Kona 2011 March Update
Dear Friends,
It's already been two months here and I can't believe that we
only have less than two more weeks to go before I head off to the
West Coast for the USA. Instead of covering everything
that's been going on here (that would be impossible!) I'll give
you a short bullet-point rundown of what's been going on
here:
Tsunami
Most of you must have heard that the tsunami that started in
Japan actually reached the Hawaiian Islands. We were all
hanging out last Thursday night after Steve Saint (Nate Saint's
son) spoke at our Thurs. Night Gathering and we heard the tsunami
warning sirens go off. Within a few hours our school had
people come up from the shoreline to meet as a safety gathering
point. The tsunami was predicted to hit the shores at 3AM,
but the biggest waves came at around 5AM Friday morning.
Praise God nobody was hurt or killed, but there was
extensive damage to many homes and businesses along the shore.
Our base was able to help those in need after the tsunami
and also minister. I wend down to the shore just this past
week and it looks almost like nothing happened, so PTL for God's
mercy!
Japan
At this past Thursday Night Gathering, they had a missionary
family that just came back from Japan explain about what happened
there and also there was a call to respond by committing to time
in and/or prayer for Japan. If any of you know my story,
you know that it was in Japan that I both met Jesus and was
called to missions, so Japan has always been in my heart.
It was amazing to see so many people moved by the call to
go to Japan and I really felt that God was reminding me of my
heart for Japan. So, whether I will stay long term or short
term, I made the commitment to help see revival in Japan somehow
(God will work out the details!).
Classes
I've been learning so much from classes that I'll definitely have
to bullet point the things that I learned in each week.
Andy Byrd (one of our school leaders) - He recast the vision of
Fire and Fragrance that we could be a people who live centered
around the presence of Jesus and have unapologetic faith in
revival and reformation by planting communities all over the
world.
Steve and Angie Thompson - They are leaders at Bethel Church in
Redding, CA. Steve spoke about God's original plan for
mankind, that it never changed. That God's plan is not only
about personal salvation, but that God has created us in His
image and after His likeness so that we have dominion and
authority over the earth.
Mark Herringshaw - He's one of the leaders here on the Kona base.
He reiterated the importance of the Word of God and how to
read it. Here is a quote to ponder: "Never study the Bible,
put yourself in a position where the Spirit and the Bible study
you."
Dr. Emmanuel Ziga - He was an amazing teacher/preacher from Kenya
that really brought the word of God. By the way all of what
I studied is available on iTunes podcasts at "Fire and Fragrance
Kona".
Dick Eastman who is the president of Every Home for Christ came
and gave us a seminar about the Tabernacle of David and the 24/7
prayer/worship movement that he basically pioneered.
Paul and Suzie Childers came and taught on Justice in missions
and basically gave testimony on how they were single-handedly
able to affect justice issues through prayer and action.
Eric Fish and Dr. Pam (forgot her last name) - they brought
amazing teaching on discipleship and apostolic church planting.
This week rocked my world about what church is and how we
do it.
Allen Hood is one of the leaders of IHOP and he basically brought
teaching on the marriage of prayer and missions. He also
brought the fire of God!
Sean Feucht is one of the founders of 24/7 burn, which are prayer
houses established all over the world and he also taught about
the prayer and missions movement.
As you can see there has been so much rich teaching here and I'm
really excited to go on outreach and apply all the things I've
learned!
Outreach
Here is the basic outreach schedule:
March 31 - Arrive in San Diego
April 3 - April 29 - in Los Angeles
April 29th to May 1st - Redding, CA, at Bethel Church
May 2 - May 11th Corvallis, OR
May 12 - June 10, Seattle, Washington
Prayer Requests
Please pray for travel mercies during my trip to the US.
Although we are not traveling to another country, we will
be on the road a lot so please pray that we are covered in terms
of traveling and health.
Please pray for the team that we would be a family of Jesus
followers. One of the words that we about our team was
"family". Please pray for unity and love amongst our team.
We will also be visiting some of our families while we are
on the West Coast. I'll actually have a chance to meet my
Dad and brother Ricky, so please keep that meeting in
prayer.
Please pray that our team would be centered around the presence
of God and that we would be able to follow how the Holy Spirit is
leading us during the trip. Another word that the leaders
gave our team was "worship." So, pray that we would have
worshipful hearts as we bring revival and transformation wherever
we go!
Funds - For all of those who have supported with funds, I thank
you for your support and at the end of the trip, I'll be able to
give a summary of how the funds were used. I'm actually
around $1000 short of what I need for the rest of the trip, so if
the Lord leads you to support more, you can do so through the
Jubilink website at www.jubilink.com/victor.
Finally, I just want to thank you for all your prayers and
support and just tell you that I can't wait to see you all again
and share the wonderful things that God's imparted to me here.
This has really been a sweet time of my life and I will
never forget this time. It's only half over, so I'll try to
keep you all posted of the goings-on while I'm on the road.
I'd love to hear from you all and I apologize in advance for
delayed replies, but I'll be sure to get back to each one of you,
so don't hesitate to write!
Much love in Jesus,
Victor