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Cornerstone Communications
Korea
November 25, 2005

Dear Friends & Family,

Greetings from Seoul, Korea! Well, I finally made it here last week, and we have hit the ground running! In the past week, we have held auditions, cast each of the roles, created a rehearsal schedule, had orientation with the new actors, and started staging and choreographing dances. It's been fruitful! I've been alone, and survived Thanksgiving alone.

Seoul Survivor

So, how was your Thanksgiving? Tastier than mine, I hope. First of all, I woke up on Thursday morning, and had a bunch of meetings and papers to work on. I wanted to greet everyone with a cheery "Happy Thanksgiving!", but didn't for three reasons: 1. They don't know what Thanksgiving is. 2. They don't know it's an American holiday, and 3. Even if I greeted them with "Happy Thanksgiving!", I'd get the same reaction as if I said, "Your underwear's on fire!" So, I just smiled, and said "Anyeong Haseo!"

Okay, yes it's true! I'm hopelessly behind on my pictures! Anyway, I'm going to play "catch up" on this newsletter. Here is the SPANISH cast for Judgment Seat in Dallas' production last month.

Since it was business as usual, I had a Korean-as-usual type of lunch. It was oyster boullion, squid in its own ink, rice with bean sprouts, tofu and greens coated with a red pepper sauce, Kim chi-pickled cabbage spiced with red peppers, and green tea. I've gotten pretty good with chopsticks, so I've been taken off the FBI's Most Dangerous Missionaries List. As we used to say in elementary school: "I'll trade my (Thanksgiving) lunch for yours".

Production Update

I think I just mentioned it in the opening paragraph! However, there's a little more. Last year, we presented "The Promise" in 5,000 seat Olympic Hall, but this year, it's booked, and it's also very expensive. We're trying to go for a cheaper venue. Hansei, which is Yoido Church's Bible school, desires to have the production in their hall, but it seats only 1,000.

Here is the ENGLISH cast for "The Judgment Seat" which ran simultaneously with the Spanish version at Covenant Church. Our pastor, Pastor Mike Hayes (kneeling to my right) blessed us by stopping and posing with us.

My desire is to do it in Yoido Church, where we can present the production to over 10,000 at one time! The venue would be free at either location, and the production cost is the same, since we'd have to build a stage, build trusses, hang lights and curtains, and add a sound system, so I'd rather get more "bang for my buck". The show is free, so wherever we do it, it will pack out the house.

My reason for doing it is to give people an opportunity to fall in love with Jesus all over again. This production is a musical love story of Joseph and Mary, and the incredible miracle that transpired to bring the Savior of Mankind to earth. Pray that the Lord's will be done, and that we'll impact as many people with this musical message of love and miracles.

After Judgment Seat ended, I was blessed with a cruise... a much needed respite before beginning the new production here in Korea.

EXTRA-Ordinary

As we give the Lord thanks for all the blessings He has bestowed upon us this year, the Lord wants to take us to the next level. Not just to expect the ordinary, but the extra blessings He desires to give those who closely follow Him. We can live life in the Extra-ordinary realm.

A few years ago, I knew that's what God wanted for me. What did I do? I began to look for extraordinary things to happen. However, I began to notice that many extraordinary things were NOT happening! "I KNEW that something was wrong!" is what I told myself. I went to the Lord in prayer, and asked Him why I wasn't experiencing the Extraordinary."

After the cruise, and before leaving for Korea, I had a chance to spend an early Thanksgiving/Christmas/Easter etc. dinner with my brothers, sister and nephews and nieces before leaving the country.

The Lord, replied, "It's your fault." Wait a minute! I was expecting a GOD-lier answer than that! I read Romans 13:14, "Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof." The Lord began to give me understanding, as I meditated on that scripture. By "making provision", I'm "allowing" or "positioning" myself to do things MY way. Not God's way. My way. I found the problem. I wasn't seeing the extraordinary in my life, because I wasn't allowing it to happen. I was meditating on my problem. Not on God's Word.

Often, we say we believe God can do great things, but then we don't believe Him to do them in our lives. We're not positioning ourselves to receive. The good news is that the opposite must also be true! I can position myself to do things God's way! Hebrews 11:1 says "Faith is the evidence of things hoped for…" When I believe and start "speaking life" by quoting God's Word, and stop "speaking death" by thinking "why doesn't anything good happen to me?" we then give God something to work with in our lives. By walking by faith and quoting God's Word, you "make provision" for the Extraordinary.

II Kings 4:2-7, "Elisha said to her, ‘What do you have in your house?' She said, ‘Nothing, except for a pot of oil'. Then Elisha told her, ‘Go and borrow pots from your neighbors, and not a few (but many) . Pour the oil into every pot, and fill them.' So, she went and shut her door, and took the pots her sons had brought her and filled each one of them, and the oil continued to pour out of her pot until every pot was filled. Then Elisha told her, ‘Go, and sell the oil, and pay your debts, and then you and your children can live off the rest."

In a meeting with some of the staff at 800,000 member Yoido about possibly presenting our Christmas musical here, I pose in their sanctuary. No, this isn't a convention center! It's a church!

This poor woman thought that she had nothing. The devil lied to her and made her believe that she had nothing with which to pay her debts. She did have something, a pot of oil. In her mind it was nothing, but in God's mind it was something to work with. She believed Elisha and positioned herself for the Extraordinary.

God's Word says in Luke 5:18-25 that "The power of the Lord was present to heal them" , but not one of them was healed. Why? They didn't position themselves for the supernatural, and it passed them by. However, one person did get healed. A paralyzed man and his friends were so determined to receive the Extraordinary that they literally tore the roof off a house and lowered the sick man down in front of Jesus! When Jesus saw their faith, He healed the man! Would you agree that they had positioned themselves to expect the Extraordinary? What about you? Would you have done the same, or would you have just waited outside the house, and said, "Why doesn't Jesus heal me? Doesn't He love me?" My friend, God is doing miracles around you! Are you just going to stand there and let Him pass you by? Why? Because "He doesn't love you? NO! Because you're not positioning yourself to receive! The examples are endless! Blind Bartemaeus. Did he position himself to receive the Extraordinary? What about Mary, Jesus' mother? And Peter stepping out of the boat? And Noah, and Paul, and Moses, and …. and….. YOU?

Years ago, God taught me how to make provision for the extraordinary when He told me to believe Him for my ministry, to take me around the world. "Lord, I don't have enough money to take me to the next city!" (How's that for positioning?) I mean, to believe God to take me around the world, and to trust Him for the funds to, not just travel, but to live, and pay for the productions in different countries, when I didn't have money just seemed like foolishness, not faith. Yet, I decided to "position" myself, and I started telling everyone of my calling. You know the rest. I've traveled to 44 countries, and have done productions in 22, and more than one production in many of these countries. Does God love me more than He loves you? No. I've just learned to "position" myself to receive the EXTRAORDINARY! By thinking and praying, and confessing God's Word over areas of your life where you are believing the Lord for a breakthrough, you can "make provision" for the Extraordinary. Give God something to work with! And then, expect to see God begin to do the Extraordinary in YOUR LIFE!

Chuk Bok Hamnida!

That's Korean for "God bless you!" It's good to be back in touch with you, and I ask you to pray for us as we prepare this Christmas production. We have such an opportunity to touch thousands with the message of a very special baby who came to earth to live among us, to grow, and to give His life for us. His name is Jesus. May Jesus be on all lips this holiday season, here, and in your life.

For the Kingdom,
Richard Montez