for kyrie anna ruth

my sincerest apologies for not posting for . . . um . . . a month and a half. i would like to offer up a list of good (and maybe some questionable) excuses/reasons for my absence. see below:

1. i've been busy. (ah, the pathetically famous excuse of the centruy. it is somewhat true here though as i have been travelling like mad this summer and have also managed to move out of my apartment and across town somewhere in between all the trips.)

2. i have had nothing to post. (this is just a flat out lie, actually. i've had plenty on my mind that i could share. see 'staggering facts' for more.)

3. i haven't had internet access. (not 100% true, as mary has been gracious to let me use hers when i visit. BUT, it is true that i do not have internet at my new place. therefore my online time is significantly decreased.)

i got nothing else.

an aside: i do have sufficient reason for not posting pictures. i will remind you that when it comes to photography i have not yet jumped into the twenty-first century. it still remains that i have only a film camera. no digital. perhaps soon. but part of me thinks that once i go digital i'm never gonna use my film again. and that makes me sad. perhaps i'll scan some shots from the summer and post them soon (when i can figure out how to do that.) until then, i remain pictureless.

love and miss you, kyrie.

staggering facts

1. there are 6,625 unreached people groups in the world. (that's 41.5% of the world's total people groups.)

2. of the world's 6.53 billion people, 2.58 billion live in these unreached people groups. (that's 2.58 billion people who have NEVER HAD THE CHANCE TO HEAR THE GOSPEL.)

3. Of the approximate 6,800 langauges in the world, 4,037 are without Scripture portions available.

4. a large portion of these unreached peoples live in the 10/40 window. of the 4 billion people there, 2.23 billion are among the least reached.

5. there are only approximately 7,000 missionaries worldwide working with these unreached people groups, which puts the ratio at one missionary for every 368,570 people in these groups!

6. 94% of all ordained preachers in the world minister to the 9% that speak english.

7. there are more than 1 million full-time christian workers in the u.s.; while one half of the world's population (3 major groups - Muslim, Hindu, Chinese) - 2.2billion - have about 3,000 full time christian workers.

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my friend annmarie was telling me of a missionary that she heard speak last week. he works among one of the 872 people groups in papua new guinea.

2 of the unreached tribes in papua new guinea have been ASKING for a missionary to come and live among them for 9 years.

9 YEARS.

in striking contrast, a youth pastor in california just stepped down from his position to pursue something else. within 2 days, 47 people applied for his position.

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think on it and let it affect you. i haven't been able to get away from it since i read it. i just keep rolling the numbers around in my head and wondering what the heck i'm doing here in america.

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"go therefore and make disciples of all nations." --jesus

"and you shall be my witnesses, both in jerusalem, and in all judea and samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth." --acts 1:8

"this gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations and then the end will come." --matt 24:14

"after this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, "Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!" --rev 7:9-10