Marathonialbert: March 2010

Happy Easter 2010

Wishing you a meaningful and joyous Easter season

Easter is not about Easter bunnies, little fluffy chickens and egg hunts.
We read in the bible that in the “old testament” days, animals like goats, bulls and lambs without blemish were sacrificed as a sin offering for the people. The blood would purify and make an atonement (forgive, make amends) for their sins. When Jesus came, He was the representation of the sacrificial lamb to take away the sins of the people. He was the final sacrifice. We no longer have to sacrifice animals to make atonement for our sins. Jesus has done this once and for all. It’s His blood that cleanses us from all sin. He was crucified on the cross (form of execution in those days). The sin of the world was upon Him, yet He was without sin and blameless. He bore it all. This is why Jesus is referred as the “Lamb of God”. He was bodily resurrected (came back to life) on the third day. He appeared to many – eating and drinking with them. He appeared to many for 40 days, then ascended (went up to) Heaven. Acts 1: 1-11

“Yet it was our weaknesses he carried, it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God for his own sins! But he was wounded and crushed for our sins. He was beaten that we might have peace. He was whipped, and we were healed. All of us have strayed away like sheep. We have left God’s path to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the guilt and sins of us all. He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet he never said a word. He was led as a lamb to the slaughter. And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth.”
Isaiah. 53: 4-7

“But these things were written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing in him you will have life”. John 20:31

This same Jesus loves us and is waiting for us to come to Him for forgiveness of our sins today. Let Him come into your life; let Him become your personal Lord and Savior.

Dangerous on the Road

Running can be dangerous on the roads, especially with drivers like these. I dodged a car last week, while running. Defensive running is very important..

Olympic Report 2010

Athletes in Action was one of 39 Christian organizations that worked together in the “More than Gold” organization with Vanoc.

Feb 13-15 was spent as team building with just under 100 AIA staff, campus ministry staff and student athletes at our Power to Change Headquarters in Langley, B.C. Doug Pollock - AIA USA Director taught us on the topic of reaching out to people, meeting new people through genuine concern, coupled with curiosity and questions, all the while listening and presenting attractive, winsome and compelling ways to engage others in conversations that change lives for eternity.

After this time, we went to work in Richmond and Vancouver with a few in Whistler. We spent time helping other churches, like the Way Community Church, and the Trinity Lutheran Church in Richmond, serving, helping people with parking, serving coffee, doing the youth night programs, as well as meeting many people from all over the world. We spent time helping people at the First Baptist Church in downtown Vancouver. One early morning we helped fans, serving them hot chocolate, meeting and directing the fans to the right buses to go up to Whistler-Creekside for the Super G skiing.

All our workers were sub-divided into groups or “hubs” assigned to various locations of the Olympic Venues including the O and Red Zones. A few AIA staff served at the Olympic Villages as Chaplains.

FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH – Nelson & Burrard Street:

I had the privilege of meeting two great men from downtown Vancouver. I listened and learned a lot from John Allen and Frank.

Material used to give away as gifts were “More than Gold” New Testaments, The Gospel of Mark, Erwin McManus book – Soul Cravings – Prequel and of course trader pins.

I had the privilege of meeting a great runner in Richmond.

Shauna, our daughter, Sam and Calleigh were pleased to meet the Canadian Figure skating team including Brian Orser in Vancouver at the BMO celebration.

In the “Red Zones”, we as Christian workers were not allowed to hand out Christian literature nor speak the Gospel, not even have company advertising on our clothing. We still felt very blessed and encouraged in meeting the Olympic fans, athletes and the media from all over the world. Interesting how important it becomes when one is denied the freedom to speak the Gospel for two weeks, when a person has 50 other weeks to speak freely.

The friendly, patriotic spirit of the games was great & very impressive. We helped Vancouver show a warm and friendly face to the rest of the world. Vancouver is a very young, friendly and clean city.

Thank you to each one of you praying for our work at the Olympics 2010.

Running the Sahara - March 28, 2010

Running the Sahara March 28, 2010 - Park Theater

Sahara Desert Movie Night on 28th, March 2010
By Matt Damon
Come and see this inspiring movie - Running the Sahara - by Matt Damon. Ray Zahab (Canada), Charlie Engel (USA) and Kevin Lin (Taiwan) ran from Senegal to the Red Sea. It is a once in a life time run of very scenic sites of the Sahara Desert. Ray is presently running across the Baikal Lake in Siberia. Take a look at his website: http://impossible2possible.com/siberia/?s=event_info
Also take a look at the Running the Sahara website:
http://www.runningthesahara.com/
About the Run
On February 20, Charlie, Ray and Kevin touched the Red Sea, just a few hours before sunset. Their quest had lasted 111 days and taken them through 6 countries: Senegal, Mauritania, Mali, Niger, Libya, and Egypt. By the team's daily GPS record, they had traveled over 4,300 miles (6,920 kilometers). They fought through injury and extreme fatigue to reach their goal, which changed them forever.

PS - Two Important items:
1, Come early 6.00 pm - because there are only 225 seats available.
Tickets -$6.00 available only at the door.
2, There is a little cafe in the theater - so you can eat at the Cafe.

Albert Martens
204-346-1345
Email: aemart@mts.net

At the Park Theater
698 Osborne Street
Winnipeg, MB.

Tickets available only at the door
$6.00
Seating is limited to 225