I hope everyone had a great week. This one, of course, started off with Monday being a holiday, Memorial Day brought to us by the brave men and women that have sacrificed their all for this country. It is good that we take some time out and remember that the freedoms we have in the USA came at a price. We say, “thank you” to all of you who defended this country and were willing to risk the ultimate sacrifice and remembering with gratitude those who did.
Tuesday was an important day, as our California Supreme Court upheld the decision that marriage would be between one man and one woman. Praise God that this proposition not only passed, but was upheld by the judges that rule over us.
We are looking forward to this Sunday, May 31st when I will be preaching the last message in this series, “Dare to Love” from I Corinthians 13. There can be nothing more important to improve than love for your spouse, for your family, or friends. I hope all of you got something out of “The Love Dare.” We have twice sold out of these books, and I am convinced that real life change happens best when we not only hear the Word of God, but also read it and do it. The Love Dare has little projects at the end of each day’s reading that give use something to do to love our spouse more. Go ahead, read this book; start even today. I dare you!
On Sunday night we will gather at 6:00pm for information and training for Faith in Action Extreme. We as a church body connect in ways that reach out to our community through loving service. If you have already signed up to be a part, we look forward to your presence. If you have not found your niche of service yet, it is not too late. Come and jump in and find the joy God gives us in serving others.
This summer brings us many exciting opportunities including mission trips to Tanzania and Mexico, but we want to make sure that we go across the street as well as around the world. The need for love is everywhere. God has given it to each of us so it can flow to others. I end with a quote from the famous evangelist preacher D L Moody,
“Now let us hold the truth, but let us hold it in love. People will stand almost any kind of plain talk if you only do it in love. If you do it in harshness it bounds back and they won't receive it. So what we want is to have the truth and at the same time hold it in love.”
Carry God’s truth in love this week! See you at Gateway Church.
In Christ,
Pastor Mark
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( 2.9 / 40 )Dear Gateway Church Family and Friends,
I am so glad and excited to be your pastor! As you know from my email last week, I had the opportunity to visit Bryant Street Baptist Church in Yucaipa this past Sunday evening. They had invited Jan and me to help celebrate their 40th anniversary, 12 years of which I was a part. It was great seeing old friends and reliving some high moments of ministry we shared together, many with folks that have already gone on to Glory Land to be with Jesus. But even as significant as the past was, I encouraged them to “press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:14) And that is just what we are doing here at Gateway Church.
After a rousing service of worship music, it was a joy to have Randy Ford preach a stirring message on recognizing the truth of love in action; not just saying, “I love you,” but living it out. Thank you, Brother! With Randy in the pulpit, I had ample time to visit each ministry area on Sunday morning. Even with Tedd and Jolie camping with their family, I observed our vibrant youth departments of middle school FUEL and high school J-Walk, and watched Gateway GROW children’s teachers actively engaging our youngest in understanding truths from Scripture. I even had the opportunity to encourage our Spanish speaking sister congregation meeting in the McAllister building at 10:45. By the way, if you know of someone who speaks Spanish as their first language, invite them to Gateway for a Spanish speaking Bible study at 9am with a worship service following in the second hour. Pastor Leonard Hernandez and his congregation would welcome them! This past weekend, I came away thinking that the Lord has allowed Gateway Church to be a healthy and well-rounded congregation.
On Monday, we had a great day of Gateway golf, raising money for much needed resources to send with our summer mission teams going to Chiapas, MX and Tanzania. I owe a lot of thanks to Robin and Pattie Williams for their dedication and hard work to organize the tournament. Also, congratulations to the good doctor, Steve Richards and his team for finally winning the tournament! Thanks to every one of you who took off from work to make this a successful event.
I want to make you aware of another “can’t miss opportunity” on Sunday, May 31st at 6pm. We will be holding our first training session of Faith in Action Extreme of Vision San Diego. Linda Lilyquist, Gateway’s Associate Pastor of Adult Ministries, is hosting this important event. She will be connecting representatives from the 5 areas of ministry with everyone and anyone that wants to be involved. If you want to make a difference in the lives of others by mentoring kids, tutoring, military, elder care or foster care, we’re looking for you. I have heard this session concludes with fellowship, pie and ice cream, too, lots of reasons for your interest and attendance!
This Sunday, please return for another Dare to Love sermon from I Corinthians 13:8 “Love never fails.” As we witness the world around us, we know for certain that almost everything else fails, but God’s love never does; it is eternal and powerful. There is no more crucial message in this series than this one, and there is no more important concept to have in our minds and in our hearts. May you come to know and understand the power of God’s great love. I hope to see you this Sunday at 9 or 10:45. May you have a blessed week; I am praying for you.
In Christ,
Pastor Mark
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( 2.9 / 38 )We mark our lives with dreams and memories, wonderful memories of the past and hopes and dreams for a better and brighter future. For my lovely wife and me, this is what anniversaries offer us. Through the years, we have seen our lives change, children grow, ministries expand, but our affection for each other has remained constant. There have been notes and cards, letters and flowers along our 27 years together, 26 married. Many of these notes and pictures are stuffed in an old shoe box that we regularly take with us on our annual overnight anniversary.
How wonderful to remember what brought us together in the first place. The love and tenderness expressed by Janet saying one year how I melted her heart like chocolate left on a dashboard. My best lines have been far less eloquent, “Hey Babe, I think you’re hot.” But the meaning is the same; we’re crazy about each other, as God intended husband and wife to be. We also spend time on our anniversaries planning for the future. Our 26th will be especially memorable, because a new phase of life has come our way. Rachel is settled into a new routine as a freshman student at Dallas Baptist University.
Our son Caleb has celebrated his first anniversary with his lovely wife Kayleigh, the new Mrs. Jappe. And Jonathan, soon to be home from Iraq, moves steadily along in his engagement to Miss Emily Hansen. 
They are planning a May wedding. God is correct from the beginning, it is NOT GOOD for man to be alone, and so He created these beautiful and wonderful help-mates for us. Yeah God! When the last child leaves home and the dog dies, one is truly in the empty nest. Well, our children are all gone, but cousins now occupy their rooms, and the Shih Tzu dog Zacchaeus Duke is still very much alive, but a new chapter is certainly upon us. My greatest desire is to spend these last years God gives to us, serving God’s people at Gateway Church and continuing our international ministry that has been so fulfilling to our soul and useful to His kingdom. We also want to be open to wherever God leads. Our newest challenges with the KPRZ radio ministry and Janet’s recording project add some exciting possibilities of reaching new and more people for Jesus. We are so happy to be a part of your lives, as you attend Gateway Church or are part of our listening audience at Share the Joy. Thanks for your prayers. We are praying for you. If you are in a marriage relationship, we pray that God may strengthen your commitment and love. If you are single, but desirous of a marriage relationship, let God know about your hopes. He understands your heart’s desire. And if you are brokenhearted, God hears your prayers; only He can meet your deepest needs. (Psalm 34:18) How blessed we all are as we continue to trust Our Savior and Lord, laying before Him our hopes, our dreams and our futures! (Psalm 13:5). God bless you!
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( 2.8 / 356 )One of the greatest days I have ever had the joy of living happened to me recently in a quaint little village of Switzerland. As a boy, some of my earliest and fondest memories were of my grandmother Johanna Lehmann Jappe telling me stories of her beautiful homeland. She told me how the mountains there go straight up, and how she climbed many of these world famous Alps. My grandmother has since long gone to her reward, but this last summer’s trip to Europe, I went to see for myself these majestic peaks I heard about from boyhood: the Eiger, the Mönch, and the Jungfrau….and finally, the Matterhorn. Before we left, I contacted my Aunt Charlotte who had spent time with relatives in Switzerland. A few of the family members still live in the town of Burgdorf, where my great grandparents resided. Armed with a map, and an address, Janet, Rachel and I found the house on 26 Kirchbergstrasse, and there on the sign below the doorbell was the family name of Lehmann. Bravely knocking on the door, my cousin, Sandra, whom I had never met, answered. I explained that I am Hanni Lehmann’s grandson; she and I shared the same great-grandparents. To say that she was a little surprised would be an understatement. All Sandra had heard is that relatives from the USA might be writing and stopping by in a couple of weeks, but there we were in the flesh, travelers from half-way around the world. She invited us in to meet the rest of the family, parents Urs and Irene, and niece Sarah.
As we continued to talk, the time simply flew by. They invited us to share their delicious lunch; Sandra took us to my great grandparent’s home place, and then we discussed the possibility of seeing the Matterhorn. For awhile, it seemed like some of Switzerland’s great jewels was going to be a causality of our crowded itinerary, too far out of the way and remote. And then, Sandra said, “Why don’t you just take the car train and just go through the mountain?” “Where and how do you do that?” She showed us every step of the way how to save time, money and energy and reach Zermatt, the town just below the Matterhorn. 
Having mentioned that it was going to be spectacular because of the conditions of the weather, we invited Sandra and we were off on this trek together. It could not have been better. Here we were being united as a family, seeing God’s beautiful creation, and getting the local knowledge on everything: from the least expensive fuel, shortest route, most efficient use of time. Every hour was a blessing. Thank you, Cousins Urs & Irene and little Sarah.
And here’s to you, Sandra! 
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( 2.9 / 337 )I like to think of myself as a traveler. I know my wife thinks of me as one. I think my wife is turning into a traveler herself. She reveled in her ability to carry sixteen days of clothing, makeup, and supplies in one carryon size piece of luggage. Everything was neatly packed, rolled and wrapped, or rather, double wrapped. I, on the other hand, took the largest suitcase in our repertoire. Our daughter Rachel chose the Goldilocks size baggage, not too large, not too small, and just right. Then we were off to Europe. Since the fifth grade, Rachel knew she had a senior trip coming, that after her graduation from high school, we would take her anywhere [within reason] she wanted to go. She started to think about Italy, having studied this area of the world in school. I did nothing but encourage and frequently found myself dreaming of driving through the Tuscan countryside, stopping in the big cities and seeing all the points of interest along the way. And we did! Two days in Rome where we saw Saint Peters, the Sistine Chapel, the Coliseum, the Circus Massimo, and also the site where Paul and Peter were imprisoned. Then off to Venice traveling through some of the quaintest and charming cities of our trip along the way, Orvietto, Veterbo, and Ravenna, making wonderful memories all along the way. Jan and I will never forget the hotel hostess that told us the parking lot was so easy to find. “Just go straighta down the streeta.” An hour and a half later, more humble and slightly wearier travelers had found their way back from a parking lot to the hotel again. Before we had left, Valentina asked, “Do you have Tom-Tom?” “No, we had Jan-Jan”, which if not better than Tom-Tom, is certainly more attractive.
Through over 2000 miles of European highway, we turned, whipped through the roundabouts, backed up, stopped to get “reorientated [sic]”– as I would jokingly say and even on a couple of occasions had the locals tell us, just to follow them, as they merrily led us in the direction we wanted to go. It was all delightful. We of course found that the God-made sites were far more beautiful than the man made ones. The tower at Pisa still leans, the churches and sculptures by Donatello, Raphael and Michelangelo are incredible, but they certainly don’t come close to the mountains that God made. Further north, outside the beautiful city of Innsbruck, we had one of our best days of the trip. A real vacation simply driving until you don’t want to drive anymore, pulling in to a charming 3star (reasonably priced) Austrian gasthof or inn, and taking one of the most wonderful walks through the Tyrolean Alps one could imagine. Wunderbar! 
Everything was going so well that I hardly needed to use my Swiss Army knife at all; and then came the moment. The hinge on Janet’s prescription sunglasses came apart. This can be frustrating for long drives through the countryside, especially when navigation is needed. Finally, I came up with the solution. Using my ever trusted Swiss Army knife, I took parts from my fully functioning Raybans and repaired Janet’s sunglasses. Wow, did that score some points! “Honey, you would do this for me? Now I can read the map again! O, you are so resourceful…blah, blah, blah.” I was basking in my greatest victory of the trip. Sacrificing my own comfort for my wife Jan. The rest of the trip was filled with stunning beauty, memorable bonding moments with the young Rachel, who will soon be leaving us for Dallas and college in the fall. And we, Jan and I are back, serving Jesus and our church family in wonderful SoCal. 
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