I'm in Africa!! Currently in Nairobi, Kenya. We arrived here after a nice long travel starting out in Malaysia with a two hour flight to Bangkok, Thailand, followed by a 9 hr layover and a 9 hour flight overnight arriving in Nairobi Kenya at about 5 am! I am Super excited to be here and super stoked for what God has for us. The Spirit of the Lord is present here, the spirit of Joy is in people's faces and their hearts overflow with an abundance of Jesus. I will do my best to be blogging and updating, although Internet will be rare! I love you guys, thanks for your continued support and prayers!
Heartbreak. What does it look like? Most of my life I would define it as normally coming after some kind of break-up with a girlfriend/boyfriend. Something that leaves you in distress or leaving you in some sort of depression. Who knows. At the beginning of the World Race I remember asking God to break my heart for something, break my heart for what breaks his. The last few months he has showed me more than just heartbreak, but how he redeemed me from what is breaking my heart now.
I walk through the streets of District 1 in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam with Brandon, we just got done playing darts and having some time together out to relax. A woman drives up to me on her Moto, then asking me “You looking for lady? Want to come with me?” – moments later we walk by a bar with a sign out front that says “Crazy Girls.” – I look over, countless men and women hanging all over eachother, most of them all ridiculously intoxicated. All in search for truly one thing, the feeling of being wanted, needed. As we keep walking more towards our home for the month we pass countless bars, restaurants and places all busy with nightlife scene. As we walk past some other places we both get hollered at by Woman sitting out front of these bars. I’m white, I’m a white American in Vietnam. No, I’m not looking for sex, I’m not looking for drugs. Not that all of Vietnam is filled with these things, nor do all White people seek these out. But many males in the world do give some not the best name. I walk and think to myself “Are all of these Women looking at me thinking I want to buy them for sex?” At that moment my heart starts to hurt.
I used to be that guy, not necessarily purchasing women for sex but not thinking twice about these things. Two years before this moment in time I don’t know what I would have been doing with all of those questions asked to me. At this same time two years prior I was in Key West on Spring Break my last year of college, looking for whatever drinks, women or whatever I could get my hands on that would be ‘fun’… something that would fulfill me. The past two years have been two years of bringing Sin to the cross. Two years of layers upon layers of hurts, sins and wrecklessness being pealed off of me leaving me walking into FREEDOM. Two years ago I didn’t see anything wrong with two people having sex with eachother before they were married, dating or whatever that looks like. As I’m in the streets in Vietnam now, I see those men and women all over eachother in that Bar. Most people in the world would say “Oh that Man in that Bar with those prostitutes… Who are we to judge? Why don’t those women get another job if they don’t want to be there”
There is a large problem with that, most of those Women are only in there because they don’t have another way out, many of those women are FORCED into the business of prostitution. Fearing for there lives, many are held captive physically, mentally. These men walk into these bars, looking for a good time, thinking these women ACTUALLY want to be giving their bodies away to these random men night after night. If these men weren’t walking into these bars, and were respecting these women as we should this industry wouldn’t exist. This Blog is meant to not only share with you what is breaking my heart, but more of a call up. Not a CALL OUT, a CALL UP. To men to ask the Lord to see with eyes like his. Looking at women as objects, as ‘pieces of ass’ – as just another night out isn’t working. It surely isn’t going to give you true fulfillment and it isn’t respecting our high and mighty God, who loves these women, who also loves you. I understand where many men are coming from, I am far from perfect, as I stated two years ago I was looking at many women as any other. With the help of Jesus and the mighty redemption of the cross I’ve begun to see them as the gift they are. The true beauty of the Lord that radiates from them, there amazing hearts, amazing Love, patience, kindness. Many of these things which radiate from them I wish I could have. Women are a gift, a gift from God whom he Loves. As Men we should walk as leaders, caring for the most precious gift we have been given. Let’s stop looking at Porn, let’s stop sleeping with random women, let’s stop even ‘window shopping.’ None of it is helping you, it is feeding into devaluement of women and hurting of hearts. My prayer is that every man who reads this bring his heart to the Lord, asks the Lord for conviction in their life, anything that is not glorifying the Lord or that is not respecting his daughters as they should that he be loud and clear. Lets crucify our sin, lets walk as Men of God and spread his Glory among the nations.
1 Timothy 5:2 …”Treat younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, and younger women as sisters, with absolute purity.”
Wow, I havnt blogged in quite a while. Anyone reading this or following me, my bad! I've been in Vietnam for the month of March.There is something about a country that doesn't have freedom that attracts me. I believe it is because I have found such profound freedom in the Lord that I want to share it with the world. I've been covered in the blood of Jesus, washed white as snow. Since today is Easter, this is the perfect time for me to post this blog. I don't write often (as you can see) but on the balcony the last week of my hostel in Ho Chi Ming City the spirit was moving in my heart, I've been praying for deeper intimacy with him and here is what flowed out onto paper.
Covered in the blood am I Spotless he sees us, you and I
Out of the womb I came red, The world wanted me good and dead.
He who was from the start, Saw my weak little heart.
But an eternal plan, Had already been put into action for this little man.
My God, who is faithful and just, Sacrificed his son, it was a must.
This sacrifice was unlike any other Not only for I, but for my mother as well as my brother
You and I, As well as every other beating heart under the sky.
At twenty two I came to know the man who is the "King of the Jews" No longer do I have to sit and kneel in the church "pews"
Jesus Christ, the righteous one came so we can be free, Yes I said we, you and me.
Now I walk in the light, But I don't always do what's right.
Now there's nothing the spirit can't give me, I no longer lack Please, Let's stop sinning and lashing his back.
Yes I'm covered in the blood and forever it will flow, But theres no sinner he cant go after who thinks they've gone too low.
Covered in the blood are we, You and me.
Now I'm white as snow, And forever my heart will know.
Here is a Video of my 24th birthday festivities in Siem Reap Cambodia! Thanks to Thomas Wensil, Kayla Spencer and especially.. the Lord of Glory, Jesus!
This year I knew i would spend my 24th birthday in Cambodia, I never had any idea it would turn out the way God had planned, well I never have any idea how he would have things, that's the adventure. I had this plan, I wanted to get a new tattoo. A lion with the words "Honor Thy King" and under this "me and my house, we will serve the Lord." Let's just say the stars weren't aligned for that to happen this day, but there was so much in store. Started with a Skype session with my parents then my man A.G. - it was amazing to get a taste of home. While I was in Siem Reap, Kayla, Thomas and I were trying to make the best of our almost two weeks there by creating relationships with some locals and being intentional with spending time with them. My main man James, who now refers to Thomas and myself as his brothers was someone who the Lord put in our lives for a purpose. On my birthday, we came to visit him as we did daily, on the corner of the Pub Street where he sells fish massages (the fish tank where you put your feet in and the little fish eat your dead skin, let's just say I giggle like a two year old when my feet get in.) We hung out for a bit then he insisted on buying me a drink at the restaurant across the street so we decided to have lunch there. Like everyday, many people come up to sell us books, flowers, postcards, jewelry. Many of these being street kids who work selling this stuff for 12-15 hrs a day. The Lord was putting on our heart to invite them to eat lunch with us, first there were two that sat down. Then there were two more, then two more, then 1 more. Pretty soon Kayla, Thomas and I were at lunch with 7 street kids laughing, eating and having a blast. James came over and told us "they never get to eat like this."
Some may say it was a blessing for them, I think different. It was a blessing for both of us, to get to spend my birthday with some of the hardest working, joy filled children whose hearts just wanted to Love and be loved. After spending a few hours there we went to walk to a tattoo shop that our new friend Ratha had brought us to, but the artist ended up being sick and didn't want to do detailed work, I completely agreed! Haha, but since that didn't happen we got to have Ratha bring us to one of the night markets to meet his Christian friends, in a land that is filled with false gods it was a blessing to see a shop in a market filled with hand made crosses and jewelry. After words we got to head to the other night market to see our friend Soapan, who works at a bar there who we have hung out with. Kayla had bought some flowers and coloring book/crayons for her daughter who we had heard so much about but neither were there. The other girl working called her and Soapan and her daughter (Lisa) came right over. We got to spend some time with them and say our goodbyes!
- After that we headed to Molly Malones where i had my first of two birthday dinners. Kayla, Thomas and the lovely ladies of team wellspring, Heather and Erica all came, it was a blast. Some great food(Filet Mignon sandwich - much different then my normal food throughout this adventure), great friends and some darts made it amazing.
- Post dinner we went and headed back to our hostel for a while until we were planning on meeting up with James, Jon and Ratha (our fish massage friends) for a late dinner when they got off work, they had been wanting to take us to the street food area where they eat every night after work. On our way there, we ran into some of the kids we have spent time with while we were in Siem Reap, the three of us bought these goofy animal hats in Thailand that we were looking to give away and Bam, it was perfect timing. They showered us with love, they knew we were leaving the next day and gave us hugs, kisses, jumping on us, kept putting bracelets on us as gifts (4 or 5 in fact), giving flowers to Kayla. I was filled with emotion and Joy over the Love I felt in that moment.
- then we walked to meet our Boys for dinner, a midnight dinner, good laughs and goodbyes. We went back to our place and my boy Thomas had some bread and grape juice he had bought, so us 3 took some communion and rejoiced in what the father had done this day and the way he was able to hijack our plans for his greater good
Thailand was amazing, it was my first month working as a Squad Leader and found myself all over the country.
Bangkok -> Chaing Rai -> Mae Chan -> Chaing Rai -> Chaing Mai -> Phetchabun -> Bangkok. Getting glimpses of all these ministries our teams are working with but none of these hit my heart like this one night in Phetchabun. While we were visiting one of our teams who was at Phetchabun Rajabat University there was a Carnival going on in town that was once a year. The festival was amazing, lights everywhere, attractive as every festival is and putting on a facade that all is well. As we were walking through, Stacey and I saw a man on the ground. Legs mutilated, Hands mutilated, scarred up head. One would say he was a man that was owned by a person who mutilates them, then puts him out to raise money for him. Both of our hearts broke as we see this man, leading us to get some food for him and pray for him. The next day Stacey came into my room, She had a dream the night before about that man at the Carnival, the dream was of us worshiping at the Carnival and seeing what the Lord has for us. The Lord told her to come ask me if I had a dream the night before, I did! I had a tough time sleeping the night before because my mind was racing about this man on the ground in the Carnival. As I slept I had a dream of my squadmate Andrew praying over me and telling me the Lord wants me to be more Bold for him. As Stacey and I talked, our hearts knew what we were called to do. Head to the Market, Worship Jesus, Shed some light and see what comes of it... Here is video for what went down! CHECK IT OUT!!
Living in a heart of worship.
The last few days my heart has experienced something it never has before. See, I've been reading this book by Francis Chan, "Crazy Love." Some of you have probably read it before. Chapter 4 (i believe) talks about leftovers. How often do we give the father 3 minute prayers as we fall asleep, how blessed are many of us provision wise that we can go through a day without acknowledging him and some of our circumstances not change? What if we started giving him our All? We go day by day sometimes drained, asking God for energy to get through the day when we havnt even praised his name for breathing life Into us that day. What if the moment we woke up we worshiped God! You sang to the Lord what's on your heart! What if we gave him our First Fruit!! Leftovers are for you to put away in a box for your fridge because you 'Might' want it later, they aren't for the father! The first delicious bite is for him! Our first energy and focus should be for him! He will fill you with the energy for the day. Wake up and give praise to the Father as if your life depends on it... Because let's face the facts, our Life DOES depend fully on him. I'm at an orphanage Khoadee in Mae Chan Thailand. Every morning the over 100 kids wake up and pray and praise the Father at 5:30! They depend on him fully for provision... Guess what?? He Shows Up! He feeds over 100 mouths 3 meals a day here! That is something to give praise to! The last few days the Holy spirit has been giving me an overflow. A passion for worship and prayer! I woke up yesterday, went to the Chapel and praised the Lord before I did anything! As I sang Arms Open Wide... Tears started flowing down my face as I praised his name, seconds later I just started Belly Laughing uncontrollably! I want to want to love the Father more! I pray for anyone and everyone reading this, please just stop reading right here for a moment! Sing a quick song to the Father that Is on your heart. Maybe it's 'Father I need your Love' maybe it's 'Jesus you reign'! I don't know but I guarantee you will feel great! Praise your name God!! Thank you for those reading this, thank you for Loving them! Thank you for putting them in my life!
-"Be strong and courageous, because you will lead these people to inherit the land I swore to their ancestors to give them." Joshua 1:6
- My ministry has changed in a radical way over the last few days, two days ago, myself and two others from the squad, Kayla and Thomas were called up to be squad leaders for the rest of the 8 months. This is Mike and Staceys last month squad leading and are discipling/ walking with us in this role this month until we are on our own. In an 11 month journey filled with transitions and new seasons the squad is going through a large one. New squad leaders, new team leaders, new teams, new continent, new challenges. I write this on the plane to Atlanta from Managua, Nicaragua. We are on the longest traveling endeavor I have ever been on. Managua to Atlanta, Atlanta to Los Angeles, Los Angeles to Seoul, South Korea, South Korea to Thailand! I will be spending the next month in Thailand traveling with mike, Stacey, Thomas and Kayla as I step into this new position/responsibility the Father has entrusted me with. I feel honored that God would place me in this position, he has put such a peace in my heart about this new season in my life. As Solomon sought the Lord for wisdom and a discerning heart when he took over the thrown of Israel and Judah from his father, I seek him as well. Solomon prays and says "But I am only a little child, for i do not know how to carry out my duties." I feel the same way, yet just as he granted Solomon a wise and discerning heart, I am confident the Father will grant me the same.
Best Christmas present ever!!
Today I came into town to check some email and skype with my parents, as you know for the World Race i have had to fundraise $14,300 for the year for the mission field. God has continually been faithful to me through it all and has rocked my world since the whole process began back in February for me. Today I got the best Christmas present ever, about a week ago I let some know through Facebook that I needed to still raise $1500 more to be fully funded, that is what I desired for Christmas. My father in heaven who is always faithful heard my prayer, i got a single $1500 donation for my support account. Including pledged money still coming in I am officially fully funded. Nothing is too big for my God, today I am rejoicing in how faithful my God is to his children. Thank you everyone for your continually support! You're prayers and support are helping me bring the Kingdom to the nations! Merry Christmas!!
