Joel Vestal

we had a wonderful evening this week of thai cuisine, conversation, and distributing several loans to people in southern Thailand - the servlife hope fund has been a new effort to help un-employeed and under-employeed in the region -read more here- it was great to bring out the family as well -  -

I have been thinking about worship and the ways I have heard people talk / define it –”I worship the ground you walk on.”   ”I worship that band”  “I like that worship song”  “Let’s go to the worship service” - Indeed, worship to God is lifestyle, obedience. not just a 2 hour singing session. It can happen anytime, anywhere–   indeed, worship can be song, silence, action, a creative expression or conversation with others, participating together…before God, to God —   I like this def. from James Torrence from the UK:
Worship is the
GIFT
of participating
through the
SPIRIT
in the incarnate
SONS
communion with the
FATHER.

A happy day for us at the Singapore airport - Daya’s first steps.  Many looked on and took photos at the airport — Zayd was a proud big brother yelling at everyone the exciting news.

I don’t know about you, but I have never seen a tree trunk this thick…have you?   in singapore

we are in singapore for a few days arranging some visa issues -  had  a wonderful fathers day with great food anzd a card made by zayd –  WHAT A CITYthis is !  Here are a few images of the past few days…

We had a big day on Friday as Zayd finished his pre-school year - He turns 4 in November, so he did not get to put the graduation garb on for graduation into Kindergarten — He was in good spirits, didn’t quite get it that he would not see his friends for a while (if ever again) — He got shy on the stage and did not sing —

how do you like the cover photo? pretty amazing, hegh?  Jenn Storm, One of our team member’s father took this photo - of course, the little guy on the beach is ZAYD enjoying the sand more than the sunset…

Is this a happy graduate or what?  Ragesh just graduated from our 1 year training school in north India!

Mark and Jenn Storm are working with us here in Asia and have left for Indonesia 2 days ago to see and explore ways to serve, help, and intervene in the earthquake in central Java, Indonesia -  The quake hit Yogakarta on  May 27 –  6.3 on the Richter scale –  Hundreds of thousands are homeless and according to the WHO,  THere are Dead 5,775 – 6,234 ;  Injured 46,148 – 53,296  - More to come…

Every human being displays their rhetorical abilities. Some are better than others. Some get paid a lot of money.  Whether to our spouse, children, co-workers, audieces of all kinds..we need to persuade others –  I came across an interesting web site of many speeches throughout American history in politicals, film, and social action of powerful rhetorical speeches.   Web site here –  We as communicators of the gospel posses and need to grow in our rhetorical ability - we need creativity and to sharpen our use of language  — THere is a balance between the Spirit working through us and a supernatural rhetorical reality and our skill sets and language to stir others to action and inspire -    we in the global mission community need to evolve in our rhetorical abilities to call the whole body of Christ to action and concern for all the world..

WHAT IS RHETORIC:

Plato: [Rhetoric] is the “art of enchanting the soul.” (The art of winning the soul by discourse.)

Aristotle: Rhetoric is “the faculty of discovering in any particular case all of the available means of persuasion.”

Francis Bacon: The duty and office of rhetoric is to apply reason to imagination for the better moving of the will.

George Campbell: [Rhetoric] is that art or talent by which discourse is adapted to its end.  The four ends of discourse are to enlighten the understanding, please the imagination, move the passion, and influence the will