Archives April 2012

Wow what a great two weeks! I was so blessed to have my dad visit me all last week. I had so much fun taking him out on all of the different outreach here at the Dream Center. We went out with the food truck on Tuesday to Nickerson Gardens my Adopt A Block site. The Food truck takes out food everyday to different projects and neighborhoods around L.A. I had a great time introducing my dad to all for my friends and families at Nickerson. On Wednesday we went out with Under The Bridge to give out a hot meal to the homeless on Skid Row. We gave out about two hundred hot plates. What amazes me the most is that Under The Bridge go out everyday and gives out that many if not more food. It is easy as you work in your own ministry to miss the impact that Dream Center is making. I am so glad I had this opportunity to see almost all of the ways the Dream Center is making a change in this city. On Thursday afternoon we went out with Project Prevention. Project Prevention was started by Carolina Barnet to help families from losing their kids because they lack basic necessities like food or diapers. Last year Project Prevention help keep two hundred families from losing their kids. It was awesome to hear some of the stories from the mothers that only were able to keep their kids because of the passion and love of the Dream Center. It really inspired me to know that all those mothers we are able to help because one woman followed God’s call on her life. On Friday we went out with my track on are usual retirement home. It cool to see how many of the residents are starting to expect us to come back and see them. I love hanging out with one lady named Dorothy. I usual color her a picture for her book.

On Saturday I had so much fun introducing my dad to all my families at Nickerson Gardens. Jenny daughter was having her birthday party. So we spent most of the day just hanging out and when we had to leave Jenny gave us all a huge plate of food and wanted to give us a plate of cake as well but we told her that the food was more then we could eat. Sunday after church Dad and I had a great time just hanging out and enjoying time with each other. Monday as I was dropping of my dad at the airport I was sad but I am also exited about the future. Tuesday we went out with our Adopt A Block track to pickup trash in the neighborhoods around the Dream Center. Travis one of our track members brought his guitar with him and as we were walking we ran into a homeless man who asked if he could play Travis’ guitar. I was shocked with how well he could play and sing. He told us he use to be in a band but was kicked out.
We bought him a McDonalds burger and invited him to come to the Dream Center sometime. On Wednesday we were able to take a TV to a lady that Diana one of my good friends knew from her old Adopt A Block sites. It was cool to see how even though Diana had not see this lady in for sometime because of the relationship Diana built with her, they were still like old friends. Friday we went to the park with our track. We played on the playset and laid in the grass to tan. For our after school program we had a killer water balloon fight with the kids. It started with just balloon but ended up with everyone getting a bucket of water dumped over their heads.  Saturdays Adopt A Block was awesome I was able to visit all my families and talk with most of my kids. After Adopt A Block I went hiking with some of my friends to Monrovia Falls. The hike was not very long but was one of the most beautiful hikes I have been on. The waterfall was so beautiful! We are planning on going back next Sunday.

As I was reading the scriptures this morning this came to me and I had to share with you all.

The Cost of Adoption

Once upon a time there was a young Jewish man from the town of Nazareth for whom God had a mission. “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. “She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” (Mt. 1:20-21)

Basically what the Lord told him was, “Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to adopt a little boy named Jesus.” God’s main mission in life for Joseph was the adoption of a very special child.

I’m sure, just like any young man, Joseph had dreams and ideas about his future. He was engaged to Mary and he probably already had some children’s names picked out in his mind. He probably had visions of expanding the family carpentry shop and working along side of his sons and living a quiet and peaceful life in Nazareth. But God’s mission changed everything… adoption changed everything… there was no way that Joseph could have known the cost of obeying the Lord in this seemingly harmless adoption of a baby but here are some of the ways that I thought of this morning that his life was dramatically changed.

First, Joseph has to endure the disdain of his town and probably his family for agreeing to marry a pregnant girl this is why he intended to release her from the engagement privately before the angel appeared to him. You see the angel appeared to Mary and to Joseph but not to the rest of the town…

Second, God orchestrates the Roman government to take a census in which Joseph and Mary will have to uproot and travel to Bethlehem because Jesus needs to be born there to fulfill prophecy. Everything Joseph has worked to build up in Nazareth is gone. So they start all over in Bethlehem.

Third, Joseph is faced with the stress of his young bride having a baby in a stable because there is no room in the inn. None of this would have been his plan A for his life.

Fourth, After 2 years in Bethlehem suddenly a king, of all things, is after his son and God tells him, “Get up! Take the Child and His mother and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the Child to destroy Him.” (Mt. 2:13) The little family has to flee in the middle of the night and once again start all over in Egypt. Imagine a Nazareth small town boy now in a place he knows nothing about. This adoption has now completely altered Joseph’s life in ways that he never could have imagined.

Fifth, After a few years in Egypt he is once again told by the Lord to pick up and move. “Get up, take the Child and His mother, and go into the land of Israel; for those who sought the Child’s life are dead.” (Mt. 2:20) He heads for Bethlehem but then hears that Archelaus  is reigning and fearing for his young son goes back to Nazareth where he and Mary are undoubtedly notorious.

Sixth, The next time we see Joseph he and Mary travel to Jerusalem for passover and lose track of Jesus and spend several days backtracking and losing time looking for him. Once again we see how this adoption impacted and disrupted Joseph’s life.

Seventh, Though Joseph was not around to see it, this boy, Jesus, ends up being tried as a criminal and being executed. But not only that, he involves his brothers, Joseph’s blood children that he no doubt prayed for, loved, and was proud of. This Jesus involves them in His mission and they are all eventually executed as well.

I’m sure when Joseph accepted the mission to be an adoptive dad, he couldn’t have foreseen the cost and the trouble that it would bring to his life… but neither could he have seen the immeasurable blessing and eternal impact that this one act of obedience allowed him to be a part.

When Mary says in Luke 2 that all future generations will call her blessed, she is right because God chose her to be the mother of God. But think about how blessed Joseph is in heaven right now because he got to be the adopted dad of God. Wow!

Adoption has been called the living gospel because it depicts what God has done for each of us (John 1:12; Rom. 8:15&23; Gal. 4:5; & Eph. 1:5) but it also depicts in an earthly sense the amazing mission that God gave to Joseph of Nazareth and it should encourage us to follow his example and obey and endure because we don’t know what God may have planned for our adopted child.

Russell D. Moore in his book Adopted For Life says, “Joseph serves as a model to follow as we see what’s at stake in the issue of adoption. Joseph, after all, is an adoptive father. In some ways, his situation is, of course, far different from ours. In other ways, though, Joseph’s mission belongs to all of us. As Joseph images the Father of the fatherless, he shows us how adoption is more than charity. It’s spiritual warfare.”

Saturday was another thrilling day. We met in the Dream Center gym for the weekly Adopt-A-Block rally before heading out to the streets to minister to the blocks. I was amazed at how many people were there and how excited and blessed they were to be allowed to go and love on the people of L.A. What a testament to the presence of the Holy Spirit in this ministry. Jonathan, Rebekah’s boss, led the rally. It started out with 30 min. of corporate prayer. They turn down the lights in the gym and people are encouraged to pray however they feel led. Some paced, others faced the wall with their hands raised, others knelt, and others formed circles holding hands and praying in succession. Jonathan told us that the prayer time is us going to God on behalf of the people we are about to serve and then Adopt-A-Block is us going to the people on behalf of God.

After standing and praying for awhile, Rebekah came and got me and asked me to circle up and pray with her team which was going to Nickerson Gardens. I was so charged up. I acknowledged first in my prayer that transformation only comes from the Holy Spirit. We plant and water but He gives the increase. I asked God boldly to transform through us today. Transform the hearts of children and moms and dads and grandparents as we talk with them touch them and smile at them. Transform families, blocks, neighborhoods, cities, nations and the world! Let these young people praying with me be catalysts to ignite a spiritual awakening in this nations. Make our clay jars safe receptacles for Your glory so that we can carry it to the world.

We split up, Jonathan had some announcements and then we went to load up the donations and food and head out to the blocks. Rebekah’s bus had about 60 people on it headed for Nickerson Gardens (one of 15 sites being visited today), the largest projects west of the Mississippi. It was awesome! We arrived, unloaded the food, spit into groups of 3 to 4 and began to mingle with the people. We stopped at one house where a little boy who regularly comes to church with Bekah wanted us to hear him play a drum solo on buckets and pie plates. It was awesome. He has some rhythm for sure.

Next we went to a house where they were having a birthday party. They were so excited that we came. They have been inviting Rebekah for weeks and they were so “honored” that she brought her dad from Houston! Their hospitality was amazing. They served us Puerto Rican chicken and Mexican beans and pupusas. They tried to feed us cake and coke and jello too but we couldn’t eat another thing. We had fun playing with all of the neighborhood kids who just magically appeared when the candy came out. Jenny, the grandmother, asked me to pray for her daughter who is involved in the occult and drugs. The daughter asked me, “why do you people come here to the projects every week? I wouldn’t use my Saturday for that.” I told her that Jesus has put so much love in our hearts that we have to share it. She just looked at me for a long time.

Others in our team had similar experiences with other families. With us today was one group of boys from Calgary, Canada. They are a skateboard club that were on their way home from a mission trip building houses in Mexico and stopped off to participate in Adopt-A-Block here in L.A. before continuing their journey back home to Canada. They ended up spring cleaning one ladies whole house. What a blessing. On the way back to the Dream Center I “just happened” to sit by Josh, the leading chaperone of the skaters. He and his wife have 5 children 7 years old and under and they are trying to raise them up to serve the Lord. I smiled and told him that my wife and I have 5 kids 7 and under once upon a time who, by the grace of God, have grown up to make me very proud and that is why I am here at the Dream Center is to visit one of my daughters. I pointed her out and he said, “Oh, she’s the leader of this site, right?” “You must be very happy to see your daughter serving in a ministry like this.” I assured him I was and that if he and his wife just stayed faithful to pursuing Christ and discipling their children in the things of God that I could assure him that there was a marvelous God-adventure ahead for them. He was so encouraged and thanked me for sharing with him and thanked God for sitting me next to him on the bus. It was sweet.

After we got back Rebekah walked me all over Hollywood and we enjoyed a fun evening. Following her up and down the hills of this town on foot all week has sure put me back into shape. I hope I keep it up when I get back home.

Today, Friday, was a little slower pace and I enjoyed the time that Rebekah and I had to just catch up. In the morning we separated all of the things that have been donated this week for Adopt-A-Block tomorrow. It was raining most of the day so when we had a chance we quickly got the work done.

Before lunch we went to a presentation by The Movement students in the chapel. The Movement is a Bible college on steroids here at the Dream Center. The presentation was very moving. It was a smattering of drama, testimony, and a powerful message at the end from Caroline Barnett, Pastor Matthew’s wife. It reminded me of Life Action Ministries from when I was a kid. Everything about this place reminds me of the dreams and goals I had as a young Christian. My kids at Teens Unlimited, my youth ministry when I was a 22 year old youth pastor, and I used to talk about having  a big building where we could house homeless teens, gang members, and runaways. At the time they were living at my house, on my couch, and sleeping on my porch. Matthew Barnett has stayed young and not allowed the world to douse those childlike dreams of what God can do and it has refreshed and restored my soul. In the message at the end Pastor Caroline challenged us with the idea that there are more than enough Christians in the world to solve the world’s problems if we were just willing. God is not limited. Wow! So true. After the presentation I was able to speak with the director of Project Hope here at the Dream Center. Project Hope is the human trafficking outreach here. They literally rescue women and girls out of the sex trade and hide them, counsel them, and take care of them until it is safe to help them back into society. Since Colombia is the second leading sex trafficking country in the western hemisphere behind the Dominican Republic, I wanted to know all about what they are doing here. In a short period of time Project Hope has become the largest rescue operation in America.

After lunch we went with Rebekah’s Adopt-A-Block tract to a nearby retirement home and spent some time with the lovely residents there. I sat next to a sweet lady named Dora and a sweet lady named Alicia. Alicia was from Sau Paulo, Brazil and spoke only spanish so I enjoyed being able to talk to her and learn about her life. We colored with crayons but Dora insisted on watercolors so the nurse gave her some watercolors and she painted beautifully. I commented to the nurse how awesome Dora’s painting was and she handed me a notebook full of beautiful paintings that Dora had done. Dora told me that she used to sew and embroidery a lot as well but now she can only paint. It was obvious that these dear people look forward to the Dream Center kids coming every other Friday. It was so funny when one of the old gentlemen pointed to me and said, “I thought this was the Dream Center group, why is that old guy with them?” When they explained that I was Rebekah’s dad he said, “Ok, I was wondering because usually the Dream Center people are young.” Too funny.

We were supposed to go to skid row tonight but we were rained out. Rebekah also sometimes goes and witnesses to the prostitutes on sunset strip until 3 a.m. on Fridays but that was rained out as well so we sat in the Dream Center coffee shop and talked and dreamed and planned until bed time. What a lovely day.

Today, Thursday, was another life changing day for me. We started out at Rebekah’s office where she spent the morning answering calls and doing paperwork for Adopt-a-Block. After lunch we went out with an outreach called Project Prevention which works with family services here in L.A. to help families who are about to lose their children to foster care. Many families in L.A. lose their kids simply because they can’t afford to meet the legal requirements of the state such as owning a refrigerator, or having a real bed for their child to sleep in or owning a crib for their baby. If they don’t have these things or enough food their children are taken away and put into foster care and sometimes they never see them again.

Two years ago Pastor Matthew Barnett’s wife Caroline discovered what was going on and started Project Prevention. Social services will call the Dream Center when there is a family that is in danger of losing their children because of poverty. Project Prevention will then go visit the family and begin to help them with the things they need to keep their kids. Sometimes the family is homeless and so the Dream Center has built out an entire floor of their main building to house these families until they can get back on their feet so that they don’t lose their kids. Often Project Prevention with cooperate with Adopt-a-block as well if those families are in a 5 mile radius of one of their blocks. Rebekah usually delivers furniture and things to these families one day a week.

Rebekah and I had the privilege to tag along with this outreach today and we took food to four families and it was an amazing blessing. Two of the families had already had their children taken away before Project Prevention got involved and so the Dream Center people went to court with the family and helped them get their kids back and then worked with them to keep them. They help them to get jobs and whatever they need to begin living a productive life. And, of course, the spiritual renewal that takes place as these families interact with the Dream Center and Angelus Temple is dramatic. Many of them end up being lasting members of the church. One of the ladies that we visited has 7 children living in a one bedroom apartment and her husband recently left her for another woman. Without the Dream Center her children would have been scattered to the wind. Another lady gave us her amazing testimony. She has four daughters. One of her girls was being molested and the mom and girls had no where else to go so they ended up on skid row with two blankets. Project Prevention got them off the street and into an old house. The mom and daughters started cleaning up around the house and painted it inside and out. The landlord was so happy that he came in and fixed several things that weren’t working. A family at the church bought them a new stove and a refrigerator. The lady wept as she told us the story and praised God. She has family worship every day with her girls and reminds them of what God has done. The City of Los Angeles recently sent Project Prevention a letter thanking them for the amazing work that they are doing and shared that the city had estimated that Project Prevention is saving the taxpayers of Los Angeles $500,000.00 a year in court costs, foster care payments, etc. By the way, the Dream Center receives no support of any kind from public funds. It is solely supported by the private donations of God’s people.

Angelus Temple

After we returned from Project Prevention it was time to ride the bus out to Rebekah’s site at Nickerson Gardens in Watts and pick up her families for Thursday night church at Angelus Temple (the Dream Center church). I was so excited to visit this amazing church and I was not disappointed. The place was packed. We sat in the first balcony with Rebekah’s families. The worship was over the top awesome. My heart leaped as I looked across the crowd and saw dozens of men in black T-shirts (the men who are in recovery) and in another section dozens of women in black T-shirts (the women who are in recovery) all praising God.  I gazed around the cavernous auditorium and saw people from dozens of nations and ethnic backgrounds praising God. I stood with tears streaming down my face and my hands raised enraptured by the blessing of joining in the praise that was surging up from that place.

Then came the message. Lisa Bevere, wife of John Bevere spoke and I have rarely been so deeply touched by a message. It was so anointed and so uplifting and so encouraging and so Christ honoring. The tears that had started during worship never stopped flowing. When Pastor Matthew invited people to come to the stage and ask God for more, I jumped to the aisle and made my way down with the hundreds and hundreds of others. He paced back and forth across the stage praying and begging God to meet our needs. It was electrifying. I left with a new vision and passion to believe God for big things. To say the least my dream was radically expanded. That’s why they call it the Dream Center.

I have been so blessed as well to see the amazing change in my daughter after six months of serving here. She has a boldness and a confidence mixed with awe and humility that is awesome. I’m so thankful that God brought her to the Dream Center.

Some amazing DC stats: 600 housed daily, 3,700 clothed monthly, 36,000 hot meals served each month, 40,000 receive groceries each month, 1 million pounds of food distributed each month. 7000 volunteers provide staffing support annually. Monthly budget of $600,000.00.

The most refreshing thing so far though about the Dream Center is that they do all of these things as support to the preaching of the gospel and never in place of it. Every activity is designed to share Christ. The fruit is amazing as well. Nearly every leader of each of the over 200 outreaches here was originally won to Christ through the ministry. The testimonies I’ve already heard in two days just blow my mind. God is mightily at work here.

After I wrote my blog last night Rebekah and I went to a youth service in the beautiful old chapel in the main building (formerly City of Angels Hospital). The worship was outstanding! All the kids come up around the stage and lift their hands to the Lord and sing with all of their hearts. It was beautiful. The lead singer, Chloe, was unbelievable. After the service she came up and told Rebekah that she has her signed up to sing with her starting next week. Rebekah was terrified but excited. The youth pastor gave a wonderful message and many came forward for prayer. I had to laugh to myself as I looked around the ornate old chapel realizing God knew, as it was being built, that someday a throng of teens would be shouting His praise in this place. Amazing.

Under The Bridge

We went out this morning with a ministry called Under The Bridge which takes hot meals to the homeless on skid row and living under freeway overpasses. We spent the morning on skid row praying for, witnessing to, and inviting people to lunch later in the day. It was heartbreaking to see so many people living under tarps and in boxes and things. Many were there because of addiction especially along “heroin alley.” But many others were just there because things had gone wrong in their life and they had no where else to go. We were blessed to pray with, hug, and share Jesus with people who afterward thanked us with tears in their eyes and said things like, “God bless you and your family.” Under the Bridge comes here everyday and tries to get people to come to the Dream Center and get off the street. Many do but most are not ready to give up their addictions. Some came with us today and I pray that they stay and get discipled like so many from these mean streets that I’ve met here who are now radiant followers of Jesus.

We came back at 1:30 p.m. with the hot lunches. Some of us donned hairnets, aprons, and gloves in order to hand out food and the rest sang, prayed, and witnessed to the folks that came. We prepared and handed out about 200 plates. God continued His habit of surprising me with providential encounters. As we were serving food and praying for people the lady next to me who I knew was here from Sweden began to pray for a Mexican man in perfect Spanish. I was surprised. After she prayed she told the man that she used to be a missionary in Bogota, Colombia. I couldn’t believe it. Obviously, she and I spent several minutes talking about Bogota and she thanked me and thanked me for what we are doing there. She said that her heart still lives there even though God has her back in Sweden. Oh, how I know that feeling. I’ve posted some photos here.

Tonight Rebekah and I are attending an intern’s prayer meeting called focus. It is an hour of devotions and an hour of prayer. It is Rebekah’s favorite event each week. Cain’t wait.

Last year our family read the book, The Cause Within You by Matthew Barnett, founder and pastor of the Dream Center in Los Angeles, California. We were so taken with the book and with the work that they are doing that our oldest daughter Rebekah decided to intern for a year at this amazing ministry. This week I have the awesome privilege to be her shadow and follow her around the Dream Center and see all of the amazing ministries that are taking place here. We will take part in a different ministry each day and I will share about it here.

First, a little bit about the Dream Center. Pastor Matthew started this work in inner-city L.A. at the ripe old age of 19 nearly 19 years ago. The ministry now has over 250 outreaches striving to be the hands and feet of Christ. It has grown from one young man and his dream to a monster for God ministering to an average of 40,000 people per month. From gang members, drug addicts, unwed mothers and children without parents, motorcycle groups, taggers, AIDS victims, and various subculture, ethnic and nationality groups, drug rehabilitation to prostitute ministry to homeless to vulnerable children to you name it they apply the gospel to it here and lives are consistently and dramatically changed. It feeds the homeless and others in need and runs a halfway house for released prisoners. Close to 600 people are housed at the center and receive rehabilitation. Their Motto is: “Find a need and fill it, find a hurt and heal it.”

In the first four years of the Dream Center’s establishment, prostitution and gang violence dropped 73%, the homicide rate dropped 28% and rape dropped 53%. The Mayor of Los Angeles and the City Council publicly acknowledged the dramatic impact of the Dream Center and praised its efforts. In 2000, President Bush, then Governor of Texas, visited the Dream Center and deemed it “a model for faith-based organizations.”

Today Rebekah and I went out with the “Food Truck” ministry to two different sites. They deliver an astounding one million pounds of food per month to needy families. The first site was Nickerson Gardens in Watts where Rebekah is the Dream Center’s site leader. She goes there about 4 times per week ministering to the 1100 families there. Nickerson is the largest “projects” west of the Mississippi. We arrived with the food and unloaded crate after crate of produce donated to the Dream Center by local grocery retailers. We then packaged the food evenly in grocery sacks for distribution. Then came the time to hand it to the crowd of waiting people and hear them say, “thank you, God bless you and your families.” It was very sweet. Many stopped so that we could pray for them. Some asked for specific prayer for things they are going through. It was amazing. See my photos here.

Rebekah and I are headed to a youth worship service tonight and then tomorrow we go out with the “Under the Bridge” ministry to literally go under freeway bridges and minister to the homeless who live there. Can’t wait!

About a year ago my friend Stephanie told me about a girl who was sold out to Jesus and missions and who might want to come on our June 2011 mission trip. Not long after my family and I had dinner with Stephanie, the girl Magan and her mom. We had a blessed time together and Magan signed up for the trip.

On the trip Magan surprised me with how quickly she jumped in and began to build relationships with the children. She was a natural with the obvious anointing of God upon her heart and vision. I could tell that God was doing a mighty work in Magan.

Last fall she went off to college but with plans to attend our January 2012 mission trip to Bogota. When it became clear to her that she was not going to be able to attend the January trip, I felt so bad for her when she sent me this message,

“Hi there! First off, how are you and your family? I miss serving with you and the rest of the team and I hope all is going well with everyone! I saw recently that the dates for the January trip were posted, and when I realized that my university goes back to school January 9th, my heart just sank. I know that God wants me here at UMHB, but my love and longing to be with my kiddos over there is still so strong. I kinda pushed it out of the way, just crushed since I felt like there was no other option or possibility. But when I began praying about it, I felt so dumb for letting something as silly as school stop God from working through me to reach those orphans. I’m continuing to pray about it and I’m still not sure what exactly God wants me to do. All I know is that He definitely doesn’t want me to give up on it. So my question to you is if you have any thoughts on this. Like, is there a way for me to go by myself or with a couple friends at the very beginning of January or December. I really have no clue as to how all of this gets worked out or if thats even feasible or anything really. At this point, I’m just trying to keep running towards God searching for the open door. I would appreciate so much your prayer and advice on this.”

I sensed the hand of God at work in this as I prayed with Magan and her approach to the whole thing was so Spirit like that I knew I had to help. We tried to work something out for her to go in December but it never materialized. Finally we were able to make a trip for her happen over spring break last month. Magan is back from her trip and we talked on Sunday and here is the rest of the story… so far… of what God is doing for her and through her.

First, she was able to stay with my dear friend, Nelda.  Magan told me about how every night Chris and Oscar and Javier would come over and they would have dinner and devotions and end with a prayer meeting. She said it was awesome.

She spent two days with our little friends at an orphanage in Madrid and was able to share her testimony of salvation and life with Jesus with three different groups of girls. She opened it up to questions from the girls and was amazed by the questions that the girls asked after each testimony. She said the questions were deep and sincere, like “How do know that God is with you all the time?” She was able to pour deeply into these precious orphan girls.

She was saddened by the amount of turnover in the orphanage. She didn’t see any of the girls that she had built relationships with the previous summer. She also took 100 hair bows and 50 Bibles. All the Bibles went to another orphanage that she visited later in the week.  She was able to spend time at a baby/toddler orphanage and at a safe house for aged out young people. All in all she said the trip was vastly beyond her wildest dreams.

Some people commented to her, “I can’t believe that you are spending your Spring break in an orphanage.” Magan simply replied, “I wouldn’t be anywhere else.”

At the end of our conversation I asked Magan a question and was delighted and blessed by her answer.

Matt: Did the Lord reveal anything new to you while you were there?

Magan: It is mind boggling what God is doing and how He is moving in Bogota and I am even more excited now to be involved. My friend Brittany wants to go there for six weeks in the summer and we had talked about it before I went so I was praying about trying to go as well. While there I prayed about it so hard and I came home convinced that God wants me there for the summer. The night I arrived home my mom was filling out the paperwork for me to go to summer school and she needed a yes or no answer from me about whether I was going to summer school. I really wanted to pray more about it before answering her but I felt the Lord saying, “I have this all worked out.” One of my scholarships required summer school but recently they changed the requirement so my mom said, “You don’t need to take summer school.” I knew in my heart that my parents have already been reluctant about me going on these trips and I knew that if they said no about this summer that that was it. I would honor their wishes. I told them of my hearts desire and they said they would think about it. The next morning my parents texted me that they were 100% behind me going to Colombia this summer. I had to sit down when I read the text message. I felt God saying with a big smile, “I told you I had this worked out.” One of the biggest things I’ve learned is that anywhere God has called me to I have always been apprehensive about it at the start, so many factors, so much to figure out, but once I let go and decide that God is calling me this way then the doors start to open and they open beyond anything I could ask for. Shortly after my parents said yes, a lady from my church contacted me to say that she wants to buy my plane ticket for the summer. God is amazing.

It is one of the great joys of my life to walk beside, uplift, and encourage, young warriors for Christ like Magan. I can’t wait to see where God takes her. She knows that the Bullen family is behind her 100%.

My dear friend, Grove Norwood with Heart of Texas Foundation, is one of my heroes in the faith. His story of love and grace has been portrayed in a movie and that lead him to become involved in prison ministry. We met through Tres Dias and over the years have cheered each other on in our respective ministries. He has been after me for a year to come with him to visit Louisiana State Penitentiary otherwise known as Angola and see the amazing things God is doing there.

I knew that Grove had been going to Angola to learn what they did and duplicate it here in Texas starting with a seminary in Darrington Prison. This is an incredible undertaking with the potential to change the Texas prison system, the state, and the world. I am so excited to be an onlooker.

So I finally was able to go with Grove last week and it is truly an amazing God story… Angola is the largest maximum security prison in the U.S. It’s land area is larger than Manhattan Island, NYC. There are 5300 inmates. All are serving life sentences. Every other man is a murderer. Once notorious as the bloodiest prison in America with 40 murders in one year, 17 years ago Warden Burl Cain started a Bible College inside the prison and today there is no violence. It’s a prison full of preachers… They send out “missionaries” to other prisons in Louisiana. When they sent the first missionaries out, the new prison’s violence dropped by 1/2 in 6 months. Wednesday – Friday I was able to tour the prison with Warden Cain, Grove Norwood, and others from The Heart of Texas. What a faith builder! The gospel truly is “the power of God unto salvation” (Rom. 1:16)

Warden Cain and the Heart of Texas team.

An amazing and totally unexpected thing happened that made me think that God may have had me on this trip for more than one reason. There are over 400 inmate led worship services here in Angola every month. In one of them on Thursday I met Miguel “the chin” Velez (aka Cumbamba), Medellin Drug Cartel founder Pablo Escobar’s Colombian hit man who spent 23 years in solitary confinement here at Angola. He is now a passionate follower of Jesus and he was thrilled to hear about our ministry in Bogota and gave me some contacts there of old associates who were at Angola and are now serving God back in Colombia. Miguel and Gary, the chaplain, asked me to look them up when I’m back in Colombia. I told Miguel I would and let him know how they are doing. Amazing.

You never know where God will take you when you sell out to Him. I just want to be with you on mission Lord. Take me with You.

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Psalm 91:1 He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” This verse has been my pray the last two week. Every minute of every day I want to hid in His shelter because there is the only place I find peace and the strength to live every day. I love how the verse starts out stating what God is and then as if the writer could not hold back his praise the last part of the verse is the writer tells what God is to him. It is incredible how much peace and joy comes with knowing what Jesus is to you, not what others say He is but you know in yourself what you found Him to be in your life. Well this week we had a beautiful Purity night for the young ladies at our Adopt a Block sites but for you to get the full picture of what this night meant to the girls and the leaders I need to explain the whole story. Kaycie is our site leader for Ramona Gardens and she has built a remarkable relationship with the girls at her site. They literally spend almost as much time at the Dream Center as they do at home. Kaycie has a heart for girls to understand their worth and what real love looks like. As a way for the girls to understand that real love only comes through the love of Jesus, Kaycie started planning purity night. The girls went through a six week class in preparation for the purity night. For the last class we went to the beach with all our girls. We had so much fun playing volleyball and jumping waves in the ocean. When the sun went down we roasted hotdogs over a fire. Saturday after Adopt a Block we brought the girls back to the Dream Center and dressed them up. They had already picked out a dress they wanted to wear, so we did our nails and hair. After we were all dressed up we went and got our pictures taken. Then the girls were escorted to dinner in the chapel. During dinner we had a drama and one of the young men from the teen discipleship program rapped for the girls. After dinner we had a worship time and then Kaycie gave her testimony along with four other people the girls know well. Pastor Carolina gave a message about relationships and then we gave all the girls a bible and their purity rings. On the way home one of my girls told me that was one of the best night she has ever had and it was like being on a date with Jesus. I am so thankful God given me this time with my girls.

I have discovered over the years that I can only give away what I possess. This is never more true than in the spiritual realm. Ministry must happen from the overflow of my relationship with and pleasure in God. Therefore, I must prioritize time with Him and I must constantly be seeking those things that feed my soul and add to my love for Him, my understanding of Him, and my motivation to serve Him. Consequently, I read many blogs, journals, articles, and sermons on a daily and weekly basis and I always have two or three books going at the same time mostly out of self preservation. I can only give from the overflow of what I have and I long to give. I long to be used up for the expansion of His kingdom in this world. Recently my wife has taught me a new method of reading (or should I say digesting) a book. She reads it straight through (sometimes first in audio version), then reads it again with a  highlighter, then reads it again, outlining and taking notes as she goes. It doesn’t allow me to gobble up as many books as quickly as I once did but I must say that I really know and understand and comprehend the contents when I am done. Below are the books I’ve enjoyed and benefitted from in this first quarter of 2012. Click on the cover to read more about each book.