Hi! I'm so glad you're here! This is for everyone back in Indiana whose been supporting me every step of the way, financially and prayerfully. Just little updates on what is going on in the lives of H-Town Master's Commission. Here you will find testimonies, on-the-road stories, small devotionals, and photos ...And more! Hold tight! There's more to come...
3-Dec (Tuesday) 3AM, Vyara: Reaching Vyara; staying in Hotel
3-Dec (Tuesday) 4PM-6PM, Vyara: Visiting Crossroads Girls’ Children Home in
Songhad
4-Dec (Wednesday) 6PM-9PM, Uchal: Day 1 Crusade in Uchal (Approx 20,000 people attending).
5-Dec (Thursday) 10AM-1PM, Uchal: Pastors/Believers/Youth
Meeting Day 1 5-Dec (Thursday) 6PM-9PM, Uchal: Day
2 Crusade
6-Dec (Friday) 10AM-1PM, Uchal: Pastors/Believers/Youth
Meeting Day 2 6-Dec (Friday) 6PM-9PM, Uchal: Day 3
Crusade
7-Dec (Saturday) 10AM-1PM, Uchal: Pastors/Belivers/Youth
Meeting Day 3
7-Dec (Saturday) 6PM-9PM, Uchal: Day 4 Crusade
8-Dec (Sunday) 10AM-1PM, Vyara: Sunday Service in Songhad
8-Dec (Sunday) Evening, Mumbai: Travelling to Mumbai and Flying to Dubai
9-Dec (Monday) Morning, Dubai: Staying in Hotel in Dubai;
sightseeing
10-Dec (Tuesday) Day-time, Dubai: Sightseeing
Midnight-Early Morning Flying to Houston
11-Dec (Wednesday) 9AM or 4PM: Reaching Houston
Prayer Requests:
Please pray for our safety while travelling to India. India is a hostile nation, so we're not technically going as "missionaries" but as "tourists". Please pray that God will keep us safe there and back.
Pray for the people in India will hear the gospel and receive it. Pray for their hearts to be touched and changed. Pray for the crusades to run smoothly as there will be thousands and thousands of people there.
Pray that God will be able to use us and give us the opportunity to be used.
This girl started out needing to raise $1400 by November 14th for India (which was a little less than a month away) but she wasn't getting any luck. All of a sudden, she only had a weekend to raise it. She stood on street corners holding up a sign all by herself saying "Help me get to India $." She somehow managed to raise over $300, and some other donations from somewhere else started pouring in. Unfortunately, she didn't make the deadline.With only $500, she thought it was quits. Until someone matched her $500... and now with a little over $1,000, she was still able to raise the rest which she still needed to raise $1100 more (altogether the trip was $2500). She had no luck again! She was growing weary. The due date to have all the money was coming soon, and she already told one of her classmates she was giving up, that there was no way she could raise $1100 within a day. Then her classmate looked at her and said "you're not giving up." Then God told her to be still. You see, she was trying so hard, willing to do whatever it takes because she knew she was called to go. Then the next day... the due date... EVERYTHING started flooding in... all of it. A week before the trip to India.
I GOT THE MONEY! NOW YOU DON'T HAVE TO HEAR ME BEG FOR MONEY OVER FACEBOOK ANYMORE! HALLELUJAH!
Here are some lessons I've learned from fundraising...
God talks to you... Maybe not audibly (but that would be way cool)... but there is something inside you that knows whatever idea you got or thought, just seemed good. That is what happened to me. A lot. When I was standing outside with a sign asking for money with hundreds of passing cars, God told me I was going to get at least $100. But I was getting tired, I wanted to go inside, and then He told me again; right after that, someone pulls up with $200. Don't tell me that was a coincidence. Also, when I was struggling to raise the money again, I was freaking out and doubting and working too hard to raise it. So God told me to be still. To stop trying altogether, trust Him with everything you got and watch what He can do. He certainly proved Himself to be faithful.
Comparing the amount of money you have with someone else's amount only leads to discouragement.
Patience. It's God's timing, not anyone else's. A due-date means nothing to God's timing.
Obedience is key. Do all that you can. In the bible it talks about how you must prepare the field while you pray for rain. Get ready to receive from the Lord.
Already start praising and thanking God for what He is about to do.
God isn't a liar; if you are told you are called to go, you are going.
Beg God for a miracle. All the time.
Never cease in prayer.
Hold onto this: "I don't need to see it to believe it." (Tear Down the Walls - Hillsong) We sang this song at church not too long ago, I was still struggling financially for India and I was so discouraged. But the wonder of Christ to us is that we don't need to see this light to believe it. Hope and faith.
Above all - God is faithful. He is going to show you a very scary mountain and then He's going to crumble it. Don't underestimate what God can do. He is victorious over everything. Our pastor this past Sunday said this: "Sometimes we need giant killers to stand up and fight." Sometimes, you've got to fight for your calling because the enemy likes to snatch it away in a heartbeat. Which is rewarding, because it only makes you want it more. And that is like a slap in the face to him.
Personally, I have never been a fan of Thanksgiving and other holidays. Yeah, it was great to celebrate the remembrance of Jesus Christ and stuff but I still couldn't stand the holidays for other reasons. But what happened today completely threw my thinking about Thanksgiving away and replaced it with a joy I have never felt before. I know that Thanksgiving is about being thankful... yadda, yadda... food. But let me tell you something else...
Serving.
Yeah. That's what I said. Something about humbling yourself, and crumbling your pride really does something to your character. You become more happy... and more thankful. You start to enjoy the company of others, and you love giving others their smiles back. Something about blessing those in need is so anointing and innocent. I wonder if that is what Jesus has been trying to show us after all. Yes, hammering down your pride isn't pleasant by all means, but once you hit humility and you make someone's day - it is worth it, and you love it.
That is how I felt today. My team and our church, Crossroads Fellowship, gave out free candy and 400 turkeys to all the houses we serve weekly. 400 houses got 400 turkeys! We had a bunch of floats, hot-rods, Santa Claus, and more... It was definitely one of the most amazing days I've ever had. Just loving on each person as we pass by... it is exhausting... but it is a beautiful blessing. The thing is, we don't have to tell them about Jesus, because of this, they can already see something different about us.
Thanksgiving is about giving thanks. It is about appreciating those around you. It's about serving. Putting yourself last - to sacrifice and willing to give away yourself for someone else's benefit. Today, I saw a piece of Thanksgiving and love restored and a community that was brought together for a moment. Something about it was so peaceful. In the midst of all the cheerful noise and chaos, it was very peaceful.
You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God's people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. ~2 Corinthians 9:11-12
I was going to post something really cool with testimonies and such... but I had to postpone it... simply because of one amazing young woman who succeeded in stealing my heart at the get-go, especially this week. She'll say she isn't super-woman, but I still sometimes question if she really doesn't believe she is, or it's just a "no big deal" sort of facetious way. Anyway, usually when we give compliments, people are so easy to shake their head and say, "no-no," (which is what she did). But please, hear me out... let me tell you about someone who has inspired me.
Her name is Rychi. And Rychi, if you're reading this and you think you're under appreciated, this is a lie from the enemy. 100%, we see your hard work, and the work you do for Master's Commission. This is the first girl I talked to over the phone before moving to MC. She was the one that told me everything there is to know about MC. She helped me to make the decision whether or not I should even attend this Discipleship Program - she was a huge help in making that decision.
Let me tell you about Rychi,
She handles the finances for MC, the dramas we do, and she has been a complete rock-star through this India project (especially with the drama with the Visas). And she probably does other stuff we don't even know about. Lately, things have been pretty stressful; a lot of us here at Master's have been exhausted, frustrated with each other, yet we're having to keep moving forward - always doing something. It's been stressful, and there's more stress awaiting this whole next month, too.
When I see Rychi handling the finances for India, taking charge of Visas, or training a brand new drama, I see hard work. She puts her all into everything she does and she has challenged me to be just like that as well. Yet she is tired - she pushes through it. Rychi really does exercise the verse, "Whatever you do, work heartily, as for God and not for men." She takes everything she does seriously, and she does it with a smile on her face. Anything she has to say is worth hearing - I'm not saying she is the wisest person I have met, but if you haven't heard her speak, you will never understand why... she is just so passionate.
So when I say she has super-powers, or she is super-human, I'm not saying she is perfect, I am saying that because Christ has given her His light that shines through her - she is able to be the hands and feet of His wonderful ministry. I believe that God isn't finished with her - not at all. And it overwhelms me to tears to think about that.
Rychi, love you, kid. If there is anything that I am thankful for, it is definitely you.
I have been reading a lot of books about our identity lately…
(“Who Do You Think You Are?” – Mark Driscoll
& “Everyone Is Normal Til You Get To Know Them” –John Ortberg). These
books will rip your insides out, twist them a couple of times, maybe stomp on
it a little and then shove it back inside you upside down. Trust me. But it is
good for you, although you may feel the absolute need to punch someone – I suggest
buying a stress ball when going to buy these books as well.
I hear this a lot… “You put out what you put into Master’s Commission,” meaning
– in the nicest way possible: be serious about this Discipleship Program or you
are just wasting your money… so why are you even here? Have you ever heard that
saying, “My dad always said?” Usually when people explain what their dad always
said is because, mostly, they spent time with him – have memories of him. There
is a song by a Christian rapper who said it perfectly, “You ever spent so much
time with a person you started talking like them? See, the company that you
keep is certainly going to determine how you walk, how you talk… and we wonder
why we’re not looking like Him. – Fruits are the proof that He moved in.” What
I’m saying is if you abandon the opportunities God has given you to talk with
Him, to spend time with Him, we are missing a chunk of who He is, and who WE
are. Think about it, who are you? Do you know what God says about who you are?
You are not your title at your job. Though you are a
husband, brother, sister, wife, mom, dad… that isn’t your identity. You are not
an addict, or worthless, dirty, depression… but I believe if you keep thinking
this way it’s going to show, this sort of false identity will become your idol,
and this is what you will start to put out… we often wonder why we feel so
hopeless and lost; we don’t know who we really are.
That is what I have been learning here at MC. And much more,
of course… but learning this hit me hard. I was assigned those books to read,
every page I would come up to my class leader/teacher/intern and beg for
another book to read… he laughed at my pain of being tortured by these harsh
books and said, “keep reading” with a smile bigger than his head. I was hearing
some harsh truths that I didn’t want to hear, but he knew it was good for me
(which is also in one of those books too). It’s so easy to get caught up in
other things and calling those false identities I listed above, who you are. I
am a real testimony of that. I thought since I have had problems with
depression and addiction in the past, that that is who I will ever be. There is
a song that sings,
“He whispers in my
ears and tells me that I am fearless. He shares a melody, tells me to repeat
it. And it makes me whole, it reminds my soul… I am all He says I am, and He
says I am is all. I was blinded by scales upon my eyes, then He came in like a
light, and burned up all the lies. Oh, and He set me free. Chains are broken,
the scales are on the floor. Truth is spoken, I’m no orphan anymore. I am
loved. I am new again. I am free. I’m no slave to sin. And I’m a saint. I am
righteousness. And I’m alive.”
Sometimes we believe we are absolutely free because we are
in Christ. And it’s these kinds of false identities that tell us we are wrong,
we are still a slave to these identities; it is holding us back from those opportunities
of talking with our Father even more. Mark Driscoll said in his book, “Knowing
Jesus and being saved by Him in faith is the key to your identity and the
defeat of your idolatry. It’s not about you. It’s all about Jesus.” This just
confirms what I have been trying to say, spending time with a person, you start
acting like them… and we are image-bearers (Genesis 1:26-27). God has made
nothing else in His image… we need to hear from God so that we know who we are.
I now know that I am not my past, but it is only a part of
me. That’s it though, it is called a “past” for a reason. It’s been left
behind. I am not to go back. Yesterday, my class had a Leadership Workshop with
the pastors of Crossroads Fellowship (our church), Jim Rion (the speaker) told
us this: "Why do you think God parted the Red Sea instead of just building
a bridge or bringing a boat for the Israelites? Maybe it's because when the Red
Sea crashed together again, the Israelites were never meant to go back, but to
just move forward."Mark Driscoll also said, “You aren’t what’s been done
to you but what Jesus has done for you. You aren’t what you do but what Jesus
has done. What you do doesn’t determine who you are. Rather, who you are in
Christ, determines what you do. These are fundamental truths…”
Being here at MC in Houston, Texas… I have realized
something. My classmates and I… man do we have backgrounds. We are all far from
perfect, yet God chose us during this season to be His hands and feet. I bet a
lot of people we come in contact with think we are these “Jesus freaks who
never do anything wrong, and we are squeaky clean in love with the Lord.” It’s
true, we are Jesus Freaks, and we are pretty in love with Him, but we are
nowhere to being clean. You know, Saul in the bible – before he became Paul the
Apostle, he was a murderer… and then he started doing God’s work. And he wrote
Ephesians that actually talks about our true identity. I know someone who says
this so much because he knows it to be true, “We are loved 100% as is, and that
is the mystery of God…” I thought being here will help shape who I am, and being a part of something will feel great... God definitely snatched that away from me quickly. You can keep drowning yourself in other things to finally be something... but you already are something. You are God's.
So, who are you? Do you really know?
We reminded a youth group in La Vernia (near San Antonio) about their real identity this past Wednesday...
