This was an interesting list of Family hobbies, though I really only fall in #3 with taking pictures of everything but the others are more common and so true, though in my opinion 1 and 5 would have tied for first place. Enjoy and great post, Whacky.
This is how Word time can feel sometimes, like your submerged in it but it is not doing you any good. The other picture shows that it is possible to bring forth life again, that is my hope and prayer for my life right now that I can again bring forth life as I keep reading the Word and my PS reading lists.
This was a quote that stuck out to me today.
It’s as we continue to become more and more immersed in Him and His word, earnestly seeking His Will in our lives and desperately asking Him to do the job in us, to do the work in us, that we grow deeper in Him and truly become new creatures, day by day. Then all these old things continue to pass away as we truly become “transformed by the renewing of our minds.” – Rom.12:2. (#2750:5 – How to Overcome Discouragement!)
This was the ninth EXIT event and my second time joining up with other Family members on this event. It is an international event and supposed to be the biggest rock festivals in Eastern Europe with acts this year including Snoop Dog and The Prodigy among others. It is also one of the unofficial biggest witnessing events for Family young people to participate in and reach the many and diverse people who come from all over Europe for the music, drugs and 4 days of partying finding it all freely and cheaply but still being empty and more confused then ever before. That is where we came in and used our music to reach there hearts with true happiness and purpose and many receiving the best ticket of all and we are in contact by email and mobile phone with many of them to continue to minister to now that they have returned to their studies and work. Many want to leave it all and forsake all and the matrix they find their lives in so please keep all these in your prayers as they find the Lords will with their lives and hopefully we will get some disciples from this event.
Overall I think 50 or so Family members came from as far away as Mexico and the Philippines (they just happened to be visiting Europe for other reasons) and people from 8-9 homes in south-east Europe from 5 different countries, truly a united area project and very inspiring and unifying for us all to be a part of.
I’ll add some pictures with minimal commentary.
Some of the guys rockin’ out
Our camp, we did not get space in “tent city” this year which turned out to be a blessing as we got to use this nice private spot and provided a nice place to bring friends over too without all the bustle of 10 thousand people crowded in one park like everyone else coming to the fest.
Singing in the park, a nice alternative to escape the heat of the riverfront
Jayman (offline) and in a discussion on life, this guy found a new one.
Dare to be different, it seemed to work. Fools for Christ indeed!
Guard duty at camp, providing water and Word to hip-hop kids who were trying to get into the concert ground for free. They left with a free ticket to the “big gig” and came back other nights to hear more of our songs.
Last night camp fire where many new friends came over and did not want to leave, we were up till sunrise with some of them, pray that we can visit again soon and keep in touch with them all from all our homes.
I’ve just come back from an amazing trip, something unfortunately that had to come to an end at least for now. As a full-time missionary all my life you always want to be one the frontline reaching the spiritual needy and for the most part we do to some extent. We reach people, bring them to know Jesus as their savoir and follow-up on them and give bible classes, but never have I ever seen the need and vacuum so great as I have this last week and I think everyone who went there to witness this year at EXIT felt it too to some extent. Not only were the lives we ministered too or got saved changed forever but each one of us who were witnessing and I hope and pray we can keep that fire going in our hearts once we all go back to our homes, ministries and lives, families and works with the fire and burden for souls and this special field still burning in our hearts forever and that we can continue to minister by email, chat and phone the many people who want to continue to grow in their knowledge and love for the Lord, it’s just phenomenal the vacuum that is there and the depth the youth have for the Word, we can not be their with them in the flesh but we can do our part to keep the flames burning in their lives and not just once a year at this fest.
More posts and pictures from this wonderful time will be posted soon here.
Well it looks like it’s back in the fire for me.
My rejoining thing did not go as planed due to my shortcomings so it’s two more months and PS, but it could be worse and I’m glad I have a second chance and get off some more weights and sins that hold me back. Like they say, it is not important how many times we fall but how many times we can get back up.
I’m also off to EXIT ( my thoughts and photo’s from last year) tomorrow where I can totally forget about my own situation and witness at this special rock fest and receptive youth. I hope to have many inspiring testimonies when I get back.
Here is something a bit different that I wrote kind of Reflection style so if that is not your thing just skip it.
Not to long ago an elderly neighbor lost his weekend cottage in a careless fire. I had been helping in the clean-up effort in the aftermath of what looked like a small bomb blast on his wooded plot of land and cutting into firewood what was once his quite get-away home that had been leveled to heaps of cindered wood and ruble that needed to be cut, stacked and cleared away before we can build a new one. In the salvage and recovery efforts I went through mountains of burnt and scorched wood, from old floor boards to large wooden beams, some reduced to charcoal and others still somewhat usable that we cut into fire wood and yet others hardly scathed that we can use again in the reconstruction efforts.
At times like this it really makes you wonder why things like this have to happen, one day it’s there and the next it is gone and the remnants of what is left behind, memories, all worthless now and in a heap.
I personally have gone though a time recently in my life where I too just felt like this old cottage, that there just was no more future for me and that I had just burned down for the last time and felt just like charred wood in a heap barely good for anything but a little more burning to be reduced fully to ash and my usefulness fully snuffed out for good.
It reminds me of the time I visited the house of a friend of mine and he took me on a tour of his wine cellar. He had a wood beam ceiling in it and I commented on the woodwork that the wood must have been rather old and been though a lot to look so distinguished. To my surprise his reply was “no, this is a new cellar built with new timber” he went on to explain, “we just put the wood in a fire for a bit then lightly pained off the outer layer to bring out the grain and give it this effect.” I was amazed that they would deliberately and painstakingly do something potentially so harmful to what would have been a small fortune of timber. Standing there then I could not help but gaze at the richness that it had in character and what would have been just ordinary pine rafters was now transformed in nature with every ring and grain in the wood plainly visible, and the dark and light contrast clearly making it a beautiful piece of wood crafting and a rustic touch to the ambiance of this cellar.
God does much the same with us during trying times. He allows us to experience seeming turmoil and “go under the heat” with what seems like the very thing that will burn out our usefulness and sacrifice our beauty forever. He does this not to burn us to ash but to bring out our grain and prove our character and will He has already placed in us that He wants to bring out and show to others. These seeming cracks and dark lines to us might seem hard and unsightly and painful, but when others look at us from farther away to them they see the end result and that the master Carpenter of our life truly does all things well and is the author and finisher of our faith.
The apostle Peter had his share of fiery times and his advise to us was to not think it odd or strange when we “hit the heat” in these times in our lives, but even to rejoice, and that when His glory is revealed we may be glad also with exceeding joy. (1 Pet.4:12-13)
So when we hit these times in our lives when we feel like we’re just covered in sot and everything seems to be burning down all around us and things look hopeless that is the very time to rejoice. We can be used again, we can still be of use to others and through our overcoming prove our character and find our true beauty in the blaze.
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