Entries by David Butler

Thank you to those that helped make our trip to Lithuania possible. Read more about our mission trip to Lithuania.

Retold by Dave Lindstedt

Once
upon a time, in a northern Mediterranean town, there lived a husband
and wife who became successful merchants. Their shop in the town square
bustled with activity. But even though their business was quite
profitable, they were heartbroken because they were unable to have any
children. As time passed, they prayed that God would give them a child
to brighten their later years. At last a son was born. They named him
Nicholas and they lavished on him their love.

As Nicholas grew, he spent his afternoons scurrying around the shop
with his parents. In the evening, he liked to sit at his father's desk
and watch as his father counted the day's proceeds. Always, before he
began, Nicholas's father would drop a gold coin into each of three
small cloth bags on a corner of the desk.

"This is for tomorrow, Nicholas," he would say, "so you'll always have soup with your bread."

Some are black and some are white,

Some are wrong and some are right,

Some get rich and some stay poor,

Some make peace and some make war.

Some are yellow, some are brown,

Some are up and some are down,

Some go far, some fall behind,

Some are mean and some are kind.

Some are reds and some are greens,

Some stay quiet, some make scenes,

Some say yes and some say no,

Some will tell you where to go.

But underneath our different skin,

The same heart beats, deep within.

For brothers, sisters all are we,

Meant to live in harmony.

HARMONY IN A WORLD as wracked by tension, strife,
prejudice and violence as the one we live in today? Impossible! you
might think, as you're tempted to put this in the nearest trash can.
But please just take a minute to read on and at least consider the
solution offered herein.

At 10:46am, on the 5th of June, Dustin Anthony came into the world. It was a very well done C-Section, with no complications.

Dustin is our 5th child. As someone said, "... you're half way to completing a soccer team".

The Bible says: "Children are a gift from the Lord. They are a reward from him." (Psalm 127:3) God has most definitely blessed us!

Here are a few photos from the first day!

A retelling of 1 Kings 17:8-16

By Joyce Suttin

"Have you something for me to eat, something to drink?" the unassuming stranger asked. "I'm weak from hunger and weary from my journey. Please, I beg you."

My heart reached out to him. I felt the same hunger pains. Zarephath, like wherever this man was fleeing from, was in the grip of famine. I too was weak and weary. I too needed someone to rescue me before I perished.

I had almost nothing, and he was asking me to give him what little I had. If it had only been me, I would have given him my last morsel without a second thought. I had given God plenty of reasons to turn His back on me. I didn't deserve to live, but what about my little boy, the light of my life, whom I adored?

"Come. … Of course, come in," I answered haltingly. "But, you see, I have nothing to give you. I have only enough flour and oil to prepare one last meal for my son and myself before we die. We were gathering sticks for the fire when you came up the path."

He was a handsome child, but now gaunt from having eaten very little for several weeks. A smile lightened his lips. He always had a smile. "Mother, I have found some sticks, too. The wind caused them to fall in the night. They will make a nice fire."

The man looked deep into the child's eyes. "Surely, the Lord has led me here," he said.

I looked over at my boy, his curly brown hair tousled by the breeze. His eyes were fixed on me, the way small children look at their mothers with expectancy and trust.

"Do not fear," the man said. "Make me a small cake from it first, and bring it to me. Then make some for yourself and your son. For thus says the Lord God, 'The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until the day the Lord sends rain on the earth.'"

I went to the shelf and took down the oil jar. It was light in my hands, nearly empty. Why was I doing this for a stranger? It didn't make sense.

"Light the fire, my son, while I make the bread."

I took the sack of flour from its bin. It too was nearly gone. As I kneaded the dough, a strange thing happened. Energy returned to my hands. My feet felt light as I took it to the oven. This bread was different.

I struggled to ignore my pangs of hunger as the room began to smell of freshly baked bread, and I avoided my son's attentive stare.

The man reached for the bread as I offered it to him. He held it up to God and said, "Lord, bless this food You have provided, and bless these hands that have prepared it." He turned to me and smiled. "Now make for yourself and your son."

"But I have just used the last…" I hesitated. His eyes told me that I should just do as he said.

"Son, hand me the flour and the oil."

The boy's eyes were filled with wonder as he handed me the flour. The sack was heavier than it had been in days. Then he passed me the oil jar, and as he did, oil splashed on our hands. Our hearts, like the jar of oil, were full to overflowing.

And God was true to His word. A handful of flour and a few drops of oil kept the three of us alive for nearly three years, until the famine had passed.


You don't have to be a millionaire to give what you've got.

There is not one of God's children who cannot afford to give something to His work. You may think you can't afford to give, or you may not be able to give a lot at first, but God blesses everybody that gives. If you're not rich, that's all the more reason to give, so God can bless you and help you have more.

God's finances work the opposite from the world's. The world says, "When I've got my million, then I'll start giving." But the Lord says, "Start giving what you've got now, and then I'll give you more." Man says, "Me first. Self-preservation is the first law of nature." But God says, "Put Me and Mine first, and I'll take care of you afterwards."[[footnote: Matthew 6:33]]

God's way to plenty is to give sacrificially of what you now have. "There is one who scatters, yet increases more; and there is one who withholds more than is right, but it leads to poverty."[[footnote: Proverbs 11:24]] The more you share, the more God will heap on you, and the more you'll have to share. Love gives itself rich.

—David Brandt Berg

(Charles Swindoll)
The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of
attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than
education, than money, than circumstances,
than failures, than success, than what other
people think or say or do. It is more important
than appearance, ability, or skill. It will make or
break a company, a church, a home.
We have a choice every day regarding the
attitude we will embrace from that day. We cannot
change our past, we cannot change the fact that
people will act in a certain way. The only thing that
we can do is play on the one string that we have,
and this string is attitude. I am convinced that life
is ten percent what happens to me and ninety
percent how I react to it. And so it is with you.
We are in charge of our attitudes.

Choose good attitudes—they’re contagious!

Christmas 2007:
The kids have been practicing most the year for this season. Here's their repertoire. Kaylena (10), Vera (6), Darren (6), Kenneth (5).

Get the best out of this wonderful season, without it getting the best of you!

Adapted from D.J. Adams

Christmas is a great time for sharing, for getting together with old friends and new, for rediscovering the importance of family and of spirituality. But Christmas can also be hectic and even frustrating if we don't manage our time and our moods correctly. I know. I run a book and game store that gets tremendously busy during November and December, and yet I, too, have a family that wants me to spend extra time with them, shopping to do, parties to go to, and so on. Since I talk to a lot of frantic people every year around this time, I have some words of advice that hopefully can help you get the best out of this wonderful season, without it getting the best of you.

Keep your perspective.

Remember what Christmas is about: a time to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ. The concepts of "peace on earth" and "goodwill toward men" (and women!) are universal and worth sharing. It's sometimes difficult to remember this when you're battling for a parking space in an overcrowded mall parking lot, but it's worth the effort.

Plan ahead.

Why are so many of us shocked each year that it's suddenly almost Christmas and we haven't done a thing to prepare? Yes, you can wait till the last minute, but how much better and easier to pick up gifts early, wrap them, and put them in a closet? You can even start Christmas craft projects in July! By the time December rolls around, you won't have much to do except to enjoy yourself—and you'll be the envy of those of us who wish we'd been as organized!

Dear Friends,


Firstly we would like to thank you for helping to make our mission trip to Lithuania possible. It was the first time that we could, as a family, go on an extensive trip with the goal of taking humanitarian aid, distributing gospel literature with the children, visiting historic regions and landmarks, as well as some time for vacation. We had a great time. The kids enjoyed the trip immensely, and many lives were touched and helped both physically as well as spiritually.




Here are a few highlights from the trip:
-We traveled about 5400 Km. in five different countries.
-The children distributed over 1000 gospel pamphlets.
-We were able to leave shoes and clothing for about a dozen families.
-With the kids we got to see a dolphin show, visit a castle, go to the beach, camp for ten days, swim at a water park, the Baltic sea, and several lakes, learn some of the Lithuanian language, and more.

You may have noticed the peaceful happiness, even radiance, in people who make it a habit to give. Whether it's time, money, help, or just friendly encouragement, they always seem to not only be content themselves, but have enough to share with others. Jesus explained why in the following Scripture: "Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will be poured into your lap" (Luke 6:38 NIV).

If we give to others, yield to them to make them happy, or put their wishes above our own, we can sometimes feel like we're losing out. But we're not really. God sees such unselfishness and He will reward it.
You never lose by giving.

More photos of the trip here: Lithuania trip Gallery.

People are unreasonable, illogical, and self-centered. Love them anyway.
If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish ulterior motives. Do good anyway.
If you are successful, you will win false friends and true enemies. Succeed anyway.
Honesty and frankness make you vulnerable. Be honest and frank anyway.
The good you do today will be forgotten tomorrow. Do good anyway.
The biggest people with the biggest ideas can be shot down by the smallest people with the smallest minds. Think big anyway.
People favor underdogs but follow only top dogs. Fight for some underdogs anyway.
What you spend years building may be destroyed overnight. Build anyway.
Doing the right thing anyway, in spite of opposition or your own feelings, is the making of great men and women; it's the path to success.


Credited to Mother Teresa

Intro:
From '96 to '2001, my father in law and his family lived and worked in Lithuania. I arrived in 2000 to help with the projects and work. We regularly brought goods, such as clothes, glasses, shoes, toys, etc, from Switzerland to Lithuania and distributed to orphanages and poor families from the country side. Some Lithuanian companies donated food on a regular basis which we were able to distribute to the local poor families in the area.

In 2000, we organized a Christmas party for the 10 poorest families in our little town. We asked the Social Services to help us with the informations of the age, sex and sizes of each child and then asked various local companies for specific items. We were able to collect personalized gifts, like toys, shoes and clothes for each child. We also received free food so we could serve a nice Christmas dinner, as well as topping it with ice-cream. The local Social Services donated the use of a dining room and kitchen for the occasion. We had a Christmas story for the children and then distributed the presents. In addition, each family could take home some extra clothes and food (rice, flour, etc.)
More photos of the event here: http://www.butlersonline.net/album/lt









Since 2001, we have made three more trips back to Lithuania to take donated goods. We brought clothes, shoes & reading glasses to the Social Services in Vilnius which distribute them to the elderly. We also distributed clothes and shoes to the local families in the town where we lived and helped before, Trakai. We also picked up fruits and vegetables from a local distributor, and brought them weekly to an orphanage during the time we were there.

In 2005, Mr. Viola from the mission center in the Wallis, came along and brought 10 wheelchairs, which were distributed to needy invalids. During this trip we were again able to distribute clothing to many poor families, and to an orphanage.
More photos of the distribution here: http://www.butlersonline.net/lt

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July 2007:

In July of this year, we will be participating in the trip to Lithuania. We have collected a large quantity of new clothing and shoes, given by various shops and boutiques here in Switzerland. We've requested a list of very needy invalids to donate the collected wheelchairs to.

This year, my wife, Angelina and our four children will be coming along. Kaylena (9), Darren (6), Kenneth (4), and Liani (2). It will be an opportunity for them to get to know another country, experience the culture, as well as learn about helping others in need, what it means to be a missionary, and participate in the delivering of the donated goods.


For us to make this trip, we need your help. We've collected thousands of Francs worth of materials which we will be giving away to those in need in Lithuania, but we need some financial sponsoring to cover the expenses of the trip. We will be spending three weeks in Lithuania, traveling about 5000 kilometers, visiting several cities and institutions.

Following is a breakdown of the estimated costs for the six of us:

900.- Diesel
300.- Accommodation
400.- Food
200.- Additional insurance,
legal aspects, etc

1800.- Total estimated expenses

Both Angelina and I have grown up all our lives being involved in full time missionary activities. As children we also participated with our parents in such endeavors and we are now giving our children the same exciting opportunity. It is always a rewarding experience to help those in need. By your helping to make it possible for this trip, you are also participating in changing lives and giving those less fortunate a chance for improvement.

Thank you for your help. We can't do it without you.
You never lose by giving. God bless you!

Best wishes,

David, Angelina, Kaylena, Darren, Kenneth & Liani

(For donations, click here: www.donate.butlersonline.net)