Here I sit on Sunday June 29th up at some friends lake house, its before 6am. The sun is breaking through the clouds, the bird’s voices are competing with one another, the breeze is light, and there is a bit of fog hovering over the still water. There is no sign of cell phones, not a sound of cars, and the lack of noise is deafening. There is something divine about this time of day.
I’m amazed at how much pondering and reviewing of my week I can do when there is stillness externally, stillness all around me. There seems to be some correlation with the state of my soul when there is stillness around me. It seems to soften, relax, and bring my soul to a calm place, a destination its been longing for.
I’ve heard it said before that “busyness is a disease”, and often times I feel this disease and see this disease all around me. This often drives within me the desire to move to another culture, or relocate to the wilderness of Alaska or something, perhaps a similar “into the wild” desire.
I’m also amazed at the lifestyle of Jesus, one who in his early thirties had grown to an incredibly popular status, while he didn’t have email and voicemails to return, he did have the constant pressure of people, the constant attention of people, and the pace of a culture trying to thrive within the Roman Empire. Yet Jesus lived out of a centered place.
When I think of the discipline of solitude, or all disciplines for that matter I think the word discipline within its self throws me off. I go back to places in my past of countless hours in the principles office, or receiving rightful discipline from my parents. Its taken me some time to get over the mere semantics of this gift, the gift of disciplines.
One of my closest friends in Axis is a welder and recently he was instructing me on the ins and outs of welding. He told me “the most critical element within welding is alignment. If you don’t line the piece up, then the finished product will be off. Some may not notice, but I would know so that’s why you do the meticulous work of making sure you have alignment first.”
This conversation has helped me see disciplines in a new light, they have opened me eyes to see that they are a gift and they do produce alignment within my soul. Disciplines are not the destination, however they are the vehicle that help me arrive at the destination, that being the presence of God; enjoying time and conversation with the Father.
Getting aligned vertically with the Father is key, it’s a necessity to live a life of love, to live a life of joy, to live a life on mission. It’s the key! To get aligned daily with the Father.
Its about 6:30, my coffee has turned cold, but my heart is burning. I feel so close to you Father, your presence is here, I breathe you in, I’m excited for the day and thankful that this morning you invited me to “lie down in green pastures”, and you lead me “beside still waters”.
How about you? Have you been able to sneak away today? Can you carve out time to be alone? Are you afraid of the silence?
Lets chat……
Sunday, June 29, 2008
Thursday, June 26, 2008
Lumen
About a year ago I came across a quote that says “surgery is never done in the dark”. As I thought about it I realized how often I try to fix myself; alone, perhaps passing myself the scalpel and bandaging wounds that don’t need bandaging, however really need to be cleaned out an examined by others. I am blown away at my tendency to hide.
I’ve been acknowledging the ever growing temptation to stuff and hold in the pain in my life, temptation I’m dealing with, or things that I’m afraid to bring to friends, because after all they need me to have my stuff together right? I’m seeing the gap between my theology and reality when it comes to the words of Jesus’ brother in James 5:16 that say “therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed”. I believe this is true in my head, but do I live this?
I’m amazed at how often I reduce the power of light, the power of bringing the light of Christ into the dark corners of my soul, into the dark corners of my life.
A lumen is defined as a unit of measure of the quantity of light. One lumen is the amount of light that falls on an area of one square foot. This word Lumen has been capturing me a bit and is driving me to examine the luminosity in my life, the luminosity in my soul.
How much light am I allowing into the dark corners of my soul, into the dark corners of my life?
How about you?
Maybe you don’t struggle with this, maybe its just me.
Does your Community really know you?
Do you have a couple friends that ask you really hard questions?
I’m praying that as a Community we continue to carve out time to sit with one another and share the difficult things, and confess our sins to one another. I pray that we would live out James words, and find that its actually true that when we crack open the door to the dark rooms in our soul the healing light of Christ’s love pours in through his redemptive community providing the healing he so desires for our souls.
Lets Chat……
I’ve been acknowledging the ever growing temptation to stuff and hold in the pain in my life, temptation I’m dealing with, or things that I’m afraid to bring to friends, because after all they need me to have my stuff together right? I’m seeing the gap between my theology and reality when it comes to the words of Jesus’ brother in James 5:16 that say “therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed”. I believe this is true in my head, but do I live this?
I’m amazed at how often I reduce the power of light, the power of bringing the light of Christ into the dark corners of my soul, into the dark corners of my life.
A lumen is defined as a unit of measure of the quantity of light. One lumen is the amount of light that falls on an area of one square foot. This word Lumen has been capturing me a bit and is driving me to examine the luminosity in my life, the luminosity in my soul.
How much light am I allowing into the dark corners of my soul, into the dark corners of my life?
How about you?
Maybe you don’t struggle with this, maybe its just me.
Does your Community really know you?
Do you have a couple friends that ask you really hard questions?
I’m praying that as a Community we continue to carve out time to sit with one another and share the difficult things, and confess our sins to one another. I pray that we would live out James words, and find that its actually true that when we crack open the door to the dark rooms in our soul the healing light of Christ’s love pours in through his redemptive community providing the healing he so desires for our souls.
Lets Chat……
Friday, April 4, 2008
Prague: Day 6
Today was an incredible day once again. We arrived on the construction site at 9am and finished out the job at right around 3pm. Our work there at what we're calling the "house of Hope" was amazing. This project began 3 years ago and according to Vtech the director of Teen Challenge they have around 3-4 more years of work because they have to rely on oversees teams like us coming over to serve because they don't have the cash to pay to get the House finished. This home will serve as their new place to run the children's program out of reaching and rescuing the most at risk children in Prague, the Romani Children. These kids also known as gypsie kids live in the Ghetto where we've been serving each day. Yesterday outside the door to the current center Tyler was offered some cocaine by a guy passing buy, and roughly 15 steps from the center as well is a strip club. Day in an day out these kids live in a city that is not only considered one the most "lost cities" on earth but daily live as the most marginalized children among this people group. Yet within all of this there is Hope!
We have seen this week once again that wherever His followers are there is hope for the hopeless.
This afternoon Kelly, Katrina, and Bowie finished up leading the children through some Bible lessons and ended with a time of prayer, where multiple kids prayed for us and for America. At that point the rest of the team showed up and we had a time to celebrate all that God has done this week. We were presented with an award, thanking Axis for the work that was completed and the Seed that was planted in the lives of these precious kids. At that point Amy then asked to pray for the organization and for the kids, and there was for sure was not a dry eye in the room.
At 6pm the trip for all practical purposes ended, our work completed, but our hearts set on fire for these people and for these kids. Our desire to see this "House of Hope" completed by Axis is something that we're praying about and excited to send out our next team over here as soon as possible to this historic city.
I wish I was with you all at the Axis Experience, right now it just started which means its almost 3 am here, so needless to say I need to get some sleep.
Thanks for all your support, your financial contributions to make this possible, and your commitment to lift us up in prayer for the duration of this amazing trip.
Tomorrow we have a free day to relax and recover a bit before our flight Sunday morning. We look forward to seeing you soon.
Blessings.
Jon
We have seen this week once again that wherever His followers are there is hope for the hopeless.
This afternoon Kelly, Katrina, and Bowie finished up leading the children through some Bible lessons and ended with a time of prayer, where multiple kids prayed for us and for America. At that point the rest of the team showed up and we had a time to celebrate all that God has done this week. We were presented with an award, thanking Axis for the work that was completed and the Seed that was planted in the lives of these precious kids. At that point Amy then asked to pray for the organization and for the kids, and there was for sure was not a dry eye in the room.
At 6pm the trip for all practical purposes ended, our work completed, but our hearts set on fire for these people and for these kids. Our desire to see this "House of Hope" completed by Axis is something that we're praying about and excited to send out our next team over here as soon as possible to this historic city.
I wish I was with you all at the Axis Experience, right now it just started which means its almost 3 am here, so needless to say I need to get some sleep.
Thanks for all your support, your financial contributions to make this possible, and your commitment to lift us up in prayer for the duration of this amazing trip.
Tomorrow we have a free day to relax and recover a bit before our flight Sunday morning. We look forward to seeing you soon.
Blessings.
Jon
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Prague: Day 5
Day five started as usual, wake up at 7am and have breakfast with the team down in the pub/breakfast bar. It was obvious that the rhythm of the trip has began to take a toll on the team, many of us were really tired and myself still really sick.
As we left for the day God began to do what he does, raises up his strength in our weakness to make himself known. So many of us felt that today and felt your prayers. Personally I didn't think I would make it through the morning and thought it would be day 2 stuck in hostel trying to get better, but I truly felt your prayers and God's strength.
Today 4 of us, Kelly, myself, Amy, and Katrina got to go into one of the city's high school's to help teach English. Some of you you who know me may find that really odd, because my grammar and spelling as you have read is pretty bad. The others were quite equipped I must say.
Each of us got to share about America, our homes, and about God. Amy even got to share her testimony and as she asked the class of 15 how many believed that God exists, only one raised their hand.
As Amy told me this story my heart broke even more for this city, it is truly a harvest ripe for the gospel to be spread. As I spent time on the high school campus today I felt God show me that perhaps the gateway to this city being reached will be through high school students. Please pray with us to that end, these students are completely lost but very open.
The work on the construction site went really well also, the floors were laid and other odds and ends were completed. The time with the kids went great the guys said, Gabe got a chance to speak on the Prodigal son and share the Gospel.
Many of you have been praying for Jose,and we have seen God moving in his life. Jose tagged along with our team all day and all night, actually they're still downstairs hanging out as I write this entry. We're confident that Seed has been scattered planted in his heart and earlier he told Bowie that event though I live so far away from you guys I feel at home when I'm with you.
Tonight Kelly and I spent around 5 hours with Craig and Sara at their apartment and saw God do awesome things in our time with them. Many of you know that God has put the two of them on our hearts and more than anything felt that they were the reason God was sending us here, to love on them and encourage them to keep running the race here in Prague. Kelly and I have been praying that God would use us and our team to ignite within them a re-newed passion for Prague and reminder of the calling on their life here for this people group. God has been so faithful in doing that, and tonight both of them with tears in their eyes said that their hearts have been strengthen by our Axis team being here.
Tomorrow we're hoping to get some more work done on the construction site and treat some of the Teen Challenge staff out to a nice dinner. Please pray that God would continue to give us the strength that we need and that God would continue to use us to encourage the Springers.
We miss you and love you.
Jon
As we left for the day God began to do what he does, raises up his strength in our weakness to make himself known. So many of us felt that today and felt your prayers. Personally I didn't think I would make it through the morning and thought it would be day 2 stuck in hostel trying to get better, but I truly felt your prayers and God's strength.
Today 4 of us, Kelly, myself, Amy, and Katrina got to go into one of the city's high school's to help teach English. Some of you you who know me may find that really odd, because my grammar and spelling as you have read is pretty bad. The others were quite equipped I must say.
Each of us got to share about America, our homes, and about God. Amy even got to share her testimony and as she asked the class of 15 how many believed that God exists, only one raised their hand.
As Amy told me this story my heart broke even more for this city, it is truly a harvest ripe for the gospel to be spread. As I spent time on the high school campus today I felt God show me that perhaps the gateway to this city being reached will be through high school students. Please pray with us to that end, these students are completely lost but very open.
The work on the construction site went really well also, the floors were laid and other odds and ends were completed. The time with the kids went great the guys said, Gabe got a chance to speak on the Prodigal son and share the Gospel.
Many of you have been praying for Jose,and we have seen God moving in his life. Jose tagged along with our team all day and all night, actually they're still downstairs hanging out as I write this entry. We're confident that Seed has been scattered planted in his heart and earlier he told Bowie that event though I live so far away from you guys I feel at home when I'm with you.
Tonight Kelly and I spent around 5 hours with Craig and Sara at their apartment and saw God do awesome things in our time with them. Many of you know that God has put the two of them on our hearts and more than anything felt that they were the reason God was sending us here, to love on them and encourage them to keep running the race here in Prague. Kelly and I have been praying that God would use us and our team to ignite within them a re-newed passion for Prague and reminder of the calling on their life here for this people group. God has been so faithful in doing that, and tonight both of them with tears in their eyes said that their hearts have been strengthen by our Axis team being here.
Tomorrow we're hoping to get some more work done on the construction site and treat some of the Teen Challenge staff out to a nice dinner. Please pray that God would continue to give us the strength that we need and that God would continue to use us to encourage the Springers.
We miss you and love you.
Jon
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
Prague: Day 4
Well if you read my last post, then you know what day 4 consisted of for me, yeah sleeping. Today was pretty depressing, and in alot of ways I felt that I let the team down. Its almost 1am now and I'm feeling alot better, its amazing what 24 hours of sleep can do for you.
Day 4 from what I heard was another successful day on the constuction site, a brick wall was built, another was cleaned, Jeff demolished a window so that a door can be placed there tomorrow, and prepreation for the pouring of another floor was completed. Today Bowie along Dana went and spoke to highschool students today at their school which went really well. Its amazing because Craig and Sara have made friends with some Christian school teachers where alot of their ministry is taking place. In the schools here you can talk about Christianity openly because its such a foreign concept, so we did exactly that. Bowie told me that it was awesome to share openly his story of deliverance from drugs and how God has re-directed his life in powerful ways. Tomorrow Kelly and I will be visting another highschool so pray for us.
Tonight the girls all went over the the Springers and they had a girls night out filled with, well whatever girl do :)
They guys on the other had an evangelistic poker night which was really fun. Craig is good friends with the owner of the hostel we're staying in and once a month the owner, who is a Christian has a poker night to reach out to some of his staff and other constituants in the area. We had alot of fun and some good conversation.
Well thats about it for now, as I mentioned earler pray that we get the floor completed tomorrow, that Kelly and I speak and walk in power tomorrow morning with the students, and for Jose Maria, he'll be joining our team on the job site tomorrow. Should be interesting :)
We miss and love you all.
Jon
Day 4 from what I heard was another successful day on the constuction site, a brick wall was built, another was cleaned, Jeff demolished a window so that a door can be placed there tomorrow, and prepreation for the pouring of another floor was completed. Today Bowie along Dana went and spoke to highschool students today at their school which went really well. Its amazing because Craig and Sara have made friends with some Christian school teachers where alot of their ministry is taking place. In the schools here you can talk about Christianity openly because its such a foreign concept, so we did exactly that. Bowie told me that it was awesome to share openly his story of deliverance from drugs and how God has re-directed his life in powerful ways. Tomorrow Kelly and I will be visting another highschool so pray for us.
Tonight the girls all went over the the Springers and they had a girls night out filled with, well whatever girl do :)
They guys on the other had an evangelistic poker night which was really fun. Craig is good friends with the owner of the hostel we're staying in and once a month the owner, who is a Christian has a poker night to reach out to some of his staff and other constituants in the area. We had alot of fun and some good conversation.
Well thats about it for now, as I mentioned earler pray that we get the floor completed tomorrow, that Kelly and I speak and walk in power tomorrow morning with the students, and for Jose Maria, he'll be joining our team on the job site tomorrow. Should be interesting :)
We miss and love you all.
Jon
Prague: Day 3
Day three was quite a day, one filled mostly with manual labor as we began our building project for the new City Center. We arrived on the scene at arond 9am and worked till about 5. Our construction consisted of laying a new concrete floor, demolishing 3 brick walls, mixing concrete, and moving alot of rubble from what had been demolished days prior. We worked with a man by the name of Vtech, who has become without a doubt our teams hero! Vtech who has the strenght of 10 grown men also has the heart of 10 grown men as well. He along with his wife oversee the Teen Challenge program and are building this new facilty to accomodate more children from the streets. Also as of late they have taken in 3 girl as their foster children to provide for them a home filled with love.
In the afternoon Tyler, Gabe, and Bowie worked with some of the teens and got a chance to share their testimonies with them, and as they did that Kelly and Katrina worked with the younger kids.
We arrived back at the hostel at around 6pm or so, a full day for sure.
At about 7pm the team headed out to do some more ministry with some of the highschool students in the area at one of the near by pubs and from what they told me it went really good.
Me on the other hand hit the pillow at 6:30 and didnt get back up for 24 hours! I somehow came down with a sinus infection and it completely knocked me out, and caused me to miss an enitre day.
Please pray for my recovery and that the rest of the team will not get what I have.
Talk to you soon.
Jon
In the afternoon Tyler, Gabe, and Bowie worked with some of the teens and got a chance to share their testimonies with them, and as they did that Kelly and Katrina worked with the younger kids.
We arrived back at the hostel at around 6pm or so, a full day for sure.
At about 7pm the team headed out to do some more ministry with some of the highschool students in the area at one of the near by pubs and from what they told me it went really good.
Me on the other hand hit the pillow at 6:30 and didnt get back up for 24 hours! I somehow came down with a sinus infection and it completely knocked me out, and caused me to miss an enitre day.
Please pray for my recovery and that the rest of the team will not get what I have.
Talk to you soon.
Jon
Monday, March 31, 2008
Prague: Day 2
Here I sit in my bed, in the room with all the guys, all 6 of us piled into our room named Jaro, Czech for Spring. The hostel we're staying in is amazing, according to many of the travelers we've become friends with the nicest they've stayed in. I've been thinking about the name of our room and have seen God use this name which means "spring" or new life as a true word of what he's doing through us here in this hostel community. The residents here are literally from around the globe, and God has given us tremendous favor with them. I do believe that those who follow Jesus have what I consider "hidden magnetism" within them, and those outside the family of God are attracted to them because of the hope that resides within.
Our experience here thus far supports that, especially with our experience with our friend that we've officially adopted into our Axis team. His name is Jose Maria and he's traveling from Argentina throughout Europe. Yesterday morning Tyler and some of the guys met him at breakfast, began a conversation with him and pretty much left it at that. As we toured the city that afternoon we ran into Jose near the historic Charles bridge that was constructed in the 1300's. We asked Jose to tag along with us and he agreed. He ended up spending all afternoon and night with us. I asked Jose if this was how he usually rolled when back packing and he said "actually I prefer to travel alone but for some reason I really enjoy being around your group."
Tonight when we got home from our serving with the kids (more on that later) we split up into 3 groups for dinner, and one group Bowie, Jeff, Dana, and Katrina saw Jose and invited him along. As dinner went on Jose began to ask a ton of questions about faith and why we follow God.
About 10 minutes ago he and I along with Kelly, Amy, Katrina,Bowie, and Dana finished talking with him even further for a couple hours so much so that Matthew, myself, and Katrina had an opportunity to share our faith stories and the gospel with him. I'm amazed at what God is doing in him and how God is seeking him out. As I left him a few minutes ago I looked at Jose in the eyes and said bro it's no accident that we've run into each other, and that we're having these conversations, Jose agreed completely.
Will you pray for him today? We ask that you would pray specifically for him, that we would see him come to faith, see him respond to the Truth of the gospel! Tomorrow I'm praying for the opportunity to walk him through Romans 6:23 and pray that when I do that God would anoint our time and direct my words with power and clarity. It's so obvious to our team that he's on the brink to responding to the beauty of the Gospel.
Also keep praying for the other relationships that we've been able to make with the other back packers. It's been such a blessing to get to hang with these people who all speak English (praise God), people who are open to community and conversation, and people that are all searching for something. Pray that God continues to give us opportunity to keep scattering his love, and sharing his gospel.
So the rest of our day was incredible as well and if you have the energy I encourage you to keep reading. Listen I'm the tired one, its almost 1:45am and I have to be up in 5 hours or so :)
Ok....
Earlier today for lunch we had the amazing blessing of sharing a meal with a man by the name of Sasha, who is one of the most influential person in the Czech Republic when it comes to Christianity. Sasha who is now in his early 40's became a Christian in 1987 while the Communist party still ruled the Czech people. He sat and shared his faith story and how he was arrested for his Faith, and how for the last 15 years he has given his life to translating the Bible into a form that will communicate God's Word to the Czech people in a relevant fashion. Currently there are two translations here in Czech. One is similar to our King James Version yet even older, and the other was edited by the Communists and just happens to leave out many important pieces of scripture that you and I enjoy on daily basis. So in our understanding he's dong what would be similar to our New International Version but for the Czech people. This work has the potential for incredible Kingdom impact, and is one year away from being fully released.
From there we went to the City Center to spend time with the Romanni Children (gypsie kids) who are the most marginalized and oppressed people group in Central and Eastern Europe. We sat with these beautiful kids and were able to lead them in some really fun worship songs, saw them smile, clap, and shout words that we're praying will be planted in their hearts. After that Dana was asked to share her faith story, and she shared in power and spoke of how difficult it was for her to grow up with a father who was a drug addict and alcoholic. She shared that most nights he wouldn't come home, and how this implanted in her a lack of trust in anyone, especially her dad. She then shared how she came into a relationship with Jesus and how he's become her perfect Father healing her hurts and disappointments.
At that point they opened it up for these kids to ask questions, and a child on the front row who was around 8 years old said that he understands her pain because his dad never comes home either. It was at this point that our hearts broke to a new level for these kids who live in a family system that consists of perpetual addiction and abuse, and how our hearts are longing for the power and Grace of God to break this cycle and bring them into freedom.
From there we went to the park and finished playing with the kids, some jumped roped and the rest of us played football, yeah not the American kind unfortunately :)
So this day has been quite full as you can tell, so please pray for our strength for tomorrow because we'll be starting our construction project that will consist of laying concrete for a new floor along with quite a bit of interaction with the kids again.
God is continually showing us that he's in the darkest, dirtiest, and most forgotten places longing to shine his light into the darkness so that all might see the beauty of who He is and what He has for all humanity.
We miss you all and love you.
Talk to you tomorrow.
Jon
Our experience here thus far supports that, especially with our experience with our friend that we've officially adopted into our Axis team. His name is Jose Maria and he's traveling from Argentina throughout Europe. Yesterday morning Tyler and some of the guys met him at breakfast, began a conversation with him and pretty much left it at that. As we toured the city that afternoon we ran into Jose near the historic Charles bridge that was constructed in the 1300's. We asked Jose to tag along with us and he agreed. He ended up spending all afternoon and night with us. I asked Jose if this was how he usually rolled when back packing and he said "actually I prefer to travel alone but for some reason I really enjoy being around your group."
Tonight when we got home from our serving with the kids (more on that later) we split up into 3 groups for dinner, and one group Bowie, Jeff, Dana, and Katrina saw Jose and invited him along. As dinner went on Jose began to ask a ton of questions about faith and why we follow God.
About 10 minutes ago he and I along with Kelly, Amy, Katrina,Bowie, and Dana finished talking with him even further for a couple hours so much so that Matthew, myself, and Katrina had an opportunity to share our faith stories and the gospel with him. I'm amazed at what God is doing in him and how God is seeking him out. As I left him a few minutes ago I looked at Jose in the eyes and said bro it's no accident that we've run into each other, and that we're having these conversations, Jose agreed completely.
Will you pray for him today? We ask that you would pray specifically for him, that we would see him come to faith, see him respond to the Truth of the gospel! Tomorrow I'm praying for the opportunity to walk him through Romans 6:23 and pray that when I do that God would anoint our time and direct my words with power and clarity. It's so obvious to our team that he's on the brink to responding to the beauty of the Gospel.
Also keep praying for the other relationships that we've been able to make with the other back packers. It's been such a blessing to get to hang with these people who all speak English (praise God), people who are open to community and conversation, and people that are all searching for something. Pray that God continues to give us opportunity to keep scattering his love, and sharing his gospel.
So the rest of our day was incredible as well and if you have the energy I encourage you to keep reading. Listen I'm the tired one, its almost 1:45am and I have to be up in 5 hours or so :)
Ok....
Earlier today for lunch we had the amazing blessing of sharing a meal with a man by the name of Sasha, who is one of the most influential person in the Czech Republic when it comes to Christianity. Sasha who is now in his early 40's became a Christian in 1987 while the Communist party still ruled the Czech people. He sat and shared his faith story and how he was arrested for his Faith, and how for the last 15 years he has given his life to translating the Bible into a form that will communicate God's Word to the Czech people in a relevant fashion. Currently there are two translations here in Czech. One is similar to our King James Version yet even older, and the other was edited by the Communists and just happens to leave out many important pieces of scripture that you and I enjoy on daily basis. So in our understanding he's dong what would be similar to our New International Version but for the Czech people. This work has the potential for incredible Kingdom impact, and is one year away from being fully released.
From there we went to the City Center to spend time with the Romanni Children (gypsie kids) who are the most marginalized and oppressed people group in Central and Eastern Europe. We sat with these beautiful kids and were able to lead them in some really fun worship songs, saw them smile, clap, and shout words that we're praying will be planted in their hearts. After that Dana was asked to share her faith story, and she shared in power and spoke of how difficult it was for her to grow up with a father who was a drug addict and alcoholic. She shared that most nights he wouldn't come home, and how this implanted in her a lack of trust in anyone, especially her dad. She then shared how she came into a relationship with Jesus and how he's become her perfect Father healing her hurts and disappointments.
At that point they opened it up for these kids to ask questions, and a child on the front row who was around 8 years old said that he understands her pain because his dad never comes home either. It was at this point that our hearts broke to a new level for these kids who live in a family system that consists of perpetual addiction and abuse, and how our hearts are longing for the power and Grace of God to break this cycle and bring them into freedom.
From there we went to the park and finished playing with the kids, some jumped roped and the rest of us played football, yeah not the American kind unfortunately :)
So this day has been quite full as you can tell, so please pray for our strength for tomorrow because we'll be starting our construction project that will consist of laying concrete for a new floor along with quite a bit of interaction with the kids again.
God is continually showing us that he's in the darkest, dirtiest, and most forgotten places longing to shine his light into the darkness so that all might see the beauty of who He is and what He has for all humanity.
We miss you all and love you.
Talk to you tomorrow.
Jon
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