Safely in Johannesburg

Hi.  I'm Andy Kerner, Madison's dad.   She just called me from the Johannesburg airport to let me know everything is great and asked me to post a short blog.  She apologized about the lack of communication, but said they did not have internet access and limited minutes on a phone card. She said the trip was fantastic and God did some awesome things.  It was very difficult to leave the children this morning before they departed for the airport.  She said one boy skipped school and found a way to the airport to see them off!

Everyone is in good health.  They were able to go a safari in South Africa and she said it was fun (she said they had confirmed it was safe in South Africa before they went).

She asked that everyone continue to pray for their team -- safe travels, smooth connections and continued unity during the next 36 hours of their journey home.

Street Ministry

We are spending most of our time here at the Zimpeto Center, but we have a lot of opportunities to go out on outreaches as well. The team has spent time at the Bocaria, the hospital, other children’s centers, and out on street ministry.

Colin and Emily went to a prison to encourage some of the inmates two nights ago, and we were able to go out on street ministry last night as well. We went to a park where many people live in shacks or just sleep on the ground. We gathered together about three kids and starting worshiping and over time about 20 people joined us. We held a 30-45-minute church service where we worshiped, prayed, and spoke what the Lord had put on our hearts. Psalm 27, Matthew 5, and 2 Corinthians 2 were on our hearts as we shared with the people through our translator.

Here is an update on the team members: Ashley loves it here and thinking about marrying a Mozambican and staying here (we’re only kidding…sort of). Ava is having a blast and making us laugh all the time. Blair is spending most of her time with the little girls and in the baby house. Colin is running around 24-7 with the boys playing soccer and basketball, and took his first shower in 4 days last night. Emily is always spending time with the Lord and loves being pushed out of her comfort zone on outreaches. Erik is serving everyone all the time- we are constantly blown away by his heart. Jacob is spreading love everywhere he goes with hugs and words of encouragement. Our team is amazing and we are receiving so much joy by serving with them and watching what the Lord is doing through each of them.

Sorry this has to be short, but we only had about 10 minutes to write this and the internet was especially slow today.

-Blake and Madison

The Bocaria (by Erik and Emily)

Yesterday we went to the bocaria- or what we would call the city dump. Only the difference is that the bocaria is inhabited by a lot of Mozambicans, mostly mothers and children. By far it was the saddest day here--but also the most promising. We rode in the back of a flatbed truck through the city until we reached the mountain of garbage and were immediately greeted by the children that live there. Then, we broke up into two groups to do ministry. Our group went throughout the neighboring houses, to pray for the sick who lived there. One child in particular drew our attention, he was a young man of about 22ish who was infected with AIDS. His story was a miracle, today he was well enough to stand and greet us, but last week would have been a different story. People at Iris that have been praying for him say that a week ago he was unable to stand or hardly even move from the mat that he sleeps on. The Lord is the only one who could have brought this change in him!

The kids at the bocaria rummaged for food, clothing, and bits of metal to sell in the heaps of trash. But they all came running to the children's church service at the bottom of the bocaria. There were at least 70 kids there. After the service, Iris passed out over 300 pieces of bread to the families and the kids.

On Saturday, our team went to the market. We haggled and bargained our way to some beautiful African art and such. After riding downtown in a truck (all 13 of us), we ate lunch outside at a really nice Mozambican restaurant overlooking the Indian ocean and ordered such specialties as coke in glass bottles and ice cream for desert. This is a huge contrast from the food that we eat at the compound. They serve rice from huge washtubs for lunch and dinner to everyone. They top the rice with a different food each meal, such as cooked cabbage, beans, noodles, or fish.

Sunday was amazing. We can't really describe it- the worship, dancing, overall celebrating the Lord is beyond words. The service itself was translated into english for our benifit, but language barriers are so insignificant when it comes to the Lord. We can't fully describe it...

One day down in Zimpeto

Although we got ripped off at the airport in Maputo for $50, we made it to Mozambique with every person and every piece of luggage! Praise the Lord!

The drive to the Center was an extremely sobering experience. None of the team had seen that much poverty before (most people from the US haven't). Mozambique is the third poorest country in the world, and you could see it on the streets. Within a mile of the airport, we saw children digging in the trash, starving animals, and infants walking around with no shoes and no parents.

We got to the Children’s Center and were immediately surrounded by 15-20 kids. We are definitely the only white people here, which is an odd feeling. Yesterday was overwhelming for many of us with non-stop activity all afternoon. We were all asleep by 9:00 pm, and most of us were up before 6 am. (Ava, Ashley, and Blair were the first to bed and the last to get up - no surprise there)

Today, we are spending time at the Center with the kids and painting a missionary's room. Jacob and Emily are going to the hospital to pray over the sick (only 2 could go today, but everyone will go sometime this week). We are adjusting to a life of freedom with no schedules here.

The team is a perfect example of selflessness. Everyone wants to do the lowest job and jumps at any opportunity to serve anyone. We spent hours at airports and waiting in lines, but no one ever complained. Although some of them were dozing off playing games with the kids yesterday, they kept themselves awake until we told them they could go to bed.

Thank you Lord for providing for our team. You brought us to Mozambique safely and easily and gave us a team of people after your heart. We are excited for what is in store over the next two weeks. Continue to give us things from you- we don't want anything of ourselves. Also, be with our families and the intercessors.

-Blake and Madison

South Africa - 14 hours till we are in Mozambique

We are offically in Africa... In a hostel in South Africa called Africa Centre. We made it here with no problems, all our luggage arrived perfectly, we were picked up from the airport, and all our flights were on time. Thank you for lifting up the details of our travels in prayer- it was much needed and we could tell it was completely of the Lord's provision. Everyone is doing well, no one even got sick on the plane (even the motion-sickness-prone ones). Despite an annoying baby crying the whole way and her older sister of 5 with a passifier still in her mouth, we had the ideal flight from New York to Dakar (for fueling) to South Africa.
We are leaving tomorrow at 7 am to get on our flight to Mozambique that leaves at 10 am... our time... which means... blake loves dot dot dots. We forgot what they were called...

So 3 am Central time is when we are boarding our 45 minute flight to Maputo, Mozambique!

People from Iris Ministries will pick us up from the airport and we should be at the children's center by lunch time.

The Lord is continuing to speak to our team through His specific supplying of all our needs. We are learning to trust Him more and more completely by that provision.

Be looking for updates in a few days. We will see how fast (slow) the internet is at Iris.

Here is how you can continue to pray for us:
Details would continue to be worked out
Multiplied rest
Prepared and fertile hearts in Mozambique
That our hearts would continue to be tuned in to the Lord's heart
That we would also continue to be praising Him for all He is doing! (We can't believe we're actually HERE!)

Father, bless these intercessors that are warring with us for your Kingdom. We love these people.

love, Blake and Madison
and Jacob, Colin, Ashley, Blair, Erik, Ava, and Emily

we thought it'd be funny if we left a name off... but that wouldn't be funny. EVERYONE'S GREAT.

Hey Kids..

Your mother and I are in Dallas at her parents' house, getting some things together for when we leave TOMORROW NIGHT!!! (Mom says she loves you!) 

We got prayed over last night by Madison's family's community group and it was incredible. We will be heading to Norman in about 45 minutes to go to Emily's graduation party, and then we'll head to Tulsa to see my side of the fam. I'll tell your grandparents hello. Remember, tomorrow is Mother's Day, so make sure you let Mom know how much you love her and think she's the best.

On another note: God gave us a picture on our way to Dallas of all of us in a big bed together as a family, dreaming and being poured into by the Lord. It was in a cabin in a big field, and at the right time, an alarm clock woke all of us up, and we were to get up immediately and go out to harvest together. We each have been given all the tools we need, so we don't have to worry about that. We are going out into a field to release the things that have grown from the bondage of the ground. The field is ready for harvest.

I feel like this is God telling us that we have been getting things from the Lord, and He has been pouring Himself into us. We are being made ready for each moment from here on out. We don't have to worry about conjuring up great things, they've been given to us. He's given us a heart to know him (Jeremiah 24:7). Now we WILL be faithful to go out when He says to go out. We will awaken and jump into His field to be used by Him there. The theme is the same: Death. We are continually dying to ourselves, it's never going to stop.

We also got a vision of us as a team being pieces of gold and silver, having to be burned to get all the impurities out.

We desire to stay in the melting stage- no room for tarnishing, but remaining pure and melting in His Presence.

Father, kill us. We want to be dead and lose our lives to find them in YOU. You are our refuge, our portion in the land of the living. We delight ourselves in YOU. Give us a heart to know you. Come in close- intimacy with You is all we want. Your heart is the one thing we want more than life or peace or comfort or riches or prestige or recognition. YOUR HEART IS ALL THAT WE WANT! Reveal the man Jesus to us. Open the windows of Heaven and pour out your blessing of your Spirit until there is no more room for us to hold Him. Thank you Jesus. Wound our hearts to look like yours- like the hearts on our shirts. They're not meant to look cool. They're meant to be symbolic of what our hearts really are. We are lovers looking for a Lover, and we've found HIM. You are a lover looking for a Lover, and you've found us. Yes, Jesus.

-blake

Prepared

The preparation, in the Lord's eyes (and how it should be in ours), is more important for us to focus on than the actual 'serving' or 'doing' or the 'ministry.' Look at the deserts in the Bible (and in my life, and in many of our lives...). People are called into a desert for YEARS, and prepared, and then they go out as a vessel to do whatever God wants them to do- because they are empty. Not even because they are prepared, really... but because they have learned to be empty every day.

Jesus didn't start his 3-year-long ministry until he was 30 years old... Why do we get prepared for 3 years (college) for a career (30 years)? - just a metaphor for this process of us going to Mozambique. DON'T LET YOUR SERVING HIM REPLACE YOUR LOVING HIM.

GOD DOESN'T NEED OUR WORK IN MOZAMBIQUE. DON'T THINK FOR A MINUTE THAT YOU ARE NEEDED BY HIM. He loves you, and you are desired by Him. He wants your heart as much as the hearts in Mozambique. He has entered into a covenant relationship with us, binding Himself to our prayers. Empty yourself before Him EVERY chance you get. And then make more room for Him in your life and do it again. And again.

Choose emptiness every day this week. You need to. You can't do your finals. You can't succeed in pleasing God. You can't go and have a quiet time. But you can surrender. Or not. What will you choose? RELEASE THE REINS. RELEASE CONTROL. If you surrender to Him, you will be filled. He will give you a heart to know Him. Jeremiah 24:7. Return to Him- every day. It's not enough to have prayed this thing once. You must every moment be surrenderING to Him. If you don't, you can expect to be full of regret while you are trying to get tuned in on the trip. Do it NOW. Then, when you're 'done,' do it again. Until He puts you to sleep at night, be surrendering to Him. If he says kneel in the sidewalk before Him (which he made me do today), then kneel in the sidewalk before Him. Do you trust Him? 

Have a heart of 'yes' this week.

I love you more than you will ever know.

And thanks so much, Ava, for posting Isaiah 55. That's right on. Keep tuning in deeper and deeper. There's no limit to it. Do it until you look completely foolish for Him, and then go deeper.

Night!

-Blake.

Isaiah 55

Invitation to the Thirsty

1 "Come, all you who are thirsty,

come to the waters;

and you who have no money,

come, buy and eat!

Come, buy wine and milk

without money and without cost.

2 Why spend money on what is not bread,

and your labor on what does not satisfy?

Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,

and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.

3 Give ear and come to me;

hear me, that your soul may live.

I will make an everlasting covenant with you,

my faithful love promised to David.

4 See, I have made him a witness to the peoples,

a leader and commander of the peoples.

5 Surely you will summon nations you know not,

and nations that do not know you will hasten to you,

because of the LORD your God,

the Holy One of Israel,

for he has endowed you with splendor."

6 Seek the LORD while he may be found;

call on him while he is near.

7 Let the wicked forsake his way

and the evil man his thoughts.

Let him turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on him,

and to our God, for he will freely pardon.

8 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts,

neither are your ways my ways,"

declares the LORD.

9 "As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.

10 As the rain and the snow

come down from heaven,

and do not return to it

without watering the earth

and making it bud and flourish,

so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,

11 so is my word that goes out from my mouth:

It will not return to me empty,

but will accomplish what I desire

and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

12 You will go out in joy

and be led forth in peace;

the mountains and hills

will burst into song before you,

and all the trees of the field

will clap their hands.

13 Instead of the thornbush will grow the pine tree,
and instead of briers the myrtle will grow.

This will be for the LORD's renown,

for an everlasting sign,

which will not be destroyed."

ONE WEEK until GOD is using us in Mozambique!! AMAZING!

I love you all sooo much!

-Ava

Less than one week...

Thanks everyone for rolling out last night to pray, even though you were all trying to study for finals!

At this time next week we will be in New York waiting to get on a plane to South Africa! Can you believe it's almost time to leave? Even in the midst of studying this week, make sure that your priority is seeking the Lord and allowing him to prepare you for the trip. Be in constant prayer throughout the week for what is to come and pray for efficiency in your work so you can have more time with God in between studying for finals.

A few announcements...

1. Everyone pray for Blair to be healed. She is really sick!
2. If anyone will be in Dallas on Friday, or wants to go to Dallas on Friday, Blake and I will be there talking and praying with my friends and family about the trip. We would love for you to come if you want to!
3. Meeting on Wednesday at 9:30 at Blake's. If you have a test the next day or you'll be out of town, then we understand if you can't make it. We really want as many people there as possible though. We are leaving in less than a week and this will be our last meeting...!
4. Prayer cards coming soon!

Love you guys! Call if you need anything.

-Madison

Wednesday Meeting: 4.30.08

I've already talked to just about all of you, but just to remind you, and to clarify on a couple things that were wrong:

The Mozambique Team of 2007 will NOT be praying over us Wednesday night... that will actually be Sunday night. Sorry!

But we WILL be shooting a group photo Wednesday night, so MAKE SURE YOU'RE HERE ON TIME and wear a plain colored shirt that shows your personality. Erik, you do have to wear SOMETHING, though.. I know, I'm tempted to show off my sweet tan lines too.

I love you all. See you Wednesday night.

Sunday Night

We have a meeting this Sunday (tomorrow) at 9:30 PM at the Loft. 

There is a possibility that Aradhna will still be playing, and if that is the case we will move the meeting over to Blake's. It is SO important that all of you are there tomorrow. If you have a meeting, school work, social things- they can all wait. We leave in two weeks, so this is the most important place for you to be. Leave your meetings early, do your work throughout the day and after the meeting (it won't be too long), and hang out with your friends later.

Wednesday will also be important because my team from last year will be coming for the first 30 minutes to pray over us and share some Mozambique experiences with you, so PLEASE be on time! 

To recap: 9:30 Sunday at the Loft and 9:30 Wednesday at Blake's. 

Love you guys and praying for each one of you!

-Madison 

We are grinded down and broken to be healed and restored.

So, with the busyness this week with school and just… distress/ life, it’s been so amazing to see the fruit of the seeds that the Lord has been scattering. He's been showing me just how active he is in working and changing us- making us light, changing our hearts, blessing our faith- not just because he loves us or because we are his, but to gain for himself a glorious name; for his own renown. All that we have accomplished, God has done for us (Isaiah 26:12). He has allowed us to behold the glory of Christ with unveiled faces, but not just for our own eyes. We are to reflect his glory. That’s why he has made his light shine in us. To give him the ever-increasing glory.
Personally, I feel like I’ve been a gear this week- working and just being… grinded down that He could show himself to me that much more brightly. I read Isaiah 35:10:

the ransomed of the Lord will return.
they will enter Zion with singing;
everlasting joy will crown their heads.
Gladness and joy will overtake them,
and sorrow and sighing will flee away.

He has promised us everlasting joy in his presence! The joy and light that comes from knowing him should radiate off of me to all! For his glory. He is revealing himself to His people for His glory. The Light of the World has not only shined on us, but given us light to be light to those in darkness.

For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. – 2 Cor. 4:6

-emily

Ashley is our favorite

At least for now!

And everyone who comes to the meeting tonight will automatically be our new favorites! 

Blake's House tonight at 8:30. Be there.

Love, Mom

"Only A Shadow"

that was lovely, Erik. but guess what?? IT'S A NEW DAY!! which means NEW FAVORITE TEAM MEMBER---ASHLEY.

so anyway, cool story. It happens to relate to Isaiah 43 (go figure).

So the Misty Edwards song that we listened to at the Mozambique meeting just a mere 2 (now 3, since it's technically Wednesday) days ago--the same one that Blake heard that one time while he was reading Isaiah 43, ya know?

yeah, well I get out of the shower this afternoon, around 1:09pm, and my roommate is printing off the lyrics to it!! (apparently it's called "Only A Shadow," if you were wondering) I didn't recognize it until she started singing it and was like, "Ashley, i want you to hear this song! It's amazing!" and then I realized what it was and pretty much freaked out, because it was another crazy timing thing from the Lord.

OH and even CRAZIER part of the story.... She, Lauren, (my roomie) heard about the song from this other awesome Christian girl on our floor, Megan. Apparently Megan asked Lauren if she or I had been playing the song in our room, because she heard it on our hallway. But us 2 and the girl across the hall (Laura) are the only Misty Edwards fans, so when none of us admitted to being the source of the song, I was totally convinced (and not at all surprised, with how crazy and evident the Holy Spirit has been lately) that the Lord had put that song in Megan's head, then Megan told Lauren, who told me, who realized (once again) the Lord is sooo involved in our lives!

He really does make connections and "coincidences" (for lack of a better word) among His people to reveal His love, create strong community, and make His Presence (and the Holy Spirit) known!

Awesome.

yay i'm the favorite! (for now...) oh well, yay!

erik just thought he would get online (because his team leader told him to), check his email (because his team leader told him to), check the blog (because his team leader told him to), post on the blog (because his team leader told him to), and become mommy's favorite (because his team leader told him to)! i love you all

Become Me and Madison's Favorite Team Member!

Each time you post on this blog with what the Lord is doing in your life, what you ate for breakfast that day, whatever... You will automatically become me and Madison's favorite team member! Oh, and back rubs and free meals help out too.

Mommy and Daddy love you very much.

Big Team Meeting and Fund Raising Opportunity

Our Big Team Meeting is this Saturday from 8:00 am - 1:00 pm. Please be sure to get there on time because we will be leaving the church and going on a "field trip." This means be there AT 8:00 am, do not arrive 20 minutes late thinking it will be no big deal because you will be left behind, no kidding. Dress as if you were going to the Refuge.

IMPORTANT: We are meeting at the Journey's new East Campus location. NE 36th and E Robinson.

Also, we have one more fund raising opportunity. Next Thursday night Journey is having a volunteer dinner and they need people to come and work it. They need at least 15 people and you will be paid hourly. It is a NY themed night so the majority of you will be dressed in NY styled clothing (yankees, mets, street vendors, etc.) serving hotdogs and what not. It should be fun, so let me know who wants to do it.

You guys are the best! We will have a Moz team meeting on Sunday night, so plan on being there if you can.

Love you guys!

Madison

PS- Great job getting all of your passports and pictures in. Our visa applications are all ready to be sent in as soon as we have our final dates!

Faithful

The Lord is ALWAYS faithful.

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God" (Phil 4:6). As Blake was saying in the last post, there is absolutely no need to worry. Why would we worry when we have a perfect and powerful Heavenly Father looking out for our every need? As humans, there are many things that are beyond our control. We have to leave them up to God, so I challenge you guys to stop trying to come up with money for this trip by yourselves. Stop trying to make this work. Get on your face. Pray. Fast. Cry out to the Lord. James 1 reminds us that a prayer without faith is useless, so be reminded of how the Lord your God has been faithful always and will continue to be for eternity:

He delivered the Israelites out of Egypt, as he promised. (Exodus 6:6, Exodus 12:31)

He sent his Son to earth and he was born of a virgin, as he promised. (Isaiah 7:14; Luke 2)

His perfect Son died as a sacrifice for our sins, as he promised. (Isaiah 52:13-53:12; Luke 23)

Jesus was raised from the dead on the third day, as he promised. (John 2:22, Luke 24:1-7)

He sent the Holy Spirit to us, as he promised. (Joel 2:28-32; Acts 2:1-3, 16-21)

“You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the Lord your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed”(Joshua 23:14).

"Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations" (Deuteronomy 7:9)

God will always be faithful, so go pray in confidence that he is listening and if Mozambique is where he wants you this summer, he will without a doubt provide a way for you to get there. Do not limit the Lord to what you can do, his power is so much greater. Have faith because he is faithful.

Get excited for our meeting TONIGHT at 9:30 at the Loft. This is going to be an intense meeting, so please everyone try to be there!

Love you guys more than you know!

Madison

Rest

It's Sunday- the big crazy deadline day. I'm experiencing it from the other side (it's 3 am Sunday morning), but it's still that day. I just wanted so say a few things, even though it is a weird time.

I love you all. Friday night's thing at Jacob's land was incredible- I wish we could have stayed another night (who knows, maybe we will do something the few days before we leave for Mozambique...). Even though all we got to do as a group was sit around that fire and have that talk, I feel like that was a really awesome time we will never forget. Things were definitely said there that are not normally said to anyone else, and that's really special for our family. We really are becoming a family together, isn't that cute? But seriously, I'm overwhelmed with the blessing of that, and my prayer is that all of you would feel it as well- I know most of you do.

So this next part is for those of you who are nervous about money stuff. Don't worry. Even up until Midnight tonight, don't worry. He commanded us not to worry. And there is no such thing as a 'righteous', 'Godly', concern here. We are to use the minds God has given us and be efficient with those, but He has told us never to worry. Do what He says to do. Don't even think about the 'what ifs.' The birds don't even think twice about whether or not there will be enough. Luke 12:24 "Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds!"... hmmm.... There really is ALWAYS ENOUGH. Sounds like a good name for a blog. Or a book. Or a theme for a body of people who are recklessly, hopelessly, unashamedly, ridiculously, foolishly ABANDONED to a God who says He will be the Provider. I said it to everyone before, and I'll say it again when it comes to this subject about the money: Do what you know you need to do (fast, pray, fall on your face, cry, hurt, feel, sell some things, call some people, fast, pray, fall on your face more, sit at His feet...) and then rest, believing He will do what He wants to do and that He will reward your faithfulness.

Hebrews 11:6 "And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him."

Matthew 25:21 "'...you have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.'"

So before you throw in the towel, trust that He will do what He wants. "If you say go, I will go; If you say wait I will wait." -Thanks Casey. But if He gives you a direction, GO. WAIT. STAND. SIT. TALK. LISTEN. HURT. PRAY. LOVE. Do the thing God is telling you. DO the thing God is telling you.

Right now He is telling me to rest. That's not a joke just because it's 3:30 am. I had a nap. I need to rest in Him. This post is mostly for me. I have thought about the What Ifs all week, and I got completely exhausted today. What is He telling you? Do you believe He is telling you anything? Well, too bad, He is anyway. When it'd be easy for me to walk on my own two feet and 'enjoy' life on my own, He's waiting where I looked at Him and left Him, right by my bed, still saying the thing He wanted for me for that day. 

Thanks for letting me use this as a time for me to 'center myself.' Hopefully this resonated with a few of you. 

Again, I love you all.

Goodnight.

Blake.

(photo of a mother and child from Maputo)

Money.

Hey, this is going to sound harsh, crazy, sad, all the negative sides of team-ness.

But unfortunately it's an issue we have to address.

We have been trusting the Lord to move, and He has. We will continue trust. 

But here we go: if you don't have your money (or at least 3,400) by this Sunday, we ARE going to have to let you go. We have been talking with a lot of people and praying a lot, and this is the right thing to do. God is an efficient God. He is good at provision. And He will provide a way for you to go if you are meant to go. He may provide that via you dipping into funds you didn't want to, making sacrifices you don't want to make, selling things you don't want to sell... God loves sacrifice done with a pure heart, a heart that is obedient. But it will be Him doing that in you- stirring in you in order for that to happen- you will not be glorified in that sacrifice.. We believe He is going to provide this money by Sunday- 6 days from right now. So be aware that if you don't have it by then, you will not be going to Mozambique.

But rest. He is not going to hurt you and make you feel like some failure that is value-less to Him. There are many reasons He shuts doors. Trust me, I've been seeing some slamming doors and some flinging-wide-open doors. He will do what he wills. We have surrendered this team to that will, and if you don't end up going, and you grumble and complain to Him about it, then it's obvious that you probably shouldn't have gone anyway. You're meant to be with Him, and if you staying in Oklahoma means more of Him in your life via brokenness, suffering, whatever, then that's what will happen. 

So again, I tell you, REST. There are no coincidences. He knows what He is doing. We will all still love everyone on this team, even if some of those people are removed from the team. We can still get together and pray over each other and carry each others' burdens. 

I love you all, I hate having to say things like these, but I have to.

Isaiah 55

Fast, pray, listen to His heartbeat, and do what He says. after that, if you do what He has said, He WILL do what He wants. And what He wants is ALWAYS to bless you. Maybe it won't make sense for a while, but in the end, it's blessing you, His Beloved.

Good night. Please call for Anything.

-Blake

Passports and Visas

I need your passport and 2 passport-size photos by WEDNESDAY!

I have most of them already, but I need a few more of you to get your passports and pictures to me by Wednesday so that we can be filling out paperwork and sending in everything on Thursday. Get excited, we are one step closer to MOZAMBIQUE!

Love you guys and please let us know if you have any prayer requests or thoughts to add to the blog. 

Your fearless ATL,

Madison

No Meeting Tomorrow Night

The title says it all-we're not meeting tomorrow. Everyone seems to have busy weeks ahead, so take Sunday night to catch up on the reason we're in college in the first place... school!

We are in the process of trying to find a fundraiser for our team. It's getting late and we're still in need of some serious cash.

• T-shirts are not going to be worth the effort (they are fun, but don't make much money)
  
• Panera is booked for fundraising nights through June 1st
• I am going to Taco Cabana on Monday morning to ask about a fundraising night
• Anyone can work at the Journey Bowl on Friday, April 11th for $10/hour, just let me know, and I'll sign you up.
• Go to Riverwind on Monday (girls) or Friday (guys) for a free $10 to gamble with...I'm only sort of kidding about this one. The Lord uses evil for good, right?
• Anyone have any other ideas??

You guys are amazing. Can't wait to see you on Wednesday!

Madison

Urgency

We leave in 39 DAYS!

You guys are the best! Seriously though, I can’t even begin to tell you how much my life has been blessed by knowing each of you. The Lord has made you all so uniquely (ex. I don’t think we’ll see Emily burping the ABCs like Ava anytime soon), and I love how we each bring such different personalities to the group. Blake and I did not put together this team- it was completely the Lord. His hands are all over these eleven people, and he is moving in all of us. How cool is that!?! God knew, before we were born, that we would be together right now. (Psalm 139:16). He chose you to be on this team. He moved you in this direction and brought you here. I know it is because he wants to do something AMAZING in and through this group of people!

Sometimes I forget the reason we all know each other. We are going to Africa together (assuming you do all those things Blake told you to do)! Our lives are going to be drastically changed, and we are going to experience that together. Are you ready? Seriously though, are you? Pray for the Lord to break you even more, so that we can minister and identify with the hearts of the people of Mozambique. We do not want to be the harvest; we want to be harvesters in Africa, but also right here in Oklahoma.

The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. Go! I am sending you out like lambs among wolves. (Luke 10:2-3)

We leave in six weeks! I am starting to feel a sense of urgency to push into the Lord even deeper than we have before. Prepare by spending more time sitting at the his feet and in fellowship with this team. Father, rid us of everything that would be a hindrance to your Spirit moving in this team. We want no part of things that are not of you.

Some Official Team Business…

• I know this Saturday is Big Event, but if anyone wants to go to the Refuge instead, I am so there.
• Call to make an appointment to get your shots TOMORROW! The first available appointments at Goddard are April 18, which is pushing it.
• Everyone needs a blog because they are really cool.

I love you all!

Madison 

 

Reminders, Dates, Etc.

Hey, remember these things, because you won't be going to Mozambique unless they are done:

-Get your shots/pills taken care of- if you don't start some of them in the next week and a half, you will not be able to go to Africa.

-Get your passport to Madison so Journey can get your visa- this needs to be done before next Monday, because if it isn't done by then, you won't go to Africa.

-Get your money in before April 15th- the total amount is due then. That's two weeks away from today. If you are lacking more than a few hundred dollars on that day, you probably won't be able to go to Africa.

Sorry bout the redundant "you won't be able to go to Africa." I just felt like being consistent for you to realize the importance of these deadlines. It means you going or not going on the trip that we have been meeting up for and praying for and investing a large part of our lives in. I love all of you and it would kill me to tell you you can't end up going with us. But those top three things must be done by the times I said.

Also as far as other dates/things to know go: 

April ??th to the ??th is our team retreat/camping trip/hangout and fish and ride dirtbikes and make fire time. It will be at Jacob's land, and we'll figure out more details soon. 

Soon (the next week or two) we will take a group picture, it will be awesome. My friend Evan French, will take it for us, and it will actually be a really cool picture- it may or may not involve a VW bus as our backdrop. We'll see. 

*We're actually figuring out the date and other specifics right now...

Tonight's catch phrase was tiight. Things we'll never forget:

Ava's cornbread description

Erik and Ashley screaming each other's names in a hateful tone

Jacob providing 2% milk for Ashley to spit up

Madison spilling water all over herself (not that that's unusual)

Blair's leg being the solution for Erik's back scratching needs

Ava's snorts

"Queen Mother!"- is apparently an expletive

Grace listens to really good music- i.e. the Cold War Kids (Ok, maybe I'm the only one that will remember that.

Colin is the target of much of Madison's feistiness (listen to Feist too, she's great)

Okay, good night. I love all of you.

Blake

Rid us of ourselves

We belong to you.

This trip is yours, father. We seek to please only you. Rid us of ourselves and make us yours. Fill us with your Holy Spirit, and blow our minds again. We say you are not finished. You are actively working through every moment of our lives. You have a perfect, pleasing plan for each of us individually. We invite you in to do whatever you want to do. Break us, Lord. If we are going to be with the broken, we have to be broken. So give us your heart for your people. Give us your heart for each other. We want to feel what you feel. We want to love what you love. We want to cry for what hurts your heart. We choose to be doormen in your Kingdom and we walk away from the kingdoms we've built with our own hands. Lead us in your truth, never let us go. You don't need our service. Rid us of the deception that we have done something to deserve this trip. Rid us of the deception that you need us. You don't need anymore servants. Their work is worthless to you. You desire lovers. Make us your lovers, Jesus. We are your bride, and we come to you, ready to hear your heartbeat, and then go out and do what pleases you.

(photos from gallery on Iris Ministries' Website)