The Bleecker Blog

One of the best moments from our Staycation

2010-07-28T01:38:00.002-05:00

ALBUM RELEASE: The Village: Kids - Jesus Came to Save Sinnners

2010-05-12T15:18:00.004-05:00

"Jesus Came to Save Sinners" contains five original songs that teach children about the character and nature of God and His plan to save sinners through Jesus Christ. These songs correspond with the five foundational truths
- Jesus Came to Save Sinners,
- God is Good,
- God is in Charge of Everything,
- God Wants to Talk with Us,
- God Made Everything
- taught each weekend in our preschool ministry, The Little Village. The mission and vision of The Little Village is "to partner with parents to build a firm spiritual foundation for their children." Our hope is that these songs will be an effective tool in engaging your children with the truth of who God is as you endeavor to obey the biblical call to bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. (Ephesians 6:4)

Download it for free from our website here:
Download it from iTunes here:

The Village Church Men's Retreat Set List

2010-03-02T21:18:00.001-06:00

We've had a few people ask what songs we sang at the men's retreat. Here ya go:

Session 1
· Shine Your Light On Us / My Hope (Robbie Seay Band / Michael Bleecker)

· From The Inside Out (Joel Houston)

· O God Of Our Salvation (Michael Bleecker, Matt Boswell)

· Made Us Alive (Seth Jones, Michael Bleecker)

· In Christ Alone (Keith Getty, Stuart Townend)

Session 2
· Holy, Holy, Holy (Reginald Heber, 1826 / John B. Dykes, 1861)

· When I Survey (Isaac Watts, Tim Hughes)

· Stronger (Ben Fielding, Reuben Morgan)

· Before The Throne of God Above (Charitie Lees Bancroft, 1863 / Vicki Cook)

· Glorious Day (Michael Bleecker, J. Wilbur Chapman)

· Be Thou My Vision (Dallan Forgaill, Eleanor Henrietta Hull, Mary Elizabeth Byrne, Michael Bleecker)

Session 3
· You Hold Me Now (Matt Crocker, Reuben Morgan)

· To The Cross I Cling (Michael Bleecker, Matt Boswell)

· In My Place (Michael Bleecker, Matt Boswell)

· O God Of Our Salvation (Michael Bleecker, Matt Boswell)

· In Christ Alone (Keith Getty, Stuart Townend)

The Worship Pastor by Michael Bleecker

2010-03-02T00:45:00.006-06:00

I just found this mp3 from an Acts 29 Regional I preached at on the topic of the Worship Pastor a few years ago.
Listen to it here:

U2 in Dallas

2009-10-11T15:16:00.003-05:00

U2's Set List: (Note: This is a predicted set list I found online)

Breathe, Get On Your Boots, Mysterious Ways, Beautiful Day - Blackbird, I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For - Stand By Me, Stuck In A Moment, No Line On The Horizon, Magnificent, Elevation, Until the End of the World, The Unforgettable Fire, City of Blinding Lights, Vertigo, I'll Go Crazy If I Don't Go Crazy Tonight (remix), Sunday Bloody Sunday - People Get Ready, MLK, Walk On

Encore: One, Amazing Grace, Where the Streets Have No Name, Ultraviolet, With or Without You (lyrics), Moment of Surrender

Can't wait.

Follow us on Twitter

2009-07-28T07:42:00.003-05:00

Faith and I are Twittering now. So, if you'd like to read our Tweets(weird language), you can follow us (again, weird language) on Twitter:
@michaelbleecker
@faithbleecker

It's been a while since I've posted a blog, but I'll be posting new pictures of our boys on here soon.

The Bleeckers

Sound Doctrine: The Village Worship Blog

2009-06-04T10:54:00.005-05:00

I wanted to let you guys know that the worship pastors of The Village (Isaac Wimberley, John Warren, Jeff Capss and myself) have started a new blog called Sound Doctrine

Check it out if you get some time: http://hv.thevillagechurch.net/blog/worship/

Gossip

2009-05-21T12:15:00.002-05:00

The following is written by Ray Ortlund:

Q: What are the duties required in the ninth commandment?

A: The duties required in the ninth commandment are the preserving and promoting of truth between man and man and the good name of our neighbor, . . . loving, desiring and rejoicing in their good name; . . . a ready receiving of a good report and unwillingness to admit of an evil report concerning them.

So says the Westminster Larger Catechism. The Bible itself is so clear against gossip, probably because we are so inclined toward gossip:

O Lord, who shall sojourn in your tent?
Who shall dwell on your holy hill?
He who does not take up a reproach against his friend. Psalm 15:1, 3

There are six things that the Lord hates,
seven that are an abomination to him: . . .
one who sows discord among brothers. Proverbs 6:16, 19

Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people. Leviticus 19:16, AV

Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. James 4:11

Argue your case with your neighbor himself,
and do not reveal another’s secret. Proverbs 25:9

God gave them up to a debased mind . . . . They are gossips. Romans 1:28-29

There are many biblical passages confronting gossip. The witness of God against this sin is overwhelming.

What is gossip? It is not necessarily false information. Slander is false. Gossip might include true information, and maybe that’s why gossip doesn’t always feel sinful. What makes it sin is, first and foremost, that God says it’s sin. But gossip spreads what can include accurate information to diminish another person. That is not how people behave when they are living in the power of the grace of God.

Gossip is our dark moral fervor eagerly seeking gratification. Gossip makes us feel important and needed as we declare our judgments. It makes us feel included to know the inside scoop. It makes us feel powerful to cut someone else down to size, especially someone we are jealous of. It makes us feel righteous, even responsible, to pronounce someone else guilty. Gossip can feel good in multiple ways. But it is of the flesh, not of the Spirit.

Adultery too is a serious sin, and one likely to be disciplined in a church. But I have never seen a church split over the sin of adultery. Gossip is a sin rarely disciplined but often more socially destructive than the sensational sins.

Gossip leaves a wide trail of devastation wherever and however it goes – word of mouth, email, blogging, YouTube. It erodes trust and destroys morale. It creates a social environment of suspicion where everyone must wonder what is being said behind their backs and whether appearances of friendship are sincere. It ruins hard-won reputations with cowardly but effective weapons of misrepresentation. It manipulates people into taking sides when no such action is necessary or beneficial. It unleashes the dark powers of psychological transference, doing violence to the gossiper, to the one receiving the gossip and to the person being spoken against. It makes the Body of Christ look like the Body of Antichrist – destroyers rather than healers. It exhausts the energies we would otherwise devote to positive witness. It robs our Lord of the Church he deserves. It exposes the hostility in our hearts and discredits the gospel in the eyes of the world. Then we wonder why we don’t see more conversions, why “the ground is so hard.”

What should we do when a conversation starts slipping into gossip? We should immediately challenge the sin: “Hey friend, sorry to interrupt, but this is gossip. So here’s the deal. This conversation is now on hold until you go get _____________, and then you can start over and say whatever you feel you must say right to his face. I am willing to be a witness to that conversation, but I will not participate in gossip. What do you choose to do?” Amy Carmichael established this rule at her mission station: “Never about, always to.”

“Let all things be done for building up” (1 Corinthians 14:26). Therefore, let’s always ask ourselves, “These words about to rise up out of my mouth or go out through my keyboard – do they build up? Am I being constructive? If the person I feel like discussing were here with me right now, how would his presence change what I feel like saying?”

“Do not be deceived: . . . revilers will not inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” 1 Corinthians 6:9-11

Thank you WD-40

2009-05-16T11:43:00.006-05:00

I walked into Evan's room this morning and saw two walls covered in purple crayon. I googled "how to get crayon off of walls" and found WD-40 to be the most popular, so I tried it...and it worked!

I did discover that WD-40 and towels don't mix well:

Tim Keller: Religion vs The Gospel

2009-05-15T22:18:00.004-05:00

RELIGION: I obey-therefore I’m accepted.

THE GOSPEL: I’m accepted-therefore I obey.

RELIGION: Motivation is based on fear and insecurity.

THE GOSPEL: Motivation is based on grateful joy.

RELIGION: I obey God in order to get things from God.

THE GOSPEL: I obey God to get to God-to delight and resemble Him.

RELIGION: When circumstances in my life go wrong, I am angry at God or my self, since I believe, like Job’s friends that anyone who is good deserves a comfortable life.

THE GOSPEL: When circumstances in my life go wrong, I struggle but I know all my punishment fell on Jesus and that while he may allow this for my training, he will exercise his Fatherly love within my trial.

RELIGION: When I am criticized I am furious or devastated because it is critical that I think of myself as a ‘good person’. Threats to that self-image must be destroyed at all costs.

THE GOSPEL: When I am criticized I struggle, but it is not critical for me to think of myself as a ‘good person.’ My identity is not built on my record or my performance but on God’s love for me in Christ. I can take criticism.

RELIGION: My prayer life consists largely of petition and it only heats up when I am in a time of need. My main purpose in prayer is control of the environment.

THE GOSPEL: My prayer life consists of generous stretches of praise and adoration. My main purpose is fellowship with Him.

RELIGION: My self-view swings between two poles. If and when I am living up to my standards, I feel confident, but then I am prone to be proud and unsympathetic to failing people. If and when I am not living up to standards, I feel insecure and inadequate. I’m not confident. I feel like a failure.

THE GOSPEL: My self-view is not based on a view of my self as a moral achiever. In Christ I am “simul iustus et peccator”—simultaneously sinful and yet accepted in Christ. I am so bad he had to die for me and I am so loved he was glad to die for me. This leads me to deeper and deeper humility and confidence at the same time. Neither swaggering nor sniveling.

RELIGION: My identity and self-worth are based mainly on how hard I work. Or how moral I am, and so I must look down on those I perceive as lazy or immoral. I disdain and feel superior to ‘the other.’

THE GOSPEL: My identity and self-worth are centered on the one who died for His enemies, who was excluded from the city for me. I am saved by sheer grace. So I can’t look down on those who believe or practice something different from me. Only by grace I am what I am. I’ve no inner need to win arguments.

RELIGION: Since I look to my own pedigree or performance for my spiritual acceptability, my heart manufactures idols. It may be my talents, my moral record, my personal discipline, my social status, etc. I absolutely have to have them so they serve as my main hope, meaning, happiness, security, and significance, whatever I may say I believe about God.

THE GOSPEL: I have many good things in my life—family, work, spiritual disciplines, etc. But none of these good things are ultimate things to me. None of them are things I absolutely have to have, so there is a limit to how much anxiety, bitterness, and despondency they can inflict on me when they are threatened and lost.

No, Mr. President

2009-05-15T22:14:00.002-05:00

It's a magnificent thing: The only newly-originating life in the universe that comes in the image of God is Man. The only newly-originating life in the universe that lasts forever is Man.

This is an awesome thing.

And, as everyone knows, that reverence is not shared by our new President, over whom we have rejoiced.

He is trapped and blind in a culture of deceit. On the 36th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, he released this statement,

We are reminded that this decision not only protects women's health and reproductive freedom, but stands for a broader principle: that government should not intrude on our most private family matters.

To which I say:

No, Mr. President, you are not protecting women; you are authorizing the destruction of 500,000 little women every year.
No, Mr. President, you are not protecting reproductive freedom; you are authorizing the destruction of freedom for one million little human beings every year.
No, Mr. President, killing our children is killing our children no matter how many times you call it a private family matter. You may say it is a private family matter over and over and over, and still they are dead. And we killed them. And you, would have it remain legal.
Mr. President, some of us wept for joy at your inauguration. And we pledge that we will pray for you.

We have hope in our sovereign God.

The New iBible!

2009-05-10T12:23:00.004-05:00

Are you tired of Bible made out of paper? Check this out:
catalystspace.com/store/products/iBible-%252d-Tripp-%26-Tyler-Infomercial.html

Faith Bleecker- Mother of the Year!

2009-05-08T08:43:00.003-05:00

I can't believe it! She won the Mother of the Year award! Check it out here.

Dog & Cat Diaries

2009-05-08T07:56:00.004-05:00

I read this on a blog I follow and laughed out loud. If you have had any experience with dogs and cats, you can probably appreciate this.

The Dog's Diary
8:00 am - Dog food! My favorite thing!
9:30 am - A car ride! My favorite thing!
9:40 am - A walk in the park! My favorite thing!
10:30 am - Got rubbed and petted! My favorite thing!
12:00 pm - Milk bones! My favorite thing!
1:00 pm - Played in the yard! My favorite thing!
3:00 pm - Wagged my tail! My favorite thing!
5:00 pm - Dinner! My favorite thing!
7:00 pm - Got to play ball! My favorite thing!
8:00 pm - Wow! Watched TV with the people! My favorite thing!
11:00 pm - Sleeping on the bed! My favorite thing!

The Cat's Diary
Day 983 of My Captivity

My captors continue to taunt me with bizarre little dangling objects. They dine lavishly on fresh meat, while the other inmates and I are fed hash or some sort of dry nuggets. Although I make my contempt for the rations perfectly clear, I nevertheless must eat something in order to keep up my strength.

The only thing that keeps me going is my dream of escape. In an attempt to disgust them, I once again vomit on the carpet. Today I decapitated a mouse and dropped its headless body at their feet. I had hoped this would strike fear into their hearts, since it clearly demonstrates my capabilities. However, they merely made condescending comments about what a "good little hunter" I am.

There was some sort of assembly of their accomplices tonight. I was placed in solitary confinement for the duration of the event. However, I could hear the noises and smell the food. I overheard that my confinement was due to the power of "allergies." I must learn what this means, and how to use it to my advantage.

Today I was almost successful in an attempt to assassinate one of my tormentors by weaving around his feet as he was walking. I must try this again tomorrow, but at the top of the stairs.

I am convinced that the other prisoners here are flunkies and snitches. The dog receives special privileges. He is regularly released, and seems to be more than willing to return. He is obviously retarded. The bird must be an informant. I observe him communicate with the guards regularly. I am certain that he reports my every move. My captors have arranged protective custody for him in an elevated cell, so he is safe. For now

Did You Know?

2009-05-07T01:00:00.002-05:00

This opened my eyes a bit to the immense scale of the world we live in:

The Boys Are Up

2009-05-05T09:04:00.008-05:00

Look what I found:

Evan wanted in on the fun:

This is from last night:

O Glorious Day!

2009-05-05T07:21:00.004-05:00

It is 7:21a and both of our boys are still asleep!

A little history:
For the past 4 months Jude(4mo) would wake up at least 2 times a night, most of the time inconsolable. Our other son, Evan(2.5), has had this incredible internal clock that would wake him up at 6:30a on the dot. (It would have been much more impressive each morning if I hadn't been exhausted!)

So back to my excitement: Did you know that flowers are blooming outside? That the grass is turning green? My coffee tastes better and I had a skip in my step as I walked into the kitchen humming "O glorious day". I actually saw my wife smile this morning!!

Jesus' return will be so glorious and so amazing, but this morning may be a close second.

Graphic Design Greatness

2009-05-04T14:56:00.003-05:00

25 Logos with Hidden Messages. These are really cool:
graphicdesignblog.org/hidden-logos-in-graphic-designing/

What If Starbucks Marketed Like A Church? A Parable.

2009-04-22T02:02:00.001-05:00

This is genius:

My Brother In Guatemala

2009-04-21T16:43:00.003-05:00

Please pray for my brother in Guatemala this week and the missionaries he is there to love on and encourage.

The Office: A Musical

2009-04-13T00:26:00.002-05:00

Photos from Memphis Trip and few extras

2009-04-10T16:20:00.008-05:00

Geammie (Michael's grandmother) and Jude (they share the same birthday-94 years apart)

All the Bleecker Men

Michael's Dad and Evan

Aunt Kay and the boys

Uncle Bernie and Evan

Our New Family

2009-03-08T10:24:00.025-05:00

Here's how that picture started though:

almost calm:

Not a happy child on this day:

John Piper - Magnify the Worth of God in Suffering

2009-02-24T16:29:00.005-06:00

Oh God, give us radical brightness, radical saltiness, strength and wisdom to be risk takers and may we be those who sacrifice and suffer well.

In The Hospital with Jude 12.17.08

2009-02-14T18:00:00.031-06:00

This is a journal I started in college in 1997 for my future kids:

Faith's journal for Jude:

Faith and her Mom:

Praying before Faith went into surgery:

Jude had just tinkled on the nurse's clipboard:

Preston Holleman:

Thank you Lindsey Brittain for taking our pictures!
Check her pictures out on line. They are amazing: www.lindseysheaphotography.com/

James Nachtwey: TED Prize wish: Share a vital story with the world

2009-01-09T00:43:00.004-06:00

I thought I would just scan through this quickly, but as I watched and listened, the pictures my eyes saw and the things my heart felt kept me watching for the entire 23 minutes. It really is amazing how many emotions are evoked from seeing a single picture. This is worth watching.

Jude Michael

2008-12-30T23:25:00.055-06:00

Our family's new gift from God has been such a joy. Jude is 2 weeks old and doing very well. Faith and I have been thanking God for our gift and pleading with Him to make us parents who reflect His glory well, pointing Jude to Him in every way we can. What a huge and wonderful responsibility!

Here are some pictures of Jude. Lindsey Brittain (www.lindseysheaphotography.blogspot.com/) came over today to take pictures of the fam (all 4 of us!) and also took great pictures of just Jude. I think you'll love them. We'll probably get those next week so I'll post those when I get them. We love you all. Thank you for your prayers, your love and your friendship to us.

Evan loves his brother:

I love Evan's face:

Our Boys:
Evan is on the left (July 2006) and Jude is on the right on each of these. Do you think they look alike?

Jude was not happy:

2008 Bleecker Family Pic's (minus Jude)

2008-12-26T23:49:00.002-06:00

I really want to get our pictures of Jude on the blog, but I haven't had any time to download them. I worked on this blog before Jude was born and saved it as a draft and forgot about it, so here it is! Bleecker family pic's minus Jude:

HUH?

Evan wanted to see Jude:

This hurt!

Meet Jude Michael Bleecker...

2008-12-23T09:26:00.004-06:00

December 17, 2008
7lbs 9oz
20 in.

And three become four...

2008-12-16T20:30:00.006-06:00

It's a surreal thought that in less than 24 hours our little family will be a family of 4. Jude Michael will make his appearance in this world tomorrow at 1pm via c-section. Michael and I are thrilled and feel overwhelmingly blessed to be having a second little boy. Evan will be a big brother, though I don't think he quite gets how his life will change.

Our hope for Jude shares the same weight as our hope for Evan. Above all we pray and plead with the Lord for Salvation for our sons. We pray that as brothers they will share a strong bond and friendship that will last their lifetime.

We ask for your prayers as we enter this new phase in our family. We are grateful for such a strong community of friends and family around us! Thank you for blessing us. This will be a special Christmas with a gift of a child.

Jude Michael: 3D/4D Ultrasound

2008-12-02T23:35:00.010-06:00

Here are some pic's from Jude's ultrasound today:

This was Evan. What do you think? Do they look alike?

A Thanksgiving Prayer

2008-11-27T09:07:00.003-06:00

Oh my God, Thou fairest, greatest, first of all objects,
my heart admires, adores, loves You,
for my little vessel is as full as it can be,
and I would pour out all that fullness before You in ceaseless flow.

When I think upon and converse with You
ten thousand delightful thoughts spring up,
ten thousand sources of pleasure are unsealed,
ten thousand refreshing joys spread over my heart,
crowding into every moment of happiness.

I bless You for the soul You have created,
for adorning it, sanctifying it,
though it is fixed in barren soil;
for the body You have given me,
for preserving its strength and vigour,
for providing senses to enjoy delights,
for the ease and freedom of my limbs,
for hands, eyes, ears that do Your bidding;
for Your royal bounty providing my daily support,
for a full table and overflowing cup,
for appetite, taste, sweetness,
for social joys of relatives and friends,
for ability to serve others,
for a heart that feels sorrows and necessities,
for a mind to care for my fellow-men,
for opportunities of spreading happiness around,
for loved ones in the joys of heaven,
for my own expectation of seeing You clearly.

I love You above the powers of language to express,
for what You are to Your creatures.

Increase my love, O my God, through time and eternity.

-The Valley of Vision

Happy Thanksgiving!

Shai Linne Raps The Gospel

2008-11-24T12:55:00.002-06:00

This is so good. From theology to passion, this guy lays out the Gospel very well:

We Made It Home!...63 Days Ago

2008-11-21T13:51:00.039-06:00

I want to thank those of you who prayed for us while we were on our trip and apologize for not updating this when we made it home. For some reason I haven't wanted to touch the blog since I've been back. It might be because I spent countless hours on it in Sudan (the pictures took ages to download there) and just needed a break. It could also be because just about every night has been booked since I've been home, leaving us time only to crash! Regardless, we are back from Sudan and are all enjoying being home with our families.
And for new news: In 4 weeks, Jude Michael will be born! We can't wait to see his sweet face. I'll be posting our 3D/4D pictures next week.

These are a few of my favorite pictures from the trip:

The Sahara Desert:

IDP (Internally Displaced People) Camp in the distance:

A better view of the IDP Camp:

We were on 14 flights in 17 days:

Notice the beard. How sweet was that beard? Here's the evolution of it:

Here's a quick wrap-up of our trip (by Jamie Hipp):

Our trip to Sudan was a success. The trip came in His timing and He moved mightily.
Vernon Burger, of His Voice for Sudan (a non-profit organization), set up our itinerary for southern Sudan with Bishop Taban, leader of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC). We visited two different orphanages established near Yei, Sudan – one orphanage just north (Lura) and one orphanage just south (Morobo). We were able to spend time at these orphanages meeting the children, widows, and assessing needs. Each orphanage has 95 children 14 widows, four cooks, one pastor, one guard, and one farmer. What we found upon arrival at Lura Orphanage were shy, smiling children, each with a terribly beautiful story of his own. Stories of parents killed during the war or subsequently by random land mines. Needs were wide and varied from something as simple as a functioning toilet, to medical needs (including needs for minor operations), to facility expansion needed in order to handle a new building for schooling. The next day we visited Morobo Orphanage and found many of the same needs. There are so many needs – you only need to walk the grounds and observe to find which needs would be considered greatest. When we asked Bishop Taban what the greatest needs were he simply replied, “You’ve seen our toilets and our children.” He said more in that comment concerning needs than he could have listed in an hour.
Our team was blessed by our time with Bishop Taban. Beau said it best in that working alongside the Bishop seemed as if we were communicating with a prophet out of the Bible. This man exuded a rare humility for someone in his position. He is a man who understands the Body and church planting exceedingly well. Bishop Taban and the EPC are those whom we would love to work with in the future as they are living and serving a comprehensive gospel.
The second part of our trip seemed to be an altogether separate one. The north and west of Sudan seems to be a separate country from the south. Our time in the capital, Khartoum, was short but a blessing as we met with several missionaries and stayed with a couple of Journeyman friends of Matt Elkins. We then flew out to Darfur – an answer to prayer in that we were actually permitted at all. The landscape of the north and west is dominated by Islam. There is a mosque on every corner with requisite call to prayer over every loudspeaker in the city. The southern part of Sudan is actually considered Christian though Islam is still present.
We spent a couple of days in the city of El Fasher (capital of Darfur region) before traveling out to the remote villages to repair wells. We spent 2 nights outside under the stars with loud parties (it was Ramadan so they were breaking their fast) and donks braying so loudly they would wake us up at night!
It was a wonderful opportunity as well to be able to lend a hand in helping villagers repair wells which were broken down, some for 22 months without clean water, leaving them little resource for abundant clean well water (though we almost had to elbow out the locals who wanted to do all the work). The Sudanese are some of the most hospitable and gracious people I have ever met. Our time in Darfur afforded us the opportunity to see just how vast and different this country appears to be. Our time in the south looked very different than the north and west, but both were powerful and wonderful trips.

Please pray for both of the ministries we worked with and support them financially if you are so led. They are always in need of money for things like heart & reconstructive surgeries, drill bits, air hammers, air compressors, food, water, shelter, and so much more. Here are the websites of the 2 ministries we partnered with:
www.hisvoiceforsudan.com
www.thristnomore.org

Thanks to those of you who have followed this post for so long!

Day 15: Quick Update

2008-09-17T17:29:00.003-05:00

All flights were canceled today leaving Darfur, so we have stayed here today. We were supposed to fly out early tomorrow morning from Khartoum and then catch our other 5 flights before getting home-Those flight aren't happening either.
Matt has been stressed working with an airline company who didn't want to work with us and has had an upset stomach on top of that. A few hours ago, Katherine Rudisill, an incredible woman and good friend, drove to see my wife, called us from my home and told us that she woke up this morning with truth and a word for us. We were all sitting around the computer listening to her speak truth that affected all of us in one way or another.
She told us that he had given her a passage which says, "For even when we came into Macedonia our flesh had no rest, but we were afflicted on every side: conflicts without, fears within. But him, who comforts the depressed, comforted us by the coming of Titus."
She told us that we needed to confess things to one another and ask for forgiveness from one another and pray and worship and ask him to renew our hope, our joy and our knowledge that he will move and break and heal here. After we got off the phone, that is exactly what we did. It was an amazing time for us. When we were done, Matt's dad called and told us that the flights tomorrow are taken care of, that we weren't going to have to pay the thousands we thought we were going to have to pay, and that we should be home the same exact time we were planning on coming home all along. Incredible.
Thank you for thinking about us out here. We love you all and can't wait to be home.

Darfur: The Villages

2008-09-15T11:39:00.045-05:00

**There are updated pic's posted below**
I wasn't able to post these pic's before we headed to the villages (Day 10):

This picture says, "You mess with me and you'll have a 40lb drill bit coming at you with your name written all over it, courtesy of Michael Bleecker":

Laughing Cow cheese, cinnamon honey peanut butter, electrolyte water and teenage mutant ninja turtle crackers. A meal in Darfur:

Faces of children in El Fasher:

Days 11-13 (The Villages):
As we headed out to the villages, we passed Abu Shouk, an IDP camp on the road out of El Fasher:

This was my last pic for a while on the trip. You can't see it, but at the base of the hill on the left is a checkpoint with 20-30 men with machine guns and RPG's. Our driver told me to quickly put away the camera at this point:

Our water pipes shifted 5mi out of town and bent our frame:

The road less traveled(This is a sorghum field we are driving through. They use this to make Asida, an arab dish you eat with your hands that has the consistency of play-dough. We ate this in the village):

It was 1st Century out there:

The truck in front of us got stuck, so we got out to help them:

Then we got stuck and they helped us:

Then our other truck got stuck trying to pull us out and after we got that out,we helped another truck that was stuck. Between our two trucks, we were stuck 7 times in the 4 hours we were in that spot:

This truck had 20-30 live chickens tied to a stick in the back.

Cranking his truck to start it:

Notice the lady in the background getting water:

2 faces I loved during our 4 hours in the mud:

Um Layuna Village:

We drove up to Um Layuna and were overwhelmed. It was amazing and tragic all at the same time. They're just so poor, yet seem so rich. It's so humbling. Some of the kids in the villages that we visited had never seen "hiwajas" (white people) before. They just stared. Some of them ran away scared when we rolled down the windows and waved. It was so crazy to think about the fact that we were the first white people that some of these kids had ever seen. Our contact here told us that during one of his trips to this village, he found a girl shackled in her house. Apparently, she wanted to go to the university and her father wanted her to stay at the village and marry a boy from there. So he chained her up. The guys that were with us talked to the father and told him to let her go. The father eventually did. We were able to meet the girl when we stopped in to stay the night. She was beautiful:

It's unbelievable that something like that happened to her; that something like that is happening in our time.
Her sisters:

This was our dinner that first night:

We stayed inside the village the night before last and it was the loudest cachophony of sounds any of us had ever heard. None of us got any sleep at all. Except Jamie. He has earplugs. It's Ramadan, so the whole village was up until 3am beating drums, singing songs, and partying as they ate their second and third dinners. They would literally wake up at midnight and then at 3 or 4 (before the sun comes up) and make another meal. There were hundreds of donkeys (they call them donks here) that were braying all night long. Then, just as the village was going to sleep, the roosters started to crow at around 5am. And all of this was happening in the school yard that we were staying in:

We were able to watch the guys fix two water wells for the village the next morning.
Here's the inside of the pipe going down to the well:

We helped a little, but it was mostly the two locals with us.

I just felt so manly carrying this around:

I call this the "Bo Jackson" because I look a lot like Bo in this picture:

Jamie and I with our super cool neck protectors:

Random photo:

It was amazing to see the process but even more amazing to watch these people be able to get water again. Some of the other villages that we visited still have broken pumps that are beyond repair. They either have to walk or ride their donks for miles and miles to go to the nearest pump that works, or they just get their water out of the local water hole, the one that all the animal herds drink, pee, and wash in.

We made our way to other villages after we repaired the well. We took a 3 hour break in the middle of the day(matt had a pretty serious bout of dehydration and needed to rest) and we all heard one of the local's salvation story. He's the only local I've met that loves Jesus here in the North.
After our break, we saw 3-4 other villages and then stopped for the night, just outside of the village we had stayed in the night before. It was quiet, except for crickets and far off donks from the nearby village. We ate chicken, rice and bread that night, with a little sand mixed in. I woke up around 5am and had to go to the bathroom. One of the locals had my flashlight with him, everyone was asleep and it was dark but for a little moonlight on the road. I grabbed my toilet paper and started down the road. As I settled in to a nice spot, I heard 6 gun shots probably a mile away. It was a weird thing to be going to the bathroom in the middle of a road in Darfur and hear gunshots!

We woke up, ate breakfast and headed out again. We were supposed to stay out another night, but a storm was rolling in, so we decided to head back to El Fasher around 4pm. It was so nice to take a shower and use an actual toilet to go to the bathroom!

We will be in El Fasher another day and will fly back to Khartoum early on the 15th. This is a dark place which is void of true worship from its people. Please pray for the muslims today. Pray for the corrupt government that is doing nothing to help the people of Darfur and Southern Sudan. And pray for us, that we would have these images, conversations, smells, tastes and memories seared into our hearts and minds, that we would be faithful to pray for these people and hope for their salvation.
Here are some faces of the locals we were able to meet over the last 3 days in the villages:

Day 11: El Fasher to The Villages

2008-09-13T05:12:00.002-05:00

Well, it's 140 degrees here in El Fasher, Darfur. I've never experienced heat like this. We are fortunately sitting under a fan watching Bourne Ultimatum, waiting for our spare tire to be repaired in the market. Things happen very slowly here. The common response to you wanting something done or wanting someone to show up somewhere on time is, "Inshalla", which means, "God willing". Matt Elkins told us that when he lived here and the locals said that, he would have to say, "No, not God willing, yes or no?" It's a standing joke around here.

All that to say, we are still waiting on the tire to be repaired. We are finishing the movie and about to eat lunch (it's 1:20p here). The tire should be finished soon and at that time, we'll head out to the villages in West Darfur. We are taking cots, water, food and a makeshift shower.

We are leaving now. Just found out. Pray for us today please. we will be in the villages(20mi outside of El Fasher) for 4 days.

Faith & Evan--I love you!!

Day 9 & 10: El Fasher, Darfur

2008-09-11T07:50:00.013-05:00

Day 9:
We made it! It's really crazy but I'm in the middle of the Sahara Desert using a laptop to post this blog. I love technology.

This has been a crazy day. We flew over the Sahara for 2 hours. Nothing is out there. The UN prop plane was so small. It was an 18 seater and about 5 feet across-We were crammed in. We flew into El Fasher and saw the attack helicopters they use when they attack villages in Darfur. It was pretty moving for me, having read "What Is The What" by Dave Eggers which describes in detail the Russian-made attack helicopters that bomb the villages in Darfur and Southern Sudan. Our UN plane taxied and parked next to 4 of them. This is an evil place that needs Jesus.

Day 10:
This is a huge city. There are many locals, thousands and thousands of refugees, military and humanitarian organizations. IDP (internally displaced peoples) camps in El Fasher have around 200,000 refugees in each one. We drove by an IDP camp today called Abu Shouk. These people have nothing and are completely dependant on organizations like the UN, WFP (world food program) and USAID for food and water. There is military everywhere. There are so many trucks with huge machine guns bolted into the truck bed. I have to keep my camera in the bag until I get to a safe place. We are in a safe place here in El Fasher. The compound is great. Down the dirt road is a building that looks like every other clay building, but inside they have a kiln where they bake fresh bread (like really thick tortillas). Down the road from that, we bought laughing cow cheese. I couldn't believe it. These are shanty's... very small clay buildings with groceries. I haven't had cheese in 9 days...so good.
It's raining right now...in the desert. This is the second day of rain we've had. It's the end of the rainy season. It's nice because it was 104 degrees earlier today and the couple who live in the compound here said it was 124 degrees last week.
We spent today digging a well, which was a lot of fun. We we able to get to 150' and the others on staff will finish it since we're heading out to the villages tomorrow. This organization has a huge rig that digs it. We all got dirty and felt like men. We all had yellow hard hats on, rubber boots and gloves on. I can't wait to download the pictures for you guys. We all look pretty funny. I don't have time here to download all the pic's (7 people are sharing one computer), but I was able to get the ones at the top downloaded yesterday.

We are headed to the villages tomorrow and will be staying for 4 days. The villages we are going to are about 20 miles outside of El Fasher. These aren't controlled by the Khartoum military, unlike Northern Sudan and El Fasher, but I'm sure they want the control.

This is an amazingly dark, wonderful place. Please pray for these people. Pray that God would move quickly through the hearts and minds of the government officals, Imam's, and locals and show them His grace and mercy.

You won't hear from me for 4 more days. When I get back to Khartoum, I will try and post again.
mb

Day 8: Our Journey to Khartoum, Sudan

2008-09-10T16:55:00.019-05:00

We left Yei and flew into Juba, which is the headquarters for the SPLA. There were SPLA soldiers everywhere and we were told not to leave the plane (we were dropping off a few people there). Matt asked to use the restroom and was actually escorted to the bathroom and walked back to the plane by a guard. A Toyota truck full of SPLA soldiers with a large 50 caliber machine gun mounted in the bed, pulled up to a plane near us. It was like I was watching a movie. Vernon told us that 3 of his friends had been arrested for taking pictures on separate occasions in Juba, so you won't see any on this blog!

We left Juba, Sudan and flew into Entebbe, Uganda, where we stayed for a few hours. This airport was very nice. For a small fee, we were able to hang out upstairs, which offered free food and drink, a massage chair, internet, a shower(with hot water), plush couches and a TV. We loved every minute of it.

From Entebbe, we flew to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia:
FYI-I've been keeping track of each flight to track the 16 flights we will be taking over the course of our trip. I'll post each one in succession at the end of our trip

The sunset on this flight to Ethiopia was beautiful. Here are some pic's I took:

Our time in the Addis Ababa airport in Ethiopia was interesting. We decided to eat the local food at a restaurant there as we sipped on incredible Ethiopian coffee. Did you know that coffee is thought to have been originated in Ethiopia? Check it out: http://www.nestle.co.uk/OurBrands/AboutOurBrands/Beverages/History+of+Coffee.htm
Matt, Jamie and I decided to order Quwanta, which is a dried beef dish that is completely soaked in what tastes like Tabasco sauce, wrapped in Injera, which is Ethiopian bread. http://www.exploratorium.edu/cooking/bread/recipe-injera.html
(I'm a nerd with the websites tonight. sorry.)
This was an incredibly spicy meal, so we washed it down with fresh orange juice and water, but this didn't help.
Matt was feelin it:

Jamie was enjoying it but also feelin it:

But Beau ordered the lamb tips and was just fine:

We left Ethiopia around 10:30pm and headed to Khartoum. We were tired of flying with this being our 3rd flight that day and 9th flight total in 8 days:

We were able to stay with John and Jason, missionaries who have lived here for a year and a half. Both of these guys, including Matt Elkins and I, are Ouachita graduates, so it was fun to catch up. We crashed in their living room:

What we saw riding in a taxi (Those weird looking cars you see are the taxis):

There are no traffic lights. You just edge your way into the intersection:

A Khartoum market:

There are mosques on just about every corner. You can see the minarets above all the buildings as you drive:

Squatters will take over an unfinished building,and live with their families until they need to move elsewhere. They make up a huge portion of the population:

A Muslim man praying on what will be a golf course:

The is the van we drove around in today:

Sunset on Ramadan:

From Wikipedia: Ramadan or Ramazan (Arabic: رمضان, Ramaḍān) is a Muslim religious observance that takes place during the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, believed to be the month in which the Qur'an was revealed to Angel Gabriel, to deliver it to Prophet Muhammad. It is the Islamic month of fasting (sawm), in which participating Muslims do not eat or drink anything from dawn until sunset. Fasting is meant to teach the person patience, sacrifice and humility. Ramadan is a time to fast for the sake of God, and to offer more prayer than usual. During Ramadan Muslims ask forgiveness for past sins, pray for guidance into the future, ask for help in refraining from everyday evils and try to purify themselves through self-restraint and good deeds.

We feasted at a friends house as they broke their fast tonight:

The Blue Nile is right down that road:

We ate just outside their home on rugs and the women ate inside. It felt like Biblical times. It's a little easier to imagine the Pharisees anger when the prostitute walked into their home where they were having dinner with Jesus.

Here's a close up of dinner:

About 10 minutes into dinner, everyone (except the 6 of us) stood up, lined up toward the East, and prayed. 10 minutes later, they sat back down with us and continued eating. It was great to see and be a part of tonight:

Then we walked inside and had dessert:

The boys stuck inside the van:

Day 7: The Morobo Orphanage (new pictures)

2008-09-10T16:38:00.003-05:00

Be sure to look at the 2 posts following this one. I posted some new pic's.

Day 7:
I woke up to see this woman from the village across the stream getting water. Can you imagine waking up to get water each morning from the stream down the hill that people bath in (They are called "The Fellowship of the Naked" in Sudan) as well as animals. We even saw people washing their cars in it upstream:

We spent our day yesterday at the The Morobo Orphanage. As we drove down the bumpy, dirt road, passing only trees, bush, people and scattered huts, I felt as though we were in the place that constituted the "ends of the earth". The orphanage, owned by the EPC (Evangelical Presbyterian Church), and funded by "His Voice For Sudan", sits on the border of Uganda and The Congo. This was a desolate place indeed.

The wake of devastation and poverty left by the war that ended January 9, 2005, is horrific. 7 million orphans are in Sudan today and by 2010, the number of orphans in all of Africa is expected to reach 45 million. There are places under the dirt road that we drove on where thousands of people are buried--murdered by the Muslims of the North:

It is very strange to drive on top of a mass grave and to think that only 4 years ago, these people were being murdered and families were being split forever.

When we arrived at the orphanage, we were led into the church building that sits on their property. As we walked to the church, I would take close up pictures of the children and then show them the picture. They LOVED IT! I knew a camera would be a strange thing to them but I realized, as I was washing my hands in the Entebbe airport today, why they are SO surprised: They have rarely, if ever, seen an image of themselves.
I was sitting in the Entebbe airport in Uganda earlier today, an hour and half away from Yei, Sudan. There is an unbelievable difference in economy here. The airport is very nice in Entebbe, the roads are paved here and in Northern Sudan, especially in Khartoum (not one is paved in Southern Sudan). In the Entebbe airport, there are plush couches, computers; there is fresh coffee, great food like Samboska (a fried pastry shell filled with meat and onion-We call it the "Sudanese Hot Pocket") and they mirrors. I passed a mirror about 30 minutes ago and realized that I hadn't seen myself in 7 days! These kids never see a mirror image of themselves. I loved showing them their pictures. It made my heart so happy to make them giggle and point. Here are a few of those:

When I saw this German girl holding hands with the orphans, it made me want Faith and Evan here with me and for Evan to meet these children and to see, smell and taste a culture that is very different from America:

This is their where they sleep and the clinic is on the left:

We entered the church and they had seats for us in the front. They sang, "Welcome Pastor Vernon(He's the one who runs "His Voice For Sudan") ...Be safe on your journey. Welcome. Welcome to Morobo." Then they sang the same song to Bishop Taban, and then to us. It was humbling. They were so full of joy. I thought of how loud I would be singing at their age to a group of strange visitors, or if I would have even sung at all. There is a joy these children have that is contagious...it is free of pride and "saving face" as they sing so loudly and play their instruments and dance.

Then I was able to meet Esther.

Esther is a beautiful orphan who is so joyful and full of life. I found out from Vernon that she has a hole in her heart. My heart sank as I asked about her surgery and whether or not he was going to be able to afford the $4000 that it will cost her to have the surgery. He told me he had the money and that she was having surgery next month. I loved watching Esther pray as Bishop Taban prayed over the orphans. She was the only one who stood up and prayed out loud.

She has hope in Vernon, Bishop Taban and their supporters in other countries to heal her heart, but it was evident to me that Jesus is her ultimate hope for eternal healing. Thank you God that You have saving this beautiful orphan and made her Your own.

Day 4: Lora Orphanage In Yei, Sudan.

2008-09-10T06:35:00.005-05:00

The posts are a little out of order now because I've finally been able to download pictures. The next 2 posts are from a mosque we visited in Entebbe, Uganda and Lora Orphanage in Yei, Sudan.

We all went to bed at 9:30pm. Jamie, Matt and I woke up at 2:00am and we were unable to get back to sleep, so we stayed up until 6:00am and gave up. We headed to the airport and jumped into a 18 seater Eagle Air propeller plane.

It was a little scary but we made it to our first stop in Northern Uganda where we dropped a few people off. From there, we got back in our small plane and headed toward Yei, Sudan. It was supposed to be a 30 min flight and after 45 min, we landed in the same airport we had just taken off from. They told us the weather was too back in Yei, so they turned around and came back until it cleared up. We drank some shady tea, ate English biscuits(crackers) outside a small store for 30 minutes while we waited for the storm to clear. We jumped back onto the plane and found ourselves looking around for answers about 45 min into our flight. We realized that our pilots had no idea where we were. We were lost in Sudan!! We were lost boys! that's probably blasphemous. forget I said that. We were laughing at our pilots as they looked out their windows trying to find Yei and that darn runway. 3o min later, we were landing in Yei and glad to be on the ground. This was our 6th flight since we left Dallas!

Bishop Taban was waiting for us (and videotaping us) on the dirt runway we landed on. He runs the orphanages for Vernon here. He is an amazing, powerful, kind man. He is an advisor to the board that will decide on Sudanese adoption, his wife was the highest ranking captain in the SPLA (Sudanese People Liberation Army), he was a scout, cleric and ammunition captain for the SPLA, and EVERYONE in Sudan knows him. He drove us to the 1st orphanage (Lura (means "Heaven"), which was an hour and a half away. If the road was paved, it would have taken us 20-30 min. I have never been on such a horrible road. 30 million was given to a leader in the Sudanese army to fix the roads, and it never happened. Her son does have a new, very lucrative business in Nairobi now though...hmm.

Lura orphanage was amazing, depressing, exciting and somehow full of so much hope.

This boy stepped on a mine and will have plastic surgery in the next month:

We walked around and played with the kids, spoke with the widows, saw the watering hole they drank from for years (awful) and also saw the water well that was installed a month ago. Certain stomach bugs and other sicknesses are slowing down in the children now that they have clean water to drink.

On our way to their old water hole:

The water they drank until last month:

The new well:

We found a land mine:

Their only bathroom:

Roasted G-nuts:

This is a 7 foot tall termite hill:

Daniel (5 yrs old):

and his sister, Soraya (3 yrs old):

It was a blessing to meet Daniel and Soraya today as they waited to get into the clinic for their checkup. Vernon and I had coffee in Dallas 3 weeks ago and he told me about Daniel and Soraya and their story. It was incredibly good and difficult to see the 2 kids I had been praying for. Daniel was walking with his mother and Soraya (she was on her mother's back) last year when their mother stepped on a land mine and died. Soraya was untouched by the mine and Daniel lost his leg. I knew this story before I arrived and had even prayed for them in Dallas 2 weeks ago, but to look Daniel and Soraya in the face and grab their hands and see their sweet smile, made my heart so happy. There is so much joy in the midst of suffering; so much hope when the situation looks hopeless in Jesus Christ Who is being worshiped in this place by these children and widows.

From Lura, we headed to EPC (Evangelical Presbyterian Church), which is the organization that Vernon runs.
View of part of the EPC compound:

We are staying in a great room and just had dinner (Beau spilled his food all over the ground and didn't clean it up).

This is the view from outside our front door:

Tomorrow we have church service here at EPC at 9am (1am Dallas time) and then tomorrow night our team will have a time of worship. Beau will be preaching in the morning. Pray for him! He went 30 hrs on this trip without sleep. He's doing well now...sound asleep.

Monday we will head to Vernon's 2nd orphanage, Morobo. I can't wait to show you all pictures. The server here can't handle the downloads.

I love you all. Thank you for praying for us. This is an amazing trip. Day 5 tomorrow!

Prayer from Matt Donovan, a member of The Village:
Father, thank you so much for the opportunity Michael and the team have to
lavish serve and love the men, women, and children at Lura Orphanage. My
heart breaks for the hardships the children and their caretaker endure
daily. Please grant our church a vision and passion to help them, to serve
them, to walk with them, and be Jesus to them.

Please give the team endurance and compassion today. Amen. Matt Donovan

Day 4: Kiwafu Mosque In Entebbe, Uganda

2008-09-09T20:19:00.002-05:00

Day 3: I need to start with our day yesterday in Entebbe, Uganda. We were able to walk to Kiwafu Mosque

and sit down with the Imam and other clerics and talk about the differences between Islam and Christianity, heaven and hell, and many other things.

We were also able to watch the call to prayer there. Vernon, our resident Islam expert, did much of the talking, which was seasoned with grace and truth. It was a powerful, God-ordained time. In that hour, we were able to set up an open discussion "conference" for people in Entebbe where Vernon and the Muslim leaders will speak when he comes back to Uganda. They were very open to it, which was amazing, and are hosting it in their mosque.

The Imam:

Please pray for these Muslim leaders in Entebbe.

Day 5: The EPC Compound -Yei, Sudan

2008-09-07T09:06:00.012-05:00

We have had an amazing day today. It has redeemed last night. What happened last night you ask? Well, I made the mistake of leaving my bedroom light on while we were at dinner. When I got back to my room around 10pm, I walked in to see that half of the bugs in Sudan were on my bed. A few of the bugs squeezed their nasty, fat, bug bodies through my mosquito net and were just chilling on my pillow, on top of my sheets, under my sheets and in every corner of the bed. I'm not a bug guy. I realize I made the decision to come to Sudan, and I realize that it's nothing like Dallas, but I'm telling you, there were 1,000 bugs IN my bed. That's with a mosquito net already tucked in to "keep bugs out". I spent an hour killing bugs from the outside, pressing my finger through the mosquito net and smashing each bug I could reach. I finally laid down and turned the light out. I could feel the bugs dropping (a bat just flew over my head...I'm in the cafeteria...wow) on my chest with the lights out. Needless to say, it took me a while to get to bed.

We had an amazing day. We had church at the EPC this morning. I led worship and Beau spoke. They love Jesus. They have no shame in their worship of our Lord. I loved it. There are so many stories. Isaac was burned very badly and Vernon was able to raise money for plastic surgery. He's doing much better but his scars are very apparent. Vernon asked him how his uncle was doing today (his parents died in the fire) and he lowered his head and said, "When he's not drinking, he's good." We found out that his uncle beats him when he is drunk. very frustrating. I saw a 12 year old girl that is pregnant. An older man made her one of his many wives. Again, very frustrating. I want The Village to be here. I want others to see, smell, taste and experience life here. It's beyond description. Beau does a great job below, describing our meeting with Bishop Taban, who is the head of the EPC (Evangelical Presbyterian Church). He is one of the most humble, kind, powerful and godly man I have ever met. He started from the beginning (he was born on the day the North/South war in Sudan started and his mother hid him in the forest for 3 days-the first 3 days of his life with his umbilical chord freshly cut), and went through the rest of his life and his involvement with SPLA, his involvement with a poorly run mission organization based in the US, his church here in Yei and his love for Jesus. It was a powerful, humbling time for all 4 of us. Here's Beau's take on our meeting:

As sincerely as I knew how I looked across the table and asked, "What are the greatest needs in your ministry?" Attempting to clarify my question, I continued, "How can the Church in the west serve you as you serve the people of Southern Sudan?" Taking a deep breath, Bishop Elias Taban, the lead pastor of the Presbyterian Evangelical Church in Southern Sudan, leaned forward and began to answer my question. I wish I could put into words the hope and shame that collided in my heart as he did.

As the good Bishop sat and unpacked to me the gut-wrenching, beautiful work that our God has entrusted to him among his people here, it marked one of the only moments in my life that I have felt as if I was experiencing something that mirrors what I read about in the scriptures. Okay, that's an over-exaggeration; when I really sit and ponder how God reveals Himself to me daily, I realize that every single day I, if I have eyes to see, I experience my theology as my reality. But hopefully I've made my point. As "Bishop" shared with us his persevering hope for the people and nation that he has spent his lifetime serving, I sensed, in a way that I rarely have before, that I was in the presence of a man of whom this world is not worthy.

With a humble groan behind his voice, he looked us in the eyes and said, "You’ve seen my toilets, you’ve eaten my food, you have seen there is no electricity." In other words, I knew the answer to my own question. The felt needs of this place are everywhere, and they are all needs, not just wants. "I wanted to disappear in the ground when you asked me where the toilets were… they are a hole in the ground with flies and it’s dirty," the Bishop continued, referring to Jamie's request yesterday to use the restroom at one of the church's two orphanages. "Daniel needs $450 more for his leg replacement," he said. Daniel is one of the orphans we met. He was walking with his mother as she stepped on a land mine leftover from the North/South war. His mother died on impact. Daniel lost his leg but survived. So did his infant sister who was strapped on the mother's back. Pick a need.

The interesting thing was that the Bishop didn't want to spend our time together talking about these needs. He rattled through a list only to make the point that they were everywhere, all the time. He is aware of them, gravely aware of them. Instead, Bishop wanted to talk about hope; he wanted to talk to us about how Jesus Christ and His gospel, the underlying need of his people and country, has and continues to transform hearts and lives in Sudan. The testimonies he shared were some of the more miraculous stories I have ever heard. They fueled my belief, all over again, to believe the gospel and gave me courage to put my hope in it-- for salvation and toilets and limbs.

I love you all! Here are a few pictures I was able to download in the 3 hours I've had this blog open.

our room in Entebbe, Uganda:

Lunch at the hotel in Entebbe:

A Muslim boy from the mosque in Uganda:

For more on the trip, visit The Hughes link under the "Friends" column.

In Entebbe, Uganda

2008-09-05T06:58:00.005-05:00

We made it! I am in a internet cafe right now down the street from our hotel. We are having an incredible time so far.
The hotel looks really shady from the outside but it's actually really great.

The room was great and lunch today was interesting, but really good. We went to bed last night at 12:30a and I woke up at 8a. I was completely up so I read a chapter of a book I'm reading (The Reason For God) and then decided to lay my head back on the pillow. I woke up at 1:20p. Jet lag is rough and weird but we all got up, ate lunch and we're walking around Entebbe today trying to find a mosque and see the rest of the city. Beau got up last (around 1:45p) and met us for lunch as we were finishing up. I was eating a chapati (a rolled up corn tortilla) and Beau asked me where I got my "enchilada". We all laughed, especially me because that's something I would say.
I'm trying to download pic's right now but it's taking a long time. I'm not sure I'll get any posted today but I'll try tomorrow maybe.

Thank you for praying for us. We've only been awake in Africa for a few hours and it's already been fruitful.

It looks like I got one pic up. That's our hotel.

I love you. Thank you for loving me and calling out to God for us as we speak and live out the love of Christ to those in Africa for 2 weeks.

- Michael

Sudan bound...

2008-09-02T23:03:00.012-05:00

Family & Friends,

I leave tomorrow at 3pm from DFW headed to Sudan, Africa...a 23 hour trip. Below is the itinerary of my 16 days there. Please be in prayer for me, Beau Hughes, Matt Elkins, and Jamie Hipp as we are there. Pray also for Faith, Evan and the other families over these next 2 1/2 weeks. I will hopefully be updating this blog during my time there if I'm able.

Below you will find our itinerary, as well specific things to pray about over the next 16 days. Thank you for praying for us!

SUDAN TRIP ITINERARY
SEPTEMBER 3-19, 2008
(we will be 8 hours ahead of you guys)

Wednesday, September 3:

Arrive at the airport between noon and 1:00 to check in for our 3:05pm departure on KLM (Northwest) 670.
*Please pray for our families. This will be a difficult time for for all of us. I’ve never left my wife or son longer than a week. This will be 16 days. Pray also for good rest on the plane, and that I would use my time wisely in the 23 hrs of flying I will be doing. (i.e.-There are a few great books I could read and songs I could write, but there is also access to any movie I want, Direct TV and Atari that could suck every bit of time away from me!)

Thursday, September 4:

7:25am: Arrive in Amsterdam
10:15am: Depart Amsterdam for Nairobi Kenya on KLM flight 565.
7:40pm (11:00am Dallas): Arrive in Nairobi, Kenya
10:00pm (2:00pm Dallas): Depart Nairobi for Entebbe, Uganda on Kenya Air flight 416
11:15pm: Arrive in Entebbe, Uganda and check into our hotel.
Midnight (3:15pm Dallas): Call/email families and church.

Friday, September 5:

6:30am: Depart hotel for airport
8:00am (midnight Dallas): Fly (in a 12 passenger plane!) over Northern Uganda and land on a patch of dirt in Yei, Sudan
*Pray at midnight for us if you're up! These planes are supposedly a little scary. Pray for safety as we land on a dirt runway!
10:30am: Arrive at destination and drive to Vernon’s guest house.
11:00am-3:00pm: Rest/Free time (lunch at gust house)
3:00pm-6:00pm: Drive and tour Yei, meet key people for His Voice for Sudan
*Pray that this meeting would go well and that we would be able to send teams from The Village when we get back.
7:00pm: Dinner at guest house
8:00pm (noon Dallas): Meet/pray/worship as a team

Saturday, September 6:

8:00am: Breakfast and Devotions
9:00am-6:00pm: Visit Moroba Orphanage and meet with key people at His Voice for Sudan & Sudanese Presbyterian Church.
*Pray that this meeting would go well and that we would be able to send teams from The Village when we get back.
7:00pm: Dinner

Sunday, September 7:

Morning: Worship with Sudan Presbyterian Church
*Pray for the widows and orphans that we will be pastoring and loving during this time. FYI: There are 2 children who were orphaned last week that we will be seeing. The dad was killed in the genocide and the mom stepped on a landmine killing her, and taking the leg off of her 5 year old. The baby on her back and the 5 yr old lived and are living in Vernon’s orphanage now.
Afternoon: Meet with leaders within the church and discuss partnership possibilities with The Village.
*Pray that this meeting would go well and that we would be able to send teams from The Village when we get back.

Monday, September 8:

8:00am (midnight Dallas): Breakfast and Devotions
9:00-6:00pm: Visit Lura Orphanage
*Pray for the widows and orphans that we will be pastoring and loving during this time.
7:00pm: Dinner
8:00pm (noon Dallas): Time of worship and prayer with Sudanese brothers and sisters.

Tuesday, September 9:

8:00am: Breakfast and Devotions
9:00am-11:00am: Final meetings and tasks with His Voice for Sudan
*Pray that this meeting would go well and that we would be able to send teams from The Village when we get back.
Afternoon: Fly from Yei to Entebbe, Uganda
6:50pm (10:50am Dallas): Depart on Ethiopia Air flight 9999 to Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
8:00pm: Arrive in Ethiopia and change planes
9:00pm: Depart on EA flight 9999 to Khartoum, Sudan
11:50pm (3:50am Dallas): Arrive in Khartoum
12:30am: Stay with Johnny

Wednesday, September 10:

9:00am: Breakfast and devotions
10:00am: Meet with, register passports, and get travel permission
2:00pm: Meet with
4:00pm-8:00pm: Time of worship and encouragement for “workers” in Sudan. Dinner at house.
*Pray that the workers would be edified and encouraged by us as we lead them, tasting and seeing that He is good.
9:00pm: Sleep in Soba with and/or

Thursday, September 11:

Early Morning: Depart on Inshalla Airways for El Fasher (Darfur)
Late Morning: Arrive in El Fasher and register with security/ get travel permission for the camps.
*Pray. Pray. Pray. The people of Darfur are extremely poor and are suffering. Some women have to walk 15 mi. to the nearest pond to get water—water that animals and humans bath in. We will be digging wells in their villages so they won’t have to walk 15 mi. anymore to get 15 gallons of water.

Afternoon: Free time at Guesthouse, discuss plans for the next five days.
7:00pm (11:00am Dallas): Dinner

Friday, September 12:

Day 1 …dig and repair water wells
*Pray (Sept 12-16). We will be working hard and sleeping under the stars each night we are in Darfur. Pray that I would like goat also because I heard the villages will bring a live goat for us to kill and eat while we are there each day. I’ve never had goat, but I imagine it tastes like chicken.

Saturday, September 13:
Day 2…dig and repair water wells

Sunday, September 14:
Day 3…dig and repair water wells

Monday, September 15:
Day 4…dig and repair water wells

Tuesday, September 16:
Day 5…dig and repair water wells, travel back to El Fasher

Wednesday, September 17:

Morning: travel back to Khartoum
Late Morning: Arrive in Khartoum and go to guesthouse
Afternoon: Free time
Evening: Try and have dinner with Ambassador Khidir. *Pray for this man! Pray that Christ would call him to Himself. Pray that we would reflect well God’s glory to this man who is 100% Muslim.

Thursday, September 18:

5:00am: Arrive at airport in Khartoum for Ethiopian Air flight 453 to Addis Ababa
6:35am: Depart
8:15am: Arrive in Addis Ababa
11:30am: Depart on Ethiopian Air flight 811 to Entebbe, Uganda
1:30pm: Arrive in Entebbe, Uganda
3:10pm (7:10am Dallas): Depart on KLM flight 4165 to Nairobi
9:50pm: Depart Nairobi on KLM flight 566 to Amsterdam
*Pray. There are a ton of flights here.

Friday, September 19:

5:30am (9:30pm Dallas): Arrive in Amsterdam
10:00am: Depart Amsterdam on KLM flight 669 for Dallas
1:20pm: Arrive to DFW airport on flight 699.
*Please pray for me here. I will be singing in a friends wedding the next night (Sat.) and then will be leading worship all day on Sunday at The Village. Pray for strength!

Thank you for praying for us! We love you and thank God that He hears the prayers of His people.

Here are some facts about Sudan:

Sudan currently is fragmented into several warring regions. Southern Sudan has tentatively signed a peace agreement with the North. There is also a war raging in the Darfur region, and unrest in the east.

6 million displaced in Southern Sudan
2 million killed in Southern Sudan
Peace agreement signed in the South in January 2005
Male literacy rate: 57%
Female literacy rate: 34%

If you want to learn more about Sudan’s history, here is a timeline:

1820: Sudan is conquered by Turkey and Egypt.

1881: Rebellion against the Turkish-Egyptian administration.

1882: The British invade Sudan.

1885: An Islamic state is founded in Sudan.

1899: Sudan is governed by British-Egyptian rule.

1955: Revolt and start of the civil war. Independence

1956: Sudan gains independence.

1958: A military coup takes place in Sudan. The civilian government is removed.

1962: The civil war breaks out in the southern (mainly Christian/African) parts of Sudan.

October 1964: People of Sudan rebels. The military junta falls after a communist general strike. A national government is formed.

May 1969: New military coup placing Jaafar Numeiri at power.

1971: Leaders of the communist party are executed for attempting a coup against Numeiri.

1972: A peace agreement is signed in Addis Ababa. The southern Sudan achieves partly self-governance.
Ingredients for war: Oil and Sharia

1978: Large findings of oil are made in Bentiu, southern Sudan. The oil becomes an important factor in the strife between North and South.

1983: Numieri introduces the Islamic Sharia law to Sudan leading to a new breakout of the civil war in the Christian south. In the south the forces are led by the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) under command by John Garang.

1985: President Numieri is removed from power in a military coup.

1986: A civilian government is made in an effort to restore peace after general elections.

1989: Al-Bashir and his Islamic Front (NIC) takes power in a military coup.

1995: The Sudanese government are accused of being part of an attempt on the life of Egyptian prime minister Mubarak. UN decides on sanctions against Sudan. US attack on Sudan

1998: USA launches a missile attack on a chemical plant in Khartoum assumed to develop chemical weapons possibly in coorporation with the Al'Qaeeda terror network. Civilians are killed in the attack. The Sudanese government denies any link to terror and chemical weapons.

1998: A new constitution in Sudan.

1999: The president dissolves the national assembly and declares state of emergency.

1999: Sudan start an export of oil assisted by China, Canada, Sweden and other countries.

2001: An internal struggle in thegovernment, leads to the arrest of an ideological leader who were making peace attempts with the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA)

March 2001: Hunger and famine in Sudan affects 3 million people.

May 2001: A Danish pilot flying for the International Red Cross is attacked and killed when delivering aid in southern Sudan. All flights in the area are temporarily stopped.

June 2001: Peace negotiations breaks down in Nairobi, Kenya.

August 2001: The Nile river floods leaving thousands homeless in Sudan.

September 2001: the UN lifts on sanctions against Sudan to support ongoing peace negotiations.

October 2001: Following the New York terror attacks, USA puts new sanctions on Sudan due to accusations of Sudan's involvment with iInternational terrorism.

During 2001: More than 14,550 slaves are freed after pressure from human rights groups.
New hope for peace?

January 2002: A ceasefire between government forces and the SPLM are finally agreed upon.

July 20th 2002: the government and SPLA signs a protocol to end the civil war.

July 27th 2002: President al-Bashir meets for the first time with SPLA leader John Garang. Ugandan president Yoweri Museveni has arranged the meeting. The war in Sudan is also having huge impact on the northen Uganda.

July 31st 2002: Government attacks SPLA again.

October 2002: The ceasefire is confirmed again, but remains very uncertain. Pecae negations still continues during the next years.

February 2003: The 2 rebelgroups representing the African population in Darfur starts a rebellion against the government as protest against neglection and suppression.

December 2003: Progress is made in the peace negotiations. The negotiations are mainly focused on sharing the important oil-ressources.
Ethnic killings in Darfur

January 2004: Government army strikes down on uprising in Darfur region in the Western Sudan. More than 100,000 people seeks refuge in Chad.

March 2004: UN officers reports that systematic killings on villagers are taking place in Darfur. UN names Darfur as the worst humanitarian currently, but nothing happens. UN fails to take action as Western countries and media has close to no focus on the problems in Sudan. But even the African leaders refuse to take action on the problem.

May 26th 2004: A historic peace agreement is signed, but the situation in Darfur remains unchanged and extremely critical.

January 9th 2005 : In Nairobi the government and rebels signs the last parts of the peace treaty for Southern Sudan. All fighting in Africa's longest civil war is expected to end in January 2005, but the peace agreement still doesn't cover the Darfur region. More than 1.5 million people lost their homes since the conflict in Darfur broke out early 2003.

March 15th 2005: United Nations Security Council agrees to send 10,000 peace keeping soldiers to Southern Sudan. Again the descision does not cover the Darfur region.

2007: Violence and killings continues in the Darfur region. The conflict is in reality a genocide and is still considered the worst huminitarian disaster in the world. But not much is done about it. China has large oil interests in Africa and Sudan in particular. UN sanctions and security forces are needed, but China blocks for any real descissions in the UN security council. The rest of the world is not applying the necessary political pressure on the governments in Sudan and China.

Colby & Mackenzie's Engagement Pic's

2008-09-01T00:44:00.012-05:00

I had a so much fun taking Colby and Mack's engagement pictures on Thursday. Sweet Mack has been a close friend of ours for a few years now and Colby is quickly becoming a great friend as well. There were times during this shoot that my eyes teared up as they looked through the viewfinder of my camera to see God's goodness and grace on these two lives. Mack, we love you and are so so happy for you!

Michael turns 30!

2008-08-07T11:06:00.008-05:00

This is well overdue but on July 15th Michael turned the Big 3-0! I was able to surprise him with a night away in Ft. Worth at The Ashton Hotel and had a sweet friend make this video of his life over the past 30 years. Watch out there are some good pics during the awkward teenage years that you can give him a hard time about. Enjoy!

I love you honey...

Just Another Day In Paradise

2008-08-03T12:18:00.005-05:00

Just a couple pic's from Kauai:

Waimea Canyon

Massages on the beach...so good.

More to come!

Bleecker Family Pizza Night

2008-08-02T04:13:00.001-05:00

Hope you enjoy our cooking show! If you've ever seen a cooking show on the Food Network, this is a lot like that.

It's Official...

2008-06-27T15:12:00.005-05:00

We are having another BOY!

Louie Giglio-Laminin

2008-05-15T23:53:00.001-05:00

This Is Really Cool

2008-05-02T22:06:00.012-05:00

So we’ve all done the 360-degree tours of a home or a hotel room. Boring, yeah? These guys seem to have raised the bar a few notches. Try dragging your mouse around in these video's…

In The Water With 45ft. Humpback Wales:

Riding the waves of Teahupoo with Red Bull Surfers:

I Love This Old Woman

2008-05-02T16:16:00.002-05:00

I saw this on David Campbell's blog and had to post it.

New Family Pic's

2008-04-21T12:58:00.047-05:00

I looked through my iPhoto and found pictures from the last 6 months that I haven't shared with you. I "narrowed" it down to only 56...ha:

On March 19, we headed out to the Dallas Arboretum and snapped some fun shots:

This is from this year: This is from last year:

Evan & his cousins (Clay and Kara):

Lily Patterson's 2nd Birthday. Love is in the air!

Evan loves Bath Time:

Sweepy Boy:

Mommy & Evan asleep at Sky Ranch in Jan: My Two Favorite People:

New Tooth Check: Bundled Up:

I call this one "Toes":

My Fam:

Evan dancing to a Michael Buble song:

This is Evan when he crashes: Our New Remote Controller:

Evan at Chuck E. Cheese's: He did not like this ride:

My beautiful wife: Random Dusk Shot:

Evan's First Haircut:

Evan The Big Brother:

We are really excited about the new addition God has given us! Any wisdom on having 2 kids would be appreciated!
We love you family and friends.
-The Bleeckers

Darfur

2008-04-04T23:38:00.010-05:00

Faith and I just finished watching "The Devil Came On Horseback".

Though this is a difficult documentary to watch, it stirs something in me to want to be there tonight to help. I am so thankful that I will actually be headed over there in a few months, but i don't want to wait.

Here's a description of the movie from The New York Times:

Showing the Unspeakable From Six Months Spent in Darfur

By MANOHLA DARGIS
Published: July 25, 2007
Brutal, urgent, devastating — the documentary “The Devil Came on Horseback” demands to be seen as soon as possible and by as many viewers as possible. An up-close, acutely painful call to action, the movie pivots on a young American, a former Marine captain named Brian Steidle, who for six months beginning in the fall of 2004 worked for the African Union as an unarmed monitor in Darfur. What he saw in Darfur was unspeakable. And then he returned home, his arms, heart and head filled with the images of the dead.

You see a lot of those images in “The Devil Came on Horseback,” which, in brute form, serves as a catalog of human barbarism. The title refers to the Arab militias known as the janjaweed, which, sponsored by Sudan’s Arab government, have been instrumental in waging a campaign of violence and terror against the inhabitants of Darfur, many of them black. At least 450,000 civilians have died, and millions have been displaced. The atrocities — rape, torture, mutilation, murder — seem endless. So too does Mr. Steidle’s storehouse of graphic photographs and his documentation, which he took with him when he returned to the United States and began sharing with anyone who would pay attention, including Nicholas D. Kristof, a columnist for The New York Times, who wrote about him in a March 2, 2005, column titled “The American Witness.”

Recently the stars of “Ocean’s Thirteen,” led by George Clooney, donated $5.5 million for aid relief; other American citizens have organized car washes to raise money. In early May, 15 House Republicans sent President Bush a letter urging action in Sudan: “The time is at hand to reassert the resolve of the United States that the atrocities taking place in Darfur cannot stand.” In late June, Representative Dennis J. Kucinich of Ohio put the issue in stark terms during a Democratic presidential debate: “Let’s face it, if Darfur had a large supply of oil, this administration would be occupying it right now.”

There’s really nothing more to say — and there’s everything else to say — but because I cannot improve on Mr. Kristof’s passionate words on Darfur, I will repeat the final lines of his 2005 column about Mr. Steidle, which are worth repeating again and again until peace at last makes them irrelevant.

“But if our leaders are acquiescing (submit or comply silently or without protest) in genocide, that’s because we citizens are passive, too. If American voters cared about Darfur’s genocide as much as about, say, the Michael Jackson trial, then our political system would respond,” he wrote. “As Martin Luther King Jr. put it: ‘Man’s inhumanity to man is not only perpetrated by the vitriolic (scathing) actions of those who are bad. It is also perpetrated by the vitiating (corrupt, faulty, to make invalid) inaction of those who are good.’ ”

Please don't forget these facts:
450,000 are dead
2.5 - 3 million are displaced
3.5 million depend on food aid

Please don't forget that many are being displaced, raped and killed at this moment.

And please see this movie: (set your DVR's now)

websites to hit:
thedevilcameonhorseback.com/
globalgrassroots.org/

Eating Healthy Pt 2

2008-04-03T14:00:00.003-05:00

After blogging about health, I feel the need to continue sending ideas, recipes or just practical things to eat daily. One of those practical things is Curves Cereal. This a very tasty cereal and one that will make you want to jump for joy. It’s geared toward women but, as you will see in the ad below, it makes men jump also.
Here’s to healthy eating!

Eating Healthy

2008-03-12T10:45:00.063-05:00

Let me begin by quelling the thoughts you may have had in simply reading the title of this blog:

I don't always eat well. I do love cheese, pizza, chocolate, cheese, Dr Pepper (Dublin of course), cheese, sweet tea, and many other things that include cheese in their ingredients.
I don't judge others that don’t think as I do on this subject.
I don't believe I am absolutely right in the way I think about eating healthy.
However, I do believe there is enough evidence on these matters that it would be foolish to disregard this or other sources of information you run across on eating healthy.
I do realize this blog has the potential to be really boring, but I'm ok with that.

**PLEASE take the time to watch these videos before you continue reading so that you can have a healthy (no pun intended) view of our food industry, what we are eating and what we are feeding our kids. I promise that watching all 5 of these videos will be well worth your time:

How to Get Fat Without Really Trying: How The Food Industry Is Deceiving You (Parts 1-5)

How The Food Industry Is Deceiving You (Part 1)

How The Food Industry Is Deceiving You (Part 2)

How The Food Industry Is Deceiving You (Part 3)
A quote from Part 4:
Peter Jennings: “You know what’s less healthy. You know where asparagus and soda pop line up.”
Paul K., An Advertising Specialist To Children: “You are absolutely correct that I am not going to get the same return on investment for a client in advertising asparagus and spinach to a kid, as advertising some of the so called less healthy products to kids...
Guilty as charged.”

How The Food Industry Is Deceiving You (Part 4)

How The Food Industry Is Deceiving You (Part 5)

This ABC special encouraged me to study the food we eat including natural and organic foods and the sweeteners and other ingredients used in our food. Much of our diet in America is rich with highly refined sugars, nutritionally barren flours, transfats, high fructose corn syrup, partially hydrogenated oils and other processed ingredients that aren’t natural. By "natural" I mean ingredients that are straight from the plant or animal-or they are made from whole ingredients, with as little processing and as few added flavorings, stabilizers, and preservatives as possible which ultimately keeps nutrition and original flavors intact. The more I read, I find that the body doesn't even recognize as food some of the highly processed products and convenience foods that have been introduced into the food supply in the the last 60 years. Examples of these foods would be commercial salad dressing, breakfast cereal, processed lunch meats, chips, crackers, soft drinks, most fast foods (hamburgers, fries, shakes), and many of the other foods in the video above.

I want to spend some time on 2 highly processed ingredients found in most foods today: High Fructose Corn Syrup and Partially Hydrogenated Oil (or Trans Fat). Until now, little laboratory evidence has been available on these topics.

In "How The Food Industry Is Deceiving You", the term High Fructose Corn Syrup (or HFCS) was used many times. Here is a definition and a little history I found for HFCS:

High Fructose Corn Syrup (HFCS)—A corn sweetener found in many foods and beverages, including non-diet soda pop, baked goods, and condiments that has been associated with blood sugar problems, depression, fatigue, B-vitamin deficiency, hyperactivity, tooth decay, periodontal disease and indigestion. It is has become the sweetener of choice for many food manufacturers because it is considered more economical, sweeter and more easy to blend into beverages than table sugar. It is derived from the wet milling of corn. (The corn wet milling process separates corn into its four basic components: starch, germ, fiber and protein.)
HFCS is any of a group of corn syrups which have undergone enzymatic processing in order to increase their fructose content and are then mixed with pure corn syrup (100% glucose) to reach their final form.
The process by which HFCS is produced was first developed by Richard O. Marshall and Earl R. Kooi in 1957 and refined by Japanese researchers in the 1970s. HFCS was rapidly introduced in many processed foods and soft drinks in the US over the period of about 1975–1985.

HFCS puts people at risk for metabolic syndrome which, according to the Mayo Clinic is a cluster of conditions that occur together, increasing your risk for heart disease, stroke and diabetes, particularly in children. Having just one of these conditions — increased blood pressure, elevated insulin levels, excess body fat around the waist or abnormal cholesterol levels — contributes to your risk of serious disease. In combination, your risk is even greater.

There is a rise in uric acid in the bloodstream that occurs after fructose is consumed. The temporary spike of HFCS blocks the action of insulin, which typically regulates how body cells use and store sugar and other food nutrients for energy. If uric acid levels are frequently elevated over time, features of metabolic syndrome may develop, including high blood pressure, obesity and elevated blood cholesterol levels.

Research by the U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reveals that high fructose diets shorten the life span of laboratory mice from the normal two years to a mere five weeks.

Chi-Tang Ho, Ph.D., conducted chemical tests among 11 different carbonated soft drinks containing HFCS. He found ‘astonishingly high’ levels of reactive carbonyls in those beverages.
These undesirable and highly-reactive compounds associated with “unbound” fructose and glucose molecules are believed to cause tissue damage, says Ho, a professor of food science at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, N.J. By contrast, reactive carbonyls are not present in table sugar, whose fructose and glucose components are “bound” and chemically stable, the researcher notes.

Reactive carbonyls also are elevated in the blood of individuals with diabetes and linked to the complications of that disease. Based on the study data, Ho estimates that a single can of soda contains about five times the concentration of reactive carbonyls than the concentration found in the blood of an adult person with diabetes.

Here are some products that contain HFCS:
Capri Sun, Sunny Delight, Snapple (except Snapple Antioxidant Water), Hawaiian Punch, Ocean Spray Cranberry Juice and in most energy drinks. It is also found in chocolate drinks like Yoohoo, Arizona Tea, SoBe Beverages, cookies, ice cream, Campbell soup, Heinz Ketchup, Mayonnaise, Ragu, Aunt Jemima Syrup, Hershey's Syrup, Breyers Yogurt, Kraft Barbecue Sauce (and many other BBQ sauces), Smucker's Preserves, Nutri-Grain bars, Claussen Pickles, Mott's applesauce, Ice Cream (Ben & Jerry's, Blue Bell, etc), many breakfast cereals and some breads! HFCS is also in Robitussin, Vicks NyQuil and other cough syrups.
High fructose corn syrup also masquerades under the name of crystalline fructose in Glaceau Vitamin Water and some energy drinks.

This site has an even more extensive list of foods containing HFCS: accidentalhedonist.com/index.php/2005/06/09/foods_and_products_containing_high_fruct

This site lists menu items of fast food restaurants that have HFCS:
foodfacts.info/high-fructose-corn-syrup.shtml

This site has a list of foods free of HFCS:
stophfcs.com/list.html

Sugar In General
The average American consumes an astounding 2-3 pounds of sugar each week, which is not surprising considering that highly refined sugars in the forms of sucrose (table sugar), dextrose (corn sugar), and high-fructose corn syrup are being processed into so many foods such as bread, breakfast cereal, mayonnaise, peanut butter, ketchup, spaghetti sauce, and a plethora of microwave meals.
In the last 20 years, we have increased sugar consumption in the U.S. 26 lbs. to 135 lbs. of sugar per person per year. Prior to the turn of this century (1887-1890), the average consumption was only 5 lbs. per person per year. Cardiovascular disease and cancer was virtually unknown in the early 1900's.
The "glycemic index" is a measure of how a given food affects blood-glucose levels, with each food being assigned a numbered rating. The lower the rating, the slower the absorption and digestion process, which provides a more gradual, healthier infusion of sugars into the bloodstream. On the other hand, a high rating means that blood-glucose levels are increased quickly, which stimulates the pancreas to secrete insulin to drop blood-sugar levels. These rapid fluctuations of blood-sugar levels are not healthy because of the stress they place on the body.
One of sugar's major drawbacks is that it raises the insulin level, which inhibits the release of growth hormones, which in turn depresses the immune system. This is not something you want to take place if you want to avoid disease.
An influx of sugar into the bloodstream upsets the body's blood-sugar balance, triggering the release of insulin, which the body uses to keep blood-sugar at a constant and safe level. Insulin also promotes the storage of fat, so that when you eat sweets high in sugar, you're making way for rapid weight gain and elevated triglyceride levels, both of which have been linked to cardiovascular disease. Complex carbohydrates tend to be absorbed more slowly, lessening the impact on blood-sugar levels.

Sweeteners To Avoid:
Brown Sugar, White Granulated Sugar, High Fructose Corn Syrup & Artificial Sweeteners.

Artificial Sweeteners include:

Saccharin (Sweet'N Low) - This is a potential carcinogen.

Aspartame (Nutrasweet & Equal) - Causes headaches, depression, cancer and increased hunger.

Sucralose (Splenda)- This provides essentially no calories and is not fully absorbed. Sucralose is made when sugar is treated with trityl chloride, acetic anhydride, hydrogen chlorine, thionyl chloride, and methanol in the presence of dimethylformamide, 4-methylmorpholine, toluene, methyl isobutyl ketone, acetic acid, benzyltriethlyammonium chloride, and sodium methoxide, making it unlike anything found in nature. The presence of chlorine is thought to be the most dangerous component of sucralose.

where i got this info: medicinenet.com/artificial_sweeteners/article.htm

This is a great article from Time Magazine this year about sugar substitutes:
time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1711763,00.html?cnn=yes

The best thing to do is avoid all artificial and chemical sweetener substitutes. They have NO food value, trick the body into thinking it is eating something sweet, and they have by-products of harmful toxic side effects.

Sweeteners To Seek Out:

You want to look for sweeteners produced from crops that had been farmed without chemicals and pesticides because sweeteners are concentrated, and therefore pesticides and chemicals used on crops concentrate in the final product.

Natural Cane Sugars - Look for these words on the package: natural, raw, unrefined, whole and/or unbleached.

Agave Nectar - This sweetener is made from the juice of the agave plant and is known for having a low glycemic index.

Honey - Look for raw, unfiltered, unprocessed honey. Darker honeys contain higher levels of antioxidants.

Partially Hydrogenated Oil (Trans Fat)
Trans fat is the common name for a type of unsaturated fat with trans- isomer fatty acid(s). Trans fats may be monounsaturated or polyunsaturated.
Trans fat comes from adding hydrogen to vegetable oil through a process called hydrogenation-a process developed in the early 1900s and first commercialized as Crisco in 1911. The goal of partial hydrogenation is to add hydrogen atoms to unsaturated fats, making them more saturated.
Trans fats interfere with important, normal functions by inhibiting enzymes which are necessary for the body's normal metabolism of fats and they keep doing it for a long time. Using trans fats in the manufacturing of foods helps foods stay fresh longer, have a longer shelf life and have a less greasy feel.

When you eat normal cis fats, the body metabolizes half of them in 18 days. When you eat trans fats the body requires 51 days to metabolize half of them. This means that half of the trans fats you eat today will still be inhibiting essential enzyme systems in your body 51 days from now.

The difference between cis fats and trans fats is the molecular structure. cis fats exist naturally and have hydrogen atoms crowded on one side, which causes the structure to bend allowing molecules and enzymes to bind to it. The bending prevents cis fats from solidifying at room temperature.

Trans fatty acid structures have one hydrogen atom added to one side of the structure and the other atom to the other side which prevents the structure from bending, thus making it more difficult for molecules and enzymes to bind to it. The very fact that the structure is straight allows trans fats to solidify at room temperature

When it comes to fat, trans fat is considered by some doctors to be the worst of them all because of its double-barreled impact on your cholesterol levels. Unlike other fats, trans fat — also called trans fatty acids — both raises your "bad" (LDL) cholesterol and lowers your "good" (HDL) cholesterol.
A high LDL cholesterol level in combination with a low HDL cholesterol level significantly increases your risk of heart disease, the leading killer of men and women.

Reading food labels:
How do you know whether food contains trans fat? Look for the words "partially hydrogenated" vegetable oil. That's another term for trans fat. The word "shortening" is also a clue: Shortening contains some trans fat.

It sounds counterintuitive, but "fully" hydrogenated oil doesn't contain trans fat. Unlike partially hydrogenated oil, the process used to make fully hydrogenated oil doesn't result in trans fatty acids. However, if the label says just "hydrogenated" vegetable oil, that usually means the oil contains trans fat.

Although small amounts of trans fat occur naturally in some meat and dairy products, it's the trans fats in processed foods that seem to be more harmful.
For more information on how to read food labels, see this site: healthyeatingadvisor.com/food-labels.html

Books We Recommend:
Super Natural Cooking by Heidi Swanson
Deceptively Delicious by Jessica Seinfeld (Faith makes the mac & cheese recipe for Evan all the time…good stuff!)
Good Calories, Bad Calories by Gary Taubles

Magazines We Recommend:
Cooking Light
Real Simple
Food & Wine (not for health reasons, but just because we love both Food and Wine!)

Websites To Hit:
hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/index.html
healingdaily.com/detoxification-diet/sugar.htm
diabeteshealth.com/read/2007/09/11/5430.html
eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2007-08/acs-swn081007.php
healthyeatingadvisor.com/food-labels.html
time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1711763,00.html?cnn=yes
medicinenet.com/artificial_sweeteners/article.htm
accidentalhedonist.com/index.php/2005/06/09/foods_and_products_containing_high_fruct
foodfacts.info/high-fructose-corn-syrup.shtml
stophfcs.com/list.html

There is SO much information here and I have only scratched the surface on healthy eating. There are so many other things we could talk about like practical & healthy foods for meals and snacks, recipes, liquids that are healthy when used in moderation (i.e.- coffee, tea, wine and even water in moderation. Have you ever heard of Hyponatremia? Not good.), working out (if you would like a great tool for working out, check out Crossfit: crossfit.com. We have a small community online where we share our struggles and wins from our workouts, encourage each other and give each other constructive criticism/ideas/resources, etc. If you would like to be added to our email list, let me know. Josh Patterson sends an email out each week with our workouts for the week in detail.) and so many other things.
If you have any questions, please post them and I would love to research it for you. If you haven't yet, go back to the top and watch the 5 videos posted. These videos opened my eyes more than anything else to our health crisis in America.

In conclusion, health isn't the goal of my life. Working out isn't the goal. Doing all this to the glory of God is my goal. If I stop eating certain foods that will harm my body and choose to eat foods that will give me nutrients, I do this not to gloat, I do it all to the glory of God.
"Whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God" - 1 Corinthians 10:31

I hope this was helpful! Thanks for reading.

here are a couple email responses I've received after posting this:

I have not eaten any sugar, white flour, trans-fats, high fructose corn syrup, or partially hydrogenated oils since December 31. I've lost 23 pounds, and counting...

We read your blog post and LOVED it! Good for you and your family for being aware of what goes into your body. It can be a difficult task with little ones, but it is sooooo worth it! We are trying to convince our children that it is totally because we love them that we don't allow so much "junk" to go into their little bodies. Our daughter is in a preschool and she takes her lunch to school. You should hear/see what all the other children eat for lunch! Sad, really sad.

Snow in March??

2008-03-04T00:28:00.011-06:00

It was great looking out our window tonight and seeing huge snowflakes! I grabbed my camera and tripod and had some fun.
Here are the results:

these were all taken at the same time (8pm).

Lee & Andrea Lewis (our next door neighbors)

Seattle 2008

2008-03-03T23:56:00.022-06:00

2 weeks ago, the Pattersons, Chandlers, Caudles and Bleeckers hopped on a plane to Seattle for a much needed vacation. I don't want to go into too much detail about our trip because Lauren Chandler did an amazing job describing our adventures. You can find the Chandlers blog under our Friends to read more about our trip.

The Pattersons

The Caudles

The Chandlers

The Fish Thrower guys tossed a pillow that looked like a fish right at the girls and it resulted in a great pic of Lauren

Faith hamming it up!

Eleven Winery on Bainbridge Island. This wine was very good. www.elevenwinery.com/

Breakfast & Fake Laughing at La Panier Bakery

Canlis Restaurant Check it out online: www.canlis.com
From service to food to view, this restaurant was amazing.

Bye!

Mount Rainier

2008-03-03T23:12:00.011-06:00

I grabbed my camera just in time to snap some of these as we passed by the 14,411 ft volcano. Though it ranks 21st in the "tallest mountains" category, it was stunning both in Seattle (60 miles away) and what seemed like a few feet from our airplane.

When I took this I thought about that Bob Ross guy who was on "The Joy Of Painting". Remember that guy with the poofy hair that would paint a masterpiece, draw a huge black line down the middle of it at the end and then somehow make it look really good?? Anyway, this made me think about him painting snow with his little fan brush on the mountain. He would whisper everything: "We'll take this fan brush and just cover this little guy with snow...he's a happy mountain now".
God makes it look a little better than Bob did though.

My Son

2007-12-23T18:39:00.002-06:00

Evan James, our beautiful son, is a gift from God. To look at him and see a part of me is a strange, but incredible thing. He has my eyes and Faith's cute cheeks, but he has an addictive joy that comes only from the Lord.
I hope for my son.
I hope that one day soon he will have faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, that he will see Christ in us and in our friends, that his beautiful smile and addictive joy will infect others around him and point them to Jesus, that he will befriend those who have no friends, that he will see the inside of a person and not merely the outside...
I hope for my son.
Evan is 17 months old today! It has been so much fun being Dad, seeing God bless my wife with patience and love for our son and watching him grow up. Here are pictures from the last 17 months. Enjoy!

Evan was so relaxed in this shot... and so stressed out in this one

Evan's Birth Announcement

Halloween 2006

Evan is famous!

My favorite picture of my two favorite people:

I LOVE this pic:

Thanksgiving 2006:
Thanksgiving 2007:

2006 Christmas Pic's by Lindsey Brittain:

Evan's first time to eat "solid" food:

Evan in an ornament:

Evan fell asleep in his jumper:

Faith snapped this shot:

Evan & Dadda:

Evan's 1st Time in A Pool:

Evan's first time to look into a mirror:

Evan's 1st Birthday (July 24, 2007)

He doesn't cry often but when he does, I'm usually holding my camera:

Bleecker Christmas Pic's 2007 (taken by Lindsey Brittain)

He was not havin' it

Evan James... such a stud

Some of the latest pic's I've taken of Evan:

Evan and Lily reading together:

Bye-Bye!

My Wife

2007-12-15T12:57:00.000-06:00

I wanted to post this on my wife's birthday (Nov 16), and was never able to get all the pictures together and post them... until now. So, 29 days later, I give you a collection of the finest pictures of Faith EVER. I have so many great pictures of my beautiful wife that I didn't want to keep them to myself, but rather, share them with you...the world. Get ready world. She's hot.
I love you, Faith.

This is our first picture ever taken together:

i love this pic ...giddy up

Faith's Bachelorette Party...as you can see from her hair ornament.

White water rafting on the Ocoee River (zoom in on her if you can)

And then for Halloween '04, Josh Patterson came as Faith white water rafting on the Ocoee River.

They couldn't figure out how to fix Faith's wedding dress. I love her face here

Our Honeymoon in Maui

Our First Year Anniversary - NYC Baby!

Cabo San Lucas, October 2005

Our first time home with Evan

Halloween 2006

Our 4 Year Anniversary - San Fran & Napa

The Bleecker Fam

Halloween '07

2007-11-03T10:16:00.001-05:00

For the last 2 years on Halloween, The Village has given us a bounce house, hot dogs and hamburgers, and tons of candy to pass out to our neighbors. This is a such a great ministry to them and also a great way for us to meet them. This year we had the Lewis' next door. Not only are they great neighbors, but they have a big front yard to put the bounce house on. We're going to do this every year so come out next year and hang out with us!

We love our Bat Boy.

Superheroes not only save lives but fake laugh too...

The Bleecker Fam

Evan and Daddy in the bounce house

The Chiltons and Bleeckers

Supergirl and Clark Kent

The Pattersons

Miss Flower Lily...so pretty

Andrea and Baby Luke Lewis

Village Staff Retreat

2007-10-26T14:47:00.001-05:00

We had an incredible week at Moon River Ranch with the staff. We laughed a lot, rested, read, played football (our team won the 2007 Krapu Bowl), ate really well, watched The Office, worshiped together, made S'mores and saw a blanket of stars each night that we usually don't see in the city. I only took pictures of the stars and S'mores makin', so you'll have to trust me with the other stuff. Each of these pictures were taken at night between 10:00pm & midnight. The shutter stayed open for close to a minute for each pic so it took in all the moonlight making it look like daytime. It was a lot of fun, but having to wait for each of these shots in the cold weather we had each night was tough! Here are some of those pic's...

Caleb is waving a flaming marshmallow.

I liked what happened with the ambers and the open shutter here.

Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name. Because of His great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing. -Isaiah 40:26

Evan Sees Larry The Cucumber For The First Time

2007-10-20T22:32:00.001-05:00

Evan, Larry The Cucumber & Bob The Tomato

2007-10-20T17:32:00.001-05:00

Evan & Zuzu

Dadda, there's Bob The Tomato. Right There.

Texas Fair

2007-10-20T01:28:00.000-05:00

We had a great day at the fair today. We saw some cool animals, ate really good and really dirty food, and took some fun pic's.
Enjoy!

so in love...