well i have been in Vancouver for a week now arriving here last Tuesday, It has been incredible and yet quite overwhelming.
so the organization More than gold really felt the mandate to join with existing ministries and so we are doing alot of work with salvation army and other more independent ministries one of them being something called the great room on the down town east side on w hastings which is a place where women can go to learn skills to dare to dream of a life other than street life. i cant begin to describe the place here is a website that might explain more http://linwoodhouseministries.typepad.com/ . The work we are doing with salvation army is diverse but mostly we are offering radical hospitality by handing out hot chocolate and coffee at alot of main skylink stations. but yesterday i spent 5 hours turning old bed sheets into rags because they had a abundance of sheets and they wanted to sell the rags to mechanic shops around town to raise funds so they can do more outreach.
and the other days have been pretty awesome one day we had prayer station which was us standing in a fairly busy sky train station and wearing a smock that says prayer changes things and a little sign saying free prayer. standing boldly giving people eye contact not there with any agenda other than to offer prayer to those who ask. we got to pray for quite a few christians but alot of people looked at us and i could see how intently they were reading, some of them seemed to not have the opportunity to stop and so we prayed for them without them. and we have also done quite a bit of work with a free concert series here in vancouver put on by a group of christians with a huge list of artists so we hit the streets handing out information about it.
my internet is getting shoddy so im going to have to put this blog out now
keep us in prayer
today we are handing out hot chocolate
-chad
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Monday, February 8, 2010
update letter short version
well i am currently writing a update letter to update alot about what I'm up to but ill point form it just so i can not worry about blogging too much.
first of all God is really good, how hes alive and well around the world even though alot of what we concentrate on is that bad stuff He is at work, and at work in us(that means you)
-I am leaving to go down to seattle and then to vancouver, I am leaving tomorrow. we are spending from the 9th to the 23rd in vancouver doing ministry, being Gods hands and feet at the Olympics and throughout vancouver. Pray for unity and strength as we do this intense much needed work. pray for our travels, it snowed a bunch here this weekend and we dont really want too much more snow or ice to slow us down, and also for our flights and bus rides and entries and re entries of the border.
-I am still trying to stay in contact with seemingly alot of people, facebook seems like the easiest way but it really seems to be very impersonal and non relational, pray for my communication and relational skills as they seem to be lacking.
-I was given the option of going back to st. lawrence Island this spring or to Hati, which was a really hard decision for me, i struggled back and forth for a long time God seemingly telling me to do both, It has just become clearer to me that God is wanting me to continue to dream about Alaskan ministry while taking me out of Alaska for a short while. I still have yet to give my final decision but its due tomorrow, seemingly God directed me to 1 Thessalonians 2-3 it kinda reminds me that I can still be a big part of the things God is doing on the island while i am on a different island being obedient to my call there, and reminding me that Gods timing is a lot better than mine. it seems weird in those verses that its satan stopping them from getting to the people because i believe its God calling me to Hati, but thats not the part of those verses that were really speaking to me. we are still sending a small team of staff to st. lawrence island but the DTS which I am a staff on is going to Hati.
-I thank God for all my friends and family, and I pray for you guys, I think God is really showing me alot more about you guys and your faith and how he is at work in you guys. just keep pressing into God, He never gets tired of loving you. I pray for my friends who are having troubles (health, family, etc) too, because I know that God is faithful and that sometimes we lose sight of Him and yet He is still right there beside you. And I pray for my friends who are still searching or maybe tired of searching, I pray that God will meet them where they are and that they will acknowledge His grace and love.
its great being here in alaska, God really blessed me with this opportunity even if it means "suffering" I really want to pour my life out as a offering to God, and to grow even more in love with Him and His people. I saw 4 eagles flying about 150 feet above the ground just circling in the sky, and it reminded me of the four students here, they are flying, learning to fly, but there will be times for them to come down, humble themselves so that they can serve each other, the body of Christ, and the lost people of this world, and God will provide the grace for us to do this. Thanks be to God amen
first of all God is really good, how hes alive and well around the world even though alot of what we concentrate on is that bad stuff He is at work, and at work in us(that means you)
-I am leaving to go down to seattle and then to vancouver, I am leaving tomorrow. we are spending from the 9th to the 23rd in vancouver doing ministry, being Gods hands and feet at the Olympics and throughout vancouver. Pray for unity and strength as we do this intense much needed work. pray for our travels, it snowed a bunch here this weekend and we dont really want too much more snow or ice to slow us down, and also for our flights and bus rides and entries and re entries of the border.
-I am still trying to stay in contact with seemingly alot of people, facebook seems like the easiest way but it really seems to be very impersonal and non relational, pray for my communication and relational skills as they seem to be lacking.
-I was given the option of going back to st. lawrence Island this spring or to Hati, which was a really hard decision for me, i struggled back and forth for a long time God seemingly telling me to do both, It has just become clearer to me that God is wanting me to continue to dream about Alaskan ministry while taking me out of Alaska for a short while. I still have yet to give my final decision but its due tomorrow, seemingly God directed me to 1 Thessalonians 2-3 it kinda reminds me that I can still be a big part of the things God is doing on the island while i am on a different island being obedient to my call there, and reminding me that Gods timing is a lot better than mine. it seems weird in those verses that its satan stopping them from getting to the people because i believe its God calling me to Hati, but thats not the part of those verses that were really speaking to me. we are still sending a small team of staff to st. lawrence island but the DTS which I am a staff on is going to Hati.
-I thank God for all my friends and family, and I pray for you guys, I think God is really showing me alot more about you guys and your faith and how he is at work in you guys. just keep pressing into God, He never gets tired of loving you. I pray for my friends who are having troubles (health, family, etc) too, because I know that God is faithful and that sometimes we lose sight of Him and yet He is still right there beside you. And I pray for my friends who are still searching or maybe tired of searching, I pray that God will meet them where they are and that they will acknowledge His grace and love.
its great being here in alaska, God really blessed me with this opportunity even if it means "suffering" I really want to pour my life out as a offering to God, and to grow even more in love with Him and His people. I saw 4 eagles flying about 150 feet above the ground just circling in the sky, and it reminded me of the four students here, they are flying, learning to fly, but there will be times for them to come down, humble themselves so that they can serve each other, the body of Christ, and the lost people of this world, and God will provide the grace for us to do this. Thanks be to God amen
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
love
In one sense we are always traveling
And traveling as if we do not know where we are going
In another sense we have already arrived
We cannot arrive at the perfect possession of love in this life
And that is why we are traveling and traveling in this darkness
But we already possess love by grace
And therefore in that sense we have arrived
And are dwelling in that light
But Oh! How far are you and I go to
find that love in whom we have arrived
Thomas Merton
God has been rocking me with the fact that He is love.
everything he does, He does out of love. pure and untainted. A love we could never understand.
so beyond comprehension so awesome. He not only speaks all our love languages He created them all.
He gives gifts to all, yet to those who believe in Him they find purpose in what they have received, and they find a lot more.
even when we fear the Lord we need to do it out of how much we see that He loves us, cause if you view God as a angry dad your missing the fact that He wants to pour his love over you. He poured His judgment out on His Son so when He disciplines you which He will if you are His child its never out of judgment He just wants to pour His sons blood on you, his mercy His grace, and healing. Ive learnt that sometimes the Holy spirit leads you and sometimes it drives you, like Jesus was driven out of this whole baptism scene into the wilderness and to the temptation, its out of love that he allows things to happen, sometimes he tests us with hardship, sometimes what the devil trys to do for bad God turns into something good.
We need to embrace Gods love, embrace fully the relationship we can have with him by the blood of the Son. Not be status quoe Christians who live on the basis that they have said a prayer, or on the basis that they are doing Gods work, or on the basis that they go to church every sunday. What are works without faith and what is faith without works. NOTHING! What is Christianity without God, who are we trying to fool. It about a relationship with God, if we arent seeking a intimate relationship with God the truth isnt pretty.
so back to the quote at the top we have arrived at Gods love, you accept Jesus and you are given the right to become a child of God PERIOD But do you want to be a child that doesnt have a relationship with your Father, id say your adoption agency might take your kid away if there was no relationship between the parent and child. we are constantly traveling under His love towards His love
everything he does, He does out of love. pure and untainted. A love we could never understand.
so beyond comprehension so awesome. He not only speaks all our love languages He created them all.
He gives gifts to all, yet to those who believe in Him they find purpose in what they have received, and they find a lot more.
even when we fear the Lord we need to do it out of how much we see that He loves us, cause if you view God as a angry dad your missing the fact that He wants to pour his love over you. He poured His judgment out on His Son so when He disciplines you which He will if you are His child its never out of judgment He just wants to pour His sons blood on you, his mercy His grace, and healing. Ive learnt that sometimes the Holy spirit leads you and sometimes it drives you, like Jesus was driven out of this whole baptism scene into the wilderness and to the temptation, its out of love that he allows things to happen, sometimes he tests us with hardship, sometimes what the devil trys to do for bad God turns into something good.
The Greatest Commandment
34Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. 35One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question:36"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" 37Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'b]">[b] 38This is the first and greatest commandment. 39And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'c]">[c] 40All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."
We need to embrace Gods love, embrace fully the relationship we can have with him by the blood of the Son. Not be status quoe Christians who live on the basis that they have said a prayer, or on the basis that they are doing Gods work, or on the basis that they go to church every sunday. What are works without faith and what is faith without works. NOTHING! What is Christianity without God, who are we trying to fool. It about a relationship with God, if we arent seeking a intimate relationship with God the truth isnt pretty.
so back to the quote at the top we have arrived at Gods love, you accept Jesus and you are given the right to become a child of God PERIOD But do you want to be a child that doesnt have a relationship with your Father, id say your adoption agency might take your kid away if there was no relationship between the parent and child. we are constantly traveling under His love towards His love
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Beauty...
The first couple of weeks of a dts (discipleship training school) are usually pretty intense, there is usually considerable growth with just one week of being out of your comfort zone in a place where you feel you can trust people, but more importantly God. Breakthrough in how we view ourselves is inevitable when we look to who our Lord is, there has to be a intense fear of the Lord when we look to Him, He is Holy, He is Righteous, He is love. How can we apply this to how we view ourselves, well simply said we have to look at the throne of this lovely yet all powerful God first.
Ephesians 2:10 For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
We believers are Gods "pieces of work" now you can take that in a joke because we all know we are real pieces of work. But God is/has creating/created us in Christ Jesus and we are His handiwork, made beautiful. Why is it so easy to see each other in a judgmental way, why is it so easy to see the ugly side of things. we need help.
I thank the Lord for the healing of the hearts of these students, the live giving breath of God that is leading us to experiencing more and more of His love, more and more of His grace, more and more of the fear of the Lord(which may sound like a bad thing but really it isn't, I wish more people had it). We have put deep pain from the past, shame, guilt, rejection, and lies, down at the foot of the Cross not because its easy to let go but because God meets us there and gives us new life. Redemption is a word I love, I love it when God reminds me, you are redeemed, i payed for you. that's where I find my worth, my beauty. In the ashes of death, in the new life that springs up.
Do we look at the landscape around us, the sunsets, the mountains (wheat fields for you Manitoban's), those places we go to, to find beauty or do we go to the people around us and say to ourselves or directly to them" wow the glory of the Lord is shining on you, that new life in you is radiating love."
which is more beautiful?
sunset in homer
our small but oh so great winter DTS 2010
yes i see the Saskatchewanite, and I love him and find him beautiful.
dont get me wrong I love the sunset, I thank God for revealing some of his beauty through it, but i seriously question our ability to see others through Christs eyes sometimes. its something God is teaching me being up here, to love others as Christ loves.
give God all the glory, he has it already so you might as well let him give it to you through Jesus and not pretend to have it already.
Ephesians 2:10 For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
We believers are Gods "pieces of work" now you can take that in a joke because we all know we are real pieces of work. But God is/has creating/created us in Christ Jesus and we are His handiwork, made beautiful. Why is it so easy to see each other in a judgmental way, why is it so easy to see the ugly side of things. we need help.
I thank the Lord for the healing of the hearts of these students, the live giving breath of God that is leading us to experiencing more and more of His love, more and more of His grace, more and more of the fear of the Lord(which may sound like a bad thing but really it isn't, I wish more people had it). We have put deep pain from the past, shame, guilt, rejection, and lies, down at the foot of the Cross not because its easy to let go but because God meets us there and gives us new life. Redemption is a word I love, I love it when God reminds me, you are redeemed, i payed for you. that's where I find my worth, my beauty. In the ashes of death, in the new life that springs up.
Do we look at the landscape around us, the sunsets, the mountains (wheat fields for you Manitoban's), those places we go to, to find beauty or do we go to the people around us and say to ourselves or directly to them" wow the glory of the Lord is shining on you, that new life in you is radiating love."
which is more beautiful?
sunset in homer
our small but oh so great winter DTS 2010
yes i see the Saskatchewanite, and I love him and find him beautiful.
dont get me wrong I love the sunset, I thank God for revealing some of his beauty through it, but i seriously question our ability to see others through Christs eyes sometimes. its something God is teaching me being up here, to love others as Christ loves.
give God all the glory, he has it already so you might as well let him give it to you through Jesus and not pretend to have it already.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
some writings of this past week
What is this, where does it lead; A journey on the narrow path. When is it alright to numb myself to this world, when can I face it with a warm smile. Is there hope apart from Christ, Certainly not! when does reality bend to hope, when does hope break reality. I think where the word hope loses its meaning is when we use it to describe uncertainty, long shots. Is that what the power of Christ has been reduced to.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Homer Nazarene Church sermon notes
Names of Jesus i relate to this moment.
The Lamb of God (pure), Light, I AM, Messiah, Provider, Mercy seat sitter.
time to offer ourselves Romans 12
John 2:1-11
Jesus turns water to wine.
-God is concerned about both small miracles and big
- God changed the water into wine. not just in appearance, He transformed the molecules, it is no longer water but wine.
-Christ gives extravagantly
- abundant life= transformed life
- sometimes God waits for us to be thirsty before He pours out transformation
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Homer Nazarene Church sermon notes
Names of Jesus i relate to this moment.
The Lamb of God (pure), Light, I AM, Messiah, Provider, Mercy seat sitter.
time to offer ourselves Romans 12
John 2:1-11
Jesus turns water to wine.
-God is concerned about both small miracles and big
- God changed the water into wine. not just in appearance, He transformed the molecules, it is no longer water but wine.
-Christ gives extravagantly
- abundant life= transformed life
- sometimes God waits for us to be thirsty before He pours out transformation
Monday, January 11, 2010
im here
HOMER Alaska
Ill tell you a little about my journey here to homer, and how God brought me here.
well wednesday the 7th was my last real day in winnipeg, I had a night where anyone could come say goodbye fortunatly most of my friends had already said goodbye to me, throught the many parties and Christmas celebrations. I was feeling a bit nervous on wednesday, not about anything specific, I had to combat it. so at 1 in the morning on the 8th we started the trek to granforks, me my brother and my car. we got to the border and thats when i had to get my "visa" so first they asked me questions about what I was doing and all that kinda stuff, so i think everythings going good, but then they talk amongst themselves , tell me to wait for a bit, ask me more questions, they really didnt understand why I would want to volunteer and actually pay to stay. but after a hour of hmmming and hawwing they give me my entry for a year, which is a ptl.
get to the train station down in grandforks, its quite stormy on the american side of things we pass by a pretty serious accident, but we get to the train station on time and I have a really awesome brother who bought me candy and other goodies for the train ride. the train arrives one hour late, ohh great(the most i can really be late is one hour), the train attendant tells me that they can probably make up the time, so we get going and when we are almost across ND the train stops at the train station which i miean was normal but then we stay sitting there, they tell us they are doing some minor mantainence which turns into three hours, so we are running 4 hours late, im going ot miss my flight. me not knowing anything about flights and stuff like this start freaking out a bit, But meanwhile Im reading the bible looking to God for some sort of peace, and really Gods telling me trust me. I try to get online every little stop, everytime we get into a little town, try phoning my mom, to change my flight, which would have cost me $200. but everytime i got close to changing my flight the internet would die or when i phoned my mom the line died. you know through this im trusting God, im trying to expend my options but really throughout it I know that God is going to pull me through.
and so I meet some people on the train some very interesting people and some very helpful people, no real amazing conversations but alot of good ones. I get to talking to this couple from billings MT and we make a few connections and they are Christians, He tries to help me phone the airline but i jsut get the busy line. and so they offer to drive me to the airport, which actually didnt same me time but was really good. so i get to the airport, she puts me on standby for free, which is probably normal but still amazing to me(here i was trying tochange my flight for 200 and its free, God must have not wanted me to waste my money). i go to security and then realize that i dont have my wallet, i figure maybe i put it into my bag (i had to pay for my luggage) but i get through and no wallet, so i go back to the check in desk and there my wallet is.i get through security again, and then try to call my friend who is supposed to pick me up, here my flight is 8 hours later then it was supposed to be, late friday. He cant pick me up anymore which was really understandable he had to go down to homer earlier, and so now i have to find a ride down.
i phone like 10 people trying to figure out a way down, half of the lines are either busy or not there and so I finally get ahold of my aunt who lives about 4 hours from anchorage and she has a friend who might be able to pick me up and let me stay at her house for the night and so she picks me up, without one hesitation i pick her out of the crowd never having seen her bfore. turns out my aunt and uncle have to drive up to drop there daughter off at university and I just hadnt asked them before if they could pick me up because i had a other ride that i didnt even have to ask for. so it worked perfectly for them to pick me up the next day, after calling them 3 times and getting the busy signal the first 2 times.
The Lord is good
its soo good being back here, turns out I am a small group leader which means im co in charge of the guys in the DTS, which they had asked me the day I left if i would do it so I said i would pray about it on the train, and getting here it was a yes. still getting ready to go down to vancouver in like a month not with the school but with some of the other staff here. continue to pray for me as i continue to pray for you.
if you want to support me financially this website will help you http://www.ywam.ca/donations/index.php
they send it through vancouver so that they can change it from cnd to usd for me. there is also some way you can do it through credit card, but i dont know what that link is.
thank you Jesus
update soon
Ill tell you a little about my journey here to homer, and how God brought me here.
well wednesday the 7th was my last real day in winnipeg, I had a night where anyone could come say goodbye fortunatly most of my friends had already said goodbye to me, throught the many parties and Christmas celebrations. I was feeling a bit nervous on wednesday, not about anything specific, I had to combat it. so at 1 in the morning on the 8th we started the trek to granforks, me my brother and my car. we got to the border and thats when i had to get my "visa" so first they asked me questions about what I was doing and all that kinda stuff, so i think everythings going good, but then they talk amongst themselves , tell me to wait for a bit, ask me more questions, they really didnt understand why I would want to volunteer and actually pay to stay. but after a hour of hmmming and hawwing they give me my entry for a year, which is a ptl.
get to the train station down in grandforks, its quite stormy on the american side of things we pass by a pretty serious accident, but we get to the train station on time and I have a really awesome brother who bought me candy and other goodies for the train ride. the train arrives one hour late, ohh great(the most i can really be late is one hour), the train attendant tells me that they can probably make up the time, so we get going and when we are almost across ND the train stops at the train station which i miean was normal but then we stay sitting there, they tell us they are doing some minor mantainence which turns into three hours, so we are running 4 hours late, im going ot miss my flight. me not knowing anything about flights and stuff like this start freaking out a bit, But meanwhile Im reading the bible looking to God for some sort of peace, and really Gods telling me trust me. I try to get online every little stop, everytime we get into a little town, try phoning my mom, to change my flight, which would have cost me $200. but everytime i got close to changing my flight the internet would die or when i phoned my mom the line died. you know through this im trusting God, im trying to expend my options but really throughout it I know that God is going to pull me through.
and so I meet some people on the train some very interesting people and some very helpful people, no real amazing conversations but alot of good ones. I get to talking to this couple from billings MT and we make a few connections and they are Christians, He tries to help me phone the airline but i jsut get the busy line. and so they offer to drive me to the airport, which actually didnt same me time but was really good. so i get to the airport, she puts me on standby for free, which is probably normal but still amazing to me(here i was trying tochange my flight for 200 and its free, God must have not wanted me to waste my money). i go to security and then realize that i dont have my wallet, i figure maybe i put it into my bag (i had to pay for my luggage) but i get through and no wallet, so i go back to the check in desk and there my wallet is.i get through security again, and then try to call my friend who is supposed to pick me up, here my flight is 8 hours later then it was supposed to be, late friday. He cant pick me up anymore which was really understandable he had to go down to homer earlier, and so now i have to find a ride down.
i phone like 10 people trying to figure out a way down, half of the lines are either busy or not there and so I finally get ahold of my aunt who lives about 4 hours from anchorage and she has a friend who might be able to pick me up and let me stay at her house for the night and so she picks me up, without one hesitation i pick her out of the crowd never having seen her bfore. turns out my aunt and uncle have to drive up to drop there daughter off at university and I just hadnt asked them before if they could pick me up because i had a other ride that i didnt even have to ask for. so it worked perfectly for them to pick me up the next day, after calling them 3 times and getting the busy signal the first 2 times.
The Lord is good
its soo good being back here, turns out I am a small group leader which means im co in charge of the guys in the DTS, which they had asked me the day I left if i would do it so I said i would pray about it on the train, and getting here it was a yes. still getting ready to go down to vancouver in like a month not with the school but with some of the other staff here. continue to pray for me as i continue to pray for you.
if you want to support me financially this website will help you http://www.ywam.ca/donations/index.php
they send it through vancouver so that they can change it from cnd to usd for me. there is also some way you can do it through credit card, but i dont know what that link is.
thank you Jesus
update soon
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Merry Christmas and may 2010 be full of Joy
The first Christmas is recorded as a time of great vision, great wisdom. Such an incredible visual of God's glory, the angels rejoice in song, its almost too much for everyone. Well the heavens are rejoicing with every moment we serve our Lord, oh to hear that song. As I try to think of what my life will look like on a grand scale I can not look very far, the possibilities seem endless. So I start with trusting God to guide me, and He has led me back to Alaska to serve with YWAM (Youth With A Mission) Arctic Mercy located in Homer Alaska. As most of you know I was in Alaska from January till June of this year with YWAM doing a DTS (discipleship training school) which consists of 3 months of study and discipleship and 2 months of missions and making disciples. This program has become the staple for YWAM, we run DTS's so we teach people about what it means to know God and make Him known. We have been committed to serving one northern island called St. Lawrence Island in specific sending two teams a year to spend 2 months each on this island serving about 1500 aboriginal villagers, but as we gain staff we are hoping that we can expand our vision joining what God is already doing all over Alaska. We are already able to send a team which I am part of to Vancouver, to help out with a broader ministry at the Olympics called More Than Gold which I am very excited about. We will be doing anything from working in homeless shelters to offering prayer at the Olympic events. As we move forward from that, we are really stepping into a time that we will be able to send out mobile teams(YWAM staff that go out from base as a group), doing anything from dramas, to helping out with other ministries already established, to doing construction projects( I know we have already helped out with a lot of church repair). We are committed to doing whatever it takes to bring Christ to the people who need Him and encouraging those who already know Him.
The Isolated aboriginal villages of the north are on my heart a lot, mostly St. Lawrence Island, the way in which YWAM Arctic Mercy got the call to start sending teams up there is something that really continues to keep us passionate. The suicide rate was the highest in North America, the elders of the community were crying out for help, some of them knew that God was the only answer and since that initial cry for help YWAM and other Christian organizations have really been enabled to bring hope to these villages through the incredible love of God. But these seeds need a lot of watering which has had its ups and downs for those who are committed to seeing fruit. The cycle of hurt, depression, shame, guilt, despair, alcohol, anger, worthlessness, abuse, suicide, pride has one answer and that is Jesus Christ so I pray that the Holy spirit which is the presence of God will empower us to love like he does and to the work of Jesus which He started and in which he will finish someday soon.
I come before you as my family and friends and I ask you to pray with me and pray for me as I take this step, my commitment with YWAM is 2 years, I am doing this all as a volunteer and so is everyone within YWAM, which is going to take a lot of trust on my part. Pray for me as I travel because If anything I need my plane to be delayed, because I'm cutting it short with the time between my train arrival and my plane departure with all these new security measures. I am leaving on January 7th and hope to be back for Christmas of 2010. thank you for your prayer support and if you want any info on supporting financially just contact me. Feel free to email me or mail me, ask me questions about how its going. Hopefully next report I can share more about whats going on over in Alaska. God Bless.
Chad Reimer
chad.reimer@gmail.com
http://withegracealone.blogspot.com
1-907- 235- 9339
Chad Reimer c/o YWAM
PO BOX 959
Homer, AK 99603
USA
The first Christmas is recorded as a time of great vision, great wisdom. Such an incredible visual of God's glory, the angels rejoice in song, its almost too much for everyone. Well the heavens are rejoicing with every moment we serve our Lord, oh to hear that song. As I try to think of what my life will look like on a grand scale I can not look very far, the possibilities seem endless. So I start with trusting God to guide me, and He has led me back to Alaska to serve with YWAM (Youth With A Mission) Arctic Mercy located in Homer Alaska. As most of you know I was in Alaska from January till June of this year with YWAM doing a DTS (discipleship training school) which consists of 3 months of study and discipleship and 2 months of missions and making disciples. This program has become the staple for YWAM, we run DTS's so we teach people about what it means to know God and make Him known. We have been committed to serving one northern island called St. Lawrence Island in specific sending two teams a year to spend 2 months each on this island serving about 1500 aboriginal villagers, but as we gain staff we are hoping that we can expand our vision joining what God is already doing all over Alaska. We are already able to send a team which I am part of to Vancouver, to help out with a broader ministry at the Olympics called More Than Gold which I am very excited about. We will be doing anything from working in homeless shelters to offering prayer at the Olympic events. As we move forward from that, we are really stepping into a time that we will be able to send out mobile teams(YWAM staff that go out from base as a group), doing anything from dramas, to helping out with other ministries already established, to doing construction projects( I know we have already helped out with a lot of church repair). We are committed to doing whatever it takes to bring Christ to the people who need Him and encouraging those who already know Him.
The Isolated aboriginal villages of the north are on my heart a lot, mostly St. Lawrence Island, the way in which YWAM Arctic Mercy got the call to start sending teams up there is something that really continues to keep us passionate. The suicide rate was the highest in North America, the elders of the community were crying out for help, some of them knew that God was the only answer and since that initial cry for help YWAM and other Christian organizations have really been enabled to bring hope to these villages through the incredible love of God. But these seeds need a lot of watering which has had its ups and downs for those who are committed to seeing fruit. The cycle of hurt, depression, shame, guilt, despair, alcohol, anger, worthlessness, abuse, suicide, pride has one answer and that is Jesus Christ so I pray that the Holy spirit which is the presence of God will empower us to love like he does and to the work of Jesus which He started and in which he will finish someday soon.
I come before you as my family and friends and I ask you to pray with me and pray for me as I take this step, my commitment with YWAM is 2 years, I am doing this all as a volunteer and so is everyone within YWAM, which is going to take a lot of trust on my part. Pray for me as I travel because If anything I need my plane to be delayed, because I'm cutting it short with the time between my train arrival and my plane departure with all these new security measures. I am leaving on January 7th and hope to be back for Christmas of 2010. thank you for your prayer support and if you want any info on supporting financially just contact me. Feel free to email me or mail me, ask me questions about how its going. Hopefully next report I can share more about whats going on over in Alaska. God Bless.
Chad Reimer
chad.reimer@gmail.com
http://withegracealone.blogspot.com
1-907- 235- 9339
Chad Reimer c/o YWAM
PO BOX 959
Homer, AK 99603
USA
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