1. Going to Peru- So as many of you probably know this past year I got the opportunity to go to South America for my 7 week outreach trip. There I experienced and saw things that are hard to explain but something I realised is how blessed western culture truly is.. Now I know that's the cliché Christian missionary statement but then I also saw something even deeper. The amount of brokenness that's in the families there because of big things that we just take advantage of daily. For example we went out with a group of doctors from Virgina and helped them run their ministry with the Kechawen people. It's about an hour drive out from Cusco to them and when we got out there I realised that their houses were made out of mud and straw bricks and most of the people that were coming to us are about 65 to 70 years old still doing manual labor and they could hardly walk. What we would did is have the people go through and get glasses and medicine and then after we would have a prayer area where people could come get healed. Now when I was sitting there in the middle of Peru in a hut with this 90 year old man named Reese, never seeing a healing a day in my life I couldn't help but think this has got to be a joke. And to be honest the first day it kinda was... 30 different people would come and we would pray and he would always ask them if there's still pain and their response was always the same.. yes.. So at that point I was sitting there really discouraged and doubting God but I just remember watching this 90 year old man continually pressing in and praying and especially for this one woman who was about 50 years old. She came to us and right away she was pointing to her lower stomach right around the bladder and she was crying. So Reese did what he always did and would pray but this one really stood out to me. Now on every person that came by I remember him just crying as he was praying for them and I thought that was so interesting because I knew he didn't know them... He had to have 2 translators just to communicate with them. So why was he crying..? This women though he could not stop crying.. and she kept saying there was pain and he kept saying there's nothing I can do for her she needs to go to the hospital. She was so balloted that her stomach had a point on it and she said that the hospital couldn't do anything for her and that he needs to heal her and he kept praying but nothing happened and it got to the point that he had to ask her to leave so others could get prayer.. I remember just sitting there watching how heart broken he was telling her he couldn't do anything to help her. We had to leave soon after that and I remember thinking "wow.. I have to do this all week.." Sure enough we were back in the mountains that next day but a different village and their Reese was.. He always asked me to sit next to him and pray with him. Now this day I remember people were actually starting to say that they felt better and it wasn't visible stuff so I couldn't help but think that they were saying this because they just wanted to move on to get their free medicine. But then people started coming who had bent backs, limps, and even blind eyes. Guess what... THEY. ALL. GOT. HEALED. I saw it with my own eyes, and if that wasn't good enough their reactions after each one got healed was the most amazing thing I have ever seen.. They couldn't stop smiling and some couldn't stop crying. I knew it was real because they couldn't fake that and the best part was after Reese prayed for them he would be like "Yup, they're healed.. Next" and I would just be like how do you know.. And sure enough they would be healed. They were all getting healed every body part where there was pain was healed.
Now to be honest, I still don't know why that 50 year old woman who had the bloated stomach didn't get healed and I probably never will. But what I do know, that I know, I know! Is that God can heal. That God is aways good and that I don't need to know in order for God to be God. No matter how much we doubt, no matter how much we question His goodness, no matter how much we believe in him guess what. Hes still the same God. And that's what blew my mind.
p.s. I feel like God wants to heal some people via skype, so if you have pain let me know and we can skype and get that healed.
2. Wayzata Community Church- Upon arriving home in May I was wondering what I was going to do for work and I remember getting a random phone call from this wonderful women named Hillary Flynn. She was calling to ask if I would be willing to staff at her camp for a little over a month and I remember just thinking wow God.. I don't do camp... And Him saying, "You do now..."
And that was that, next thing I know I'm in my car on my way up with diarrhea from the medicine I'm taking for my pneumonia. You could say praising God was one of the harder things on that road trip... But none the less there I was, looking at all these new faces and thinking this is where I will be for the next month! Now by this point it would probably be good for you to know that I don't like new things. When I go to the original pancake house I get the cherry crepes, when I get gas I go to BP, when I have to drive places I will take the way I know even if it takes a half hour longer. I get that from my grandpa I think.. But anyway I hate new things... So jumping into a summer camp that was going to take a month of my summer when I have been gone from my family already, you would think would be hard. But guess what, it wasn't!! Not one bit. Wanna know why? Because that's where God wanted me to be and as soon as I stepped out I felt at peace about my decision, that's how it works! Wanna know the even better part?! I had fun too! WCC (wayzata community church) was such an amazing experience for me, I learned how to love people no matter what they look like or act like! I have never seen such a church include everyone and make everyone feel so valued and that's something that I had to learn at that time of my life. Especially as I'm going into ministry! So I saw that even as God calls you to the unknown and it's only a 2 hour drive away that he's still going to show up! Honestly, that's where I truly started to fall in love with God on a personal level. It wasn't in Australia, it wasn't in Peru. But just a 2 hour drive away from where I grew up. And it's because I'm constantly pursuing Him. If you knock he will answer. You draw near He will draw near. You choose Him He chooses you! You just have to make the first move. But don't worry if you miss this one or even the next one because He's always pursuing you. You can run, but you'll never escape Him.
3. BLS- Okay, last one. There are tons of more things that have happened but you'll just have to message me for them! So with coming back to YWAM and choosing to do the Basic Leadership School it was probably one of the harder decisions I've ever had to make in my young Jesus career. I'll give you a quick back story. Just in case you haven't read my earlier blog. So there I was crying out to God in the shower, asking him, why do I feel so uneasy with where I'm at/heading in life.. And as I was at about the end of myself... Literally it was to the point where I didn't even want to follow God anymore because I felt sooo lost! Which quick side note is because you're walking in disobedience to Gods plan. That's another tangent though.. So I was in the shower like God what do you want me to do, I lay everything at your feet, have your way! (best prayer you can pray) Right away I just heard MAD DTS October... So saying yes was the easiest part.. Then came finances, friends and families opinions.. A.k.a college, and a visa! So I did what any smart christian would do... I prayed and said God if you want me to go you will make the way! Guess what happened? You got it! God changed the hearts of my parents, gave me the finances to go, silenced all my haters and gave me a visa within 2 days! So I quickly realised that I thoroughly enjoy when God makes it easy for you to step into a vision! Here I am now. Discipling 5 young men, still doing homework (ugh), preparing to lead a team on outreach to Malaysia and Indonesia, and still constantly finding time to hang out with the one who created me and calls me by name! My God. Oh and also, with finances I felt God saying that the funds will come in for outreach and I got my whole outreach payed off on Christmas Eve and I even had a little extra money to buy my first pair of hipster skinny jeans.
AND FINALLY
This past week we had a speaker on "destiny" which basically just gets you to dream with God! I know what I want with my life and it's this: I want people to experience the true presence of God and in that experience true freedom. I want to know true intimacy with God and I want to be a true man of God. I know I'm called to lead people into something bigger and greater then anything we have seen before and I know I'm called to be a revivalist for Jesus Christ.
Whats your calling?
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