February 2015
But Our Eyes Are Upon You!
(How God Answered My Prayer)
Today as I write this prayer letter, it is February 14th – Valentine’s Day. Although I do have a large picture of Della on my desk to remind me to thank God every day for giving her to me, today I choose to write about a different subject, rather than romantic love. I choose to write about keeping our eyes on Jesus and constantly turning our burdens over to Him in order to see amazing answers to our prayers, to walk in victory over defeat, discouragement and depression, and to experience the abundant life that Jesus came to give. If you choose to call this a love theme – you are right. It’s about His “agape” love. Here is my testimony.
As you may recall, we (the directors of Northwest Science Museum) unanimously decided to sponsor the Christian film, “A Matter of Faith”, after viewing the link to the whole movie, which the director, Rich Christiano, sent to us. Our job, in order to bring the movie to Boise, was to sell discounted advance tickets – and since I found out about this movie and suggested it our Board, they asked me to spearhead the project. We got a rather late start, but with the self confidence and bravado of the apostle Peter, I assembled a team of co-workers to get out the posters Rich Christiano sent us and get the orders for advance tickets. After three weeks of effort, I had only 40 orders for the advance tickets (including my 10) – and only eight days to go before I needed to turn in my order to Rich Christiano. Rich told me that Christiano Film Group needed 400 tickets just to break even! I was getting discouraged and our team was down, feeling defeated and discouraged. All of us realized that this was a harder process than we had thought it would be.
I was coming to the vivid realization that I had assumed wrong about this project and didn’t want it to end in defeat – or be postponed for 3 more weeks (until Feb. 27th) to launch for two reasons:
1. We had many posters out, announcing February 6th as the launch date (which was also the launch date nationwide in over 50 cities).
2. I had been neglecting our Deighton Lighting business by concentrating most of my time on this effort and didn’t feel I could afford to neglect it another three weeks beyond the initial plan for a February 6th launch.
On the morning of this realization, I heard a radio program with Allister Begg, preaching from 2 Chronicles 20 concerning the huge threat that the nation of Judah was facing during the reign of King Jehoshaphat. Here is a portion of the text: “It happened after this that the people of Ammon, and others with them besides the Ammonites, came to battle against Jehoshaphat. Then some came and told Jehoshaphat, saying, ‘A great multitude is coming against you from beyond the sea, from Syria; and they are in Hazazon Tamar’ (which is En Gedi). And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. So Judah gathered together to ask help from the Lord; and from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the Lord. Then Jehoshaphat stood in the congregation of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord, before the new court, and said: ‘O Lord God of our fathers, are You not God in heaven, and do You not rule over all the kingdoms of the nations, and in Your hand is there not power and might, so that no one is able to withstand You? Are you not our God, who drove out the inhabitants of this land before Your people Israel, and gave it to the descendants of Abraham Your friend forever? And they dwell in it, and have built You a sanctuary in it for Your name, saying, ‘If disaster comes upon us, such as the sword, judgment, pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this temple and in Your presence (for Your name is in this temple) and cry out to You in our affliction, and You will hear and save.’ …..O our God, will You not judge them? For we have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us; nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.” 2 Chronicles 20: 1-9 & 12 (NKJV).
As I heard this message and opened the Bible to read the text again for myself, I realized that even though we had prayed for this project, we had not prayed for it earnestly and were relying on our own strength. I was reminded that Jesus said, “without me you can do nothing.” So I made it a matter of prayer and fasting, and at my next meeting with our team, I invited them to join me. However, something wonderful happened before that meeting – which I also shared with the team. On Thursday morning as I was just beginning to wake up, I kept thinking about the kids out at Hope House, then the kids at the Christian Children’s Ranch. They come from such broken homes, broken lives, broken hearts – and unless someone sponsors them to go, they would not get to see this wonderful, inspiring movie. It also dawned on me that I know quite a few believers who are owners or managers in businesses we serve by taking care of their lighting needs. Don Brandt, owner of Brandt Agency, had shown an interest in this movie when I took a poster to him, so I called Don and shared my idea with him. He said, “I’ll take 50 tickets!” I told him, “Wow! Don, you just made my day!” I had some invoices to deliver, so at Chapala’s restaurant on South 12th, I showed Maria the poster and shared my idea in less than five minutes. She said, “I’ll take 30 tickets!” From there I went to Razzle Dazzle (a training salon for hair dressers) to deliver a small invoice to Laurie and bring her a poster. She got excited about the movie and said, “I will put this poster up for our girls.” She also asked if she could have another poster to take to her pastor.
That evening, with excitement, I shared with our team this report and that the message which God seemed to be impressing on my mind and heart was, “Compassion is the key!” I asked them to earnestly pray for this project, for Ukraine (for comfort of the grieving after more terrible violence) and for defeat of the homosexual agenda in Idaho. God has answered two of these “yes” in amazing ways. Please keep praying earnestly for peace, comfort and spiritual awakening in Ukraine!
On the following Wednesday (nine days before launch date – to have time to receive the vouchers, turn them in for advance tickets, and get them delivered) – I ordered 450 vouchers! The next morning I ordered 150 more, because that day I received orders for 80 more, and I wanted some extra on hand. We used all the tickets opening weekend. Truly “compassion is the key”! Because of generous sponsors, we were able to supply gift tickets for Hope House, Christian Children’s Ranch, Young Life, Mission Aviation Fellowship (a few), C.E.R.T., the Biblical Studies Center, and a few other guests.
We were able to launch on the weekend of February 6, 7 and 8 as planned. Friday evening, February 6th, the biggest theater at Edwards 21 in Boise was sold out for “A Matter of Faith”.
Some Responses to the Movie:
Ron Lowry, associate director for Hope House told me that it was really timely for them with what is going on at Hope House right now – and that he wants to get together with me to tell me about it.
One widow lady, Darylene, was in tears because the humility of Professor Portland reminded her of her late husband. She brought a group of six ladies from the Senior Center where she volunteers.
Deb Harris sent this message to our team: “I just wanted to let you know it was an honor and a pleasure to get to know you and work with you on the movie promotion! I thought it was a fabulous movie. I sent a note to Jay to let him know how much my family enjoyed it. He sent this response: ‘ Just wanted to thank you again for all the work that went into getting “A Matter of Faith” to Boise. It was number 4 out of 22 movies at the theater. That’s really great for an independent film. Rich is very happy. Please let everyone involved know how much I appreciate their effort. All my Best, Jay’ (Note: Jay Pickett played a lead role in the movie, and Deb Harris was one of his classmates.) I am thrilled that the movie was a success – all glory to God! Hope to see you around! God Bless – Deb”
A note from Rick Aman to Rich Christiano: “My wife and I previewed ‘A Matter of Faith’ last night. It was a very strong film with a number of unexpected twists. It certainly is a great case study for the plight of professors who wish to teach an alternative to evolution in the university system and the young believer in college. Excellent character development with a great shift of empathy for Rachael as the plot goes on. Certainly an interesting plot with the addition of Professor Portland. This would be a must see in the senior year of High School in the Christian sector. Certainly a thought provoking story line for anyone, but it would certainly prepare young believers for the collegiate experience. Blessings on the deployment of the film. Regards, Rick”
Prayer Requests
1. If I am to go on a Spring Mission Trip to Ukraine, we need a financial miracle this month – at least $2,000 for Overseas Outreach. If He wants me to postpone until fall, fine. I am open to His leading. Please pray for wisdom and clarity.
2. Please pray for funds for Overseas Outreach, Northwest Science Museum, and Deighton Lighting.
3. Tamara (Chernova) Roye may be going on two Spring Mission Trips to Ukraine – one for Pioneer Bible Translators and one with her husband, Wade Roye, and the team from Texas. Please pray for funds, wisdom, and protection.
4. Please pray for provision, peace and protection for all of our friends and co-workers in Ukraine – and for a true cease-fire in east Ukraine.
5. Please pray for lots of sales and good responses to my new book, “Millions of Miracles – The Evolutionist’s Dilemma”. Praise God, it did arrive in time for the launch of “A Matter of Faith”. It has vivid, full color photographs showing the wonder and majesty of God’s amazing creation. You can request a copy when you send a donation of any amount. All proceeds from donations or the sale of “Millions of Miracles” go to Overseas Outreach.
From Our Mailbox
“I am sorry for not responding to your encouraging letter for awhile – with the funeral and all the aftermath of it, that took some time…. Thank you so much for your prayers, concern, spiritual and financial support during this hard time, my dear brother! I am so glad to know that you are in my life, although we don’t see each other that often at all – but the prayer bond and the same Spirit that we share means a lot of closeness, wherever we are…..May the Lord continue to bless you and your whole family in ministry and every other aspect of your life richly!
With love and gratitude,
Your brother Andrei” (Taran)
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An excerpt from Nikolai Alyoshin’s January 2015 Report:
“IMMERSIONS. Eleven male convicts were immersed by our ministers in Crimea: 7 in Simferopol prison camp and 4 in Kerch prison camp (7 Russian;, 2 Ukrainians; 1 Crimean Tatarian; 1 ethnic Greek).”
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A couple of messages from Zhenya Molodchy – one on January 14 and the second one on February 5:
“We would like to thank you and your family for your financial Christmas gift to our ministry. We treasure your friendship and wish your family and the church God’s blessings, care and His leading in every way. Thank you for supporting us all this time in Ukraine. We do not know what 2015 will bring. The war is somewhat 200 km from where we live. We pray God will strengthen us and will allow us to stay in His will if the real hardship comes here. We do not know. Bonhoeffer’s story really helped me during this time. We need to seek God’s will about Rick’s coming this spring. The situation got really bad today in Donetsk.”
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“I am praying things are well for you and Rick. We pray God will lead Rick in planning the spring trip. Please, keep us posted. We trust God is building His Kingdom through our humble efforts, therefore your support, encouragement, fellowship and prayers are most valued. Tell Rick that I may be able to speak some German when he comes… I have made some progress. I do not know how God will use us in the future. Now we are very much involved in building up a new group of believers. Please pray for their decision to receive baptism. We had 20 people yesterday in attendance at the book club…..
Blessings, Zhenya”
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Excerpt from Sergei Golovin’s January Newsletter:
“Despite the political troubles in our part of the world we praise the Lord for the mentality change of people in Ukraine. The situation is still very dangerous and involves many uncertainties, but I believe we can estimate some tendencies already and continue to do the best of it for the sake of the Kingdom. It may take at least a couple years before the situation complete stabilization, but, again, the work of the Lord should never stop…..
So far we produced books in Russian only since that language is understood and was equally demanded in all former Soviet Union countries. But it looks like we have to change strategy now. We are going to use most of the books we have in the stock in Crimea for distribution in Russia and other former Soviet countries, transporting only some to Ukraine according to the need. That would be wise however to reprint in Ukraine Science textbooks – the books that are needed the most due to their strategic importance in shaping the next generation worldview. And since we are going to print them in Ukraine for Ukraine, that would be reasonable to print them in Ukrainian. We were considering Ukrainian version of the textbooks for a while. However in Crimea (mostly Russian speaking area) we did not have proper level experts for doing a high quality translation. But now we got a cohort of high level enthusiastic Ukrainian linguists in Western Ukraine who are really excited about the opportunity to serve the Lord that way. Please pray with us for this new step for the greater glory of the Lord!
Please keep praying for our ministry, for our team, for our families, for God’s guidance and protection in everything we do. You are in our prayers as well.
Yours in the love and grace of Christ Jesus,
Sergei”
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“Hope to find you doing well. I’m sorry I was unable to write you back immediately. My health was really bad. And because of the pills I was taking, I suffered from mood swings. They were terrible, and it was very hard for me to fight them. It not only affected me physically, but also my spiritual life because I was unable to focus on anything! Even prayer and scripture reading. But thank God, I recovered and am doing much better now. I was diagnosed with scoliosis and multiple disk damage in my spine! I’ve taken treatment. My pain got reduced. However, it still hurts. They said, the problems I have with my spine aren’t dangerous and can be treated with physical exercises and massage therapies. I took break from school for some time. I’m planning to resume it next week. Thank you so much for your prayers. they mean so much to me!
Did you publish the book already? How did it go? You are in my prayers…
I have some good news to share! Even with the bad health I lead an international team to a competition called “Conrad Challenge”. It’s an international competition related to space. My team won in the first round and even in the semi-finals. We are now invited to attend the Space Summit that takes place in Florida from April 9-11, to present our projects. Praise God! This is a great opportunity for me ’cause, I can meet various scientists and space entrepreneurs at that summit. I’m trying to raise funds through a crowd funding site, for my trip. Pray that I should be able to raise necessary funds in time. please help me by sharing this link with others too: https://life.indiegogo.com/fundraisers/help-me-attend-space-summit/x/9890862
How are Della and Sandy? Convey them my wishes!
Thanks again for your prayers and encouragement.
Paul” Sudhakar
A Note from Della:
I know many of you have prayed for me often for my health and relief from pain, and maybe you wonder, as I sometimes do, why God hasn’t said “yes” to that request.
February 8th, at Eagle Christian Church, the words of an old hymn ministered to my heart so much!
I know that some of you are also dealing with grief or pain or deep disappointments, so I want to share the words of this hymn in the hope that God will use them to minister to your hearts and minds as well.
“Be Still, My Soul”
“Be still, my soul: the Lord is on thy side;
Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain;
Leave to thy God to order and provide;
In every change He faithful will remain.
Be still, my soul: thy best, thy heav’nly Friend
Thro’ thorny ways leads to a joyful end.
Be still, my soul: thy God doth undertake
To guide the future as He has the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence, let nothing shake;
All now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still my soul: the waves and winds still know
His voice who ruled them while He dwelt below.
Be still, my soul: the hour is hast’ning on
When we shall be forever with the Lord.
When disappointment, grief, and fear are gone.
Sorrow forgot, love’s purest joys restored.
Be still, my soul: when change and tears are past.
All safe and blessed we shall meet at last.”
– From Psalm 46
– Katharina Von Schlegel
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In closing, we both want to thank you very much for your care, your prayers, and your support!
May God send many blessings and smiles your way!
Rick & Della
Here is a note Rick sent to Rich Christiano:
“If you make a movie where you need a three to four-year-old girl, our three-and-a half- year-old granddaughter, Trinity Hope, is very expressive. (Perhaps destined to take Shirley Temple’s place.) The major problem is that she may want to be the director too!”
Here is what our publisher, Robert Sweesy, founder of Endurance Press, included on the back of the new book.
Millions of Miracles
I wrote Millions of Miracles with three goals in mind for you:
1. To expose you to the fallacies and hopelessness of the philosophy (worldview) of evolutionism and to invite you to consider the majesty, wonder, and beauty of God’s creation. Beyond that, I want to share with you His gracious invitation to become a member of His forever family.
2. To also alert you to the insidious danger of adopting any doctrine that compromises with evolutionism in any of its forms.
3. To help prepare you to be confident in your faith in Jesus Christ and His Word, in order to be a bold witness for Him as The Way, The Truth, and The Life.
Yours & His in His matchless grace,
Rick Deighton
“I read through ‘Millions of Miracles’ on a plane ride and Rick did a great job. This is well written and the information is nicely thought out. I hope to get this book and go through it with our men’s group at church.”
Rich Christiano, Christian Film producer and director
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“Great book! This is a wealth of information for those who want to know the truth of creation and the lie of evolution. It is remarkable in evidence. In these times of apostasy you have upheld the Word of Truth; the Creator Himself, Jesus Christ! You have said what needs to be said.”
Steve Bragg, missionary and church planter in the Philippines
Rick Deighton is a bi-vocational missionary who works lighting business between mission trips to former Soviet Union nations. Rick’s wife, Della, is a co-owner of their business and is treasurer for both their business and their ministry. With Rick, she was also co-founder of Alpine Christian Mission and Overseas Outreach. Rick and Della are co-workers with Victor and Evelyn Knowles as Northwest representatives of Peace On Earth Ministries, and Rick is an associate evangelist with Reggie Thomas (White Fields Overseas Evangelism). Rick is a graduate of Boise Bible College and later did post-graduate study at Ozark Christian College in mission strategy, expository and evangelistic preaching, personal evangelism, philosophy, and writing techniques. Rick’s articles, tracts, and books have been published in English, German, Korean, Georgian and Russian.
Reviewer’s comments in the opening pages of the book:
Brother Rick:
I have just finished reading ‘Millions of Miracles!’ Here are my thoughts.
Part one is super-fantastic!! Wow! I am in full agreement that one cannot believe the Bible and take either evolutionistic view. Both views denigrate the Bible. Thanks for letting me see your excellent work, Rick.
Your friend and brother, Charles Crane
(Charles is Chancellor of Boise Bible College, and a prolific author. His latest book is entitled, The Bible: The True and Reliable Word of God. It is beyond excellent, is published by Endurance Press, and I encourage you to get your own copy and absorb it!)
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Thank you, Rick for writing this powerful, concise book! From start to finish, it is thoroughly engaging as it simultaneously challenges the reader to evaluate their beliefs regarding creation and the one true God of the Bible. After reading this book, I felt closer to God because of the truth expressed on every page. Not only did I feel closer to God, but I also felt better equipped to earnestly contend for the faith! May this book impact our culture in a mighty way! This book would make a great, go-to resource for every believer. When I get a copy, I plan on keeping it handy for the times when I come across an evolutionist or theistic evolutionist. 🙂
In Christ, Lareina Rodriguez, wife of Diego Rodriguez (pastor, creation evangelist and entrepreneur)
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“I have looked at your manuscript and your facts are flawless….” – Dr. Madison Seamans, Veterinarian
Special Offers
The publisher’s price for the book is $14.99, but you may have a copy for a donation of any amount to Overseas Outreach. At our Northwest Science Museum display table at Edwards Theater, we offered a free copy to anyone who promised to come and visit our Vision Center at 1831 N. Wildwood, Boise. I will leave that option open for you also – just mention this to Stan when you come for your tour. You can check out times and other information at www.NorthwestScienceMuseum.com or call 208-972-6288.