So a couple of weeks ago I spent 12 days in Ruurikkala, at a place that used to be a hotel but is now a YWAM base. It is a beautiful place, right next to a lake.
My stay there was really great. I got to get to know some really amazing people, some who were staff at the base and then others who were there for the seminar. We spent lots of time together in worship and prayer, in teaching sessions, eating and then just relaxing. We had sauna a number of times, including once a smoke sauna, which is more traditional. I also got to do the whole 'rolling in the snow' thing, and also 'avanto', which is basically a hole cut in the ice. Going from sauna to avanto made me feel pretty alive, although i was back in the sauna pretty quick.
We had lots of teaching, several hours of it most days. It was really great stuff. A South African couple who are YWAM missionaries in Estonia did most of the teaching. A YWAM Finland leader and a pastor and intercessor from Greater Helsinki also came and did some teaching for some of it. They all told amazing stories of how God has taught them and done amazing things. It really builds up your faith to see that prayer can really change cities and nations.
I have a notebook full of notes from there, and it'll take a while to process it all.
Here's a few thoughts that especially spoke to me:
- We need to take time to listen to the Holy Spirit, and get revelation directly from God. He has strategies specific to our situation and ministry, and He wants to share them with us.
- We need a solid foundation to what we do - our relationship with God and our heart attitudes need to be right. Our secret life in God is what fuels everything. God looks at the heart.
- The fear of God is very important, it keeps us in humility and also frees us from the fear of man.
- Picture of a pan with mud and small pieces of gold (which are at first hard to see) in it. We must see and point out the gold (in people, situations, etc.) and pray about the mud. God gives us revelation and discernment - we musn't use this to criticise, but rather to pray.
- In order to intercede, we must get God's perspective and pray from that, not our own ideas or perspective. We must listen to God and pray His prayers. We must know God's Word in order to know more of what His will is.
- It takes discipline and commitment to climb the mountain of prayer - learning to pray is a journey.
- God knows how to change a place - we have to get strategies from Him. When the Israelites took the promised land, God had a different strategy for each battle.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Monday, November 29, 2010
A few days in Tampere
So a few weeks ago, I went to Tampere (about 2 hours from Helsinki by car) for about 4 days, the first two of those with Eva. It was great to see Antti and Anni, Aki and Maria and their families, who I've known for a few years. We got to spend time with them and pray for them, which was cool. Their hospitality and generosity was a real blessing.
On the second day we visited a nearby cafe, which is run by local Christians. It has an area for people to come and worship and pray, and also sells tasty waffles. We spent some time just worshiping Jesus there and praying for the area, and also prayed for two of the staff there. We did eat waffles too - they were good.
The third day was Saturday, and I was at a 'housechurch day' for people from different parts of Finland. I helped lead some worship there, which was good - always fun singing in finnish. I'm starting to try to be adventurous and sing 'free-flow' in finnish - usually only very basic phrases, but hey. The day was really good - we shared in small groups about our experiences of housechurch, and inpsired and challenged each other. Thankfully the people in my small group were all able to speak english well.
The next day I took a train to Kauhava, about 2 hours north by train, and then got a lift from there to Evijärvi, where I was at a 12-day-long Intercession Seminar (will write about that soonish)
So, after the 'housechurch day' I felt really encouraged to keep pursuing this vision of small communities, focused around worship and prayer, and relationship with one another. It was good to be challenged again on being 'missional' communities, because our small communities can quite easily remain inward-focused. It is personally a challenge as I'm not particularly a natural evangelist, but I know God wants to bring His life to people around me and I'm a channel for His life. Sometimes we think we have nothing to give, but when we look at some of the truly broken people around us, we see that we have so much to share. The same Holy Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead is in us, but it is so easy for me to forget this.
I really want to see these communities among young people here. We've been having gatherings with some people here recently, and it's been great to worship together, to cry out to God for our city and nation (and other things), and pray and prophesy into each other's lives.
Yesterday afternoon we spent about 4 hours doing these things, and it was wonderful. I'm hoping and praying that in the new year we will be able to keep these gatherings going and perhaps make them more regular.
I pray that we as young people would have a clear vision of Who God is, of what He wants to do (so we may intercede, and be part of the answer to our prayers), and that God would continue to heal us and transform us from glory into glory.
On the second day we visited a nearby cafe, which is run by local Christians. It has an area for people to come and worship and pray, and also sells tasty waffles. We spent some time just worshiping Jesus there and praying for the area, and also prayed for two of the staff there. We did eat waffles too - they were good.
The third day was Saturday, and I was at a 'housechurch day' for people from different parts of Finland. I helped lead some worship there, which was good - always fun singing in finnish. I'm starting to try to be adventurous and sing 'free-flow' in finnish - usually only very basic phrases, but hey. The day was really good - we shared in small groups about our experiences of housechurch, and inpsired and challenged each other. Thankfully the people in my small group were all able to speak english well.
The next day I took a train to Kauhava, about 2 hours north by train, and then got a lift from there to Evijärvi, where I was at a 12-day-long Intercession Seminar (will write about that soonish)
So, after the 'housechurch day' I felt really encouraged to keep pursuing this vision of small communities, focused around worship and prayer, and relationship with one another. It was good to be challenged again on being 'missional' communities, because our small communities can quite easily remain inward-focused. It is personally a challenge as I'm not particularly a natural evangelist, but I know God wants to bring His life to people around me and I'm a channel for His life. Sometimes we think we have nothing to give, but when we look at some of the truly broken people around us, we see that we have so much to share. The same Holy Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead is in us, but it is so easy for me to forget this.
I really want to see these communities among young people here. We've been having gatherings with some people here recently, and it's been great to worship together, to cry out to God for our city and nation (and other things), and pray and prophesy into each other's lives.
Yesterday afternoon we spent about 4 hours doing these things, and it was wonderful. I'm hoping and praying that in the new year we will be able to keep these gatherings going and perhaps make them more regular.
I pray that we as young people would have a clear vision of Who God is, of what He wants to do (so we may intercede, and be part of the answer to our prayers), and that God would continue to heal us and transform us from glory into glory.
Monday, November 8, 2010
Taste and See
A thought I've been having recently is that the act of remembering is one of the keys to life with God. Throughout the Psalms, there are exhortations to remember who God is and what He's done. It is so easy to forget how good God is.
But we have all tasted and seen that God is good. Throughout the last year I've tasted so much of God's goodness, yet at many times I doubted his goodness. We need to choose to remember God's love and goodness. As it says in Song of Songs 1:4 "We will remember Your love"(NKJV) and Psalm 103:2 "May I never forget the good things He does for me."(NLT)
So, this weekend was pretty amazing, and I definitely experienced God's goodness. I was at a conference called 'Radical Love', organised by Gospel Boarders and some other groups, on Friday eve, Satuday morning and eve and then Sunday afternoon. We worshiped, had teaching, heard testimonies, and had 'fire tunnels'. It was great time of encountering God's love for us.
There were people there from the Nordic School of Supernatural Ministry in Norway, a bunch of people who've planted a church amongst the winter sports community in Sweden, and people from some other places. It was great to meet them, get to know some of them a bit and pray with them. These guys were really filled with God's love, and you could see it by the way the loved each other. It was pretty infectious; I couldn't help but love them.
On the Saturday morning, before going to the gathering, I'd been asking God about an Intercession Seminar I'm going to next Sunday at a YWAM base several hours north of Helsinki. I really felt I was meant to go, but I didn't have all the money for it. So I gave these feelings of uncertainty to God, and resisted the temptation to worry. At the meeting that morning, the guy leading it took a money collection, but he didn't say what for. He then asked us to all take some of the money that had just been collected, and to ask God who to give the money to. It was really cool just to bless each other. Then He asked if anyone had any particular financial needs. I had totally forgotten that I did, but then Eva (a spiritual mother to me here) pointed me out. Then a whole bunch of people gave me money they'd been given. After giving some of it away, the meeting ended. When I got home, I counted the money, and realised that it covered the whole price of the seminar next week! I was pretty overwhelmed by that.
Also this weekend there was a weekend of prayer happening in Helsinki (24/3). I booked a slot in the night on saturday/sunday - midnight to 5am. It was pretty great really. When i got there, the person doing the slot before me gave me some money and a card to encourage me that "worshiping is as good a job as any". Again, I was pretty speechless.
The 5 hours in the prayer room went amazingly quickly. There's something great about spending time alone with God at night, worshiping, crying out to Him for this nation, and just being with Him. It was well worth the tiredness I feel now.
And on Saturday afternoon I sat down and wrote a song about God's love. I'll probably do a basic recording of it pretty soon, and when i do it'll be here: http://www.myspace.com/bonoa
On Thursday I'm going to Tampere, and on Saturday I'm helping facilitate worship at a 'Housechurch day' for people involved in housechurch to network and be encouraged. Then on Sunday I'm going on to a YWAM base in Ruurikkala (where I had a pretty crazy encounter with God on the Burn tour in August). I'm going to a 12-day-long seminar on intercession - should be a pretty great time of learning, meeting new people and being inspired.
So be blessed and remember God's love and goodness.
But we have all tasted and seen that God is good. Throughout the last year I've tasted so much of God's goodness, yet at many times I doubted his goodness. We need to choose to remember God's love and goodness. As it says in Song of Songs 1:4 "We will remember Your love"(NKJV) and Psalm 103:2 "May I never forget the good things He does for me."(NLT)
So, this weekend was pretty amazing, and I definitely experienced God's goodness. I was at a conference called 'Radical Love', organised by Gospel Boarders and some other groups, on Friday eve, Satuday morning and eve and then Sunday afternoon. We worshiped, had teaching, heard testimonies, and had 'fire tunnels'. It was great time of encountering God's love for us.
There were people there from the Nordic School of Supernatural Ministry in Norway, a bunch of people who've planted a church amongst the winter sports community in Sweden, and people from some other places. It was great to meet them, get to know some of them a bit and pray with them. These guys were really filled with God's love, and you could see it by the way the loved each other. It was pretty infectious; I couldn't help but love them.
On the Saturday morning, before going to the gathering, I'd been asking God about an Intercession Seminar I'm going to next Sunday at a YWAM base several hours north of Helsinki. I really felt I was meant to go, but I didn't have all the money for it. So I gave these feelings of uncertainty to God, and resisted the temptation to worry. At the meeting that morning, the guy leading it took a money collection, but he didn't say what for. He then asked us to all take some of the money that had just been collected, and to ask God who to give the money to. It was really cool just to bless each other. Then He asked if anyone had any particular financial needs. I had totally forgotten that I did, but then Eva (a spiritual mother to me here) pointed me out. Then a whole bunch of people gave me money they'd been given. After giving some of it away, the meeting ended. When I got home, I counted the money, and realised that it covered the whole price of the seminar next week! I was pretty overwhelmed by that.
Also this weekend there was a weekend of prayer happening in Helsinki (24/3). I booked a slot in the night on saturday/sunday - midnight to 5am. It was pretty great really. When i got there, the person doing the slot before me gave me some money and a card to encourage me that "worshiping is as good a job as any". Again, I was pretty speechless.
The 5 hours in the prayer room went amazingly quickly. There's something great about spending time alone with God at night, worshiping, crying out to Him for this nation, and just being with Him. It was well worth the tiredness I feel now.
And on Saturday afternoon I sat down and wrote a song about God's love. I'll probably do a basic recording of it pretty soon, and when i do it'll be here: http://www.myspace.com/bonoa
On Thursday I'm going to Tampere, and on Saturday I'm helping facilitate worship at a 'Housechurch day' for people involved in housechurch to network and be encouraged. Then on Sunday I'm going on to a YWAM base in Ruurikkala (where I had a pretty crazy encounter with God on the Burn tour in August). I'm going to a 12-day-long seminar on intercession - should be a pretty great time of learning, meeting new people and being inspired.
So be blessed and remember God's love and goodness.
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Passionate love for Jesus
So, over the past weeks I've been going through Mike Bickle's series on the Song of Songs. (you can get mp3s, videos, and notes at http://mikebickle.org/resources/series/song-of-songs)
Now, obviously the book is a natural love song, but this teaching is focusing on the spiritual interpretation. I can honestly say it's changed my relationship with God, and many times now when I worship words from the Song come into my mind and I whisper, speak or sing them out.
Honestly, in the past I've often ignored this book of the Bible; it does seem pretty random at times. But as I've begun to really look at it, it's really changed the way I view God. It's made me see that a passionate, fiery love for Jesus is something we can all have and must all set our lives on. God is raising up a Bride in these days that is passsionately in love with Jesus and will endure anything for Him.
Now, a lot of the church, myself included, is not walking in this passionate love for Jesus. Sure, we love Him and serve Him, but we've settled for what seems 'normal'. We desperately need to encounter God's heart, His jealous passion for us. We need pursue Him violently and tenaciously.
So, here's the notes I made from the teaching session based on Song 1:2 (a lot of this is direct quotes from the teaching). It's pretty epic, but definitely worth reading.
"Let Him kiss me with the kisses of His mouth - for Your love is better than wine." (Song 1:2)
- We cry out to the Father, "Let Him (Jesus) kiss me with the kisses of His mouth (Word)." We are asking for the grace to love Jesus with all our heart. (Matt 22:37-38) The first commandment must be the first priority in our lives.
- The theme of the Song is the Bride's cry for the kiss of God's Word to touch the deepest place in her heart - the Word as it reveals the King's emotions for His bride and awakens our heart in the 3-fold love of God (love from God, then love for God which overflows to others).
- Why does she want the kisses of the Word? She says directly to Jesus "For (because) Your love is better than wine." Wine here speaks of the drink of earthly celebration, the intoxicating things of this world, both good and bad.
- As woderful as God's blessings are, they are not to be the primary focus of our hearts. The Bride sees that superior pleasures come from growing in revelation of God's heart (affection).
- God has placed longings in us to woo us into His presence (see Mike's book The Seven Longings of the Human Heart, which you can download free in pdf form at http://mikebickle.org/books
There is a 'God-shaped vacuum' in us that can only be filled by God.
- The greatest 'pleasures' are spiritual ones, experienced by encountering Jesus as the Bridegroom God (Phil 3:8). God frees us from the dominion of the inferior pleasures of sin by allowing us to experience superior spiritual pleasures that are more powerful.
- The reward of a lover is the power to love. A lover does twice as much as a worker and does not care for any reward but the power to love.
- Motivation for Obedience
- "Affection-based obedience" flows from experiencing God's love. It results in the deepest and most consistent obedience - a lovesick person will embrace and endure anything for the sake of love
- "Obedience by faith", or without feeling God's presence, is still required in God's Word. When we don't feel like it we must obey.
- "Fear or shame-based obedience" is Biblical too, but it is not enough to motivate us to consistently resist the pleasures of sin for years.
- Experiencing God is more effective in motivating us to resist sin than the fear of consequences. The fear of sin's consequences does not overpower the tendency in our hearts to sin, but will instead cause us to sin secret, in more creative ways.
- We sin when our heart is hungry and unsatisfied with God. Our struggle for holiness must be set in context to our pursuit to live satisfied in God.
- God loves us in the same way that God loves God.(John 15:9, 17:23, 26) This gives every believer the right to view themselves as 'God's favourite.' This tells of our worth and value.
- The way that the Father loves Jesus is the only accurate measure in which we can understand how Jesus feels about us. God's love is a powerful reality that includes deep desire, enjoyment, pleasure and longing. The Gospel is a call to live in that vast ocean of divine love. (Eph 3:17-19)
- The disciples were sincere but yet still spiritually immature. Jesus' affirmations of love were spoken to weak believers He knew would betray Him that night. Jesus knew that the only thing that would stabilise them was knowing how God felt about them.
- We must make it a priority to meditate on the truths about God's emotions for us. We are transformed most as we understand how God feels about us, especially in our weakness. This revelation causes us to run to Him instead of from Him.
- When God wants to empower us to love Him, He reveals Himself as One Who loves us. We love, enjoy and pursue Him because we understand that He first loved, enjoyed and pursued us. (1 Jn 4:19)
Now, obviously the book is a natural love song, but this teaching is focusing on the spiritual interpretation. I can honestly say it's changed my relationship with God, and many times now when I worship words from the Song come into my mind and I whisper, speak or sing them out.
Honestly, in the past I've often ignored this book of the Bible; it does seem pretty random at times. But as I've begun to really look at it, it's really changed the way I view God. It's made me see that a passionate, fiery love for Jesus is something we can all have and must all set our lives on. God is raising up a Bride in these days that is passsionately in love with Jesus and will endure anything for Him.
Now, a lot of the church, myself included, is not walking in this passionate love for Jesus. Sure, we love Him and serve Him, but we've settled for what seems 'normal'. We desperately need to encounter God's heart, His jealous passion for us. We need pursue Him violently and tenaciously.
So, here's the notes I made from the teaching session based on Song 1:2 (a lot of this is direct quotes from the teaching). It's pretty epic, but definitely worth reading.
"Let Him kiss me with the kisses of His mouth - for Your love is better than wine." (Song 1:2)
- We cry out to the Father, "Let Him (Jesus) kiss me with the kisses of His mouth (Word)." We are asking for the grace to love Jesus with all our heart. (Matt 22:37-38) The first commandment must be the first priority in our lives.
- The theme of the Song is the Bride's cry for the kiss of God's Word to touch the deepest place in her heart - the Word as it reveals the King's emotions for His bride and awakens our heart in the 3-fold love of God (love from God, then love for God which overflows to others).
- Why does she want the kisses of the Word? She says directly to Jesus "For (because) Your love is better than wine." Wine here speaks of the drink of earthly celebration, the intoxicating things of this world, both good and bad.
- As woderful as God's blessings are, they are not to be the primary focus of our hearts. The Bride sees that superior pleasures come from growing in revelation of God's heart (affection).
- God has placed longings in us to woo us into His presence (see Mike's book The Seven Longings of the Human Heart, which you can download free in pdf form at http://mikebickle.org/books
There is a 'God-shaped vacuum' in us that can only be filled by God.
- The greatest 'pleasures' are spiritual ones, experienced by encountering Jesus as the Bridegroom God (Phil 3:8). God frees us from the dominion of the inferior pleasures of sin by allowing us to experience superior spiritual pleasures that are more powerful.
- The reward of a lover is the power to love. A lover does twice as much as a worker and does not care for any reward but the power to love.
- Motivation for Obedience
- "Affection-based obedience" flows from experiencing God's love. It results in the deepest and most consistent obedience - a lovesick person will embrace and endure anything for the sake of love
- "Obedience by faith", or without feeling God's presence, is still required in God's Word. When we don't feel like it we must obey.
- "Fear or shame-based obedience" is Biblical too, but it is not enough to motivate us to consistently resist the pleasures of sin for years.
- Experiencing God is more effective in motivating us to resist sin than the fear of consequences. The fear of sin's consequences does not overpower the tendency in our hearts to sin, but will instead cause us to sin secret, in more creative ways.
- We sin when our heart is hungry and unsatisfied with God. Our struggle for holiness must be set in context to our pursuit to live satisfied in God.
- God loves us in the same way that God loves God.(John 15:9, 17:23, 26) This gives every believer the right to view themselves as 'God's favourite.' This tells of our worth and value.
- The way that the Father loves Jesus is the only accurate measure in which we can understand how Jesus feels about us. God's love is a powerful reality that includes deep desire, enjoyment, pleasure and longing. The Gospel is a call to live in that vast ocean of divine love. (Eph 3:17-19)
- The disciples were sincere but yet still spiritually immature. Jesus' affirmations of love were spoken to weak believers He knew would betray Him that night. Jesus knew that the only thing that would stabilise them was knowing how God felt about them.
- We must make it a priority to meditate on the truths about God's emotions for us. We are transformed most as we understand how God feels about us, especially in our weakness. This revelation causes us to run to Him instead of from Him.
- When God wants to empower us to love Him, He reveals Himself as One Who loves us. We love, enjoy and pursue Him because we understand that He first loved, enjoyed and pursued us. (1 Jn 4:19)
Friday, October 29, 2010
Worship evening
I just got home from a wonderful evening of worshiping Jesus and praying for Finland. This is the second one of these evenings we've had, and they've both been pretty great. I guess I've kinda been organising them, with help from some others. Some people from the 24/7 Prayer team have been there, some from our Burn tour in August, and then others who hear about it.
Our first gathering was in an apartment, which was cool in terms of the informal style, but probably not great in terms of the noise level for the neighbours. This evening we gathered in the basement of a church building pretty near central Helsinki, which was cool.
The basic idea behind it is basically to meet with God. So I bring a guitar, others are free to bring other instruments (such as a violin today), and we begin by focusing on God. The style is pretty free-flow, I don't really start with a list of songs. Sometimes songs come up spontaneously, and a lot of the time we just sing what's on our hearts or wait on God. So we worship, and give God lots of space to speak. Sometimes we sing in tongues, and sometimes we just sing without any words (this is something I've only recently started, but sometimes there is a cry in my spirit that just has to be released through singing). The idea is that everyone can be part of it - everyone can pray out, or sing out. The Holy Spirit leads the worship through all of us.
As we encounter God, often He speaks to us. This evening, for example, as I was just singing without any words, I had the impression of God singing His passionate song of love over us. And then He gave me words to speak related to this. Now, I'm definitely not an expert at this, and it took a while for me to get over myself and actually say what I felt God was saying. I also listen to when others are singing or saying something, and then maybe join in with their song. It seems to me that this could be part of what corporate worship really is, we can all contribute.
And God really does lead the worship - we started in worshiping Him, then He revealed something of His love as a Father, wanting us just to be still and receive His love. Then He drew our attention to the cross and what His love looks like, that we are His inheritance and in view of such love we offered our all to Him. Then we became aware of how we need His love to empower us to love in the same way, and to carry His love to a broken world. Then we were led to cry out to God for Finland, that His kingdom would break out in this land, that His freedom and hope and joy would be released.
So yeah, there wasn't really a plan at the beginning, but I'm finding that as we give God space, He is more than able to lead us. As we come to Him without an agenda, His agenda becomes central.
Our first gathering was in an apartment, which was cool in terms of the informal style, but probably not great in terms of the noise level for the neighbours. This evening we gathered in the basement of a church building pretty near central Helsinki, which was cool.
The basic idea behind it is basically to meet with God. So I bring a guitar, others are free to bring other instruments (such as a violin today), and we begin by focusing on God. The style is pretty free-flow, I don't really start with a list of songs. Sometimes songs come up spontaneously, and a lot of the time we just sing what's on our hearts or wait on God. So we worship, and give God lots of space to speak. Sometimes we sing in tongues, and sometimes we just sing without any words (this is something I've only recently started, but sometimes there is a cry in my spirit that just has to be released through singing). The idea is that everyone can be part of it - everyone can pray out, or sing out. The Holy Spirit leads the worship through all of us.
As we encounter God, often He speaks to us. This evening, for example, as I was just singing without any words, I had the impression of God singing His passionate song of love over us. And then He gave me words to speak related to this. Now, I'm definitely not an expert at this, and it took a while for me to get over myself and actually say what I felt God was saying. I also listen to when others are singing or saying something, and then maybe join in with their song. It seems to me that this could be part of what corporate worship really is, we can all contribute.
And God really does lead the worship - we started in worshiping Him, then He revealed something of His love as a Father, wanting us just to be still and receive His love. Then He drew our attention to the cross and what His love looks like, that we are His inheritance and in view of such love we offered our all to Him. Then we became aware of how we need His love to empower us to love in the same way, and to carry His love to a broken world. Then we were led to cry out to God for Finland, that His kingdom would break out in this land, that His freedom and hope and joy would be released.
So yeah, there wasn't really a plan at the beginning, but I'm finding that as we give God space, He is more than able to lead us. As we come to Him without an agenda, His agenda becomes central.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
From fibreglass bears to prayer for the nations
Yesterday I was meant to meet a friend in central Helsinki. Due to some miscommunication I got there an hour earlier than my friend. So, with an hour to waste, I first went to my usual plan when downtown - clothes shopping. After wandering into a shopping centre and through a couple of shops, I then left to wander down another main street full of shops. Strangely, I didn't feel compelled to go into any of the shops - maybe because I don't have loads of money to spend on clothes. As i continued walking down the street I had the thought that maybe God had a plan for this hour i was wasting.
I felt that I should keep walking along this same street. As I continued I remembered that ahead was a major square where the Helsinki Cathedral, original University of Helsinki building, and offices of the Prime Minister and cabinet of Finland are. So I got the impression that maybe I was meant to pray for Finland here.
When I got to the square I couldn't help but notice that the square was full of 2-metre tall fibreglass bears. I was intrigued, so i went to have a look. It turns out this was an international art exhibition with the motto:"We have to get to know each other better, it makes us understand one another better, trust each other more, and live together more peacefully". It's called the United Buddy Bears (great name), with painted bears representing over 140 nations of the world.
So, generally I'm pretty sceptical about these type of things; I mean, statues of bears from different nations holding hands are really gonna bring peace and harmony to the world?!! In fact, the idea that mankind coming together in peace and tolerance and unity can fix the world seems to me both unrealistic and very humanistic.
So anyway, while i was thinking these sort of things, it dawned on me that maybe i ended up here to do more than just rehearse my thoughts on world peace, etc. So, I decided to pause for a short while in front of each bear and pray for the nation represented. Sometimes the prayers were short, "Let your kingdom come in this nation" prayers, and other times there was more that i felt led to pray. As I slowly made my way around the circle, I was amazed at the thought that God has an great plan of what He wants to do in each different nation.
Psalm 86:9 "All the nations you have made will come and worship before you, O Lord; they will bring glory to your name."
I felt that I should keep walking along this same street. As I continued I remembered that ahead was a major square where the Helsinki Cathedral, original University of Helsinki building, and offices of the Prime Minister and cabinet of Finland are. So I got the impression that maybe I was meant to pray for Finland here.
When I got to the square I couldn't help but notice that the square was full of 2-metre tall fibreglass bears. I was intrigued, so i went to have a look. It turns out this was an international art exhibition with the motto:"We have to get to know each other better, it makes us understand one another better, trust each other more, and live together more peacefully". It's called the United Buddy Bears (great name), with painted bears representing over 140 nations of the world.
So, generally I'm pretty sceptical about these type of things; I mean, statues of bears from different nations holding hands are really gonna bring peace and harmony to the world?!! In fact, the idea that mankind coming together in peace and tolerance and unity can fix the world seems to me both unrealistic and very humanistic.
So anyway, while i was thinking these sort of things, it dawned on me that maybe i ended up here to do more than just rehearse my thoughts on world peace, etc. So, I decided to pause for a short while in front of each bear and pray for the nation represented. Sometimes the prayers were short, "Let your kingdom come in this nation" prayers, and other times there was more that i felt led to pray. As I slowly made my way around the circle, I was amazed at the thought that God has an great plan of what He wants to do in each different nation.
Psalm 86:9 "All the nations you have made will come and worship before you, O Lord; they will bring glory to your name."
Thursday, October 7, 2010
I have a guitar! Yay!
So, I haven't owned a guitar for a while now. I left my old guitar in Oklahoma, thinking I'd get back there again. That never happened, and now one of my friends there who didn't have a guitar has my old guitar. So pretty much wherever I've gone to lead worship since then I've borrowed other people's guitars. That was good, but since being in Finland I've been realising that having my own guitar would make things easier.
Then last week, someone very generously gave me 260 euros towards buying a guitar. I was pretty blown away by it. So, since then I've been looking for a guitar. I didn't have loads of money to add to that, so I was looking for something fairly cheap but good. I searched websites that sell guitars (although buying a guitar without ever trying it seems like a bad idea to me).
Yesterday I went to central Helsinki to try out guitars in the music shops. At one of the shops I asked if they knew any shops that sold second hand guitars. They only knew one, and printed out a map for me to get there. I saw a guitar there that I like the look of. It didn't have a price label on it, but I figured it would probably be way out of my price range. I played it and really liked it, it had a really nice sound and it just felt right. Then I tried a few other guitars, but that first guitar was still in the back of my mind. It was love at first sight.
So eventually asked the shop owner how expensive the guitar was, and I expected something 600 euros or more, but it was only 290 euros. It's 10 years old (10 years to the month younger than me) and it's a 'Peders' guitar, made by Landola, a Finnish guitar manufacturer. All their guitars are handmade. They guy said they don't make them any more, but it would cost around 500 euros new.
I got the guy to reserve the guitar for me, so I had time to think about it and find out more about what to check with older guitars to make sure they're in good condition. So I went back to the shop today, with 290 euros cash and a list of things to check on the guitar. The guitar passed all the tests, and after trying it out again, I knew this was my guitar. They also gave me a good padded gig bag, guitar strap and new set of strings.
I walked out of the shop with the guitar on my back and a smile on my face. I'm so thankful to God for providing the money and the guitar. He is so good.
Then last week, someone very generously gave me 260 euros towards buying a guitar. I was pretty blown away by it. So, since then I've been looking for a guitar. I didn't have loads of money to add to that, so I was looking for something fairly cheap but good. I searched websites that sell guitars (although buying a guitar without ever trying it seems like a bad idea to me).
Yesterday I went to central Helsinki to try out guitars in the music shops. At one of the shops I asked if they knew any shops that sold second hand guitars. They only knew one, and printed out a map for me to get there. I saw a guitar there that I like the look of. It didn't have a price label on it, but I figured it would probably be way out of my price range. I played it and really liked it, it had a really nice sound and it just felt right. Then I tried a few other guitars, but that first guitar was still in the back of my mind. It was love at first sight.
So eventually asked the shop owner how expensive the guitar was, and I expected something 600 euros or more, but it was only 290 euros. It's 10 years old (10 years to the month younger than me) and it's a 'Peders' guitar, made by Landola, a Finnish guitar manufacturer. All their guitars are handmade. They guy said they don't make them any more, but it would cost around 500 euros new.
I got the guy to reserve the guitar for me, so I had time to think about it and find out more about what to check with older guitars to make sure they're in good condition. So I went back to the shop today, with 290 euros cash and a list of things to check on the guitar. The guitar passed all the tests, and after trying it out again, I knew this was my guitar. They also gave me a good padded gig bag, guitar strap and new set of strings.
I walked out of the shop with the guitar on my back and a smile on my face. I'm so thankful to God for providing the money and the guitar. He is so good.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
What's happening?
Here's a general summary of what's been happening here in the last few weeks.
A couple of weeks ago I took a train 3 hours north(ish) to Jämsä, to visit a friend of mine called Luke. He's an english guy who's lived in Finland for about 13 years, and I met him when i lived in Finland before. I spent a week in Jämsä, mainly talking to Luke and leading worship at some worship gatherings. God seems to be doing stuff in Jämsä, and it was great to be able to support Luke in the work God has him doing there. It was cool to be able to talk through what I'm doing here with Luke, and get his advice on adjusting to life here.
When I got back to Helsinki, I knew I need to sort out the question of my residency status here. I'd lost whatever paper I'd been given when I moved here two years ago, and I wasn't sure whether I'd need to apply again as what I'm doing has changed. So, I finally went to the local police immigration office to find some answers to my questions. Walking in there and seeing all the forms that people were filling out kinda freaked me out. I guess my recent experiences with 'official' things haven't been great (denied visa at U.S. Embassy, 5 hours in Israeli security, denied entry to the U.S. in Chicago). After waiting for a while, I was able to talk to one of the immigration officials. He found me on their database, and simply printed out a new copy of the paper I'd been given 2 years ago. My residency hadn't expired, and I am officialy a resident of Helsinki. This was a great relief, and makes the practicalities of staying here a whole lot easier.
So what else have I been doing in Helsinki? Well, last weekend I was able to be part of two events in the greater Helsinki. On Friday evening I was at a worship evening organised by Verkosto church. I led worship for the first 2 hours, using Finnish songs and then flowing in between in English. God led us to intercede for His Church - that the Bride would come together and sing as one "Come, Lord Jesus". It was pretty great. Two other people led worship after me, and it was great just to be in that place of worship and to pray for whatever God put on our hearts. After about 5 hours we ended, but I'm sure we could have kept going for hours more.
The other event, on the next day, was a worship and intercession day organised by an American guy in Espoo (part of greater Helsinki area). It was great to be there; we worshiped for hours again, and interceded for the church, the area and the nation. We also prayed for one another, and just spent time getting to know each other. Luke came from Jämsä to lead worship and share, which was great. The day lasted about 10 hours in all, so i was pretty exhausted by the end of it. But it was great just to support people with vision for worship and prayer in this area.
I'm also now a member of Silmu, which is a housechurch here in Helsinki. Most of the people involved I know pretty well, and I felt that I could share life with them. There is so much that I could learn from them, and to have their support is a real blessing. I'm sure there are also things God has given me to share with them. Silmu is also very involved in reaching out to Jakomäki (see last post for more), which currently includes running an Alpha course there, which I'm involved in.
So, my life here is developing, and I'm more sure than ever that God wants me to be here. There's still plenty of uncertainty about exactly what I'm going to do here, but that's just part of the fun of adventure.
A couple of weeks ago I took a train 3 hours north(ish) to Jämsä, to visit a friend of mine called Luke. He's an english guy who's lived in Finland for about 13 years, and I met him when i lived in Finland before. I spent a week in Jämsä, mainly talking to Luke and leading worship at some worship gatherings. God seems to be doing stuff in Jämsä, and it was great to be able to support Luke in the work God has him doing there. It was cool to be able to talk through what I'm doing here with Luke, and get his advice on adjusting to life here.
When I got back to Helsinki, I knew I need to sort out the question of my residency status here. I'd lost whatever paper I'd been given when I moved here two years ago, and I wasn't sure whether I'd need to apply again as what I'm doing has changed. So, I finally went to the local police immigration office to find some answers to my questions. Walking in there and seeing all the forms that people were filling out kinda freaked me out. I guess my recent experiences with 'official' things haven't been great (denied visa at U.S. Embassy, 5 hours in Israeli security, denied entry to the U.S. in Chicago). After waiting for a while, I was able to talk to one of the immigration officials. He found me on their database, and simply printed out a new copy of the paper I'd been given 2 years ago. My residency hadn't expired, and I am officialy a resident of Helsinki. This was a great relief, and makes the practicalities of staying here a whole lot easier.
So what else have I been doing in Helsinki? Well, last weekend I was able to be part of two events in the greater Helsinki. On Friday evening I was at a worship evening organised by Verkosto church. I led worship for the first 2 hours, using Finnish songs and then flowing in between in English. God led us to intercede for His Church - that the Bride would come together and sing as one "Come, Lord Jesus". It was pretty great. Two other people led worship after me, and it was great just to be in that place of worship and to pray for whatever God put on our hearts. After about 5 hours we ended, but I'm sure we could have kept going for hours more.
The other event, on the next day, was a worship and intercession day organised by an American guy in Espoo (part of greater Helsinki area). It was great to be there; we worshiped for hours again, and interceded for the church, the area and the nation. We also prayed for one another, and just spent time getting to know each other. Luke came from Jämsä to lead worship and share, which was great. The day lasted about 10 hours in all, so i was pretty exhausted by the end of it. But it was great just to support people with vision for worship and prayer in this area.
I'm also now a member of Silmu, which is a housechurch here in Helsinki. Most of the people involved I know pretty well, and I felt that I could share life with them. There is so much that I could learn from them, and to have their support is a real blessing. I'm sure there are also things God has given me to share with them. Silmu is also very involved in reaching out to Jakomäki (see last post for more), which currently includes running an Alpha course there, which I'm involved in.
So, my life here is developing, and I'm more sure than ever that God wants me to be here. There's still plenty of uncertainty about exactly what I'm going to do here, but that's just part of the fun of adventure.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
You make beautiul things
For about 3 weeks now, there's been 2 hours of worship and prayer going on each day in Jakomäki, at a prayer room which is also a church office. Various different people, including myself, have taken two hour slots there to worship God and pray for the area, as well as whatever God puts on our hearts to pray for.
It has been really great to be back in Jakomäki. This was where I lived for the year I was in Finland before, and God has definitely given me a heart for the area. Jakomäki is an area in Helsinki with something of a reputation across Finland for being a bit rough. There are many alcoholics, many immigrants,and many of the poorer people in Helsinki there. Every time I've told someone anywhere in Finland that I had lived there, I could see the reaction on their faces.
But there are people who God has given a heart to see Jakomäki changed. A prayer room and office is being rented in Jakomäki, right next door to one of the many pubs in the area. Last week a group of us rearranged the place, so that now half the place is the office and kitchen area, and the other half is the prayer room. We felt it was important that the prayer room could function while the office is in use, and that there was a dedicated area for worship and prayer.
Worshiping and praying there has been great. Starting from the place of exalting Jesus and worshiping Him, God has given us revelation of His heart for the area, which fuels the fire of worship and prayer. Jakomäki is His garden; He is breathing on the area and bringing life to it, much like Aslan does when he breathes on people turned to stone and makes them alive again.
Also I felt God gave me Isaiah 62 as a word for the area, especially verse 4:
"You shall no longer be termed Forsaken, Nor shall your land any more be termed Desolate; But you shall be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah; For the LORD delights in you, And your land shall be married."
God delights in Jakomäki and has chosen it, although from a human perspective it may not seem desirable. I believe what God is doing in Jakomäki will be a sign and a wonder to the nation of Finland.
Last Saturday, we were involved in part of 'Urbaani Unelma' (a few days where the Church across Helsinki shared God's love in practical ways), again in Jakomäki. About 12 of us spent a few hours in the main central square of Jakomäki, giving out free coffee, pulla, and sandwiches and talking to people who passed by. We had good conversations with people and were able to pray with some, and we were able to share God's love with people. Others also picked up litter from the surrounding area.
I spent much of the time playing guitar and worshiping God there - it was great, declaring Jesus as Lord and singing over Jakmäki that "God is your Shield, your Strength, your Portion, your Deliverer, your Shelter, Strong Tower, your very present Help in time of need".
Finally, I was also inspired to sing the song 'Beautiful Things' by Gungor (video at the end of this). The lines "Could all that is lost ever be found? Could a garden come up from this ground at all?" expressed perfectly what in the flesh I've often felt about this place. As I was singing this, I could see people sat outside the pub drinking who've been there every day for years, the faces of people walking past who've lived pretty difficult lives, and then there's the thought that all the rubbish we'd been picking up would be back again within days. Could a garden really come up from this ground?
But then came the response: "You make beautiful things out of the dust", and with that hope began to rise. As I repeated it, faith was stirred up in me, a faith that sees things not as they are now but as they will be. God is making something truly beautiful out of Jakomäki.
It has been really great to be back in Jakomäki. This was where I lived for the year I was in Finland before, and God has definitely given me a heart for the area. Jakomäki is an area in Helsinki with something of a reputation across Finland for being a bit rough. There are many alcoholics, many immigrants,and many of the poorer people in Helsinki there. Every time I've told someone anywhere in Finland that I had lived there, I could see the reaction on their faces.
But there are people who God has given a heart to see Jakomäki changed. A prayer room and office is being rented in Jakomäki, right next door to one of the many pubs in the area. Last week a group of us rearranged the place, so that now half the place is the office and kitchen area, and the other half is the prayer room. We felt it was important that the prayer room could function while the office is in use, and that there was a dedicated area for worship and prayer.
Worshiping and praying there has been great. Starting from the place of exalting Jesus and worshiping Him, God has given us revelation of His heart for the area, which fuels the fire of worship and prayer. Jakomäki is His garden; He is breathing on the area and bringing life to it, much like Aslan does when he breathes on people turned to stone and makes them alive again.
Also I felt God gave me Isaiah 62 as a word for the area, especially verse 4:
"You shall no longer be termed Forsaken, Nor shall your land any more be termed Desolate; But you shall be called Hephzibah, and your land Beulah; For the LORD delights in you, And your land shall be married."
God delights in Jakomäki and has chosen it, although from a human perspective it may not seem desirable. I believe what God is doing in Jakomäki will be a sign and a wonder to the nation of Finland.
Last Saturday, we were involved in part of 'Urbaani Unelma' (a few days where the Church across Helsinki shared God's love in practical ways), again in Jakomäki. About 12 of us spent a few hours in the main central square of Jakomäki, giving out free coffee, pulla, and sandwiches and talking to people who passed by. We had good conversations with people and were able to pray with some, and we were able to share God's love with people. Others also picked up litter from the surrounding area.
I spent much of the time playing guitar and worshiping God there - it was great, declaring Jesus as Lord and singing over Jakmäki that "God is your Shield, your Strength, your Portion, your Deliverer, your Shelter, Strong Tower, your very present Help in time of need".
Finally, I was also inspired to sing the song 'Beautiful Things' by Gungor (video at the end of this). The lines "Could all that is lost ever be found? Could a garden come up from this ground at all?" expressed perfectly what in the flesh I've often felt about this place. As I was singing this, I could see people sat outside the pub drinking who've been there every day for years, the faces of people walking past who've lived pretty difficult lives, and then there's the thought that all the rubbish we'd been picking up would be back again within days. Could a garden really come up from this ground?
But then came the response: "You make beautiful things out of the dust", and with that hope began to rise. As I repeated it, faith was stirred up in me, a faith that sees things not as they are now but as they will be. God is making something truly beautiful out of Jakomäki.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
24-7 Prayer Finland gathering
On Saturday I was part of the 24-7 Prayer Finland gathering, and it was a realy good day. We spent some time getting to know each other and sharing stories of prayer rooms and what God's been doing in our lives. Myself and another member of the team helped lead two times of free-flow worship, the second more focused on intercession for the nation and prayer for each other. The afternoon also contained workshops with themes something like: 'how to organise a prayer room in your church, school, etc', 'prayer and mission', 'prayer-centered communities' and 'permanent houses of prayer and worship'. I was part of the last of these, and although it was all in Finnish and I struggled to understand at times, my spirit was stirred up to see these houses of prayer and worship raised up in Finland. The people sharing in this workshop voiced the longing in my heart to see 'Levites' raised up in this nation who will worship and intercede before God day and night. So yeah, it was a great day.
It seems like quite a while since the tour finished, although it was only 2 weeks ago. Life's been a lot more relaxed, but it's been good. Have been reading some good books. I'm half way through "He Loves Me" by Wayne Jacobson, which is really great, it deals with a lot of pretty vital stuff in our relationship with God. And then I'm nearing the end of Bonhoeffer's "Cost of Discipleship" - brilliant, completely uncompromising book. I've also been listening to Mike Bickle's series on Song of Songs - a few people had told me it was good, but it's blown me away how much you can get out of that book. Nearly every time of worship recently has involved me ending up singing from Song of Songs, there's so much good stuff there. Here's a link to the series, you can get mp3s and notes for free: http://mikebickle.org/resources/series/song-of-songs
oh yeah, and i went to see U2 in the Olympic stadium in Helsinki on Friday. It was epic, there were something like 100,000 people there. So crazy that we actually saw Bono. So yeah, life is good.
It seems like quite a while since the tour finished, although it was only 2 weeks ago. Life's been a lot more relaxed, but it's been good. Have been reading some good books. I'm half way through "He Loves Me" by Wayne Jacobson, which is really great, it deals with a lot of pretty vital stuff in our relationship with God. And then I'm nearing the end of Bonhoeffer's "Cost of Discipleship" - brilliant, completely uncompromising book. I've also been listening to Mike Bickle's series on Song of Songs - a few people had told me it was good, but it's blown me away how much you can get out of that book. Nearly every time of worship recently has involved me ending up singing from Song of Songs, there's so much good stuff there. Here's a link to the series, you can get mp3s and notes for free: http://mikebickle.org/resources/series/song-of-songs
oh yeah, and i went to see U2 in the Olympic stadium in Helsinki on Friday. It was epic, there were something like 100,000 people there. So crazy that we actually saw Bono. So yeah, life is good.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Burn Finland tour (August '10)
Just to warn you, this is pretty epic, but i hope it's worth reading - the end is probs the most interesting bit.
On 30th July, I got on my first flight since the whole 'being-refused-entry-into-America thing', sat next to Ben and Steve (who i'd never met before, but now feel like family), and waited with anticipation for arrival in Helsinki.
It had been 11 months since I was last in Finland, although it felt a lot longer ago than that. When we got to Helsinki, it felt like coming home - so many familiar faces and sights.
So, the tour - well, I i figured it would be great, but it was so much better than I expected. God showed up in amazing ways in each place we went to, and I believe what He did will have quite an impact on this nation. We had a great team, with us 3 guys from England, and 6 Finns - by the end of the tour we felt like a family. Despite having never played together as a band, we flowed well as a group.
In Helsinki, it was great to see that many people here have vision for houses of worship and prayer. As different people shared, and we later interceded for the nation, expectation at what God is going to do here rose in my heart.
After two days in Helsinki, we then spent one day in each of the other places (other than Pietasaari/Jakobstad). This meant lots of travelling (4 hours was the longest journey), which was tiring, but it was great to visit so many places.
Renko was our next stop. I spent a week in Renko about a year ago, so it was great to be back with those guys. We had 3 awesome times of prophetic worship there. In the last one, i just started playing some kind of winding solo stuff on the acoustic guitar. Pretty soon i was in some kind of Holy Spirit trance, all i could do was play guitar for ages, maybe about an hour. Crazy stuff.
Next stop about 2 hrs away was Jämsä, where we met Luke Jeffrey (who i knew from my time in Finland before). Here we led a time in the afternoon for worship leaders, with prophetic worship and teaching, and then the evening was a more general gathering. This included lots of worship and teaching, and ended with a time of passionate intercession for Jämsä and Finland - it was pretty awesome. Luke has since started regular gatherings for prophetic worship and intercession in Jämsä, and I hope to visit him again in a few weeks' time maybe. We three english guys got to stay with a lovely couple in their nearby summer cottage, and had sauna and swam in their lake - so great.
The next stop was a YWAM base near Siilinjärvi. It was great to get to know people there, and the evening of prophetic worship and teaching was great. It was great to bless and encourage the base leaders in their vision for a house of worship and prayer.
We then had a 4 hour drive to Pietasaari/Jakobstad, where we stayed two nights. This was in a mainly Swedish-speaking area, which was cool. Both evenings we had great times of worship and teaching. Also, on both evenings an indigenous sound of Finland was released - two ladies played violins, in a very folky and mournful style. It was amazing, and God was definitely at work there. We also got to chillax for the day in between the meetings. Ben, Sonja and myself spent a while playing each other our songs, and then having sauna and swimming in the Baltic Sea (which wasn't that warm, even in summer).
Our next stop was Vaasa. We had an afternoon and an evening session here, and it was quite tough ground. Our freeflow style was clearly quite challenging to some of the local christians, as was some of Steve's teaching on prophetic worship. But I feel like there was some breakthrough there, and at one point everyone sang the Finnish national anthem and prayed for the nation, which was cool.
By this stage, we had led worship for hours each day for several days, and were all pretty tired. I definitely felt pretty empty, like I didn't have much left to give. I felt kinda frustrated, both in Jakobstad and then in Vaasa especially (part of that was probably the atmosphere). I was struggling to really press in and to hear God's voice, which is pretty vital to prophetic worship. This brought out all sorts of feelings, and at one point in the evening in Vaasa I had to leave the building. I wandered around and voiced my frustrations to God.
That evening and the next day i was able to talk it through with a couple of people in the team, and I realised that there were lies that i was believing (such as that I have nothing to give, not only in worship, but more generally to Finland), and some pride/performance mentality/striving kinda stuff was exposed.
So, after Vaasa we went to a YWAM base in Ruurikkala. I decided it was best that I have a break from playing guitar and singing with the band at first. It was good just to have space to be alone with God. Steve and Ben then did some teaching, Ben on honest intimacy - being truly open and broken before God - which was really good.
We went back into worship, and i felt i should play piano, which no-one else was playing at that time. God really moved, and it ended up with just me playing and nearly everyone else lying down or praying for people. Ben then came and encouraged me to really pour out my soul to God, which i then did. It was probably the most raw, desperate worship time i've ever had. I was pursuing God and i wasn't gonna give up. Later, other members of the team came and joined in with me crying out to God. It was so amazing.
When i was finally out of energy, the whole team prayed for me and prophecied over me for a while. What followed was really crazy. I was shaking pretty crazily in the Spirit and felt kinda like i was birthing something (stomach cramps, and pretty full on groans). The groans ended up with me basically roaring like a lion. I've had simiar experiences before, but not with that intensity probably. By the end of this i was exhausted and just lay on the floor for a while. Pretty soon i was completely drunk in the Spirit, like properly wasted. Several other members of the team were too, and we spent at least an hour on the floor laughing. Eventually i got to bed, and a while after that sobered up enough to sleep. It was the most amazing feeling.
The next day was our last day of travelling on the tour. We went to Tampere, and had an afternoon of worship and teaching. After the first worship time, i was pretty drunk again, so i went out of the hall with Ben and Sonja. After praying for each other, we decided to dance, which ended up with us going outside and dancing in the rain - so awesome. We kinda missed the teaching bit, and soon after we had another worship time. At one point we were declaring freedom over the church and the nation, and I felt that i had to dance - was pretty crazy, the Holy Spirit kinda took control of my body. We were crying out for freedom, especially for Finnish men - it was really powerful.
The worship ended with us praying for people, and then with a bunch of us on the floor, drunk in the Spirit again. Took quite a while to sober up again.
After driving back to Helsinki, we had a relaxed next day, until the evening when we prayed and worshiped in Jakomäki. It was amazing to be back in the area I lived in for a year, i really love that place. We declared Jesus as Lord over the area and also danced on the hill. Our time there ended with Sonja and I both drunk in the Spirit again, this time on the hill in Jakomäki. kinda crazy. All this drunkenness makes me think there's a whole lot more to joy than we often experience.
The next day Ben and Steve flew back to England, was sad to say goodbye. It was also a bit of a wake up call to the fact that I was staying here in Finland. I still don't know how long I'll be here, but I feel that I have some role to play in encouraging prophetic worship and intercession here. I also feel that I need to be part of seeing the men of Finland rise up and be the men of God they're called to be.
God is definitely stirring up the church here to worship and intercession. He is bringing freedom - from religion, from passivity, and many other things. He is bringing his joy and life to this nation.
On 30th July, I got on my first flight since the whole 'being-refused-entry-into-America thing', sat next to Ben and Steve (who i'd never met before, but now feel like family), and waited with anticipation for arrival in Helsinki.
It had been 11 months since I was last in Finland, although it felt a lot longer ago than that. When we got to Helsinki, it felt like coming home - so many familiar faces and sights.
So, the tour - well, I i figured it would be great, but it was so much better than I expected. God showed up in amazing ways in each place we went to, and I believe what He did will have quite an impact on this nation. We had a great team, with us 3 guys from England, and 6 Finns - by the end of the tour we felt like a family. Despite having never played together as a band, we flowed well as a group.
In Helsinki, it was great to see that many people here have vision for houses of worship and prayer. As different people shared, and we later interceded for the nation, expectation at what God is going to do here rose in my heart.
After two days in Helsinki, we then spent one day in each of the other places (other than Pietasaari/Jakobstad). This meant lots of travelling (4 hours was the longest journey), which was tiring, but it was great to visit so many places.
Renko was our next stop. I spent a week in Renko about a year ago, so it was great to be back with those guys. We had 3 awesome times of prophetic worship there. In the last one, i just started playing some kind of winding solo stuff on the acoustic guitar. Pretty soon i was in some kind of Holy Spirit trance, all i could do was play guitar for ages, maybe about an hour. Crazy stuff.
Next stop about 2 hrs away was Jämsä, where we met Luke Jeffrey (who i knew from my time in Finland before). Here we led a time in the afternoon for worship leaders, with prophetic worship and teaching, and then the evening was a more general gathering. This included lots of worship and teaching, and ended with a time of passionate intercession for Jämsä and Finland - it was pretty awesome. Luke has since started regular gatherings for prophetic worship and intercession in Jämsä, and I hope to visit him again in a few weeks' time maybe. We three english guys got to stay with a lovely couple in their nearby summer cottage, and had sauna and swam in their lake - so great.
The next stop was a YWAM base near Siilinjärvi. It was great to get to know people there, and the evening of prophetic worship and teaching was great. It was great to bless and encourage the base leaders in their vision for a house of worship and prayer.
We then had a 4 hour drive to Pietasaari/Jakobstad, where we stayed two nights. This was in a mainly Swedish-speaking area, which was cool. Both evenings we had great times of worship and teaching. Also, on both evenings an indigenous sound of Finland was released - two ladies played violins, in a very folky and mournful style. It was amazing, and God was definitely at work there. We also got to chillax for the day in between the meetings. Ben, Sonja and myself spent a while playing each other our songs, and then having sauna and swimming in the Baltic Sea (which wasn't that warm, even in summer).
Our next stop was Vaasa. We had an afternoon and an evening session here, and it was quite tough ground. Our freeflow style was clearly quite challenging to some of the local christians, as was some of Steve's teaching on prophetic worship. But I feel like there was some breakthrough there, and at one point everyone sang the Finnish national anthem and prayed for the nation, which was cool.
By this stage, we had led worship for hours each day for several days, and were all pretty tired. I definitely felt pretty empty, like I didn't have much left to give. I felt kinda frustrated, both in Jakobstad and then in Vaasa especially (part of that was probably the atmosphere). I was struggling to really press in and to hear God's voice, which is pretty vital to prophetic worship. This brought out all sorts of feelings, and at one point in the evening in Vaasa I had to leave the building. I wandered around and voiced my frustrations to God.
That evening and the next day i was able to talk it through with a couple of people in the team, and I realised that there were lies that i was believing (such as that I have nothing to give, not only in worship, but more generally to Finland), and some pride/performance mentality/striving kinda stuff was exposed.
So, after Vaasa we went to a YWAM base in Ruurikkala. I decided it was best that I have a break from playing guitar and singing with the band at first. It was good just to have space to be alone with God. Steve and Ben then did some teaching, Ben on honest intimacy - being truly open and broken before God - which was really good.
We went back into worship, and i felt i should play piano, which no-one else was playing at that time. God really moved, and it ended up with just me playing and nearly everyone else lying down or praying for people. Ben then came and encouraged me to really pour out my soul to God, which i then did. It was probably the most raw, desperate worship time i've ever had. I was pursuing God and i wasn't gonna give up. Later, other members of the team came and joined in with me crying out to God. It was so amazing.
When i was finally out of energy, the whole team prayed for me and prophecied over me for a while. What followed was really crazy. I was shaking pretty crazily in the Spirit and felt kinda like i was birthing something (stomach cramps, and pretty full on groans). The groans ended up with me basically roaring like a lion. I've had simiar experiences before, but not with that intensity probably. By the end of this i was exhausted and just lay on the floor for a while. Pretty soon i was completely drunk in the Spirit, like properly wasted. Several other members of the team were too, and we spent at least an hour on the floor laughing. Eventually i got to bed, and a while after that sobered up enough to sleep. It was the most amazing feeling.
The next day was our last day of travelling on the tour. We went to Tampere, and had an afternoon of worship and teaching. After the first worship time, i was pretty drunk again, so i went out of the hall with Ben and Sonja. After praying for each other, we decided to dance, which ended up with us going outside and dancing in the rain - so awesome. We kinda missed the teaching bit, and soon after we had another worship time. At one point we were declaring freedom over the church and the nation, and I felt that i had to dance - was pretty crazy, the Holy Spirit kinda took control of my body. We were crying out for freedom, especially for Finnish men - it was really powerful.
The worship ended with us praying for people, and then with a bunch of us on the floor, drunk in the Spirit again. Took quite a while to sober up again.
After driving back to Helsinki, we had a relaxed next day, until the evening when we prayed and worshiped in Jakomäki. It was amazing to be back in the area I lived in for a year, i really love that place. We declared Jesus as Lord over the area and also danced on the hill. Our time there ended with Sonja and I both drunk in the Spirit again, this time on the hill in Jakomäki. kinda crazy. All this drunkenness makes me think there's a whole lot more to joy than we often experience.
The next day Ben and Steve flew back to England, was sad to say goodbye. It was also a bit of a wake up call to the fact that I was staying here in Finland. I still don't know how long I'll be here, but I feel that I have some role to play in encouraging prophetic worship and intercession here. I also feel that I need to be part of seeing the men of Finland rise up and be the men of God they're called to be.
God is definitely stirring up the church here to worship and intercession. He is bringing freedom - from religion, from passivity, and many other things. He is bringing his joy and life to this nation.
Monday, July 12, 2010
All things new
I fly to Finland on July 30th. For the first two weeks or so I'll be traveling around Finland with Steve Lincoln (from Burn 24-7 UK) and a group of Finns, many of whom I know well. I'm really excited about this trip - it will be great to see what God is doing around Finland and be a part of some of it.
After that, I've arranged to stay at a prayer house in Varisto (an area in greater Helsinki). My plan is to stay until at least the end of September, and see whether God wants me to be there longer term. At the moment I'm not exactly sure what I'd do there, and how it would work practically is again a bit of a mystery.
My life seems once again to be a lump of clay or dust, ready to be molded into something new. I've realised once again that my life is pointless without God.
I'm sure God will make something beautiful out of the dust.
After that, I've arranged to stay at a prayer house in Varisto (an area in greater Helsinki). My plan is to stay until at least the end of September, and see whether God wants me to be there longer term. At the moment I'm not exactly sure what I'd do there, and how it would work practically is again a bit of a mystery.
My life seems once again to be a lump of clay or dust, ready to be molded into something new. I've realised once again that my life is pointless without God.
I'm sure God will make something beautiful out of the dust.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
A News Update
Well, i haven't written here in a while.
I've been based in Gloucester for nearly 4 months now, and haven't done loads except some leaflet delivering for Quoakle (www.quoakle.com) and random other stuff.
It hasn't been a particularly easy time, but I am learning to walk with God in dull everyday life. This has it's challenges, and some days are better than others. But God is good, and I've been learning that Jesus needs to be my vision. I guess it comes back to learning to 'be' and not just do stuff.
During this time I've done a lot of thinking and praying about Rachel and myself. This process led to some realizations, and I came to the conclusion that it wasn't right to continue the relationship. This was a hard decision to make, but I'm certain that it was the right thing to do.
So, what next? Well, in 10 days my sister is getting married, which will be great.
I'm going with a friend to a 'Healing and Impartation conference' led by Randy Clark and John Arnott in Southampton in the middle of June.
Beyond that I'm planning on being involved with a Burn 24-7 team from the US on their visit to the UK in July.
I'm also quite sure I'll be part of a Burn 24-7 UK team going to Finland in early August. I've felt for a while that returning to Finland is my next step. So my plan at the moment is to get a one-way flight to Finland, and then explore what God might have for me to do there. It may be only for a few months, but I'm quite open to whatever God wants to do there.
So, the journey continues...
I've been based in Gloucester for nearly 4 months now, and haven't done loads except some leaflet delivering for Quoakle (www.quoakle.com) and random other stuff.
It hasn't been a particularly easy time, but I am learning to walk with God in dull everyday life. This has it's challenges, and some days are better than others. But God is good, and I've been learning that Jesus needs to be my vision. I guess it comes back to learning to 'be' and not just do stuff.
During this time I've done a lot of thinking and praying about Rachel and myself. This process led to some realizations, and I came to the conclusion that it wasn't right to continue the relationship. This was a hard decision to make, but I'm certain that it was the right thing to do.
So, what next? Well, in 10 days my sister is getting married, which will be great.
I'm going with a friend to a 'Healing and Impartation conference' led by Randy Clark and John Arnott in Southampton in the middle of June.
Beyond that I'm planning on being involved with a Burn 24-7 team from the US on their visit to the UK in July.
I'm also quite sure I'll be part of a Burn 24-7 UK team going to Finland in early August. I've felt for a while that returning to Finland is my next step. So my plan at the moment is to get a one-way flight to Finland, and then explore what God might have for me to do there. It may be only for a few months, but I'm quite open to whatever God wants to do there.
So, the journey continues...
Monday, April 12, 2010
Vision
The past few weeks haven't been great. Quite honestly, I've dropped the ball. I've let doubt and fear rule, and given in to apathy and hopelessness. With being at home, and doing nothing all day, that becomes set in quite easily unless you fight it. And that's the thing, I haven't been fighting, I've been passively accepting it.
"Where there is no vision, the people perish" (Proverbs 29:18)
And the worst thing is that I let this keep me from going to God. I began doubting that I can pray, that I can hear God, that my relationship with God was ever more than purely superficial. This is not true, but by not listening to God, I gave the enemy freedom to say whatever he wanted. I felt so distant from God. All that I long for is found in Jesus, and so not focusing on Him left me more frustrated.
Thankfully, having talked to some people, especially Rachel, I've become more aware of what I was allowing to happen. And by God's grace, the burden is lifting and I'm finding hope and love and satisfaction in Him. There are still plenty of questions about the future, but I know that being with Jesus is all that I need; He is my portion and my vision.
"Where there is no vision, the people perish" (Proverbs 29:18)
And the worst thing is that I let this keep me from going to God. I began doubting that I can pray, that I can hear God, that my relationship with God was ever more than purely superficial. This is not true, but by not listening to God, I gave the enemy freedom to say whatever he wanted. I felt so distant from God. All that I long for is found in Jesus, and so not focusing on Him left me more frustrated.
Thankfully, having talked to some people, especially Rachel, I've become more aware of what I was allowing to happen. And by God's grace, the burden is lifting and I'm finding hope and love and satisfaction in Him. There are still plenty of questions about the future, but I know that being with Jesus is all that I need; He is my portion and my vision.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Questions
So, a week ago, i set off to Heathrow airport to fly back to the U.S. for the last 3 months of the Burning Ones Internship. After about 5 weeks in England, I couldn't wait to be back in Oklahoma with my internship family, and of course my beautiful fiancee.
So, after my 6/7 hour flight from London to Chicago, I headed to border control. I was going back on the visa waiver programme, for 3 months, which is the longest it can last for. The intial border control guy took me to the secondary check room. This was a bit worrying, but having spent 5 hours in Israeli airport security, I wasn't freaking out. I spent quite a bit of time praying and reading my Bible. After 3 hours there and lots of questions from one of the border security police, I was told they were sending me back to England on the next flight, mainly because i had been denied a visa before (in december). Border police escorted me onto the airfield, and drove me to the plane. I then had another 7 hour flight back to England.
It was probably the hardest experience of my life. To get that close and then be sent back, it was pretty tough, and quite surreal at first. I'd been waiting 5 weeks to get back to the internship, and to see Rachel, so to not get there was pretty disappointing.
Loads of questions have been going around in my head, some not very helpful - like what i could have said or done differently.
All i know to do is to wait on God. I've been asking what He wants me to do next, and i know He'll tell me at some point. But i'm doing my best to yield to what God wants to do in me. I want to know Him in this situation. I want Him to deal with my self, to change me and mould me through this.
So, after my 6/7 hour flight from London to Chicago, I headed to border control. I was going back on the visa waiver programme, for 3 months, which is the longest it can last for. The intial border control guy took me to the secondary check room. This was a bit worrying, but having spent 5 hours in Israeli airport security, I wasn't freaking out. I spent quite a bit of time praying and reading my Bible. After 3 hours there and lots of questions from one of the border security police, I was told they were sending me back to England on the next flight, mainly because i had been denied a visa before (in december). Border police escorted me onto the airfield, and drove me to the plane. I then had another 7 hour flight back to England.
It was probably the hardest experience of my life. To get that close and then be sent back, it was pretty tough, and quite surreal at first. I'd been waiting 5 weeks to get back to the internship, and to see Rachel, so to not get there was pretty disappointing.
Loads of questions have been going around in my head, some not very helpful - like what i could have said or done differently.
All i know to do is to wait on God. I've been asking what He wants me to do next, and i know He'll tell me at some point. But i'm doing my best to yield to what God wants to do in me. I want to know Him in this situation. I want Him to deal with my self, to change me and mould me through this.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
In the Promised Land
Well, after the adventure of getting to Israel, the 3 weeks there were really amazing. We stayed most of our time at Living Bread Ministry house in east Jerusalem, which is run by a lady called Karen Dunham. She took us to lots of places around Jerusalem and other cities in Israel.
On our second day there, we went to the Jordan River. We didn't go to the tourist place though - we went to the place that both Jordan and Israel believe is where Joshua led the Israelites into the Promised Land. This involved being escorted by the Israeli Army through minefields to the river. Once there, we had a time of praise and worship right next to the river. We were there with arabs from Jericho who had become Christians, and it was amazing to see them get baptised in the Jordan River. We also got baptised in the river, which was great.
The next few days we had morning worship and teaching on healing, which was great. During the afternoons we visited the room of the last supper, the pool of Bethesda, and other places in the old city of Jerusalem.
On the Sunday we went to Abraham's well in Beersheba and to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob's tombs in Hebron.
The next week we again had worship and teaching each morning, and then visited places in the afternoons. We went to Jericho to meet with Palestinian Christians there, and to the prayer tower at King of Kings Church in Jerusalem. Wednesday we spent all day visiting places - En Gedi (waterfalls in the wilderness), the Dead Sea (where we floated for a while) and the Mount of Temptations.
On Thursday, we visited what is believed to be the Garden Tomb, and I'm pretty convinced that's where Jesus was crucified and buried. God's peace was definitely in that place.
On Friday night we went to Jerusalem House of Prayer For All Nations on the Mount of Olives, run by Tom Hess. Us twelve interns and leaders took the slots for 24 hours, eaching leading for 2 hours. It was awesome to worship God there, and so amazing to cry out for Jesus' return on the Mount He's returning to.
The next week was more prayer and worship each morning, and in the afternoons visiting more places. We went to Solomon's quarry under the old city of Jerusalem, which is where it's believed Solomon got the stone to build the Temple. It was really great to pray underneath the old city and to cry out to God for Israel.
We also visited Succat Hallal house of prayer, and also a house of prayer right by where they're excavating David's palace and tabernacle.
On the Thursday we went up to Capernaum and the Sea of Galilee. It was awesome to see these places where Jesus spent a lot of His ministry. We then went to Nazareth, and then up to Mount Carmel.
We spend a few days on Mount Carmel, staying at the Carmel Assembly, where David and Karen Davis minister. We were part of a night of prayer and worship there, which started in Hebrew, then Arabic, then Russian, and then we led in English. It was amazing to hear and see what is happening in Israel, and I learned more of Israel's importance to us and in the end times.
After that we had a few days in Jerusalem before we left. In that time we went to the Garden of Gethsemane, under the Temple Mount, and then actually on the Temple Mount, where the dome of the rock is.
Overall, we spent a lot of time worshiping and praying. This was really good, and it was amazing to intercede for Israel in Jerusalem. It felt intense at times, especially the spiritual atmosphere. But we were there to give of ourselves, and God taught us all a lot through the trip. It definitely taught me to press in to God more.
Oh, and leaving was loads easier than getting there, praise the Lord.
On our second day there, we went to the Jordan River. We didn't go to the tourist place though - we went to the place that both Jordan and Israel believe is where Joshua led the Israelites into the Promised Land. This involved being escorted by the Israeli Army through minefields to the river. Once there, we had a time of praise and worship right next to the river. We were there with arabs from Jericho who had become Christians, and it was amazing to see them get baptised in the Jordan River. We also got baptised in the river, which was great.
The next few days we had morning worship and teaching on healing, which was great. During the afternoons we visited the room of the last supper, the pool of Bethesda, and other places in the old city of Jerusalem.
On the Sunday we went to Abraham's well in Beersheba and to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob's tombs in Hebron.
The next week we again had worship and teaching each morning, and then visited places in the afternoons. We went to Jericho to meet with Palestinian Christians there, and to the prayer tower at King of Kings Church in Jerusalem. Wednesday we spent all day visiting places - En Gedi (waterfalls in the wilderness), the Dead Sea (where we floated for a while) and the Mount of Temptations.
On Thursday, we visited what is believed to be the Garden Tomb, and I'm pretty convinced that's where Jesus was crucified and buried. God's peace was definitely in that place.
On Friday night we went to Jerusalem House of Prayer For All Nations on the Mount of Olives, run by Tom Hess. Us twelve interns and leaders took the slots for 24 hours, eaching leading for 2 hours. It was awesome to worship God there, and so amazing to cry out for Jesus' return on the Mount He's returning to.
The next week was more prayer and worship each morning, and in the afternoons visiting more places. We went to Solomon's quarry under the old city of Jerusalem, which is where it's believed Solomon got the stone to build the Temple. It was really great to pray underneath the old city and to cry out to God for Israel.
We also visited Succat Hallal house of prayer, and also a house of prayer right by where they're excavating David's palace and tabernacle.
On the Thursday we went up to Capernaum and the Sea of Galilee. It was awesome to see these places where Jesus spent a lot of His ministry. We then went to Nazareth, and then up to Mount Carmel.
We spend a few days on Mount Carmel, staying at the Carmel Assembly, where David and Karen Davis minister. We were part of a night of prayer and worship there, which started in Hebrew, then Arabic, then Russian, and then we led in English. It was amazing to hear and see what is happening in Israel, and I learned more of Israel's importance to us and in the end times.
After that we had a few days in Jerusalem before we left. In that time we went to the Garden of Gethsemane, under the Temple Mount, and then actually on the Temple Mount, where the dome of the rock is.
Overall, we spent a lot of time worshiping and praying. This was really good, and it was amazing to intercede for Israel in Jerusalem. It felt intense at times, especially the spiritual atmosphere. But we were there to give of ourselves, and God taught us all a lot through the trip. It definitely taught me to press in to God more.
Oh, and leaving was loads easier than getting there, praise the Lord.
Friday, February 5, 2010
Getting to Israel
I got back from Israel a few days ago - it was amazing!
The adventure started in Roanoke, Virginia. I flew from there, but the rest of the group was flying from Washington, D.C. because i had to fly back to England after Israel. So, i had to move my suitcase from our trailer to someone's car. Unfortunately, it got put in the wrong car, which belonged to some random person. We then went to eat breakfast, and when we left, the car with my stuff in was gone. So my suitcase is somewhere in Virginia i guess, with none of my contact details on it. So it's pretty much gone. This was a couple of hours before I was gonna fly.
I was pretty down about that - I was very attached to my clothes, especially my cardigans. I had to spend some time with God processing it, but I remembered this from Matthew 6,
"Do not worry, saying ... 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."
So yeah, i had to borrow clothes the whole trip, and i don't really have many clothes. But i know God is lifting my eyes from the things of this world to the things of His kingdom.
So i got on my flight from Roanoke to D.C. with just hand luggage (my wallet, passport, Bible, books, mp3 player, scarf, sunglasses, mittens and not much else). And then flew from D.C. to Frankfurt, then Frankfurt to Tel Aviv. All three flights were fine, didn't get much sleep on the overnight from D.C. to Frankfurt.
So, I arrived in Tel Aviv, a guy on my own without a suitcase. The security people obviously didn't like this, so I spent 5 hours in security in the airport. I was pretty worried that I might get sent back to England. So I put some worship music on my mp3 player, and cried out to God (silently). I was desperate to get into Israel, but i knew it was in God's hands. And, after waiting for ages, they let me out of the airport. By this time the rest of the group had left the airport, after waiting for me for 2 hours, as i had no way of contacting them.
I tried to call the contact number i had for Karen Dunham's ministry house (where my group were going to stay), but i couldn't get through. So i got a minibus from the airport to Damascus Gate in Jerusalem, which was near where we were going to stay. When i got there, i tried to find the address i'd been given, but no-one around had ever heard of the street (It turned out to be a small side street). So, after two hours of wandering (including asking at the police station, which didn't help at all) i asked in a hotel if I could sleep in the lobby area. They told me I'd have to get a room, which would cost 100 dollars.
Having tried to call the ministry house several times, i gave up looking. So, at 2am, i found a bench outside Damascus Gate, and lay there for a few hours. I was pretty cold, so i couldn't sleep, but i was so excited to finally be in Jerusalem. I prayed for quite a while, which was gd. Then at about 5 i got up and wandered around the old city.
Once it got to 7am i went back to the hotel and used their phone. This time i got through to the ministry house, and they gave me directions. So after two nights of little/no sleep and the biggest emotional rollercoaster i've ever been on, I arrived at the place where we were staying. It was so good to see all the other interns, especially Rachel. They'd also been worried, as they didn't know where i was, and had no way of contacting me.
So, all in all, it was a pretty crazy experience. God gave me peace and grace for all that, and my trust in Him is a lot stronger now.
The adventure started in Roanoke, Virginia. I flew from there, but the rest of the group was flying from Washington, D.C. because i had to fly back to England after Israel. So, i had to move my suitcase from our trailer to someone's car. Unfortunately, it got put in the wrong car, which belonged to some random person. We then went to eat breakfast, and when we left, the car with my stuff in was gone. So my suitcase is somewhere in Virginia i guess, with none of my contact details on it. So it's pretty much gone. This was a couple of hours before I was gonna fly.
I was pretty down about that - I was very attached to my clothes, especially my cardigans. I had to spend some time with God processing it, but I remembered this from Matthew 6,
"Do not worry, saying ... 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."
So yeah, i had to borrow clothes the whole trip, and i don't really have many clothes. But i know God is lifting my eyes from the things of this world to the things of His kingdom.
So i got on my flight from Roanoke to D.C. with just hand luggage (my wallet, passport, Bible, books, mp3 player, scarf, sunglasses, mittens and not much else). And then flew from D.C. to Frankfurt, then Frankfurt to Tel Aviv. All three flights were fine, didn't get much sleep on the overnight from D.C. to Frankfurt.
So, I arrived in Tel Aviv, a guy on my own without a suitcase. The security people obviously didn't like this, so I spent 5 hours in security in the airport. I was pretty worried that I might get sent back to England. So I put some worship music on my mp3 player, and cried out to God (silently). I was desperate to get into Israel, but i knew it was in God's hands. And, after waiting for ages, they let me out of the airport. By this time the rest of the group had left the airport, after waiting for me for 2 hours, as i had no way of contacting them.
I tried to call the contact number i had for Karen Dunham's ministry house (where my group were going to stay), but i couldn't get through. So i got a minibus from the airport to Damascus Gate in Jerusalem, which was near where we were going to stay. When i got there, i tried to find the address i'd been given, but no-one around had ever heard of the street (It turned out to be a small side street). So, after two hours of wandering (including asking at the police station, which didn't help at all) i asked in a hotel if I could sleep in the lobby area. They told me I'd have to get a room, which would cost 100 dollars.
Having tried to call the ministry house several times, i gave up looking. So, at 2am, i found a bench outside Damascus Gate, and lay there for a few hours. I was pretty cold, so i couldn't sleep, but i was so excited to finally be in Jerusalem. I prayed for quite a while, which was gd. Then at about 5 i got up and wandered around the old city.
Once it got to 7am i went back to the hotel and used their phone. This time i got through to the ministry house, and they gave me directions. So after two nights of little/no sleep and the biggest emotional rollercoaster i've ever been on, I arrived at the place where we were staying. It was so good to see all the other interns, especially Rachel. They'd also been worried, as they didn't know where i was, and had no way of contacting me.
So, all in all, it was a pretty crazy experience. God gave me peace and grace for all that, and my trust in Him is a lot stronger now.
Thursday, January 7, 2010
North-east Travels
it seems like ages since i was in england, even though it was about 10 days ago. it's been super intense, but amazing. we were in new jersey for about 4 days at the 100 hour Burn, which was incredible. one day us interns took the slots from 2am to 8am, and it was amazing. We went to NYC one day to the subway tunnels to worship and pray for people, which was real cool. then we did some sightseeing - Times Square, Central Park, etc.
After New Jersey/new york, we drove 8 hours to Virginia Beach. we got there saturday night, and we did a church service on the sunday morning, i led worship. It was really great, God gave us words to share with the church and we got to pray for people. in the evening we went to another church which was basically just free prophetic worship - awesome.
Then monday morning we drove 4 hours to Washington, D.C. We met people there who run a 'Justice House of Prayer' right in the centre of D.C. They really focus on praying for the government and issues like abortion and homosexual marriage. On tuesday morning we got to spend a few hours crying out to God for the nation, which is in desperate need of prayer. We got to do some sightseeing in D.C. - saw the Lincoln memorial, Washington monument, the White House, etc. That evening we led a meeting of a youth group at a church near D.C. Again God gave us all prophetic words for the young people. At one point i got up to read a passage (Titus 2:11-14) that God gave me to share, and I ended up preaching for 5 or 10 minutes. It was awesome to see God at work in their lives.
On wednesday morning we drove 4 hours to Roanoke, Virginia, where i currently am. Today i'm gonna spend some time with Rachel and her family (who live here), should be gd.
This saturday we fly to Israel, where we'll be for about 4 weeks. It's gonna be life-changing, I can't wait!
After New Jersey/new york, we drove 8 hours to Virginia Beach. we got there saturday night, and we did a church service on the sunday morning, i led worship. It was really great, God gave us words to share with the church and we got to pray for people. in the evening we went to another church which was basically just free prophetic worship - awesome.
Then monday morning we drove 4 hours to Washington, D.C. We met people there who run a 'Justice House of Prayer' right in the centre of D.C. They really focus on praying for the government and issues like abortion and homosexual marriage. On tuesday morning we got to spend a few hours crying out to God for the nation, which is in desperate need of prayer. We got to do some sightseeing in D.C. - saw the Lincoln memorial, Washington monument, the White House, etc. That evening we led a meeting of a youth group at a church near D.C. Again God gave us all prophetic words for the young people. At one point i got up to read a passage (Titus 2:11-14) that God gave me to share, and I ended up preaching for 5 or 10 minutes. It was awesome to see God at work in their lives.
On wednesday morning we drove 4 hours to Roanoke, Virginia, where i currently am. Today i'm gonna spend some time with Rachel and her family (who live here), should be gd.
This saturday we fly to Israel, where we'll be for about 4 weeks. It's gonna be life-changing, I can't wait!
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