What a cool guy!

Posted on by Spanky Rouse

IMG_2240If you have ever meet Henry you would love him too. Henry is a good friend of mine from Venezuela. I actually like to call him my brother. He has a Christ like heart. He loves to serve, encourage, teach the word, lead others to the Lord, and eat peanut butter.

I had the privilege of spending a week with Henry in the Jungles of Panama this past spring. I know I said that he was Venezuelan but he goes where the Lord leads him. He came to visit and work for a week with our wonderful friends in Panama ,the Vegas, and then realized that God had more for him to do there. We just briefly knew of each other before this week but quickly recognized how much alike we are. It was like I had found a long lost brother. I was able to sit a listen to him teach and disciple some new Christians and leaders for a couple of days and I was amazed. Then I saw Henry give it his all when it came time for us to teach and play with the children. He is a real missionary at heart and Christ follower in life!IMG_2069

Another reason I am so fond on Henry is because he saved my life. I thought I was going to die climbing this mountain but he keep encouraging me. He also gave me some power food, as he called it. We call it Fruit Loops here in the US. It must have some kind of power because I made it to the top. Love you Henry!

Please be praying for Henry!

What are your motives

Posted on by Spanky Rouse

God has blessed me with the opportunity to be apart of a mens bible study for the summer. We have been meeting for two weeks and already we have seen God work. In them and in me. We are reading through the book “In the company of Jesus” by Bill Donahue. One of the sections in chapter one that we read was titled “The Teacher who exposes our motives”. I really thought that this study was more for them than me until this section.

What are our motives for doing the things that we do? I began to think why do we help others, why do we give money, time, efforts, energy, why are we in ministry, why do we “sacrifice”? What are my motives: money, pride, ego, love, compassion, fear? What I think the book talks about is getting honest with God and yourself and asking these tough questions. Be open before Him and let him shine His light of truth on the secret places of your heart. I have to say I don’t know if my motives are always in the right place. The thing that sucks about this is that whatever praise or earthly gratification I get now is all that I will get. But if my motives are pure then my Father in Heaven sees my good deeds and will reward my justly. Men praising or God rewarding? I think that I will choose God. Matthew 6:3-4

What will you spend your time praying for?

Posted on by Spanky Rouse

About 4 weeks ago our lead pastor at Ridge Church, Chris Brown, encouraged us to really get serious about praying for the spiritually blind. For all of you old school folks that means the “lost”. I thought to my self while he was talking that he is not speaking to me. I’m a missionary. If anyone has a passion for the lost it would be me. What an idiot I can be. About that time the Lord laid a huge dose of conviction on my heart.

Chris then asked us what is the biggest thing that we spend time praying for. He confessed that he had been spending more time praying for his staff’s paycheck than those in his life and church that are spiritually blind. I knew immediately what I have been praying for the most and it was not non-Christians. I knew that I had been spending the majority of my prayer time praying about other unimportant things. Money! Some missionary huh.

I had let support raising, money and budgets become my first priority. Even though those things are needed in life that can not be what is most important. I know that He wants me to pray about other things but I also know that He will provide my daily bread. I quickly knew those people that God was wanting me to be passionately pleading for on a daily basis. I could see them in my mind. I started making those people and their need for the Lord’s salvation the focus in prayer. I had not even been praying for the countries and people groups that I feel God has so strongly called me to as much as I had been praying about this other stuff. After a little rearranging my time in prayer and calling out these people by name in prayer multiple times a day I actually began seeing God change their lives. Like I should be surprised.

This reminded me of a story Lara and I were reading in Deuteronomy 9 during our devotions. Moses is retelling the story of when he went on top of the mountain for 40 days and nights to plead to God for His mercy on the tribes. Moses went to ask God to please spare his people and even bless them. They did not deserve it and I am sure that there were other things that Moses would have loved to have spent time talking to God about. He was in the presence of the Almighty and he did not ask for anything for himself. Wow, I think I would have at least ask for something. Maybe a good meal, new sandals or something. Moses knew what was important. The relationship between God and His people. As a friend and ministry partner said to me the other day while we were eating lunch and talking about life and the economy, “What is more important than telling others today the good news and seeing them come in to a new and exciting relationship with Christ. NOTHING!”

I want to encourage you believers to ask God to show you 5 spiritually blind people that He wants you to be praying for. This could be the turning point in their spiritual journey and God could actually use you to be apart of it. What will you spend your time praying for?

Mercy

Posted on by Spanky Rouse

I have just come to some what realize what God’s mercy is all about. I am not saying that I have got it completely figured out. I have learned that all of life’s blessings come by the way of God showing me His mercy. I deserve the worst of the worst but God chooses to bless me beyond my wildest dream because He is that merciful. So now I am praying that He would continuously pour out His mercy and be glorified in my life. Try asking for mercy. It is pretty cool!

To begin with…

Posted on by Spanky Rouse

Rouse House Happenings is going to be compiled stories and pictures updating you on our life and ministry. We hope to bring some comical stories along with some heart warming events. We are the Rouses. Spanky, Lara, Mac, and Grey. We often have some hilarious times and we believe that you will find these times funny too.
We are currently church planting missionaries with e3 Partners ministry. We love what we do more than anything else and when we are asked what would be your dream job we gladly say that we are doing it. We get to see God uses us to help indigenous people start new churches through evangelizing and discipleship. God is working in mighty ways and we have the privilege to be apart it. We have been apart of some amazing stories that will bless your heart so we want to start sharing them with you.
Stay tuned for many laughs and exciting stories.