Dear Family & Friends,

It was a sad and smiling week around Imago Dei Community. The sadness came from losing Terry Shoman, our 52 year old financial staff officer, to a massive heart attack. The smiling came from the very same person. He never stopped smiling and he laughed at your jokes. His brother, Mark, said he felt funny around him because of that infectious laugh. He loved his wife and was busting with pride over his kids. You became family once he gave you the famous Terry bear hug. He got off the corporate ladder to invest in his family and friends believing that only people and God’s Word last forever.

He cut his salary in half when he joined our staff to encourage us to love God with our Talents, Time and Treasures. Then he sold his house and moved to SE Portland to help those who were poorer than he. He used some of retirement funds to create a house for single moms. He viewed his job as setting people free from the slavery of money and power. He had the “get out of debt” mantra continually on his lips. He helped us to live in the freedom of Jesus so we could be generous like Jesus. He was a walking smiling poster of 2 Corinthians 8:9 – “You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.”

G

Kigali Trip Report
Finances still NEEDED:

G $0 (further gifts go for students & library computers)
Koby Krikac $3,255
Katy Stephens $651
Angela Morton $2,250
Aaron Esparza $2,755

On-line giving at: http://www.africanewlife.org/

Family and Friends,

The Kigali Kompletion team going to Rwanda sponsored a seven hour Bible marathon covering Luke and Acts. The Kigali team will be using the Gospel of Luke as their ministry book. When we were not reading were praying for one of the team members. Each Kigali member read the passage they would be teaching in Rwanda and we circled them to pray for the money to get to the heart of Africa and strength to teach their passage with faith and power. Aaron will be teaching about the demon possessed man who was freed (Luke 9), Katy will be sharing the women coming to the tomb after the resurrection (Luke 24), Koby will be preaching the Prayer parables (Luke 11) and I’ll be telling the story of the Lost Sheep, Lost Coin and Prodigal Son (Luke 15). The angel’s words in Luke 1:37 are still resonating in my heart, “For nothing will be impossible with God.” Mary believed it and I do to. I shared that yesterday the financial report came in and my final $2,750 was covered by God working through His people. My account can now spill over into helping the students and helping the Bible college library with computers and library supplies.

G

Kigali Trip Report
Finances still needed:

G $0 Further gifts for students & library
Koby Krikac $3,750
Katy Stephens $1,110
Angela Morton $2,250
Aaron Esparza $3,750

On-line giving at: http://www.africanewlife.org/

Family & Friends,

It was a difficult week at Multnomah that included the hospitalization of Muriel Cook. Norm and Muriel Cook have deep roots at MU and Muriel still counsels our students on campus. This week her blood pressure and pulse went too high and she was admitted to Providence Hospital. The God of all providence was with her. She told a nurse that she and Norm were married for 61 years. (Norm tells me that they were married at 4 years old, so they are not a day over 65 yrs old). When the nurse inquired, Muriel said that the key was that she was more in love with someone else. The shocked nurse wondered, “How is that possible?” Muriel explained. “I love Jesus more than Norm and that allows me to love Norm more than I ever could on my own without Jesus.” The nurse thought that this was interesting news and told the whole staff. Nothing like high blood pressure to be the means of getting out the news of Jesus. As it turned out, the medications were the culprit. She is home with new meds and allowed to go to church on Sunday, but Norm said that push ups and pull ups are not allowed until next week.

G

Kigali Trip Report
Finances still needed:

G $2,750 to go
Koby Krikac $3,750
Katy Stephens $1,110
Angela Morton $2,400
Aaron Esparza $3,750

On-line giving at: http://www.africanewlife.org/

Family & Friends,

Last time I recommended writing down everything you are doing and its time investment. Then pick people who care about you and have them suggest their top three cuts. I’ve listened to the men of Aslan’s How and here is my new lighter, leaner, stripped down, unburdened schedule as a result.

CUTS/REDUCTIONS:

Greek reading cut from 10 hr/month to 6 hr/month.
Chapel attendance from three to two chapels per week.
Reading reduced from 20 books per year to 15 books.
Only one tour of Aslan’s How per month
Travel to Speak – only 1 per year
Email/Facebook only 30 min. per day
Multnomah Scholarships, hire student help to work on them.

G

Our Multnomah Kigali Team: Needed $4,000 each

G $3,100 needed
Aaron Esparza $3,750 needed
Angela Morton $3,500 needed
Katy Stephens $1,209
Koby Krikac $3,750 needed

Online Giving:

http://www.africanewlife.org/

Snail Mail Giving:
Africa New Life
7145 SW Varns St. Suite 201
Portland, OR 97223

Family & Friends,

Both time and money are limited, but I tell students that they have time and money for what they most want to do. But sometimes we need a little friendly help. Ever feel like you have more stuff to do than you have time for stuff? Every several years I list everything which I’m doing and its time commitment. Then I ask a group people who know me to suggest cuts. These cuts are excruciatingly painful for me, but seem much easier for them. In December I gave the men of Aslan’s How my list. It had on it everything from watching sports, Bible marathons, writing books, reading Greek and many more. Each came with their three “cuts” and their three items to “preserve at all costs.” They debated over dinner while I watched my 2012 being shaped. I make the final decisions, but it is always based on the wisdom of those whom I ask. What cuts did I make? See the next Friesen Fortnightly.

Thank you for those who are supporting my Rwanda trip in July. The electronic giving is not up and running yet, but here is the address for gifts.

Africa New Life
7145 SW Varns, Suite #201
Portland, OR 97223

G

Dear Family & Friends,

What comes to your mind when you hear Rwanda? For many the movie “Hotel Rwanda” introduced them to the horror known as the 1994 Rwandan genocide. But few know the story of God’s work in Rwanda during the last 20 years. Today, it is safer to walk through the streets of Kigali, Rwanda than through Portland, OR.

New vibrant churches are rising up, orphans and widows are gaining vocational skills and turning to Christ. Many of the killers have come to Jesus in prison and reconciled with the family members of those they killed. God is blessing this needy nation! In 2009 the Multnomah student body created a Bible college library for Africa College of Theology (ACT). God raised up a library of 20,000 books which have arrived at the new Bible college. Students arrive for the opening of ACT in September, 2012.

We have formed a team of five students that I will lead back to Kigali, Rwanda to set up the library and train ten Africans how to run it. The past Kigali Konvey team konveyed the books. Now we are named the Kigali Kompletion team. We will be ministering under Africa New Life founded by a Multnomah graduate, Charles Mugisha Buregeya and also led by executive director Fred Katagwa. Our trip is July 1-13, 2012.

We need your prayer and financial support to make the trip possible. Would you consider supporting our team? I need to raise about $4,000 for expenses. Your prayers and gifts will allow us to preach, teach, evangelize in addition to setting up a full running Bible college library.

Garry

To support me please write a check (tax deductible) to Africa New Life and use the return envelope. Don’t put my name on the check, but add a note saying it is for Garry Friesen.

On-line giving on their website: http://www.anlm.org/
Click “Donate” (upper right), look down the list until you find:
PDX July Multnomah-Garry Friesen.

Family & Friends,

Our leaders and the prayer team met several times in December to offer an audacious prayer. We know that buildings near downtown Portland cost millions of dollars. So in some of our prayers, we asked God for a free building big enough for 2,000 people and dozens of ministries. Our motivation was to serve the needy and get out the gospel with the money that otherwise would go to a mortgage company.

Jonathan told his children that we were praying for a church building. They asked how much such a building would cost and gasped when he told them over a million dollars. His 7-year-old daughter, Audrey, however, said, “Oh Papa, that’s easy! Papa God owns all the buildings in the whole wide world. A million-dollars is like a few pennies to Him!”

My new prayer won’t make it into any official church liturgy, but I’ve been praying, “O, Papa God, you own all the buildings of the world. Do something easy for you. Please use a few of your pennies and give us one of those buildings.”

G

Family & Friends,

The very first Friesen Fortnightly went out over ten years ago on March 15, 2000. My friend Alex and I concocted the idea of a book It would select some of the best of these blogs for a book. Soon the idea grew and included art work from Cliff, an Imago Dei artist. Then five writers from our church donated pieces that they wrote for our calls to worship. Finally, we added the words of some of my C.S. Lewis students who wrote excellent “Screwtape Letters” for class.

I’ve described my short blogs as looking for the finger prints of God. Since Aslan, the Lion of Narnia, is one of the strongest images of Christ for me, fingerprints turned into “paw prints” and then to glimpses of the Lion. So, the book will be called Lion Sightings. Each chapter will have a theme and be represented by a place in Portland. The book begins with a playful map symbolizing each of these ten places in Portland.

For example, the theme of chapter 2 is truth and learning. The map place is Multnomah where I teach. Cliff represented it as a beautiful wardrobe whose doors lead to a place of learning. The theme of chapter 3 is worship and beauty. The place is Imago Dei Community where I worship with many artists. Cliff represented IDC by a Narnian lamppost shining in the city. The theme of chapter 4 is global outreach. The map place is the Portland airport from which my trips begin. Cliff represented the PDX airport with a griffin–a winged lion. It says air travel and Aslan.

It will be available “soon”. I know that Aslan calls “all times soon”, but we will targeting April 1 as the day it arrives. No foolin’ April 1. It will be about 150 pages and cost about $10. All the profits will go to a Multnomah scholarship and to the Imago Dei deacon’s fund for the needy.

Lion Sightings is on the move,
G

Family & Friends,

World Magazine’s “Special Year-End Issue” always includes, “Departures”. This is a euphemism for “Deaths”, but has precedent in Simeon’s “Now let your servant depart in peace” (Luke 2:29). For me, these were the ones of note. They reminded me of Paul’s words, “Follow me where I follow Christ.” Or “Don’t follow me, where I follow Lucifer.”

James Arness, 88, the principled U.S. Marshall of Dodge City, Matt Dillon of Gunsmoke.
David Barret, 83, researcher of “unreached people groups”, editor, World Christian Encyclopedia

Osama Bin Laden, 54, founder of al-Qaeda and planned Sept. 11, 2001 attack.
Frank Buckles, 110, last World War 1 veteran of five million who served.

“Smokin’ Joe” Frazier, 67 who defeated Ali in the “Fight of the century”
Mark Hatfield, 89, Oregon’s two term governor and Senator 1967-1997.

Arthur Holmes, Wheaton College Prof whose famous “All truth is God’s truth” pushed integration of faith and learning.

Steve Jobs, 56, creator of my computer and iBook, iPod and iPhone.
Bil Keane, 89, creator of the comic “Family Circus” extolling the joys of family life.

Jack Kevorkian, 83, “Dr Death” for assisted-suicide that influenced my states of MI & OR.
Jack Lalanne, 96, founder of the modern physical fitness movement.

Eugene Nida, 296 overseer of hundreds of Bible translations as a global trainer of missionaries.
Muammar Qaddafi, 69, sponsor of global terrorism and example of “whose who live by the sword will fall by the sword.”

John Stott, 90, exemplar of the single life, preacher and writer of Basic Christianity.
David Wilerson, 79, Pentecostal evangelist, founder Teen Challenge and author of The Cross and the Switchblade.

Happy New Year
G

Family and Friends,

This was first sent Dec. 29, 2007, but it is perfect for the Advent season. This is our church’s sixth time for “Advent Conspiracy”

The radio announcer asked, “Do you remember what you got last Christmas?” His answer was a bigger more expensive gift this year. Our church answered “Buy a well in Africa for a village to have clean water. They will remember the gift with every sip of life.” The plan is called “Advent Conspiracy”. Advent is the four weeks before the advent or coming of Christ. Conspiracy is a helpless baby lying in a feed trough who will rule over king Herod the Great. For two years Imago Dei Community has substituted shopping time for family time, used the money for food for the hungry, clothes for the cold and water for thirsty villages. Even Morgan Spurlock (director “Super Size Me”) joined us with his recent controversial documentary, “What Would Jesus Buy?” His film rails against obsessive shopping. Imago Dei offered a solution for all the money that was left — the desperate and needy. In two years our Advent Conspiracy offerings raised over $300,000 for the fringe people. This year’s conspiracy spark has grown into 1,200 churches. Now is the time to plan on joining the conspiracy in 2008. Someday Christians will be known as the people who give away the gifts “to the least of these”.

G

To get the details, give or join us in 2011:

http://www.adventconspiracy.org/