Saturday, June 27, 2009

Night 2 at the Crusades






Hey Everyone!
Sorry we did not get a chance to make a post yesterday. Thanks so much for your prayers! Our God is an amazing God! We had an even bigger turnout for our second night of the crusades. With about eight hundred people coming forward to accept Christ. Our youth worship team got up and the crowd loved it.

The next day, we were touched to see, a group of Indonesians singing the songs our youth team sang the night before at the crusade, with the hand motions. They were so touched by the song that they had written it down word for word so they would not forget it and then were using their journal to remember the song and sing it together.

Another action packed day filled with VBS, Community Outreach, Service Outreach, Construction, a Medical Clinic, Youth Outreaches and yes more Crusades!

The sound and lighting equipment ran much smoother the second night! Thank you for your prayers!

Relationships have been so sweet between our team and the team of volunteer translators!

More to come soon!

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Please Pray for the Crusades!


Hi Everyone!
Here is one more photo of the Crusade from last night. Please pray for hearts to be soft and ready to receive the Gospel tonight!

Thanks team for praying!

Crusades in Kupang






Wow what a big day of ministry! Yesterday was amazing! The team started the day around 7am and finished around 11pm! Whew! God is doing an amazing work through the team and our awesome team of volunteer translators! The sizes of our VBS groups have been more than anticipated and salvation is going forth! Over 200 kids raised their hands to accept Jesus in their hearts in the morning sessions alone, not to mention we had afternoon sessions as well! There was a shortage of string to make salvation bracelets in one VBS group so they started using the lanyards from the team nametags to make more!

The Crusade was amazing! There were about 5000 in attendance and somewhere between 250-300 came forward for the altar call some of which was our team, we hope to get a more accurate number soon. We have a few things we would like to work on for the sound and setup for tonight’s Crusade. Please pray for salvation to continue to go forth and for the logistics of the Crusades, that God would give us wisdom how to set things up for tonight and that all of the equipment would work smoothly.

Thanks so much for your prayers and comments of encouragement on our blog, it is such a blessing to know that you are lifting us up in prayer and standing beside us!

More to come soon…

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Wednesday, Day 1 in Kupang





Today the team hit the ground running! It all started with devotions in the morning, then the team was introduced to their translators for the various ministries that start on Thursday: Youth Outreaches, Medical Clinic, VBS, Building Projects, Community Outreaches, and Service Outreaches. Many laughs and giggles were shared as God blessed our sweet time of fellowship with over 100 Indonesian youth volunteers who will help the team translate in the next few days. They are such a blessing to the team! These volunteers are so excited for us to be here and have such a desire for the people of Kupang to truly know Jesus Christ as their Lord and savior. Many are raised in “Christian” homes and go to church because it is tradition and their family goes, but do not have a personal relationship with Jesus. We hope to share what it means to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior, to have a relationship with Him.

Then after lunch, the team went to the Soccer Field where Hillsong United played last year and where the Crusades will be held. The team spent time together along with the translators praying all together and then in small groups we covered the field in prayer.

The next amazing thing we did?! Try being escorted by police on motorcycles through the town with a van that has loudspeakers proclaiming the good news of Jesus Christ and the information about the Crusades! And if that isn’t enough?! Then be in open top Jeep’s passing out flyers to the people of Kupang and personally inviting them to the crusades! The faces of the people lit up as you made eye contact with them. Please pray that many would come to the Crusades on Thursday, Friday and Saturday and accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Please pray for the team, Mike Silva & Nate Wagner as they prepare to deliver the Gospel message to the people of Kupang tonight. More to come soon!

Now The Real Adventure Begins




The team traveled to Kupang on Tuesday, and now the real adventure begins! Our hotel here has a “different” style of bathroom….one where there is a toilet but it does not flush with a handle…instead, there is a bucket and a tank of water like a bath tub. The bucket is used to put water into the toilet and flush it. Showers are a whole new experience and very refreshing! There’s a drain in the middle of the bathroom floor so you use the bucket and pour water over yourself. Want to know the cool thing about it?! The bathroom is all tile on the floor so you don’t have to worry where that water splashes…NICE!


The team was personally greeted with a special ceremony as they exited the plane. The weather here is definitely warmer and more humid than at home, but many are saying it is not as hot as they thought it would be, praise God!

Monday, June 22, 2009

Day 1 in Bali






The team woke early to walk on the beach and check out our surroundings, we leave soon for Kupang, on the island of West Timor. Yes can you believe it!? After all those hours traveling it is that joyful time yet again to get on yes, you guessed it…ANOTHER plane! Thankfully it is a short trip over to Kupang. Please pray for safety and that all the bags would make it over there today with us, as well as the Crusades. The team will be prepping for them in the days ahead.

15 hours time change is a bit of a jet lag war, but we seem to be doing pretty well. We hope to get internet access in Kupang and will be there through Sunday. We hope to make more posts soon.

The Team Has Arrived!





All here, and accounted for! The team has arrived safely in Bali! Lots and lots of hours travel time, and yes I must admit there was a gigantic cheer when that plane landed in Bali….resulting in many people staring at us but yes we are thrilled to be here!

Thanks so much for your prayers.
Above are some journey photos…enjoy!!!