for our Boston team as we encourage one another during this busy month of summer preparations. Pray for marriages and those in their singleness.
- Curriculum Writing: Glenna has lots of writing to do both for our summer missions scripture theme and children's programs. Paul has to write curriculum for our youth environmental leadership program. Pray for the space and words from God to guide meaningful learning experiences.
- Our Neighborhood: Boston Police indicate it may be a tough summer for children and youth in our city. Pray for God to raise up peacemakers (Matt 5:9) for our streets. Ask God to disrupt the plans of the evil one. Pray that no young person is hurt in any way. Pray for changed lives through our summer jobs program with 22+ neighborhood youth.
Thanks for your prayers for our family and this ministry. We believe that prayer changes things! Keep on praying.
May 18, 2010
"And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds."
Hebrews 10:24
One of my joys as a husband and dad is to find opportunities for our family to serve God together. At times, it can be a challenge considering our daughters are ages 5, 7, and 9. But how exhilarating when your child develops a heart that has a genuine love for others - particularly in our self-focused world.
We had three Saturdays in a row where our daughters were out in the neighborhood working alongside us and volunteers painting fences, helping seniors garden, cleaning up the new park, and more. We all got dirty and tired! What a delight to practice together what it means to live out Jesus' simple command to love God and love our neighbor.
We also try to enlarge Megan, Cady, and Grace's worldview by observing how others live globally. Our support of 5 year-old Leticia through Compassion International has made us aware of greater human need in Guatemala. Preparing gift-filled Christmas shoeboxes with Grandma to send to children overseas makes us realize (again) how much we have. Our friends, Keith and Sarah, had a weekly dinner of rice and beans to help their older sons, ages 2 and 5, reflect on the reality of how children in other parts of the world daily eat. Not surprising though, we still struggle with many selfish moments.
The Apostle Paul's words to "spur one another on toward love and good deeds" is beginning to take root in our family. We love it when our daughters challenge us to think less about ourselves, and more about others. But how do we spur our family towards a greater lifestyle of service? We're on a journey to figure it out together. Hopefully it will be a hallmark of our family and yours.
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