Andrew York

Kingdom Family God

2012-01-10T15:48:00.001-08:00

I'm here in Kansas City. I'm came here to simply "come away" with Jesus, and listen to the beat of His heart, and hope that the rhythm of my own heart would beat in accordance with His. Spending more intentional time setting my mind on the things of the Spirit, letting my soul be deluged with the Word, and fellowshipping with passionate Jesus lovers, it seems that in all the soul searching and year-planning that I'm doing, the prevailing truth is that God is a Father who wants me to understand that I'm adopted into His eternal family. This is where my identity lies. Accepted, loved, desired, and HOME. So simple... but ridiculously deep. A truth so powerful, if but a few souls would apprehend and walk in it, we would see revival in a short amount of time.

I heard an interesting thing that I've heard countless times in my life, but for some reason it hit me like a wrecking ball. It was simply that "God sent Jesus"...then the Spirit emphasized that it was a Father that sent a Son. This was always God's plan for the redemption of the world. To send sons and daughters into the world who would call forth the lost and the wandering orphans to an infinite Father who's arms are open and eager to embrace His children. Nothing's changed, now as a son, I'm called to do the same thing Jesus did.

Sonship is understood in the context of a family. I'm finally "getting it". To bring an Awakening, there has to be children of God who first know that it's all about relationship. Love of a Father to His Children, who become vessels of that very love to every sphere that encompasses the lost and wandering ones. I think this is what revival looks like. Powerful, fiery, Father-love permeating the hearts of a world who have for too long wondered where they fit in.

Performance-based, love-responses obliterated by the simple receiving of God's Father love. Haha!!

There's so much that I want to write, but I promised myself I would keep my blogs to a minimum length this year.

Kansas City has been amazing... please check out www.kcboilerroom.com... this is who we are staying with, and learning from, they have become family.

Love
Andrew

Where the Heart is

2011-11-21T07:22:00.000-08:00

I just returned from a round the world trip where I was privileged to visit the Awaken teams that were sent out in September. I'm in North
Carolina now at A Place for the Heart, and I'm en route to Kona. I'll be updating the blog with more details soon.

It's good to be home.

Beginnings

2011-09-30T12:06:00.000-07:00

The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.” - Leviticus

Beginning again. I would say that I'm one to look forward - to notice a glow on the horizon and wonder what the new day carries. I sit here in my parents home in Colorado, on the verge of a world trip. Doubtless I will encounter many sunsets on different landscapes and become enamored with the God of creation, but it will assuredly lead me to consider the spiritual skylines as well.

I will visit 7 of the 12 teams that were sent out from the Awaken DTS in Kona, Hawaii.

Korea, China, Mongolia, Nepal, Cambodia, Uganda, Amsterdam and potentially other parts of Europe await a wanderer with evidence of a God who's on the move. I will be in each one of these countries over the next 2 months, and I can't wait to see and hear of the Spirit's movements.

Creation is longing for the revealing of the glory of the sons of God. The Planet's cry is starting to be satisfied as many are awakening to the Spirit of God within them, and becoming conduits of the Kingdom of God on Earth.

His mercies are new every morning, regardless of the darkness that seems to be so prevalent. Each day is a new day with potential of the glory of God to gain ground that will not be revoked.

Let Your glory cover the earth, as the water the seas.

Letting God

2011-08-21T15:08:00.000-07:00

The LORD is good, and His steadfast love endures forever.

I'm realizing the goodness of God as I've really trusted Him with everything. A yielded life to the Holy Spirit will result in displays of His power. I long to be a pure and holy vessel, one of which is so surrendered to Him, that the Father could pour His love out, without any human agenda tainting it.

Pure flow. It has so much less to do with what I can do than I had imagined. O, what the LORD can do with a laid-down-lover.

I have seen more of the reality of that in the last week. In the Awaken DTS, we've had 4 speakers cancel. I believe the LORD has been answering prayers and setting us up for encounter. We couldn't find a replacement speaker, and so we cried out to God for His plan. In His absolute faithfulness and longing to reveal Himself to His children, He showed us that it was to be more about the presence than information.

Though there was much spiritual warfare over the week (including sickness, centipede bites, other ailments, disappointments, etc.), we pressed through, and really did begin to see the greater glory the LORD had prepared in advance for us.

I talked on the Presence of God (click to link to podcast), the first day and how that has to be our one pursuit, then we set the students on a pilgrimage of faith on Tuesday, followed by a time of the students preaching on Wednesday, into a 50-hour burn (unbroken prayer, worship, intercession) that lasted until Friday night. Astounding!!

God did it all. He glorified Jesus, and it was really just because we prepared the sacrifices of our hearts and waited on Him!! (Psalm 5:3).

The LORD is good, and His steadfast love endures forever.

Desire

2011-06-27T01:00:00.000-07:00

I will shake all nations, and what is desired by all nations will come, and I will fill this house with glory,’ says the LORD Almighty. - Haggai

How do we deal with sexual temptation, and issues like pornography in our generation?

There’s a certain element of counting the cost to following Jesus. In the same way that you consider what a flame in a forest of trees has the potential of, you carefully weigh out action, assess prospective ramifications. However, I don’t believe that He ever intended us to think long or dwell on how grieved the Father would be if we weren’t able to uphold the righteous standard. In this case, to only think of the consequences is only a small (dare I say “very little”) part of the battle.

A dissertation that addresses what one’s learned in hindsight and vows never to do again is fine, but incomplete if left at that...

I feel the proper motivator is missing from this a teaching like that.

Are we curious about what we can’t do, or what we CAN do through the Holy Spirit’s empowerment?

The more we become enamored with the opinions of God, the less we will succumb to temptations of the enemy.

How do we become enamored with the opinions of God? Relationship! God and others in a beautiful, vulnerable, authentic expression of the church with Christ as the head - living out of the Spirit that flows from the head!

If our goal becomes less about what might happen if we lose sight of His grace for a moment, and more about pursuing the beauty and splendor and fascination of God through relationship with Him and others, we set ourselves up to win!

It’s not that our desires are too strong, but too weak!

If we truly and vulnerably give ourselves to the presence of God (His word and His Spirit), in the context of family, we’ll never lack power, motivation and accountability!

God, increase our desire, and give us revelation that You are truly the ONLY one that can satisfy!

Hope of Glory

2011-06-12T15:56:00.000-07:00

Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD rises upon you... Is. 60:1

I've been thinking of that verse these last few days. We want to see God's glory - at least, most of us do. Sometimes I'm not really sure we know what we're asking for though...

While we are covered by the blood of Christ, and have access to the throne of God and can approach with boldness, I think we tend to think that we can bring our flesh with us. I sometimes forget that my human nature was buried with Him in the tomb and my spirit was raised to life in His resurrection. The interesting thing about the flesh is that it only has the authority that we give back to it. We continue, just like the Israelites coming out of Egypt, to return to a spirit of slavery - not realizing the beauty and freedom we have been rescued into.

I want the glory of God, I want revival, I want more... but do I want the blood without the cross? Am I thinking that revival will happen without repentance? God help us all.

The glory of the LORD is at the gates, and as it draws nearer in greater capacity, it carries with it the most brilliant light we've ever experienced. I'm finding myself uncomfortable in it's radiance. It's exposing the darkest parts of who I am. I'm finding that I have a choice to deny myself, or run to comforts - but the latter won't stand in the light of His face.

We need to be a people who embrace repentance, while keeping at the cornerstone of our minds and hearts that it's His amazing goodness that leads us to repentance, that beckons us to change. Repentance is supernatural in that we leave marked with a greater glory. Repentance is celebrated because it holds before it the promise of pleasures evermore.

Christ embraced the cross because of the joy set before Him - He now stands calling us to do the same, all the while He Himself is within us... the Hope of Glory.

Amsterdam 5/18

2011-05-18T12:54:00.000-07:00

Video Update from Amsterdam

2011-05-03T03:25:00.000-07:00

God is not angry with you...

2011-04-26T00:59:00.000-07:00

In light of wars, rumors of wars, earthquakes, and other natural disasters, I've heard so much about God's judgment. So many influential voices seem to point to a God of wrath, and the idea that things are going to get worse, but to "take heart, because (God) has overcome the world", and we just have to hang on. I feel as though my response to these things should be to beg Jesus to appease the wrath of God for this world... then I realize that He's already done this...

His wrath was satisfied in the cross.

What does that mean for us? ...The PERFECT love of Christ casts out fear...and in a fearful world, what have we been given? The ministry of reconciliation... we carry on what Christ came to do - which was bring Heaven to earth and show the world a Father who loves them - so in turn, their fear can be cast out.

We need revelation of the Love of God. I've recently listened to a teaching that impacted me deeply - the pastor in essence said "If we don't show the world the love of God, then the world will interpret God through earthquakes."

Jesus rebuked a storm... So obviously the wind and waves carried within them a demonic spirit that needed to be cast out. If it was from God, then Jesus rebuked His father..???

We're called to make this world look like that world.

HEAVEN... no tears, no chaos, no sickness, no fear, no competition, a complete unveiling of the God who the Bible says IS LOVE. How much of Heaven do we want to see on earth? It's not time to run to a cave and pack with us as much as we can so we can "stick it out" in the end times - we have a responsibility, let's face the storms head on.

Let faith, hope and love arise, and let's apply the solution which God's equipped us with. I feel that we've lost some courage - thinking that we're not holy enough vessels to be priests and kings. But, we've been made holy, and blameless. We need to dust ourselves off and keep going...Repentance then is not fearful, it's freeing. Repentance means to change the way we think. We need to think rightly of Him and ourselves...repentance further lines us up with the truth - and He is patient in this process of sanctification. Are you aligned with faith, hope and love?

I've had an amazing time with the LORD in a short season of drawing away with Him here in Korea. Much of my time has been given to prayer and process. I'm so blessed... it's ridiculous.

I had the opportunity to share in a church in Korea on Easter. I shared on the Father Heart of God, I've never really done that before, but as the Spirit began to minister to the crowd, I realized how important the message of God's love was here. After I spoke for close to an hour, the pastor asked if I would personally meet each of the small groups, and help "council" them. I felt that all I did in each group, after hearing there problems, was tell them "God is not disappointed with you. He's not angry with you" - It was so refreshing to see that this simple revelation brought smiles to many that day.

God is not angry with you...

I love AWAKENings

2011-02-16T06:08:00.000-08:00

Crazy revelations. Crazy-little time to blog.

Please check out stories and pictures at www.awakennations.com. This will become the primary source of my blogging.

Love love love

Boston

2011-02-03T05:32:00.000-08:00

Crazy day of travel yesterday, including sleeping in airports, and talking with passengers about faith and missions... I love traveling. Being available to whatever God wants to do.

It's 21 degrees in Boston as I sit at the local Starbucks, watching the snow fall. I wonder what the LORD has for this group of 6 believers as we embark on this journey. 2 months to go after the God, and whatever the Holy Spirit has for us.

We're at JHOP (Justice House of Prayer), and we're here for at least the next 3 days. It's COLD, but my heart is warmed by the community I'm with and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. If I don't experience anything but the joy of these 2 things, I am a blessed man.

I'm currently expecting divine appointments, to be a blessing, healings, the works... Father have your way.

Perspective

2011-01-27T10:20:00.000-08:00

I'm in Kona...and in the face of creation and real community, I am amazed. Everywhere I go, and mostly when I go with the pre-requisite of divine expectation, I feel as though there's more and more revelation eager to be released to those who are receptive to it. Daily it's been a journey for me deeper into the heart of God. There's a growing dissatisfaction with the things of this world, and the Spirit realm is becoming subtlety more tangible. Like I said... it's revelation seems eager. Take the world, but give me Jesus!

I just finished reading "Knowledge of the Holy" by A.W. Towzer. RECOMMENDED. Feel that the reoccurring message was simply "God is infinite and boundless in every one of His attributes". His love, His wisdom, His power... He is so far beyond what we could ask or imagine... He is never in contradiction with Himself. He is perfect. The implications of this stretch beyond eternity and leave the wonderer speechless.

Fear, anxiety, comparison are nothing in the light of the Biblical God.

"Could we with ink the ocean fill,

And were the skies of parchment made,

Were every stalk on earth a quill,

And every man a scribe by trade;

To write the love of God above

Would drain the ocean dry;

Nor could the scroll contain the whole,

Though stretched from sky to sky."

Fear, anxiety, comparison are nothing in the light of the Biblical God.

Though the year hold so many uncertainties (this is a year for me of really discovering some vision to run with), I, for this light and momentary affliction, consider forever and remember I'm seated with the Eternal King.

LIFE

2011-01-19T23:49:00.000-08:00

I'm not going to lie, I want to take my laptop and throw it in the ocean when I look at the clock and realize that I spent 3 and a half hours making a header for my blog. MHenyway...LIFE. Oh man... what a beautiful gift, right? Stop and inhale. Exhale. I'm alive. ...and now more than ever. I feel that there's so much on the horizon. Twenty-11's dark still, but the mysteries are starting to glow and be revealed. There are things to look forward to. This journey's only going to get more exciting for us, rather, for everyone. The hour is coming in the church where dark and light will be more and more divided. The light will be brighter and the dark...well, it's going to get ugly. People won't be able to stay stagnant. Get HOT or get cooooooold. This. is. the. greatest. time. to. be. alive.

I'm doing well, feel like my spirit man is thriving. The joys of an eternal King, and fellowship of the brethren! The Holy Spirit is more real than the ground I'm standing on - Jonathan Helser... get this guy's music. He's leading worship here in Kona right now, and the guy is anointed.

I bought my ticket to Boston, and while I feel the LORD is in this trip (awakennations.com) - I can't help but wonder what the heck we're doing. It's an adventure. Boston to L.A. Father, Father, Father... grant us perspective. Before I head into my "calling", I want to know what it's all about. I think everyone should go on a road trip driven by a hunger for the knowledge of God. This trip will change our lives... Feb.1-April...?

Though I've been following Christ for years, I have these moments. Not moments of questioning my faith... but moments where I look around and say to myself "what is this really all about" - I never want to be mandate driven. It's LOVE. God + people... in that order. Oh that I would receive love, and ooze it. God is love. To LIVE is to to step out from under the shadow of indifference and encounter Love, it's warm nature invading your skin - now it's in you. Shine.

Road Trip!

2011-01-12T23:53:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since I've written a blog... partially it's because I've been getting things ready for the Road Trip coming in February... please check out the new blog at

www.awakennations.com

...I will still be updating this, but will primarily be focusing on that blog for the next few months as the AWAKEN crew travels the states!

Remembering Ahead

2010-12-27T14:00:00.001-08:00

Recently, I returned from a 5 country ministry/pastoral trip where I was able to be a part of the kingdom coming. It was amazing, and the best time with the LORD I've ever had.

A couple weeks ago, almost 60 students from all over the world graduated a 6 month school and are being launched all over the planet to bring AWAKENings of their own to communities, families and individuals. The gates of Hell will not prevail.

Steward what you've been given well... for in this is the key to 'more' in the Kingdom. I've found that as I've tried to be faithful with the little, the LORD begins to entrust "the lot". This year for me has been absolutely incredible. Since joining YW*M in 2000, I have pursued the God through the ups and downs, and despite so many times of wondering if what I was doing was really worth it, I now stand at a decade-long span of following Jesus and can say with 100% certainty it was all worth it. Every moment invested.

What does 2011 hold? (see My Schedule for more info) ...Increased encounters with the One I love, for starters...

- JAN. I will spend a month in Kona seeking the LORD for the year, going deeper in the first 2 commandments, and plan the road trip...

- FEB-MAR. Road trip with some of the AWAKEN crew across the states gaining perspective on what the HS is doing in the US.

- APR. LA - meeting up with Fire&Fragrance to hit the streets for a month and understand what the LORD is saying to a new breed of Circuit Riders looks like.

- MAY. Potential trip to Asia

- JUN-SEP. Kona for a Discipleship School

- OCT-NOV. Pastorals and TBD trips abroad

- DEC. Graduation and COLORADO!

I'm expecting God to reveal Himself in crazy ways in the year to come... please join me in this pursuit...

Until the World Wakes...

Andrew

From the Listener

2010-12-22T23:09:00.001-08:00

I'm a deer caught in the headlamp glow of your traffic jam life. And so, murderously i stand innocently all wrapped up into one here in your path, crash. And all i can think of is no, and all you can think of is no. No, i don't want to. No, i don't need this. No, i don't know what to do. It's my last decision and it was so selfish. I wasn't thinking of you. And now i've killed you and you've killed me, and i did it so stupidly, please forgive me. I wanted it so bad crouched in the darkness. I couldn't wait either, staring into your eyes. I wanted what i couldn't have, and that was so heartless. I saw the light and my legs began to rise. Why i waited until you came along? I don't know. As i sit here in a pile of myself thinking about it all. Was it rash, or was this my fate? I'm sure it wasn't yours. I'll take the blame, it was me who came into your path. If it's all the same, i'm really sorry i can understand your families sad. And if you can't accept my apology please don't feel bad about cursing my name. I'm just a deer who got caught. I got scared, and i forgot what it was i was doing, what i was pursuing. It's not the way i usually run my life. What a mistake. The whole time i'm asking: what am i doing? Who is this running my thought process? I wish i would have thought before i did what i did, and for that i'm sorry. I offer you my dearest apologies.

- Listener

Too Much Toast for This Butter

2010-12-02T00:55:00.000-08:00

It's exciting to plan a 5 country trip, but when the rubber hits the road... that's a lot of traveling in just over a month. I'm tired, feeling encouraged, but spent. Depleted. I remember after my last one on one with the student in Thailand my voice literally gave out... how is it that I was/am feeling so wasted?

It's good to be back in my room... The Chamber. Something about being in a small room with your own bed/shower/coffee maker hooked up to a timer that really gets you back to the context that brings proper perspective. It was here in the midst of the chamber's furnace that I began to see that Intimacy with the LORD can't be done with ministry as the goal. The goal has to be God, and Him alone. I feel as though I've been trying to be a reflection rather than be transformed by the light of his face. Instead of realizing that as I absorb Jesus by beholding Him, I will "arise and shine", I've been wondering how I would best express revelation to those I minister to. It hit me like a ton of bricks today that "Intimacy unto fruitfulness" can't be "intimacy for fruitfulness" ...how easily do we start to cultivate a relationship as a means to an end? He IS the end. There's nothing besides God and His glory. To KNOW Him. To know HIM! That is our goal...and what follows that is a world changed, a dream realized, a kingdom established.

I'm in Kona after 5 countries and 6 weeks... and I'm tired, and finding myself at this realization. It's back to the presence. It's once again laying down at the altar. Oh God that I may know you.

Blind

2010-11-15T01:27:00.000-08:00

I remember a time in my life when I said that I would praise the LORD regardless of whether I could see or not. For a few days earlier this year my eyes were infected, and the pain was so bad I was unable to open them. I began to consider life without sight. Anyway...

Thailand. It's the casual friend that I've known for years, but have never really taken the time to go deep with. She's a passing acquaintance, with aspects I love, but we've never talked too much.

I arrived in Bangkok with no one to pick me up at the airport. I have been learning what it means to fully rely on the LORD for my comfort during these last few weeks of traveling. He is my home. He is my peace. He is everything.

I decided to take my contacts out at the airport in Oman, thinking that I would give my eyes rest while I traveled. After carelessly throwing my contacts away, I reached for my glasses, as I pulled them out of the case I noticed the lenses weren't in the frames, and at closer inspection, my frames were busted with the screws broken. "When did this happen??"... all of a sudden I was hit with the reality of not having any other solution at the moment for blindness (-4.5 in both eyes). I prayed. I twittered. I remembered telling the LORD I would praise Him through blindness. And I prayed some more.

2 layovers and 10+ hours later, I was in Bangkok. I was able to spot my bag by holding the busted lens up to my eye briefly to see my surroundings. I grabbed some fresh contacts and was on my way. No one was there to pick me up - which I really was ok with because I could grab some Starbuck's at the airport and relax a bit. I got a taxi and went to a hotel where they give Y-wam a discount. I am a blessed man.

Well, I'm here, and once again I'm only passing through. This time it's to visit the team that's here... they arrived a couple of days ago from Cambodia. We're here, enjoying the malls, the theater (sidenote: never see the move called "Skyline") the ac, the base for a quick rest before heading to a more remote part of Thailand (I'm blanking on the name of the city right now) for a couple weeks of ministry. I am with the team until Thursday when I'll head back to the states for Thanksgiving...

Father have your way with my friend Thailand, let her know the light of your countenance and show her your glory. Let her see.

Circuit Rider pt. 2

2010-11-09T22:10:00.000-08:00

A while back I posted a blog on the circuit riders, (Fiery preachers in the early to mid-1800s that would travel with few possessions, carrying only what could fit in their saddlebags. They traveled through wilderness and villages, they preached every day at any place available - peoples' cabins, courthouses, fields, meeting houses, later even basements and street corners). Now the LORD is raising up a new breed of circuit riders...

Birthed from the burning hearts of the staff from Kona, the circuit riders is a call to this generation to rise up and proclaim the truth and good news of the gospel!

www.thecircuitrider.com

...Release the Circuit Riders.

Coming to Life

2010-11-09T02:49:00.000-08:00

Her dad was Muslim, and her mom was a Christian. She talked about wanting to choose her mother's way. I was genuinely confused about where she stood with the LORD. As soon as she mentioned seeing the spirits of her deceased grandma and aunt recently I began to realize this girl didn't fully understand a relationship with Jesus. We (myself and the Oman team) began to gently pry...

"Do you feel fear when you see them?"

"Yes, I want them to leave me alone"
"We believe Jesus would love to help you"

...we began to explain that those were not really her relatives, but manifestations from the enemy.
More and more began to unfold, and before we knew it, we had helped her resist the enemy, submit to God, and witness her forgive her "unforgivable father and ex-boyfriend". She made a commitment to Jesus, even spent time speaking to Him. There's a pretty intense path ahead of her, but 3 days ago, in Oman, a girl who's name means "life", went from dead on the inside to alive.

This is only the part of the first fruits of a great movement in this nation. Aslan is on the move. Anyone believer who doesn't believe revival is happening, needs only to ask the LORD to reveal it's reality and explore the moves of God around the world. Though it seems subtle, it's a pervasive, growing light on the edge of the horizon. Before long it will be much more acute, people will be faced with either joining darkness or light and it won't be without obstacles.

As dramatic as it might sound, I feel like more and more my attention is drawn to the thought of believers sharpening swords, suiting up, loving family in ways soldiers depicted in movies do right before they leave for battle. I understand the battle is waging, but it feels like there's something bigger, of more epic proportions, with greater stakes getting ready to ensue. Father, Heavenly weapons, armor and love...

I'm off to Thailand on Friday to see the final team before heading to Colorado and Oklahoma. Jesus continue to unite your church.

Wheelchairs, Resorts and Oman

2010-11-04T22:03:00.000-07:00

It's weird to think that next month is Christmas...!?!?!

Anyway... I'm here in Oman. Don't worry if you don't have any idea where that is... I didn't until about a year ago. My friend Kat has dreamt of coming to this place for a while. I'm here visiting the team of 6 with my friend Matt. We arrived to find the team housed at a resort known as the Dolphin Club. Haha... who says outreach has to be hard? I think more teams should have a swimming pool, AC, and tennis courts.

This land is fascinating. The Omani people are genuinely kind (from the few interactions I've had), and the chicken shwarmas are delish.

Coming to this place was an interesting venture. Sometime during Matt's tennis match with Greg Watt in Delhi, he twisted something up in his foot. It didn't really effect him until we were on the plane from Delhi to Dubai. I knew it was hurting him because he kept leaning over and asking for prayer. By the time we arrived in Dubai, it was hurting him so bad that he was limping off the plane. I had heard the DBX airport was nice, and I didn't really have time for this... as soon as he exited the plane, I saw a wheelchair (which upon reviewing my memory, I'm certain was for another passenger), and told him to get in it. ...and we were off.

I couldn't help but feel a little guilty, but at the same time I wasn't going to let Matt suffer. We cruised through the terminal and up elevators, pit-stopped at Starbuck's, and found a pharmacy. Then we did what any good American does when he's found himself in a new place with exciting new food options - we went to McDonald's. It's difficult to deny when you've been in a country without meat.

I'm pretty sure the wheelchair was a miracle in disguise. We were quickly ushered through security on route to Muscat, Oman, and even crane-lifted to the plane, where Matt had to really ham-it-up after all the trouble they had gone through. In Oman, we asked for a wheelchair again (not so much for the pain this time, but because we liked the service) and were again escorted through customs where they barely checked Matt's passport, which we had been concerned about since he had an Israeli stamp in there. Thank you Jesus.

Also, it turns out that I will not be able to go to Azerbaijan, the visa thing kills me sometime. I'm bummed about this, but trust that there's something divine in the works. I'll fly out to Thailand on Thursday of this week...

The following is the video of Matt's first time playing tennis... it's hard to see, but near the end he hits himself in the face with the tennis ball...

The Watts

2010-10-30T23:40:00.000-07:00

Thanks Renata

"Hang on", Greg says as he drives over the concrete slab dividing the traffic from the bus lane. Before we know it we're flying down the open bus lane passing the bumper to bumpers next to us as we begin to approach a stoplight, then the next thing I know is we've somehow turned down the right side of the road into oncoming traffic...the first car that approaches us? The Police. Slowly pulling to the side and nonchalantly passing him we procede on as if it were no big deal. We fly through cars in an intersection and find ourselves at the theater. I was sitting next to Micah, Greg's son, who was virtually expressionless. We made it from The Watt's house to the mall in less than 10 minutes (I'm convinced it would have taken any other person 3x that). I may have missed a couple turns in my re-telling, it was all sort of a blur. Had the movie we saw (Legends of Ga'hoole) been a complete let-down, the night wouldn't have, thanks to the company. Free housing, food, coffee, great conversation... what a blessing, thank you Watt family.

I've never understood the Prosperity Gospel (which doesn't deserve to be called "The Gospel" at all really), outside man's lust for wealth, and a neglect of the full revelation of the cross and it's implications for us.

However, I do believe that there's a longing in the Father to bless His children. To drop tokens of His absolute crazy-love for us in the form of earthen blessings.

Matt Rogers and I are traveling through India, and it's been nothing short of a complete blessing. We're here in Delhi, with a couple amazing brothers and sisters in Christ who have given there lives fully to the service of the LORD. In the couple days we've spent with them, God has poured out rejuvenation and rest for the next leg of our journey (Oman and Azerbaijan). I love to see Christians counteract the poverty mentality that plagues so many of His children. God loves to lavish us with rewards as we give Him our lives.

My life feels like a video game. Going from level to level, it's difficult, and threaded with suspense and excitement, but there's so many "power-ups" along the way, and the cool story-lines after defeating the "boss" makes it all so worth it.

Next? Oman... game on.

An Inevitable Reign

2010-10-26T08:50:00.000-07:00

A darkness hangs over this place like a canopy, yet something bright peeks through the night speaking of a glorious reality on the other side - aching, it seems, to breakthrough. That which is void of light almost seems tired of the battle. It’s not long before shadow’s knees buckle in the weight of an inevitable glory. Broken vessels, yet full of love and desperation for the presence of an eternal King to come is who the Creator chooses to shine through. My enemy is tall and lurking, and in my strength I have nothing to compete with his momentary authority - while in this very realization, I’m drawn to eyes that see the end, I am convinced of His love for me, and I say “You are my only hope” - therein is my keys to victory, it consumes every fiber of my weakness and I become untouchable. My opposer soon becomes nothing more than a fading noise in the background as a pervasive Heaven touches down. My seat is now in heavenly realms - completely triumphant as I wait for my earthen time to draw it’s end, and beside me are the souls of a thousand who once stood captive to the darkness in this temporary world.

2 Cities, 1 Reality

2010-10-25T03:16:00.000-07:00

My time in China was nothing short of amazing. Being able to reconnect with friends, and visit the team was exactly what my soul needed. I also had the opportunity to share in a mini Discipleship School out there for a day on Intimacy, thanks to one of my staff, Erica who let me know 2 days before doing it...

"P.s. we're finishing our lunch right now and overheard them say they don't have a speaker for this Sat. Yea, so you were maybe volunteered. "Intimacy" is the topic, good luck!"

...I didn't think that was too bad, until I found out that it was for 4 hours, thanks Erica. But honestly what a privilege. These few students, who either work full time, or are full time university students meet each Saturday for the entire day to learn more about God. Talk about hunger. I felt that I was the one learning that day.

The China team was doing amazing, great unity, and they were seeing incredible fruit in the short time of being there...

Revival is reality. I've long sensed it in my spirit, but to have seen it with my eyes, I'm all the more convinced.

I'm in Mcleod Ganj, Dharamsala now... and words can't do justice to the love I have for the people of this small mountain village. My love is the tip of the iceburg of God's love for them. I'm seeing workers raised for the harvest that is ready here. This small Ephesus-like town has no idea what's coming. The body of Christ is coming together here, and it's only a matter of time before a mass revival takes place. I want in... I'm honored to have the opportunity to witness a part of it.

While I do see God moving, I see the enemy rearing His ugly head as light does gain headway... many are still so deceived and misled in this place. You don't have to be Mr. Feels-a-lot to pick up on the battle over this place for the lost children. Even now I watch as many foreigners read up on Yoga, and paths to enlightenment, while another old man completely caged by some sort of fierce arthritis creeps around trying to proselytize for some well-known Hindu guru.

There soon will be a place here in the midst of this city that will stand as a lighthouse to the community. Guiding seekers from all over the world to the Way.

Pray for this.

I will be here until Thursday night. HS, have your way.

Blogging in the...not-so-free world?

2010-10-17T20:30:00.000-07:00

Well, I can't actually get on blogger.com from China. So we'll see if the email to blogger works. If you're reading this...it does.

I'm currently processing/writing about/re-living the trip to the N-Ko... and will post some of that stuff soon. Right now, I'll just say that it was an amazing time. Feeling the LORD's heart, and having a call to the nation re-confirmed. Epic.

I arrived in Beijing not almost a week ago now. I was the last from the team to depart... spent my last day in the capitol Google-World-zooming-out in my mind, and asking myself "who am I?", just a very privileged man to spend a good chunk of my life in the nations...completely believing that taking steps with the presence of the HS living inside of me, and the petitions to the Father for His face to turn and shine brightly on His beloved, are actually shifting the unseen realms.

Light is winning. Just as a bulb illuminates in the middle of a dark room, the brightness of His kingdom is dominating the lingering shadows. Gloom is retreating to the corners and disappearing into the cracks. I've seen enough to know that the darkness in the nations I go doesn't stand a chance. Revival truly is a reality. People here are so dissatisfied with what the world's offering, and there's a pervasive hunger arising in nearly everyone I've encountered in my short time. The team I have here has seen many "join the family" - it almost seems to easy...the harvest is ridiculously plentiful. Glory.

I got the opportunity and privilege to speak on Intimacy with the Father for 4 hours the other day with a group of discipleship students here who are hungry enough to spend their entire Saturday learning about the Book and singing songs to Dad. I have a thing or 2 to learn from these diligent, thirsty souls.

I'm here until Thurs.

Lovies...

--
Andrew York
75-5851 Kuakini Hwy. #104
Kailua-Kona, HI 96740

www.ofdustandnations.com

A Calm

2010-09-27T23:03:00.000-07:00

Kona. Seattle. Colorado. Logistics. Weddings. Family... and suddenly a calm before a storm.

There's been a lot to blog about, but not a lot of time. Even now, I tip-toe past the midnight hour and sneak in a few lines...

I have close to a week here in the glorious Rocky Mountains before I embark on my 7 country adventure. There will be much to write about - and I will be diligent to document it as I go. God is on the move, and I'm diving in that current. I'm going to squeeze the life out of these next 2 months and drench the blog with tales of their experiences.

Next week a dream of mine will come true.

Glory.

Refining Fire

2010-09-17T17:01:00.000-07:00

I'm a firm believer that the most honest expressions of the state of the soul will always carry the most impact. Pretension seems to be able to carry a deceitful fruit - but time will show it's integral weekness.

And my honest expression? ...I don't know near as much as I claim to know. I'm learning that all I know is Christ's death, resurrection and life, and that I'm nothing without HIS expressions in my life. My doctrine seems to be in a constant state of flux, and not near the support I thought it was for this spiritual house. The Word of God and His Spirit in me...both pointing me to the brokenness of man, and the supremacy of God. More and more, I'm relinquishing my control (or my illusions of control)...because man makes a terrible god.

Fear of man. It's something I have to die to. I'm through being cool. I say I want the Refiner's fire, but I don't want people to not like me. OH, THIS FLESH! ...I long to strip flesh from spirit and be wholly aware of the new man.

Even the foundations of the country in which I am a citizen of, aren't what I thought they were. "In God We Trust" - I had found a certain pride in the fact this was printed on the currency I carry. Today? ...I want it taken off the dollar bill in my wallet. Our allegiance has to be, with deep conviction, to God himself, not in a government that slaps a catch phrase of a casually-stated, cheapened-slogan on a dollar, and calls the nation a "Christian nation". A bunch of men who originally fled religious persecution, claimed a land in which they would bring their own form of persecution...can we continue to look back and say we used to have a Christian nation? Was it ever a Christian nation?

The glory of God will not be ushered back to humanity through an earthly government. His kingdom is upside down. It will never make sense to a humanitarian society.

I want His consuming fire to burn me alive...until the product is a fully surrendered vessel of the King of Kings.

Remember Reality Video

2010-09-15T01:15:00.000-07:00

A Video I did for Remember Reality...

Freedom from RememberReality.net on Vimeo.

Galatians 5:1. It's true. We're Free.

15 Minutes

2010-09-11T17:23:00.000-07:00

I'm setting a limit for myself. 15 minutes to write this blog.

What do you write about in 15 minutes, nothing pre-meditated, just off the top of my "dome".

...first thing that comes to your mind Andrew: A lion, drinking coffee. ...that's dumb.

Write it about Jesus. I DO love Jesus - but I don't want it to be contrived - although it is easy to talk about Him. (love you Jesus)

Maybe I should write a blog about writing a blog. There's something that the world needs. To go even deeper into the virtual (non) reality, void of sentient contact, and merely stimulate someones brain activity to nothingness...what the heck am I even saying?

Ok for real this time... Finances. Dangit... I don't want to think about those anymore. We've been revisiting our financial need as a school over and over again. It's becoming burdensome. Yet the LORD knows... He knew... right? What's His plan for the close to $50,000 we need by Monday, to send students on outreach to the nations? Maybe a random person reading this blog will email me and say "Hey, I will cover whatever you need". If that's you... I'll be standing by. Jesus. Help.

2 minutes left... I'm listening to Band of Horses. Their new one. I recommend it.

Conclusion?... don't force yourself to write blogs on the weekend if you're lacking inspiration.

The River

2010-09-07T01:07:00.000-07:00

I will run into the river, until risk is fully known

It will carve a canyon in my heart, crushing what's left of my stubborn soul

The current will destroy me, as I hold to hope that it's water will revive

Deeper I will go, until there's no dream in turning back

Baptized in it's depth, to breathe - is to drown

To drown - is to know

...that life is found in dying, the shell of joy is pain

To discover the eternal, to uncover the forever...

I will stay in the river, I will see that it's abundance is my home

This water brings refreshing, and joy unspeakable...

OH! ...how I long for the earth to know it's goodness!

I'm breathing under water...let's all breathe under water...

I will channel it with kindness, be a vessel of it's peace

With grace that I have found, to those who I will meet

For it flows down from my Father, who's extent of the richest love knows no limits

...in the River, I will die. In the River, I will live. In the River, I will stay...

Until it overtakes me...and He's all that remains.

28

2010-09-03T10:08:00.000-07:00

I just discovered that 28 is the second perfect number. The first one being 6 - the third one being 496. (As a perfect number, it is related to the Mersenne Prime 7, since 2²(2³ - 1) = 28). ...so take heart 27 and 28 year olds. I just turned 28, and 28 rules.

Another 28 fact? ...apparently it's a "Stormer number":

Since the greatest prime factor of 28² + 1 = 785 is 157, which is more than 28 twice, 28 is a Størmer number.

...I don't know what that means, but it sounds pretty BA.

One of the most interesting facts about 28 is that 28 days is generally the 'curing time' of concrete - "curing" I'm assuming means to harden... which to me is symbolic in a way. I feel that things in regard to my relationship with the LORD are truly beginning to solidify. Foundational truths in my life becoming sturdy...sturdy enough for a spiritual house to be built on. 28's going to be the best year yet.

...not to get get too heavy into numerology, I'll state finally that in England, a group of young people consider 28 to be a movement, a number you don't look for...it finds you.

I'm glad that at 28, I'm far more interested in spiritual gifts than I am carnal ones. I long to operate in the supernatural giftings from the Father. This year I set my course, I follow the internal Compass towards more friendship with the One who is ageless.

My prayer is that of David's in Psalm 28:

¹ To you I call, O LORD my Rock;

do not turn a deaf ear to me.

For if you remain silent,

I will be like those who have gone down to the pit.

² Hear my cry for mercy

as I call to you for help,

as I lift up my hands

toward your Most Holy Place.

Future Me

2010-08-25T00:03:00.000-07:00

Every now and then I catch a glimpse of me...in the future. It's like I'm able to see what I will be someday when I fully walk in a greater revelation of who I was created to be...

I just got done studying a book on Christian mystics, and it's packed full of stories of those who have gone beyond "business as usual". They encountered God in a ways that if the Joneses heard the stories, most of them wouldn't believe.

Do you ever wonder why we desire the supernatural? Why movies like Harry Potter, the LORD of the Rings, even Twilight have so captivated a generation? I think it's more than the fact that the CGI is getting better...it even goes beyond escapism...it's tapping into a longing for something more - oh, how we were created for more!

A man named Enoch who walked with God, and then "was no more" - no death, just instantly with the Father, others with tangible Angelic company, people transporting in the Spirit, some seeing thousands healed of disease and handicaps...countless other stories of Heaven invading earth. All of it birthed out of intimacy with Christ...I want it.

I believe there's more to the ice-burg of this relationship with God. While I'm finding my heart filled with the knowledge and revelation of Christ, and feeling a peace that could truly be classified as "supernatural"...I still find there's a discontent. There's a holy frustration within. It drives me mad at times. What do you do when you know there's more on the other side, yet it seems so far away? ...press onward, right? Again, my goal? GOD, raw God, as much as I can know Him. But to know Him fully, is to hear Him, is to see Him, is to taste, touch, feel Him. I know those desires for ecstasies, especially for me in the realm of the mystical, came from Somewhere. I want to see Christ's body walk in more authority, I'm fully convinced we're living far below "normal Christianity", the kind where signs and wonders follow the believers.

Healings - because He is the Healer. Visions - because He is the great visionary. The Prophetic - because Jesus IS the spirit of prophecy.

...so I see me, occasionally a future version of me that's more in love with God than I am now, walking in more fullness...and then I realize how ridiculous that is. Because it's not about me, and what I can or can't do...it's about God, and that I have the fullness of His presence now...but how do I realize it? How do I walk in that intimacy today? It's not just some thing that awaits us in the "next life", if we believe that the kingdom of God is at hand. How do I see my future me, today?

God of mercy...You know.

Miracle

2010-08-20T01:29:00.001-07:00

How amazing is the grace of God? I mean seriously... it abounds all the more in the midst of abounding sin? Grace... what a force. The grace of God is the only way I can explain the reason for the state of our school this year.

In less then 2 hours we saw close to $8,000 miraculously pour in through a spirit of generosity among the students and staff. People giving away laptops, selling jewelry, calling friends and family, digging deep in their own pockets... it was a sight to behold.

In the center of it all... the Provider Himself. How is it that all we have to do is behold Him, present our needs to Him, respond in obedience, and continue to behold Him. That's how it went down.

...what was more miraculous than the provided finances? Community. Kingdom-of-God community manifest among us. Generosity unlocking deeper relationship. People from all over the world - giving to each other as any had need. Family with a group of foreigners.

...the greatest miracle of all? God's presence. Christ's love. The Spirit's mercy. His grace - eternally available to broken vessels.

Thank you for your grace LORD - I shutter at the thought of what we'd do without it.

Marriage

2010-08-17T00:16:00.000-07:00

When I was younger, I used to dream of getting to the age of 21, cause then I could finally get married. I also remember being 15 and thinking that I would never get to 16, to be able to drive... then 18 was the new 16, seemed so long before I could finally watch 'R' rated movies, it was then, at 18, that 21 seemed like a million miles away...

...this month I will turn 28, and marriage, for me, seems far away still...If anything I wish the time would slow down a little. However marriage is also not near the priority that it once was.

As I watched my brother say "I do" last Thursday in Evergreen Colorado, the moment right before he officially joined in marriage with the only girl (besides any future daughters) he would ever call his beloved again, I looked to Heaven and tried not to be jealous...and quickly realized, I'm completely satisfied in what I have chosen to be my focus for this time. Christ is enough. How is this that I have found my joy complete in knowing Jesus? It is a precious mystery... one granted by the amazing grace of a loving Saviour.

I'm so happy for my brother and his bride, it was truly a gorgeous ceremony (and my dance moves were just ON that evening).

I think I would like to be married someday, but at this point in time my passion is to explore this newfound excitement I find in the Father's pleasures. The ecstasies of God have intrigued me. His beauty has struck the chords of my curiosity, and I have become obsessed with His presence. Nothing compares. I want to levitate in His presence all night... :)

This week we have Don Gilman speaking on Missions. I walk in such expectancy that I will discover more of God's passion for the nations. In a way, this is what I'm married to... the Father's heart for the nations. Thank you LORD, because with You I have found a peace my soul doesn't understand, but finds everlasting fulfillment in.

Movement

2010-08-10T14:51:00.000-07:00

I've been all over the place lately... Minnesota for the AWAKEN Gathering, now in Colorado for my brother, David's wedding.

I haven't had much time to blog, but will probably blog this coming weekend, and just nail it all in one glorious expression. haha...

Thanks for following,

Andrew

Forerunners

2010-08-04T00:06:00.000-07:00

So much going on... it's almost too much to blog about.

I feel I should at least share a sense of what I feel the LORD doing/saying.

There's an undeniable impression that the LORD is raising up forerunners similar to John the Baptist to usher in the second coming of Christ, part of our job is to recover him and the way he lived (the monastic burning one in the wilderness who impacted thousands). Just as JTB carried a prophetic message in a time of relative peace that carried into a time of turmoil, many will rise up with a radical lifestyles that will help convey where the body should be. INTIMACY unto IMPACT.

War is way too late to find out the spiritual state of our lives. What happens when your faith costs your life?

I've been meditating on Matthew 25, the story of the 10 virgins. The parable of the bridegroom's return, and the 5 virgins who had enough oil in their lamps to find their way to him at the midnight of His return, and the 5 who didn't have enough, and were left behind. I've been challenged on what the oil is, and do I have enough to navigate through the impending darkness? ...I believe the oil is His presence, found in intimacy with Christ. Do we have oil in our lamps? Or do we think we'll have time to get it when He returns?

I want to be lit up... I want to decrease that He would increase.

...the Kingdom of God is at hand.

Holiday at the Sea

2010-07-29T00:34:00.000-07:00

This week we have a man named Aaron Walsh talking to us about the intimacy with God. I'd be lying if I said it wasn't a difficult week in some ways... what do you do when you're confronted with the statement "You don't know God". I know that I know Him, but the reality is He's not the sentimental Jesus I had made him out to be. I love Jesus, but so much of what I loved was the picture painted by years of the institutionalized church telling me who He was. Excuse the tired analogy, but my box has been shattered.

...oh Humbling Revelation, you are a difficult friend to have sometimes.

We were created for pleasure... at what point did we ever think we had to die to desire? Christ talks about His joy being in us, and our joy being COMPLETE. I'm starting to understand the most desirable, pleasurable, truly satisfying thing/person is Jesus Himself. I say this not in simply trying to arouse a vein hope that this would maybe be the case, but with deep conviction that this is the truth.

He is the Author of pleasure.

C.S. Lewis said it best:

"It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased"

He is not a discipline. He is not a religion. He is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control. LOVE and JOY. Perfect love and joy. Holy, set apart love and joy. The full expression of these things.

...Lord, help me settle for nothing less than a holiday at the sea. Increase my desire for pleasure.

Worthy

2010-07-27T01:36:00.000-07:00

I can't take anymore... yet, I can't get enough. That seems to be the story of my life and walk with the LORD lately. Sometimes I think my mind and heart my explode in the light of so much revelation, but just when I'm floored (either literally or figuratively), the imprint left by the reality of God leaves me craving more.

I guess that's what the 24 elders before the throne are going through. Getting crowned with continued knowledge of the Holy One, and finding the only thing they can do is cast that crown before the throne... only to be crowned again... continually repeating this holy progressing cycle.

Today - I was hit once again with the truth that God is serious about His glory. He really is. It's all over Scripture. Contrary to the popular man-centered gospel, the God-centric Gospel stands strong. It's all about Him, it's always been about Him and will always be about Him.

To truly love Him, we have to touch His actual worth. The more we see His worth, the more we move from loving a contrived, sentimental Jesus, to loving a real, supreme Jesus. We need a bigger picture of Him and His glory. Jesus, show me who you are.

OUTREACH VIDEO:

Big Enough and Good Enough

2010-07-23T00:47:00.000-07:00

AWAKEN DTS Outreach Locations:

Azerbaijan

Cambodia/Thailand

China

Haiti

India (2 locations)

Oman

South America (Brazil? Nicaragua?)

...the world has no idea what it's in for.

It's been an amazing week, packed full of revelation, mostly imparted by the Holy Spirit through Matt Rawlins, our speaker for the week. His topic is the Fear of the LORD.

Matt's theology? ...God is Big Enough and Good Enough.

It's been a foundational teaching for me. I approach life and my choices based off of these 2 truths about God. I long to walk out in the proper understanding of Reverence and Intimacy. As I grow in knowledge and heart revelation the nature and then character of God, I long to see the fullness of Him revealed to the nations. The outreaches leave around September 20 - mark it in your calenders, "Global Awakening" (because He's big enough and good enough to bring one).

Gold

2010-07-21T00:30:00.000-07:00

I don't know how to explain it really... why would God choose to send gold dust and heal most of the people who asked for prayer after watching a documentary on the supernatural? ...all I know is, it happened.

"I don't know what to say." seemed to be the only thing I could utter after looking down at Chris, one of my students right after watching 'Finger of God', a documentary about a skeptic-turned-believer in the arena of the supernatural. It was 'Mystery Fun Night' and we were just going to watch a movie as a class, and then announce outreach locations. But there Chris was... covered in gold dust. I'm not talking about just a couple sparkles. I'm talking sprinkled all over his arms and legs - as if someone had spilled it from a container of the stuff. He was in tears and seemed unable to move. Where do you go from there??? ...prayer (thanks to the obedience of Calvin to the Spirit's leading).

What happened next? HEALINGS. People...undeniably healed. One after the other. All the manifestations pointing back to the man Himself - Jesus. What an awesome God we serve.

There's something beautiful about child-like faith. In getting older, I'm becoming more child-like in my thinking. It's not at all what I thought would be happening. So many doctrines and things that I had held dearly seem to just...not matter. It's not necessarily that they don't matter, they just seem so minor compared to the major things of God's impending Kingdom.

The Kingdom of God is at hand... I've always been an inquiring soul - desiring to know the truth, I don't think that will ever change... what has, is the questions.

I don't seek near as much to understand the kingdom of God as much as I seek the LORD in how to bring it to earth. My questions are not to fully understand everything ABOUT God as much as seeking to KNOW God fully. Maybe that sounds strange...and it feels a little strange saying it. I'm not throwing my logic out the window... I just know I could spend the rest of my life striving to understand, and miss out on kingdom-life. After all, if the kingdom of God is truly at hand (Mark 1:15), I have to realize that means it's here...it's now. If I was a duck and had wings to fly, but only talked about my wings, and sought to understand how they make me fly, I would never know the reason I was given my wings.

I want to fly.

...glory?

2010-07-16T00:58:00.001-07:00

I feel like an attempt at a blog, would not do justice to my experiences lately. Nevertheless...

To feel the LORD's heart is something so amazing, it's really beyond words. Yesterday morning, I felt His heart for Nk...

I had fallen asleep on the floor the night before last while waiting on the LORD. As is my custom, I hear the coffee maker start brewing at 4:30am, I wake up and grab a cup... mmm... right back into the presence of God (it's more addictive than the caffeine going into my system).

I wait on the Spirit. Then I move into a time of praying for Nk. It was then that I was hit with a weighty presence of the LORD. Driven to tears, I ask for the kingdom to come on that nation. I felt the LORD saying the reign of darkness is coming to an end there...this dark cloud looming over the country is being driven back by the prayers of the saints. I was undone with God's heart for that place.

6-7 minutes after that, I feel the weight lift, and I compose myself. What was THAT all about!? I don't know... but it was the start of one of the most amazing days I had ever lived. Heard Mike Bickle share the heart of intercession, and the identity we have as houses of prayer for eternity in the School of Revival and Reformation classroom.

...then tonight? ...I can't even begin to think of how to share what happened.

Lou Engle, Melody Green, Loren Cunnigham... the missions and prayer movement are one and the same...and there was a great commissioning tonight - a new grace for intercession and fasting was released. It's preparing the way for the return of our King.

Jesus.

Expectancy

2010-07-14T00:23:00.000-07:00

I often wonder why the LORD doesn't just make it more clear what He's doing, or about to do... I find myself going from moment to moment pondering the move or moves of the Spirit. I guess it's the mystery that keeps it exciting. It's the uncertainty that keep us on our toes. I know there's something big happening and there's an expectancy in me that's immeasurable.

Spiritual expectancy, it seems to be one of the gateways to Godly encounter. Faith - the great prerequisite to heaven-on-earth effectiveness. I'm learning that as we align our hearts and minds with the LORD, it's the prophetic steps of speaking out something that isn't, as though it was, that really ushers in a non-reality into a reality.

Again... I go back to wishing sometimes God would just say "Here's exactly what's happening, and here's why..." - and though he will give certain understanding, and grant insight into the unknown... ultimately "God's ways are higher than our ways, and His thoughts higher than our thoughts"... the finite can comprehend the infinite.

But Christ in us is enough... He never demands of us the answers to all life's questions, he just requires us to be obedient. We don't have to know... we just have to listen. Turn your ear to Heaven - theirs grace, wisdom, adventure, mystery... and with all life's inconsistencies He remains the unshakeable Constant. Jesus... I'm not sure what You're doing, but I trust You.

Philip York, my brother is speaking in my DTS this summer... the LORD is using Him to bring some amazing foundation for Hearing God's Voice. Check out the podcast HERE.

Prayer Beads, Coffee and The Word

2010-07-09T01:33:00.000-07:00

Coffee, Prayer Beads and The Word from Awaken crew on Vimeo.

Circuit Riders

2010-07-08T02:33:00.000-07:00

Circuit Riders: preachers who, "back in the day" would ride on horseback. They were popularly called circuit riders or saddlebag preachers. These frontier clergy were never officially called "circuit riders," but the name was appropriate and it "stuck." Officially they were called "traveling" clergy (a term that is still used in Methodist denominations). They traveled with few possessions, carrying only what could fit in their saddlebags. They traveled through wilderness and villages, they preached every day at any place available (peoples' cabins, courthouses, fields, meeting houses, later even basements and street corners). Unlike clergy in urban areas, Methodist circuit riders were always on the move. Many circuits were so large that it would take 5 to 6 weeks to cover them. The ministerial activity of the circuit riders boosted Methodism into the largest Protestant denomination at the time. In 1784, there were 14,986 members and 83 traveling preachers. By 1839, the denomination had grown to 749,216 members served by 3,557 traveling preachers and 5,856 local preachers.

This early frontier ministry was often lonely and dangerous. Samuel Wakefield wrote a hymn about the perils circuit riders faced. It describes the circuit rider's family anxiously waiting for his return, and the final stanza says:

Yet still they look with glistening eye,

Till lo! a herald hastens neigh;

He comes the tale of woe to tell,

How he, their prop and glory fell;

How died he in a stranger’s room,

How strangers laid him in the tomb,

How spoke he with his latest breath,

And loved and blessed them all in death

- wikipedia

...there's a new breed of circuit riders emerging.

Work

2010-07-07T01:31:00.000-07:00

It was a full day of hard labor. Working the ground...that's right, I was pulling weeds, lifting heavy objects, beautifying the campus in preparation for arrival/revival day here in Kona, Hawaii. Yes sir...grunt work. I love it... I feel like a man. What is it about (most) men that makes them feel "manly" when they do hard labor? I seriously would love if my job for a week was digging holes in the heat of the day...and occasionally punching another man, and letting him punch me back. Ahhh yes... that would be sweet.

I have no profound thoughts today, rather just an accomplished feeling. It's like I was designed to work...when I don't work, I feel there's an important part of me that's neglected. I'm seeing how wicked laziness is... not only does it keep us from getting stuff done, it denies us a vital part of true living...

Physically AND spiritually speaking, going deep, or working hard, does not happen by accident... man up, and get after it.

Anyway...

It's one more day before the students arrive for the July AWAKEN DTS...

...something unprecedented is about to take place.

...brace yourselves...history is going to be made.

Life is Beautiful

2010-07-06T01:52:00.001-07:00

...life is beautiful. Today was no exception. Though full of 'to-do's, it was laced with moments frozen in time, moments unhindered though assaulted at many angles. Wisdom from a close friend, the kind that deeply challenges, but simultaneously inspires. The taste of coffee and the joy of a good book while sitting in cushy leather. The sun slowly setting as it says 'goodnight', it's faithfulness in that moment not taken for granted. Life with family. The warmth of an ever-present God as I head to bed..... I am grateful.

AWAKEN DTS

2010-07-02T02:07:00.000-07:00

(click)

...check it out.

Cockroaches

2010-07-01T02:15:00.000-07:00

I'm sitting here with a bottle of Raid next to my keyboard. There seems to be an influx of Cockroaches infiltrating my place...and there's not room for the both of us. (apparently Cockroaches leave chemical trails in their feces as well as emitting airborne pheromones for swarming and mating. Other cockroaches will follow these trails to discover sources of food and water, and also discover where other cockroaches are hiding. Thus, cockroaches can exhibit emergent behavior, in which group or swarm behavior emerges from a simple set of individual interactions. - Wikipedia)

I heard that if there was a nuclear attack...the only things left living, would be the cockroaches. They do seem to have a way of regenerating quickly. I've tried to kill countless roaches, only to find that I've only momentarily paralyzed them.

Why hasn't there been a super-hero inspired by a cockroach? ...

Christians. Filled with a strength beyond anything mortal. Access to an eternal river of life. Authority over death. Equipped with everything for life and more.

In a way Christians are like cockroaches...the ones that remain. Through life abundant coming down from God - we can withstand the greatest assaults...because the hope of glory abides in us.

2 Cor. 4:8 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed. 10 We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body. 11 For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body. 12 So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you."

p.s. My friend Calvin, aka the Calvinator, aka Calvino, aka Calvoronious - just made an AWAKEN DTS site... www.theawakendts.com

Burning Ones

2010-06-29T02:23:00.000-07:00

Instead of blogging my own thoughts tonight, I've been inspired by my staff's current reflections... here's their links:

http://steadfasthope.blogspot.com/ - Matt Scaparotti

http://trinitylover.blogspot.com/ - Chris Little

http://katherinehobin.blogspot.com/ - Kat Hobin (assistant leader...actually, assistant TO the leader)

...along with these links, I'll also add that I am stirred beyond belief and deeply challenged by Andy Byrd's thoughts on how the personal revival of the heart (the manifest presence of Jesus inside of us, that inward-starting burning of the soul) inevitably leads to the reformation of character, which will then go on to lead both corporate, and finally global revival and reformation... but it all starts with a remnant.

Who will be the burning ones? Oh LORD, light me on fire.

A Screaming God

2010-06-25T01:22:00.001-07:00

Man, what a day... right? ...I don't know about you, but my days are full.

I now have a car - it's a Mazda Protege' - 2000 - great deal - it even has AC. Thank you Jesus.
...however, 3 days ago:

"Why is the back passenger side floor soaked??"
"I don't know, but seriously there's like puddles..." my mom tells me.
"..."

I don't know much about cars, but I know they shouldn't have puddles in the back seat. I decide to text my friend who's a mechanic...

"Hey man, the back passenger side floor is soaked, I was wondering if it might be something to do with the AC...do you know what it might be?"
...response:
"I had the same problem once, it was my dog."
...wow. Thanks for the help.
"Haha...um, yah, I don't think it's that, thanks anyway."

...long story short - I still haven't figured out what it is...let me know if you guys have any thoughts.

I can't complain though, the car got us to Waipio Valley today, where I continually find myself amazed at the Creator's face found in His handiwork. It was pure wonder. The view screamed "I love you". Consider the stars, the mountains, the ocean, puppies (I don't know) - whatever you find beautiful, and consider why it's beautiful...or why you find it beautiful. We were made to appreciate beauty - and beauty is a product of a Being who not only created beauty, but also the emotions we feel when we gaze or experience something "beautiful". He is beauty. So the next time your heart leaps within you, or something takes your breath away because of it's beauty - thank Him, cause, let's face it, it comes from Him...and maybe He's trying to get your attention (not that He couldn't get it if he ultimately wanted to).

My car may not be perfect, but it's a car...and it's just another way of thousands where I find myself the victim of a faithful God's love-pursuit.

Who do you know?

2010-06-23T02:09:00.000-07:00

This day is all I have, and I rest my head on my pillow with deep satisfaction that I spent it with the LORD. Is that not success? Life spent with the 'Life-Giver'? Close to His heart... it's the safest place to be.

My days seem to be met with an onslaught of events - potentially imposing madness, or instituting growth. It's all in the view of the beholder I suppose...I believe it really comes down to a question not of "what do I know?", but rather "who am I looking to?". What, or who, is our reference point throughout the day? In every circumstance, where does my perspective come from? ...if it is myself, I am bound to go insane, simply because no man can look to himself as the end. Anyone trying to find answers in and of himself will be lost in a sea of frustration - for we can only see the natural, and that just doesn't suffice when there's another realm in play.

Each daily task I encounter is an opportunity to practice holiness. So my reference point (or my model for conduct) must be a good one, and ideally a perfect one. That's where Christ comes in. A perfect reference point. Fully capable of equipping us with everything we need for life and holiness. Able to open our natural eyes to the supernatural...

"Oh Father, grant me Your wisdom in everything...and hold my hand."

...a simple prayer for divine discernment and an awareness of His presence. Because at the end of the age, he will ask us who we knew.

p.s.

This evening the LORD spoke precious words over my family (who are here for the week) through a faithful vessel. Thank you Father... have Your way.

Jesus ->

2010-06-17T01:44:00.000-07:00

Oh that my life would be a sign post, pointing to Jesus.

A mark of a great discipler, is one who is always a disciple. Today's leaders seem to have lost the art of following. Jesus was perfect in His role of discipling others, because he was obedient to everything the Father told Him to do.

"...Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

"This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you..."" - Jesus

Obedience = Loving God, and others = Abiding = Full Joy

...

Dove Eyes

2010-06-16T00:03:00.000-07:00

"Manifestations should always point to 'the Man'" - I've caught myself being somewhat fascinated with the tokens of God's love, rather than always fixing my eyes on the One from whom all good gifts come from.

Oh that we would find ourselves so wrapped up in Christ that we could be completely covered in gold and only for a moment recognize the supernatural realm transcending the natural realm before we're launched into more radical response to Heaven's blessing.

"The Holy Spirit doesn't need us to vindicate Him" - Sometimes I naively think that there are formulas to unlock deeper sensations in the Spirit (as if God was one who needed man to solve a riddle or something), when the needed revelation is that those sensations naturally follow a pure and genuine pursuit of the Holy One.

Another day accompanied by deeper understanding that what my soul needs is a holy passion and single goal of knowing and following hard after God.

Diet

2010-06-15T00:12:00.000-07:00

"...man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD."

Staff orientation pretty much every morning this week...good news for guys like me...I'm free in the mornings. Well, as free as a DTS school leader can get.

Anyway, I decided to go to Costco today - to grocery shop - 'cause I'm living off campus - and I like the feeling of having a place that has a fridge - and the thought of having my own groceries in it. However, while I was going through the aisles, I realized 2 things:

1. I don't know how to shop, and... 2. I need more than a microwave and fridge.

My time spent at Costco ended with me purchasing: fruit bars, individual mixed fruit cups, ravioli microwavable meals, Marie Calendar microwavable chicken pot pies and a box of Korean kimchi bowls. Hmmm... so much for healthier eating.

So there it is...the contents of my pantry...

...before I knew it, the end of the day was approaching, and I thought I would check out ministry night. Levi - back from outreach - lead worship with Amy. The night (for me) pretty much played out like this:

- Swaying to the worship, which soon evolved into more of a passionate declaration.

- Then Jake shouting a prayer over me, which stirred my spirit, which lead to me getting further lost in the beauty of it all.

- Then Aaron, Tim and Amy prayed for me - DONE - ...I was sitting on the ground, laughing at myself for thinking it wasn't going to be a night for this, haha.

- Amy gets my attention and asks me "Hey, wanna do something cool?" (if you know Amy, you know that if she says it's fun, it's going to be exactly that), which lead to me seeing my brother "getting rocked" by the Spirit - she tells me to start prophesying over him. It was so loud - I was shouting something over him, I vaguely remember my words, but mostly just remember a near tangible presence.

- Amy starts praying for Daniel (my brother) and I both, and over our family... something crazy is about to happen with the York's.

- ...I somehow find myself sitting on the other side of the room, wondering how I got there exactly. All I know...is Jesus was there. Fire fell tonight. Love is on the move. Craziness.

My diet may consist of too many preservatives and not enough good nutrition, but my spiritual diet is nourishing AND satisfying.

Setting Sail

2010-06-14T01:06:00.001-07:00

It's a quest for fire, a journey towards truth, love and desire. Plunging the depths of my Maker's heart.

The choice is made - and it's my Lord's revival, or I'll die trying. There is no turning back. With the Almighty as our strength and His divine Winds from every corner of the earth in the sails to our ship...the waves, which try and test, will learn to submit and be found only serving the plan. Heaven's Eye ever seeing, loving, refining - sustains us with a strong but gentle gaze. The wild gaze of grace...watching from a distance that says "I trust you", but with hands that are so close they seem to massage the heart to it's every beat.

At sea, you're beleaguered and beset on every side by strife of the elements and tormented by pirates. The great paradox of struggle is that it awakens you to life as it was always meant to be lived. Our spirit was created for adventure - hardships, joy, sorrow, laughter...seasons.

...so with fear and reverence, I'll raise my ragged sails and brave the storms with my sights set always on the deepest intimacy my soul can handle.

Immersed

2010-06-07T22:53:00.001-07:00

What appeared to be a pretty regular morning, ended up being an encounter with God we won't soon forget...

I woke up this morning feeling like the LORD was speaking to me about being completely immersed in His love. ...um, not really sure what that means, but I love the sound of that.

Monday morning worship went by too fast - an hour passed in what felt like 15 minutes. We (the Classic D-school staff) met down in the D-school office where Sean (the D-school director, aka my boss, aka my landlord, aka my good friend) had planned to spend about 45 minutes with us introducing himself and some initiatives for this next quarter. That happened... but then something else happened - I don't know how to explain it... Sean seemed a little lost for words. It was a little out of character for Sean. The look upon his face revealed he was scrambling to explain some sort of revelation that was unfolding in his mind.

"There's potential for something huge here...the sky's the limit...there's something more than just a D-school...are you guys feeling that?!?" ...were just some of Sean's statements.

Inspiration was just one of the components in the air...he shared for an hour and half.

...break...

Dan Baumann (author of "Imprisoned in Iran", and a close friend of the school). You can probably guess where he took us... right to Jesus. Weighty presence of God dropped - I found myself enjoyably out of control. I tried to get to the details of the day, but I couldn't speak. None of us could. We just sat there. No, we just basked. In His presence - it was Jesus...and it was beautiful. An occasional prayer or picture would be uttered - but the silence was golden, not awkward. It's like nothing I'd quite ever experienced before. 15 disciples of Christ, in awe of the 1 God...Immersed in His love.

Encountering and pursuing God is like exploring the depths and width of the ocean...it's dangerous, beautiful, and never fully achieved in a hundred lifetimes.

Tomorrow we leave for Makapala for a staff retreat...I'm ready to dive into all God has.

...

2010-06-03T02:25:00.001-07:00

"Dum spiro spero"

Feasting

2010-06-02T00:23:00.001-07:00

(a picture from my cell phone)

Well. Turns out someone at this place didn't pay the internet bill through this month, leaving me blogging via text message on my cell phone... Today was a good day. We know where we're supposed to be as a staff - at His feet. Gazing into His eyes.

It was a glorious time of calling out for His presence, and I can honestly say we felt it in that office today. What started as a scheduled prayer time, ended up being a time of realizing Jesus was in our midst and he tastes good. Savory, delicious, presence of Christ...oh man...

I'm hungry again.

Life

2010-06-01T00:48:00.000-07:00

So... unfortunately, I left my charger in the DTS Office today... and right now, I have 12 minutes before my battery dies. What do I say in 12 minutes?

It's good to be alive... I was getting hit with the revelation that I have one of the best jobs in the world. Being able to be a part of the nations growing more and more hungry for their Creator. There are somewhere around 12 different nations represented in this Discipleship Training School happening this summer. 12 nations coming who want to know God and make Him known. I can't help but feel like I'm a significant part of history. Not that it's about me... but the fact the Father let's me be a part is pretty humbling, and oh so exciting.

Some of the guys (and girls) that I was able to walk with last year in this process are back this year to help lead the school - it's a tight knit group of like-minded, passionate lovers of Jesus. The potential for what the LORD is going to do through these humble vessels is limitless, it's truly a privilege to walk alongside of them.

What's better than a close community of friends pursuing Jesus? ...for me, it just doesn't get much better than this.

A month of staff training, 3 months of lecture phase with representatives of many nations, 3 months of outreach back into the nations of the world...a lifetime to watch the ripple effects. I am a blessed man.

Remember Reality Video...

2010-05-31T02:23:00.000-07:00

A video that I recorded for Remember Reality (rememberreality.net):

Faith: Looking at Jesus from Awaken crew on Vimeo.

Hebrews 12:2 - what is faith? God is the Author. Maybe it's not about what it is, but rather, how we're putting it into action...

Blogging each day this week - stay tuuuned.

If You're Allergic to Revival, I Suggest You Keep Your Distance...

2010-05-29T01:58:00.000-07:00

I'm back in Kona, and it's good to be home. Revival is in the air here... it seems like just when this place can't get any more "on fire", that's just when it does exactly that. Friends of mine who said they'd never "take the fall" are being slain in the Spirit. Stoic people are manifesting with uncontrollable laughter. I definitely can't claim to understand it...but equally, I can't deny it. Up until this year, I spent 10 years with a skeptic mind - one that would seek to "touch His hands" before I believed.

I am coming undone.

...and I love it. The Spiritual realm has apprehended me. Not merely a fascination with the supernatural, but tangeable encounters with the living God that have left me craving more. Believe me, I am still one with a strong disdain for the phony and fake...I am not a religious nut - I will always seek out what is true and real.

I have many thoughts on this, and will blog more this weekend, but tiredness has me in his choke-hold.

Tonight I'm spending the night in a room where my friend has constant encounters: visitations from angels, dreams of Heaven, moves of the Spirit at 3:33 in the morning...and if they bring me greater revelation of my Jesus, I want it all...

I'll let you know what happens tomorrow.

Ticking

2010-05-25T07:23:00.000-07:00

My time in Haiti this time has been precious. Though most of it has been spent seeking to be an encouragment to those staying long(er) term - meeting with 4 particular individuals 1 on 1, and joining in with the efforts to serve the base - it's been amazing to see the Father's unity moving amongst His body here as everyone contends for revival.

Yet today I'm somewhat frustrated with myself. I hate the internal clock that constantly reminds you that there is only a certain amount of time before you're off to your next destination. Darn that ticking. I'm too aware of the fact that I leave for Kona on Thursday, where I will be able to get back into the comfort of my structured, but not rigid, routine. I try to shake the idea that I "deserve" this. There's just a certain joy I take in knowing there's a Starbuck's only a 3-minute moped ride away, a bowl of Kim-chi noodles in my garage, and my own room to pursue the LORD in whatever way I want (these things I take for granted). Comforts: a blessing when held loosely, and a curse when they become a 'right'.

Another revelation of the enemy's strategy strikes me: if we can be kept living in the past or the future, the present will not be a threat to him. What am I doing with today? For years I seem to have my mind set on the future. I believe we can be so future minded, that we're presently no good, and though we are conscious of the future it rarely takes the shape we previously imagined it would. ...the Bible's words of "no guarantee of tomorrow" surface in my mind. Thoughts of the future are not a bad thing, as long as they never overshadow the 'concerns' of today.

With that said, I'll ask for grace and do my best to destroy every clock I see... and finish the race strong... because today's all I have.

Digging Holes

2010-05-20T19:19:00.000-07:00

Some days God is harder to hear. Though I’ll never forget that His Spirit is always with me, there will be days when I don’t see Him like I do others.

I know there’s revival near in this country, and certain reports give evidence of that – stories of people returning to God, and witnessing worship in the streets are just small examples. But upon returning to Haiti, I have heard that some people have slipped back into the beggar mentality, and there’s a sense of entitlement among some that are looking for someone to give them something.

With this in mind, I approach this trip with a longing to get out in the streets and straight up preach the Gospel like it’s my job (maybe that’s because it is).

…Instead, my last couple of days have consisted of digging a 11 foot deep hole for a future restroom on the Y base, prayer walks and playing with children at a tent villages. I will never see any of these things as a waste of time, but I do have fleeting thoughts of their effectiveness. The LORD is faithful though, and I continue to get proper perspective, I’m seeing that not only does the enemy want to keep us busy doing ‘good’ instead of ‘best’, I think he wants us to think that ‘best’ is only ‘good’.

A revival is more than just the fruit it bears. It starts as a seed. That seed is planted by obedience. 1 Samuel 15:22 talks about how obedience is better than sacrifice. Sometimes the LORD wants us to dig holes.

I’ve also had a heart to encourage the long term workers in this place (the teams I’m visiting are doing well, and coming alive in their giftings – they’re a blessing to this nation already) and the value of that can’t be underestimated. Life consists of seasons… there’s a time for helping orphans, and there’s a time to reap a harvest of souls. I’ll continue to look to my God for His strategy, Jesus sees better than I do.

Returning to Haiti...

2010-05-18T17:48:00.000-07:00

Haiti. I have the privilege of returning to a land that truly captured a part of my heart. Upon arrival, I began to remember this is a land where the LORD is moving, how an epic battle is waging over the hearts and souls of the Haitians...I stand on the fact that the victory is my God's.

Here's why this blog will be short:
Dharamsala: 2pm, we (myself and the team of 9) load a bus to head to the Taj Mahal (this should be a 12 hour endeavor) - it ends up taking us close to 20 hours due to; people throwing up, random food stops, and asking directions to the Taj (the taxi driver even asked me, as he apparently has never been there.)
Taj-Mahal: 11am, we get to the parking, the Taj is a kilometer away...my team runs for the entrance as I stay with the bus. Our flight is at 7pm, and Delhi is sill at least 5 hours away. My team got to see the Taj...but only from a distance as we started our drive to Delhi (it didn't make sense to pay to go in for a few minutes).
Delhi: 5:15pm, we arrive at the airport and head inside (not after I share with the Driver, who's wife died 25 days ago, that there is a Savior who loves him, and desires to be known and to know him. I promised to pray). We get on a plane to Mumbai.
Mumbai: 10pm, Melissa and I have to get a bus to the international airport where we board a plane for Frankfurt, Germany - 6 1/2 hours.
Frankfurt: time unknown...6 hour layover...board plane for LA - 11 hours.
LA - Miami: 4 1/2 hours. Miami - Port-au-Prince: 2 hours.
Port-au-Prince: 8am, get our luggage, minus one of my bags. We wait in PaP until noon, pick up my bag that finally arrives, and take a 3 hour bus ride to St. Marc. Where I currently am typing this blog.

Close to an accumulated 50 hours in a bus and plane... and I'm more than just a little tired. But my Spirit is willing, and I have high hopes to be a part of further reformation coming to this land. God is faithful, and it is my joy to be a part of His movement.

Thanks for your prayers...

It's Night-time, but the Sun's Coming

2010-05-14T21:08:00.000-07:00

2 nights ago, while sleeping on the floor of my hotel room, sometime between 1 and 3 in the morning... I wake up to something touching my forehead - I open my eyes to see Ryan hovering over me, his elbow propping him up on the bed next to me leaning over and scratching my brow with his thumb nail... immediately I jump up and say "Dude, what are you DOING!?" - to which he rolls over and goes back to sleep. It was a restless night after that, I flipped my mat around and kept waking up to keep an eye out. The next morning he says he doesn't remember anything...sure Ryan.

Strange things happen in the night here... 4 years ago when in McLeod Ganj, it was the first night I remember (or that I recall) ever sleepwalking, I found myself in the middle of town in the middle of the night, holding my video camera, surrounded by barking dogs, and wondering how I ended up there...

It's time to do something about these strange night occurences...so 1 night ago we decided to engage our selves in a 24 hour prayer and worship time, starting at 8 pm on Thursday and finishing 8 pm on Friday. I decided I wasn't going to let the night hours get the best of me...so I took the 3-4 shift, (and I like being awake at 3:33 - my friend tells me it's one of God's favorite times :]).

I woke up at 2, and decided to go 2-4, it was an amazing time of encountering God, and having his heart "downloaded" for this place.

Yesterday we saw a Tibetan man choose to "join the family", I could almost hear the angels in Heaven rejoicing.

I sense a tipping point coming... thousands of prayers being prayed to the God of the Bible - it's only a matter of time before we start seeing a significant shift in this place. Revival is on the horizon.

My friends and I here have thought about how the LORD is uniting His body - seems like universally there is a mass unification in the efforts to see every nation and tongue reached with the Gospel. It's a glorious thing.

Today I'll leave for Delhi with the team. Then it's on to Haiti... but God's speaking to me already about my return to the Tibetans and Indians in this place. See you soon Mcleod...

Please keep me in your prayers - balancing an upcoming school while doing pastoral visits is a challenge...but I find grace in His faitfhulness...Here's a song that I find myself constantly singing:

The promise of your coming light
It burs so brightly in my mind
and all creation longs and waits
For the dawning of that day

And he will come riding on the clouds
With Justice in his heart
And a sword upon his side

And all will see the glory of this man
With fire in his eyes
He's jealous for his bride

He's faithful to the end
He's faithful to my heart
He's faithful to the end
He will come and marry me

"Faithful to the End" by Cory Asbury

Wings

2010-05-11T21:55:00.000-07:00

I love Starbuck's, but in all honesty, there's something in me that never wants one to be established in McLeod Ganj. This little "city on a hill" has been a winsome and beautiful place to come and escape the consuming concrete jungle of bigger cities. It's understandable that things change with the times, but I wish time would freeze here. Upon arrival here, we discovered a "Coffee Day" (a corporate coffee-shop chain) right in the middle of town. It felt so out of place... everything was polished and air-conditioned. What will this place look like in 5-10 years? ...

As I consider the changes happening, I can't help but wonder what the Spirit is doing to bring change. I think sometimes as followers of Jesus we think things should look a certain way. M*ssionaries of old seemed to think God was worshipped best if men wore slacks, woman wore hats and music came out of an organ.

I want God's dreams for this place. I imagine a place where the beauty of the Indians, and the mystery of the Tibetans are kept intact, and the fulfillment of their unique identities would be discovered in the Author of these cultures! ...Jesus come.

My friend Raj, that you may have read about the last time I was here, a taxi-driver who was one of the first of his tribe (at least in this area) to discover the grace and mercy of Jesus finished doing his D-school at "Y", and is now at Bible-college. How amazing is that?? I'm hoping to at least talk to him on the phone. Systemtic world changing :).

I have also met with my friend from Kashmir - Shafe', 2 shoe cleaners I know - Ome and Vicky, my friends at the Korean restaurant, and many others... it's so good to continue investing in those friendships. God is on the move!

We moved down to the Snow Lion hotel to be closer to Sam Choi (www.samuelschoi.blogspot.com) and his team - I'm excited to see Heaven come to Earth as we sing praise, pray and bring teaching for the next 3 days at the local church here...

You are beautiful, delicate, elegant, desired
Your eyes meet mine and at once I see you're tired
Hidden in you is destiny, hope, future, dreams
You will learn to let go, as painful as it seems
To let a Greater Hand perfect your wings
Embrace pain with grace as heaven sings
Until you realize what was planned long before
And into light and nations, on new Wind you'll soar

This is India

2010-05-10T23:16:00.000-07:00

After a quick trip to Bombay with a team from Kona, where I had the privilege of seeing a Y-base in Lonovala, India, we boarded a plane for Delhi. I forgot how unpredictable life is in India. Though we had a contact meeting us at the Delhi airport to help us get transport up to Dharamsala, it was harder than we had anticipated finding a vehicle that could accommodate 3 guys and 6 girls and a whole lot of luggage.

Option 1: Wait 2 days for a bus that would leave at 6pm.
Option 2: Fly to Dharamsala, which would be about 5x more than budgeted.
Option 3: Squeeze into a 7 passenger vehicle and stick it out for 12 hours.
Option 4: Pay double the amount of the 7 passenger for a 10 passenger mini-bus.

After a couple hours of brainstorming, we went with option 4 – it was a little more than we wanted to pay, and it’s 12 hours of Indian-traffic to endure, but seemed to be the best solution.

So I thought I had covered all my bases in having accommodation set up for us when we arrived at midnight in McLeod Ganj. I was told we didn’t need to worry, we could just get something up there. I even used our contact phone to call our friend…

“Achala! Yes, so we’re on our way up, is there room to stay at your hotel?”
“No, but I will call Wangdu, and maybe you can stay with him.”
“Great… thanks”

I get a text: “Hello, this is Wangdu”
…oh great, I text back: “Wangdu! Can 3 guys and 6 girls stay at your hotel tonight?”
“Yes, why not?” he replies back…
“You’re my hero Wangdu, we’ll be there around midnight, will someone be there to answer the door?”
…no response. I figure we’re ok.

Turns out to be closer to 15 hours of Indian traffic (including 2 hours where the driver pulls over to take a nap). Our driver is snorting some sort of white powder out of a little pack with a scorpion logo on it. “Uh… that’s just a little unnerving.”

4 a.m. – we arrive at the Green Hotel… everything is locked down.

I tried knocking on the door. Nothing. We decide to unpack and leave the luggage just outside until it opens, when all of a suddent a little Tibetan girl opens the gate to inform me there is no room.

“It’s ok Chookyi (I knew her from the last visit to India), Wangdu said it was ok”
She hurries off…Wangdu appears, looking very tired.

“York. What are you doing here? We have no room, I’m so sorry.”
“But what about the text you sent me??”
“I never text you.”
“Who was I texting!?! Sorry Wangdu….”

…we load up the van and head up the road to a place called Bhagsu… where we spend almost 2 more hours waking up hotel workers until we find one tiny room where we decided to put all the luggage and just head to breakfast and church.

So… it wasn’t easy… but we’re here, with a roof over our heads.

It is good to be here again. I’m reminded that though I’ve been gone for almost 2 years, the LORD hasn’t been. He’s been moving on the hearts of the people. This place even feels different. The darkness here is not what it was…and I feel it’s only getting lighter.

Lots to do in this short week I’m here. The teams are well, and there are revival meetings set for later in the week at the local church… please pray as this will be a significant time for this little city.

Quick Update

2010-05-07T02:51:00.000-07:00

Limited access to internet. Busy schedule of trying to make it to Dharamsala...

Probably won't be able to blog much for the next couple of days. So much for the blog a day initiative!

I will say quickly that I'm safe and sound in Bombay... am at the Y Lanovola base and am enjoying being with the team, and the fellowship of the people here.

We will be heading up to Delhi tomorrow to catch a bus to Dharamsala, really excited about what's in store...

Much love,
Andrew

The Journey

2010-05-04T06:35:00.000-07:00

Last night I embarked on a journey back to India and Haiti. 2 places that have captured my heart. I find myself in an airport lounge in San Francisco with a view of the sun rising (there are certain beauties that most of the sleeping world miss out on at 4:45 a.m.), and thinking of all that is in the mind of God for this trip. I can't help but feel that there is something magnificent about to happen. Oh, that we would all feel that sense of stepping into significance each day!

Knowing that we are all on a Heavenly pilgrimage...able to be participants with God in the midst of the seemingly mundane or the miraculous. Life is a journey, not a destination.

I tried my best yesterday to pack efficiently... I forgot that I had agreed to take a laptop to Haiti... unfortunately that laptop will be traveling to India with me, all the way up to Dharamsala, all the way back down to Bombay (Mumbai) and on to Haiti. I'm happy to do it :) - what I'm maybe not AS happy with, is my decision to not only take a laptop, but to also take a box of books with me...

"Yah, I'm going to India tonight."...I mention to the mail-room lady.

"Excuse me, did I hear you're going to India??" Dawn Gauslin asks
"Yah, tonight"
"Interesting, Mama Dar (Darlene Cunningham's mom) just finished publishing her book, and has been looking for a way to get copies to her friends in Mumbai."
"Well, that's where I'm going."
"Great! Would you mind bringing a box for Mama Dar there?? She would really appreciate that!"
"Oh wow... uh, (Andrew, think, don't just respond, come on buddy...oh no, here it comes) yes...yes, I would love to do that!"
"Awesome, I'll drop off the books this afternoon."

...hey, at least I get a free signed copy of the book...and as inconvenient as it might be, there's a deep satisfaction in helping someone, to carry a burden knowing it's blessing another soul.

People. Isn't that in some ways a lot of the "destination"? Our voyage is never in a vacuum... it's kindness and compassion towards our fellow journeymen. I'm drawn to Mark 12 and the greatest commandment:

"The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'There is no commandment greater than these."

That brings me to my explanation of what I'm doing on this trip... I'm visiting Yw@M teams to bringing encouragement and coordinating ministry while also following up with relationships with the locals in Dharamsala, and Port-au-Prince/St. Marc that the LORD is pursuing, and who knows, maybe find some new "brothers and sisters".

I'm going to be with people. Believers and non-believers. To say "hey, I've found the greatest treasure of all, and there's an abundance of it... let's get some." To be a minister of the Gospel as far as the LORD would allow me to be.

I'm going to love God, and to love people. Pray for me as I do this!

I'll be in India for a couple weeks, and Haiti for one... back to Kona on the 27th!

Much Love,
Andrew

Haiti Video:5:YWAM Tent City

2010-05-02T10:32:00.000-07:00

Haiti Video:4:Carrefour Hillside

2010-05-01T03:47:00.000-07:00

Haiti Video:3:Carrefour Clinic

2010-04-30T11:08:00.000-07:00

Yet...another part of the video.

Challenge

2010-04-30T03:27:00.001-07:00

I have another couple videos to post, I was hoping that they would be uploaded so I could keep it to something of a daily v-log as an alternative to writing until they were all seen. Maybe tomorrow...or maybe when I understand video more...or maybe you'll never see them...(maybe you don't care?? ...I know you care.)

So, I am learning the Korean language. It's been about a 7 year process, mostly joking around with friends I've had here in Kona, my vocabulary consisted mostly of the following:

"Do you want to die?" "Where's the bathroom?" "Enjoy your meal." "Hello." and another form of "Do you want to die?"...these phrases seem to be the ones I most commonly used (what more do you need really?). But with a call to the Korean people (or "Hanguk sadam") I am challenged to get serious with it...I even got Rosetta Stone for Christmas...

I'm challenged in a lot of areas right now actually...stepping up into areas of leadership like I never have before. I think of how I'm something resembling a ball of clay in the Potter's hands... to be pressed on, and stretched is only a natural part of the process if something of beauty is going to be produced... without that we're..."lumpy" and though loved, we're not as effective as we might want.

Does anyone else have a fear of failure? Fear of regret? Mike Bickle (founder of the International House of Prayer) does. He said tonight when he shared with the campus, that he fears regret. That he doesn't want to stand before the Father one day and not hear the "well done"...(but he concluded by saying that he's successful, because he loves the Father, and the Father loves him).

Destiny... is it earned, or allotted? Could it be a bit of both? What if I don't have what it takes?! What if I'm not up for the challenge?...My thoughts today, and of late, have been bombarded with "who am I?" - I mean, really... who am I to lead a school of close to 100 international students back into the nations?!? ...I literally just got the chills. I think it's because in the light of the fear of the LORD, when I approach it with the fear of regret alone, I turn into a wreck, confidence is depleted, and I am a mess.

But even now, my soul connects with a peace as I simply type the question of "who am I?"...and can't help but sense strongly the words "I am with you". And the truth of the matter is...He is here. Standing beside me...His Spirit in me...My God all around me. I'm a mess, but a holy mess, a wretch of a man made righteous. All of a sudden the question becomes...

"whom shall I fear?"

I leave for India and Haiti on Monday...and with His amazing grace for every challenge, I will take steps into my destiny...

사랑,
Andrew

Haiti Video:2:Carrefour Adventure

2010-04-29T00:50:00.000-07:00

In My Head:

mewithoutYou: Oh, Porcupine (click image to play)

Another Part of the Video...

Haiti Video:1:Saint Marc

2010-04-28T01:05:00.000-07:00

A Song Stuck in My Head:

Thrice: In Exile (click image to play)

I am an exile, a sojourner
A citizen of some other place
All I've seen is just a glimmer in a shadowy mirror
But I know, one day well see face to face

I am a nomad, a wanderer
I have nowhere to lay my head down
There's no point in putting roots too deep when I'm moving on
Not settling for this unsettling town

My heart is filled with songs of forever
Of a city that endures when all is made new
I know I don't belong here, I'll never
Call this place my home, I'm just passing through

I am a pilgrim, a voyager
I wont rest until my lips touch the shore
Of the land that I've been longing for as long as I've lived
Where they'll be no pain or tears anymore

Part of a Video I Just finished:

Wolf's Tail: Thoughts on Busyness

2010-04-27T01:05:00.000-07:00

I leave for India in a week, with a trip to Haiti after that...with a DTS to lead to immediately follow... hmmm.

Am I excited? Yes... but the excitement is somewhat curbed with the thought of much work to be done for the upcoming school this summer. I can't help but think I've bitten off more than I can chew by going on pastoral visits, not to mention the video I've been editing. (I hope it doesn't lead to indigestion...I need to chew, but I need to hurry).

I always start the day off with grandiose ideas of accomplishing a lot, but I never remember to leave room for the random, unplanned events that interrupt my schedule...not to mention the fact that living in a community means you have relationships, I have to talk to people...don't I? If not... I'm missing the point...but I seem to always be in danger of people-pleasure giving way to the people-pleaser.

I'm a single man with a million things to do and busy with the demands of the day. Tasks beckon and prod. I find a place to hide for a moment and let my eyelids slide over tired pupils, only to be slapped in the face by Business who says "Get a hold of yourself!"... off to the next need...and I spend my life in a circle, bullied by busyness.

Then I see something... a wolf's tail. Busyness has become my enemy. Wool guises it's fur. ...I thought something was weird about him.

I stop...look up...and there revelation waits...and here's what it says to me:
"Busyness is not the result of living a full life and not having any time. It is life without Heaven's perspective, lacking in divine wisdom. When we neglect the one thing we were meant to do, we find ourselves running and out of breathe, but no closer to the goal we set out to reach."

There is one truth, that though I hold it dear, it slips out of my hands from time to time, and that is that man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him for ever.

Don't just do something...stand there.

Breakdown

2010-04-24T06:32:00.000-07:00

I have a serious love hate relationship with video. It's mostly the editing side of it. I don't think I have the patience. Yet, alas, I finally finished the Haiti video today, it only took me 2 weeks. It wasn't without it's struggles...

Earlier today...
"Alright! ...ok, I'll just go ahead and burn this to a dvd, *click*, yep, that should do it aaaaaand...

[Computer frozen - Restart - Open Editing Program - Message: 'Media Offline',
meaning...the video is gone, all of it, nowhere to be found]

...wait. What? No... no no no...Jesus. No, please. Father, I'll sell all my possessions and give the money to the poor, just please...No, no, no, no, NOOOOOO!"

2 hours pass - "...yep, it's gone."

One final attempt when I get home from the office (yes, I have an office...sort of). And to my amazement, it's there... I don't know why, but I'm so happy I could cry.

Hmmm...he he, yah, about that selling all my things...

In hindsight, I revisit a lesson I learn over and over and over again. I get really desperate when I think I'm lacking something I perceive as valuable. What if I went after the LORD's presence like that? If I abandoned myself to His intimacy like I did that lost video? I want to approach His nearness with desperation...as if I was a man trapped under water, trying to catch a breath. I'm not saying I don't have His Spirit always in and with me - and believe me, there's no striving to experience the love of the Father...I'm just talking about Jacob-like persistence towards the deeper things of God...the ecstasies of His presence.

I burned a couple dvds, went to Safeway for dinner with Baumann, came back and watched "The Hurt Locker"...time to fall into bed as if it were a desert Oasis and I had been in the Sahara without water for 5 days straight.

Blessings to you all...

Beggars

2010-04-23T02:30:00.000-07:00

"Hi, my name's Andrew... I'm a m*ssionary... I travel to the furthest points of the world when I feel my God calling me. I share the message of hope and love from the Gospel. I don't make money, no, in fact I pay the m*ssion that employs me. Where do I live? Hawaii... No, I promise, I'm not part of a cult."

...that's seems to be the essence of what I share with people when they ask what I do.

"I can't afford that, I'm a m*ssionary" - I hear it all the time...it gets a little old.

When I consider the fact that as a m*ssionary, I basically have to ask others for my paycheck to survive, and not only that, I need money to actually DO my job - I often think of the '9-to-5's' out there. I wonder what they think when they hear about my 'support raising'. Trust me... it's not all (root) beer and skittles. As much as I love the life of a nomad (a nomad with purpose), and would never trade the thrill of stepping onto foreign soil and sharing Christ with someone who's never heard His name, I have a hard time not envying my brother. He's going to med-school and seems to have things "together" (what does that even mean?) ...a wife, Mini-Cooper, 10-year plan and couple of dogs thrown in...I have a feeling the grass isn't as green as I'm imagining.

What's really difficult is the balance (if there is a balance) between trying to pitch someone a vision, and just simply trusting God. I've never liked being a salesman, but I guess that's what a m*ssionary who's trying to make ends meet has to be sometimes...we need money too.

2 Tim. 2 talks about a "hard working farmer getting the first share of the crops" - a farmer is desperate for things out of his control like the elements (water, sun, the right weather, etc.), if it doesn't rain, someone's not getting their crops - so he's looking to the sky, praying for God to provide...but he's not just sitting on his couch, eating hot-pockets (made from last year's harvest) hoping God will also go ahead and just pull the weeds in the North 40 acres. It's the beautiful struggle of plowing and tilling and preparing the ground (maybe until your hands are bleeding), all the while pleeding with a Maker for rain clouds and hoping the foxes stay out of the vineyard. It may not rain...but at least the field's ready....[I believe this principle applies to finances, but is also universally applicable to breakthrough in any area of your life.]

A hard working farmer. Living somewhere in the tension of trusting-desperation and elbow-grease. That's what I want to be.

(...doing the possible, expecting Him to do the impossible.)

I've also heard you can't out-give God...maybe if you don't have enough, you need to give some more away. (Oh Kingdom of God...why are you so upside down?)

Besides, isn't everything we own God's? If everything's given and taken by the hand of the LORD, then it's all grace anyway...and we're all beggars after all.

Goodnight world...

Oh, anyone want to support a m*ssionary?
...anyone need support??

Home on the Range

2010-04-21T22:13:00.000-07:00

I heard about this lady the other day that started a blog called The Pioneer Woman some time ago, and now she has hundreds of thousands of "followers" who read about random events that take place in the life of a rancher's wife. The blog world is a strange land, where inhabitants are quick to get honest and open with the world, but seldom have any idea who their audience is.

...I'm not sure if I like it here...

I'm also not sure if I can imagine a weirder way to start the day than having an international author and speaker wake you up at 5 in the morning, to the tune of "Home on the Range"...yet, that was my reality EARLY yesterday.

(as you read the following lines do so with a low, monotone voice and go about 3x slower than you normally would)

"Home, home on the range...where the deer and the antelope graze...where seldom is heard a discouraging word...and the skies are not cloudy all day"

...now repeat 7 times to get the full effect.

Even the most deranged clown would wait until after 5:30 a.m. ...so I knew it wasn't a joke. It was a moment where I wasn't sure if crying or laughing would have conveyed my emotions best. It wouldn't have been so bad, but the door to the garage which leads into my little bedroom, or "Ohana" the Murphy's call it, was open. I could hear every note. Well...if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. Maybe I should have...instead, I just rolled over and prayed. Prayed that I would be transported in the Spirit (it's going to work one of these times) to somewhere I could continue my dreaming.

Not a lot of people can say Dan Baumann has slept in their garage, let alone be serenaded by him at 5 in the morning (I mostly blame the gas fumes he inhaled all night from the lawnmower). If he wasn't such a good friend, hadn't bought me lunch and dinner this week, and wasn't imprisoned in Iran... we'd have a problem.

But he is, he did and he was, so we're cool...I miss you already Dan, the garage is a lonely place without you now.

On a more serious note...
I've given little thought to where I stand with the Spiritual vs. Physical Israel deal...I watched a documentary that got my wheels spinning - check out: http://www.withgodonourside.com/
(made by YWAMers from Colorado Springs, Colorado)

Of Dust and Nations

2010-04-21T00:54:00.000-07:00

So... I've lately I've been challenged to blog more. I don't know what to necessarily blog about, but I did find it helpful in processing my time in Haiti (read those posts, they've got interesting thoughts on faith and the movement of the Spirit of God in Haiti).

Here goes a commitment to digitally record my thoughts... it may be long, and it may be short, but Monday through Friday, as long as I have internet connection... I'll blog.

I foresee: the good, the bad, the boring...one-liners I've found impacting, lyrics that provoke thought, ramblings of the way I see the world and stories of my God moving (and how I get to be a part).

Of dust and nations... I ripped it off from a Thrice song. As a missionary, I see it as the perfect summation of what my experience has been and will be. From dust I come and dust I'll return, but I'll be dust in the nations as long as I'm filled with the Holy Spirit's breath.

Keep bloggin' in the free world,
Andrew

Fall Down

2010-04-08T14:25:00.000-07:00

Hunger, especially when it’s for change, is a powerful dictator. It can lead you to do desperate things. I'm learning to be led by the right kind of hunger.

Good is the enemy of great – and I don’t want to fall into good’s trap. I never want to lose the perspective that we were meant for more. I am hungry for change.

Obama’s slogan was “Change”. I think there were people who only had eyes to see a campaign catch phrase, and it motivated them. Many didn’t even realize the implications, but something in us wanted it bad enough they were willing to take a chance.

Easter. I consider my Savior’s death and resurrection.

John 12:23-25;
Jesus replied, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat FALLS TO THE GROUND and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.

Death, unto life.

There are things within me that must die. Deep things in me that start to scream “murder” if I press on them. Fear of failure. Lusts of fame. Independence. Worldly comfort and security. Laziness. It is not enough to wish for change, to hunger after change brings no solution. Even prayer for change while being unwilling to first investigate my own heart is futile.

The Psalmist in Psalm 139, spends the first 18 verses reflecting on how God knew every detail of who he was…even before he was born. He dwells on his Creator's personal relationship with him and considers how he is completely known, before asking God to “slay the wicked”, to in essence, bring a change to his circumstances…and even concludes by saying :

“Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.”

Saul. He was a man who killed those who were part of “the way”. It says that a light from heaven flashed around him and he “FELL TO THE GROUND”… for 3 days he was blind (I can only imagine this was a time of crucification of his former self). 3 days before he came to life as Paul. Saul died, and Paul brought forth fruit. Religion, pride, self-righteousness… killed to bring forth change. Everything of the old self had to die.

To die is one thing. But it wasn’t the death of Christ we celebrate…

…it’s His resurrection. It’s His abundant life that now lives within us.

We constantly try to die without allowing new life to bloom. We may know what we need to change. Identifying the problem and trying to defeat it will frustrate even the strongest of wills.

Resurrection power doesn’t force itself. We must welcome it…and when we do, we will find the grace to grow.

Consider the things that need to die in your own life…apathy, competition, comfort, reliance on routine. As you crucify those things, as you bury them in the ground, realize the Holy Spirit’s the water you need to grow…to change.

To see something we’ve never seen before, requires us to do something we’ve never done before…

Before we change the world…we have to change ourselves.

day12:Healing

2010-03-16T19:19:00.000-07:00

Healing is a matter of time, but it is sometimes also a matter of opportunity.

Regardless of where you stand on whether the earthquake was God's hand, or His protection lifted, or perhaps another standpoint... it goes without saying that something significant is taking place in Haiti right now. There is healing happening. Spiritually and physically, Heaven is touching earth in this nation.

The healing goes beyond Haiti.

It's healing the church. In the wake of the devastation, the bride is responding...soldiers of truth are moved to action...intercessors are rising up. The hands and feet of Christ are functioning, and it's teaching us how to be truly human.

I wish I had more time to blog my thoughts on persecution and hardships and the nature of the kingdom in the midst of it...but it's like I confessed before, I'm overwhelmed, but I'm increasingly joyful at the realization of the crazy love our Father has for His Haitian children.

The following video is from rememberreality.blogspot.com, it's a video of the girl that was healed. I pray God's inspiration over you as you watch it...

...I'm in the DR now...getting ready to go to LA for a couple weeks. I'll keep you posted. Haiti is far from a closed chapter in my mind.

day11:Overwhelmed

2010-03-11T20:53:00.000-08:00

"The government has not made decisions or has made confusing ones. It has, for instance, refused to allow undamaged or lightly damaged schools to reopen with a full curriculum until all schools can reopen — letting children languish. Mr. Préval (Haiti's president) was visible at the White House on Wednesday, but in Haiti the question “Where is Préval?” draws a shake of the head."

- The New York Times

First of all... I have to clarify, yesterday's blog was a true story. There was a Haitian girl, 10 years old, who couldn't walk for 7 weeks, and was told by doctors that she never would again. In my eyes she was an angel...and after we prayed for her, she took her first steps since the accident that left her crippled.

The LORD is moving, yet I am overwhelmed. I see glimmers of hope, but I am undone in the face of need.

I am trying to conjure up something to say, but words escape me. All I know is that Haiti is broken.

There is no leader. There is not enough outlets for food distribution. Too many are looking to foreign aid as their savior. It's depravity overwhelms me.

Today we went to 4 different locations in search of locations missionaries from YWAM and beyond can connect to help transform this nation. Each place I went, I was blessed by the people's surprisingly optimistic outlooks (these were God-fearing people)...yet each place I found a deeper need. I became disgusted with my video-camera, I may as well have been carrying 20 tents and 20 bags of rice and beans.

"You want a Coke?" my friend Justin asked...
"Dude. Yes." ...a Coke would be a good escape.
...but something tells me not to abandon my thoughts. There's deep lessons to be learned through this struggle.

My friends and I continue to wrestle the oncoming thoughts of problems without solutions. This leads me to the only answer. Jesus. Though it may even seem simplistic and cliche'd - this is a reality. Here's my thought process, if you care to indulge:

Haiti is a broken nation. Without government leaders, without homes, without food, without jobs. Tent cities (the short term solution for housing, everyone's doing it) will not last. The rainy season is coming, this means the spread of disease is likely, and the makeshift huts will be ruined. There's a serious 'beggar-mentality' that is an epidemic here, far too many are expecting a handout. To break this mentality, there needs to be various levels of education (they're really very gifted people with huge limitless potential), happening on a broad scale, which will eventually boost the economy and get the nation on it's feet again (I speak as a layman, with little economic understanding).

...but right now, they are starving, and the rainy season is around the corner. They need the UN to continue with aid, HOWEVER, more than ever, the body of Christ hold the keys to restoration! Lasting hope is found in a Higher Power...There is nowhere to look but up, to walk in humility, one that recieves (not demands) aid, and cries out to the Father in desperation - and herein lies supernatural provision, comfort, mercy and strength.

(The following verse is not meant for Haiti alone... all of us need revelation of the power of turning ourselves to God in humility)

2 Chronicles 7:14, 15;

"...if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land. Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayers offered in this place."

We ended the day praying for more people in front of the palace, and witnessing worship in the streets.

I am overwhelmed... but I am hopeful because I see Father's fingerprints all over this. He is not surprised... this is big-picture healing in action. He is madly in love with this nation. There is shaking going on, it's not easy, but it seems almost like a pre-requisite for transformation (Acts 4:31).

day10:Heaven Released

2010-03-10T20:15:00.000-08:00

Today an angel appeared to us in the form of a little girl. Her feeble legs, not moving...her feet kept still for 7 weeks... 7 weeks. Doctors, unaware of a Heavenly being in their midst. Their eyes not knowing...unable to see past her disguise. Lips that could only utter "impossible"... I wonder...what is heaven like in an earthen vessel? I consider...that maybe she wonders about us. "Where is faith?" she must imagine. "What is this authority laid dormant?" she may question.

I want to see from her eyes.

For a moment I catch a glimpse of a timeless being in a world of time. And I realize I am not asking for something that isn't there...I'm pushing back the darkness to reveal light. My belief is tested, my Spirit is engaged, my religion is shattered. Voices lifted, corporate cries to the One from whom the clearest of all perspectives comes. An angel, a Haitian girl of no more than 12 years, a creation of the Father, released to run. To fly. We were not creating...

...we were simply setting free.

...Oh God of freedom...

Set us free.

day9:Revival

2010-03-09T16:30:00.000-08:00

Well... technically it's more night8, and not day9, but this night hasn't escaped my mind today.

I had just returned from a long day of prayer with my mom and friends from the Kona team. I was pretty tired and decided to take a power-nap. And of course, as I lay down...

♫ "We are the world
We are the children
We are the ones who make a brighter day
So let's start giving..." ♪

...coming from the tent next to mine. Normally, I wouldn't mind too much. But he played it over, and over, and over... I finally left the tent after the 5th time of hearing ♫ "There are people dying, and it's time to lend a hand to life...". Community living... you've gotta love it.

I wandered to the kitchen. I found out there was a team heading to the clinic across from the palace. I was tired, but 'carpe diem', right? ...I jumped in the truck and headed into town with them.

There's a police station that was partially destroyed by the quake. They decided to turn it into a clinic/food distribution center for the time being. At night they put on concerts for the children. A guy named Peterson, who's a Haitian man starting YWAM Port-Au-Prince, lead a few songs for the children, and gave a devo.

"Hey man, could you run out and film something for me, I'm not allowed to leave." ...a voice from behind me calls.

A guy named Caleb with a group from states (who was helping with the clinic, and unable to leave) lead me over to the entrance and pointed towards the palace, and asks me to use his mini recorder to film the action. What I saw looked like something straight out of a revival book I had read. People were marching through the streets. A truck fitted with a speaker system slowly drove with the masses. It was blaring Haitian music.

...These people were lifting their hands worshiping God! There had to be 300 people! I was swallowed by the massive throng as I tried to document what was around me. They marched around the palace, and then on down a side street before I paused and watched them carry on.

Each day I'm more and more convinced of Heaven visiting this place. More evidence daily of a God who is faithfully visiting a now broken people.

day9, I was able to walk about the streets near the orphanage and again, met with these beautiful people. It seems Jesus is a popular topic around here. My new friend Shane and I had an interesting time with a group that couldn't decide what they thought about Shane's 'Jesus' tattoos, haha... Come Jesus, show them how good you are.

day8:Prayer

2010-03-08T16:24:00.000-08:00

"Poverty-stricken as the Church is today in many things, she is most stricken here, in the place of prayer...Failing here, we fail everywhere."

- Leonard Ravenhill

Of all the "good-ideas" in the world, how many of them are birthed in the secret place of prayer? Even response to tragedy, though fueled by good intentions, can sacrifice Great at the altar of good if not continually bathed in intercession with Heaven. Even when I'm doing things birthed out of prayer - am I still praying my way through it!? ...I am speaking to myself.

Busy-ness is what you're left with when the Spirit stops leading.

We woke up early... another somewhat sleepless night. On certain days I feel the Spirit nudge me in the morning, and say "you need nourishment today". Oh man, I have to get in the Word this morning...there's something different in the air today. The pastor of the church, on who's roof we were camped, asked us to go to the service today from 7:30-12. In all honesty, we wanted to bless him by attending, but as much as we would love to sit through a 5 our service in Creole on Justin and Jennifer's last day in Haiti, we weren't about to do that.

Thank goodness we have Sean. Sean's the type of guy who could talk you into jumping into the ocean with a kayak full of camping supplies at midnight and paddling to an unoccupied boat dock 200 yards from shore, then at sunrise, upon seeing a whale half a mile out, convincing you to chase it til you're literally within feet of it (true story). He talked them into releasing us to set up a clinic not far down the road. Some of us would do that, some of us were going with Matt...

Matt had met a Haitian who came from a very poor district in Carrefour the previous day. Matt journeyed with him over to where the community was. Matt said it was the worst devastation he'd seen yet...

...apparently they needed 600 tarps to create make-shift housing for the people to have something over their heads. That was our goal... 600 tarps! Or at least...1 of them! ...where do you find tarps in Haiti? The pastors said they weren't sure, no one seemed to know really.

We called Matt's friend in the morning. He was in church. He said he would be there in 15 minutes to take us out to scout out the land. We went to the road where he said he would pick us up.

It wouldn't be Haiti without Waiting........this guy's not going to show up.

Sean, Matt, Scott, my mom and I stood on the street. Naturally, we started drawing not a little attention. "Father, what would you have of us?" ...We started having conversations...a Haitian man who looked a little tipsy and had one of his eyes completely glazed over and didn't seem to see out of it, approached me...

"Hey man, I love you!" he said as he went in for a hug...
"Um...oh, yes, ok!..." ...he proceeded to hug me again with his head on the other side, slightly drooling on my neck...

"Yah, [some words in Creole], you are a great man!"

...honestly, motivated only by the Father's heart for this man (I know because I am not capable of loving him at this point), I looked him in the eyes and said,

"Can I pray for you"

...a blank stare...

A man came over who spoke English and began to translate, the man with the eye, looked back at me and raised his hands to heaven, and then put his forehead to mine... "Yes, pray!"

I simply touched his face and began to declare healing over his eye, and the Father's compassion to overwhelm him...as I prayed he calmed down, my mom and I continued to pray the kingdom of God on his body. I finished, and looked at him.

...a blank stare...

...but his eye was visibly less clouded! I asked how he felt, the translator did his work, the man looked at me and said something... the translator said "He said he can see better, and that he felt something all over his arms." ...wow! Praise God!

Before we knew it, people were coming left and right asking for prayer. A small congregation had gathered and were witnessing it all. I looked over and Sean, Matt and Scott were all praying for people while my mom and I continued. A woman with a stomach problem, a man came and asked to be saved, another wanted to rededicate his life to Christ. We prayed for them. They prayed for themselves. God heard it all.

We had a good idea, but the LORD had another... we made ourselves available, and God saw it fit to use us.

Time to get back - we grabbed the doctors - we swung by the palace - we were cussed out by a frustrated Haitian (understandably, if it was a month after the earthquake and you didn't see much relief, you might be doing the same) - we went to the airport - I got dropped off at the orphanage (yes! my tent spot was still there) - I said hello to my Brazilian friends - I went to bed.

Thank you, my Father, for you hear and answer our prayers.

day7:Carrefour

2010-03-07T14:25:00.000-08:00

Wanted to show you a real quick video I put up a couple days ago...just a taste of what I've been getting...

Quick Video from 2 Days Ago... from Andrew York.

Carrefour (pronounced: [kafu]) is a largely residential and very poor commune in the Port-au-Prince metropolitan area. The district has an estimated population of 408,000 as of 2003. It is mostly a bedroom community for those who work in central Port-au-Prince. The neighborhood is very poor and ill-serviced, however, as of recently, small-scale construction has gone on in the area along with street renovations. On 12 January 2010, a magnitude 7.0 earthquake that hit Haiti caused heavy damage to residential buildings in Carrefour, with 40 to 50 per cent of buildings destroyed in the town’s worst-affected areas.

- wikipedia

New Missionary-Essential? ...Starbuck's VIA. That, and a power bar is my meal of choice over here. (I might be losing weight more than I wanted, but I haven't been sick yet).

It's almost 9 am, I should probably get going... I was supposed to be meeting Matt at the Catholic church now in Carrefour (about 40 minutes from the orphanage). Sean, Matt, my mom, Connie, Justin, Scott and the doctors (the team I originally came with from Kona) left to come to P-a-Prince last night to stay at a church where a team from YWAM Mexico was also staying. They would be running clinics the next 2 days. It would be good to connect with the team again...

Josh, an American who works here at the orphanage and I loaded up the truck and headed for Carrefour where we would try to find St. Charles church to meet up with the team.

What should have been a 40 minute drive ended up being an hour and a half endeavor. We found it only after stopping at Texaco (helpful tip when traveling in Haiti: not a lot of people speak English, but there's a good chance someone at the gas station might), where a Haitian gave up trying to explain how to get there, and offered to ride with us to the church. Since we were in a 2 seater truck, and I wasn't driving, I got to ride in the flat bed...

Driving through the city gave me the opportunity to witness the devastation for myself. I felt like everything moved in slow motion. I would make eye-contact with a person shoveling on the side of the road, they would stop shoveling for a moment and look up at me, it felt like an eternity.

...at certain places...at certain instances...time here stands still...

I noticed buildings, virtually untouched by the earthquake, standing right next to structures completely destroyed. It really comes down to the integrity of the construction, and the foundation it was built upon. I felt the Holy Spirit reminding me of Christ's spiritual analogy, in the midst of my observations. Sand vs. Rock, right? Oh, how they need the Rock now.

...after sitting around in front of the church, I'm greeted by the team, minus a couple. They take me back to the church they were staying. On the roof of the church, I'm greeted with emergency meals, tarps, tents, concrete... an overall lovely environment. "Where are Sean and the Doctors?" The people were lined up outside ready for conselations (it seems you can't even whisper you have medical supplies or food without having a crowd of 50+ in a matter of minutes).

"I'm not sure, but we need to go help with food distribution at a nearby church." - I'm told.

(I'm available, I'm available... I'm tired... wait... I'm available...)

Justin, Scott, Matt, the team from Mexico and I show up at a small church that occupied maybe 50 people, but was currently filled with close to 70 lining the pews. Apparently they were going to have a devotional before handing out food. 5 minutes after we had sat down, the place was roaring with people singing and dancing. Very Pentecostal-like. These people either really love Jesus, or they're really excited about the food... I'm assuming it was a little of both.

My personal bubble was being invaded.

I filmed a little and made it out. We decided to go check on the clinic. We ran into Sean on the road back...He had been out trying to find a pharmacy to get supplies...

Sean and the "Manifestation"

"Oh, you wouldn't believe it, the doctors and I ran into a manifestation."

"A what?"

"It means riot. They were rioting because the street workers haven't been paid yet, so they take the trash and garbage, put it back in the middle of the road and light it on fire. So we sat there for about an hour since the road was closed..." ...then typical Sean:

"...so I said 'let's just walk over it, there's got to be a way through it'. So as we made our way through people started to notice us and yell "Blanc! Hey Blanc! (meaning 'Hey Whites'). So I said 'Oh shoot that's not good'."

"What did you do?"

"Well, our translator, Junior, was freaking out, it was not a good scene... so we veered off down a side street and told the guys 'Don't show fear, just smile and shake their hands...', and about 20 seconds of quickly walking away we found ourselves in the middle of a church service in the middle of the road! There were people worshiping and singing in the middle of the road! So I figured this was a good place to stay for a while!"

Finally, at our home location, the clinic was able to start, and hundreds were ministered to. People prayed for. Haitians we were able to get admitted in nearby hospitals (this is no easy thing). Meanwhile at the other church where the worship service was happening, the Gospel was shared, and food was distributed.

We finished the day sharing stories, and thanking God that we ALL servived 'manifestations' over hot emergency meals and Mexican tang. It was a good day.

day6:God's Favor

2010-03-05T19:23:00.000-08:00

I spent the day importing a lot of video and doing some needed communication back to the base in Kona and elsewhere... but there was a verse I was reminded of, one that I heard yesterday... what I believe to be a scripture for Haiti...

Isaiah 60

Oh...and in case you were wondering where I'm living, I decided to attach a little picture from the orphanage. :)

day5:Light Up Ahead

2010-03-05T12:40:00.000-08:00

"This land was dedicated to Satan for a contract lasting 200 years in the 1700's, it was sealed with the sacrifice of a pig in the jungle. After the 200 years, the president decided to re-dedicate it to Satan in the Government Palace...this time with the sacrifice of a human child. A group of God-fearing men went to where the first contract had taken place in the jungle and repented. A giant tree fell. Not long after...the earthquake happened...and the place where the second contract was made, the Palace...was destroyed."

- Ricardo...a friend I just met here from Brazil

6:04 am. I'm standing at the gate of the base in St. Marc with my backpack, tent, camera... half asleep, thanks to the roosters who seem to crow every 30 minutes throughout the night, just to remind you that the sun IS coming. Kristian told me to be here. Where is he? ...people start trickling in for breakfast at 6:30. 6:45 now, guess I'll get some breakfast. As I sit down for my porridge, I see my driver heading to the bus, so I dump the porridge and jump in the bus....where I sit until 7:10. Oh Haiti.

On the drive over to the city of Caries, to the "Ocean View Resort" (I can explain), a kid named Caleb, who was probably 12, jumps in the seat in front of me, and turned facing me he starts interrogating me (and I'm not particularly in the mood):

"Where are you from?"

"Kona."

"Where are you going?"

"Port-au-Prince."

"Is that your camera?"

"Uh...yes."

"I've been through a lot of natural disasters."

"That's crazy."

"Yah, and I knew it was an earthquake when as soon as it started happening, my family thought it was a big truck driving by."

"Wow, so you were here when it happened?"

"Yah, I live here."

He went on to share how a 2 hour drive from the place where the quake did most of the damage, they could feel everything shaking for a while, glass breaking, sand piles being thrown around... if that's how St. Marc was, how was P.a.P.?

I thought I was going straight to P.a.P... but I wasn't. They dropped me off at a Resort. Um...thank you? I was informed by some resort staff that the team would be there in an hour and a half. I was offered coffee, and seated at a table overlooking the ocean. They brought me coffee on a silver platter...I hope they don't think I'm going to pay for this.

- my view

Am I dreaming? This is something of beauty.

I had a quiet time...

"Only let each person lead the life that the LORD has assigned to him, and to which God has called him. This is my rule in all the churches." - 1 Cor. 7:17

...the LORD assigns us our lives...but there's a command to live it. Interesting.

"Would you like to see the clinic?" a voice from behind me interrupts. I jump up and get escorted to where a team of doctors and nurses were setting up for the day. Hundreds of Haitians lined up with babies, wheel chairs, wounds and hunger.

A Haitian God fearing woman (who now lives part time in Florida) named Lin Joseph owns the resort where I'm lounging, she wants to turn it into a clinic to help the people of Haiti. There was a children's area set up, a food line ready to go, and medical supplies being distributed...all in the name of Christ. Where's CNN on this one? I got my camera out and started filming the love.

A girl with a group from YWAM called Photogen-X named Carmen (who I had met in Greece years back) was there, we decided to interview Lin. Amazing testimony and a hopeful perspective of Haiti's future and how the Haitians were learning to stand on their own feet, to break the "pauper mentality", that's stunted their growth as a nation. I started seriously considering what we were doing to help them not just see themselves as a charity case. Like the missionaries-of-old who introduced a "White-western-smiling-flowing-long-hair-Jesus" to foreign lands (and in the long run ruined, instead of redeemed, native cultures), I wonder if a lot of us miss the implications of coming in and giving food and supplies, but neglecting taking the time to, as the old parable goes, "teach them to fish". God knows we're still naive, and a bit near-sighted to say the least. That's why people like Lin are heroes in my eyes...

...people like her, and this kid who loves Jesus we interviewed who wants to be the president of Haiti someday...most kids wanted to be "flowers" or "anything beautiful", one kid even said he wanted to be "white". There's a shift happening. This land will discover their identity as children and friends of God. And they will be a great light.

I halfway collapsed and sat down and just stared at the people... praying His kingdom come. To raise up HAITIAN believers to pioneer restoration and rebuilding efforts.

4:00 pm. Time to pack up and head for the orphanage. Jumped in the truck and fell asleep. Woke up to a broken down vehicle. Myself, a team from Brazil, and numerous others filtered out into the shoulder of the road...before I knew it we were all worshiping to a Brazilian melody (these guys seem to always travel with a set of bongos and a guitar) - this is a glimpse of Heaven.

The body of Christ is an amazingly beautiful thing when it's operating like it should. Goodnight Haiti, thanks for the memories.

day4:Available

2010-03-03T19:14:00.000-08:00

- picture of the base from the cafeteria

"(They say) Haiti is a largely Christian country, with Roman Catholicism professed by 80% of Haitians. Protestants make up about 16% of the population. Haitian Vodou, a New World Afro-diasporic faith unique to the country, is practiced by up to two-thirds of the population. Religious practice often spans Haiti and its diaspora as those who have migrated interact through religion with family in Haiti."

- wikipedia

I was supposed to go to Port-au-Prince today… didn’t happen… then I was supposed to jump in with a mobile medical crew who were going to be cruising around ministering to people around town… didn’t happen. I heard someone say the mother of all ‘F’ words within YWAM… “Dude. Just be FLEXIBLE”. …cringe. I tell people that all the time, and most of the time I’m ok with it. But when everyone’s running around to the places I want to be, it’s a hard one to swallow.

So I went around filming the food-lines, filming the rice distribution, filming my mom praying over a Haitian…whoah, my mom’s praying with a Haitian. I want to do that.

It’s sort of complicated to explain the process of distributing food to the refugees, my friend Sean Murphy, Jon Morris and Matt Hulst have done an amazing job of taking the reigns and organizing things around here, but basically the refugees register (I’m not sure about this process), line up early in the morning (I heard someone say they were here at 4 am this morning) and come in 15 at a time and come sit on the bleachers of a giant basketball court here on the base and wait while the 15 before them get food, clothes, and water.

There were 800-1,000 refugees (or as some like to call them “displaced persons”) who came through today.

I put my camera down and started asking Sean if we could pray for the people coming through the lines for the food rations. Sean speaks a little bit of Creole (the main language here)…who knew? He began to ask them who needed prayer… at least a 4 or 5 of the 15 wanted prayer. So we started praying for them… we didn’t speak the language, and it was a chaotic environment, but the majority that walked away did so with a smile and a thumb up. I believe they were healed. Let it be LORD.

Filmed some testimonies. More food came in miraculously (from a group from Mexico who were just trying to find a place to drop off a bus full of food). Ate some rice and beans (which truly is a highlight). I’m off to bed.

I’m leaving for Port-au-Prince in the morning. 6:30 a.m. With a box of army Emergency Instant Meals…and a tent. I'm available. Grace LORD.

day3:Haiti

2010-03-03T19:06:00.000-08:00

Haiti's regional, historical and ethnolinguistic position is unique for several reasons. It was the first independent nation in Latin America and the first black-led republic in the world when it gained independence as part of a successful slave rebellion in 1804.[4] Despite having common cultural links with its Hispano-Caribbean neighbors, Haiti is the only predominantly Francophone independent nation in the Americas. It is one of only two independent nations in the Americas (along with Canada) that designate French as an official language; the other French-speaking areas are all overseas départements, or collectivités, of France.

- wikipedia

Haiti. A land not many knew before the earthquake hit. As we drove across the border from the Dominican Republic, the contrast was night and day… it reminded me of when we crossed the border into Juarez, Mexico back in my youth group days. I always feel weird looking through the window of an air-conditioned bus at impoverished people… especially when you make eye-contact, maybe they can see Christ in my eyes? It kills me… I want to be with them… speak their language… tell them there’s hope… …

St. Mark. The base seems a little scattered, but I guess that’s what happens when you’re a missions base in a 3rd world country after an earthquake. Before entering the gate, we saw the masses lined up along the base perimeter. Soldiers paroled the crowds – I felt like I was back in Afghanistan for a moment.

Sean Murphy, Jon Morris, Connie Kline (good friends of mine) and others were already there hard at work. No joyous reunion, just quick hugs. There’s work to do.

After a brief orientation (which consisted of them telling us meal times and how we shouldn’t flush toilet paper), we pitched our tent, and got to it.

In my new Havaiannas flip-flops, I get pulled in to the rice-distribution area. We loaded numerous 100 lb. bags of American-imported rice and beans, with cases of bottled water, jugs of oil and a bag of salt into pastor’s trucks to re-distribute to their churches.

F.Y.I. – the YWAM base here is getting food out as fast as they’re getting it. As the last pastor drove off for the day with his truck loaded, we looked at the remaining rations... almost out. Now, I don’t doubt that God can multiply food, but sometimes I do have a hard time believing He will. But He did. Before we saw the truck turn the corner, there was a call…

“Hello? …uh huh… yah… right… really? What?!” *click* “We have food for tomorrow!”

Apparently it came from an unknown source, how much? 24 tons of Rice, Beans and oil. Wow.

For the people of Haiti, this is a praise report. For the people of America who just arrived, this is a lot of rice to throw around. I slept like a baby that night…right after we walked down to the clinic that used to be known for abortions…

There’s too much to blog about.

God is moving. Not only is He able, but… He is. He’s doing the impossible, He loves to prove Himself faithful, He’s about big entries, and surprising His people with really good things. He’s about His glory…seriously.

day2:Hope's Extension

2010-03-01T17:42:00.000-08:00

"Over the years, higher salaries and better living conditions had induced many Haitians to settle in the Dominican Republic. Dominicans would express resentment of this Haitianization, but at the same time they depended on Haitian labor. This was particularly true during the cane-cutting season, when thousands of Haitians were trucked in, kept in miserable labor camps, and then trucked back (although some remained behind, melding into the local population). The practice commonly gave rise to human rights abuses, and the term "slavery" was sometimes used when changes were raised in some international bodies."

- countrystudies.us

I didn't realize that the countries that share the same island, aren't necessarily the closest friends. However, it seems to be the LORD's way for natural hardships to provide a platform for unity and reconciliation... maybe this tragedy will bring forth compassion, and humanity. God's brought so much out of this devestation...I wouldn't be surprised.

Mosquitoes. Forgive me if this sounds shallow, but I always imagined that if I were to discover a genie in a lamp who granted me 3 wishes, one of them would be the extinction of mosquitoes. I especially wished that last night, as I went to sleep and woke up an hour later to bites all over my exposed skin. It's moments like these the LORD challenges me to look around and count my blessings, and immediately things are put into perspective.

My friends Crystal, Matt and Julie from last years Classic DTS showed up today from their month in Haiti. They leave Wednesday. They looked like they were ready...at least, externally.

"Dude, diarrhea is like, inevitible"

"Really? Great... what do you think caused it?"

"The air mostly."

...Matt lost a lot of weight.

But there were positive reports too... so much had been accomplished. Tent-communities started and morale being boosted...but still so much work to be done. I only got to chat with them briefly before they headed to a hotel for the night.

I can't imagine what it's like living in the midst of all that's happened to the Hatians. Especially without the hope of Christ. Oh Father, let me be a vessel of that hope.

What will I be doing? I got a really encouraging email today, here's a little bit of what Kristian Snow (the son of the YWAM Haiti leader) wrote me earlier today:

"...you came at a very good time...because right now we don't have any eyes media wise in Port-au-Prince, and that's where a lot of the action is happening! So, I think you are heading 1st to Saint Marc where I am. You can spend the day there getting an idea of what's going on for long term relief, and then you can catch a ride if one's available to Port-au-Prince the next morning. I am not ashamed to admit that I'm jealous you'll get to film what's going on there, and in fact I want to warn you to not be afraid to film the amazing, crazy, or devastating things you might find!..."

So needless to say I will be working on documenting what's going on, while always looking for the opportunities to be Hope's extension.

day1:Dominican Republic

2010-02-28T22:30:00.000-08:00

"The Dominican Republic (Spanish: República Dominicana) is a nation on the island of Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are occupied by two countries. Both by area and population, the Dominican Republic is the second largest Caribbean nation (after Cuba), with 48,442 square kilometres (18,704 sq mi) and an estimated 10 million people."

- wikipedia

I arrived safely in the Dominican Republic. There was a guy holding a YWAM sign in the welcome area, but apparently he was looking for a YWAM Snowboarding-DTS team coming from Canada... thank goodness they had room for 1 more. Dead tired from a couple days of traveling, I packed into the van, I got the 2nd-from-back row seat which is actually just the wheel well, and tried to prop my body up with my arm on the chair... but as I kept dozing off, I would fall and catch myself inches from the guy sitting next to me, and pretend like I meant to do it.

After about an hour we arrived at the Santa Domingo YWAM base... it's beautiful, I think the floors are marble. There's a pool outside. It feels a lot like Kona...except for the mosquitos.

Thought: "Am I caught up on all my vaccinations?? ...it's been a long time since I've got a shot. Ok LORD, maybe that wasn't the best planning...but I have Christ's blood running through my veins now, right?"

Pool. Sleep. Dinner (Ham sandwhiches, chips and salsa...nice).

7:30, a girl named Molly who runs things around here, asks if I can leave early to go pick my mom up from the airport - something about the taxi driver wanting to drive around the city first.

"Uh, but my mom doesn't get in til 10:30 p.m."

"We know...he wants to go now though, I'm not really sure why"

"Oh, that's cool - I will just have a chance to get to talk to the taxi driver! Hi, my name is Andrew."

"...he doesn't speak English"

"Hmmm..."

I spend the next 2 hours sitting at his home with his mom, wife and son...drinking Coca-cola...not saying anything. I love it. We just sat there...not communicating...watching people. I prayed for the people, I prayed for the family, I prayed for my friends, I prayed for his dogs...and I fell asleep in his chair.

We got to the airport, and after an hour or so later, my mom arrives, we eat tacos, and now I'm sitting here at the base. I'm delirious at about 2:07 a.m., but I'm also filled with an anticipation for this trip. It rises up in me every time I touch down to new soil. I know the LORD's called me here. My spirit connects with His in this place, and I'm filled with faith. I believe for so much right now. It's not about me... it's about facilitating His Kingdom-come in this land. What an amazing journey life is, I wouldn't trade it for the world.

Convinced of the Unseen

2010-02-16T21:59:00.000-08:00

Haiti... L.A.... India?... North Korea on the horizon... these are places I'm being led by the Spirit. I'm moving with Him, but there's something I've been challenged with...

Proverbs talks about how without vision, people "wander about", or "perish".

Life can happen to you, or you can happen to life... something like that.

"The things you do in this moment will echo into eternity", I half kiddingly stated to my brother on the phone yesterday. I would be lying, however, if I said that the cliche'd statement didn't stir me to consider it's reality. There's something that would stunt fullness in the experience of this gift of life if it was not building something that transcended the here-and-now.

A Parable:

A man was walking, he came upon some sort of project, where he saw 3 men busy at work... he came upon the first worker laying mortar and asked him "What are you doing?", the worker wearily replied "Oh, I'm just stacking bricks". The man continued on, until he came upon the next worker, he asked him "What are you doing?", the worker paused and replied "Well, I'm constructing a wall." Again, the man walked on, he came upon a third worker and asked "What are you doing?", this time, the worker, without much acknowledgment of the man, gazed up as if to see something with his mind's eye, exclaimed "I'm building a glorious cathedral!"

The man saw what wasn't there, and spoke of it as though it were.

Vision.

Am I just stacking bricks, or am I building a cathedral?
Think about what you're doing right now... are you passionate about it? Are you convinced of the unseen fullness of what God's called you to within it? If not...why?

Full access to the throne-room of Him who is the All-Seeing-Eye... yet we choose our finite perspective... and trade the God-inspired ideas for the good-inspired ideas... and before we know what's happened... we've lost our motivation...and we stack bricks.

Build with prophetic-insight!!. If people catch a vision, it motivates them to pull into the realm of reality (at least what we call "reality") that which floats around in the realm of imagination.

Dream. Let Him inspire vision. Build something...something that is bigger than today.

...those are general musings I've had. I'm doing well. Haiti's coming up and I'm been able to raise $700.00, thanks so much for your prayers and support. I will keep you posted with how that adventure unfolds.

The Arts and Entertainment DTS is going well... I love seeing God reveal Himself to us all, especially the 16 students we have for this quarter. I'm working closely with 2 of the students, and have the privilege of leading the guys small group, and have loved running towards Christ with them.

Blessings...

Haiti Newsletter... (Click Image for Full Size)

2010-02-03T23:33:00.000-08:00

Last Newsletter... (click image for full size)

2010-01-25T00:49:00.000-08:00

Exiles to Boredom

2010-01-24T21:18:00.001-08:00

"(The book of) Exodus is about a people, a tribe, a nation being rescued from slavery. It's about liberation from occupation." - from 'Jesus Wants to Save Christians'.

I'm at Border's... that picture's my view (pretty amazing, right?). I'm thinking about how we're prone to become slaves. Who's telling us how to live? Society? Our churches? The media? ...so many voices.

God set us free from multiple voices telling us how to live.

We've been set free by the Son...free to do what? We'll say we're free from sin, free from bondage, set free to live as residents of an eternal kingdom... true. But historically what are we doing?

Our actions have a way of speaking what we believe louder than our mouths.

Are we really living as though we're free? Among all that Christ set us free from, there's an overlooked profound reality...He's set us free from the mundane. The ordinary. He's set us free from the empire of Boredom. Boredom is an indication of something gone wrong. Boredom is an enemy of life-truly-lived. It should be a warning sign that we're:
a. Indifferent ...or
b. We've forgotten/neglected how to hear God's voice.

In the Kingdom of God, there is no room for boredom.

I want to rip my flesh from Spirit and better remember the reality that the God of the Bible is God of today...

Online Donation Available!

2010-01-14T17:23:00.000-08:00

If you were wondering about supporting me online, it's now available...

I will be writing an update with pictures soon!

blessings,
Andrew

Long Time Coming

2009-08-15T17:13:00.000-07:00

It seems that I go in and out of seasons of being inspired to blog the present events and thoughts. And being able to put into words the things the LORD has spoken to me over the last year or so has been trying. In hindsight I've seen the "successes" and "shortcomings" have all been gloriously orchestrated by my Father. Revelation of the fact that it is the LORD who is faithful to both start and finish this salvation within us.

Prior to coming to Kona Hawaii, I spent a long season back home in Colorado... it's revealed in me a deeper love for family and friends I've grown up with, but also stirred in me a passion to be on the move. There was building in me a subtle restlessness to get back to my heart of foreign missions. I know the LORD's called me to a mobile journey with Him, sharing the Gospel in the nations, and helping mobilize and equip young people into what God was calling them to.

I'm leading a Discipleship Training School (DTS) here at Youth With A Mission (YWAM) Kona, Hawaii. Returning to Kona has been the LORD's grace in my life. I've seen Jesus more clearly than I have in a long time. The reminders of what the LORD is doing all over the world has not only inspired me, but moved me to a place of intercession and action with the Holy Spirit - we're are in the 6th week of the 12 week lecture phase and preparing for the second half of the school. 39 students, 5 staff, and a co-leader from all over the world are here listening to God's voice. We've heard the LORD speak 5 outreach locations to us:

N. China
Afghanistan
New Zealand
Israel
Thailand

I will be leading the team to N. China, and then heading out to do some pastoral visits to the other locations. I would so appreciate your prayers as I do this.

Here is a quick video of testimonies from my students so far:

Classic DTS July 09 Video1 from Andrew York.

I'm looking forward once again to sharing the stories of God's faithfulness around the world. To communicate that the God of the Bible truly is the God of today...

Until the World Wakes Up,
Andrew

AWAKEN:Dharamsala, India Videos

2009-02-01T13:20:00.000-08:00

Here's the videos I've finished from my trip to Dharamsala, India last year... most are password protected due to the persecution breaking out in India, if you would like to view them, I'll email you the password, just let me know at andrewawaken@gmail.com.

You can also view the videos larger at chapter29.com, or watch them in HD at Vimeo's site.

God bless!