Unending Love, Amazing Grace

Without a doubt, it has been too long since I’ve posted on this blog. But today it feels as though the Lord has drawn me into a quiet place where I can focus on sowing into this account of my life. I am back in Cambodia, and this time it’s not for just two weeks. I’ve committed to staying one year, but I am seeking the Lord as to whether He would have me here longer.

This is a season unlike any other I have stepped into. This is a season full of wondrous blessings and vital lessons. For the past few years, it has been as though I’ve been nursed back to health by my dear Savior. I went from a confused, frustrated, prideful, cold-hearted boy, to a child of God who longed for true intimacy and fresh revelation of the Lord Jesus. This process was achieved not through my struggling and working towards God, but rather though sweet revelation of the grace imparted to me through Christ’s suffering on Calvary. He is worthy to be praised, and it is through my understanding of Him, that I am lead to lay my life down daily for the God who was, who is, and is to come. Through Him all good things flow, and outside of Him, there is no good thing. Oh, how I pray that each set of eyes that cross these words would be drawn by His Holy Spirit to further revelation of His love for you.

This season is clearly a season of learning to be a servant not only in my actions, but also in my heart and attitude. And it has truly been a blessing for the Lord to grow those attributes in me, so my actions can genuinely reflect my heart and mindset to serve. But what I have discovered recently that really separates this season from any other I have walked through is the “inner-shell” that this season seems to hold. An inner-shell of peace and stillness. A stillness that is set apart for the work of the Lord in my life. In that stillness, I hold this longing for wisdom and discernment, a hunger for humility, and fertile ground to bury the Word of God in. And during my time spent in scripture the Lord has revealed to me that His investments into this core of my life, will produce the fruits of His unending love and His amazing grace. That is what has drawn me back to this blog. How fitting is it to have a blog name that describes the fruits of my Lord’s work in my life?! The Lord gave me the name of this blog a long time ago, and I now see that I have yet to understand the fullness of its meaning.

I will wrap up this post with some prayer requests that I hope you will take to the Lord on my behalf:

Wisdom and discernment, Unity among the Lighthouse team, Maintaining connection with the Church back in the USA, Spiritual gifts to flow freely, and that God’s gospel of grace would spread through this region and on to all the world.

My King is like a sunrise on this small quiet town
Palm trees reach up to touch His warm morning air
Flowers span their soft pedals to color the landscape of this,
Small…Quiet…Town

For His pleasure alone does creation sing
This small, quiet, town joins the mighty chorus every morning
Lifting its songs and spreading it's branches
Revealing that only He is worthy to be praised

Yet this town, has remained small and quiet
This small quiet town has seen many changes
But has remained small and quiet
This small quiet town has lasted the ages
But has remained small and quiet

Who are the people of this small quiet town
Who walk the streets, and sweep the sidewalks
Day in, day out, only to repeat again
They too are small and quiet
And His Sun rises again and again,
As if to peer in and ask,

What is your story, oh small quiet town?
Your birds chirp to greet me
And your plants reach up to glean from me
But you do not acknowledge me.

You squint up to the sky only out of frustration
As though my light does not please you.
Your rats and dogs scurry away into the shadows
And await my absence, so they may return in peace
Why do you grumble come morning?
What entices your imagination, more than my beauty and mercies?

I have risen up fresh crop for you
I have warmed your homes and given you sight
Sight that has provided you safe passage
And revealed truth about your greatest fears
But you do not open your eyes.

Instead you stumble around in the darkness
And flee from the smallest bumps in the night.
Am I not larger than anything that has ever clattered around in the shadows?
Could I not dry up, and blow away an entire city should I desire.

Yet I have remained gentle with you.
I have done so only because it pleases me to do so
Know this, oh small, quiet, town
You have turned your face away from me
You have sought out the shadows
You have given your hearts over to wickedness and foolishness

So my Sun has shown hot upon you small quiet town.
I have shown you great mercies,
But my mercies have proven vain.
Should you desire wisdom
Flee the shadows, and seek Me
Fear the Lord who gives, and takes away.
I am tender with my those I call my own
My mercies will be poured out upon you once again
On this small, quiet, town

I too, have a small and quiet side
My voice has been kindled to anger
But my voice longs to be still and small
But I will move in large and mighty ways
Should I see fit.

So turn to me now
That my wrath may be cooled
I long to impart grace and forgiveness to you

Be still, small quiet town
That I may tend to your sores
For they are many
And many are deep.

Long it has been, oh dear city
Since you have allowed me to touch you
To give my healing warmth to your people
Surrender to my healing
That the Lamb who would purchase you
Might receive His glory this very day!

Oh small quiet town
Turn to the King
And receive His mercies

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The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases;
His mercies never come to an end;
They are new every morning;
Great is His faithfulness. -Lamentations 3:22-23

WOW…my God is an Awesome God! I knew I was embarking on a journey when I headed out to the Knoxville airport at 5:15 on Monday morning. But what God had in store was beyond my any of my expectations. I arrived to the airport with the Kears at the same time my parents got there. We got my luggage inside and got checked in. More and more people started arriving some friends of mine, and some friends of Elizabeth, but mostly friends of both of us.

After getting checked in, Jeff, Elizabeth and I all started towards the security checkpoint, followed by an army of friends and family to send us off right. The time spent saying goodbyes and see-you-much-laters was precious and dear but had to come to an end. The three of us that were going, entered the line and walked up to security while turning and waving each bend of the line. After entering the terminal we found some seats and started talking about how we were feeling and how this whole “moving to Cambodia” thing didn’t even seem real. However, not long after we started talking, our names were called out over the speaker for us to see the gate attendant. So we approached the desk and were told that due to a bad strut on the airplane, our flight would be delayed enough that we would miss our connection in St. Paul that was to go on to Tokyo, that was to go on to Bangkok. This was some VERY bad news because what the airline didn’t know is that we had separate tickets that would take us from Bangkok to Phnom-Pehn. And not just that, but we were supposed to meet another person in Bangkok, and we all had hotel reservations already placed for that night. The gate attendant told us we would need to go back out past security and go to the check in counter to see about other ticket options. So we turned and headed back out.

As we turned the corner to go past security, I could see many of my family and friends still talking right outside of security where I’d left them. Abigail Kear was the first one to see us, and the look on her face was one of confusion, joy, and some more confusion. We didn’t have time to talk, so we explained everything on the run as we headed to ticketing. Jeff Oakes worked hard and long with the ticketing lady with no success. Our best bet was to go back and see if the plane might be fixed in time for us to make our connection in St Paul. The lady told us that if the plane left by 10:15 we would be able to catch the flight if we hurried, but our luggage probably wouldn’t make it in time. So we returned back through security and waited for our flight. As our 10:15 deadline approached, Jeff asked Elizabeth and me what we wanted to do if the plane didn’t make it in time. We could return to Knoxville, and try to catch a flight the next morning, or we could fly to St. Paul and see what we could do from there. We decided to take the flight to St Paul and enter the airline system.

When we hit the ground in St Paul, we went to the gate for the Tokyo flight just to see if it was still there. However, the plane was flying away as we reached the gate as was expected. We then found an information and booking desk and explained our situation. We sent a page to the Atlanta airport to tell Martin, who was to meet us in Bangkok, that we would not be able to meet him. But, we had no idea whether or not he received it. Jeff then continued to try to figure out how we could possibly get to Bangkok before our separate flight left. The attendant said that the database showed that we had already been rerouted to Hawaii. Yes that’s right…Hawaii!

This meant that we would arrive a day later than we planed and would miss our flight from Bangkok, but it was the fastest way to Bangkok we could find. We decided to take the flight to Hawaii, spend the night there, and fly on to Tokyo in the morning. As we were waiting to board the plane, we saw that the flight we were taking was going to Seattle, not Hawaii. When we asked at the counter about the issue, we found out that we would need to fly to Seattle, get off the plane, wait about forty five minutes, then reboard the plane and fly to Hawaii. In Seattle, we were able to access a free internet connection and catch up with what was going on in the world. Then we reboarded our same plane and continued on to Hawaii.

Honolulu was absolutely beautiful. We arrived to find that the airport is open to the outdoors and a fresh ocean-tropical breeze blows across your face as you enter the terminal. We acquired some vouchers from the airline so we could sleep and get cleaned up at a discount hotel near the airport. We got to the hotel, and got some sleep; I snored…loud. After taking some verbal abuse for disturbing other’s sleep, I went to look out the window. From the 11th floor, I could see a far way out. The sun was rising and I could see houses nestled in-between volcanic mounds. And the vegetation was lush and exotic. I found a latch on the window and opened it up. Immediately, the fresh Hawaiian air burst into the room and everyone turned and took a deep breath. It was truly indescribable. Jeff said that he now knew he wanted to bring his wife to Hawaii for vacation. Sadly it was time for us to leave our island paradise and board another plane, so we went to the airport to check in.

Jeff and Elizabeth checked in just fine, but when I tried to check in, I got a message telling me to see the ticketing desk. So after I waited in line, I was able to find out that my luggage was missing from their system. The best we could do was to continue on and hope that my luggage would find me further down the road. We had some time to grab some breakfast and use our cell-phones for the last time before we were out of our domestic calling range.

We flew from Honolulu to Tokyo, and in Tokyo we found an information desk so we could attempt to find our luggage. There was a young mousy lady who made phone call after phone call and tore away at her keyboard. She would get on her walkie-talkie, then make another phone call then type type type, then repeat the process for what seemed like an hour. All of this was in Japanese, and she just kept smiling, so we had no idea whether she was having any luck or not. What made her job so hard was that our baggage claim tickets no longer applied to our luggage because our luggage was all rerouted with us, but we didn’t receive the new claim tickets. When she finished she looked at us and said that she was able to find some of our luggage in the database, and that she would continue to work finding the rest of it. She offered to meet us at our departure gate and tell us what she was able to do. We gratefully accepted.

When we were waiting in line to board the plane, the lady found us and told us that she was able to find five of our six bags and they would be on our plane, but she couldn’t find the sixth yet. It was amazing enough that she was even able to match any of our bags up with us, and so we were thinking five out of six isn’t too bad. We then flew to Bangkok, Thailand not knowing what ever happened to Martin, or our luggage. We went through passport control and then to baggage claim. There we waited to see who was going to get their luggage and who wasn’t. I got both of my bags, then Jeff got both of his, and we knew Elizabeth had drawn the short straw. Sure enough, she got one of her bags, but the other never showed up. We then made our way to the lost baggage office and again explained everything that had happened thus far. The baggage assistant showed that there was a flight from Tokyo to Bangkok that was to arrive in about twenty five minutes from a different airline, but she said that the bag might be on that flight. We had our doubts, but then we prayed and prayed and went to the luggage carrousel for that flight and watched. The first bag wasn’t it, nor was the next and so on and so on, as we prayed and prayed. Then about the fourth bag from the end, it popped up out of the conveyor belt and we began to praise God! Next on our to-do list was to find Martin. Did he ever check his email or hear the page in the airport? Did he go on to the hotel? Is he STILL waiting at the airport? We had no idea where he might be. So when we arrived to the Bangkok airport, we went through passport control, and looked for Martin. We couldn’t find him, so Jeff made some more phone calls and without any success, we called the hotel to get some sleep before we were to head out in the morning.

We reached the hotel pretty late at night and tried to see if we could still redeem our reservations from the previous night that we were unable to collect on. After explaining our airline experience, we were able to change our reservation, and we found out that Martin had not come to the hotel. The beds were very hard, but we didn’t much care about that. We got up early and headed to the airport, not knowing whether we would need to repurchase our tickets, or even if we could get a flight. We went to the desk and again explained our situation. They were very unsure of how to handle the situation. Jeff was at one counter an Elizabeth and I were at the next counter over. The lady that Elizabeth and I were talking to told us we needed to go to customer service to buy new tickets, but then the lady talking to Jeff said she could just change our tickets. So after re-explaining our situation again, both the ladies decided it was too complicated and just gave us new tickets for the next flight to Phnom Pehn. Then they took our luggage and gave us our tickets and sent us on our way. Our luggage was WAY over weight, and we were all probably going to have to pay close to one hundred dollars in fees, but instead we didn’t have to pay ANYTHING! So immediately the three of us raised our hands up to heaven and started praising God and singing right there in the middle of the airport. We had gotten over our huge hurdle and had done so without having to pay any fees or fines. God truly brought us out of what could have been an impossible or EXTREAMLY expensive situation. The only thing left to do was to find our plane and fly to Phnom Pehn. But we still hadn’t heard from Martin and we had no idea if he was with Lewis or if he was still in some airport. So we boarded our plane, still unable to make communication with Lewis or anyone who might know where Martin was and began the flight to Cambodia.

The plane was small so every seat seemed like a window seat, and from it, I could see the flat square-shaped rice fields that continued on as far as the eye could see. I told myself that I was home, but it just didn’t seem to feel real yet. As we got off the plane I could feel the warmth of the Cambodian air as I walked off the plane. We went through immigration and got our temporary business visas, and then FINALLY got a hold of Lewis. He told us that he was unable to meet us at the airport, but there would be a taxi waiting for us outside the airport. Sure enough as we walked out, there was a short dark Cambodian man with a sign with big bold letters saying “JEFF OAKES”. We greeted the man who spoke no English and followed him to his van. We loaded his Mercedes van and got in. This wasn’t some royal treatment we were receiving. Almost every vehicle over here with four wheels is either a Mercedes or a Lexus, but none the less, it was a nice van. We made signals to the driver to borrow his phone and Jeff called Lewis to figure out whether this driver knew we were to go. Jeff then asked Lewis if Martin ever showed up at the airport or if anyone was even there to meet him. Lewis said he hadn’t heard anything from Martin, but Jeff knew Lewis well enough to see through his game. Martin had indeed gone on to Cambodia and was with Lewis in Kampot already. We were to tell the driver to go to Kampot and we would soon be home. It was about eight in the morning and about four hours later, many pot holes and too many close calls to count, we arrived in Kampot. We only made one stop on the drive at a small gas station, where we got some drinks and chips. Jeff bought the driver a can of apple juice that he thoroughly enjoyed. He had obviously never had apple juice before. He kept studying the can and turning to give Jeff two big thumbs up. When he finished his juice, we were on the road again.
When we reached what we thought was the city limit, the driver pulled over and Jeff called Lewis to find out where we were to meet him. But the driver kept pointing like we were at the right place. But there was nothing around but some salt fields and a store that makes concrete elephants. Before Jeff could get directions, Lewis showed up out of nowhere and tapped on the window. Sure enough behind the wall beside us was the home that Lewis and his family had been living. It was a large home that is owned by some other missionaries that are currently out of the country. We all unloaded our belongings and Lewis paid the driver and we all went inside. Shortly afterwards, Walter and Lisa and their two boys showed up and we all sat down to some soup. Jeff dispersed gifts to the Burke family that church members had sent with him. After lunch, us guys went over to the house the Burkes will be moving into and worked on scraping and painting until dinner time. When we got back, I was able to get online and post an update on facebook. (Thank you everyone who has sent messages and left wall posts!!!) For dinner, the ladies had made pasta and marinara sauce with parmesan cheese. It was absolutely delicious.

Elizabeth and I then crammed our all our luggage into a car with seven people went to the house we would be living at for quite some time. It was very dark outside, and I was too tired to even make sense of all the turns and signs, so when we got there, I just spilled out of the car and walked upstairs to my new room. The bed was not a twin size bed like I had planned for, so I gave my sheets to someone else, and then went to bed.

I woke up around six in the morning and spent some time looking out the windows and doing some reading. As other people started waking up I went downstairs to check out the house. I went outside and looked at it for the first time, and was simply blown away with how nice of a house God had provided for the team. It is owned by a doctor in the town; he is renting it out and living next door while he builds a new house. He is a good landlord, and speaks good English. Once everyone was awake, the guys headed back over to the Burke’s soon to be home, and continued working until about four in the afternoon. Around noon Lewis brought some lunch to us and then put us back to work. We made a lot of progress that day. We had finished the entire upstairs, and had scraped most of the downstairs. When we are finally done, it will look very nice, but until then, here is a lot of renovating that we will be doing.

At four we left and went back home to get cleaned up. I was told that the internet barely worked sometimes and didn’t work at all most the time. This is probably due to other people running cables out to our internet cable, so we are having the company come “fix it” when they get around to it. Until then, I have been using my free time to type this summary and hopefully post it soon. Anyways, we got cleaned up and headed to the house where the Burke’s are currently living, and we gathered for some time of prayer and worship. The time was well spent. We talked late into the night, and I felt like I was about to pass out. As soon as we got home, we ate some dinner and I crashed in the bed.

The next morning, I woke up around six again and grabbed some cereal for breakfast. Everyone else here sleeps until about eight, so I have some quiet time each morning where I can let my thoughts run free without any distractions. I did some reading and once everyone else was awake, we spent some time talking and getting to know each other better. Then around 10:00 Ryan, Elizabeth and I went with Lisa to go get some bread and then Lisa went back to start on lunch while the three of us did some walking around the city. This allowed me to get my bearings of the city again. It’s nice to have an idea of where you live in relation to everything else. Kampot is still the same Kampot I loved so much the first time I came. The breeze felt heavenly and I couldn’t help but stretch my arms out and let the wind whip at my clothes, as the warm sun fell upon my face and feet. I love walking through this city; you are compelled to shout out praises to the living God, while your heart is turned to intercede for every adult and young person that your eyes fall upon. And there is such a sense of the moving of God in this city, it is truly a precious and intimate time. The Father is about His work, and his laborers, though few, are willing and eager.

As we were heading back in the direction of home, Pekadey (SP?) saw us from her restaurant and shouted at us and waved us down her street. As we reached her restaurant, Two Sisters, she greeted us with a joy that seems to bubble from her all the time. She is a real encouragement and a living testimony to the kingdom of God. When someone Pekadey has never seen comes into her store, she will approach them with a sincere smile and says to them, “Hello, I’m a Christian, and would you like to know why?!” She not only unashamed of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, but she is a powerful evangelist for its cause. She has been a real encouragement to me here in Cambodia. Her husband, Vutha, was to be ordained to be a minister in the nation of Cambodia later that same day, and she was filled with excitement and anticipation, that seemed to flow over onto anyone who was nearby. After eating our cookies and telling her we would see her at the ordination, we left and went home for lunch.

Later that afternoon, the whole team headed to the orphanage for the Vutha’s ordination service. We filled the place up with people from the salt field church, as well as some other churches in the area. Not to mention all the orphans and our team. We spent some time worshiping in Khmai. Lewis has said that he believes every Cambodian is tone deaf, and I have yet to hear anything otherwise. But despite the lack of any key to sing in, there was a joyful noise lifted up to glorify God, and it was good. Then the service continued as Lewis gave witness to Vutha’s testimony, and Jeff Oakes spoke on what ordination was and why it was important. Then Vutha as given a charge by Lewis. Vutha as then presented symbolic gifts to equip him for his ministry. The church elders prayed for Vutha and then we ended the service. The orphans brought about thirty pounds of fresh fruit out on a table and it was quickly devoured by the crowd. The fruit here is so fresh and juicy, that one can’t help but slurp and squirt juice everywhere. Eating here is a very messy but enjoyable experience! After the service we all went home, ate some real dinner, and got some sleep.

The next day Walter and Lisa took Elizabeth and me out to the market to get some supplies for our rooms. The market was not made for six foot American men to walk through, the isles are about a foot and a half wide at the widest point, and it is a very tight squeeze to pass someone as they stop to shop. The roof is about five and a half feet tall at some points, so I remained in a hunched over position for most of our shopping. Another thing about the market, is that the old ladies don’t hesitate to grab your “backside” if they want you to move. And apparently this is common practice, as I was “moved” seven or eight times before we had finished shopping. At one point I heard Walter, who was walking behind me, let out a quick holler, and about three seconds later I realized why, because the same lady found me in her way as well. Lewis had explained that this is not an advance; it is simply how they make their presence known as they pass you. Much like honking your horn as you drive. When we were done shopping we went back home and unpacked our purchases. I’ve about have my room completely settled into. I am still working on getting a desk so I can have a place to sit and work from.

At about two o’clock we headed over to Lewis and Kristen’s to play some games and spend some time hanging out. Some of us played risk, while others played chess and other games. I do wish I had brought some of my games with me, but there was no what I could have known I wouldn’t pay for overweight luggage. When the game of risk FINALLY came to an end, we sat down together to worship and pray. Lewis filled us in on what we could be praying for and where things were standing at the moment. We pressed into the Lord, and praised His goodness. When we finished, we all headed out to the CoCo House to eat. The CoCo House is where we ate about every meal the last time I was here. It is under new management and new staff, but the menu had hardly changed. We all talked and laughed and ate. After dinner, we headed home and I went straight to bed.

It is now Monday the 18th at about 7:30 in the morning, and the plan for today, and many days in the future, is to go over to the house the Burkes will be moving into, and scrape, paint, and clean until it is ready to move into. As David Wilson once said, going on missions simply means taking out the trash. So here I am, taking out the trash in the nation of Cambodia…May the Lamb who was slain receive the glory for His suffering!!!! God let your glory fall in this city and in this nation! Our God is an awesome God!

Time management is crucial to our work for the Kingdom, relationships with others, and our relationship with God. We have all been given enough time to achieve ALL that God has laid out for our lives. So if we find that we are pressed for time, it is an issue is not the amount of time, but the use of it.

As Oswald Sanders put it: We can work while others waste time, study while others sleep, and pray while others play.

And with time management, it is easy to lay out a plan and STICK TO IT. But that is exactly what will get us in trouble. We MUST have flexibility! It is wise to lay out a plan and to build disciplines that will lead to good habits. But, since when do we know what God wants us to achieve? It is SO easy to look at things in our own understanding. And in doing so, we give up all those divine appointments the Lord himself has set before us.

True time management is someone who is looking at his day with Kingdom eyes, and has their ears tuned to the Holy Spirit. A person hard at the work set before them, but willing to leave it at a moment's notice to spend time with a friend, a neighbor, a coworker, a complete stranger, and, YES, even to spend time with God. We must be careful that the busyness of life, doesn't supersede the will of the Father.

Relationships take time, and sometimes the time they take, take away from our scheduled time. But please trust me when I say it's worth it! These annoying interruptions to our masterpiece of a daily plan, are (in my opinion) some of the most precious gifts the Lord gives us. They are, in every sense of the word, divine appointments. They are the food on the table that the Lord sets before us in the presence of our enemies. A man would be a fool to pass them by.

Proverbs 3:5-6:
Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.

Hello all,

Its been a little while since Ive posted, and I'm not sure when I will return to a more regular schedule. But I wanted to at least give you all an glimpse at what God has been doing in my life.

I can sum it all up in three words: Prayer, Humility, and Excellence

Prayer:

It seems as though I just finished a lesson on prayer. Over just the last few months, God labored with me teaching me the definition of intercession, and I did an enormous amount of study on prayer, not to mention the actual time praying and interceding (please pray that I keep the ball rolling with intercession). But I cannot deny an intense call back to dig in about prayer. During the last CCA (College and Career Age) gathering, we discussed discerning of seasons in the Body of Christ. During this discussion, I could feel God saying to me that He would draw us into a better understanding and practice of prayer. Sure enough, Randy mentioned that he felt a season of prayer coming. And it wasn't just me and Randy who could sense this coming, there were others that night who could feel it as well. So please pray, not just for me, but for the Body as a whole, that we can prepare for this season, and that we would glean all that is there to gather throughout this blessed season.

Humility:

Wow...this has been a tough one. I wont go into all the details, but many of you know in part what all has been going on in my life. I have been humbled in more ways that I can count, and I say "keep it coming!" The blessings poured out, and yes I mean POURED out on the humble are beyond description. I have learned of my own foolishness in finances, relationships, and as well as everyday wisdom. God has graciously removed His hand of favor from different areas of my life one at a time to show me just how foolish I am without his wisdom, and guidance. I really don't see why I don't make these mistakes daily in every area of my life! God truly watches over me day in and day out! He is faithful to those who are faithful to Him. And praise God because without his tender TENDER mercy, I would be lost, completely lost. I have gained a new understanding of who God is. God is a merciful god. In the past I have had difficulty trusting God to provide for me when I take risks he has asked me to take. And it blows me away that He still provides even when I struggle to trust. But what really gets me is when I can go and make a complete fool of myself, and get myself into all kinds of trouble, and He delivered me from MY own troubles! How great is my God?! He is truly worthy to be praised!

Excellence:

This is a word that God has asked me to define. What is Excellence? well...I'm still working on that. But I am learning some amazing things. Every time I learn something new about excellence, it amazes me that, with God's help, I can make that part of my character. So far God has been showing me Antonyms of Excellence (I don't know why Antonyms, but I am learning a lot). Some of these are Compromising, Passive, Failure, Procrastination, Indifferent, Mediocre, Corrupted, and Second-Rate. Needless to say, these are not things you want to find in yourself. But I have found that with Antonyms, I now know what to look for when I am searching myself to find sin within me. How can I remove such things from my life if I don't know what they look like? God has spent a great deal of effort working with me on these things. I am very thankful for the work He has done and continues to do in me. If you aren't letting God work in you and teach you, please take my advice and turn to God. He waits for you, with His eyes on the horizon watching until he sees you turn back to Him. And from far off, He will see you and run to meet you. Of this, I can give testimony!


Yes, I know that looks like a lot, but believe me when I say that it is just a glimpse! God is willing and able to do great works in us, if we will only let Him.

When upon life’s billows you are tempest-tossed,
When you are discouraged, thinking all is lost,
Count your many blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

Refrain:
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
Count your blessings, see what God hath done!
Count your blessings, name them one by one,
And it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

Are you ever burdened with a load of care?
Does the cross seem heavy you are called to bear?
Count your many blessings, every doubt will fly,
And you will keep singing as the days go by.

When you look at others with their lands and gold,
Think that Christ has promised you His wealth untold;
Count your many blessings—wealth can never buy
Your reward in heaven, nor your home on high.

So, amid the conflict whether great or small,
Do not be disheartened, God is over all;
Count your many blessings, angels will attend,
Help and comfort give you to your journey’s end

"A thankful heart is not only the greatest virtue, but the parent of all the other virtue." - Cicero

This past week has been a tough week for myself as well as many of my friends. Last night when some friends and I gathered to pray, I first asked for praise reports, and there was a silence, no one really had anything right off, not even myself! This is TRAGIC! For a christian, this is not only unacceptable, but IMPOSSIBLE! Do we not serve a GREAT GOD?! Slowly some basic things started coming to mind....the weather is nice, i'm not sick, and I have a job. But I didnt feel like I was thankful for those things, and I sure wasnt giving God the praise He was and still is due! I went back to my appartment, and watched 0ne of my favorite movies, "Facing the Giants", It really helped me reset my way of looking at God's hand in my life. As time goes on, more and more things are brightening my day. I live in a HUGE appartment, drive a VERY nice truck, I have lots of very nice clothes, I have NEVER missed a meal (THANK YOU GOD!), I have the most amazing church family on the entire earth, and I truely mean that! (Just try to find a better one!), And my relationship with my Heavenly Father is growing by leaps and bounds!, and that is ALL God. My list truely does go on and on! So next time we meet and pray, be VERY careful about asking for praise reports!! cause I've been COUNTING!

While Jesus was on the way to Jerusalem, He was passing between Samaria and Galilee.
As He entered a village, ten leprous men who stood at a distance met Him;
and they raised their voices, saying, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!"
When He saw them, He said to them, “Go and show yourselves to the priests." And as they were going, they were cleansed.
Now one of them, when he saw that he had been healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice, and he fell on his face at His feet, giving thanks to Him. And he was a Samaritan.
Then Jesus answered and said, "Were there not ten cleansed? But the nine--where are they?
"Was no one found who returned to give glory to God, except this foreigner?"
And He said to him, "Stand up and go; your faith has made you well."

Luke 17:11-19

Abba,

Wont you come and meet me here.
Please come and calm this heart of fear.
I'm lying down on this hard floor,
in this small room behind this door.
There's no one here but You and me.
My heart's been locked, but here's the key.
It isn't much, but here I am.
Please cover me with Blood from the Lamb.

I need Your mercy and Your grace
to shine again upon my face.
I need You, Abba, to meet me here,
to bring me joy, to take these tears.
I come before You humbly now.
I hear Your Word and cry "Ee-Taow!"
I lay down here at Your very feet.
I cant raise my eyes unto Your seat.
My head is low bearing all my shame.
Please take it all in Christ Jesus's name

Please hold me like You used to do.
Capture my heart; draw me close to You!
I am not worthy to be called Your son.
It isn't by anything that I've done,
but solely by Your saving grace
that I've found Your warm embrace.
Renew your Spirit in my soul,
and cleanse my lips with the burning coal
That I may go to the ends of the Earth,
proclaiming aloud Your unfailing worth!

Teach me, O Lord, how to do intercession.
I want to go deep for a strong foundation,
so that I can carry all of the weight
that will eventually be piled upon my plate
I know that the ground looks broken and torn,
but a building of Yours will soon adorn
this hill where You have set me to be
until that day when I will see
You coming down to claim your own,
and gather the seeds that you have sown!

I come to You not in my own name,
but through Jesus Christ whom I proclaim!

Recently I have been hearing a lot about how a name reflects who a person is. There are may examples in the Bible where a name directly reflects the persons personality or attributes. Therefore, I thought it appropriate to find out what my name means. My full name is Jonathan Ray Trentham.

Jonathan is Hebrew and means Gift from God, or God has given

Ray is Germanic and means Advice or Decision protector

Trentham refers to those who reside near the River Trent in Wales. The River Trent is called Trent because it is a "gushing river" also translated "overflowing". Trent also means to travel or to journey.

I dont claim to be some great gift from God or a great place to go for advice, but I will continue to examine my name and watch how God grows me into it. I believe a name can influence you if you allow it to, and I plan to take hold of what I have been given.

This message was written by my aunt, Stephanie Powers, for a fellowship of believers on campus at UT Knoxville. She delivered it at the amphitheater during the regular thursday night worship time. I personally found this message very encouraging and insightful, and I gained a great deal from it. I hope you too will take some time to hear what God had to say that night.

PRAYER is intimacy with God that births new Life. It’s like this soda. It sits contained in a 2-liter, but when I shake it up, it just creates and creates. It changes its environment, and keeps multiplying. The whole scripture tells us that God is a God of relationship and intimacy. It tells us that HE is always ready to work and create, and to partner with us…. But He is stuck. Why is He stuck? He is stuck because He has self-limited Himself to wait, until His Body moves in prayer, asking, seeking, knocking, praying according to His purpose which is outline in His Word. His precious Word that brings Life. Jesus said, I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. So if that is His essence, when we mingle with Him, we birth things of Way, Truth and Life. But how will we know what is on His heart and mind? Miracle – He puts it within us, when we are covenanted to Him and seeking Him with all our heart, mind and soul. Covenant is a powerful thing – In the days of Abraham, people made covenant for a number of reasons – love, peace after war, etc. Being under covenant with someone meant that each would give his very life for the other, closer than a brother, even exchange names… if the other party ever needed anything, he had the right to come and ask and it would be given, no matter what it was – they were as one. God has chosen to covenant with us as His people. You are His covenant partner, if you have crossed the divide by accepting His forgiveness that He offers us because of the price paid by Jesus. We could spend a whole other teaching on covenant, but let me just show you one thing here that touches my heart deeply. Remember covenant included the exchanging of names. Do you see that God exchanged names with us? Jesus was the Son of God, and we were the son of man. Yet, Jesus was called the Son of Man, and we are called sons of God. That is AWESOME – I mean, I am put in awe when I consider that. That is a whole other teaching. What I want you remember right now, is that if you have placed your life in the hands of God and accepted His forgiveness and you have given God the Lordship of your life, you are a covenant partner.

Now that you are under covenant, out of and in your love for your King, you enter His gates, to His very throne. It’s not a big palace to which you have to borrow the keys or go looking for someone that can let you in. No, you HAVE the keys to that place. God is enthroned in our very hearts! We enter His presence with confidence – not like Queen Esther who had to risk her life, hoping the king would grant her an audience. Did you know that you are a priest and king of the most High God? Don’t we kind of read in awe that Herod offered his wife even half his kingdom, and King Xerxes did the same for his beautiful wife Queen Esther? Well Jesus told his disciples not to fear, and assured them that it was the Father’s pleasure to make available the FULL Kingdom to them! How many times does He tell us to ask? Don’t believe me on any of this – take notes here and go look it up for yourself. Ask God the big and little questions, don’t get discouraged when you read something and don’t understand. Ask ask ask ask ask ask ask ask. Who had the most intimate relationship with Jesus during his ministry on earth in the flesh, according to what we read in the New Testament? He kept giving them these confusing parables, and then there were only a few that came back to ask questions. The disciples kept asking him, Lord, what did you mean by that? Jesus was drawing them in, wanting them to ask questions, to engage Him. Are you engaging Him? Acting like we know or understand something or someone, brings no life at all. We often go for the appearance of things, and having lived all over the world, and in various parts of our country, here in the south we especially have this tendency to go for the appearance of things – as long as I say the right things and go to the right meetings and go enough times etc etc, and as long as I can quote a few scriptures along the way and use spiritual words, I’m good; that’s what it means to be spiritual. NO. To be spiritual means to know God and to follow and obey His known Word and what He puts on our hearts… daily, moment by moment. To ENGAGE Him. Don’t just listen to those parables and then repeat them to others. ENGAGE HIM. ENGAGE HIM who is called the Way, the Truth and the Life. Let me put this aside just for a moment. There may be some of you here that are listening, and you have not entered a covenant relationship with God through Jesus. Maybe your heart is beating fast as I’m speaking, or your stomach has butterflies, or you feel like you’re going to cry, or you’re thinking, “I want that, I’m hungry for what that lady is talking about”. First, just start speaking to God and offer Him your heart. Ask Jesus to reveal Himself to you. Don’t believe based only on my testimony – let Jesus reveal Himself to you! Let me be blunt; we all come as broken people who need healing and forgiveness. Coming to Jesus means to repent, which means to TURN and walk away from our old self and old ways. We give ourselves up, because it’s worth it. Jesus asks us for everything – it is the most costly decision you will ever make. BUT, then He gives us back more than we ever thought possible, and so much more than we ever had. It’s a totally unfair trade and exchange. He paid the price, He made the way, and we sacrifice all we thought we had, to gain true Life – bubbling, changing, expanding, reproductive, healing, Life that lives forever in the presence of our Creator God, the only uncreated God, who formed us and made us and loves us with an everlasting love that is so far beyond our human understanding of love that we just can’t grasp it. Run to Him and place yourself at His feet. Ask Him to do what it takes to show you and the Truth and to help you follow after it. There will be folks who’d love to talk more with you after this time together.

Now, we were talking about engaging God. That brings me to prayer. Prayer has many elements to it. In prayer, we go the full gamut of communication and relationship. We praise and glorify God, we acknowledge who He is, and who we are, we confess our failures and receive his forgiveness and healing and Love and joy, we intercede, meaning we ask for things according to His will that we know, and sometimes we ask for things we’re not sure are in His will, and just ask Him to clarify that for us. We ask for help. We pray for our friends and loved ones, and yes, we absolutely pray for and bless our enemies. AND WE RECEIVE FROM HIM. Sometimes we receive in silence. Sometimes he speaks in a small voice, or a gut feeling, or a thought, or goosebumps, or we cry. Sometimes he tells us many things that we can’t put into words. Sometimes we look back and realize that even though we felt nothing or sensed nothing was going on in those times, our heart was being changed. We become more like Him, reflecting Him more and more, the more we seek His face. I remember about a year before I went to Africa, I would daily sit in my bedroom after reading and pondering the Scriptures and praying, I would literally lay my hands on my head and my heart, and ask God to change it all around to be like Him – MOVE what needed to be moved, get rid of the stuff that didn’t matter, just change me. I pictured a house that needed cleaning and all the furniture renewed and changed around. That’s what I prayed. I rarely felt anything. But looking back, I would get goose-bumps, because over time, I knew something big had been happening. The Potter’s hand was welcomed, and He was forming me and giving me new things in my heart and mind, to see as He sees. I still do that now--- I’ll never completely get it this side of knowing Him in full, face to face. But I’m seeking, grappling, pouring my heart out before Him, renewing my mind through His Word that He has gifted us with.

Let’s look at the apostle Paul’s work. Paul was one of the earliest missionaries that we read about in the Old Testament, who had a vast ministry and raised up people to follow the Lord across many nations. He was imprisoned many times and persecuted, but always content and full of Love for the Lord. Isn’t it incredible to see how the church grew during that time? We read Paul’s passionate letters to those who he had visited before, and those who he couldn’t quite get to… what does he always assure them? He prays for them – He thanks God for them, remembering them always in his prayers… day and night. And he always urged the others to pray for him and to pray for their brethren. We see the fruit of that in the early church – that God did that. What did Jesus spend so much time doing – He prayed. I challenge you to go study John 14-17 which includes what God prayed for the early Church and for us (those who would come). He pleaded with God that He would make us one, as Jesus is one with the Father. What happened and is still happening today, is a direct result of those prayers. I imagine God with raised right arm in the heavenlies, ready to act, with millions of angels at attention ready for the word, and as soon as Jesus, or we pray something according to His will, his arm comes down, the flags go up, and there is a spiritual action that ignites in that moment. Angels are sent to fight the demonic forces that hold many in bondage, that hold whole nations and people groups in bondage, that hold our hearts in bondage, and they fight. You can read some great stories that demonstrate that in the book of Daniel and other places in the Bible. But for now, just know that God ACTS in response to our prayers. The Bible says that God LOOKS for those who will pray and intercede as priests – read Ezekiel…. He is looking for men and women whose hearts are right – what does that mean? Hearts that are in love with Him, entwined with His heart, – Jesus said in John 15: “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. If you abide in Me, and my words abide in you, you will ask what you desire and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be my disciples”. So, when we pray and seek God’s face and His heart, and let Him minister to us, He gives us His heart, and answers what we ask.

Let’s look at the prophet Isaiah and how God gave him His heart. It says in Isaiah 6 that Isaiah was before the Lord and was seeing things in the heavenlies. As he was praising and worshipping God, it naturally led him to repent of his sin – he said I am a man of unclean lips and now I’m going to die because I’ve seen God. God cleansed him, and then, guess what? Isaiah heard God say something about what God needed. It says, “Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying: Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” That was the problem God was trying to solve – it’s what was on God’s heart. He had a mission to fulfill, but he didn’t know who was willing to go – “Who will I send?….” Isaiah said here am I, but oh God I need preparation. God said no problem – you need clean lips, here’s my angel with a coal of fire to cleanse your mouth. Now go. Jesus told his disciples, go go go. Don’t worry, I’ll give you My words. Those disciples were with him, walked with him, wrestled with him, asked questions to understand, ate and drank with him. Were they perfect? Oh no! They just didn’t get so many things. Toward the end there were STILL jostling for position to be the greatest, the highest, the one to sit next to Jesus, who was most loved, etc etc. But they engaged Jesus. When His spirit came upon them, then they were ready to take it to the very end – it didn’t matter the sacrifice. He dwelt in them and they were empowered with His Love and Presence. This is one of the most exciting aspects of prayer, to me. I love bringing my personal requests to God, and lifting up all my loved ones, and all of the people that God has put on my heart to pray for. I pray regularly for Osama bin Laden and his family, for Al Queda – that they may know Light and Love. But to believe and press into wanting to sense God’s heart and His mission, and what He is aiming to fulfill, first through prayer, then through action, is so so exciting to me. You may have many crushing problems in your life – a broken relationship, what seems to be hopeless situation, or a failure, or many failures! I encourage you to bring those to the Lord. And then, lift up your heart to Him and ask Him what’s on His heart… what are His purposes for you, your family, your school, your city, your nation, the nations….

If you are sitting here tonight, or you may have walked in not having planned to come here to this amphitheater, I can assure you that you are here because someone has prayed for you. A relative, a grandmother, a friend, or even someone that doesn’t know you, praying that God would meet students at UT and in the community. You have been drawn. All of us, we are moved by the prayers of someone else, that were prayed according to what was on God’s heart. God told us that even moreso than a tired man who is badgered by his neighbor for bread and finally gives in, is God eager and willing to give us what we ask Him for. The Bible says that God gives His spirit without measure to His children who ask! He is not stingy!

I have a picture in my heart that I often lean into. You know those hooks that you can hang your coat or hat on, just inside the door of a house? I picture huge hooks like that that represent the names and character of God. When I pray, its as if I grab hold of those hooks and I hang myself on them, wrestling with God, reminding Him of His covenant, and I ask for the big stuff – but I ask Him for what is according to His word and His way, and the things that He puts on my heart. Sometimes its people, sometimes it’s stuff in my own life, and sometimes it’s whole nations and people groups. My times of prayer with the Lord come from the most personal and intimate part of me. I remember almost 15 years ago, a mentor of mine told me, Stephanie, to know me most intimately, would be to know my prayer life. That made such a deep impression on me, because I realized that I had no fire or intimacy, or a real sense of relationship in my prayer life. It wasn’t very personal! I kind of had a list that I went through dryly, and there was no give and take. It was just a discipline that I struggled to do. But now I understand what he meant. It takes time and heart and commitment. It takes doing things we don’t feel like doing sometimes. It’s a sacrifice! By definition, sacrifices aren’t fun to give are they? They hurt, they cost something! Well still today there are times in my prayer life that feel dry or fruitless, but I can tell you that even in those times, God feeds me; and SUSTAINS me. He is our Shepherd. He promised us that yes, we WILL find Him if we seek Him with all our heart. It’s not enough to seek with the mind; He wants to engage our hearts, our emotions, our wants and desires, our passion. He wants us to lean into Him, cling, wrestle, negotiate as a partner. Let’s talk about that a second. God made us partners with Him. What does that mean? If you’re a partner with someone else, is it acceptable for one of the partners to make all the decisions and the other to fulfill them? No! Partnership means that things are decided together! Have you ever noticed how in Genesis, the Scripture says that God came down to see what Adam would name the animals? It says, “Out of the ground the Lord God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the air, and brought them to Adam to see what he would call them. And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name.” Adam used the God-given creativity within him, to name the animals what came to his heart and mind, and God enjoyed it!

If we are going to have intimacy with God that births a new thing, we must know Him and His purposes. I know that sounds obvious and elementary, but it often gets forgotten when we set out to do what’s on our hearts. Our hearts, as we all know, are very capable of going astray. I am constantly humbled at my heart’s tendency to stray from God and His purposes – moment by moment, act by act, word by word. I have to wage war against worthless words that tear down and complain, jealousy, envy, despising, envy, bitterness, lying, cheating, desperation, lack of faith …. We all do. Not one of us is above these things, and if we think we are, the scripture says to beware because we’re just deceiving ourselves. SO, we need God and we need him daily, like the manna in the wilderness. He gives us what we need for each moment, each day. He is looking for his people to seek Him continually. Being rooted in His word, and spending time with Him seeking His heart and letting Him plant things in us, is the only way to know Him and to have the give and take that we need to birth a new thing. Let me give you an example. Over the last several years, I’ve been praying that God would give me a hunger for the lost. First, I know that’s His will – it’s clear throughout the scriptures that God is hungry for the lost and wants not even one to perish, and that He wants us to join Him in that heart and work. But there was a time in my life when I was not. I remember about 10 years ago, I was in a small group Bible study and we were praying afterward, and a new friend of mine was crying during prayer time. I felt so much compassion for her, imagining she was struggling with a broken relationship, or had been hurt by someone. When we shared together afterward, she said she was weeping for those that do not know Jesus in our city – her heart was crying out to God, weeping with Him for sheep that were not yet with Him. I have to tell you, I grew up as a missionary kid, and quote, “reaching the lost” has been a mantra that I’ve heard a million times, but I don’t think I remembered ever seeing that passion and hunger and compassion. It shocked me. And I thought, that’s Jesus. That’s what I want. I want to be hungry for what He is hungry for; I want to see what He sees; I want to want what He wants. And I set on a journey to seek Him and know Him. Now, I look at people, and I feel compassion, and I’m hungry to see them know Life. I’m hungry for people. I’m hungry to see Christ in people. The bible says to seek him while he may be found. Friends, don’t waste a day. There are prayers you can pray within covenant with God, that are just brainless if you know what I mean. It is so hugely clear, certain things that ARE according to His will. Let me just read some examples of prayers that we know for certain are within God’s will:

1) Lord, help me to want what you want, see what you see.
2) Lord help me to honor and love my parents more.
3) Lord, make me more like you
4) Lord, make me more of a servant, and keep me humble before you
5) Lord give me your compassion, and make me merciful and long-suffering like you
6) Lord, reach the nations, every tribe and tongue, with Your love and the good news that you bring Abundant life
7) Lord, make us, your children, One as you are one. Pull us together as your Body, fully united. Lord help us to understand and live the reality that we cannot function without you and without each other.
8) Lord, be glorified in all the earth. Wherever your Name is questioned or brought low, pour out your Glory and draw people to you.
9) Lord, wherever you people are suffering from persecution, fill them with your sustaining Love and boldness, to remain faithful til the end.
10) Lord make us fruitful in your vineyard, sharing your Life, bringing new Life, investing all we are for your Kingdom, giving it all away.
11) Lord, bring all of the parentless children into homes of your making, for you’re the Father of the fatherless.
12) Lord, strengthen all the marriages in the world to be more and more a reflexion of you.

There are so many powerful prayers that we know are His will. Let me tell you a secret. When we pray these things that are according to Scripture, God must fulfill them because it’s His word we are praying. Have you ever thought about that? He cannot go back on His Word, He absolutely cannot. There are so many verses that say this – it’s a whole other study. We are covenant partners, and we are holding Him to His covenant promises. In Psalm 138:2 the psalmist says, I bow before your holy Temple as I worship. I will give thanks to your name for your unfailing love and faithfulness, because your promises are backed by all the honor of your name.” We pray according to His Names, His character, His heart, and the moving in our heart. Now, when we pray according to what’s on our hearts, and it is not clear in scripture that it is His purpose, then we have to understand that sometimes we’re just not getting it right. But God knows. He is changing our hearts to be more like His, as we dwell closely with and in Him. Don’t give up. Praying for a car or a life partner, well, we just don’t exactly know what He wants. But what I do know, is that He wants us to lay those desires before Him, and engage Him about it. Invite Him to change your heart as needed and do what it takes to keep you on the right path “…and He will give you the desires of your heart”.

The last thing I want to mention here, is about the power of praying with other people. I’m still learning about this and I’m so enthralled. When Jesus was teaching the disciples to pray, He said it in terms of WE. Our Father, who art in heaven. He teaches us throughout His word the foundational nature of our intimacy with one another – an eye can’t function without a hand. Corporate prayer, prayer of many together, is a very powerful thing, that seems to do something different, or beyond what an individual prays. I’m learning about it. I want do join in prayer with others more and more and more – I’m hungry to do it together. I think that’s God putting something in my heart. I know the BCM has a prayer room now – that’s exciting. There are several groups on campus that meet regularly for group prayer. I believe a day will come when we routinely see ministries and denominations coming together more and more to pray and seek God’s face. I encourage you to commit yourself not only to prayer as an individual, but as a group.

I want us to take some time now to pray. And I want you to lay your heart before the Lord. (close your eyes). Did you know that we are living in the greatest drama ever known? We’ve got some great movies and special effects these days – I mean, things that make your heart thump and your head spin, and you think about it for days after. But that is nothing, compared to the glory of God. God created the minds that came up with those movies! If you want to enter God’s drama, He is so eager to see you step forward and press into Him. It all starts in prayer. Picture your heart rolled out like a football field. All the patchy areas, the dry areas, the watered areas, the dead areas, the pit holes. Just roll it out before Him and ask Him to fill you up and change you, to water your heart. If you are feeling like this is a bunch of hogwash, that’s OK. Then your prayer can be, God if you’re really real, I ask you to show yourself to me and I’m trying to be open to that. Wherever you’re at – take that, and that’s where you pray from. Don’t skip forward several steps to where you think you should be. Just be where you are, and bring that before your loving King. He is not at all surprised or shocked – He made you and knows you inside and out and knows you better than you know yourself; so if you pretend and just are trying to sound religious, He sees way past that. Be honest. Jesus acts in the midst of what is real, and hates pretense. He is drawing you and longs for you with a Love that is boundless! If Jesus is not yet your Lord, you can do that now. Just ask Him in, acknowledge your sin, your need, your hunger, and turn from what you were before, toward Him and His Light. He will shine on you and show you the way. If this is a decision you’ve made tonight, please, talk to someone afterward and let them give you some help with the way forward and to pray with you. But if you already are in covenant with God, come to Him now. Can you guys get on your knees? If you want to, go for it – it’s a bodily expression of our hearts as we come to God in His greatness. Only if you want to. ENGAGE Him. Ask Him to take you to the next level. Pour out your love to Him. Let me give you a minute and then I’m going to pray out loud. Be real.

Stephanie Powers grew up in Taiwan as a missionary kid. She then went to university in Tennessee. She moved to Boston for eight years. Then lived in East Africa for four years living in Tanzania and Uganda, most recently working with Favor of God Ministries in Gulu, Uganda. She is now in grad school for nursing at the Univesity of Tennessee in Knoxville. Then, if the Lord is willing, she will head to the Middle East help those who are unable to help themselves, and share the love of Christ our King with them.

"My friend Melly, she says that as she has grown in the Lord and in prayer with Him, prayer for her starts at His feet, then He invites her to crawl up into His lap and rest there, and then she climbs right into His heart. I love that." -Stephanie

Our adventure started as soon as we reached the Knoxville airport. DELAYED. Our flight had been delayed two hours. Can you imagine how much more I could have slept in?! ARRRGH! None the less, we were there with PLENTY of time to double check everything, pray and check in. We got to our gate, and crashed. As we awaited our flight to Atlanta, we each tried to squeeze in a few more moments of sleep before the roaring engines would keep us awake for the duration of our travels. We made it just fine to Atlanta, and caught a connecting flight to Los Angeles, knowing that we wouldn't be able to catch the next connecting flight to Korea. However, as the flight came to an end, it looked more and more like we might just be able to make it. The LA airport consists of two buildings, we were to land in one, and run to the other to get on another plane. Knowing this, we hit the ground running. As we reached the second building, we saw that there was only a janitor behind the ticketing desk we were to check in at. You could almost hear our spirits drop, but wait! Sure enough, the assistants came forward and began to check us in. They had already given our seats away, but after a little convincing, and overcoming a slight language barrier, we got them to get us some seats. As soon as we got checked in we took off running through the airport, tore through security, and ran down the concourse with untied shoes. By the time we all reached the plane, we were all glistening with sweat, and panting for breath. We highly doubted our luggage made it to this plane, but there was no way to know. PS: Sorry, mom and dad, for not calling you before I left the country, as you can see, I was just a little busy!

As I was finding my seat, a bearded gentleman shouted at me and asked if I was with lighthouse ministries. As I struggled to catch my breath, and figure out who this guy was, I replied that I was. I soon found out that him and the guy next to him were the two guys from Virgina that were joining us for the trip. They were both excited that we made the flight and we found our seats. This began one very very very long flight. Our team was spread out all over the plane since the ticketing counter had to reassign our seats, and so each of us had to entertain ourselves for the international flight across the Pacific. I didn't really want to read, watch TV or a movie, so I prayed that God would show me some way to pass the time. Not a second after I began my prayer, I saw the lady next to me had a Bible in the pouch in front of her. I politely asked if she was a Christian pointing to her Bible. She replied, "Yes, I am." THANK YOU LORD, she spoke English!!! Keep in mind that I was on a Korean airline with mostly (you guessed it!) Koreans. Come to find out, she was Filipino, and spoke fluent Spanish and German, too! I began telling her a little about myself and the mission trip we had just embarked on. She told me that she wanted me to grab something out of her suitcase, she had a gift for me. I curiously complied and grabbed the book she wanted me to get. She had apparently just published a book, about the rewards of faithfulness, and wanted me to have her only copy. I was honored and spent most of that flight discussing the material of the book, as well as testimonies to the greatness of the God we serve. I was so humbled that God honored such a simple and selfish request, so I wouldn't be bored. He truly is a loving and caring God.

We landed in Korea, still with no idea as to whether we would get our luggage at all for the trip. For all we knew, our luggage could be waiting in Bangkok as planned, or it could take up to two weeks to get back to us by then it would be to late. We spent some time sharing stories of how each other survived the boredom of such a long flight with no friends, and took some well needed rest. We only had one more flight until we could grab a bite of REAL food, and lay in a REAL bed, so we could catch up on some REAL sleep.

Our flight to Bangkok was uneventful, there was still a lot of talk in the air about the possibility of our bags making it, but it was all speculation. When we got to Bangkok, we went through customs, and approached the baggage check. Prayers were being muttered, and I had all my fingers crossed. But all for not. Our bags hadn't made it. Thankfully, Dave and Shane's bags made it just fine. But we all sat around while Lewis dealt with the baggage representative. After a while, Lewis came back with some good news. Our bags would be making it to Phnom Penh in a couple days. So without our check luggage we all piled into a couple taxis and headed to the hotel. Once we all got settled in, we all met back outside to run to the store to grab some needed toiletries that were not in our carry ons. The hotel we stayed at was pretty nice, it had a narrow, steep, winding stair case or a ridiculously slow elevator to choose from. It reminded me a lot of a hotel in Rome I had stayed at. The rooms had a couple full sized beds, a full bath, and a little kitchen area. All in all, it was much better than sleeping in an airport concourse. The next morning we all headed downstairs to meet for breakfast. Lewis took us to a place where he had eaten when the last Superbowl was on, and he shared some stories of times he had been in Bangkok before. The breakfast was great, I had some Tom Yum Soup which was like a spicy shrimp soup. It was very good! We then headed back to the airport to finish our flight schedule. Just one more connection, Phnom Penh. Most of us didn't have any luggage to check, and so things were pretty easy going. We even had some time to stop and get some VERY nutritious Dairy Queen. (it keeps our immune systems running strong)



When we landed in Cambodia, we found Vutha there to greet us. We loaded up what bags we had into what looked to be the most comfortable truck in the world (see top of post), and all found a seat. We somehow managed to all fit on the tiny seats, with all of our luggage sitting in the middle. Lets just say that leg room was not an option for me. Yeah, that's me in the very back. Phnom Penh was much louder than what you might expect. There was traffic everywhere, and I mean everywhere. Lewis describes the traffic well by saying it is very much like liquid. Scooters zip in and out of lanes dodging sometimes on coming traffic, and sometimes just slow cars. Bicycles run the sides of the roads, and cars just lay on the horn, expecting everyone to yield to them. We saw at least two accidents on our way to the restaurant. Accidents will shake you up, whether they are common or not. Thankfully, we didn't see anyone get seriously injured, but it doesn't take much imagination to think how bad things could be. It was times like these that we knew we had people praying for us, because there is nothing we could have done if someone came hurtling into us. We decided that we would leave Matt and Bob in Phnom Penh until our luggage arrived at the airport. The rest of the team would head on to Kampot, and begin work on the building.

When we got to the restaurant we all huddled around a massive round table with a very large lazy Susan in the middle. This would be our first Cambodian food of the trip. We all examined the menu to find things that would not destroy our insides. We all introduced ourselves to each other, vutha, Lewis's daughter and the two older girls from Heritage House. We then all piled back into the truck, dropped Matt and Bob off at a hotel, and started our long ride to Kampot. Things were bumpy to say the least on that ride. We were all pretty tired, but still had to stand up from time to time, just to stretch our legs. As we watched the road fly past the back of the truck, we could see poverty, gambling, tin roof shacks and shed's with hammocks, as well as a lot of rice fields. Towards the end of the ride, we all started singing worship songs. They really lifted our spirits and got us in the mindset for what we were headed into.

The food, I loved the food. The first place we tried, the CoCo House, seemed to hit the bulls-eye. It was a tiny little place with no more than about ten small tables. We rarely if ever saw anyone else in the restaurant. Our hosts were friendly and we loved interacting with them. They did all they could to make us feel at home. (including playing some very cheesy 80's and 90's karaoke CD's) We soon remedied the music problem by asking to play some Christian CDs we had. They were more than happy to do it for us, and hearing hymns and worship while we ate and discussed the trip helped to lift our spirits even further. We tried a couple times throughout the trip to eat at some other places, but lets just say that the food elsewhere didn't sit too well on our American stomachs. Even when we weren't able to leave the orphanage because of time, Lewis would go the the CoCo House and pick us all up some food. It was easy to say that the CoCo House soon became the La Fiesta of Cambodia. We felt free to share testimonies of the trip, give insights that God had given us, have bible studies, pray, as well look into finding Matt a Cambodian wife. (Unfortunately, people who worked there were unable to come up with one so soon. Sorry Matt!) By half way through the trip, we all had the menu memorized. And by the end of the trip, we all had a "usual" for each meal. Some of my personal favorites were pancakes with key limes and sugar on top. Noodles with chicken or beef, as well as a delicious fruit plate with pineapple, apple, dragon fruit, banana and papaya. We all ate very well, and were mostly able to stay away from being sick for most of the trip.

After our first breakfast, be began the cleaning process. This consisted of cleaning some nearly unbearable bathrooms, wiping away a jungle of cobwebs, scraping scraping and scraping away a tremendous amount of water damage, as well as wiping down a lot of tile. We went through a lot of bleach, bathroom cleaner and took off an enormous amount of plaster. And that was just the inside. Outside there was a lot of over grown foliage, as well as a lot of grime that had to be scraped. And that was just to get the place clean!

After all the cleaning was done, it was time to start the real work. Painting, rescraping, repainting. Bob did a great job rewiring everything so no one would be electrocuted. We also needed to put in a clothes line with some very warped hardwood, and very weak hammers.

When we finished, you could barely recognize the inside, and the outside cleaned up really well. Everyone pitched in, and even the children did an amazing job helping out. Even the landlord was very complimentary of our job! The staff and children of the Heritage House were very happy with all that we got done. It was very satisfying.

While we weren't working, we had a great deal of time to walk around the city and see what there was to see, I truly loved this part of the trip. It was an amazing experience to pass by businesses, shrines, and homes praying and listening to hear what God had to say. God revealed many things to each person in the group, and it was common for the spirit to reveal similar if not exactly the same things to many people at once. I love that our God confirms his words to us! We even found an old church building! Lewis is looking into renting it for the church plant that Vutha is planning.

One very neat thing to me, was to see that how God had filled this city with beauty. Everywhere you looked, there were flowers, and other exotic things. They looked so different from the worn down buildings and trash piles. Every time I saw something like that, it put a smile on my face.

On our last day in Kampot, we took some more time to take in the sights, we went to go see the market where all of the food we ate was purchased. The ground was very dirty, and plants and meat were hanging everywhere. The smell wasnt too bad, but you could imagine it could in the summer months. WARNING: this video does have pictures of the meat and some animal parts.

After spending some time in the market, we decided to go on a boat ride up the river. We all got in this boat that barely held all of us. The rim of the boat was about an inch and a half away from the water, and that was when we had it perfectly balanced and going strait. The views we had were absolutley amazing. And we had a beautiful sunset that made it look like the mountains were on fire. It was truely a blessing from God.

We left the next day for Phnom Pehn, we grabbed a few last dougnuts at the dougnut shop in Kampot and got in the taxi and headed back. I had an amazing time in Kampot, and was missing it even before I left. The taxi ride was cramped, there was two drivers, and nine of us with our luggage in the van. As we were being bounced around, we all wondered how we made it to Kampot in the back of the truck. This van had cushion seats and we were still stiff and sore! When we got to Phenom Penh, we dropped our stuff off at the hotel, and took a couple tuk tuks out to Lucky Burger, and got some good ole american food! We then went to the Russian market and did some shopping. When we were done with that we went out and grabbed some pizza (more american food!)

When we were leaving the pizza place, we were unable to get some tuk tuks, so we all split op on moto taxis....bad idea. The guys all got to the internet cafe we were to meet at, but the girls, with their excellent sense of direction, got lost. (Yes, I am teasing, it wasnt their fault at all) The girls, Heather and Maria on one moto, and Sarah and Roonie on the other, got a nice little night time tour of the city, particularly the rougher areas. There was nothing us guys could do but hope they would show up at the hotel. After a little while, my stomach couldnt handle the pizza much longer, so I split off from the group and headed back to the hotel. The moto taxi I got seemed to be a little on the drunk side. I got a nice little tour myself, and the guy had to stop three times to look at the little map on the card we got from the hotel. (two of those times, he was holding it upside down) I eventually got back, only a few minutes after Maria and Heather did, and as I was walking towards the hotel, I heard Sarah shout my name. Thank goodness they all made it back alright! Sarah paid the driver very happily and ran into the hotel and kissed the ground. We all shared our stories, and then I headed onto bed with a migrane.

When I got up the next morning my headache was gone and I was feeling much better. We went downstairs, ordered some breakfast and all got something different from what we ordered. It seemed only the people at the front desk spoke a little English. After breakfast, we headed to the airport and said our goodbyes to Lewis. We flew from Phnom Penh to Bangkok and had an eight our layover there. We couldnt check our luggage in until two hours before the flight so we had six hours to kill in the main part of the airport. We quickly found the massage place and we spent most of the time in there. I spent three hours being massaged and spend the rest of the time talking with the rest of the group while they were getting pedicures. It was very very relaxing. If we hadnt gotten the massages, I dont think we would have survived the journey home!

We then flew to Seoul, Korea, and had another eight hour layover. I caught up on some sleep and found a free internet cafe. We then flew to San Francisco, and barely made our flight. There were only a few people running security and they were taking their sweet time. We then flew to Atlanta, and had a great time joking with the flight attendants. They were a lot of fun. We landed in Atlanta, and had about an hour before our flight home. I grabbed a bite to eat and stretched my legs. On our last flight home, we were cracking up our flight attendents, we had been going for two days strait and we were acting very goofy. The flight attendants were barely able to make it through the saftey demonstration they were laughing so hard.

We finally landed back home in knoxville at around 10:20pm, grabbed our bags and headed home. So here I am back home in knoxville after an amazing mission trip to Kampot, Cambodia. PRAISE GOD!


PS: Check out Lewis's blog To the Ends of the Earth.