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Tonight I laid down in the pullout bed at my soon-to-be mother-in-law's house hoping to fall asleep. I've been up in Louisville, Ohio for the past 5 days now visiting Katie's family and friends and enjoying the "get to know you" process. Unlike the unseasonably warm weather down in Georgia right now, we've had 6-7 inches of snow...oh winter, how I wish you would just be done.
As I rested in bed, my mind became filled with the million things that I've yet to do. Wedding planning, work tasks, personal goals, and building relationships swarmed my mind as I was trying to fall asleep. For some reason, it always seems to be a major reflecting time right before I doze off. However, unlike most times, I couldn't fall asleep. Hence, why I sit here now writing this blog.
My mind drifted to tedious things like my computer not cooperating, getting health insurance, and the endless to-do list. I thought back to fonder times of adventure and ways that I've experienced God move just within the past 3 years. I've witnessed people healed of illness, people coming to know the Lord for the first time, traveling the world over, and I've experienced God's provision in my life by providing an incredible place to live, a beautiful fiancee, and a brand new guitar. He has been so good to me and shown his faithfulness time and time again. I have so much to be thankful for. Each one of these experiences has spurred on my faith to new levels. I have lived radically by faith for a couple years now and I have seen it firsthand in the area of finances. Somehow, some way, God always provides for the work that I'm doing. So as I sat thinking, I thought...why not now??
Since coming on full-time staff with AIM back in March of last year, God opened the door for me to be in Haiti and to aid in coordinating relief efforts for the World Race. I spent almost 4 1/2 months down there and I was living off of what he provided. When I made the change in September to be home working from the office, I was asked to raise $10,000 worth of support for the full year. Currently, I have raised $6100. Amazing! There is no end to his supply for sure. I thought about it tonight and the $3900 that I am still short to get me through this fiscal year and I asked him, "Is it possible to be fully funded by the end of March?"
I understand that this would take an incredible move of God....but seriously...why the heck not?? So I am standing on the promise that he has me where he wants me and that he desires to see me fulfill this commitment to AIM. A miracle. This year alone AIM anticipates mobilizing close to 1000 young adults out through it's Real Life and World Race programs, not to mention it's short-term missions trips. I GET to play a part in that by doing the logistics and behind-the scenes work of getting people from point A to point B. What a tremendous honor to serve in a way that advances his kingdom day after day!
So, I felt the urge to blog. I am asking not just that you would partner in ministry with me, but that you would be part of a miracle. I understand that in the economy that we are in, it is a very difficult thing to ask for support but I believe that God is doing something big here. I love that I get the opportunity to share stories with you and update you on the many things that God is doing around the world. I know that he is going to provide so I am so excited to see how he does it!
If you would like to hear more from me directly, have a small group or church that I could share at, please contact me by email: aaronbruner@adventures.org.
It's really funny to tell this story now considering how it all developed. In fact, Katie and I laugh about it A LOT because it was definitely not something that either of us could have planned. Anyway, back to the story...
One day, I decided it would be a good idea to get ice cream. I had never hung out with Katie one-on-one (remember the "putting up walls" thing?), so I decided we could have a "meeting". We headed out, got our ice cream, and sat down for a bit to chat. Keep in mind, at this point, still no fireworks or sparks flying. We had developed a friendship, but as I said previously, that was ALL we viewed it as. We started scratching the surface a little bit but our conversation was cut a bit a short. So we called it a day and headed off to our evening plans with different friends. She told me she wanted a rain check and I agreed to it. About a week later, the premiere of the new Harry Potter came out. Now I know what you're thinking, because so were we, how in the heck did something develop from a night with friends at a Harry Potter movie? Yeah, don't ask me, it sounds silly, but it's part of the story. We were there and somehow ended up sitting beside each other. Here's where the story differs depending on which one of us you talk to. I guess I'll just say that there was a magnet in our hands that brought them together and maybe I'll even fess up and say that I reached for hers. Either way, it happened. Neither of us said anything about it during the movie, but I'm sure we were both freaking out a bit. I texted her afterward and said "we should probably talk". She said "Yes we should".
To back up a bit, as I'm sure it's true in any close community, we chose to keep this information close to the chest. I mean, we didn't even know what was going on and the idea of the word getting out to everyone and their moms did not appeal to us. So there were a select few individuals who were told what happened, and it stayed that way until we figured things out. Ok, back to the story...
The next day we went down to the marina close to where we lived. We sat on the edge of the boat dock and determined that we would be more intentional about getting to know one another. So we did. Throughout the next week (Thanksgiving) we talked everyday for hours it seemed. As the layers peeled back, we grew more and more attracted to each other. She got what she wanted, she got to know this other side to me that I don't share with people. And I got to know this incredible woman who I'd only seen with friend eyes. It's kinda funny to me how God kept these feelings hidden from us for a while. It's like he knew that we needed to have some foundation of friendship beforehand. Whatever it was, it just clicked. I knew I wanted to take her out on a date, so I gave her dad a call as well her spiritual father Mike Paschall. I asked if it would be okay if I took her out, they agreed. Although Tim did send me the great protective father warning message. You know, the "if you ever hurt my daughter ..." You can fill in the rest.
Christmas present for Katie: "Restored" in the roots, "temple" in branches, my name in music, Katie in the rain
During the week leading up to our date, I asked if Katie would pray into and listen to what God was saying about me and as about us as a couple. I told her I'd do the same. I brought her flowers, took her out for sushi, cashed in the rain check for ice cream, and went down to the marina again. We shared the visions that God had given us and the crazy thing is how in alignment they were. She received a lot about rebuilding the temple and a picture of a tree of restoration. I got a passage from Ezra 3:3-9 which says in verse 3:
In spite of the fear of those around them, they built an altar on it's foundations offering sacrifices both day and night.
It continued to talk about the rebuilding of the temple and from it God started revealing to me a vision for ministry and a life together. I had a picture of her being the rain watering the soil and covering the land. She had a picture of David worshiping before the Lord and the king. Incredible stuff! As these words flowed I had an idea of where things were headed for us for the first time. Fast forward a bit...
About a week and a half later, after going public at the AIM Christmas party, Katie had been considering squad-leading this upcoming fall for the World Race. She had met with Caroline who said that she would love to have her if that was what God was leading her to do. Katie told her that she would sit down with me and talk about the idea and ask me to pray into it a bit as well. So, we did. Circumstances had changed significantly since Katie had first entertained the idea and we were both operating on the word that God had given us for each other. So the conclusion I came to was that we would continue operating in that unless he spoke otherwise. I decided to give Mike a call again and process through things with him. After doing so, I had made up my mind of what I was going to do. Katie had to let Caroline know by February and I knew that neither of us wanted to really spend 4 months apart from each other the next fall. So I did what anyone in this situation would do... go after the thing you really want!
We traveled over Christmas break to visit my family and to meet her mom, brother and mom's side of the family. Everything went great! My family loved her and I clicked well with hers. That was all the confirmation I needed. I called her dad, Mike, and talked with her mom this time through asking for something a little different...a blessing. I asked for them to bless us in asking her to marry me. They all gave their support and I was so honored by that. I knew that this was moving faster than what we had originally anticipated but knowing that we had support of our families meant so much to me. So the next week I had to trick Katie a little bit. I MAY not have been where I said I was while I was getting a ring picked out. I told my roommates and her roommates the plan and they jumped in to help. It was New Year's Eve and I decided to cook dinner for Katie. We sat and chatted for a bit while the roommates were busy setting things up down by the marina. I presented the idea of walking down there again, ya know, just to close out the year together and start a new one. She thought it was a great idea and said she had thought about doing that the day before. So I had her convinced. We left to go down there, pulled up and past our usual spot (I did intentionally). We continued on to this strip of land that jutted out into Lake Lanier. It was lined with candles all the way to the end. At the end were some blankets and some flowers. She had no idea that I planned on proposing, she just thought it was a sweet thoughtful date. So I didn't waste any time, I dropped to a knee, spoke from the heart, and she said YES! I spent some time praying and prophesying over her before the rest of our friends came out from behind the boats to celebrate with us. It was such an amazing way to bring in the new year, the year 2011, the year of transition.
Sweating profusely in my tent, I couldn't fathom how God was going to work everything out for World Race setup in Haiti. It was March 8th that I arrived in Haiti to Pastor Christian's house and I was already feeling the heaviness and pressure of getting things done. This was my second trip to Haiti and I had recently been asked to coordinate our World Race relief efforts for the upcoming summer. Needless to say, there was much to be done and not a lot of time to do it. It seemed as if everything that I had planned to do during my month-long stay in March was getting deterred. I would meet with pastors and feel like we had a clear understanding, only to realize later just how big a spirit of confusion consumed that place. I was discouraged, frustrated and alone as I just sat there soaking in that beating sun. Throughout my stay in the spring, God had allowed me to live and work alongside our Short-term Missions department who was also coordinating relief efforts for short-term teams in Haiti. There were several key players who were instrumental in mobilizing hundreds of people into Haiti. At the onset, it was rough and chaotic (no fault of AIM, but the climate kinda lent itself to that). Cars breaking down, prices going up on items, and rough living conditions made things very difficult. Fortunately, among this STM staff, God had placed people to help me keep my sanity as everything literally seemed to be falling apart. One of these people was Tim Hannon. Now, Tim is a fascinating guy to say the least. He has a wild and adventurous spirit along with a "yes" attitude to go with it. He's the kind of guy that would build an ark if God asked him to. Throughout our time camping alongside each other, I got to know Tim and hear a bit of his story. He shared some very personal stuff with me and I was able to be vulnerable with him. We got to know each other and really build a solid friendship which I am extremely thankful for because of our given circumstances. While teams were moving in and out of Haiti, I would be asked to lead worship from time to time for the group. Tim was always so encouraging and supportive. Without him knowing it, he was actually prophesying some things over me concerning how God uses that gift and ability. Tim was our supply coordinator. He would collect rice, beans, oil, tarps and whatever else was needed for the teams to do their relief work throughout the week so he was always out and about. Several times on his return, he would bring back a Coke for me just because he thought of me. I don't know if you realize this, but that is a big deal in an underdeveloped country. It meant so much to me that he had been so thoughtful and caring. I think he must have known how hard of a time I was having and how things were not going to "plan". But then again, maybe they were. Tim had shared with me how his daughter Katie was on the World Race. In fact, she was in Ghana where I had been just 3 months prior to this trip doing setup for her squad. Katie actually contacted me through Skype because she knew I was down in Haiti and wanted to check in on her dad. So that is how we first met. Miles and miles away from each other but connected through having both been in the same African country and now me with her dad. Crazy story huh? It gets better.
Remember this blog: When You're Lonely . Katie had been squad-leading and staying with the same pastor that had hosted me during my stay in Ghana. She recently re-read this blog and told me that she had experienced that very same thing in her time there. She had walked that dark trail leading to the hotel. She even had little Joshua and Lelia holding her hands guiding her through the dark as well. She felt what I felt and it was a shared experience that we had without even knowing it.
So let's fast-forward a bit to October 2010. Katie and I had maintained limited contact throughout those months as she was still on the Race and we were acquaintances at best. I had recently finished my time in Haiti and had moved to Gainesville in late September and she was done with her Race and planning on moving to Gainesville to join the field support team. We exchanged phone numbers as I found out she'd be living with two of my good friends, Heather and Holland. We would laugh and joke around a good bit in our brief conversations, but it was always kept lighthearted and never went below the surface. In fact, we both laugh now at how things progressed considering we had placed each other in the friend box from the get-go. She thought I was too ADD and off the wall and I thought she was too tall for me. HA!
We continued with our friendship, maintaining the surface level until one day she stopped me and said "I know there is a depth to you that you're not allowing others to see". Yep. Very true. Call it jaded or "putting up walls" but I had no intention of allowing many people to get close to me. Sure, the guys at my house and maybe a select group of others but that's it. So that was the first thing that kinda stopped me a little bit. Does she honestly think I would open up to her? You see, Katie picked up on something that no one else had and that was intriguing to me.
As I've been growing in the Lord and learning how to listen to his voice over the past few years, I've realized that my Father tends to speak to me through pictures. Sometimes, I will be sitting with him in the morning, asking him to speak his heart to me for the day or about a particular topic, and he will begin downloading a picture or a scene to me that is very similar to a dream. I usually try to write them down and I thought I would share this one with you. As you begin reading, I'd like to try a little exercise.
Spend some time and ask the Lord to speak to you through this picture before you start. Ask him, "what are you saying to me through this? What does each part represent? How does it apply to me or current circumstances?"
As you work through these questions, I believe he will reveal his heart to you in all of it because as crazy as it sounds, I do believe that GOD...STILL...SPEAKS and it's not only through those verses in His Word. Aaron, that's crazy. Sure it is, but if you ask him to speak to you, don't doubt that what he brings to you will come into alignment with his truth. He's that good! So be still. Listen. And try not to look at the comments until after you feel like you've heard something from Him. When you do, PLEASE post your comments so we can see what God is speaking through it, it may minister to some other readers. If you don't feel like you're getting something, fine, go ahead and look :) It will be cool to see how God speaks to each of us through his rhema word (or the voice of Holy Spirit) to us today. This is just an exercise to practice listening to his voice, so here goes.
This morning as I sat before the Lord drinking my coffee, I asked him if he would begin speaking to me for the day. This is what he showed me this morning:
A man appeared walking through the woods with a large bearskin coat draped across his back. He was rugged and gruff and you could tell this man was a hunter. Pure white snow covered the ground around him as he tromped through arriving at a large tree. This tree stood directly next to a river that at the time was peaceful and serene. I guess you could say that it was more or less a babbling brook.
As the man stood by this tree, he decided that he would push the tree in order to establish a makeshift bridge across the river. He strained and groaned as he used every last ounce of muscle to uproot this wood and bring it down to the ground. As it fell, the ground shook. It landed directly across the river, bridging the gap to the other side. The man rested for a brief moment before climbing atop the log. As he began walking to the other side, he was halted in the middle or perhaps decided that he never intended to get to the other side. He rotated on his heels, facing his body upstream, and he waited. He waited. After a few minutes a loud roar erupted.
Raging waters rushed toward that log bridge at an intense speed. Suddenly the waters were upon this man. They completely engulfed and surrounded him leaving nothing unsaturated. The man stood firm as the waters raced by. He had no intention of falling off or crossing over the bridge. Instead, he desired to stay in the middle where he was inundated with violent clashes of water.
I feel like God has spoken some things to me about this particular picture but I'd LOVE to hear what he's saying to you! I will post mine at the end :) Be blessed!
A team of 5 individuals (Logan Pace, Matt Ruple, Jenna Ghizas, Liz Martin, and Kelli Miller) had their hearts broken for Kenya. They began developing a plan for the Internally Displaced People camps of Kenya to bring them out of poverty and into relationship with their Father through discipleship, economic stimulation plans, and a plethora of other ideas. Logan and Matt are finishing their scouting trip to Kenya today and will bring home a report as they plan their next steps. This is what it is all about: bringing the Kingdom. They're out there and doing it praise God! Read more about some of the stories and the vision behind what God has put on their hearts for Kenya. This blog is taken from the Kenya Initiative blog site:
Check out this in-TENT-city!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted in General Posts by Jenna Ghizas on 12/6/2010
Today, six
families will no longer have rain coming in at night soaking everything
they own. Today, six families will no longer have the wind blowing off
the top of their house. On December 4th, six families received new tarps for their tents. With 6 tarps, 6 families were impacted.
One area of need in this camp is safety. The fact that these IDP's are living in trash houses is NOT ok. It is not safe for their families, sickness strikes often, theft is more frequent, and children are in harms way of intruders. Much still needs to be done about the conditions that they live in, but we must take one small step at a time... and this time, 6 families will not have to worry about getting wet tonight!
Matt and Logan
brought these 6 tents from the U.S. in exchange for their old ones. What
will we be doing with these old tents? Keep following this blog and you will soon find out!
But it ain't how hard you hit; it's about how hard you can get hit, and
keep moving forward. How much you can take, and keep moving forward.
That's how winning is done. Now, if you know what you're worth, then go
out and get what you're worth. Rocky Balboa(2006)
There are some stories I hear that give me chills and others that bring me to tears. This one nearly did both. The same thing happens when we realize that we are living for something bigger than ourselves. I love this quote by Rocky because it resonates with me. If you know who you are and what you're worth, walk confidently into the inheritance that He has for you. Sure, we'll get hit along the way, but it is how we respond to it that defines us. We are made for so much more. Be encouraged today and watch this story:
We have a running joke (but not really) at our house about having the Lord's favor. We say it jokingly but we can't help but notice just how much God seems to be blessing us time and time again. Every time we ask for something, somehow and some way God provides exceedingly beyond what we could have asked. I will list some examples for you:
Our house - When Matt Ruple, Seth Jr, Neil Bruinsma and I were in Haiti, we began discussing what it would look like to live together in Gainesville and how we really wanted to find a free place or somewhere super cheap. We're all broke missionaries so we just trusted on faith that God would provide. Well, it wasn't long after that He opened the doors to this beautiful lake house where we are only paying $100/month/person for our utilities and home repairs. Unreal.
Furniture already in the house or that we've received as gifts or for free -
5 Couches
1 TV
Washer
Dryer
Pantry Rack
Piano
Fully stocked cabinet with plates, silverware, glasses, everything
Refrigerator
Large Freezer
Large dining room table
Deck fire pit
Our most recent surprise was a recliner that Weston had won in a raffle in the mall when we were touring around in our ugly Christmas sweaters for our family portrait. Oddly enough, we've named the recliner "The Lord's Favor". All of these gifts have come from us asking. Seriously, it seems like every time a desire has arisen, we have asked the Lord to provide these things to our house and sure enough, it just happens. Most of these were given to us. It would be easy to overlook it as a string of good fortune, but I can see clearly that God is radically blessing us with some pretty great gifts. And the best part about it all is that it's not because of anything we've done to merit it, it's who He is. He is a giver. He lavishes his love on us in a variety of ways, this happens to be one that we see manifest itself in the physical. Which leads to me to the most mind-blowing example of them all.
As many of you know, I've been playing guitar for quite some time now, a little over 10 years. I've had the same guitar throughout that entire time and it has been such a joy to learn on and lead worship from that instrument. Throughout the years, I have grown attached to my Ibanez guitar. She's been around the world twice with me and spent significant time in Haiti. She has been in front of larger groups and in the quiet of my room, belting out music as loud as she could. She's been scratched and cracked. She's popped strings, had the pick-guard fall off, and one of her tuner pegs fall out during worship. But she's kept going. I love that instrument so much and I'm thankful for the music and the love that has poured out from her. I'm sad to say that over the past year or so, she has not been the same. She's lost her luster and repair work would have cost more than what the guitar was actually worth. As I've been growing, learning, writing, and playing a lot more frequently, the desire grew to make an investment into a guitar that was of a higher quality. I began asking God once again. "Father, you have blessed me so much and you keep showering gifts on me. Thank you. You know I don't have the money to do so right now, but I would really love a new guitar." And that's all I asked. I had decided that this would actually be something that I would like to save money for and make the investment. I mean, seriously, guitars can be expensive, especially ones that are better quality. And I was okay with that, I knew that I would take better care of something that actually cost me something. So I was excited.
Well, as the desire grew and the weeks went on, Thanksgiving arrived. My parents were talking to me about this decision because apparently they had heard of a sale of brand-new Martin guitars going on Thanksgiving weekend (If you know anything about guitars, Martins are top-of-the-line acoustics). They had actually gone and looked at several prior to telling me about the sale. Then they decided to take me to the store because they wanted to bless me with an early Christmas present. I was dumbfounded. Literally, one week prior I had asked God the last time for a new guitar and here I was sitting in a Music store with a beautiful Martin acoustic guitar laying across my lap. As I played and strummed the instrument, beautiful sounds filled the room and I envisioned myself in a far off place, isolated, and singing as loudly as possible. I am evidence of God being a gift-giver. He does not withhold when we ask. He knew my heart and the desire I had to please him with my music. This is a gift that I will cherish for the rest of my life.
Thank you for the evidence of your love for me shown in tangible ways. Thank you for the gift of faith to ask for things hoped for. Thank you for blowing my mind day after day after day. I pray that this encourages you to be bold in what you ask for, whether it's something physical or not, it's the posture of your heart. Be blessed.
I'm ok. I've been OK for a while now. Not spectacular, but far from miserable. I view ministry as work (probably because it is right now) and not the other way around, and honestly, I just don't FEEL hungry sometimes. This is definitely a different environment and scene than I've grown accustomed to over the past 3 years and perhaps is stretching me more in different ways than my time on the field.
Last night I went to hang out with Jake. Jake has been as close to an older brother as I could think of as well as being my logistics supervisor. I was talking to him about my current situation and he said something that stuck with me:
We don't do ministry because of how close we are to God. We do it because of WHO
HE
IS
For some reason, I've always felt that there was a direct correlation between my feelings or my position with God that directly determined what he was capable of doing. I felt that I should only be doing things when I felt close to him because that's when he can use me. Can my "feelings" really limit God or his ability? Not a chance! God has already proven himself and he continues to do things today whether or not I FEEL close to him. I do this because of WHO HE IS and not how I feel at the moment. What a relief because I feel like a big load of crap a lot of times and it's a good thing that he is not defined by that. He desires that we not only minister from our knowledge of him but also from our knowledge of what he says about us. Let me explain...
There was this man named Jehu. He was servant to the king Ahab and Jezebel who had a thirst for the death of all of God's prophets. One day, Elisha, sent a message that Jehu would be anointed king and would avenge the deaths of God's prophets. The messenger arrived and pulled him over to the side, anointed him, declared him king, and ran off. Jehu went to see his soldiers and tell them what the Lord had said. Immediately it says that:
"They hurried and took their cloaks and spread them under him on the bare steps. Then they blew the trumpet and shouted, "Jehu is king!" 2 Kings 9:13 (NIV)
I see two things happen in this story. First, Jehu did not waste time. He recognized who he was, his identity, and walked in it. It didn't matter that Ahab had been king, what mattered is what God had said about him. So he owned it and walked in the anointing God had on him. The second thing that happens that the soldiers recognized his leadership IMMEDIATELY. When we walk securely and confidently in who God has made/called us to be, then others will follow.
Jehu rides out and takes care of Ahab and Jezebel in order to fulfill what the Lord had declared. You see, it wasn't about Jehu, but it was about him being who God desired him to be to help complete God's purpose on the earth. He didn't have to use Jehu, he chose to. And Jehu said, "yessir", and recognized the opportunity.
I want to be like Jehu. A man who sees who God is and who he is, ready to do what He asks of me. Imagine what it would look like if we ALL knew him and knew our identities in him. So if someone speaks truth over your life and to your identity of how God sees you that resonates with his Word and your Spirit, own it. Why waste time? There are Kingdom things that need to be done and not enough people doing it.
I have grown accustomed to the ever-changing and fast-paced life of a missionary throughout the past few years. Each month, each day, the challenges are new and exciting; I guess one may even call me an adrenaline junkie of sorts. There is something about being on the front lines and proclaiming the Kingdom in a foreign land that I find exhilarating. As much as I've enjoyed doing these things and know that it is very much a part of who I am, I know that I am in a season to be planted. There is a physical planting of me remaining in one location to actually slow down the pace of life for a while and rest but there is also I believe a spiritual planting. Not only am I embedding myself in one place, remaining immobile, establishing roots, and receiving nutrients, but I am also investing and sowing seeds that will one day reap a harvest. I feel like God has revealed how I can be doing this in two ways:
As I mentioned in the previous blog, we have established a house church that meets together once a week to bear each others' burdens, minister to one another, and seek the face of our Father. As we met for the first time, we each felt the sense and longing to reach out to the Hispanic community of Gainesville. So last Wednesday, we did just that. We partnered with another outreach ministry called Torch Ministries that visits apartment and low-income housing projects to play with the kids, feed, and share the gospel. As we rolled up to the apartments, I was so thrilled at the opportunity to do some kind of "ministry" here in the states. It has been so long and even though I realize the impact that my responsibilities have in mobilizing others, it is nice to plug in and engage myself from time to time. As I was driving around the corner of the parking lot, some children were running up to our car and waving their arms. Naturally I waved back and smiled until all of the sudden I heard something catch on my tire. Crap. Sure enough a ball had gotten caught under my front tire and POP, that was all she wrote. I of course felt like an idiot and had already started rethinking "are they really gonna want to hang out with the jerk that popped their ball?" Not the best of starts I'd say, but I apologized and we got out to meet the kids.
Less than a minute out of my car and a 15-year-old kid approached me right away. His name was Michael. Michael honestly could have been my kid brother. He was short and very similarly built to me. We talked and talked....well he talked and talked but it was so amazing to actually connect with someone and hear his story. He had given his life to the Lord just a year ago when his coach invested into him. I loved it. As we were there, I "happened" to meet the head wrestling coach at Gainesville High School. Coincidence? Sure, I'll let you believe that. As we started talking, I knew that it was another opportunity that God was bringing my way. He knows how much I love coaching and being around those high school guys, it brings so much life to me. So after speaking with Coach Ski, it looks like I will come on board as a community coach this year. So amazing!
Through these two avenues, coaching and the Latino community, I feel like the Lord has definitely given me the opportunity to plant, to grow roots, and to enrich the soil. It has been a long time since I've stayed put, but I am so eager to build into these relationships and to see hearts activated.
As far as a support update goes, I am currently reaching 50% of my monthly support goal of $981/month so I will be spending some more time investing into fund-raising. Please be praying for me as I seek to establish new ministry partners to continue mobilizing hundreds of World Racers around the world each year. I am asking and believing God for big moves!
*Photos from www.thetorch-urbanministries.org (c) 2006-2007
One day, I decided it would be a good ide
We traveled over Christmas break to visit my family and to meet her mom, brother and mom's side of the family. Everything went great! My family loved her and I clicked well with hers. That was all the confirmation I needed. I called her dad, Mike, and talked with her mom this time through asking for something a little different...a blessing. I asked for them to bless us in asking her to marry me. They all gave their support and I was so honored by that. I knew that this was moving faster than what we had originally anticipated but knowing that we had support of our families meant so much to me. So the next week I had to trick Katie a little bit. I MAY not have been where I said I was while I was getting a ring picked out. I told my roommates and her roommates the plan and they jumped in to help. It was New Year's Eve and I decided to cook dinner for Katie. We sat and chatted for a bit while the roommates were busy setting things up down by the marina. I presented the idea of walking down there again, ya know, just to close out the year together and start a new one. She thought it was a great idea and said she had thought about doing that the day before. So I had her convinced. We left to go down there, pulled up and past our usual spot (I did intentionally). We continued on to this strip of land that jutted out into Lake Lanier. It was lined with candles all the way to the end. At the end were some blankets and some flowers. She had no idea that I planned on proposing, she just thought it was a sweet thoughtful date. So I didn't waste any time, I dropped to a knee, spoke from the heart, and she said YES! I spent some time praying and prophesying over her before the rest of our friends came out from behind the boats to celebrate with us. It was such an amazing way to bring in the new year, the year 2011, the year of transition. 
Sweating profusely in my tent, I couldn't fathom how God was going to work everything out for World Race setup in Haiti. It was March 8th that I arrived in Haiti to Pastor Christian's house and I was already feeling the heaviness and pressure of getting things done. This was my second trip to Haiti and I had recently been asked to coordinate our World Race relief efforts for the upcoming summer. Needless to say, there was much to be done and not a lot of time to do it. It seemed as if everything that I had planned to do during my month-long stay in March was getting deterred. I would meet with pastors and feel like we had a clear understanding, only to realize later just how big a spirit of confusion consumed that place. I was discouraged, frustrated and alone as I just sat there soaking in that beating sun.
Now, Tim is a fascinating guy to say the least. He has a wild and adventurous spirit along with a "yes" attitude to go with it. He's the kind of guy that would build an ark if God asked him to. Throughout our time camping alongside each other, I got to know Tim and hear a bit of his story. He shared some very personal stuff with me and I was able to be vulnerable with him. We got to know each other and really build a solid friendship which I am extremely thankful for because of our given circumstances. While teams were moving in and out of Haiti, I would be asked to lead worship from time to time for the group. Tim was always so encouraging and supportive. Without him knowing it, he was actually prophesying some things over me concerning how God uses that gift and ability. Tim was our supply coordinator. He would collect rice, beans, oil, tarps and whatever else was needed for the teams to do their relief work throughout the week so he was always out and about. Several times on his return, he would bring back a Coke for me just because he thought of me. I don't know if you realize this, but that is a big deal in an underdeveloped country. It meant so much to me that he had been so thoughtful and caring. I think he must have known how hard of a time I was having and how things were not going to "plan". But then again, maybe they were.
A man appeared walking through the woods with a large bearskin coat draped across his back. He was rugged and gruff and you could tell this man was a hunter. Pure white snow covered the ground around him as he tromped through arriving at a large tree. This tree stood directly next to a river that at the time was peaceful and serene. I guess you could say that it was more or less a babbling brook. 
Our house - When Matt Ruple, Seth Jr, Neil Bruinsma and I were in Haiti, we began discussing what it would look like to live together in Gainesville and how we really wanted to find a free place or somewhere super cheap. We're all broke missionaries so we just trusted on faith that God would provide. Well, it wasn't long after that He opened the doors to this beautiful lake house where we are only paying $100/month/person for our utilities and home repairs. Unreal.
Our most recent surprise was a recliner that Weston had won in a raffle in the mall when we were touring around in our ugly Christmas sweaters for our family portrait. Oddly enough, we've named the recliner "The Lord's Favor". All of these gifts have come from us asking. Seriously, it seems like every time a desire has arisen, we have asked the Lord to provide these things to our house and sure enough, it just happens. Most of these were given to us. It would be easy to overlook it as a string of good fortune, but I can see clearly that God is radically blessing us with some pretty great gifts. And the best part about it all is that it's not because of anything we've done to merit it, it's who He is. He is a giver. He lavishes his love on us in a variety of ways, this happens to be one that we see manifest itself in the physical. Which leads to me to the most mind-blowing example of them all.
As many of you know, I've been playing guitar for quite some time now, a little over 10 years. I've had the same guitar throughout that entire time and it has been such a joy to learn on and lead worship from that instrument. Throughout the years, I have grown attached to my Ibanez guitar. She's been around the world twice with me and spent significant time in Haiti. She has been in front of larger groups and in the quiet of my room, belting out music as loud as she could. She's been scratched and cracked. She's popped strings, had the pick-guard fall off, and one of her tuner pegs fall out during worship. But she's kept going. I love that instrument so much and I'm thankful for the music and the love that has poured out from her. I'm sad to say that over the past year or so, she has not been the same. She's lost her luster and repair work would have cost more than what the guitar was actually worth. As I've been growing, learning, writing, and playing a lot more frequently, the desire grew to make an investment into a guitar that was of a higher quality. I began asking God once again. "Father, you have blessed me so much and you keep showering gifts on me. Thank you. You know I don't have the money to do so right now, but I would really love a new guitar." And that's all I asked. I had decided that this would actually be something that I would like to save money for and make the investment. I mean, seriously, guitars can be expensive, especially ones that are better quality. And I was okay with that, I knew that I would take better care of something that actually cost me something. So I was excited.
Well, as the desire grew and the weeks went on, Thanksgiving arrived. My parents were talking to me about this decision because apparently they had heard of a sale of brand-new Martin guitars going on Thanksgiving weekend (If you know anything about guitars, Martins are top-of-the-line acoustics). They had actually gone and looked at several prior to telling me about the sale. Then they decided to take me to the store because they wanted to bless me with an early Christmas present. I was dumbfounded. Literally, one week prior I had asked God the last time for a new guitar and here I was sitting in a Music store with a beautiful Martin acoustic guitar laying across my lap. As I played and strummed the instrument, beautiful sounds filled the room and I envisioned myself in a far off place, isolated, and singing as loudly as possible. I am evidence of God being a gift-giver. He does not withhold when we ask. He knew my heart and the desire I had to please him with my music. This is a gift that I will cherish for the rest of my life.
As I mentioned in the previous blog, we have established a house church that meets together once a week to bear each others' burdens, minister to one another, and seek the face of our Father. As we met for the first time, we each felt the sense and longing to reach out to the Hispanic community of Gainesville. So last Wednesday, we did just that. We partnered with another outreach ministry called Torch Ministries that visits apartment and low-income housing projects to play with the kids, feed, and share the gospel. As we rolled up to the apartments, I was so thrilled at the opportunity to do some kind of "ministry" here in the states. It has been so long and even though I realize the impact that my responsibilities have in mobilizing others, it is nice to plug in and engage myself from time to time. As I was driving around the corner of the parking lot, some children were running up to our car and waving their arms. Naturally I waved back and smiled until all of the sudden I heard something catch on my tire. Crap. Sure enough a ball had gotten caught under my front tire and POP, that was all she wrote. I of course felt like an idiot and had already started rethinking "are they really gonna want to hang out with the jerk that popped their ball?" Not the best of starts I'd say, but I apologized and we got out to meet the kids.
h invested into him. I loved it. As we were there, I "happened" to meet the head wrestling coach at Gainesville High School. Coincidence? Sure, I'll let you believe that. As we started talking, I knew that it was another opportunity that God was bringing my way. He knows how much I love coaching and being around those high school guys, it brings so much life to me. So after speaking with Coach Ski, it looks like I will come on board as a community coach this year. So amazing! 
