Farnsworth Forum

The Jewish community is celebrating an important milestone this week. Friday, August 22, 2008 is the 354th anniversary of the arrival of the first known Jew who settled in North America (New Amsterdam), Jacob Barsimson. Our family supports the ministries of Jews for Jesus ( www.jewsforjesus.org ) and Chosen People Ministries ( www.chosenpeople.com ), who reach out with the life-changing message of Jesus as Messiah to Jewish people around the world. We can not recommend these valuable organizations highly enough. They offer presentations in churches regarding the link between Jewish customs and the gospel and also labor diligently in many other ways, handing out fliers in cities and leading Bible studies with interested people. Please check them out.

It is troubling to me to see all the beer commercials during the Olympic Games. Everyone is always fit and trim and glamourous in those ads, and consequences are nowhere to be seen. Of course, the statement "Please drink responsibly" is printed at the end for all to see. The only problem is that most people need a magnifying glass to read it. Do we really need alcohol sponsorship of athletic events? To me the two contradict each other. Most serious athletes avoid alcohol consumption or highly curtail it. There have been so many of these commercials running all day long. Because of our time zone, the prime time coverage is in the morning when many children are watching. Often the beer ads run back to back. PIBC is collaborating with Pacific Abundant Living Ministries, a faith-based anti-tobacco and alcohol social service agency in Guam, and I serve as the PIBC staff facillitator. Our statistics show that 36% of Guam's youth are drinkers and 19% are binge drinker...

Well, Michael Phelps did it. He passed the previous Mark Spitz record from 1972 by obtaining 8 gold medals in one Olympics to Spitz's 7, setting 7 world records in the process. I must admit that I felt disappointed in NBC's coverage of the medal ceremony for Phelps' 8th gold. Since it was a relay event (4X100m), couldn't the camera pan over to Aaron Peirsol, Brendan Hansen, and Jason Lezak during the playing of "The Star-Spangled Banner" instead of staying on Phelps the entire time? Phelps knew that he wouldn't have been there if it had not been for the incredible performances of his three teammates. Didn't someone tell NBC about that? Phelps mentioned during one interview that he received 10,000 messages on Facebook! Talk about being popular. Phelps seems like a well-balance person. I liked his quote after his final medal: "If you dream as big as you can dream, anything is possible." Dara Torres showed herself to be a class act whe...

Here are some more Farnsworth "kid" pictures. Enjoy! On Sunday morning Joel posed with Bob the Tomato and Larry the Cucumber in his Veggie Tale outfit. Amelia posed with her Toto doll outside in the flower bed. There's no place like home!

Even during the summer we manage to keep our musically talented students busy. Here's a recap: Two weeks ago a group of 17 students participated in the final program of Blessing Guam, an event designed to draw the churches together and encourage each other in their goal of reaching a diverse population (Chinese, Japanese, Filipino, Korean, Chuukese, Yapese, Palauan, American, etc.) for the Lord. It was an encouragement to all of us that we are not alone in this great task! On Sunday we sang at a YWAM-sponsored mission event at which Kalvin shared about his six weeks this summer in Thailand with the PIBC team. They worked with Campus Crusade for Christ national workers. Elilai from our Palau team spoke about our experiences there. I introduced the students at both events. I guess my Communication degree from Houghton College serves me well after all. Special thanks to Dave and Joyce Owen for the photos!

Nuestra sobrina en Ecuador nació el 9 de agosto. Se llama Zoe Victoria Bedoya y sus padres orgullosos son Wilo y Gisela. Muchas felicitaciones. Our niece in Ecuador was born on August 9. Her name is Zoe Victoria Bedoya, and her proud parents are Wilo and Gisela. Congratulations to all! Gracias a Diego y Mercedes por la foto. Thanks to Diego and Mercedes for the picture.

Our friends Erik and Nancy gave us a playhouse for the yard before they left for their next military assignment in Virginia. Joel and Amelia love playing on it. Thank you, Lord! We are enjoying the final few days together as a family before my responsibilities at Pacific Islands Bible College start kicking. Next week the meetings begin in full. Please pray for me that I can serve the Lord joyfully as I fulfill my responsibilities at PIBC.