Thoughts on LA

Sorry that this post has been so long in coming, but the weekend has been hectic... We got back from LA and it was really good to be back. The trip was fun and I really enjoyed being back at the Dream Center, but I was happy to be back (being in a van for 12 hours will do that to you). We got to do a lot of stuff on the trip and it was all really good. I had to fight the urge to be over the top controlling and frustrated for a lot of the trip, but I got through it and God was even able to show me some things.

For me, the best part of the trip was being in Redding, CA at Bethel Christian Center. I love being in their prayer room and just being a part of the church down there. I am not jealous of them, PSCC is definitely my home, but I enjoy visiting there and seeing what God is doing through a church that is seeking God with everything and then taking what He gives them out into their community. We spent Saturday helping them with their food outreach to the homeless people in Redding and before we went out we spent a good 1/2 hour soaking in prayer and then another 45 minutes worshiping. The outreach leader asked me to lead worhsip (probably because I was the only person with a guitar) and the Spirit just fell. I even played a song the Lord had given me while I was worshiping in the garden around the prayer house just an hour before I played it! I have never played my songs in front of more than 2 people, just due to fear and lack of confidence, but it was really cool. The outreach leader then asked me if I would head up one of the sites where they hand out food, because they were shorthanded and I had done the outreach once before. I felt so useful and accepted there, it was really fun. After we got back from the outreach, I got a text message from Em. Hockert saying that God told her that I was not the leader of the trip and He wanted me to know that.

We got to see Chad, Michelle and Rees on the trip because we stopped in Fresno, CA to visit them and their new church. Peoples Church in Fresno is HUGE!!! It is easily the biggest church that I have ever seen, even bigger than Angelus Temple in LA. Us guys got to stay at the McGill house, a family in Peoples church that have a son in the High School group, and that was a real blessing. Talk about a Christian family, they have something figured out that I wish my family knew about! After church on Sunday, we drove to LA and then the fun started!

I got really sick on Monday, I was in the bathroom about every 5-10 minutes... Monday is the day off for the Dream Center, but the team was able to help out with some of the kids on campus there with their school work and some people went out and picked up trash on the street. I stayed behind in bed and slept! I felt better after that and I was able to eat some real food later.

We got to be a part of the outreaches the next two days and that was a lot of fun... We got to go out on the food truck this year, which we didn't get to do last year. That was a blast going out and providing groceries for an entire week to poor families. They had arranged a deal with someof the local grocers to get food that was about to expire and that is what is distributed out to the people. I got to speak Spanish with some of the people and I really want to learn more and get better and conversation with people, maybe I will start going to a spanish church...

We also went to the beach on Tuesday night and spent some time in worship, while the jet planes from LAX flew overhead as they were taking off. I have never seen a fire light so fast as the one we lit on the beach did, I dunno if it was the stiff ocean breeze or the fire starter logs, but it took off hot and fast! That was a lot of fun, as was worship... people just connected with God, there is something about being on the beach in front of the ocean that takes my breath away and really ministers to my heart. I can't think of a better place to worship than on the beach in front of a fire!

Wednesday was fun because we got to go out and be apart of Metro Kidz and their Sidewalk Sunday School. I learned lots of new phrases and Eddie had to endure the phrase she dislikes (with me laughing at her the whole time!)... One of the guys who was leading our group, Alfred, asked us to continue in prayer for the South Central LA neighborhood that we visited that day, so if you want to join in that... After Metro Kidz we got to go out to Skid Row like last year. It was tough seeing all those people bound in the chains of their addictions, but I know that God is the God of chain breaking so there is hope for the people. The lesson that I learned from Skid Row was that people have to be ready to hear the message of God's love. I could stand and tell everyone about it until I am blue in the face, but if they are not ready to receive it I don't think that it would do any good. I hope that seeds got planted and that I helped water other seeds, but they won't be harvested until it is the proper time.

The drive home was long and the best part about it was talking to everyone about different stuff and finding out that Jennifer had Dramamine, which I took and felt a million times better. We all got home safe and we all got changed a little bit.

We got back on Friday night and I got to go and hang out with Anna vB a little, which was fun. Anna, I will miss you in Belgium, but I am glad that you came and are going back to where your heart is.

Do you want to hear about the two weddings on Saturday??? Maybe later...

Sorry for the length, but I love all of you...

Initial LA aftermath

We all got back from LA last night after 12 hours in a van, but long story short, we got back safe. It was a trip of mixed emotions for me and I will delve into it later... I will also post some pictures as soon as I get them.

Yes, I did have a mohawk!!! If you have not seen it, I will have it on Sunday at church as well.

Gotta get some work done, talk to y'all later.

LA

If you could pray for me on the trip to LA, I would really appreciate it...

1) I want to have a heart to minister to people and especially the people on the trip.
2) Pray that I don't get frustrated woth details and that I can step back and see God's big picture. I want to be the biggest support to James and Emily as they lead this trip and I want to serve them in any way that I can.
3) Pray that I would be forced to carve out as much time with Jesus as possible!
4) General safety for the trip.
5) Pray that God would bring the specific people He wants us to minister to and let us minister to them.

So there are some of my general prayer requests... I love you all and I can't wait to get back and tell all the stories!

Samuel

LA here I come!!!

It is starting to sink in a little bit, but I get to go to Los Angeles, the second biggest city in America in 3 days. I don't know if LA is ready for me yet. I have been thinking and praying for the trip and I am starting to get excited. Maybe it is because I get to have a postive impact on planning it as they have asked me to track down some of the financial details from the school. I have gotten at least $100 and maybe more from Religious Relations. The van ride will be fun... I can say that now, as my but is not sore yet from sitting and doing nothing, but I am really excited for the conversations and to be with the people in the van.

The group found out yesterday that we will be meeting Chad Johnson in Reading, CA at Bethel Christian Center. I am pumped for that, as Chad is one of my spiritual mentors and I would call him a really good friend. He will drive with us to Fresno, CA where we will be staying at his new church and ministering at their Sunday morning youth service. I can't wait to see him, but more than that I really can't wait to get to Reading and go to the prayer house at Bethel. I was there last year and, yeah, it was cool, but I am in a much different place with my prayer life now and I know God is going to show up in a really cool way... Not to say that I don't meet with Him here but I know that Bethel church has an annointing for prayer and I can't wait to be a part of that.

I am honestly more excited to be with the people on the trip than to minister to the people on the street. I told Emily Stratton that I want to be the number one support for her and James as they lead the trip because I feel my role is to minister to the people on the trip and seek the Lord for them. I know that the rest will take care of itself!

Pictures coming soon of my Mohawk, because I need to get my hair cut!

The lighter side of life!!!

I realized today that I always am posting about the crap going on in my life. I don't want to create the impression that all I have are hard times...

I have the most amazing friends in the world and as we were walking back from prayer one night, tragedy struck. It was about 5 minutes after midnight and the UC is scheduled to be locked at midnight. It was cold outside and since I am a thoughtful guy. I told the gals with me that we should walk through the UC. Now I knew that Campus Safety had just shift changed and had more than likely not gotten to the UC to lock it yet. Everyone else was not too sure and they asked me,

"How sure are you Samuel? Are you willing to bet your hair?"

I thought about it and pondered, weighing whether or not I would be willing to risk my beloved hair, and said,

"Yeah, I am willing to bet my hair!"

I think you all can tell where this is going!!!

We get to the UC and sure enough, the doors were locked!!! I lost the bet, I need to cut my hair! If you have not seen my beautiful locks, I am sorry because they may not be here much longer!

We did have an idea. I will cut my hair something crazy everyday for a week and then it will be gone. Start with a mullet, go to racing stripes, end with a mohawk... It will be fun!!! Can you imagine me with a mohawk in LA?

GOOD TIMES!!!

There is so much!!!

I love having my roomate Chase around... It is great to finally have a guy that is going to push me to greater heights with the Lord in my room. Chase and I have had some great talks and even though we are friends, I think it will be great to be intentional with him and grow with him.

I have come to the place with Ignite that I have no more opinions, seriously none whatsoever. I don't care who speaks, I don't care who leads anything anymore and I especially don't care what I am doing in this ministry. During prayer on Sunday, it kept coming up about being willing to do whatever it takes to see the Lord move. For me, it is getting out of the way. The vision that I have is one of all of us working together to push something out of the mud (like a car stuck on the beach). They will see me push as hard and as strong as I can and I won't say a word otherwise. I will no longer be someone who is always talking about the ministry and what I think is going wrong, I will strain and sell myself out to do whatever it takes to see God move on this campus.

I have been placed in charge of prayer ministry along with my friend Kelsie Melton. I am excited about this. I know that there is no higher calling than to pray and help people get healed up with the Lord. In order to get better at this, I sat through Ancient Paths facilitator training. If you have ever done an Ancient Paths class, you will know what I mean when I say that I spent 7 hours with Craig Hill, on DVD. I learned alot, but it was long and monotonous and the only thing I got was to be qualified to apply to be a facilitator, I still need to be accepted by Craig's ministry, Family Foundations International. I figure that if I went through the training I probably should try and become a facilitator.

Financial update... I found out that I am $220 overdrawn in my checking account and since my credit card is maxed out, I cannot transfer money to take care of it. I also have a 2 month $120 cell phone bill and they have turned my cell service off. I owe about $120 for my credit card to pay off the ridiculous fees that Bank of America charges me. All told, I owe almost $500!!! (this is the ugliest color I could find) that I don't have and see no way of getting anytime soon. I was praying yesterday and asking God,

"Ok, where is the money coming from this time?"

I don't know, but God sure does answer prayers especially when it humbles you... My friends James Schafer and Chase have both given me about $100 each to help out. I hate money, dealing with it, oweing it and most of all, accepting it from other people. I don't know how to respond... I feel like my family should be helping out, both my mothers parents are wealthy and could easily help me out for school, but they choose to buy property or remodel their house instead. I guess I really do need to rely on God nowadays...

On to some good stuff, I get to speak at youth group on Wednesday and I am pumped!!! I was going through some crap this weekend and the Lord showed me, well spiritual authority first, but also that I need to remember God! I need to daily remember the things that God has done in my heart and the places He has walked me through! I was struck by Acquire the Fire at the T-Dome 2 weekends ago and I asked a question of God,

"How permanent has this weekend been?"

I mean there were about a thousand maybe more kids that responded and gave their life to the Lord, but what is the permanent kingdom value of these new "converts"? They are at a tenuous time in their walk and satan will try and take the seed from them. Permanence is birthed in prayer, intimacy with the Lord and remebering what He has done for us. Whenever God would do something big for the Israelites (or against them!) they would name the place according to what happened. Doug Marks calls it putting markers in time to look back on and see what God has done. I need to do that everyday...

God I remember You and I remember all the wonderful things that You have done for me and all the times that You have carried me along. I submit to Your plan and all the things You want to do in my life. I love You and I want to know You more. I will willingly wait for promotion and I will willingly wait for the things You have promised me. I will humble myself under Your mighty hand so that You may exalt me in due time. I will cast all my cares upon You because You care for me.

A new season...

I would like to take a moment and welcome Chase Donnely to my room!!! If I could have picked a roomate, it would have been him! We are so different, but we are more similar than people realize. I know that he will grate on me and I will grate on him, but it will be like iron sharpening iron. He is the most "shiny" person I know and getting him to pay attention for more than 5 minutes is a chore, yet at the same time, we have been able to have some cool conversations and stuff like that.

I honestly don't know where my heart is right now, I have no clue. I love Jesus, I just don't have much emotion right now.

Is that wrong?

Am I losing it?

I need some help...

I want to have passion to run after the Lord, I just don't have it right now.

Oh, well, I need to be faithful, I just feel forgotten sometimes and really passed over. Do people care about my heart? What a stupid question... What does it matter what people think of my heart if God likes it? Even if people were to try and help me, I would not know where to start...

the aftermath of desperation

A little advice for all you frequent readers out there. Don't ever take a class at PLU from Dennis J Martin in the biology department. He is a nice enough guy, but he is so addicted to evolution that it has made him a little mentally ill. I took the first test in his class today, Animal Behavior. I had him last semester so I knew how to study for his tests, but he is the type of prof that does not look for ways to make life better for their students. The first day of class, he tells us that we are on our own and that we had better learn how to handle student directed learning or else. I guess that I can take comfort in the fact that he is retiring at the end of the semester.

We have been holding prayer every night for the last week and God is doing stuff. I mean God is doing some really big stuff.

I love it!!!

It started last Wednesday and I feel bad because I skipped youth to stay home and study, but I ended up curled up like a ball on my couch crying out to God because I was so frustrated and hurting. God started to open up some places in my heart that I don't really like because when He does that it is not the most pleasant experience.

I told Em & Em that I was not in the mood for a "normal" prayer meeting. I needed God to show up so bad, it was painful. We all needed Him and He showed up...

Did He ever...

I have never heard prayer with that much fervency, passion and desperation. The theme for me that night was, "God if You don't show up and if we don't meet with You, then why are we here?" God did show up and we did meet with Him. We finished with prayer and said to each other, "When are we praying tomorrow?"

Last night at prayer was interesting. I felt like we wern't going anywhere in prayer again and I began to get perturbed. The Lord brought to my mind the Israelites in the wilderness and how they would follow the cloud of God's presence wherever it led. If the cloud stopped in a single spot, then they would camp there. However long the cloud remained in that spot is how long they would camp for, 1 night or a whole month, it did not matter. I felt like the Lord was telling us,

"However long I dwell on something is how long I want you to stay there."

The night before, God had told us to wait on Him and He gave me a picture of kids coming home from school and demanding their parents to put on this huge display of who they are and to have this big production. I felt like we do that with God sometimes, we come before Him and say, "Here we are God, now where are the fireworks and amazing things that I always hear about?" It felt like we were just having family time with God, nothing amazingly spectacular, no extraordinary manifestations of the Holy Spirit, just us communing with God and encouraging each other.

Last night we talked about how we were not going anywhere in prayer that night a little bit and it kept coming up on how we were un-prepared to come before the Lord corporately because we had not been with Him personally.

Oh, yeah, I am on Rich Olander's good side now. I meet with him on Wednesdays and he pretty much started my soul travail by challenging me to lead not to fulfill a need in my heart, but only when the Lord wants me to. It has been a challenge and I am not too good at it yet, but I am getting better. I told him about the prayer that has been going on, he got really excited and asked me questions about it for a good 30 minutes. Rich and I have not always got along very well, because I feel hurt by him and Dan sometimes, but I need them to be aliies and not enemies, Ignite needs us to be on the same page. So I am very glad to be in Rich's good graces.

As I read over my last post, I see the big words Come Holy Spirit...

Funny how God answers prayer!!!