The new year is well under way...

Well, we are now 16 days into the new year and God has provided me with some great outreaches to college campuses already. This week was my first week back to the colleges since the Christmas break. I was able to go the Penn State University on Tuesday and then to the Altoona campus of Penn State University on Thursday. Also, last Sunday I was asked to go the St. Paul's Reformed church in Bedford to speak to a Sunday school class. I was asked to come back to speak to them again in the future and I am looking forward to being able to share with them again. This has been a short post and I pray I can continue posting here on a more frequent basis. I know I have said that many times in the past but, it is a new year and we will see. Until you read again...

First time attending the Super Bowl Outreach... praying it will not be my last!

As the title of this blog states this was the first time I attended a SuperBowl Outreach or for that matter any event that Bill Adams organized. Not for the reason you might think but, for the fact that I some how felt that as an evangelist for Open Air Campaigners, I did not need to attend events that were organized by others because I have organized or participated in organizing all of the outreaches that I have been involved with over the last 5 years as an OAC missionary. Also, we just don't preach with many preachers outside of OAC or should I say preachers that do not use the sketchboard. Why is that you may ask? I do not know and I have asked myself that same question. So, attending an event such as the SBO was not even something I would have considered. So how did I end up at the SBO this year? Pastor Matt Smart, my pastor and ministry partner, asked me several months ago if I would go to the SBO with him and Jeff Lutton. At first I did not really give it much thought but, as I the time began to get closer I began to think more about it I felt like it would be good to preach with others from around the country and get to meet some more preachers that are involved in sharing the gospel on the streets. One of the main things that I was not sure I was going to be able to do was get the money raised for the outreach because being a full-time missionary my support covers my living expenses on a monthly basis and I do not have much extra each month. Some months I am not sure how I am going to cover all of the things that need to be paid but, God has made a way for the past 5 years. So even though the SBO is very affordable anything above what I usually have as an expense during the month makes things difficult. So, I committed after much prayer to go still not knowing how I was going to pay for the outreach. Matt had told me he could help cover some of the expense for me if that would help. So I completed the necessary paperwork and submitted it to Bill Adams having faith the cost of the trip would be covered. Well, to make a long story short, I ended up finding out that the entire expense of the trip was going to be covered for me and I would not have to use my normal support that was already allotted to other expenses. This was the first of many things that occurred to confirm that God wanted me to be at the SBO this year. So on Thursday morning at 1:30a.m. I got up packed my van and drove to Williamsburg to meet Jeff and Matt at Jeff's house. We then all got into Jeff's vehicle and began our trip to NYC for the SBO. The drive took about 5 hours and the time of fellowship with Matt and Jeff was awesome. I knew this outreach was going to be incredible I was right. God did so many incredible things over the course of the four days we were in NYC during to SBO that unless I would have experienced them I would not have believed it. One major thing that was going to stretch me was the fact that I was not going to be taking my sketchboard along with me. I would be preaching just standing on a stool or the ground and even though I had done this in the past not having my sketchboard did make it more uncomfortable. So we arrived at the YMCA in NYC at 8:30 to check in and I looked at the room assignments and a great brother in Christ and friend of mine who I had not seen in a few years, Robert Gray, was rooming with me. It was great to be able to fellowship with Robert each evening after the outreaches. We would stay up way to late talking about how God has been moving in our lives and sharing ministry stories. It was truly an encouragement to me and I pray it was for Robert as well. I also got to spend some time with another great friend and dear brother in Christ, Chris Sippley. Chris and I have know each other for about 4 years and the week before we where chatting on FB about when was the next time we could get together to do ministry. I had no idea he was going to be at the SBO and neither did he know I was going to be there. Praise God for godly brothers in Christ that I was able to fellowship with during the SBO. Although, the fellowship was sweet and there are many other brothers and sisters in Christ that I met for the first time and others that I reconnected with the preaching of the gospel during those four days was spectacular.

I had preached in NYC several times in the past but, with a group of 99 brothers and sisters in Christ with one purpose and goal of preaching the gospel to the lost, made this time special. I was on Andrew Rappaport's team and I had the privilege of meeting and spending time sharing the gospel with many great brothers and sisters in Christ. In addition to the great times of preaching God's word on the streets and the fellowship of fellow believers we also had the opportunity to learn from some great men of God each morning before going out to the streets to preach. I could go on and on about some of the wonderful memories and experiences I had during these four days but, I am limited in space so I will just mention one. One of the greatest experiences I had occurred on Sunday. Andrew's team joined up with Mike Stockwell's team and we went to the Stanten Island Ferry and Matt and myself were able to preach inside the Stanten Island Ferry while the people waited to catch the Ferry. It was similar to preaching in the DC Metro although it is much bigger and the security does not hassle you at all and you can preach for quite a long time before the ferry arrives. As I close this blog post for now I have one more person I have to thank for all of the hard work he put into making this a great outreach and one I will look to attend in the future. Thank you Bill Adams for the exceptional organization and coordination of the 2014 SBO and I would recommend this outreach to anyone whose has not been to one the Superbowl Outreaches to defiantly try to make it out next year if possible because I am sure it is going to be awesome. Until you read again....

A gospel poem...

I have been going through the book of Romans, well actually the first chapter of Romans. I am going verse by verse and have been for the last 5 days. I have journaled each verse each day and it has been very beneficial and encouraging. I pray this poem that I feel God inspired me to write the first day of my study is uplifting to you. [The message of that which happened upon the tree at Calvary is now a glorious revelry that I can cry out on the streets. The God whom saved many from their sins has now given me the privilege to call some in. Though not my might or strength does lend to the saving power that goes through the wind. When the Spirit meets my words before they fall upon a sinners ears then a transformation of life appears. Oh, to see this occur is my hearts desire so this is why I must aspire to continue to harken and herald and preach so many a sinner can hear my speech with prayers the Spirit may intercede. ] Now as we approach the Holiday of Christmas I would like to encourage each of you to think about how God is using you to share the gospel in your scope of influence. I also would like to speak to a select group of you who may be feeling that God is asking you to do more than you currently are doing. This may be in the area of prayer, or personal witness, or missions support. As many of you that are reading this know, My family and I are full-time missionaries with Open Air Campaigners and we have been for the last 5 years. God has been very faithful to provide for our needs through the generous donations of people just like you. I am looking to go to another area and become a branch director but, without additional support I am not able to do that. I have actively been increasing my family's support through various means and if you feel God may be directing you to support my family with a one-time gift or on a monthly basis, you can do that by simply going to www.oacusa.org and click on the donate button. Please pray about this and if it is something that you feel prompted to do it would be greatly appreciated. For me personally I can say it has been such a privilege to be called of God to be an evangelist and preach to message of salvation on the streets, in schools, on college campuses, and many other places and I just wanted to take a moment and thank God again for this opportunity and thank Him for His provision throughout the years.

A morning in the branch office...

Good morning, Today is a very unique day but, also a very normal day too. I got up this morning and drove my daughter to the bus stop. Her bus picks her up about 1 mile away from the house and it is dark in the morning when she has to walk to the bus stop so, I started driving her to the bus stop and even though it is now not dark in the mornings, I continued this practice. Then I went into the family room where my wife and our youngest daughter are usually watching cartoons or a old show from the 80's on Nickelodeon. This morning "Full House" was on and it was the episode, ok I should stop. The episode that was on the television this morning really does not add to anything in this blog. Back to why this day is as it is. I am currently in the branch office with Ryan Itzel, an associate evangelist and friend, and he is painting up his message for this afternoon and I decided to write a blog post while I waited. I have not done a very good job at keeping up with this blog so, I probably have am writing this for myself as a journal. That is ok but, on the off chance that someone else does read this I hope it is entertaining, informative and will give you reason to pause and access you situation. If you were to ask me a question yesterday about contentment and if I felt any contentment. I would have probably said "sometimes". Although, this morning and even now as I type this blog it somehow gives me purpose and contentment. This morning my youngest daughter, Aria (22 months) came out to the kitchen and climbed up on the stool and said "juugukis" or at least that is what is sounded like she said. Then she pointed to the cake pops that my wife had made last night. Cake pops are a mix between a lolipop and cake. There is a machine that she bought a few months ago that bakes cake batter into lolipop form and then you melt chocolate and put the cake on a stick and cover it in melted chocolate and you have cakepops. So, this is what she wanted. I gave her one and she smiled and began to eat the cakepop. This moment when she smiled at me brought a joy into my life and caused me to look back and see how far God has brought me from where I was ten years ago. Now, as I sit in the office waiting for Ryan to complete his painting so we can go to Chinatown and preach the gospel I see how God has a plan even is cakepops to remind us of how good He is and how much He has done in our lives. So, if you feel like you are just going through the motions of day to day life and do not see your purpose then I say stop and think about a cakepop! Have a blessed day, until you read again...

As Christmas approaches us quickly and everyone is busy out searching for that last minute gift for their child or spouse or girlfriend or whatever category you would fall into, I will be out in the malls sharing about the true reason for the season. I have used the Christmas season for the last 5 years to go out to the malls and shopping centers to share the gospel of Christ with all those looking to buy many gifts but not really understanding why they are buying. I think if you have never shared your faith with others then make this year the year you start. Just take a pocket full of tracts and go out to where people are gathering and jump in. It may be scary at first but, the alternative of not sharing your faith should be more scary. After all if you do not share the love of Christ with someone this Christmas season then who will. As you share the gospel with others you will receive such a joy from the presence of God that soon you will be saying, "Why haven't I shared my faith sooner." God bless each and everyone of you and have wonderful Christmas. Until you read again...

Quick update

Well, it has been several months since my last post and a lot has occurred. I finally got back into this blog. What do I mean, well I forgot again what email I used and what password I used for this blog. I spent several hours doing to recovery process to gain access to my blog again. I suppose I am glad it is so difficult to gain access to this account it let's me know it is fairly secure. I have many old post on this blog and as I was looking back over them it brought back many good memories. Ok, now on to current information. I will be leading Mission Possible One again this summer. In fact, we are starting again in one week. Our final training is tomorrow and I have much to cover to get the teens ready for ministry. This year, Zana, is going to be on my team. I am excited that I will get to share this time with my daughter this summer and I am praying this summer will transform her life and my of the other teens lives as well. Alright, I better go for now. It is late and I have to get up early so now that I have access to this blog again I will once again try to keep it somewhat up to date. Until you read again....

My son on a wall.

I took a walk with my son a few weeks ago and he decided to take a break by sitting on the wall outside of the developement that we live in. I clicked a picture with my phone camera and we had a nice talk on our walk home. It was a good day and I realize how important it is to spend time with my family. I pray I am able to be a Godly example to him as he grows into a young man. Until you read again...