A Little God Story

I am now working at the Yorba Linda Vineyard as the Community Outreach Pastor which is just a blessing in itself. I am having so much fun with this new community and am just seeing God move right here, in what I think is one of the hardest places I have ever ministered in. We have several outreaches and one includes taking food supplies along with water to a boys classroom in a school in the community. Most of these kids come to school having no breakfast or lunch and struggle everyday to fight hunger. Here is some fantastic feedback from this particular outreach...

"I spoke with Mr. K today about how the food supply was going, and asked for any kind of feedback.  It turns out that the food is feeding 20+ students in his class, along with another class.  I asked him if they needed more than what I bring, and he said yes, because kids from other classes will come into his room and ask for a snack because they have not had any food all day due to poverty, and troubled families.

I told him I will make an effort to bring in more food... apparently what I bring in now is gone within a few days along with the water.

Mr. K told me about a student who is currently living in a Motor-home, and in great need.  I told him I would ask you if I could bring a bag full of staple food for this family once a week.  I will give this family the church info on the food bank as well.  I know they're really struggling with gas and finding a place to park the motor-home so getting to the church might be hard for them, so I thought I could bring it to them with your okay.

 Mr. K looked up the website, and saw his name on the web page and was very impressed.  He even shared it with his students, and they could not believe that his class was on  church webpage.  I told him that there is a special shelf with his name on it in the food warehouse and they were all so impressed.  I told him I would take a picture of it on my cell and forward it to him. I know that would really touch his heart and the kids in the class can see this special place set aside for them called "Mr. K's Class".  Mr. K also told me that several of the kids can't believe that a church would do this....

So in all this, God is touching many kids and families in need."

-A Leader from YLV

Isnt that just Amazing???

Back in Cali...

Just in case you hadn't yet heard I am back in California for the time being. God has completely softened my heart for Orange County and I am excited to see what He has for me for this next season! Stay tuned to hear about all that is happening right here in the OC.

Encounter-School of Mission

Ever wanted to live a lifestyle of the supernatural where things that you have only ever dreamed of and read about are happening in front of your eyes? Live it today not tomorrow!

Discover what happens when church leaves the building. Encounter and experience the power of God on the streets of our town as the sick are healed, the poor are welcomed, and the lost are found. 

Imagine signs and wonders being part of your training as well as your experience as you serve the local community in the name of Jesus, with Kingdom power and authority. Imagine a region alive to the glory of God, awake to his reality, encountering Him through His people. 

At the Causeway Coast Vineyard, it is our dream to pioneer vibrant communities that do whatever it takes to reach and raise up this generation for the sake of the Kingdom! 

Come learn how to live a life of extreme risk in a 9 month program that trains and equips you to infect your community with Kingdom resources through the daily routine of life. Join in on what God is doing OUT THERE among the people. 


WHAT DOES IT INVOLVE?

Encounter - School of Mission last 9 months from August 2010 until May 2011, and is based in Coleraine, Northern Ireland. 

One morning a week will be spent in classes, two days in missional employment, two days engaging the community in outreach, a Sunday spent serving, with required reading and assignments. Local missions trips in Ireland will take place monthly, with national and international trips occurring throughout the year.

Our God still Heals!

Here is a great story that I heard today...

I was at church this morning and one of the ladies from church came up to me with a big smile on her face. She asked me if I remembered praying for her a month or so ago about her knee. I did remember praying for her during ministry time one Sunday. She had fluid that had built up in her knee and a couple of things wrong with her tendons and so forth. She was in a lot of pain and couldn't wear any sort of heels on her feet. She was due to have surgery this Thursday and went in for her final scans this past week. She received a call from her surgeon saying that whatever was wrong before was now gone and surgery was no longer needed. She is completely healed! No more pain what so ever. Isn't our God so amazing!!??!!

Update!!!!

It has been such a long time since I updated everyone! Where do I even begin?

I moved house about a month ago which was a huge answer to prayer. After looking at house after house of disappointment I was chatting with a friend from church and he said he had some friends who were looking to sell their place. He contacted them and they have let Becky and I rent the house for the next 6 months. The house is fully furnished and is incredible. I am hoping that when the 6 months are up they will let us renew the contract, but that is a ways off. So Becky and I have been loving this new house and just had our Internet hooked up so now we have Internet access again, which is why I haven't been able to update y'all on anything in so long.

My sister came over with a friend in March and helped me to celebrate my birthday which was amazing! We spent St. Paddy's in Dublin and then came back to Portstewart to hang out visit the sites. It was absolutely brilliant to have her over and my only complaint is that the week went by all too fast.

I launched the 2010 Mission Teams a couple of weeks ago to the church and I am so excited about the 12 teams we are sending. There will be 3 local teams to serve the community here and then the other 9 teams will be going to Romania, Lithuania, 2 to Morocco, Thailand, India, Haiti, England & Ireland. There are four new teams this year which are a Morocco Prayer & Worship Team; Men's Building Team to Haiti, Thailand; and a Women's Team to India.

I will be leading the team to India and our goal is to bring a voice to the voiceless Dalit women and children. We will be showing God's love through education and training and the profound ministry of touch. Since the Dalit's are considered untouchable, the act of a hug or simple touch from a white person is life changing and self worth is slowly introduced into their lives. We will help them find their true identity in their Father with a couple seminars and serving projects.

I have also been busy organizing an Evangelism & Outreach Conference which kicks off this month. Jay Pathuck from Mile High Vineyard in Arvada, Colorado will bring a team of 16 with him to help us serve the community of Coleraine. They will help us to move into our NEW CHURCH OFFICES... we received the keys last week... and also help to lead the 15 different outreaches I have planned to demonstrate God's love to the town through many various ways. We are hoping that around 200 people will attend and are praying that they will take what they learn to impact their own surrounding communities. I am so excited to see how God will use us this upcoming weekend.


God is continuing to show up in my life in mighty ways and I am always blown away at His love for me and all that He provides me with. I have some amazing stories that I will share with you in a wee while once I get them all typed out.

In the mean time I just want to THANK YOU for all your prayers, support and encouragement. I love hearing from you and please let me know what God is doing in your own lives.

Here are some prayer requests that you can be praying for:

I still need the funds to insure my car. Because my previous experience of driving does not count here in the UK my insurance rates are very high as they see me as a 'new' driver. It is going to be £118 per month to insure the car and I need all the help I can get with this.

Please be praying for the mission teams that I am sending out and that they will have an amazing impact on the places and people they come in contact with. Also pray for India and the ongoing sex slavery and temple prostitution that young girls are sold into. This was never intended for any girl of any age and I believe that with God's power we can end it.

Prayer Requests

Housing

Becky, my house mate, and I are still looking for a home. Our lease is up 30th March and we have not found a place to live just yet. We have viewed a couple of flats already and have plans arranged to view a few more. Please be praying that we find a place that is reasonable, practical and just wonderful for us both. 

Car

I have been praying for a car and last week a family decided that they wanted to give me one of their cars. This is the 2nd free car I have received in the past 6 months. I gave the first one up as I could not afford insurance. I have a potential sponsor for the insurance this time around but it should only cover around half the cost. I still need more funds to make this work such as money for the other half of the insurance and petrol. Please be praying that these funds come together as having a car will enable me to get around town with ease and make running errands for my job less stressful as I wouldn't have to depend on public transportation and the hassle of missing the bus. 

Thanks for all your prayers!!! 

Update on Kindness Week

Kindness Week was a success! We had over 100 volunteers sign up to spread kindness over Coleraine & Portstewart. Here are some stories from the week....

One boy, who the Night Light team met a few weeks back, reconnected with some of the girls on the team during the Valentine's outreach. He had remembered them from before and got into a really great conversation with them again that Friday night. He let the girls know that he had never been to church in all his life and that he would like to check it out sometime as he was quite curious. Sunday came around and the girls saw him standing outside of church just waiting to go into the building. He looked a wee bit unsure of what he was about to do but than saw the girls and and was immediately grateful for the familiarity. He sat with us all during worship but was a bit intimidated by all the people so he ended up leaving after the tea break. Even though he wasn't able to hear the sermon he did make an amazing first step into turning up at church. The seed was planted and now all we can do is pray that people along the way will continue to water it.

I lead one of the teams that visited the some senior citizens at a nursing home and was able to hand out flowers to some of the people who couldn't make it down to the gathering room for songs and chit chat. I took a few flowers with me and came to this one room and met a woman called Annie. Annie was so overwhelmed with emotion as I gave her the flower that she began to cry. I told her that God just adores her and thinks her to be so special. She said that she had always heard that God loves her but no one had ever told her that God thinks the world of her. She let me pray for her as tears ran down her face. It was amazing to me that a simple gesture can bring so much hope and comfort into a persons. life.

I was also lead the team that handed out free goodie baskets to the local businesses in town. It was so much fun to see the pure shock we received from a few shop owners after telling them that these baskets were for them and there was no strings attached. A lot of the shops remembered us from last year and were over joyed that they got a basket again this year. The man at the post office asked me a few weeks in advanced if we were passing out the baskets again and I made sure that he received one again this year. One woman, upon taking the basket in her hands, began to tear up and threw her arms around me and gave me the biggest hug. She had a most wonderful smile across her face and I was so happy to see that these baskets were brightening people's days and giving meaning once again to the day in which love is celebrated.

We had a most wonderful turnout at the Sunday Food Giveaway as well. I put together a team last minute of ladies who offered free hand massages as a way to restore dignity back to people who are continually looked down upon in life. One many called Tony, who is in his 60's, was so happy to have this little act of luxury bestowed upon him. He got to talking with one of the ladies doing the hand massages and he told her that he had heard over and over again the gospel but had never made a commitment. They talked it through again and   in the end Tony decided that Valentine's day was the day to give his life over to God once and for all.

Praise God for all these amazing stories and for the lives impacted in which we haven't yet heard.

Isn't it wonderful to know that the Greater Things are still to come? I just ask for more, Father....more stories...more people to come to know you...More greater things!!!

Kindness Week

It's that time of year again where the world spends a whole day recognizing and celebrating Love. What better time to show the community kindness and God's love for His children than now?

This week at Causeway Coast Vineyard we will be dedicating a complete week to purposefully and intentionally spreading kindness throughout the triangle area. I have spent the last couple of weeks planning and organzing this church wide event so that the under appreciated and over looked people in the community will catch a glimpse of the Father's love for us ALL.

Here are some of the events in which you can be praying that God will go before us and open the hearts of His people so that they may recieve Him...

streetz
Friday 12th February @3:15-5:00pm

Neil, Janet & the streetz team will be hanging out and chatting with teenagers as they gather after school in the town centre. We will be handing out jelly hearts and demonstrating God's love by our everydy actions and values.

Night Light
Friday 12th February @ 12:15-2:00am

Pam and Leanne and the Night Light team will serve tea and coffe and giveaway the 'Last Rolo' to the pubs and clubs in Portstewart. This is a time where great conversations arise and bold questions are answered.

Illuminate: Sweet Surprises
Saturday 13th February @ 9:45-11:00am

I will be leading the illuminate team, and a group of youth who are eager to be involved, and will be passing out Free Goodie Baskets to local businesses in Coleraine town centre. Each basket includes giant muffins, tray bakes, biscuits and sweets. These delicious baskets are a wonderful way to recognize our businesses and their hard work.

Father's Love Letter
Saturday 13th February @ 1:45-4:00pm

William & Charmian Calvert will be leading the team which will be hand delivering 'Father's Love Letters' to student houses in Portstewart. This gorgeous letter tells of the intimate and amazing love that the Father dotes upon us, His children. We will be passing out about 1100 letters this year.
To read the Father's Love Letter click HERE

Can Drive
Sunday 14th February @ church service

We will be collecting cans from the church to pass out to people in need at our weekly Food Giveaway on a Sunday afternoon.

Food Giveaway
Sunday 14th February @ 2:00-4:00pm

Ricky Wright and his team will be serving the poor with groceries and a hot cup of tea or coffee. We prepare bags full of bread, produce & tins to anyone in need in the community. A cafe is set up for anyone to enjoy a hot beverage and some yummy desserts, as well as a connection with someone who cares for them.

Senior Moments
Sunday 14th February @ 2:00-4:00pm

Dave Kelly and Myself will be leading two teams to the Cromore & Montague Nursing Homes in Portsewart. We will be giving all the ladies hand wrapped flowers and the gents a bag of sweets. This will be a time of singing songs with the old folk as well as sharing life stories.

Prayer Request Update

Hey Everyone! I just wanted to give you an update on my prayer requests:

Finances:

Finances for the months of Feb & March have come in to cover all my living expenses!! Isn't God just so amazing!??!

Housing Situation:

Becky, my housemate, and I will be looking for a house very soon since we have not found anyone to move into our current home. Please be praying that we find an affordable, beautiful place.

Mission Intern:

I have just recently been connected with a girl from the states by a mutual friend in which I met in YWAM. She will be coming to visit me this summer to see if God wants her to stay. If she does end up staying she is interested in an internship as she has a mission heart too. Please pray that if she does not end up staying that someone else may come along and help me out with my immense workload.


Thanks to everyone for all your prayers & support. God is continuing to provide for my needs and I believe that it has to do with the power of prayer. Thank you for your generous hearts!

Amazing Provider

I cannot even begin to express the utmost joy that I am feeling now. Since yesterday evening I have wanted to shout at the top of my lungs, fall to my knees, shed tears of amazement and praise My Almighty God.

I have been through a whirlwind of emotion these last couple of weeks. I have been trying not to stress at the fact that I had no clue as to where money for my rent, oil and groceries was going to come from. I started counting my pennies so that I could buy food for the week. I tried reminding myself that everything was going to be just fine but there was that little voice of doubt that just wouldn't go away.

Monday afternoon I took a 4 hour walk down the Nun's walk, across Strand Beach, to the Barmouth and then back the same way again. Along my invigorating walk I just laid my heart all out to God once again and started praising and thanking Him for everything He has given me and all that I have been through. Then I started asking Him for the things that I was really in need for; especially finances.

He gave me the most wonderful revelations and just talked with me telling me that He had me and that I was not to worry. It was such a glorious time of peace and sheer satisfaction of knowing that My Father loves me so much.

Two days later I get a call from my parents, after my dad had a vision of me, telling me that they wanted to bless me and take care of my expenses for the next 2 months. Even now, my eyes fill with tears and my heart is overwhelmed at the thought that God cares for me more than I will ever fully grasp. I am so thankful and grateful for my incredible family and for my Ultimate Provider who never fails to astonish me.

Thank you, Father... Thank you for your never ending love for me. Thank you for holding me so close to your heart and letting me know just how special I am to you. I give you my heart once again and everything that is within it. Help me to be more trusting. I love you.