Declaration of Independence: Formatted for Group Reading

From Snopes.com …..

THE PRICE THEY PAID

Have you ever wondered what happened to the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence? What fates befell them for daring to put their names to that document?

Five signers were captured by the British as traitors and tortured before they died.

Twelve had their homes ransacked and burned.

Two lost their sons serving in the Revolutionary Army, another had two sons captured.

Nine of the 56 fought and died from wounds or hardships of the Revolutionary War.

They signed and they pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor.

What kind of men were they?

Twenty-four were lawyers and jurists. Eleven were merchants, nine were farmers and large plantation owners; men of means, well educated. But they signed the Declaration of Independence knowing full well that the penalty would be death if they were captured.

Carter Braxton of Virginia, a wealthy planter and trader, saw his ships swept from the seas by the British Navy. He sold his home and properties to pay his debts, and died in rags.

Thomas McKeam was so hounded by the British that he was forced to move his family almost constantly. He served in the Congress without pay, and his family was kept in hiding. His possessions were taken from him, and poverty was his reward.

Vandals or soldiers looted the properties of Dillery, Hall, Clymer, Walton, Gwinnett, Heyward, Ruttledge, and Middleton.

At the battle of Yorktown, Thomas Nelson, Jr., noted that the British General Cornwallis had taken over the Nelson home for his headquarters. He quietly urged General George Washington to open fire. The home was destroyed, and Nelson died bankrupt.

Francis Lewis had his home and properties destroyed. The enemy jailed his wife, and she died within a few months.

John Hart was driven from his wife’s bedside as she was dying. Their 13 children fled for their lives. His fields and his gristmill were laid to waste. For more than a year, he lived in forests and caves, returning home to find his wife dead and his children vanished. A few weeks later, he died from exhaustion and a broken heart.

Norris and Livingston suffered similar fates.

Such were the stories and sacrifices of the American Revolution. These were not wild-eyed, rabble-rousing ruffians. They were soft-spoken men of means and education. They had security, but they valued liberty more.

Standing talk straight, and unwavering, they pledged: “For the support of this declaration, with firm reliance on the protection of the divine providence, we mutually pledge to each other, our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.”

They gave you and me a free and independent America. The history books never told you a lot about what happened in the Revolutionary War. We didn’t fight just the British. We were British subjects at that time and we fought our own government!

Some of us take these liberties so much for granted, but we shouldn’t.

So, take a few minutes while enjoying your 4th of July Holiday and silently thank these patriots. It’s not much to ask for the price they paid. Remember: Freedom is never free! 
Read more at http://www.snopes.com/history/american/pricepaid.asp#ZDp68cGcALLWFf28.99

Dear friends and prayer warriors,

My mom, Shirley Ramge, went home to be with the Lord this morning, Sunday June 14th, 2015 around 7am. It has been a long hard road. Praise God she is not in such pain anymore and joyously in the arms of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Please keep my Dad, Jim, brothers and sister, Mike, Terry, Cindy, and my wife Susan, in your prayers. I will continue on about a week more here to make sure my dad is OK and then head back to Bolivia. It has been a blessing, even though very hard to be here at her home taking care of my mom until the end. My caretaking days are through, at least for now. Both of Susan’s parents are in their late 80″s and my dad turns 88 this year.

Thank you for you support and prayers.

God bless you all, To God be the glory,

Jamie

Please do not respond to this e-mail sender…to reply or contact us please use:
Jamie – jrquechua@msn.com
Susan – srquechua@msn.com

Weekend with Josh McDowell

Saturday & Sunday, March 7 & 8

Beginning on Saturday, our Erie campus will host the next gathering of Close Encounters. We’ll have cookies in the lobby beginning at 6:45pm, followed by a interview with Josh McDowell at 7:30pm in the Worship Center. Josh has been a prolific author and speaker over the past 50 years, addressing important issues to campuses and churches around the world. He’s authored such classics as “More Than A Carpenter” and “Evidence That Demands a Verdict”. Don’t miss the story of his journey from atheism to being a follower of Jesus. Invite your neighbors and friends! Please note that childcare will not be provided.

Then on Sunday, March 8, Josh will be our guest speaker here at the Boulder campus for both of our worship services.

2/18/15

Dear friends and prayer warriors,
Pease pray for Jamie’s mom Shirley Ramge. Her health has taken a step for the worse. She is in the hospital and not doing well. If you remember from past prayer request, she has a form of Leukemia, although it is not cancer. She is on chemotherapy. Her blood counts are very bad and her platelets are at critical levels. She now has bleeding on her brain and cannot walk – doctors do not know why. Jamie is flying to Ohio to be near her as these may be her last days if the Lord does not intervene. Susan will stay in Bolivia.
Thank you and God bless you,
Jamie

Dear praying friends and family,

It’s been a long time since we’ve written, and a lot has been happening here. So rewarding to see church members keen to be involved in Christmas and Children’s Day programs in several schools!

In December we had some Christmas programs at schools, mostly Don Phut and Phachi. On Christmas Day, we joined our co-workers Will and Meng En plus several members from Tha Rua Church for a program at a school in Phachi where we’ve built up a good relationship over the years. The Director there is very open to us sharing the gospel with students, and Mos and Sorn’s daughter attends there. (Mos and Sorn are our main contacts in Phachi, with Mos hoping to pastor the church there in the future.) At the end of the program, we were invited back for Children’s Day (beginning of January). Almost 20 representatives of Tha Rua Church (including Will and Meng En) showed up and gave them a program that made other schools envious! Our family weren’t able to be in Phachi for Children’s Day, as I (Tim) had already committed to go to a school in Don Phut. We had also just gotten back from holidays, so we didn’t feel it would be wise to stretch ourselves too thin the first day back.

Another exciting Christmas presentation in Phachi was at a school where the English teacher is a Christian. Khru Buppha arranged for us to teach “Joy to the World” and tell the Christmas Story. At the end, Khru Buppha invited the students to join her at Ayutthaya Baptist Church for their Christmas program the next Sunday, and 26 students went! Our family also visited. We are thankful for the opportunities to be open about our faith as we volunteer at schools. We were also able to share the gospel very directly at the main primary school in Don Phut when we went there for Christmas, though right now we don’t have any regular ministry to invite them to. (Update: I visited the schools in Don Phut yesterday to deliver some Christian books for their library and the kids were so excited to see me again! They really did enjoy the Christmas program!)

Ministry in Don Phut has been challenging. While we were gone for 10 days at the end of December/beginning of January for much needed holidays, there was some miscommunication about the monthly cell group, though that seems resolved now. A bigger issue is that some of the members have messy lives, and there is the danger that this will bring dishonor to the Name of Christ in the community. Please pray for a clear picture of the whole situation, especially to know what God wants us to do in Don Phut. Pray that the Holy Spirit would convict those who need to make life changes to honor Christ. Pray that I would have the right words to say – words of God’s truth and righteousness, spoken in love and grace. We had been hoping to get a children’s club going in Don Phut, starting in February, but between the situation that needs to be resolved and some of the key members being away, this needs to wait for now. Praise God I had a good visit today with some key members, who are presently spending time with relatives on the outskirts of Bangkok.
I am beginning to go through the Oswald Sanders book, Spiritual Discipleship, with some of those in leadership (and potential leadership) in the church, including another key person in Don Phut. Pray that this and the “Disciple Makers” group on Sunday afternoons would equip and encourage the Tha Rua Christians for greater involvement in service.

Brenda is really getting her feet under her for some ministry now. This week she went to Lopburi with Yu, to train her to do “language checks” together to help guide the language study of some first term OMF missionaries in Bangkok. Yu will be working with another missions organization to run their language program, so Brenda is also excited about the partnership. But more important news for Brenda is that her book, Home at Last, has been typeset and is awaiting just a few final touches before it is sent to the printer! We are thankful that OMF is helping with some finances to get this published, and expect that it will be available in time for a celebration of 150 years of ministry for OMF (formerly the China Inland Mission).

Please continue to pray for Nate and Pete. They’re not enjoying going to Tha Rua for church: partly the travel, partly readjusting to the Thai language, but also because they don’t feel close to people there now. Please pray with us to know what adjustments we can make as a family, as we still feel our calling is to Ayutthaya. Please also pray that they would have a deep, personal touch of the Holy Spirit in their lives, and that the character of Christ would be formed in them.

Finally, we want to thank all of you who make it possible for us to continue serving here in Thailand. Our total support level for 2014 came in at 99%, so we are rejoicing. Please continue to pray that the Lord would supply all our needs. We are thankful for you!

Grace and Peace to each of you in the Lord.
Tim and Brenda

This is the wisest statement coming out of academia in decades……
….not to mention the most valuable thing that has come from China since WWII.
Harvard Professor: 90 seconds you won’t regret seeing! This is what makes America exceptional!

Victor’s address:  victorpearn@ymail.com

January 6, 2015

Dear Dana,

I have received this message from Dr. David Abe. I met him while teaching in China. He is 67 years old and has three Ph.D.s, three MA’s, and three BA’s a very educated man.

He is a Christian man and needs help. I am unemployed and unable to help him in any way. Would you share his need with the men in the prayer group and let’s see how God works to help Dr. David Abe.

Yours in Christ, Victor Pearn, 970-599-8924

—– Forwarded Message —–
From: Dr. David Abe <davidabe5408@yahoo.com>
To: victorpearn@ymail.com
Sent: Tuesday, January 6, 2015 8:35 AM
Subject: FW: MY UPDATE

From: Dr. David Abe [mailto:davidabe5408@yahoo.com]
Sent: Tuesday, January 06, 2015 3:22 PM
To: Victor Pearn (victorpearn@ymail.com.)
Subject: MY UPDATE

Dear Pern Family,

Yes! I do know it’s been a terribly long time since I’ve written. And for that I’m sorry. I am now in Ghana….been here 28 months.

I hope this finds the Pern Family in good health and prospering…….I pray for success for both of you. Much has happened when we last talked in China, and God only knows those were good times compared to my last 28 months here in Ghana.

I left China in May 2012 and went to Viet Nam until my Ghana visa came and arrived here in mid July. While in Viet Nam, my wallet with all my cards and lots of money was stolen. I had and still have some 70,000 RMB in China and no way to get it. Calls to the Local Chinese Embassy are fruitless and am told to write a letter…….and you know what happens to them!

My journey here in Ghana has not been a happy one. It appears that Churches here are not interested in anything with foreigners unless they bring lots of money for the Pastor and the Church….but mostly for the Pastor. I’ve been to hundreds of Churches of all kinds and most say they are interested but I never have a return telephone call. Most churches here are small, in awful locations, and have nothing but a few chairs, and most of the people going there are women of all sorts of ages. These small church Pastors thrive on sucking money…..as much as they can…..from these churches to build or finish their own house or buy a fancy foreign car. The churches which do have an actual building are most often not completed, but the Pastor’s house is……..and he continues asking for money to finish the building. One rather large church has been worshipping in their unfinished building for almost 20 years……and it’s a congregation of some 1200 people…..The Seventh Day Adventists here are quite strong, having some 50 to 60% of the attending population…..much larger than the Methodists or Presbyterians. The only one larger is the Roman Catholic Church, which won’t give me the time of day for anything at all!

The same is true with State Universities. It appears that the cut off age is 60, and they retire them just like in China…..throw them out with a very small pension. And most never say a word. Trying to get into the University picture here is quite sad.
Private Universities and high schools are a bit different, but still quite rigid in their thinking toward foreigners……if they have lots of money…..they get a position.

Internet here is quite BAD! ! ! ! The electric is off every other day; off at 6 pm tonight and comes on tomorrow morning at 6 am and is on until the following morning, then the process starts all over again. It’s been this way for years, and they have no new power generating facilities on the drawing board, so it’s gonna be this way for many years to come.

There are few Internet Café’s here…..and most don’t have a good connection, in some 2 hours of being connected, I might have about ½ hour of actual working time……and the closest one for me is almost ¾ mile from where I live.
I have been here 28 months on a visitor’s visa, getting extensions and leaving and reentering the country……very expensive. Last week was my last trip out and had to purchase a new visa before I could reenter Ghana……cost appx $350

If I can’t get a Work Visa through someplace by the end of this week (Jan 9), I must leave Ghana. My present visa expires February 3, 2015……not much time.

I do not have a home in Virginia……that was sold when I went to China. And I have nowhere else to go.

Would you talk with the Pastor of your Church and see if they would or could help me get started in Denver? I left nothing in Virginia when I went to China…..sold it all. I’d need some Winter clothes…..Ghana is just a summer-time climate…….a small place to live or share or live in a retired couple’s home, and some assistance in getting a job of some kind to earn my way. My Social Security retirement is some $875 per month…..not much! I’ve spent most all of my savings and now eat or travel……not enough money to do both. I lost a lot of weight when I got here…..going from some 85 Kilos to just above 52 kilos…….in less than 6 months, and have kept most of that weight off, but did gain a small bit back in the last year. Life here is quite hard with no job and means to earn money. No one has given me so much as 50cents since I’ve been here. That’s a long story too……… My health is good, and I still can get around very well. The only thing old about me is the number of years……and I’m now 67. {never thought I’d live that long…..!!}
I would be arriving on Feb 1 or 2……and hope that the weather doesn’t close airports!

When I arrive, I’ll need everything……Winter clothes, and the works. Nothing needs to be fancy or modern……here in Ghana is far worse than China!……much worse!

I pray constantly thanking God for resolving my situation here. I pray with lots of people and have sought counsel from some of the best around……but nothing seems to change.

Asking for help is not easy…….you know me……this is a last resort……asking friends to do this sort of thing often is the end of friendships….but please trust that I mean what I say. I’m not looking for a hand out, just a helping hand to get started.

I have attached my resume and some of my background to show your Pastor or anyone who can help. ((Plus, the long overdue first segment of a long fiction story! It is now at some 1200 pages!!!—-in a second email))

I will check the Internet again on Friday afternoon, and if I’ve no word about a job will need to know something about where to end up with an air ticket…….right now, ticket is $4,100 one way…..

Praying God’s very best for you this Christmas Season, I remain,
Your brother in Christ,
David Abe

From Rich St.Dennis

November

Lee Strobel, former atheist and New York Times bestselling author of The Case for Christ, knows how the truth can be twisted.  He uses scientific techniques to prove there is a God.  Lee will be joining the Rocky Mountain Christian Church at their Niwot Campus and live broadcasting to the Frederick Campus at 9:30 and 11am on 12/14/14.

Rocky Mountain Christian Church

303-652-2111

info@rmcc.org

Dear friends and prayer warriors,

We arrived back in Bolivia on October 8th with no complications.  It took a while to find a place to live but in the meantime, God provided a guesthouse from another mission for us to live in.  We had co-workers looking for six months prior to coming back for a house with a place to park a car, but they found nothing.  We looked in the newspapers and realty companies but only found two places with room to park a car (behind gates for security).  It probably seems strange to you that in a city of over 350,000 people that we could only find two places with room for a car but that is the way it is here as most do not have cars.  We wanted to find a house but settled for an apartment on the third floor of a four story apartment building that is five minutes outside the city.  No elevator so it is good exercise.  Praise God for His provision!

We still have a bedroom and a shared room for cooking in the village of Pila Torre where we lived for the last three years before coming to the United States. (We decided to keep this since the rent is only seven dollars per month and we still work in this area and will occasionally need a place to sleep).

We have touched base with most of the Quechua villages that we had been working in but for the last month have been very busy with legal paperwork.  As members of a foreign mission we have to do this paperwork every year and it takes about a month. We have 4 major documents to prepare that require all sorts of legal documents, lawyers, pictures, background checks and much more.  We hope to get a newsletter out by the end of February or March and will give you more details for the upcoming year and pictures.

Prayer requests:

1) to finish all the legal documents

2) for a potential new Compassion International project that we are helping to get started

3) for Susan’s preparation to teach in the Christian school Vida y Luz (Life and Light) in 2015

4) for Jamie’s preparation to teach Bible Doctrine to the leaders in the Quechua villages

5) We are praying for individuals or groups to come to Bolivia.  We have 250 short wave radios that we need to be brought down.  If anyone is interested, please let us know by e-mail.  There are many different opportunities for short term ministry while you are down here.

Thank you and God bless you,

Jamie and Susan Ramge

Jamie – jrquechua@msn.com

Susan – srquechua@msn.com