Merry Christmas Eve!!

Merry Christmas!

We are so happy that we have friends like you to share our holidays with!
It really has been such a wonderful year. Last Spring we moved to Ft Collins to start a brand new YWAM ministry called “Catalyst.” Our focus is on helping young people tap into their potential for positive change in local communities. In May we made the big jump and haven’t had time to look back since!

FAMILY
It is so great to be close to home. We are making up for lost time. We stayed at Teresa and Kelly’s house during the summer so that we could find a nice place to live that would fit within our budget. We did! We leased a great older house right across the street from the Public Library in the heart of Old Town! It is an awesome place for ministry and we have been hosting Bible studies ever since!
Becca and Jessica spend almost every Friday night over at Aunt Teresa’s house with their cousins Kelsey and Brant (Kort and Bobbie’s kids). They come back worn out with and full of great stories! On days off from school, Grampy and Grammy usually take them on some educational adventure.

SCHOOL
We decided to try out public school this year and the kids are doing great! They have both been featured in school assemblies for their good behavior and achievements. Jessie is in the violin program and she can make Kona, our golden retriever, howl like no one else! Becca was selected for the district honor choir. It is so nice to see the investment we have made in their character paying off in the way they treat classmates. They are growing like weeds and having a lot of fun along the way!

BANK
Denise went to work at the 1st National Bank where she had worked when we lived here in 2000. The extra income and health benefits have been very helpful. She has quickly been given a number of responsibilities and she was even featured on the FNB internal website for her customer service skills!

NINE70
Over the summer we integrated into the young adults ministry at Timberline Church (called “nine70”) where made about 250 new friends. In partnership with nine70 we have started:
• a campus organization at Colorado State University.
• an outreach team focused on reaching students at CSU.
• an intensive discipleship program for college students and young professionals.
• a leadership development course for about 25 young leaders in nine70
• meeting one-on-one for ‘life coaching’ with various young adults
All of this dynamic stuff is happening trough the context of a local church!

TIMBERLINE MISSIONS CONFERENCE
One of the reasons we move to Ft Collins was to develop stronger relationships within our home church. Less than three weeks before the annual Timberline Missions Conference an unforeseen situation occurred and the church leaders asked us to take over coordinating the whole event. It was a mad scramble but with the help of 50 volunteers on 8 different teams we ended up pulling off the best event ever! It was a full weekend event with a dozen represented ministries and international guests… ending with a catered banquet for over 850 in multiple venues with streaming live video!! Crazy! What an opportunity to establish new relationships! Since then we have been invited to be on an advisory team to help determine the future direction of Timberline Missions and Outreach programs. Really crazy!!

ONE
We have been mentoring a small group of campus organization leaders who run an event called “ONE.” This semester’s ONE brought about 400 Christian students together from various campus orgs for a night of worship and prayer focused on unity. There were 9 ministries represented in the worship band alone! It was AMAZING!

YWAM
In addition to this we have continued to work with YWAM, mostly helping with communications teams and research. Denise did thousands of dollars worth of free translations for YWAM Latincom.
We have three CSU students that are interested in doing internships with YWAM Catalyst. One young lady is working on a BA in organic agriculture and wants to work with sustainable nutrition in developing countries. We may already have a project in Sierra Leon in the works and she has recruited another organic ag major and a nutritionist to help too! We have a young man doing a BA in business who is interested in helping us with Organizational Development and another is interested in an internship doing construction management. We also looking into working with a PhD candidate in Environmental economics who has experience in sustainable agriculture in developing countries.

THESIS
There isn’t much time to add anything else in, but it is in there anyway. I am working on the research for my Master’s thesis which needs to be finished next spring. I have looked into a PhD program focused on “Religion and social change” at Iliff School of Theology in Denver, but may have to wait another year.

RECESSION
I know that this is a worrisome time for many of you. As a family walking by faith, we can tell you that GOD IS FAITHFUL. No matter how crazy the economy seems, God is able to take care of you.
We have also noticed a drop in our financial support in the past few months. If you would be interested in joining us as a financial partner, we sure would appreciate it! We are in the process of redefining how we do financial support so that we can be much more relational. Exciting changes are coming soon!

Have a very "Merry Christmas!"

We love you all!

Dustin, Denise, Becca and Jessie

Awesome Days!

We had a fantasic weekend, hosting YWAM friends from out of town and serving our young adults.

This was the last week of our intensive discipleship course. It took 7 weeks to complete the 5 weeks of material but the feedback we got was tremendous.

This afternoon we went to watch "Fireproof." Great Job! Well worth it to see and be insipred to take your marriage seriously and allow God to be a part!

Tonight we spoke at a gathering of young professionals abouut how to integrate evangelism into our lifestyles... Again, another great experience.

Tomorrow morning we will be out on the 'plaza' at CSU for an event called "word." We will be reading the Bible which is always interesting on a public university campus!

Amazing dinner!

Denise and I went out to dinner tonight. While we were enjoying our selves a young lady came up to us and asked, "are you speaking Portuguese?"

This led to the most wonderful two hour conversation with the young lady and her Brazilian fiance. We had almost every possible thing imaginable in common... Faith, politics, experiences, education, family situations, funny stories, social convictions...

I could tell that meeting Paulo and Jill was organized by God, without a shadow of a doubt. It is wonderful to walk by faith and see how God brings things together!

ONE

Tonight we are helping to host a very special event.

"ONE" is a gathering of all the Christians at CSU for no other reason than to pray and worship God as one body. We have been working with a number of other leaders of Christian Campus Organizations at CSU like Navigators, Campus Crusade, Lifeline, and others to pull this event together.

Unity is one of the signs that we really are the body of Christ.

Life is in the Details...

That's what they say... If it is true, then life for us must be pretty good!

I thought about writing about some little details because Jessica was recently honored at a school assembly for living out the Laurel Elementary "ROAR" values (Respect, Own your behavior, Attitude, Responsibility). In little ways and big ways we can all make a difference in the world around us.

Last week, Denise was featured on the First National Bank employee website because of an unsolicited customer comment about the high quality of her service. Becca was selected for the "District Honor Choir" (only four kids from each school). I met with one of the main Christian leaders here in Fort Collins and it has led to even bigger opportunities to influence.

In the course of our lives we don't always realize the impact we have on the lives around us but if we do our best, and allow God to do the rest, wonderful things often result.

A “HOLLA”ween Thank You!

Thank you so much to all of you who have been praying for us!
Our “NINE70” “HOLLA”ween outreach last night was a HUGE success! On the ‘darkest’ night of the year, we brought the light of Jesus to the heart of our city and it was shining bright!

The party scene on the weekends in Fort Collins is in “Old Town.” This year, Halloween in Old Town was vulgar and ‘dark.’

OUR GOAL
Our goal last night was to take the gospel right to the young people of our city who need it the most… we did! Some opened up, some cried, some got really mad, lots were touched and we got many of them home safely.

FREE CONCERT
We hit the streets with about 45 young people from nine70 around 9pm. We started the night by hosting a free two-hour, open air concert with a Christian rapper named ‘Chaz,’ right in the middle of Old Town. A steady shoulder to shoulder crowd of over 350 included celebrities like Sarah Palin with a baby, Jesus on a skateboard, a gorilla, three Jolly Green Giants, 8’ beer bottles, the “fruit of the loom” guys, a very realistic storm trooper, dozens of inappropriately dressed nursery rhyme characters, and hundreds that I am going to be trying very hard to forget.

POWERFUL TESTIMONY
After the first one-hour set, Jackie (one of the officers on our CSU student Organization) shared her testimony. It was powerful! One young lady in particular said, “I am not a Christian, but you really inspired me… I am going to take a serious look…”

LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS
The second set was a “straight up” gospel message and hip-hop style worship. On the fringe, long lines of hundreds who were waiting to get into the clubs were also a ‘captive’ audience. I heard one guy shout, “Quit singing those Jesus songs!!” There was tension in the air. It reminded me of the third chapter of John. We usually camp out on John 3:16 but a few verses later Jesus says, “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light… for fear that his deeds will be exposed.” There was no mistake, the Light was shining. “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” - Romans 12:21

HOLLA!
At midnight our vans started filling up and we stayed busy until almost 3am. We have people sign up for our free rides on a ‘waiting list’ like at a restaurant. The ones that really want a ride stay close, so again we had a crowd of about 50 milling around us for three hours. Our people just ‘hang out,’ give free food, warm drinks, etc… Invariably, curiosity kills the cat and someone asks, “Why are you doing this for free?” A door to a more serious conversation about God’s love opens and we step into it. Even if the door only stays open for a few seconds, for those standing nearby the answer is irresistible.

IN THE VAN
In the vans is where the action is. At the end of the night, most people have done what they came to do. For many, it wasn’t as satisfying as they had anticipated and they are starting to come back to reality. Our kindness opens a door, the ‘walls’ come down and lots of meaningful conversations follow. Even if only a couple people talk, a whole vanload gets to listen. One guy started crying and chose NOT to go home so that he could ride around again and finish talking about God.

My voice is hoarse from yelling out names. It was the longest, wildest night I have seen in a while…

THE GREAT COMMISSION
In Matthew 28:19 Jesus gives us a special mandate. If you can hang with me, there is something I’d like to challenge you with. The imperative command of this whole statement, in the original Greek, rests on the main verb “make disciples.” The rest of the verbs are participles. In other words, the meaning of this text is: “Going (to the nations), make disciples…” It doesn’t “flow” as well, but it highlights something important.

Jesus isn’t saying that everyone has to quit their job and go to a foreign country to engage in fulfilling the Great Commission. He is recognizing that in our day to day lives, we are all ‘going’ into different places and areas of society. In the process of ‘going’ we are supposed to “make disciples!” In your family, on your job, among your friends, at the store, across the street, in a HOLLA van or anywhere God leads you “…make disciples.”

Thanks again for all your support! We love you!

Dustin Barrington
YWAM Catalyst
______________________________
GLOSSARY

NINE70 - A young adult ministry of about 150 at Timberline Church in Fort Collins, Colorado that we are serving by overseeing discipleship, outreach and leadership development.
HOLLA - The last Friday night of every month nine70 goes to “Old Town” where all hundreds of young adults go to party, get drunk and hook up. We offer free food and free rides home to people who have indulged too much to drive safely. During our van rides many of them open up and we get awesome opportunities to share the gospel and lead people to Jesus.
OLD TOWN - a blocked off walking mall of historic buildings that was the inspiration and model for ‘Downtown Disney’ at Walt Disney World in Florida. Unlike Disney, the real one is home to half a dozen bars and nightclubs (e.g. Zaidagos, Suite152, Lucky Joe’s, Copper Smiths, Washington’s, etc...)

PLEASE PRAY FOR US!! One year report...

Please pray for us!

We are coordinating a missions conference involving over 1,000 this weekend. Due to a sudden staff change at our local church we were asked to coordinate this event about two weeks ago. It is absolutely amazing how all of the details have come together. Only God!

We have about 50 volunteers on 9 different teams taking care of everything from displays to hosting international guests to a catered meal for over 1,000. Please pray that the weekend will go well and that all of the attendees will be blessed and encouraged to reach out to those who need God.

Even though this sounds totally crazy we know that this is something that God had in mind when He started speaking to us one year ago about returning to Colorado to work with Timberline Church.

One Year Report
It is so exciting to see how God works in our lives as we step out in faith!

About one year ago we stepped out into a new adventure. Here is short overview of what God has done.

YWAM
As you know, we have been working with Youth With A Mission for over 4 years now. Within weeks of joining YWAM we were asked to coordinate a global prayer event called “50 Days” that ended up becoming the single largest event in YWAM history.

On the heels of that event, we were invited by the International Chairman of YWAM to direct the implementation of a global coordinating system called “4K.” During the two years that we were building this 4K system, it was adopted by a coalition of Christian organizations called the Global Pastors Network. Now, over 300 major Christian organizations are using 4K to cooperate in fulfilling the Great Commission.

As we were preparing to deliver our finished product to the YWAM Global Leadership Team, Denise and I began to receive a surprising new direction. We felt that the Lord spoke very clearly to us that we would be returning to Colorado to develop the “next step” and to work with Timberline Church in Fort Collins.

The Next Step
After three years of working with international leaders we have come to some basic conclusions. There are unprecedented opportunities for changing the world in our generation and at both the global and local levels there is a strong interest in “working together” to create positive change.

We believe that the “next step” is the development of a decentralized global platform for connecting people, opportunities and resources so that the gospel can go to all people, all places and all areas of society.

As crazy as it sounds, little us have been invited into a circle of relationships that are all focused on providing this type of capacity to the global body of Christ.

“It’s all about relationships”
One of the things that God has been emphasizing to us is that all outreach is local. It is at the local level that positive change actually influences personal lives. In YWAM we say it often, “It’s all about relationships…” Global change is actually local change in many different communities which are experiencing similar circumstances.

Timberline Church
How does a local church fit into our global calling?

We don’t fully know yet, but we do know that God has opened some amazing doors for us to influence our home church of 6,000. Over the past few years God has given us opportunities to develop personal relationships with the senior staff. One year ago we felt that the Lord said we would work with Timberline Church. What do you do with that? Tell the Pastor of a mega church “hey, guess what…” We felt that we would be working with Missions and Outreach but it just never developed.

When the shootings happened at YWAM Denver last December, I was coordinating media relations during that situation and we ended up being contacted by one of the Pastors at Timberline. Over a few weeks the conversation developed into an invitation to oversee outreach, discipleship and leadership development for the Timberline Young Adults ministry. Since then we have moved to Fort Collins, started a new YWAM ministry, integrated into the Young Adults ministry (nine70) as volunteer staff, started a student organization at CSU, started an outreach team, an intensive discipleship training environment and leadership development program. Its been busy!

Even so, we felt that there was some sort of mission connection that wasn’t “there” yet. We knew we were supposed to be integrating into the missions focused community within our church but we didn’t know how. About six weeks ago we were asked by the former mission pastor to help coordinate a portion of the Missions Conference. A situation arose and the leaders of the church asked us to oversee the entire event about two weeks ago. In the last two weeks we have built and served all of the relationships that we had hoped to establish while releasing a little army of volunteers to pull off a major event.

When God says something, we choose to respond in faith. We don’t know everything about where we are headed, God can open doors that no one can shut! Some aspects still look impossible at this point but with God all things are possible! Thank you all so much for your support in this journey. We love you and appreciate you all!

Is it possible to change the world?

When I was 17 years old I started thinking about how one person could change the world. After 20 years of searching and engaging, I have become convinced that the answer is “us.” To be specific, the answer is “you and I” working together with “them.”

There are as many problems in the world as there are people, if not more. The question is, “How do we discover solutions?”

There are three very common elements in a solution to almost any problem: people, opportunities and resources.
• People – Human beings
• Opportunities – situations that can be influenced for positive change
• Resources – Tangibles like time, talent, funds, raw materials, manpower, etc that can be invested in creating a solution

In order to engage these elements in the creation of a solution each one must be understood, developed and connected.
• Understanding – research of context and capacity for positive change
• Development – empowering positive potential
• Connection – linking together relationships that produce positive change

Is it possible to change the world?
Yes.

I wholeheartedly believe that the answer is simple, but it would be naïve to assume that the process would be easy. The root cause of almost any problem can usually be traced back to the same common elements of a solution: people, opportunities and resources.

Ultimately we are talking about choices. The world we live in is the result of all of the decisions we have made collectively. Therefore, the most basic component of change is each person’s personal decisions. How will yours affect others?

Is it REALLY possible to change the world?
Yes.

There is a “nexus of opportunity” for our generation to make a significant impact on the most urgent issues of survival and sustainability. The world is constantly changing, now more than ever… The processes of globalization are reconfiguring how people relate at a local and a global level. The key to changing the world is found in tapping into the latent and unused positive potential in each person.

If you can change, the world can change…

Dustin Barrington

An urge to go to Wal-mart?!

I can't believe that it actually happened to me...

For some reason I felt like going to Wal-mart this morning. It was a HIGHLY suspicious occurrence, but I went anyway.

I got the things that were on the list and as I was checking out I heard someone crying. I followed my ears and found a young lady sitting on a bench near the Customer Service area who was experiencing a series of very unfortunate events.

I just sat down with her for a while. I asked if she was okay... if there was anything that I could do... then I just listened to the story of how her day had taken a turn for the worst...

She had lost her keys and she was late for work, but she couldn't get to work without her car keys, nor could she get to her other set of keys without transportation or breaking into her own house... It was a strange predicament and I really felt for her.

At the end of the story I was able to encourage her and together we talked through a plan.

I am totally sure that my trip to Wal-mart had nothing to do with the things on my list.

If we will listen, God will lead us into opportunities to make the world a better place... one life at a time. God is at work in many of the lives we encounter during our "daily routines" who would really be blessed by a kind word, a helping hand or just a little bit if hope.

Be a blessing!

China?!

No... Well, sort of.

We went to Goodwill today and purchased a very nice set of dishes for $30. After we got home I went on-line and discovered that we had purchased a full set of "Style House Platinum Ring" Fine China, made between 1940-1965, worth over $500!

Go Green!

We only have one car today because the starter on my Jeep has lost it's will to live. I had to drop Denise off at work early in the morning. It was raining and cold... Even so, on the way home I had to go through about a dozen intersections.

Every light was green! It may never happen again but I am as sure as ever that good things can happen.

I am alive!

Over the past few days the urgency of deadlines and work has been weighing heavily on me... At times it feels overwhelming.

This morning I tried to come up with an excuse not to go to a prayer meeting at CSU or to meet with a person for lunch so that I could use the time to "get more done."

What an enormous mistake either one of those would have been! Earnestly calling out to God with college ministry leaders who want to change the world and reflecting on the deepest mysteries of who God is and what God desires of us over at the "Spicy Pickle..." both experiences inspired me and convinced me even more that we are here for a reason and we are doing what God has called us to!

Reality didn't change, but my preception did... I'm alive!

A WEEK WITH DWB...

Usually my week includes a lot of other things but this week was quite full of activity associated with our volunteer involvement in the Young Adults ministry at Timberline Church in Fort Collins, Colorado. This is pretty normal... Please feel free to pray at any moment! :)

Sunday
After going to church this morning we rested a bit and played with our girls. At 5pm I left for the Colorado State University (CSU) campus to prepare for a nine70 sponsored outreach. As a way of welcoming in new freshmen, we had arranged with a Pro Beach Volleyball prayer, Angela Knopf, to run a VB clinic, organize an informal tournament, and to share her story. We had a bumpin’ sound system, free water, free watermelon and a free Pro VB clinic. The night exceeded our expectations in every way but one…

During the warm-up time my friend Reza, the Pastor of the Timberline nine70 young adult ministry, was playing VB near a CSU offensive tackle. Somehow he got tangled up with over 300 pounds of lineman and Reza stepped away giving a “peace sign” with two very dislocated toes! He went to the hospital but he was back at CSU by the end of the event. Other than that it went great!

Monday
This morning I met with a semi-pro athlete to talk about how he can glorify God through the platform his sport provides him. After staff meetings and working on our CSU campus Organization Constitution all day we left at 5pm to do the same outreach we did on Sunday. Again, it went exceptionally well. Even with a late start we were able to manage the flow of the evening activities better and we were also joined CSU All American VB player who shared a powerful testimony of how her faith influences her life at CSU. Surprisingly, a bunch of people even clapped when she was done.

We didn’t get home until about 11pm both nights but all told we ended up involving about 150 people each night and made a number of really good contacts to follow up on.

Tuesday
Today we met with the Pastor of Missions and various others on our church staff about logistics of coordinating the Timberline Church Missions Convention event. It will involve about 1,000 people during two nights in October. It is a great way to help Timberline missions, expose a lot of people to what God is doing in the world and develop a lot of new relationships. Then it was back to work on the CSU org constitution.

Wednesday
Today I met with Reza and the other nine70 interns in the morning to work out details of the “Holla” Van ministry this Friday night. For lunch I met with Angela Knopf and we ended up discovering that her brother is developing a very similar system to the one that we are working on to “connect people, opportunities and resources.” In between putting on the finishing touches to the constitution I also met with a young man who is in his last semester of a Political Science degree and has a passion for God and politics about developing an internship for him.


Thursday
Reza was out all day today becoming a father. His baby girl Olivia Anne was born. In his absence we finished all of the rest of the paperwork for registering our campus, met with and signed on four officers, and held our weekly service in the evening. I was supposed to be in two places at once but Denise and I split up so that she could cover "Back to School Night" at Laurel Elementary (where Becca and Jessica are studying) so I could be at the church to announce Olivia’s arrival, get volunteers for the Friday night outreach, etc...

Friday
I took a day off, of sorts. I worked in the yard, fixed the front door, dismantled and reassembled the lawnmower (which still only runs for three seconds at a time), ran some errands, tried to take a 30 minute nap until the kids got home but woke up with exterminators on my roof, spent some time with my lovely wife, went to Wal-mart (urgh!), actually took a nap and then the “bat incident” happened (see previous post) just before we went to the “Holla!” van ministry until midnight. (“Holla!” is a service that we offer one weekend a month through nine70 to get drunken students home safely which often results in open opportunities to reach out and share the gospel with young people who need it.)

Saturday
Today we went to get our girls, who spent the night with their cousins at their other aunt’s house, went to Windsor for my Dad’s church’s annual garage sale, I sat on the front porch to write this and again we are double booked with events to do tonight.

That’s a week!! Tomorrow is Sunday!

Our life sounds crazy (because it is) but we are so happy to be able to be involved in the lives of young people who are trying to serve God and find their way. Thank you so much for supporting our ministry!! We love you all even though you dont hear from us as often as you should.

blessings!
DWB

“Bats in the belfry…”

As we were preparing to leave the house last night for a nine70 outreach in Old Town Fort Collins when something “wild” happened! Denise asked me, “Why is there a bird flying around our living room?” It wasn’t…

Yesterday afternoon a pest extermination company had been at our new residence doing a “bat exclusion” from our chimney. They plugged up all the entry points and installed a “one way” exit so that the bats could leave our chimney but not return. Some of the bats woke up last night and decided that they didn’t like the new installations, so they crawled down the chimney into our basement, and came into the house instead!

Denise’s response to the “there’s a bat flying around in our living room” crisis was to scream and hide under a blanket. I, on the other hand, bravely ran out of the room leaving Denise to fend for herself. Ha! Not really. (I called the exterminators.)

After running around the house waving a towel for a few minutes I finally got our flying houseguest to go into the guest room. Feeling much safer having the “issue” behind a closed door, I strolled into the kitchen to develop a “bat trap.” Suddenly another bat, who had been peacefully “hanging out” on the ceiling began flying wildly around the room as well.

Eventually they landed and we captured them with the sophisticated “Tupperware bowl maneuver,” releasing them into the night.

“Bats in the belfry…” It’s an old English phrase that, according to the internet (which is always accurate…), means someone is behaving oddly… At least we have a good reason!

Our whole week has been a little bit “batty.”

The end of summer...

As I have reflected on the fact that I have not posted a single blog since May, I have come to the conclusion that my friends may think I am dead or this summer has been amazingly full.

I have decided to turn over a new leaf as Fall approaches... by getting back to blogging.

Sorry for the hiatus, I'll try to be more responsible in future seasons.

DWB

State of Emergency

Weld County has declared a state of emergency.

A Denver news channel just showed some destroyed homes down the street from a house we stopped at yesterday.

The tornado was an F2 or F3. (Almost a mile wide.) It hit at 11:52 today. There were hail stones as big as baseballs!

The damage is amazing. It looks like a war zone.

This is the little town that I grew up in and where we are currently staying.

Please pray.
Sent from my BlackBerry wireless handheld.

Tornado in our town!!

We are hearing that some houses have been damaged and destroyed in our town of Windsor.

Please be praying.

We were from driving from Windsor to Fort Collins and at a certain point the hail stones were getting close to 1 inch and I felt that the Lord was telling me to turn around and go home. We did.

When we came back through that exact spot all of the power line poles were snapped, a barn roof was ripped off a silo was caved in, fences and trees were down and tractor implements were strewn about.

We can't get online to get news because we have no power.

Emergency vehicles are all over and I can hear sirens right now. All of the local schools are on lock down.

We are safe and oddly enough, the sun is shining right where we are, but the radio station says that another thunderstorm cell is headed this way.
Sent from my BlackBerry wireless handheld.

Smooth Move! Thanks!

Hello again!

"Thank you" to all of you who were praying for us during our move. Getting from Point A to Point B was smooth and uneventful. We arrived at my folks house just before midnight and were unloaded by the next afternoon.

On Monday we will be moving a smaller portion of our stuff to Point C. (We will be staying with my sister in Ft Collins for the summer while we look for definitive housing.)

Windsor
We have already looked at about 30 houses for sale in our price range in Windsor (a small town with better schools). We will start our hunt in Fort Collins next week.

El Sombrero!?
We found out this week that the house we had hoped to buy on Sombrero street (the 'smokehouse' across the street from Timberline Church) was purchased by someone from Timberline who was intending to 'fix and flip' it. We have been in contact and they are interested in working something out...

Please pray that we find the right place and that our transition will go well.

Fixin' to do some fixin'
We spent Sunday afternoon scraping and painting part of the church which my Dad is the Pastor of. This weekend we will be joining our friends from NINE70 in the mountains to help prepare a Christian youth camp for their summer season (cleaning, repairs, organizing, etc).

Please continue to pray for us.

In addition to a house we will need to find a fuel efficient vehicle so that our frequent trips to Colorado Springs will not break the bank.

Thanks so much for all your support in this new venture!

Blessings.

Dustin
Sent from my BlackBerry wireless handheld.

May Update

"What are you guys up to?"

When I am asked, sometimes I don't even know where to begin! When I'm tuned in, I see a million amazing things God is doing. Like the last half of last week...

Wednesday in L. A.
Wednesday started at 4:30am and ended at midnight! A friend had bought me a plane ticket and asked me to join him for a meeting in Los Angeles. I found out when I got there that the main point of the meeting was for me to share our vision for "Connecting People" with the two guys who developed most of the technical infrastructure for the Saddleback PEACE Plan!

In the discussion that followed they said that they have already had four meetings in which others have shared very similar ideas, but my approach was the most comprehensive and the most coherent. At one point the main IT guy asked, "why haven't you taken this to Google yet?" (He had met with the number 2 guy at Yahoo recently...) What an encouragement!

Thursday blown away!
Jessica and Rebecca spent months practicing for Thursday's Dance Recital. As soon as I figure out how to upload videos to 'youtube' you'll understand why I was blown away. Rebecca moved so gracefully that she looked like a professional! Jessie is made to be an entertainer. I was amazed. God has blessed us with awesome kids!

Friday $URPRI$E
As you all know, we are fundraising for our new work in Ft Collins. One of the common aspects of the miracles we have experienced is that we have continued to move forward in what we felt God was leading us to do, whether we had what we needed or not.

On Friday we got a call from the Pastor we will be working with at Timberline. There is a possibility of a PAID admin position in the College ministry department becoming available and Pr. Reza called Denise to ask her to apply! This would instantly take us to about 60% of our budget... unsolicited… one week before we move! We are excited to see if God will open this door and how He will provide for our financial needs.

Walking by Faith
The word used for "faith" in the New Testament actually expresses "trust 'into' a person." It isn't a simple "give this - take that" transaction, it is a deep confidence in the character of another based on a personal relationship. We have to know God is faithful in order to fully experience His faithfulness. We have. It is amazing!

Please continue to pray for us. We will be moving this weekend and there are still a number of details that need to come together.

God knows our needs before we even ask, but He wants to give us an opportunity to share the provision experience with Him. Don't miss out on walking with God through your daily life!

Dustin

Sent from my BlackBerry wireless handheld.

Awesome day in L.A.

I am getting ready to board a plane back to Denver. I have spent the day in Los Angeles, meeting with some special people about our "connecting people" initiative.

It went so well! I am very encouraged and I will be sharing more about how this will effect us once that becomes more clear.

I got excellent feedback from all involved and I think that this was an important day!

Thanks for praying for us!!
Sent from my BlackBerry wireless handheld.

The 1st of May

May Day! May Day!

In spite of April showers coming in the form of snow, rather than rain... the fearless flowers came up anyway.

Today is the first day of May...
You guessed it.

It is snowing again!
Sent from my BlackBerry wireless handheld.

God at work.

Many people ask us how we manage to "live by faith." (By that they often want to know how we don't starve because we don't get paid for the work we do. )

The Bible teaches us that God loves us and that He knows all of our needs. In trusting Him to provide what we need we allow ourselves to be a tangible example of the God's abilities and His faithfulness. It isn't easy but it is amazing. My last blog post is one example of how God can provide financially...

Living "by faith" also involves trusting God to open doors and create opportunities for us to do what He has called us to. The Bible teaches us that God has good things planned out for us to do before we are even born.

Check this out...

Yesterday afternoon I was looking at the availability of URLs for something we will be doing at CSU in Ft Collins.

A certain name come to me all of a sudden. The URL 'Rgeneration.org' was available... but 'Rgeneration.com' is not...

I typed it in to see if it is for sale... and I was forwarded to 'setapartlife.com' which is a website for a ministry in Ft Collins. As I looked closer I discovered that it is a ministry... In Colorado... In FORT COLLINS, that is moving towards some of the same things that we are! I thought, " I HAVE to get in contact with these people."

This morning I got an unsolicited email from a trusted friend here in Colorado Springs suggesting that I get in contact with a certain person in Ft Collins. You guessed it... Same people!

Within 15 minutes we were exchanging emails. They live in the small town I grew up in, we have similar ywam connections, (SO, of course we googled them...) we all have very similar ministry philosophies, interests and passions!

This kind of thing doesn't happen everyday... But this type of experience is typical of how I have known which major steps to take over the course of almost two decades.

Living "by faith" is an amazing adventure and I would suggest it to anyone who wants to really "live."

I can't prove that God exists any more than anyone else can prove that God doesn't exist... Based on my experience, however, I am convinced.

Sent from my BlackBerry wireless handheld.

Breakthrough!

One week ago a trusted friend of ours told us that, a few nights before, she and her husband had felt a very strong impression to pray for Denise and I to experience 'breakthroughs.'

She said that it was as if we had done all that we were supposed to do and the blessings we needed were somehow in 'chains.'

We prayed together for the chains to be broken. Within hours we left for a very fruitful week in Ft Collins (previous blog).

Since then, a close friend of ours contacted us to let us know that we would be receiving more monthly support (unsolicited!).

Tonight another dear friend walked up and gave us a check for $1,200!

"Faith is the evidence of things not seen..."

Please pray with us for more breaktroughs and for more faith to keep moving forward!
Sent from my BlackBerry wireless handheld.

A WEEKS' WORTH OF UPDATES - New friends, dog bites, Green Card biometrics, drunks for Jesus...

Wednesday, April 16th

Introduced to Timberline staff

This morning we were introduced to the Timberline Church staff. They were all very welcoming and we were able to meet a number of our future friends. It was very encouraging. We also met with Reza, the Pastor responsible for NINE70, and their worship leader Adam.

Thursday, April 17th

House hunting and Green Card Biometrics

We spent the morning looking at houses and then we drove down to Denver for Denise’s Green Card renewal. CIS decided to let her stay in the country a little while longer… Hooray! The Jessie and Becca spent the night at Aunt Teresa’s house (being wild).

Friday, April 18th

Mom and Dad’s

We have been staying at my parents’ house for the past few days feeding the corn addicted llama and trying to figure out how to make the hot tub warm up. Mom has been out visiting her siblings in western Colorado while my Dad has been hiking the Grand Canyon. This morning Denise and Teresa went on a ‘spring cleaning’ rampage. I was quite impressed with my sisters “green” cleaning supplies. They work and they don’t smell so caustic.

We went to have dinner with Reza who also invited Scott and Bethany whose parents are friends with one of our friends here in Colorado Springs.

“Holla” Van Ministry

Need a free ride home because you are too drunk to drive? Just “Holla!”

From 9:30pm until late in the early morning we were out in Old Town Fort Collins with our fellow NINE70 crew, sharing the gospel and God’s love with Fort Collins’ young people while helping them get home safely. I got home at 3:37am!

Pre-game Prayer…

For two hours before heading out about 25 young adults met at the church to pray for our city and what would happen later that night. It was so encouraging to hear their passion and desire to see God’s intervention in Fort Collins. There was rarely a quiet moment as prayer after prayer were spontaneously poured out before the Lord. We are so excited to work with a group of young people that are eager to serve God and to see lives transformed.

In Old Town we set up a canopy, sign-up tables and a rockin’ sound system. There are a number of bars and night clubs in this area that cater to the university crowds who inevitably end up drinking way too much. There are many reasons why people seek out this type of experience. So, as NINE70, we had about 40 people out there to talk to them and help them home if they needed it.

In the course of the evening we transported over 120 people. Lots of us had opportunities to talk to them as we waited for the vans to return while others, in the vans, did the same along the way. We have a prayer room set up in a building near by. Prayer requests were lifted up in real time as we texted back and forth about conversations that were happening. One young man decided to follow Jesus and a number of others were in church on Sunday morning.

I had a conversation with a young man who was a little too far gone and had a strong aversion to ‘religion.’ I listened as he ranted on and on. After a few minutes he started to realize that I was actually listening to what he was saying and started to ask some questions. From there the rants subsided, partially, and by the time his friend flagged down a taxi all he wanted was to give me a hug. So many people just want to be loved. They want someone to listen. They want to be valued. He probably didn’t even remember the conversation the next day, but it inspired me to keep loving people.

The night also afforded the opportunity to get to know some more NINE70ers. I really enjoyed a conversation with one young lady that is fired up about abstinence. She has a passion for helping adolescents develop positive self-esteem and healthy relationships so that they don’t engage in destructive sexual behaviors. It was so awesome to hear how she is implementing her passion for impacting young people through public school counseling and helping them find balance in our over sexualized culture.

Saturday April 19^th

Once bitten, twice shy…

After sleeping in, we enjoyed the rest of Saturday morning outside and went to visit our friends Keith and Malory, who have a puppy which is almost the same age as ours. Once we arrived, I took our dog out into the back yard. I was trying to make sure that the puppies were getting along and paying attention to the three barking dogs on the other side of their very short fence.

As I reached over the fence to pet the neighbor’s friendly golden retriever, a sneaky, 25 pound, demon possessed mutt came from the side and sank his teeth into my forearm. I instinctively lifted my arm, because my other hand was occupied holding on to my own dog, and the little monster remained attached and started to swing himself around as if he was stuck in an invisible washing machine! Fortunately only one of his teeth made a puncture wound but three days later my arm is still swollen and bruised. The best part of the experience was not making a big deal of the ordeal because I felt stupid for not being more careful and I didn’t want our friends to feel bad…

Saturday April 19^th

Communion Dinner

We had dinner with about 35 young leaders who are responsible for different aspects of NINE70. We met a young man and found that we had a mutual friend from YWAM. After dinner we were asked to share our story and our vision for participating in NINE70 with a group of older leaders and were very encouraged to find that, although this is the first time that we have met, we are all on the same page about what needs to happen and where the ministry needs to develop. It established our credibility with them and resulted in a good foundation for future relationship.

Sunday April 20th

“The Edge”

On Sunday morning we went to a new ultra-contemporary Timberline church service that is held in video venue. This means that the worship style is much more relevant and appropriate for young people when it is time for the message a big screen comes down and a projection of the Pastor in the main auditorium makes it look like he is standing right there. Reza is going to be MCing most of these services so they will, no doubt, become related to NINE70 in some aspects. We ended up meeting a young man named Kevin who has just taken an internship and were able to give him some information about good churches in the Dallas area.

Fireplace Young couples meeting

NINE70 has a ministry to young married couples called the “Fireplace.” We went to one of their Sunday night home meetings on our way back to Colorado Springs. It is a wonderful group of young people who are discovering how to honor God through their marriages. It was such a fun time. We talked about family traditions and how to mke them a positive component of a successful family.

Pizza

On our last trip up to Fort Collins we ate pizza four days in a row. Too much of a good thing can be too much…

Monday April 21^st

Staining and Mulch

Speaking of too much of a good thing… I worked on staining the deck and spreading mulch around our house for 12 hours… It was so great to spend a day outside working hard and getting dirty. The wind was so strong at some points that I had to limit the amount of stain I got on the brush or it would blow off! When we turned our attention to the mulch we had to spread a most of it by hand, taking into account the direction of the wind because it would blow a foot or more to the side of where we let go. Even so, it was a very productive day and the outside of the house looks great!

April showers bring what?!

We aren't expecting any flowers this May. April showers have taken on the form of horizonally blowing snow. (And the few courageoustulips that have dared to break the ground have been brutalized by our puppy who seems to think they taste good.)

The wind was gusting at almost 50 miles per hour which made it very entertaining to watch the dog with the flapping ears try to urinate without getting himself wet! For all you who like to watch 'man vs wild' the secret is to turn sideways and lift the downwind leg. (I tried it, and it works!)

More treadmilling for me in hopes that I may still get into a shape that will fit last summer's clothing.
Sent from my BlackBerry wireless handheld.

E flat... Major...

Near our home there is a high voltage power line. One of the things that was overlooked was covering the tops of the 100' center poles.

When the wind blows really hard the poles emit a eery, high pitched vibration that we have determined is an E flat.

It is like the sound you make by blowing over the top of a glass pop bottle (for those that are old enough to remember life before plastic!) or that brackground noise in a movie just before something crazy happens.

Weird.
Sent from my BlackBerry wireless handheld.

Three days... And cold wind!

The last three times I have headed out to run I have been greeted by inclimate weather: cold wind, snow with cold wind, and fog... with cold wind!

Right now the wind is blowing so hard that our dog is playing "fetch" on the porch by himself with plastic toys that are flying from one end to the other.

We'll say, "hello" to Dorothy for you if we end up in Oz!
Sent from my BlackBerry wireless handheld.

Wild one-eared llama!

The road I was running on this morning is next to an area of open ranchland with thousands of acres.

There is a llama with one ear out there roaming free. At some point this animal belonged to someone... But now it roams wild in a wide open space.

When we give ourselves to God we receive the benefit of belonging to Him. Even so, we have the ability to choose how close we want to stay. In every decision we have the freedom of wide open spaces enticing us.

If we spend our time out in the open we open ourselves to more risk, like a llama getting an ear frozen off. Some ask, "Why does God let bad things happen?" ...because He respects us and our decisions, even if they bring us harm.

Many of us are willing to belong to God, but are not willing to stay close to home. Staying close involves discipline and allowing God to lead. It is easier to roam free in the world, choosing where to go and what to do.

When bad things happen people ask,
1. "Where's God?"
2. "Why is this happening?"
3. "Why me?"

1. God is right where He always was... Waiting for you to return.
2. Human decisions have consequences.
3. God respects human decisions.

God wants to have relationship with people. He treats us the way He wants to be treated, with love and respect.

The real question is:
Even if you belong to God, are you close to Him and what He has prepared for you... or are you out roaming free?
Sent from my BlackBerry wireless handheld.

Get on the road.

Whether you walk or run, God just wants you to get on the road with Him. God is willing to go with you at the speed you choose. How far you get in this life is has as much to do with your decisions as His. God has wonderful places to take you and fantastic things for you to see along the way. Choose to journey with God. It is the best road and it leads to life.
Sent from my BlackBerry wireless handheld.

Book ideas, after a thesis.

After I write my thesis I would like to write two other books.

"I am a Christian hypocrite..."
A confessional look at how we all fall short of the mark and yet how God's grace makes up for it using examples from my own failures and those of Bible heros. It would serve as a relational and experiential apologetic for the reality of God and His desire for relationship with us.

"Knowing Dog."
A compilation of analogies and personal experiences with my golden retreiver that represent my inner thoughts and everything I needed to know about my relationship with God...

"To be determined..."
Then I would like to write a simple and readable book that accurately describes the seriousness of social dynamics of the world we live in and how Christians are, are not and could be salt and light within the global context. What influence will the church have in this generation?

Then...
Sent from my BlackBerry wireless handheld.

Up in the air.

The strong wind tried to blow me off the porch so I moved to the side of the house. Low banks of clouds with the pinkish rays of the sunrise made the snow cap of Pike's Peak look as if it were floating in the air.

There is a solid foundation, but my perception within this morning's conditions made things appear different than what I know to be true.

God is the foundation of reality. He is the solid rock.

Our society embraces certain perspectives and presuppositions that dismiss the reality of God, as if He is a figment of the Church's collective imagination. This influence is very real and causes us to think and act as if the mountain of God is floating up in heaven somewhere. It erodes our faith for tangible expressions of God's interaction in our lives because we act as if 'He's up there and we're down here.'

If you determine to keep walking in the direction of the mountain you will find that it is firmly connected to the everyday 'ground' we walk on. If you have 'clean hands and a pure heart' you can even climb up it.

God is real, whether we can see it or not.
Sent from my BlackBerry wireless handheld.

The window to the soul...

They say, "the eyes are the window to the soul."

If we look through God's love into the center of others' eyes, we will see the black expanse of an entire universe that God created.

With out God's love we mostly see a reflection of the darkness hidden within our own hearts.

God's love changes everything.
Sent from my BlackBerry wireless handheld.

My second "run"

Falling snowflakes, a light cold breeze, the hazy and muted grey tones of an overcast morning...

In all of my color coordinated glory, I ran all the way around the circle, from start to finish, and then went around again...

The fire engine red of my goretex jacket matched perfectly with the red of my frozen nose, rivaling even Rudolph's, and the almost lumiesent red of my burning calves as I struggled up the final hill. It was like the slow-motion replay of a flaming red comet...

For the sake of accuracy, I didn't run up the hills on the second time around because all of that physical exertion was a severe distraction to my moments of insight...

As I was struggling up the final hill, a single snowflake fell on my black, knit glove. The detail of the crystals was exquisite. Snow is so common and yet each snowflake is unique. I felt the impression that God was saying, in the same way, I am unique and I need to fulfill the plans and purposes that I was created for.

I don't make sense to many people, sometimes not even to myself.

The desires of my heart were planted by God and I have a desire to change the world.

Blog drought.

Sorry it has been dry (cold and wet actually).

During the past few days we have had icy and frosty cold mornings. I went out to run after a night of freezing rain and almost fell down on our gravel driveway.

The opportunity created an intense temptation to go back to bed but I went to lift weights and hit the treadmill instead. The old tape player I got when I was 13 keeps me company in the "house of pain."

I have been listening to the Beatitudes /Sermon on the Mount over and over again. It has been such a blessing. I'll give it out in pieces later. Too much good stuff!

Okay...

There is a sequential progression of blessings that can be related to our level of spiritual maturity.

If we are supposed to be the salt of the earth and we abandon what makes us salty, we become road base.

If the Beatitudes are not practiced in our daily lives should we be surprised that we get walked on by the world? Why are western churches in a general decline? Hmmmm.

The Law will stand. How you teach others can influence your pposition in the kingdom but if you are depending on self righteousness rather than being justified by faith you won't even get in. It is easy to be self righteous and knock yourself out of the running.

The attitude of your heart matters to God just as much or maybe even more than your actions. Especially in relation to "sins."

Don't swear by things you can't control.

Return evil with good. Go the second mile.

Love your enemies. Everyone loves their loved ones. The imperative (direct order, not suggestion or possible future state) is to be perfect like God. How so? By blessing and loving everyone, whether they are your friends or not. It's all about the heart.

God sees your sacrifice. If you seek recognition from men for your good deeds, you cash a check on earth that God would have honored in heaven. Bad investment.

God knows what you need. Pray like He loves you; He does! Don't babble.

The Lord's Prayer... (That is about halfway...) I'll do this one later.

I love you even if I don't like you! :)
DWB

Finishing touches...

Denise and I are putting the finishing touches on a 11,000 word translation! Denise translated a thirty day prayer guide focused on the major issues of the continent of Africa that will be going to many churches and every YWAM location across Africa.

We are doing this to serve Africom, our YWAM friends in South Africa that are doing an awesome job of getting information to and from some of the most remote areas of the planet.

We are working with Africom and other YWAM communication teams to help our missions and missionaries connect.

Good job Denise!
DWB
Sent from my BlackBerry wireless handheld.

My first "run"...

Ephemistically speaking, none of my former "runs" really counted. the early ones, especially, where glorified walks accentuated by bouts of heavy breathing, coughing, profuse sweating, creaking of the knees and moments of severe guilt and self-pity.

Today was the first day that I literally ran from beginning to end. I thought that I was going to cough up a lung on the last hill but I am pretty stoked about it now that I have recovered.

Baby steps. My goal is to be in good enough shape to be able to hike a 14,000 foot mountain this summer which I have not been on top of in over a decade.
Sent from my BlackBerry wireless handheld.

It's all uphill...

Going uphill is harder than going downhill. It is easy to understand why we usually follow the 'path of least resistence."

One thing that I have noticed about going uphill is that the closer you get to the top the less you are able to see of what is ahead. Near the top of the hill you can hardly see anything past where you currently are and then... BOOM... All of a sudden, you are greeted by a panoramic vista stretching to the horizon.

My experience has been that the last 10% of anything is the most challenging part.

If you are seeking after God and you are going uphill, keep going. Trust God to give you what you need to reach the top of the hill. Even if you can't see what is coming next, let God guide you and you will soon be able to see how everything fits together!
DWB
Sent from my BlackBerry wireless handheld.

30 page translation

I am editing a 30 page translation that Denise finished last night. We are serving Africom, the communications team that serves all of YWAM Africa. This translation with help include Portuguese speaking Africa in a 30 Day prayer event focusing on major issues facing the continent.

Google YWAM Africom to find some amazing people to pray for and support!
Sent from my BlackBerry wireless handheld.

Pride and Fear 2

When I was 22 I had an incredible encounter with God in which the main issue was my pride. It was a 'watershed' moment in my life and I have never been the same. One would assume that having dealt with pride as a major turning point I would be the 'poster boy' of humility. Not the case...

I have a chronic case of RHS - 'red hen' syndrome. When I ask for help and get a negative answer, my natural tendency is to say, "then I will do it myself..." And I usually do. We have been able to do a lots of wonderful things in our years of ministry but they probably would have been more fruitful if I didn't suffer from RHS. I have secretly taken pride in the fact that we have 'persevered' in the face of financial adversity and huge challenges without the help of others.

It sounds a lot like the Apostle Peter. He says 'I will never leave you...' And then betrays the Lord.
He says, 'you're not washing my feet...' but when he gets the big picture he asks for an unnecessary bath...
Jesus calls him a Rock and then has to rebuke him as Satan. What a guy!

He was also the only guy who stepped out of the boat and walked on water. He failed in part, as he succeeded in doing what others didn't dare to try, by faith.

He had an issue with pride that was broken again and again. Direct rebukes from Jesus (even once from the Father!), rebukes from the church, rebukes from Paul...

I have recently but gently been rebuked again. My pride feeds my fears and I need to just trust God to take care of me. It is hard but good. It defies my logic but our ways are not His ways.

Sent from my BlackBerry wireless handheld.

Trust me and I will take care of you...

It is humbling to hear simple truth. As I was running (and walking) today I felt God impress this on my heart.

I have been guilty of missing the basics recently... Busy with details and worrying about big challenges, I have been trying to take matters into my own hands.

When facing giants... We each need to do what is possible, but then we need to trust God to take care of the impossible.
Sent from my BlackBerry wireless handheld.

Pride and Fear

During an interlude in an illustrated sermon about the life of Peter, Pastor Brady at New Life Church made a statement that hit me like a ton of bricks.

Pride and fear have the same root: self-sufficiency. When we rely on our own strength, rather than resting in God's, we tempted to be impressed with our accomplishments and we are shaken to the core when our inherent weakness shows through.

On my run today I felt very aware that these things have a place in my life.

I used to have an issue with pride. As I am digging deeper in preparation for a new season of ministry I am struggling with fears about being able to do what God has called me to do. I have also had some quiet setbacks because I don't like to ask for help. Pride? Could be. Pray for me.
DWB
Sent from my BlackBerry wireless handheld.

GIVING IS GOOD! - Associated Press

I couldn't help but repeat this one... DWB
________________________________
Science, Bible agree: Giving is better - AP

By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID, AP Science Writer
Thu Mar 20, 6:49 PM ET

WASHINGTON - The Bible counsels misers that it's better to give than to receive. Science agrees. People who made gifts to others or to charities reported they were happier than folks who didn't share, according to a report in Friday's issue of the journal Science.

While previous studies have shown that having more money can increase happiness, the researchers at the University of British Columbia and Harvard University wondered if the way people spent their money made any difference.

Turns out, it does.

Lead researcher Elizabeth W. Dunn, an assistant professor of psychology at the University of British Columbia, said she wasn't surprised that doing something for others made people happy.

But she was struck by how big the effect was and that how people spent money was more important than how much money they had.

"This work suggests that even making small alterations in how we spend money on a daily basis can make a difference in happiness," Dunn said in a telephone interview.

"That doesn't mean go get a high paying job so you can spend tons of money on others. The message is, given what you have, how can you make little alterations to do something for others," she said.

And, she added, "there's nothing special about money," giving can involve time or special skills to help other people.

The report didn't surprise Sue Citro, senior digital membership manager for the Nature Conservancy:

"We do hear from our members and our supporters that the do get a real feeling of satisfaction from knowing their giving is doing good," she said.

Andrea Koslow, director of advertising at the American Red Cross, said: "The act of helping has its own profound effect."

"People need a humanitarian outlet ... feeling that they make a difference ... that's very motivating," Koslow said.

The good feeling associated with giving is why workplace charity opportunities can engage employees and lift morale, added Kristine Templin, director of corporate partnerships at the American Red Cross.

The researchers started by asking a sample of 632 Americans, 55 percent of whom were women, to rate their happiness on a scale of 1 to 5, the higher the number the happier.

Then they asked the participants to report their annual income and estimate how much they spent on paying bills, buying gifts for themselves, buying gifts for others and giving to charity.

The first two were considered personal spending and averaged $1,714-a-month, the second two were termed "prosocial" spending and averaged $146-a-month.

"Personal spending was unrelated to happiness," said the researchers. "But higher prosocial spending was associated with significantly greater happiness," they found.

Not content with that, they then studied 16 employees of a company in Boston, asking about their happiness one month before and six to eight weeks after each received a profit-sharing bonus from their employer.

In the second interview they also asked about personal and prosocial spending and once again those who spent more on others were happier.

"The manner in which they spent that bonus was a more important predictor of their happiness than the amount of the bonus itself," the researchers found.

Finally, 46 Canadian students were asked to rate their happiness and then each was given a random envelope containing money, ranging from $5 to $20. Some were instructed to spend it on themselves, others were told to buy a gift for someone else.

At 5 p.m. that day, they were called together again and asked to rate their happiness.

The amount of money had no impact on happiness, but those assigned to buy something for another person reported greater happiness than those told to get something for themselves, the researchers said.

A separate study published in 2006 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that the same parts of the brain that produce the good feeling when a person receives a reward also respond when they give to someone else.

Indeed, researchers led by Jordan Grafman at the National Institutes of Health found the reward areas were more active when giving a gift than when receiving one.

___

Associated Press Writer Natasha Metzler contributed to this report.

Running, not running. Sleeping, not sleeping...

I didn't run on Tuesday because it was our 13th anniversary, but I did run yesterday, but not today...

I slept on the day I ran, but not last night. Our puppy ate something he shouldn't have and I had to take him outside on an hourly basis all night long.

I suppose that the golden retriever motto is true... "Eat anything you can now because there is always time to throw up later!" (Although, our issue was with the other end.)

Now we are cooking rice and sweet potatos on the advice of wellvet.com...

DWB
Sent from my BlackBerry wireless handheld.

NINE70 rockin' it at BEACH REACH

A group of young adults from NINE70 are on a missions trip right now in South Padre. It is awesome to see how God is using them to reach out to Spring Break party-ers from all over the nation. The leader of NINE70 is Reza Zadeh and he is doing daily blog updates... Check out Reza's Blog to get a feel for the sort of people we will be privileged to hang with.

13 years!!

It is hard to believe that Denise and I got married 13 years ago yesterday.

I still remember the way that I felt when I saw her appear through the doors at the back of the church. My heart fluttered and it felt as through the world had stopped. The sparkling gleem of her white dress was stunning. What a day.

Marriage is a good thing. The intimacy of a long term relationship reveals so much about who we really are and teaches us what it means to love.

Thank you to all of you that have supported us in our relationship. We are happy and we are looking forward to many more years together.
Sent from my BlackBerry wireless handheld.

Our Latest Update

“NEW” News!

Behind the scenes, we have spent the last six months laying the groundwork for a new initiative which we feel will develop into our life long contribution to changing the world. It is so exciting to finally be able to send you this update!

In 2004 we joined Youth With A Mission and almost immediately we were invited to coordinate major global projects. Our first YWAM project was “50 Days of Prayer” which became the largest single event in YWAM history. Our second YWAM project was to coordinate the development of a global coordinating system called “4K” which is currently being used by a network of over 200 international Christian organizations.

“Connecting People”

Building on the success of “50 Days” and “4K” our new initiative is “Connecting People” With “50 Days” we connected thousands of volunteers in a global grassroots event.

With “4K” we connected hundreds of organizations with information and technology. “Connecting People” brings both dynamics together. “It’s ALL about relationships.”

Our vision is to make the world a better place… By developing a global platform for connecting people with opportunities and resources, to implement solutions to global challenges related to survival… (food, water, shelter, healthcare, safety, security, etc) and sustainability… (justice, education, access to resources, environmental issues, etc).

Using research, networking and leadership development, “Connecting People” provides understanding, connectivity and empowering to produce positive social change. There are enough people and resources for every challenge; they’re just not connected… yet.

NINE70

As a first step towards implementing this vision, we have accepted the responsibility of overseeing discipleship, outreach and leadership development for NINE70, a college ministry of 300 at Colorado State University. This leadership position came with an invitation to become “resident YWAM missionaries” at Timberline Church in Fort Collins, Colorado. This is an amazing “grassroots” opportunity for blending local and global outreach while providing a context for refining our “Connecting People” projects.

YWAM

We have started a new YWAM entity in order to develop “Connecting People” while we continue to be involved with research, networking in the Body of Christ and building YWAM communications teams around the world. This new configuration is an experiment in bridging between local church ministry, campus ministry, missions, university programs and humanitarian relief. “It’s ALL about relationships.”

Progress

Over the last six months we have developed the foundational elements of “Connecting People” and we are ready to start sharing it publicly. We chose to share our plans with you first as a way of saying, “Thank you” for all of your support. We hope that you are very encouraged by what your support has been helping us to accomplish.

Here are some of the significant milestones in our journey:

Ø We have studied global trends and challenges to make sure that our initiative is necessary, viable and relevant to what is happening in the world today.

Ø We have developed an initiative with clear concepts and goals.

Ø We have developed a comprehensive plan for our initial implementation.

Ø We have developed an international network of people, opportunities and resources to work with in developing case studies and pilot projects.

Ø We have started a new, non-profit entity in partnership with the YWAM International Communications Network.

What’s Next?

Here is what we are working on right now:

Ø We are preparing to move to northern Colorado.

Ø We are developing a public communications strategy and portfolio.

Ø We are looking for a facility in northern Colorado for our new YWAM entity.

Ø We are recruiting 6-10 YWAM team members to work on international communications, research and networking projects.

Ø We are developing a fundraising campaign and researching funding options.

Ø We are building discipleship and leadership development materials for NINE70.

Our Financial Needs

In order to continue moving forward, we have to have personal and ministry resources. We are currently raising a budget of $5,280 per month for our family’s personal support. Once we have completed our personal budget items we will need to raise support to cover our ministry expenses, investments in infrastructure (office space, office set-up, computers, vehicle, accommodations, deposits, etc) and each of the projects.

Your Opportunity

We would like to ask you to consider joining us in this adventure.

Is there an issue or global challenge that you are really passionate about?

Do you have special talents, abilities or expertise? Could you donate time or resources?

We would love to help you connect to opportunities or resources that will help you make a significant difference.

Please consider supporting us financially, on a monthly basis and/or with a one time gift.

(Our budget is very close to the national average. If 100 people invested 1%, 50 people invested 2% or 33 invested 3% of their income in our ministry, our goal would be met.)

We need to raise our personal and ministry budgets as soon as possible. For more detailed information about budget items or any other questions please contact us at: dustin@ywam.org or call us at (808) 989-4706.

Thank you so much for all you do! We appreciate you and look forward to working with you to make the world a better place!

Dustin and Denise Barrington

Rooibos, meaning "red bush," only grows in South Africa

I only found out last night that our lastest house guest had left us a special gift... Some "organic rooibos tea." It is a very nice herbal tea that has too many positive attributes to mention and it tastes good without sugar. Awesome!

DWB
Sent from my BlackBerry wireless handheld.

March in the SNOW

We took the girls out in the snow and built a 4 foot snowball! March is supposedly Colorado's snowniest month of the year. The girls are drinking hot chotolate with mashmallows. We aren't missing Hawaii today. :)

DWB
Sent from my BlackBerry wireless handheld.

3 inches of snow...

It sounds like the perfect excuse not to run... unfortunately, I can not, in good conscience omit the fact that there is an exercise room in the garage at house where we are staying. I went to this place affectionately called "the house of pain" and found that due to underuse it was brimming with discomfort.

I ran on a treadmill.
Insight: Sometimes we position ourselves in situations where our work hard really doesn't take us anywhere.

I lifted weights.
Insight: If you calm down and focus, even when you are shaky, you can do more than you thought.

I am glad I didn't have a good excuse to stay in bed today, even if it meant going to the "house of pain."

DWB
Sent from my BlackBerry wireless handheld.

The Third Day: My Funeral...

I stumbled out of bed as the sun was starting to rise. I successfully avoided collisions with doorframes and got dressed for my daily run. As I headed out into the cold I awoke enough to realize that every article of chothing on my body was black. Hat, gloves, fleece, pants... "Am I going to my own funeral?"

(Suspensful pause...)

I didn't die... Whew! What a cliffhanger!

Denise joined me this morning and her company was very refreshing. So much so that after we went around once and I went around again! (Going around twice means that I don't have to exaggerate quite as much about how big the circle is...)

Here were the moments of insight:

Barking Dogs
The problems and challenges that we face in life are like barking dogs. If we compare the hundreds of times that we have been barked at with the times that we have been chased or bitten we find that the former is common and the later is rare. (That means lots of barking... Not much biting.)

Our fear of getting bitten has more negative effects on us than actually getting bitten. Our fear influences our decisions much more often than there actually is danger to be dealt with. Wanna bet?

As we came jogging down a certain hill we saw a big black dog. He was not tied up and his body was tense... focusing intently on us. As we continued down the road he quickly intercepted us, hackles raised and eyes wide open, he was not looking friendly.

We dealt calmly with the situation and did not get bitten. As I came around on my second trip he began wagging his tail and I was even able the read the tag on his collar. My new friend "Max" accompanied for a quarter mile.

There are many passages in the Bible when God says "do not fear." Jesus said, "do not fear, I have overcome the world." That is not a suggestion, it is an imperitive.

Don't let what you fear keep you from living the life that God has for you. "Perfect love casts out all fear."

Polarized sunglasses
When we were at the mall a few weeks ago we stopped at one of those little kiosks that sell sunglasses. I tried on a few pairs and found one pair that looked really cool. Then the attendant asked if I had ever tried "polarized."

It was true. They reduce the glare.

While running today I had another insight:

Theology is like polarized glasses. It reduces the glare of the sun allowing you to see details that would have gone unnoticed. Theology is man's attempt to understand God. It filters out some of the brilliance of God's glory in order to bring a bit more understanding but it doesn't actually change God's glory.

We are created to reflect His glory.

"Let your light shine before men that they may see your good works and praise your Father in heaven."

Running is okay, I guess.
DWB
Sent from my BlackBerry wireless handheld.

"BRICKS"

Yesterday a British friend told me that I am a “brick.” Apparently, being a “brick” means that I can be counted to be helpful and reliable. I know so many “bricks” whose helpful and reliable efforts are part of an enormous, disorganized pile of human goodness. They do wonderful things but their impact could be multiplied with better connections. Our project is intended to provide the blueprints, the mortar and the bricklayers to help piles of bricks become solid bridges, strong pillars and useful buildings.

Each person can be a “brick.” Our goal is to release this untapped, positive potential and help each person to fulfill the purposes for which they were created. We can change the world by connecting people with opportunities and resources. You might ask, “How?”

The blueprints represent understanding and direction we gain through research. The mortar represents relational, organizational and infrastructural networking that connects and unifies. The bricklayers build. They represent the relationships that coordinate and empower people through servant leadership development.

Would you like to know more? Visit us at: www.dustinbarrington.com

DWB

My Daily Run...

After having postponed my New Year's resolution for two months (so that I would not fall into my typical habit of giving up before January 15th) At the beginning of March I had the added complication of receiving two house guests, each for one week. During the first week I felt that postponing another week was very reasonable and hospitable. During the second week, however, our second house guest unintentionally brought out of me all of the guilt, shame and remorse I should have been feeling since December 31st when I decided that postponing the inevitable fitness push was a good idea.

With a bouncy disposition our guest would bound out the door, into the cold, for an hour long morning run only to show up at the end even happier than before. Disciplined portions of fruits and vegetables only added insult to injury (of my pride).

I determined by the middle of the visit that I was going to get serious about getting back in shape (a different shape than the currently rounded one). I politely declined the invitations to join in my friend's joyful routine knowing full well that, although it is exactly what I need, in my current state the experience would not produce quite the same sort happy feelings.

While weighing bags in preparation for our friend's journey back home, I stepped on to the scale and saw a number that was frighteningly close to double digits past the 200 pound mark (which I have sworn for ages that I would never pass). To ease my conscience I switched the digital scale from pounds to kilos (94) so that the number was less intimidating. Within hours I was able to shed about 5 pounds (in the form of clothing items and some VERY heavy shoes).

As soon as our friend was safely on an airplane to the other side of the planet (Africa) I decided to start. My first "daily morning run" actually only amounted to a brisk walk around our rural neighborhood's mile and a half long circle drive. Even so, the ball was rolling (walking briskly to be more accurate).

Today was the infamous second day...
I donned my body armor (which makes me sound like a valiant knight preparing for battle, but in reality is spandex that keeps my fat legs from chaffing) and some old running shoes.

I was able to start off with a strong pace (at least until the neighbors who were walking their dog were out of view). I ran all the way to the bottom of the hill, setting a pattern I would follow for the rest of my "daily morning run" (running downhill and walking uphill).

The quiet, uninterrupted moments of running are an excellent time to pray (in my case, for grace and mercy). I was praying this morning and as I was nearing the midway point I had a very cool insight (it seemed quite spiritual but that could have been compounded by the almost hallucinogenic effects of not getting enough oxygen).

As I rounded the corner and started heading East I was virtually blinded by the rising morning sun. I was hit by a moment of insight (it was impressive enough to me that this exercise thing might even be repeated tomorrow...).

God, in His glory, shines brighter than the sun. As we orient ourselves directly towards Him, our vision of the dusty road we are traveling on is absorbed in the brilliance of His glory.

As we walk through the shade of things that get between us and God we naturally perceive much more of the dusty road. If we go so far as to turn around and head away from God we can see the details of the road so clearly that we can be tempted to focus so much on the road itself that we forget about what is illuminating it.

Life is like a dusty old road. As we walk down our dusty roads sometimes the rough spots do affect the way that we walk. However, if we focus our attention on the God, the splendor of His glory makes the bumps and irregularities of the road less noticeable.

My advice is: Run your dusty road gloriously (even if you aren't in the shape you wish you were) and set your sights on things above. Everything else is dirt...

Do me a favor, please. Ask me if I ran...
(I need all the help I can get.)

DWB

Sent from my BlackBerry wireless handheld.