Hello,
If you are currently reading this blog post, it means that I have moved this operation to a new URL.
You can get to my new site either by clicking on the picture of the nomad above,
OR
You can click here
Why the reason for the move?
Honestly, I think that the wordpress blogs are easier to manage and personalize :)
See you in the new space :)
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Sunday, September 18, 2011
First update from FMA
It has been one month exactly since I arrived back in Kansas City. It is wonderful to be back and actually walking out in the beginning stages of the things that the Lord has showed me about what I’m going to be doing in the future. For those of you that don’t know, I am a full-time student/missionary at the International House of Prayer in Kansas City, MO. I am a student at the International House of Prayer University, or IHOPU for short, and within IHOPU I am a part of the Forerunner Music Academy (or FMA) program learning how to lead worship while being sensitive to what the Holy Spirit is saying and where He is directing the prayer meeting. I apologize for the lack of information/blog updates lately, my schedule here is pretty intense. Here’s just a basic snapshot of what it looks like:
• Monday, Wednesday, and Friday
o 8AM-12PM – worship team practice
o 12PM-1PM – Keyboard, Ear training, and Theory class
o 2PM-3PM – Prophetic Singing (or voice) class
o 4PM-8PM – Prayer Room time.
On Friday instead of prayer room, we have the Encountering God Service (or church) from 6 PM – 10 PM
• Tuesday
o 8:30 AM – FMA Practicum
o 1:30 PM – IHOPU Chapel
o 4-6 – Theology class – Beholding God’s Majesty
• Thursday
o 2PM – Sound mixing class
o 4 PM – Theology class – The Life of David
• Saturday
o Church Service from 6-10 PM
AND outside of class I’m also required to practice approx. 10 hours of voice and piano (altogether, not each ).
That doesn’t leave a lot of time for anything at all, much less time for a job. As a result I am having to depend COMPLETELY on support as a missionary as my income. I only have a few financial partners right now, so things are kind of tight financially. So if you would like to get information on how you can support me, or if you’d like to talk with me to find out more about what I’m doing – Please email me at clarkk@ihopu.org.
But anyways…
One of the things that I have particularly enjoyed about this experience is the fact that all FMA students are put on a worship team after their first semester of training (my internship counted as my first semester), so I have been singing on my worship team and exercising that ability a lot more than I ever have before. I feel like I’ve also seen a pretty good growth in my vocal skill even after just the first month, so I am very excited to see where the Lord takes me vocally throughout even just the rest of the semester!
Things here have been awesome. I really enjoy all of the classes that I’m taking. I didn’t realize how much I missed having music classes until I started with piano and voice again this past month. Music really is truly what I am meant to do, and paired with our primary purpose for creation, to love God and be loved by God, it seems that I have also found my long term career/calling as a musical missionary at the House of Prayer. I feel like I have an idea of what David was talking about when he wrote psalm 27, specifically verse 4:
“One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in His temple.”
I have also even been able to practice playing my saxophone with my worship team, and learning how to flow musically with instruments (guitars, pianos, and basses) and styles that I’m not used to playing in.
Prayer requests:
- for my health/allergies. for the past couple of weeks I have been fighting off allergy/cold stuff making it a little bit more difficult to sing etc. so I need this to be done :).
-more monthly financial partners
- grace and strength to keep on keepin' on :)
If you have any prayer requests that you would like me to cover for you, please email me at clarkk@ihopu.org
• Monday, Wednesday, and Friday
o 8AM-12PM – worship team practice
o 12PM-1PM – Keyboard, Ear training, and Theory class
o 2PM-3PM – Prophetic Singing (or voice) class
o 4PM-8PM – Prayer Room time.
On Friday instead of prayer room, we have the Encountering God Service (or church) from 6 PM – 10 PM
• Tuesday
o 8:30 AM – FMA Practicum
o 1:30 PM – IHOPU Chapel
o 4-6 – Theology class – Beholding God’s Majesty
• Thursday
o 2PM – Sound mixing class
o 4 PM – Theology class – The Life of David
• Saturday
o Church Service from 6-10 PM
AND outside of class I’m also required to practice approx. 10 hours of voice and piano (altogether, not each ).
That doesn’t leave a lot of time for anything at all, much less time for a job. As a result I am having to depend COMPLETELY on support as a missionary as my income. I only have a few financial partners right now, so things are kind of tight financially. So if you would like to get information on how you can support me, or if you’d like to talk with me to find out more about what I’m doing – Please email me at clarkk@ihopu.org.
But anyways…
One of the things that I have particularly enjoyed about this experience is the fact that all FMA students are put on a worship team after their first semester of training (my internship counted as my first semester), so I have been singing on my worship team and exercising that ability a lot more than I ever have before. I feel like I’ve also seen a pretty good growth in my vocal skill even after just the first month, so I am very excited to see where the Lord takes me vocally throughout even just the rest of the semester!
Things here have been awesome. I really enjoy all of the classes that I’m taking. I didn’t realize how much I missed having music classes until I started with piano and voice again this past month. Music really is truly what I am meant to do, and paired with our primary purpose for creation, to love God and be loved by God, it seems that I have also found my long term career/calling as a musical missionary at the House of Prayer. I feel like I have an idea of what David was talking about when he wrote psalm 27, specifically verse 4:
“One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in His temple.”
I have also even been able to practice playing my saxophone with my worship team, and learning how to flow musically with instruments (guitars, pianos, and basses) and styles that I’m not used to playing in.
Prayer requests:
- for my health/allergies. for the past couple of weeks I have been fighting off allergy/cold stuff making it a little bit more difficult to sing etc. so I need this to be done :).
-more monthly financial partners
- grace and strength to keep on keepin' on :)
If you have any prayer requests that you would like me to cover for you, please email me at clarkk@ihopu.org
Monday, March 21, 2011
Nomadic Soul - What does that even mean?!
So, I know that I said I would definitely be blogging more than I have been, BUT I have also been a lot more busy than I was expecting to be. So here is a blog to hold you over until I can upload a massive update blog to let you know what’s been going on in my life.
SO, here’s a blog that I hope will explain what I’m sure a lot of you have been asking, because I’ve been asking it a while myself as well: “Why Nomadic Soul?”
First. Where did Nomadic Soul come from? Well, last February (2010), the Lord started speaking to me about what His heart was for me and how He wanted me to live my life. He gave me just one phrase, “You’re my nomad”. So after that, I started identifying myself in that way, but I never really understood what it meant. I took at as I was probably going to be moving around a lot since that’s what missions and this growing season is all about. In all honesty, it is WAY bigger than anything that I could have ever thought of initially.
So, tonight in the IHOP-KC prayer room, I was prayer reading through Hebrews, and I came across something quite interesting. I came to the realization that life as a Nomadic Soul is all about living a life of faith. Think about it, Abraham had NO idea what was going to come about in his life other than the promise to him from God that he was going to build him into a mighty nation, but he left his home land behind anyway. This verse exemplifies that, and it just shows me exactly what a nomadic soul is meant to be:
“These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland.
If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return.
But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.” ~Hebrews 11:13-16
So this is what the life of a Nomadic Soul is all about. Living for a heavenly city whose builder and maker is God. We have so many promises about Jesus’ return and the New Jerusalem coming to earth that we might not see in our lifetime, but we continue on in our quest for truth and for deeper relationship with God. We don’t look back because we know that what we left is so much less than what we’re running toward. Our exhortation is to continue on in faith just as Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David, Samuel, Gideon, Paul, the disciples and countless other did, believing that our inheritance is in Him, the man, Christ Jesus.
SO, here’s a blog that I hope will explain what I’m sure a lot of you have been asking, because I’ve been asking it a while myself as well: “Why Nomadic Soul?”
First. Where did Nomadic Soul come from? Well, last February (2010), the Lord started speaking to me about what His heart was for me and how He wanted me to live my life. He gave me just one phrase, “You’re my nomad”. So after that, I started identifying myself in that way, but I never really understood what it meant. I took at as I was probably going to be moving around a lot since that’s what missions and this growing season is all about. In all honesty, it is WAY bigger than anything that I could have ever thought of initially.
So, tonight in the IHOP-KC prayer room, I was prayer reading through Hebrews, and I came across something quite interesting. I came to the realization that life as a Nomadic Soul is all about living a life of faith. Think about it, Abraham had NO idea what was going to come about in his life other than the promise to him from God that he was going to build him into a mighty nation, but he left his home land behind anyway. This verse exemplifies that, and it just shows me exactly what a nomadic soul is meant to be:
“These all died in faith, not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland.
If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return.
But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city.” ~Hebrews 11:13-16
So this is what the life of a Nomadic Soul is all about. Living for a heavenly city whose builder and maker is God. We have so many promises about Jesus’ return and the New Jerusalem coming to earth that we might not see in our lifetime, but we continue on in our quest for truth and for deeper relationship with God. We don’t look back because we know that what we left is so much less than what we’re running toward. Our exhortation is to continue on in faith just as Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, David, Samuel, Gideon, Paul, the disciples and countless other did, believing that our inheritance is in Him, the man, Christ Jesus.
Sunday, December 19, 2010
My new adventure
Dear family, friends, and church family,
As most of you know, I have been believing in faith that I would be going to the International House of Prayer (or IHOP) in January, but I hadn't heard back from them of my acceptance or denial.
Well, on December 16th 2010, I was ACCEPTED into the Fire in the Night internship at IHOP.
Here's a little exerpt from the IHOP.org page to give you more of an idea of what I'll be doing:
"Fire in the Night is a residential internship program that is joined to the NightWatch, our faithful musicians and intercessors who joyously embrace the most challenging part of the twenty-four-hour prayer schedule. They stand their watch on the wall of intercession between the hours of midnight and 6:00am. This internship is for young adults between the ages of eighteen and thirty.
For too long, the night has been known for being filled with spiritual darkness. We believe that the night belongs to the Lord. While most people are sleeping and while many deeds of darkness are defrauding lost souls, Fire in the Night stands in stark contrast, crying out in prayer for justice and revival to break in on the earth, and is involved in outreaches and ministering to others in the power of the Holy Spirit.
The program consists of two separate three-month tracks. Track I is an introduction to the foundational teachings of a believer. Track II continues with the same themes but with deeper studies and ministry experience.
"
and a video so you can hear directly from Mike Bickle, the founder, and past interns from this program about what I'll be doing :)
So now, here's the reason that I feel led to participate in this internship for a season of my life.
While I was at the Honor Academy, during one of the fasting retreats that we did, we focused on trying to pull our mission statements for our lives together using different reservoirs of our lives. Mine came out to be: "I will serve as a light to the world by my example of poisitive living due to the gaining of a new life in Christ. I will act as a fulltime intercessor and use my talents and gifts to artistically influence today's culture. God will frequently pour out new revelations and insights as I seek to reveal the truth that is the heart of God.
This is important because about a week and a half after we completed our fasting LTE, I was introduced to IHOP. When I found their site, I wanted to learn more about them, so I checked out there mission statement, and guess what? Their mission statement was like 90% the same as mine!!!!
So I started praying about what I needed to do after the Honor Academy year finished up, and God kept throwing IHOP out there. I was dead set on doing another long term internship, but there was only one that they had that was longer than 3 months (or so I thought), and that was the Onething internship. I was super set on going to that one, but nothing was falling together as I felt it should so I stepped back and prayed about it, and God directed me toward Fire in the Night. It also CAN be a 6 month internship. It has 2 tracks of 3 months. PERFECT! :)
I applied and got accepted and now, it's only 3 weeks away. AND I need some help to get there :)
It's going to cost me $4,200 in total, but only the first $2,200 is due when I get there. Three months later is when I'll need the remaining $2,000 (but they said it's a good idea to start fundraising for that track as soon as possible as well). With my schedule the way it is, it makes it hard to do fundraisers like I would like to. So this is one of the only ways that I will be able to utilize fundraising to get where I need to be.
This IS going to be a missions focused internship, we will be focusing on doing works of justice in the Kansas City community as well as being in the prayer room and having classes. I WILL NOT be making money while I am there, so I am asking the Church (being the entire body of believers), or anybody who would like to, to consider supporting me. I will be posting information on how you can donate on the sidebars as well as at the end of this blog post. I will need all of my money (for first track) turned in ($2,200) by January 12th which is the first day of the internship.
if you have any questions at all, feel free to email me at kyleclark2009@hotmail.com
Thank You SO SO SO MUCH!!! :)
Be Blessed
Here is the donation information:
Credit or Debit over the phone:
Call Business Office at 816-763-0200 x2201.
Tell them you want to donate to Kyle Clark in the Fire in the Night program starting on January 12th 2011.
they should guide you the rest of the way
As most of you know, I have been believing in faith that I would be going to the International House of Prayer (or IHOP) in January, but I hadn't heard back from them of my acceptance or denial.
Well, on December 16th 2010, I was ACCEPTED into the Fire in the Night internship at IHOP.
Here's a little exerpt from the IHOP.org page to give you more of an idea of what I'll be doing:
"Fire in the Night is a residential internship program that is joined to the NightWatch, our faithful musicians and intercessors who joyously embrace the most challenging part of the twenty-four-hour prayer schedule. They stand their watch on the wall of intercession between the hours of midnight and 6:00am. This internship is for young adults between the ages of eighteen and thirty.
For too long, the night has been known for being filled with spiritual darkness. We believe that the night belongs to the Lord. While most people are sleeping and while many deeds of darkness are defrauding lost souls, Fire in the Night stands in stark contrast, crying out in prayer for justice and revival to break in on the earth, and is involved in outreaches and ministering to others in the power of the Holy Spirit.
The program consists of two separate three-month tracks. Track I is an introduction to the foundational teachings of a believer. Track II continues with the same themes but with deeper studies and ministry experience.
"
and a video so you can hear directly from Mike Bickle, the founder, and past interns from this program about what I'll be doing :)
So now, here's the reason that I feel led to participate in this internship for a season of my life.
While I was at the Honor Academy, during one of the fasting retreats that we did, we focused on trying to pull our mission statements for our lives together using different reservoirs of our lives. Mine came out to be: "I will serve as a light to the world by my example of poisitive living due to the gaining of a new life in Christ. I will act as a fulltime intercessor and use my talents and gifts to artistically influence today's culture. God will frequently pour out new revelations and insights as I seek to reveal the truth that is the heart of God.
This is important because about a week and a half after we completed our fasting LTE, I was introduced to IHOP. When I found their site, I wanted to learn more about them, so I checked out there mission statement, and guess what? Their mission statement was like 90% the same as mine!!!!
So I started praying about what I needed to do after the Honor Academy year finished up, and God kept throwing IHOP out there. I was dead set on doing another long term internship, but there was only one that they had that was longer than 3 months (or so I thought), and that was the Onething internship. I was super set on going to that one, but nothing was falling together as I felt it should so I stepped back and prayed about it, and God directed me toward Fire in the Night. It also CAN be a 6 month internship. It has 2 tracks of 3 months. PERFECT! :)
I applied and got accepted and now, it's only 3 weeks away. AND I need some help to get there :)
It's going to cost me $4,200 in total, but only the first $2,200 is due when I get there. Three months later is when I'll need the remaining $2,000 (but they said it's a good idea to start fundraising for that track as soon as possible as well). With my schedule the way it is, it makes it hard to do fundraisers like I would like to. So this is one of the only ways that I will be able to utilize fundraising to get where I need to be.
This IS going to be a missions focused internship, we will be focusing on doing works of justice in the Kansas City community as well as being in the prayer room and having classes. I WILL NOT be making money while I am there, so I am asking the Church (being the entire body of believers), or anybody who would like to, to consider supporting me. I will be posting information on how you can donate on the sidebars as well as at the end of this blog post. I will need all of my money (for first track) turned in ($2,200) by January 12th which is the first day of the internship.
if you have any questions at all, feel free to email me at kyleclark2009@hotmail.com
Thank You SO SO SO MUCH!!! :)
Be Blessed
Here is the donation information:
Credit or Debit over the phone:
Call Business Office at 816-763-0200 x2201.
Tell them you want to donate to Kyle Clark in the Fire in the Night program starting on January 12th 2011.
they should guide you the rest of the way
Sunday, August 22, 2010
India Journal Time :)
The way this is going to work, is I'm going to post all of the entries in my journal with the date that it was written (So look at the ones from July 10th - August 5th, cool?) And you'll get to see what's going on inside my head each day that I'm on the mission field :)
HERE WE GO :)
PS, it might take a little while to get the whole month's entries up, so bare with me :)
HERE WE GO :)
PS, it might take a little while to get the whole month's entries up, so bare with me :)
Friday, July 30, 2010
7/30/2010
Last ministry day.
Today was our last day of ministry. It's strange to thnk that in a couple of days, we'll be back in the US. These beautiful, brown, smiling, head-bobblin' faces will be missed SO much!!!!!!
These people have stolen my heart and I cannot get it back no matter how hard I try.
Today's ministry was kinda strange, but definitely a good wrap up for the trip. We were chased away from our sight by anti-christian persecution again.
As we were beginning our last prayer session, pastor V was confronted by one of the elders of the village, and we were threatened with our well-being. So pastor V rounded us up and we all left, after taking a minute to get tea and cookies, though, of course! :) haha. O India. God has a lot of work to do in that village, but I KNOW that He is faithful to complete the good work that He started!!! :)
Today was our last day of ministry. It's strange to thnk that in a couple of days, we'll be back in the US. These beautiful, brown, smiling, head-bobblin' faces will be missed SO much!!!!!!
These people have stolen my heart and I cannot get it back no matter how hard I try.
Today's ministry was kinda strange, but definitely a good wrap up for the trip. We were chased away from our sight by anti-christian persecution again.
As we were beginning our last prayer session, pastor V was confronted by one of the elders of the village, and we were threatened with our well-being. So pastor V rounded us up and we all left, after taking a minute to get tea and cookies, though, of course! :) haha. O India. God has a lot of work to do in that village, but I KNOW that He is faithful to complete the good work that He started!!! :)
Thursday, July 29, 2010
7-29-2010
Wooded Village.
This was the STRANGEST day that we have had yet. Our site was in the only bare outcropping from trees in a mountain wooded village. Its inhabitancts were split into a christian part of town, and a hindu part of town. In this village, one of the guys in my MAG, Hunter, had a defining moment of the trip. He watched a woman run to the front of the group when the net was thrown, fall to her knees and weep as she began receiving prayer. That was one of the most awesome parts of this entire ministry.
This was the STRANGEST day that we have had yet. Our site was in the only bare outcropping from trees in a mountain wooded village. Its inhabitancts were split into a christian part of town, and a hindu part of town. In this village, one of the guys in my MAG, Hunter, had a defining moment of the trip. He watched a woman run to the front of the group when the net was thrown, fall to her knees and weep as she began receiving prayer. That was one of the most awesome parts of this entire ministry.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
7-28-2010
Childrens' Center.
End of ministry is coming soon =(. This whole trip has been kind of surreal. We're making an eternal impact and it's so awesome! Today, we went to the Mission Voice Childrens' Center. This place was a lot of fun, and the kids were amazing. We prayed for a deaf old man, but unfortunately, we realized he was too drunk to communicate with us, but we noticed that he started responding to us when we talked to him. I am believing and standing in faith that he was healed 100% even if he couldn't confirm that haha. :)
End of ministry is coming soon =(. This whole trip has been kind of surreal. We're making an eternal impact and it's so awesome! Today, we went to the Mission Voice Childrens' Center. This place was a lot of fun, and the kids were amazing. We prayed for a deaf old man, but unfortunately, we realized he was too drunk to communicate with us, but we noticed that he started responding to us when we talked to him. I am believing and standing in faith that he was healed 100% even if he couldn't confirm that haha. :)
Monday, July 26, 2010
7/26/2010
Today was a free day. We got to run around Tamil Nadu and see a lot of beautiful places. God did so many beautiful things in India. The forests of palm trees, amazingly beautiful rivers, the people... :).
We were also privileged enough to be able to visit pastor v's village. We got to walk through the house that pastor V's mother was raised from the dead in, and meet some of the people that Pastor V got to live life with.
We also took a trip to a waterfall, and walked across the 2nd largest bridge in Asia. :) haha.
I can definitely check that one off of my bucket list now ;)
We were also privileged enough to be able to visit pastor v's village. We got to walk through the house that pastor V's mother was raised from the dead in, and meet some of the people that Pastor V got to live life with.
We also took a trip to a waterfall, and walked across the 2nd largest bridge in Asia. :) haha.
I can definitely check that one off of my bucket list now ;)
7/27/2010
Construction day.
I am so glad that there was only one of these, haha. We demolished a brick building and had to carry the remains of their soggy red-dirt bricks across the street, and dump them into another huge pile. It was long, hard work in the hot Indian sun, but I know that it was an incredible blessing to them! So it was all worth it.
I am so glad that there was only one of these, haha. We demolished a brick building and had to carry the remains of their soggy red-dirt bricks across the street, and dump them into another huge pile. It was long, hard work in the hot Indian sun, but I know that it was an incredible blessing to them! So it was all worth it.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
7-25-2010
The ministry today was great as well!!!
We went to a church with Priscilla, and Leo, and did a program for them which was followed by an amazing Holy spirit filled talk from Priscilla! It was awesome to see all fo the & be able to help out and encourage our Indian brothers and sisters!
We went to a church with Priscilla, and Leo, and did a program for them which was followed by an amazing Holy spirit filled talk from Priscilla! It was awesome to see all fo the & be able to help out and encourage our Indian brothers and sisters!
Saturday, July 24, 2010
7-24-2010
Tonight was awesome, yet sad as well. It started off as a surprise trip to the pastors' church. There we had a thanksgiving service in which they pretty much gave us dinner & a ginger blob that was soaked in oil and wrapped in newspaper haha. O indian food. It was good none-the-less, though :).
Ministry was a little bit rushed. Everything was a little bit behind schedule, but God worked through us none-the-less. We had a small group of people, mostly children that gatherd outside of the church to watch the program. We put on this program in the middle of the street. The people that we meet are all so awesome. I'm going to miss all of them so much! Tonight was pretty great :), but it was also really sad, because it was our last night with Gletseal as our translator.
Ministry was a little bit rushed. Everything was a little bit behind schedule, but God worked through us none-the-less. We had a small group of people, mostly children that gatherd outside of the church to watch the program. We put on this program in the middle of the street. The people that we meet are all so awesome. I'm going to miss all of them so much! Tonight was pretty great :), but it was also really sad, because it was our last night with Gletseal as our translator.
Thursday, July 22, 2010
7-22-2010
Tonight, ministry was pretty great. There were TONS of kids and an opportunity for an altar call. I'm not sure of the number of salvations, but I DO know that a lame person got up and walked for the first time in their life. There was also a boy there that I definitely connected with. I don't remember his name, but I will never forget his face, or situation.
He was not able to speak properly because when he was at a Hindu temple, as an act of worship, people were throwing a coconut around, and proceeded until it broke.
Well, this guy went in to the temple, and ate a piece of the coconut. As he did this, something went wrong. He got a piece of coconut stuck in his throat & it wouldn't come out. Finally after a while of struggling, it came out, but not without the casualty of his voice. Now, he can make sounds, but he's not able to make any words.
I prayed for him several times, but I couldn't tell any difference, but I know God does work in them even after we leave. He will remain in my prayers...
He was not able to speak properly because when he was at a Hindu temple, as an act of worship, people were throwing a coconut around, and proceeded until it broke.
Well, this guy went in to the temple, and ate a piece of the coconut. As he did this, something went wrong. He got a piece of coconut stuck in his throat & it wouldn't come out. Finally after a while of struggling, it came out, but not without the casualty of his voice. Now, he can make sounds, but he's not able to make any words.
I prayed for him several times, but I couldn't tell any difference, but I know God does work in them even after we leave. He will remain in my prayers...
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
7-21-2010
Ministry just keeps getting more and more intense. As we arrived at the ministry site, the spiritual atmosphere felt INCREDIBLY heavy. The area that we weree sent to was an area known for persecuting Christians. As a result of this, we were not allowed to give the net, however we were allowed to pray for people. So we went out & started praying for people as we usually did.
Soon, as I was interceding with Vivian for an older woman, another old lady walked over to me, hit me on the arm, held up her hands, and in tamil said, "Pray."
I started looking around for a translator, and a boy named Veejay showed up. He spoke enough English to translate a little bit for me. The old woman said that her eyes & her legs needed prayer. As soon as I got done praying, the old woman bent over & touched her toes. I was thinking, "ok... what's going on?" So I asked Veejay, "What is she doing? What's happening?"
He then responded in his Indian accent (complete with headbobble, mind you), "Her back has become as rubber!!!"
I started laughing and asked what that meant. He told me that she couldn't do that before. Her back was stuck straight, and she hadn't been able to bend over like that in years. We then started praising the Lord.
As we got ready to go, Emily started to experience some spiritual attacks which took the form of excruciating pain in her stomach. We prayed for Emily until it gave up, but as soon as we stopped, it started attacking Briana. So we continued praying, I don't think we even stopped until we got back to Oshi.
Soon, as I was interceding with Vivian for an older woman, another old lady walked over to me, hit me on the arm, held up her hands, and in tamil said, "Pray."
I started looking around for a translator, and a boy named Veejay showed up. He spoke enough English to translate a little bit for me. The old woman said that her eyes & her legs needed prayer. As soon as I got done praying, the old woman bent over & touched her toes. I was thinking, "ok... what's going on?" So I asked Veejay, "What is she doing? What's happening?"
He then responded in his Indian accent (complete with headbobble, mind you), "Her back has become as rubber!!!"
I started laughing and asked what that meant. He told me that she couldn't do that before. Her back was stuck straight, and she hadn't been able to bend over like that in years. We then started praising the Lord.
As we got ready to go, Emily started to experience some spiritual attacks which took the form of excruciating pain in her stomach. We prayed for Emily until it gave up, but as soon as we stopped, it started attacking Briana. So we continued praying, I don't think we even stopped until we got back to Oshi.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
7-20-2010
(7-19 was a free day)
All day today, I could feel God stirring something awesome up for our ministry tonight. We waited around all day for our briefing on the area we were going to. FInally, the info came...
We would be going to an untouchable village that had NEVER heard the gospel before.
My heart perked up, this is an UNREACHED PEOPLE GROUP!
The pastor told us that they were called 'untouchable', because in Hinduism, everyone believes that there is a "Brahma(measure of god)" inside of everyone. This is where the caste system gets it's different classes. The untouchable cast didn't have any Brahma, and thus wasn't clean to those with Brahma. So these people didn't even really have any hope until their next life, which we know they'll never get to.
The untouchables are some of the most dear people to my heart so far on this trip. NOBODY has ever shown interest inthem Nobody has ever bothered with them. They are also stuck under the oppression of the Hindu gods. What a hopeless situation!
I love the kids here. There were two little boys that stole my heart. I only wish that I could remember Indian names...they're so complicated! haha.
These people were SO open to us & our messag, which made everything to do with ministry that much easier. When the time for the Net came near, hands shot up! My heart was jumping! I prayed for two guys to receive Christ, and a woman with a heart condition for healing, a little hirl and a deaf woman.
In the middle of the prayer for the deaf woman, Kass, our TL got everybody rounded up & in the vans as fast as she and Jared, our other TL could. It was a 'don't ask questions' moment. As soon as everybody was back on the bus safely, we heard the news. There was a group that does 'social work' and keeps an ear out for christian groups & activity. There was a mob assembling as we were there, and they were quickly approaching.
As we were driving back to our base, I got a real sense of what it is to have a part in the persecution that the church here faces daily. We asked the pastor what would have happened if we hadn't gotten tipped off, and he said, "I as the pastor would have been killed, the men in the group would have been beaten, if not murdered, and the woman would have been severely beaten as well."
Wow. My heart is continually breaking over these people!!!!
All day today, I could feel God stirring something awesome up for our ministry tonight. We waited around all day for our briefing on the area we were going to. FInally, the info came...
We would be going to an untouchable village that had NEVER heard the gospel before.
My heart perked up, this is an UNREACHED PEOPLE GROUP!
The pastor told us that they were called 'untouchable', because in Hinduism, everyone believes that there is a "Brahma(measure of god)" inside of everyone. This is where the caste system gets it's different classes. The untouchable cast didn't have any Brahma, and thus wasn't clean to those with Brahma. So these people didn't even really have any hope until their next life, which we know they'll never get to.
The untouchables are some of the most dear people to my heart so far on this trip. NOBODY has ever shown interest inthem Nobody has ever bothered with them. They are also stuck under the oppression of the Hindu gods. What a hopeless situation!
I love the kids here. There were two little boys that stole my heart. I only wish that I could remember Indian names...they're so complicated! haha.
These people were SO open to us & our messag, which made everything to do with ministry that much easier. When the time for the Net came near, hands shot up! My heart was jumping! I prayed for two guys to receive Christ, and a woman with a heart condition for healing, a little hirl and a deaf woman.
In the middle of the prayer for the deaf woman, Kass, our TL got everybody rounded up & in the vans as fast as she and Jared, our other TL could. It was a 'don't ask questions' moment. As soon as everybody was back on the bus safely, we heard the news. There was a group that does 'social work' and keeps an ear out for christian groups & activity. There was a mob assembling as we were there, and they were quickly approaching.
As we were driving back to our base, I got a real sense of what it is to have a part in the persecution that the church here faces daily. We asked the pastor what would have happened if we hadn't gotten tipped off, and he said, "I as the pastor would have been killed, the men in the group would have been beaten, if not murdered, and the woman would have been severely beaten as well."
Wow. My heart is continually breaking over these people!!!!
Sunday, July 18, 2010
7-18-2010
CRAZY ministry today!
We went to a small city, and as we were walking through the city, I kept seeing images of Ganesh, the half elephant, half human god. I just felt such a heaviness throughout the entire city. Walking through the village, I smelled incense burning everywhere. Incense is usually one of my favorite smells, but just knowing that it was a sacrifice made it burn my lungs, and made me sick.
Everytime I see an idol or anything resembling an idol, it hurts my spirit. Seeing these things brings a new meaning to feeling the heart of God.
I felt like our ministry was set up for just another nominal night of ministry because the majority of our audience was children, and the rest were already Christians from the area.BUT during ministry time, there was so much that happened: A mute child spoke his first word, Jesus, a blind woman saw, a deaf person was healed and... We cast demons out of a woman.
A woman brought her sister into the courtyard and said, "We need prayer for our sister."
Here, it's important to note that the one woman was christian, thus referring to 'our sister' as the body of christ's sister (which happened to be her own sister). Because of this, we thought that they had another sister that wasn't there, so we proceeded to ask what was wrong with her, not knowing that the woman she had brought was the one we needed to pray for.
We asked the one sister what she needed prayer for, and she said that they thought she had a demon because she would disappear in the middle of the night, and when they awoke in the morning, someone would be dead.
So we started to pray, and Selvi, the woman that was brought, started manifesting demons.
The girls of the team circled her and started praying, and the battle was on. I took a place on the outside of the women, since it's not ok for men to touch women, even for prayer, in this culture. As we started praying, Selvi started convulsing and flailing, so the girls had to start holding her so no one got hurt. As we prayed, the demons would shriek & yell & try to get away.
After about an hour of praying fervently, being tossed back and forth by the attempts of the possessed woman to escape, losing my voice, and being directed by the Spirit of God, God finally set His daughter free. I feel as if there was at least 3 different demons in this woman. After it came to Selvi's point of deliverance, we lead Selvi into the church, where she fell to her knees at the altar & began praying to the One True God, Jesus Christ. Slowly, Selvi's hands folded & she said "Jesus". That's when we knew it was over.
I'm just SO in awe of the dramatic change that we saw in Selvi. Even her eyes brightened up after she was delivered and accepted the Lord.Her bindi was gone as well. The oppression of Hinduism was off of her life.
After talking to the Pastor afterwards, He said that this woman had been possessed for 3 years. He also said that the Hindu community said that if Selvi was delivered by the Christians, that they would start going to church & listening about Jesus. Guess what? She was delivered by the Almighty!!!!
God is so good & I am 100% in awe of what He can do!!!!
We went to a small city, and as we were walking through the city, I kept seeing images of Ganesh, the half elephant, half human god. I just felt such a heaviness throughout the entire city. Walking through the village, I smelled incense burning everywhere. Incense is usually one of my favorite smells, but just knowing that it was a sacrifice made it burn my lungs, and made me sick.
Everytime I see an idol or anything resembling an idol, it hurts my spirit. Seeing these things brings a new meaning to feeling the heart of God.
I felt like our ministry was set up for just another nominal night of ministry because the majority of our audience was children, and the rest were already Christians from the area.BUT during ministry time, there was so much that happened: A mute child spoke his first word, Jesus, a blind woman saw, a deaf person was healed and... We cast demons out of a woman.
A woman brought her sister into the courtyard and said, "We need prayer for our sister."
Here, it's important to note that the one woman was christian, thus referring to 'our sister' as the body of christ's sister (which happened to be her own sister). Because of this, we thought that they had another sister that wasn't there, so we proceeded to ask what was wrong with her, not knowing that the woman she had brought was the one we needed to pray for.
We asked the one sister what she needed prayer for, and she said that they thought she had a demon because she would disappear in the middle of the night, and when they awoke in the morning, someone would be dead.
So we started to pray, and Selvi, the woman that was brought, started manifesting demons.
The girls of the team circled her and started praying, and the battle was on. I took a place on the outside of the women, since it's not ok for men to touch women, even for prayer, in this culture. As we started praying, Selvi started convulsing and flailing, so the girls had to start holding her so no one got hurt. As we prayed, the demons would shriek & yell & try to get away.
After about an hour of praying fervently, being tossed back and forth by the attempts of the possessed woman to escape, losing my voice, and being directed by the Spirit of God, God finally set His daughter free. I feel as if there was at least 3 different demons in this woman. After it came to Selvi's point of deliverance, we lead Selvi into the church, where she fell to her knees at the altar & began praying to the One True God, Jesus Christ. Slowly, Selvi's hands folded & she said "Jesus". That's when we knew it was over.
I'm just SO in awe of the dramatic change that we saw in Selvi. Even her eyes brightened up after she was delivered and accepted the Lord.Her bindi was gone as well. The oppression of Hinduism was off of her life.
After talking to the Pastor afterwards, He said that this woman had been possessed for 3 years. He also said that the Hindu community said that if Selvi was delivered by the Christians, that they would start going to church & listening about Jesus. Guess what? She was delivered by the Almighty!!!!
God is so good & I am 100% in awe of what He can do!!!!
Saturday, July 17, 2010
7-17-2010
Today we had our first REAL ministry site.
We went to an area called the Umbai district. This is an area with over 300,000 people who are primarily Hindu. Many have never even heard of the gospel. I wish that I could speak Tamil. I just feel like if I had someone who could translate everything I needed, or if we had the ability to just speak tamil miraculously, that this ministry would be that much more effective. I talked to a young Hindu man tonight. He understood what we were saying about the One True God, but couldn't get past the ways of his country. "One God is America, many gods is India. That's way it is." is all he would say. It broke my heart, but I know that the seeds are planted. My prayers are with him.
We did ministry in the middle of the street in this village. This was our stage. We did our program & everybody seemed pretty entertained. As soon as the net happened though, spiritual warfare started up. All of the men started chattering, and the seamstress's shop next to us started blaring Hindu music, and cars drove through the middle of the crowd, all distracting those we were ministering to, but despite the devil's attempts, the Holy Spirit still claimed souls AND performed a healing of an old woman's eye sight. God is so faithful!!!
We went to an area called the Umbai district. This is an area with over 300,000 people who are primarily Hindu. Many have never even heard of the gospel. I wish that I could speak Tamil. I just feel like if I had someone who could translate everything I needed, or if we had the ability to just speak tamil miraculously, that this ministry would be that much more effective. I talked to a young Hindu man tonight. He understood what we were saying about the One True God, but couldn't get past the ways of his country. "One God is America, many gods is India. That's way it is." is all he would say. It broke my heart, but I know that the seeds are planted. My prayers are with him.
We did ministry in the middle of the street in this village. This was our stage. We did our program & everybody seemed pretty entertained. As soon as the net happened though, spiritual warfare started up. All of the men started chattering, and the seamstress's shop next to us started blaring Hindu music, and cars drove through the middle of the crowd, all distracting those we were ministering to, but despite the devil's attempts, the Holy Spirit still claimed souls AND performed a healing of an old woman's eye sight. God is so faithful!!!
Thursday, July 15, 2010
India Journal - 7-15 & 16
Training all day, and recuperation from jet lag. It's sucha strange thing. I'm not 100% sure what to do about it, but oh well :).
We've been preparing for our VBS all day. IT's a lot different than I was expecting it to be, but it works out. Our ministry time is also a lot different than it was in Panama. All of our ministry happens in the afternoon/evening. So mornings are free. My system is also finally adjusting to all of the food that we're eating here. AND no matter WHAT I do, I cannot get away from the bugbites!
We went to our first 2 ministry sites today. They were a great first run. We went to two different schools. I LOVE Indian children!!! They are probably some of the cutest kids I've ever met. We visited a couple of private schools & did our program. (program consists of a couple skits, song, bible story, and altar call) FOr some reason, I just couldn't shake a feeling of oppression in these areas though. This made it a little bit harder to break into a proper mindset for ministry, but I know that whatever's going on with me CANNOT interfere with the winning of sourls & the furthering of the kingdom. The gospel isn't comfortable, and when you look at these people... these beautiful, fearfully, and wonderfully made cultural people, and see them the way that God sees them, you begin to realize that your comfort doesn't matter. It's the LAST thing that I'm worried about
We've been preparing for our VBS all day. IT's a lot different than I was expecting it to be, but it works out. Our ministry time is also a lot different than it was in Panama. All of our ministry happens in the afternoon/evening. So mornings are free. My system is also finally adjusting to all of the food that we're eating here. AND no matter WHAT I do, I cannot get away from the bugbites!
We went to our first 2 ministry sites today. They were a great first run. We went to two different schools. I LOVE Indian children!!! They are probably some of the cutest kids I've ever met. We visited a couple of private schools & did our program. (program consists of a couple skits, song, bible story, and altar call) FOr some reason, I just couldn't shake a feeling of oppression in these areas though. This made it a little bit harder to break into a proper mindset for ministry, but I know that whatever's going on with me CANNOT interfere with the winning of sourls & the furthering of the kingdom. The gospel isn't comfortable, and when you look at these people... these beautiful, fearfully, and wonderfully made cultural people, and see them the way that God sees them, you begin to realize that your comfort doesn't matter. It's the LAST thing that I'm worried about
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
India Journal - 7-14
India.
My first few minutes in Asia.
Just being here, I can feel a completely different spiritual atmosphere. The darkness feels kinda like an emptiness. I feel a strong presence in the emptiness though. It's definitely a palpable feeling of something, but of what exactly? I'm not sure, but I do know that I feel the presence of God so much stronger here than I feel it in the US. I guess it's just easier to see the light in the midst of darkness, ya?
My heart is just so burdened for these people. My heart is heavy. I feel like I can't do anything but pray for this peopl, for this land and for the principalities to be broken.
I just still cannot believe that I'm here. I've ALWAYS wanted to come here, and now that it's finally here, it feels surreal.
9:34 PM
Got to campus & met the other team. God has been good to them so far. I can see it in their faces. I can't wait to see how God uses US on this trip too. The kids at the deaf school that we are staying at are adorable. I've heard a lot of the kids have cut their Hindu bracelets off after hearing the gospel, and the other team has told us stories of going into Hindu villages that have NEVER heard the gospel before. I can't wait to hear and see what God has in store for us. AND I still cannot believe that I'm FINALLY in India...Just wanted to re-iterate that :)
My first few minutes in Asia.
Just being here, I can feel a completely different spiritual atmosphere. The darkness feels kinda like an emptiness. I feel a strong presence in the emptiness though. It's definitely a palpable feeling of something, but of what exactly? I'm not sure, but I do know that I feel the presence of God so much stronger here than I feel it in the US. I guess it's just easier to see the light in the midst of darkness, ya?
My heart is just so burdened for these people. My heart is heavy. I feel like I can't do anything but pray for this peopl, for this land and for the principalities to be broken.
I just still cannot believe that I'm here. I've ALWAYS wanted to come here, and now that it's finally here, it feels surreal.
9:34 PM
Got to campus & met the other team. God has been good to them so far. I can see it in their faces. I can't wait to see how God uses US on this trip too. The kids at the deaf school that we are staying at are adorable. I've heard a lot of the kids have cut their Hindu bracelets off after hearing the gospel, and the other team has told us stories of going into Hindu villages that have NEVER heard the gospel before. I can't wait to hear and see what God has in store for us. AND I still cannot believe that I'm FINALLY in India...Just wanted to re-iterate that :)
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
7-12 & 13
These days were spend on the plane, and we lost one across the international date line, so no journaling here :)
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