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I was sitting here talking with a friend of mine and sharing with her about the struggles of fundraising and being dependant upon God and all that He is doing and leaning on His promises of taking me back to Ethiopia.
She began to share with me something that she had read about what had happened to Heidi Baker. Heidi Baker had went into a place of worship at a confrence and she laid down and the power of the Lord came on her and she became inmovabl. And was not able to speak. For days she could not move at all. She had to depend on the people around her to serve her with whatever she needed. Then one day she asked God why on earth she was going through this and the Lord told her that she needed to depend on Him. She told God that she knew that. She had been in ministry for 16 years. Then God told her that she needed to learn how to depend on the body of Christ.
Wow! Whoa! Back up. Depend on others to help us with our needs? I thought God was fulfilling our every need? Ok let me continue on here.
After I had heard that I knew then that I am in that same place moving to Ethiopia. I realized then that I have been totally depending upon God, but how much am I depending on the body of Christ. I had moved out of my apartment and did not resign the lease and I sold my bed, couch, desk, washer, car, and whatever else I could not take with me and walked away from my job as I had seen the Lord show me that I was trying to hang onto America while reaching for Ethiopia. So now I am staying with some friends. I have come in that place where I am totally relying on the body of Christ. Was it a mistake? I think not for I can say this, I would rather jump in with both feet and drown, then to stand on the bank and wonder what it would be like to jump.
So right now I have raised a total of $2930.00 with about 20 monthly supporters at $20 a month. I was needing at least $3000 to fly out plus a plane tix and at least 70 $20 a month supporters.
All I can say is that I know God has called me to do missions, and every place that I have been to I just did not feel the heart of God until I went to Ethoipia and everytime I left it ripped my heart out to leave, cause I felt like I was leaving home and also I it broke my heart to say goodbye to someone I love so dearly and not knowing when I was going to see her again.
So I am in a place where I have to depend on God and the body of Christ. If I did not have to then my walk in this would be self serving and Christ serving.
Thank you four your time I know it was a long note, but I do want you to know, that I am 110% committed to this plan that God has laid on my heart. I cannot send myself out without your help. Pray for me that God will open every door and window and also pray to see if God would have you to be one of the 70.
Love you and bless you
Chris
Showing posts with label God. Show all posts
Showing posts with label God. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 7, 2011
The Body of Christ
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
Planes, Trains, Automobiles, & God
So to start off I just I have to give Him some glory. Jesus is the reason I am here in Dulles Airport. I had made a decision to spend my birthday with my very lovely lady who is happy to become my wife. So I had booked my tickets then got some buddy passes from Nashville to Dulles through Chicago. Well...Chicago was the problem. The day before I was to leave I was listing to the radio and heard the weather cast that Chicago was going to get twenty inches of snow.
So I called Southwest Airlines to ask about the flights going through there. The lady had informed me that the airport would be closed from 12 noon on Tuesday to 12 noon on Wednesday. My heart sank as my emotions went into a whirl wind cause my flight going to Ethiopia was to leave for Ethiopia at 11 on Wednesday. What was I going to do?
Well the lady who was so nice told me about a flight going into Baltimore leaving Nashville at 4:55 pm arriving at Baltimore by 7:45 pm. So I took it. I just had to figure out how I was going to get to Dulles from there. So I started looking around and found some options ranging from $200.00 to $15.00. Of course the more expensive one was just 45 minutes while the $15.00 one was about 2 hours. I prayed and asked God to please help me figure it all out.
So I packed until 4:00 that morning, went to bed around 4:30 that morning. I got up at 7:30 and packed everything in my car then off to work. I worked until 2:30 went to the bank came back to work and caught the airport shuttle at 3:45. Got the airport and the flight was delayed. No problem! As long as I was going to get there I didn't care.
We had left the airport and got to Baltimore by 8:30. I tried to find a way to Dulles and I had met a family who had adopted a child from China and they told me how to get there. So i caught a bus to the train station. I bought a ticket for an Amtrak train and was told to take that to Washington Central. Well with four bags that weighed over 100 lbs made it very difficult to get around, but that was alright. I had never been on the Amtrak before.
I boarded the train with my big over sized bag and my three heavy bags and this one guy helped me out. Praise God. I was nervous about this whole train thing, but I had to trust God. I was getting frustrated to with all of this shuffling around. So out of my confusion of talking with the family at the airport and the ticket booth lady I got off at the wrong stop, but God had a plan that I did not know about. I went to the ticket booth there and told them that I had never been there before, was lost and needed to get to Dulles Airport. He told me to buy and $3.00 ticket and take the orange line to West Church something or another. I just remember west church.
I boarded the subway and off I went. I started to wonder, Did God really have a plan? So I sat there wondering would there be anyone at that stop to help direct me to the right place? Well we went to stop at this one stop and we had to wait, because the subway train before us had broken down and all of those people had to get on the subway train I was on. I sat there while they all got on and these two guys stood right in front of where I was sitting. They talked about the game and about other things. Then they seen I was getting ready to get up and they made room for me. We started to make some conversation about how big my bags were. I told them what I was doing and what had happened to me. When I started to get off of the subway they asked me if I had any plans on getting to the airport and I told them that I did not.
One of the guys told me that he lives right by there and he would drop me off. Wow! What a God thing. It was all God. When we had gotten out to the parking lot there were no other transportation after that and they had told me that a taxi would have cost me $50.00 or more. Can you believe that? The driver kept telling me your a good guy so its a karma thing. I just to him that I like to think of it as the Grace of God. When he had dropped me off I just wanted to break down and cry. I was in awe of what God had done. He never ceases to amaze me. I just have to praise Him for His loving kindness and mercy. He had a plan all along and even though at times I started to second guess Him, get nervous wondering if I had made the wrong decision by taking the train, He still came through on His plan.
What a journey this has become as this winter storm has just missed D.C. I feel like it is as God was standing at the south side of D.C. blowing the storm and cold temperatures away from here so that our plane could left off on time. What a mighty God we serve.
This has truly been a story of Planes, Trains, Automobiles, and God. Can't wait to see what God does in Ethiopia. I hope it has something with a me staying doing ministry and being with the woman I love dearly. Would I do it again? You bet ya!
So I called Southwest Airlines to ask about the flights going through there. The lady had informed me that the airport would be closed from 12 noon on Tuesday to 12 noon on Wednesday. My heart sank as my emotions went into a whirl wind cause my flight going to Ethiopia was to leave for Ethiopia at 11 on Wednesday. What was I going to do?
Well the lady who was so nice told me about a flight going into Baltimore leaving Nashville at 4:55 pm arriving at Baltimore by 7:45 pm. So I took it. I just had to figure out how I was going to get to Dulles from there. So I started looking around and found some options ranging from $200.00 to $15.00. Of course the more expensive one was just 45 minutes while the $15.00 one was about 2 hours. I prayed and asked God to please help me figure it all out.
So I packed until 4:00 that morning, went to bed around 4:30 that morning. I got up at 7:30 and packed everything in my car then off to work. I worked until 2:30 went to the bank came back to work and caught the airport shuttle at 3:45. Got the airport and the flight was delayed. No problem! As long as I was going to get there I didn't care.
We had left the airport and got to Baltimore by 8:30. I tried to find a way to Dulles and I had met a family who had adopted a child from China and they told me how to get there. So i caught a bus to the train station. I bought a ticket for an Amtrak train and was told to take that to Washington Central. Well with four bags that weighed over 100 lbs made it very difficult to get around, but that was alright. I had never been on the Amtrak before.
I boarded the train with my big over sized bag and my three heavy bags and this one guy helped me out. Praise God. I was nervous about this whole train thing, but I had to trust God. I was getting frustrated to with all of this shuffling around. So out of my confusion of talking with the family at the airport and the ticket booth lady I got off at the wrong stop, but God had a plan that I did not know about. I went to the ticket booth there and told them that I had never been there before, was lost and needed to get to Dulles Airport. He told me to buy and $3.00 ticket and take the orange line to West Church something or another. I just remember west church.
I boarded the subway and off I went. I started to wonder, Did God really have a plan? So I sat there wondering would there be anyone at that stop to help direct me to the right place? Well we went to stop at this one stop and we had to wait, because the subway train before us had broken down and all of those people had to get on the subway train I was on. I sat there while they all got on and these two guys stood right in front of where I was sitting. They talked about the game and about other things. Then they seen I was getting ready to get up and they made room for me. We started to make some conversation about how big my bags were. I told them what I was doing and what had happened to me. When I started to get off of the subway they asked me if I had any plans on getting to the airport and I told them that I did not.
One of the guys told me that he lives right by there and he would drop me off. Wow! What a God thing. It was all God. When we had gotten out to the parking lot there were no other transportation after that and they had told me that a taxi would have cost me $50.00 or more. Can you believe that? The driver kept telling me your a good guy so its a karma thing. I just to him that I like to think of it as the Grace of God. When he had dropped me off I just wanted to break down and cry. I was in awe of what God had done. He never ceases to amaze me. I just have to praise Him for His loving kindness and mercy. He had a plan all along and even though at times I started to second guess Him, get nervous wondering if I had made the wrong decision by taking the train, He still came through on His plan.
What a journey this has become as this winter storm has just missed D.C. I feel like it is as God was standing at the south side of D.C. blowing the storm and cold temperatures away from here so that our plane could left off on time. What a mighty God we serve.
This has truly been a story of Planes, Trains, Automobiles, and God. Can't wait to see what God does in Ethiopia. I hope it has something with a me staying doing ministry and being with the woman I love dearly. Would I do it again? You bet ya!
Friday, May 7, 2010
Sports events of April
Two weeks ago I woke up early to go to church where the Music City Marathon would be passing by. Our church every year sets up right outside to sing worship and praise to Christ our Savior as the runners pass by. This time I got there a little before 9 am as the runners were already making their way in droves pass by as the worship music played. As I walked up to the edge of the street I could only bask in the presence of God. Then as I seen the many runners raising their hands in worship and singing as they past by, I could only think of one thing.
Hebrews 12:1 "Therefore, since we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us."
As I stood there watching thinking of that very verse, tears of Joy began to stream from my eyes. It made me think of the many times we as Christians have been running a spiritual race at times seem to get bogged down from the world, schedules, fear, time, etc. and how those who are in Heaven are cheering us on. They are clapping, shouting, and dancing as we pass by encouraging us to continue on. For they know the great joy that lies ahead of us.
On the following Monday I went with some friends to the Predators playoff game. the arena was packed and everyone was ready to see the team get out on the ice. The lights went low and the spot lights came on and focused right on the entrance of where the Predators would enter the ice. Then suddenly we hear over the speakers that shouted, "Here is your Nashville Predators!" The arena went wild as they came out on the ice and the lights came up.
I stood there before I could get to my seat, watching, and taking in the surrounding environment. Listing to the crowd just go crazy for their team, and then it happened. I was taken back as I began to think of how will we as the bride of Christ act when He enters the room? I just stood there thinking of every person cheering, going crazy, and waving their hands for Jesus our Savior. It was so loud, and I had an impression that this is what it is like in Heaven. WOW! I wanted to began to jump and shout. Not for the Preds, but for Jesus. If you could have only been there. I can not do it justice by trying to write it in words. Oh how awesome God is!
Hebrews 12:1 "Therefore, since we are surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us."
As I stood there watching thinking of that very verse, tears of Joy began to stream from my eyes. It made me think of the many times we as Christians have been running a spiritual race at times seem to get bogged down from the world, schedules, fear, time, etc. and how those who are in Heaven are cheering us on. They are clapping, shouting, and dancing as we pass by encouraging us to continue on. For they know the great joy that lies ahead of us.
On the following Monday I went with some friends to the Predators playoff game. the arena was packed and everyone was ready to see the team get out on the ice. The lights went low and the spot lights came on and focused right on the entrance of where the Predators would enter the ice. Then suddenly we hear over the speakers that shouted, "Here is your Nashville Predators!" The arena went wild as they came out on the ice and the lights came up.
I stood there before I could get to my seat, watching, and taking in the surrounding environment. Listing to the crowd just go crazy for their team, and then it happened. I was taken back as I began to think of how will we as the bride of Christ act when He enters the room? I just stood there thinking of every person cheering, going crazy, and waving their hands for Jesus our Savior. It was so loud, and I had an impression that this is what it is like in Heaven. WOW! I wanted to began to jump and shout. Not for the Preds, but for Jesus. If you could have only been there. I can not do it justice by trying to write it in words. Oh how awesome God is!
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