Memories of Moldova, Foundations of the Future

Last August, I had the privilege of visiting the Republic of Moldova, a small country on the fringes of the former Soviet Union.  The Moldovan people still fill my thoughts, reminding me to pray for their country, its people, and the Body of Christ there.  It is a  is an incredible place, filled with the most fertal fields I have ever seen.  Case in point - Moldovans (especially in the small town of Glinjeni) don't plant grass in the yard around their homes.  Why would they, when they can plant fruit trees, grapevines, and vegetables?  Each plot of land I saw overflowed with "bumper crops" of food.  It makes me want to cultivate the sandy soil of my Maryland yard... but I have lower expectations for my crop yield!

I want to share my memories of Moldova, based on some of photos of the people and the country.  As well, I want to spur you to pray for God's work there and give a donation, as God allows, to help me get back there this August.

(download)

Click here to download:

memories-of-moldova-foundations-of-the-future-lojBEkBhJsAECffAABfd.zip (426 KB)

But for fifty-one (51) weeks in between, the consistent work of building the church in Glinjeni was done by others.  There are just SO many Christians of Moldova who made the work a success:

• Sisters in Christ like Nastea (in the blue polka dot dress in Picture 1 above),
• Raluca (in the clown outfit with me... in my bear outfit),
• Ksiusha (in black above, and don't ask me to pronounce her name!),
• the vigilant Ana (in the pink dress above... and the wheelchair below!),

• Brothers like Andrew (the big guy),
• Andrei (the slim one),
• the two men both named Roman, Pastor Sergei, Pastor Anatol (all in future pictures, I hope!)

Yes, Jesus Christ was with us all, and the Belts Christians would rightly deflect any glory to Him.  But they were Jesus, they ARE JESUS to Glinjeni!

Usually, people learn about Jesus through His followers, which the Bible calls "The Body of Christ".  I thank God for Ana and Raluca and all their friends because they are "Jesus with skin on" to the people of Glinjeni.  Keep it up, ladies and gentlemen!  I pray God will bring me back to Moldova this year... to be Jesus with you to Glinjeni.

"Dead But Grateful" A poem... or a rap?

Yeah, I'm dead but grateful,

Christ alone has sealed my fate, full of blessing now and later.  

How could my heart be hateful?!  

I'm "Some Kind of Zombie",

though richer than Mitt Romney.  

Yeah, Satan tried to con me

into being Number One, see…

Here’s what my crew does, thinking with the mind of Jesus.  

The flesh won’t overwhelm us... if we let Holy Spirit seize us!

I am dead but grateful, and still I must stay HUMble…

because even Jesus didn’t seize His place as YaHWeH's Equal.

That’s even though HE'S GOD: Second Person in the Trinity!

But He suffered unto death so we would have REAL liberty.

Yeshua Ha Mosh-EE-ah, that’s Jesus’ Jewish name.

He lifts me from the rubble that was my House of Pain! 

Why would I not be… DEAD but GRATEFUL?  

I crucify my flesh so I can get a plateful...

of matzo bread and juice in Christ's CO-mmunion cup.  

I get drunk on The Spirit; He alone will "mess me up"!

Jesus is the Living Water, but He kills the WHIN-er!

He fills my soul with food like He's a cook at an all-night diner!

Yes, I am dead but grateful.  

So, the world thinks that I'm a fool?

Well, that's ironic, since it's madder than a Hatter!

A sinner's sophmoric scorn DOES NOT matter.  

Why should I trust in sinners? They only make me sadder.  

But Jesus takes us far BE-yond Saturn, to the highest heavens…

That's why I follow Him, nothing on this earth will make you gladder.

Yes, I am dead yet grateful.

Lord, let this be my heart's cry...

I “Give up my small ambitions."

I'm going to lift You high!

I follow You until this world is over.

I preach Good News from my hometown to Belts, Moldova!

It isn't over yet, until Christ blows His whistle.

He referees this world right now, but wait till Satan sizzles!

He'll wish his torture would end like ashes stop to smolder,

but Hell's heat won't change like seasons.  Don't wait; it won't get colder!

So, come along with me! Be DEAD BUT GRATEFUL.

Christ alone has sealed my fate, full of blessing now and later.  

How could my heart be hateful?!

Sin is not a beast tamed by a lone ranger.

So, die to sin and Christ won't call you "Stranger".

Life without Christ is a climb up Mount Everest.

Climb into Jesus' nature to pierce through worldly, noxious mist.

Forget a rocket to the top.  We're riding broken wheelchairs.

So, if you think this rhyme is trite... honestly, why should I even care?

So, join my crew! Be DEAD YET GRATEFUL.

Christ alone has sealed my fate, full of blessing now and later.  

How could my heart be hateful?!

By Eric Hatch... copy this for the glory of God as you see fit!

An Oak Grows in Moldova

Soon I will go to Moldova, a place which I did not pay much mind before the beginning of this year.  I plan on trying to help a minister and a group of eight people in a small town called Glinjeni.  I go with Convoy of Hope EU and my local church group in Bowie, Maryland, USA: Cornerstone Assembly of God, AKA Cornerstone or Cornerstone Church, depending on the advertising!

This opportunity excites me, and in some ways, it kind of scares me.  I have not been out of the country since I was eighteen (18) years old.  That's half a lifetime ago, at my present age!  Back then, I visited and did drama ministries in Mexico for about one week two years in a row.  Then the next year, I went to Jamaica.

When I went, I was so sure of myself.  Now, I remind myself of Isaiah 55:11, which punctuates a doubting thought about the effect of my work.  If I spoke or portrayed God's word, then "It will not return to [God] empty,/ but will accomplish what [He] desire[s] /and achieve the purpose for which [He] sent it." (NIV) 

This time as I go to Moldova, my wife and children will be back in Maryland, praying and waiting for my swift return.  I plan on going for one purpose: to serve and build Christ's body, the Church, in Moldova.  Yes, Eric, remember that you go for no business or personal reason! using drama and mime built anything, which I could see right now.

I hope to learn the language, too... OK, just a little!  But I will try to blog here to make sure people know what is happening, if they desire to know.

OK, that is all for today.  May the Lord Jesus bless you all!

As for the oak reference, I am an acorn, and I pray that the Lord will grow me into an Oak while in Moldova... or at least a little toward that end.

Two Winters - a new poem by Eric Hatch

Two Winters

(a poem by Eric Hatch, written in County Anne Arundel, Maryland, on the morning of 26 January, AD 2011)

Every year, another battle rages.

It continues an epic war,

An ancient war... a cold war:

A war that souls do not fight

A war that fights for souls... for hearts and minds.

An elemental war that tramples my world,

Within and without.

It is the war of Two Winters.

-

As I woke from my dreams,

As my lovely family rested,

Like a tap on the shoulder

Of a bloodless coup d'etat,

I realized the remnants

Of my oppressor's regime

Were recently relegated to

A comforting wreckage.

A revolution liberated me last night,

Covertly retaking my town.

My home is presently in rebel hands,

Under the rule of the White Winter.

And I rejoiced at the respite,

However brief it may remain.

I try to find peace

In the Gray Winter's governance.

On occasion, I glimpse glory

In the tributaries and capillaries

That reach up

From the skinless sylvan ceiling,

Singing solemnly

Of a sedentary state.

The sky, sometimes beautifully blue,

Is almost solidly smoky,

Like gray tree skin.

It projects what is within me:

My spirit flickers.

My heart is cold.

Has the dim dictator killed me?

Is this poem my unpublished "last words"?

Am I already dead? 

Or worse...

Am I a zombie? Am I buried alive?

Slowly strangled by a stop-gap steward,

I am the slave of

"another law that I see in my members,

waging war against the law of my mind

and making me captive 

to the law of sin that dwells in my members. 

Wretched man that I am! 

Who will deliver me from this body of death?"

This Gray Winter gives me unlimited access

To lifeless forests and frigid freeways

I can also huddle inside for as long as I please.

In acidic slime and servitude, 

I stay where the Gray demands.

But the broken headstones I perceive

Splinter outside my window.

They remind me,

How not so long ago,

I saw my explosions of verdant fireworks.

I feel that fire of fun (shudder).

Yet, even in the cold,

My family and I have had frozen fun

(another Gray shudder at that joyful tone).

I can be cold and happy; it is true.

But I want my gleaming, playful friend;

a receptive pillow would help.

Ah.

Here s/he is.

Dear God, thank you for freeing me

From a muted monster, 

This invalid executer of my estate.

I know that this chilly blanket only briefly

Covers the gray grind slithering through my soul.

Yet, my body becomes blessed and bold

When I see the covers

of the Better Winter envelope everything.

In the light bursting from the morningstar,

Reflecting off the roofs,

melting into mud,

I understand the times,

Both Gray and White,

speak out the truth:

I will rise from these Winters.

And Like The Man of Burnished Bronze, 

I am clothed in white today.

I am as alive now (although frozen)

As I am when 

White and muted black turns to bloom.

The Blog will be about Poetry and Art.

I will no longer be focusing on business on this blog.  This will be where I post bits of my thoughts on and attempts at art.  Usually, my attempts at art are in the form of poetry.  I will post a poem here in a few minutes.

Niche Media is dying. Long live New Media.

For everyone out there with a stake in Reed Business Information, the news about Niche Media is not good.  Reed is closing twenty-three (23!) magazines down, including Trade Show Week.  Signs showed this was coming when Reed Elsevier decided to divest almost all of its US-based magazines.  Niche magazines have two problems: low numbers of readers and high levels of cost.  That does not work, not years ago, and especially not now.

List Filtering works. For example...

Key Terms within this blog

Decision Maker – a member of an organization with final responsibility over buying a product or service

Influencer – an employee who must recommend a product or service to meet a company’s needs

Pre-reg List – a spreadsheet with contact information about attendees who have registered for an event

List Filtering – separating qualified prospects from other registered attendees, based on the roll of participants provided by an event organizer, 

One particular prospect at IAEE’s Expo! Expo! was the Marketing Director for an Association for an up-and-coming industry.  He was sitting on the floor with his colleagues near my booth while eating a complimentary lunch (which was especially good... Thanks, IAEE). I had called him before the event because he is a prospect for Fantail.  I left a message because he's busy.  I knew, after filtering my list, he probably was coming to Expo Expo to look for marketing ideas and new technology in the industry.  

However, a lot of other exhibitors called him… including a trucking company.  Here's is what I mean by List Filtering. Never call a person whose job at a trade event is not primarily associated with your product or service.  That way, you don't waste time or annoy influencers at a business who need nothing from you.  When I reached out to him, he was irritated by the mountain of unnecessary messages he received.  However, after talking with me, he realized quickly that he should connect with Fantail at Expo Expo.  He stopped by my booth, and he is interested.  Go Fantail.

So, listen up, future exhibitors and sponsors.  Filter the list.  Find the right prospects.  Fill (Don’t clog) your sales pipeline.  Simple enough, right? You tell me.  I look forward to responding to your comments.

Last point - it's Christmas EveAs always, may God bless you with a Truly successful day.

Eric Hatch

Principal

P.O.P. Event Marketing, Inc.

list filtering - frugal and foundational

Second in a three-part blog

Let me clarify what I said on December 18^th.  If all you plan to do is look over the Pre-reg List on the plane flight, you should get a refund for your airfare.  My reason is this: you have already wasted a list that includes qualified prospects for your business. 

Wasted?  Yes – you should have called at least thirty prospects a week before the event, but you didn’t.  Other exhibitors in your field have.  You did not call or write or e-mail or join an online community that includes any attendee that most likely will be a prospect.  Would you call a prospect on the phone without learning something about him or her?  I hope not.  So, why would you go to an event and not try to connect with a person who should be your next client?

If you want to stand out on the show floor without breaking the bank, you must contact the right attendees before and during the event.  This is vital.  Now some overzealous marketing director has probably called your prospects and, for that matter, every person on the Pre-reg List.  He and a dozen of his friends have filled up voice mails and tried to sell both the Administrative Assistant who is attending and the CEO of your dream client.  Regardless of their unscrupulous activity, call your prospects anyway.  Reach out to them.  Find one of their colleagues on Twitter.  Subscribe to their Facebook fan page.  See if the company has a blog.  Will people be slightly annoyed by you?  If the Decision Maker or Influencer at the event needs what you sell, s/he will appreciate your contact (when done correctly).

Here's an preview of tomorrow’s blog about how my strategy worked.  I just came back from Atlanta last week where I attended the International Association of Exhibitions and Events Expo! Expo! (which is their annual event).  I was there to help Fantail Technologies market their Cloud computing solutions to the Association and Event Industries.  I helped them with many activities before the event, one of them was List Filtering.  More to come tomorrow…

As always, may God bless you with a Truly successful day.

Eric Hatch

Principal

P.O.P. Event Marketing, Inc.

Exhibitors, Filter or Fail!

POP Event Marketing

Does your revenue POP after a trade event?  It can and will.  Read on.

List Filtering

Part 1 of 3

Key Terms within this blog

Decision Maker – a member of an organization with final responsibility over buying a product or service

Influencer – an employee who must recommend a product or service to meet a company’s needs

Pre-reg List – a spreadsheet with contact information about attendees who have registered for an event

List Filtering – see below

It’s not getting any cheaper to exhibit at a trade event (AKA trade fair, expo, exhibition, or trade show), and companies rightly expect lots of prospective buyers to be there.  However, not every attendee at any event is a decision maker or an influencer.  Additionally, decision makers and influencers don’t influence every need for their organizations.  For instance, a rental furniture provider has no business reaching out to the CIO of an association before any event.

You may be saying, “That’s obvious, Hatch.   A tech decision maker usually doesn’t need to talk to a General Service Contractor.  But I have different problem.”  Your situation is unique, but at the most basic level, the most critical decision you will make for your company is not your exhibit's size, placement, or your booth’s “WOW” factor.  More than anything, it depends on your Pre-Show Promotion and, more specifically, on which registered attendees you call before the event.

Picking the right attendees to reach before the event is vital.  It’s what I call “List Filtering”.   It is essential that, if you do nothing else, get the Pre-reg List and find some people who you are sure are prospects for your business.  Maybe you just got the list, it’s 10,000 people long, and you’re leaving for the airport after you finish reading my very important blog. (By the way, thanks for your time.) Regardless, print the list and read it on the plane.  Know who on the list is a prospect, as best as you can before the show.  It’s better than nothing… maybe.  More to come tomorrow…

As always, may God bless you with a Truly successful day.

Eric Hatch

Principal

P.O.P. Event Marketing, Inc.