The outreach is finished and we are back in Atlanta! We arrived in town on Monday night. The end of the outreach was awesome. We had several final shows and preached the gospel to hundreds of people! I was able to share my testimony a few more times and Nathan continued to bring the gospel message at many of our evening events. Overall, we saw around 1600 people respond to the gospel in the Cincinnati and surrounding area!!! Thank You Jesus for Your love and grace! We saw physical, spiritual, and emotional healing, we saw deliverance, we saw freedom, and we saw hope take place in hundreds of lives. We still are in awe and continued gratitude that God chose us to be a part of this work. What an honor.
This outreach was such a time of strengthening and growing in our relationship with Jesus, our roles as leaders, and really stepping into the call God has placed on our lives. Leading this team felt like the perfect fit for us in GX. We loved being leaders and really felt God confirm that this is a role we are to take on for future outreaches. We both learned a lot, and it was definitely challenging at times, but it was SO good! God continued to meet us where we were at, filled us up where we felt in need, and used us as vessels for His Holy Spirit to minister through. God is so faithful, and we love what we do!
We are now back in Atlanta, living with my family, and enjoying some time of rest...kinda... Nathan has already returned to his role of playing on the worship team at our church, and I have already started back at the dance studio taking classes and committing to teach some workshops in December. We are planning on speaking at a local Fellowship of Christian Athletes meeting for High Schoolers later on this winter as well. Nathan has also been asked to do an Evangelism training seminar at a Christian school in the area. He will also be picking up shifts at the restaurant he used to work at and doing any other work that comes his way. I will be filling in as a substitute teacher at the dance studio when needed. Through all this our main focus is still missions, so we will be working on fund raising and building up a monthly support base. We are excited to be with my family for the holidays and are looking forward to God using us while we are home!
Tour photo's
Nathan skateboarding, Sarah dancing and crowd at Kingston, Ontario 2008 tour
Monday, October 25, 2010
Monday, October 4, 2010
GOD IS GOOD
We only have 2 weeks left of outreach, and we have seen God do so many awesome things!
Our time in Kansas City was great. We did 5 main shows along with a few school assemblies and we saw around 700 people give their lives to Jesus. Our team experienced God's freedom individually in crazy ways and it filtered over into the shows and we believe that many people experienced the freedom that only comes from Jesus Christ. Nathan and I stepped into our roles as team leaders (and me as Program Director) relying on the strength of Jesus. He was faithful in meeting us and equipping us with all we needed to lead the team. Nathan preached at a few of the shows and spoke with such authority and power. God has really gifted him as a preacher and it is awesome to see this gift grow and develop. I was busy putting together shows, leading the dancers, helping Nathan lead the team, and being a mom, but God has been so good to me! He has given me the grace to do all these things with joy and a peace knowing that He is the one doing the work and I can trust in Him to take control. It has been a learning experience for me, but God has really shown me His faithfulness and how to step into all these roles with confidence in Him.
We left KC on Sept. 20th and traveled to Cincinnati. Once arriving in Cincinnati the real craziness began :) The schedule for this part of the outreach has been insane! Lots of small shows, lots of big shows, and lots of school assemblies. Nathan has had a lot on his plate since arriving here, and he is doing amazing! He is such a natural leader and he is doing an awesome job. Thankfully, I have not been doing school assemblies so Anna and I have had a less crazy schedule and have been able to spend more afternoons together. Speaking of Anna, she is growing like crazy! She is a little over 6 months now, she is crawling, eating everything in sight, and talking up a storm! She is a such a happy baby...God really knew what He was doing in giving her to a couple of missionaries :) She is such a joy, loved by everyone she meets, and she is always smiling. We are blessed!
While in here in Cincinnati we are staying in the a home of a wonderful family. They have been the most amazing hosts we have ever had. They have such giving hearts and have blessed our family more than we thought was possible! Another way God has shown His goodness to us.
We have had outreaches almost every night. We have been doing a lot of small shows at YMCA's in the inner city and really rough areas. We have had small crowds, but we have seen between 50-90% altar calls! We have seen whole families, fathers and sons, teenagers, and small children commit their lives to Jesus for the first time. We have seen God heal, deliver, bring freedom, and bring His peace into so many lives. We have done bigger shows in high schools as well, and have seen the same responses. I don't know the exact number of salvations at this point, but we should know by the time the outreach ends. God is calling all people to Himself and many are responding!
Nathan has been preaching at the majority of the shows. I have shared my testimony at a few of the shows as well. We have both really been enjoying leading the team and are loving being back in full time ministry. This is where our hearts are. We are called to preach the gospel and we could never do anything else. It is such an honor to be chosen by God to bring His gospel to the world. What a privilege to be able to use our gifts for His glory and to make His name known. We are so excited to be doing this and look forward to sharing more stories with you as the outreach comes to a close.
Our time in Kansas City was great. We did 5 main shows along with a few school assemblies and we saw around 700 people give their lives to Jesus. Our team experienced God's freedom individually in crazy ways and it filtered over into the shows and we believe that many people experienced the freedom that only comes from Jesus Christ. Nathan and I stepped into our roles as team leaders (and me as Program Director) relying on the strength of Jesus. He was faithful in meeting us and equipping us with all we needed to lead the team. Nathan preached at a few of the shows and spoke with such authority and power. God has really gifted him as a preacher and it is awesome to see this gift grow and develop. I was busy putting together shows, leading the dancers, helping Nathan lead the team, and being a mom, but God has been so good to me! He has given me the grace to do all these things with joy and a peace knowing that He is the one doing the work and I can trust in Him to take control. It has been a learning experience for me, but God has really shown me His faithfulness and how to step into all these roles with confidence in Him.
We left KC on Sept. 20th and traveled to Cincinnati. Once arriving in Cincinnati the real craziness began :) The schedule for this part of the outreach has been insane! Lots of small shows, lots of big shows, and lots of school assemblies. Nathan has had a lot on his plate since arriving here, and he is doing amazing! He is such a natural leader and he is doing an awesome job. Thankfully, I have not been doing school assemblies so Anna and I have had a less crazy schedule and have been able to spend more afternoons together. Speaking of Anna, she is growing like crazy! She is a little over 6 months now, she is crawling, eating everything in sight, and talking up a storm! She is a such a happy baby...God really knew what He was doing in giving her to a couple of missionaries :) She is such a joy, loved by everyone she meets, and she is always smiling. We are blessed!
While in here in Cincinnati we are staying in the a home of a wonderful family. They have been the most amazing hosts we have ever had. They have such giving hearts and have blessed our family more than we thought was possible! Another way God has shown His goodness to us.
We have had outreaches almost every night. We have been doing a lot of small shows at YMCA's in the inner city and really rough areas. We have had small crowds, but we have seen between 50-90% altar calls! We have seen whole families, fathers and sons, teenagers, and small children commit their lives to Jesus for the first time. We have seen God heal, deliver, bring freedom, and bring His peace into so many lives. We have done bigger shows in high schools as well, and have seen the same responses. I don't know the exact number of salvations at this point, but we should know by the time the outreach ends. God is calling all people to Himself and many are responding!
Nathan has been preaching at the majority of the shows. I have shared my testimony at a few of the shows as well. We have both really been enjoying leading the team and are loving being back in full time ministry. This is where our hearts are. We are called to preach the gospel and we could never do anything else. It is such an honor to be chosen by God to bring His gospel to the world. What a privilege to be able to use our gifts for His glory and to make His name known. We are so excited to be doing this and look forward to sharing more stories with you as the outreach comes to a close.
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
WE MADE IT!
We finally arrived in Kansas City on Saturday night after 2 days of traveling and weeks of preparing. God has been so faithful in our preparation for this outreach. When Nathan quit his job, and we made the step into full time missions, we wrote out a list of all the needs we had and that we would have for the upcoming months on outreach. God has met every single one of our immediate needs and we know that He is going to be faithful to provide for the ones coming up in the near future! Thank you Jesus! And thank you to those who have been obedient to God in blessing us. We are so thankful!
After arriving in KC, we were able to spend the evening with Nathan's grandma who drove his sister (our nanny) and his brother down from Minnesota. On Sunday we got settled in our room (we are staying at the leader of GX's house for now) and then went to the International House of Prayer church service on Sunday night. Awesome worship and a great word! Boot camp (what we call the dance training time) began on Monday morning. We went to the International House of Prayer at 9am for an hour of prayer and worship and then headed to the studio and began dancing at 10. We dance until 4pm everyday. While Anna and I are at the studio, Nathan has been busy helping a friend with some painting jobs and working on stuff for GX and the outreach. It is definitely different having a baby on outreach and trying to dance 6-7 hours a day, but we are blessed to have Joy here to help and God's grace is sufficient! :) I have been helping teach dances and learning some new ones as well. There are about 10 or so dancers on the team from all over the world. Not all the skaters have arrived yet, but there is about 5 or so of them. For this outreach Nathan will be co-leading the entire team with another a guy. I am Program Director, which means I am in charge of all the dancers and making sure all the shows are set up and planned out and look good. We both have a lot of responsibility but we know God has called us to these positions and we are so excited for Him to use us however He wants!
We had our first night of teaching on Monday evening. One of our leaders, Bill (the founder of GX), spoke on righteousness, and combining faith with works. It was a great message and really challenged us to live righteous lives and to live out what we believe. The rest for me will be spent dancing. Nathan will be coming to the studio to help with Anna, skateboarding, working, and doing anything else that comes up. We will have teachings every night and prayer and worship in the mornings. We have a day off on Sunday and are planning to go to church and meet up with some friends that we have not seen in a long time. We have one more week of training and then the outreach begins!
God has really been speaking to both Nathan and I about His love and how vast it really is. He is showing us that He longs to reveal more of His love to us so that we can rest securely in Him and then have the confidence to share His love with all those we meet. A specific scripture that really has been speaking to my heart and I feel like I could meditate on for days and never even begin to grasp it is John 15:9... "As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; Abide in My love." It seems so simple at first, but the more I think about it the more I am amazed, and realize that there is so much more about God's love that He is going to reveal to us piece by piece, because if it was all at once I don't think we could handle it! :)
Monday, July 12, 2010
Preparing for the field
A wedding, moving to a new place, having a baby... these are just a few things that have taken place in our lives over this past year. Let's get you all caught up :)
In the beginning of 2009, we decided to get married and take a year off of ministry. Prior to this decision both of us had been on staff with a ministry called GX International. GX is part of the evangelistic campaigns through YWAM (Youth With A Mission). It is a group of skateboarders, break dancers, dancers, DJ's, BMXers, and evangelists that come together to put on a full multi-media production to impact the youth of today. Through dance, testimonies, and skating, the message of the gospel is brought to light in a way that is relevant to the audience it is targeted to. At the close of the show the gospel message has been presented and an altar call is given. This is what we were involved with before we got married. After our wedding we moved down to Florida to live near friends and be involved with the prayer room they had started in their area. After a few months and a series of events, God led us out of Florida and back to Atlanta, Ga. We have been living here ever since.
Sarah got pregnant in July and gave birth to our beautiful daughter, Anna, on March 24, 2010. She was 6lbs 19in and a joy from the beginning! Nathan had been working a few different jobs during this time. He was working at a restaurant, painting, and started a sales position at a company called Tax Break. He was also leading worship at our church on Wednesday nights and playing guitar on the worship team on Sunday mornings. All these things, plus having a new baby, were keeping our schedule pretty full!
Through this past year, we were waiting for the day when God would call us back onto the mission field. Well, in June of this year, Nathan received an email from the GX team in Europe, saying they were need of skaters to come on an outreach in Spain. We prayed lots about it and felt that God told him to go. So, we bought the ticket and he went. He was gone for 2 weeks and had an amazing time! Before he left, we moved into Sarah's parents basement apartment so Sarah was with her family while he was gone, which was great! While in Spain, the team had two main outreaches and overall saw about 160 people give their lives to Jesus! During the outreach God began speaking to Nathan about the call on his life and his focus and direction. Communication was limited between us while Nathan was gone, and so unbeknownst to him, God was speaking the same things to Sarah. God was reminding us that He had called us to be missionaries. That our purpose while living in this world is to worship God and make His name known. He began to show us that our focus was not to be jobs, making money,and having our own home. But our focus was to be Him and Him alone. Our focus was to be telling people His message and about His love where ever He called us to go. So when Nathan got home, we spent lots of time in prayer and God confirmed over and over again that we were supposed to abandon everything and pursue this call on our lives. So this past week Nathan quit his jobs and we have taken the step to move into full time missions!!
Our plan now is to work full time on raising support and to go on an outreach with GX International this August-October. We will be leaving August 13th to go to Kansas City. We will be performing and sharing the gospel in this city for about a month and then we leave for Cincinnati, Ohio. Sarah has taken on the position of Program Director and Nathan will be co-leading the team. Sarah will be dancing and Nathan will be skating as well.
We are so excited about all that God is doing in our lives! What God had spoken over each of our lives along time ago, is finally coming alive! We are trusting to God to provide every need, and we know that He who called us will be faithful. We look forward to sharing each step of the way with you all, and we will continue to keep you updated!
In the beginning of 2009, we decided to get married and take a year off of ministry. Prior to this decision both of us had been on staff with a ministry called GX International. GX is part of the evangelistic campaigns through YWAM (Youth With A Mission). It is a group of skateboarders, break dancers, dancers, DJ's, BMXers, and evangelists that come together to put on a full multi-media production to impact the youth of today. Through dance, testimonies, and skating, the message of the gospel is brought to light in a way that is relevant to the audience it is targeted to. At the close of the show the gospel message has been presented and an altar call is given. This is what we were involved with before we got married. After our wedding we moved down to Florida to live near friends and be involved with the prayer room they had started in their area. After a few months and a series of events, God led us out of Florida and back to Atlanta, Ga. We have been living here ever since.
Sarah got pregnant in July and gave birth to our beautiful daughter, Anna, on March 24, 2010. She was 6lbs 19in and a joy from the beginning! Nathan had been working a few different jobs during this time. He was working at a restaurant, painting, and started a sales position at a company called Tax Break. He was also leading worship at our church on Wednesday nights and playing guitar on the worship team on Sunday mornings. All these things, plus having a new baby, were keeping our schedule pretty full!
Through this past year, we were waiting for the day when God would call us back onto the mission field. Well, in June of this year, Nathan received an email from the GX team in Europe, saying they were need of skaters to come on an outreach in Spain. We prayed lots about it and felt that God told him to go. So, we bought the ticket and he went. He was gone for 2 weeks and had an amazing time! Before he left, we moved into Sarah's parents basement apartment so Sarah was with her family while he was gone, which was great! While in Spain, the team had two main outreaches and overall saw about 160 people give their lives to Jesus! During the outreach God began speaking to Nathan about the call on his life and his focus and direction. Communication was limited between us while Nathan was gone, and so unbeknownst to him, God was speaking the same things to Sarah. God was reminding us that He had called us to be missionaries. That our purpose while living in this world is to worship God and make His name known. He began to show us that our focus was not to be jobs, making money,and having our own home. But our focus was to be Him and Him alone. Our focus was to be telling people His message and about His love where ever He called us to go. So when Nathan got home, we spent lots of time in prayer and God confirmed over and over again that we were supposed to abandon everything and pursue this call on our lives. So this past week Nathan quit his jobs and we have taken the step to move into full time missions!!
Our plan now is to work full time on raising support and to go on an outreach with GX International this August-October. We will be leaving August 13th to go to Kansas City. We will be performing and sharing the gospel in this city for about a month and then we leave for Cincinnati, Ohio. Sarah has taken on the position of Program Director and Nathan will be co-leading the team. Sarah will be dancing and Nathan will be skating as well.
We are so excited about all that God is doing in our lives! What God had spoken over each of our lives along time ago, is finally coming alive! We are trusting to God to provide every need, and we know that He who called us will be faithful. We look forward to sharing each step of the way with you all, and we will continue to keep you updated!
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