As many of you have probably already assumed by now, I have returned home safely from my final month in India. One of the most bittersweet moments I have ever experienced, whilst preparing to board our plane bound for the United States, my brothers and sisters, some of whom I have gotten to know even better that friends I have known for several years, make eye contact with me and with others. There is a subtle, yet definitive way in which we look at one another, just remembering the times that we have shared that changed us, one at a time, forever. The excitement and anticipation of going home was neutralized by the strong feeling that there are some people who I have had this incredible year long life experience with that I will not see again until heaven. Leaving best friends to go home to best friends is something a person cannot prepare for.
From sharing the gospel at children's homes, to leading teachings and exercises on prophecy at the YWAM base, our last month was completely rounded and far from the mundane. I found that even going to bed at night was difficult because of the conversations that I would have on a routine basis with staff members and students at the base. And I think that is what made this month so great. That life wasn't necessarily divided into ministry and downtime. Looking back on it, the whole month was ministry, it just depended on how wisely I used my time.
And I guess the same applies to being at home. For the first time in my life, I am heading into a time of zero previously made obligations. The question is not what do I do with my time, but how do I take what has happened to me and use it to bring about Heaven here on earth. I have told people that coming home from the race feels like running a 10 mile run at a 6 minute mile pace on a treadmill, and then stepping off and trying to walk. I am so excited for the next month (month 12 if you get me) and this next season, that the challenge right now is waiting upon the Lord for Him to present what the next thing is. Please pray for me about this matter, because whether it is stateside or abroad, I know that His plans always lead farther up and farther in.
For all of you who have supported me in prayer, in support, and encouragement, I know that I have been so blessed because of your prayers in faith to a God who is mighty to save. I told many of you that it was my prayer that you would be built up and encouraged because of the things that God was doing in me and through me, to affect this world in a positive way. If I was a hand then you all back at home were the arms, without which I never would have been able to reach those so desperate to be touched by Him. So on behalf of the hundreds (and probably thousands) who experienced by the loving embrace of Jesus, thank you so much, and God bless you!
Now I am sure that many of you are anxious to hear some first hand accounts, and see some pictures, so my parents have graciously offered up their house on the 24th of September, 2011 at 6-8pm for a night of fellowship, stories, and even some dessert. I will make a Facebook event as well, so if you are free, I would love to see you there!
The address is 3818 N 43rd Pl Phoenix, AZ 85018 hope to see you there!
So I must apologize, this blog has been a long time coming but I hope you are as excited to hear as I am to share a couple of absolutely incredible things that God did this month.
As I'm sure many of you heard, but still some may have not, my first couple days in India did not turn out as I expected. Due to some complications with some poorly prescribed antibiotics from a Tanzanian doctor, I went straight to the hospital upon arriving in Delhi and spent my first few days there recovering. But God is good, and He expedited my healing so that within the week, I was on the three day train ride to Bangalore to reunite with the rest of my team.
Our team was working at the DTS Base for YWAM in Bangalore. The students there were absolutely amazing men and women of God, from all different stages in their walk with the Lord. I'll be the first to say, that even though this month was definitely low key by comparison to the intense ministry that we were doing in Africa, we were CONSTANTLY investing and pouring into the young DTS students all that the Lord was doing in our life and wanted to do in theirs as well.
A lot of our ministry centered around work at children's centers and schools. Teaching Bible songs and stories, playing games and just getting to know the kids was our main ministry this month, and I am willing to go on record saying that Indian kids ARE the cutest. See for yourself.
About halfway through our time I had the joy and privilege of meeting a young girl named Blessing. Two of my teammates and I had just finished doing a kids program full of songs and presenting the Gospel, and even though the Hindi teacher staff attempted to restrict our time, God took full advantage of the opportunity that we were given.
I had the honor of giving the lesson that day, and at the end of the lesson, we took about five minutes of showing the children and encouraging them to pray on their own, in order to hear the voice of Jesus directly in the ears of their hearts. You see, it has been my experience that children, especially those who have never tried praying and ESPECIALLY those who have not been jaded to the idea of prayer, are in a prime position to hear the voice of the Lord. They understand praying with CHILDlike faith because the position of their bodies matches the position of their hearts. They fully understand dependence because most of them still do not strive for independence; so when they hear about the Fatherly love of God for them, and His desire to speak to them, they just seem to get it.
After the prayer time, I was saying goodbye to some of the kids and talking with them about their lives. A two little girls came up to me and asked me for my autograph, to which I wrote "Jesus love you" in big bold letters on their papers. One little girl looked up at me with her large brown Indian eyes and with excitement in her eyes and voice, she exclaimed to me, "Thank you so much, I wanted to let you know that Jesus speaks to me all the time, and I love Him so much." I was immediately taken back. In a Hindi nation, this was not something that I was used to hearing from such a small child and with such boldness. I asked her her name, at which time the bell for class rang. "My name is Blessing, please pray for me, I want to be baptized!" She quickly scurried off with her friend as I stood in the corridor of the school, almost in shock, filled with love and joy. I could feel myself starting to well up with tears as God's love gripped my heart. "She gets it," I remember thinking.
Please pray for Blessing, because a Blessing like this does not come along but once in a lifetime.
The children sat quietly in the dimly lit church, the only light came from the poorly constructed concrete ventilation blocks and the gap between the roof and the wall of the church. The group of 25 children look up at me bright eyed.
The pastor comes up to me and whispers in my ear right before I open my mouth to speak, "Make sure to share the full gospel, several children here are Muslims." I smiled and nodded at the pastor, and began to share with them.
Now I don't know just what it is, maybe it's the color of their skin, or the way their hair is styled or maybe it's the Holy Spirit, but I feel like I can always tell which kids are Muslims. And now every one of them was looking and listening; so intent on not missing anything, like the audience of a magic show wanting to know the performers secret.
There was something different about this speaking engagement. I can honestly say that I have preached more times that I can remember, but as I looked into the eyes of the children looking up at me, wanting to know what was so important that I would want to tell them, I became very aware of the presence of God in the room. The air was warmer, a thickening comfort and peace that swept up my soul and stirred the innermost parts of my being.
The Father's love was just pouring out of me. Trying to stop it would have been like throwing a bottle cork at a bursting dam. I looked into the eyes of every child in that room and began to pray in my mind that each one of those children would be filled with the love of God for them. Funny thing happened, I began to fill up too. And as I continued to speak, the tears started coming. Then I noticed the oldest of the children, a 10 year old Muslim girl who's eyes were fixed to mine as I said, "If your heart is touched by this love, know that it is not anything that I have said, it is the Holy Spirit speaking straight to your heart. It is Jesus calling you to Him."
I was about ready to lose it. Angie and the pastor were both in tears, the presence of the Lord was so tangible in this little church in Dar. We began praying over the children one by one, and I'm sure that God was speaking exactly to each one of their hearts desires as we prayed for each one of them.
Once again, God used us as witnesses so that we would know that He is God, just as much as the children we were witnessing to. We never know when or where God will breath on us, and His presence will manifest, but we can be assured that when it does happen, we cannot stay the same, and we never will.
I can say beyond any reasonable shadow of a doubt, that this has been (and is continuing to be) the best year of my entire life.
At the beginning of our time here in Tanzania, our team was blessed to have a relaxed amount of ministry to do. Nightly services required us to do some preaching and some door to door ministry, but other than that, our mornings were pretty free. This had left me to do some serious thinking about a lot of the things that I have experienced during this World Race. Now I know I still have six weeks till I return back to the states, and don't get me wrong, I am so excited about the things we have yet to do and experience, but with the pace that the World Race leads one on, it doesn't leave a lot of time to process each month as it goes by; before you know it you are already shoulder deep in your next month. Forming new relationships, learning new names, customs and languages, and constantly being shown newer and deeper parts of God's love, it can probably be equated to downhill slalom skiing....for 11 months. Every turn is so intense, new and wonderful that you don't want it to stop, but let's be honest, your thighs are starting to burn.
Before this month started, we had a brief rendezvous with the rest of our squad in a town in Uganda called Jinga, where we got to raft down the Nile; flipping our raft multiple times in class 4 and 5 rapids gave me a new definition and understanding of the word "a strong current" if you know what I mean. This followed by a 50 plus hour travel day on African buses across three countries, complete with full bus breakdown and having to spend the night in a little rest stop in the middle of nowhere , Tanzania have been working together to give us a full African experience, and I am loving every minute of it.
Here in Dar es Salaam, our team has been keeping extra busy with more preaching than a Billy Graham crusade, evangelism and just building relationships with the church members. Rest is a most welcome indulgence when it finds us as we have been getting busier and busier, but as all of us have seen, it is when we get weak that God moves the strongest among us. Just such an instance happened to me this week.
Sorry about the lack of photos, still working on getting those and internet strong enough to link them to this page.
I can honestly say that for the first time in the last 9 months, my heart is being wrecked on a daily basis.
A week and a half ago we arrived at Ambassadors of Life Church; our host, Pastor Joseph Nsaga and his family (both church and literal family) haven't stopped thanking us for coming and since the day we arrived. We haven't been able to stop admiring and encouraging them since the day we arrived....
I have never seen the type of poverty that I see on a daily basis here. Children play in heaps of garbage while their bellies protrude from lack of food; people gathering water that looks closer to chocolate milk than potable water. Open sewage, rotting fruit and meat, and to be completely honest, I love it here.
It has been so good for my heart and others to share the Gospel in full multiple times on a daily basis. It made me realize that this is a practice that I didn't do in my previous life nearly as much as I thought I did. Whether I am preaching at the church, open air crusade or one on one conversations with people in the community, God's love feels like it is becoming more real in my life every time I talk about it. And there is a huge difference between thinking about the Gospel and speaking it. I think that speaking it encourages me to live it. When I have to take time to assign words to my thoughts and feelings, God's love begins to touch my heart as I see it touch others.
One of the most encouraging things that my team and I get to experience on a daily basis is sharing life with our pastor. I have never seen a man who has gone through, and is currently going through so much tribulation but still has so much joy. In the last couple months, the church itself suffered severe damage from a storm, losing two walls and over half of its roof. The government is currently trying to take away the property which pastor not only uses to congregate for services almost every day, but also to feed, and shelter over a dozen people. Shepherding this flock while taking care of his own 4 children and his wife who is 8 months pregnant (and currently suffering from malaria), he has never uttered even a hint of complaint, but greets every trial with more prayer than I have ever seen and lives with more joy than anyone I have ever known.
I have been challenged so much in how I love, in questioning why I get discouraged or frustrated, and especially about being thankful.
I love you all and thank you for your prayers, please keep Pastor Joseph and his family in your prayers this week especially, we will see how God answers our request to save the church from being taken by the government. Pray for peace for his family and healing for his wife Beatrice.
I've come to the realization, that one of the most difficult parts is forming relationships. Forgetting about the heartache of leaving new friends at the end of the month, and even the barriers of language and culture, the hardest part is being seen as normal people.
It's sad to say that it took me 8 months to figure this out, but I will break it down for you. This month we were extremely active; door-to-door visits, discipling, praying for the sick, preaching, and to top it all off, being in a state of constant smiles and greeting. People who do ministry with us must think that we are like this all the time, a constant state of go-go-go; supermissionaries pretty much. And I can't tell you how liberating it is when we are able to spend time with people outside of ministry, and they realize that there is nothing that makes us special, in fact we are being just as changed by this mission trip as the people we are coming to minister to. We are witnesses to the one true God, so that we may know Him more as well. One of the great wonders and mysteries of Him, that He never just affects one person at a time, but He does a million things when He does just one.
If we equate our sinful nature and the bondage of our depravity to a chain, I think that it is safe to say that our chains (as the human race) are linked together. As I leave my shackles behind, I see the chains of others are loosened, or even broken. The more I walk in the victory of Christ Jesus, and His freedom, He is freeing others.
The mark of a true Christian is not in how many Bible verses he knows, nor the amount he or she sins, or even the number of people he or she shares Christ with; it is the freedom in which they walk in that marks a true Christian. A person who is constantly living in fear of doing the wrong thing, is not free no matter how many times they tell others to join them. No, freedom manifests as loving in joy and confidence. The greater we are assured that there is nothing that we could do that could change God's view of us, the less amount of time we will spend self-medicating and self-depricating and instead we will start MAKING A CHANGE in this world! Remember, it is for FREEDOM that CHRIST has set you FREE!!!
Fear, pity, loathing have no more place in my heart than a son of God has in hell. So I will walk as if I can see my anointing, I will pray as if I can see heaven open up before me to swiftly answer my request, and I will laugh like I know that my laugh will bring others joy. Do I have it all figured out? Heck no, but admitting that and knowing God not only loves me, but He is fond of me and is far more faithful than I could ever be makes me feel extremely free.
I would love for this blog to go before us to the people we are soon to be meeting, and especially the people who we will be doing ministry with, so that they would know that there is nothing special about us that differentiate us from them. I am falling in love with Jesus more, valuing our time together more, seeking His righteousness more and counting it all joy. I think with a heavenly perspective comes an appreciation for the journey as well as the prize. I pray that you would know that God walks just as much with you as He walks before you and behind you. There's one word that comes to mind when I think of God walking WITH us.... friends.
I'm going to be heading to Uganda in a couple hours. We are going to be in Kampala working with a church. I praise God for the fruits that He has brought forth in my life and especially for the new brothers and sisters in Christ who are now enjoying their FIRST LOVE. Please keep my team and I in prayer as we heading into the LAST 3 MONTHS of the WR! This is the season of harvest, in Jesus name!
Also, I have been trying to put pictures on this post now for about an hour, all to no avail, I will post some when I get good internet again, for now just look at pics on facebook, as those are much easier to upload and get tagged in. Love you guys, please comment, I love reading your thoughts!
Country changes on the World Race are a big deal, but continent changes shift paradigms. From the moment our team arrived in Africa, there was new life, a refreshing over our whole squad; like changing clothes after along days' work and a cold shower. The 7 months that had led us here seem a long time ago.
When you watch the World Race promotional videos, or most mission trip videos meant to grab your attention, you will more than likely see images and movies of Africa. Not because Africa is the definitive missions
destination, but because there is more excitement here for the Lord than I have seen anywhere else! The church that my team is working with is called Deliverance Church Langata, a 600+ member non-denominational church on the outskirts of Nairobi.
Here, our days are almost melting together, with trips to childrens homes, door to door evangelism, preaching the Word to hundreds of students and building relationships with anyone and everyone in the community. God has truly been blessing us in the fruit of our labor, as we have already seen 2 women and 2 young teenage boys give their lives to Christ and desire to be discipled! Praise God (Amen)!
Living life and making friends with people in the community has been absolutely exhilerating, as we are readily welcomed into homes and offered tea as we share the Gospel. I told Mac one day when we were coming home from just spending time with some of our friends at their apartments, that if we treated our relationships like we treated our money, we would probably look a lot more like Kenyans and more importantly, a lot more like Jesus Christ.
Kibera
Satan has been trying to discourage us, trying to slow the flood of Kingdom that has been unleashed here in Kenya. Nearly a dozen cases of malaria and typhoid and theft only has encouraged us to pray more, value our things less and perceive with an eternal perspective the war that is raging all around us. But we are not shaken, nor are we moved. You feel a lot firmer when all that can be shaken loose is taken away, and you can see more clearly the rock to which you are clinging. The more we see the exposed rock, that is our foundation in Jesus Christ, the more secure we feel. I don't fight as one who beats the air, for I have eyes to see and ears to hear.
There has been a great deal of change that the Lord has been doing in my life as well. I've already wept more this month than any of the other months, not always because I am broken by what I see, but rather because I am being so humbled His faithfulness to use me, care for me and love me in spite of my pride. God has been giving me a taste for Life. I have spent so much of my time thinking that I would taste Him in the things I do, rather I have been tasting Him and product is the things that I do. I no longer want to preach to tons of young men so that I can feel that I am making an impact for the Kingdom, I want to walk in the freedom of forgiven sin to show others the GOODNESS OF GOD! I have been wanting the same for others too. My teammates, even friends back home who I know are struggling with feeling free. I know it is not my job to set people free, it is my job to tell them that their chains will never hold them again....
All photos courtesy of Mac Mitchell, all children property of Jesus Christ =)
If I were to give one word to describe the spiritual climate of Cambodia, it would be opportunity. Every day I would catch myself thinking or even exclaiming, "I can't believe they don't do this" or "I can't believe how receptive they are to the word's we say" or "I just see how so little can go so far and affect so many people!"
It was at times frustrating to realize the chain reaction of poverty, malnutrition, poor education, and above all lack of spiritual aid and discipleship which leaves the Cambodian people and the Cambodian church struggling to in many ways. God has placed Cambodia on my heart more than any country thus far and it was downright hard to leave the day before yesterday.
When I go to bed at night, statistics such as how little it costs to feed a family, or how far simply taking the time to sit and read the Bible with one of the youth will go. Doing so doesn't just teach them english, or fulfills their physical needs; as cliche as this may sound, it gives them hope for the first time in their life! Most students don't get above a 6th grade education, and even for the quarter a day that it costs, none of them have any idea of what they are capable of. Words can't describe just how sad it is to ask student after student if they have any dreams or hopes for the future, and just hear, "No."
I will post some opportunities if any of you at home would like to become involved, but I want you all to hear this, that of all the countries I have been to thus far, Cambodia is desperately in need of that which is readily available. To put this into a mental picture for you, let me share of an incident that happened in our last week in Cambodia.
We went to a village to give out medical supplies, shoes, share testimonies and give out Bibles and Bible teaching guides in simple Khmer to the literate members of the village. Greg and Jane have made visits to this village before, doing the same thing, and starting to disciple new believers.
Just before we started handing out the supplies, a young boy, probably 5 or 6 (although it is hard to tell the age of someone who is malnourished) stood in line, waiting patiently for a new pair of flip-flops. I still had a sandwich left over from lunch and asked one of missionaries who we were with if I could give it to him (I asked because I did not want to cause any sort of panic in the lines) and she replied, "Honestly, no. His body is at such a state, that bread, peanut butter and jelly would be to much to handle. His body wouldn't be able to process it. He is not just starving, he is starving for rice."
I was struck with a huge revelation, that this was the state of the Cambodian people. More advanced teaching will come, right now they need the hope that the Gospel offers. More advanced education will come, right now they just need to learn to write their own name in their own language. More food will come, right now they are just starving for rice. This is what I mean when I say that so little can go so far. The fact that Americans would come there, to share their life and the joy of Jesus which is better than life absolutely blows them out of the water. They want to listen, spend time with, learn from and just know YOU!
Brothers and sisters, please PLEASE pray that workers would be raised up and sent out into the field of Cambodia.
Also, I want all of you to know, that it has been a long time coming, but I am safely in Africa! I am in Nairobi Kenya, as our team has had to make a shift in our country list, and I will tell you guys all about it once I get to our ministry. Love you all, and God bless!
Just a short video showing some of the things I have been up to these past 2 weeks!
We have been very blessed in our ministry this month to get to work with a lot of children. Weekday mornings, we get to teach english songs and Bible songs to the small children, as well as playing games with them.
The church that we are helping at has a large youth group, and we have the arduous and painful task of spending time with them (insert sarcasm here)....
Taking them to the water park, playing sports and just doing life make the language barrier a great deal smaller. Our team has also been teaching at the church and giving lessons and testimonies on Sundays. To top it all off, our team got to venture to Sien Reap to see Angkor Wat, the largest buddhist temple in the entire world! Please keep our team in prayer as we are in our last week in southeast Asia and are preparing for 3 months in Africa! Be sure to read the story of Pon, a young boy who I met at one of the VBS's last week!
It was a hot and humid Cambodian morning as our 4x4 rolled up to the small village church. The kids were so excited to see visitors that before long, they had gathered all their friends to come and see.
Our contacts in Cambodia had arranged for us to help at a VBS this day. About 15 minutes after we had arrived at the church, and the building was filled with about 120 children all excited about the days activities. Here in Cambodia, the school system is on a pay per day tuition. The low cost is reflected in the poor education, but even at that low cost, most kids in this area simply don't go, as it is an expense that their parents feel they can cut. But this is during the school's holiday, and the kids come from every hut in the village.
Our inability to communicate effectively does not slow us from engaging. Soon, the lack of language is long forgotten in the songs, games and simple proximity to one another. As cliche as it may sound, a smile truly is universal. The Cambodian people are warm, and inviting, and the children, although timid at first, don't worry themselves with trying to communicate but rather take your hand and bring you along for the ride.
As the day went on, we watched a presentation of the Gospel, and the children were even taught how to share the love of God with their friends and family. But there was something absolutely spectacular that happened in this part. As the children took turns using some crafts that they had made with verses and pictures to illustrate the Good News, a young boy stood in the doorway of the church, watching curiously. I went over to him and invited him to come and sit with me. I gave him my crafts, which he took gratefully. I had no idea how to share the meanings of the verses or even the simplest of phrases with him, but I had friends there who could.
I called my friend Srae Bo over (I know I'm spelling her name wrong) and told her that he had come late. The boy's name was Pon, and Srae Bo wasted no time in explaining to Pon just how much God loved him, and the significance of the sacrifice that Jesus made in order that Pon could know Jesus himself.
As the two talked, I just sat there and prayed silently for him.
I watched the two of them praying a short while later, and afterward I sat with Pon for the rest of the VBS. The innocence of his curiosity openness to listening just astounded me. I don't pretend to know Pon's family life, or even the events that led him to the doorstep of the church that morning, but I do know that here, probably for the first time, was hope, grace and above all other things; love.
