The last week has been a whirlwind of activity to say the least. We arrived in Holt, Florida, on Tuesday of last week to spend a few days with my brother, Chip, and his family. We had a GREAT time with them. We are not sure when we will see them next so we made the best of it. We went to the beach, fishing, watched some Big Ten basketball, and had some delicious meals. On Wednesday night, I was able to speak at his church, Holt First Baptist Church. They were so loving, kind, and generous to us. I loved watching them love on my brother. A great fit for him and his church! Praise God!!! We tease a bit about the Nazarene/Baptist connections and I reminded them that “John was a Baptist… but JESUS was a Nazarene.” LOL

On Friday we drove from Holt, Florida, to Orlando, Florida. No, we did not go to Orlando for Disney World. Rather, I was in the CIS Partnership meetings on Friday night and much of the day Saturday. The 9 hours I spent in those meetings were a blessing, were challenging, and were even fun if you can imagine that! When you put 40 people in one room who love Jesus, who want to see His kingdom expand, and who are all committed to the ministry in the Commonwealth of Independent States, God moves! Lonnie Norris, the field strategy coordinator, did a great job leading the meetings and the lay leaders were such a blessing to me and my family. I look forward to this partnership through the years to come!

Sunday morning and afternoon , I spoke three times at Tampa First Nazarene. What a great church and great pastor (Lynn Nichols)! We thoroughly enjoyed the ethnic diversity of the church and the Spirit of God in the services. The music was wonderful and we met so many wonderful folks including the daughter and son-in-law of Glenn and June Tait, members of Houston Living Word.

Sunday night we were blessed to visit Bradenton First Nazarene and Pastor Tony Miller. We again had a wonderful service with these great people. That church is FULL of mission-minded people. One of the special blessings we enjoyed was seeing some very special people from our family and past. Jenni’s great aunt and uncle live and Bradenton and joined us there (Dick and Sandy). We even got to go to dinner with them after the service. They are wonderful and special people in our lives and have always held a special place in Jenni’s heart. Bekah and Sarah just love Aunt Sandy. Jenni had to remove Sarah from the service because she was vocally jealous that Bekah was sitting on Aunt Sandy’s lap and she was not. We also were able to see some “snowbirds” from Fort Wayne (Don and Marilyn Williamson, Jim and Ruth York). We even saw some very close friends of Jenni’s parents, Glenn and Diane Bridges. A wonderful evening.

On Monday, we took a half day break and visited Clearwater Marine Aquarium (a surprise to Bekah and Sarah). This is the aquarium where “Winter” lives. Winter is the dolphin whose true story is told in the recent movie “Dolphin Tale”. The girls LOVED it and it was so nice to let them have some fun in the middle of all these long drives, so many adult meetings, etc.

We drove a few hours out of Bradenton, Florida, and stayed last night in Valdosta, GA. We are now headed to Oak Grove, Kentucky. Tomorrow, we will finish our drive to Kansas City. We are preaching Sunday at Kansas City First Nazarene, where I served on staff from 1998-2001. We love the people of this great church and can’t wait to be with them. The pastor now is Brad Estep, brother-in-law to Dan/Suzanne Pardue, members of Houston Living Word. We will stay with some wonderful friends (Tim and Marci Anzalone) from Wednesday night through Wednesday morning of next week. Tim and Marci have two kids (Bekah and Sarah’s age) and were some of our closest friends when we lived in KC.

I want to thank our God for His protection and blessing as we travel. And thank you for your continued prayers.

This past weekend was VERY special for my family. It was our last time to be with our church family of Living Word Nazarene before we head to Kiev, Ukraine. I was SO excited for the day to come. When I woke on Sunday morning, I was nervous as a cat! It was as if it was my first Sunday again. I was ready to go to church by 7:30 AM! God blessed our day in every way. We reflected on 8 1/2 years of ministry... while at LWN, I baptized 321 believers, married 36 couples, dedicated 87 children, and grew in average attendance from 475 to 706. Thank you, God, for your blessings!

The church was so loving and generous to us. The kind words, standing ovations, distinguished service award, offering, meal, and hugs were overwhelming. We are so thankful for our church family. YellowBlueBus, Living Word!

Just for some fun, we arrived late to the meal because of greeting folks in the sanctuary. By the time we arrived, most people were already done eating. We went through the food line and found seets at a table in the center of the gym. As people were leaving, we had so many wonderful conversations and hugged everyone we could. By the time we were finished with the goodbyes, the gym was completely cleared. Every table was down... every chair stacked... except our table with two chairs in the very center of the gym. So Jenni and I sat down and ate our meal right in the center of the gym by ourselves. It was hilarious... and very romantic ! Ha

After lunch we left for Pasadena First Nazarene (Pasadena, TX) for the evening service. Pastor Brad and Emily McKenzie were great hosts. What a joy to be with them and their wonderful church. We were surprised and blessed that Pasadena Care Chapel (led by Rev. Sylvester Ballard) also joined with the service. We had a great night!

Since January 10, we have been staying at Ben and Isabel Geerdes's home. They were so gracious and made it feel like it was our home. Thank you, Ben and Isabel! On Monday, we packed and left Houston at 3:30 PM for our journey to Florida. We stayed the night at Lafayette, Louisiana.

To understand our lives right now, we are completely mobile until April 9 when we move to Kiev. From this past Sunday, January 22 through Monday, April 9, are you ready? Pause for effect... wait for it... we will be in 26 different beds! We are going to be SO ready to arrive on the mission field!

Tonight, we arrive in Holt, Florida, where my brother and his family live. We will be with them through Friday morning. On Wednesday night, I will speak at Holt First Baptist where my brother is the lead pastor. I CAN'T WAIT TO SHARE STORIES ABOUT CHIP WITH HIS CONGREGATION .

On Friday, we will drive to Orlando, Florida, for CIS Partnership Meeting on Friday night and all day Saturday. Partnership meetings are gatherings of lay leaders who are interested in "partnering" with the CIS field. We connect, we share, we brainstorm on ministry, but most importantly we pray.

On Saturday evening we drive to Tampa, Florida, where I will be preaching four times on Sunday! 

I will be at Tampa First Nazarene with the English-speaking congregation at 9:45 AM, a combined adult Sunday School class at 11:15 AM, Tampa First Spanish-speaking congregation at 1 PM, and finally at Bradenton First Nazarene at 6 PM. While in Tampa and Bradenton, we will get to see Jenni's great aunt and great uncle, Dick and Sandy Allen, and I believe we may have some surprise guests (snowbirds from Fort Wayne, Indiana). Should be a great week of many blessings from the Lord! It is a joy to serve the Living God!!!

This Sunday morning I will be speaking at Living Word Nazarene at 10:45 AM for my final time before leaving for Kiev. Somebody said, "I thought your final day at Living Word was December 25?" Well, that was my final day as "pastor". This Sunday I am "missionary". I am asking God to bless every part of our final time with this great church. He has been so good to us these 8 1/2 years. What a wonderful people to love, serve, and lead! Following the service, the church is having a special meal in our honor. We have been waiting for this special day for many months.

On Sunday night at 6 PM, we will be speaking at Pasadena First Nazarene. Their church's pastor, Rev. Brad McKenzie, was our music minister at Living Word a number of years ago. He remains a good friend and brother in Christ. It will be a great joy and honor to speak at his church. His wife, Emily, and daughter, Anna Claire, make for a wonderful parsonage family. It will be a great night!

On Monday, we pack the vehicle and leave for Florida... our first journey out of the Lone Star State in our "raising partners" services. Thank you for your continued prayers.

Did I mention that we purchased four one-way tickets from Fort Wayne to Kiev for April 9?

No turning back now!

I wanted to start my blog with a short word about two special people.

This past Saturday I attended the funeral of Sheila Donaldson, a member of Living Word Nazarene. Sheila has battled cancer for a few years and this past week, she went to be with Jesus. We will miss her. She was one special lady. She always showed great kindness to my wife and kids. Through all the ups and downs of cancer, I NEVER saw her with a poor attitude. She always had joy, a big smile, and anticipation of brighter days. Today, she experiences the greatest joy of seeing Jesus face-to-face.

Then, on Sunday morning, I received news that Pastor Ray Shadowens, a retired minister who also was a member of Living Word Nazarene, had passed away. He was so ready to go home! I'll never forget the first time I visited Pastor Ray in the hospital... maybe 5 years ago. His wife had recently passed away, and now Pastor Ray was in the hospital with what the doctors thought was a heart-attack. When I walked in the room, he was so excited to tell me that he had had a heart attack and may soon be going to heaven. I'll never forget his excitement to see Jesus and his wife again. Enjoy, Pastor Ray!

We had a great Sunday at Houston First Nazarene and Conroe New Horizons Nazarene. What a joy to be with these great congregations! Many individuals came to me following each service to share how the sermon connected to some part of their life. Praise God! The highlight of the weekend was a visit after our evening service in Conroe. A young girl named Madeline Rodriguez (Maddy) came up to me. She and her mother used to attend Living Word but moved north to Conroe, where they now attend Conroe New Horizon. Maddy reached into her purse and pulled out a picture of Jesus knocking on the door of a heart (based on Revelation 3:20). On the back of the card was the written decision she had made to ask Jesus into her heart. The handwriting was mine from 2007 when I prayed with her to open her heart to Jesus.

This week is very full for us as we "close up shop" in Houston, Texas. Please pray that God gives us strength and that we simply remember everything we need to do.

We have an exciting weekend in store for us.

On Sunday morning, I will be speaking at Houston First Church of the Nazarene. Pastor Jeffrey Johnson has been a great colleague over the past 8 1/2 years. What a blessing it will be to share our story with his church! We have many friends at Houston First so the morning will be much fun!

In the evening, we will be traveling to Conroe New Horizon Church of the Nazarene. Pastor Bob Seal has been a great leader at this church and has seen a good amount of growth there. He told me this morning that the NMI President has worked on a great presentation of information regarding Ukraine. I may just learn some things this weekend since I am still very much in the learning mode .

Thank you so much for your prayers!

I went to the doctor today to get the report from the MRI... Good news, no surgery needed!

The MRI did show some "issues" in my back (arthritis, disc degeneration, and a minor disc protrusion at L5/S1 that is touching the S1 nerve and causing my pain). However, the doctor thinks that because I am doing better that this will heal itself. He gave me a prescription for 12 visits to a physical therapist. No more running. My new favorite sport is swimming.

Thank you so much for your prayers. God has answered!!!

Wow, what a weekend!

It was different that what I had originally envisioned, but it was blessed by God just the same.

The weekend started with a Friday afternoon visit to the neurosurgeon who did my L4/L5 microdiscectomy in 2004. With the back problems I have had over the past three weeks, Jenni and I both felt that this visit was necessary. He commented that the symptoms I was having were typical for a disc herniation and that we needed to do another MRI. God made it possible to have one at 5 PM the same day! My doctor wanted to see me on Monday and I told him about my planned weekend... 6 1/2 hour drive from Houston to San Angelo on Saturday, 2 1/2 hour drive on Sunday afternoon from San Angelo to Odessa, and an 8 hour drive from Odessa to Houston on Monday. His comment, "You will most likely make it to Austin and need to turn around."

On the same day, Jenni and I made a tough decision. We had been hoping to make this journey together as a family. However, we are planning to move out of the LWN parsonage on Tuesday. We thought we would be ready... wishful thinking . We decided that it would be best if Jenni stayed in Houston and have the three extra days for the final packing. We also decided that Bekah would make the journey with me.

With Bekah, my backseat driver, ready to go on Saturday, we headed out... stopping every hour to walk and stretch out my back. To God's glory, my back felt better on Sunday morning (after the 6 1/2 hour Saturday drive) than it did on Saturday morning. Grandma Mary was wonderful to us and so hospitable. She stays in a retirement home which rents out rooms (just like a hotel room) to guests. We ate twice in her cafeteria, met so many wonderful friends of hers, and reminisced about Pastor Sandy. Our service at San Angelo First was GREAT. The presence of God was very strong in the service. The people were so warm and fun. Don and Carolyn Ardrey, the pastor and wife at San Angelo First, we very kind to us. We enjoyed it in every way.

After lunch, we made the 2 1/2 hour drive to Odessa. Great drive out in the middle of nowhere . On our stop, I noticed that there was a winter storm warning for Odessa that night. Rain turning to snow during the night and a full day (Monday) of snow expected. Bob Childress, a member of Odessa First and friend through the South Texas District, mentioned that the Odessa folks wanted to help us "prepare for the Ukraine" by providing this special snow storm. The advisory mentioned that ONLY emergency driving was recommended for Monday. So, our plans changed again. We decided that, after the 6 PM service we were "gettin' out of Dodge" and going to drive 3 hours back toward Houston where the temps would be a few degrees higher on Monday morning and we could save the snow for another day .

The service at Odessa First was wonderful. We had a great time with Pastor Terry and Gayle Pierce and their congregation. Joining us there was Tami Lewis and her children from Fort Stockton, Texas (2 hours from Odessa). The Lewis family have been regular attenders of LWN's online community for about 2 years now. We have only met in person twice, but God has allowed me to be their pastor via the internet since there is not a Nazarene church within driving distance in Fort Stockton.

Following the service, we began our 3 hour drive out of Odessa and landed in Sonora, Texas, for the night. Now, we just have a 5 hour drive today! My back is doing well... better than when I left Houston on Saturday morning. Bekah has been a wonderful travel-buddy and a trooper! We are missing Jenni and Sarah somethin' fierce. Thanks to everyone for your prayers. God has been so good to us. What a joy to serve Him!

This coming Sunday, January 8, the Rainey family will be in two West Texas churches.

On Sunday morning, we will be speaking at San Angelo First Nazarene. The pastor of the church is Rev. Don Ardrey. Don's father, Dr. Sandy Ardrey (Pastor Sandy), was my first mentor in ministry in 1994 when I began as an associate pastor at Fort Wayne Lake Avenue Nazarene. He modeled an evangelistic and loving heart to me. I am so thankful for his example in my life. I told him that he was like another dad to me. After the passing of his wife in 2002, he began a relationship with a woman named Mary Berg. Interestingly, Mary was like a grandmother to me. In fact, when my own grandmother passed away, Mary said to me, "I would be glad to be another grandmother to you." I started calling her "Grandma Mary" at that time. Well, before I left Fort Wayne to come to pastor in Houston, it was a great privilege to officiate the wedding of Sandy and Mary. During the wedding, I joked, "This feels just a little weird to me... I feel like my dad is marrying my grandma." Pastor Sandy is now with Jesus. This weekend we will be staying with Grandma Mary.

On Sunday night, we will be speaking at Odessa First Nazarene. The pastor of the church is Rev. Terry Pierce. Terry has been a great example (from afar) for me here in Texas. I have always respected his ministry. He is a man of God and a prayer warrior. It will be a great honor to preach in his church. Interestingly, while Odessa is not a common name for a city, there is an Odessa, Texas, AND an Odessa, Ukraine!

Thanks for your prayers as we travel.

Yesterday, January 1, 2012, was our very first Sunday as missionaries. The journey thus far has been unforgettable .

Two weeks ago, as I was putting a piece of paper in a trash can, my back "gave out". I am still unclear exactly what has happened to me, but this I know... there is pain and much of it. On Wednesday morning of this past week, I gingerly walked to our car as Jenni drove me to the ER of Methodist Hospital of West Houston. A shot of morphine and three prescriptions later, I headed home wondering what would become of our new journey as missionaries. Would I be able to keep my preaching schedule? Would I need a second back surgery? I guess in some ways I do not have the answers to these questions yet. I have a doctor's appointment on Friday with the same neurosurgeon who first worked on my back in the summer of 2004. I am praying that I will not need surgery and that what I have been experiencing is muscle spasms.

Through it all, I have seen God's hand at work in some amazing ways. He is faithful all the way to the end! He is patient and amazingly good in every way! He always has surprises along the journey! I wouldn't change a thing!

Yesterday morning, I spoke at Celebrate Life Church of the Nazarene in Katy, Texas. This is the congregation that my former church, Houston Living Word Nazarene, planted in June 2010. Pastor Adam Schwing and his wife Angel are doing a great job of leading this new church to follow Jesus. They were wonderfully kind to us, generous in every way, and as a church they prayed for our healing and send us off to the mission field. Just think for a moment of the goodness of God... We sent them in June 2010 as "missionaries" to Katy, Texas... And now, they sent us as a missionaries to Kiev, Ukraine!

Last evening, I spoke at the Spanish-speaking service for Houston Living Word. Pastor Guillermo and Pastora Luz Maria began the Spanish ministries at LWN 13 years ago. Their "congregation within a congregation" at Living Word now runs 175 Spanish-speakers. They were a joy to be with last night. We celebrated and worshiped the Lord. They too were so kind to us... and so generous... gave us a beautiful plaque... and sent us off with prayer.

I could not have imagined of a more fitting way to begin our missionary journeys than to start with these two missional families that we love so dearly!

Language study for the Raineys begins on December 26, 2011 (Rosetta Stone - Russian).

On January 1, 2012, at 10:30 AM, I am speaking at Celebrate Life Church of the Nazarene (Katy, Texas). A special thanks to Pastor Adam Schwing for his invitation.

At 5:00 PM, that same day, I will be speaking at Living Word Church of the Nazarene Spanish-speaking congregation (Houston, TX). A special thanks to Pastors Guillermo and Luz Maria Pena for their invitation.