Christ can calm the storm- a hurricane perspective!

Chaplain Waverly often ends his emails with the expression- "Jesus can calm the storm IF we keep him in our boat"

It inspired me to share a true story of the miracles that God did when the horror of Katrina was unfolding on the gulf coast and specifically in the 9th ward of New Orleans.

I got to know many people in the shelters of Baton Rouge shortly after they were evacuated and residents who were returning to churches a year later. We hear the sad stories of how people perished beneath the waters of the storm as they raced through broken levees to sweep houses, cars, trees and people away.

What we rarely hear is how God put his actual hand of mercy and grace upon people throughout the entire city and gulf coast. We do know that the goverment was forcasting upwards of 20-35,000 people to die as a result of the destruction- and like the attacks of 9/11- the numbers were drastically below- tens of thousands of people below! Thank you Lord!

Well, let's get back to Jesus calming the storm and being in a boat and what that has to do with New Orleans. Several survivors I talked to shared a common theme- a man appeared to them and saved them from drowning.

I have so many stories where the people ran up into their attics and began to hack away at the ceiling with a axe or machete to try and escape the water that was rapidly filling up their homes. They would tell me how they reached a point of exhaustion and realized they were not going to make it and asked the Lord to save them.

One told me how he was resigned to his immending death and cried out to the Lord to just take him home. Suddenly he felt a rush of fresh air and looked up and saw a hole in the roof that was just big enough for him to scurry up on the roof.

He was dismayed to find the water quickly overtaking his roof and realized in minutes he would be underwater. In an almost mocking tone he cried out again to the Lord- "God, did you save me from drowing in my attic only to bring me up to drown on my rooftop- you know I don't know how to swim!"

A second later a brand new boat with an engine bumped him on his ankle- he jumped in- thanking the Lord- and rescued not only himself but many other rooftop neighbors.

Another couple were washed off their roof into a torrent of water. They were drowing and called out to God for help. They were hit in the head by two life vests that they were able to slip on and then were washed up to a place of safety!

The most startling is a couple who were fleeing the onrushing waters. They ran up against a wall that was to high to climb. They held hands and prepared to meet the Lord, they prayed for rescue but felt their deaths were immenent.

Suddenly a Afro-American male in his early 30's stepped out from behind a trash bin. He was well dressed and was bone dry- despite the rain and water all around him. He pulled out a canoe and calmy said- "Hurry children you need to get into the boat!"

They ran to him and got into the boat. They turned to help him get into the boat- but he was gone. They believe Christ himself delivered them that day!

It is too bad that many times we look at our Lord as a "Break Glass when in Emergency" type of God. Coming to Him only when we are in need or want things or see no other way out. Thank God that He does respond and takes us in our hour of need.

But it would also be great if we had Him in our boat of life all the time. Keeping Him as our constant boat captain as we journeyed on the cruise of Life in good and bad times, thanking Him for all things at all times not just when were are about to be washed up on the rocks.

We are not promised a smooth or perfect life when we follow the Lord, but I believe that the storms of life can be calmed by the presence of our Lord who does allow us to handle and perservere through all calamities- even should we perish- we know we awake in His eternal arms!

So let's keep God in our boat! Continue to pray for our upcoming Race Track Revival Festivals on Oct 2 in Bay Meadows with Chaplain David and Oct 16 in Churchill Downs with Chaplain Ken. Let us pray for the harvest that many, many race track workers will come to accept the Lord as their Savior, Redeemer

Unified in a Circle of Prayer

My two weeks of serving as a Chaplain for Chaplain David Corrales has drawn to an end. Today, August 24 I have called a National RTCA Day of Prayer to pray for the RTCA Race Track Evangelism Festival that will take place on August 28 in Del Mar, California.

It is fitting that I talk about prayer in my dispatches fromNorthern California today.

I have only been here for two weeks. And only the Holy Spirit can cause people who did not know each other to bond so quickly. I loved leading worship services and small group bible studies at the different tracks while I was here.

We talked about our common citizenship in the United Kingdom of God as believers and shared and talked about verses that teach us about our citizenship and how we must strive to not only bring others the gospel and the truth, but to lift up and encourage other brothers and sisters as we journey on this earth.

I talked about the power of prayer and shared my personal testimony of answered prayer when, as a 13 year old boy, I asked God to make the world my office. Well 50 countries later and global ministry work later- God is continuing to answer that never ending prayer.

I shared the story of how God used the prayers of two men and a white pony to spread Christianity throughout southeast asia and beyond, that resonates and continues today.

And over the last few nights, at the different tracks, we would gather in a circle and just talk and pray and lift each other and our requests up to the Lord in English and in Spanish- united as citizens of Heaven.

It was a powerful and moving time and one I will never forget. They were also so excited that they knew RTCA brethern will be praying throughout Friday and that they would be able to pray with them in unity.

Please lift up the evangelism festivals and lift up these precious believers in the Lord on the racetracks as they work hard labor and strive to be the light of Christ in the backstretch. Pray also for Chaplain David Corrales, his family, is council and for his ministry,

I am so thankful that the Lord sent me to work with Chaplain David out here in the bay area.

Blessings to all of you!

The Global Cross- The Universal Liberator

On Sunday I experienced some beautiful views of God's handiwork as I traveled over the bay on the San Mateo Bridge to head up 880 North that would carry me along the bay coast line and up through Oakland into the race track at Vallejo near Napa Valley.

I marveled at the beauty of the coastal foothills and green mountains, crowned with towering trees as the refreshing air swept through my car, San Francisco looked like a postcard with sail boats sweeping along the islands or beneath the bridges and disapperaing in and out of fog that came and went throughout the day.

Somewhere to the north of Oakland I noticed an American Flag flying on a treeless, grassy brown hill. The flag was slanted and sculptured men were pushing the flag upward. I knew from my history it was a replica to the marines who fought on Iwo Jima in World War II as they raised the American Flag over a heavily contested mountain top.

My mind went back to the devotions and bible studies I had been giving over the last few days in the tracks of Northern California. I thought of a cross standing on a hill and the Lord pushing it up and then sacrificing himself in the battle to redeem mankind- and more importantly that He indeed won the war for all who accept Him.

I looked at the pacific waters that were in the bay and thought those same waters washed up on the shores of South Korea and Australia and New Zealand and Chile- where we have been helping to further the cause of Christ by planting the cross of victory on race tracks in those countries and presenting the salvation message of the ultimate Savior, Redeemer and Liberator- The Lord Jesus Christ!

Praise the Lord for all of you involved in the RTCA ministry and for helping spead the gospel throughout the USA, Canada and the world.

Dispatches from the Global Backstretch!

Chaplain David Corrales is a wonderful man of God, loving family man and a terrific- no- awesome chaplain to the race tracks of northern California.

It is truly an honor and a privilege to be able to walk in his shoes for a few days and to be able to spend time among his "flock"!

Chaplain David did what any great leader does- he quickly booted me out into the race tracks so I could just get right into it. I love it.

I want to share with you how the RTCA global message is resonating with the people I have been able to share the word of God with in backstretch church type settings, small group gatherings near trailers and in jock devotions.

As you know I love to talk about the unity we have as citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven. I have been able to share the fact that all over the world, immigration has reached historic porportions.

In addition to millions of immigrants living in the United States, there are additional millions of immigrants wrestling with the same issues all across Europe, South America and Asia.

On RTCA trips with Dr. Torres and Pat Day we have seen this phenomenom ourselves as Eastern Europeans are working in backstretches in Western Europe, Australia and Asia.

I told the people that so many people are living in so many new countries and adjusting to so many different cultures, languages, music, food etc- that many times they don't know what they are citizens of.

It can be depressing, exhilirating, stressful, fun, intense, lonely and even depressing. But the message I wanted to share with them was that God loved them and they were not alone and that God even addressed the issue of citizenship and unity for all that believed in Him.

It was with great excitement I shared verses such as Galatians 3:28, Ephesians 2:19, Colossians 3:11 (yes- you have to look them up) and Psalm 133:1- "How good and pleasant it is for brothers and sisters to dwell in unity together!"

Praise the Lord! The passage can be applied to modern times and circumstances. The verse did not say the brethern depended on nationality, language group, skin color or gender- it calls upon those who believe in the Lord to dwell together. To encourage and lift up each other- to bear with one another as we run the race of life together.

And when we get to Heaven our passport is stamped by the blood of Christ and we enter into Heaven for the price He paid to the Father! No more nationalities, papers, documentation, i.d.s or social security numbers- our identidy is in the Lord and cannot be stolen and our citizenship is in the United Kindom of Christ!

This is the message that the RTCA and Chaplain Corrales has allowed me to take to our brothers and sisters who live in our Global Horse Communities!

Blessings-

Edward

Live from Bay Meadows- Chaplain Edward Smith!

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Chaplains Office, Bay Meadows

Greetings my dear Chaplains and RTCA Family-

The rumors are true, Chaplain David Corrales lost a grip of his sanity and has arranged for me to serve as his replacement Chaplain till August 24th!

I am honored to help my dear brother as it allows him to go with his son to the Sierra Nevadas near Lake Tahoe where they will go bow hunting and spend quality bonding time as father and son.

It seems as if Satan was trying to keep me from coming out here as the flight was delayed several times and then finally cancelled. After a 5 hour time of hanging out in terminal D at DFW airport, I was finally on my way to the San Francisco Airport. I used the time to prepare for my work in Bay Meadows as well as on the upcoming Region One Conference of Chaplains in September.

On arrival in San Francisco it was another hour before my luggage arrived, as no one knew of its where abouts- or really seemed to care for that matter. But it was all good because the 104 degree heat of Texas had given way to the 70 degree weather of the bay area- it made me cry to think that poor Chaplain Corrales has to suffer for Jesus in such miserable conditions!

Seriously- the great spiritual work that Brother David is doing out here was quicky made known to me. I was met at the airport by a race track worker from Bay Meadows named Mr. Irineo Serrano- called "Neo" for short. He insisted on taking me to dinner at a little Taco stand he likes.

The food was great. But as we were talking he shared with me how much he loved to study the bible, that for the last year Brother David was teaching him how to study. He talked about how thankful he was for God and for God changing him from drugs and alcohol and h0w much Brother David was to him and many others in the track.

It makes me feel so proud of the work our chaplains do in representing the love of God to the workers in the horse racing community.

Today we went to the track at Pleasanton which holds a two week live event in the fair season in July and the rest of the year is a training track. Brother David has Chaplain Bill Fleeck conducting bible studies at the track. Brother David comes out and walks the backstretch- every0ne greeted him and he introduced me to so many people. We participated in two bible studies before heading back over to Bay Meadows- I think it heated up to 79 degrees- unbearable!

Tonight I will be giving a message to a bi-lingual service and meeting people afterwards and then off to a busy day and week starting tomorrow.

Keep the ministry work of Brother David and his trip with his son in your prayers and pray I do not totally destroy his ministry before he comes back!

Keep up the good race RTCA Chaplains and Family. I will blog again soon!

Chaplain Edward

Time for Prayer, Fasting and Commitment!

Greetings RTCA Family!

The RTCA has arrived at the intersection of one of the most significant moments in its 35 years of history. A email went out to the entire Board of Directors, detailing the way to proceed regarding the possible purchase of the Bradshaw Farm in Georgetown, Kentucky.

We all feel that the Lord is moving our RTCA National Headquarters to Kentucky. We feel blessed and excited about the partnership potentials with Georgetown College. We are proud that the Christian Mayor of Georgetown is wanting us to be there, and we are also delighted about all the new ministry partnerships that are shaping up in Kentucky as well.

I do not want to go into the details that the email calls for in regards to a decision from the entire board by Monday, August 13th. But, I want to highlight the call for fasting and praying.

This needs to continue to happen regardless of the outcome of the Monday vote.

We have a lot of things going on at the RTCA and I want to give you that list so we can all continue to fast and pray on serious ministry callings that involve all of us-

1. Continue to pray for God's clear will to be shone in regards to all things related to the RTCA National Home Office move to Kentucky.

2. Be in prayer for the RTCA Evangelism Festivals of Hope that will be taking place in Del Mar, California on August 28, Bay Meadows, California on Oct 2 and Churchill Downs, Kentucky on Oct. 16. We will announce the schedule soon for 2008 but track locations look to be- Emerald Downs, Fairgrounds, Louisiana Downs and Belmont. We also have plans shaping up for a Kentucky state wide evangelism program in 2008 with potential partnerships with the Kentucky Baptist that might also touch into race tracks in Ohio, Indiana and West Virgina. The Festivals will also follow up with discipleship programs designed with "Alpha".

3. Be in prayer for Pat Day and Kevin K.T. Thornton who have been tapped to be key parts of the evangelism team and for the RTCA Evangelism Home team made up of myself, Rev. Ed Donnally, Rev. Fraker, Chaplain Humberto Chavez, Chaplain Vincent Rivera and Chaplain David Corrales.

4. Please lift a prayer of thanks to the Four Square Denomination who gave a grant through Rev. Donnally that got these Revival Festivals off the ground and pray that we can get other denominational partners to see the vision of helping us lead thousands of race track and horse industry workers to the light of the Lord!

Also keep on reading this blog over the next few weeks as I will be serving as a race track chaplain at Bay Meadows for Chaplain David Corrales! I hope my work is as glorifying to the Lord as potentially funny it could be for me as a race track chaplain! (So keep me in prayer!)

Thank you for all you are doing to serve the Lord and blessings to our RTCA family!

Edward Smith

A Cross On the Razor Wire in the DMZ and Prayer from the Largest Church in the World!

Annyoung ha se yo- or hello from Dr.Torres, Pat Day and myself.

It is Wednesday night, May 30th and I am currently sitting at my hotel desk on the 10th floor where I can look out over the night skyline of Seoul. In the night you can see the light coming from so many neon crosses and by day you can see church steeples everywhere- big churches, little churches, churches on the corner and churches on the hilltops.

In Seoul there are over 5,000 churches alone!

Today we participated and experienced an incredible day with the Lord and with our great brother in Christ and our host guide- Brother Kim of the Korean Racing Authority. He arranged to take us up to the DMZ where we would be able to look into North Korea.

Depending on traffic the DMZ is within an hour's drive of Seoul. The massive multi-lanes of the modern superhighway slowly begin to roll into three lanes and then two and then to one lane heading north.

As you head north the mountains rise up and the flanking forests are a bright green. The river appears with islands and wetlands and all along the roadside you see razor wires on fences and guard posts and stations every few hundred yards.

We are told that is because the north used to send down commando teams in river subs to penetrate into raids on South Korea. Though for the most part the two Koreas are divided along the 38th parallel there is a part of western Korea held below that line by forces of North Korea and a great deal of territory held by the forces of South Korea that is north of the line.

In between is this incredible strip of bright green and naturally wild land that is 4km wide and runs 150 miles across Korea called the Demilitarized Zone or the "DMZ". It may look peacful and serene- but the South holds 2km and the North 2km and everything in between is blocked off by wires and stations and giant minefields. Armies amounting to several million are facing each other within a 50 mile radius with massive amounts of firepower and missiles aimed at each other.

We arrived at a "Reunification Peace Park" where we would board a bus to take us into the DMZ. At the park there is a section of the old train tracks and bridge that used to run between the north and south. As you walk the bridge toward the north it comes to an abrupt stop.

Along the fence you see draped cloth with writing on them. It covers everything from top to bottom. It looks similar to memorials we as a nation have placed in areas of tragedy such as occurred in Oklahoma City and New York after 9/11. But on this spot since 1953 people in the south have been coming here to place their written wishes and more importantly their prayers-prayers for peace., prayers for reunification, prayers for those lost to war and prayers for families shattered and divided by the DMZ.

It is a powerful place and as I looked up I saw a large, wooden cross that was attached to the razor wire, hanging above all the prayer clothes and requests. It said so much to me in such a quick way. It stirred me and humbled me. It reminded me of the folly of man and the suffering we can all unleash on each other by our own desires and agendas and political aims- great blood was spilled in an incredible conflict and the ramifications of it still go on in the cost of divided families and a divided nation.

But there was the cross on the wire. The one that we can unite under, Love under, bring peace to one another, forgive one another under- because that is what Christ did on the cross.

Dr. Torres and Pat Day and Brother Kim and I joined arms in a circle and prayed for the peacful reunification of the two Koreas and the opportunity to bring the Love and Grace and Truth to the North and to help them prosper spiritually, physically and mentally.

As we continued to tour the DMZ and went down into the tunnels the North had dug in the hopes of striking with thousands of troops and looked over the fortifications and minefields over into North Korea- our souls and hearts were again stirred- and we all prayed again for peace.

As we drove back into Seoul we saw the Full Gospel Church just over the river- the largest church in the world with over 750,000 members! We drove over to it, parked and walked inside. We walked down in the sanctuary, which we had to ourselves- and looked over the huge worship hall that held tens of thousands of seating areas- the organ pipes, the balconies and the pulpit from which 7 services are preached from on Sunday alone.

Beneath the giant cross behind the pulpit and in front of the altar- Dr. Torres led us in a prayer of thankfulness, a prayer for our chaplains, a prayer for the ministry in Korea, a prayer that revivals would be launched in race tracks all over the world as from the spot we were standing on- thousands of missionaries were sent out from this church- to evangelize in the name of Christ!

We felt the spirit of God surge through us as we held hands in the circle beneath the cross.

My mind kept racing back to the cross on the wire in the DMZ, the crosses we saw lining the hill tops and river banks all around the DMZ and throughout Seoul- and back to the cross beneath the largest church in the world.

I thought of Dr. Torres as he preached at church on Sunday to over 2,000 people telling them first about the race track ministry and then to the calling of God that all of us are missionaries and challenging the people to go out into the world or in their backyard and proclaim the Good News!

I thought of Pat Day as he shared in the Sunday afternoon service about his life story and inspired so many people and that opportunity I had to follow him and read from Galatians 3:28 and bring them a word of unity and global calling- for as the theme of all three of us was- Go into the world and proclaim the Gospel of Christ!

The crosses displayed here mean so much. Christians have paid for their faith in blood and persecution in Korea and now they have helped transform South Korea into a powerhouse on both the economic and spiritual levels.

Think of the cross on the wire, think of the cross in the biggest church in the world, think of the cross in your heart. Pray for the peace and reunification of Korea, pray for the ministry here and around the world, pray for Pat Day as he is opening doors for the race track ministry.

Pray, pray and pray!

Edward

Kyoungma in Korea!

Hello or "Ann young ha se yo!" from Korea. I send greetings to the RTCA family from Dr. Torres, Brother Pat Day and myself.

How or where should I get started...um.

There is so much to tell and to share great news from the RTCA mission team. Kyoungma is the Korean word for Horse Racing. (I will share more Korean to English words at the bottom of this report) On Saturday the 26th of May we spent an incredible day at the Seoul Race Park. A combination of a family theme park complete with horse and buggy rides, childrens playpark and gardens highlighted with gorgeous waterfalls, modern airport terminal and shopping mall.

The Seoul Race Park was originally built for the 1988 Seoul Olympics Equestrian Games and in 1989 was given over as a full horse racing park that holds over 50,000 people easily and is under the management of the Korean Racing Authority (KRA) that also overseas operations at the other two tracks in Pusan and Jeju Island.

On this day, with full press coverage, we met with the President of the KRA and got a full facilities tour and a VIP lunch hosted by the KRA Director of Racing- at a nearby theme park. During this time, due to the fame of Brother Pat Day we handed out hundreds of Pat Day Testimony Tracks, many of which Pat took the time to autograph and pose for pictures.

But the real joy of the day came our faithful servant of the Lord, Brother Kim, guided us through the backstretch facilites where we visited with vets at the equine hospital, trainers and spent time talking to jockies who came to meet Pat and this allowed one on one time for Pat to share about the Lord.

In the early evening we attended the "Junma Church" which is located in the race track backstretch and it means "The Great Horse Church". It is a large room dedicated to the chapel and has pews that can seat up to 80 or so people, a sound system, keyboard and a podium in front of a large cross on the wall.

The church has been in this location for the last 6 years but the race track has had services under the faithful guidance of Pastor Shin Giwhan for 24 years! The racing events are held year round but only on Saturdays and Sundays. Paster Giwhan is pastor of another church but has been leading services at the Race Track on Saturday evening.

On this evening we met with the pastor before the service and talked about the ministry partnership opportunities that the Lord was presenting to all of us. We were soon worshipping with 40 or so regular members of the race track church that came to hear Pat Day give his testimony.

Following the his testimony and the message from the pastor it was a joy to take pictures of all the race track workers that wanted to pose with Pat and to thank him for speaking that night.

The church was so kind and gracious to host a dinner for all of us down in the racing cafeteria where we again enjoyed fellowship and a typical and delicious Korean meal that included Kim Chi, Rice, and a unique beef stew cooked on portable grills in the skillet along with squid and fish that you could again place in lettuce and eat with your hands.

It has been interesting to watch the progress Dr. Torres has made with operating his chop sticks! Pat and I told him it is amazing what hunger will do to get one used to eating with chop sticks!

I will be bringing you up to date with the incredible day that we had at church the next day at one of the largest churches in Seoul and the fantastic job of preaching Dr. Torres did in one service and the great job Pat Day did at an afternoon service!

Here are some interesting Korean words for you to experience-

Horse- Mal or Ma
Horse Park- Kyoungmajang
Chaplain- Kyohoi
Jesus loves you- Jesu nim eun dangsin
Hello- Ann young ha se yo
Good bye- Ann young hee kye se yo
Thank you- Kamsa ham nida

The churches here are incredible and the Christians are a powerful and respected community with some 11,000,000 believers with more everyday and thousands every month!

Stay in prayer for us, for the favor God is granting to us, the doors He is opening and that we may be a blessing for the work of the Lord on the racetracks in Korea.

More soon!

Edward

Greetings from the Soul (Seoul) Korea!

On Wednesday the 23rd of June- Pat Day and I met up in Los Angeles International with Dr. Torres after taking our flights from Louisville and Dallas Ft. Worth. After long check in lines, long baggage screening lines and even longer lines to enter the terminal and waiting to board our Asiana 747 flight- we lifted off the ground to begin our 13 hour non-stop flight to Seoul.

We had a wonderful time of fellowship on the flight. We had a time of prayer before we departed and Dr. Torres led us in an on-flight devotional based on Psalm 120:1 starting with-
"I lift up my eyes to the hills- where does my help come from?" We prayed to the source of our power- our heavenly Father- to continue to prepare the way as the RTCA was coming to South Korea for ministry support and opportunity to establish a ministry to the horse racing community.

Over 7,000 miles later we shot across Japan, made our way over the East Sea and thirty minutes later we dove through a blinding rain storm to land on Incehon Island at the new international airport that serves Seoul.

We were met by three Christian brothers led by our team organizer and head of the Korean Jockey Guild- Brother Kim. We loaded all our bags in the van and drove nearly two hours in the rain to Seoul.

We were extremely tired- being up for over 24 hours. But we enjoyed their company at a Korean cafe and sampled Korean grilled meat mixed with vegetables that you placed in lettuce- it was delicious.

We slept in a while on Friday morning and will begin an extensive travel schedule that will carry us all over Seoul, up to the DMZ where we will look over into North Korea, then to the southern tip to the port city of Pusan and then out to the island of Jenju and then back up to Seoul before leaving on the 3rd.

We will be visiting 3 race tracks, speaking a numerous churches, appearing on tv stations and holding a conference with 600 people that are the industry and press leaders for the Korean racing community.

I will be blogging as often as possible, so stay tuned!

Pray that we will be used by the Lord to help in the establishment of a race track ministry with our Korean brothers and sisters and be given the opportunity to proclaim the Good News of Christ wherever we go!

From the Soul of the South Korean Capital city of Seoul.

Edward Smith

Global Hoofbeats to Korea!

May is the designated month of prayer for the RTCA and the RTCA is asking for prayer as Dr. Torres, Pat Day and myself leave for Korea on a ministry and mission trip May 23-June 3rd. Since the close of the chaplains school in Louisville prayer has been instrumental in the incredible things and programs that have been accomplished. And the Lord not only provided for the opportunity to present the RTCA ministry with fellow Christians in South Korea but the Lord also provided that all of the expenses required to travel to Korea and back were covered!

I will be writing a blog whenever possible from Korea to give you a "live time" feeling of what we are experiencing in South Korea. So please visit our website repeatedly over the next few weeks to "catch up" on the Good News from South Korea.

Some Interesting Christian Facts on South Korea-

Christianity was introduced via Catholic missionaries in Korea in 1784 followed by Protestant missionaries in 1884. Christians played a pivotal part in resistance and independence movements against Japanese invasion and suffered tremendous persecution in North Korea during the Korean War of 1950-1953.

Over the last 50 years Christianity has exploded in South Korea! With a population of 45,000,000 there are over 14,000,000 Christians. The largest Christian church in the world is located in Seoul with over 500,000 members and after the USA, South Korea sends the most missionaries out into the world! In fact it should be noted that South Korea sends the most missionaries into the Muslim world and are active as I write this in reaching out in Iraq.

As you are aware this is a time of great tension as North Korea is confronted both by massive famine and the nuclear standoff with China, South Korea, Japan, Russia and the United States. The largest minefields and the most mass of artillery are located between the huge armed forces of North Korea, South Korea and the United States- anything good trigger a rain of firepower not seen since World War II and could well lead to World War III.

Be in prayer for the people of all Korea, that the Lord will make a way possible for the peaceful reunification of this strategic corner of the world where families have been divided by the 38th parallel since 1953.

Many people have actually been praying for ministry work to come to the race tracks of Korea (very similar to our trips to Oceania and South America!) and we have the opportunity to give the attentions and startup to the horse ministry work in South Korea!

We will be covering South Korea from end to end, visiting three horse tracks, speaking at churches and at horse industry and press functions. We will experience the country from the DMZ to the north to Pusan to the south and a South Korean island out in the Pacific!

I look forward to reporting to you via the "Global Village Blog" on our trip.

God Bless you and keep us in prayer-

Edward Smith
President of the RTCA
Director of Evangelism and Missions

A Global Prayer of Thanks!

May 8th, 2007 I predict will go down as one of the most historic days in the illustrious history of the RTCA! It was the first time we had really mobilized not just the national RTCA body for prayer and devotions but were joined by Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, Kenya, Chile, Argentina, the UK and Puerto Rico!

Dr. Torres, Chaplain Waverly and myself began chasing the "Son" around the sun as we started dialing places around the world beginning at mid-night down in Oceania in Christchurch, New Zealand and then over to the Australian Racing Christian Chaplaincy in Sydney, Australia! It was also exciting to know that we had filled our 24 hour prayer clock and that prayer warriors were already on their knees lifting up their prayers to our Father in Heaven.

It was incredible to talk to nearly 40 chaplains from all of our regions in the USA and also to chaplains in Africa, Puerto Rico, Canada, Chile and Australia. It was also amazing to hear all the reports that Chaplains shared with us from their tracks. Many reported prayer walks with council members throughout their tracks and barns, bible devotions, a day of fasting, praying over the public address systems at the tracks and announcing the RTCA Global Day of Prayer! Some chaplains organized their own 24 prayer chains and had their entire tracks involved int he Global Day of Prayer!

In Kenya, our Brother John Kaoto had his congregation in a 24 hour prayer vigil as well as churches in Chile and Argentina. In fact when we called in to Chile we were put on their P.A. system where Dr. Torres led us in a bi-lingual prayer service with their church congregation!

The time with our chaplains was so special. Due to phone problems we would sometimes have 6 chaplains on the phone at one time or just one. But, the time spent in a time of unified prayer, devotions and encouragement gave me such a feeling of God's presence, love and grace!

I want to thank all of you who organized the Global Day of Prayer operations and programs on your tracks and ministries. I want to thank Robyn from the RTCA Home Office for keeping up with all the e-mail communications from me to you, a thank you to Chaplain Daniel Corte, Jr. for keeping the information current on the web site! Also a thank you to Chaplain Waverly for keeping the updates going out and for Dr. Torres sending his devotions and communications out to our chaplains, and for his unlimited support (as well as the Executive Council) in getting the Global Day of Prayer going!

Our RTCA brochure has Luke 11:9 stamped on the cover- "Ask, and it shall be given to you; Seek, and you shall find; Knock, and it will shall be opened to you."

I believe we have come in one RTCA accord and asked the Father for things on a wide range of requests and needs and I believe He will bless our prayers and open the doors wide for the RTCA to minister to those in the horse racing community!

May the Lord bless all of you and thank you for your prayers and participation in the RTCA Global Day of Prayer!

Edward Smith
RTCA President
Director of Evangelism and Mission

Nehemiah- The Model of Prayer!

“Always be prayerful” (Romans 12:12)

I came across an article written in the December/January issue of the “Christian Focus” magazine by Rev. Rick Warren entitled “A Leader’s Prayer Life”. And with the focus on the RTCA Global Day of Prayer on May 8^th I thought it timely to give you the highlights of the article.

His article said that for Christian Leaders there is a model prayer from the first chapter of the book of Nehemiah. When Nehemiah heard about the downfall of Jerusalem, he prayed for four months. This was not just a casual prayer. It gives us a pattern for successful praying.

Here are the 4 secrets to answered prayer from the life of Nehemiah:

1. Base your request on God’s character.

Pray like you know God will answer you: “I’m expecting you to answer this prayer because of who you are. You are a faithful God. You are a great God. You are a loving God. You are a wonderful God. You are a God that can handle this problem! (By doing this first Nehemiah was acknowledging whom God is- and that is praise! Nehemiah is starting off with the right perspective of God. You base your prayer on God’s Character.)

1. You’re great- that is God’s position
2. You’re awesome- that shows God’s power
3. You keep your promises- God’s covenant

2. Confess the sin in your life.

After Nehemiah based his prayer on who God is, he confessed his sins. He says, “We’ve sinned.” Look how many times he uses the word “I” and “we”. He says…”I confess…myself…my father’s house…we have acted wickedly…we have not obeyed.” He was asking forgiveness for things that caused his nation to go into exile and for the sins of his father- but he recognized all have sinned and that he needed to humble himself before God and ask forgiveness. He confessed on a personal level and on a national level. Which is exactly how we need to approach the RTCA Global Day of prayer on the sins of ourselves and for our national ministry and for our national governments.

3. Claim the promises of God.

Nehemiah is praying to the Lord and saying, “I want you to remember what you told your servant Moses.” Can you imagine saying- “remember” to God? God had told Moses that if Israel was unfaithful they would lose their land, and they did. But God also said if they would repent, He would forgive then and restore the land to them- and God did! All through the bible you will find God’s people reminding God what He said He would do. David did it. Abraham did it. Moses did it and the prophets did it!

Does God have to be reminded? No! Does God forget His promises? No! Then why do we do this? Because it helps us remember what God has promised and that He never breaks His promises or covenants with us- we are the ones that do all the forgetting and breaking!

4. Be specific in what you ask for.

If you want specific answers to prayers you need to make specific requests. If you make general prayers, how will you know if they are answered? Nehemiah is not hesitant to pray for success. He is bold in his praying. Have you ever prayed, “God make me successful?” There is nothing wrong in praying for success if what you are doing is ultimately for the glory of God! If you can’t ask God to make you a success at what you are doing in your ministry, family, business and life, you should be doing something else. God does not want you to waste your life.

So read the following first chapter from Nehemiah and I pray it will help in your prayer life. Blessings to you and on your life, family and ministry or business!

Edward Smith

Then I said:

“O Lord, God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and obey his commands,

Neh 1:6

Let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer your servant is praying before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel. I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father's house, have committed against you.

Neh 1:7

We have acted very wickedly toward you. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees and laws you gave your servant Moses.

Neh 1:8

“Remember the instruction you gave your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations,

Neh 1:9

But if you return to me and obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name.’

Neh 1:10

“They are your servants and your people, whom you redeemed by your great strength and your mighty hand.

Neh 1:11

O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of this man.”

RTCA White Horse Riders Ministers to Horse Community Struck By Tornado in Colorado

"Do not be afraid, for am I in the place of God? But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is in this day, to save many people alive."
(Genesis 50: 19-20)

This verse could not ring more true for on March 28th a Tornado descended without warning at 800pm and in minutes its 160 mph winds destroyed 160 homes and left a young mother dead in its wake as it roared through the tiny community of Holly, Colorado. The massive F4 tornado twisted and turned over 20 miles on the ground before lifting back up into the dark sky. Holly, Colorado is a small town tucked in the southeast corner of Colorado near the Kansas State Line- and many of her people are related to the horse industry and this is a historic horse community.
It was truly a miracle that more people were not killed in the wake of such a powerful whirlwind.

A team of the RTCA Disaster Response White Horse Riders made up of National President Chaplain Edward Smith and Chaplains Representative Chaplain Waverly Parsons followed on the heals of Faith-based and Governmental Disaster Aid Organizations to do a personal needs assessment on the ground with the Horse Industry related family and people that were affected by this horrific event.

What they experienced and encountered was a community that might have been tiny in size (population around 1,000) but had a heart as large as the state of Colorado. The RTCA team walked, talked and prayed with horse trackers such as Rodney Anderson of Anderson Racing Stables who after suffering tornado damage at his house, responded to the cries of a child and his neighbors and raced out across live power lines and flying debries to climb into a jagged tree to assist and stay and give aid and comfort to his neighbor who unfortunately died hours after being pried from this tree, her body wrapped by the metal from her destroyed home.

The RTCA team was given a tour of the affected area by horse people such has Harold and Linda Grubbs whose historic house was miraculously and for the most part left intact and the Colorado HBPA State President Mr.Shannon Rashton. He showed them the hole in the ground that was once his home and told the story of his entire family making it into the basement as the tornado ripped into their home and threw him down the stairway and into the metal shelves as he tried to secure the basement door, but he focused on the miracle God blessed him with the survival of his wife and three children and like others in this beautiful community were looking after the needs of others.

The RTCA Response Team spent time visiting barns, ranches, homes, Gateway Down Training Center and business's of those from the horse racing community checking on them and personally letting them know that the RTCA was a ministry physically reaching out to them and to let them know the RTCA and its members cared and loved them and were there to provide whatever support or needs the RTCA could help provide. The overwhelming response from the horse community people was gratitude that the RTCA sent a team to be with them, to walk with them and to pray with them.

Biblical passage and thought in regards to disasters-

"I am the Lord, and there is no other;
I form light and create darkness,
I make peace and create calamity;
I, the Lord, do all these things."
(Isaiah 45: 6-7)

Chaplain Waverly and myself could not but help but see comparisons we have seen at the ground zero's of other disasters- the roofless homes, the holes in the ground that marked what was once a home, downed trees and power lines, battered and twisted cars and trucks, pictures, books, or furniture scattered all over the place and shreds of fabric or clothing hanging from the jagged remains of tree branches stripped by powers and forces beyond your imagination.

And it is easy to see why the people affected by disasters sometimes question where God was during the storm or event or why God would allow such terrible things to happen.

One young man who tried to rescue his neighbors during the storm was struggling with emotional and spiritual issues. He was questioning why God would let a young mother die. He had been jovially shaking my hand. His grip tightened and he had a stern tone to his voice. he looked me in the eye and said- "Chaplains, I just want to be honest with you, I am mad at God right now, I just don't understand the death of that young mother, it is not fair."

I knew he was really searching for answers that would help make sense of the things he had seen, heard and experienced during the storm. I continued to hold his grip firmly as I placed my other hand gently on one of his strong shoulders, Chaplain Waverly moved in closer and placed his hand on the other shoulder, I looked into his sorrowful eyes and said- "Take a look at the downed trees and power lines, the crushed houses, the smashed cars, now ask yourself- isn't it amazing so many were spared? Maybe you might be able to see how much mercy and grace God showed to Holly, my eyes show me so much more tragedy could have unfolded here. But, brother let me also say that I thank you for reaching out for your neighbor, for your courage and for the fact you are alive now."

It was not a time for judgment or callousness. It was not a time for a theology debate or the pointing of the giant finger of righteousness. It was a time for Chaplain Waverly and I to just be a ministry of presence, to represent the RTCA and to let people know we loved them and cared for them and wanted to help them.

It was a joy and a blessing for us to be there and to be received so warmly and openly by the people of the horse community of Holly, Colorado. And we thank the Lord for His grace and mercy and we look forward to being a part of the recovery of this wonderful and blessed community.

Amen- Edward Smith, President of the RTCA

Running the Race for 35 Years!

Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ and faithful servants of the RTCA-
I want to bring you greetings and BIG thank yous for all those involved in contributing to the success of the just concluded RTCA 2007 Conference held in Louisville, Kentucky!

Words are not enough to describe the appreciation and pride Dr. Torres have in all of you especially as we constantly heard people telling us that this may well have been the best conference held by the RTCA- and that is on the heels of people telling us that last year when it was held in Houston!

Glory to God!

As President of the RTCA Executive Board I have talked about much I appreciate and treasure all of the people who have gone ahead of me for the past 35 years. This fact again stirred my heart and soul as I watched the video special that highlighted the last 35 years of RTCA history presented at the banquet on Monday night. We have been blessed by the awesome vision that was given to Brother Salty and picked up by the Dawson's and so many others that God sent in to help plant the seeds and grow the ministry.

I think of the Marino's and the Salios, the past executive boards and committee members and the incredible chaplains that walk our race tracks and barns and the race industry supporters, horse owners, trainers and jockeys that have responded to call to serve those who serve the horse. To many for me to name- but God knows who you are.

Glory to God!

And those with great discernment from God have called into action our Executive Director- Dr. Torres- whom I believe God will bless even more incredible growth in the future for the RTCA.
The more I work with Dr. Torres, Ed Donnelly in Development, The Home Office, The Executive Committee and interact with all the chaplains who serve both in the field and on committees along with our councils and directors- the more I see that the vision given to Salty has not changed- only expanded!

Glory to God!

Every where I go, Salty seems to have been there- and that means God was there before him. This ministry is blessed 35 years with a living and on going vision. Today we have the addition of new ministry tools- aircraft that can get us quickly to our Global Racing Community locations, cell phones, internet, powerpoints, teleconference capabilities, the list can go on and on- but without a one on one relationship with those who serve the horse- it means nothing!

Thank you so much to all those who served for the last 35 years. For those that served on countless committees and councils, served as officers and directors, gave it their all as chaplains and to combine together and rooted in love- help plant the seeds that are showing fields ripe for harvest.

Glory to God!

And as I serve one more year as president I know I am part of the legacy of the next 35 years of RTCA ministry.

Glory to God!
Edward Smith
President of the RTCA

2007 Annual Meeting Photos

Dr. Torres showing off his Australian Hat.