Studies in the Book of James: Chapter 2

James Chapter 2!!! Finally got it up, hopefully I can do chapters 3-5 while I'm on break. If you missed chapter 1 check it out here.

Please read James 2 before viewing the video.

Heaven’s Surgery

Hey guys so I got a cool testimony to share with you guys.  This actually happened back in August before I came to RIT and I’ve told a lot of you it in person but its really great and I never put it on here so here it goes.
   
Back in August I was out with my friends David, one of his friends, and Karl G. serving the homeless in Minneapolis (like we do on Wednesdays when we’re around).   We were talking to this one artist who was signing and trying to sell a piece.  We fed him and talked to him and as we were finishing up talking to him I saw this guy with a cane and a knee brace walking across the street.  So I walked over to him and asked if we could pray for him.  He said no and that he’d been prayed for several times before.  He went on to describe that he was living in a veteran’s home and that there was a pastor there that he was friends with that has prayed for him several times.  Since he didn’t want prayer, we asked Dave (the homeless guy) if he wanted anything to eat.  He said yes so David’s friend (can’t remember his name…) went back to the van to get him a hot dog.  As he was getting food Dave suddenly started yelling out in pain and grabbing his knee.  We asked if we could pray for him now and he immediately said yes.  So we started praying commanding the pain to go in Jesus name and asking God for a new knee from heaven to be given to Dave.  After about 30 seconds we asked him how he felt.  He’s got this kinda stunned look on his face and he starts saying the word, “Wow….Wow…”  He starts walking around a little bit commenting on that it felt way better. 
After a couple minutes we convince him to take the knee brace off and to try it out.  He does and he then proceeds to get on the phone leaving a message for the pastor that he had told us about earlier telling him that his knee was better.  After leaving the message he is running and jumping around testing out his knee, which no longer hurts and works perfectly.  He explains to us that he had needed surgery next week for a new knee.  Instead God gave him one for free from heaven!!!!  PRAISE JESUS!!!  This man walked past us limping using a cane and wearing a huge knee brace and afterwards he went away walking without a limp and carrying the cane and the brace saying that there worth money so he wanted to keep them and sell them.
God is soooo good!  It’s so amazing what God can do when we take steps of faith and obedience.  God is moving guys be encouraged!  Glory, power, and glory belong to Him who is worthy of all our praise!

Brother Chris

WATER CRISIS!!!

Hey guys so recently in my writing class I've been researching and writing on the global water crisis.  The link below will take you to my paper.  I think this is a very important issue that we as Christians need to lead in by spreading awareness and being generous with the money God has given us.  If you make more than $7,000 per year you are rich by the world's standards!  Below are some links of good places to go if you are looking to do something about it.  $20 can give someone clean water for 20 years.

My Essay

Resources:
http://www.water.cc/
http://www.charitywater.org/whywater/
http://www.adventconspiracy.org/

"And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward." --Matthew 10:42

Revelations on the Church

Here are just some random things the LORD has been speaking to me about.  A lot of them deal with the church.  Here in Rochester I have been spending a lot of time in the American church for the first time since being in YWAM.  While I love the church we definitely are not perfect and there are so many things we can do better. It is not my intent in any way to be critical rather this is meant to point out where we can improve and get better.  I hope the things below help encourage you to become better and build up the church.

Word #1

Worship leaders (generally, not all) in the church are experiencing the bondages of anxiety, pressure and fear of man.  Most of this is actually caused by the church.  We (we because I do it too) place pressure on the worship leaders to lead us into the presence of God.  If we can’t enter in on a certain day, they are the first to be blamed.  “O I just didn’t like how they lead worship, or “I didn’t like the songs they chose.”  What really should be happening is as all people enter into the presence of the LORD together the worship leaders are released from anxiety and fear and from the pressure of making sure everyone can enter the presence of the LORD and their job is actually to determine what the spirit is doing and lead us by telling us what the LORD is saying.  This is what “church” is supposed to be like and the key to prophetic worship (worship where the LORD speaks back).

Word #2

We as a church (generally again, not everybody) when we (again I say we because I catch myself doing this a lot) study scripture tend to focus on people’s mistakes and failures and we study scripture in a critical way.  We do this because we see our faults and it makes us “feel good” to know other people failed too.  However it turns our focus onto the failure of men instead of having our focus on the victory of God amidst this failure.  What we should focus more on is what God is doing in scripture rather than what man is doing.  Just as we should focus on the victory we have today and not our weakness/failures because “His power is made perfect in our weakness.” (2 Corinthians 12:9)  It’s not a bad thing to see people’s mistakes and our mistakes (it’s actually good) as long as we look at them seeing how the power of God shown through these mistakes and that our focus is not what we fail at but what God succeeds at.

Studies in the Book of James: Chapter 1

After reading the book of James almost everyday for a month I thought I would share some of the things I learned. This is a look at the 1st chapter of the New Testament book.

Introduction to the book of James

Please read chapter 1 before viewing the video. James Chapter 1

For Those Without Homes

This is part 1 of a documentary I made about a year and a half ago. I've never linked to it or referenced to it on my blog so I thought I would. I know a lot of you have seen it already but for those of you who haven't let me know how you like it. Parts 2-5 can be found on youtube here: http://www.youtube.com/user/OVVP?feature=mhum#p/u
or on my Video Archive page

Searching For Something More

This is actually a paper I wrote for Honors Intensive Writing on the book "The House of Sand and Fog" but I figured I'd throw it up on the blog and those who want to read it can. Lemme know what you all think!

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America has been a nation for over 200 years. For these 200 years America has tried its best to be a nation that upholds our unalienable rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It has always been a nation where immigrants have flocked for a new life and a chance to become successful. In the midst of this, what is called the American dream has developed into something that is constantly talked about. But what is the American dream and is it all it is said to be? In the novel The House of Sand and Fog by Andre Dubus III there are several characters chasing after different things such as happiness, acceptance, success, and respect. However, are these things found in the American dream? Is the American dream really what people should be pursuing in life? After reading The House of Sand and Fog, the reader could conclude that it is not. The human race was made for something more than the American dream. Dubus’ novel reveals the longings of human nature and shows that these longings cannot and will not be filled by the pursuit of the American dream.
In the novel there are three main characters that are followed. All three of these characters, even though they are quite unique in background, personality, and actions, have many core commonalities. All of them struggle with their identity and their pride. All three of the characters are searching for something more than what they already have. Behrani wants respect, Kathy wants acceptance, and Lester wants to prove himself as a man. Essentially, though in different ways and aspects, they are all searching for the love of others.
Colonel Behrani is a man that was once very respected by his government, his people and his family. In America, Behrani loses this respect as he is forced to work lower class jobs and “maintain a mask for [his] children” and his friends (Dubus 164). Desperate to provide for his family, Behrani takes a risk and buys a bungalow. Behrani’s problem is not in this decision or in his motivation to provide for his family. His problems arise when he turns buying the house into an act to prove himself to his family and to earn their respect. Behrani states, “I can no longer protect my wife from troubling news the way one would a child. If she is afraid and miserable and unable to adjust to our new lives as I have, if she cannot respect me or stand by me another day, then so be it…this is life…our life” (Dubus 170). There are two things the reader can conclude from this quotation. The first is that by stating, “if she cannot respect me” Behrani shows he does not believe he has the respect of his wife. The second is that though he appears to be giving up on earning their respect (“so be it”) the reader can see that it has been one of Behrani’s chief concerns up to this point. This is confirmed when his wife tells him later “you need everyone to respect you, even strangers must respect you” (Dubus 285).
Kathy Nicolo is a young woman who is longing to be accepted and loved. The reader can see in Kathy’s relationship with her father that she longed for his acceptance of her, his attention, and most of all his love. She not only states that her “father…was always a stranger to [her]” (Dubus 248), but when she was young she purposely allowed herself to “burn her fingertips” in order to preserve the little time she did get to spend with her father wanting her father to be “proud he had such a useful daughter” (Dubus 204). On top of never having experienced the love of a true father, Kathy is most clearly rejected by her husband Nicky and is constantly in fear of being rejected by her mother. She sees her mother as someone who will love her conditionally based on her situation and her actions; someone who constantly seems to be asking “what did you do this time Kathy? (Dubus 363). The reader could conclude that one of the main reasons Kathy wants her father’s house back so badly is that she is in fear of being rejected by the only people she has left in her life.
Lester Burdon is a young deputy sheriff that seems to have it all. If someone was to give an example of someone who has the American dream, Lester Burdon seems to have it. He has a beautiful wife, two kids, a nice house, and a great job as a “field training officer for the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Department, one of eight in the entire county, and of those eight, he [is] the youngest” (Dubus 232). However Lester is haunted by a past of abuse and by a lack of identity in himself as a man. He feels he is a fake and has a vendetta to bring justice to the strong who oppress the weak by “coming down harder” on “the bullies, the wife and child beaters, the suspected rapists, [and] anyone who used his weight to crush another” (Dubus 232). He lacks joy and since he has not found it in the typical American dream; he begins to look elsewhere for something more.
By looking at these three characters in depth the reader can see the similarities between them and the rest of human nature. Every single person in the human race has a desire to be loved, a desire to be respected, to be successful, and to have peace and joy. In society today, many people try to find these things by way of the American dream. The majority of people would most likely define the American dream as having a chance to be successful, to provide for one’s family, and have the opportunity to become whatever you want to be. America has a notion that you can do anything if you put your mind to it. In the novel, we see Dubus’ characters chasing after their longings by way of the American dream. Behrani thinks that if everything works out with the house and if he is successful, then his family will respect him. Kathy thinks that if she gets her house back then at least her mother will not reject her or not be angry with her for losing the house. Lester thinks that if he can help Kathy get her house back not only will he be getting back at the “bullies” of society, but also he will have proved his manhood. All of the characters seem to think that getting the house will be the answers to their problems. That if they could just get the house then they will be loved, then they will be happy, then they will have peace. Unfortunately instead of finding love and happiness, they find death and captivity.
This perception shown by the characters of where to find love, joy, and peace is not much different from the majority of Americans today. Materialism is rampant. Money, sex, climbing up the corporate ladder, a house, a family, all seem to be the things looked to in order to make a person happy. While none of these things are in and of themselves bad (they are actually good things), they are not where love, peace and joy are found. Early in the novel Kathy refers to an old friend named Jimmy Doran who makes a statement saying, “America is the land of milk and honey. But they never tell you the milk’s gone sour and the honey’s stolen” (Dubus 38). This is a perfect description of how the American dream cannot fulfill the desires of human nature. Many chase after it and never achieve it while those who do achieve it find out that it is not all it is cracked up to be. Those who do achieve the American dream find out it’s not the source of true joy and peace while those who don’t also never find joy and peace because they think they need the American dream to get them. Tom Brady, star quarterback of the New England Patriots is a prime example. Brady is a man who literally came out of nowhere to lead the Patriots to three Super Bowl rings. He’s dated supermodels, will make over $26 million in 2010, has popularity and respect, and yet knows that there must be something more in life. In 2007, Brady said in an interview on 60 minutes, “Why do I have three Super Bowl rings and still think there’s something greater out there for me? I mean, maybe a lot of people would say, ‘Hey man, this is what is.’ I reached my goal, my dream, my life. I think, ‘God, it’s got to be more than this.’ I mean this isn’t, this can’t be what it’s all cracked up to be…” ("60 Minutes"). Then if the reader looks at the characters in the novel, everything they are chasing after, respect, acceptance from the world, a house, seems to make them think these things will make them happy. But Tom Brady already has all these things and still does not have an understanding of his purpose, or the source of true love, joy, and peace.
If the American dream is not the source of love, joy and peace then what is?
Behrani, Kathy, Lester have all lived live where they have had to earn the respect, attention, acceptance, and most of all the love of other people. They have experienced these things only to level of where it is based on what they do. If they succeed, then they will be respected, if they don’t screw up, then they will be accepted, or if they prove their manhood, then they will be loved. What they don’t realize is that there is a God in heaven who loves, respects, and accepts them unconditionally. God is love (1 John 4:8) and He loves people regardless of what they have done, are doing, or even will do. People do not need to earn His love; they do not need to prove their self worth to anybody because God already sees them as beautiful, valuable, and precious in His sight. Not only that but God himself came to earth as His creation, was born in a cave with animals, raised in a poor town, lived homeless, was ridiculed, mocked, beaten, falsely accused, had all his friends abandon him, was treated unfairly, spit on, and ultimately bled and suffocated to death nailed to a piece of wood in order to prove that He loves unconditionally. God did not wait for someone to earn His love and then die for them, He died first. “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
In the novel, the character perhaps to come closest to this revelation is Kathy when she sees Doug’s bumper sticker, “Let go and Let God” (Dubus 159). However, though she ponders this statement she does not take the advice. Instead she refuses to let go of a material object (her house) as well as her old way of life. Had she chosen to “let go and let God,” and to trust Him with the situation, not only would she not have experienced the pain and ordeal of trying to get the house back but she would have had the opportunity to see a God who loves her, provide for her, take care of her, and show her that her value and worth is not found in how other people think of her. Rather it is found by being a child of the living God, by being a lover of and romancer with the uncreated God of the universe, and by sharing in the inheritance of Jesus in this life and the next. Instead by holding on to her anger, her stubbornness, and her old way of life she missed out on the true life, joy and peace that God has to offer her.
Behrani also comes close to finding the source of true life. He believes in God, but unfortunately he has a wrong perception of God. At the end of the novel, Behrani cries out to God in desperation trying to “make a deal” to keep his son alive. Behrani states that “I must make nazr to god as did my uncle Hadi when I was a boy and his wife, Shamsi, lay sick in bed and my uncle made nazr to God that if He would heal Shamsi, Hadi would give thousands of tomans to a drove each day to the largest mosque in Tabriz and fed seed to the pigeons there, and after only five days my aunt Shamsi was well (Dubus 329).” Behrani understands that God can heal his son, but he misses God’s motivation. God will not heal Behrani’s son because of something Behrani does or will do, God will heal his son because He loves him and He will do it for free. Behrani sees God as someone who will love conditionally based on what he does and therefore his actions come out of that as he tries to prove himself to his family and the world around him in order to earn respect.
Lester, though he seems closest to happiness externally based on his situation, he is probably farther from the truth than anybody. He lets his regret, anger, and “emotions over-rule his better judgment” (Dubus 237). He lets himself think he is not a man and that he has to prove to the world that he is. The book states, “Lester began to feel as inauthentic a man as was possible, living in a marriage he no longer felt, working as a law enforcer when he’d never been able to face any man down on his own, to serve or protect anyone without the San Mateo County Sheriff’s Department behind him” (Dubus 240). If Lester would understand that God loves Him unconditionally and how God forgives Him no matter what; it would have been more possible for him to forgive those who beat him up as well as forgiving his dad for leaving when he was younger. Then instead of trying to get back at them and prove that he is a man by “squeezing the cuffs on too tight,” (Dubus 233) not bothering “to guide their heads” (Dubus 233) as they got into the cop car, and by putting “a wife abuser away illegally” (Dubus 232) he would instead be able to see that he does not need to prove his manhood to anybody. If he would have seen this then perhaps he would agree with his wife that he was not meant to be a cop and then instead of doing what made him temporarily feel good he would be doing something else that he really enjoyed. This would have kept him out of being bored with his life and would probably have made his marriage more exciting.
Lastly we have the issue of fear. The characters act many times based on their fears, assumptions, and impulses. At the end of the novel, Lester busts into Behrani’s house impulsively after he sees his gun in the kitchen. Thinking Kathy must be in danger he ends up holding Behrani and his family captive. This eventually results in the deaths of Behrani and his family as well as the arrests of Kathy and Lester. This situation would not have happened had Lester not had fear about what was going on. If Behrani didn’t fear what others thought about him he would not have so badly needed to keep the house. If Kathy didn’t fear the rejection of her family she would have realized that instead of needing the house back she could just sue the county, get some money and be just fine. Fear is not something that should have to affect a person’s decisions, because when someone knows God’s love they realize “there is no fear in love, but His perfect love casts out fear” (1 John 4:18).
The American dream is not bad. Money, a house, a family, and success are not bad things. However as shown by the characters in The House of Sand and Fog the reader can see that these things in themselves do not satisfy the longing of the human heart. They do not bring ultimate peace, joy or life. Instead the path of life is found in a relationship with Jesus for “He makes known to us the path of life; in His presence there is fullness of joy; and in His right hand are pleasures forevermore” (Psalms 16:11). Jesus came that [human beings] may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10). The human race was made for more than the American Dream, each person was made for love, to love God and be loved by Him unconditionally. It is the purpose of an individual to be outrageously loved, and to take that love and follow the plans , purposes, and destiny that God has prepared for them. This and only this, is what brings true life, true joy, and true peace.

Works Cited

"60 Minutes." 60 Minutes. CBS. 23 Dec. 2007. Www.cbsnews.com. 23 Dec. 2007. Web. 27 Sept. 2010. .

Bible Gateway. Web. 27 Sept. 2010. .

Dubus, Andre. House of Sand and Fog. New York: Vintage Contemporaries, 2000. Print.

Welcome to College

VIDEOBLOG!!!!

Decision Making Paradigm

(I actually wrote this a couple weeks ago but felt like I shouldn't post it until now)

I Corinthians 10:23: “Everything is permissible"—but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible,” but not all things build up.  Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor.

This morning I read a statistic in the newspaper (not sure how reliable but astounding nonetheless) that the average American watches 5 hours of TV per day.  FIVE HOURS!?!  Five hours of brainwashing ourselves with the lies of the world, dulling our spirits and watching other people’s adventures instead of making our own…per day.

Now I’m not going to say television outright is evil.  God created everything and made everything work the way it does and therefore TV is only possible because God created the elements of the world in such a way knowing one day someone was going to figure it out and make images appear on a screen thousands of miles away from where something was actually happening.  However the enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy (John 10:10) and he is most definitely stealing our time especially in America by way of the TV.  Not only that but when I watch TV and I have my discernment going on…WOW!! are we being fed lie after lie after lie and joke after joke that Jesus would not find funny.  (Keep in mind that your eyes affect your whole being (Matthew 6:22-23) and what you watch and what you listen to affect you way more than you think but that’s another topic).  Now the point of this post is not to bash TV.  I’m not telling anyone to stop watching TV.  However what if we started thinking about things the way the Bible tells us to.

Paul tells us in Ephesians 5:15-18: Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.  Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.  And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit…

Let’s say you watch 3 hours of TV a day (a little less than average).   This could be television, movies, video games, or whatever.  (From now on when I say TV I mean TV shows, watching sports, video games, and movies)  What if 2 out of 7 days a week you fasted TV?  You now have 6 extra hours of time to spend towards the kingdom of God.  We as a body of Christ could accomplish so much if we all had 6 extra hours a week.  What can you do in 6 hours?  First off you could spend time in the secret place with Jesus.  Since everything comes from intimacy this is first priority.  You could pray and intercede for your school, your government, or your workplace, you could read your Bible.  What if you read your Bible for an extra 6 hours a week!?!  You could take that 3 hours and go downtown and feed the homeless, or pray for people at the mall.  You could research human trafficking and figure out ways to help stop it like writing your government officials.

One question that must be raised if we are to talk about this is why do we spend so much time in front of a box?  I think there are many reasons but to be honest I believe one of the biggest reasons is that we are bored and we think we have nothing else to do.  If we are wasting our time watching TV because we are bored or because we have nothing better to do we need a wake up call.  (I am talking to myself just as much as anybody)  The world is in crisis.   One person dies every three seconds from lack of clean water; 27 million people are in slavery, only 4% of Americans under age 25 currently attend church.  I could go on and on.  There is always something to do in the Kingdom of God.  If you don’t see this it is because you are ignoring it.

After returning from Mexico and being at a missionary base for nine months I am really starting to believe that one of our biggest obstacles as a church in the US is that we suck at managing our time, we’re far too easily pleased and we’re lazy.

Well TV isn’t a sin someone might say so what’s wrong with watching it?  Or this show isn’t that bad and I really enjoy watching it.  That is not the issue.  If we decide to do or not to do anything because of whether or not it is a sin we are selling ourselves short.  The question is not what can I do and still be a Christian but what more can I give up that the kingdom of God might advance.  I am still working on this and probably will be for a long time but one thing I am trying to drill into my thick skull is to make decisions based on 1 Corinthians 10:23.

I Corinthians 10:23: “Everything is permissible"—but not everything is beneficial. "Everything is permissible,” but not all things build up.  Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor.

The question for every situation is not is this a sin or not, but is this beneficial or not.  Not just for me but for those around me, and for God and His kingdom.  This not only automatically eliminates sin from all our choices because sin always leads to death and is never beneficial (Romans 6:23), but it takes it to the next level where we begin to see the difference between good and best in every decision (not just to watch or not to watch TV) we make.  There are many good things we can do in this life, but there are very few excellent things.  I want to “walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which I have been called,” (Ephesians 4:1).

Many would watch TV just because they enjoy it.  Again this is not wrong.  Watch TV, enjoy it, but we need to be careful about how much time we put towards it and that it is not our source of satisfaction.  Sometimes we need to realize isn’t there something better to do?  C.S. Lewis says, "It is not that our passions are too strong, they are too weak.  We are far too easily pleased with lesser desires rather than pursuing with great passion our deeper desires.”  I heard Corey Russell say once: “We sometimes fill ourselves with so many good things we have no room for heavenly things.”  I think in America we settle for watching adventures instead of living them.  A good friend of mine once said, “People don’t do what they want to do because they do what they want to do.”  What do you really want to do?  What dreams has God put in your heart?  Are you making every effort to get there or are you settling for less?  Are you making room for God to do the impossible in your life?  Are you gathering your vessels? (2 Kings 4:1-7)  “God’s miracles are as big as the work we put into them.” (Darlene Cunningham)

I think it’s time that we as a church start choosing best over good.  It’s time that we start going after more heavenly things than settling for the good things that come a little easier. It’s time to start realizing “His love is better than wine” (Song of Solomon 1:2) and that the pleasures of God actually are better than the best pleasures of the world.  It’s time to start “looking carefully then how we walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.” (Ephesians 5:15)
It’s time to figure out not just what is OK to do but what is beneficial to advancing the Kingdom of God.  It’s time to figure out what truly satisfies instead of settling for something less.  It’s time to stop settling for life and start going after life abundantly.

Now someone might say well I watch TV to rest after a long day at work and I’m just too tired to do anything else.  This is most definitely a legitimate argument that I will address in my next post, True Rest.

An article about time management I found useful can be found here: http://bible.org/seriespage/time-management

Brother Chris

Mission Adventures - Panama

Wow!  What an amazing couple weeks!  Panama was glorious!  The LORD did so many awesome things.  We saw people healed, saved, and delivered.  We also saw a group of high schoolers discover God in a new way in a new culture and they got to see the Kingdom manifest through them.  I’m going to try to keep this short but I’ll do a quick recap of the trip.

We first went to YWAM Minneapolis (which is actually in Rockford, MN).  We had a couple days training there learning dramas and such.  We got to have a lot of time as a time to talk and to worship which was great to get us all on the same page with the same vision.

In Panama, our first couple full days there we did ministry of various sorts.  We did a lot on the streets, dramas followed by preaching (really short) and then we prayed for people.  During this time we got to see a couple salvations and multiple people healed of various pains and sickness including sore knees, elbows, hands, and more.  A couple times people would get healed and then they were bringing us to their friends to pray for them it was very cool.  We also did Vacation Bible School.  It was great to be with kids and to do crafts with them, perform dramas and make balloons.

Probably the coolest things for me that happened was one night we did a treasure hunt.  This is where you spend a couple minutes asking God to give you “clues” about people He wants you to talk to.  So like “red hat” or “blue shirt” or “back pain” would be some examples of clues.  Then you go find the people and tell them they are God’s treasure and you pray for them and talk to them.  So this night me along with one of the girl students (Grace) both had received “silver watch.”  So we walked into a jewelry store along with Gina and Crystal (our translator) and I started talking to the guy in the store explaining what we were doing.  I noticed he had a “silver watch” on his wrist and so we asked if we could pray for him.  He brought us over to his wife who also was wearing a “silver watch” (hence us both getting it) and she explains to us that that morning she had told God that He had forgotten about her, her family, and her business.  We were able to tell her (as she was crying) that God loved her and hadn’t forgotten about her or her family or her business.  We were able to encourage the couple in their “marriage” which was another clue that I had.  We also were able to pray for the wife for healing in her legs as well as pray for God’s favor and blessing on their business.  It was really quite amazing.  The only reason we did a treasure hunt that night was because it was raining so we couldn’t be outside (we were at this mall) and she said that if it hadn’t been raining she would have left work early.  Truly a divine encounter!

The next couple days in Panama were spent traveling to and staying in an indigenous village about a 2-hour canoe ride from the city.  This was very cool, we did a kids program as well as a more regular service for the adults.  We got to stay in huts of families there and swim in the river.

The last day was spent visiting and seeing the city ending with a time of discussion about the trip as well as prayer and worship.  I think it was definitely one of the most amazing short-term missions trips I’ve ever been on.  It’s truly amazing what God can do in a week when you set your heart fully on Him and allow Him to use you however He wants setting your own agenda aside.

That’s all I got about Panama.  Thanks everyone for your prayers and support!  You can all be confident that your prayers were answered and that you played a role in everything God did even though you were physically far away.

Ephesians 3: 20-21 -- Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Summer Travel

(Actually written July 18, 2010)

Well here I am in South Dakota now. It’s been a very busy three weeks. Since I’ve been back in the states I haven’t been home for a weekend yet (and won’t be until August), I’ve road tripped to Chicago, Kansas City, and now South Dakota. Life is crazy when travel is involved. It is cool being to so many different places in such a short amount of time but it really messes with your head, to think that in 3 weeks I’ve been from Mazatlan to Minnesota to Chicago to Kansas City to South Dakota and on Saturday I leave for Panama. Crazy.

Of my road trips I do want to share a little bit about my trip to Kansas City. My friend Jake and I got the opportunity to visit IHOP for a few days. We got to go to 3 Awakening meetings and visited the prayer room on 3 other occasions worshipping with 2 of Misty Edward’s sets and 1 set of the nightwatch. It was a really great 3 days and I definitely encountered God. I think the first day was kind of weird mostly because my focus was on IHOP maybe a little more than it was on Jesus. However the next 2 days were spent getting filled with joy, worshipping, praying for others, hearing testimonies of healings, and just resting in the LORD’s presence. One exciting encounter I had was that when one guy prayed for me I got gold dust on my hands so that was pretty neat.

Since I’ve been home I feel like though I’m really busy in the physical, spiritually things are going really slow. Part of it is I’m not handed revelation on a platter 20 hours a week and don’t have 5-6 hours of evangelism and 8 hours of prayer and worship built into my schedule. However, I have been going to feed the homeless on Wednesdays. One time we went down we saw a woman get partially healed of arthritis and another guy who could barely walk get his knee touched so that he could walk pretty much normal. Also have been going to Twin Cities House of Prayer (TCHOP) quite a bit so that is fantastic.

That’s about it for now in terms of a life update. I leave for YWAM Rockford on Thursday and our team leaves for Panama on Saturday. Keep our high school students and myself in your prayers as we will be doing things such as evangelism, Vacation Bible School (we’re teaching on the Holy Spirit!), and other kids ministries. Pray that our students would be bold, that they would receive God’s heart for others and move out of that to reach this great nation. Also that we as leaders can set a good example and encourage the students to step out of their comfort zones.

God bless everyone!

Jake Engen and I at an Awakening meeting at IHOP

New Things

Hey everyone! Hope you are all doing well and enjoying the wonderful life that God blesses us with each and everyday. I certainly am. I finished up my WISE school last Friday at YWAM Mazatlan and got back in the states on Monday June 28.

I’ve done a terrible job at keeping my blog up the last couple months and I apologize for that. I hope to be posting quite frequently now that I’m home and I try to expand more on WISE school and include various musings about what I learned and things that God brought me through.

The last 3 months of my life have been quite interesting. It is hard for me to describe WISE school and how it went. In many ways it was exactly what I expected yet in many it just wasn’t. Classes were great; we had speakers from all over the place and many various organizations such as Global Awakening, Wisdom’s House, YWAM and others. We had topics such as Prophetic Worship, Spiritual Warfare, Prophetic Evangelism, the book of Daniel, Prophetic Lifestyle, Healing Evangelism and many others. We also got the chance to do a lot of evangelism in Mazatlan, we visited orphanages, we prayed over the streets, we saw people healed in Centro, and we worshiped in restaurants. We took a trip to Durango and helped out with a church and we spent a week in the mountains learning about solitude and silence.

One of the highlights for me was probably our trip to Mexiquillo (the mountains). Just being able to hike off by myself and spend 7 hours alone with the LORD in silence enjoying His beautiful creation was just amazing. God spoke so much to me about my identity, my future, and about things I was going through at the time. It really gave me a true encounter with what God means when He says "Be still, and know that I am God. (Psalms 46:10)

It is weird to think that I will not be living in Mazatlan anymore. I do plan to go back many times throughout my life maybe even as soon as next March for their Carnaval outreach. However it is time for me to move onto a new season of my life. God is calling me to college in the fall in Rochester, New York at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT – www.rit.edu). I will be studying film and hopefully business alongside of that. I know God has great plans for me as I press forward to take what I’ve learned and start impacting the 7 spheres of society, particularly the spheres of business and media.

However before school, God has one more pit stop for me. From July 22-31 I will be a leader on my church’s high school mission trip to the country of Panama. We will be working with YWAM doing various kinds of evangelism, kids’ ministry, and serving. While I’m excited to go to Panama I am just as excited to work with the youth from my generation and to pour into them and help them to take hold of their faith and step out into the power of the gospel. I would again appreciate your prayers for this trip. First off for myself that God would help me be a leader not just as a name but in my actions. Secondly pray for the youth coming along that they would encounter God as they serve Him. And finally for the country of Panama and the people that we are reaching out to that they would see the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge.

I want to thank you all again for all your support whether it has been through prayer, encouragement, or money. For Panama I am still short about $700 and am trusting the LORD to provide. If you do feel God calling you to give you can write a check out to North Heights Lutheran Church and send it to:

Chris Brands
1302 Folsom St.
St. Paul, MN 55117

Thanks again for all your support, may “the LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. (Num 6:24-26) Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy, to the only God, our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen.
(Jude 1:24-25)

God bless!

Brother Chris Brands

My WISE school at our Graduation Ceremony

Carnaval Stories (part 4 of 4)

The last story I have from Carnaval is actually not from Carnaval. This story happened a couple weeks after Carnaval but it was still during my DTS outreach. One thing I’ve really love about God is that when we abide in Him and seek Him, He brings opportunities to us. A lot of the people Jesus healed, delivered, or ministered to were people who came to Him. He would be going about His business and someone would come up and ask Him to heal them (Luke 17) or tell them about Himself (John 3). I firmly believe that that the more we walk in intimacy with God and walk with our eyes open to those around us, the less we will have to go out and search for opportunities to share Jesus and the more opportunities will just be given or handed right to us and all we have to do is allow God to use us. Now this won’t always be the case, the command of Jesus is still to GO and make disciples of ALL nations. However, I think God loves to just give up opportunities when we make ourselves available to Him.

This story is one of evangelism but that is not how it started. It was a day off and I wanted to spend time with the LORD so I went to this ledge by the ocean where I go quite often. I had been there probably about 2 hours by myself reading my Bible, praying, and worshipping the King of Kings and LORD of LORDS. All of a sudden I see this guy by himself kind of walking towards me. He eventually walks straight towards where I am sitting. He asks me my name and where I’m from and then he says “Hablame a Christo.” Which means talk to me about Christ. Straight up. I didn’t have to force Christ into the conversation or strive or anything he just asked. So, I started telling him the best I could in my broken Spanish what I thought about Jesus. I told him Jesus is my best friend, my savior. I told him I love Jesus and that He is good, and that He forgives our sins. Then I asked him (Edgar was his name) if he wanted to accept Jesus into his heart. He said yes. So I again in Spanish, did the best I could leading him in a prayer of salvation.

We then talked a little bit more, I asked about his family and such. Eventually I asked him if he had a Bible. He said no so I told him I’d go back to the base to grab him a Bible quick. Then this other guy walks about and heard us talking and straight up says that he needs a Bible. I quickly walked to the base grabbed a couple Spanish New Testaments and new believer pamphlet things we had. When I return, the 2nd guy who walked up, named Javier tells me, “Soy Christiano pero no fuego in mi Corazon.” Which means hes been a Christian but he doesn’t have any fire in his heart. I’m like we can pray for that, so I had Javier and Edgar repeat after me to receive the Holy Spirit and the fire of God’s love into their hearts. I then told them about churches in the area and went back to the base for dinner. That easy.

I love this story because both of these men came up to me, an American gringo who was just chillin’ and doesn’t speak very good Spanish. Why they came up to me, I don’t know but I know that it they were both divine encounters set up totally by God. Also this is one of my favorite stories from outreach because one of my outreach goals was to pray for someone in Spanish and in all my time in Mexico City that didn’t really happen beyond super simple. However, not only did I get to pray for these men in Spanish but I got to lead them to salvation all in Spanish. That sure makes 4 years of studying Spanish quite worth it.

I would like to end with encouraging all of you to abide in the vine and make yourself available everyday to whatever the LORD throws your way. I believe that if we walk in intimacy with the LORD and have our eyes open the opportunities are endless to share our faith, love, joy and peace with those around us. Jesus after all told us “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself."
(Joh 12:32)

Carnaval Stories (part 3 of 4)

The third story I would like to share about Carnaval is probably my favorite. It was another one of those nights where I felt God calling me to go the evangelism team. So I was down by the gates of Carnaval with the evangelism teams when Jeremy, one of the evangelists went over to these 3 girls across the street. These 3 girls were dressed very provocatively but you could tell they were really young. So Jeremy brings these 3 girls who end up being the ages of 14, 14, and 18 and he tells me to start praying to God for a word for them. I’m kind of nervous but I’m like alright lets do this. Jeremy started to talk to them about the gospel. Then I felt I was supposed to talk to them about how God is romantic and about the heart of the bridegroom. Soon after this they all received Jesus into their heart. This was awesome but the story isn’t over.

After this happened God started speaking to speak to me about one of the girls and that she had huge relationship problems with her father. So I asked her about it and started speaking to her about the Father heart of God. She it totally being touched at this point and I know God wants to move more but I didn’t know what to say next. Right at this moment, my friend Christie comes up and asks if she can share her testimony. She had been sitting across the street when God told her to come over and share. She was resistant at first because we were already talking to her. However she finally came over and it was perfect timing. Not only was the timing perfect but her testimony was actual exactly what this girl needed to hear. By the end the girl is just crying and Christie was able to comfort her and console her.

Next God spoke to me about another on of the girls and about how she was a creative person and liked to do art. So I spoke to her about God’s creative side. Then God spoke to me about the last girl that she really struggled with her physical appearance. I told her that God created her perfectly and sees her as beautiful and that she doesn’t have to dress a certain way to earn attention or love because she already has all of God’s attention and love. She also started crying and was really touched by the LORD. We then had them pray to receive the Holy Spirit and then we gave them all Bibles.

This story is awesome because it shows how God just wants to encounter people. We didn’t argue with them about whether God was real or not, we didn’t have to convince them of anything, we just spoke truth and spoke into things they were dealing with in their lives and it allowed the Holy Spirit to come and encounter them.

For the kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power.
(1 Corinthians 4:20)

Carnaval Stories (part 2 of 4)

My second Carnaval story is a story of obedience. Many times when we are doing things in ministry we wrongly go after success in our ministry as our main motive. While it is not bad to desire a successful ministry this should not be our focus. Our focus should be 100% obedience to God.

One night of Carnaval about 3 of us felt God telling us to set up a “prayer tent” in a sense. We made a sign that said prayer and stood under a Pacifico (Mexican beer) tent right in front of Casa del Marino which was our outreach base. So we were right outside our hair salon, coffee shop, kids ministry, and prayer room. However, this night of Carnaval there were barely any people walking by our building. This could have been an easy excuse to give up on the prayer tent and find something else to do that was doing more but we knew what God had told us so we stayed. People walked by and we’d ask if they wanted prayer and they’d say no. Then no one would walk by. However finally, this one guy comes up and doesn’t ask for prayer but starts asking us where we are from.

We end up talking to him for quite a while about Jesus, about his family and many other things. He was totally wasted but you could tell the Holy Spirit was getting through and he was being touched and really encouraged. He then proceeded to bring us over to his 3 friends who ended up accepting Jesus into their hearts as well as inviting the Holy Spirit into their lives. We got to give them all Bibles as well and really encourage them to seek after the LORD. It was really awesome because these were the only people we talked to all night. So it wasn’t that we got to reach a lot of people but we were obedient to the LORD and talked to the 4 men he had prepared for us to talk to that night. It is so satisfying to walk in obedience to the LORD even when it doesn’t seem to produce results. However even when we don’t see the results God knows what He is doing we just need to trust Him and obey. We need to find satisfaction in obeying Him not in the things that happen as a result.

"And if you will indeed obey my commandments that I command you today, to love the LORD your God, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul, he will give the rain for your land in its season, the early rain and the later rain, that you may gather in your grain and your wine and your oil. And he will give grass in your fields for your livestock, and you shall eat and be full.
(Deut 11:13-15)

Carnaval Stories (part 1 of 4)

A couple weeks ago I shared a bit about the Carnaval outreach we had back in February. I would like to take the time to just share a few testimonies of the goodness of God. There are many stories that I could tell from Carnaval and many others could tell as well as you could imagine when you see 2200 salvations in a week but here is a couple of my favorite.

I was on the prayer or WISE (Worship, Intercession, Spiritual Warfare, Evangelism) team so we focused mostly on keeping the presence of the LORD present in all of the outreaches being done. This was done through 24-7 prayer as well as a lot of worship and spiritual warfare. Mainly we were free to do whatever the Spirit was telling us to do in the moment so we could go into Carnaval and worship or we would stay in the prayer room and pray or we would walk the streets and do spiritual warfare. However there were also several times where we could go with the evangelists and cover them in prayer or evangelize with them.

My first story is in such a time as this. I felt God calling me to go with the evangelism group that was going to gates of Carnaval however we were supposed to meet as a WISE team in like a half hour so I knew I didn’t have a lot of time. I was excited but also a little bit wondering how much can happen in a half hour. Anyway we are all walking towards the gates and the evangelism team has signs that say like “free hugs” or “prayer” or “prophetic words.” This guy just all of a sudden sees my friends sign that says “prophetic words” and is like I want a prophetic word and then he yells at all the people with him to come over. He then proceeds to tell everyone that we should get in a circle and hold hands. I think we had about 20-25 people in this circle of random people holding hands waiting for a prophetic word. My friend decides to pray and he just starts praying (in Spanish) and then he gets done praying and just starts preaching the gospel. He gets done in about 2-3 minutes, and proceeded to ask if anyone would like to accept Christ. About 10 people raise there hands and receive Christ into their heart for the first time. WOW! It was so great we pretty much didn’t have to do anything. The LORD brings these people to us, my friend shares a basic message about Jesus and his death and BOOM! 10 people are brought into eternity with their new LORD and savior Jesus Christ. I believe this is directly related to what I talked about in my blogpost Fearless. We were walking in so much intimacy with the LORD and were just carrying the presence of the LORD and Jesus just drew these people unto Himself.

John 12:32 And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself."

Fireworks

Well it’s been almost 2 weeks since I’ve been back in Mazatlan. One week of introduction and one week of class are now complete and I don’t know if I could be more excited for the next 3 months. God’s been teaching me so much already and day in and day out I am just destroyed in His love I hardly know what to do with myself.

Our schedule looks awesome for WISE school. We have about 20 hours of class a week but some of those times are pretty informal question/answer things. Also we have about 12 hours of scheduled prayer/worship a week. For example today, we started at 8. Got caught up on some things and then we worshiped from 9am-1pm. One of the things I’m really excited for is that there is a huge emphasis on the prophetic. So we’ve gotten to pretty much prophesy in some way shape or form every day. Also were going to be pressing in for more of the supernatural here at YWAM Mazatlan and were going to be going to hospitals and praying for people to be healed as well as wherever the Holy Spirit leads us.

This week we’ve been talking about worship and one thing that God is bringing up is the importance of worshipping God in all things. That even while you’re cleaning a toilet or hanging out with your friends you can usher in the presence of God by your attitude and by your motives behind what you’re doing. It is so important that ”whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” 1 Corinthians 10:31

Also it’s so great that we can just worship the LORD wherever we want. Last Saturday night some friends and I we went over to Valentino’s (a club) and set up outside and just worshipped for a couple hours. Lots of people walked by some stopped and we talked and prayed with them. Then we went into McDonald’s and got some food and ended up full out worshipping inside McDonalds. God wants His will done “on earth as it is in heaven” and when we worship we are bringing the LORD’s presence; we are bringing heaven to earth. This is why it is so good to worship in all the we do wherever we go. Because when we carry the presence of the LORD into the work place, onto the streets, or into our schools, the spiritual atmosphere shifts and God is able to move quicker and easier and with more power.

God is so good. He is soooo worthy of our praise and our worship. Psalm 96:8 “Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name; bring an offering, and come into his courts!”

God is a father full of good gifts for His children. Before I went home for a few weeks He gave me a guitar. This was awesome because I lost my guitar on DTS and had asked for one and then had forgotten about it and then BAMB! A guitar. Also I wanted a computer for WISE school so I asked God and while I was home that didn’t work out but as soon as I get here, BAMB! God gives me a laptop.

The title of this blog is fireworks because God told me to do that and He is awesome and has flashes of color all around his throne like fireworks, hallelujah Amen.

God bless,
Brother Chris

Fearless

“The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psalm 27:1) 

After coming back to Mazatlan from Mexico City, we immediately plunged into helping prepare for our Carnaval outreach.  Marking the onset of Lent, a major religious event, Carnaval is Mazatlan's annual celebration of Mardi Gras. Said to be the third largest in the world, Carnaval is Mazatlan's most attended citywide event. Each year over 400,000 people bombard the city ready to party with the masses. With a mandate to 'transform Mazatlan one party at a time', we at YWAM Mazatlan, together with teams from around the world, Mexico, and the local church, plunged head first into the 6 day festival.

Our outreach included such things as a free coffee shop, hair salon, kids ministry, skateboarding competitions, evangelism and intercession.  I was on the prayer team and it was super intense.  We had 24/7 prayer going on throughout the whole things so my schedule would look something like this:

Pray 6-8am

Breakfast at 10am

Sleep from 11am to 2pm

Meet in our prayer team or as an entire outreach 2-4pm

Dinner at 4pm

Pray for the evening worship service at 6pm

Worship from 7-9pm

Carnaval outreach from 9pm to 2am

Sleep 2am to 6am

Repeat.

God did a lot of things in Carnaval.  The most obvious was that we saw over 2200 salvations during the week of Carnaval.  WOW!  It just amazed me the amount of people that were open to accepting Christ and were reaching out for Him.  He also did a lot of things in us as a base and us as an outreach team.  We had people and teams from all over.  During the Carnaval outreach we had 14 different nations represented.  I think God really showed all of us the importance of intimacy as the priority in reaching other people.  We had worship every night for a couple hours and sometimes in the day and with the constant 24/7 prayer God kept our focus on intimacy which is exactly where it needs to be.  Sometimes ministries get so caught up in doing stuff for God they forget about the actual relationship part of knowing God and spending time with Him.  If you don’t do this part not only is it not much of a relationship but you’re also going to burn out in the ministry part.  It’s just like the story of Mary and Martha:

Luke 10:38-42  Now as they went on their way, Jesus entered a village. And a woman named Martha welcomed him into her house.  (39)  And she had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet and listened to his teaching.  (40)  But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, "Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me."  (41)  But the Lord answered her, "Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things,  (42)  but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her."

Martha wasn’t doing anything wrong, she was serving the LORD.  But what Mary chose was better.

Also when we walk in the oil of intimacy God opens up opportunities for us instead of us striving for them.

John 12:32  And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself."

This means that when we worship and focus on Jesus, he’ll draw people to himself instead of us trying to sell him to others.  This happened many times throughout Carnaval and after but I will save those stories for my next blog post.

Another thing God showed all of us was how to live without fear.  The city of Mazatlan during Carnaval was gripped with fear.  The level of violence and murder in the city was at an all time high and there was actually a smaller turnout at Carnaval because of it.  However God was calling us to go out and to be a witness to people amidst the danger and the violence and the drinking and lead people to Him.

This is something I think we can all hold on to throughout the day.  That we don’t have to live in fear of anything except fear of the LORD.  We don’t have to be afraid of what other people can do to us or what they think about us, we don’t have to be afraid of a recession or lack of finances, and we don’t have to be afraid of death.

Romans 8:31  What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

Psalm 27:1  The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

1 John 4:18  There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.

Let’s live without fear people, that others might see that we are in a perfect love without fear and that they may see Jesus through our confidence in Him.

Overcoming the Giants

Mexico City is the largest city in the world (constantly switching with Tokyo) coming in at about 27 million people.  So what do you do for 5 weeks in a city so huge?  There is so much to do, so many that are lost, where do you start?

Many of you may not know this but 2010 is a huge year for the people of Mexico City as well as Mexico.  It is the 100 year anniversary of the Mexican Revolution.  However it is a big year for God’s plans as well.  This year a ministry of YWAM called Mega Cities has been focusing on Mexico City.

Find more videos like this on YWAM Mazatlan

  Mega Cities goal is to focus on a city for a year and help the church to reach and reach its own city.  We ended up getting to be the first official Mega Cities team.  This was a perfect fit for us because before we left for outreach we had many things that we felt God wanted us to do.  We really wanted to focus on churches, especially the youth and help them find God’s heart for their city and help them reach out in their city which is exactly what Mega Cities has a heart for.

For 2010, Mega Cities has divided D.F. (Mexico City) into 32 different regions.  We were mainly focused on 1 of these 32 regions.  We worked with a couple churches in this region.  We worked a lot with their youth, at one church called Familia Nueva Vida we taught them evangelism and then did it with them.  At the church we stayed at called Centro de Fe, Esperanza, y Amor we worked with their school called 24-7, helped with their youth group called PuntoNet and did evangelism through their ministry UrbanoMX.

We did a lot of urban evangelism.  We evangelized at Prepas (high schools), we preached on buses, we prayed for people at hospitals, we talked to vendors at the taco stands, we did dramas in Zocolo (the big square downtown). We fed the homeless and gave flowers to prostitutes.  We also got to work with a church that was for homeless people, drug addicts, and alcoholics.

One other cool thing that we got to do was the week following the Earthquake in Haiti.  For 5 days we went down to the Haiti Embassy in Mexico City from about 11am to 11pm and we helped out.  We hauled and loaded water, food, medicine, and clothes from people’s cars into packages and onto trucks.  It was a lot of hard work but it was definitely worth it.  It was also awesome to be able to do something to help a huge need.  We also got to encourage a lot of people from the Haiti Embassy or other people helping out.  We saw a few salvations and we got to bless a lot of people by talking to them or praying for them.

At the end of our outreach we got to lead PuntoNet.  We did some dramas, my friend Adrianna spoke, and I got to show a video I made about Human Trafficking

Overall it was an awesome experience to see how God moved in Mexico City.  The churches we worked in, especially the two main churches we saw a ton of growth in the youth.  The youth in these two churches are also now working together in a lot of things where before they didn’t even really know about each other.  The last time we were at youth group for Familia Nueva Vida they all thanked us and one guy said he couldn’t wait until we saw in the newspaper that Mexico was a Christian nation and that we got to be a part of making that happen.  That was really a blessing to hear someone say that.  Also the last Sunday service we went to at Centro de Fe was CRAZY.  The youth really led out in worship and pretty much the entire congregation (probably 500ish people) including the really young and the really old were jumping and dancing for the LORD. 

The LORD really highlighted a couple things for me during outreach in Mexico City.  It is amazing what God can do in such a little amount of time.  Now it’s hard to really know everything that happened while we were in Mexico City but I know that God did a lot.  Not only did we get to do all the stuff mentioned above but I felt we really laid a foundation for the rest of the Mega Cities teams to come in after us.  This was done in our attitude, our love, and our prayers.

The second thing is the importance of being like Joshua and Caleb.  Looking at D.F. and its massively huge state of being it would’ve been really easy for our team to be like the spies that complained about the giants being to big.  (Numbers 13-14) However I felt we went in with the confidence that the LORD was going to give us victory and he did.  When we do the possible and we expect Him to do the impossible He does.  I would really like to encourage all of you to look at your problems and to keep your attitudes like that of Caleb in Numbers 13:30,

“But Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, "Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it."

Sniffing Evangelism

One of the awesome things about God is that He can use just about anything you do for His glory and to advance His kingdom. In 2 Corinthians 5:13 it says, "If we are out of our mind, it is for the sake of God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you." God can use crazy stuff that we do to reach other people. About a week or so into our outreach in Mexico City God used something I would have never expected to reach people with His love.

In the area where we were staying there was a market and at night this street always had taco stands and other stores set up in the street. We would go there to evangalize but to do it in a less direct way. Our goal was to build relationships with people to get to know them and not even neccesarily talk about Christ unless of course it came up. It was getting later in the night and we were meeting back up and eating tacos and such when somehow a few people in our group decided they were going to sniff the salsa from one of the taco stands.

Now this salsa had a reputation as being some of the hottest in Mexico City and having tried it myself I can testify it was REALLY hot. Anyway 4 guys in our group decided to sniff this salsa up there nose, one full sniff by using a straw. As they were getting ready to do this we drew a little bit of a crowd specifically at this clothes store right across from the taco stands. Anyway they did it and it was pretty hilarious lot of spitting/almost puking occured. Howvever what God did with this was even cooler. The family and people at the clothes store watched the whole thing and we started talking to them and were talking and hanging out with them for a good hour or so after the salsa event. At the end of the night we all had new friends and they invited us to their hosue for lunch. In the Mexican culture if someone invites you to their house like that its a big honor.

A couple days later we had lunch with them. The food was amazing. We also played this game they had for a good couple hours. The game was actually a family game and in the Mexican culture if the family invites you to play a game that they usually play as a family its like they are invited you to be part of their family in a sense. Anyway the game was this. You bent over and put your face in a pillow and a bunch of people would stand behind you. Then one of them would spank your butt and then you had to turn around and guess who it was. If you guessed wrong you put your head back in the pillow until you got it right.

We were also able to have a time of devotions and worship with them inside their house. This was really awesome because the father of the household is Catholic and his wife was protestant. However the father wouldn't allow the Bible to be read in his house because he believed it was only to be read in the church. At the end of the worship time we were able to pray for some of the family meembers and just really encourage them.

The last thing that came out of this is the younger daughter of the family (probably about 14 I think) ended up hanging out with us a bunch. She came to the pyramids with us as well as Six Flags. During these times she was just able to hang around a good spiritual atmostphere, build relationship with some of the leaders from the youth group of the church we were at, and just encourage in the Lord quite a bit.

So we sniffed some salsa, God moved, and a family was touched. God can use just about anything we do if we do it in the mindset of bringing Him glory and if when He opens up doors we step through them wtih boldness and courage taking advantage of the oppertunities He gives us. Something that God taught me a lot about during DTS was what our DTS first talks about. That we need to reach people by the lifestyle that we live. We need to stop trying to convince so many people and start inspiring people more. That through everything we do wheather it be sniffing salsa, playing hockey, or working a job, people should be able to see our love for God and people. 1 John 3:18, "Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth."

This is us playing the game at the family's house

70.5 Hours

Here is the first of hopefully several stories/testimonies that I will be sharing about my outreach in Mexico City and back in Mazatlan.
The first 3 days we were in Mexico City we had decided as a team to read the Bible outloud over the city for 3 days straight, without stopping. So midnight of the first night we were there we all read Genesis 1 together. From there we split into 3 teams, each team taking 2 hour shifts until morning. Then during the day all 3 teams read at teh same time so my team would be in Joshua and another team in Leviticus another in Psalms etc... and we went about the city, on the metro, in Zocolo (this huge sqaure), in front of governemtn buildings on top of hotels in churches and we declared God's word over the city. A couple verses God had given us for this time was Proverbs 1:20-21, "Wisdom calls aloud in the street,she raises her voice in the public squares; at the head of the noisy streets she cries out, in the gateways of the city she makes her speech" and Isaiah 55:11, "So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it." We knew that as we declared the Word of God over the city it would not return void.

As many of you know we were part of MegaCities and we were the first team on the ground for MegaCities 2010'. We felt that part of our role as the first team was to lay a foundation in prayer for the city and for the rest of the teams. Reeading the Bible was definately a huge part of this. Not only do I believe it shifted things in the spiritual atmostphere of the city but it prepared our team for the next 5 weeks. It brought us unity, a greater love and hunger for the word, and a greater understanding of it as well. It also just fed our spirits to be full of truth so that we might pour that truth out upon the city the next 5 weeks we were there. For my personally it was a truly amazinag experience reading the entire Bible front to back in 70 and a half hours. It definately gave me a greater understanding of things especially in the Old Testemant and grew my love for the Old Testement as well. I also know I was completely filled up. I had never felt the presence of God so much while reading the Bible.

Now why do I share this? It isn't that something amazing happened like tons of people came to Christ through us reading the Bible. But I think it was very important and its a good reminder to all of us to keep truth at the forfront of what we do. Everything we do must come from truth and the truth that is in the word of God. Our will, our emotions, everything must follow truth.
Brother Chris

The End Has Come...or has is?

Hey everyone!  Sorry I haven’t posted a blog post in a while.  I swear I wrote on while I was in Mexico City but I think the internet was down and I never posted it and now I can’t find it.  Anyway.  Thank you everyone so much for your prayers and your support!   I am so grateful! 

Well DTS graduation is tomorrow.  I can’t believe it is so soon.  It went by so fast.  God taught me and showed me so much.  I feel so much closer to His heart, deeper in intimacy with Him and stronger than ever in my faith.  God has also done so much in this base while I have been here that I have gotten to be a part of as well as in the cities of Mazatlan and Mexico City as well as South Africa.  I would love to just share so much about outreach but don’t have a lot of time right now.  On Saturday I go back to Minnesota for 3 weeks and during those 3 weeks (March 13^th – April 5^th) I plan to write a lot of blog posts that are just stories from outreach and things God has done so check back frequently if you wish to here a lot about that.

So the end of DTS has come.  It will be sad to say goodbye to many faces.  However, what God is calling me to do next is what is really exciting.  Starting April 5^th here at YWAM Mazatlan they have a school called the prophetic WISE school.  It specializes in teaching Worship, Intercession, Spiritual Warfare, and Evangelism and working in the prophetic in these 4 areas.  It is done through lecture and practice.  More info: http://www.ywammazatlan.com/page/school-of-worship-intercession

Since outreach God has been speaking to me about doing this school and has confirmed it through various scriptures throughout the Bible.  Therefore from April 5^th to June 25^th I will be coming back to YWAM Mazatlan to do the WISE school.  I feel like this is a time where God really wants to grow me in the prophetic and also specifically in the area of intercession as I know that is one of the callings God has on my life is prayer warrior.  Another awesome thing is that about half of my DTS is staying around or coming back to do this school.  I am super excited for this school and would appreciate your prayers and supports as I continue to seek the face of God and dig deeper into relationship with Him. 

One note of mention about YWAM Mazatlan, the base where I am doing these schools at is that the last payment on our building is due on Monday.  In the last 2 weeks God has brought in $100,000 and we still need about $150,000.  It has been awesome to see how God has been growing each of us individually and the base during this time of seeking Him for this payment.  He has brought about special times of repentance, generosity, unity, and faith in each of us and corporately.  Please keep us in your prayers however as we continue through this process of trusting God in the payment of this building.

That’s all I got right now, thanks again everyone for your support during DTS.  God bless and check in lots during the next 3 weeks hopefully I’ll get around 10 stories up from outreach.  As always feel free to email me at chrismbrands@gmail.com God bless!

Brother Chris

My DTS and the house we built last week in Colonia Sinaloa