Did you get a lot of money or giftcards for Christmas? Check out some of these great after Christmas sales!

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I realized as I was writing my last post how little I have talked about the mission organization that Sarah and I are with - BCM (Bible Centered Ministries) International. In fact, there are other organizations that have gotten more mentions in my blog than BCM. I am very embarrassed and plan to rectify this situation immediately! I just promoted, in my last entry, an organization that I don't absolutely totally agree with, but have not done enough to promote my own mission which I totally agree with. Since I just published the other organization's mission statement, I am now proudly publishing the mission statement of BCM and will post more about BCM in the near future.

Jesus said: "I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light."
Acts 26:18

BCM is a global Bible-Centered Ministry dedicated to making disciples of all age groups for the Lord Jesus Christ through evangelism, teaching and training so that churches are established and The Church strengthened.

We minister through evangelism, church planting, discipleship, leadership training and publishing Bible curriculum and teaching materials. We also provide Bible Clubs, camping, counseling, and compassionate care. BCM strives to make an impact in the world through Reaching Children and Developing Churches Worldwide.

Key partnerships with other international organizations, such as Handi*Vangelism Ministries International, New Hope International, Comfort Foundation (Vologda, Russia), and Life Change Ministries International (Hyderabad, India) greatly enhance our global impact.

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I have mentioned Vision Forum many times (probably too many for some of you) and I'm sure some of you have wondered what Vision Forum was all about. Today the president and founder of Vision Forum, Doug Philips, published "The Mission of Vision Forum Ministries" on his blog so I decided to publish them here. While I don't agree with every "jot and tittle" of their goals, and their mission statement does not necessarily express my views or the views of our mission organization, BCM International, overall they have the same values as this blog so I heartily support them.

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This is a recent email that I sent to my friends and family. I wanted to share it with my blog readers as well. If you want to be added to our email list and be the first to get our prayer concerns and ministry updates, please email us at tink38570@yahoo.com.

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Mood:  rushed

What do they have in common? One hectic day in he Tinkel household! And boy am I glad it's over! I'll take each one of the above point by point and hope that you won't get lost (or die of exhaustion).

1. 8 Turkeys and 125 Mouths - That's how many turkeys Sarah fixed and how many mouths Good News Mission fed at our Annual Christmas Dinner last Saturday. As most of you know, Sarah and I run Good News Mission which is located across the street from the low income housing area here in Livingston. Livingston isn't a very big town, and Good News Mission isn't a very big ministry, but there is a need, and God has blessed us by allowing us to help fulfill that need. Every year we have a Christmas Meal for the people we minister to. This year we fed over 75 people in the mission and took over 75 take out plates to local sick and shut-ins. We, thankfully, didn't have to do it alone. We had a local church youth group, and another family come to help. Many other churches and individuals prepared food and desserts, and donated paper goods. A local deli donated all of their outdated desserts as well. Sarah's ladies also helped to clean and get the mission ready. But the turkeys are Sarah's thing. This year she did have help cooking one turkey, but the other 8 were cooked by her over a three day period. Sarah does a fantastic job coordinating and planning this big event. This year we were able to reach out to a new area of primarily elderly people and deliver meals to them. We praise the Lord for this opportunity to serve Him. The meal was from 11:30-1:00 but we were over at the mission by 8:00 to make the final preps and accept the food as it was brought in.. Keep that in mind, it will help you with the timeline for the day.

2. Float #93 - That was the float that Sarah, John Allen and Joshua road on during Livingston's Christmas Parade. They were involved in Upward Football this year, and Upward decided to promote their league by entering a float in the parade. John Allen and Joshua road on the float and threw candy to the spectators, but Sarah decided to walk along side. That lasted for about a mile and a half. Please pray for Sarah's shin splints.

Jacob and I parked by First Baptist church and watched with some friends of ours. Jacob loved the candy throwing but he wasn't so sure about the police and fire sirens. Oh well, he had fun anyway. If you're keeping a timeline, we had to get to the float as soon as we could after the mission meal because the parade started at two. There was a slight miscommunication as to where I was supposed to pick them up, but I finally found them around 4:30. When Sarah got in the car I asked her what was at home for supper. After she answered "turkey", we promptly pulled in to the local Chinese Restaurant. We had had enough poultry for a few days.

3. "Exit stage right" - That was one of my cues in First Baptist's Christmas play. I love to act, and the First Baptist drama committee has graciously allowed me to participate in their fantastic plays the last few years. This year John Allen joined me for the three performances. The drama team puts on three or four large productions every year ranging from serious dramas for Easter and Christmas to more fun shows for the "Senior Salute" or the youth fund-raiser Valentine's Day Banquet. For a medium size church, the drama committee does a top notch job that would rival any large church or playhouse production. I have played everything from "James the Good Deacon" in the Agatha Christie spoof "And Then They Had None" (yes, I confess, I stole the coconut cream pie) to the "Ghost of Christmas Past and the Undertaker" in "A Christmas Carol" (there were some quick costume changes in that one). This year I was a prophet at the beginning of the play, a caravan traveler toward the middle, and a shepherd for the rest. It wasn't that bad, only one costume change, then they added or took away accessories to make me look a little different for the rest. There is a small core of us that are in almost all of the plays and we always have a great time from the first rehearsal to the last curtain call. I thank the Lord for the talents that enable me to participate in these great outreaches.

OK, if you are still keeping track, John Allen and I had to be at the church between 5:00 and 6:00 which left little time for eating. By the time we got home around 8:30 we were exhausted and glad that the day was over. It was a busy day, but these are the types of days that we will remember as a family. I did beg Sarah to next year schedule the meal on a different day, though. If not, they me be adding a cooked goose to the Christmas meal menu - ME!

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