Test of Faith and Gods Protection

Tonight is a diffrent post there are no pictures, just the images in my mind from a couple of nights ago, and a story that I hope brings comfort to those who hear the story of Gods protection. A couple of nights ago, me and some of the guys went out at night to do an outreach, and street witness to some homeless people in the Alleys of Mozambique and the City. As we left the hotel we drove for about 15 minutes before we got to where we were stopping. As soon as we pulled up to the building down this dark alley these 2 motorcycles pull around the corner and head towards us, as soon as one of the guys sees them he said they were the cops. At the time our translator was out of the car talking to some people a little ways away from the car, once the cops got to the car they drove past and then turned around and pulled up behind the vehicle. When I looked back there were two cops on each bike wearing all black and they were carrying AK-47S, as they walked to the car I herd them load their guns and then I saw them stand at the back corner of the vehicle with thier weapons pointed to the car. At this moment there were 3 things that immediatly went thru my head. My Faith, my beautiful fiancee Heather, and what will happen to her if something happens. Well as the man walked up to the car he asked my friend to get out and come to the back, he called for the translator to come over and it must have been about 10 minutes before the leader came to the car and asked for pasports. Immediatly I realized mine was in the Hotel well that made me and another guy out of the 5 of us. After some talk b/t the cop and one of our guys they decided to make me and the other guy get out of the car, not a good feeling well at this very moment I could just feel Gods peace come over me and I kenw that everything was ok. At that moment they wanted me and the other guy to stay back while the others went back to the hotel to get our passports, again not a good feeling being in a foreign country having to stay with cops with AK'S and wait to see what happens, but again I knew God spoke to me that it was going to be ok. Well after a little more talking the cops told us to get back in the vehicle and they told us that after we were done with the people we must leave. As soon as they told us that our prayers were answered we gave them some water and then witnessed to the guys and then we left. Now the whole time this was going on the inside of that car there was alot of praying going on, I know that all the prayer from back home protected us and allowed the hearts of those men to soften, and allow us to minister to the homeless. I asked the question to myself. Is Jesus to me, the man I call Savior, do I really believe what I have is worth giving to someone else. Absolutly, for when we trust him he will always stay true to his will and his promise no matter what. For he proved himself on the Cross what other promise do we need.

Water Pump, and A Can of Beans

Ive had a couple of things happen to me since I have been here that have really moved on my heart but the main one that God spoke to me was a little event that has taken place on several occasions, A Water Pump And A Can Of Beans. Every day the little kids will go and pump water from a well and fill up there bowls and wash there plates, then from there they run to get in line and grab the only meal they will recieve for the day, a bowl of white rice with beans. As I have watched these kids do this over and over I decided to go and pump the water for them so they could wash there hands and be able to go eat faster,but today was diffrent I began pumping the well and as I was pumping and they were getting water God spoke to me so clearly" Thats why your here to give them water"but not the physical water, the water Jesus gives. Kids were gathered all around, all pilled up under the well just getting soaked wearing the same clothes day in and day out and I could not stop thinking about how that is what we are here for. To Love them and hold them and show them Jesus, to pour out the water Jesus gave then, and the water he still gives now. As for the can of beans I cant help but say that us as Americans take for granted so much, the things we have and the priveledges God has allowed us, after the well I sat down with some of the kids and played with them. But I looked over at this little boy who must have been 3 to 5 years old feeding his little brother who was maybe at the most a year old, out the the only cup of rice and beans they had, man it convicted me so much b/c I had a bag of beef jerky in my pocket I had been hiding all day and I saw this little boy with the only thing he had giving to his little brother. Yeah I chewed on that for awhile and God deffinatly softened my heart. I have to say the one thing God loves is a child's heart and it amazing how he will use a child to show us how to have one.

Johannesburg,Mozambique,Maputo

Well how do you explain this day, I got to reunite with great friends and spend an amazing day with some of the most beautiful kids you will ever meet. This is (from left to right)Ben Rogers,Charles Young , Me, and Isaac Williams they are truly great friends and they have such great hearts for Africa. All the others pics are from the Indian Ocean, and the Church with all the kids but this was an amazing day and I was truly blessed God is moving and the work has just begun.

My only Bag for Africa

Yep thats right this is my only bag for Africa. I would first like to say that there is exactly 15 pairs of clothes,12 pair of socks,5 bags of beef jerky,8 granola bars,all my hygeine stuff, a pair of boots,hat,camera,Bible, journal,and a good book "Courage that changed the World". All that is listed is inside that Pack, I actually have two days more than needed just in case. I thought this would be funny to post b/c we will be in Africa for 2 1/2 weeks. Your Probably wondering how did you get all that stuff into one bag, well this bag is actually my carry on and I didnt want to loose any luggage so I went back to the good ole days of the Marine Corp, HA HA yeah when you need to pack something they did a pretty good job of teaching us how to do it "ration". I do have to say Heather started laughing and this morning at the church I deffinatly got a couple more laughs. But anyways ranger rolls are the way to go, and all I need now is a window seat and I'll be set.

Ultimate Frisbee and my Brother

Last night my best friend and I went out for our last hangout night before I head out to africa. It was a great time, we went to LSU to play Ultimate Frisbee with a bunch of guys Chris knows. We started at 9:00 and we didnt get in until around 11:45, but I do have to say that I am black and blue all down my sides with scrapes and strawberries. The best thing about last night is that Chris and me got to really hangout for the first time in about 4 years, we have both been gone in the Military and when I came home he was still in California. But it was good times just catching up and really spending that good ole Guy time out on the field. There was about 45 guys out there and they were all from diffrent ministries at LSU or diffrent churches in town and the best part was that we all came together in unity, it was a blessing to be able to share in the blessing of ministry with so many believers and come together without labels or titles. I look back on all the years that Chris and me have grown up together, and all things we have been thru it was good to be able to stand back to back with each otheronce again and get in the dirt. He has deffinatly been my brother and it has been amazing to see him grow so much with his wife Kristen and his son Hunter they are an amazing family. But there is nothing better than having a friend that you know will stand at your side no matter what happens in life. (John 15:13 )

4 Days till Hope

I still cant believe that it is already here, Africa, what a joy to know that this whole trip is about bringing hope to our family across the world that so desperatly needs it, I found this Video that really touched my heart b/c there is this one scene about 3 quaters of the way thru that shows all the kids in afield singing the song "This is the day that the Lord has Made" it's so awesome. I get overwhelmed with the thought that God has given us the priveledge to bring Glory to his name and Spread his Gospel, I know that lives will be eternally touched and the Kingdom will be impacted forever that is such an awesome feeling .

WHAT AN AMAZING ANSWERED PRAYER

Well these last 9 months have been amazing and God has only blessed Heather and me even more with a huge answered prayer. For the last 9 monthes of Elevate we have been praying that God would open a door and allow us to move into Ministry and bless us with financial support, well about 5 months ago Heather and me were praying and I just felt this incrediable peace that God would open a door now I did not have a clue about where it would be or what I would be doing but God just gave me this peace that everything would be ok. The other day in one of my final evaluations with Michelle she was going over with me all of my progress and just what her and my Pastors see in my future, well she told me that Pastor Dino would like me to go serve out in Danville California and pretty much all my finances will be taken care of. Wow what a blessing and opportunity to spread the Gospel I could not believe how specific God had answered the prayer, Heather and me were so excited and I just got overwhelmed with knowing that I had been intrusted with this responsibility to carry the heart of HPC to another one of our campuses it is so exciting. Heather and me have been talking for the last few days about how Awesome God has been in our lives in the Godd times and the Bad, and just how he has blessed us so much with his favor, and we just cant even understand. There has been alot of sacrifice and patience over the last year and God has given us so much .We have truly felt this as an Honor to be apart of something so big and to be where we are. I was thinking on a personal note that there is so much to be thankful for looking back on all the roads life has brought us on, and allowed us to learn from. The value of others and the lessons I have learned have all been such amazing gifts from God, I was always raised growing up to know the value of hard work and Discipline. And in the Marine Corp I learned so much about the importance of others, and integrity,Honor,Commitment,brotherhood and Discipline. And all of these things have pored over into my relationship with Christ, and it has all given me such a perspective on Poeple and how much they matter too the Kingdom. I am truly blessed , my family is really excited and so supportive, they were even talking about us out with all our future wedding plans and her school. There arent words to express how Humble this has made me feel and to remember that this is all for him and his glory.


Im about an hour from SanFan I think to This is actually a pic from Danville I found it is so beautiful
Im also about an hour from the coast, the last time Iwas in Cali I was in the Marines and my home was in theDesert of 29 Palms not the most luxurious place trust me. It actually snowed at night when I was there then got to 100degrees during the day and I was staying in a tin can with dirt floors.

Delirious

Man what a night of worship, Bethany world Prayer center really came thru for us again letting us use their facilities to host Delirious,Rebecca St.James, and Vicki Beeching. It was alot of hard work going into the setup of last night it was deffinatly worth it though. There is nothing like resting in the peace of God in worship, just having his presence all over the place and allowing him to comfort and remove all the worries and stresses of the day. Delirious did an awesome job and really served it up, also I didnt have any pics from the event last night but I got an update from Pastor Dino's blog this morning and saw that he had some pics so I kinda borrowed a couple for my blog.

My Last Character Club

Well this is a special post for me because these were some of my kids from a Bible Study we do on tuesday mornings at Denham Springs freshman High. The year ended for me out there a couple of weeks ago. But our very last message to the kids I did my best to give encouragement to them in running this race, and assuring them that Jesus will never let them down and to never let anyone lead them into thinking otherwise. I felt like Paul in a sence when I left them with final words. It was such an awesome experience and all of those young men and women are so sold out for Jesus, it's such a blessing to see the next generation of youth taking a stand for Jesus and having a desire to learn more about him they are all a huge part of my heart and I hope I get a chance to spend time with them again before they all graduate. I want to give special thanks to Mandy Banks the Spanish teacher there for Hooking all this up and truly being sold out for those kids as well without her we couldent carry out the message of Jesus. Just a couple of my guys forgiving each other before we start the morning

Rack EM And Stack EM

Wow what a day me and the Fellas Jonathan, JP, Blake, Bird, and T spent from 10:00 am over at Bethany World Prayer Center the South campus to 4:40 stacking the entire Church floor over 2,400 chairs then we had to move the stacks (10 high) across the church to the youth facility lets just say JP'S 4:00 deadline did'nt land on time, we worked really hard and it showed when I hit the couch for a little nap when we got back to the appt. I took advantage of one of the few times I got to get a little sleep it was deffinatly nice. I also have to give Props to my boy Michael B, him and I both started out moving the furniture in the Lobby then all the chairs in the sanctuary, but the funny thing is I just came from physical therapy right before the chairs for my back, Michael and me both have herniated disc, I started laughing when we both found out what we needed to do , but the cool thing is Michael is deffinatly a trooper and we knocked it out. Well now the floor is clear and the Worship tour can begin. Rebecca St. James and Delerious are coming in tomorrow night which is gonna be awesome, the other funny thing is we have to take all the chairs back out and set them back up right after the concert, but anyways Bethany is such an awesome church for letting us use their facilities they are great friends and always help us out when the need arises . Well until tomorrow night I got 24 hrs to recruit 2,400 hundred volunteers, thats one person for every chair, that might be a task ,but if not I gonna give it up to my boy JP, were just gonna have to be a bunch of MACHINES.

What a Night of Reflection

As Easter approaches us and all the the preperations take place, the prayer, outreaches, organizing volunteers, and picking all the details apart it can be easy to lose sight of what you are really doing all the work for. Last night We had a special movie viewing of The Passion of Christ at the Annex and then worship afterwords. As the movie played thru the night and the scenes passed thru my mind, I could hear so many diffrent things going on in the room people crying, and prayers being lifted, noises of anguish and grief filled the air, even thankyou's being said ever so faintly. I took in the passion this time like I never have before with a new sense of understanding and a new sense of fellowship, it was such a unique experience being in a room with fellow believers, In some way it felt as though we were all the disciples that had been with Jesus had had watched this happen to him in person so we mourned together. But at the same time when we worshippedhim after because we know that our king lives and has made us new thru his sacrifice. What an amazing opportunity and blessing it was to worship and experience the story of our savior with brothers and sisters in Christ. Knowing that we are all together striving for the same thing and freely accepting what God has given his Son.
I also thought about all the people from around the world that will hear the Gospel in many diffrent Churches and locations how incrediable it will be that in these precious moments the whole world will be centered on the Death, Burial, and resurrection, of Jesus Christ. This is the one message that stands for all eternity and for every life, so many people will make decisions to walk into Church for the first time and they will hear the plan of salvation in its truest form and in the simplest way. It has already been a year since last Easter and I remember all the hard work and effort put into the service and the lives that were changed but I also know that there are still people out there that dont know yet and this weekend they will have the chance to make the greatest decision they will ever make. What a priveledge it is to be apart of Gods work. This year God is wanting to do something big are we ready to respond.

Last year Easter at the River Center
OVER 7,000 IN ATTENDANCE
AND OVER 300 PEOPLE CAME TO KNOW CHRIST
And finally the most moving part of the movie for me last night was when the thief was on the Cross and he told Jesus that he was an innocent man,but for himself his punishment was just and he deserved what he was getting and he only asked Jesus if he would remember him when he entered into his kingdom. Then Jesus looked up with sheer joy in his eyes and said today you will be with me in Paradise. That was the point that I connected the most, b/c I felt like the thief , in that I know my punishment is just and I deserved it, but then Jesus looked up at me and smilled, then he said all of this is for you. Your punishment is paid. And by you acknowledging me you are now cleasned by my blood. Oh man what a moment of freedom. Jesus even in the mist of his pain and suffering still chose to put me first and everyone else first. Because it was the Cross where everything was paid for. And I am no longer held captive by darkness, but now I am delivered by his light.

Package of Blessings

Well were do I start , for about the past 4 years I have been having alot of back pain mostly from the Marine Corp, but until the past couple of months have I really been having problems. About 2 years ago I had a x-ray show that I had a couple herniated disc's and when I went for my hour long MRI the results came back all clear so it's not a bone problem, but they did tell me that it is a muscle issue, my back muscle has been compensating for those disc for so long that they no longer opperate the way they should, but I was also blessed that the physical therapy Im recieving is from a good friend at the church. Mitch is deffinatly awesome at what he does and it is a blessing to have friends that you know will really help you out. So anyway I laid in a machine that looked like this for an hour monday morning , I have had MRI's before but this was the first on my back . I was so thankful when the results showed clear on my bone structure.We also finished up with our Jambalaya sale this weekend for our Missions trip for Elevate we raised a total of 4,500 dollars after selling 900 plates, the great thing is we wont have to work the Lsu concessions for the baseball games to make more money we are set, just another way God is so awesome and such a provider. He always comes thru no matter what the situtation.

Fat Boy 5K

Well to say anything less than Awesome for the Elevate Family would be a discredit. Everyone did a slamming job. I was so impressed that no one gave up and we all finished strong as a team, it was so cool to see the different things that each one of us took away from the race and the different things God showed each one of us on the Spiritual side of things. I have always found it funny that through trials and adversity there is always a unique story of triumph or failure victory or defeat. There are so many things you could teach on when it comes to sports, the neat thing about running though is that you are battling against yourself, your mind and the thought that the prize at the end is not worth as much as stopping to end the pain, isent that the same as our Christian faith, there are so many things in our mind we think are worth stopping for and giving up but let us remember that Paul says let us run this race with endurance so we may receive the Prize at the end. The Great thing is that we don't have to run this race alone there is nothing better than being surrounded by a great group of believers that will encourage and inspire you to keep the faith for Christ , there is no better race to run than the one for our King.I'm the buff guys in the red shorts with Black hair, eat my dust STEVE PREFONTAINE, just kidding I'm about 2 miles to the back on an oxygen tank pre race nerves got to me haha