Adventures of the Experience: International (Part 2 The Dominican Republic)

The past 11 days while I was overseas have been some of the most incredible days of the summer.  I got to work with two awesome teams, one in Honduras and another in the Dominican Republic. It was a crazy adventure with a lot of different plane, bus, and taxi rides but also included many life long memories where I watched God show up in the teams in really amazing ways.  This Blog is the second blog covering my time overseas “Part 2 The Dominican Republic ” and if you didn’t read you can read “Part 1 Honduras.”

THE DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

Back Again 6/7-6/13

The original plan was when I landed in the Dominican Republic around 3:10 I would have to get through customs, grab a taxi and make it to a bus station a hour away to meet up with the team as they depart at 4:30 to head off to their new location that they will be at until coming back to CO on June 19th (my birthday)! It left little to no time for delays without having to figure out a whole new plan to meet the team. But plans changed before arriving to The DR and CMA, the boarding school the team was headed to, picked them up in Puerto Plata, where they had been the first 5 or so days, and then swung by the airport and picket me up before heading to CMA (Caribbean Mountain Academy).  This is the first country I have been in more then once. Last time I was in the DR was two summers ago when I was on the Experience and we spent 6 days in Haiti and then came over to the DR to work with the students at CMA.  It was so good to be back in the country I didn’t realize I missed this place so much until I landed and walked out of the airport. I was greeted by Nate (KBM staff) and Mikie (one of the students) and soon I am greeted by the rest of the team in the van, my team! the weeks leading up to the international stage there were several occasions where there would be team dinners and I was with the DR teams during these meals so I claim the DR team as my team. I was super pumped to be reunited with these guys even though for the first 30 minutes I kind of felt distant and was afraid I wouldn’t connect but those where all lies from Satan and soon I felt welcome and apart of the team. They shared with me about there past several days in Puerto Plata, click here to read the KBM blog about that time. They were all on fire and saw God do some awesome things! Now with the team we made our way to Jarabacoa about a hour from the airport to Crosswinds where we would based out of for the rest of the time in the DR.  We spend te first few hours getting settled in and one of the CMA staff gave the download on CMA and got reunited with Hunter Yates, a 2013 Experience Alum that is now full time staff there. We went into town with some of the staff and summer interns  for an authentic DR meal, super good!

   

  

Already I feel super connected to the team and I feel ive been with them the whole time. It’s really cool to the way the team has shown love to me and made feel part of their family. When they found out that I was not staying with them the whole time they found my passport and hid it and kept telling me that I need to let headquarters know that im not coming back and they need to accept that, which I was perfectly ok with. I never saw my passport until the minute I had to leave.  The next day was Sunday and Tiana and Jesse  lead the worship portion of the service which was awesome to see Tiana because she had never lead worship outside of her church. After Church the guys (both KBM & CMA students) went into town to go play soccer and basketball and the girls went on a hike up through a river in the jungle to a large waterfall.  I didn’t realize how much I missed playing soccer but it was such a blast getting to play and also it was a great way to begin building relationships with the CMA students. That night The DR team started their hot seats. Laura shared her story first and then Jesse D shared his story.

The valley where Majaguita is

The next morning we packed up and headed to  Los Calabazos/Majaguita with some of the CMA interns, a village about 30 minutes away that we would be staying at for the next 2 and 1/2 days. When we got where we were staying looked from on top of the hill into this beautiful valley where the village was, just completely blown away by the view. as we made our way down into the valley to the village down the 180 something stairs. I had been in this village once before two years ago but it was only for several hours so i was really excited to be staying here for multiple days. I recognized several of the kids and Julito, the man who is like the leader of the village and has a huge heart for God and has desire to see the whole community come to Christ. Such a sweet guy with a huge heart for god and the people of Majaguita. After a short download about the village from Julito we made our way across a wooden bridge which had been repaired and no longer had massive gaps where you stood, and then made our way up the other side of the valley to this area where a house had been build, but it had collapsed on one side and needed to be re dug out and filled with rocks. for some reason there was this barb wire fence right next to the house and i walked under it but Grant, who was right behind me, didn’t see it and ran into it with his face and had a nasty cut right above his eye and had to leave for a little while and get a stick. So while Grant was running into barb wire the rest of us built a assembly line  from higher up the hill and moved a pile of rocks to the house but had to end after that we moved the rocks because we didn’t have any tools to dig at the house so we went back down the hill to the village where we got to play Frisbee and basketball with the kids and soon were served lunch after we got a tour of the whole village. This village a tourist attraction just because of the beauty of its location and use to be a rafting location but this village is not under the government in any way and basically doesn’t exist they are self-sustaining  village with their own hydro-electric system that powers the whole village, they make their own methane from sewage, they have a restaurant, and grow hanging food crops and raise pigs,  they have fish pools that they use for food for themselves and for tourist that come where they can pick their own fish out and then the people from the village catch it and cook it up for them. The whole village works to keep the village working they all take turns cleaning the cabins that visitors use and any and every maintenance needs that come up Julito and the village are right there to fix and help keeping the village functioning.  After we toured the village we spent some time down at the river and the inner wild man came out of several of us and there at the river the Vegetation Tribe was formed. After dinner the Julito who loves bonfires built one and we all, team and locals, gathered around the fire. Jesse and Darren played some worship music, Mikie started making finger shadow puppets for the kids, and Mikie, Tent, and I did some goofy skits and then some of the teens of Majaguita put on a few skits of their own, that were actually had a spiritual lesson in them. It was just a really awesome night where the team engaged with the village, jumped into activities with nothing planned, and saw the Dominica’s engage in a way the KBM staff have never seen before from here. It really help build a connection between the locals and the team.  

  

After Breakfast we played some basketball and interacted with the kids until several of the CMA interns came with work tools and then the guys went back up the hill to the house to move more rocks and dig out a trench on the side of the house and the girls went up the hill on the other side of the river to paint some houses. The work we did was some tough manual labor and there was some sweet, tears, and blood shed. mostly because Darren was tossing me rocks in the assembly line and instead of one of the rocks going to me hands it went to my shin and then to my toes… but at least we didn’t have any more run-ins with barbwire. We finished up as much as we could in a few hours and then made our way back the village for lunch then the team had some time to plan for the nights session around the fire while they were planning i played with some of the kids and then they took me over to this massive mango tree that is in the middle of the village and pointed way up to the top of the tree and where there was several mangos. The next 15-20 minutes I spent throwing sticks, a soccer ball, and then a hard mango up into the tree until finally i knocked down 2 very ripe mangos! 😀 several of the guy CMA students came and we all went to the river. CMA students went up river and then the rest of us went and jumped off this massive rock into the river which was below the bridge. We made our way up the river and met up with the CMA students. after several hours of this we went back to the village and then Branson, Jesse, and I went back down to the river to take a shower…which turned into the three of us jumping off this 25-30 foot bridge into the river and then turning back into the vegetation trip and then washing again. The DR team as a whole is just a crazy bunch and It is a beautiful thing! The next few hours we just spent with the kids which become one of my favorite memories of the trip. Karolina, Jesse, Tiana, and I and then later Branson as well, were sitting on the porch of one of the cabins and playing with several kids. Somehow it turned into “zombies.” It made our day when they knew what zombies were so we chased each other around like zombies infecting each other and hitting the zombies with big blow up balls! so much fun! we did this for about 30-40 minutes. This kids were the cutest things ever especially Emily and Ricky, if I could I would have adopted them both. Emily was the cutest little girl ever and it was so funny watching her run away from the zombies and being a zombie. Then several of us got the kids on our shoulders and raced around the village. Highlight of the trip. We finished up the day with another bonfire with worship, the Everything skit, and other games.

                                                                                                                                                                                

the last day in the village started with Hannah sharing her story before breakfast and then just spent some time playing basketball and then more of the team jumping off the bridge. Before we left Julito shared about the village and his dreams and hopes for it as well as prayer request for the village and the people of Majaguita. Then the team surrounded him and prayed over him and the village. At this time and right after several of the students had a breaking point where they where touched and burdened for the kids and the people of the village so cool to see God work in their hearts. It was one of the hardest things to do but we had to say goodbye to all the kids and families of the village. several of the students were in tears or close to it including myself. we left part of our heart in Majaguita. several of the students helped carry up our stuff and made the steep climb to the road, where we said our finally goodbyes. Once back at CMA the students had a time to debrief and talk about the past several days with their highs and lows and heart tugs this then led into a awesome time of opening up and sharing about struggles they saw in themselves or the team and they spent the next hour discussing their strengths and weaknesses and how they could better work as a team. This team is already super close but this time brought them even closer and what was cool to watch was that they didn’t only talk about things they need to do different but over the few next days that i was with them they fixed those things and just thrived as a team and individually and they were already working great but after this they just flourished and came alive. This team has such a wide variety of personalities and skill sets but they all began to shine in their individual ways and all brought awesome things to the team!  they became the working body of Christ in so many ways! A beautiful picture! that night we had our first youth service with the CMA students this first night was spent just getting to know each other and the team put on the “doctor office” skit to introduce themselves and had several games that got everyone involved. the students loved it and we were told afterwords that they never get this and it really was a big blessing it helped to begin to strengthen the relationships even further between CMA and KBM students. Afterwards we had to more hot seats Darren and Mikie.

                                                                         

 

the next morning until until 1:30 int he after noon we worked on to work project at CMA. A group of guys went and hand made concert and then laid it and made sidewalk porch area on the side of the house. it was hard work but very satisfying when completed and the others did some gardening. After lunch we played some soccer with the guys int he field by there church building for a hour or so and then had some team time where they planned the evening youth service. Then we all went and watched the opening game of the World Cup. That night we had the second Youth night starting with some minute to win it games followed by worship and then Mikie and Branson sharing part of their testimonies. to end the guys split into two groups and the girls into another group to discuss and ask questions. they were not sure how this was going to work but the student began opening up and asking lots of questions and sharing their beliefs and thoughts.  Some deep stuff but so incredible to see the students actually engaging and listening. So many cool things happened that night including Pedro, one of the students, sing to the worship, this was his first time ever singing in public like this! God blew all our minds and expectations of the night!! Afterward we debriefed about the night and the team shared stories of what happened. Karolina then shared how she felt that we need to usher the holy spirit in if anything was to happen and to cover this place in prayer. so we all picked a student to pray for specifically and just entered into a time of praying without stopping.

                                 

Today the 13th was my finally day with the team. As we left CMA to go to a village I remembered the team still had my passport hidden so they had to go get it. But it was locked in a room so when Hannah wen to throw the key to Tiana so she could get my passport Hannah throws the key but instead of going to Tiana they went on the roof but luckily I could walk on this ledge shimmy around to a back porch and get into the room. So i got my passport back even tho i didn’t really want it back. We entered this village that Melisa, our CMA host/guide, works with and where a family has adopted her as their daughter. She shared some about the village and then we went on a walk around it. First place we came to was school house where a group was catching a chicken. Once they caught it they strung it up to kill it. In sheer shock and curiosity most of us watched as they killed the chicken. It was something you wanted to see but you couldn’t take your eyes off it…poor thing.  we walked around the circle that made up the village on one side was this wall that separated this poor village from this wealthy mans property but what was so cool was the wall was covered in art work. paintings of all kinds covered this wall in so many colors and pictures…it shined rays of hope and joy for this village. we made it back to Melisa’s adopted parents home where we had juice..some after it was time for me to leave but before that happened the team, my family, surrounded me and prayed over me. I then handed out personal notes to each of them that I had been writing the past few days. It was SO hard to leave these guys. I love them also much and wanted to be there to share in the rest of there overseas experiences and be apart of what God was doing in and through them. On my way to the airport I road with David’s dad, George. David was a student that had just came to CMA a day or two ago. On the way to airport and at the airport George shared about his son and why he was at CMA and over a meal that George payed for we shared stories and I prayed over him and David. As I walked to the plane i almost was in tears! my heart was still int he DR  with the CMA students and my DR team but God blessed me on that flight from DR to NJ because I got a row of three seats to myself, the two flight attendants where so funny and joking around with everyone the whole time, and when I went to buy a $9 meal the guy took my card handed it back to me winked to me and walked off. So i got a free meal. God knew I needed it. I had an incredible time in the DR and basically became part of the DR team. They are crazy and so diverse but they work so good together and God used them all in mighty was when I was there and after I left. So proud of all of them all!

Thanks for reading! continue to pray for the whole experience team as they enter the deep camp and then wander stage of the Experience! Excited to see what God as next for them all!

Love,

-Relentless Warrior

the team giving me there goodbye hugs

 

                                   

I Love this team and would do anything for them! proud of you all!

Branson aka Cousin Chad

Darren

Grant aka Uncle Grant

Jesse aka Grandpa Disney

Mikie

Karolina

Hannah aka Aunt Gerney

Tiana

 

 

 

 

 

Trent aka Dad

Adventures of the Experience: International (Part 1 Honduras)

The past 11 days while I was overseas have been some of the most incredible days of the summer.  I got to work with two awesome teams, one in Honduras and another in the Dominican Republic. It was a crazy adventure with a lot of different plane, bus, and taxi rides but also included many life long memories where I watched God show up in the teams in really amazing ways.  This Blog is first of two blogs covering my time overseas “Part 1 Honduras ” and next will be “Part 2 The Dominican Republic.”

HONDURAS

Across the Seas 6/2-6/7 

My Honduras adventure started before I landed in the country and actually began in the Denver Airport as I was waiting to board the plane. As I was waiting for me plane to Texas then to Honduras i was reading my Bible and i happen to look over and there was this lady and it looked like she was reading a bible too and she was! as I was boarding the plane we had about a 30 second  conversation and found out she was headed to Honduras as well but this was her fourth trip. Once we landed in Huston around 1;30 we reconnected and then had close to a 2 hour conversation. Her name is Jami she has been to Honduras three times before for about a week each she is now over there for a little over a month and then she plans to, after graduating in a year, to move to Honduras for at least two years to live at a girls home in San Pedro Sula. We both shared stories of  different trips overseas we have been on, I shared about my time at KBM the past three years, and we also shared about our lives where we have come from and where God is taking us it was an awesome time that was life giving and a big encouragement to the both of us. We both then tried to get some sleep since it was about 3:30-4 am. somehow I manged to get a little shut eye, but I was soon awakened by what was a empty airport but now was a very busy and full airport within a hour. before we boarded we prayed over each other as we headed off for the same country but on different missions. I’m excited to see where God takes Jami where and whatever it is it’s going to be world changing.

When I landed my heart was very excited and i couldn’t wait to meet up the team. I had left about 7 hours after the Honduras team but was suppose to get there about 10 minutes before them but when I was headed down the escalator there was team Honduras to great me they had got there about 10 minutes before me! We got through customs pretty quickly. The airport lost power for a second that and the humidity really made reality sit in that i was once again overseas and i couldn’t be happier we were soon greeted by Marcia, who was on my experience team two years ago and hadn’t seen her since. I would have never imaged i would get to see this incredible women in her home country but God is good!

We all pilled in the van and made our way up through the mountain about 4 hours away to Copan where the team would be staying for about a little over a week. As we made our way there the team gazed out the windows in amazement at the beauty of the country side. We made a stop at a small gas station where some of us grabbed some cokes, for those that have been overseas and know what im talking about, Coke and over pop is so much better then it is in America.we finally made it to Copan and to Hotel MarJenny

  

when we got to the hotel we explored around it was a nice hotel but very different from in america we made our way to the upper roof area where there was about 5 hammocks, it soon became our favorite place and every time we were at the hotel we where up in the hammocks.  As we got settled and enjoying the hammocks Devin pulled his Guitar out and we entered into a sweet time of worship. The team then had a meeting discussing what the their time there looked like or what it might look like. Overseas plans always change! While the meeting was going on you could see a storm roll over the mountains and head for us. Honduras is in its rainy season so this was, like clock work, a daily occasion. As the storm rolled in we all stopped what we were doing and watched it! It was a refreshing moment not only physically but spiritually as well and was a perfect beginning to the time in Honduras! That evening we headed into the town to eat dinner at Marcia’s favorite restaurant. we ended up eating there about 4 times in the amount of time i was there. It was really good food but it might be the cause of why i got sick for the last two days in Honduras. That night Loren Hayes, one of the leader, did his “hot seat” where you share you God stories.  It is in three to four stages. First you share your story, then people can ask questions, and those that listened to the story then speak encouragement and truth into the persons life, and then you finish by circling up and praying for them.  It is a awesome way to grow as a team and let God get the glory from your story. It is super powerful. try it sometime!

    

The next day we started off with  a traditional Honduran breakfast and then spent some time for personal devotional and then headed back to the same restaurant for lunch and afterwords we went back to hotel and started getting ready to go on a hike to go see the Mayan Ruins but we got word that a bad storm was coming and wouldn’t be safe so we had to cancel those plans, which was slightly disappointing, but what more disappointing was that the storm never came… so we just took the afternoon to go down into the town center to a open square area where the team did a team building activity called “The Abyss!” If you know anything about this activity its frustrating and takes a bit of time to accomplish! one group of people took over 8 hours to complete! This team spent two hours up til dinner trying to figure it out but never did. I’m not sure if they have gone back to trying it but to my knowledge they haven’t completed it yet. About 30-40 minutes into the activity that storm, that was suppose to come around lunch time, came through and the team continued on soaking wet. While we watched the team try to figure it out the leaders met a couple that where missionaries in Copan. We got to hear their story and hear their heart for this area.  After drying off and getting dinner we gathered back in the hotel in our favorite spot and Jamey shared his “Hot Seat” about this time is when i started feeling sick with stomach pain and a head ache.

 

                  

The next morning I work up worse and skipped breakfast. The team was going to a village that day and I didn’t want to miss out because I was leaving the next day. Luckily by the time we were ready to leave i was feeling somewhat better so i joined in. I probably would have gone anyways just because of who i am and that im the photography and I “needed” to be there to take pictures.  We all pilled into the back of the truck and headed out. we went back through the mountains and then off the main road onto a dirty/rock/mud road to some remote mountain villages. Where Marcia and couple do a lot of work at. As soon as we arrived we were met by two little boys who soon ran back down the hill and about a minute later about 10 kids show up. most of them are really shy and wont come up to you but just starred and then ran off. As we entered the village we saw that there where a lot of kids in a classroom. We made our way into the school which consisted of one room with one teacher but 4-5 different grades. The next 30-40 minutes consisted of some introductions of who we are and where we were from and slowly the kids warmed up to us and the team did a few skits and songs and then the kids asked us questions and taught us a game. some of the team had a hard time engaging because they didn’t know Spanish and the kids didn’t know English for the exception of a few of the team that knew at least enough to have conversation but as time went on and as they went to another school house, which was a lot smaller, they began to look past he language barrier and started engaging more with the students with games, songs, chasing/being chased by the kids, and wrestling with them. Several of the Experience students began picking up some Spanish quickly and started interacting by speaking to some of the kids and adults which was cool to watch. The team came alive and loved well. i personally felt like crap and wanted to sleep but watching the team interact gave me life and i was able to capture some of these photos below. After spending time with these kids we headed out around lunch time and made our way down to a another village where there were some adult or elders of the village were who Marcia works with. They are going through a lot with little water supply, death and injuries, and spiritual darkness. The team and got to pray over the village and the people there. At this time my stomach stopped hurting but i then had some of the worst heartburn i’ve ever. It felt like someone was stabbing me in the chest with a knife. Andrea saw that i was not feeling good and turned from the group and prayed over me. pretty soon the heartburn decrease and i was feeling a little better. While I was sitting there a massive turkey decided to come right up to me and almost charge me. Id like to say i stood my ground… but it might  have it startled me and i might have jumped up and away pretty quickly, and a old lady might have come to my rescue and scared it off with a stick… but dint worry when it came back i stood my ground and even lightly kicked it away with my foot!

                                          We made our way back to the hotel where i slept for a good bit in one of the hammocks till dinner which was brought to us that night. After that Heather shared here God Story. It was the first time she had every shared this. It was awesome to see her open up and let us into her life on a deeper level. It brought a lot of freedom for her and helped us know how to love her better. In the morning we got mangos and that just made the whole day better! At this time I was feeling somewhat better but know I had bowel problems and had diarrhea and actually still not 100% recovered from that still! in the morning we headed off for another village. But because of all the rains we couldn’t make it all the way to the  village so we climbed this hill to a open area that the kids play soccer and did just that play soccer. For a while it was just the team and we played some soccer. Parts of the ground was muddy and wet and a lot of us took some hard falls into the ground or on the edge of the field where drop-offs and holes and I fell down one once chasing the ball. soon the kids showed up again they where very shy and timid and it was hard to get them to interact with us. slowly by kicking the ball to them we got them to play along and eventually got them taking turns shooting on goal and then finally we got a game going on. It was so hot that day and i got a major sun burn but i didn’t care at all I could have stayed there all day and played with the kids it was so much fun playing soccer and watching the kids and students fall into the mud. as the photographer I played while holding my camera and taking pictures all at the same time! such a blast! Sadly we had to rap things up, b/c of me. I was headed out pretty soon to head to the DR, but before we left there we handed out little booklets and candy to the kids and also gathered them all up with the parents that were there and prayed over them all Once I got back to the hotel i had to quickly pack to head for the bus station and had not time for a shower so i traveled coated in mud. As I prepared to leave the team came around me and prayed over me and sent me off with their blessings. It was hard to leave but i was excited to work with the DR team.

                                

I made my way to the bus station where i said my goodbyes to Marcia and got on the charter bus which took me back down the mountains 4 hours to San Pedro Sula where i spent the night in a  Hotel by myself. While at the hotel I tried to head out into the city to maybe buy something with my lempiras and get some food but the security guard tried to explain to me in Spanish that it was to dangerous to go out after dusk so I had to stay in the boundaries of the hotel, which lucky it was a very nice hotel almost like one in america. Since i could go out to get food i ordered Pizza Hut and spent the night at the pool swimming and eating pizza.

In the morning the taxi driver that brought me from bus stop station to hotel picket me up and took me to the airport. I found a gift shop inside and got to spend some of my lemiras. wow my time in Honduras was over before i realized it. Even though i was sick for most of it and only spent a few day there i really saw God work in the students lives as they interacted with the kids and themselves. God is doing some big things in there lives and can’t wait to hear all about it! Next stop Panama for a connecting flight and then its off to the Dominican Republic!!!

-Relentless Warrior

                                                                                                                               

Adventures of the Experience: The Kingdom of Heaven on Earth (5-25-6/1)

5/25-6/1: A Catch Up on the Past Week

 

The past 8 days have been nothing short of incredible! Its been humbling to see God work in me personally and exciting to see how God is transforming the lives of the students. the next two day the students will be headed to Haiti, Honduras, and The Dominican Republic and God has really prepared them for this next stage is huge ways! This group is FULL of world changers! SO EXCITING!!

June 25-28th

this was a time which i cant talk about that the KBM staff keeps secret so I cant share much but it was a time where the students bonded as a team they where pushed emotional, physically, and spiritual individually and as a team where in they found a lot out about themselves and each other and have grown a lot because of it. The one thing i can share about this is that at the beginning of they were told to think of a new name based off of Revelation 2:17 “I will also give that person a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to the one who receives it” these names are names that they feel God has given them. Names that they want to live into that God has called them to be. As a lot of people know God gave me a new name two years ago Relentless Warrior. SO at the end of the several day adventure they got to share their names with the group and explain what and or why they chose that name and then write their new name on a wall just like I and so many others have done in the past! Andrew Hochhalter’s new name  is Steadfast Warrior. click here to read about that. Other names include Cherished Stone(Bethany), Royal Fragrance(Karolina), Think Heart(Darren), Wildflower(Tiana), & Bold Lion (Ryan E). Its awesome to see them step out and into who God has created them to be and who He is calling them to be! 

 

  

5/29-6/1

Once they have gotten back from the Adventure they jumped right back into more classroom teaching time from three or four different kbm itinerant  speakers over the next several day they heard from Adrian Despres, Mick Veach, Efrem Smith, and Jason Roe. With teachings about Apologetics,  Hope, Passion, Hermeneutics, The Great Commission, and Kingdom Culture along with Q&A with the speakers and times of worship.

 The night Rob taught on Kingdom Culture the idea “Thy kingdom come, they will be done on earth as it is in heaven” how Gods kingdom is in the future but also in the present. toward the end he had the students break up in groups and as groups think about and then illustrate through drawing what it might look like for God’s Kingdom come to earth. Every group had very different idea and illustrations. when they finished them they presented them but none of them came close to capturing the fullness of the Kingdom and from there it went into this overwhelming feeling of how vast God and His kingdom is and we stood, sat, and laid in His presence and entered into a beautiful time of worship just in pure aw of who God is! “How great is our God.” God’s Kingdom is, yes in the future, but also right now! Lets bring his Kingdom to earth in all we do and say!

 

The next day the 31st after a session with Jason Roe on Evangelism the students then got to spend over 4 hours on the streets of downtown Denver to do street evangelism. Some some were nervous some scared but all excited to see what God was going to do. As we got close to the city we broke out in prayer asking that God’s Kingdom would come to to Denver, that lives would be impacted, and we would have eyes to see! And what happened was far beyond anything we could have wished for.  As the students went off in pairs to do ministry me and Gavin headed off out of the boundaries to a place i went with the 16 Day students last year called the Triangle. to hear what happened with us click HERE and read about the crazy, risky, and slightly dangerous mission we did on Gavin’s Blog.  Just going to say it was a sketchy place where prostitution, drug deals, assaults,  theft, and murders happen on a weekly and sometimes daily basis. The cops dont even really come down here but also its a broken place full of people, people who God loves and a place where someone must risk to share God’s love! The homeless are no less people then we are!

Ali, one of the guys we met around the triangle.

 

Once we got back to safer turf i broke off and walked down “main street” 16th street i ran in to this traveling band called Coyote String Band they were really good but i didn’t want to interrupt them as they played to talk with them so i just watched them play for a while and pet their dog and then I felt God was telling me to video them. i felt awkward doing that but didn’t want to miss a chance for God to do something so I asked them and they said sure so I got several videos of them playing as well as pictures of them. Before I left I asked if there was anything i could be praying for them about and they told me a few things and that was that nothing big happened, but I also got contact info from them to send them the videos and pictures i took of them so that could be a potential to grow our relationship and who knows maybe a way to witness to them.  

  

       Dustin                   Kaite                    Annabelle                Will

 PRAYER

they will have safety as the travel across the country, that they will run into Christians that share love with them and that they will feel that love, & that they will begin a relationship with God

After I left them i wandered for a bit but then saw this guy sitting at the corner of the street. I didn’t see him right away but was walking toward him b/c i saw another street band playing but once I saw him I knew I needed to talk with him. I asked his name he said Ian and then i asked to sit with him. I sat there with him and began some small talk but a minute or two later we were headed to a dinner for a meal. On the way to the dinner we talked and somehow it came up that I was a Christian. Once we got to the dinner we sat and got our menus. Ian hadn’t had a meal like this in a long time but he wasn’t sure what to get and didn’t want to get something to expensive but I made sure he knew he could get whatever he wanted and after a few minutes andme kind of picking for him he ordered a 12 or 16 once steak! I got to take a stranger who is homeless to a steak dinner! After he orders he went to wash up and when he came back he said ” hey can i ask you a serious question” and pointing to his head and then moving to his heart he asked “how did you get it from here to here?” head to heart. From that question for the next hour or so I shared some of my story and shared the gospel to him. I did what Adrian does some times when witnessing to people, and i had no idea what i was doing but felt led to do it so i did it, i tour the napkin into strips and when on to say, this is your life on the streets, this is your life w/ your friends, w/ possessions, and your life with yourself. I then asked him if you were to give these parts of your life to God which one would you give he said all but the “self” piece. I went on to listen to him and see why that was it came done to a fear of letting go and not having control, a fear of the unknown, and this idea that he isn’t good enough or worthy and I just got to share so much truth and love into his live of who he is in Christ and how God views him as perfect and blameless. I handed him the piece of paper that had self on it and I told him hold on to that and when your ready, not because I asked you to, but when you are ready to let go and give up “self” and let God have full control take that napkin piece out and give it over! He is so close and I do believe he will sometime soon! im waiting for that Facebook message or call from him and him saying “I did it!” until then join me in prayer for him! another cool thing from that was our waiter Alex seemed to be blessed by what happened and thanked me, im not sure what for, but he also then gave Ian a big drink cup to go for his drink. I think Alex and several other waiter/waitresses where impacted as well that night! 

PRAYER

That he will be able to come to the point and  surrender “self” for safety on the streets and that others Christians will come into his live and mentor him and help him. Find a way off the streets and safety as he travels, he wants to make his was to Oregon and that I can keep in contact with him and continue to speak truth into his life and his heart will understand and accept and know he is worth and he doesn’t have to fear letting go or the unknown.

As we all gathered and shared I got more and more excited as students shared stories about people the talked to and lives that where impacted. Garrett led one guy to the Lord, others shared meals with other, some prayed over people, some where answers to people prayers from the day before, others where an encouragement to fellow Christians who are on the street, for others it was a time that grew them and challenged them by either listening to peoples stories, opening up to their team mates or  pushing past their fears and stepping up and talking w/ and sharing God’s love to strangers! God’s Kingdom came upon Denver!

Today the students went shopping for international stage and then went to a staff member’s house in their teams for lunch after that they came back had their last class teaching and then we ended the night with “Concert of Prayer”  A time of prayer and worship prayer as a whole and in small groups praying for each location the teams are going and the people they will be working with and ministering to as well as prayer for each other, the leaders, and travel. The last thing was the leaders anointed each student and they prayed over them as a commission to go and do! I got so excited looking at this happen and all the lives in this room and all the lives they will impact through Christ! They have had two weeks of being poured into and trained and now we send them out to pour into others! God is going to do some unbelievable things in and through all the students and leader! The next 18 days as they go out of the USA and into unknown areas God is going to rock the worlds the students and invade the lives of everyone they come in contact with!

  

Keep the team in your prayers as they travel and interact with many different people. pray for boldness and willingness to step out in faith into situations, unity among the teams, hearts be softened and teachable for those they interact with and themselves as well, smooth travels, that some of them will have a “brave-heart” moment and do something HUGE, and that some will get a passion, vision, or calling to a area for the future!

 

  

  

  

You have been Prayed for! hoping to be able to blog while overseas but not sure how that will work out if not follow KBM’s blog for updates on the teams!

– Relentless Warrior

Adventures of the Experience: Person Update

 Tomorrow the students begin the second stage of the Experience, The International Stage. Team DR and Honduras head out tomorrow and Haiti Leaves on the 3rd. I’m Headed out Tomorrow…well technically today as it is 12:30 right now. So i head out in a little over 20 hours by myself. The Honduras team leaves around 2pm and I leave at 9pm but I will arrive about 20 minutes before they do. This is what KBM has me doing ill be traveling to Honduras first and will be there for a few days and then travel to the DR to catch up with that team for about a week then I will be coming back to CO to work with the 16 Day team. I will be doing a lot of photography and video work for the teams for promotional stuff in the future and for the blog that you guys can follow to keep up with the teams as they are overseas. This is a really cool opportunity that KBM has given to me that fits me perfectly. (Travel + Photography + Ministry + Watching God work = My dream come true). But i would be lying if i didn’t say i was a little nervous! Because of this unique opportunity there will be a lot of traveling by myself from one location to another by taxi, bus, plane, and whatever else I might have to use along with staying in a city or two for a night by myself as well. so please keep me in your prayers that travel will go smooth and with no complications unless God has something for me and if that is the case, His will be done! The biggest thing is when i get to the DR I have about a 1hr 30 min to get to a bus station that is about a hour away to catch the DR team as they travel fro one spot to another so the there isn’t much grace time in there so pray that customs, taxi’s, and everything else there will go smooth and i can catch the team and not have to figure out a new way to get to them! This is the kind of things I will be doing in the future traveling to places doing crazy things so it will be good practice. I’m so pumped to see what God does in my in this time overseas. i will be out of the US for about 12 day. 

God has really been working in and through me in the past two weeks and i can say I have personal grown a lot. I have found freedom from sin through the time of open confession, I have been encouraged and challenged by the students as I have seen them step into freedom, boldness, and transparency, I have been reminded by many of the teachings from the speakers about who I am and Whose I am as well as what life is about. From that I have had this boldness and reckless abandonment for Christ like never before and my soul is foul and passionate about sharing my God in the way I live and intentionally going and sharing my faith, My soul has been awakened and im full of joy. I have found my passion for the lost again and my call to missions for the Dark Dangerous and Despised places of the globe. My focus is back on the mission, I have been side tracked and caught up in the business of the world and have forgotten that this isn’t my home but my mission field and until my time is up im going to fight with everything I have as God’s Relentless Warrior at the gates of hell as keeping as many people as possible away from that, whatever that take, even if that means my very life be sacrificed so be it! If one life would find Christ through my life it is all worth it! There is a world out there that has 2.91 Billion people and 5,840 people group that are unreached! That that soak in for a minute 

2,910,000,000…

This in not our home and whatever happens to us now it doesn’t matter. dont stand before God and have Him ask why didnt you share my love with anyone? dont let feeling awkward or scared or the fear of persecution and death deter you from sharing God. this life will soon be over. God has given you this moment in time to do one thing to share the hope of eternal life to a dying world. That is it, one job one mission, dont waste your life on things that will fade and rot. May our mission be to lower that 2.91 billion in your life time!! My Soul has been awakened and nothing will stop me from sharing what God has done for me! 

so that is a little of what God has been placing on my heart and how he has challenged and grown me over the past two weeks. hope you will continue to pray for me as the summer goes on. 

 

PRAYER

daily surrender to Gods will for me

grow deeper in love with God

smooth travels overseas

Boldness and Courage to do whatever God calls me to do

a passion and love for the word

grow closer to the teams im working with 

keep a teachable heart 

&

begin discerning what might be my territory and next steps in where God is calling me to

 

Love you Guys you have been prayed for

may your souls be awakened and may live with reckless abandonment 

 

– Relentless Warrior