Chad Mast - The World Race 2006

SURRENDERED

Mon, 13 Nov 2006 00:00:00 GMT

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, do not depend on your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths." Proverbs 3:5-6

To begin this last blog of the 2006 World Race year, I want to thank all of my prayer supporters, financial supporters, friends and family members. Without you, I know that the Lord could not have done the work that He wanted to do through me. I truly am forever grateful for your hearts, your thoughts and for your Love.

This year has been a year that is basically the beginning of my life. I have been through 26 years of ups and downs, tears, joy, happiness, relationships, college and a career. But, my 27^th year will go down as the year that the veil to the world was lifted off of my face. I was so sheltered in my life, I didn't realize the extent of what our world faces. I didn't see the true need for people to step outside of their boxes and take hold of the calling that the Lord has for their lives.

When we were in India, Dr. Samuel Thomas (founder of the orphanage) said something that I will never forget. He said that the Western church is a dedicated church. They will go to church on Sundays, cell groups during the week and read their bibles. He then said something that will challenge me for the rest of my life. He said that the church of the East is a surrendered church. They live in a life of persecution, they see people die because of what they believe and they surrender to the will that God has for their lives.

This year has been an ongoing challenge to realize how to be surrendered. How do I know what my purpose is in life? How can I possibly make a difference in this life? God has given me a glimpse into this world as to where he wants me to begin to find out. He has shown me the need for the gospel in Mexico. He has let me touch families that have suffered from hurricanes in Guatemala. He has brought me into Buddhist monk's lives to show them the destructive path of Hell that they are following. He has let me live amongst the lost at a Buddhist monastery in Thailand. He has shown me the life of persecuted orphans in India. He has shown me a revival in the Catholic church of Poland. He has shown me a love for Christ in the Coptic Orthodox church of Egypt. He has shown me hundreds crying out for Christ to come into their lives in Uganda and He has shown me what AIDS is doing to the entire continent of Africa while in South Africa.

I will never be the same. I never want to be the same. Why would I want to live a life that is not on fire for the Lord Jesus Christ? Why would I not want to do what Jesus did while he was on earth and pour love on to people? Why would I not want to show the only way for us to get to Heaven. I am the way the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through the Son (John 14:6). Why would I not want to tell the world that the Lord wants everyone to repent and be saved? Why wouldn't I want to share to the world that they are being lied to by a fallen Angel that is condemned to Hell and he wants to take everyone with him? Why wouldn't I want to share that the only way to get to heaven is to be born again in the Spirit of Jesus Christ? To accept him as your personal savior of your life and to be rid of the sinful lives that everyone on this planet has been born into.

We have been lied to in this life and have been told that money, sex, power and materialism will make us happy in life. Well, I know that I am not called to that life. I am called to a life that shows that there is a hope in this life. A hope that is called Jesus Christ and if you ask Him to come into your life, then you can live a life that has true meaning. A life with true assurance of knowing where you will go if you die. An eternity in Heaven and not Hell if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and BELIEVE in your heart that God raised Him from the dead (Romans 10:9).

That is the life that I am called to. I praise God that He loves me and that He has shown me the beginning of a life like no other. I can't wait to see what God is going to do next year on the World Race 2007.

BONGANI

Mon, 30 Oct 2006 00:00:00 GMT

"And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away." Revelation 21:4

I woke up to the beautiful view of little children running around with not a care in the world. I saw in their eyes what the Lord wants us all to see in life and that is the beauty of Joy and Love. I knew that even though these little kids had it hard in life the Lord was watching over them and wanting everyone of us to see the joy of life through them.

After seeing the kids off we were told that we were going to visit an HIV/AIDS community living house. We pulled up and I immediately felt like we were intruding with the amount of people that we were bringing to this house. The house looked like a four bedroom home with no more than 15-20 people and we were a group of 23. I prayed as I walked around the house and asked the Lord to speak to my heart.

As I walked in the back yard it was as if the Lord was guiding me to the exact places where he wanted me to go. I felt the Lord put compassion in my heart as I walked through the opening of the door. I pealed off down one hallway as I saw about 4 beds lying in the living room. One lady with full blown AIDS was lying in bed while others walked in and out. My heart broke at that moment for these people and all I wanted to do was love on them and tell them how much the Lord loved them.

Just as I was about to sit in that room Jacques called me down the hall to the men's ward. As I walked in, I saw in a room no bigger than 12 by 12, three beds with three men lying in them. Paul, Jacques, Lloyd, Lloyd's brother, our translator Nicholas and I crammed in this room. I stood near the door and all I could feel was that I needed to get closer to these guys. There was a chair in the corner of the room next to one of the sickest guys, so I went for it.

As I sat in the chair I knew that the Lord had chosen me to speak to these guys. I was the one positioned right next to them and the translator looked at me and said that I can begin. At that moment I knew that I was talking with men that had very little hope in their eyes. They were at level 4 AIDS; which is the highest level of the disease; and their life expectancy was questionable as to how much longer they would live.

At that moment I felt that the Lord wanted me to speak about Heaven and its beauty. I went into detail on what Heaven is going to be like and how there will be no more death, no more hate, no more destruction, no more war and no more disease. I told them that there will be a day that every single one of us in this world will die but there is a hope for us in this world no matter our present situation. The hope is Jesus Christ and by confessing that Jesus is Lord and BELIEVING that God raised him from the dead you can be saved. I told them that I believed that the Lord had sent us to them that very day to share with them the hope of Jesus Christ and that the Lord wanted them to know that their was a better place and that place is called Heaven.

I did not know if these men were saved or not but I trusted that the Lord had us there for a reason. I asked if any of the men would like to accept Jesus into their hearts and one of the men sitting right next to me (Bongani, who could barely speak) raised his hand and wanted to pray with me. The two other men said that they already new the Lord but we could see that one of them repeated the prayer as we said it.

As I reached around Bongani and felt the bones push out from his shirt, tears built up in my eyes. All I could think about was that the Lord brings hope to the hopeless. Here was a man that had no hope in life. He lay there on his bed in pain and suffering waiting for his day of death but the Lord decided to use us this very day. He decided to send us to this house and share the love that Jesus brings, the hope that there is more to this life than this present world and that believing in Jesus Christ was the answer to all questions. Knowing that Jesus lives in his heart he can speak to Jesus as he lay on that bed, that he is not alone and that the creator of this world wants an intimate relationship with him. That is true and pure HOPE.

Lord please bless Bongani the rest of his days on this earth.

WILD COAST SOUTH AFRICA

Mon, 30 Oct 2006 00:00:00 GMT

The pictures that you see are of the Wild Coast in South Africa. I was part of a group that decided to take a 7 hour hike (15 Kilometers) to a place called Hole in the Wall. Wales breached continuously off the shores as we praised our God for the beauty of His creation. I pray that you can feel the beauty as much as we did.

GOD BLESS!!!

WEEK TWO BEAT THE DRUM

Tue, 24 Oct 2006 00:00:00 GMT

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." Philippians 4:13

When I heard that there was a chance to attend Beat the Drum for an additional week or go and paint a Bible College for our next ministry, I knew that the Lord wanted me to focus on Beat the Drum. I was overjoyed when I felt this calling because this was exactly what my heart desired. One more week teaching about Jesus Christ, HIV/AIDS and focusing on Abstinence, praise God.

The school was Lemakia High and Sarah Rinn and I had a class of thirty-six rambunctious tenth graders. The plan for the week was as follows. Show the movie Beat the Drum on Monday, teach class on Tuesday, show the movie In Your Face on Wednesday and present the abstinence commitment and the Gospel on Thursday.

After the movie on Monday Sarah and I dove into the class Tuesday with an ice-breaker and then followed the lesson plan. We both had it on our hearts to put a lot of time into the dear Francis box which is a box that the kids can put confidential questions or concerns in. This box gives us the best opportunity to know what is going on in the school as well as with our kids.

The responses were once again heartbreaking. Some of the kids openly confessed that they had AIDS and they were so happy that they could finally tell someone. Some of the kids said that they had been raped by their boyfriends and where scared of what they would do to them. Some of them asked questions like, if I sleep with a virgin will I get healed from AIDS? As you can tell our hearts were broken with every story.

Wednesday actually became a blessing because we were able to get the entire tenth grade class after the In your Face movie. We were only supposed to get them for the movie but because of a huge blessing from the Lord, we were able to split the guys and girls up and talk about sensitive issues.

Gary, Paul and myself took 66 guys off to a separate room. I opened up speaking on the hard facts that their culture is facing. I had six guys stand up and told them to stand in the corner. I then told the entire room that if all of us were sleeping around the statistics tell us that we will all be dead by 35 years old. Because of what the disease is doing throughout South Africa, 1 out of 10 boys that are sleeping around at the age of 15 will not live to see 35. This is a startling fact and that was the exact thing that I wanted them to feel.

Another issue that I spoke on was the importance of loving on those that do have HIV/AIDS. I knew that some of the boys (stats say one out of four) have AIDS. The decision that they had made or their parents had made is something that they are going to have to live with until they die. My heart poured out for them because I wanted these kids to know that if they lived a drug free and abstinent life, it was actually very hard to contract the disease. Based on the questions I could feel that so many had someone that they knew who had the disease.

After Paul ended with the true Hope of Jesus Christ, I faced something that I will never forget. A boy about sixteen years of age came up to me and pulled me to the side. He introduced himself and then began to speak to me in a very soft voice saying that he was HIV positive. He then told me that his girlfriend was also HIV positive. He wanted to know if he and his girlfriend had a child, would his child get the HIV virus. I was heartbroken when he said this to me because this was not a statistic anymore, this was real and right in front of me. I told him that unfortunately there was a high chance that his child would get the virus. When the words left my mouth it was as if the boy had just seen death.

I almost burst into tears right then and there but I continued to focus on the Hope in Jesus. He said that he had accepted Jesus and was attending the apostolic church so I asked him if I could pray for him. We then spent some time together in prayer that I will never forget.

Thursday morning Sarah and I started with prayer asking that the Lord would take control. That is exactly what He did. We got straight to the point and continued with the invitation of making a commitment to abstain until marriage. So many in the class responded and decided to share openly about it.

I then led into my testimony because before I knew Jesus Christ I had some scares in my life that sent me to the Doctor. I could relate in some ways to what we were talking on because there were times in my life where I envisioned my life going in two different directions. One direction was with diseases/HIV and the other direction was not. It was a scare that I will never forget and will forever be grateful to the Lord for the protection in my life before knowing Him.

After my testimony I led into the greatest story ever told about Jesus Christ. I could feel the presence of the Lord swarming the class and the attention of the sixteen year olds was something that blew Sarah and me away. She stood in the background praying while I just asked the Lord to take control. I shared scripture after scripture letting the children know that abstinence was a very important decision but it wasn't the most important. The most important decision of their life would be choosing to accept Jesus Christ into their hearts or not. I then invited them to boldly stand and accept the Lord into their hearts and all thirty six boys and girls shot up the minute I offered it. One of the thirty six was the boy that had come to me with the HIV virus.

Once again I am so humbled by what the Lord is doing throughout Africa. I am so thankful that the Lord would even consider using me for this wonderful opportunity and I give him all the Glory. I pray that these babies in Christ would be surrounded by His love and that Godly men and women would surround them. I pray that health would cover their lives and that the message of abstinence would truly reign in their lives.

God Bless.

EQUIPPING FOR JESUS

Tue, 24 Oct 2006 00:00:00 GMT

"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. Resist him, steadfast in the faith, knowing that the same sufferings are experienced by your brotherhood in the world." 1^st Peter 5:8-9

The world that I am caught up in at the moment is probably the most action packed of the year. We bounce from school to school preaching and then we are off to a kid's camp for the weekend. We were told that we were supposed to design a camp completely from scratch for seventy 7^th grade kids. With 48 hours the Lord did amazing things.

The journey was called Quest and the kids were about to learn about the unseen war going on in the spiritual realm and what their role was. This was quite a heavy topic for these kids but this was exactly what the Lord put on our hearts and from the very beginning the Lord was moving.

The kids arrived we divided them up into ten different colored teams. My team was the blue team and my kids were Musa, Kanya, Lwando, Gama, Shane, Songezo & Rawande. The first night started out in worship and we praised God together dedicating the weekend to Him. We then went into the first sermon which Gary preached on the unseen war. I then took my boys and talked about this complex topic that our world faces.

Saturday was slammed from the morning on. We began with worship and then went into the second sermon on who we all were in Christ and how we were created. Then the fun came of three hours of games, games, games. I just so happened to be volunteered to be a human water balloon target. I laughed when I heard about it because I thought that there was no way these kids could hit me, then the girls said that I would be blindfolded. It was hilarious and the kids pelted me pretty good a couple of times.

Saturday night was the highlight of the weekend because the sermon was the Gospel. We started off with two of our dramas called Thief and Set Me Free. We could feel the presence of the Holy Spirit over the entire meeting and we knew that the Lord was going to work. Gary then shared the Gospel and when the opportunity to truly accept Jesus Christ into their hearts, every kid except one girl who already new Christ came forward to say the sinners prayer. It was a very emotional time for all of us because this was a new beginning for all of these children. Praise God.

Sunday morning I closed with the last sermon on the Whole Armor of God. Gary prayed over me and we asked the Holy Spirit to guide me. I led off with who we were when we have the Holy Spirit and who each one of them was in Christ Jesus. This is a topic that I am so passionate about because if grasped this is the key to our walk with Christ. Everything revolves around the pieces of the Armor of God. I then had the kids stand up and put on the Armor of the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shoes of the gospel of piece, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation the sword of the spirit.

In closing we did something special with the kids by knighting each and every one of them. We hand made 70 cross necklaces and knighted them warriors in the army of Jesus Christ.

I pray that the Lord would truly touch each and every one of their hearts as they leave camp and protect them where ever they go. I pray that the true Love that Jesus shared on this earth would be shown through them to others. I will forever remember this experience.

God Bless.

BEAT THE DRUM IN ACTION

Sat, 14 Oct 2006 00:00:00 GMT

"Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body." 1^st Corinthians 6:19-20

God is so amazing! We pulled up in our city named Utenague and met our local contact at a Baptist church in the middle of town. We found out that all the girls were going to live in church members houses and all the guys would live in the church. We then found out that we would be split up into two groups and go to two schools. My group was picked to go to a school named McCarthy.

Monday morning we prayed together as a group and gave the week to the Lord. We found out that the school had a school assembly and they wanted to introduce us. We walked into the school meeting hall and I nearly started to cry when I saw what was taking place. The head master of the school had all the students begin the day with prayer. I immediately thought about 1972 when our country took prayer out of the schools. It was such a blessing to witness this and see how openly Jesus was talked about. I knew that the Lord was going to bless this week.

After the assembly we found out that the grade 12's were taking their final exams so we would be focusing on the grade 8's. I was overjoyed because this was the perfect grade to be reaching out to. Some have already engaged in pre-marital sex but a lot of them had not. We divided the classes up amongst the group and Este' and myself were going to be teaching two classes with about 90 kids. Praise the Lord.

The week started off with showing the video to the entire grade 8's. Everything seemed to be working against us that day if you know what I mean but the students did get to see the movie.

The next day Este and I got to meet our classes and begin with the program. We emphasized on what we call the dear Francis box which is a box that children can put confidential questions and concerns into. Our main objective was to know what was going on at the school so that we knew how to physically reach out to them.

We received some very heartbreaking letters talking about how some were raped as a little child by family members, concerns that they had about their boyfriends pressuring them about sex and even that a teacher had raped them and they were scared to talk about it. Through prayer we knew where and what we needed to focus on.

The next day we decided to show a video called In Your Face. This was a video that would make your stomach churn because it speaks the truth about HIV/AIDS, STD's and other facts about South Africa. The kids viewed in utter amazement because they had never seen this before. They had never known that in South Africa if a fifteen year old is sexually active he has a one in ten chance of living to age thirty-five. They never new that the entire population of South Africa had a 25% HIV/AIDS rate. This video was amazing and would scare anyone who is sexually active to decide to follow what the Lord says to wait until marriage. Praise God!

I could probably speak for hours about this week because it touched me so much but I will jump to the best part of the week. Because this week was exam week for the school it was also award giving on Friday. This meant that we couldn't share the most important day with our classes. We showed up at the school and the head master told us that we could get the grade 8's all at once in one class before award giving. By the grace of God we got about 150 children. We decided to share testimonies, focus on the commitment to abstain until marriage and share the Gospel.

This was such a powerful moment because I could feel the Lord with us. I knew that He was going to do something that was going to blow us away. I gave my testimony along with Ashley and Lloyd. Lloyd then went into more detail and shared about the Lord. When it came to the time that he asked if anyone would like to accept Jesus Christ into their hearts I felt the Lord burden my heart. I sat praying on the stage and when nobody stood up I knew that the Lord wanted me to speak. I asked the Lord to take control and that is exactly what He did. I shared with them all week that one of the most important decisions that they would make in life would be to abstain until marriage but that wasn't the most important decision. The most important decision would be to accept Jesus Christ into their hearts and begin the best relationship that we will ever have; the relationship that will guarantee us eternity in Heaven.

The Lord began to work in a way that drew tears to my eyes. Here we were at a public school sharing the Word of Jesus Christ. Over 45 children came forward to accept Jesus into their hearts.

As I saw these kids begin their walk with the Lord I swelled up with emotion. There I was, seeing a desire fulfilled by the Lord and not only did I get to speak about one of my most favorite topics of abstinence, but I got to share about Him. I am once again floored at the power of the Lord and praise His name for what He has done.

I get to do this all over again in a brand new school this coming week.

BEAT THE DRUM

Sun, 8 Oct 2006 00:00:00 GMT

As I got on the plane to South Africa almost one and a half years ago, I did not know that my life would never be the same. The trip that I went on was called Never Ending Gardens with Dream for Africa. This mission was to reach out to the communities and show Jesus' love through planting gardens to provide nutrients to those who were sick with HIV/AIDS.

While on the trip I was fortunate to visit an orphanage that was viewing a movie called Beat the Drum. This movie was actually made to show what myths were out there about HIV/AIDS and to promote abstinence. I was touched by this video because it was a way to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ and share one of the major ways to prevent the disease. I knew in my heart that this was something that I wanted to look into.

After returning to the states, I was a different person. People didn't understand why I had changed so much. They didn't know that the Lord had opened up my heart and put every hurt, need, orphan, widow and image in it that I would never forget. I was changed and saw the need in the world for the love of Jesus and missions.

Through these deep desires that I had in my heart the Lord directed me to the World Race and that leads me to where I am at this present moment; Jeffrey's Bay South Africa.

The reason that I bring this up is because I am blown away by God. I want to ask those who are out there that doubt if there is a God to tell me the chances of this happening. The population of the world is a little over 5.5 billion people or around there.

When I got to Guatemala I met a lady by the name of Anna-Marie. Anna-Marie was going to be the World Race leader from the ground and she is actually the lady that received the vision from the Lord over ten years ago about the World Race. Anna-Marie expressed this vision to Seth Barnes and the Lord birthed the World Race through both of them.

Well here is the best part about this. When I got a chance to talk to Anna-Marie I learned that she worked with Dream for Africa. Anna-Marie was actually one of the head leaders for the program called Beat the Drum. I couldn't believe it when I heard her. What are the odds of this happening?

Well, that desire that I had over a year ago is something that the Lord is giving me. I actually get to be a part of Beat the Drum for nearly two weeks. Beat the Drum is a program that focuses on two things. Jesus Christ and Abstinence. This program goes to schools all over Africa promoting abstinence and educating the public about AIDS.

I get to share over 10 hours with kids in one of the public school systems about Jesus and Abstinence. These are two subjects that I am so passionate about. I am so grateful to the Lord for touching my heart in a way that I know that I will never forget. I pray that He prepare me for the heartbreaking stories that I am about to encounter and that He would prepare the minds for all the children that are about to receive this great message.

I praise the God of Gods and the King of Kings, Jesus Christ!!

2 DAYS IN GOD'S CREATION

Fri, 6 Oct 2006 00:00:00 GMT

"Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth the living creature according to its kind.... and God saw that it was good." Genesis 1:25-25

I will let the pictures explain it all. I am safe and sound in Jeffrey's Bay South Africa.

1st Day

STUCK IN KENYA

Sun, 1 Oct 2006 00:00:00 GMT

I arrived with my team at the airport three hours before departure. Everything was going very smoothly until I came to the ticket counter of South African Airways. The man asked me, "Do you have another passport". I replied with the simple response of why? He told me that the two pages that I have remaining in my passport are amendment and endorsement pages which can not be used for Visa's. Well, that was not pleasing words to my ears. I asked to see the manager because the problem wasn't in Kenya but it would be in South Africa. They absolutely refused to let me get on the plane. They told me that I had to go to the US Embassy and get more pages in my passport.

Well, I left my bag with the team and headed off to the US Embassy. When I arrived at the Embassy at 2:00pm I learned that it had closed at 12:00pm. I tried to plead with the Security guard that this was an emergency and that my flight was leaving in less than two hours. He told me that everyone from the office was gone and the only thing that I could do would be to come back on Monday morning. Wow.

Well I guess the Lord wanted me to stay in Kibera Kenya another couple days. I jumped back in the taxi with my friend Mark that came with me and headed back to the AIM base. It was kind of a bummer that I sent my entire luggage but I had lived in the same clothes for three days before.

When I arrived at the AIM base, the First Year Missionaries that were staying there were a little surprised to see me. After a couple of explanations I just joined along with everything that they were doing. I was able to hear some of there testimonies and get to know some of the guys that I hadn't had a chance to really talk to. I would now be living in their living room.

The time in Kibera has been actually a huge blessing. The FYM'rs took off for the day and I had the house to myself on Saturday. I was able to get some much needed work done as well as my support letter for next year. The greatest part is that I got to go back into Kibera and attend the Blue House Church one more time.

As I walked into the Slum of Kibera I thought to myself, I have been in these clothes for three days now but everyone that surrounded me had probably been in theirs for two weeks or more. Trash piled up in the streets as sewage flowed down every ally way. The smell was overbearing at some points but every little child that looked at me smiled like they were the happiest little kid in the whole wide world. I am so humbled every time that I touch foot into Kibera.

Attending church was once again a blessing because they treated me like family and welcomed me with open arms. They were so surprised to see me because I was supposed to be in South Africa. One of the Pastors named Mike said in front of the youth that Chad has staid because the Lord would not let him leave. He had no idea what had happened and this was his first response to me. It was actually quite powerful.

I will always remember Kibera and it will always have a special place in my heart. The people are so nice and those that know Jesus love Him with all of their hearts. I don't think that this will be the last time that I see Kibera again.

I get my pages at the US Embassy tomorrow and head out to South Africa at 3:40pm.

God Bless.

BIBLE COLLEGE

Thu, 28 Sep 2006 00:00:00 GMT

When we arrived in Kenya, I thought that we would rest for a day or two and then head off to South Africa. Well, that wasn't quite the case. The Brown and Red teams had made a great contact named Timothy who was the Pastor of Blue House Church. This man was full of energy and had the Brown and Red teams doing open airs, dramas, door to door and teaching at the bible college. They needed a little help.

Since we were only going to be here for three days we decided to take the following day off to complete some much needed internet time and then pick up on ministry for Wednesday and Thursday. Well, when they talked about ministry I thought for sure that I would either be doing open airs, door to door or dramas. What they needed me for wasn't what I completely expected. They wanted me to teach at the bible college and to do door to door.

The Lord has completely blown me away this entire time in Africa. I am completely humbled because this is not what I would ever think that I would have done. I couldn't even comprehend giving a pastors conference in Uganda to those who have been to bible college but the Lord guided the entire thing. Now the Lord had called me to teach at the bible college. I again was a little overwhelmed but in the end I just laughed because I knew that this was what He wanted me to do.

I prayed the night before and asked the Lord what He would have me teach for two hours on. Well, since we have come to Kenya & Uganda to church plant, I felt that the Lord wanted me to pass that information along.

When we got to the Bible College Casey (she taught two classes) and I looked at each other and laughed as we gazed at some of the literature on the book shelves. Because they only needed two teachers for the first session Casey and Paul taught the two classes and I joined Paul's class on the book of James.

Five o'clock rolled around and it was time to teach. I asked the Lord to guide everything that I was about to speak on and to reveal truths to all of our hearts that we needed to know. My class came in and it consisted of about three pastors and the rest looking to become pastors. We prayed together and we were off. It was awesome and the Lord truly took control. I could tell that this was a topic that they were very interested in and I know that the Lord will use then in some way for Church Planting.

This was the first time that I have taught in front of a Bible College,LOL, and although I have so much to learn, I knew that this was something that the Lord wanted to push me in. I am so thankful to our Father in Heaven for sitting right next to me and guiding me in every topic that we covered.

We head to South Africa tomorrow at 3:30. I love and miss all my family, prayer supporters and friends. May the Lord shower you with His Love this very moment.

God Bless.

THE CROSS

Tue, 26 Sep 2006 00:00:00 GMT

"For we know that our old self was crucified with him, so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin, because anyone who has died has been freed from sin." Romans 6:6-7

When I talked to George (the head pastor for Bugiri Kings Church), I asked if there was anything that I should focus on during my sermon on Sunday. George told me that he wanted me to talk about the Cross and Repentance. Funny thing was, that was exactly what I was going to preach on. Thank you Jesus!

Sunday morning started off with Sarah preaching on Love revolving around 1^st Corinthians 13. She did awesome and I can tell that that will not be the last time that she is seen in front of a church. We then had about an hour of praise and worship which I absolutely love. The Ugandan people have so much fun praising the Lord and they truly put their hearts out there when they sing.

It was time to preach. The topic that I was going to cover was the deepest spiritually that I have ever covered, but I new that this was exactly what the Lord wanted me to speak on. Everything that I have been reading and studying has revolved around Salvation, the Cross and Repentance.

I prayed over the whole congregation and asked the Lord to take control because this was one topic that He was really going to have to open their ears up to. The topic was the CROSS and what the true meaning of the CROSS was. I spoke that the Cross is not just where Christ died for the forgiveness of sins, but it is the place where everyone who has TRULY accepted Jesus into hearts has died as well. Jesus Christ did not just come and take the form of man to show that he was the Son of God, but he came to die for all sin and all death. He came for all those who wanted to rid their lives of Sin and to be truly "Born Again" (John 3:3) by being crucified with Him on the Cross.

Now I know that this might be too heavy of a topic for a blog but I truly feel that people need to know this because I really don't think that people are grasping the true meaning of the Cross. Everything always goes back to the CROSS. This is not a physical death (although fighting with the flesh will always occur) but it is a spiritual death that is reborn in the Spirit of Jesus Christ. We are cleansed by the blood of Jesus and through his Spirit we are saved. This is what is called being "Born Again".

I would love to continue on for hours on this topic because this is what the Lord has called me to preach all over the World, the true Gospel of Jesus Christ and the message of Salvation. There is nothing watered down about this message, it is clear as day. We all need to grasp a hold of this concept and truly find out what the meaning of the Spirit, Soul and Flesh are all about. Yes they are three different components, 1^st Thessalonians 5:23. "I am the way and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." John 14:6

If this is a topic (Cross) that you are unsure of please don't take my word for it, look into it for yourself (Romans 6, 7 & 8; 1^st Corinthians 5:17; Galatians 2:20; Colossians 3:1-3).

Preaching in Uganda has truly opened my heart and my mind to the power of Jesus Christ. I never thought that I could do any of this, but the Lord strengthened me through and through. I know that He just wanted me to trust in Him and even though it was hard to imagine, that is exactly what I did. I have seen so many times on this trip that I just have to take that step into the unknown and He will do the rest.

I praise God for this mind-blowing opportunity and I pray for all those who accepted Jesus Christ into their hearts.

(I am safe and sound in Nairobi Kenya, we leave for South Africa on Friday)

PRAYER OF 500 SALVATIONS

Sat, 23 Sep 2006 00:00:00 GMT

"Be Joyful always, pray continuously, give thanks in all circumstances, for this is Gods will for your life in Christ Jesus." 1^st Thessalonians 5:16-18

This past week has once again blown me off of my feet. The week began with me preaching in consecutive weeks. I have never had the opportunity to preach two weeks in a row and build off of the previous week's sermon. God once again took control and spoke through me on forgiveness revolving around the Parable of the Lost Son.

We then hit the streets running with village to village preaching. I want to thank God for giving us the necessary time to pray and read in the mornings because without that preparation I don't think that I could have made it through the days.

We were able to preach every day giving the message of our Lord Jesus Christ to probably close to a couple thousand people. Most of the time we would have between 6 to 12 people at a session but there were a couple of times that we had over a 100 listening in. I am in absolute shock at what the Lord has shown me and am completely humbled at the opportunity.

When I saw what the Lord was doing from day one I felt as though I should pray for a number of Salvations that I wanted to see. In my mind I couldn't even comprehend 200 but I felt as though the Lord wanted me to think bigger. He then gave me the number of 500 and I about hit the floor. I couldn't comprehend it in my mind but I didn't want to slow the Lord down, so that was the number that I was going to pray for.

I really forgot about the number because that wasn't the important part, the important part was delivering the right message and letting the Lord do the work. Well He did in ways that I will never forget. We have recorded 473 people over the age of 12 that have accepted Jesus into their hearts (That is not including at least a hundred children that verbally accepted Jesus into their hearts). I truly feel comfortable in saying that I know that over 500 people accepted Jesus into their hearts. Praise Jesus Christ.

The part of the week that touched my heart the most was this past Friday when we returned to the first church that we planted. This was the church that when I took my first step out of the car a lady named Lucy said that she had heard about Jesus Christ and she wanted to accept Him into her life. Well, Lucy and her entire family were Muslims less than three weeks ago. Now they are all Christians and actually have donated their land for the church.

For a church that was started less than two and a half weeks ago, there are over a hundred members. When we pulled up to the church under the trees, we all had no idea that we would be seeing this many people. They greeted us amazingly and welcomed us to sit in the front. As I sat in the front my eyes began to swell up with tears as I could completely see the work of the Lord. My heart will forever be touched by Lucy and her entire family and I will forever remember this church.

I give God all the glory for everything that He has done and praise His name for the mind-blowing time in Uganda. I get to preach one more day in at Bugiri Kings Church (4 hour service), this will be an all time record of three weeks in a row. Repentance and the Cross will be the message.

Thank you to all my prayer supporters, family and friends. I love you all so much. God bless.

A VISION IN THE VILLAGE

Sat, 16 Sep 2006 00:00:00 GMT

"The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance." 2^nd Peter 3:9

The Sabbath began in a different style for me. I was preaching. One of the locals came up to me and said, "Normally the pastors preach for about an hour to an hour and a half, can you manage." I said, I can manage (even though I have never preached that long in my life).

Well the preaching was amazing. I was able to preach for about an hour and twenty minutes on The parable of the Sower, belief and pray for the entire church. I felt something in me just jump out as I left my notes and let my heart speak. I could truly feel the presence of God taking over, it was awesome.

The week started out again with evangelism. We headed off for the second area that we would be planting a church in and what would you know, the second that I stepped out of the van, someone had heard about Jesus and they wanted to accept him into their hearts. I don't think that I will ever get used to that.

We then headed through a town that was full of people and a vision came to me about an open air preaching. I said, this town would be perfect for an open air but we were heading in a different direction so I forgot about it. The day went on and over 50 people accepted Jesus into their hearts.

The next day we headed back to the same area to continue with village to village evangelism. We were able to see over twenty accept Jesus into their hearts when it was time to go. We headed out of town when we came to the same exact town that I had a vision in. Jolly, our main contact, said that she would check things out to see if everything was alright. We waited in the car but I knew in my heart that this was the exact place that I had a vision about. There were businesses all over the place, people walking everywhere, Muslims playing games along the street and children playing about. This was a perfect place for an open air preaching.

Jolly gave us the thumbs up as our group played music and everyone started dancing. I said to the Lord, "I give this to you; you are going to have to speak through me." As the music came to a halt, there were about a hundred to a hundred and fifty people standing all around me. Julius, my translator and I let the Lord do the work. It was absolutely amazing. I had a fire in me that poured out in ways that I have not seen before. Julius translated so perfectly with so much power he almost blew me off my feet. We were both on fire for the Lord and we wanted everyone in that town to hear the Greatest True story every recorded in history.

As I came to the end of the story and asked if anyone would like to receive Christ into their hearts about twenty to thirty raised their hands. I knew that there were more so I walked outside of the group and said, those that would like to accept Jesus into their hearts come over to me and pray the sinner's prayer. Over fifty people followed over and surrounded me from every side.

It was really an amazing site when you see an entire town look in amazement to the workings of the Holy Spirit. There were so many that heard the message throughout the entire town that did not take that step of faith but I know that this was just the beginning for God. In fact this is the exact town where we are putting the church and now hundreds of people know about it.

Praise the King of Kings and the God of Gods, Jesus Christ.

SALVATION OF JESUS CHRIST

Sat, 9 Sep 2006 00:00:00 GMT

When I first arrived to Uganda I was immediately overwhelmed. I was experiencing a touch of culture shock and to top everything else off the Pastors were looking at me like I was Billy Graham. They immediately told me that I would be preaching all the time and in fact they wanted to round up the 40 or so pastors for me to give a lesson to. Well, I immediately reverted to the passage in Luke 12:25 that says "who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life." Well I can't say that I wasn't worrying.

After a needed evening of rest I hurried into my room to dive into intense prayer. I was going to need the Lord on this one because I couldn't do it on my own. My heart raced as the Lord began to bring scriptures to my head. He then began to give me peace in my heart and He revealed so much through his word. I decided to sleep on it and give it completely over to Him.

As we traveled to our first location of ministry I new something big was going to happen. Our group of six pastors and the blue team headed off on a dirt road off into the middle of nowhere. As we past open jungles I felt the Lord ask me if I believed that we where going to see salvations. I told the Lord that I truly believed with all of my heart that we were going to see the greatest miracle of all. Salvation!!

We pulled into a remote village deep into the jungle of Uganda and the sliding door opened on the van. As soon as my first foot hit the ground an older lady by the name of Lucy said through our translator to me "I have heard about Jesus Christ and I want to accept him into my life as my personal savior". I actually froze on the spot and started to laugh. She wasn't joking around. I could not believe what I was hearing. I then began to take her through the Gospels to inform her of this decision because this was going to be the biggest decision of her life. She was ecstatic and accepted Jesus with great Joy. There were actually 6 people that accepted Jesus Christ into their hearts.

We then all packed into the vans to head to the next village. We hit the streets running in a heavily Muslim village and people one after another prayed the sinners prayer and accepted Jesus Christ into their lives. Next thing I new our local contacts would grab my arm and say, one more would like to accept Jesus, and then another and then another. It was a complete miracle from God.

Thirty people accepted Jesus Christ into their lives this afternoon and we know that there are so many more. We are headed back to this area because we can feel a great movement coming from the Lord in Uganda and He has us smack dab in the middle of it.

I am absolutely blown away by what happened this afternoon. I was able to pray for fifteen people to accept Christ into their lives, lay hands on multiple children who were sick and preach the gospel like I haven't preached it before. There was something in me that absolutely jumped out today and I know that the Holy Spirit was the conductor of the entire thing.

I am about to embark on a journey that I have never experienced before. My prayers have been to push me further, to put me in preaching positions and to show Jesus Christ in ways that I haven't before. Well, the Lord has answered that prayer and is taking me for a ride that will forever shape me into a different man for rest of my life.

"God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten son, so that those who believed would not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16

God Bless.

GARBAGE CITY

Fri, 1 Sep 2006 00:00:00 GMT

This evening we were told that we were going to go to a city just outside the heart of Cairo called Garbage city. Our contact said that this city was the main location for all the Christians in Cairo and there primary source of income was trash.

I really didn't know what to expect but we all jumped in the cabs of Cairo and were off for an experience of a lifetime. The cab weaved in and out of traffic honking every other second and dodging pedestrians by mere inches. I think that we all aged a couple of years in that cab and I actually was a cab driver for a few years.

When we got into Garbage city it was as if we slammed through a wall of complete stench. Think in your mind of when the garbage truck comes and all the excess liquid drips out of the back. This was the exact smell that was smack dab in the city. The residents of the city go to the depths of Cairo with their pick-up trucks and donkeys to find whatever trash they can find. They then take the trucks full of trash back to their homes to sift through them.

As we drove down the trash covered streets, we could see that each house was full of trash. You name it, it covered everything they owned. Some houses focused on paper, some plastic, some metal, some cans, but everything was covered in trash. Everything that the town revolved around, trash was the main source. Everyone in the car could hardly speak as we drove.

When we reached the end of the town we entered what felt like a complete fantasy. The view was absolutely amazing. Huge walls of rock raised up hundreds of feet with enormous carvings of Jesus Christ all over them. At the base of the mountain were enormous rock carvings with multiple stories within the bible. This was the home of the main Coptic Church in Cairo called Saint Mark. The Church had two meeting centers that top the list of most amazing seating areas. One seated a mere 5,000 people within the side of a mountain and the other seated 3,000 people under the mountain. WOW.

As I walked throughout the grounds I could feel the presence of the Lord. Our contact said that this site was actually a site where a movie was made because through prayer the mountain that stands above the church actually moved. She then went on to say that the Lords presence has brought thousands to this church because of the healing ministry that is taking place every weekend.

We did not get to experience a service but I got the message that the Lord was trying to teach me. Through my eyes I saw complete poverty; I saw something that my mind couldn't even comprehend living in. But amidst all of that was the beauty of Jesus Christ. He had not forgotten about his people, He lived there right in the midst of a place called Garbage city.

God Bless to all.

LESS THAN THREE MONTHS TO GO!!!

Fri, 1 Sep 2006 00:00:00 GMT

Out of the Saharan desert remains the one and only last standing Ancient wonder of the world, The Great Pyramids. I actually couldn't believe my eyes as I looked out above me at the massive rocks that stack one on top of the other. Was I really standing there or was it a dream? After gazing intently I realized that this was actually happening and the Lord was answering yet another desire of my heart.

I am so thankful to God for this experience because not only do I get to proclaim the word of Jesus Christ on five continents and sixteen countries but I get to see the beauty's of the world as well.

Over the remaining three months of the journey I have been faced with a challenge from the Lord. The challenge is to suffer along side my brothers and sisters that have not reached the support that they have been shooting for. Although I am faced with raising $11,000 dollars for next years adventure, the Lord has really placed it on my heart to focus on the current need of my brothers and sisters.

From the beginning of the year some stepped out in faith nowhere near what they needed to complete the race. The entire Yellow team has actually been running on faith since Guatemala five months ago. They have depended on the Lord to provide for there needs as they went and the Lord has done nothing but provide.

The need that I am throwing out to you is for the remaining three months of the trip. We are going to countries like Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, South Africa and Lesotho. In these countries we will be working with multiple orphanages, schools, communities, and working to educate about abstinence in the hope to reduce the AIDS epidemic.

To accomplish these tasks the World Racers are in need of around $16,000 dollars. I want to say thank you to my current supporters and that this trip would not have been able to happen without you. If the Lord places anything on your heart to assist in the needs of other World Racers please hit support us to the left of this Blog and your tax deductible money will go to the appropriate team. I thank you in the name of Jesus Christ and pray that the Lord showers you with his abundant blessings.

God Bless.

MY CHALLENGES IN THE COPTIC ORTHODOX CHURCH

Tue, 29 Aug 2006 00:00:00 GMT

When I first arrived at the Coptic (Egyptian) Orthodox Church I had no idea what I was about to experience. It started off on a rough path because I learned that our contact was siding with the Coptic Orthodox Church on many theological issues that really didn't sit well in my Spirit. How could we actually work along side the Coptic Church? When I learned more and more about her involvement and saw her true heart, I began to see that she solely wanted to do what Christ called us to do and that was to make disciples of all nations. Mathew 28:19.

As days went on, I was challenged more and more with theological issues about Salvation, praying to the Saints, Baptism and many more very controversial issues, but I saw the opportunities that the Lord was opening up for us. We got to spend in-depth time with two different orphanages, speak in front of two different church's, perform multiple dramas, teach Christ centered business classes and preach Jesus in front of hundreds of kids. The Lords presence was over everything that we did.

Why was the Lord directing us in to the heart of Egypt? Was it to broaden my knowledge of scripture, learn more about a different section of Christianity or was it to connect with the local Coptic Orthodox believers?

One of the issues that truly made me look deeper and might be hard for some of you to swallow is the issue of Salvation. The Coptic Orthodox Church believes that Salvation is not a one time thing but a process with the Lord. On some levels I agree with them but what exploded within me was the deepening of my Faith to focus solely on my personal relationship with Jesus Christ. I saw as we spoke to so many that they needed that in-depth relationship that I have just been able to scratch the surface of.

So many Christians in the world today latch onto the quick Salvation and do nothing with their faith. They see the present stages of the world and fall into the trap that they don't need to do anything but go about there lives as they did before they met Jesus Christ. That truly hurts my heart as I say it.

One of the evenings we were blessed by speaking with Bishop Thomas whose house we are staying at. He went into great detail about a certain subject that he spoke about throughout Canada and the United States (The War on Terror). I was a little in shock when he went into this topic because I personally was waiting for him to speak about the problems with the Protestant Church and hit us with Theology that the Coptic Church Supported. That wasn't the case at all.

I won't go into detail on the War on Terror but what I would like to focus on is the Heart that I saw from this man. Everything that he pointed at focused on the call that every single Christian is called to; a radical following of Jesus Christ. He didn't focus on the differences within the church but he looked toward the similarities and revealed something to me that I haven't seen before. Unity and a common ground!

In the world that we live in today, Church's split apart one after another claiming that their denomination has the exact answer that Jesus preached. They separate themselves and rip apart from the Unity that Christ has called us to.

Now I am not saying that I agree with the Coptic Orthodox Church on the major differences (Salvation, Baptism, Saints, Pope Etc) but, what I am saying is that I am sick of the Church being ripped apart. The true lesson in all of this is focusing on everyone's personal relationship/walk with Jesus Christ and remembering what He did for us.

This opportunity in Egypt has been such a blessing to me in my life. I have truly seen the direction of the Lord and have seen His presence among so many that I thought otherwise before. I know that many still don't have the personal relationship that Christ has called us to but I do know that the Lord is working in many lives throughout this Coptic Orthodox Church.

I thank the Lord of all Lords, Jesus Christ, for sending me to the heart of Egypt and truly revealing himself in more ways than one.

God Bless.

RADICAL CHRISTIANITY

Thu, 17 Aug 2006 00:00:00 GMT

Paul said, "John's baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus." On hearing this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. Acts 19:4-5

If there would be one word that would define the Apostle Paul, that word would be radical. Paul was radical because he was extreme. He believed so much in Jesus Christ that he was willing to go into all the nations and share the Gospel.

Most people cringe when they hear that word because of the Radical Extremist terrorists of this age. Well, I have to say that we all need to know the difference between a radical Christian and a radical terrorist because if the meaning is understood, then the word radical would be appreciated so much more in front of Christian.

As you can tell I love the word radical because of what it truly means. This past weekend I got a chance to run into a radical group of Christians. This group went to the forefront of evil to save the lost. Their target audience was skinheads, Gothic's, Satanists, and other extremist secular groups. They brought a message through music that showed the evil of this world and brought it all to Jesus Christ in the end. Although this was a risk to this group, because being arrested was a possibility (laws in Turkey), they didn't care because they just wanted to get the message across of who Jesus Christ was ( www.steiger.org).

I have a deep respect for this group (No Longer Music) because I could feel their hearts. They have dedicated their lives to saving the lost and are putting themselves out their for the sake of the Gospel.

Now we come back to the word radical or extreme. We have to look at the word that is right after that and that is Christian. Looking at the word Christian you have to root it back to Jesus Christ and who he was. Jesus Christ was a servant, a healer and the Son of God. He showered love to those who he came in contact with and as it is said in scripture, "For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him." John 3:17. Jesus Christ did not express hatred, deceit or condemnation. He had a heart for the lost, the sick, the poor, the widows and the orphans. Jesus Christ was the definition of a radical Christian which is complete and perfect LOVE.

I strive to be a radical Christian because that is what we were all called to be. We were all called to LOVE one another, help the poor, care for widows and orphans, and to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

May the Lord Bless you on this wonderful day.

MAKING THE MOST

Fri, 11 Aug 2006 00:00:00 GMT

"Be very careful, then, how you livenot as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil." Ephesians 5:15-16

Over the past seven months I have had many opportunities to complain, focus on the negative or blame others for situations. Is that a life that I really want to lead? Is that a life that I am actually called to?

I have to say a big NO! The verse above has made a huge impact in my life especially now that I have read it in the place that it was written to. I have always been an optimistic and positive person by nature but this verse has really made me think deeper into that meaning.

One of the things that I love so much about the World Race is that you get put in almost every situation that you can think about. I have had the opportunity to grow to levels that I could never comprehend because of the situations that I have been put in. The true question is; have I made the most of everyone of those situations? I have to say that the answer is no. There have been many situations that I wish that I would have been happier, more optimistic, more encouraging exedra, but the key to all of this is not dwelling on the past but learning from those experiences and changing them for the future.

Turkey has been one of those situations where I could take one of two roads. Complain or make the most of every situation. We have been put in a situation where we have no idea how we are going to get from Turkey to Cairo. For those of you that don't know me, I am a person that craves for God situations. Those situations are those that our minds cannot comprehend but for God it is a snap of the finger. This is a total dependency of God and this is one of those situations.

After researching many different avenues, I truly felt the Lord put Cyprus on my heart through confirmations and dreams (Cyprus is the Island off the Coast of Lebanon and is taking in thousands of refugees). Last night I pursued an avenue to look into flights from Cyprus to Cairo and that door was completely shut. I went home from the internet caf asking the Lord, if you really want me to go to Cyprus you are going to have to open a door for me.

The next morning that door was opened wide with a flight out of nowhere from Cyprus to Cairo. I have truly fallen in love with total dependency on God and love the life which God has called me to. I know that this life is radical and that it will get hard in certain situations, but what I choose to do is make the most of every situation and totally depend on the Lord.

In a world of war, famine, gossip and negativity, join with me to go against the norm and live in the positive. God Bless.

FIRST LOVE

Tue, 8 Aug 2006 00:00:00 GMT

"I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparable great power for us who believe." Ephesians 1:18

From the beginning of this trip, I have been ecstatic to travel through many of the historical cities of the Bible. I have always wondered what these cities were like and this was the opportunity to feel the presence of the Holy Spirit in ways that I haven't felt before.

Then we came to Turkey where John had a revelation from God to write the Book of Revelation of Jesus Christ. Reading through the seven churches addressed in Revelation 2 & 3 has made me really put in perspective what the Church of Ephesus did. They lost their first love, that intimate personal relationship with Jesus Christ.

I can't help but remember that I was living the life just two years ago that these cities were experiencing. I lived a life of Sexual Immorality and worshiped idols (Money, Success) like the church of Pergamum. I was living a life of complete Sin but the Lord looked down on me and loved me first. It is humbling to think about that because He loves each and every person on this earth. He created each and every one of us and we have the choice to turn and love him.

Then I came to the Church in Leodicea, which is why I live the life that I do. The Lord says that he detests those that are Lukewarm, those that say they are rich and do not need anything but don't realize that they are wretched, poor, blind and naked spiritually (Rev 3:16,17).

When I first accepted Jesus Christ into my heart I knew that I had felt something that I had never felt before. I knew that God was so real and that I never wanted to lose that feeling that He had placed inside of me. That feeling was the Holy Spirit living inside of me and once again I have a choice; live a Christian life being lukewarm or totally be dependent and on fire for the Lord. I choose to be on fire for the Lord because of the ultimate sacrifice that He paid on the cross for me. "God so loved the world that He sent his only begotten Son, so that those who believed would not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16

I praise God and say that He is my first love and that I never want to fall into a life of lukewarm faith. I challenge each of you reading this right now to look into your own lives and see what you truly want in life. Do you want to be like the Church of Leodicea and live a life of lukewarm faith or do you want to take hold of what the Lord has called you to do. The choice is once again yours.

May the Lord shower you with all of His wondrous blessings. God Bless.

CORINTH TO ATHENS

Sat, 5 Aug 2006 00:00:00 GMT

One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: "Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city." Acts 18:9-10

Sitting behind the exact place where Paul preached to the Corinthians gave me a passion for preaching more than I have ever felt. I could envision Paul up on the stage shouting to the Romans, the Greeks and the Jews, telling them about the Messiah who came to the world to bring Salvation to those who believed. It was a powerful moment and I will never forget it.

After Corinth we were on our way to Athens. Wow was that an adventure, please see the Blue Team blog for the amazing Spirit Filled journey to the Heart of Athens. http//blueteam.theworldrace.org

Yet again sitting in the exact place where Paul preached to the Athenians gave me chills of the thought. Paul was heavily being persecuted and was kicked out of almost every city that he came to. Athens was covered in Idol worship to the Gods but Paul continued to pursue with the message of the Salvation through Jesus Christ.

In Athens I found out that the Lord had allowed four of my good friends from Arizona to meet up with me after there missions trip in Croatia. They were not even supposed to come to Athens but the Lord directed them this way. April, Heather, James and Coty were part of the beginning of my walk with the Lord and it was such a blessing to catch up with all of them. I love you guys.

I am honored to our Father in heaven to have felt the presence of the Holy Spirit in ways that I haven't before. May God Bless you all.

BRACH TO ANCONA

Mon, 31 Jul 2006 00:00:00 GMT

"But the one who receive the seed that fell on good soil is the man who hears the word and understands it. He produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown." Mathew 13:23

Over the past five days I have been so blessed by our Lord to have a mental shutdown. The Lord has continued to push me theologically and spiritually over the last month and it was time for some rest in His presence.

Included in this mental rest was a time to relax with the blogs. I truly love to write blogs but I felt that I needed to focus on just God, my team and no other distractions. It was exactly what I needed.

I have been so excited for this next leg of the race because I get to truly stretch my mind in the scriptures as well as challenge myself in witnessing to others. Ferry rides are the perfect place to witness because people have a lot of time to kill. What better than to bring up a conversation about Jesus Christ.

I prayed before I reached the ferry that the Lord would direct me to people that He would like me to witness to. At that time three nuns came flying by me. I offered to assist them with their bags but they were in a hurry to another ferry. I actually thought that the Lord might want me to speak with them and pray with them but I guess that I was wrong.

After getting on the ferry our team, as well as three others, decided to go to the top deck and eat dinner. Then the Lord brought two priests right up next to us. Although we differ on many different issues, we blessed each other and praised our Lord Jesus Christ together. It was a blessing to be a part of Maximilious and Anthony's life.

God Bless.

NEXUS

Wed, 26 Jul 2006 00:00:00 GMT

Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:6

For over three and a half weeks I have had the privilege of having the comfort of my own personal room. There are six beds and me. Praise the Lord. Well, about a week ago that all changed. Five guys from the United Kingdom needed a place to stay and my room was the chosen one. I am pretty sure that it was chosen one by the almighty one upstairs.

Mark, Mike, Lee, Jono & Aaron were in Mostar as part of a group from a school called Nexus. This school is a one year program that focuses on raising up a generation of Christian musicians. Mark is on drums, Mike plays the guitar, Lee sings and plays the guitar, Jono sings and Aaron is on base guitar. What a blessing from God these guys have been to my life.

From the moment that they stepped in the room I knew that there was something special amongst them. Not only were we brothers in the Lord but there was something deeper. These guys showed a true compassion and love that I have not felt in a while.

We have been able to sing together, dance together, eat together, laugh together, minister together and pray together. I have been so blessed to have been able to be a part of these guys lives because I know that I will know them for much longer than just the five days that I have been able to spend with them. They have treated me like an actual brother and for that I am so thankful to our Lord for all of them.

I feel honored to have met all of you guys. I pray that the Lord showers you with his blessings, directs your paths and touches your lives in more ways than you have ever imagined. I love you guys and will never forget the time that we spent with one another.

God Bless. Trust in the Lord with all of your heart, do not depend on your own understanding, seek Him in all that you do and He will direct your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6

MAURICE

Sat, 22 Jul 2006 00:00:00 GMT

"I tell you the truth; I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith." Mathew 8:10

We sat in the Novi Most club room and I read about the centurion who came to Jesus to ask that his servant be healed. Jesus felt this mans faith and just by his words his servant was healed. I thought in my mind, Father is this something that is going to happen today, is my faith once again going to be tested to see if I would trust in the most high?

We headed off to Interex that was just outside of town. Interex is a very large grocery store that fronts the main road to town but what most don't see is the community that lives right behind the store. This community is called Interex and is the poorest community in Mostar. Families live one on top of another in an abandoned war torn home and they pick amongst the junkyard for food and trash.

When I entered the community I was immediately pounded by the Holy Spirit. I could feel compassion just oozing out of my heart for these families and I could tell that the presence of God was amongst these people. Immediately little boys ran up to me covered from head to toe with dirt and smiles from ear to ear, I reached out my arms and picked them up as if they were one of my own. God had broken my heart for these people at first sight.

Then, as the group went on to play with the kids it was as if the Holy Spirit was leading me to a family off in the corner. When I found this family I saw the cutest little baby in the world playing on an old computer, three other kids staring intensely, mom and dad sitting down for a coffee and a little boy off in the corner. I showed with hand signals why I was here and asked what was wrong with the little boy. The father motioned that he was blind. Wham!! God spoke directly to my heart. You need to pray for this boy before you leave.

I walked away from the family and all I could think about was this little boy. Father are you going to give this boy sight today, I was getting very excited because I knew that the Lord was speaking to me about this little boy. We played Frisbee, enjoyed the other little kids, had a minor water fight but this little boy was all I could think about. I prayed and prayed and all I could think about was that I was supposed to pray for this little boy.

After playing we started to leave but I wasn't about to leave without doing what the Lord was calling me to do. I talked to Becky who was staff at Novi Most and she said that this was a family that was not the nicest to her and if I was going to do this I should take a male. I asked one of the locals to join me and Cathy felt called to come along as well. When we came to the family I asked them if it would be alright to pray for their little boy. The family agreed with a weird look on their face and I stepped into the trash filled open room. Maurice who was crouched down and smiling at the ground touched my heart in more ways than I can explain. I knelt down to him and it was as if my heart began to break for this little boy and tears just began to roll down my cheeks. I laid my hands on him and began to pray intensely over this little boy. Through all of the praying Maurice smiled and laughed as the Holy Spirit just touched his little heart. Right in the middle of it I reached down and put my hand on his heart and Maurice looked up at me and opened his eyes so wide, it was as if Jesus himself was looking into my heart. For that moment I know that Maurice could see me and knew the exact reason that I was praying for him. He had the biggest smile on his face and put a Joy in my heart that I will not forget.

Through this experience the Lord did not heal Maurice, but I know that he will. I later found out that what was affecting Maurice's vision was not something that was wrong with his eyes but something that had happened to his brain.

What the Lord taught me through this experience was to once again step out in faith and believe that He is so big that he can do all things, even make a blind boy see. I knew that this was once again a trial to see if I would step out in Faith and listen to Him. In the process of the whole thing a little boy was touched by the Holy Spirit in more ways than I will ever know, a family felt a love that they had not felt before and I took one step further outside of my comfort zone.

Praise God.

HEALING THE BLIND

Wed, 19 Jul 2006 00:00:00 GMT

"I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it." John 14:12-14

Over the past four weeks the Lord has led me in a direction of the expansion of my mind. I came to this country in complete dependence of God but what I lacked was a confidence that needed to dwell within my heart. Did I believe that God was so big that He could actually use me to heal the sick, touch the blind and perform miracles? Many quiver at the thought of that right now. Is that for today? I believe that it is.

Many have read that when I got to Mostar I claimed in the name of Jesus Christ that Lactose Intolerance would no longer rain over my body. I was immediately healed and today I eat cheese, drink milk and almost have a problem with eating too much ice cream. Praise Jesus Christ. This has been the beginning of the expansion of my mind. Can God continue to perform these healings, signs and wonders? Do I truly believe that God will use me and do what he has called me to do?

Most in this day and age are too afraid to even try and perform a healing on anyone but someone with a back pain or a headache because what if God does not show up? What if I put myself out on the line and ask God to heal a person with a broken leg, cancer or even the blind and he doesn't do it? How will I look? My answer has slowly come to SO WHAT!

As we praised the God of Gods this Sunday I heard a voice in my head that said pray for the man right next to you. I looked over at him and this was a man that has been on my heart the entire time that I have been in Mostar. He was missing an eye from the war. God you want me to pray for the man to receive his sight back in that eye? Am I hearing you right? My heart raced. I was in the front of the service and we were all waiting on the Lord. I thought if I waited long enough God would forget about it but no, the Lord wanted me to pray for him.

Wow, her I go, I stepped out in faith with my heart racing and prayed in the name of Jesus Christ that his eye would be healed. I sat over him and continued to pray and pray and pray. God come on show up, I know that this is what you wanted me to do. As I saw that this was not the time that this was going to happen I felt a peace come over my body that God just wanted to see if I would listen to his call. Did I trust Him enough to not care about what people thought and step out of my box into the unknown of complete faith.

I believe that this was just the beginning to something huge that the Lord is doing in my life and the lives of my teammates. Do we BELIEVE that He is so big and awesome that He will use us for Miracles? I know in my heart that we do, we just need to dig deeper and find that FAITH that the Lord is trying to bring us to.

"I tell you the Truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father." John 14:12

What did Jesus Do?

I invite each person that is reading this e-mail to step out of your box, Trust in the Lord and realize that our thoughts are not His thoughts. He is so much bigger than we can ever imagine and doing something as small as removing cancer, healing the blind and performing miracles is child's play to him. Let's believe together and find the Faith that he is calling each and every one of us too. God Bless.

LOVE ONE ANOTHER

Wed, 12 Jul 2006 00:00:00 GMT

"A new command, I give you; Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." John 13:34-35

As I look at this scripture I am reminded over and over again that this is a direct commandment from God. Have I truly grasped a hold of the power of this scripture? Have I really done what is being commanded of me from the most high?

This week has been a complete challenge in Love starting from the sermon this Sunday (about love), to this scripture that God keeps pounding me on. Do I really love on my brothers and sisters to the point that Jesus Christ is exalted? To my disillusionment I have to admit that it is not enough.

Jesus poured his love on his disciples to the point where he got down on his hands and knees to wash their mud covered feet. Is their anything more humbling than the creator of the world getting down on his hands and knees to wash your feet? Picture it, it is hard to grasp. Are we worthy of that?

Jesus believes that we are and we are supposed to show that same love to one another so that we can live a life of example. My mind wanders when I think about this because I look at the body of Christ and what we have done to it. We have; because of theological nonsense; strayed away from what Christ has COMMANDED each and every one of us to do. LOVE ONE ANOTHER.

Are we doing that in our lives? Am I doing that with my teammates and my fellow believers in Mostar? Well, I know that I can do a much better job of it and because of my desire and Love of my father, I am going to do my best to follow His word.

I praise my Father in heaven to have the opportunity to shower people with Love. I praise you that you are LOVE and that those that you are putting in my path, I can show the Love that you have shown us. I pray that Love would radiate with everything that I do.

May the LOVE of Jesus pour on you at this very moment. God Bless.

PROPHECY

Sun, 9 Jul 2006 00:00:00 GMT

"But he was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities, the punishments that gave us peace were upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed." Isaiah 53:5 (written around 700 years before Christ)

When I got to Mostar I immediately met a missionary that was on fire for God. He had been here for nearly ten years and had a true passion for the Bosnian people. When I asked him where his heart was, he told me that it was to disciple the Bosnian people to the Kingdom of God. Through that response I knew that he was a man of knowledge and wisdom and did I ever want to hear some of his wisdom.

I began to talk to him about different subjects and was able to go through some of his books as well as see some of the movies in his collection. One of the movies that really sparked my attention was a film about Biblical Prophecy.

Prophecy had always been something that I looked into and respected but I never really recognized the power of it, until now. As I began to study some of the prophecies of the Bible, God started to open my eyes to a whole new area of Evangelism and proof. This was hard evidence that I had always believed in but I never really grasped a hold of.

Isaiah 53:5 is just one of over 300 prophesies of the Coming messiah. Many might question and say, the Bible must have been written after the coming of Jesus Christ because some are just too blatantly obvious, so there must be some explanation. The funny thing about all of this is that there is hard proof evidence to the world that the Old Testament was in black and white over 200 years before the coming of Christ. Then there was something called the Dead Sea Scrolls that were found in 1945 deep in a cave of actual scriptures that proved that the Old Testament was written prior to the coming of Christ.

I want to give those of you that are willing to look deeper into this a statistic that will blow your mind. Out of those 300 prophesies of the coming Messiah, lets just take eight of them. Daniel 9:25, Isaiah 53:5, Isaiah 53:7, Psalm 22:16, Micah 5:2, Zechariah 9:9, Zechariah 11:12 (Judas) & Zechariah 11:13. Now let's look at the probability of these scriptures; that were fulfilled; actually happening.

Take a silver dollar, color it black and throw it somewhere in the state of Texas. Now take how ever many more silver dollars that it would take to cover the entire state of Texas until it was covered up to two feet deep. Ok, now take a man and blindfold him and tell him to walk into the state of Texas and pick out one silver dollar. The chances of that man picking that one black silver dollar are the chances that just eight of the 300 prophecies were fulfilled, and Jesus Christ fulfilled them all.

My point in writing this blog is not to start a debate amongst non-believers of Christ. My point in writing this blog is to make us all(including myself) dig deeper into the actual hard evidence that God has provided right in front of our faces. He has provided the Bible which is filled with prophecies of the coming Messiah. If you do not believe me, look into the Bible and the verses that I have stated above and try and prove them wrong. Our God is full of grace but how much evidence does he have to put in front of our faces until we believe?

"I love those who love me and those who seek me will find me." Proverbs 8:17

God Bless

BAJA ON THE 4TH OF JULY

Wed, 5 Jul 2006 00:00:00 GMT

"Let brotherly love continue. Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels." Hebrews 13:1-2

The 4^th of July was a little bit different this year. Not only because I am in Bosnia Herzegovina but also because I got to spend it with a survivor of the Bosnia-Herzegovina War.

The first day that I came to the bible school I was introduced to the Super of the school named Baja (pronounced Bi-ya). I knew from the second that I met him that the Lord had put him in my life for a reason and that I was supposed to spend time with him. I could not speak his language but I knew that the Lord wanted me to be around him. I also heard that he had an incredible testimony about the war and I was very interested in hearing it.

As we cooked hot dogs and hamburgers on the 4^th, Cory (Bosnian missionary from the states) asked if he should invite Baja. I was completely on board as well as all the girls. I asked Cory if he could translate and get Baja to tell his testimony some time in the night. He agreed and Baja showed up filled with joy and love as he always does.

The time had come and I was anxiously waiting to hear Baja's testimony. I want to say beforehand that I can not do this testimony the justice that it deserves but Lord willing I will try and tell it the best that I can.

Baja was raised in Mostar Bosnia all of his life. He grew up under a communist government and was not taught much about religion at all. His parents had some Muslim background but really didn't push it on his life throughout the years.

He married in his early thirties to a woman from a Muslim background who was also not practicing. When war broke out in 1992, because of Baja's background and family heritage, he was on the side of the Muslims. He, as well as thousands of others joined forces with the Croats to retaliate against Serbs that were attacking from the surrounding mountains (Baja's wife fled to the coast of Croatia). They succeeded in pushing the Serbians out but due to unresolved problems began to turn against each other. This is when the true brutality and bloodshed broke out.

Throughout this whole mess, Baja; along with thousands of others; were captured by the Croats and were taken hostage. He was brutally beaten and literally had to sleep on top of other Muslims that were captured with him. He can remember times when he was kicked so hard in his head and jaw that he virtually lost consciousness.

Soon after being taken into captivity Baja was put into Solitary confinement. He was in a dark cell all by himself only to hear eight men that were close by him. In his cell was a bible and all Baja can remember is that he threw it to the ground in the corner of the cell. He didn't want anything to do with it.

Baja had many endless nights within those two months that he was in confinement. Then, many of the eight men that were around him began to die. Baja had a tough time thinking about this. Then, the man next to his cell had a book that he was given before he was caught written by Billy Graham. This man had talked to Baja thru a crack in the wall and told him all about it. Baja decided to read the book.

As Baja read the book, the Spirit of God began to come to life right before his eyes. He started to feel things that he could not understand and when he came to the crucial parts of accepting Jesus into his life he remembers the night very vividly. He said that he was standing right by the bars of the jail cell and he can remember feeling and seeing the spirit of Jesus Christ coming down upon him and resting in his body. He said from that very moment he had an overwhelming sense of peace that everything was going to be alright. He had the spirit of Christ within him and he knew where he would end up if he were not to make it.

This was at the beginning of his capture and he ended up staying in captivity for around 11 months (two months in solitary confinement). After his release Baja was a Born Again man (John 3:3). He was forever changed and his life reflected it. He met many Christians that were on fire for the Lord and began to assist them with a vision to build a church on the Muslim side of Mostar. This was unheard of, how could you get a church right in between two Mosques and on the East side of town? Well, they were determined to do it.

To make a really long story short, Baja was the key component to building the entire Bible School and church. He has dedicated his life to this church and has become a servant of Jesus Christ till the day that he is brought to heaven.

I am indebted to God for having met this man. I am humbled at the opportunity to share in his love, in his joy, in his peace and will forever be changed because of Baja. He is a man of integrity and compassion and I thank our Lord Jesus for the opportunity to hear how he worked through his life. May the Lord forever bless him and touch him in everything that he does.

PERSONAL HEALING

Wed, 28 Jun 2006 00:00:00 GMT

"Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." James 5:16

This morning was a different morning than normal. I got my cup of coffee and poured 2% milk in with two packets of sugar. At lunch I ordered a pork sandwich covered in cream sauce. After lunch I ordered two scoops of vanilla and strawberry ice cream. For dinner I ate three pieces of pizza smothered in cheese and ham.

Why am I telling you this? When I was sixteen I was diagnosed by my doctor that I was lactose intolerant. I was told that I couldn't eat any dairy products or else I would suffer the consequences, a terrible stomach ache and very bad diarrhea (sorry for the details). My stomach lacked the proper enzymes to digest the Lactose that was in Dairy. This has been my life for the past 11 years. No pizza, no ice-cream, no milk, no cheese, no chocolate cake, no dairy period.

Well, something happened while I was in Poland. I had been on a spiritual journey with my best friend Ryan and my other great friend Pete. We had eight hours of completely trusting in the Lord and walking through the forest on a Wild at Heart journey. It was amazing. At the end of our journey we decided to go to a pizza parlor and of course we ordered the pizza with one third no cheese. When the pizza came it was covered in cheese. Because of the entire day and trusting in the Lord, Pete said, "Why don't we just trust in the Lord and ask Him to make it possible for me to eat the pizza without any problems." I looked at him and said why not? Jesus is huge, why can't he make this happen.

"But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind." James 1:6. Well I believed and at that moment in time I felt a different feeling in my stomach. It was hard for me to comprehend so I just went on eating what I normally ate with some added dairy here and there.

Two days ago, I was talking with my group as they were about to get ice cream about my problem and what the Lord was doing with it. Casey said that she had a friend that had very bad allergies from food but she had belief that the Lord could heal her. She called out in the name of Jesus, actually put the food that she had allergies from on the ground, stomped on it, and claimed in the name of Jesus that she would no longer have anymore problems. She was healed that night.

As funny as it sounded, I wanted to be able to enjoy an ice cream and I believed that the Lord could heal me. I ordered an ice-cream, put some of it on the ground, stomped on it and said in the name of Jesus, I claim victory over this ailment. I was cured at that very moment. Not a problem at all.

My friends and family should be in complete amazement right now because I am utterly in awe. I can't tell you how weird it is to actually put two scoops of ice-cream, three pieces of pizza, and a creamy burger into my mouth without running off to the boy's room and screaming out for some TUMS.

I praise the Lord for this healing, I thank the Lord for the Faith that He has instilled in my heart, and I call out in the name of Jesus to say Glory to the King in the heavens above.

FOCUS ON THE HEART

Tue, 27 Jun 2006 00:00:00 GMT

"For out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks." Mathew 12:34

As I sat and asked the Lord what to speak on, I thought that I had heard two different things. One was Luke 10 and the entire journey that we went through in Thailand and the other was Prayer surrounding Mathew 21:13. I kept asking the Lord but could not get a definite response about either one.

Then, the day before I had to preach, I remembered what two of my prayer partners had said to me. They said that I didn't need to worry about the message; just focus on preparing my heart and the Lord would give me the message. I knew at that moment that the Lord didn't care which topic I had chosen, He just wanted me to make my heart pure with Him and completely Trust in him. So that is what I focused on and did He ever speak in my life.

There was something completely different about this time of preaching. I had a sense of confidence that I hadn't had before, I had a sense of boldness that I had not had before and I had a sense of peace that overwhelmed me. Although there were some things that I wished that I had done better, the Lord took me from someone that had very little experience in preaching to someone that had a passion about what he was preaching about.

I have a long road ahead of me, but I am willing to take that step of faith and trust that the Lord is guiding my paths. I am honored to of had the chance to preach about the power and authority that we have been given through prayer.

May the Lord bless you, touch you, and answer your prayers this very day. God Bless.