Do you read this??????

I have been extremely busy trying to get everything caught up because of being gone for so long. Sarah and I had a great time in Colorado and Wyoming. Sarah spent time with my family while I attended one of the best conferences I have ever been to in Colorado. Then it was off to Romania. What a great joy and a blessing to work with Ionica and Claudia and all the others from Hope Baptist Church in Rimnicu Vulcea. We did a sports camp out at Govora and had quite a bit of success getting the teenagers to really think about and discuss who Jesus really is. A couple even gave their lives to Christ. God is good and faithful.

Now we are getting ready for Denver. I am really excited about this years trip, and I think everyone else is too. This year has been completely different than past years. Everyone seems to be laughing and enjoying things much more this year than any other. It is going to be a great time, and I am looking forward to watching God work in our lives as well as in the lives of those we serve. For all of those who are going to Denver, don't forget to be doing your QT book. I have been doing it, and think it is great. I hope each and every one of us look forward or anticipate seeing God work. He is going to do it, we just need to be onboard.

I also wanted to see how many people are really reading this. If you read this just leave a short comment. It doesn't have to be anything crazy or profound just a hi or you can tell me what you are thinking. Thank you and God bless.

How You say...............................

Things are going great. You can check out today's blog by clicking here. http://ignitetrips.blogspot.com/

Word of the Day- AMAZING (Guest Blogger Tammy Raby)

Well.....it's been an eventful day......AMAZING really! It was perfect weather for Sports camp and about 20+ kids from Govera. We enjoyed getting our rears kicked at soccer (AGAIN) and chasing tennis balls all over the courts. The incredible part was that, inspite of us, God was at work in bringing the gospel clearly to kids who are immersed in a country's deep traditions and the worldview of good deeds will get us to heaven. It's fun to watch the light's come on in the eyes of those who are seeking Him.
We had a SHOPPING TRIP to Horezu on the way back from morning camp - lots of great pottery and an AMAZING demonstration by a local potter (who has been doing this for 20 years) and the pottery painter (is that a profession?) - we have great video to share for anyone who is interested! Ionica shared the story of the potter and the clay from Jeremiah with the potter - pray that the scripture will come alive to that potter!

This afternoon we had another painting party - clearly the teenagers were having a great deal more fun than the adults...........based on the conversations we overheard (MASH, Transformers, Pokemon apparently are all AMAZING - according to sources who will remain nameless).
No naps today - we were completely functional for the first day since we got here (well, as functional as this abnormal team can be).

The second Sports Camp of the day was very eventful - with the youth director getting his rear kicked up and down the field, mostly DOWN on the field (he was playing a group of little girls ! - NOT). SEE PICTURE ATTACHED! :)

We had a great evening together, ending with an opportunity for intimate conversations among several of our Romanian team members with the camp kids. Discussions revolved around questions about heaven and hell; how to define right and wrong; and how do you believe you can get to heaven; Several showed serious interest, while others continue to doubt - please pray that the Holy Spirit will continue to work in the lives of all those who have heard the Gospel through the Sports Camp. The professor who helped with the publication of the sports camp is also a seeker, so particularly pray for her salvation - her name is Elena.

The team continues to have a great deal of fun together - God has protected our relationships and we are thrilled to be here!

Tomorrow we head to Copaceni - a gypsy village about an hour from Rimnicu Valcea. We're looking forward to working with "the brothers" there. Sarah, Layne and I will be leading out in a Ladies Banquet tomorrow night - so lots of fun ahead!

Blessings to you all!

-Tammy

Don't Lick the Goats!

It's amazing the funny things that get said when translation is taking place. Today we were riding in a van talking about goats and sheep (They like sheep cheese around here). And something was said about not licking the goat. We all died laughing and have had a great time.

This morning it was raining so we were unable to put on our sports camp, but this allowed us to come back and paint one of the apartments behind the church. We got alot accomplished and had a great time. Tonight we had our sports camp. I am now a believer that I am not in as good as shape as I thought. I have run all over the place playing soccer and have a new found respect for soccer players.

Ionica presented the gospel tonight and many of the boys prayed to receive Christ, but Ionica said only a few of them were really making a commitment. It is a tough job around here, because so many kids have such a bad view of religion, thanks to the legalism and problems within the Orthodox church. Ionica has a tough job ahead, but they remain positive and he has a great vision for reaching out to the local villages. Please keep praying for some of the following:

- Tomorrow is the last night of Sports Camp, and we ask that you would be praying that we can make some inroads in the kids lives.

- Cristi and Irene have started a new Awana program and had 30 people yesterday. Praise God!

- Pray for Margaret, (german missionary) who has done a great job working with the younger kids here in Rimnicu and in Copacena. She really needs more help.

- Brian

Long night! Awesome Day

Well, we finally got to Rimnicu Valcea last night at about 3 am local time or about 7pm on monday night in Springfield. So it took us a little over 27 hours to make the journey. We had a 6 hours layover in Amsterdam where we were able to get out of the airport and see a couple of the sights. As we were walking along, we were making our way to an old cathedral when we realized we weren't in the best area. In the midst of our wandering tourist thought we wandered into the red light district. Big woops! We didn't know which way to go to get out of the area and the more we tried the further into it we got. It was quite a laugh as well as an eye opener for some of the team realizing the lives some live. Sad!

Today was a great day of ministry out at a Village called Govora. In the morning we went out and played futbol (soccer) with some of the local kids. We also had a tennis camp that Tammy, Layne and Sarah led out in. It was great spending time with some of the local kids, some of them even invited us to go swimming with them tomorrow. This evening we played more futbol and also taught them badmitton and frisbee. Drew & Reid even beat a couple of the girls in a Badmitton match. We also had a visit from the Mayor of the town (who is a seeker) and thanked us for coming and helping invest in the kids lives. God is really doing some great things in this small town. Please pray, I have listed a couple of prayer request below:

- Please pray for the kids we are hanging out with. There are some great opportunities in relationship building.

- We have presented the Gospel each time and hope that God will continue working and show them the truth.

- Pray for Ionica, Claudia, Anastasia, Cristi and the rest of the team here as they continue building relationships with the people in Govora.

- Pray that we follow the Spirit's leading and taht we are do exactly what God wants us to do as a team.

- Pray for a good night sleep for our team as we haven't had much sleep.


-Brian

Delayed!

So here we sit, Stuck in the airport in Memphis. Delayed until 10:25. We don't know what that means for our connecting flight in Amsterdam to Bucharest. Isn't that how things go, our timing is never God's timing and in everything He has it all worked out. I am excited about going and look forward to the journey ahead. It's hard not to get frustrated but we want to make the most of every opportunity. We are having a blast in Memphis. "Wait, I think I see Elvis." Oh, nope He just left the building. Thank you, thank you very much.

Leadership??

Over the past two days we have been discussing the role of leaders in preparing others to partner in the ministry. This has been one of the best conferences I have been to ever. The personal side of it (only 30 people) allows for great relationship building and lots of open communication. There are some other great aspects I have learned and am thankful for:

- True leadership is surprising and surprised at the same time.

- Leadership hinges on the relational connections within a ministry.

- People will follow those they trust, and those who love them.

- I need to give a little more freedom for leaders to run after what Jesus has called them to do.

- Doug Fields and Kurt Johnson (Saddleback youth pastors) are some of the most relational youth pastors I have seen from Mega Churches. They talk with everyone, remember your name and care about your ministry.

- I got to ride to lunch with Doug and four other guys, great conversation and thoughts on Jesus and leadership.

I have learned more from this Youth Ministry Summit than from any other conference. I continue to be amazed at the role relationships play in learning even among youth pastors. This has been a great journey and I long to see what God does in the youth ministry at Springhill and in my life as well. Thank you Jesus.

Ministry Summit

I am in Loveland, CO attending a great meeting of the minds with other youth leaders. It has been a great day of talking through leadership and evaluating my own personal leadership style. I took away a few things today that I thought I would share with you.

- Sometimes leadership is in the background or on the wallpaper and it isn't noticed.

- Others time leadership is in the forfront and is a life or death issue.

- At times I overlook the leadership it takes to make key decisions at crucial moments.

One thing I have seen over the my years of experience in leading is that your leadership style changes as you grow in experience and wisdom. You have to learn to deal with individuals through their personality. I can't treat each person the same. Some need more encouraging and direction others need a long leash and a little push. What I have realized is that leadership is an ever growing and ever learning process, that you will never master, but can strive to understand.

God make me the leader you need to accomplish your will.

If only for the One...

Yesterday I went to church with my parents, since we are in town visiting them before the youth forum. Jeff Manness, the pastor at Element Church spoke on God being determined. The question he asked was What is God determined to do? As he preached from Luke 19:1-10, the story of Zaccheus, he made the point that God is determined to change our city. How true is this? It is God's heart, passion and desire to change the people within the city and because he changes them, he will change the city.

God is determined to change our city one life at a time. First, Here is what we see in Luke 19. God going to the extreme to talk to and visit with Zaccheus, just one person. There are those who are going to mutter, question or gossip about us when we relate with, or invite ourselves into the presence of sinners. Always remember that Hessu came to "Seek and save what was lost." as Christians, when we are determined to follow God and change the city we will face opposition. Just as Jesus did. Second, Jeff brought up this question and I totally agree. "If only one..?" If through everything we do one life is changed then it was all worth it. All the gossip, pain and murmuring do nothing, but when God changes one persons life it was worth every bit. There will always be those who have negative comments especially if you are successful at reaching people and they are satisfied sitting in a pew.

and it starts with me. You see, I can't change the city, but when God changes me the city changes for the better. I think God isn't satisified with just one. God continues to move and work and shows Himself to people and he isn't going to stop. We can celebrate victories but must not become complacent or satisfied with one. God has so much more in store. There are thousands of people around our church and if we reached every one of them we wouldn't have enough churches to hold them.

Think of that. Not enough room to hold the people we are reaching? That sounds an awful lot like the NT church. Check it out in Acts.

I believe this with all my heart and realize how real this is in our ministry. Springhill, God wants to change our cities. Willard, Pleasant Hope, Fair Grove, Springfield. Can you imagine what God is already doing among the people of our cities? All the change he wants to bring about, all the spiritual renewal and hope for those in darkness. God is at work, and we must get on board. If only for the one...

John 17

We are continuing through John in our daily reading and wanted to encourage you to be consisten. It is easy to get distracted and stop reading, but remember that God's word comes to life the more you read it, and God will speak to you through it.

Have you ever noticed how selfless Jesus was. He came down to do the Father's will (John 17:1-5), he healed many, didn't come to please people but to bring about the Kingdom of Heaven and then continuing in John 17 prays for his disciples and for all believers. Notice verse 8-9, where Jesus wants to pray for his disciples because of their acceptance of Christ's teachings. That is a key. In other words, because of their obedience to Christ and his teaching, following what He said and doing what hHe did Jesus is specifically praying for them. He isn't praying for the world, but specifically for His disciples.

Second, look at what He prays for. Have you ever been in the situation where you disagree with someone, you don't think their viewpoint or opinion is right? Lots of us have, but Jesus prays that we may be one. United together as one body for one purpose. You see when we bring glory to God through our words and actions everyone benefits. The body of Christ is an unstoppable force. However, when we allow our selfish motives and conceitedd thoughts to control us we bring disunity and conflict to the body.

I want to encourage you to think about obedience today at some point. Get away from the chaos of whatever you are doing and ask yourself if you have been obedient lately. Are you following God's leading and his word. Second ask yourself if you are striving for unity within the body or conflict. If you are trying to build unity you will create conflict.

I love you guys. Hope you have a great weekend. Sarah and I are going up into the mountains of Wyoming today and tomorrow and I am looking forward to spending some time with God refelcting and seeking his leadership. What a great place to do that, no TV, radio, or other distractions that get in the way. Just me, my family and some time in God's creation.

1984

This Wednesday night we will be leaving The Refuge at 6:30 for 1984. The cost is $5 for all the old school video games you can play. We will return to the church by 8:30.