The Time is Near

The countdown has begun. We are less than 1 month away from arrival day. Last week was our last "normal" week until corporate staff training begins. We are doing well in our preparation. It's been nice to have a good amount of time all together before school starts.

Each day God does something new in my heart. Each day He draws me closer and challengers me more to be like Him. This week it has been a joy. I'm realizing that when I let go of who I think I'm supposed to be and let God mold me, I will turn out to be who He wants me to be. When I follow His leanings to bless others, pray for others, rest, spend time in His Word, etc. I become more like Him. When I try on my own to be good and do what I think He wants me to do, I become more like who I think I'm supposed to be.

Please be keeping our team in your prayers. We have about 60 students enrolled and more that will apply in these next 3 weeks. We have an amazing team and I'll introduce you all to them in a post in the near future. We are all running after God and I know that we will be used mightily in the lives of these students and in the nations.

Speaking of the nations, I don't know where I'll be going on outreach yet. We will be deciding that as a team very soon. I'll be sure to let you know when the decisions are made. Thank you for your support and your prayers.

Here are some videos I thought you might be interested in. They show a little of what life is like here on base and a little about YWAM.

 

This is a bit of YWAM's history and its ministries and focus. 

 

Here's a glimpse of YWAM Kona.

The Story of YWAM.

 A video from the Sex and Money team who traveled the world, studied, wrote a book, and made a documentary.  Here is a bit of their travels.

This is a video from my teams trip last year to Cambodia.  The travels, the ministry, and the fun times.

Men

Finally, a second to breathe and let all of you into all that has been going on.  God is at work is how I can explain this past week, but really that doesn't explain a thing.  God is moving in power, in love, in conviction, in strength, and seems to not be stopping until He's got our whole life.  Inside and out He wants it all.  He's jealous for our desires, for our passion, and our attention.  He wont relent until He is our center.  I've lived too long letting God have what I was comfortable giving.  I'll be honest, I don't think God cares about me being comfortable.  He's God, He wants all of me.  I don't think He cares that I don't feel like worshiping, serving, or interceding for issues that I'm apathetic to.  He is God and He deserves everything even when I don't feel like it.  I don't think it was comfortable for Him to die on a cross for us, and I don't think He felt like it.  But He loved us so much that He looked past his earthly feelings and gave all that He had.  Now we must look at that and make a choice.  Am I okay giving Him what is comfortable, or am I going to give Him everything I have?  What is my response to the one who gave it all for me?  It's a challenge yes, but an invitation to a life that can look very different than many in our culture are living.  Passive men? Is that what God is calling men to be?  Apathetic? Self focused?  Take a look around, take a look at your life and make an assessment.  Evaluate what you see.  Do you see any Davids, any Isaiahs, Pauls, Noahs, or Abrahams?  I know what I saw in myself and I was none of those.  God is calling us all to reevaluate what it means to be a man or woman of God.  I have not arrived, far from it, but I know what God is bringing me through right now is almost like an initiation into manhood.  Too long I've lived like the way I've described.  

What I feel God is raising up men to be is this; Men who are courageous, men who take initiative, men who lead, who love, men passionate about interceding for their wives, families, and the issues that are tearing our world apart, men who say no to the lies of the enemy, men who are bold, who care for the orphans, widows, the least of these, men of the Word, men who are pure, men who are turned off by anything that is not honoring to God, men who love their God more than anyone or anything, men who choose not to waste their lives on meaningless things, men who turn off the t.v., computer, video games, and realize that God is raising up warriors to fight.  He's not asking us to strive to be some kind of super human.  He's inviting us all into freedom, into joy, into battle.  Will you accept, or once again, be passive and apathetic, believing the lie over your life that its too hard or that it can't be true about you.  Is anything too hard for your God?  There's a whole world out there that exists where men are passionate, courageous, and bold.  They are fighting in the front lines against the work of the enemy.  They are winning souls, freeing slaves, being fathers to the fatherless.  That world wont exist until we all answer the call.  God is raising up His army.  Rise up Men of God, Men of Honor.  Its time to declare victory over the things that are keeping us down. It's time to say no to the lies and proclaim your victory in Jesus' Name. 


Hmmm, well that pretty much sums up the last month or so...I've been on a journey, its been miserable and God has been uprooting everything.  The Bible calls it pruning, I call it torture.  But oh the joy.  The joy when new branches, and new fruit begins to grow.  

On the more practical side we've been busy with worship times, prayer, school planning meetings, leadership training, preparation work for DTS, and community building times.  Our days our packed so we've taken advantage of our weekends off.

And now here are pictures of my weekend adventures!

Some of our newest housing being built with the blazing brush fire a very uncomfortable distance away.

There were about 3 or 4 helicopters helping to quench the flames as they came dangerously close the the campus and many houses nearby.

A panoramic shot of the fire with the dried up soccer field in the foreground.  No one was injured and no buildings were destroyed but a whole lot of dried landscape was burned.

A few of us decided to take a weekend camping trip to see some of the island.  With the waves crashing  behind us this was a beautiful spot to spend the night.

Down in Waipio Valley is this 2,000ft. waterfall called Twin Falls. 

To get to the falls its quite the hike through the tropics of the Big Island.

We always like to make a pit stop along the way and have a cool swim in this clear fresh water.  This time I managed to slip, bang my arm, and land in really shallow water.  Luckily its only about 10ft down to the water.

Upon arriving we made a friend that was enjoying our apples.

We had a little photo shoot with thiis good looking fellow

Makalawena Beach is known as one of the most beautiful on the island.  This is why.

We enjoyed the morning swimming in the waves as the sun was rising and no one else nearby

We had these clear blue waters all to our self.

The beautiful but very hot Hawaiian sun over the lava rock and coral near Makalawena Beach.

You can't take your sports cars, or compact cars out here.  This is the mild part of the road made for 4x4 only.

Another shot of the road to Makalawena.

This beautiful falls has the unfortunate name of Peepee Falls.

Just behind me is whats called the boiling pots.  Here you jump from falls to falls, about 7 in all.  Don't go too far down or you'll get sucked in by the current created by the lava tubes underneath.

Known as one of the best places in the world to see the stars, my favorite part are the magnificent sunsets up here on Mauna Kea.  You feel on top of the world at almost 14,000ft. high.

The sunsets from here at Old Airport are amazing if you can get close to the tide pools.  The whales jumping from the water that swam right by made this one of the best nights yet.

We enjoyed our camp outs here with the Voice for the Voiceless DTS. 

Now you see why Mauna Kea is one of the best places in the world to view the night sky. 

Winter in Hawaii

     I just wanted to give a quick update for all of you who are following. Most of our staff has arrived here in Kona, but we still have others who are on their way. It's an exciting new beginning but also a difficult time of transition. We will all be stretch as we live in a such close and intimate community. We've already begun leadership training, have spent many hours together in the prayer room, and have begun to plan for the upcoming DTS in April. We've had time to relax and enjoy getting to know the others we will be working with over this next year. We've been to the beach in January which I have to say is quite amazing. My tan is coming along but because I burned so bad last year I have to lather up with the sunscreen. Especially coming from the white tundra that Maine is right now.
     I have been so thankful for those of you in Maine and all over who have been praying for me and supporting me. I was in awe with the support given before I left. It's a humbling process but God is teaching me that He can supply all that I need.
     There will be much more updating to come as the days and weeks go by. Enjoy the pictures but for all of you who are freezing to death remember, your not allowed to be envious...

     These are almost all iphone photos.  Some other more quality ones will be up soon.

 

 

 

 

 

A New Time

A time has come when the things I've learned, the things I've seen, the things I've been taught, and the things God has revealed enter into a filter.  This filter removes all that is not genuinely believed, all that I do not truly hold on to tightly.  Now that DTS is over something happened, not only in me, but in many who I have graduated with.  God seems to hide himself.  He brings glimpses and whispers of His great love for us, but He does not yell, He has changed how He chooses to speak to us.  He is absolutely still there, He has not run, but He has challenged us to continue to delight in Him.  To delight when we do not have the same community who strengthens and encourage us continually.  To delight when real world problems are back and we are back in the middle of them.  To delight when the future is uncertain and the past 6 months feel like only a dream. 


The filter I wrote of is the world outside of the YWAM community that we have lived in.  We choose to let the world filter out if we have truly been changed.  We choose to let the filter deny us of the joy we shared together as we sought after God and found Him more glorious than we ever had.  It is a choice we make.  The filter does not strip anything we do not let it.  It is our choice to believe.  It is our choice to hold on to all that we have been taught, all that we have learned and seen.  

I have been back home for a few of weeks now.  I have not had much time to remember and think on all that God has done.  I came back to my brothers wedding and two days later to three weeks of working on a harvester.  It seems quickly the time has come for decisions.  Decisions about work, about ministry, about what is next in this life.  I'm not so sure there is a job on this earth where I would find joy.  Never before had I found such joy in something than while in Cambodia.  Everyday I would wake up with joy, with expectation knowing that I would be with the children at the orphanage or at the village.  To hug them, to teach them about God, to play with them and watch their smiles as we came.  There is no greater joy than serving God, than being with God and serving with God.  To watch as He moved the hearts of a classroom.  As He used the words from my mouth that in one minute could be speaking poorly of someone else, but yet people's hearts were moved in that class.  And it was clear that it was not my words but the Spirit of God was there.  It was clear that God did not need me, but He chose to use me.  It was clear that Zechariah 4:6 is indeed true.  That it is "Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit says the Lord of hosts."  That He carried me there and that He can and will carry me here. 

 

Koh Samet

     Outreach is officially finished and debrief is here in full force.  I have many more stories and pictures to share with you, but I wanted to keep you updated on where I am now.  I’m on an island in the Indian Ocean, in the Thai Gulf and it is beautiful.  The water is not quite as clear as I would have thought, but it is very warm.  Our speedboat ride to the island was very very choppy.  It was more like an old theme park ride that feels like it’s about to fall apart.  The 11 girls on the team were screaming as we jumped from wave to wave.  We made it to the island where all 13 of us fit into a taxi.  The taxi we road was a green pickup with benches in the cab.  It took us about 15 minutes down a narrow, hilly, pot hole infested road to make it to our bungalows.                

     After 2 days in the enormous city of Bangkok, I’ve finally been able to relax and enjoy the warm ocean with only a few other people here at our beach.  It’s hard to comprehend that I’m on an island in Thailand.  When I look out I can see a few other islands popping up in the horizon and an amazing morning sky.  I woke up for sunrise and you can see a few glimpses of what I saw this morning down below.

     After 3 months of a schedule that didn’t ever stop it’s nice not to have anything to do but enjoy a couple days here in a faraway land.  Thank you all for being a part of this journey by praying, and encouraging me during this time.  I hope to share more as I process all that has gone on and I’ve got plenty of more pictures to share with you.  Today I go back to Hawaii and start my 4 consecutive days of travel with a wedding somewhere in the middle.  It’s time for breakfast on the beach, don’t be too jealous…