An Expensive Lifestyle.

These past few days have been especially intense, blessed and amazing. We, the team, have grown a lot and are refocused on what we came out to accomplish here, which is to love in LA. We're all really excited about the future and what it holds for us these next several weeks.

Today started off with another awesome meal via Lupita. I'm sure you're all expecting us to say something about how amazing breakfast is, so here's my input once again. It was basically like a host of angels doing the Cha Cha Cha Slide on my tongue palate. Yeah, it was that good. It's actually one of my favorite meals she cooks: spinach & pepper omelets, hashbrowns, sausage, bread and fresh fruit. 

After breakfast the team started the day off with doing this new devotional packet that Ken and Beb left us. So far it is all about the love of Christ. We only did the intro, so I'm sure some more interesting stuff is coming down the barrel on it. After the devo the team went prayer walking at the Venice boardwalk and then over to Montana St. in Santa Monica. This was a unique PW experience for a couple reasons. First, we had two new members with us. Sara Nichalson and Amber McKenzie joined us out here in LA for a few days to come visit and see what LA had to offer. They went on the prayer walk this morning with us which I thought was pretty awesome. I'm sure (actually, I know since we talked about it) that it was a culture shock for them, and you'll have to ask them about what their thoughts were, especially on the Venice area. It was especially awesome for me to have those two people with us. They came out to visit here with me and it was a neat experience having them join our team. Our team definitely felt encouraged by their presence and excited to see other ASU faces. Also, they two of them are in my prayer group of close friends and relatives and having been praying for our team on a regular basis. So, I think it was a neat opportunity for us and for them because not often do members of a prayer team get to go and experience the mission they've been praying for over the past 3 weeks and have committed to over the next 5 weeks. I also truly think it was a blessing for me to see how they reacted and responded to the ministry our team has going on out here. One of the most difficult things our team has discovered over the past few weeks is how to explain what we're doing out here to people back at home. Surprisingly, not many respond well to "Loving people in LA." But, once Sara and Amber got to stay with us for the past few days, I'm convinced they know more about what I mean when I try to describe what's going on out here.

Anyways, thanks Sara and Amber for coming out here! Also, our prayer walk was different because 3 of our bikes are broken, so we walked the whole way. This may seem trivial, but for me as I've processed the day I think the Lord was at work. We've been talking lately about what it truly means to be a disciple of Christ and how to love people with the love of Christ. We've come to the conclusion that it may lead us to some pretty dark and dirty paths, and we must faithfully choose what we would do. One day recently when discussing this, we talked about the African pastor who wrote an eloquent last journal entry of what it means for him to be a disciple. In it, he quotes: I am finished and done with low living, sight walking, smooth knees, colorless dreams, tamed visions, worldly talking, cheap giving, and dwarfed goals. The part that has rung like a bell in my ears over the past few days was the "smooth knees" part. It hits me because it's like God is continually showing me just how dedicated my life must be in order to be a disciple of Christ and lover of Him and all people around me. I must sacrifice my comfort, my pride, my well-being (financially, emotionally, and physically if need be) in order to love boldly, live loudly, live holy, and follow Christ. When I'm forced to see just how rough I've made my knees and just how little I've put myself in the way of harm (spiritual attacks, failure, etc.) I see how far I've got to go to live as Christ. 

The lifestyle of a Christ and people lover is not one that is cheap. No, it comes with a cost...and an expensive one at that. We're to love at all costs. When Ken asked me to explain that saying, all that came to my mind was loving boldly and loudly so that I would move beyond the fear for myself. In order to make these next 5 weeks to be as successful as could be, I must love harder, more passionately, more intentionally, intently and deeper than ever before and the ONLY way to love that hard is to hide in the shadow of the cross of Christ. For in fact, love doesn't lead us to green pastures and daisies, no it leads us to the same path it lead Christ...the cross, death and fortunately...resurrection in the image of Christ!! 

So anyways, all that had a point to our prayer walking. As I've been thinking about the costs I've paid (which are pretty shallow at this point) I've been wondering when the Lord would bless me with an opportunity to be blessed with the blood, tears and blisters of our Lord. So, today as our bikes were broken and we went prayer walking...we walked a lot. And, I being the planner-aheader kind of guy *NOT* decided to wear some sandals, at which point my feet now have blisters and are ever so sore and tender. Each step I take now hurts, but I'm not frustrated about it. Instead, I find myself being reminded of the brokenness I saw in Venice, of the Money God I continued to see in Santa Monica, and of the freedom of the Lord that was promised to these people here in Venice and Santa Monica. So, my knees may still be smooth as before, but my feet are my reminders of what it takes to be a little faithful in prayer, even when it gets physically demanding (walking isn't too bad...but I'll be honest, I was used to biking the whole way). 

Finally, prayer walking was especially interesting this morning because as I was pouring in the Spirit while walking through the areas, He opened my eyes to some new things. First, there was a vendor in Venice who was an artist and selling to raise funds for Support the Local Venice Artists. I'm not sure if it was a foundation, organization or what...but this man caught my heart. I felt this tug to be in prayer for him and to think about possibilities for anyone on our team to approach him one day. Secondly, a new shop opened up in the Venice boardwalk. In fact, it's going to be a huge hit. It'll attract lots of customers, lots of people who are lost, and lots of people who are looking for a good time. It'll also attract people struggling with addiction and with no source of visible hope. Yes, another medicinal marijuana house was celebrating its 'grand' opening today on the strip. All I could think about was just how much of a hold Satan has on this place. It's deafening. Finally, the Lord opened my eyes to some more of Montana street. As Luke told you yesterday, Bruce, Kelsey and I found a new spot in Santa Monica. It's pretty much the first 14 or so blocks on Montana St. and all of the locals seem to hang out here. Just days ago I was frustrated we hadn't seen the local hang out spots, but today and yesterday the Lord blessed us with this street. There are several coffee shops, cafes, bakeries, and restaurants that the locals frequent. So, I'm pumped about the upcoming days of ministry on Montana St. 

After prayer walking Luke, Thomas and Storm took half a day to recuperate from their intense Kung Fu/Chi Kung lessons they've been taking. Bruce, Kelsey, Sara, Amber and I went site-seeing for the last half of the day. We went to the Beverly Hills area, Rodeo Drive, saw the Hollywood sign, saw the two famous theaters for movie premiers, went to downtown Hollywood to walk the Star Walk and saw a flock of people still lining up to see Michael Jackson's star. We got the chance to pass by his star and we saw his star surrounded by a four foot deep pile of crap (sorry, but it was...flowers, cards, posters, etc.). It's amazing how many people love him, but didn't know him. If only the streets of LA would cry out for a man named Jesus Christ the same way they did for Michael Jackson!!!!!!

After getting back from sight seeing, we had another delish dinner. Then we had team time which went really well. We debriefed the day and talked some about how to connect the gospel and normal conversations. Then we just hung out for the rest of the night, which by the way included a sick-nasty-awesome dance party lead by Bruce Bentley III. Thanks B-ruce!

So, thanks for making it this far. We love and appreciate all of your prayers. Here's some specifics to pray for:

1 - Venice. Satan's grasp got bigger today as another house of addiction opened up. Pray for freedom from those addictions and pray that the team members ministering there would be able to help people find that freedom in Christ!

2 - Montana St. - Kelsey, Bruce and I are going to try going around to these local hang outs in the upcoming days. Pray that through God's love and grace we would be able to minister to the people where they are and increase the Kingdom in a mighty way.

3 - Random Guy - For some reason the Lord wants me to pray and think about this guy in Venice, so pray that the Lord would work in his life and in any opportunities to speak to him.

4 - Tattoo Guy - I've been to a Starbuck's on Montana a few times, and two of the 3 times there I've seen a gut with tattoos. Immediately the first time I saw him, I knew the Lord was calling me to talk to this guy. I know this because I thought of tons of questions, things to say and ask, and felt completely at peace about this man. He seemed to know a lot of people around him, had a fun dog and was an open personality. Yet, I wasn't obedient the first time nor the second time I saw him and felt the Lord calling me to talk to him. So, pray for opportunities and pray for boldness in me that I might seize the next opportunity at all costs, especially the cost of myself.

Bloody Knuckles For Christ! =)

Eventually I'll explain the title, but for now I'm just gonna let you know that mine were the bloodiest and I've resisted uploading a picture of it. =) Also, for more fun Chi Kung/Kung Fu stories, read the very bottom of this. Today was awesome for both teams and in case someone hasn't informed you of this yet, God is da bomb diggidy! (yes I just said that)

So I'll start with the Santa Monica team. Today they went to a new part of Santa Monica and discovered somethin awesome. I think they almost could have had a Steve Erwin moment(God rest his soul) when they pulled up to Montana Rd. "Cricky! We've lost the tourists and found the locals! Be careful now, we don't know 'ow friendly they ah just yet." Basically they left the prominad and hung out at coffee shop central. Bruce, Kelsey and Josh went to different places and got to observe and talk with people and all three of the are totally STOKED about it. They've been brainstorming all day about fun ways to get to hang out with people and talking about the encounters they had today. God is definately using them!

The Venice Beach Team had a BALLER day. We got to our Chi Kung lesson a little early and Master Chen definately gave us the family treatment. Peter was there hanging out with Tony's wife and daughter and Tony had tea and "Chinese cakes" waiting for us when we got there. Some 12 people were their for lesson which meant we had alot of new connections to make! We may even have and in with one of the medical marijuana places. How sick would it be to have a marijuana house turned into a church smack dab in the middle of Venice Beach!?!?!?!?!?! In between the Chi Kung lesson and our Kung Fu lesson we had an awesome 30 min conversation with Tony about his life and why he's teaching us the way that he is. He's taken the three of us and made us his special students. We are basically the teachers pets of the class BUT it's because we understand his heart for what Kung Fu is and he knows it. Most people just want their cheap self defence lesson. God is definately using us there. Then once that was done we went and spent 30 min with Peter walking and talking about his life and his views on religious and cultural things. HOW SICK NASTY IS JESUS?!?!?!?! Two awesome convo's in one day!!!!!

While we were in our Kung Fu lesson, the Santa Monica team was having church with one of the church planters out here. Everyone was encouraged to share a gift (bible story, verse, random story, etc...) with the group and to divuldge personal details, followed by group prayer. They said it was awesome, and we had that in our team time tonight. I loved it.

Later in the day we went out to a nice Italian restaurant to celebrate Kelseys Birthday. They even brought her out a cake! Afterward we went and hung out on the pier and took a ride on a ferris wheel! Yay for my fear of heights! It's ok, I'm a big fan of doing things you hate or eating things you hate so that you get over it. By the third time around I didn't care anymore. =)

So I'm gonna us random numbers and stuff for my bullets points of prayer because organization freaks me out sometimes.

8) Pray for our relationships in Venice Beach (and those to come)

#) Pray for the relationships in Santa Monica (and those to come)

T) Pray for us to grow, recharge, charge(w/ the gospel), repeat

*) Above all, pray for the advancement of the kingdom.





If you skipped to this part, you're a real man. So what's with the bloody knuckles title?
Story 1:
Tony made Thomas, Storm and I each do three oh so fun exercises to help build our bodies into Kung Fu machines. First, there was this stick that had a four foot string with a 2 1/2 pound weight on it. We had to hold it up at arms length and roll it up and down. It sort of works your fore arms but mostly a random muscle on the side that we use to block punches and bow staff blows. Second is a ladder that we have to kick our legs up on and stretch ourselves on. This ladder is my nemisis. He makes me do it way more because he says "You're body tight. You need to practice mo and mo. Soon you be better." It hurts like crap but it's working. I touched my toes today for the first time in my life!!!!! Last is the bloody knuckles deal. He has us punch sand for about 10 min so that it causes controled fractures in our knuckles that will heal and become stronger. That way when we punch it will have more pow to it. He told us "If it hurt, don't stop. Keep doing." So we did. Storm stopped shortly after she felt pain, but me and Thomas just kept going. Basically we did it till we bled and that was not what he'd intended. Apparently you shouldn't do it till you bleed. Just until your knuckles are neon pink. It's ok though, he has this chinese medicine that works like magic. AMAZING!!!
Story 2:
So yesterday we learned five out of eight steps of a fight sequence that you can't get out of. Basically at the end of it the person will have the wind knocked out of him, will have been punched in the face twice, one knee kicked in backwards(yes broken), and we will land in a stance that is ready to take on a second attacker from behind. Yeah, it's beast.
Story 3:
Today we learned how to block a kick with our bare hands, retaliate with rib breaking punches, and then take on two other attackers with similar blows.
Story 4:
My favorite quote from Tony is "You watch Kung Fu movies, they fight 30 minutes, no one die. That's Bull $#@&!(which I have to admit is funny to hear through a chinese accent) I teach you, 1, 2, 3, over!" However, today he explained that to us further with my second favorite Tony quote. "I don't want you to be a hero. Heros die. But I want you to know that you are not a coward." Which translates into this: don't take what I teach you and go looking for a fight. You don't need to go willingly into battle when it can be avoided. But you also can't wimp out. If a loved one needs protection, or if you are stuck in a corner, defend yourself and win.
Tony is the jam. I'm fortunate to have him as a master. Please pray for his salvation.

He who forgets, Will be destined to remember

Heyheyheyheyheyhey!! Saturday!! We had Chi Kung lessons today and they were amazing!! There was a class of about six there. Peter was there and today we got to get another conversation with him, he has told us that he loves other cultures and people groups, I have noticed that he seems intrigued by eastern culture so i asked him about that. Convo went pretty well but got sidetracked a little but it was a good step to maybe a more spiritually led conversation. Tony knows we only have 5 weeks left so he is giving us 1 hour extra lessons for free!!! Which means three believers with Tony and sometimes Peter :) Pray for those opportunities. So we learned actual Kung Fu and when Tony told us that it was hard I kinda blew it off cause Im 18 and he's in his late 50's. If you want something else to pray about, pray that our bodies dont break in half doing this training, Im pretty sore.

Today is Santa Monica's 4th of July celebration called Celebrate America and there was 10,000+ at the event and we agreed to help with the Church at Pearl's stand where they gave out free glow sticks and invited people to church, which worked out pretty well, I hope that more people will show at his church. We watched a fireworks display and talked to some campus crusade people from ASU!!!! I know what you are thinking, App......NOT!! They are from Arizona State, but App is the real ASU. Anyways we hung out and also celebrated Kelsey's 19th birthday which is pretty amazing that she was able to make it this far. Her parents were nice enough to supply us with party gear.

Anyways, we have had a week full of God speaking to us and giving us new directions and new perspectives, pray for that to continue and also for us to continue to listen. Pray that whatever happens in the next week that to God be the glory, Amen

Grace and Peace

Happy Birthday Kelsey

God is love...

After a wonderful breakfast, we waited on Ken and Bob, two house church planter specialist in LA. I believe it is safe to say that the group felt unanimously encouraged after the meeting this morning.

We started out talking about how the church is not a building but rather it is a body of believers. The church planting they do is based out of the book of Acts. The churches they have planted are in homes. Everyone in the church participates in every service by bringing something to talk about with them. They have interactive discussions so that everyone is involved and learning. Rather than telling someone what to believe they talk it out and it is all about the interaction.

Bob told us a story about a weekend retreat he went on to learn about sharing his faith. After showing up on the second day they were given an assignment. The assignment was for the participants in groups of two to go take a car drive 150 miles away where they knew no one in the area, take no money or means with them, and to bless at least one person in this area, spend the night and drive back the next day. The idea was for them to go up to people they meet and show them they cared by asking them about their stories. By showing God’s love to people and investing time in people’s lives spiritual conversations were started and people were blessed. When we first came to LA we knew that we were here to share God’s love with the people here but sometime in the midst of all the different expectations we lost sight of that. It was freeing to be reminded that we are here to love on people, something we can all do. God is love and we have been called to share his love. I think that we all needed to hear this. It is so great to know that we all have strengths that God has given us to be used by him.

After the past few days we all needed some processing time. We went to different places coffee shops, parks, etc. to think about what we had just talked about. Storm and I took a tour of Santa Monica College with Anuhea, our new friend, to see the opportunities in this area that is right across the street from the church we are staying at. After dinner, it was cool to come back together at team time and talk about how we felt about today to find out that we all felt encouraged by today.

We finished off the night having some group bonding time watching a movie called “Mega Shark versus Giant Octopus” which some might say it was "epic" if they made it until the end without crashing (You would have to ask someone else).

So please be praying for us…

1) Pray for us as we share God’s love with the people of LA.

2) Pray for opportunities as they continue to come about and that God will lead us where he wants us to be.

3) Pray for Anahea as we continue to build that relationship.

4) For the Celebrate America event tomorrow where we will be helping out the Church on Pearl but also hanging out with people in the community.

With love,

Kelsey

Mission In Progress

Team: Parachute Project LA
Assignment (Day 18): Alone Time, Self and Team Analysis, Realistic Application in Near Future
Status: In Progress - Step One Complete!

So today was all about quiet time with the Lord. In the last few days I feel as though we have been hit hard with some challenges, tough topics, and realizations. As we have just hit the 2 week point in our mission, it has been necessary to reflect on the things we have been doing here, their effectiveness, and compile a mental list of the people and resources we have here (which are many - I am sure I have mentioned the bonfires and the moon bounce...oh and the amazing people :.D hehe). This way we will be able to refine and narrow the focus of our group to the areas that are working best and allow each team member to work to their strengths.

So, after losing Kelsey for 30 mins (no joke - we looked everywhere before finding her in the unfinished 2nd story of the church we are staying in), everyone set out in different directions. Josh took the other four group members to find spots on the beach, he went to a coffee shop to hang for a while, and I stayed back at the church for the afternoon. To be honest, I was at a loss of where to start this morning - I didn't know what to pray for or where to open my Bible. So I spent a few minutes checking my e-mail and responding to some messages I had, but still no booming voice of God telling me something clearly, such as "lead the people of Egypt across the desert for 40 years!" or "go eat PB&J!" so I was stuck. Then I thought about how Luke, Thomas, and I have made a plan to read 2 Corinthians, so I turned there and was surprised to find that my bookmark was there. I had already begun reading it a long time ago before life and second semester got difficult and busy.

I began reading where I had left off: Chapter 4, verse 1, which says,
"God, with his mercy, gave us this work to do, so we don't give up."
Woah, there God! - could you be any clearer? I just don't get it.....

So, basically, I was dumbfounded to have found the most applicable verse for the present situation, and it kept me reading on into the next couple of chapters with insight after insight of perseverence in the face of non-believers. That gave me the confidence to look at a list of volunteer opportunities Josh had sent out, and I found a website I overlooked for an Art Therapy group that helps women and children who have been victims of domestic violence. I called them and can't wait for a callback or a trip to the place itself!

The group soon joined together for team time again and, after showing off the fun tan lines that some of us will have come fall semester, we discussed our individual days and defined some of our personality traits, strengths, and passions. This has allowed us to make some decisions on where are hearts truly lie for the rest of the 6 weeks here.

For example, (and this is by no means complete or fully accurate), some of our thoughts for the future are:

1. Luke - Venice Beach 6 days a week
2. Thomas - Venice Beach 6 days a week
3. Josh - coffee shops, hangouts, help in individual areas, leader responsibilities
4. Bruce - Santa Monica, UCLA (possibly), other college campuses, or volunteering
5. Kelsey -volunteering
6. Storm - volunteering during weekdays, Venice Beach weekends (Qigong baby! :.D )

We are still looking at many uncertainties, but the team is enthusiastic to put these plans into action.

To celebrate the end of these intense few days, we had a great time cooking shish kabobs, hot dogs and s'mores with the wonderful people of Church on Pearl and went to the movies for a fun night on the promenade.

We can't think everyone enough for the prayers, but they are gratefully received!
Until,
Storm

Just as I got in bed and was ready to see what dreams I had in store for me tonight, Luke informed me that today was Tuesday...my blog day. So here we are haha. This morning I did NOT want to get up. Partly because I had stayed up with Thomas playing online hold 'em poker until almost 3 am, but also because my body was aching...

***The following paragraph contains explicit detail and slightly disturbing yet hilarious images.***

Last night around, I dunno, 12:30 am I decided it would be a great time to take a shower. Little did I know what awaited me. Two fellow teammates had gone before me earlier in the evening upon returning from a beach volleyball game. As I stepped into the shower and closed the curtain I noticed that the surface was unusually slipperier that usual. This was due to the fair amounts of sand mixed with water. I of course thought nothing of it and proceeded with my bathing activities. As I turn around to get the bottle of shampoo, my foot loses traction and I reach for the walls for stability. Just as I thought I had saved my own life, my other foot slipped away and backwards I went, into the shower curtain held only by plastic rings. Many thoughts went through my mind as I was falling, most of which I will not share with you all, but one thing in particular was racing through my thoughts. "Will these rings hold my weight?" For those of you who do not know me, I am quite a large fellow. Plastic rings are not something someone of my size would want protecting them from life and certain death. To my surprise the rings held, yet the bar that the rings were attached to did not. There I am falling back-first wrapped in a plastic curtain into a bathroom floor that is MAYBE 3.5 feet wide. As I hit the floor I realized what had just happened and as I gathered myself I noticed that my head missed the toilet by about an inch (thank The Lord). As I lay there in my soak and wet birthday suit, I realize that I am closer to God at THAT point, than I have been any other time on this trip. I will spare you the details on how I fixed this predicament (ask me later if you like), but I will tell you all that the first thing out of my mouth after about 30 seconds of laying there was "I'm okay". This was to insure that Stephen (whose bathroom I was in) did not stumble upon a sight that he would NOT want to see after a loud booming noise.

I realize that story doesn't seem relevant to the parachute project and what we are doing here in LA, and let me assure you that it doesn't. But I certainly thank God for getting my out alive. And I now I will never take a fall-free shower for granted, neither should you.

Today Jonathan Stockstill visited us for our weekly meeting. We just discussed some things that were going on with what we have been doing. We basically decided what things are working and what things are not. We also discussed being where we need to be at this point in time, and planning ahead so that we can leave them with something when we leave. A large part of conversation was about obeying God and trusting him with everything instead of relying on ourselves (which is something we should all think about). After a lunch at Taco Bell, Luke, Thomas, Kelsey and Storm took our laundry to a laundromat while Josh and I ran some errands and came back to the church to help with some landscaping that Scott (our friend from Jimmy's church that is from Tennessee) was working on. I personally feel that the least we could do for these great people here at the church is help out doing what we can. They are trying to spruce up the place by doing a bit here and there which can really go a long way in the church's image.

After finishing up we had some much needed down time and an awesome dinner. The rest of the night was kind of chill, and included a trip to the 3rd St Promenade with Josh, Storm and Kelsey so that I could get some t-shirts and we could just enjoy the evening out. Upon returning, we had our team time which was a lot more than I expected.

Our conversation tonight was pretty deep, and to sum it up for you, we are going to kind of rework the way we are doing things. Our strict schedule of 2 teams being in Venice and Santa Monica will change. We do not know how yet, but we are going to focus on how we can truly apply ourselves and utilize our potential the way we feel God wants us to. Updates will come later, and tomorrow we are taking the day to process our discussion and establish what changes need to be made.

I ask that you pray specifically for these changes that will be made. This is a pretty big turning point in this project and hopefully it will better glorify God and His Kingdom. I just ask that you pray for God to open our minds and hearts to let him guide us in the right direction. I also ask that you pray for Josh specifically. Him being the understood leader of our team, a lot of pressure is put on him. He has been doing an awesome job and we couldn't ask for a better cheif.

Thank you all for your support and prayers. Though we may not see all of what God is doing, He is definitely working here in Los Angeles.

Until next time, take care and safe showering.
God Bless
-Bruce

A Breakthrough or two...

I'm not sure I could really do justice to today, or especially the past 4 hours of my life. But, I'll try.

This morning started off as usual...delish b-fast via Lupita. Then, we were planning to go prayer cycling again. Well, my stomach decided to hate me and sent me to the Pot about 6 times this morning with the runs. I know, I know...you just HAD to know that right? Anyways, I decided to stay back while the team went prayer cycling. While they were out, I decided not to waste the time and did some more research, phone calls, and internet-looking for possibilities for us to partner with a big NPO for something for the community and also for Bruce, Kelsey and I to be able to volunteer on a regular basis with. So, all of those have been a dead end so far. I even looked up volleyball lessons, surf lessons, and yoga/spiritual meditation lessons. The cheapest thing was $40 and hour per person. The most expensive almost $400 for two months.No responses and no emails back, no classes we've found so far. Nothing. It's hard not to be discouraged when you see the Venice team taking off and doing awesome things, but alas...the Lord never fails in His ways. I know that neither Bruce, Kelsey nor I have been too disheartened and are faithful that some way, some how, we'll find a way to be just as affective as the Venice team. 

Anyways, after the team got back we headed to UCLA's campus to hang out, do ministry, pray...all that good stuff. We ate lunch together then split up into Bruce, Luke, Thomas and Kelsey going out and doing stuff and then Storm and I went and sat at one of the coffee shops on campus in hopes of seeing tons of new students (it was their first day of summer classes). 

Storm and I sat at different tables. I'm not too sure what Storm did, but I started working on devo time for the group later tonight. We'd talking about the need to address spiritual warfare, and so I started digging in the Word and looking around at how to help the team out with it. 

After the team got back together, we came back to the church and got dressed and ready for some intense beach volleyball. After volleyball, we came back for dinner, team time and Jesus-awesomeness (that's for Luke).

We got back from the beach, Bruce, Esau and I were sitting at the dinner table waiting for dinner to get finished. Esau began to show us photos on his phone and the stories behind them. One of them was of Esau and a pastor-friend in Mexico.

This particular pastor-friend in Mexico had been captured by the Mexican Cartel and held for two months for a ransom of about $1 million. So, they kept this pastor for two months and kept demanding money, and despite the local church's best efforts of only $700,000 the Cartel wasn't letting him go. Then on the last day of his captivity the Cartel decided to end his life. So they brought him into a room in a house and were discussing his death. As they were doing so, a girl of about 13 came in and began to pray. This caught the Cartel off guard and were confused. So, four of them decided to kill her. The four guards, with different kinds of guns, all tried to shoot her...yet as she continued to pray, ALL of the guns jammed and wouldn't fire. The guards stood amazed. Then, the girl looked up from her prayers and said "You can't kill me. I've got God here with me and you can't touch me." The guards began to tear up and turned to the pastor, dumbfoudned. They began to talk to him as he had tried to share the gospel with them over the two months of captivity. The guards, in tears, gave their lives to Christ, let the pastor go and turned back to the girl. They asked the girl why she came and she simply answered "Because God sent me." Neither the guards nor the pastor had known the girl before. 

Bruce and I sat in awe. Goosebumps lined my shoulders and spine, and I was filled with hope. Prayer is definitely powerful. I know, even though the Santa Monica team hasn't had tons of breakthroughs in the area, they're coming. I know this because we're praying for it and so are TONS of people out there for our team. So, I'm encouraged and excited and ready for a breakthrough that the Lord will provide.

After dinner, we all got showers then met for team time in the guys room, as usual.

We debriefed the day, then moved into the conversation about Spiritual warfare. It didn't go as expected, but it well exceeded any expectations I could have had in the first place.

I started the conversation, figuring we'd get to talking eventually about the ways that Satan individually attacked us and our team. It certainly got to that point...but got even further. We discussed everything from suffering, to temptation, to affliction (physical and spiritual illness), to self-esteem issues, and to the disconnect in language that guys use and that girls use when it comes to spiritual warfare. 

You see, guys connect really well to battle terminology so we've learned. That's why we love action movies. We could talk all day about beating down the gates of Hell with the battering ram of prayer, while the girls are just left aside and not as excited or connected to the concept of spiritual warfare. Not to sound sexist, but guys get the battle imagery...girls don't. I guess it's got it's pros and cons. Anyways, we left the battle imagery behind and continued to discuss the importance of awareness.

In Ephesians, Paul begs believers to want to have eyes, ears, minds and hearts to see the 'heavenly realms'. The same realms that Christ entered into through His death and resurrection, the same realms that Satan resides in (but, God still has dominion over him [Eph 1]), and the very same realms that through our faith in Christ we are now exposed to. You see, when we have this faith in Christ, we're thrown into a new, spiritual world. We see much more the intensity of nature and just how creative God is. And, we also are thrown into a world where Satan hates us and does all that he can to thwart God's task He's given us or to break our faith in the Lord. 

The team started looking at the whole picture of things. We starting putting the battle terminology with rationalization. Storm brought up a great point, she's got an uncanny ability to rationalize things as do most women I think. Storm looks at stories of 'demon possession' and can rationalize it as schizophrenia or seizures (the stories in the bible). Whereas we, guys, look at those stories and see attacks from Satan to thwart God's plans. So, we started looking at situations of temptation, affliction, and so on from both angles. 

Simply put, faith isn't rational. Take the story of the girl and the Mexican cartel. Take God's creation. It's hard to rationalize such things. But, on the other hand...Hollywood and the media have done a great job of super-SUPER-naturalizing the spiritual world as great entertainment and something all the more physical and real and easy-to-believe instead of looking at the rational side of things.

So, I'm going to pick on Storm again in order to merge the battle and the rational language. Since we've been here, Storm has seen herself as a not so good evangelizer. She views it as a weakness and a downfall. But, I view it as something different. She rationalizes her inability to evangelize and I see it as an attack from Satan. I, a guy, sees it as Satan attacking her and pulling her into doubt and self-esteem issues. This takes her focus away from seeing just HOW GOOD of an evangelizer/witness she is. It plants seeds of doubt and self-esteem issues. It tells her she's not good enough or not whole through the way God created her. Satan convinces her she's not good enough, so she's shy and timid about doing it. BUT...Storm is quite the opposite of a bad witness/evangelizer. She's actually kick-A at it! She goes into Chi Kung lessons twice a week, is building relationships with this guy who is all about the Chi and is their Chi Kung master. She puts herself out there and into relationships with her classmates. She has even ben the one (not Luke the Evangelizer) to set up a lunch date for the team and a guy in their class, and their Chi Kung master. Now, I don't know about you...but having the guts to put yourself out there like that seems like a pretty darn good witness/evangelizer to me! Regardless of what any spiritual gift inventory says. Besides, most of those things view Evangelism as a "Hey, do you know Christ" kind of thing. Which by the way, Luke has an uncanny ability to do effectively, hence Luke the Evangelizer. 

So, the team began to connect the whole thing. We, as a team of missionaries and as every-day-believers, ought to have a spiritual awareness of what's around us. We should be weary of over-rationalizing things yet open to the whole picture of what's going on. We ought to be on guard every day that the Devil wants us to fail. But, we must also be concious every day that the Lord is at work. 

We had some great breakthroughs tonight in team-time. Storm, for the first time (don't hate me Storm for telling this) finally started to find the confidence we the team have seen in her. She began to see that through Christ, she's been able to do great things...regardless of what her self-esteem or Satan was telling her. It moved her and I saw not wet eyes of sadness or doubt, but of hope and peace knowing that she was complete in the Lord! So, amen for that breakthrough! Kelsey, Bruce and Thomas all had some great breakthroughs as well. Luke and I brokethrough and saw that spiritual warfare is ONLY one side of the coin when it comes to the spiritual world. If we get too focused on what Satan is doing, we can lose sight of what God is doing as well!! 

So, today was great. I've been praying for a while now that our team would continue to click and grow together, and tonight is another testimony to what prayer can do. I saw tonight someone become free from the ways that Satan was afflicting her and hopeful of what's to come. I saw someone tonight connect the bigger picture and keep his eyes focused on the individual acts of suffering and pain. I saw growth in our team and saw Christ glorified through our fellowship. 

So, I'm not exactly sure if any of the above made sense....but I hope it did. God did some big stuff today and for that I'm grateful! Thank you for your prayers, for if it weren't for them...we wouldn't have had the breakthroughs we had tonight!

Some things you can continue to pray for:

1 - More breakthroughs: There's still a lot of growing to occur in each of our teammates! Also, Bruce, Kelsey and I would love a breakthrough in the community here in Santa Monica. So far, the search is coming up dry. But, after today's testimony to the power of prayer, we're hopeful and faithful that indeed, a breakthrough IS coming!

2 - Lunch with Peter: Storm, Luke and Thomas will be getting lunch with their Chi Kung classmate sometime soon I imagine. Pray that the Lord would send himself ahead and till the ground for great conversation and opportunities to be made known!

3 - Continued rest: The team is finally finding balance in the days, but we're still realizing just how exhausting this trip is. Not only physically, but emotionally, spiritually and mentally. We're doing good to not kill each other so far, so pray that the Lord would continue to provide rest for us...because we definitely need it. 

4 - Santa Monica

5 - Venice

I thank ya'll again for your prayers! 

in Him and until next Monday,

Lj

LOOK AT ME LOOK AT ME LOOK AT ME!!!

Sitting down to write this post, I had a funny image running through my mind that I feel is all to accurate, people just don't realize it. God has been doing some pretty awesome things on this trip, and there is much more to come, I'm certain of it. Two weeks in and already there are deepening relationships being formed. Two weeks in and God has already blessed our efforts with a plethora of ministry opportunities that we never could have expected. So what is that funny image that was in my mind? Well, each day that we are here we bike, walk, or drive around talking to people and praying for the areas we're in. Creation is, I feel, God's biggest "Here I am!" billboard/sign to people. Santa Monica and Venice Beach are two of the darkest areas I've been in, so very very lost. There number of Believers in California is minimal, and in there areas, nearly non-existent. The odd thing is that both of these locations is right next to the ocean/beach. OH MY GOODNESS! Could God be screaming any louder to these people via His creation? I feel like as we're here God is yelling "Hey, hey you, hey! Look up here Look up here Look up here! Hey, you guys! Look at me Look at me Look at me!!!!" And everyone is just walking by, completely unaware.
We're here to bring about that awareness in the Almighty, Powerful Name of Christ.
Josh and I flew in to LA this morning at 9:30 pacific time. Yup, we woke up at 5:30 Eastern time to catch our 5 hour flight. And neither of us slept well the night before. Josh got around 2 hours of sleep, and I got none, so we definitely passed out this afternoon for a few(ok, more that a few for me) hours in order to recouperate. Once we woke up though we had the team give us the low-down on what's been going on. In a nut shell GOD IS BEING AWESOME!!! But for those of you who like detail, I'll try to be more specific. =)
Today in Chi Kung lessons Tony offered the Venice team an extra hour a week(free) to do actual Kung Fu since we only have 8 weeks with him. He's taken a particular liking to Thomas, but Storm and he have both worked hard this weekend at earning his respect. And, needless to say, they've earned it. Peter (one of the guys there) is wanting to get lunch with us sometime this week to!
The Santa Monica team has been implementing their strategy changes and they've been pretty successful! The relationships they've built with the waitresses in the area have continued to show growth and results. But seriously, who could resist Bruces bod, Joshes natural charm, and Kelseys bubbly personality? The team rocks! Tomorrow we're calling the volunter programs to get them hooked up with that so they can have even more of an affect on the community there. Oh those servant leaders. =)

So what can yall pray for?
1) MORE SICK NASTY AWESOMENESS!!!!
2) Tony and his wife (Chi Kung Master)
3) Peter (British martial arts teach and photographer)
4) Melissa (waitress)
5) Tracy (waitress)
6) The churches that are already here to continue to grow
7) Us to form new relationships and start churches here ourselves

We love you all and are always appreciatative of your prayers,
Peace and Love,
Luke =)

I am still living with your ghost, Lonely and dreaming of the west coast

Lupita made us another super delicious breakfast which inlcuded pancakes today. We had our Chi Kung lessons today so we biked down to them. They were really good today, I think our instructor is starting to notice a lot more and the connections we make there are getting deeper and more numerous. Storm actually invited one man (Peter) to lunch with us sometime and we got his number and visa versa. So that was awesome, Bruce and Kelsey came with us since a third of our team is missing (Congrats Puck and Kelly (who probably wont be reading this)) and we got lunch at the Gyro place which was like being smacked with a blast of Greek goodness (or wherever Gyros are from). We rode through Santa Monica and watched part of a concert, it is the 100th anniversary of the Santa Monica pier so there is a series of concerts and stuff. They did a cover of Lady Gaga's Poker face so we left. We did not do a Prius count but Im sure if we did there would be another ridiculous number. We got back to the church and helped Scott put bricks down for the new courtyard they are building. Essau came back which made us happy, he went to Kentucky and they saved 650 people!!! Thats awesome!! We went to the Hispanic talent show after that and the top winner won 500 dollars. The band that won was Essau's two kids and they sounded awesome. Ben the middle son can drum better than anyone I could ever imagine who is in Middle school, he is ridiculous. The talent show was fun, trying to hear a sermon in Spanish is always an interesting experience. We went to an In and Out Burger joint and let me spare you the questioning in your head and anxious anticipation, Cookout beats In and Out, any day. We look forward to our teammates coming back tommorow, we really miss Josh and Luke.

Some prayer requests:

1.) Fathers ( my dad is amazing and he deserves more than one day)

2.) Peter

3.) Tony

4.) The church we are staying at is having an event on the 27th and we need to capitalize on the opportunity for more outreach

5.) Outreach opportunities in general

6.) Santa Monica

7.) Venice

8.) Puck and Kelly just got married :)

Happy Fathers Day!!!

cheesecake... yummy!

Well this morning started out like many others with an amazingly awesome breakfast made by the wonderful Lupita. Then it was time for some research so we looked up non-profit organizations that we could get involved it. We also needed to type up some of the demographics we had gathered in the Santa Monica and Venice areas for future reference. After that some of us who do not particularity enjoy research were ready to head into the field.

So Thomas, Bruce, Storm, and I headed out on our bicycles, our form of transportation without our lovely driver here for the next two days. Josh and Luke are back in North Carolina for Puck and Kelly's wedding (Congratulations from the LA Team by the way)! They are missed greatly by the rest of the team especially Thomas and Bruce without their cuddle buddies! Well we decided to stick together today and venture to Santa Monica.

At the Promenade, I felt like God had placed a lady on my heart that we had passed a few times before that had a sign that read "Hungry". Today I finally decided to listen and not let fear be an excuse. Storm and I went up to the lady and introduced ourselves. Her name was Jennifer and she was from Washington state. We asked her if we could get lunch for her. She asked her boyfriend to watch their dog so she could go to Subway with us. As we were walking and talking she began to open up to us a little bit. She told us she had traveled down to LA with her boyfriend in hopes of ending up in Texas. They had found the dog in the bushes and used a lot of their money to care for the dog. Jennifer and her boyfriend have been camping out for two or three months. She told us that she didn't really get along with her father who had raised her to dislike her mother. She was finally able to meet her mom and realize that they had a lot in common. She talked about how she liked to stay away from Venice because she wanted to stay drug free. We felt like this might be a way of life for her. I hope that this is a relationship that can grow.

While we were hanging out with Jennifer, Thomas and Bruce decided to grab lunch at Barney's Beanery. Their waitress, Melissa, evidently wanted Bruce and/or Thomas depending on which one you talk to. God only knows what went on during this guy bonding experience. Storm and I meet up with them and had some team reflection time in Barnes and Noble. Then we began our trek back to the church while our legs screamed at us the whole way. It was time for us to take some showers, rest, nap, and wait for the Knapps.

Ted and Kerrie Knapp picked us up and took us down to Redondo beach to eat at the Cheesecake Factory. This was a new and enjoyable experience for me. We meet their friend, Chris who was from Trinidad and spend some time in Canada. He is an associate pastor in the area. We also found out that he also enjoys snow which is a rare occurrence to share that similarity with anyone in Southern California where it is sunny the majority of the time. We were also able to explain that they didn't have to apologize for the gloomy June weather because it was hot compared to Boone weather. The dinner allowed us to tell the Knapps about what we have been doing, while having a great dinner. Of course you can't go to the cheesecake factory without having some cheesecake, so Thomas and Storm split some Key Lime cheesecake, which was a little crazy for me, and Bruce and I split the 30th Anniversary Chocolate Cake Cheesecake which was yummy! Who know there were so many flavors of cheesecake. I believe it is safe to say that we all thought that we might explode literally after eating tonight and could barely walk to the car. They also drove us to see the association office in Inglewood. At the office we were able to see a map of Los Angeles County and were all amazed at how large LA really is.

We are constantly reminded in LA how much people focus on money and image as we drove around tonight. Keep praying for those who worship money as their god. Also for finding ways into these people's lives that think they have everything they need.

When we got back we had our team meeting and hung out with people from the church. Storm and I are constantly practicing/ learning Spanish with our new friends from the Hispanic church and Lupita. Bruce and Thomas were able to hang out with our friend Steven, who is constantly working around the church to better it and the community. It is encouraging to see these people who are passionate about Christ and who have a heart for this community.

Keep praying for the connections being made and as they begin to grow. Pray for Jennifer and her boyfriend. Pray for new ideas and an opening of hearts in the Santa Monica area. Pray for connections and relationships in Venice. Be praying for the team as we are constantly faced with darkness. Pray for boldness and courage in talking to people.

Kelsey

Thank You Al Gore...

Today was our day off and on our bike ride from the beach we counted 67 Toyota Priuses, that is not an exaggeration....67!!!

"Enough With The Honking!" and Other Various Missives

Even though Bruce has decided that he is destined to live here and make it on the big screen (or at least be a male model,) he does admit there is one thing about LA that could make it a deal breaker.....The Car Horns!.... *insert omnious music* I can honestly say that there is no other place on this earth in which drivers become so overcome with fits of twitching that cause continuous force to the center of any available steering wheel within ten feet. Honking occurs so much that I suppose the locals must consider the noise to be background music. I can't say that I felt the same as I was the recipient of a cacophany and other interesting gestures today while attempting to start my bike uphill from a stoplight. And tonight, while riding to Target, the group discovered that it is a requirement for all drivers in LA to have psychic powers. It seems that every individual can predict when a red light will suddenly turn green and expect to be moving forward before that change happens. The above has probably been the largest culture shock for me of the entire trip.

However, that has only been a small part of the day. This morning began the implementation of a new schedule for the team. Together we had all decided to try a longer, more involved field work time, beginning today. After breakfast, each small group ventured out to their areas via bicycle and spent the hours until 6ish meeting people in the area, making new relationships, eating lunch, enjoying the beach, and deciding on a spiritual quiet time to recharge. Thomas, Luke, and I were excited to have a more personal discussion with Tony B. that included some of his goals and beliefs in life. We feel that he is much more receptive towards us now that we have separated ourselves from the random tourists that flock the beach every day, showing genuine interest in the area and the people.

After eating lunch in an almost secret nook of businesses that we found and spendng some time chilling on the beach, we frequented Cafe Collage again. While there, Thomas, Luke, and I decided that as a small group we would work through 2 Corinthians in the afternoons, both for our benefit and to attract meaningful discussion among the customers there. With that plan intact, we made our way back to the church for some individual quiet time/naps. We felt as though our new schedule took a lot of the pressure off of us time-wise and that our day was a success. I can only leave you with one afterthought: I thought I would add that "Bistro" in LA = "bar." (We found that out the hard way....)

During our team time, Kelsey, Josh, and Bruce discussed their day scoping out a larger area of Santa Monica and looking for alternative ways to reach the locals. A good portion of their time, however, was spent on brainstorming and idea-making for an amazing opportunity that has just been handed to us. Jonathan Stockstill recently mentioned an enormous celebration soon to occur in the area (10,000 people to put things into perspective...). What an awesome way to make an impact on the community! We are gratefully asking for prayer in this undertaking as we search for ideas and resources.

The night ended with basketball and a bonfire in the church parking lot (Thanks a ton, Steven!). And what's a bonfire without ooey gooey s'mores?! It was a great way for the everyone who is involved directly with the church on a daily basis to kick back and hang out for a while. And we even have hopes for a moon bounce in the future...that will be a fun blog entry I'm sure!

Thanks and love to you all!
Storm

"It's for medicinal purposes"

Hola Amigos!

Once again thanks for tuning into our daily blog. Today was a big day, there is a lot to say, it's almost midnight and I haven't had a nap today...soooo lemme get started. (Yes it rhymes. Thank you I'll be here all summer.)

So the morning started off with the usual series of slaps to the snooze button and the o-so-wonderful Lupita cooking up a storm. Speaking of Storm, we learned that she gets a little aggressive when face-to-face with balloon animals at the breakfast table.

After breakfast we started getting ready for our guests of honor, Steve Canter and Ronnie Fox from NAMB. They were supposed to be here around 11 am, so it was a pleasant surprise when I walked out of the bathroom while brushing my teeth and Josh was formally introducing himself due to an early arrival (but I don't think it affected their first impression of me...)

We soon after sat down with these great guys and also Jonathan Stockstill, our local supervisor. We discussed how things were going so far and how we were really excited for what God had in store for us AND for this area. There was also a constructive criticism time for us to say what is working and what is not working. It was pretty simple because we had pretty much made lists of that sort of thing the night before.

After our meeting it was definitely time for some grindage (food for those who have not been to California). Steve made the mistake of telling us that the bill was "on NAMB". So the team, being the kind and considerate people that we are, decided to go to Johnny Rockets burger joint on the 3rd St Promenade in Santa Monica. Sadly, Johnny Rockets was per-ity packed during the lunch hour so we walked over to Barney's Beanery (where Josh, Kelsey, and I ate on our first day in the field). I of course got the Hawaiian burger again, and some of the others such as Josh decided to follow in my footsteps and do the same. Lunch was a good time for fellowship. We had great conversation about anything and everything. We even watched Gaelic football (look it up) on the flat-screen TVs...which was AWESOME. Steve even looked up the rules for it on his sweet iPhone.

After leaving the beanery we took a walk through the Promenade and down towards the Santa Monica beach and pier. This of course is where Josh, Kelsey and I will be doing our work in the field. We showed Steve and Ronnie around a bit and headed back to the car to go down to Venice. After finding a parking spot with great ease...not, we took the gentlemen on a stroll through the Venice Beach boardwalk. There they found all of the diversity I'm sure they have heard so much about. My favorite part was the attractive young lady in front of the Kush House yelling "get your marijuana here" and handing out some coupons of some sort. As you all probably know by now, the drug is legal in the golden state as long as you have a prescription...which is easily attainable at your local doctor's office. We jokingly asked Steve and Ronnie if the NAMB health insurance would cover our doctor visits and prescription drugs so that we might further our reach to those people...jokingly...

So anyway, we said our goodbyes and expressed our gratitude to our visitors and headed back to the Church on Pearl. Pastor Jeff of the Anglo church here informed us that the city of Santa Monica was hosting a 4th of July celebration in the neighborhood on Saturday, June 27th. The fire dept. called him wanting permission to use the church parking lot to set up booths and food vendors. The Church on Pearl is going to have a booth set up also that day. Jonathan suggested that this would be a great opportunity for ministry, AND a good time to go ahead and advertise a community gathering in the future that would be put on by US. There is probably going to be close to 10,000 folks at this shindig next Saturday so God has definitely blessed us with a prime opportunity. The team will be deciding on what our plan of action is and also ideas for the community outreach gathering in the next month or so.

The evening was pretty chill here at the Pearl. We had a great dinner compliments of Lupita and some good conversation with Brittany (Pastor Jeff's daughter) and her boyfriend/our neighbor Stephen. After that it was team debriefing time where we just caught up on what needed to be done and our thoughts on today. After that it was time for a little royal rumble between the guys, minus Luke. I don't think the girls were too impressed but luckily Kelsey was dragged into the fun. I'm almost positive she enjoyed herself.

Well I'm getting a bit tired. I don't think I missed anything of importance and I hope it wasn't TOO unbareable to read. I do want to leave you all with some things you could be praying for:

-Encouragement. It is always nice to know we have a lot of people behind us on this and we are not just on our own. Steve and Ronnie made us feel like rockstars today. A lot of people are expecting good things from this team and I know that great things will come, but sometimes we do get a little frustrated if things aren't going the way we had planned.
-Opportunities. God has already been blessing us with some great stuff. I think that this 4th of July celebration will be a great time to get out and meet the community. There are going to be TONS of people there for us to get to know. Also, pray for us as we kind of plan out what we will be doing as far as community outreach in the future.
-Relationships. We have certainly established relationships with some significant people around our areas, but pray that God blesses those people and works in their hearts so that our relationships with them can grow.
-Parachute Project and NAMB. Steve and Ronnie told us of all of the other teams scattered throughout the United States. This particular project is certainly a trial and error type situation and everyone has their own strategies. Just pray for those other teams and that God blesses them as much as he has us here in LA. Also that NAMB and the directors of parachute project can learn what works and what doesn't so that they can improve this project for the future.

Ok that's my time. Once again thanks for your prayers, they really do go a long way. Until next Tuesday, God Bless.

Bruce

Suit Up

Here we are a week in and it is incredible how far we've come, what we've already learned, and what the Lord is already doing! It's simply amazing. 

I struggle now even to find a starting place on how to debrief the past week. All but one mission trip I've been on in the past would have already been over and done with and I'd be at home by now...back to reality. However, here we are with one week down and 7 more to go. Our team has already talked about how our mindset has changed from '8 full weeks of ministry' to 'ONLY 8 weeks left of ministry'. Our urgency is still at charge and we still feel a dire need to live missionally in every action taken, word spoken, thought had, and day lived. 

Along with the Lord blessing us with a mindset of urgency, He's given us a whole new set of eyes and ears to see the people around us. Obviously if you've read Luke's blog from yesterday, we're seeing people, areas, lifestyles, and groups of people that we're not used to or that are in some serious need of the love of Christ in their lives. The same rings true for the Santa Monica team. The 6 of us total feel, see, hear, sense and just know that the love of the Lord is what these people here need and we are urgent to lead them to it!

Today was only a reminder of the urgency we must live with, new set of eyes and ears, and ultimately how when the Light is taken into the Darkness, the Darkness pushes back. 

This morning we woke up, had breakfast and went on a new adventure. We, the team, like to think it was an original thought...so we're coining the term of Prayer Cycling. Basically what we did was we took the 6 of us into the two areas, Venice and Santa Monica, and spent a couple of hours riding and walking around in prayer for the areas, people and opportunities that the Lord will present us with. 

While we were Prayer Cycling (see, it has a ring to it!) we met a guy named Kurt. He was with an AIDs organization and was in the Promenade trying to raise funds to sponsor a trip to the Sudan area to drop off about $32 million worth of supplies for people suffering from AIDs. While the team felt compelled to give, we'd not been expecting to donate money and none of us had anything to donate to him. But, what he donated to us was huge. We got to talking and told him where we'd come from and what we were here for (he was a Christian, so we felt comfortable telling him the whole reason we're here). He gave us a quick sermon that changed each of us on the spot. It's a little funny, but it works. He told us about the H.O.L.Y B.I.B.L.E, which stands for He Only Left You Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth. From there, it transitioned to a warning that when light goes into darkness, forces we can't explain push back and that every morning before we go out to be the Salt and Light, we should suit up with the armor of God. As Kurt was reminding us of this valuable lesson I thought to myself "What kind of leader am I!? We haven't even thought about the Suit of Armor in our conversations of spiritual warfare!" 

After this great reminder and advice, we finished up our prayer cycling journey and my mind began to race and wonder. My thoughts lead me to thinking about how I'd failed the Lord in I know at least two opportunities He had given me. I failed them because of my attitude and my doubts in my abilities as a witness. These thoughts of failure pondered and stayed there for a while today.

After prayer cycling, we came back and got showers and piled into the Knapp Mobile (the name of our car, which was graciously lent to us by Ted Knapp). We headed to the college campus of UCLA. Here, we walked around the area, had lunch and got a feel for what the students, ministry possibilities and community were like on campus. It was an awesome site to see such a huge, beautiful campus full of people on a day where classes hadn't even yet started. So, the team is excited about the possibilities to come at UCLA!

About halfway through the tour of UCLA, the team hit the same roadblock it has been hitting every day around 3pm. For the first week of LA, we've been given so much new information, experienced so many new things, met so many new people, learned so much, though in new ways, been taken out of our comfort zones, and on top of all that...we've been given a notebook and another book of stuff to do in our "down" time. Well, around 3pm every day our down time consists of about an hour or so nap so that we're not moping around in Venice or Santa Monica and completely useless. So, we hit the 3 o'clock dead zone and everyone started getting cranky with each other, frustrations rose (as they do most days around that time) and tensions started to mount. We got back to the church, all went to our beds and took some 'me' time. I chose to hop on the bike and ride down to a coffee shop about a mile away.

When I got to the coffee shop, I realized how drained I was, how tired I was of the team, how frustrated I was with myself for missing out on those two opportunities the Lord had clearly given me, and how drained spiritually I was. I'd gone almost the whole week without opening my bible more than a couple times. It just seemed that every time I opened my bible, I was too drained to even try and take in anything new that might cause in-depth thinking. This realization today at Starbucks began to bother me...and bother me A LOT! 

So, I opened my bible and just began to read. I read through Colossians, Ephesians, Philippians, and some of Galatians. I wasn't trying to power read and be super religious, I just wanted to find myself engulfed in the word of God for a little while. So, I found comfort in just reading. I wasn't reading it too deeply or for any new, great knowledge...but just reading to find comfort in my Maker's arms again. As I began to read, my mind and some scripture lead me to my frustrations. Perhaps I hadn't been maximizing all the blessings the Lord had given me so far!? 

For example:

The Lord has blessed me with 5 amazing, Godly individuals surrounding me who want nothing more than to see this area enter into the Kingdom of God! They've been such an encouragement and it's been a true blessing to see how all 5 of them have grown in such big ways!! Kelsey and Storm are getting more and more comfortable talking to people they've never met and more and more comfortable 'evangelizing' even when they thought they couldn't. They're so humble about it and see so much growth, but I don't think they realize how much guts they have doing what they're already doing! Storm, who was scared to death of evangelism a week ago today, is already living life and becoming a part of a Chi Kong Master's life, who is all about the chi! Kelsey is continually amazing me as she finds more and more comfort in starting conversations with people. Bruce and Thomas are growing vastly as well. They're the jokesters of the team for sure, and offer so much to the team...but I don't think they realize just how much. I've seen Thomas and Bruce both take on this maturity that I've never seen them have before. They're genuinely loving and caring for these people out here and are 100% genuine in their thoughts, input to the group, and their ministry out here in LA! It's amazing! And Luke, one who is never good at set scheduling, book work, or anything of the like (he'll admit this...so I'm not telling you anything he wouldn't)  has become so well adjusted to the schedule we've had this past week. He's taking the days as they come and is doing great things. He's also an incredible voice and leader for the Venice team. What he, Thomas and Storm have done in that area already is simply incredible!

So, the Lord's blessed me with these amazing 5 people to be here with...yet over the past few days, the dynamic of the team have been weird. There's been divisions and frustrations and joking (but in reality, it's serious) that have added to the tensions. I have found myself feeling left out, secluded and set a part from the group. So, as I was reading and thinking and processing today in Starbucks about all of this, something that Luke said and something that Kurt said this morning hit me.

About 3 or 4 days ago, Luke and I were talking and he said "You know, I can already tell how Satan is going to attack us. One, our doubting and two, our team dynamics." Then, I thought about Kurt who said "Suit up, because forces you can't imagine and haven't seen before are going to be giving you pushback." Then...it clicked for me today. Satan has been at work in me already. I've contributed to the dynamics of the group and I have let my doubts talk me out of seizing opportunities the Lord was already giving me. So, I processed and thought some more on those things for a while.

After my time at the coffee shop, I came back feeling refreshed. We had dinner as a team and then Luke, Bruce and I headed to Target (we drink a lot of water and Dr. Pepper!). After Target, we had probably what I would say as the best team-time yet.

We got in, and I read a passage from Ephesians 5 and 6. It talked about how we're to separate ourselves from the ways of darkness and are to live as the Light. Then, we talked about the armor of God. I confessed to the group my shortcomings and doubts and how I was feeling about the group dynamics. From there, it was as if God himself showed up. I was worried about this conversation, but knew it had to happen so I'd been in prayer about it. Well, the Lord took it away and amazed me once again. I was not the only one in the group feeling and sensing these self doubts or group tensions. From there, we talked it out and let the conversation end on a high note. We're all now on the same page in terms of dynamics and are much more aware of how each other is feeling, what causes those feelings/dynamics, and what are some ways to avoid them! We discussed new ways to do ministry and how to make sure we have both our down time, and our rejuvenating with the Spirit time.

After this awesome conversation, the team talked about the previous week, what it was looking like and some positive things and some suggestions we would have for the NAMB people tomorrow. (By the way, the NAMB people are coming tomorrow to check in on us). From there...we took a break, goofed off and laughed and then got back to work debriefing today (UCLA/Prayer Cycling) and preparing for tomorrow with the NAMB guys. 

Now, here we are in the guys room, chatting, laughing and taking in all that the Lord has for us. It's been great tonight...reconnecting with the team, pushing Satan back and letting him know that he can try his darndest, but we will stay aware and united for the sake of bringing the Kingdom to Venice & Santa Monica! The group is back together, the tensions are gone and we're rip roaring and ready to go for the next 7 weeks. We're dressed and ready in the Armor and prepare now more than we were 7 days ago to take on Satan full force in whatever ways he can think of. Satan doesn't stand a chance with God on our side and with the 5 other individuals here with me!

So, today offered a lot. A new look into a new area (UCLA), a new prayer method (Prayer Cycling) and some moving forward to what is to come (forgetting tensions and doubts from the past). I'm reminded of where in Philippians where Paul says "Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead. I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." 

Though Satan has buffeted and trials have come, our team is pressing on toward the goal of bringing the Kingdom. We will not waver in the face of these doubts, trials and temptations...instead we will recall the days like today, where frustrations were high and yet the Lord prevailed. We will recall the days that weren't so great, but we persevered. 

Some things to pray for:

1 - Team Unity: That the Lord would continue to bless us with amazing community and honesty with one another.

2 - Team doubts: That we will boldly go where the Lord leads us, regardless of what the costs may be.

3 - Venice

4 - Santa Monica

5 - Continued rest and rejuvenation: That the team would be able to find rest in the Lord when we're drained, especially when we're tired and can't seem to push on. Also, that we would be committed and faithful to our daily walks with the Lord in these upcoming 7 weeks, rejuvenating us spiritually!