First Jerusalem, Then Judea

Been thinking about India a lot lately. I'm constantly being encouraged through e-mail by my friends there. Can't wait to see their faces again and see what God is doing in their village and the surrounding villages. Please keep them in your prayers.



Today I was able to sit down and catch up with my friend Corey Hicks. I've been knowing Corey since i was in high school and have had several opportunities to work along side with him at different events. Today's conversation with Corey was encouraging to say the least. Corey is in the process of planting a church in New Orleans East in the 7th Ward. I guess this isn't a place where tourist would normally visit (haha). We talked a little bit about India, missions and what is going on here in New Orleans. This upcoming Monday i will be visiting Corey and his leadership team to share with them. Pumped about that and very undeserving. Please pray for me regarding monday night.

Acts 1:8
'But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."



This is a scripture we discussed today at lunch. Reminded me of the importance of working and serving where you are in this moment. Dissecting this scripture shows us the exactly what Jesus meant when he said this statement. Looking at the map, we see that Jerusalem is at the center of Judea and Samaria. and after that is the 'ends of the earth'. We can see that Jesus meant for us to focus on the center and work our way out. Sometimes, we forget this and focus on 'the ends of the earth' before the 'Jerusalem'. God has us where we are at in this moment for a reason. Take notice of that. Take notice of who we are surrounded by. Take notice of the needs surrounding us right now. Focus on that, THEN work our way out.

Excited to see what God is going to do in the 7th Ward and New Orleans East through Corey's ministry.

My good friend, Daniel (Alex City, AL) will be coming in town tomorrow to meet and see first hand what his youth group will be doing on their missions trip to New Orleans on April 10-14. Gonna be a fun/busy weekend.



Here is a picture taken at iTuesday on Mardi Gras Night. How awesome is it that young people get together in New Orleans on Mardi Gras Night to worship God? yea...awesome. Thank You God for this family.


Today i looked into how much my trip to Cambodia will cost this summer. Flight alone cost $2200. To be honest, i was very discouraged. I do realize that me being 'discouraged' shows that i don't fully trust that God will provide. Something for me to work on...trusting God. I'm praying for ways to raise this money through working and support. Please pray with me.

He Knows.

Read this today. Been thinking about it. Really stood out to me.

Proverbs 16:9
'In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps.'

Question i am always asked: 'whats next for you? whats your plan?'

I hate that question. The reason i hate that question is because if i were to say 'well, proverbs 16:9 says 'in his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps', so i don't have any plans. I just want to wait and see what God wants to do with me and allow myself to be available to whatever his plan is, wherever it is.' If i were to say that, the next reply would be 'yea...BUT...'
and then something totally distorted view of 'proper' life planning (financially, marriage, kids, 401K, etc...). The more i read and spend time with God, the more i see that his plans are perfect, no matter what i do or try to do. His will is always going to prevail.

The remainder of this year...i don't know. Do i have desires and potential countries i will be going to? yes. is that for sure? no.

Lets just see what God does.

Pray for me. I pray for you.

I don't know, i guess i would just challenge you as a friend to read that scripture and meditate on just that. It's a lot to think about. It's your life that you have to think about when you read that one verse, and whether or not you are trusting that God is determining your steps.....no matter what you do.

The Casa II

Strong Smiles

Sunday at the Casa

Tomorrow is Juliet's court date. Please pray for tomorrow. Pray for Juliet. Pray for David. Here are some pics i took today of Juliet.






Getting dropped off at the airport to go to Guatemala.



Me and Kimberly.

Friday Night Youth @ Casa Bernabe

The Baby House @ Casa Bernabe

Picayune and T-minus 5 days (Guatemala)

Last week i was given the opportunity to go hang out and share with my friends in Picayune, MS. Love those kids...for real. So proud of them. Every time i see them, i see their love for God growing and i notice that by the fruit in their life. Awesome time sharing about Luke 8:42-28 (selling out). Excited to say that they will be driving in town this week for iTuesday. Psalm 133:1 comes to mind when i think of this upcoming week. They will be driving 45 minutes to attend iTuesday. Blessed to have friends that travel to fellowship together. love it.

T-Minus 5 days.....I will be leaving on Thursday morning for Guatemala @ 6am. So pumped. Miss my friends over there. Praying that God would teach me something new while i am there. I've noticed that i have been a sort of 'closed' person when i've gone places in the past. Meaning...that i've had something that needed to be done and i've just focused on that instead of also asking God to teach me something. So....teach me something God. Please.

PRAY.

for feb 28th. court date for my friend david and juliet.

for aaron, yessica and their children who are serving in Cambodia as of last week until December.

for David, Glory and their children in India.

for Raphael and his family in Nigeria.

for those we don't even know their names but are bringing the gospel to the ends of the earth.

for McKenzie in Guatemala at Casa Bernabe.

for Alex City,AL youth group coming to New Orleans April 11-14 for their mission trip.

for me that God would provide for me financially and open doors for me this year to work/serve.

for Shedziinai (David and Glory's daughter) who started going to school in India last week.




On my mind this week: Thinking about making a movie next week when i am in Guatemala. 'The 'GO'ing: Guatemala'. I want everyone to see what David and McKenzie are doing there. I want everyone to be apart of whats going on in Davids life and this adoption process so we can get as many people praying as possible. I want people to be PUMPED to go on a short term mission trip. Who knows....could be the beginning of something awesome that God wants to do in your life. yea.....imma make another movie.

Thank You! for praying. for being a friend. for being a brother and sister in Christ.

1 Thessalonians 5:11

Selling Out

Past couple weeks have been busy and filled w/ awesome opportunities that i do not deserve. I went to Alex City a couple weeks ago for a meeting regarding their trip to New Orleans for Spring Break (April 10-14). I was surprised at the amount of people who showed up for this meeting and encouraged by their willingness to come to New Orleans to serve. Preparing and looking forward to it.

Last Monday night (January 31) i was asked to speak at a mens meeting here in New Orleans. So....i prepared for this, and even had an outline.....but didn't even get to the outline before the night was over. Was planning on talking about missions, which i did a little, but ended up talking about brokenness (Psalm 51 and Isaiah 66:2). It was an awesome night with men who love God (that was obvious). I guarantee that, even though i shared, they taught me more that night than i taught them. I saw a room full of men on their knees crying before God for their families and children. Honored to have been a part of that night.

The past week has been very busy for me. Been working every night (hornets games, photo-shoots, etc..). Blessed to have some work and be making a little income.

Tonight is iTuesday. My friends Aaron, Yessica and their kids will be here tonight. They will be leaving for Cambodia next week to live at an orphanage for the rest of this year. Looking forward to tonight! Tomorrow night, i will be going to Picayune to share with my friends there. Pumped about that! miss those guys.

In a couple weeks i will be going to Casa Bernabe (orphanage) in Guatemala. I will be there from Feb 24-March 6. David has a court date for the baby he is trying to adopt on FEB. 28. Please pray for that. I will be posting a lot of pictures while i am there.....so make sure you check back and keep praying.


On my mind lately: Sell Out


Been thinking a lot about that and what that means for me right now. Its very obvious when i read the bible, while taking it for what it is - the Truth, that Jesus calls us to a life of selling out completely for him. Every day. Every aspect of our life. Very difficult at times. I look back over the past couple years and can see those time's that i've 'sold out' for Christ and how they have been times that i will never forget.....Cause God did something amazing. Why do i not put myself in that position all the time? why does it get difficult to be obedient and sell out? becoming comfortable?

I'm going to be sharing about this tomorrow night at Picayune. Scriptures that i am going to use are: Luke 8:42-48 and Luke 9:57-62. Please pray for me and for those who will be there tomorrow night.

THANK YOU for reading this and continuing to pray for me and my friends.
blessed.

Agape Church

Wow.

To be honest, i had expectations for this past Sunday at Agape Church.....but God went so far above the expectations that i had, its ridiculous. I'm in awe.

Amazing opportunity to share this past sunday at Agape. I was given the whole service to share about missions, india and what God had laid on my heart. I was also able to say 'thank you' to this church for praying for me while i was in India. I am not a member of this church, but they prayed for me and sent me financial support while i was in India. I'm so grateful and at the same time undeserving of what they have done for me. Being able to see the faces and meet those who prayed for me was awesome. As the pastor said after service...'this is just the beginning of this relationship'. Can't wait to see what happens with that church and the relationship that has been formed. blessed. I was asked to attend a local home group that is part of this church in a couple weeks to share again. Please pray with me for this meeting on Jan 31. It is a mens group that always meets on monday nights.

One thing that i shared this past sunday with Agape Church was a verse in Acts. After reaching the village i needed to get to in india (after being brought to jail and getting deported), i sat down in the room i was given and began to read Acts. It was very late that night (around midnight) when i got to chapter 12. Chapter 12 begins with explaining some persecution that was happening...then i got to verse 5 which says: 'So peter was kept in prison, BUT the church was earnestly praying to God for him.' I stopped reading right there and realized that God was telling me that there were those who were aware of what was happening in that moment and they were praying for me. Some of those praying for me were Agape Church. If you were one of those praying for me last year when i was in India, Thank You. Those words 'Thank You' do not even scratch the surface of how grateful i am that you prayed for me. Thank You.

The Power of Prayer.

God has already begin to provide for my upcoming trip this year. I have open a separate account at a local bank and begun to deposit money that will only be used when i leave the country. I have a number in mind that i need to reach before i am able to purchase a ticket and leave.

Tonight is Tuesday = iTuesday. Pumped!
My brother in law will be sharing tonight.
Always good to be with family.
Blessed.
Thank You for reading this and continuing to pray for me.

God's Protection

So...New Years Day didn't go down like I thought it would. On the way headed to Passion Conference (Atlanta,GA), we were involved in an accident. A cop car spun out of control and swerved across 3 lanes of the interstate and hit us going 60 mph. We then spun out of control while hitting the wall 2x. ...amazing thing... Nobody was injured. The car was totaled with more than $17,000 worth of damage and the engine had completely shifted from the accident....but everyone in the car, fine. Thank You Jesus. No other explanation. Thank You Jesus for Your protection.




By far, best conference i've attended in my life. I definitely know the Holy Spirit was pulling at my heart last weekend. Praying that all of God's provisions would work out this upcoming year as i plan to leave the country again. Please pray with me.




Looking forward to the next couple weeks as we continue to plan for youth ministries to come to New Orleans and help out the local churches here. I was asked to share this upcoming Sunday at a local church that prayed for me while i was in India. Originally, i was going to be sharing for about 10 minutes. I just found out they have asked me to take the whole service this Sunday to preach and share about missions and whatever God puts on my heart. Blessed. Please keep me in your prayers this upcoming Sunday.

Thank You for reading this and continuing to pray for me.

Here are some pictures i received from my friend in Northern India (where i visited last year). I received my friends newsletter this past week from India. He shared about what God has been doing in the villages in northern India. Incredible stuff. He also accepted a position to be the youth pastor at a church in the village.









Please continue to pray for my best friend (David) who is in Guatemala and will be getting married this upcoming May.