http://abcnews.go.com/Business/video/pastor-joe-nelms-wild-nascar-prayer-14159123
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Monday, July 25, 2011
Friday, July 22, 2011
Saturday, July 16, 2011
a word from the Reverend James Kwame Acheampong
Greetings from Ghana. I thank the Lord that He has been ordering my steps every hour and moment to bring me to a successful end in His ministry. A local church in an area that divides the Christian South and the Muslim North in Ghana wants me to be their minister. As their tradition demands I have to go there and have a revival service with them before the congregation will assess me and cast their vote. I will finish a week’s program by tomorrow. The church was started by the Nigerian migrants but when they left Ghana the indigenous people (Gh Baptists) took over and brought it under Ghana Baptist Convention. I have also been organizing seminars and revivals for other Baptist churches in Ashanti and Brong-Ahafo region. I visited a poor Muslim community in the north with my friend from Waco (Chris)with an intention of bringing the women together to form a coops to run an income generating venture as a way of helping them to come out of the poverty. I am thinking of establishing a small GARI (made from cassava) processing plant to process raw cassava into gari which can easily be exported to other urban centers and cities for sale. This can indeed turn their lives around for good. Counting on your prayers. God be with you all. Thanks.
Below shows some of my family pics and where I stay currently.
http://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1051253849417.2009600.1467883552
Kwame
1 469 619 6544
"All that is required for evil to triumph is for a few good men to do nothing."
- Edmund Burke -
"When you want change, first you have to say what's wrong."
- John Geer -
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
North Waco Redevelopment update
From Jimmy Dorrell of Mission Waco:
North Waco “Near Northside” Area Master Plan Moves On
“Near Northside Redevelopment Master Plan” adopted
Earlier today, Mr. Michael Bennett, CEO of Gideon-Toal in Ft. Worth, presented to the Greater Waco Chamber of Commerce the recently completed “Near Northside Master Plan.” The plan is the result of over a year of work by these consultants, local community leaders, and public meetings in North Waco to revitalize the area, generally bounded by N. 18th and the Brazos River and W. Waco Drive and Herring Ave. It was primarily funded by local stakeholders in the North Waco area, as well as the City, Chamber and local businesses. The plan shows both assets and challenges, including the growing positive synergy of numerous activities occurring in the N. 15th/Colcord Ave area, access to the Brazos River, as well as excessive vacant property and zoning inconsistencies.
Greater Chamber of Commerce approves resolution affirming plan
The Waco Chamber unanimously passed the attached resolution, including both the process and content, of the Near Northside plan as a part of the Downtown Development project, as well as affirming the City’s role is getting control of Parkside Villages for redevelopment. The recent negotiations with H.U.D. gives the City of Waco the right to demolish existing abandoned apartments, and create multi-use property and mixed income housing. With the adopted Master Plan in place, this component of the strategy is a huge success.
City of Waco also engages in ways to embrace North Waco revitalization
Bennett also recently presented the same content in June to the Waco City Council, with dialogue from Council regarding design overlays, zoning, challenges, and impact. District IV Council member, Toni Herbert, has been advocating for improvements in the historic neighborhood for years, as well as Rick Allen.
Phase II...Implementation of Strategies
With an approved plan in place, stakeholders will now begin the implementation phase of the various strategies within the document. Efforts to find local “champions” to promote economic and community development in the area is critical, as well as encouraging local investment and incentives.
Change is already happening!
Currently the entire corner of N. 15th and Colcord is under construction with a newly designed street which helps control speeds and makes the pedestrian traffic safer for children in the nearby school. New lighting, planter boxes, and even outside eating will be in place by mid-August. Construction of Family Health Center’s new two-story building is nearing completion. New and renovated housing has been occurring in the area for several years by Habitat for Humanity, Waco CDC, and NeighborWorks. The area has become popular because of its diversity with several residents desiring a blended environment. The two neighborhood schools, West Ave and Brook Ave, continue to make significant academic progres. Both D’s Mediterranean Grill, Beatniks, North Waco Tropical Fish and Mission Waco’s “World Cup Café” have been drawing significant customers. The remodeled Jubilee Theatre had a very successful first season last year and currently has numerous requests for rentals including events such as talent shows, cultural dance, social justice films, meetings, and musical presentations. Last year’s “Better Block Project” and Jubilee Music Festival was attended by hundreds of families from all around the city filling the streets. (Sat, Oct 9 this year!).
Join us!
If you are interested in knowing more about the area and how you can get involved, send us an email.
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Off we go
Calvary's team to Lebanon leaves tomorrow at 7am. The China team will leave Friday afternoon. Keep them all in your prayers.
You can follow their adventures and ministry at the following blogs:
http://www.lebanoninjuly.blogspot.com/
http://www.abridgetochina.org/
You can follow their adventures and ministry at the following blogs:
http://www.lebanoninjuly.blogspot.com/
http://www.abridgetochina.org/
Saturday, July 2, 2011
book review: The Big Short
This served as light reading while in San Diego last month. Lewis was a bond trader for a time with Salomon Brothers in 80's. He knows the financial world. Since leaving that life, he has become a successful author of a number of books.He turned his attention and acumen to the financial collapse that began a few years ago asking who knew what and when did they know it. He manages to make credit default swaps and colateralized debt obligations somewhat understandable, all the while illustrating that the folks using and selling these devices a few years ago didn't themselves have a clue what they were doing. They also didn't care as long as they made money quickly.
During the tour of Wall Street players, we learn that the push to increase homeownership and make it accessible to everyone was really a get-rich scheme for financial houses. They offered folks with little or no credit and fewer assets outrageous amounts of money with which to buy homes (for instance, a seasonal produce picker who made $14,000/year qualified for a loan of $750,000 for a house in CA). This 1)inflated home prices, 2)made the lenders money through fees and 3)almost bankrupted the country when the whole thing fell apart. As lending standards were relaxed--and our federal government bears blame for this too (in a non-partisan way as this happened under D's and R's)--loans went to folks unable to pay those loans back. The loans usually started with very low rates that were manageable; but by years 3-5, those rates exploded upward thus resulting in defaults. This stopped the upward ascent of home prices, increased vacant housing inventory and has depressed the housing market. The bubble burst in a big way.
Why didn't the financial services industry foresee the defaults? There are a couple of reasons. They were consumed by their consumption of loan fees. These folks made millions personally and billions professionally by selling loans. The short term gain kept them from recognizing the long term cost.
Also, they foolishly expected housing prices to continue climbing, thus enabling overburdened mortgage holders to acquire home equity loans to pay back the original loan, continuing a trend ad infinitum. But housing prices increased at a rate far outpacing wage growth. An economist will tell you that this model just doesn't work over time.
Third, the financial devices created to generate short-term profits (for financial service employees and their employers) were so complex and new that no one, from the crafters to the seller to the buyers to the CEO's, knew what they were, how they worked or their potential for crashing.
Lewis does a good job in telling stories of folks who did recognize the coming storm. While these folks made a boatload betting on the coming crash, they also sought to raise the warning flag that danger was fast approaching. Those garnering commission fees and looking at fat bottom lines, while holding in the shadows toxic assets, did not pay attention.
It's an interesting read and allows one to see the societal ramifications of what some on Wall Street did to Main Streets everywhere. The disappointing aspect to the tale is that those who caused this mess got paid and continue to make boatloads of money while those suffer are ordinary citizens. In the end, for the average person Wall St. is no better than a casino. The odds are always in favor of Wall Street, its employees and institutions.
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