Global Training Network
Last week Laina & I accepted my friend and President, Paul Madson and the GTN Board’s invitation to join the staff of Global Training Network! Here is a glimpse into their world http://www.globaltrainingnetwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/11-FINAL-November-2011-GTN-Newsletter-small.pdf
While we will be investing the majority of our time and effort right here in Oxnard, Paul has asked us to help GTN train up church planters and leaders in the “majority world” cities particularly empowering them to take action against child slavery and sex trafficking. We will be helping to establish and expand Global Justice Mission to address this world-wide evil. Currently 127 nations have received citations for participating in the horror of Human Trafficking. GTN is ministering in 44 of those nations…YEA GOD!
OK, take a breath…here’s what some of this might look like…
Emphasising that our first priority, and where we start, is right here where we live, Oxnard. We have been reconnecting with some of our old friends in La Colonia. Now those kids are 40ish, family men, and gainfully employed. We have begun evangelistic Bible Studies and are believing God will grow a faith community up from the harvest. Jesus’ half-brother implores us to care for widows and orphans in their distress and to keep our self from becoming polluted by the world’s value system. We will be a faith community that lives out grace as we are transparent and vulnerable with one another, and compassionate and generous with others.
Last night I heard that there are 800 kids in Ventura County’s Child Protective Services. 48% of them have been removed out of homes located in Oxnard! One response could be for you and me to become Foster Care homes? Maybe volunteer at your local safe-house? Some of the prostitutes on our streets have been forced into that occupation. Maybe bring them a hot thermos of coffee (be sure to go in twos or threes).
Here are some links to what’s going on here and around the world…the Op-Ed piece is from the NY Times yesterday…it’s horrific, so be sure to give yourself some time to pray and process.
http://www.foreverfound.org
Op-Ed Columnist: The Face of Modern Slavery
http://hopemore7.wordpress.com
I believe I’m going to stop here…I’ll try to give you more details next week…PLEASE PRAY!
On an absolutely fantastic note, Laina’s brother, Linus & his fiancé Danielle, are getting married in our Barn on Sunday!!!!! PRAY that we are able to honour them beautifully well throughout this weekend!
THANK YOU for your love, prayers, and giving…without you we cannot move forward!
in peace and with love
phil
CCC/OHS/Rabalais
At 10.30 I preached in Conejo Community Church.
At 13.30 London performed in “As It Is In Heaven” at Oxnard High School.
At 16.00 Laina spoke to 80 women who had gathered in Rabalais, Santa Paula.
What a Sunday it was…YEA GOD!
Here is the link to what God delivered through me http://www.conejochurch.com/sermons/
London was amazing playing the part of Polly. She was despondent, inquisitive, pessimistic, harsh, tender, feisty, and generous. What a great role and oh how she played magnificently! London had the only solo and she nailed it! We are all sooooo proud of London for risking trying out and for having the courage to playing such a leading role! PRAY for London’s influence in her drama club and ensemble group…she has been quite a steadying presence.
God used Laina to open up their hearts as He flooded their eyes with tears. As Laina poured over Luke 8 and the “shamed” woman who courageously risked touching the hem of Jesus’ cloak, God filled not only the café but their dry souls. Laina was transparent, raw, and real, and God used her as a balm to heal many hurting hearts…they shared their painful stories, bearing one another’s burdens! YES, what a Sunday it was indeed…YEA GOD!!!!!
in peace and with love
phil
Relocation
Hello Dear Friends,
We are 4 weeks from our relocation back to the States after investing the last 6 years extending God’s Kingdom out across Europe…WOW! Every day all of us experience more and more emotion as we begin the tear-flooding process of saying goodbye to all the amazing friendships that God has gifted to us on this continent… The deep pain we are feeling is because of the immense joy we have in being deeply involved in the lives of incredibly diverse people who have enriched our lives immensely. And, we are grateful to all of you who have been a part of this journey with us. We would deeply value your prayers for us and each of the friendships we are leaving behind!
Let me give you a glimpse into how God is allowing us to finish well…
Grace Celebration Service
THIS PAST WEEKEND
Women's Bible Study Walk
- Laina gathered her Bible Study women for a ‘lock in’. She kicked us out and they invaded our home. Vicky (one of Laina’s best friends) prepared her house beautifully for the boys and I while she and 6 other women met with God in ours. Friday night was mostly delicious food and belly-aching laughter…Saturday heart-felt tears streamed down their faces as God met each woman in her place of deep and painful need…THANK YOU GOD!
- Sunday in Grace, Laina shared one of the most powerful messages I’ve ever heard. She was passionate, insightful, Biblically grounded, and clear as God used her to challenge us to not settle for a counterfeit ‘savior’ when they can know the One who has the ability to change everything. (speaking from 1 John 1)…THANK YOU GOD!
- That same afternoon I had the privilege of baptizing Denise, a 24 yr old Portuguese girl who shared her heartfelt story with about 40 others, many who do not yet understand the love of God. You may remember seeing pictures of me baptizing Jasmine in a pool. Well Jasmine joined me in the ocean as we baptized Denise…THANK YOU GOD!
THIS WEEKEND
- Tonight we host a 1920s Dance Party, attended by our community of faith and lots of others
- Saturday the boys have their last Rugby tournament and we celebrate some graduations.
THIS COMING WEEK
- Monday, 6 June, is Kelton’s 14th b-day!
- Wednesday is our last Alpha group (tears will flow) as we do our last training on how they will step up and step out after we are gone.
- Thursday, a short-term team from Tennessee arrives to help us do all kinds of service projects for the next week and a half. (Serve the City)
- Friday – Sunday is Grace’s 2nd Annual Camp for kids 5-19
- Saturday we host a Parenting Workshop
THE NEXT WEEK
- Serve The City all week (and Laina’s doing all the cooking!)
- Wednesday we do another catered dinner for 200 people living on the streets of Lisboa
- Saturday, 18 June, we host our goodbye party
- Sunday we lead our last service with Grace
- Lots and lots of relationship investing until we get on the plane!
OUR LAST WEEK
- We finish ALL our packing
- The container gets loaded on Monday, 27 June
- I fly home with the dogs on Tuesday, 28 June
- Laina and the kids fly home on Friday, 1 July
The reality of RELOCATION COSTS
- $ 5,923.36 Airfare
- $10,241.41 Shipping
Also, when we arrive home we’ll need:
- Repair and/or purchase 3 cars/vans
- Mobile phones and service
- Internet and transfer utilities into our name
We look back on this season of life and ministry and while it has had some incredibly challenging moments, we have seen God’s hand in and around us in more ways than we can describe. Many of you have enabled us to continue on, through your prayers, financial investments, and sheer love. We cannot express how humbling this is, and how grateful we are to have such a band of friends who would stand with us and beside us. THANK YOU!
As we return, we have been asked by Christian Associates to take this next season to adjust (re-enter) back into American Life. We will be in dialogue and prayer about what God-sized vision and dynamic contribution He wants us to be making to advance His Kingdom in Oxnard/Ventura County, across the US, and around the world. One thing is sure, we will continue to share the love of God with people that we encounter and we will continue to coach and raise up leaders locally and around the world. PLEASE PRAY with me and for all of us!
We have big relocation costs in order for us to return to the States. We do not focus on the financial side of our lives very often, but this season comes with a big need to trust in God’s miraculous provision. If any of you feel that you would like to contribute toward these big expenses, we would be so very grateful. We are humbled by your sacrifice toward us and know that it is God who provides. Thank you from the deepest parts of our hearts!!!
phil & Laina and the kids
Laina and Denise before Baptism
Denise, Phil and Jasmine, Ben's underwater camera
The God Who Laughs
Sometimes it feels like God might just be laughing at me. Like I laugh at my little ones (not so little anymore) when they bump their heads and bruise their hearts as they emerge into this very complicated and surprisingly ‘doesn’t go as I planned world. I often feel abandoned by an out of control God who is supposed to be nice and oh so loving and very predictable (the same yesterday, today and forever). He must be that way to everyone else, at least to all those nice church goers, because they are always just fine.
Today I was having a women’s Bible study (we call ourselves girls… as ‘women’ are those nice church goers who are always fine). We are struggling with raw life….the pain of divorce, drug addicted adult kids, shattered dreams, and sometimes just the ‘not so fine’ blues. We cry out to God together and beg Him to reveal Himself in ways that our bruised hearts and bumped heads can begin to understand.
Sophia (name has been changed to protect the innocent) is one of those girls (45 years old). She came by accident (that does happen sometimes) first to our Christmas Eve Service. She said when she realized she was going to a church, she panicked and wanted to jump out of the car, but her pride locked the doors and kept her appearing ‘just fine’. Sophia, I later found out, was raised in a sickeningly abusive Jehovah’s Witness family. The details are not the important part…but illustrating one aspect of the distortion….her mother and brother left the J.W. church while Sophia was a teen. They remained in the house, but she was forbidden to ever speak to them again. She fled the home at 22 and married a Muslim man as a reaction to her upbringing. He drowned 4 years later. She then married a man who’s family had been emotionally unavailable and sister had committed suicide. So in their broken, hungry for any relationship state, they found solace in each other. That was not to last long, as their marriage grew cold and their inability to function healthily slowly stole the life and whatever faint hope they had secretly harbored turned into bitterness and scorn….for themselves. They had a child that they didn’t know how to emotionally nurture and the guilt that followed was enough to cause psychosomatic disorders in the strongest of us. Sophia had been through years of psychologists, but found she was becoming increasingly obsessed with herself and ashamed that wellness was unlikely to be hers. So, the night she found her way to our community of faith, she was betraying the vow she had made to herself to never ever allow herself to be subject to that kind of abuse and control again. Well, instead, she began to encounter Grace.
Sophia began to tell her story….to me and many others. The tears flowed, as she began to unveil what had been shrouded by shame and kept her imprisoned for an adult lifetime. What a privilege it was to be honored with her story, to hold her pain and to catch her tears. Mine often blended with hers to form a river (or at least a wet roll of toilet paper). I said to her one day as she was thinking that God had abandoned her, and must be laughing “If what you have told me about your story was all there was, if we stopped right here, then, God would be very very mean. But, you have the choice to let Him write the ending. There is a bigger picture, and one that will require faith even when the pain screams louder than the hope. It will require being wrestled with and ultimately surrendering to a relationship birthed out of sheer Grace. If God writes the ending, the beginning and middle take on a whole new meaning.
Over the next several months, Sophia began the kind of metamorphosis that only God can bring about. Even my husband commented on how beautiful she was (I am not the jealous type, but he was talking about inner beauty 
) Witnessing a caterpillar go into an ugly suffocating cocoon, and seeing a butterfly emerge is only something that patient people experience…..or those who follow God stories.
So today, in our Bible study, after our hearts had melded into deeper friendship over the confessing of where we were are where we aren’t, how we ache with groanings too deep for words, how we long to meet God and Him to meet us, and how utterly grateful we are for relationship with Him which is the only thing left when you are stripped…. Sophia began to share with us her new journey. Her husband has marveled at her change, saying that she has changed more since that first Christmas encounter than all the years of seeing psychologists (no offense to good psychologists). He wants the change as well. They are dating for the first time since the beginning of their relationship. Sophia said…”I don’t even watch television anymore!” to which I replied that our lives are all entertainment enough. Well, we began to laugh and laugh, which is a normal part of our intimate enjoyment of one another. Sophia burst out…. I love that we laugh…in the church I grew up in we never laughed!
I realized that God does laugh! With joy…out loud, and BRAZENLY as he overcomes our shame, wrestles out our darkness, and does operates wildly out of control (ours not his) in order to free us from the things we pursue, mistaking them for what our hearts really scream for…relationship with Him. When we are ‘not so fine’ surrendering to His sheer grace enables unfathomable freedom to laugh with Him, too.
with gratitude,
Laina
Changes
Bom dia,
We prayerfully and painfully have made the decision to relocate back to the States. While many factors have been pressing in on us contributing to this decision, by far, and more than all the others combined, the educational needs of our kids is the determining factor.
We are loving living and ministering here in Portugal. So many great, diverse, and wonderful friendships, like in our Alpha group and the Women’s Bible Study that Laina leads. Teaming with our Grace leadership has been rich and Grace is healthy and growing. We are grateful to God!
Laina & I and the kids have been reflecting back on our nearly 6 years in Europe. While these have been some of the hardest years of our life, we all agree they have been some of the best years for our family! Our lives have been stretched and our souls have been thickened.
We will finish up this school year and then relocate the very last days of June 2011. As you know, so much work is in front of us: continuing to raise up leaders here; releasing roles and responsibilities; packing boxes and liquidating items; and the list goes on and on and on…
PLEASE PRAY with us and for us and for all the relationships that God has allowed us to grow deep here in Europe and specifically in Portugal…this is where our heart aches and our eyes begin to flood… We long to see these people grow and connect to communities of faith and more importantly, to Jesus.
As the details of God’s future for us becomes clearer we will send out updates. Join with us as we earnestly seek God trusting Him to continue to direct our steps as we follow Him into our future.
We are so grateful for your friendship. You have covered us with your prayers and fuelled us with your financial investments. As you have been pushing God’s Kingdom out right where you live, you have also done the same through us here in Europe…thank you, Thank You, THANK YOU!!!!!
Will you please continue to invest in us through your prayers and your financial giving?
The stress of moving is HUGE and our relocation costs are OVERWHELMING. Although both are BIG, the joy we are experiencing as God continues to use us trumps everything! Just this past Sunday Laina preached one of the most powerful messages I’ve ever heard…more to come on that and other amazing God stories!
for the King and his Kingdom,
phil & Laina
phil graf
husband of one
father of five
servant of many
doulos basileus
It Burst
Thank you for ALL the praying…please don’t stop!
Branson is recovering well. Here’s the scoop…
His appendix was very large…it was severely infected…it burst.
The Dr said the surgery was a success but if we had waited another 24hrs he probably would have gone into septic shock and died. Laina & I both remembered hearing those same words right after London’s kidney surgery. Thank You God for your protection!!!!!
The Dr also said Branson would need to stay in the hospital for a minimum of 5 days. They have inserted a tube to drain off all the infection. They have tried a couple of different pain medications but Branson’s still in pain…PRAY!
When it rains it pours…
We have been without our van for 4 weeks. Our €1.000 repair estimate is now a €4.057,23 bill. I have been in dialogue with the owner trying to settle on a fair amount. US Customs will not allow our diesel van to enter the country. So it looks like I will be forced to just walk away from it if he will not come down substantially…PRAY!
Yesterday, our landlords gave us their final reply concerning our request to continue renting their house through 30 June. Our lease runs out on 13 April. We have been negotiating with them for quite some time now. They will let us stay on but only if we pay exorbitant fees. So it looks like we will be moving out, to where…we don’t know…PRAY!
I have been trying to get registered into Portugal’s health care system. Just this morning I was rejected for the forth time. It seems I’m always missing some documentation. Yesterday I was told that my city is not letting anyone else into the system. She said, “We’re broke! Go try in Sintra (our municipality).” If we can not get into the system, we will have to pay for both of the boys surgeries ourselves…PRAY!
OK, I could go on and on and on…
PLEASE KNOW we have not lost faith! We are not depressed nor are we despairing! In fact, there’s even a bit of excitement about how God is going to work all of this out…but I sure do hope He shows up soon!!!!!
I am reminded of Paul’s encouraging words to the followers of Jesus the Christ who were in Corinth…but we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.
These jars of clay feel like we are on the potter’s wheel as He’s working away in His workshop… but the pot he was shaping from the clay was marred in his hands; so the potter formed it into another pot, shaping it as seemed best to him.
We love you and are being sustained by your praying…PRAY LIKE CRAZY!
in peace and with love
phil
phil
Branson’s appendicitis!
The hospital is running one last test on Branson, YES BRANSON…the Drs suspect an appendicitis!
Branson started throwing up late Sunday night. On Monday he missed his Field Trip to ancient Roman ruins so we knew he was real sick. The flu has been going around so that’s what we thought he had as he kept throwing up. Then last night his stomach was hurting him real bad and this morning the pain moved from the middle to his right side…classic symptoms for an appendicitis!
PLEASE PRAY for Branson, the surgeon, Laina & me and the kids!
Thursday was to have been his first rugby game 
I’ll keep you posted…
in peace and with love
phil
Laina’s Letter
This is something Laina just wrote for our good friends Hud & Nancy and we thought you might enjoy reading it as well…
Living in Europe to some, seems like a dream….ancient history, buildings that tell stories of old, artisanship from generations passed, and cathedrals which speak of beauty, glory, and grace from a long time ago. To many of us from North America, it seems like a world of intrigue and stability, family values and faith. Many of us are wrong.
Europe’s history is marred with religious and territorial wars. Buildings tell stories of beauty, yes, but are often scarred by brutality. The incredible artisanship is passing away with dying generations. And, the cathedrals, while mostly empty, speak of a glory that is certainly no more, and a grace that likely never was. Families are as fragmented as anywhere, and real faith is seldom to be found. Europe’s modern society has lost it’s values, and is certainly struggling to find it’s stability. People have little hope that God could change anything.
Phil and I have been living in Europe over the last 6 years, nearly 2 in Portugal. We are surrounded by people who are grasping for meaning, floundering in their relationships, and searching for identity. Like most of us, left on our own, we have little remedy for the state we find ourselves in. It never ceases to amaze us how few resources there are in Europe for people. While in the United States, we have the same human struggles, we have resources. It is normal for people to seek out counselling, go look for a church, or find someone they can talk to. In Europe, this is not the case. Counsellors are a rarity, vibrant church is nearly non existent, and sharing openly about one’s struggles is rarer still.
This last week, we asked our dear friends, colleagues, and mentors, Hud and Nancy McWilliams if they would come to spend a week with us (flying from Colorado). Hud has been a counsellor and pastor forever (He is wise!) and Nancy is the grace that softens his intellect and makes it tangible. They graciously said yes. At their own expense, they flew in and immediately went to work.
Over the next days, we had 35ish people attending a relational retreat, made up of married, divorced, and single people. Many more people interacted throughout the following week. There were people from England, Portugal, South Africa, Denmark, Germany, Mozambique, Brazil, Australia, and Texas (that is it’s own country). All with unique, and often painful stories. God used Hud and Nancy to stun everyone by changing our paradigms of what relationships are for and how they are to be navigated. And how God is relational and accessible, a new concept for many.
Throughout the week, Hud and Nancy spoke at our Church ( a newer birthing church), met with people individually for hours on end, spoke at a women’s Bible study, led our Alpha (a study for people who are trying to understanding what having a relationship with God means), met with our leadership team helping them navigate how to become a healthy spiritual community, and met with us, the Graf family, over and over processing all the nitty gritty that life presents. (if that is a run on sentence, it is because it was a run on week!)
Phil and I have had the privilege of processing Hud and Nancy’s input with people for hours since they have left. The stories of brokenness would pain your heart and jar your mind. (I would tell you, but I would have to kill you.) For many, this is the first time they have dared share. For others, they have never known faith to be tangible, God to be relational, and community to be part of the healing we all long for. I began to see people grasp (some for the very first time), how God and his grace can change everything.
While people may think of Europe as a place of history, beautiful buildings, and artisanship. I long to see it be known for a different beauty, for glory, and for grace. Beauty in faces who are finding wholeness, Glory to a God who heals, and Grace poured out onto people to heal the scars of old. I long to see Europe and its people find life in their relationship with God, wholeness in their understanding of themselves, and health in their relationship with others. I caught a glimpse of that this week and am so grateful to our friends who would share themselves so lavishly.
Whether you are here or there….life is full of stories and struggles. And, most of them are not a dream. In looking to find life in your relationship with God, wholeness in your understanding of yourself, and health in your relationship with others, my hope is that you get glimpses of God’s grace……which can change everything.
in peace and with love
Laina & phil
The Graf’s are Coming Home
Bom dia,
We prayerfully and painfully have made the decision to relocate back to the States. While many factors have been pressing in on us contributing to this decision, by far, and more than all the others combined, the educational needs of our kids is the determining factor.
We are loving living and ministering here in Portugal. So many great, diverse, and wonderful friendships, like in our Alpha group and the Women’s Bible Study that Laina leads. Teaming with our Grace leadership has been rich and Grace is healthy and growing. We are grateful to God!
Laina & I and the kids have been reflecting back on our nearly 6 years in Europe. While these have been some of the hardest years of our life, we all agree they have been some of the best years for our family! Our lives have been stretched and our souls have been thickened.
We will finish up this school year and then relocate the very last days of June 2011. As you know, so much work is in front of us: continuing to raise up leaders here; releasing roles and responsibilities; packing boxes and liquidating items; and the list goes on and on and on…
PLEASE PRAY with us and for us and for all the relationships that God has allowed us to grow deep here in Europe and specifically in Portugal…this is where our heart aches and our eyes begin to flood… We long to see these people grow and connect to communities of faith and more importantly, to Jesus.
As the details of God’s future for us becomes clearer we will send out updates. Join with us as we earnestly seek God trusting Him to continue to direct our steps as we follow Him into our future.
We are so grateful for your friendship. You have covered us with your prayers and fuelled us with your financial investments. As you have been pushing God’s Kingdom out right where you live, you have also done the same through us here in Europe…thank you, Thank You, THANK YOU!!!!!
Will you please continue to invest in us through your prayers and your financial giving?
The stress of moving is HUGE and our relocation costs are OVERWHELMING. Although both are BIG, the joy we are experiencing as God continues to use us trumps everything! Just this past Sunday Laina preached one of the most powerful messages I’ve ever heard…more to come on that and other amazing God stories!
for the King and his Kingdom,
phil & Laina
Kelton’s out of the hospital
Kelton was released from the hospital is doing well!!!!!
Thank you for praying…really praying…we heard back from sooooo many of you.
Here’s where the prayers came from:
157 Responses back
16 Countries
13 States
87 Cities
and these are just the ones we heard back from…WOW!!!!!
Kelton is getting stronger everyday and sleeping better and better…YEA GOD!
with much gratitude from a grateful father,
phil
