Stories from Amsterdam and beyond...

Hallo again from Holland,

It is difficult to summarize the past four weeks in the Netherlands, but I have become convinced of God's desire to use prayer to reveal Himself to others. Here are a few stories to share how God has used some of our prayers here.

A few weeks ago during the homeless ministry we have been serving every Monday and Friday night, a women named Clare came. I was playing some worship songs outside when I started a conversation with her. From Poland, she had landed in Amsterdam without a job or a home. I shared what I had been doing in Amsterdam and some of who Jesus is. By the end of the conversation, she said that she did not believe in God, but I offered prayer anyway. She was looking for a job, so I simply asked God to provide her with one. I did not see her for two weeks after this conversation.

The next time I saw her, she looked much happier than before. In the two weeks after getting a chance to pray for her, she did find a job and a place to stay, at a Christian hostel! In that time, other fellow believers had shared the love of God and the Gospel. She was resistant, but the love of God broke through her doubt. She had asked for God's Spirit to fill her and everything changed in that moment. She was now convinced not only that God was real but that His Holy Spirit was amazing. After introducing her to some of the girls on the team, they met with her a few times. The discipleship process had begun. Unfortunately she had to return to Poland, but not without coming to meet the Lord. Now we must continue to pray!

This past week, my team has been partnering with a church in the city of Groningen, about 2.5 hours outside of Amsterdam by train. While partnering with a local church, we were meeting college students during the day to share the Gospel. Wednesday afternoon, I approached a group of students with Amanda, a student from California. After sharing what they were studying we shared why we had come to Holland. A couple became interested as we shared. Rebecca was a Christian but her boyfriend, Yenz, was not a believer. He said he believed there was "something out there" but could not be sure of a one way. We continued to share the Gospel and listen to who he was. He was open for us to pray for him at the end of the conversation but not ready for life with Jesus. We prayed for the love and Presence of God to reveal itself to him and left.

Rebecca had invited us to her Bible study the next day. I went with Amanda and Elizabeth to the Bible study. When we got there, Rebecca shared how Yenz could not get the prayer out of his mind from earlier in the day. She said he was more open to Jesus and interested in God than at any point in their relationship. It was so encouraging to see the way God moves after our simple prayers. Who knows how many have been impacted through prayer here in Holland?

There are many more stories and testimonies of God's goodness here in Holland and I cannot wait to share more on the next update! God bless, and keep praying!

Amsterdam Update!

Hallo from Amsterdam,

the first four weeks here in the Netherlands have been quite busy, and finally I have a chance to give a short update. I hope it is encouraging and I will be doing more frequent updates now that I know when I will have time. Blessings from Amsterdam!

Off to Europe!

After spending 11 life-changing weeks with over a hundred friends in Kona, Hawaii, I am now en route to the Netherlands. While most of my friends are from Kona are dispersing across the globe to spread the light and love of Jesus, I have the joy of continuing on with a family of 7. After three months, eleven teams will return to share the testimony of God's faithfulness across the nations.

As I currently await a 10 hour flight from Houston to Amsterdam, the anticipation for this journey with the Lord only grows. What part of God's story will we witness? How will He use us to display His glory? What parts of His heart will we discover in Amsterdam? Will God change an entire city in just months? Will lifelong friendships continue to grow? These are just a few of the questions that have stirred my heart in anticipation and expectation. The coming weeks will reveal the plans of God's heart for this family and my friends around the world.

May God's love and goodness capture hearts in Amsterdam.

"Nations will come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn." Isaiah 60:3

(Next update will be from the Netherlands!)

Awakening and Amsterdam

The time is nearing for a 3 month outreach to Amterdam and the love of God to change the people of the Netherlands! Enjoy the update. The light of Jesus is shining upon us!

Freedom, Prayer, and Preaching God's glory. Week 6 of Awaken DTS

God continues to love us and bring our hearts closer to His as we enter into the 6th week of the Awaken DTS. Enjoy the update!

Laying Down Your Rights

Aloha from Kona!

This past week, we had the honor of hearing from the founder of our mission, Loren Cunningham, and his wife, Darlene Cunningham. Though each day was powerful, Wednesday afternoon was spent with Loren Cunningham on laying down our rights. Starting with Mark 8:34-38,

"If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me..." (34) There is a cost to following Jesus. Understanding his immense love is the key to weighing the cost of following Jesus, but their is a cost.

There were times in Loren's life where God challenged him to lay down a multi-million dollar job, his office as an ordained pastor in the Assemblies of God denomination, his wife and his own life. As Loren shared the stories of walking out these trials, my heart was gripped when he shared on surrendering his wife, Darlene, to the Lord. Years ago, Loren and Darlene were traveling in Mexico and the vehicle they were driving spun out of control. Both were flung from the vehicle and injured severely. As Loren came to his senses, he saw Darlene lying unconscious. As he looked into what appeared to be his wife departing to be with Jesus, Loren heard God ask if he would still follow him. With tears in his eyes, he realized that he had nothing left but Jesus. His commitment to following Jesus was unwavering in his heart. Shortly after, the ambulance arrived saying that she would not make it through the night, but she recovered over the following days!

Do I think God restored Darlene based on Loren's obedience to surrender her? I don't know, but I know that Loren learned the secret of giving your life to Jesus. After each of these stories of laying down good things for the sake of the Gospel, there was an obvious freedom and thankfulness flowing from Loren's words.

The day ended with a challenge from Loren. Would you surrender your right to food? sleep? your money? your possessions? a family? marriage? your life? As the Lord challenged me, I realized that freedom lies in surrender to Jesus. For

"what good is it for a man to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?" (Mark 8:36)

As the entire class was laying down personal right the Lord was highlighting, an obvious joy was resting on everyone's heart. The less we hang on to the things of this world, the more we can know Jesus. Isn't it good to lay down our rights?

Please check out the podcasts from all our lectures online at http://www.awakendts.com/podcasts/

Awaken DTS Outreach Locations

Hallo! (the Dutch greeting!)

The Netherlands and more specifically Amsterdam will be my new home in just 3 months! The Lord has called a team of 9 young people in love with Jesus to shine on the streets of Amsterdam. It is a joy to release this news as God has been stirring my heart with expectation for this journey! God loves Amsterdam and He certainly loves the team of nine I will be co-leading to Amsterdam!

To all of my friends who have blessed me in prayer, this is the new target in my life for God's love to reveal itself. Please keep praying! God has a lot in store for us and the city of Amsterdam for the three months we will be there.

The video below shows the locations of the other Awaken DTS teams. May His glory cover the Earth!