Thursday, March 27, 2008

The Plane Facts-March/April 2008

The Plane Facts
www.yourmissionary.org sharejesus@gmail.com
March/April 2008

Dear Christian Friend,
The most productive flight I’ve ever done, could have been the one we did this month. Of course, I guess that “most productive moment” in our lives could happen at any time without us even knowing it. Right?! Brother Paco Gudino a local gas station owner and Gideon, approached me a while back while I was filling up the pick-up. He asked about us doing a flight to distribute New Testaments to all of the (over 200) jungle Indian villages. Boy, did I get excited!! “Wow, I didn’t even know the Gideons existed out here, the idea really has great potential,” I thought…and sure enough…it came to pass.
Paco and another brother Hugo Morante, showed up early one morning with their boots, backpacks, a two man tent and 1000 Spanish New Testaments all ready to give away. We took off with full fuel determined to keep going until we ran out of Bibles or gasoline… which ever came first! Of course, we weren’t really going to run out of gasoline, but you know what I mean. J In village after village we got permission, then lined up all the school kids and gave the Message of Salvation and then a copy of that precious little blue book! Academic materials are scarce in the jungle, so let’s pray that the teachers will begin to use the New Testament as their Spanish Language, History, Reading…Whatever-text…just like our forefathers did.
Our plan was to hit every single village on both sides of the Pastaza River, but before we got very far we met with a torrential downpour just after landing in Kuakash. There we were, three Christian brothers trying to serve the Lord together, but we really hardly knew each other. So Father changed that by sending the rain. Sitting there in the plane, we began to share our life stories with one another, of how God got hold of each of us and came into our lives. Both Paco and Hugo had great testimonies of how the Lord turned them upside down and then upside right! When the clouds lifted, we visited 14 more villages before night fall and setting up camp in Santiak. Hey, it’s tough work this “jungle evangelism”, but like I tell lots of people with a grin…Somebody’s got to do it.
We hope all is going well for you in your part of the world’s missionfield. Be sure of one thing, it’s God who put you there, and He will accomplish His will through you as you serve Him. Thanks for letting us share together. Sharon has some great pictures on our website of her missionary kid preschoolers. One of them is our grandson Matthew. Check it out and see if you can pick which one he is.

Love like Jesus,
Rick and Sharon
LCC-PO Box 3298-Paradise, CA 95967-3298

HE IS RISEN, YES, HE IS RISEN INDEED, ALELUIA!!

Preschool Photos

Dear Ones,

We wrote in our prayer letter that there are photos of the preschool here but we haven't been able to get them posted yet. Please refer to www.acapturedlife.com and there you can sign into "clients and galleries". Jennifer has our photos there. There is a folder that says SCPS (Shell Christian Preschool). Sign in there with my name: Sharon, as the password and you'll see the photos of my precious little ones. Thanks for your patience. I'll try to get them directly on this site soon.

Love to all,
Sharon

Saturday, March 15, 2008

Preschool Photos

Dear Friends,

It's been another fun, exciting week with my preschoolers. The sad note is that Brooklyn is leaving us though. She and her family, Sean and Rebecca Cannon and baby sister Madison are transferring to Oaxaca, Mexico to work with MAF there. We sure will miss little Brook. She has been one of the VERY bright spots in my life since we started school in Sept. Thank you Sean and Becca for sharing your little precious one with me these months.

Thank the Lord that He always has good things for us though, even when we suffer a loss like I am this week. Jennifer Thebault is here with her doctor husband and two sweet little girls for a month. Jenny has volunteered to take photos of the missionaries and she took a bunch of them this week at preschool. If you'd like to check it out, just go to www.ACapturedLIfe.com and click on SCP. The teacher's name is: Sharon and you'll get to see all of my little ones there. I wonder if you'll be able to guess which one is Matthew LaBouef. :-)

Love to all,
Sharon
The Plane Facts
www.yourmissionary.org Feb/March 08 cinamissions@christiansinaction.com

Hi Beloved!

A SOUL WINNING REPORT FROM SHARON: Recently while Rick was preaching and Heidi and I were giving out tracts in the park, we met a man named Caesar. After a greeting and some small talk, we asked him if he’d ever prayed to give his life to the Lord. “Yes,” he smiled, “two years ago, right over there.” He nodded toward a bench close to where we were standing. “And it was that day the police picked me up and took me to a drug/alcohol rehab center. I spent three months there and I haven’t touched a drop since. Jesus is my Lord.” Later when I told Rick about meeting Cesar, he said he remembered how the man was weeping like a broken hearted child after receiving Christ and right at the moment when the meeting was finishing, up came the police, out came the handcuffs and Cesar was taken away, unbeknown to us, to a place that would help reinforce that which the Lord had started in his life. Please pray that he will become grounded in a church where he can continue to grow.
We’re glad some of you have already written to alanhiatt@christiansinaction.org for your free copy of the Christians in Action 50th Anniversary book. We have one sitting on our living room table and its amazing how many people pick it up to check out missions around the world. If you don’t have one yet… please write to Alan for yours!
God is so very good. We have talked to our friend Robert Bloemendaal, and he has agreed to come back to Ecuador! Robert and his wife Mary live in Phelan, CA. They are Calvary Chapel missionaries to Mexico and have dubbed the “Jesus Film” into a number of Indian languages. Since Robert is very busy and it costs quite a bit for him to make the trip, we think it would be best for us to train an Ecuadorian to carry on what he does after Robert leaves this time. It’s won’t be easy, but let’s pray that it will happen. Another thing to pray about is which movies to choose. “God’s Story” is a good one, but they charge $2,500.00 for the master copy and permission to dub it. That doesn’t seem right… Please pray that we’ll find a more missions-minded Christian film producer who will let us do it for free! Whatever God wants, is what we want…so, if we have to pay…we’ll pay. We really want this to become an ongoing ministry. It has incredible potential for the Kingdom.
You may remember the “Basic Youth Conflicts” seminars held around the country, well, now Bill Gothard sends out a short daily devotional by e-mail. You can receive it free. Just write to: dailysuccess@iblp.org. I highly recommend it, and like me…I know you’ll be very glad you did.

Love like Jesus,
Rick and Sharon LaBouef
LCC-PO Box 3298-Paradise, CA 95967-3298

Friday, October 19, 2007

Rick's Testimony

FROM RELIGION TO RELATIONSHIP

The personal testimony of Rick LaBouef
Missionary-Christians in Action
Shell, Ecuador

I shifted my position on the prison bunk. Surrounded by the barren walls and unyielding bars of the county jail, my mind drifted back, tracing the events which brought me to this place.
Born in a religious home, I had childhood dreams of someday building a church or becoming a “minister of the Word”.
But one major problem existed. It appeared early in my childhood, a blatantly rebellious streak which always defied authority. As a teenager, the rebellion increased. Because my rebellious attitude had difficulty co-existing with dreams of serving God, gradually I moved away from religion towards things which promised to fulfill my need for recognition in life.
Basketball became my first idol. Those days of being a 6’1” basketball star were so long ago. I had dreams of becoming a professional player until our family moved to California, where I was the short one among the 6’10” players. My basketball idol fallen, I set out to find another way to fulfillment.
Often my father proclaimed, “The way to success is to get an education. With an education, you’ve got the world by the tail.” So I returned to New York State to finish High School there and enroll in College.
When a lovely dark-haired girl came into my life, my idols became confused. Having the “world by the tail” meant nothing unless Sharon shared my accomplishment. Certainly a good education plus Sharon would bring total fulfillment for my life.
We were married. The rebellion which characterized my teenage years seemed to be in remission. Our church wedding, so religious in all the right ways, brought a sense of God-approval. But a few hours into our honeymoon, the war began. My sweet Sharon had a wicked right hand, which she used skillfully when my rebellious nature triggered her anger. Another idol began to crumble, and a renewed search for self-satisfaction began.
How far away and long ago those angry days seemed. Sliding down on my prison bunk, I tried to find a more comfortable position for reliving my “past”.
Memories of our frequent visits with Uncle Tom and Aunt Jan brought a smile. The visits had one drawback—my Aunt Jan was a religious “kook”. She talked about Jesus like she knew Him personally and expected us to know Him, too. Sharon and I made it clear that we were satisfied with our own religion.
Then a visit to California led to the discovery of a new idol, one which promised an effective escape from all my problems. Soon my entire life centered on drugs.
My new lifestyle drove a final wedge in our marriage. Back in New York, I lived the “Hippy” life and Sharon moved to another apartment where she lived alone, pregnant for our first son and very desperate.
After Ricky’s birth, Sharon gave Aunt Jan a call. They talked about Sharon’s separation from God because of her sins and her need to know His peace. Soon my wife prayed to receive Jesus as her Savior. Sharon’s new relationship to Jesus Christ would give her strength in the difficult times that followed.
Sharon and other Christians began praying. From their point of view, wonderful things began to happen, beginning with my arrest for the use and sale of drugs.
Looking at my present prison surroundings, I felt again the awful fear of going to the state penitentiary. With my first arrest, that fear had motivated me to change my life style. I cleaned up my act, going back to Sharon and our new baby and getting a job. I even prayed, “God, if You can get me out of this, I won’t ever do drugs again.”
God did His part, but with the threat of prison removed, I reneged on my part of the bargain.
We moved to California, Sharon’s new faith keeping her steady in the face of my renewed rebellion. Once again drugs were the center of my world. But even at that time, I found myself wondering about Jesus. When various beliefs were discussed, my question would be, “But what do you think about this, Jesus?”
While working in a steel shop, I discovered my boss knew Jesus in a personal way. One day he talked with some of us at lunch break. For the first time, I heard a “man’s man” speaking about Jesus Christ!
Just remembering made that moment fresh, even in my stale cell. I had assumed “knowing Jesus” was just for old people ready to die, escapists from reality and religious people.
I accepted an invitation to a movie at my boss’s church. There the preacher talked about personal salvation.
“Have you realized you are a sinner and need a Savior? Have you accepted Jesus Christ’s death as payment for your sins? Do you know you are a Christian?” He thundered.
“Of course, I’m a Christian,” I thought. “I believe in God.”
“Are you sure? Do you know for sure?”
His questions challenged me, scared me, and stirred something in me I couldn’t explain. When he invited people forward who wanted to make “sure”, I went. Praying, I confessed my rebellion and sin, asking Jesus Christ to be my Lord and Savior. Jesus says, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No man comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6 NKJV). Although I didn’t understand all that had happened to me, I did know that now I had more than just a religion; I had a personal relationship with God through His Son, Jesus.
In our continuing hunger to know more about God, Sharon and I spent time with some “Jesus People” studying, praying, fellowshipping. They were a special group of brothers and sisters and we began to grow together in our faith.
Restlessly, I paced my cell. I remembered the words spoken by one of the leaders of our group when we first attended a “Jesus’ People’s” meeting. Pointing at me, he announced, “That man is going to be a preacher!”
My reaction? “What am I doing here? The man is crazy!”
I still felt much the same way. Anybody who thought a “druggy” and convict would ever be a preacher had to be crazy.
My mind traveled back to the final episode which brought me to this county jail cell, awaiting a trial that promised many years in Attica State Penitentiary.
The apartment had seemed empty as I called Sharon’s name. Suddenly, in bust a group of policemen, and once more I was under arrest, this time for a drug sale made a year ago back in New York State. Although I had received the Lord and my lifestyle had changed drastically, there remained an old debt to be paid. They released me on bail until a trial date could be set.
Waiting became a trying time. Good resulted as I made a decision regarding my walk with God. Choosing to live totally for the Lord, I gave up trying to dabble in two conflicting lifestyles. It was also an awful time as we lived through an uncertain year, believing that I faced a long imprisonment.
Now the time of the trial had arrived. Here in New York, in this small jail, I awaited my turn before the judge.
Footsteps approached my cell. A Pastor friend had come to visit. My time of “remembering” over, I greeted him with pleasure. As we talked, he asked, “Well, Rick, what has the Lord shown you is going to happen?”
His question surprised me. I hadn’t expected God to show me anything. After the pastor left, my prison cell became a place of fasting and prayer as I asked God to show me what lay ahead. One day, while praying, a strong impression, thought, word did come to me, “Probation and $1000 fine”.
Scheduled to face a judge who gave severe penalties for drug offenses, I expected my sentence to be several years in the State Pen. Probation seemed unreasonable, but I took it as God’s answer and began to thank Him for His deliverance.
As I walked into the courtroom, my lawyer took me aside and explained with a pleased expression, “Rick, we’ve worked out a deal. I think we can get you two or three consecutive one-year terms at the county jail so you won’t have to go to Attica.”
His words shook me, but I replied, “I’ve been praying and believe that I’ll get probation and a $1000.00 fine.”
The lawyer looked at me and laughed!
When my turn came, my lawyer explained the technical details of my case, and then the judge asked if I had anything to say.
In a few sentences, I confessed my guilt, told him about my relationship to Jesus and my changed life. My testimony ended with the words, “I told the Lord that whatever the judge says, I will accept as God’s will for my life. So if you send me to Attica, I’ll serve Him there. If you release me, I’ll serve Him in California with my wife and children. But I’ll hear God’s will for me through you.”
The judge sat like a stone, seeming to feel the burden of pronouncing God’s will for my life. Minutes passed and suddenly he banged his gavel and announced loudly, “Five years probation, and the defendant will reimburse the court $1000.00 for expenses” Sharon and I have walked many miles since that day. God did make me a “preacher of the Word”. With our six children, we have served as a missionary family in Guatemala, Mexico and Ecuador since 1976. In a world where there are many “religions”, we seek to proclaim what we discovered—the reality of a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

The New Blog-The Plane Facts

Hi Everyone,

Today is my first day to post on my new blog. I hope to be able to keep you "posted" frequently on all the happenings here in Shell. At the moment, I have Patti Sue here helping me get started. Rick has the plane fueled and ready to fly to Machent with his co-pilot Tony. Preschool is off today so it's my house cleaning and cooking day. Talk to you soon.

Love and blessings,
Sharon for Rick too