So on Thursday we got into Amsterdam and a group of us decided to go to tour the city. What we found was appalling. It is a city full of the worst things imaginable. It is full of prostitution, drugs, pot, alcohol, and many other things. It truly is the Sodom of the 21st century. You couldn’t walk 100 yards without seeing shops or signs promoting or selling these things. It was rather eye opening to see the true deprived state of our world. The people here pretty much worship these things. They worship and indulge in sex, in drugs, in alcohol, in things that just make them feel good.
Their worship is self gratifying and self centered. They worship their bodies. They worship the things that make them feel good. Are we any different? We may not do the same things as these people, but do we worship the way we look. Do we do things just to make ourselves good? “If the object of our worship is true then our worship is true. If the object of our worship is false then our worship is false.” Is our worship true?
~Josh
Saturday, August 22, 2009
Healing Wounded Hearts
The ministry in Bujumbura was different than I expected. We visited with women who are being taught how to sew so they can provide for their families. Each afternoon the men on our team spent time with a group of young men that live on the streets. A man named Pastor Alban has been ministering to them for about a year. What began as preaching to a few lost boys has quickly turned into a growing ministry that now serves over 100 boys. However, I think the sessions that a counselor named Mary from Lafayette, Louisiana led were possibly the most powerful and life-changing thing we got to be involved with.
On Tuesday and Wednesday morning Mary gave a seminar to over 50 local women on how to deal with wounds and hurts. Many, if not all, of the women there had been wounded severely during their lives. Some were victims of the ’93 genocide. Some were raped or sexually abused numerous times. Some never knew their parents and never heard the words “I love you” until they met Jesus.
Each session was about 3 hours long. It was difficult to read the faces of the women that attended. I began to wonder if anything Mary said was really sinking in. However, when the women began to share their stories with us as the week progressed, I finally understood how powerfully God had worked in their lives. Many women began their journey of healing this week. They understood for perhaps the first time that God is someone they can trust. He loves them and He will heal their hurts.
There are millions of people in this world and each one has some kind of wound in his or her life. I thank God that He allowed us to share His love and healing with women who don’t have access to Christian living books and definitely can’t afford to attend regular counseling sessions. Instead He allowed us to meet them where they’re at and show them how to start healing a wounded heart.
~ Sam
On Tuesday and Wednesday morning Mary gave a seminar to over 50 local women on how to deal with wounds and hurts. Many, if not all, of the women there had been wounded severely during their lives. Some were victims of the ’93 genocide. Some were raped or sexually abused numerous times. Some never knew their parents and never heard the words “I love you” until they met Jesus.
Each session was about 3 hours long. It was difficult to read the faces of the women that attended. I began to wonder if anything Mary said was really sinking in. However, when the women began to share their stories with us as the week progressed, I finally understood how powerfully God had worked in their lives. Many women began their journey of healing this week. They understood for perhaps the first time that God is someone they can trust. He loves them and He will heal their hurts.
There are millions of people in this world and each one has some kind of wound in his or her life. I thank God that He allowed us to share His love and healing with women who don’t have access to Christian living books and definitely can’t afford to attend regular counseling sessions. Instead He allowed us to meet them where they’re at and show them how to start healing a wounded heart.
~ Sam
Our Airport Adventure
Hello,
Some of you might have heard about the airline crisis traveling from Nairobi, Kenya to Bujumbura, Burundi. We arrived at the airport at 5:00AM, Sunday the 16th. Rather than let the huge delay get the best of us, we had a church service on the streets of the airport. We worshiped for around two hours. Several local news stations recorded our signing. After some worship, Daniel gave a short sermon about God calling him to Mexico, and how God has been working in his life recently. While we were worshiping, people asked excellent questions (questions that allowed us to spread Christ’s glory) One guy asked if we were a professional choir, and wanted to meet the choirmaster. An airport security guard came to talk to us. Mrs. Crews thought he was coming to shut us down; but instead, he said: “I wish I was not in uniform so I could dance to your music! I’m sorry I have to go back to patrolling.”
CURRENT ELAPSED TIME: 5 hours.
Only God could do something like that. A few hours later, they let us into the airport check-in area.
CURRENT ELAPSED TIME: 13 hours.
Once we were inside, we waited in the check-in line for 2 hours; and were almost to the desk when the guards accidentally started a mini-riot. They called for people of a certain flight to come to the line we were waiting in. EVERYONE rushed for the desk, even those not on the called flight. After another hour of waiting, we finally checked all 25 of our bags; and went through passport control.
CURRENT ELAPSED TIME: 20 hours.
In Kenyan airports, they have a “holding cell” for passengers waiting to board. While waiting, almost everyone slept; except Melanie who went ballistic due to two cups of Kenyan coffee. Finally, at 2:45AM we boarded our flight, only to wait another hour until takeoff. We finally took off; landed in Bujumbura, Burundi an hour later; and then promptly fell asleep. In the end, what should have taken around 4 hours ended up being a 25-hour ordeal. During our time at the airport, we saw a wide display of human character... I praise God that our team was able to remain cheerful and positive from start to finish. Everyone was kind, polite, and Christ-like; which was a “simply lovely” witness for Him.
TOTAL ELAPSED TIME: 25 hours.
Thanks for taking the time to read this; and God bless!
Because of Christ,
Gabe
Some of you might have heard about the airline crisis traveling from Nairobi, Kenya to Bujumbura, Burundi. We arrived at the airport at 5:00AM, Sunday the 16th. Rather than let the huge delay get the best of us, we had a church service on the streets of the airport. We worshiped for around two hours. Several local news stations recorded our signing. After some worship, Daniel gave a short sermon about God calling him to Mexico, and how God has been working in his life recently. While we were worshiping, people asked excellent questions (questions that allowed us to spread Christ’s glory) One guy asked if we were a professional choir, and wanted to meet the choirmaster. An airport security guard came to talk to us. Mrs. Crews thought he was coming to shut us down; but instead, he said: “I wish I was not in uniform so I could dance to your music! I’m sorry I have to go back to patrolling.”
CURRENT ELAPSED TIME: 5 hours.
Only God could do something like that. A few hours later, they let us into the airport check-in area.
CURRENT ELAPSED TIME: 13 hours.
Once we were inside, we waited in the check-in line for 2 hours; and were almost to the desk when the guards accidentally started a mini-riot. They called for people of a certain flight to come to the line we were waiting in. EVERYONE rushed for the desk, even those not on the called flight. After another hour of waiting, we finally checked all 25 of our bags; and went through passport control.
CURRENT ELAPSED TIME: 20 hours.
In Kenyan airports, they have a “holding cell” for passengers waiting to board. While waiting, almost everyone slept; except Melanie who went ballistic due to two cups of Kenyan coffee. Finally, at 2:45AM we boarded our flight, only to wait another hour until takeoff. We finally took off; landed in Bujumbura, Burundi an hour later; and then promptly fell asleep. In the end, what should have taken around 4 hours ended up being a 25-hour ordeal. During our time at the airport, we saw a wide display of human character... I praise God that our team was able to remain cheerful and positive from start to finish. Everyone was kind, polite, and Christ-like; which was a “simply lovely” witness for Him.
TOTAL ELAPSED TIME: 25 hours.
Thanks for taking the time to read this; and God bless!
Because of Christ,
Gabe
One epic event forever set in stone. There is no escaping the reality. No one can forget. No one will forget. Now haunting never ending horror. Cruel, miserable, torment encased in time living on in the wildest fears. Living in darkness only waiting till the day history repeats. The Cycle of Life continues without hope. They cry out to us. They beg us. They plead with us. Wailing mothers. Dead fathers. Children’s bodies fill the streets. This is just the beginning. Crushed spirits, destroyed minds only the body lives on in agony. Hear the crying orphans, the screams of women raped, the suffering husband helpless. All dignity has abandoned them. All trust is dead like lost loved ones. All love in lost in ash.
Will we every truly understand...
~Daniel
Will we every truly understand...
~Daniel
Monday, August 17, 2009
The Challenge of Being a Servant
It’s pretty easy to be a servant...well at least some of the time. But consistently having a servant’s heart is a completely different deal. Being with kids all day is a lot of fun, don’t take me wrong, but it takes a lot of flexibility and self-denial because their desires often don’t line up with mine. I have discovered that consistent servanthood requires a heart that consistently dies to its own will and only lives according to God’s will.
Sometimes this means taking drastic measures such as selling all you have and giving every cent to feed the hungry. Other times it means denying yourself the privilege of relaxing and instead painting toenails and writing songs with future musicians. Whatever the case may be, Christ calls me to die to myself, take up His cross and follow Him (Lk. 9:23). He also calls me to take advantage of every opportunity I have to serve others (Gal. 6:10).
So as I continue to work on being a consistent servant, I encourage you to think about what your lifestyle looks like concerning servanthood. Are you laying down your cross daily? Are you taking advantage of every opportunity to serve others? Are you a servant in every situation or only when it is convenient?
"For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many." ~ Mark 10:45
~Sam
Sometimes this means taking drastic measures such as selling all you have and giving every cent to feed the hungry. Other times it means denying yourself the privilege of relaxing and instead painting toenails and writing songs with future musicians. Whatever the case may be, Christ calls me to die to myself, take up His cross and follow Him (Lk. 9:23). He also calls me to take advantage of every opportunity I have to serve others (Gal. 6:10).
So as I continue to work on being a consistent servant, I encourage you to think about what your lifestyle looks like concerning servanthood. Are you laying down your cross daily? Are you taking advantage of every opportunity to serve others? Are you a servant in every situation or only when it is convenient?
"For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many." ~ Mark 10:45
~Sam
Thursday, August 13, 2009
2 but One
Today as we were worshipping I started thinking about the differences between the ways we worship around the world. Back home I find that a lot of worship for me seems to be more complex and thought out. A lot of the songs tend to be internally focused and help you focus on the words and the thoughts behind them and worship God through them. Here in Africa at the camp the worship mostly consists of dancing and jumping and shouting. And I got to thinking about the differences between the two. They are two different places on the planet, two different cultures, two different styles of worship, yet we worship the same God. The God that we worship at home and the God we worship in Africa are the same. The God that we worship in the secret quiet still place is the same God that we dance and shout for. Two different styles, but One God.
It kind of hit me, the style in which we worship is not nearly as important as having your heart in the right place. God doesn’t care if we jump and shout or if we sit and are still if our hearts aren’t in the right place. Our heart needs to be in the right place for our worship to be true. Worship is not just a bunch of actions. It is a heart thing. The actions are supposed to be an outpouring of our hearts.
So I challenge you to examine your worship. Is it just a bunch of things you do, or are your actions an outpouring of your heart?
~Josh
It kind of hit me, the style in which we worship is not nearly as important as having your heart in the right place. God doesn’t care if we jump and shout or if we sit and are still if our hearts aren’t in the right place. Our heart needs to be in the right place for our worship to be true. Worship is not just a bunch of actions. It is a heart thing. The actions are supposed to be an outpouring of our hearts.
So I challenge you to examine your worship. Is it just a bunch of things you do, or are your actions an outpouring of your heart?
~Josh
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
God is Working!
God is working! Last night seven of the girls decided to trust Christ as their personal Savior! Praise the Lord! One of the girls even wrote a worship song in response to her new relationship with Christ. The words go like this:
I would like to say thank You
I would like to glorify Your name (x2)
Thank You for the gift of life
Thank You for protection
Thank You for the family
Thank You for everyone of us
I can’t wait to see what God does through her as He continues to sanctify her and put a heart of worship inside of her!
Personally, this has been the most rewarding part of the trip so far. As John Piper says “Missions exist because worship doesn’t.” Therefore the purpose of missions is to glorify God and to make him known; specifically by helping others become worshippers of Him. It gave me so much joy to see God transforming this girl into a worshipper of Him! I can’t wait to see what else he does!
I would say more but it is 1:00am in Kenya right now and so I should probably get some sleep lol...Thanks for praying and being involved in what God is doing!
In Christ,
Josiah
I would like to say thank You
I would like to glorify Your name (x2)
Thank You for the gift of life
Thank You for protection
Thank You for the family
Thank You for everyone of us
I can’t wait to see what God does through her as He continues to sanctify her and put a heart of worship inside of her!
Personally, this has been the most rewarding part of the trip so far. As John Piper says “Missions exist because worship doesn’t.” Therefore the purpose of missions is to glorify God and to make him known; specifically by helping others become worshippers of Him. It gave me so much joy to see God transforming this girl into a worshipper of Him! I can’t wait to see what else he does!
I would say more but it is 1:00am in Kenya right now and so I should probably get some sleep lol...Thanks for praying and being involved in what God is doing!
In Christ,
Josiah
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Day 1 & 2 In A Foreign Land
We are here in Africa. After 23 hours of traveling we arrived safely in Nairobi, Kenya on Saturday the 8th at approximately 8:40pm. After waiting for our visas for 45ish minutes (or as josh says “forever”) we got our luggage and went to the ACK Guesthouse for the night.
On Sunday we went to NPC Karen Church, where we got to participate in awesome Kenyan worship, and hear a stunning message on staying single and being satisfied. Sam even got a chance to sing one of her original songs. After Church we fellowshipped with many other believers at Judy Mbugua’s house. It was grand fun eating goat, beans, corn, maze, chipâté, and many other delicious dishes. It was also great to meet many of our Kenyan brothers and sisters in Christ. After, a short stop at the market, we arrived at our final destination: Pan African Christian University (PAC).
Monday was our first day of camp. We got up and started off with a great breakfast of scrambled eggs and bread. It was fantastic! We continued to set up for the day by getting sign in tables ready for when the kids showed up. They showed up a bit late, but we were told that the key word for the week was FLEXIBILITY. So we just went with the flow. The kids showed up and things just started happening. Before we knew it is was time to get everyone together for evening worship. It was a great first day. The only one thing that was difficult was the fact that we didn’t have any electricity.
Alright so we’ll tell you more about today, but all you need to know for now is that Josiah was seduced while in a VS outfit (We'll let you determine what that means).
We will try to post as much as we can, but our internet is very much limited this week while we are at camp. But, hopefully next week we will be able to post more. Thanks for your prayers! God is doing great things!
On Sunday we went to NPC Karen Church, where we got to participate in awesome Kenyan worship, and hear a stunning message on staying single and being satisfied. Sam even got a chance to sing one of her original songs. After Church we fellowshipped with many other believers at Judy Mbugua’s house. It was grand fun eating goat, beans, corn, maze, chipâté, and many other delicious dishes. It was also great to meet many of our Kenyan brothers and sisters in Christ. After, a short stop at the market, we arrived at our final destination: Pan African Christian University (PAC).
Monday was our first day of camp. We got up and started off with a great breakfast of scrambled eggs and bread. It was fantastic! We continued to set up for the day by getting sign in tables ready for when the kids showed up. They showed up a bit late, but we were told that the key word for the week was FLEXIBILITY. So we just went with the flow. The kids showed up and things just started happening. Before we knew it is was time to get everyone together for evening worship. It was a great first day. The only one thing that was difficult was the fact that we didn’t have any electricity.
Alright so we’ll tell you more about today, but all you need to know for now is that Josiah was seduced while in a VS outfit (We'll let you determine what that means).
We will try to post as much as we can, but our internet is very much limited this week while we are at camp. But, hopefully next week we will be able to post more. Thanks for your prayers! God is doing great things!
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Too late to say goodbye...
So maybe Hotel Rwanda wasn't the best movie to watch
right before heading off to Africa. I think I came to
realize this while we were in Walmart getting some last minute
shopping done before our flight. Josiah asked me what my
biggest fear was, so I answered that I'm most scared of dying.
I guess all of us have fears of the "unknown" but
maybe just maybe God uses those fears to create a
drive in us to seek Him. So that we may come to a fuller
reliance on Him.
Can any of us say we are totally surrendered to
Christ?? Couldn't our doubts and insecurity be used by
God so that we might surrender greater depths of
our lives to Him.
Sometimes I think we in America live somewhat sheltered
lives. We have no fear of not coming back from work
alive. But for me and a group of young people headed
to Kenya and Burundi this will be different. Will we
not ask ourselves will we be ok??
While we pack our clothes and cameras
will our minds not drift back to the horrible genocide
in Rwanda??
God let this be my prayer that in everything I would
serve You. God take the fears from my heart and help
me fully rely on You.
Daniel Harer
right before heading off to Africa. I think I came to
realize this while we were in Walmart getting some last minute
shopping done before our flight. Josiah asked me what my
biggest fear was, so I answered that I'm most scared of dying.
I guess all of us have fears of the "unknown" but
maybe just maybe God uses those fears to create a
drive in us to seek Him. So that we may come to a fuller
reliance on Him.
Can any of us say we are totally surrendered to
Christ?? Couldn't our doubts and insecurity be used by
God so that we might surrender greater depths of
our lives to Him.
Sometimes I think we in America live somewhat sheltered
lives. We have no fear of not coming back from work
alive. But for me and a group of young people headed
to Kenya and Burundi this will be different. Will we
not ask ourselves will we be ok??
While we pack our clothes and cameras
will our minds not drift back to the horrible genocide
in Rwanda??
God let this be my prayer that in everything I would
serve You. God take the fears from my heart and help
me fully rely on You.
Daniel Harer
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