Mississippi Is Around the Bend

In OM we've learned long ago to trust in God not in cars. A six hour drive from Atlanta to Jackson, MS, was cut short just 50 miles from Jackson. I was driving as smoke started coming out of the back of the car. A few minutes later the vehicle started really acting up - right at an exit! That was a blessing coz we just made it to the nearest gas station.

Fortunately Jeff and Nadia had driven up the previous day and Jeff came to our rescue. The car is getting fixed and hopefully we'll be able to drive it back to ATL tomorrow. (Now is a good time to say a little prayer.)

We're at Belhaven College and a 24 hour prayer started last night and will finish tonight. I don't know if it's the southern hospitality or just Jesus, but the atmosphere on campus is very warm. Last night after our meeting a bunch of us went to a professor's house to hang out and eat some very rich chockolate cake. I'm always to amazed by these Christian colleges and how so many times I've seen professors really care about the students, not just academically but as "parents". True community, eh?

I do

What do you do on an average Thursday afternoon in an office? You can do a lot of things. Last week I got married in my office! In the pictures you will see my boss (Rev. Andrew) asking us, and signing the marriage papers. This is not the whole picture. There will be a ceremony in an old church, with the white dress and the tuxedo etc. etc. That's next month. I leave with Cristina on Saturday to go to The Netherlands!
The wedding ceremony is May 12th 2006. We keep you posted.

Pizza and prayer at Cal State San Marcos

Downtown Los Angeles

Finally some pictures from our trip to California. Our friend Paul took us to downtown LA. We stood on the rooftops and saw a rainbow. And it doesn't even rain that often in LA.

God's promises are true!

Traveling Mercies

A lady by the name of Lulu has blessed our team the past few weeks. She has let us use her car while here in Southern California. Today Erik and I got a bit of a scare when smoke appeared under the hood as we were driving. Erik took the car to a mechanic and they figure the coolant container is cracked and needs to be replaced.

Erik bought the new part needed and went back to pay. The mechanic said, it's okay you don't have to pay. You're doing good work, God bless you.

The mechanic's office walls were covered in thank you notes. People from all over thanked them for helping people in need for free.

I want to be a person like that too...passing the good things on.

Wanted: Good Travelling Skills

Ben loves to travel. He is in his early twenties and has been to 15 countries already. In America you don't often run into such "super travellers". He said he is good at travelling. He'll take his backpack a pair of underwear and adapt to any kind of situation, sleep in $2 hostels and talk to anyone who might come across his path.

We all love to do some things and are really good at them. Sometimes we wonder what God would have us do. Surely it's not in God's will for us to do things we love, because Christianity is all about sacrificial living.

Then again God must know why He has wired us a certain way. I love to hang out with people and God has lead me into a ministry where I spend most of my time hanging out with people.

God is interested in us and in our character and growth. I believe in living sacrificially we need to bring our skills and dreams and desires to God and ask what He would have us do with them. Many times it is something we'd never dreamed of.

We are created for a greater purpose, greater adventure and greater faith. Our fear of the unknown and our lack of trust in a God that truly is good binds us from stepping into the life He had in mind before we were born.

P.S. If you love to travel check out living on a ship for two years or trekking in Nepal or backpacking across North Africa. Reckless abandon man!

Horizon

The team got up early in order to be on time for devotions at the Horizon School. We didn't know quite what to expect. But we were pleasently suprised. We shared in front of nearly 80 students maybe. They were so attentive and as Michael would say, "They were tracking with us." They asked many questions. Afterwards we took a small group out to lunch at Rubios (home of the fish taco) and had a great talk with them. I think we were able to challenge them and show them opportunities.

Free Pizza and Prayer

We were just at Cal State in San Marcos. Intervarsity got money from the school to buy 40 boxes (!) of pizza to give out to the students for free. As we handed out pizza to the students we also gave them flyers inviting them to come to the prayer room on campus.

The prayer room's going on for 48 hours and there are pictures, maps, lighting etc to inspire prayer and for people to express themselves. One of the guys was in the room today praying for the faculty to come to faith. The next minute a teacher stepped in and said, "I need to come and spend time here in the afternoon".

After that he prayed for Christian students who aren't plugged in and soon after a student stepped in to find out what the room was all about and how to get plugged in with other Christians.

Sweet.

Los Angeles

We are in Southern California now. We had a day off so we connected with Paul of SVM2 who lives in S. California. He showed us around downtown LA.

Prayer for Burma

There will be a Global day of prayer on Sunday March 12 for Burma (Myanmar). Burma is a country in South East Asia. The military government which seized power in 1962 has since waged a brutal war against rebel ethnic groups and has been carrying out acts of genocide against its own people.

The acts of genocide are still continuing. A recent article in the Daily Telegraph gives an overview of the facts.

In 1997 during the Burma Army offensives the Free Burma Rangers were formed, when villages were destroyed, people killed and over 100,000 thousand fled their homes. Over 2 million people are now displaced inside Burma. In the face of the overwhelming force of the dictators army, the Free Burma Rangers organized with the idea that no one can stop people from giving love and serving each other. During this time the Global Day of Prayer was started.

Take time on Sunday to pray for Burma.

This Generation Rocks!

We're in Arkansas at John Brown University at the moment. This morning Richard Sharp (British guy who is in OM) spoke in chapel. He got students to stand up front to represent world religions to indicate how much of the world is Christian/Muslim/Hindu and also how many non-Christians live in parts of the world where they can hear the gospel.


Then he had twelve students stand up and represent the missionaries in the world. Eleven were in a part of the world where the gospel is available. Then Richard asked whether students wanted to see this change and would there be any that would be willing to say "Here I am. I'm not much, but I'll go where you'll send me."

The most amazing thing happened. Half of the students (about 500 all together) flooded the front of the chapel. Half of the students! The rest stood up and said they would be committed to sending the rest out!

I've never seen a response like that. I pray (and would you pray too) that God would help these students to remember this and that they would actually go and send. The Holy Spirit is really on the move...and is raising this generation up!

John Brown University

Head Heart and Hand, that is the motto of JBU. Christ over all. It was here that I was challenged into missions. It's great to see OM and JBU partnering together this week for World Awareness Week.

Richard Sharp gave a great message this morning. He really got everyone's attention after throwing water from his bottle out into the crowd and 'baptizing' them. Richard shared on the impact that the spirit has had over the past decades. Also Samal Jakobsen (Exdouloi) has been promoting us. I've had quite a handful of students come to our booth saying that Samal sent them to us. I had a great converstaion with Daniel, a Senior Engineering Student. I also shared in a Freshmen Design class. Heidi is getting ready for her Journalism class talk for tomorrow. Things are going well. And there is good response.

Arkansaw!

Erik and I arrived in Arkansas yesterday. We flew into this tiny airport that many people don't know even exists. It's only been in use for a couple of years. Wal*Mart has its headquarters here and the tiny plane was full of business people on their way to the Wal*Mart hq's.

We're at John Brown University and Richard Sharp from OM, is the main speaker. He spoke this morning on how God has always used suffering to build His church. When the church only has Jesus, it is devoted to only Him and not the stuff that so easily distracts us. It's amazing how God's Spirit really has moved in non-western parts of the world in the last hundred years through all kinds of political and natural disasters.

World Watch List 2006

Every year Open Doors publishes their “World Watch List” of 50 countries where Christians are persecuted the most. And for the fourth straight year, the isolated communist nation of North Korea remains atop the 2006 list.
To make a powerful impact on this oppressive situation that our persecuted brothers and sisters in North Korea are in, you can commit to regular prayer on their behalf.

Huntington, Indiana

We arrived this morning at Huntington University in Huntington.
A very nice campus. And we are looking forward to get more involved in the missions emphasis week and campus life. Tonight we will go to the basketball game between Taylor and Huntington.

From Victory to Florida

So, yesterday the US hockey team lost on olympic ice to the Finnish team. Go Finland! So far, we're undefeated. Next we have to score against the Russians...

This morning Michael and I flew to Orlando, FL. At the moment we're at the Campus Crusade HQ's enjoying their hospitality. They have ponds (or swamps?) right in front of the buildings. Apparently they've had alligators in there. I was sure they were just trying to trick the Finn...but I guess they were serious.

We're here for a conference called Fusion. It's for 20 and 30 somethings, so a step up from college age. Tomorrow morning I'm looking forward to hearing what Dan Kimball has to say about the "emerging church". It is an interesting concept for sure and it's on everyone's lips here in America.

Prayer then and now

Did you know that the "Birthplace of American Foreign Missions" is in Williamstown, MA? In 1806 a group of college students had a prayer meeting out in the fields. Because of the rain they had to seek shelter by a haystack. They continued there prayer meeting and they dedicated their lives to missions.
Two hundred years later we see again that students are praying on their campus.

To learn more about how you can get involved in prayer for your campus and the world; check out this website.

Team Moose in Idaho Two Weeks Ago

Snowmobiling is fun!

We had a couple of days of on the mountains of Idaho on our Northwest tour.

Pacific Lutheran in January

So, we're a little late posting these pictures...
This is our team with Aaron (amazing dude) at Pacific Lutheran where the students did 48 hours of prayer. Every slot was filled! And this is a pic from the actual prayershack.