MET WITH ROMNEY AND MCCAIN

Another hiatus since I’ve posted, but I’m determined to do more writing and posting. So, bear with me, I’m working on it!

Since I wrote last, a lot has happened. I’ve been to Florida twice. (I know, someone’s got to suffer!) Down and back for ministry in a new church in the Sarasota area: The Fellowship of Believers. What a warm and wonderful group of people! They were enormously generous in every way. Outside what I do here in Washington, DC, visiting and ministering in churches is one of the things I enjoy most. I love being with God’s people, sharing the vision of Faith and Action, and encouraging Christian Americans by reporting how God is answering their prayers for our nation’s leaders. If you’d like me to visit your church, please approach your leadership and ask them if I may come and give your congregation a first person missionary field report from our nation’s capital! (For more information, contact Allyson Black, our director of supporter relations at allysonblack@faithandaction.org or call her at 202-546-8329, extension 104.)

While on my second trip to the Sunshine State, I hosted a lunch for new and old friends. We call these “Family Circles” because that’s exactly how I feel about our growing network of Faith and Action supporters—we’re family! Watch your E-mail for notice of an upcoming Family Circle breakfast, lunch or dinner in your area. The next Family Circle is a dinner in Lewes, Delaware, near Rehobeth Beach this Saturday, February 24. Again, contact Allyson Black for more information.

It was also on this second trip south that I participated in a private meeting with two of the top ’08 presidential contenders, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney and Arizona senator John McCain. I’ll talk about those interesting conversations on today’s Faith and Action Live! (You can listen to my special report at www.faithandaction.org, "Radio Archives" on left-hand menu.) On other fronts, I ministered in the new and burgeoning Calvary Chapel South Orlando, pastored by Charles Nestor III, son to our long-time friend and colleague Dr. Charles Nestor of Lakeland. This is one great father-son duo!

(In case I’m confusing you on schedules, I had been down to Florida the weekend of Feb 10-11 for the visit to Fellowship of Believers church, returned to Washington for meetings, then flew back down for a full schedule of activity, Feb 14-19.)

I had a delightful but bitter-sweet surprise while I was in Sarasota on the second round. You may recall my sad odyssey among the Amish of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, last October following the tragic murder of five Amish schoolgirls. Many of our Faith and Action supporters were connected to that awful event because of how tight the Lancaster County community is, and because of family and business relationships. I spent nearly a week up there visiting the homes of both the shooter and the victims. It was a life-changing experience for me. You may have caught my telling of the story on Larry King Live, among other shows.

In any case, one of our Sarasota supporters told me the grandparents of seven-year old Naomi Rose Ebersole, one of the youngest of the Lancaster victims, keep a winter home in an Amish enclave of Sarasota. The grandparents, whom I had met in Lancaster on the day of their granddaughter’s funeral, heard I was in the area and invited me to visit with them, which I did. They told me of their pain, how the Lord is helping all of them heal, and showed me pictures of their beautiful little Naomi Rose. They went on to thank me profusely for the prayers sent in by Faith and Action supporters. We had printed out a selection from among the thousands that were sent to us by E-mail. We then placed them in binders that were later circulated among the victims’ families. Please continue to pray for these lovely people.

While I’m urging you to watch for things, do watch for upcoming articles and E-mails on our most recent struggle to maintain the display of the Ten Commandments in front of our ministry center here on Capitol Hill. A group called the “Beltway Atheists” has filed a complaint with the Government of the District of Columbia. They claim the government erred in issuing its legal opinion that we have a right under the First Amendment to display the Commandments. In spite of the Beltway Atheists’ motto, “Stabbing religion in the neck with a screwdriver since 2005,” they were granted a hearing before a DC government commission. The founder of the group told the commissioners I was required to obtain a permit for the sculpture in our garden. I responded by quoting the letter to us from the District of Columbia clearly stating that due to the First Amendment issues involved we are not NOT required to obtain such permits. There was no convincing them. The chairman has called for a continued investigation. Please pray—this is the same commission that voted against our display of the Commandments five years ago. So, the beat goes on.

There’s a lot more to tell you, but I’m sure this is all you can stand for now!

God bless—and I WILL be back.