The World Race - Josh Woodmansee

Cambodian Village Haircut

Tue, 16 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

This was no doubtably the most interesting haircut I have ever received. It was totally worth the $0.50 it cost :) The shirtless hairstylist and gathering crowd added to the experience. People biking down the street would just stop to watch the foreigner get his haircut. We were working in a village about 3 hours by moto from the nearest town that had internet or any other amenities. Incredible experience. I hope you enjoy!

3hr Bicycle Ride to School Each Day....

Sun, 14 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

U Ee our contact took a simple idea and created huge results. There is one high school for Ampil and surrounding villages this side of the river. That means if you are on one side of the land you will travel up to 20+ km each way to school each day. This isn't done in your brand new Accord driving highway speeds but rather on a run down bicycle with no brakes on a dirt road. This can take several hours. For example it took U-ee and I 30 minutes on a motorbike to go just the 10km from his house to the school.

The high school breaks for 3 hours in the middle of the day for children to go home for lunch. This only works if you live close to the school but what do you do if it took you 3 hours to get to school in the morning? U-ee decided to change this. He got some funds together and rented a house near the school. He welcomed in the students that had nowhere else to go and would teach them English and how to type during lunch. As the students would ask and wonder he would tell them about Jesus.

The first year went well but when it came time to renew the lease the owner would not let them renew it because he didn't like the noise that the students made while coming and going. This left U-ee with no place to rent. This did not discourage him though. He just thought outside the box. He raised some more money and bought a very small piece of property literally in the middle of a sugarcane field. There was nothing there but dirt when he bought it. The first class of students worked really hard to build a shack, water well and bathroom so the property would be useable. The first 15 students are all Christians now and have graduated from high school. Every one of them moved on to higher education, 10 of which are in Bible school! The coolest part is that the ministry continues to renew itself every year. There is a new class of 12 students. Only two of which are currently Christians. I had the opportunity to go and teach these students during their lunch and I have faith that through the love from U Ee they too will see Jesus' love.

Simple idea, huge results!

Hua Hin Fire Station

Thu, 11 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

I was reading a book the other day "In a Pit With a Lion on a Snowy Day". It is an incredible book talking about perspective on obstacles in life and being able to face your fears. It talks about not running from lions but rather chasing them. I highly recommend reading it.

What I want to talk about though is a line that says "God is in the resume-building business. He is always using past experiences to prepare us for future opportunities." God has uses past struggles I have gone through to give testimonies of hope to others that are currently struggling. I know that God doesn't cause me to fall but he sure doesn't waist the opportunity to use those failures for good.

I think he does the same thing with good things in our lives as well. He uses past and current desires and experiences to relate to people and ultimately to further the kingdom.

This is what God did this past week.

After our several hour van ride to Hua Hin, Thailand I was very anxious to be active and go for a run. I grabbed a map from the front desk and checked out the route to the beach. Within minutes of getting out of the van I was changed and ready for my run. I took off and of coarse missed the very first turn sending me on an hour detour to the beach. After running along the beach for about 20 minutes a soldier stopped me and said "NO" that was the only English word he knew so it didn't give me much for information on what he wanted me to do. He eventually pointed toward the road and gave me a stern look that said "Get the heck out of here". I later found out that the open beach where I was running was the beach access to the King's palace... woops!

The fact I missed my turn and got kicked off the beach onto the road was no coincidence though. God was directing me back on the road. He wanted to use a past experience for good and develop another experience for the future.

That road lead straight to a fire station. My past and current desire to become a fire fighter told me to stop in and say hello and my past experiences with ride alongs provided me with knowledge to be able to talk to the firefighters. They loved talking with me. They loved to practice their English and talk about America. We talked about their department, their families, their religion and our different countries. I was able to tell them about the shift schedule back in the states, the different ranks in the departments, generally what the calls were, equipment that is used in the states and other things I had picked up over the 6 months of applying to be a firefighter. But the coolest thing of all is I got to talk to them about Jesus.

God used my past experiences for the future opportunity of telling these firefighters about Jesus. I also believe that he will use this experience as a past experience to get me closer to my future opportunity of full time firefighting.

If it was any other member of my team that got lost and kicked off the beach that day, they would have walked right past that fire station probably with out even noticing it was there. But it wasn't someone else, it was me. It was me because when we truly surrender our lives, our will, to God He uses every part of our past experience for his glory. He even uses the bad things we have done. When we surrender our lives to Christ those things are forgiven. We are washed clean. We no longer live in shame and guilt but rather walk in confidence that God has made us a new creation. He will give us opportunities to use those past experiences, those past struggles, to testify to God's mercy, God's glory, God's undying love for us.

The firefighters didn't fall down on their knees and accept Christ right then and there. But they did get to talk to a stranger that truly cared about them, a stranger willing to come back day after day to see them, a stranger that brought them gifts and taught them English. A stranger that called himself a "Christian" (a word they had never heard before). A stranger that told them about another God besides Budda, a loving, living God named Jesus.

This is the best safety equipment they had. He was embarrassed to even show it to me because he knew it wasn't good. The needs of departments like this around the world has been something God has been laying on my heart. It has been something that he has been speaking to me about doing something about in the future. Only time will tell what role I can play in helping to solve this problem in departments around the world.

Quick update from Cambodia

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Hey Everyone!

I hope everything is going well at home. Sorry I have not written this month. We have been in a small farming village in Southern Cambodia called Ampil Village. We have spent the last couple weeks teaching english to the children in the village. It has been a really cool experience, the children are so eager to learn. My first class of the day is 9-12 year olds. They are so adorable. I have an all girls class that are 13-16 and a boys class that is 16-20 year olds. Uee, our contact, has taken me to several high schools to teach some classes as well, which has been neat. We have been able to share our testimonies, teach the children some Christian songs and I even preached the sermon for church last sunday.

Jeff you would be proud I have been running a lot which has felt really good. We finally have time off this month to provide some balance in our lives. We have most the morning off to have quiet time, worship, pray, and work out. I have a jumprope, resistance band and running shoes so I am good to go.

I needed to get an email from our squad leader about ministry contacts next month so I had to come into Phnom Penh. This will be the last time I get internet this month though because I had to ride into town on the back of a scooter on a dirt road for 3 hours :)

I know I will not receive a response from this till I have internet again on Feb 5thish but I want to know what each of your prayer requests are because I want to be praying specifically for each of you daily.

My particular prayer requests this month are: for continual guidance as a leader, that God will give me words for friends back at home, for creativity ways to include God in the teaching so the children will be exposed to who Jesus really is, unity as a team, that God will clearly show our team where we are supposed to serve next month, continual discernment for what God has in store for me after the race.

I love you all so much!

Josh

11 ways you know you are running in the Cambodian country side

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

11 ways you know you are running in the Cambodian country side...

1) If you think you have a tan line but really you are just filthy dirty

2) If you have a major buggar blockage after running on the dirt road

3) If you are an hour into your run before you come to the nearest village

4) If the dogs are not penned in by a fence and have perfected the cornering technique.

5) If every little old lady that smiles at you steals your heart

6) If the first couple times you go running everyone in the village stares at you like you came from Mars. After that every person you pass smiles, waves and laughs like you are a celebrity.

7) If the most common "traffic" is a hay wagon pulled by water buffalo. The second most common is the Cambodian family minivan (aka scooter packed with mom,dad, and three kids)

8) If every person that has ever in their life learned the word hello will pull over and practice it on you

9) If when you stop to say hello to a family along the road, fish start jumping out of a punch bowl at your feet and keep landing on the dirt.

10) If when you run pass a school several hundred students in cute little uniforms chase after you for a least a quarter mile yelling "Hello" and waving wildly

11) If you look around you and you are running in one of the most beautiful country sides you have ever seen.

My feet after running my first Cambodian dirt road half marathon :)

What is in a name?

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

What is in a name? A name holds a lot of power. Throughout the Bible God gives many people new names. I believe he does this because he sees something in these people, something that they might not be able to see in themselves. I took some time last month and just prayed for God to show me some new names for each of my teammates and this is what I received. I hope you enjoy getting to know a little bit more about what God thinks of my teammates!

Melina- Lioness: Lioness ready to Charge. Definition of lion: The male has a flowing shaggy mane and takes little part in hunting, which is done cooperatively by the females or lionesses. There have been many prophetic things spoken over you involving a lion. Although I believe that all these things are true I think that there is one thing wrong, I see you as a lioness not a lion. The lion has a flowing shaggy mane to show off, to show dominance. It seems to spend a lot of its day sitting in the shade being lazy. Fighting every once and a while for control of its territory. He is considered brave and courageous. He does all these things while the lioness is being bold, working hard, hunting its prey. That is where the true boldness is, that is where the true courage is, it is in the lioness. We have all come into the race with a purpose a strength something we can bring that no one else can. These last two months there has been a language barrier for most of our team. An excuse we have all too often used as an "inability" to step up and pray for people. We have looked to you to step up. At first you were unsure of yourself and your Spanish ability but over the past two months I have seen you truly step into the confidence you are meant to have. I have seen you be willing to pray for the people in the barriers, the people on the streets, willing to translate our testimonies and church services. I have seen you step up and lead a bible study for woman of the barriers, which in turn led to a woman accepting Christ. That is true bravery and courage. Your willingness to go and hunt, to go and serve in the field and courageously spread the good news of the Lord. I am grateful for the changes I have already seen in you and excited to see more confidence, boldness and courage as the year goes on.

Kelsi- Gleam- As in from Polished Metal: Definition is shine brightly, with reflective light. Another definition is reflects light because it is well polished. Origin is from Old English glǣm which means brilliant light! Kelsi you are a brilliant light for this team and the people we work with. I feel like you have gone through a transformation, as metal being polished, over the past couple months. Before you have allowed your brilliant qualities to just blend in and not stick out as unpolished metal does. You were not living fully, not showing your personality to many. But these last couple months have polished out that "reserved' from the "reserved ridiculous" that you were described as, polished the ordinary out of you and made you extraordinary. You have stepped out of your comfort zone and let us in. You have allowed yourself to be vulnerable you have allowed yourself to try new things and not know the answers. You have stepped out in faith and believed the promises of God. You have been bold in crafting prayers and reading them to us, in believing that God speaks to you and telling us what he spoke to you. As a polished piece of metal you have allowed God's light to shine off you. You have allowed the brilliant qualities that God has bestowed you with to be seen to the world. I look forward to the rest of the year as God continues to polish you and make the light that shines off you even brighter!

Justine- Zeal- Definition is to bring great energy or enthusiasm in pursuit of a cause or an objective. The energy and enthusiasm you bring to our group is incredible. I love the enthusiasm you bring to worship and to prayer. You strive to bring the best out of each and every one of us and you desire the same out of yourself. You "Push in to us" as we say and go after things below the surface. Things that we don't want to show. Areas that we can improve in. Justine you have been through a lot in your life. You have struggled through some strong spirits, spirit of rejection, self condemnation, but you do not go down without a fight. Your zeal, or energy and enthusiasm towards refining yourself and removing any spirits in your life that don't belong is an admirable trait. I admire your ability to introspect, or look inside yourself. You have done an incredible job of identifying areas God desires to work in you. Then pushing after them with much energy. I am excited to see the progress you have made so far in these areas and see what else God reveals to you in the future. Thank for you pouring into each of us, prophesying over us and continuing to pray on our behalf.

Haley- Adorer: Definition is one that loves and respects dearly. Comes from the Latin Adorare to worship'or broken down further ad- to' + orare speak, pray'. Your adoration towards others is encouraging. The way you pour into others the way you love and respect them dearly is an incredible quality. The way you loved the children at Casa Jackson last month. The way that you went out of your way to buy a pair of shoes for the child that didn't have a good pair. You built lasting relationships with every child at the Quinta. The language barrier was not at all a barrier for you. You flew through that not allowing it to slow you down. You didn't restrict your conversations to what Spanish words you knew but found ways around it. You desired to spend quality time with each of them. You treated them in the same way you would treat any of us. Not talking to them like a stranger or a child but as a friend. The way to truly spread the love of Christ is through relationships. People must trust in you before they will listen to what you say. You have that strength. You have that ability. Continue to love on people the way you do because others will notice and come to know Christ because of it.

Mike- Warrior: Battle Ready Warrior- You spent the last three months before the Race at the church. Pouring yourself out in worship filling yourself up with the Word. You have had your training, you have sought after God. You came on this trip prepared for battle. You were tested in many ways this month from sickness to finances but you persevered and have faith in God to provide. I have enjoyed seeing the transformation take place when the financial attack was identified, brought to light, and destroyed. You still have the debt but you no longer allow it to hold you back in your walk with Christ. You have the ability to dream like no one I have met. You have the ability of an experienced warrior to see the end goal, the victory of the war, and desire after it. You have big goals that you desire to achieve. I pray that you continue to have discernment from Christ on which dreams to chase after now. Discernment on what to pour your love and passion into. This past month you have truly changed in front of our eyes. I have talked to many people on our team and they have all enjoyed seeing the change and the freedom you now walk in. As you say " you are a man, you are a man" and as I like to add to remind you "you are a man of God" a fierce warrior ready for battle.

Places of influence Part 1

Sat, 9 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

I was having a conversation with one of my teammates, Brad, the other day talking about how much influence God has truly given us this month. Yesterday for example I had the opportunity to preach the gospel in a public high school. We are talking about Thailand, a country where there is less that 1% Christians in the whole nation. It was incredible because I was telling a room full of Buddhists about Christ our savior and they were letting me!!

Another example is today one of our teammates, Andy, went to go talk to the equivalent of a senator to help him set up an outdoor climbing center to bring in more tourism. Last week our contact brought us to meet that same senator (a Buddhist). Before we left we asked if it would be ok if we prayed for him, the king, and the country. He agreed! So here we are, 16 American Christians, sitting in a high up Thailand Buddhist politician's office praying for him and the country. God is so good!

I was listening to a sermon on my ipod yesterday about our areas of influence. The pastor talked about how our influence expands. As we build relationships our area of influence continues to expand. The pastor referenced Acts 1:8

"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."

The pastor explained that the locations, although literal for the disciples, are also symbolic for us today. Jerusalem represents our close friends and family. The people we know the most about. We know their spending habits. We know their tenancies and how they are going to react. We are able to be an influence on them because we know them so well and they know us. We are able to speak into their lives because of the relationship that has been established. As we build these relationships God expands our influence to Judea.

Judea represents the friends of friends or people that are more on the outskirts of our lives. We may have similar background or mutual friends but are not necessarily close. When we continue to minister to people in our Judea God calls us to our Samaria.

Samaria represents the places we never thought we would go. It represents the people that may be so different than we do not know where to start. God has brought me to a place that I am now ministering and being witnesses to "Samaria, and to the end of the earth."

God has used the last 24 years in my Jerusalem and Judea to prepare me for Samaria. He has developed me and developed my personality to be able to be affective in Samaria.

Michael Hindes, director of the World Race, said to us before the race "Sometimes God must brings us out to be able to bring us back in." I truly believe that my time in Samaria is really developing me to be a better leader and improve my influence in Jerusalem.

Where are you witnessing? Are you in Jerusalem, Judea or have you stepped out into Samaria?

Places of Influence Part 2

Sat, 9 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Here is a blog from my teammate Brad talking a little bit more about our places of influence or authority this month. God has definitely blessed us and opened up a lot of doors for us these past couple weeks.

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The past week has been absolutely crazy!!! God is very faithful to allow His children to sit in great places of authority. As you all know I am in northern Thailand doing work for the Kingdom of God with many men.

Our ministry looks substantially different than the first half of the month. Currently we are living in a wide open two story house with running water. Notice I did not say hot water or shower... just running water. We are growing accustom to taking bucket showers and using the "squatty potty." I could only imagine you may be pondering within yourselves at the moment as to what that means. It would be an honor and a privileged to introduce you to the latrine.

Yes we stand over that for our business

Yes that is a wastebasket full of used T.P.

How is that for the comforts of home? Anyway, we are living in a large home that is very barren! There is no furniture and we are all sleeping on the floors. Some of the men have erected their tents to create "privacy." We are learning that music should be banned before 7:20am and lights should go out around 11:00pm. Community living is great and it creates a better you quickly.....

For the past week we have been going through different villages sharing God's heart and love with the people (primarily children)we encounter. At the moment I am amazed with the places of authority God has allowed us to stand before and present His truth. Through God's grace we were invited to speak at many schools. So far this week we have already been allowed to present assemblies in two schools. Keep in mind there is not really a public school system and everyone here is Buddhist. The time at the schools have been amazing! There is a huge language barrier between the children and our team... yet love transcends all language. We are having a great time making the children smile as much as possible. God has taught me that EVERY time I make a child smile I make God smile. God delights in His children and when we take time to show love to His children we give and receive God's love. The Kingdom of God is about love... and being a child. If we can not combine those things we are missing the purpose of our existence!

Sample Assembly:

Free time playing with kids- We make up fun games that cause laughter. We taught one school how to do the wave! We put size 15 shoes on 6yr old boy and made him run.
Introduction of team members- This is absolutely hilarious! We pretend to be Ninjas and Sumo wrestlers. We have kart-wheel and hand stand contests.... Grown men acting like children...
Teach and play a game- We use this time to help the kids wear off some energy and just allow them to have a blast! Being a kid is great!
Personal testimony- in this time one person shares a five to ten minute story of how God has changed their life in a dramatic manner.
Sing Worship over children- This is amazing. Five or six guys get up and sing songs of praise to God over the children. Feeling God enter the room full of Buddhist children is something words cant explain.
Play another game- Time to get the kids up and active so they will be able to pay attention a little bit better.
Perform a drama- reenactment of the good Samaritan. We use the drama to remind the children that helping others is a very important facet of life!
Preach a short message- alternating speakers share the message of Jesus Christ to the children.
Pray over all of the kids and school- after the message the children line up and we extend our hands toward them and proclaim the Kingdom of God over the children. Then we shake every child's hand and prophesy over them as they walk by.
Autograph time- white people are an anomaly here. Because they see so few white people we are an instant novelty... and we write funny so the children want us to write to them. I felt like a rock star! I had a circle of 10 - 15 children surrounding me forcing pens and paper in my face. I chose to prophesy over the children in my writing. I would look them in the face smiling until God gave me an unction. Then I wrote exactly what God said about each of them with a drawing to accompany the letter. Please keep in mind these were stick figures, hearts, crosses, smiley faces. I felt famous and know the Heaven rejoiced in my actions.

God is showing me that we have the availability to maximize opportunities or squander them. In Thailand, it is very easy to sit back and enjoy where we are and not press in and "sow the spirit." However, that would defeat the purpose of our trip. It has been a great tool to know that The Kingdom of God is within us, and wherever we go the Kingdom is at hand! That means we have the ability to change the world just as much as Jesus did. Jesus proclaimed, "greater things than I have done you shall do." So we strive toward that one baby step at a time.

All of this is amazing stuff! However, one things that has amazed me most up to this point is..... (that is a drum roll.) The places of authority God has placed us before. Since we have been here we have shared the message of Jesus with two school directors and almost 250 children. In addition, we have shared in two churches twice at both church. Churches are not the same in Thailand... they actually have non-Christians attend their services. The church we were at tonight had 30% Christians. The other 70% attend because they feel loved and accepted and are curious about the Life that exudes from the people. I would approximate that around 500 people in Thailand have been presented the gospel both in word, drama, music, and action. Pretty sweet!

That is cool! However, here is the kicker that sends my joy through the roof. We were invited to sit with a local government official the other day. We sat in his office for almost an hour and we all prayed within ourselves that God would grab the man and help him lead his people with Kingdom principles. The government official shared his vision for the community with our group. Part of the plan is to develop rock climbing areas in the village. One of my fellow racers has lot of knowledge on the subject and offered his insight. The official was intrigued and they spoke briefly. Before we left we asked the official how we could pray for him and if we could pray in the room. Please keep in mind he is not a Christian yet! He allowed us to pray to God in his office! I am fairly certain that is a big deal. Two nights after we met the official many of my team members went to a Mui Thai fight. When they arrived all of the seats were already taken. Luckily, God had reserved them VIP seats. They were invited ringside and given a special introduction by the announcer. While sitting in the VIP area the government official showed up and sat next to them. Turns out his boss is the equivalent of a Senator and he was at the fight as well. The senator has requested an opportunity to speak with Andy more in detail about he rock climbing..... It is so interesting how wide open doors are at the moment! Luke 21:12-13 "but before these things, they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons. You will be brought before kings and rulers for My name's sake. But it will turn out for you as an occasion for testimony." (I made the text smaller because it is not what I am focusing on in the scripture... yet I did not want to omit so you could see the proper context.) God proclaims that if we are faithful with a little He will make us faithful over much! So we remain faithful to the opportunities He has given us on the race! Thank you for all of your prayers and support!

Manistry Month Video!!

Sat, 9 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Here is a video that I had to post from one of my teammates Weston Belkot. He did an incredible job summing up that past month of "Manisty." I have probably watched this video 10 times and still get excited everytime I watch it. God did some incredible things in and through the men of the L squad this past month.

Enjoy!!

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While the month of Manistry--aka "Month Three of the World Race in Thailand"--has ended, the flames that have been ignited during this time still burn bright. We do have travel days and debriefs in between each country, but it's still a significant step to leave a place where I've poured myself out while I was simultaneously poured into. In an effort to summarize the events of the past month, I compiled the following video. I hope that this puts a face and a place to what I referenced in my blogs over the past few weeks. Enjoy.

Garden Gnome (Part 2)

Thu, 7 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Sadly G.G. has since shaved his beard and no longer wears the pointed hat but I had the pleasure of getting to meet G.G. a little bit yesterday as he welcomed me into his home. G.G. is an incredible joyful man, as are most of the Karen people I have met are, but sadly his family story is a tragedy all too often told in the villages of Northern Thailand.

G.G.'s daughter was 18 when she gave birth to her son Wan Jet, which means 7^th day, this past summer. The child was conceived out of wedlock and the father of the child fled shortly after conception. She gave birth to the child in the village, stayed with the child one month before leaving to go "work in Bangkok". G.G. did not agree with her decision and wanted her to stay and raise her son. Since she left 4 months ago G.G. has not been able to get a hold of her on any of the numbers he has for her. G.G. age is getting to him and he is in a lot of pain from a tractor accident several years ago. G.G. is doing his best to raise Wan Jet without his mother so please be praying for him.

G.G. did not say what kind of "work" his daughter was doing in Bangkok and I don't want to assume the worst but rather use this as an example of what often happens.

Our girls from our team are scattered all around Thailand working in the bars trying to get prostitutes out. From all the stories they have told and all the conversations I have had with the locals, the girls in the bar are usually either trafficked in from B/u/r/m/a (and other surrounding countries) or come from the hill tribes, usually being forced by their families at a young age to go "make money for the family".

It saddens me when I play with the children in the villages knowing statistically that a number of those little girls will be forced into that horrific life. But stories like these from our girls give me hope.

Here is a blog from one of my teammates Jamie Neumann

To Feel Human For A Day...

It all began with a dream. A dream to become a nurse. A dream to help people who are suffering with illnesses and give them a hope for a better future. That was the dream of a girl working the bars in Patong when she used to live with her family right outside of Bangkok. But then reality set it that she was going to be the one to provide for her family, she would be the one to send her sisters to university for a good education, that her own parents would send her 12 hours away to sell herself in order to provide. And this girl, being selfless, turned her back on her dreams to live a life of instant gratification for men and lifelong torment for her. Does she want this life? Absolutely not!

This is the woman we have been building a relationship with. She is 22 years old and works every night in the Bars. Her sense of humor lights up the room and her joyful spirit is an inspiration. People naturally flock to her and want to be around her. I know that is how we have felt about her! So day after day of going to the bar to see her we asked her what a perfect day would look like for her. She told us lunch, a movie, and then karaoke. We told her we would love to do that with her and we will take her out to do that. She agreed! New years eve day was going to be our day to show her a good time outside of the bar. A day to feel human again and free. We wrote on her hand before we left the bar that night to meet us at 11am back at the bar. So yesterday we got there at 11am like we said we would. 11:20 rolls around and no show, a thread of disappointment ran through us but we did not lose hope. We decided to call her, no answer. 10 minutes later the phone rang... it was her! She said she got held up with a customer but was on her way and wanted to see us! We couldn't help but jump for joy, while at the same time our hearts broke. Broke for what she has to be put through everyday because her family sent her to do this thing. Around noon she came down the street. She saw us and had a huge smile on her face. We asked her how she was doing? She told us she was tired, especially since she just spent the last week in the hospital with dengue fever. But we were determined to have a good day and spend quality time with her. The day started with some authentic Thai lunch at her favorite place in Patong. After we went to the mall and were going to see a movie. She was supposed to clean the bar at 2 and she told us she would call her boss to see if she didn't have to come in. That way she could spend the day with us. He told her no, that she had to come clean, especially since her customer didn't keep her as long as the rest of the girls from the bar. Again disappointment ran through, but still a sense that God had His hand all over her and her life. We walked her back to the bar, gave her a hug, and see looked at us with longing. Longing to stay and just feel alive, feel as if she doesn't belong to a man for a price, rather a human being who is truly worthy of love, time, and genuine affection. We told her we would come back to the bar tonight and see her then. She agree and off we went.

Last night we went back to the bar. We all got really excited to see each other. We ordered our cokes and just chatted with her for a while. I asked her what do I have to do so you don't have to be here tonight, so that you can just have fun and relax. She said she didn't know... so I asked her if I could buy her for the night, especially with it being New Years and she could come down to the beach with us to celebrate. She said sure! I just would have to pay the "bar fine" as payment for taking their her away, but at this point it is just money. Her life is worth so much more then that! I just desire for her to keep feeling human and not let this day end with her at the bar. She willingly left with us! SHE LEFT WITH US TONIGHT AND WALKED OUT OF THE BAR! We walked down to starbucks and met up with our whole group. We all walked down to the beach. Hundreds of lanterns and fireworks were in the air! It was beautiful and to top it off she was with us! New Years celebration was full of joy.

She got to spend New Years having fun outside of the bar, and have an awesome time. A night of feeling real and enjoying life. Life more full then the empty life at the bar. Life started with a dream and tonight Alison asked her to dream again. Alison asked her for her New Years wish...

She replied, "A new life..."

Who is your Garden Gnome? (Part 1)

Wed, 6 Jan 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Meet G.G., He is a 60 year old Karen Man who lives in the hills of Northern Thailand. He is one of many examples of everyday people that Ray our contact has taken the time to love on. Ray's ministry does not necessarily have defined borders like some ministries. He doesn't concentrate on only one approach to reach people but instead he allows the Holy Spirit to run his ministry and present him with ways to serve and love people.

One day when Ray was driving a team through the mountains a member of the team got car sick so he pulled over so the team member could throw up. While they were pulled over a two and a half foot man with a pointy white beard and red pointy hat came out of his house to see if everything was ok. Since Ray knows Thai he started a conversation with the man that will be forever be known as G.G. or Garden Gnome (for obvious reasons).

When the team member was feeling better the easy thing to do would have been to just say thank you to GG and never see him again, but that is not Ray. Ray is about building relationships, meeting needs and spreading the gospel.

That was close to 3 years ago and every since then when Ray passes he always stops at G.G.'s house to spend some time with him. He asks him each time if there is anything he needs. G.G. doesn't always need something but when he does Ray is there to provide it for him whether it is cloths for his grandchild, a battery to fix his power, a mosquito net, blanket, or Tylenol for his joint pain.

By taking the time to stop and care about the little things Ray has showed G.G. the love of Jesus Christ. I don't think I need to say it but G.G. is now a Believer. He is now part of the less than 1% of Thai people that are Christians.

It made me think, why have I never done this?

You don't have to be a missionary in a far off land to provide for another persons basic needs.

You don't have to be a missionary in a far off land to meet someone and show them love.

You don't have to be a missionary in a far off land to live your life in a way that people see Christ just by being around you.

I have a simple question for you... Who is your G.G.? Don't have one? Then I have a simple challenge for you. Pray to God to show you who your G.G. is. Then once God shows you, love them the way Christ loves you. Simple, but it would change the world.

White water rafting with our contact ray

Quick Update from Northern Thailand

Tue, 29 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Hey Everyone! Another Quick Update from Thailand... We had an incredible first half of the month working in Northern Thailand. The first night we took the 12 hr bus from Bangkok to Chang Mai. We spend the day walking around getting to know the city and thoroughly enjoyed the Sunday Night Market. The next day we headed to the hills for a week of work. We spent the week clearing the ground at a property that will soon be home to a dozen refugee children. Another cool part about the property is once it is built it will be self sustainable. The property has a rice field, banana trees, coconut trees, and pond that will soon be home to 3000 fish. The pastor and his wife will use the crops to feed the children and sell the remaining fish and crops in the market to fund the rest of the ministry.

The work was perfect for our Man-istry month. We built big bonfires to burn all the dead banana and coconut trees we collected, cut down and burned full trees to clear room for the childrens home, cleaned out the over vegetated pond and built a bathroom.

The work was exhausting but well worth it. We took several breaks over the ten days to enjoy the beautiful surrounding nature. Everyday (well almost everyday) we would bath in the river a couple hundred yards from the property. One bathing trip was especially memorable as it turned into a full contact tackle football game. The current was pretty strong so when you would surface after getting tackled it would no doubtably be several yards down river from the initial tackle. We also stopped on the drive up to go white water rafting, well worth the $10 :) and finally while we were up in a remote village we had the opportunity to go caving in this massive cave. We walking in the river through this pitch black cave for about a hundred yards they got to slide down some waterfalls. Northern Thailand is a gourgeous area!

It wasn't all just work on the property though, we also had several fun opportunities to get out into the community as well. We played soccer with the locals and put on a Christmas party in a remote village for several hundred villagers. The Christmas party involved putting on a drama, singing Christmas songs, playing games with the kids, and giving everyone goody bags as Christmas gifts. We enjoyed it so much that we returned the next day to put on a sports camp for them. It was incredible being able to see the community they have built and how these villagers live being so far removed from the rest of the world.

I was the net for the soccer/volleyball game :)

I have a lot more to tell you all about but have limited Internet right now. I hope you all had as wonderful a Christmas as I did! I love and miss you all! Merry Belated Christmas!!

If you would like to see more pictures you can go to

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2477900&id=10203730&l=8e3e0d068e

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2477868&id=10203730&l=3633fa447f

Please keep all the squad in your prayers as us men work putting on sports camps and sharing the gospel at schools and the woman continue to share the love of Jesus Christ with the prostitutes in bars all around Thailand

Another update to come shortly...

Quick Update

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Hey Everyone,

I just wanted to let you know we landed safely in Thailand today. Thank you for all the prayers! We have been flying for two days now 26+ hours of air time :) We will be spending 2 days in Bangkok adjusting and touring around before taking a bus up north 12 hours to the hill villages outside Chiang Mai, Thailand. This month we will be separated from the woman in what we like to call MAN-isty.

I will have internet for the next couple days here in Bangkok but once we leave for the villages we wont have internet, electricity

or running water. Bathing in the mountain streams will be amazing but no electricity means no blogs or updates.

We are coming back together as a squad for Christmas in Bangkok so I will be able to update everyone then.

Merry Christmas a little early!

I love you all!

Josh

Surfing with the kids..

Sun, 6 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Hey all! This past month we got the opportunity to take the kids from the Quinta (an orphanage for teenagers) to the beach. Some had never seen the ocean and none of them has ever tried to surf. As most of the kids don't really know how to swim we spent the morning playing in the waves and feeling out their comfortability with the water. After a delicious lunch of burger and fries I stopped by the local board shop and rented some boards to surprise the kids. It was so fun to bring them back and see the excitement on the kid's faces.

I really enjoyed getting to play surf instructor all afternoon. I had to give all the instructions to the kids without knowing a single spanish word I needed. There was a lot of pointing and laughing and pulling on their ankles to move them on the board. One of the girls Ruth even got on the board the wrong direction. I tried to explain it to here through pointing and motioning for several minutes before i decided to just dump her off the board and start again. It was one of my favorite days so far and one that I will never forget. Carlos you are a stinking natural on the board! Love you bro!

Starving for God....

Fri, 4 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Lately I have just been starving for more of God. Starving to feel more of his presence in my life, so on Sunday I decided I was going to start a 3 day Fast. The longest fast I had ever done in the past was one day and I was absolutely miserable by the end of the day. I was still addicted to coffee at the time so I had a bad headache and was very moody. I was slightly worried going in not knowing what 3 days would do to me but I just had faith that it was what God was calling me to do and began praying. What follows is a prayer I created before I started the fast and read probably 5-10 times a day during the fast.

I didn't raise anyone from the dead or anything but God did show me a lot during the 3 days. After the prayer is some of the verses He showed me and how I interpreted them. They are not ever verse he had me read and are not organized but rather are just in the order that God presented them to me. I hope God allows you to learn something from what he showed me during my fast.

"Lord I ask for preparation of my heart, body, soul, mind and spirit as I enter into this fast. I pray that you use this act of faith to truly draw me closer to you. This fast is not about the absence of food but rather the removal of distractions so I can concentrate on you. So I can draw closer to you. I desire to hear your voice Lord. I desire to have revelations from you I desire a removal of doubt from my mind. I desire prophetic words of knowledge, words of encouragements to be pouring from my mouth. I desire these things not for my own glory but that I can expand the kingdom, that you can use me to rock peoples worlds, to show them without a doubt that you are God and you are all powerful and all knowing and are a loving God that desires after a relationship with them. I pray that all distractions will be removed for the next couple days. That I will be quick to listen and slow to speak with you Lord. That I give you time to pour into my life to transform my perspective and to turn my life upside down for you.

I pray that you have complete control of my life Lord. If there is anything I am holding on to, anything that is blocking me from hearing you clearly that it will be removed in Jesus' name. I release control of my future; I release control of my desire to be a firefighter. I say your will be done. However crazy that ends up being. I pray your will be done in my life. I pray for more revelation on your desires for my life.

I pray that you reveal areas of my walk that I need work on. I pray to be rocked by the Spirit, to be speaking in tongues, to be prophesying over people, to be bringing words of truth, to be healing people in Jesus' name, to be casting out demons. I pray for increase for more. I pray for the next level of relationship with you. I don't want to be reliant on book smarts or just knowledge of your word. I pray to be led by the spirit to move, to live by your will. I desire more, Lord. I desire to see you Lord, I desire to hear you Lord, I desire to physically feel your presence. I desire nothing in this world but you.

Holy Spirit fill me up. Lord I cast out the fear of man. It has no control over me. I have one judge and it is you Lord. I cast out the spirit of comparison. I have no one to compare myself to but you Jesus and everyday day I look a little more like you. I cast out the spirit of doubt and self-condemnation Lord. You made me perfect the way I am. You gave me the confidence to walk as a leader, as royalty, as a man of God. I cast out the fear of failure. You give me "not a spirit of fear but of power and love and self-control." You give me the strength I need to do all things. You do not call me to please man, to always succeed by worldly standards. You call me to walk in faith and follow your will for my life. You will not let me fall. I have no one to please but you. Lord I cast out the fear that my past defines me, that I will repeat my past. You made me a new creation, the old is gone and the new has come. Galations 2:20 "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loves me and gave himself for me" I pray that my nervousness or fear of these changes be cast out in Jesus' name. These prayers are real and so is the answers to these prayers. This is REAL change! AMEN"

Galations1:10

"Am I now trying to win the approval of men or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men I would not be a servant of Christ."

-The Word does not contradict itself and nor should I. No longer do I have to conform my beliefs to the world. No longer do I have to change my words to please man, to find approval from man. I can speak truth plain and clear and know what I am speaking is from God and of God and pleasing to God. Do not weaver in your speech. There is no need to justify your word if it is brought in love and truth.

Romans 2:29

-When we are circumsized, cut off, removed from our old life and live by the spirit, when Christ lives in us "such is our praise, not from man but from God" I am not a people pleaser any longer. I have the freedom to speak truth and life into people without the fear of rejection or judgment.

2 Corinthians 10:17

"But let those who boast, boast in the Lord, for it is not the one who commends himself who is approved but the one whom the Lord commends"

My Utmost for His Highest November 29^th

"When I commit myself to the revealed truth of the New Testament, I receive from God the gift of the Holy Spirit, who then begins interpreting to me what Jesus did. The spirit of God does in me internally all that Jesus Christ did for me externally"

John 16: 12-15

Holy Spirit will come and guide me and tell me what is yet to come

John 14:17

The Holy Spirit lives in me and will continue to live in me

John 14:25-27

"But the counselor the Holy Spirit, whom the father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you peace I give you. I do not give as the world gives. Do not let your heart be troubled and do not be afraid"

John 14:12-14

"I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the son may bring glory to the Father. You ask anything in my name and I will do it."

Philippians 2:5

"Your attitude should be the same as Christ Jesus"

-Jesus was a humble and served people. Like Christ I shall have a servant attitude serving people out of love for God and others not out of fear or guilt. When I leave each morning to go and serve that day, I have to choice my attitude. Am I going because I desire to share the love of Jesus Christ with the people that day or am I going because I have to or I feel like I need to set a good example for my team. I need to take an attitude check every morning.

"What is my attitude going to be today? Who am I going to serve today?"

Philippians 2:3-4

"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others"

-Whom am I concerned most about each day? I must humble myself to truly look to others interests before myself. Remembering at the same time the true definition of humility. Humility is not demeaning myself but exalting God. Not thinking less of myself but thinking of myself less. Humility is not the absence of confidence but strength restrained. We humble ourselves by helping others while loving them with the same love we have for ourselves.

Mark 10:45

-Jesus didn't come to be served but to serve. He gave his life so that we may live.

Matthew 11:28-29

"Come to me all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me for I am gentle and humble in heart and you will find rest for your souls for my yoke is easy and my burden is light"

-Jesus came and removed the burden of sin, condemnation, doubt. God promises Love, healing and peace with God, not the end of labor. We are still "taking his yoke" a harness used for labor. The labor is just no longer meaningless, wearisome toil but is now spiritually productive and purposeful. The toil now is not for our salvation but rather transforming our lives, stripping off anything that is not of Him.

John 16:24

"...Ask and you will receive, and your Joy will be complete"

Ephesians 2:8

There is nothing I myself can do to save myself. There is nothing I can do to earn Grace. It is not by works but by faith that I am saved. That means stop trying to get closer to God by works or acts!

Romans 3:23-24

"for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Jesus Christ"

I am not alone. I am justified freely by Christ and what he did for me

Romans 8:1-2

"Therefore, there is No condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus because through the law of the spirit of life set you free from the law of sin and death."

Romans 8:..

"...Those who live according with the Spirit have their mind set on what the spirit desires"

"..The mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace"

"..but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live"

-This does not say deal with your issues on your own the come to me. It says the Spirit will guide you through the removal of "misdeeds" in your life. No need to be perfect on arrival.

"... because those who are led by the spirit of God are sons of God. For you did not receive the Spirit that makes you a slave again to fear but you receive the spirit of Sonship"

"Now if we are children, then we are heirs, heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his suffering in order that we may also share in his glory."

-We are truly a Royal Priesthood. Sons of God, inheritors of the Kingdom of God. How cool is that.

2 Timothy 1:7

"For God did not give us a Spirit of timidity but a spirit of power of love and of self disipline"

Romans 8:18-21

-God made a trade. He traded our current suffering, current sin for liberation from bondage and decay. He brought us into true freedom with his sacrifice.

Romans 8: 24-25

".. who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently"

- I pray and hope for these gifts of the Spirit. I realize that God is faithful and will provide but I also understand that God has the big picture in mind and could have me wait "patiently" for them. God works on his time not mine

1 Corinthians 14:1,3

"Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy... the one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation."

1 Corinthians 12:31

"But earnestly desire the higher gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way."

Romans 8:31

"If God is for us who could be against us"

Romans 8:33

"It is God who justifies"

Romans 8:38-39

-Nothing will be able to separate us from the love of Jesus Christ! No Sin, No act Nothing!

James 1:19

"Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry"

Proverbs 35:6

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding in all ways and acknowledge him, and he will make your path straight"

Psalms 46:10

"Be still, and know that I am God"

Psalms 37:7

"Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes"

Romans 10:11

"Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame"

John 15: 12-13

"My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he may lay down his life for his friends"

John 6:35

"I am the bread of life, He who comes to me will never go hungry and he who believes in me will never be thirsty"

Prayer, Relationships, Rice and Beans

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

This month as been really good. It has been challenging but it has been really neat because of that. Last month we did a lot of manual labor. At the end of each day we had something physical we could look at, something we knew we accomplished that day.This month as been a lot about prayer. Which was really challenging at first. The other team, Rhema, and ours, 180, came to Jinotepe and entered a ministry that is $25,000 in debt. The ministry runs a hotel that houses ministry teams that come to Nicaragua. The hotel is only full 4 months out of the year March and April for spring break mission trips and June and July for summer mission trips. Those 4 months normally pay the bills for the rest of the year. But due to the bad economy this year they have gotten behind on bills. They normally use the hotel to fund their real purpose here "The Quinta" a house for teenage kids without families. The Nicaraguan government doesn't like white people so they closed down all the orphanages in the country because they were mostly run by whites. This left thousands of kids out on the street. Lynn and Glenn came down here with no money and started the ministry. They have brought many kids through the program allowing them to finish school and be taught in the ministry. On top of their normal schooling they have english classes, Bible classes, and classes on how to give sermons. They lead youth churches all over the Barrios (slums) surrounding Jinotepe.

We have spent a lot of time in corporate prayer for Lynn, Glenn and Casa Mateo (the hotel). We have prayed over them personally that this financial situation does not become a personal attach on them and that God brings in the resources to pay their debt.They have a contract for the rent of the hotel until next August but have recently found a better location. The property is 8 acres of land, that used to be a chicken farm, that would be absolutely perfect for their ministry. It has all the buildings necessary already built. They would be able to house over a hundred missionaries during the busy months still bringing in the income they need to run the Quinta but it has room to run a community center on it year round as well. They would have a sports ministry, vocational school (auto repair) and english classes. The whole 8 acres only costs $500 a month to rent. This is a much more sustainable ministry for them than the hotel but they need prayer to get out of their current debt.

This month has also been a lot about relationships. We have spent many days at the Quinta interacting with the kids. They know enough english to have basic conversations and they love to play games! They have church services 3 times a week which we have helped run. We have preached the sermons, given testimonies, lead worship and put on dramas. The kids get excited every time we show up. I love that aspect of this month. I love being able to love on these kids that have grown up without the love that we have received from our parents.

We have also visited several other ministries including playing soccer with an alcohol and drug rehab center, visited a old folks home, and helped with countless childrens services in the Barrios around town.

Children church in the Barrios

Kids at the Quinta putting on a drama for us

Soccer with the rehab center.... I think I got a stop...

Almost stop...

Ok so I got beat...

Food at Casa Mateo is good but it is always acomplanied by Rice and Beans... Even for Breakfast

Annita, 97 years old, doing my teammate Melina''s hair at the old folks home

My Friend Dominique for the old folks home. I lit like 6 cigarettes for him in under an hour. Don't worry I made sure it was ok before I did it :)

No Quiero Taco Bell...

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Hey all! Sorry for the delay on blogging but I am on "Nica Time" nothing here is really on time. A lot has happened this month so I will do my best to sum it up.

In the beginning of this month all the teams regrouped in Guatemala City before embarking on the 20 hour bus journey to Nicaragua. Some of the team members decided that they wanted a little of America and heading to Taco Bell... not that great an idea after all. Mike, one of my teammates, got violently ill. After being sick all night my teammate, Melina, and I took him to the hospital. We were supposed to leave for San Salvador that day but instead waved goodbye to the other 41 squad members. At first I was disappointed to see the rest of the squad go but God blessed that time in the hospital. It was a time of relaxation and a time for great conversations, a time to really get to know Melina and Mike. Mike was miserable and slept for most of the first day as he received fluids and antibiotics via an IV but got a lot better the second day. I was really glad to see that the medical care was up to standard, in fact, better than some I have seen in the states. Mike was finally released late the third morning. After a quick stop at the hostel to pick up our bags we booked it to the bus station. While I guess it wasn't booked as the taxi driver got lost for close to an hour but thanks to the Tica bus being delayed two hours we made it right on time (Guatemalan time that is).

The first leg of the 20 hour journey was a 6 hour ride to San Salvador the capital of El Salvador. The bus was a really nice Tica charter bus so the ride went fast. The exciting part came when we got to San Salvador and were able to have Wendy's (except Mike who was a little over America fast food for the time being) and a two nob hot shower! The shower was the first of the trip to have both a hot nob and a cold nob instead of one nob and an electrical shower head heater they fondly call "widow makers." Most hostels in Central America do not have hot water heaters because they are expensive, so they do have these little devises on the shower heads. The showers are also not built for people that are 6'1" so if I ever stood up straight I would get a healthy reminder shock that I needed to squat more. This shower in contrast was very refreshing and prepared us for the next mornings 4am departure and 12 hour bus ride to Managua, Nicaragua. After a half dozen stops for boarder crossings and passport checks we made it to Managua. Our logistics man Andy had graciously set us up with a minibus driver Angel for our last leg to Jinotepe. Angel had different plans though and dropped us off at the minibus station to switch minibuses so they could have a full load. During the transfer several workers grabbed our bags and transferred them to the next bus. As if Mike hadn't gone through enough in the last three days when we finally got to the hotel in Jinotepe we found that one of Mike's bags had not made it. We made some calls to Angel, the hostel owner who gave us Angel as a contact, and the minibus company owner. Several hours later after we had given up hope on getting his bag back we got a call from Angel saying he had gotton ahold of the bag. Not only did Mike get his bag back but who ever had stolen it had put a bag of animal crackers in it. I guess they felt bad for stealing it after all.

Sharing His Plan Video

Fri, 6 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

This video was made by my wonderful teammate Kelsi about our work with one of our three ministries we worked with this past month. Levi and Jackie from Sharing His Plan has been a great blessing to our team over the last month with their continuing encouragement and of course Jackie's delicious cookies!

Another Video of the month in Guatemala :)

Fri, 6 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

This video was made by a teammate, Nicole, from team Rev 217, who we have been working with this last month. It gives you a overview of the different ministries we worked with this month. Enjoy :)

My first Sermon...

Sun, 1 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Last Sunday the two teams in Antigua, Hotmess and my team (180), decided to do our own church service instead of going to a local church. Brandon from God's Child project was kind enough to allow us to use there gorgeous chapel. It really is a stunning chapel. You walk into what looks like a cave with water dripping down over you. It has all stone walls and a backlit cross with water flowing down over it. (We had to turn off the water because it was too loud for the video). Two days before the service Brad Baldwin, from Hotmess, and I decided we were going to co-preach. This is the first time I have ever preached in this fashion. Although I was nervous it was a neat experience that I enjoyed. I look forward to the many opportunities I will have this year to preach. My whole life I have been spoonfed, now it is time for solid food. Time for me to teach others.

Hebrews 5: 12-14

12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food,

13 for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child.

14 But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.

This is my portion of the service...Enjoy!

I'm an Uncle (x3)!

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Join me in welcoming Mark Jeffrey

Woodmansee into the world!!

This is the first of many events this year at home that is going to challenge me. There are going to be holidays, birthdays, events and just every day life that I am going to miss. I love all my family and friends and desire to be a part of their lives but this year I have been called away for God's plan. In times like this I remember Matthew 19:29 "And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life." Sometimes God brings us out of our comfort zone to use us, grow us and mature us so that we can come back in and be the person he desires us to be. I am so thankful for this year to serve all of God's children all around the world. I am so excited for the growth opportunities and to learn what God is going to teach me. I love you all at home and am sorry that I can't be there but God's busy with me right now :)

Gimpse of the People and Places of Guatemala

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

One of my incredibly talented fellow racers, Jessica Johnson, who we have been traveling with for the last month has made a wonderful video of the local people and places thus far. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have!

Submitting to God's Will

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Today was a great day! Our normal contact that we volunteer with was busy this morning. They were attending a graduation party for their assistant's child who is the first in her family to graduate high school. So exciting! We didn't have anything we had to do so my teammate Kelsi and I decided to go volunteer at Nuestros Ahijados (God's Child) Scheel School.

Brandon Brickley, one of Kelsi's friends from growing up, is the director of the school. He gave us a tour of the gorgeous grounds and walked us through the school. The school has grades 1^st ,4^th ,5^th , and 6^th. All of the students are at least three grades behind when they enter the school. The 1^st grade class I helped with had students ranging in age from 9 yrs old to 12 yrs old. The school services the neighboring slum and is run entirely off donations. The students learn all the basic subjects including English and also receive vocational training in carpentry and cooking.

When Brandon took over as director of the school a year ago they had a "cooking and carpentry program" but they had no stove or kitchen supplies, no tools, benches or anything in the workshop. He has done an incredible job, with the help of God and all the supporters, outfitting the school to have a kitchen full or professional appliances and a workshop with work tables, benches and tools.

The coolest part about the story is Brandon is 26 years old, has no background in education or administration and had no intention of being a director of a school when he came down here. He volunteered entering data into a database for the first three months he was in Guatemala, but God had a bigger plan for him. He was told he would be the director of the school the Friday before school started last year. He showed up to school for the first time the Monday that school started. While at the opening assembly with all the students, their parents, and all the doners from America there he was asked to say a few words. He didn't know it was coming and was still in the process of learning Spanish but God provided him the words he needed at the assembly and hasn't stopped since. Brandon openly admits that the success of the school has nothing to do with any skill or ability he brought in to the position but only by his dedication to the Lord and willingness to submit to God's will has the school been successful. That reminds me of the verse

1 Corinthians 1:27-31

27But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things-and the things that are not-to nullify the things that are, 29so that no one may boast before him. 30It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God-that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. 31Therefore, as it is written: "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord."

Brandon doesn't know (yet) that I wrote this (sorry Brandon) but I know how much his testimony meant to me, and I know how much it will mean to others. He is an incredible example of how God provides when you are just faithful, submit to God's will and trust that he will provide.

Slum that Scheel School Serves

Brandon and Kelsi on the top of Scheel School

My Nourishment

Sun, 18 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

It is crazy how much you can learn in one week. Like I wrote in my last blog I have had the opportunity to volunteer with three completely different ministries over the past week but one central theme prevails... Where am I getting my nourishment?

When I am working with Levi at Sharing His Plan we are doing manual labor all day. It has been a time I have really enjoyed. Serving with all my strength and energy really gives me a feeling of accomplishment. At the same time the feeling that has given me joy has also reminded me that I cannot do life on my own. My physical strength is fleeting but my strength and energy I receive from the Lord is never failing.

So I get that I can't do it on my own and I need to be filled up, to be nourished. What else do I need to know? When I worked with Forest, from Servants 4 Him, I am reminded of the importance of keeping pure what I put in my body. Servants 4 Him produces water filters for families all around Guatemala. The water here is horrible. It has all kinds of bacteria, viruses and parasites. We have had several people from our squad already get sick and we are even our purifying our water and being careful what we eat. I am reminded that many times in my life that I have filled myself up with something that I thought was good later to find out it was filled with bacteria, viruses and parasites. I need to truly be aware of what I spend my time on, what is consuming me. Is it pure nourishment or is it harmful to me?

Ok so I get that I can't do it on my own and I have to rely on others and God to fill me up. I get that quality matters in what I allow my time and energy to be spent on. What else could I possibly learn? I did an overnight shift at Casa Jackson on Friday. I had been working all day with the water filters and laying pipe so I was pretty tired but I knew it would be a great opportunity to serve so I went. Nichole, Melina and I got there at 7 eager and ready to serve. We knew they were fed on the hour every even hour so we all ran up the stairs to play with the babies for an hour before we had to feed them. There are 5 that I got to know well. Jose 6 months, Eleana 3 months, Daisy 2 months, Camilla 3 months, and Esvin 9 years old. All of the children are there because they were extremely malnourished at home. Esvin being the worse, is 9 years old and weights 20 pounds. After the hour of playing we got down to business feeding them. They have us feed them their milk via a spoon so it takes about 45 minutes a child. Lets just say after playing with them an hour and feeding them for an hour and a half I had lost a lot of my eagerness. I was exhausted. I lied flat on my back on the stairs for the thirty minutes before we had to start their feedings again. We fed them at 8pm ,10pm ,midnight, 2am, 4am, and 6am. There were times when they were hungry and desired to be fed and times when they were full and had no desire to see us at all. But every feeding is important. It reminded me that even though I know that I need God to be my strength and seek after him when I am hungry I need to remember who had allowed me to be full when I am full and remember that I need to daily seek Him and get by strength from Him so I don't have to get hungry or malnourished before I look to Him again.

Eleana my baby girl from Casa Jackson

Feeding Daisy Via a spoon

Eleana's diapers didn't exactly fit but we made due with what we had :)

I have really enjoyed serving so far and have enjoyed all that God has shown me these past couple weeks. It is fun to look back over the past two weeks and see how much God has taught me, I can't wait to see what he does over the next 11 months!

Great Contacts make for a Great month

Wed, 14 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

My team, 180, and team Hot Mess stayed in Antigua this month and have been incredible blessed by our wonderful contacts. Forrest and Carol from Servants 4 Him Ministry have been a great team to work with. We have also been blessed with the opportunity to work with Vera from Casa Jackson, a house for malnourished children and Levi from Sharing His Plan.

With Forrest and Carol we will be working sifting sand and mixing concrete for the water filters. I am excited for the opportunity we will have later in the month to actually visit the villages and install the filter. They have also graciously invited us into there home several times for dessert and pizza and have showered us with knowledge on how to conduct children's hygiene ministries and how to build bio-sand water filters and efficient wood burning stoves.

Forrest and Carol followed God's calling 5 years ago and moved from there comfortable farm in America to Guatemala to start making bio-sand water filters. Their strategic plan was to use the filters as a form of "good deeds evangelism", or in other words they use the metaphor created with the water filter to tell the people about the gospel. It meets a physical need, which saves lives, as well as allows for the people to hear the good news. In 2002, about 2.2 million children died of dehydration cause by diarrhea, 80% of them in the first two years of their life. Parents in Guatemala, like many third world countries, do not know of the importance of ,and do not have access to, purified water. The answer is simple, provide them with the Bio-sand water filter ($55) and educate them! The bio-sand water filters use local concrete, sand from the rivers (cleaned of course), lasts a lifetime, and do not need to be cleaned or replaced. Servants 4 Him do not have to follow up with the people but choose to continuously check in with them to see how they are doing and truly build relationships. This makes all the difference in the world!

Forrest and Carol have also since expanded their ministry to include building efficient wood burning stoves to minister to the Mayan villages. The Mayan woman currently cook over an open flame in the middle of their houses causing the house to be filled with smoke. This has caused many respiratory and eye issues among the villagers and because it requires a lot of wood it has also caused many deforestation and mudslide issues. When Servants 4 Him goes in and installs a clean efficient wood burning stove they are able to use a simple analogy to present the gospel. They talk to the woman about how their house is dirty from the smoke. No matter how hard they try to clean the house it just gets dirty from the smoke the next day. This is like our life with out Jesus, but once we install this stove, or let Jesus into our life he forgives are sin and washes us clean so we no longer have to live in the filth of our past. The analogy makes so much sense to the Mayans that every single family but one that had a stove installed last year came to know Jesus Christ! Praise God!

Before...

After...

We were also able to help Levi from Sharing his plan to dig ditches on his new ministry site. Levi makes prefabricated ferro concrete panels so when teams comes from America they can build a house in less than a day. The houses cost $700 or $7 a square foot to build and can withstand the earthquakes that are common to the area. He is currently in the process of building up his work site with a workshop to build the panels, storage for them and housing for mission teams so they have a place to stay on the property. We were in charge of digging the ditches to run electrical wires to the future buildings. It was very tough work but I know it will bless Levi and his future ministry site.

Our third and final missionary contact for the month is Vera from Casa Jackson. Casa Jackson is a clinic for malnourished children. When a parent brings a child to the hospital because they are sick or dieing from malnurishment Casa Jackson takes them in for 9-10 weeks to get them back to health. The house is run almost entirely by volunteers. We go in there in groups of 3 to feed the children. We run 8 hour shifts waking up the children every two hours to feed them. They can't afford bottles so all the kids are fed formula by a spoon or syringe. It is very difficult to get them to take the formula and is heart breaking work as the children are in such bad shape.

My Ministry

Sat, 10 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Although our particular ministries will change each month in the different countries my primary ministry will never change. My ministry is my team. I am so blessed with the opportunity to serve my 5 teammates in the form of team leader.

Through out the last week the 6 other team leaders and I have had the opportunity to work with our squad leaders defining our role this year. They have poured into us, imparted us with knowledge, prophesied over us, and encouraged us. I can truly say I am a changed man and it has only been 4 days with them. This time has really given me a new perspective on what this year is all about. I know now that this year isn't about the countries we will go to, or the different ministry opportunities we will have (I know they will be great) but this year for me is about serving my teammates, to humble myself before God and put my teammates before myself. Something that I haven't struggled with in the past.

I am so excited to see my teammates transform in front of my eyes this year as God has already shown me the people they will become.

Below I have included a description of my role this year to better explain "My Ministry"

World Race Team Leader

Job Description

Team Leaders will serve as members of a World Race team in function and role. Their responsibilities and expectations will set them apart based on the following guidelines. Team Leaders will be under the direct supervision, leadership and authority of the Squad Leader and will receive direction, feedback, training and counsel from this leader.

Communication

Team Leaders will be the primary liaison between World Race leadership and the team. This will include keeping World Race leadership informed on the status of the team physically, emotionally, spiritually and in ministry. This will include advocating for their team to AIM leadership should the team or individuals be in need. On the other hand, this will also include keeping the team aware of information filtered down through World Race leadership including ministry expectations, prayer needs and any other pertinent information.

Ministry Manager

Team Leaders will receive all information about ministry opportunities and expectations from leadership, AIM contacts and local contacts. The Team Leader role will include 1) the presentation of ministry opportunities and expectations, the collaboration and decision-making role for where the team will serve (or where freedom is permitted) 2) the vision casting for ministries and the inspiration of how the ministry will impact the local community and the mission of AIM and 3) help in processing the ministry opportunities after the fact with team members.

Focus

Team Leaders will be the primary initiator and advocate for spiritual focus. They will advocate for individuals' time spent alone with God as well as team focus in prayer.

Empower

Team Leaders will empower those on the team engaged in: finance, food purchasing, intercession, etc. with the time, resources and feedback they need to be successful in their ministry areas. Team Leaders should also advocate for the discovery, use and growth of individual's giftings, passions and ministry experimentation.

Team

Team Leaders will function on a day to day basis as an advocate for team unity, mediator in conflict, collaborator and decision maker. Their role will not necessarily be to fix every problem but to seek out resolution and growth whether that be found internally or externally from the team itself.

A team leader is NOT:

The team's personal therapist. The team leaders should not feel obligated to solve every problem, but should strive to make sure help is sought out and given when the team is in need.

The team's parent. World Racers are adults and should be expected to act as such. Initiative is an expectation for all racers. The team leader is not a dictator or taskmaster.

Houston we have lift off

Mon, 5 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

It is a weird thought to think that I have just started what will be my life for the next 11 months. I left my house several days ago after scrambling to get everything ready and say my goodbyes. I left my house at 330 in the morning in order to catch my flight to Miami. I was in a complete dase and kinda feel like I still am.

I was able to spend a night at my teammate Melina's dad's house which was such a blessing! It was really fun to see several other racers, get to play and laugh with Melina's 5 year old neice (Video to come!), and do a Bible study with Melina's dad.

The seven teamleaders met at the airport the following day to start our journey down to Guatemala. It was really exciting to finally get to meet our squad leader Sean who was unable to be at our training camp because he was in Spain.

We landed in Guatemala and met up with Allison and Kelly who had our vans ready to head up to Antigua. Since we have arrived we have been wondering around getting our bearings in this beautiful mountain town. I have been here once before but only for a day so it was fun to be able to see more of the city. We spend time really connecting with the other team leaders and listening as Allison and Sean pouring into us and encouraged us. All of which has allowed me to feel much more comfortable with the leadership position I am in.

Each team also has a person designated as the finance person to take care of all the receipts and budgeting of the money. The 7 finance people and the 2 racers in charge of logistics just got here a couple hours ago. It has been fun to play tour guide and take them around the city that we know so well :)

Tomorrow will be a hectic day as the rest of the squad arrives! We took over restaurants when it was just the 7 team leaders and 1 squad leader let alone when there is 45 racers, 2 squad leaders, 4 squad coaches and several additional WR staff. Looks like we are going to the market.

Speaking of the market, when in foreign countries do not squeeze the "potatoes" as they are not potatoes and will explode all over your hand and you will have to buy it. :)

That is all for now but I will keep you all updated as the trip unfolds!

Expections of My Mission Trip

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT

We were asked to write a blog about how we felt before leaving on this mission trip. Here is what I'm expecting...

I am expecting The World Race to be a lot of things. It will be a time to serve, a time to learn, a time to lead, a time to follow, a time to love and most of all a time to surrender.

The World Race is a opportunity to serve the people of the world that were not blesses with even the basics in life, the ones that have had to fight for everything they have ever gotten, the people that are hungry, sick, lost, lonely and abandoned. Matthew 25:31-46

The World Race is an opportunity to learn about the Lord and all his wonderful creations. It is an opportunity to be surrounded by solid, caring, loving Christians. Hebrews12:1-3

The World Race is an opportunity to lead. I have been blessed with the opportunity to be a team leader and I am excited to see what God has in store for this portion of the trip. Joshua 1:9

The World Race is an opportunity to love. Gods greatest two commandments are first, love the Lord your God with all your heart with all your soul and with all your mind and second, love your neighbor as your yourself. My expectation for myself is that I will center the trip around those two principles and everything else will fall into place. Matthew 22:36-40

The World Race is an opportunity for me to surrender all my worldly desires and live by but His will not mine. I throw up my arms Lord, you have my life. luke 9:23-27

Dear Anonymous Donor

Wed, 16 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Dear Anonymous Donor,

From the bottom of my heart thank you! I am thankful not only for your incredibly generous donation but also what you reminded me through it. I went into this thing still trying to rely on my own strength and my plan to take me through, but your donation is just one more proof that it is God's will be done not mine.

The other wonderful thing that you reminded me is God calls us to be humble. I had very mixed emotions when I saw your donation I was first shocked, then excited beyond belief then disappointed because I wasn't going to ever get to thank you. The cool thing is God brought be to Matthew 6:2-4 and reminded me that God's has your reward waiting in heaven. There is no doubt in my mind that whatever God has waiting for you is way cooler than a personalized thank you note from me. I still hope you are reading this though so you can get a little bit of both :)

Thank you,

Josh

I left my heart in San Francisco

Sun, 30 Aug 2009 00:00:00 GMT

As I road the cable car home from my client visits today I realized how blessed I truly was this past year. No I am not talking about cause I got to ride on the cable car (today was my first time) but rather because I lived in a place that so many people want to visit. I live the fairytale life, I look out my living room window at the sunset over the Golden Gate bridge and fall asleep to the sound of the cable car bells and fog horns. I have been blessed.

I have an incredible roommate that I have become very close with. One that has supported me this entire year with whatever I had decided I was going to do. One that is incredibly selfless and is always thinking of what he can do for me and others. One that would plan fun weekend trips. One that would sit and eat fro yo with and talk about life. One that somehow aways managed to bring a smile to my face even when I am down. One that I will be close with for the rest of my life. I have been blessed.

I have had the opportunity to work for a great company one that was ranked as "Top 100 Companies to work for". I have received free lunch every day of work for the past year (free lunch does exist!). I have had the opportunity to work with some incredibly smart and driven coworkers. Ones that have touched my life in ways they will never even know. I have been able to work under the best manager I have ever had and work along side the best sales people I have ever met. I have been blessed.

I have been on some really fun weekend adventures to Santa Cruz, Tahoe, Yosemite, Muir Woods, Hwy 1, LA, and just bumming around the city. Concerts, ball games, picnics, camping, fishing, and BBQing. I have been blessed.

I have some incredible friends out here. Friends that have stuck with me through hard times, Friends that make me laugh. Friends that put on a surprise fundraiser for me just because they care. I have been blessed.

God stopped me on that cable car today and brought my life back into perspective. I have been running around the last couple weeks trying to sell everything I own, get everything done with work and try to tie up all the loose ends that I have completely forgot to enjoy what God has blessed me with. Enjoy where I live and enjoy all the people in my life that have made this past year one of the greatest.

I took the rest of the afternoon off to go and see the city. I spent some time at the beach, I spent some time at the park and I spent time on my rooftop just watching the sunset. I thank God for that time. The time to walk away from the worries of the world and just enjoy where I am. I've been blessed.

I just wanted to say thank you to all the people out here that have made this past year so memorable. I am going to miss this city but most of all I am going to miss you. I now know what Tony Bennett meant when he said "I left my heart in San Francisco." L squad, all I have to say is you have a lot to live up to :)

Here are a couple pictures from my day out in the city. Enjoy, I know I did!

From Krissy Fields a short jog from my place

Palace of Fine Arts right next to Krissy Fields

Picture from Alamo Square Park. Full House anyone!?

Picture from our rooftop